Planning for worst case scenario - FAO Molecrochip

[Gettingwarmer]

19 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

When you are booking a stateroom online

Are you sure this is P&O. I thought it was Celebrity or Royal Caribbean as they sometimes give discounts above this age. Never seen it on P&O.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Gettingwarmer

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, molecrochip said:

There has also been a push to ensure those booking accessible cabins are doing so for the right reasons. Its not about checking up or questioning any disability but ensuring that they are available for the correct people.

 

Any example given is someone who takes a collapsible wheelchair which they need on excursions or off the ship because they can't walk far. When the accessible cabins were available to book online, the number of people booking one for such a purpose shot up, when they can in fact use a standard cabin unlike a wheelchair bound person who cannot.

 

You'll note accessible cabins are now back to being booked via the contact centre.

I very much welcome the new approach and hope that it becomes permanent.
 

My wife is now a full time wheelchair user and cannot even stand unaided, let alone walk short distances. If we cannot secure an accessible cabin with a wetroom then we simply cannot cruise.

 

Up until 2018 my wife was a part time wheelchair user and with crutches or my assistance she could step into a shower, so we always booked standard cabins and asked for a shower stool. We wouldn’t have dreamed of booking an accessible cabin and depriving someone that was in greater need of one. Now that her condition has deteriorated we have no choice, as she has to transfer directly from the wheelchair to the wetroom seat.
 

Through no fault of their own, a number of elderly passengers, who might have slight walking difficulty so use a scooter, now have to book accessible cabins, which makes them even harder to secure. As a result, we have no choice but to book at launch, as we did with the two cruises that we have booked with the latest release. We haven’t minded doing that as it’s always been the cheapest prices, but my hunch is that in this new world that we are in that may no longer be the case! Once again, many thanks for taking the time to provide this information. 

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, molecrochip said:

There has also been a push to ensure those booking accessible cabins are doing so for the right reasons. Its not about checking up or questioning any disability but ensuring that they are available for the correct people.

 

Any example given is someone who takes a collapsible wheelchair which they need on excursions or off the ship because they can't walk far. When the accessible cabins were available to book online, the number of people booking one for such a purpose shot up, when they can in fact use a standard cabin unlike a wheelchair bound person who cannot.

 

You'll note accessible cabins are now back to being booked via the contact centre.

Could I just again thank you for taking the time to debunk some of the more outrageous "statements " that some posters here submit . 

If you were available 100% of the time,  some people who are interested in cruising would have nothing to write about.

Happy Christmas. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

4 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

You’d think they’d be able to get that information from dates of birth.

 

I would be interested to know the answer to that one (I have theories!)

It's at the start of the booking process

 

Before you give personal details or dates of birth

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Could I just again thank you for taking the time to debunk some of the more outrageous "statements " that some posters here submit . 

If you were available 100% of the time,  some people who are interested in cruising would have nothing to write about.

Happy Christmas. 

Given that you chose to make that comment by quoting the very helpful response that Molecrochip had provided me with regards to my concerns about what would happen to disabled passengers such as my wife, I trust that this dig wasn’t aimed at me Wowzz?
 

Whilst my wife and I wouldn’t be prepared to accept the risks of cruising at present (not for fear of catching Covid, but because we can’t risk being kicked off the ship overseas due to my wife’s needs, nor could we tolerate being confined to a cabin), we do have two future P&O cruises booked and therefore have legitimate concerns given that Covid seems to be showing no sign of going away. I don’t recall that I have made any outrageous statements, just expressed legitimate concerns. In fact, I have challenged some of the ‘statements’ made by others, such as the one that everyone in isolation is allocated an inside cabin, which we knew was not the case. 
 

Happy Christmas to you too. 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Selbourne

[Gettingwarmer]

10 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's at the start of the booking process

 

Before you give personal details or dates of birth

Do you book direct with P&O or through an agent. I have never seen it. 

[molecrochip]

13 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Do you book direct with P&O or through an agent. I have never seen it. 

Nor me, I think it’s an American thing.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I trust that this dig wasn’t aimed at me Wowzz?

You were the very last person I was thinking of.  I'm sorry you thought that. I very much appreciate the reasons behind your decision. 

Happy Christmas to you and Mrs S.

[Interestedcruisefan]

32 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You were the very last person I was thinking of.  I'm sorry you thought that. I very much appreciate the reasons behind your decision. 

Happy Christmas to you and Mrs S.

