Oriana delayed in Gibraltor because of a broken boiler

Received an email from my parents this morning who are currently on the cruise. They should have left early yesterday afternoon but are still there because they have a broken boiler. The captain has just told them it's now repaired and they should be sailing around lunchtime today, a day late.

No idea if they will be able to make up the time sailing back to Southampton. If I hear anything more from them, I will put it here.

Needless to say, they are loving their cruise. This must be about the 30th cruise they have been on, all with P&Q, so no complaints from them! :D

Received an email from my parents this morning who are currently on the cruise. They should have left early yesterday afternoon but are still there because they have a broken boiler. The captain has just told them it's now repaired and they should be sailing around lunchtime today, a day late.

 

No idea if they will be able to make up the time sailing back to Southampton. If I hear anything more from them, I will put it here.

 

Needless to say, they are loving their cruise. This must be about the 30th cruise they have been on, all with P&Q, so no complaints from them! :D

Thank,s for the infomation Aim 1 that will that mean,s if she leave,s at midday Thursday at 22 knots we are talking well into the afternoon Saturday pm, have informed my company Penquin Parking, also CPS will be informed by ABP .certainly we dont want her sunday as there are three ship,s in that day.

Someone on board has posted elsewhere that they will arrive Southampton 2000 hours Saturday to disembark Sunday morning!! Not a good outcome for those who were to sail on Saturday. What a shame!

Yes, that's the latest from my parents too. I wonder if they will have the option to leave on Saturday evening if they want to? They only live in Bournemouth, which is about a 30 minute drive from Southampton. I understand it makes sense for those who have much longer journeys home, to stay for another night so they have a full day of travel on the Sunday, but it could be good for people who live locally to be able to disembark.

I know that won't help with embarking people from the next cruise though :(

Oh No!

I am on the cruise departing Saturday!

Oh No!

 

I am on the cruise departing Saturday!

What a shame. A similar thing happened to my brother and he regretted not having had receipts for food etc at the hotel the previous night as P and O would have reimbursed. Maybe wise to get receipts as they may come in handy!

Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will

What a shame. A similar thing happened to my brother and he regretted not having had receipts for food etc at the hotel the previous night as P and O would have reimbursed. Maybe wise to get receipts as they may come in handy!

Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will

Thanks, as this is our first cruise it is a shame, but these things happen. We were travelling down on Saturday morning :(

You say this happened to your brother, assume they just sailed a little later. I have tours booked independently and not with P&O in Amsterdam which I doubt we will make now :(

I have phoned P&O but they can't tell us anything at this stage.

Yes, that's the latest from my parents too. I wonder if they will have the option to leave on Saturday evening if they want to? They only live in Bournemouth, which is about a 30 minute drive from Southampton. I understand it makes sense for those who have much longer journeys home, to stay for another night so they have a full day of travel on the Sunday, but it could be good for people who live locally to be able to disembark.

 

I know that won't help with embarking people from the next cruise though :(

I doubt you will be able to disembark on Saturday evening. Earlier this year we arrived back about 8:30 Saturday evening because the captain increased his speed to get back before some forecast bad weather and we were told that we had to disembark next day as scheduled because not unreasonably, customer officers and support staff can’t be mobilised for an extra Saturday evening shift.

The worst possible time to find accommodation at short notice, a Saturday and the weekend is a public holiday at least in Scotland, the schools are off for the week - is it the same in the South?

Does anyone know what P&O do in these circumstances, will they be block booking hotel rooms for passengers who arrive in Southampton with no accommodation?

Those onboard for an extra day at least have a bed for the night but may miss flights home etc.

At the moment there is no information on the P&O sites about any of this so perhaps they are hopeful of making up some time.

Just had a message from P&O regarding the Saturday (X720) on Oriana from Southampton:

'We are very sorry to advise that following a technical issue in Gibraltar on Thursday, Oriana's arrival into Southampton will be delayed. As a result, boarding for your cruise will now be on Sunday morning at the QEII Cruise Terminal. We are in the process of calling all guests to confirm the details of the change and we will be in touch shortly.'

