Cunards response

I am pleased to report that Cunard telephoned me this p.m in response to my report that the agency used in the airport/Hotel/transport at disembarkation failed to perform the service their contract with Cunard promised.

Personally I think Cunard need to find another agency, (many Cunard clients make very long flights, may have a language problem , and need reliable help when they arrive to join the ship). I would also like to see Cunard give a contact number to call the agency (24/7) should the Rep fail to arrive.

For now I will rely on my own resources, book my own hotel, arrange my own transport, etc.

By the way it is several hundred dollars less expensive.

I am pleased to report that Cunard telephoned me this p.m ...

I've finally decided to go on a Cunard cruise on board the Queen Elizabeth. I'm glad Cunard implemented a restrictive smoking policy similar to Princess, but I'm recently noticed they had segments that matched my destination, cost, and room availability requirements in Asia, Arabia, and Africa. Not sure why Princess didn't do the samething Cunard is doing now with 3 ships. I like that Cunard still allows me to pick my cabin on these World Cruise segments...Princess now assigns rooms just prior to embarkation...which makes a little nervous.

Anyway, I'm looking forward towards my first Cunard cruise...maybe just the start.

Jimsgirl, I'm very glad that Cunard has contacted you. Were you satisfied with their response? I hope they will reimburse you for any costs you incurred seeing they didn't perform.

... I hope they will reimburse you for any costs you incurred seeing they didn't perform.

They certainly should.

Indeed. And if you are offered an extra bottle of Pol Acker for compensation, my suggestion is that you suggest it be shared amongst those who were responsible for leaving you high and dry in the airport.

I am pleased to report that Cunard telephoned me this p.m in response to my report that the agency used in the airport/Hotel/transport at disembarkation failed to perform the service their contract with Cunard promised.

 

Personally I think Cunard need to find another agency, (many Cunard clients make very long flights, may have a language problem , and need reliable help when they arrive to join the ship). I would also like to see Cunard give a contact number to call the agency (24/7) should the Rep fail to arrive.

 

For now I will rely on my own resources, book my own hotel, arrange my own transport, etc.

 

By the way it is several hundred dollars less expensive.

Considering the variety of flight times involved with so many passengers arriving from so many places, a 24/7 contact number sounds like a very good idea.

It's added work to do your own bookings for the pre- and-post cruise travel, but we nearly always do that. If you spend some time looking at the homeport and port of call boards you can get excellent advice about car services and hotels. I've found there are almost always "locals" on those boards who are happy to share their secrets.

I've finally decided to go on a Cunard cruise on board the Queen Elizabeth. I'm glad Cunard implemented a restrictive smoking policy similar to Princess.

 

Anyway, I'm looking forward towards my first Cunard cruise...maybe just the start.

Just got off the QE and we had constant smell of cigarettes on our balcony. People were openly smoking on their balcony one deck below. There were large areas of the deck where smoking was allowed so we would not say they were not as restrictive as Princess. On Diamond Princess, there was only one small area where smoking was allowed, but there seemed to be large areas on the QE on the starboard side where people were free to smoke. Speaking to other passengers some were surprised that smoking on balconies was no longer allowed.

There were lots of smokers from Europe, too, Italians, Spaniards, Greeks, so maybe we were unlucky as the demographic seemed to include more smokers than in the USA, for example.

For those who say smoke does not drift onto balconies, it certainly does when the ship is sailing at 6-9 knots and there is little breeze. It was probably drifting up from the promenade deck, too.

There are no notices on balconies reminding passengers not to smoke, neither are there obvious sprinklers. In fact there is a notice on the balcony door asking passengers not to throw their cigarettes over the side of their balcony which seems inappropriate. Surely the notice should just say NO smoking is allowed, then the issue of throwing cigarette ends would not arise? In Naples there was a notice on boarding requesting passengers not to smoke on their balconies whilst in dock as they were refuelling. If smoking is forbidden why should they need reminding?

I would not book a balcony cabin on the starboard side in future.

Hope you find the smoking issue better on your cruise.

...Personally I think Cunard need to find another agency, (many Cunard clients make very long flights, may have a language problem , and need reliable help when they arrive to join the ship). I would also like to see Cunard give a contact number to call the agency (24/7) should the Rep fail to arrive.

 

For now I will rely on my own resources, book my own hotel, arrange my own transport, etc.

 

By the way it is several hundred dollars less expensive.

