CRUISE REFUND RECEIVED

[P&O SUE]

Well! I’m amazed, I looked at my bank account to see if I paid the deposit on my debit card - and the money is showing in my account already with the date of 18th on it!! 
 

I will not miss checking my account three times a day - phew! They’re on the way everyone 😊

[P&O SUE]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

It doesn't make a lot of sense to refund Iona's maiden in May before my April cruise. 

Andy 

Mine’s just shown up in my account in the last couple of hours Andy with Monday’s date on it! Perhaps you should check yours now!

[jeanlyon]

good news Sue.  Must have been done Friday with a date of Monday1

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Hi all.

 

Received an email on 23rd April stating our cruise on 7th June has been cancelled. I filled out the online refund form as unable to travel and use the FCC on the same day.

 

I have not received any further emails from P & O so not even sure if they received the refund form.

 

Did anyone else receive a notification on submitting the online refund form?

[RaspberryCremeBrulee]

Phoned P&O this morning to check regarding our refund for R003 which ended early on 16 March after 5 days at sea. Still awaiting refund. (Posted under Aurora topic)

Whilst on hold message regarding refunds advises refunds should be up to 60 days from date you submitted refund request form online. 

Noted some posts on here questioning how P&O are supposed to be handling, hence advising on current recorded message as at today.

[No pager thank you]

21 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Hi all.

 

Received an email on 23rd April stating our cruise on 7th June has been cancelled. I filled out the online refund form as unable to travel and use the FCC on the same day.

 

I have not received any further emails from P & O so not even sure if they received the refund form.

 

Did anyone else receive a notification on submitting the online refund form?

Hello there, for my second cancelled cruise, in the same "batch" as yours, no I did not receive confirmation beyond the screen image that you get saying thank you, wait 60 days etc.  When I spoke to P&O they said that was normal not to receive any confirmation beyond the screen image.  Hope that helps.

[No pager thank you]

27 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Mine’s just shown up in my account in the last couple of hours Andy with Monday’s date on it! Perhaps you should check yours now!

Hurray!!

 

🤑😄😄🥳🥳

[AndyMichelle]

46 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Well! I’m amazed, I looked at my bank account to see if I paid the deposit on my debit card - and the money is showing in my account already with the date of 18th on it!! 
 

I will not miss checking my account three times a day - phew! They’re on the way everyone 😊

Excellent Sue, really pleased for you. 

Just checked mine again, still nothing. 

I'm not stressing too much, I'm just pleased the ball is now rolling and you lovely people have 1 less worry. 

Andy 

[AndyMichelle]

42 minutes ago, RaspberryCremeBrulee said:

Phoned P&O this morning to check regarding our refund for R003 which ended early on 16 March after 5 days at sea. Still awaiting refund. (Posted under Aurora topic)

Whilst on hold message regarding refunds advises refunds should be up to 60 days from date you submitted refund request form online. 

Noted some posts on here questioning how P&O are supposed to be handling, hence advising on current recorded message as at today.

I wish that was true... 

Andy 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, RICO72 said:

As you'll all see from my post count, I infrequently post on this forum but follow it quite religiously for the wonderful advice and knowledge that exists from most. I though I would add my experience for anyone's interest.

 

I booked direct last year for a sailing on 28th March 2020.

 

Paid in full on 2 separate cards - one for deposit, one for the balance.

 

Upon receiving the P&O e-mail cancellation for my cruise on Monday 16th March, I completed the online form requesting full refund within a few hours on that day.

 

Received first e-mail cancellation booking notification on 20th March - the one that said the next invoice would have charges but to disregard as we would get a full refund.

 

Received that 'incorrect' invoice on e-mail on the 25th March.

 

Received full refund back on the 2 original payment cards on Friday 15th May.

 

 

Not once have I made contact in any way with P&O since this whole debacle began. That doesn't mean I didn't care - I did but had a multitude of other concerns that were needing my attention also. I have checked this forum thread virtually every day to update myself on others' progress and felt that I may wind myself up further if I posted in my angst. I am blessed that the money, although significant, was not required back within the original 45 days stated on the screen when I cancelled. I sat tight and watched it all play out. 

 

My feelings now ? Well, first and foremost I'm glad to have the monies returned and pray that all others affected will get the same in the coming days. Do I think these are unprecedented times and a wait of many, many weeks was inevitable ? YES. Am I happy with how P&O have handled this ? NO, not one jot. The complete lack of communication on how things were proceeding was horrendously bad. I would most definitely have been calmer with at least some knowledge of how they were processing claims - date of cruise order, date of cancellation etc. The process seems completely random to me. Will I cruise with them again ? Possibly, at the right price but one takes time to forget a poor customer experience and there are 'other fish in the sea'.

 

All the best everyone.

 

Great post,you should post more often.

Graham

[Manx buoy]

1 hour ago, No pager thank you said:

On the topic of posting your personal details online, sure some people don't understand that's risky.  It would be sensible for the page moderator to delete that (or P&O who openly respond), instead of what has been referred to elsewhere.

