Britannia Excursions Not as Described

[Mrk2868]

A word of warning. Whilst on Britannia I went on 2 excursions that were not as described. 

1. Black Gold & Diamond Chocolate in Grenada. This excursion should have included a  visit to the Nutmeg Processing facility and a factory tour of artisan chocolate being made.  Neither happened. 
2. Chocolate Experience in St Lucia. This  very expensive tour was meant to include a tour of the Rabot Estate coca plantation (owned by Hotel Chocolate) followed by a sumptuous lunch overlooking the famous St Lucia Pitons. What happened was was a street food lunch (value 35 USD) with no special view.  Nor was there a tour of the coca plantation or a explanation of what makes the Rabot estate coca special. Tasting of their chocolate products was not included.  The tour included was the street food lunch and making chocolate but nothing else.  Arrived back at the Boat an hour early. 

 

I’d be interested to know from anyone booked on the forthcoming Caribbean cruises if P&O have changed the description of excursions to reflect the above?  Unfortunately as the trips have taken place I can’t view the current description.  

I went on 2 excursions that were not as described. 

1. Black Gold & Diamond Chocolate in Grenada. This excursion should have included a  visit to the Nutmeg Processing facility and a factory tour of artisan chocolate being made.  Neither happened. 
2. Chocolate Experience in St Lucia. This  very expensive tour was meant to include a tour of the Rabot Estate coca plantation (owned by Hotel Chocolate) followed by a sumptuous lunch overlooking the famous St Lucia Pitons. What happened was was a street food lunch (value 35 USD) with no special view.  Nor was there a tour of the coca plantation or a explanation of what makes the Rabot estate coca special. Tasting of their chocolate products was not included.  

 

I’d be interested to know from anyone booked on the forthcoming Caribbean cruises if P&O have changed the description of excursions to reflect the above?  Unfortunately as the trips have taken place I can’t view the current description.  

[Castle25]

we are on the grenada tour on 24th Dec - will letyou know

[ann141]

We went on a P and O excursion on one of the Caribbean Islands (Can't remember which one) and as it wasn't as described quite a lot of us went to the Excursions desk the following day.Everyone on that tour received a partial refund so it may be worth contacting P and O

[Ardennais]

3 minutes ago, ann141 said:

We went on a P and O excursion on one of the Caribbean Islands (Can't remember which one) and as it wasn't as described quite a lot of us went to the Excursions desk the following day.Everyone on that tour received a partial refund so it may be worth contacting P and O

I was going to post something similar. In our case it was Genoa, and RCI not P&O. Most of us agreed that it had still been enjoyable but wasn’t as described and I think they refunded 50% which was welcome as the children were with us too! 
 

About 90% of the bus decided to visit reception the minute we got back, and to be fair, they sorted it out straight away.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Ardennais

[molecrochip]

I’ve been on the Rabot Estate tour with P&O and it was the best excursion I’ve ever done.

 

I’m therefore really concerned at the comments you make. Please can you ensure that you feed these back to the Company.

 

Something has clearly gone wrong and needs sorting.

[molecrochip]

8 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

I’ve been on the Rabot Estate tour with P&O and it was the best excursion I’ve ever done.

 

I’m therefore really concerned at the comments you make. Please can you ensure that you feed these back to the Company.

 

Something has clearly gone wrong and needs sorting.

You also deserve compensating.

[bbtablet]

Mrk2868 - I am on a Cunard Caribbean cruise in Jan/Feb 2022 and the same title tour is currently on offer at $128:

Discover the art of chocolate making in St Lucia’s exquisite Hotel Chocolat.

After short stops at the Morne Fortune viewpoint for panoramic views of Castries, and at the Marigot Bay viewpoint, you’ll stop in Soufriére at the Hotel Chocolat, on the historic Rabot Estate.

Lying in the shadow of The Pitons, this peaceful retreat is part of the island’s oldest cocoa plantations. Here, on the scenic balcony of the plantation house, you’ll be shown the delightful process of cocoa bean tasting, de-shelling, and grinding. You’ll learn about recipe formulation and receive a host of chocolate making tips, before having the opportunity to create your very own chocolate bar.  