I'm happy to take the hit wowz so nobody else thinks it's them !

 

Lol

Edited December 25, 2021 by Interestedcruisefan

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

You were the very last person I was thinking of.  I'm sorry you thought that. I very much appreciate the reasons behind your decision. 

Happy Christmas to you and Mrs S.

Thanks for clarifying Wowzz. Seasons greetings to you and Mrs Wowzz as well. 

[wowzz]

Just now, Interestedcruisefan said:

I believe the risks of FCC are relevant to every cruiseline and shouldn't be ignored

 

But if it's too scary to highlight on here I guess all these posts can be deleted and everyone can ignore the risk

 

It's a valid debate, but not P&O specific. Raise the issue on the UK cruisers forum

[Interestedcruisefan]

Just now, wowzz said:

It's a valid debate, but not P&O specific. Raise the issue on the UK cruisers forum

So just to confirm P and O cannot go bust?

 

And any FCC with P and O is 100 per cent risk free?

 

So we can't discuss that risk on here

 

IMO things happening on other cruise lines DO become worthy of debate on here

 

Case in point quarantine and the insurance/offloading debate 

 

Problems on other cruise lines become very relevant and lead to more informed debate

 

 

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

How do I know if my Covid-19 cancelled booking and subsequently my FCC is protected by ATOL?

At the time of booking, you would have been sent a P&O Cruises issued ATOL certificate along with your booking confirmation.

How do I know if my Covid-19 cancelled booking and subsequently my FCC is protected by ABTA?

Any FCC issued on or prior to 30 June 2021 is protected by ABTA to the value of 100% of the monies paid on your booking. These FCCs can be redeemed before 30 September 2022.

[Gettingwarmer]

Please note any FCCs issued for the cancellation of a non fly-cruise booking by P&O Cruises after 1 July 2021 are not covered by ABTA's scheme of financial protection, although any booking made using the FCC will be protected up to the amount of the refund due on the original booking. These FCCs can be used against any holiday that is on sale at the time of booking.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Good to see a poster looking at FCC terms for P and O rather than turning away

 

Exactly why I believe it's worthy of debate

 

What's the situation with refunds for P and O?

 

Were/are they paid promptly when requested?

Edited January 26, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan

[Megabear2]

Anyone who has used their FCC to book a new cruise is covered under UK contract law. Also at the point of booking the new cruise with P&O is covered by ABTA/ATOL as it would become a binding contract. 

 

If anyone is holding old FCCs, ie have not applied them to a new booking or towards an existing one they must be very near their expiry date and the holder will assumedly be using them before to long anything issued before 21 June 2021 is protected anyway.

 

The only people being issued with new FCCs at this time are the unfortunate Covid positive people who are denied boarding or fail the health declaration before sailing.  I am unaware of any total cancellations of planned cruises from P&O in recent months, but please correct me if I am wrong. These FCCs are not until used covered by ABTA but in the unlikely event the passenger does not rebook fairly quickly would still have value.

 

ICF you are not comparing like with like.  Most Crystal passengers are US (ironically my pirate is British) and they operate under totally different legal and contractual law.  Consumer protection in the UK and Europe is extremely strong and risk as faced by US passengers does not enter into the equation for British people.

 

These people are having problems exactly because the FCCs they spent are not treated in the same way under US contract law and they are claiming large chunks of money from various different sources for complex rebookings.  Your expletive ridden guest is an example, he spent  $83,000 on one cruise.  There will be others like him who moved that large sum of money to put towards another cruise of equal value thus doubling their exposure to risk and no doubt a lot of these people with FCC US worries are now the ones with problems.

 

Introducing luxury cruises models into the P&O board is rather futile when speaking about this issue.  Might be relevant over on other boards but not really here.

 

By all means have a debate but do try to compare eggs with eggs rather than chalk and cheese.

 

Regarding the insurance issues which you are moving onto this board, again US law is completely different and consumer protection less, mainly as a result of the prevalence of resorting to the law in the US.

 

Whatever you wish to discuss, debate or comment on regarding the UK operations of cruise lines is only relevant for UK passengers. I'm happy to discuss anything no matter how controversial but only on the basis of UK passengers and the laws affecting them.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Good to see a poster looking at FCC terms for P and O rather than turning away

 

Exactly why I believe it's worthy of debate

 

What's the situation with refunds for P and O?

 

Were/are they paid promptly when requested?