 

On the Which! article, as an aside this was carried by the D. Express online.

 

Someone, within very short order of it being published - changed the emphasis around P&O denying that it could be up to 90 days (it says as much in the official edit).  The Which! article remains the same.  Just possibly someone in Southampton was "on the button" with that one!! 

 

Interesting that there has been no further spread of the story though beyond niche publications.

Like I said on another post lots of them don’t know what pages they’re actually posting on and the mods on most of the pages are taking the proverbial out of the people who are doing it and complaining because in their eyes the beloved company can do no wrong. It’s really sad that fellow human beings behave this way mocking others that might not be as fortunate as themselves but I’m afraid that’s the world we lived in before this all started never mind now in the present circumstances. At times it makes me wonder do I really want to cruise again with the likes of these people hopefully our paths will never cross. 

[grapau27]

57 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Well! I’m amazed, I looked at my bank account to see if I paid the deposit on my debit card - and the money is showing in my account already with the date of 18th on it!! 
 

I will not miss checking my account three times a day - phew! They’re on the way everyone 😊

Fantastic news.

[ann141]

49 minutes ago, RaspberryCremeBrulee said:

Phoned P&O this morning to check regarding our refund for R003 which ended early on 16 March after 5 days at sea. Still awaiting refund. (Posted under Aurora topic)

Whilst on hold message regarding refunds advises refunds should be up to 60 days from date you submitted refund request form online. 

Noted some posts on here questioning how P&O are supposed to be handling, hence advising on current recorded message as at today.

I received our refund for R003 about a week ago and it appears that some people have received theirs, others have not for that particular cruise.My surname is in the first half of the alphabet so maybe they are refunding alphabetically but who knows? There doesn t seem to be any real system,I did read somewhere(not sure whether it is just a theory or fact)that different employees were working through refunds on different ships which would explain to some extent why some people on Ionas maiden voyage have been refunded whereas others who claimed much earlier on a different ship are still waiting.My refund just appeared when I checked my bank statement one evening.I had no notification that my refund was being/had being processed.Hope you receive yours soon.

[grapau27]

16 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Excellent Sue, really pleased for you. 

Just checked mine again, still nothing. 

I'm not stressing too much, I'm just pleased the ball is now rolling and you lovely people have 1 less worry. 

Andy 

Just checked mine again and still nothing.

[RICO72]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Great post,you should post more often.

Graham

Thank you Graham. I probably would post more if I had the time. I thank the Lord that I have retained my job, in the face of so many who have been furloughed or worse, and that means I rarely get the spare minutes to follow the various musings. Suffice to say, I enjoy 99% of what I read on here, find most people's experience and advice most useful (yours most definitely), and can often use the pictures created in my mind to bring to life happier times at sea. I'm sure those moments and memories will return in time.

 

RICO72

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, RICO72 said:

Thank you Graham. I probably would post more if I had the time. I thank the Lord that I have retained my job, in the face of so many who have been furloughed or worse, and that means I rarely get the spare minutes to follow the various musings. Suffice to say, I enjoy 99% of what I read on here, find most people's experience and advice most useful (yours most definitely), and can often use the pictures created in my mind to bring to life happier times at sea. I'm sure those moments and memories will return in time.

 

RICO72

Thank you.

Pauline and I love cruising and wish our cruise hadn't been cancelled and then having a long wait for a refund.

I'm pleased your job is safe which is fantastic news.

I always post on my Android phone  which makes it easy for me to post often and being part retired I have more time to post.

Graham.

[jeanlyon]

16 minutes ago, RICO72 said:

Thank you Graham. I probably would post more if I had the time. I thank the Lord that I have retained my job, in the face of so many who have been furloughed or worse, and that means I rarely get the spare minutes to follow the various musings. Suffice to say, I enjoy 99% of what I read on here, find most people's experience and advice most useful (yours most definitely), and can often use the pictures created in my mind to bring to life happier times at sea. I'm sure those moments and memories will return in time.

 

RICO72

I am very lucky too.  Still working from home, salary coming in every month.  Very lucky.   We are getting awful customers though.  Because they can't use their moorings, they demand a pro rata refund, even though their huge yacht is on its mooring and being looked after by our guys.

[RICO72]

 

16 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you.

Pauline and I love cruising and wish our cruise hadn't been cancelled and then having a long wait for a refund.

I'm pleased your job is safe which is fantastic news.

I always post on my Android phone  which makes it easy for me to post often and being part retired I have more time to post.

Graham.

 

Am I the last person in the first world who still does not possess a Smart Phone ?  😂 Just a dumb phone for me.

 

8 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I am very lucky too.  Still working from home, salary coming in every month.  Very lucky.   We are getting awful customers though.  Because they can't use their moorings, they demand a pro rata refund, even though their huge yacht is on its mooring and being looked after by our guys.

 

Blessed indeed Jean, blessed indeed. Stay positive.

