Cancelling excursions

[Lees Cruisin]

We are due to Cruise on Azura 26th July. We have more or less resigned ourselves to the fact we won't be going. Our Full balance is due 27th April, not a chance we will be paying the 4 grand we owe. Happy to just lose our deposit. We booked one excursion for £226 and i have been trying to cancel this everyday for the last 3 week but to no avail. I find it disgusting that its still sayin error on the system. And you can't cancel. Come on P & O get this sorted.

[pete14]

23 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

We are due to Cruise on Azura 26th July. We have more or less resigned ourselves to the fact we won't be going. Our Full balance is due 27th April, not a chance we will be paying the 4 grand we owe. Happy to just lose our deposit. We booked one excursion for £226 and i have been trying to cancel this everyday for the last 3 week but to no avail. I find it disgusting that its still sayin error on the system. And you can't cancel. Come on P & O get this sorted.

There is lots of advice on a couple of other threads.

If you find the Covid 19 updates on the P&O website, you will find a new cancellation policy. If you just don’t pay the balance, you may find yourself worse off than following the new policy guidelines. You would probably be better off waiting for a P&O to cancel. Your choice though. There is also advice on cancelling excursions but don’t expect the refund any time soon. I presume the error on the system message is a way of getting all people to follow the new procedures they have put in place. It would be better to display a more accurate message in my opinion.

[Lees Cruisin]

So do i pay the balance and hope P & O cancel? No way am i paying 4 grand in the current climate. I have a Cruise booked for next August with P&O but i can't transfer my deposit over to that one and there is no way i can afford to go on a cruise the year after. So losing my deposit is the only way forward for me as i see it. 

[bee-ess]

8 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

So do i pay the balance and hope P & O cancel? No way am i paying 4 grand in the current climate. I have a Cruise booked for next August with P&O but i can't transfer my deposit over to that one and there is no way i can afford to go on a cruise the year after. So losing my deposit is the only way forward for me as i see it. 

An option could be to consider moving your July cruise for free which would put off having to pay the balance and keep your deposit to be used on the new cruise.

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by bee-ess

[AndyMichelle]

6 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

So do i pay the balance and hope P & O cancel? No way am i paying 4 grand in the current climate. I have a Cruise booked for next August with P&O but i can't transfer my deposit over to that one and there is no way i can afford to go on a cruise the year after. So losing my deposit is the only way forward for me as i see it. 

Don't pay your balance... 

Although P&O are offering refunds at the moment, by the time your cruise comes about, I suspect only FCC will be offered... 

If you don't want to take the FCC now, the only option seems to be to lose your deposit. 

Andy 

[Lees Cruisin]

Agreed Andy, i see the only way is to lose my deposit. 

[Suebiker]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

There is lots of advice on a couple of other threads.

If you find the Covid 19 updates on the P&O website, you will find a new cancellation policy. If you just don’t pay the balance, you may find yourself worse off than following the new policy guidelines. You would probably be better off waiting for a P&O to cancel. Your choice though. There is also advice on cancelling excursions but don’t expect the refund any time soon. I presume the error on the system message is a way of getting all people to follow the new procedures they have put in place. It would be better to display a more accurate message in my opinion.

 

Hi - as I see it this is only for cruises up to 15th of May.  You cannot currently cancel a pre booked excursion unless your cruise is cancelled.  

[Suebiker]

1 hour ago, Lees Cruisin said:

We are due to Cruise on Azura 26th July. We have more or less resigned ourselves to the fact we won't be going. Our Full balance is due 27th April, not a chance we will be paying the 4 grand we owe. Happy to just lose our deposit. We booked one excursion for £226 and i have been trying to cancel this everyday for the last 3 week but to no avail. I find it disgusting that its still sayin error on the system. And you can't cancel. Come on P & O get this sorted.

 

Hi - we are in exactly the same position as you.  We are also considering losing our deposit.  I have written an email to P and O requesting that we are allowed to transfer our booking to a holiday in Summer 22.  However I am still waiting for a response .  The problem we have is that we already have a cruise booked with them for next year and cannot afford to have 2 cruises next year. They will not allow us to use the deposit as payment towards next year's cruise either.  I am not happy as our deposit was a reasonable amount as we booked it later than normal due to Royal Caribbean cancelling our holiday!!!!!  I am furious about them not  allowing me to cancel excursions - I have sent them a FB message today asking if they can't fix the IT system why they don't offer an alternative way to cancel excursions!    It leaves a really nasty taste in the mouth and I am gutted because I love the P and O product and this makes me unsure whether | want to give them business in the future.  Whilst I appreciate these are exceptional circumstances -  I feel that not refunding shore excursions is unethical.  

[terrierjohn]

46 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

Agreed Andy, i see the only way is to lose my deposit. 

 No you can take a FCC for your deposit and use it against a new booking now  or wait for more clarification. Check out the latest Covid19 information on the P&O website as to the procedure for doing this.

[Lees Cruisin]

Hi Terriorjohn, i don't want a new booking. I have got a cruise booked for next year and i can't afford another one before or after then. So losing my deposit is my only option at the minute, although i can't see why you can't transfer your deposit to an existing booking

[terrierjohn]

7 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

Hi Terriorjohn, i don't want a new booking. I have got a cruise booked for next year and i can't afford another one before or after then. So losing my deposit is my only option at the minute, although i can't see why you can't transfer your deposit to an existing booking

Neither can I, but the FCC is long dated and could be used for a current 2022 cruise, and I am hoping they will extend this to the summer 2022 season cruises when they launch those, which could be in Sept or Oct this year. So you will lose nothing by taking the FCC.