Then soak up the lovely views of the majestic Pitons, as you enjoy a delicious lunch of both sweet and savoury dishes, inspired by cacao cuisine.

Sounds like your description?

So no change in description all the weeks it has been for sale.

Interestingly I have had two other booked tours where Cunard have recently sent an email saying the tour has been changed, but the details are identical to those we originally booked EXCEPT for the word "drink" not appearing on the revised description so it may be that some refreshments are being scaled back for COVID reasons. No price reduction though!

In the light of your experiences I am sure many passengers will be checking very carefully that they get what they paid for or else there will be a lot of visits to the Tours Office on board asking for some sort of refund.

Thanks for your posts.

[Mrk2868]

9 hours ago, bbtablet said:

Mrk2868 - I am on a Cunard Caribbean cruise in Jan/Feb 2022 and the same title tour is currently on offer at $128:

Discover the art of chocolate making in St Lucia’s exquisite Hotel Chocolat.

After short stops at the Morne Fortune viewpoint for panoramic views of Castries, and at the Marigot Bay viewpoint, you’ll stop in Soufriére at the Hotel Chocolat, on the historic Rabot Estate.

Lying in the shadow of The Pitons, this peaceful retreat is part of the island’s oldest cocoa plantations. Here, on the scenic balcony of the plantation house, you’ll be shown the delightful process of cocoa bean tasting, de-shelling, and grinding. You’ll learn about recipe formulation and receive a host of chocolate making tips, before having the opportunity to create your very own chocolate bar.  

Then soak up the lovely views of the majestic Pitons, as you enjoy a delicious lunch of both sweet and savoury dishes, inspired by cacao cuisine.

Sounds like your description?

So no change in description all the weeks it has been for sale.

Interestingly I have had two other booked tours where Cunard have recently sent an email saying the tour has been changed, but the details are identical to those we originally booked EXCEPT for the word "drink" not appearing on the revised description so it may be that some refreshments are being scaled back for COVID reasons. No price reduction though!

In the light of your experiences I am sure many passengers will be checking very carefully that they get what they paid for or else there will be a lot of visits to the Tours Office on board asking for some sort of refund.

Thanks for your posts.

Hi bbtablet.  Yes that is the identical wording used by P&O - very interesting.  As for cost P&O charged £95 which is near enough 128 USD. They provided water and one lime & soda with ice. Nothing alcoholic or inspired by chocolate.  I have a feeling that the original wording did mention drink, but as soon as the excursion has taken place you can no longer pull up the wording unless you have another cruise booking.  Luckily a kind person on another forum posted a screenshot of the P&O description. 
 

I’d agree about getting Cunard to confirm exactly what you will be getting for your 128 dollars.
 

So far P&O have provided an inadequate partial refund.  Now I’m back in the U.K. I’m planning to write to them. Just landed this morning.  Really they should provide some form of excursion satisfaction guarantee. I wonder if other cruise line do this?  

[Ardennais]

3 hours ago, Mrk2868 said:

Hi bbtablet.  Yes that is the identical wording used by P&O - very interesting.  As for cost P&O charged £95 which is near enough 128 USD. They provided water and one lime & soda with ice. Nothing alcoholic or inspired by chocolate.  I have a feeling that the original wording did mention drink, but as soon as the excursion has taken place you can no longer pull up the wording unless you have another cruise booking.  Luckily a kind person on another forum posted a screenshot of the P&O description. 
 

I’d agree about getting Cunard to confirm exactly what you will be getting for your 128 dollars.
 

So far P&O have provided an inadequate partial refund.  Now I’m back in the U.K. I’m planning to write to them. Just landed this morning.  Really they should provide some form of excursion satisfaction guarantee. I wonder if other cruise line do this?  

I always keep the paper copy of the excursions provided onboard until the end of the cruise - just to check that the excursions have done what they promised! 

[Pippa04]

Interesting.  I wonder if this ties in with the strange emails we've had saying timings/details have changed on booked excursions and everything looks exactly the same.  I'm off to screenshot all my booked excursions just in case...