Edited May 16, 2020 by RICO72
Quoted twice

[grapau27]

5 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I am very lucky too.  Still working from home, salary coming in every month.  Very lucky.   We are getting awful customers though.  Because they can't use their moorings, they demand a pro rata refund, even though their huge yacht is on its mooring and being looked after by our guys.

I'm pleased for you too Jean.

I am phoning customers from home and miss not calling on them personally but after my heart attack in December I did do calls in February but since the coronavirus lockdown I have stopped at home.

[jeanlyon]

Most of the complaints are from second home owners who can't come down to Devon.  Some of their emails are beyond belief.  I am hoping I will allowed back to the office in 2nd week of June and not left at home because of my age 😞

[No pager thank you]

23 minutes ago, Manx buoy said:

Like I said on another post lots of them don’t know what pages they’re actually posting on and the mods on most of the pages are taking the proverbial out of the people who are doing it and complaining because in their eyes the beloved company can do no wrong. It’s really sad that fellow human beings behave this way mocking others that might not be as fortunate as themselves but I’m afraid that’s the world we lived in before this all started never mind now in the present circumstances. At times it makes me wonder do I really want to cruise again with the likes of these people hopefully our paths will never cross. 

Yes, I must admit one of the most disappointing aspects of the whole thing is how people on FB are being treated at times.

 

First, you have the group who think that P&O are actually listening, beyond trying to get any dialogue offline.  This group think, for some reason, that they will get direct, tailored support instead of being relayed to one or more of the pre-approved list of responses, as determined by the Social Media team.  Good companies would have a web chat by now to help with this group.

 

Next, you have the group who I would say come in to the "not familiar with computers," category; best way I can describe it.  Reading the messages, you can see that some are vulnerable, they aren't familiar with "netiquette" and don't even what a "mod" is.

 

It's completely unnecessary for anyone to take advantage of vulnerability in such circumstances by giving people false hope, misleading information, or in some cases tacking on to them for direct criticism. 

 

In this, I do criticise P&O directly by telling them that they are one of a few companies offering refunds; shocking behaviour and I'm glad that it is being called out by those who know better.

 

This is particularly true when the support from others is inspired by some sort of misplaced belief that the entity they are defending would treat them any more favourably were roles reversed.  I have found that genuinely upsetting to see, when if nothing else the current circumstances are encouraging us all to look out for one another.

 

Whether or not you do buy P&Os line and excuses, or if you think that they are no better/worse than others, this is poor form and it makes me sad to think that these people will still be on the passenger roll call when the crisis eventually ends.

[RICO72]

5 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Most of the complaints are from second home owners who can't come down to Devon.  Some of their emails are beyond belief.  I am hoping I will allowed back to the office in 2nd week of June and not left at home because of my age 😞

If, as employers should, experience is valued first and foremost before any other factors including age, then I'm sure you will be back 'at work' before you know it.

[jeanlyon]

Hope you're right.  I was the first one that had to work from home.

[RICO72]

I've just realised that, this post included, my post count total has risen by roughly 10% this evening. I'm feeling rather giddy and feel the need to lie down in a darkened room.

 

I bid you all a good night. Speak again when more positive refund news arrives.

[NoFlyGuy]

12 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

Yes, I must admit one of the most disappointing aspects of the whole thing is how people on FB are being treated at times.

 

First, you have the group who think that P&O are actually listening, beyond trying to get any dialogue offline.  This group think, for some reason, that they will get direct, tailored support instead of being relayed to one or more of the pre-approved list of responses, as determined by the Social Media team.  Good companies would have a web chat by now to help with this group.

 

Next, you have the group who I would say come in to the "not familiar with computers," category; best way I can describe it.  Reading the messages, you can see that some are vulnerable, they aren't familiar with "netiquette" and don't even what a "mod" is.

 

It's completely unnecessary for anyone to take advantage of vulnerability in such circumstances by giving people false hope, misleading information, or in some cases tacking on to them for direct criticism. 

 

In this, I do criticise P&O directly by telling them that they are one of a few companies offering refunds; shocking behaviour and I'm glad that it is being called out by those who know better.

 

This is particularly true when the support from others is inspired by some sort of misplaced belief that the entity they are defending would treat them any more favourably were roles reversed.  I have found that genuinely upsetting to see, when if nothing else the current circumstances are encouraging us all to look out for one another.

 

Whether or not you do buy P&Os line and excuses, or if you think that they are no better/worse than others, this is poor form and it makes me sad to think that these people will still be on the passenger roll call when the crisis eventually ends.

 

Governments around the world have been putting their countries into lockdown and destroying their economies. It makes the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent sovereign debt crises ( who can forget Grexit and the piigs economies) look like a damp squib.

I'm 66, so post war, but can't remember anything like what it's happening around the world now.

Most sections of the economy here and elsewhere are suffering but the hospitality/travel industry more than most and within that the cruise industry will probably be the last to recover fully.

As someone still waiting for a partial refund I'm not saying that P&O have covered themselves in glory but when the dust has settled I think they will be neither the best nor worst of any travel company.

I'm still happy to book P&O going forward but everyone can, quite rightly,  make their own decisions

Stay safe everyone.