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Ponant & PG's New Cancellation Policy


Hutchinj
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43 minutes ago, sita said:

I think for a 2021 sailing the old rules apply (100 pp fee) but haven’t checked the PG site in a while. Also, that assumes they do not BK or ‘reorganize’ before they get that money back to you. I know a lot of cruise lines are quoting 90 days for refunds so maybe okay.... it’s just that Ponant seems to have kept PG at a distance and that troubles me.

 

Correct. For 2021 cruises, the old rules still apply. It’s only those of us who paid deposits or pre-paid cruise fares ages ago that are getting cheated. Interesting, eh? They’ve had the free use of our money for all this time and this is how they say thank you?

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20 hours ago, Emdee said:

We have our bookings for  the Jan 2021 reunion which we still hope to enjoy. Almost booked the cruise before as a b2b just two months ago but time got away from us and then our stream of consciousness was taken over by Covid and its effect on a scheduled Regent cruise. 

 

Life after Covid will not be the same nor will the PG after the recent retirement/departure of it’s President of over 9 years , Diane Moore. When the ship moved from Regent to PGC it was clear that the new owner wanted to maintain the status quo providing the same service, ambiance and quality. Ponant culture is totally different so their policies would be expected to be different. It is a pity that they lack the graciousness and client centric policies of PGC when run by Ms.Moore.

 

While I don't like to be held hostage by a cruiseline it is ultimately only money ... the value you personally ascribe to it. In these very uncertain and scary times we could all be in a worse position.

 

20 hours ago, Emdee said:

We have our bookings for  the Jan 2021 reunion which we still hope to enjoy. Almost booked the cruise before as a b2b just two months ago but time got away from us and then our stream of consciousness was taken over by Covid and its effect on a scheduled Regent cruise. 

 

Life after Covid will not be the same nor will the PG after the recent retirement/departure of it’s President of over 9 years , Diane Moore. When the ship moved from Regent to PGC it was clear that the new owner wanted to maintain the status quo providing the same service, ambiance and quality. Ponant culture is totally different so their policies would be expected to be different. It is a pity that they lack the graciousness and client centric policies of PGC when run by Ms.Moore.

 

While I don't like to be held hostage by a cruiseline it is ultimately only money ... the value you personally ascribe to it. In these very uncertain and scary times we could all be in a worse position.

Emdee,  our reschedule from the Fiji to Bali cruise is for the Jan 21 reunion cruise. At this point, we wish we had rebooked for the December 2021 cruise instead since we don't feel confident about French Polynesia opening up again by then, but we're still looking forward to it.

I don't think about any of the money being a loss. I only consider it an experience that I hoped to have, but didn't. No one is forcing me to pay any additional money for the lost experience. And anything that I can salvage from the cost of the lost experience, and use for another great cruise experience is something good.

Hopefully we will both be on the Reunion cruise in January and have a great time, and maybe even meet. We're trying to stay safe in SW Florida, and hope you stay safe as well.

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2 hours ago, Hutchinj said:

 

Correct. For 2021 cruises, the old rules still apply. It’s only those of us who paid deposits or pre-paid cruise fares ages ago that are getting cheated. Interesting, eh? They’ve had the free use of our money for all this time and this is how they say thank you?

 

Yes, the problems seem to be with later 2020 cruises but I do see the website  It's appalling, really: recent bookings (after March 9, 2020) have better conditions and older bookings are being retroactively DENIED the original conditions they were booked under.

 

Regarding 2021 bookings, the website seems to give conflicting info on the FAQ and on the new updated policy page.

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed my post.

 

I sent this information to my TA (a well regarded agency that specializes in high end cruising and who places a lot of guests on PG), she was appalled.  She sent it to the other agents and owner. They are having a meeting on PG with the intent of not recommending PG to clients - so there.

 

She did confirm our cancellation (due to the lousy Cdn $ - just can not justify spending in US$ at this time)  - will be under the old terms, up to 90 days. I am also contacting my credit card and putting in a dispute request.

 

Taking Ponat/PG, together with the anti customer, anti contract activities of all the cruise lines - it will be a cold day in H___, before I cruise again unless the cruise lines make substantive changes to the way they conduct business - stop hiding behind the "contract" etc. 

 

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Wow, just wow.  I posted on the Ponant board regarding my experience with them.  I booked through a TA, based in the USA and at the time of canceling my cruise I was told that I'd be getting about 90% of my money back, and the balance would be held for a year for a FCC.  I was fine with that.  I cancelled on March 23 for a July 18th, 11 day cruise in FP.

 

This cruise has become toxic, Ponant has tainted this very expensive trip that with airfare from LA to Tahiti and back, 11 day cruise and three nights at the Intercontinental in Moorea, we're talking about nearly $25,000CDN.  And they want to offer a FCC for up to two years, when I might not even have a job?  They have ruined this experience before we even got on the plane.  I have lost all faith in this company.  Trust is nil. Never again.  