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

 No you can take a FCC for your deposit and use it against a new booking now  or wait for more clarification. Check out the latest Covid19 information on the P&O website as to the procedure for doing this.

We said this earlier in the thread John, my response was because Lees doesn't want the FCC under any circumstances. 

Andy 

[Pine Man]

8 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Lees doesn't want the FCC under any circumstances. 

 

He does have two options.

 

1. He can lose his deposit and that is final - money gone.

 

2. He can opt for FCC and he will have lost nothing until the FCC expires, or, P&O change their terms and conditions and, who knows, he maybe be able access it in some way at a later date. No worse than option 1 but infinitely better. IMHO.

[Lees Cruisin]

So i can opt for the future cruise credit and that just sits in my P&O account until i book something or it expires?

[Pine Man]

22 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

So i can opt for the future cruise credit and that just sits in my P&O account until i book something or it expires?

 

That is certainly how i understand it and, who knows, at some time in the future, P&O might relent and that FCC could be refunded as cash.

[Lees Cruisin]

Thanks Pine man. Very helpful

[Jim Cox]

4 hours ago, Pine Man said:

 

That is certainly how i understand it and, who knows, at some time in the future, P&O might relent and that FCC could be refunded as cash.

Unlikely - a much more likely scenario is that Carnival will go under, leaving all FCCs valueless.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Jim Cox said:

Unlikely - a much more likely scenario is that Carnival will go under, leaving all FCCs valueless.

That could, of course, happen and is why I wouldn’t accept FCC if a cash refund is on the table but, in the case of deposits, it makes sense to defer it as FCC as if you don’t pay the balance (as nobody in their right mind would do at present) then your deposit is immediately lost anyway, so nothing more would be lost, even in the event of company failure, if it’s deferred as FCC. 
 

As an aside, mention is often made of Carnival going under (or not), but a more likely scenario (in my opinion) is that a separate trading entity that operates within the umbrella organisation could cease trading. They could fold a sub brand, such as P&O, without having to fold the whole group. 

[terrierjohn]

8 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

We said this earlier in the thread John, my response was because Lees doesn't want the FCC under any circumstances. 

Andy 

I know it was Andy, I was just making the additional comment that the FCC was long dated and IMO better to take it just in case anyone changes their mind, rather than merely forfeit the deposit.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That could, of course, happen and is why I wouldn’t accept FCC if a cash refund is on the table but, in the case of deposits, it makes sense to defer it as FCC as if you don’t pay the balance (as nobody in their right mind would do at present) then your deposit is immediately lost anyway, so nothing more would be lost, even in the event of company failure, if it’s deferred as FCC. 
 

As an aside, mention is often made of Carnival going under (or not), but a more likely scenario (in my opinion) is that a separate trading entity that operates within the umbrella organisation could cease trading. They could fold a sub brand, such as P&O, without having to fold the whole group. 

I think that is unlikely Selbourne since, although each cruise line trades separately, the results are amalgamated as Carnival and, although not an accountant or tax lawyer, I cannot see any way that scenario would improve the rest of Carnivals trading position.

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I think that is unlikely Selbourne since, although each cruise line trades separately, the results are amalgamated as Carnival and, although not an accountant or tax lawyer, I cannot see any way that scenario would improve the rest of Carnivals trading position.

I'd agree with that statement. Shutting down P&O as a trading entity would have no impact on Carnival's overall financial position.

In the current environment it is more likely that Carnival will mothball older, costly vessels, and concentrate on high density, low cost ships.

[Tommart]

However this ends up, post-Covid cruising is going to look very different indeed from pre-Covid cruising.  A very substantial industry shake up, with not all companies surviving.

[Selbourne]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I think that is unlikely Selbourne since, although each cruise line trades separately, the results are amalgamated as Carnival and, although not an accountant or tax lawyer, I cannot see any way that scenario would improve the rest of Carnivals trading position.

I agree it’s unlikely John (as I have said in other posts) , and when I used the term ‘more likely’, I was just meaning that folding a trading entity is a more likely approach than the whole Carnival group going under. So a relative thing rather than an absolute thing, if that makes sense. I was also using P&O as an example of a trading entity, as I have no idea what the pecking order of assets & liabilities is for all the various trading entities that comprise the Carnival brand. I would think (and hope) that given the growth of cruising in the UK in recent years that P&O is one of the stronger brands, but I would be very interested to know whether they are committed to Iona 2 or can bail out. I suspect that they are committed, in which case I fear longer term for one or two of the older P&O ships, especially the adult only ones which are usually frequented by a majority of passengers over the age of 70. Of course, another option could be that Carnival diverts Iona 2 to another sub brand, as has happened once or twice in the past. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Selbourne

[terrierjohn]

43 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

 but I would be very interested to know whether they are committed to Iona 2 or can bail out. I suspect that they are committed, in which case I fear longer term for one or two of the older P&O ships,

I would expect they can bail out, or defer Iona 2 with very little cost involved, they have not started cutting steel for it yet, and Meyer Werft are probably also in the situation of not being able to honour the build timetable anyway.  So I assume it will be delayed, pending a decision based on the outcome for the cruising industry, once things start getting back to normal.

But before anyone jumps on me this is purely my own layman's opinion.