Oriana cruise cancelled?

 

It annoys me that some on hear only want conspiracy theories and P&O bashing. If you really think that P&O are that negligent then go cruise with someone else.

I think that most people are actually just sympathetic with those who have lost their holiday through no fault of their own. They are also sympathetic with the fact that P&O customer service appears to be somewhat lacking when these things happen.

I think that most people are actually just sympathetic with those who have lost their holiday through no fault of their own. They are also sympathetic with the fact that P&O customer service appears to be somewhat lacking when these things happen.

I certainly have sympathy for those who have lost their cruise but I have to say I am also sick of the conspiracy theories which some people put forward.

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I certainly have sympathy for those who have lost their cruise but I have to say I am also sick of the conspiracy theories which some people put forward.

 

 

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I suppose it depends on how much you trust Carnival/P&O to be straightforward and truthful. And I'm not sure that's a reputation they've managed to achieve over the years.

I suppose it depends on how much you trust Carnival/P&O to be straightforward and truthful. And I'm not sure that's a reputation they've managed to achieve over the years.

In your opinion.

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As mentioned previously we are on Oriana december 21st to january 6th when it goes into dry dock. We have really been looking forward to this cruise as it will be our first christmas one. So we hope there will not be any problems to spoil it for any of the passengers.

Anyone else on this cruise have any comments?

We are also on the Christmas cruise and I did contact P & O as we were concerned that as we are at sea for the first few days at sea, in the Atlantic with unknown weather, that it might be a bit uncomfortable .....they replied promptly that they "would never sail a ship which we felt could compromise the comfort and safety of passengers and crew so this work should not have any bearing on your upcoming Christmas cruise"

I did feel reassured by that....even though they did not state the nature of the work being carried out!

did you remind them of their obligations under package holiday regulations .

 

You have 6 years to pursue a debt.

Yes, but we are Aussies, I don't think UK legislation would apply. We could not book direct with P&O UK, had to go through an agent here, who don't want a bar of it, apart from deposit refund which took 7 weeks to get back from P&O. :evilsmile: So we stuck with our Cathay Business Class flights and booked three Princess cruises in lieu of cancelled Adonia. Going over for a family wedding as well.

Thanks for advice, appreciated.

Yes, but we are Aussies, I don't think UK legislation would apply. We could not book direct with P&O UK, had to go through an agent here, who don't want a bar of it, apart from deposit refund which took 7 weeks to get back from P&O. :evilsmile: So we stuck with our Cathay Business Class flights and booked three Princess cruises in lieu of cancelled Adonia. Going over for a family wedding as well.

 

Thanks for advice, appreciated.

Sorry missed you were AUS, UK regulations won't apply(most EU countries also have the same base regulations)

We are also on the Christmas cruise and I did contact P & O as we were concerned that as we are at sea for the first few days at sea, in the Atlantic with unknown weather, that it might be a bit uncomfortable .....they replied promptly that they "would never sail a ship which we felt could compromise the comfort and safety of passengers and crew so this work should not have any bearing on your upcoming Christmas cruise"

I did feel reassured by that....even though they did not state the nature of the work being carried out!

on an Arcadia trip with bad weather the captain had announced they were not going to dock for safety reasons and they might get stuck in the port, they had already missed the previous port for the same reasons

2hrs later he announces that his decision was overruled by head office and if we get stuck in port don't blame him.

Re Oriana, 2 years ago we did Canary Island on Oriana. I did the ships tour, things looked a bit old down below. But after the excellent tour, we finished up in the Captains Lounge and had a quite a few Champers with the Captain and his officers. A great day, a great ship. Before we embarked Oriana we were on Aurora, to east coast of USA/Canada, similar to Oriana, also a grand ship. :cool:

I am sure Oriana will come up well after the repairs.:halo:

This poster lives in Australia and I think does not cruise with P&O UK.

 

 

 

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What a joke, I am willing to bet that I have done a lot more cruises with P&O UK than you have. I have cruised with them before the Carnival merger and I was on Aurora for the Grand Event.

Your thinking does not do you justice. It pays to know not think.