We were due to do a ship visit on Oriana on Saturday but have had a call today to say that it is cancelled due to this late arrival.

The worst possible time to find accommodation at short notice, a Saturday and the weekend is a public holiday at least in Scotland, the schools are off for the week - is it the same in the South?

No Eglesbrech, it's not a public holiday weekend here and the schools aren't off either. I suspect it may be Scottish half term as the Scottish schools go back after the summer holidays in mid-August compared to first week of September in England. My son's school isn't on half term until week after next.

No Eglesbrech, it's not a public holiday weekend here and the schools aren't off either. I suspect it may be Scottish half term as the Scottish schools go back after the summer holidays in mid-August compared to first week of September in England. My son's school isn't on half term until week after next.

That's good then, at least the hotels won't be fully booked.

I doubt you will be able to disembark on Saturday evening. Earlier this year we arrived back about 8:30 Saturday evening because the captain increased his speed to get back before some forecast bad weather and we were told that we had to disembark next day as scheduled because not unreasonably, customer officers and support staff can’t be mobilised for an extra Saturday evening shift.

Hi Pete 14 i work for Penguin cruise parking Marchwood, and already we have had several phone calls and text for passengers disembarking Saturday eavning, as i said earlier there are three cruise ships in Sunday, so ABP will stick her down on the Q E terminal i my self and others have be asked to stand by for a late eavning, CPS will have to drive pax cars from Mayflower term to Q E terminal so all hands on deck.

I doubt you will be able to disembark on Saturday evening. Earlier this year we arrived back about 8:30 Saturday evening because the captain increased his speed to get back before some forecast bad weather and we were told that we had to disembark next day as scheduled because not unreasonably, customer officers and support staff can’t be mobilised for an extra Saturday evening shift.

Genuinely hadn't even thought of that! Your post makes perfect sense to me and explains why they won't be able to disembark. Thank you :)

A couple of years ago we were late docking and had to stay on board overnight.

However anyone wanting to self disembark could do so, and this was about 11pm.

There are people upset on facebook as the next cruise is only 4 days and they have cut it to 3 days. Bruges and Amsterdam have been changed round and they are leaving Amsterdam at 2pm which is a shame.

Good compensation though , 25% off the cruise and £100 OBC each.

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On the delayed cruise and quite frankly do not think the compensation is enough!!! The main selling point of this cruise was the 36 hour overnight stop in Amsterdam. That is now just 6 hrs on Tuesday as we now go to Zeebrugge first on Monday instead of on Tuesday. I appreciate that its a technical issue and P & O have to change the cruise length to get Oriana back on schedule however the highlight of this short cruise is now missing.. I really do not understand why we could not have stayed on the original routing and at least had all day in Amsterdam on Monday as we should have.

We are a group celebrating milestone birthdays and quite frankly the whole thing is now ruined for us before we even embark.

The whole thing has been handled poorly so far and we still have no clue about embarkation times as emailis different from what was said on phone.

Wont be booking again!

There are people upset on facebook as the next cruise is only 4 days and they have cut it to 3 days. Bruges and Amsterdam have been changed round and they are leaving Amsterdam at 2pm which is a shame.

Good compensation though , 25% off the cruise and £100 OBC each.

 

 

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If the cruise has been reduced in length by 25% (4 days down to 3), then the sole ‘compensation’ element is just £100 OBC each (the 25% off is merely a pro rata refund for the lost day). I’d be pretty disappointed with that, especially as it’s money that you have to spend with P&O. Whilst we spend a lot on board, some don’t and may already have OBC.

It is a shame for the passengers who have lost a day off a four day cruise. Twenty five percent refund for the twenty five percent loss of cruise days seems reasonable. The onboard credit is a nice gesture.

