MERGED: Queen Mary 2 world voyage 2024 Itinerary Change

[Victoria2]

37 minutes ago, seasickphil said:

That i do have to agree, unfortunately this don't work for us because as we have got older getting down to Heathrow has become more of an unnecessary chore. For us we now find it more convenient to fly out of our local airport via Schiphol. When we sail with Regent and Viking they can offer us flights out of Norwich but unfortunately Cunard can not, leaving us with no other option than booking our flights independently, although since the 2020 kerfuffle we do get our TA to book our flights along with the cruise and then if anything unforeseen happens again to us, then at least they can deal with all the hooha that goes with that and not us.

You can still have your flights bundled up with the cruise booking into a 'package'.

 

We decide what our flights will be, eg, dates/routing/carrier/class of travel and anything else I've missed out and via our agent, it all comes under our Cunard booking. Obviously, we have to go with whatever Cunard charge us for this set up. We then pay the flight/s element asap and we get to choose our seats.

Works for us.

[KJR999]

Thank you for the feedback and agree that Cunard had no choice but to reroute, but wish they had offered the option to transfer to the Queen Anne next year doing the same cruise or cancelled the sectors from Singapore for those joining the cruise at that point onwards. Other cruise lines such as MSC and Royal Caribbean cancelled their cruises through the Red Sea and sail back empty.

I feel that I am being held to ransom, I can cancel and loose my money or go on a cruise that we didn’t book with what I perceive to be minimal recompense for the rerouting. 

We certainly don’t plan cancel and will join the Cruise in Singapore which no doubt we will enjoy, but shine has been taken off it and feel that Cunard are short changing us because of the major route change.

[Jolly cruising]

Hi, having read your comments I assume you have not been given the option to cancel, is this correct?  This seems wrong, adding 6 days to their cruise will not be possible for many people for a variety of reasons.
We are booked on the same leg and were due to have a hotel night in Dubai & then fly to the Maldives for a further 5 nights, leaving Male on the 13th.  Our TA has emailed us and will be in touch next Wednesday.  Clearly we will not be able to do the Maldives leg and our first thought will be to cancel the whole holiday, if that is possible.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  For us the highlight would also be the Maldives and we do not want to stay on the QM2 for so long.

[Victoria2]

17 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

Thank you for the feedback and agree that Cunard had no choice but to reroute, but wish they had offered the option to transfer to the Queen Anne next year doing the same cruise or cancelled the sectors from Singapore for those joining the cruise at that point onwards. Other cruise lines such as MSC and Royal Caribbean cancelled their cruises through the Red Sea and sail back empty.

I feel that I am being held to ransom, I can cancel and loose my money or go on a cruise that we didn’t book with what I perceive to be minimal recompense for the rerouting. 

We certainly don’t plan cancel and will join the Cruise in Singapore which no doubt we will enjoy, but shine has been taken off it and feel that Cunard are short changing us because of the major route change.

It won't help much I know but I regard the Singapore-Columbo-CT and/or S'ton one of the jewels in Cunard's itinerary.

We have been fortunate enough to sail it a few times and on every occasion, it's been a stand out memory. 🙂

[Host Hattie]

26 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

I feel that I am being held to ransom, I can cancel and loose my money or go on a cruise that we didn’t book with what I perceive to be minimal recompense for the rerouting. 

Have you been told you will lose the money if you cancel?

[seasickphil]

27 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

You can still have your flights bundled up with the cruise booking into a 'package'.

 

We decide what our flights will be, eg, dates/routing/carrier/class of travel and anything else I've missed out and via our agent, it all comes under our Cunard booking. Obviously, we have to go with whatever Cunard charge us for this set up. We then pay the flight/s element asap and we get to choose our seats.

Works for us.

When asked last year for our cruise out of Barcelona they said they could not arrange flights out of Norwich as they do not have contracts with the carrier, as they say some you win some don't.

[KJR999]

3 minutes ago, Jolly cruising said:

Hi, having read your comments I assume you have not been given the option to cancel, is this correct?  This seems wrong, adding 6 days to their cruise will not be possible for many people for a variety of reasons.
We are booked on the same leg and were due to have a hotel night in Dubai & then fly to the Maldives for a further 5 nights, leaving Male on the 13th.  Our TA has emailed us and will be in touch next Wednesday.  Clearly we will not be able to do the Maldives leg and our first thought will be to cancel the whole holiday, if that is possible.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  For us the highlight would also be the Maldives and we do not want to stay on the QM2 for so long.

That correct no cancellation or transfer has been offered so far but have asked our TA to see if this option is open to us given it wasn’t in the email Cunard sent out.

Have you consider flying from Mauritius or Durban to the Maldives or instead assuming there are flights?

[KJR999]

5 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Have you been told you will lose the money if you cancel?

Yes

[seasickphil]

30 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

but wish they had offered the option to transfer to the Queen Anne next year doing the same cruise

 

Have you or your TA asked Cunard if that is indeed possible.

[KJR999]

TA is trying to contact Cunard and waiting to hear back. I suspect Cunard / P&O are very busy dealing the fallout from rerouting notification.  

[Fairplay]

Probably depends which segment you're on but I yesterday contacted Cunard to further assess our options. We're booked on the Singapore to Southampton segment and, should we wish to do so, we would be able to get a full refund from Cunard if we cancelled completely.

[Host Hattie]

Just now, Fairplay said:

Probably depends which segment you're on but I yesterday contacted Cunard to further assess our options. We're booked on the Singapore to Southampton segment and, should we wish to do so, we would be able to get a full refund from Cunard if we cancelled completely.

Thanks for confirming, that sounds reasonable in the circumstances. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, KJR999 said:

I feel that I am being held to ransom, I can cancel and loose my money or go on a cruise that we didn’t book with what I perceive to be minimal recompense for the rerouting. 