Sadly Brisband41, now its clear that you don't know what your're talking about. P&O have not been forced to pull the ship from service and P&O have not said that its either urgent or repairs.

 

P&O were very clear, they wanted to carry out some technical maintenance (plumbing improvements being mentioned) and the opportunity for a dry dock arose (i.e. we've identified the work, ordered the parts and now a dry dock is available). They could have waited until no cruise was scheduled but chose not too.

 

If it was urgent repairs, the ship would have been out of service the day it needed them. Likewise your suggestion that no essential maintenance was scheduled is daft. You can see maintenance being carried out day-in day-out on ship.

 

It annoys me that some on hear only want conspiracy theories and P&O bashing. If you really think that P&O are that negligent then go cruise with someone else.

By definition they are pulling the ship out of service for urgent repairs. The dry dock was not scheduled and they had cruises sold and paid for by passengers that had made plans to go on the ship. That is negligence on behalf of the cruise line to take such drastic action as to cancel a whole cruise and upset 1850 passengers.

I guess it is true that some peoples poop does not stink in this case replace people with a company.

on an Arcadia trip with bad weather the captain had announced they were not going to dock for safety reasons and they might get stuck in the port, they had already missed the previous port for the same reasons

 

2hrs later he announces that his decision was overruled by head office and if we get stuck in port don't blame him.

I would have thought that the Captain, like the pilot of an aircraft, is God in his domain. He knows his ship and Head Office doesn’t know the conditions or their bow from their stern.

Oriana had a major refit just over a year back. She should not be due another refit so soon. P and O have cancelled a fifty day cruise representing nearly a seventh of a years revenue for the ship. They have given a little compensation and will have to pay some expenses. All in all very expensive and bad for customer relations.

To me this does not sound like making the most of an empty dry dock. To me it sounds like we needed to get something fixed. Of course I have no inside knowledge.

Best wishes, Stephen.

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By definition they are pulling the ship out of service for urgent repairs. The dry dock was not scheduled and they had cruises sold and paid for by passengers that had made plans to go on the ship. That is negligence on behalf of the cruise line to take such drastic action as to cancel a whole cruise and upset 1850 passengers.

 

I guess it is true that some peoples poop does not stink in this case replace people with a company.

Urgent repairs are not necessarily ‘ship threatening’ repairs. Had there been any threat to the safety of the ship, they would have stayed in port until the threat had been eliminated by carrying out a repair. If that necessitated the ending of the cruise and flying passengers home, that is what they would have had to have done.

My surprise about this instance is that they chose a long cruise to cancel rather than one or perhaps two short cruises. This does seem to support their case that a dry dock became available unexpectedly at short notice so they took the opportunity rather than risking waiting for one which is more convenient.

I feel very sorry for people booked on the cruise but they have been offered recompense and a small future discount. I think it could have been a little more generous but any talk of compensation for clothing bought specially etc is nonsense in my point of view. Flights may be different but presumably good insurance with cruise cover included is an avenue to pursue.

I guess that had they spurned this opportunity to make the extensive repairs in January, and the ship had encountered a major problem in February during the cruise that has been cancelled, caused by failing to take the ship out of service, all hell would break loose on here claiming negligence through sailing the ship with a known and serious defect.

What a joke, I am willing to bet that I have done a lot more cruises with P&O UK than you have. I have cruised with them before the Carnival merger and I was on Aurora for the Grand Event.

 

 

 

Your thinking does not do you justice. It pays to know not think.

Well I was giving you the benefit of the doubt thinking you had not sailed with P&O. It makes your understanding of the maintenance of the ships a bit puzzling. You must know that most maintenance is done on the move and that the dry docks happen every 5 years. So you must always know that what is happening now is not planned maintenance. Oriana broke own in Gib about a month ago and had to overnight. Now clearly the problem they have, most likely comes from what was found at that time.

You still have the habit of insulting people in you posts. Please stop.

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Well I was giving you the benefit of the doubt thinking you had not sailed with P&O. It makes your understanding of the maintenance of the ships a bit puzzling. You must know that most maintenance is done on the move and that the dry docks happen every 5 years. So you must always know that what is happening now is not planned maintenance. Oriana broke own in Gib about a month ago and had to overnight. Now clearly the problem they have, most likely comes from what was found at that time.

