Cunard

[AnnieC]

9 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

The point is if you payed for the holiday before all this kicked off than fair enough get your money back, if you have put a deposit down and than decide its not for you at the moment than either cancel or transfer to a later date like we have, but the company is supplying you something which they believe will keep you safe like msc is doing than why expect to get your deposit back.

I think (though the origins are probably lost in the mists of time) we are talking here solely about people who booked pre-covid and have now found they are expected to go on a much changed holiday. Not those who booked recently...

[grapau27]

25 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Not being able to go ashore independently would mean a huge change in my opinion.  Can't believe they are going to keep people in one bus and just drive around.  It will be interesting to see.

We don't mind one or two tours where you get some free time to explore and shop independently plus we like to get off in every port to explore on our own.

This is a big bonus for us when cruising and any restrictions would be a big no for us.

Graham.

[molecrochip]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes, I would like an answer to the question that if cruising is no longer what you expect cruising to be, ie no independent time ashore, only eating Club Dining, etc. etc, then can you cancel and get your deposit back?

I don't have the answer to that. I'm not even aware if a policy has yet been created.

[jeanlyon]

I'm sure it hasn't been created yet, but going by how Cunard are suggesting their cruises will be, it is a totally changed experience.  We booked September 2019, err I think for 2021.  I suppose I think one ought to be able to cancel and get the deposit back.  I'm not blaming P&O, it isn't their fault at all.  At the moment, the Government rules are still that you shouldn't cruise, so if that's the case, you should be able to cancel and have your money back.

[Selbourne]

36 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I know it was 4 years ago but based on that cruise, I would say it was a much better quality experience. Certainly at that time, I would say food and service were both a considerable notch up on P&O.

That’s interesting. As it happens, we are usually more than happy with the food and service on P&O ships. It’s the poor quality ‘entertainment’ and dated cabin facilities (other than Britannia) that we have an issue with, plus the repetitive itineraries. Sounds as though the general consensus is that Cunard is a step up from P&O though, even though I suspect that some of these things aren’t much better, so we shall have to consider it - in a few years time!

[tring]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

I don't have the answer to that. I'm not even aware if a policy has yet been created.

 

I suggest it is not a matter of a new policy as can the new regime be considered not insignificant.  That is the wording used in the package travel regs.

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Bazrat said:

They are offering a service were they are trying to keep everyone safe, if in my view it doesn’t meet your expectation level than cancel, but it would be unfair for the company to have to refund because of certain people unable to cope or unwilling to with the current situation.

The cruise company has obligations to supply the holiday that was originally sold. People book cruises up to 2 years in advance, long before COVID19 happened. It’s not the cruise company’s fault that this has happened, but they are still under the obligation to provide the holiday as described. If they can no longer do that, then the customer is within their rights to ask for a refund of funds paid.

 

Why would people pay thousands of pound for a holiday that is completely different to the one that was booked? If they decide not to go, and do something else instead, that’s just common sense, nothing to do with ‘coping’ 

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Bazrat said:

The point is if you payed for the holiday before all this kicked off than fair enough get your money back, if you have put a deposit down and than decide its not for you at the moment than either cancel or transfer to a later date like we have, but the company is supplying you something which they believe will keep you safe like msc is doing than why expect to get your deposit back.

Perhaps I didn’t make it clear when I originally brought this subject up, but I was talking about cruises booked pre Covid.

 

These days people book up to 2 years in advance. Your post confuses me a little. You say at the beginning of your post that it’s fair enough for people to get their money back if they booked pre Covid, then at the end you seem to be saying that they they shouldn’t expect to get their money back after all 

[Bazrat]

1 minute ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Perhaps I didn’t make it clear when I originally brought this subject up, but I was talking about cruises booked pre Covid.

 

These days people book up to 2 years in advance. Your post confuses me a little. You say at the beginning of your post that it’s fair enough for people to get their money back if they booked pre Covid, then at the end you seem to be saying that they they shouldn’t expect to get their money back after all 

What i was referring to if you payed the balance. 👍

[Dermotsgirl]

1 minute ago, Bazrat said:

What i was referring to if you payed the balance. 👍

I think we’re pretty much on the same page then.

 

Paying the balance in the current situation indicates you still want to do the cruise, and implies that you accept the conditions under which you might end up cruising. 

[wowzz]

Whilst I am sure that we all agree that Cunard is a significant step up in quality from P&O,  with a concomitant price increase, the fact remains that you are still on a relatively large cruise ship. 