One reason to book transfers with Cunard - in theory - is seamless transfer to/from the ship. Obviously that didn't happen for you. What is completely unacceptable is a lack of any contact number should one's transfer fail to show up. What defense does a passenger have if it becomes a he said/she said situation? The transfer was there but the passenger wasn't in front of the hotel, at the terminal or anywhere else they were supposed to be?

I do think passengers should have a contact number too call when the Rep/Transport is not there. This provides proof that Rep is not there.

Cunard have refunded the portion of the amount I paid that covered the Meet/Help/Transport section of the fee . It has been added to my OBC, which is fine as I only had a small amount for my Sept trip, and would have needed more .

Agency in NY obviously uses "temps", and I assume they are informed by e mail where they are to be and whom they have to meet/Time etc.

No E mail, no Rep. My daughter works for a medical group, she covers 12 offices as a temp, and there has been times when her manager "forgot" to e mail her! I think there was a real foul up in the agency communications on the July trip, it did not help me, and I only hope that my report will result in Cunard dealing with the gency to prevent anyone else being neglected in the future.

For now I am satisfied, but have made my own arrangements for my Sept trip, - and saved several hundred dollars in the cost. I believe choosing Hilton Garden Inn in Times Square will in fact give me more for the cost of the room, than using Cunard's Grand Hyatt.

I actually complained about people smoking on their balconies on QV. I was told to call the pursers desk when I smelled smoke. I didn't do this, as when I called about a different issue they took so long to answer the phone I reckoned the culprit would have finished smoking before the phone would have been answered.

My experience was the opposite, in that, via my TA, I had booked a private transfer from Barcelona Cruise Terminal to the Airport.

Not only did the car not turn up, but no one was answering the contact telephone number.

I was forced to get a taxi.

Indeed. And if you are offered an extra bottle of Pol Acker for compensation, my suggestion is that you suggest it be shared amongst those who were responsible for leaving you high and dry in the airport.

Ok, I re-thought that suggestion. It would be cruel and usual punishment to subject those poorly paid, un-trained personnel responsible for such a lapse to a measure of Pol Acker. Clearly, Mrs. Jimsgirl is much kinder than I am. Which leads me wonder if it wouldn't be a good incentive for on-shore workers to have the opportunity to sail on a Cunard ship as a bonus for a job well done? Or perhaps that already happens?

Jimsgirl, I thought you might be interested in this. We've booked a round trip TA from NY to Hamburg, with sailing to Hamburg being the same price as sailing to Southampton. In the past 3 years, the round trip from SH to Hamburg, Hamburg to SH has cost as much as the 14 day B/B TA. I was thrilled to find this price and we booked immediately.

Today we received our Pre Voyage documentation. It stated that 3 out of 4 excursions in SH would be German. I called Cunard to ask why a sailing out of NY would have mostly German excursions in SH and was this by any chance a special German offering.... I was told that....Cunard does not discriminate...and that all nationalities were welcome. I replied that obviously that was a good policy, but....I was hoping, that since we were sailing out of NY, we would be offered excursions in English. Her reply....".Obviously, on a Trans Atlantic trip...there are no excursions and no ports of call". I made the mistake of mentioning "In transit passengers" and she said that all passengers are considered "in transit passengers"

I said, thank you very much and hung up while she was still talking. My only regret is that I didn't stay on the line to give my "one star opinion for service"..

Jimsgirl, I thought you might be interested in this. We've booked a round trip TA from NY to Hamburg, with sailing to Hamburg being the same price as sailing to Southampton. In the past 3 years, the round trip from SH to Hamburg, Hamburg to SH has cost as much as the 14 day B/B TA. I was thrilled to find this price and we booked immediately.

 

Today we received our Pre Voyage documentation. It stated that 3 out of 4 excursions in SH would be German. I called Cunard to ask why a sailing out of NY would have mostly German excursions in SH and was this by any chance a special German offering.... I was told that....Cunard does not discriminate...and that all nationalities were welcome. I replied that obviously that was a good policy, but....I was hoping, that since we were sailing out of NY, we would be offered excursions in English. Her reply....".Obviously, on a Trans Atlantic trip...there are no excursions and no ports of call". I made the mistake of mentioning "In transit passengers" and she said that all passengers are considered "in transit passengers"

I said, thank you very much and hung up while she was still talking. My only regret is that I didn't stay on the line to give my "one star opinion for service"..

It sounds as if the person you spoke to had a list of stock answers to be used when they don't know what else to say. The in-transit answer is particularly clueless.

Are the excursions for both of your stops in Soton mostly in German? I wonder if those tours are designed to be pre/post tours as part of an airport connection for people on a special promotion?

Oh dear Brigittetom , I am so sorry that you had this problem, it did not surprise me of course , it should be clear to anyone reading comments on this page that there is something seriously wrong with Mr. Struthers Marketing section, (but there will be those who still refuse to face facts, namely he is employing "uneducated" staff, who think passengers are like "widgets" , interchangeable)

I had Sept 27th sailing booked and paid for before I knew about the "short breaks". When my agent phoned CA (after we had found out) CA claimed that the 19 days were East/West bound Transatlantics.

They denied a long list of "short breaks" I had obtained from the future sales office on board in July. Later the lie was explained away as "these cruises are not available from USA".

In July, it was as though we were on a Deilman (sorry if spelt incorrectly) ship, German everywhere, menu's , events, tours, shows, If a passenger wishes to go on a ship where everything is in German, then let them book a German owned ship, leave Cunard as it has always been a ship with English traditions, and hopefully passengers with decent English manners and behavior.

For 8 days , approx. 300 "regular Cunard "passengers had to put up with a total of 6,000 German passengers. Of course not all of them were "unacceptable" but my guess was that 97% should never have been on board.

No it was not economics , the cabins were sold months in advance as "special deals", so once the cabins were sold , normal passengers would be told the 8 day cruise was fully sold out.

Mr . Struthers department deliberately destroyed that 8 day cruise. reducing everything to the lowest denominator . WHY?????

Oh dear Brigittetom , I am so sorry that you had this problem, it did not surprise me of course , it should be clear to anyone reading comments on this page that there is something seriously wrong with Mr. Struthers Marketing section, (but there will be those who still refuse to face facts, namely he is employing "uneducated" staff, who think passengers are like "widgets" , interchangeable)

 

I had Sept 27th sailing booked and paid for before I knew about the "short breaks". When my agent phoned CA (after we had found out) CA claimed that the 19 days were East/West bound Transatlantics.

They denied a long list of "short breaks" I had obtained from the future sales office on board in July. Later the lie was explained away as "these cruises are not available from USA".

 

In July, it was as though we were on a Deilman (sorry if spelt incorrectly) ship, German everywhere, menu's , events, tours, shows, If a passenger wishes to go on a ship where everything is in German, then let them book a German owned ship, leave Cunard as it has always been a ship with English traditions, and hopefully passengers with decent English manners and behavior.

 

For 8 days , approx. 300 "regular Cunard "passengers had to put up with a total of 6,000 German passengers. Of course not all of them were "unacceptable" but my guess was that 97% should never have been on board.

 

No it was not economics , the cabins were sold months in advance as "special deals", so once the cabins were sold , normal passengers would be told the 8 day cruise was fully sold out.

 

Mr . Struthers department deliberately destroyed that 8 day cruise. reducing everything to the lowest denominator . WHY?????

You keep saying these short cruises aren't available in the US.

Following on from a comment I saw on another thread, a quick search showed me they are.

A site which has great expedience has the departure for the 4-night Western Europe Cruise on the 4th Oct, with cabins available from $xxx

I hope this explanation doesn't go against the site's rules.

There is a difference between "available" and "widely available"

David.

There is a difference between "available" and "widely available"

 

David.

Very true. However, available is available, as opposed to not available.

These are certainly available from the US. I just pulled up Northern Europe, 1-5 days, QM2:

*M422 4 days 4 Oct - 8 Oct 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Cherbourg, Southampton $729

*M422A 4 days 4 Oct - 7 Oct 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges) $788

*M425C 2 days 4 Nov - 6 Nov 2014 Southampton, Hamburg $348

*M427 2 days 10 Nov - 12 Nov 2014 Hamburg, Southampton $328

*M429 4 days 26 Nov - 30 Nov 2014 Southampton, Le Havre, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Southampton $729

*M431 3 days 12 Dec - 15 Dec 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Southampton $729

*M508C 2 days 10 Jun - 12 Jun 2015 Southampton, Hamburg $398

*M508D 4 days 10 Jun - 14 Jun 2015 Southampton, Hamburg, Southampton $708

*M509A 2 days 12 Jun - 14 Jun 2015 Hamburg, Southampton $398

For M427 $328 works out to $164ppd for lodging, meals, and entertainment.