 

It seems to me that you should address your claim for compensation for re-routing to the Houthis.  Cunard (and others) had no option other than to re-route.  Why should they compensate for an issue that is entirely outwith their control?

[KJR999]

11 minutes ago, Fairplay said:

Probably depends which segment you're on but I yesterday contacted Cunard to further assess our options. We're booked on the Singapore to Southampton segment and, should we wish to do so, we would be able to get a full refund from Cunard if we cancelled completely.

Thanks for this information and will contact our TA to find out if the full refund option is available if we cancel completely.

[seasickphil]

10 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for confirming, that sounds reasonable in the circumstances. 

That does but if what @Fairplay & @KJR999 is correct then not everyone are being treated the same, which then becomes not reasonable.

[D&N]

57 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

but wish they had offered the option to transfer to the Queen Anne next year doing the same cruise or cancelled the sectors from Singapore for those joining the cruise at that point onwards.

I don't understand how Cunard could guess what your preference would be. Is there a logical reason why they should? How do you know the situation will be resolved next year? And what about those that still want to join at Singapore?

 

26 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

That correct no cancellation or transfer has been offered so far but have asked our TA to see if this option is open to us given it wasn’t in the email Cunard sent out.

Do you expect any business to offer up front an option that is the most damaging to them financially? I'd have thought that's why it's best to contact them.

25 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

Yes

 

19 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

TA is trying to contact Cunard and waiting to hear back. I suspect Cunard / P&O are very busy dealing the fallout from rerouting notification.  

These seem to contradict each other. If neither you or your TA have spoken to Cunard, who said you wouldn't get a refund?

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational but sometimes I find it hard to understand some folks reaction to commercial decisions taken when something unexpected happens.

[zanzan]

I am booked Singapore Southampton and haven’t been contacted by Cunard. Still waiting for TA to confirm a change to itinerary. Thanks to this CC board at least I have some information! 

[Fayetheatre]

6 hours ago, ChrisMV said:

How exactly did they do this?  Was there some kind of Cunard reimbursement request form that you filled out and mailed in with a copy of your expenses?

There was a form that we emailed in with a copy of all the expenses  We had a choice of getting a  125% credit or 100% cash  I

[Fairplay]

5 minutes ago, seasickphil said:

That does but if what @Fairplay & @KJR999 is correct then not everyone are being treated the same, which then becomes not reasonable.

I did preface with '....depends what segment you're on...'. According to the calculation for FCC, 75% of the Singapore - Soton segment is affected so the offer of full refund seems entirely reasonable. Hong Kong - Soton a bit more moot but I would think there is still a good case. The Australia - Soton segment or the full World Cruise itself must lend themselves to some interesting refund/compensation discussions.

 

I'm loath to feel too sorry for Cunard as a) they have probably got some sort of insurance to cover this - sure their premiums will sky rocket going forward but, for now, I'd be surprised if they're not covered, and, b) some of the fortunes they must have earned on drinks in the past will soften their blow.

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, seasickphil said:

When asked last year for our cruise out of Barcelona they said they could not arrange flights out of Norwich as they do not have contracts with the carrier, as they say some you win some don't.

OK, your circumstances are what they are but all our flights,  and they have all involved major airports to be fair, have been put to Cunard as fait accompli and I must admit, I assumed they took over the booking and charged accordingly rather than looked to see if airport/carrier were within their remit.

[KJR999]

28 minutes ago, D&N said:

I don't understand how Cunard could guess what your preference would be. Is there a logical reason why they should? How do you know the situation will be resolved next year? And what about those that still want to join at Singapore?

 

Do you expect any business to offer up front an option that is the most damaging to them financially? I'd have thought that's why it's best to contact them.

 

These seem to contradict each other. If neither you or your TA have spoken to Cunard, who said you wouldn't get a refund?

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational but sometimes I find it hard to understand some folks reaction to commercial decisions taken when something unexpected happens.

Just to be clear our TA had spoken to Cunard prior to the rerouting notification to ask if we could transfer to the QA cruise in 2025 and was clearly told this would not be an option and if we cancelled we loose our money. 

[D&N]

3 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

Just to be clear our TA had spoken to Cunard prior to the rerouting notification to ask if we could transfer to the QA cruise in 2025 and was clearly told this would not be an option and if we cancelled we loose our money. 

Thank you for the clarification.

I imagine that was probably because at that point the call centre staff hadn't been informed of the rerouting. I suspect that might be different now.

They'll still prefer you accept the adjusted itinerary with minimum compensation but I suppose for folk who are actually interested in ports of call rather than just sailing on a real liner it is a big enough change to merit a refund.

[Host Hattie]

12 minutes ago, KJR999 said:

Just to be clear our TA had spoken to Cunard prior to the rerouting notification to ask if we could transfer to the QA cruise in 2025 and was clearly told this would not be an option and if we cancelled we loose our money. 

That's fair if it was before the re-routing but circumstances are different now.

[AuthBen3]

55 minutes ago, zanzan said:

I am booked Singapore Southampton and haven’t been contacted by Cunard. Still waiting for TA to confirm a change to itinerary. Thanks to this CC board at least I have some information! 

You checked spam folder (all email) for a message from Cunard, “An Update to Your Voyage Itinerary”?

[KJR999]

1 hour ago, seasickphil said:

That does but if what @Fairplay & @KJR999 is correct then not everyone are being treated the same, which then becomes not reasonable.

We have just heard back from Cunard via our TA and they have been offered a free transfer to QA in 2025 doing a similar itinerary via Dubai. The were not prepared to offer a full refund as mention earlier by @Fairplay