At the price that Cunard charge, you are in Viking, Oceania, etc territory. 

If Carnival are pushing up P&O fares into Cunard territory, they need to be aware of the competition (which they must be).

Given the choice of two weeks on a Viking ship, with limited numbers, and no apartheid on board,  versus Cunard with no go areas, I know where I will be spending my money.

[Harry Peterson]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Whilst I am sure that we all agree that Cunard is a significant step up in quality from P&O,  with a concomitant price increase, the fact remains that you are still on a relatively large cruise ship. 

At the price that Cunard charge, you are in Viking, Oceania, etc territory. 

If Carnival are pushing up P&O fares into Cunard territory, they need to be aware of the competition (which they must be).

Given the choice of two weeks on a Viking ship, with limited numbers, and no apartheid on board,  versus Cunard with no go areas, I know where I will be spending my money.

Papas? 😇

[majortom10]

23 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Whilst I am sure that we all agree that Cunard is a significant step up in quality from P&O,  with a concomitant price increase, the fact remains that you are still on a relatively large cruise ship. 

At the price that Cunard charge, you are in Viking, Oceania, etc territory. 

If Carnival are pushing up P&O fares into Cunard territory, they need to be aware of the competition (which they must be).

Given the choice of two weeks on a Viking ship, with limited numbers, and no apartheid on board,  versus Cunard with no go areas, I know where I will be spending my money.

Unless you really looked for the areas reserved for grills passengers you wouldnt know that thye were there and for the majority of all Cunard ships you wouldnt know who was in an inside or a grill suite.

[PORT ROYAL]

7 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Unless you really looked for the areas reserved for grills passengers you wouldnt know that thye were there and for the majority of all Cunard ships you wouldnt know who was in an inside or a grill suite.

 

Except for the "in-lift" use of a keycard.

 

[showingdiva]

11 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Unless you really looked for the areas reserved for grills passengers you wouldnt know that thye were there and for the majority of all Cunard ships you wouldnt know who was in an inside or a grill suite.

 

Absolutely agree.  I've been Grills class on Queen Elizabeth, and while Arcadia is a very, very special ship to me, Queen Mary 2 has now taken my breath away.  Have never been, nor have I seen another passenger, being treated differently on board her.  Wonderful liner.

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Papas? 😇

But at least at Papas you can eat at any table you like!

[No pager thank you]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I think we’re pretty much on the same page then.

 

Paying the balance in the current situation indicates you still want to do the cruise, and implies that you accept the conditions under which you might end up cruising. 

I think that P&O will take a leaf out of the book of the travel insurance industry and begin to use the phrase "disinclination to travel" or a PR euphemism which means the same thing at the point where this applies i.e. cruise ship travel is permitted for most population groups.

 

Translation... 

 

"Your ship and crew will look forward to welcoming you and we have responded to essential safety measures to provide you with a memorable holiday experience. 

 

If you would prefer not to travel at this time then you can accept a 100% Future Cruise Credit up to x before travel valid for any cruise booked by the xx 2021 [insert pre-vaccine unreasonable date].  After then, our standard cancellation policy terms will apply."

 

I can't see them offering cash refunds for deposits and probably full balance if customers don't like "the option" when it comes to a cruise. 

 

If they completely change the itinerary, or length of the itinerary then that will be a significant change as per the package tour regulations most likely. 

 

If not, advantage P&O.

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

Whilst I am sure that we all agree that Cunard is a significant step up in quality from P&O,  with a concomitant price increase, the fact remains that you are still on a relatively large cruise ship. 

At the price that Cunard charge, you are in Viking, Oceania, etc territory. 

If Carnival are pushing up P&O fares into Cunard territory, they need to be aware of the competition (which they must be).

Given the choice of two weeks on a Viking ship, with limited numbers, and no apartheid on board,  versus Cunard with no go areas, I know where I will be spending my money.

That's where being happy with a cheapie inside cabin becomes an advantage. An inside on Cunard is significantly cheaper than the cheapest cabin on Viking 😄. Can't say I even noticed the "no-go areas" on QE.

[Denarius]

I am booked to sail on Azura in January, my balance is due to P&O in October. I booked onboard whilst on a similar cruise last January and paid a £50 deposit.

