Star Cruise Cancellation on day of departure 23 Nov 2008 -- Superstar Aquarius

[Intrepid Traveller 2008]

I would just like to share my awful experience on Sunday 23 November 2008. My family and i (3 adults and 2 kids under 10 years old) were booked on the Superstar Aquarius from HK - Sanya - Danang. Cruise was to last till yesterday, 27th November, Thursday. We booked directly with Star Cruise in Singapore. We flew in to HK specially for this cruise the day before.

 

Check in was meant to start at 10am. So we arrived at Ocean terminal at 10am. Already a huge huge queue had formed. Big tour groups from Thailand, Japan, China could be seen. At the check in counter ( i queued for about half an hour) together with my boarding cards, i was given 5 packet drinks and was told that boarding would be delayed and only take place between 1 and 3pm because of "computer problems" on the ship.

 

If you have been to ocean terminal before, you'd know that the waiting area isn't too big and there are very limited seats. We had no choice but to order something from the Burger outlet so that the kids could have a place to sit. (Security officers from ocean terminal prevented people from sitting on the corridors).

 

However, close to 12 noon, we suddenly saw the crowd moving and after searching for a star officer, a junior service person said that the ship's departure would now be delayed to 3pm to 5pm. Then a little A4 signboard was posted up subsequently to announce the delay. NO official announcement was made. No semi-senior Star Official ever appeared to make a formal announcement or inform people of what was happening. You either made your way to the front to read the notice printed on an A4 paper on a signboard or you tried to pin down a junior star person who would say " i don't know". The crowd then dispersed somewhat -- presumably to go hunt for some lunch.

 

At 2:30pm, again the huge crowd reappeared to start queueing. After around half an hour, everyone ended up sitting on the floor with their luggage in order to stay in the queue. Then, at 3pm, someone furtively changed the A4 signboard to read "boarding now at 4pm to 6pm". Again, no formal announcement, no nothing !

 

At 4:05pm, everyone was well and truly fed up. Suddenly, there were whisperings that the entire cruise was just cancelled. Mayhem and total chaos ensued. Everyone surged towards the check in counter demanding to know about refunds etc. I was particularly concerned as my young kids and us were waiting since 10am and if they were putting us up in a hotel, i needed to know how many nights, where the hotel was etc. Again, the junior guys had no answers. Said they were still arranging hotels, eventually we would be told etc etc. Again, NO senior officer ever turned up to make any announcement. Everyone was crowding around the check in counter asking for answers and the junior officers there were all giving the "I don't know. They are still arranging. Please wait" refrain.

 

Eventually, i was given rooms at holiday inn on nathan road. We then had to lug the luggage and very tired kids through the crowd, weave our way out of ocean terminal and stumble to the taxi queue outside the star ferry terminal. Again, no help was EVER EVER offered.

 

I've just returned home last night (27th Nov) and this morning at 9am sharp, i called Star Cruise to ask what on earth is happening to my refund etc. It's been well over an hour, i am still waiting for a return call from them. I would add that at no time EVER, did star cruise ever call us to check if we needed any assistance.

 

I would never ever travel with Star Cruise again.

[Paulchili]

Intrepid Traveller 2008,

I am sorry to read about your nightmare of an experience with Star cruises; I don't even want to imagine what I would have done in such a case, especially after having traveled all the way from US.

I have a cruise booked with Star cruises in Dec 09 ex Singapore and thus am very anxious to hear what explanation was given to you by Star.

Please post a follow up report when you know.

Thank you.

[themaxydog]

While I concider that 4 nights in Hong Kong isnt that bad:), the cancellation of your cruise with no notice is unacceptable:mad:. As far as a refund goes I would be looking for a free cruise in one of their best staterooms as compensation. Money back just doesnt seem enough.

I am having my own fight with star at the moment. They cancelled our Libra cruise after we paid and transfered us to Virgo on a shorter cruise in a downgraded cabin and now dont want to give us our onboard credit the new cabin entitles us to. It has cost us extra to transfer from KL to Singapore but they dont want to take any responsiblity.

I look forward to reading how you got on with star.

 

Good Luck

John

[Intrepid Traveller 2008]

Just as an update, i have put in my claim for out-of-pocket travel expenses incurred but have not received any reply.

 

My main issue with Star Cruises is that really, they offered no information to us on the day and they did not provide any assistance at all.

 

If there is something wrong with the ship and it is not safe for it to go out to sea, i wholeheartedly agree that the cruise should be cancelled. However, Star Cruises must offer assistance and help to stranded passengers. While it is true that they cannot go to everyone of the 900+ passengers individually, they should have at least put in some effort to help the elderly, those with young children, travellers foreign to the port -- eg, help with meals during the long wait; help with directions/transport to the hotel; help with luggage etc. Star Cruises' ground staff need a lot of serious re-training in this respect.

 

It is also quite disheartening to read the experience of the previous poster, Baby Cruiser 60. Star Cruises should realise that as passengers, all we really want is to get on the cruise that we booked for and enjoy it (obviously!!). So, when there is a unilateral change by them for whatever reason, they must be fair and compensate accordingly. It shouldn't be such an uphill and unpleasant process to obtain fair compensation.

[themaxydog]

Intrepid Traveller

 

It is a pitty that Star has not contacted you yet but I must say please continue. I have reached a more than equitable conclusion for our group with Star. I explained my position to them in writing through my Travel Agent, in a cool and calm manner, and they completly agreed with me and compensated us fully. We now look forward to our cruise, even though it is shorter but we will get more than we paid for.

The cruise junkie website does not list any incident for a Star Cruises ship in November so it would be interesting to know why the cruise was cancelled. Good luck, and I hope you get the out come you want.

 

Cheers John

[Paulchili]

Intrepid Traveler 2008,

Thank you for the update and good luck pursuing your case - you should not give up. Please keep us posted from time to time.

BabyCruiser 60 - I am glad that you are happy with the outcome.

As we are booked on our first Star cruise for Dec 09, I will follow this thread with interest