[bbtablet]

Pippa04 - did you see my post (#7) above re those emails we are all getting?

[Cruisemeister2002]

One of my main gripes has always been where refreshments or lunch/diner has been part of an excursion is the fare dished up. In 9 out of 10 cases these refreshments , lunch/diner have been poor. I remember an excursion where a guy who called himself " Herman the German" was our tour guide. We went for a supposed meal. The food was poor and we had to leave early without getting coffee. The people who were just coming in from the street to eat had lovely looking food. Personally I would rather pay a bit extra for decent food rather than feel like I'm on a coach tour calling in at Joe's Cafe.

[Mrk2868]

I wonder if anyone can confirm if anything has changed with these excursions?  Have the excursion descriptions or the costs been changed to reflect what is actually provided?  Or do the excursions provided now match the descriptions?  I suspect nothing has changed.  
 

So far not received any response from P&O to my formal complaints.

[nosapphire]

If the tour was materially not as described then claim a refund.

There is a big difference between the reality not living up to expectations, and the tour not including the main points of the tour.

If the local situation changed after booking, before the tour, enough to make a substantial difference (it does happen), then you should have been given the option to cancel.

I have more than once claimed (and obtained) full refunds (from Saga) when the tours were not as described - in one memorable case it could never have been as described because the time allotted to the tour was simply not long enough to get there and back and also do the visit, walk, etc.

Be very clear that your refund claim is not because you were disappointed, but because the tour was not as described, i.e, did not include the specific items that were described as if they were the main part of the tour.

Make it clear that you expect a full refund (do not say "compensation") and be prepared to argue.

Good luck.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I am not seeking to defend P&O but misleading excursion descriptions are not unique to them.

I sail chiefly with RCI & X and have often been caught by surprise with the difference between the description and reality. I don't mind walking but not in Mediterranean heat and was once less than impressed to find myself on a walking tour.

I think two things: (1) The itineraries are written by the excursion companies and not the cruise lines; (2) In order to give the impression of 'choice' many excursions are repeated under different titles but listing points of interest in a different order or with greater emphasis than others.

One lasting memory of the calibre of excursions sales staff is being in Malaga and the sales girl not knowing the difference between Grenada and Granada.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Mrk2868]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:16 PM, nosapphire said:

If the tour was materially not as described then claim a refund.

There is a big difference between the reality not living up to expectations, and the tour not including the main points of the tour.

If the local situation changed after booking, before the tour, enough to make a substantial difference (it does happen), then you should have been given the option to cancel.

I have more than once claimed (and obtained) full refunds (from Saga) when the tours were not as described - in one memorable case it could never have been as described because the time allotted to the tour was simply not long enough to get there and back and also do the visit, walk, etc.

Be very clear that your refund claim is not because you were disappointed, but because the tour was not as described, i.e, did not include the specific items that were described as if they were the main part of the tour.

Make it clear that you expect a full refund (do not say "compensation") and be prepared to argue.

Good luck.

I've just received a personal email acknowledge from Carnival Group, saying they will look into it in more detail.  Will be interesting to see how seriously they take it, and how quickly they respond. Luckily I did ask for a full refund.

[Mrk2868]

On 12/12/2021 at 8:45 AM, cublet said:

Hello,

 

I am not seeking to defend P&O but misleading excursion descriptions are not unique to them.

I sail chiefly with RCI & X and have often been caught by surprise with the difference between the description and reality. I don't mind walking but not in Mediterranean heat and was once less than impressed to find myself on a walking tour.

I think two things: (1) The itineraries are written by the excursion companies and not the cruise lines; (2) In order to give the impression of 'choice' many excursions are repeated under different titles but listing points of interest in a different order or with greater emphasis than others.

One lasting memory of the calibre of excursions sales staff is being in Malaga and the sales girl not knowing the difference between Grenada and Granada.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

Hi, Yes I agree with all you say.  The issue is that charge a lot of money for shore excursions, and for a lot of people they are a major part of the cruise experience.  Hence they should be more professional about it.  Like a lot of things COVID is used as a reason for poor service.  My view is that they should offer a "Shore Excursion Satisfaction Guarantee".