 

I have launched a third party default with my bank/credit card (one and the same).  The process to retrieve the funds has been initiated, and I was told that I should see a refund within a certain time frame, and to keep an eye on my credit card balance in a about two weeks from now.  If an appeal is not filed by Ponant within 10 weeks, the matter is closed.

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Hi Jared: I will do the same. My TA indicated we cancelled before the new policy and that the $100 admin fee pp will apply.

 

Nonetheless, I am contacting my CC today.

 

Could you explain what the "third party default" is - so I am understanding when I contact my CC? Thanks kindly.

 

Also, given the horrible state of the Cdn $, I am eliminating overseas travel - just too expensive. Saying in Canada and the US driving my fab new vehicle around and enjoying our continent - particularly places with palm trees since we have none in Canada.

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3 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Hi Jared: I will do the same. My TA indicated we cancelled before the new policy and that the $100 admin fee pp will apply.

 

Nonetheless, I am contacting my CC today.

 

Could you explain what the "third party default" is - so I am understanding when I contact my CC? Thanks kindly.

 

Also, given the horrible state of the Cdn $, I am eliminating overseas travel - just too expensive. Saying in Canada and the US driving my fab new vehicle around and enjoying our continent - particularly places with palm trees since we have none in Canada.

The meaning of third party default was explained to me by my credit card rep.  She told me that the third party is the TA, not Ponant, or PG.  The TA does not have the cash, Ponant/PG has it, and they pay a fee to the TA for the sale.  Because the sale went through the TA, and they were operating on the direction of PG/Ponant, they have violated the terms of the refund.  I was informed of the third party default option by my TA.  He said that it has worked for many clients.  As soon as I mentioned "third party default" to my CC rep, she immediately shifted gears and began the process of opening up a case.  She had a lot of very specific questions.  Luckily I saved all of the emails from my TA.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards, Jared.

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On 4/20/2020 at 7:56 PM, SWFLAOK said:

So Regent is also only giving a FCC for cruises that they cancel? If that's the case we need to see if we can cancel ours Regent cruise for late next year and get our deposit back. Who knows when we can or cannot cruise in the future, and apparently only cruises booked from now on have their new Regent Assurance policy that they are currently advertising in their weekly brouchures.

 

No, that's not true.  They are offering refunds as normal, and for cruises that they are cancelling.  But they're enhancing the FCC's, like offering %125, for instance.  And for those who wish, they can cancel up to right before a cruise, and then I believe they are offered an FCC.

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I just want to say that this new policy of Ponant's means that I may never sail on the PG again.  And that makes me very sad, having spent over 60 days on the PG.  I knew there'd be a time coming when I would say, "I will never do that again", but that appears to be now, if these policies hold up.  

 

I hope Ponant finds out how loyal that the PG guests have been, and how quickly they can lose that loyalty.

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2 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

No, that's not true.  They are offering refunds as normal, and for cruises that they are cancelling.  But they're enhancing the FCC's, like offering %125, for instance.  And for those who wish, they can cancel up to right before a cruise, and then I believe they are offered an FCC.

Wendy we cancelled our Regent cruise a month in advance so they gave us 100% FCC. Three days later they offered those who cancelled 125% but so be it....we were at least happy to get our money back.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Jared Purdy said:

The meaning of third party default was explained to me by my credit card rep.  She told me that the third party is the TA, not Ponant, or PG.  The TA does not have the cash, Ponant/PG has it, and they pay a fee to the TA for the sale.  Because the sale went through the TA, and they were operating on the direction of PG/Ponant, they have violated the terms of the refund.  I was informed of the third party default option by my TA.  He said that it has worked for many clients.  As soon as I mentioned "third party default" to my CC rep, she immediately shifted gears and began the process of opening up a case.  She had a lot of very specific questions.  Luckily I saved all of the emails from my TA.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards, Jared.

 

Hi Jared: Thanks so much. I am on it this afternoon. Will let you know.

 

Wendy, absolutely will not sail with PG. What a change since the purchase by Ponat. 

 

Ponat is stealing our money and they could not care less.  I have contacted the CLIA with my dissatisfaction and indicating I will not cruise with any of their members until they step up to the plate and indicate customers will be their refunds if they choose, like try some leadership CLIA. This is mass stealing of peoples money.

 

I hope the USA will take on the cruise lines like they took on the airlines. I have also contacted the White House (despite being Canadian) cause the USA has pull.

 

Blessings to everyone who are working to get their $ back. 

 

 

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38 minutes ago, Emdee said:

Wendy we cancelled our Regent cruise a month in advance so they gave us 100% FCC. Three days later they offered those who cancelled 125% but so be it....we were at least happy to get our money back.

 

 

Right.  Yes, if you cancel within the penalty period, you get an FCC.  Sorry you didn't get the bigger amount, but as you say, at least you got it back in some form.

 

We're about to cancel our world cruise for next year--this was the one that clashed with the PG reunion cruise.  Sigh.  Nothing will be the same again.

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3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Right.  Yes, if you cancel within the penalty period, you get an FCC.  Sorry you didn't get the bigger amount, but as you say, at least you got it back in some form.