 

You still have the habit of insulting people in you posts. Please stop.

 

 

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I have spend 104 nights of my entire cruise history on Oriana alone. That ship and Aurora still hold the title of my most traveled ships and they both tie with each other. They were both my favourite ships and the last cruise I did with P&O UK was the Aurora Grand Event Cruise. P&O UK has had some up and down moments over the years. I can write from experience here because my longest cruise on Oriana was for 40 nights straight in one single cruise and I personally know how it would feel to book a cruise that long and have it cancelled all of a sudden by the cruise line. I have laid down a fortune in doing cruises with that cruise line and that ship and I think that makes me very entitled to comment about the nature of this.

It is unheard of in the cruise industry to pull a ship out of service and put into dry dock. It is quite strange, not a good publicity look, not good for business. I have been on Oriana when parts have been flown out to it in different ports for running repairs to keep it on schedule so I know what it is like being on that ship and having the Captain announce that he is getting parts in the next port for some maintenance.

This here is the cancelling of an entire cruise that 1850 passengers had paid for and believed was going ahead. It is not normal and it raises serious questions as to what is going on with that cruise line.

I have enjoyed P&O Cruises in the past. There was a time when they were sending 3 ships out to Australia each year on World Cruises. This has all ended and now we are only getting 1 ship per year on a World Cruise. If you haven't already noticed they are losing their regular passengers all over the world.

I have spend 104 nights of my entire cruise history on Oriana alone. That ship and Aurora still hold the title of my most traveled ships and they both tie with each other. They were both my favourite ships and the last cruise I did with P&O UK was the Aurora Grand Event Cruise. P&O UK has had some up and down moments over the years. I can write from experience here because my longest cruise on Oriana was for 40 nights straight in one single cruise and I personally know how it would feel to book a cruise that long and have it cancelled all of a sudden by the cruise line. I have laid down a fortune in doing cruises with that cruise line and that ship and I think that makes me very entitled to comment about the nature of this.

 

 

 

It is unheard of in the cruise industry to pull a ship out of service and put into dry dock. It is quite strange, not a good publicity look, not good for business. I have been on Oriana when parts have been flown out to it in different ports for running repairs to keep it on schedule so I know what it is like being on that ship and having the Captain announce that he is getting parts in the next port for some maintenance.

 

 

 

This here is the cancelling of an entire cruise that 1850 passengers had paid for and believed was going ahead. It is not normal and it raises serious questions as to what is going on with that cruise line.

 

 

 

I have enjoyed P&O Cruises in the past. There was a time when they were sending 3 ships out to Australia each year on World Cruises. This has all ended and now we are only getting 1 ship per year on a World Cruise. If you haven't already noticed they are losing their regular passengers all over the world.

Yes quite correct P&O are losing passengers all over the world which why they are sailing with 7 ships full all the time and overall passenger numbers for the company are rising by 5% to 10% every year over the past decade.

I agree fully that it is unusual for a whole Cruise to be cancelled for repairs that is why it is clear they have a problem which needs sorting as soon as possible.

Actually it is not exactly unheard of as Aurora had to into dry dock foe a new engine after the failed world cruise about 10 or more years ago.

As far as sending three ships to Australia, to my knowledge that has not happened since 2001. It was always Aurora and Oriana. Then Arcadia was used.

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Yes quite correct P&O are losing passengers all over the world which why they are sailing with 7 ships full all the time and overall passenger numbers for the company are rising by 5% to 10% every year over the past decade.

 

I agree fully that it is unusual for a whole Cruise to be cancelled for repairs that is why it is clear they have a problem which needs sorting as soon as possible.

 

Actually it is not exactly unheard of as Aurora had to into dry dock foe a new engine after the failed world cruise about 10 or more years ago.

 

As far as sending three ships to Australia, to my knowledge that has not happened since 2001. It was always Aurora and Oriana. Then Arcadia was used.