Whilst I have opted for freedom dining, if I had to put up with club dining instead it would not be a deal breaker as long as I was not required to dine alone. To share the same table every evening with the same passengers would be acceptable under the circumstances. What would be a deal breaker however, would be a prohibition on independent shore exploration in favour of ships tours only. I will require P&Os confirmation that independent exploration will be allowed before paying my balance, and in its absence will not do so.

[Josy1953]

Please let us know what P&O say about going ashore independently.  I am sure that like you many of us prefer to do our own thing rather than being herded around on coach tours.

[jeanlyon]

 

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

I am booked to sail on Azura in January, my balance is due to P&O in October. I booked onboard whilst on a similar cruise last January and paid a £50 deposit.

Whilst I have opted for freedom dining, if I had to put up with club dining instead it would not be a deal breaker as long as I was not required to dine alone. To share the same table every evening with the same passengers would be acceptable under the circumstances. What would be a deal breaker however, would be a prohibition on independent shore exploration in favour of ships tours only. I will require P&Os confirmation that independent exploration will be allowed before paying my balance, and in its absence will not do so.

Exactly the same here.  If there's one thing I hate, it a coach with 50 others.

[No pager thank you]

17 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

 

Exactly the same here.  If there's one thing I hate, it a coach with 50 others.

I do understand this, doesn't personally bother me as much but if I'm honest I can't see P&O offering clarity on this until much closer the time they think that a phased restart is possible (i.e. within 12 weeks). 

 

There will be some blurb put out about local port regulations or constraints imposed by overseas authorities maybe.

[Denarius]

47 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

I do understand this, doesn't personally bother me as much but if I'm honest I can't see P&O offering clarity on this until much closer the time they think that a phased restart is possible (i.e. within 12 weeks). 

 

There will be some blurb put out about local port regulations or constraints imposed by overseas authorities maybe.

I can see the possibility that some ports may be reluctant to host cruise ships for fear of importing covid and may only do so on condition that passengers do not mingle with local people. I suspect that in the Caribbean they would be very much in the minority since tourism is the main source of income of many islands; also it may be possible to replace those islands with others which are less restrictive. Rather, I see the issue as being the other way round. That cruise ships having created an onboard bubble of passengers, will seek to minimise/limit exposure of those passengers to the local population by restricting them to ships tours on which their behaviour can be monitored and controlled. Whilst there may be some logic in such an approach, it would sadly not work for me.

[bee-ess]

Unless we are going to ports we have not previously visited we don't ever consider ships excursions and even then would probably opt for a 3rd party or private tour. The suggested protocol of ships tour or stay on the ship certainly would not work for us. Our next cruise is in the Caribbean where we have been many, many times, there would be nothing we would want to see on a tour. If we we could not leave the ship independently we would just fly to Barbados and stay on the ship for 14 days ? and then fly home and pay 5k for the privilege - no thanks. 

My issue is that regrettably we are booked with an agent that wants payment 16 weeks before departure (lesson learnt !)  - would we know 16 weeks before what the protocols are and could we cancel with refund once we had paid the balance as not being able to leave the ship independently would be unacceptable and although not P&O's fault is not what we booked 2 years prior to the cruise. 

Edited August 28, 2020 by bee-ess

[Denarius]

2 hours ago, bee-ess said:

Unless we are going to ports we have not previously visited we don't ever consider ships excursions and even then would probably opt for a 3rd party or private tour. The suggested protocol of ships tour or stay on the ship certainly would not work for us. Our next cruise is in the Caribbean where we have been many, many times, there would be nothing we would want to see on a tour. If we we could not leave the ship independently we would just fly to Barbados and stay on the ship for 14 days ? and then fly home and pay 5k for the privilege - no thanks. 

My issue is that regrettably we are booked with an agent that wants payment 16 weeks before departure (lesson learnt !)  - would we know 16 weeks before what the protocols are and could we cancel with refund once we had paid the balance as not being able to leave the ship independently would be unacceptable and although not P&O's fault is not what we booked 2 years prior to the cruise. 

I am in the same situation in that I am booked via a travel agency which requires paynent 4 weeks before P&O, ostensively to give them time to process my payment and pass it on to P&O. This became an issue earlier this summer with regard to another cruise and I made it clear to them that I was not prepared to pay them until the final week before the P&O due date; I was not prepared to pay the balance unless I was reasonably sure that the cruise would proceed as planned. They agreed to my proposal and said they needed payment at least 2 days(!) before the cutoff to be sure they could pay in time, to which I in turn agreed. The cruise was in fact cancelled before I paid.