I wonder if passengers who arrive in Southampton on the original day will be accommodated in hotels. We always book trains and pre cruise hotels on the basis of being in Southampton for a cruise that departs on the advertised day. Passengers may incur considerable expenses delaying journeys to Southampton or staying in a hotel in Southampton for an extra night.

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It might be difficult to spend £100 OBC in just three days, together with any other OBC they may already have.

Brian

It might be difficult to spend £100 OBC in just three days, together with any other OBC they may already have.

Brian

With everybody having the extra £100 I would imagine reservations for the spa and alternative dining will be difficult.

I do feel sorry for passengers on the shortened cruise. It is now not what they booked and looked forward to.

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Oh No!

 

I am on the cruise departing Saturday!

I do not think you are Paul. You seem to be on the cruise departing Sunday. If I were you I should be looking for accommodation for Saturday night in Southampton or nearby on the way before it all gets snapped up A cancellable tariff at no charge might be prudent.

These things do happen and a couple of years back I was booked on a 5 day cruise departing from Southampton. This was with another line, we all spent the theoretical embarkation night in Southampton in two hotels were all bussed to Dover where all of us stayed in the same hotel the next day and embarked in the morning in Dover.

Technical problems and operating difficulties are rare. My advice to people in this type of situation is to go with the flow and try and disregard the negative aspects and accentuate the positives.

Hope all goes well.

Regards John

On the delayed cruise and quite frankly do not think the compensation is enough!!! The main selling point of this cruise was the 36 hour overnight stop in Amsterdam. That is now just 6 hrs on Tuesday as we now go to Zeebrugge first on Monday instead of on Tuesday. I appreciate that its a technical issue and P & O have to change the cruise length to get Oriana back on schedule however the highlight of this short cruise is now missing.. I really do not understand why we could not have stayed on the original routing and at least had all day in Amsterdam on Monday as we should have.

We are a group celebrating milestone birthdays and quite frankly the whole thing is now ruined for us before we even embark.

The whole thing has been handled poorly so far and we still have no clue about embarkation times as emailis different from what was said on phone.

Wont be booking again!

If the whole thing is ruined, get onto P&O post haste and explain that the 36 hours in Amsterdam was the sole reason for booking and that you wish to cancel with a full refund. If they agree that there has been a significant change to the itinerary, significant enough to change the whole tenor of the holiday, they are bound to refund you.

Of course, they may not agree. The cruise title is "Netherlands and Belgium", I believe, and they're still going to both. It's only the secondary description that gives the 36 hours in Holland.

I just feel sorry for all the folks involved in this and know how stressful I would find it if it was me.

If I was on the ship I would have missed my pre booked taxi and flight home on the Saturday. Imagine arriving on a Sunday of all days with no way to get home. That prospect would certainly spoil the last few days of a cruise.

If I was going on the cruise I would arrive on Friday and have a hotel booked for 1 night. Getting accommodation for Saturday nights is not easy and it looks like P&O are doing nothing on that account from reading their FB stream.

They also don't appear to have contacted pax, it's the usual reliance on social media which not everyone uses.

They are also being extremely coy about answering questions re people cancelling. In the circumstances If I was more local and driving I would cancel as the short cruise is no longer what people booked and the offer of 25% and OBC does not compensate for that and all the associated mucking about.

I also wonder just how long it will take to give people there money back (the 25%) and the pay out for extra costs like a hotel and food etc. They took money for double deposits and payments earlier this year and refunding this took time.

As to the extra OBC the select reastaurants will no doubt already be fully booked and I presume anyone booked for Saturday night will be accommodated before any new bookings are taken, particulalry those with special events eg there is a golden wedding. The shops are never great and presumably no duty free available. Someone asked about carrying the OBC forward and was told no but you can see why they asked as if you already have OBc what else do you spent it on.

Not a happy situation. P&O are not having a good year.