 

 

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To correct you P&O has regularly sent 3 ships to Australia up to 2014. In 2001 it was Oriana and Aurora doing world cruises, by 2009 it became so popular that Aurora, Oriana and Arcadia were coming here for world cruises. There were other times when the Artemis and Adonia were doing extra Asia style Grand Voyages that included Australia a few months out of line with the regular world cruises. The last time Oriana came to Australia was in 2010 for a World Cruise.

Unfortunately for the next few years it is just Arcadia doing the world cruise that involves Sydney. Quite sad actually considering that it was once so popular to send 3 large ships all the way around the world.

In 2005 it needed a replacement motor. That was a breakdown and the ship was taken out of immediate service as a result. That is totally different to what is happening now as Oriana has not broken down to a point that matches Aurora's break down.

In 2013 the Azura was scheduled to come on a world cruise with Aurora and Arcadia but they had to cancel it due to poor sales. No matter how hard they tried they could not fill up Azura for a World Cruise!

We were on Oriana World Cruise in 2012. Visited Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney. Your information is a little awry.

Regards

We were on Oriana World Cruise in 2012. Visited Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney. Your information is a little awry.

 

Regards

Then that would mean 3 ships were in Australia that year. I was on Arcadia that year and I was on the Oriana in 2010 as it did quite an unusual world cruise at the end of the year that ended up in Sydney in November and did not come back in 2011.

Currently on Oriana and there are no apparent problems. We went through a 70mph Gale the other evening with no major problem other than the theatre show was cancelled. The Christmas decorations have been going up over the last three days. Now in Valencia, the sun is shining and all is good

Brian

We were on Aurora when it’s World Cruise was cancelled. For 10days they did their utmost to sort out the problem but in the end were defeated. We had 10 days aboard with free drinks and exceptional entertainment brought specially on board. We were all very upset at the loss of our holiday but P&O went over the top by immediately refunding us and giving us a 25% discount on a future cruise. They made arrangements for those travelling home to Australia. There were those who tried to make more off of P&O. It’s a shame that the level of customer service seems so different now.

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We were on Aurora when it’s World Cruise was cancelled. For 10days they did their utmost to sort out the problem but in the end were defeated. We had 10 days aboard with free drinks and exceptional entertainment brought specially on board. We were all very upset at the loss of our holiday but P&O went over the top by immediately refunding us and giving us a 25% discount on a future cruise. They made arrangements for those travelling home to Australia. There were those who tried to make more off of P&O. It’s a shame that the level of customer service seems so different now.

 

 

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It is clear that there is a difference between being on a ship and then not going anywhere and having a cruise cancelled 6 weeks out. The result is the same, no cruise but the situation is different.

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Then that would mean 3 ships were in Australia that year. I was on Arcadia that year and I was on the Oriana in 2010 as it did quite an unusual world cruise at the end of the year that ended up in Sydney in November and did not come back in 2011.

We were also on Arcadia 2012 World Cruise, well half of it. Left Sydney March 2012 to Southampton via Africa.:cool:

We were on Aurora when it’s World Cruise was cancelled. For 10days they did their utmost to sort out the problem but in the end were defeated. We had 10 days aboard with free drinks and exceptional entertainment brought specially on board. We were all very upset at the loss of our holiday but P&O went over the top by immediately refunding us and giving us a 25% discount on a future cruise. They made arrangements for those travelling home to Australia. There were those who tried to make more off of P&O. It’s a shame that the level of customer service seems so different now.

 

 

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I am afraid it is down to the Ts & Cs rather than customer service. They cancelled the Oriana cruise within a specific time frame and the compensation is clearly stated at 5% off a future cruise. When we sailed on Azura a couple of years ago, we left 2 days late because of a breakdown on the previous cruise - and so 2 ports were cancelled before we even set off. The Ts & Cs gave us 20% off a future cruise, plus a refund for the proportion of the nights we were not on board (2/14's). Plus out of pocket expenses. Seemed fair enough.

But I do agree it must be very disappointing for those who lost their holiday, especially such a long one, which must have involved a lot of planning for people. But worst of all, even rebooking on an alternative often meant not getting the benefits of early booking discounts, choice of good cabins and OBC...that is where I do feel P&O have made a big faux pas...and should have helped passengers more.