 

We're about to cancel our world cruise for next year--this was the one that clashed with the PG reunion cruise.  Sigh.  Nothing will be the same again.

True and just so happy we all traveled so much all these years.

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Wendy and I go back almost exactly 20 years with the PG. Up until now, since the Radisson/Regent days, one of the things that made it easier to give them money for a cruise was that Diane, Richard, and the rest of the company were highly ethical, and were honestly trying to use their company to make the world in general and French Polynesia in particular a better place.  They must be heartbroken; I am because I know that I'll never again be on what was my favourite ship on the planet. Here's a special message for Ponant: FOAD! (Hint: the first word is not suitable for this forum. The last word  usually involves a funeral.)

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We keep the beloved PG staff in our thoughts for good wishes... they are the ones who have made that experience so exceptional.
 

Ponant though.. my thoughts are closer David’s 

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We had bad vibes from the Ponant rep when he boarded the tender with us in the Cook Islands to travel with us to Fiji last September. But there were quite a few others on our cruise who were looking for Ponant cruises, especially to cold places, and the rep was really excited to speak to them about it. Those that engaged him were not from the US or Canada. I had a bad feeling about it, be we had already booked the Fiji to Bali cruise for a significant birthday, and had cleared the waitlist for it. We expected that cruise to be our last one on the PG. While we love the PG, and all of her crew members, the cost is a stretch for our budget, and we have done 3 previous cruises, as well as our original land based French Polynesia vacation 25 years ago. We wanted to experience new places, which is what we would have done on that cruise.

I hope PG cruises can survive through this. The employees on the ship, as well as the office employees, are still the same as before Ponant bought them. I'm sure they wish they were still part of the Intercontinental Hotel Group, and so do I.

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23 hours ago, Doubt It said:

 

Hi Jared: Thanks so much. I am on it this afternoon. Will let you know.

 

Wendy, absolutely will not sail with PG. What a change since the purchase by Ponat. 

 

Ponat is stealing our money and they could not care less.  I have contacted the CLIA with my dissatisfaction and indicating I will not cruise with any of their members until they step up to the plate and indicate customers will be their refunds if they choose, like try some leadership CLIA. This is mass stealing of peoples money.

 

I hope the USA will take on the cruise lines like they took on the airlines. I have also contacted the White House (despite being Canadian) cause the USA has pull.

 

Blessings to everyone who are working to get their $ back. 

 

 

The cruise lines flag their ships in foreign countries to avoid USA taxes and labor laws.  They (ship part of companies) will not be bailed out by USA.

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Heartfelttraveler - I was not infering to bail out the cruiselines (Never ever) - I was wanting the US government to force the cruise lines to give cash refunds for product not delivered - as they have forced the airlines.

 

I consider the cruise lines as stealing funds from everyone. They worked hard to reduce the product and increase the price during the good times (anti consumer behavior) and now they continue their anti consumer behavior. 

 

I have now got a dispute set up with case number with my credit card company - sending them the PG paperwork with my booking that shows the $100 pp cancellation fee.

 

Should be no problem. They said, tell everyone to do the same as the credit card company (Mastercard) needs to know the illegal actions of suppliers - they will go on a black list. 

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On 4/21/2020 at 11:40 AM, Hutchinj said:

That does it. Should they cancel my 4 July cruise, I am definitely going to fight them for a refund via lawsuit and/or credit card chargeback. We'll see how well those French laws hold up. At this point, I don't want to cruise with a company that treats their customers like this. If they fight my attempts at a refund, which I fully expect, I will make it my life's work to destroy their reputation via every social media outlet I can get access to. I encourage all others to do the same.

 

If FP opens up to tourism in time and PG does NOT cancel the cruise prior to the >31 day deadline for no penalty cancellations, I'm not certain what we will do. Our health is obviously important but I can't afford to risk about $14K either. Breaks my heart given how much we were looking forward to this trip and how many people here have loved the PG in the past.

 

 

 

i'm going after them via third party default.  I've already filed my case.

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7 hours ago, Doubt It said:

I was not infering to bail out the cruiselines (Never ever) - I was wanting the US government to force the cruise lines to give cash refunds for product not delivered - as they have forced the airlines.

 

They forced the airlines because they're AMERICAN!  Sorry, but cruise lines are not American, hardly any of them, and Ponant is French.  The U.S. government can't force them to do a thing.

 

Good that you've got your credit card company on the case--Ponant deserves to be deluged with these disputes--good luck to all!

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This is from the Ponant board:

 

Federal Maritime Commission  - Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) can help resolve disputes with cruise lines that do business in the US like Ponant USA LLC.

 

https://www.fmc.gov/databases-services/consumer-affairs-dispute-resolution-services/

 

"FMC requires cruise lines to have a bond or other financial surety available to refund passenger deposits if the cruise line fails to provide a scheduled cruise (performance) or for death or injury on a voyage (casualty). This requirement applies to cruise lines that embark from a U.S. port and have at least 50 berth accommodations."

 

Ponant uses US ports - April 25 was supposed to be Miami to Lisbon.

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