My refund for our cancelled October cruise, due to quarantine taking our cabin, was refunded only days after I filled in the on line request.

[Megabear2]

I had a Cunard cruise I cancelled. Because it would take 4 weeks to get the money back to my travel agent Carnival initiated a straight internal movement of my money to my P&O  cruise I wished to use it for.  Excellent service above and beyond to help me.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Anyone who has used their FCC to book a new cruise is covered under UK contract law. Also at the point of booking the new cruise with P&O is covered by ABTA/ATOL as it would become a binding contract. 

 

If anyone is holding old FCCs, ie have not applied them to a new booking or towards an existing one they must be very near their expiry date and the holder will assumedly be using them before to long anything issued before 21 June 2021 is protected anyway.

 

The only people being issued with new FCCs at this time are the unfortunate Covid positive people who are denied boarding or fail the health declaration before sailing.  I am unaware of any total cancellations of planned cruises from P&O in recent months, but please correct me if I am wrong. These FCCs are not until used covered by ABTA but in the unlikely event the passenger does not rebook fairly quickly would still have value.

 

ICF you are not comparing like with like.  Most Crystal passengers are US (ironically my pirate is British) and they operate under totally different legal and contractual law.  Consumer protection in the UK and Europe is extremely strong and risk as faced by US passengers does not enter into the equation for British people.

 

These people are having problems exactly because the FCCs they spent are not treated in the same way under US contract law and they are claiming large chunks of money from various different sources for complex rebookings.  Your expletive ridden guest is an example, he spent  $83,000 on one cruise.  There will be others like him who moved that large sum of money to put towards another cruise of equal value thus doubling their exposure to risk and no doubt a lot of these people with FCC US worries are now the ones with problems.

 

Introducing luxury cruises models into the P&O board is rather futile when speaking about this issue.  Might be relevant over on other boards but not really here.

 

By all means have a debate but do try to compare eggs with eggs rather than chalk and cheese.

 

Regarding the insurance issues which you are moving onto this board, again US law is completely different and consumer protection less, mainly as a result of the prevalence of resorting to the law in the US.

 

Whatever you wish to discuss, debate or comment on regarding the UK operations of cruise lines is only relevant for UK passengers. I'm happy to discuss anything no matter how controversial but only on the basis of UK passengers and the laws affecting them.

Ok Megabear I have a question as a result of reading about some of the issues now facing Crystal customers

 

If a UK P and O passenger has spent FCC on a fly cruise before the abta cut date. In the unlikely event P and O also ends up liquidating does the Abta guarantee cover the flight element of their holiday or just the cruise element ?

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

In respect of fly-cruises, with the exception of those guests who book their own scheduled flights, 100% of the price you paid for your fly-cruise and held as an FCC is protected by ATOL, so in the unlikely event of P&O Cruises insolvency, your money will be refunded under those financial protection arrangements. Please retain all booking documentation, receipts, confirmation, invoice documents, ATOL Certificate and your proof of payment, such as credit card statements.

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Whatever you wish to discuss, debate or comment on regarding the UK operations of cruise lines is only relevant for UK passengers. I'm happy to discuss anything no matter how controversial but only on the basis of UK passengers and the laws affecting them.

Which also leads me to ask is it only UK passengers covered by Abta for FCC on P and O or would all of the overseas passengers also be covered by Abta?

 

 

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

I think Megabear2 is doing more than enough for British people on this site and    should not be pressured anymore. 

[Megabear2]

P&O fly cruises are package holidays and covered as such. Therefore ABTA protected. Americans are talking about internal flights to the ports. Never forget the size of the US. 

 

Regarding second point P&O UK doesn't sell to individuals from abroad as far as I am aware. Certainly not in the US.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Megabear2

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I think Megabear2 is doing more than enough for British people on this site and    should not be pressured anymore. 

Perhaps those questions should be directed to abta. As you say Megabear is not a clearing house for random questions about anything.🤔

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

P&O fly cruises are package holidays and covered as such. Therefore ABTA protected. Americans are talking about internal flights to the ports. Never forget the size of the US. 

 

Regarding second point P&O UK doesn't sell to individuals from abroad as far as I am aware. Certainly not in the US.

 

 

I thought package holidays with flights normally needed to be atol protected ?

 

And Abta protects package holidays without flights? 

 

Is FCC with P and O atol protected for those with cruise holidays that include flights?

 

Or am I missing something?

Edited January 26, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan