mdavid17

I thank those of you who offered advice and sympathy. I do not post on Internet forums because I find them full of unhelpful people who like to argue for the sake of being argumentative. I will take my leave of your community and bid you all safe and happy travels.

Indeed. I was hoping to use this trip as a proof-of-concept that my mother could do a cruise without my assistance (albeit something closer to home--like a St. Lawrence cruise or the Caribbean). This experience has taught me that this is not an option.

You've clearly not read my posts. Good day.

That differentiation is hardly reasonable from any practical viewpoint, and most certainly not for elderly travelers with health and mobility issues.

For those who didn't make it on board, it is a different story. Not everybody is being treated the same way. Many international travelers were not informed as to how Cunard would help us. If they had reached out and informed us as to how they would help, I'd be more than happy to take the FCC and assistance. That is what they should have done for all international travelers, not just those who showed up at the port.

20% would be fair if they had communicated this better. All they had to do was give us a phone call out of courtesy and told us what they'd be willing to do in order to assist us. If they had been proactive and told us we could still come and enjoy the vessel at port while helping us to sort out a flight to the US would have gone a *long* way to smoothing this over. It's not the money, it's the lack of courtesy and respect for customers that upsets me the most. I'm glad they are willing to accommodate and help some people, the lack of consistency and communication is most problematic.

Indeed. I have sufficient credit to not worry about *when* the refund will occur but the suggestion that a few thousand dollars is enough to book a last-minute international flight home for two people *and* somehow tour England for a week is laughable. I have no idea when the refund will hit my account, if I needed that money I'd be up a certain creek without a paddle. I feel really bad for those who can't afford to improvise a trip (or who aren't savvy enough to do so).

That only makes it more frustrating. If they're willing to help you find a way home they should be contacting their other customers and helping them as well. It's not like they don't know our nationality, or how to reach us. Reaching out to find out if they could help would have gone a long way to making this more palatable, even if it was only a token effort. It is the right thing to do.

Hence why I am lukewarm to cruising in the first place... Self-regulation rarely ends well.

Speaking as a thirty-something who was lukewarm to cruising in the first place, they will have to do better than that to make me consider giving them another shot. I get cruising is about the voyage getting there, but at least if an airline cancels my flight same-say due to technical issues they will at least *attempt* to get me to my destination promptly, not leave me to my own devices with a single form letter. As far as I'm concerned they can take their 20% and pump it into the ballast tanks.

There has been zero communication from Cunard besides the form letter I received this morning. Maybe people already in Southampton had a different experience, but I have heard absolutely *nothing* else. We're on our own to make arrangements back to the US (which we can afford to do, thankfully). I've gotten better customer service from Amtrak. That says a lot.

Cunard isn't chartering anything. We are stuck in the UK trying to find last-minute arrangements to get back home to the US. This was our way home from vacation, it is going to be an expensive pain to find another way back.