These are certainly available from the US. I just pulled up Northern Europe, 1-5 days, QM2:

 

*M422 4 days 4 Oct - 8 Oct 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Cherbourg, Southampton $729

*M422A 4 days 4 Oct - 7 Oct 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges) $788

*M425C 2 days 4 Nov - 6 Nov 2014 Southampton, Hamburg $348

*M427 2 days 10 Nov - 12 Nov 2014 Hamburg, Southampton $328

*M429 4 days 26 Nov - 30 Nov 2014 Southampton, Le Havre, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Southampton $729

*M431 3 days 12 Dec - 15 Dec 2014 Southampton, Zeebrugge (Bruges), Southampton $729

*M508C 2 days 10 Jun - 12 Jun 2015 Southampton, Hamburg $398

*M508D 4 days 10 Jun - 14 Jun 2015 Southampton, Hamburg, Southampton $708

*M509A 2 days 12 Jun - 14 Jun 2015 Hamburg, Southampton $398

 

For M427 $328 works out to $164ppd for lodging, meals, and entertainment.

This is part of the same list my agent reported to Cunard CA, and was told "not available " I can only assume this means you have to be a resident in Europe in order to book. The "short breaks" leave from S'ton, and according to another poster include transport to/from the ship.

The cost is less than that asked of a passenger like myself, (doing regular cruise) even though we may have booked at the same time.

No one has explained as yet why Cunard offered these deals so far in advance , nor why unlike other deals they did not limit the number of cabins available.

In July for 2,000 passengers it means they sold over 1, 000 cabins "cheap" - that has never happened before. It did not make sense then, it does not make sense now.

As another poster reported, the Future sales office, did not have any brochures showing the

2015 prices in US dollars or English Pounds, only brochures ON BOARD were those written in GERMAN, with GERMAN Prices.

If any one can explain to me why this should be so on an CUNARD ship sailing between NY and NY via the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North sea, I am willing to listen with eyes and ears open

Oh dear Brigittetom , I am so sorry that you had this problem, it did not surprise me of course , it should be clear to anyone reading comments on this page that there is something seriously wrong with Mr. Struthers Marketing section, (but there will be those who still refuse to face facts, namely he is employing "uneducated" staff, who think passengers are like "widgets" , interchangeable)

 

I had Sept 27th sailing booked and paid for before I knew about the "short breaks". When my agent phoned CA (after we had found out) CA claimed that the 19 days were East/West bound Transatlantics.

They denied a long list of "short breaks" I had obtained from the future sales office on board in July. Later the lie was explained away as "these cruises are not available from USA".

 

In July, it was as though we were on a Deilman (sorry if spelt incorrectly) ship, German everywhere, menu's , events, tours, shows, If a passenger wishes to go on a ship where everything is in German, then let them book a German owned ship, leave Cunard as it has always been a ship with English traditions, and hopefully passengers with decent English manners and behavior.

 

For 8 days , approx. 300 "regular Cunard "passengers had to put up with a total of 6,000 German passengers. Of course not all of them were "unacceptable" but my guess was that 97% should never have been on board.

 

No it was not economics , the cabins were sold months in advance as "special deals", so once the cabins were sold , normal passengers would be told the 8 day cruise was fully sold out.

 

Mr . Struthers department deliberately destroyed that 8 day cruise. reducing everything to the lowest denominator . WHY?????

Prior to booking your July cruise, what was the published itinerary for the 8 day period that led you to believe that it was a single cruise rather than a succession of short cruises?

This is part of the same list my agent reported to Cunard CA, and was told "not available " I can only assume this means you have to be a resident in Europe in order to book. The "short breaks" leave from S'ton, and according to another poster include transport to/from the ship.

 

The cost is less than that asked of a passenger like myself, (doing regular cruise) even though we may have booked at the same time.

 

No one has explained as yet why Cunard offered these deals so far in advance , nor why unlike other deals they did not limit the number of cabins available.

 

In July for 2,000 passengers it means they sold over 1, 000 cabins "cheap" - that has never happened before. It did not make sense then, it does not make sense now.

 

As another poster reported, the Future sales office, did not have any brochures showing the

2015 prices in US dollars or English Pounds, only brochures ON BOARD were those written in GERMAN, with GERMAN Prices.

 

If any one can explain to me why this should be so on an CUNARD ship sailing between NY and NY via the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North sea, I am willing to listen with eyes and ears open

The site I looked at had this to say

. Rates are valid for U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Seems the cruises I saw on the US site are bookable for [in?] the US and Canada only.

I didn't try to do a mock booking but my list was from the US site so presumably they can be booked on line from the US.

Online currency converters show $164ppd equivalent to €124EUR or £99GBP. At prices like that it's almost more expensive to stay home.

The Cunard rep's denial of these fares reminds me of a Groucho Marx quote: "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

My 10 day Northern Capitals cruise on the QE 13-23 December last year was £499pp for a Balcony Cabin.