avalon update

[Host Jazzbeau]

There is a class action lawsuit in Australia against Scenic stemming from the 2013 flooding situation. Perhaps you could contact that law firm for advice. [i know Australia and New Zealand are separate countries, but you may share more laws in common than say with the US.]

[xfile99]

Yes we did have an email from the NZ Avalon Manager on May 12, and we have discussed our issues in writing, as have others from the same cruise who were dissatisfied with the way it had been handled, communication, compensation etc some are still waiting for a response to their issues(some 7 weeks later) but the outcome is the same. Because we chose 1 of their options on board there will be no further compensation.

I have sort legal advice and he pointed us to:

 

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/travel-agents#article-when-you-complain

 

and then to

 

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/disputes-tribunals

 

However I do not understand why it has come to this and why it has to be a fight, what made this so difficult to deal with is we flew so far for this trip paid so much money, and when we arrived the ship was everything we dreamed of the staff wonderful and we "clicked" with other passengers, but 3 days later it was all over!

[JVilleGal]

Maybe it's time to escalate to The Main Office in the U.S.

 

Have to you ever heard of Christopher Elliott (Elliott.org) he is a consumer advocate. May want to check him out.

 

But I would think your NZ travel laws should have some protections. Without reading the links (never open links) what recourse did you attorney have for you??

Edited July 23, 2015 by JVilleGal

[JVilleGal]

You can also start a dialog on the Avalon Face Book page!

[RDC1]

I really wish our direct communication with Avalon/Globus in NZ had resulted in a positive response.

We found ourselves in a dreadful situation on Avalon Vista in May after one of the engines blew up on day 3 of our 13 day danube cruise. On day 3 we were told our ship could not continue.

We were compensated but not enough(passengers had to fight for that too), we still had to pay for the two days immediately after explosion because they provided a bed and food despite being moored in the middle of nowhere in an increasingly stressful and angry situation. We were given 3 options and two hours to make a decision, none of which were good for us, and we emailed NZ head office from the ship and were told to choose an option and further compensation could be discussed on our return to NZ. 10 mins before having to disembark we had to do something so we chose an option otherwise we and our suitcases would be on the dock, we were again told to make contact with Avalon/Globus on our return to NZ. We are now being told because we chose an option there would be no further compensation. We are in communication with 8 other couples who all feel the same as we do and intend to take the matter further.....But how and where?

 

You did not mention what choices you had, and what compensation, they included, if any. Also did you have to sign anything once you did choose?

 

All they said was that additional compensation could be discussed, not that there was any guarantee that there would be additional compensation. They apparently feel that it was sufficient, you apparently feel that it is not. Pretty much that means some kinds of claim, in New Zealand you are probably talking there equivalent of a US small claims court, though they do cover larger amounts then in the US. There it comes down to if a third party feels that that the compensation was sufficient.

 

There is a big difference in what one might expect between an option that says head to the airport and go home, or an options that says continue the trip via bus and hotel.

Edited July 24, 2015 by RDC1

[Coral]

Is this something you could dispute with a credit card company, if you paid that way? Not sure the time frame you would have or the laws where you live.

[Kenster]

For those of you who are worried that there are not many posts about Avalon...

That's probably a good thing. It's human nature that people tend to complain more than they praise. I've seen very few negative posts about Avalon. And negative posts always far outnumber positive ones in Customer feedback in any industry.

 

The stories about people who DID have an issue with an Avalon cruise virtually always end in praising how Avalon followed up and took care of them.

 

And regarding how long they've been in business. That's not always an indicator of success or quality. An upstart can run circles around the old dogs. And Avalon, being a relatively new company, has the youngest fleet in the business.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Kenster