Adonis change of itinerary

[Redlandpolly]

Help, please! We have been very disappointed to learn that Charleston has been omitted from Adonia's transatlantic cruise because 'Charleston have advised that a berth will no longer be available for our use'. What's this all about? The cruise timetable destination site says that there aren't any other ships in on the 3rd November, so we're at a loss - did someone forget to book us in?! We were already disappointed that there are only three formal nights on a three week cruise, and to lose one of the ports that was our reason for booking this trip in the first place is very frustrating. We know that ports of call are never guaranteed, but Port Canaveral and Miami are not good substitutes for a historic city like Charleston. Has anyone got any ideas? P&O are in serious danger of losing two very loyal passengers.

[elainew]

Totally agree with your comments about the change of itinery on your Adonia cruise. The same thing has happened to our forthcoming Aurora cruise to the USA/Canada. We were supposed to be calling at Charlottetown and found out last week that "owing to going back into Canadian waters immigration are unable to deal with it. I am sure P&O have visited Charlottetown before so should have been aware of this. After all the itinery was arranged last year before the cruise went on sale. As an alternative we are calling at Sydney Nova Scotia.Apparently unless you do the excursions there is very little to do in Sydney, as one person advised in a review the time might best be spent catching up on emails in the terminal. We had researched Charlottetown and were really looking forward to the visit. If the visit had been cancelled owing to weather conditions we could understand it. I have contacted P&O not that it would make any difference but to let them know our feelings about this late change and apart from an acknowledgement I am still waiting a reply. Like you we have always been loyal customers to P&O but I am regretting our booking with them for next year. They do seem to have a cavalier attitude to regular customers

[Downsouth80]

At least you know before you go. We have just returned from a cruise to the Baltic on Adonia and missed Visby and also the Kiel canal, which was to have been the highlight of the cruise! We know of at least one other ship which did the transit on the same day we were due to do it, but am trying to find out more before we write a review.

 

Do not have much faith in P & O at the moment.

[Florry]

I am reminded of one fateful cruise, I think it was on Arcadia. She was supposed to stop in Spain twice, the first port was cancelled because they thought a crew member had gone overboard - whole double back and helicopters with spotlight scenario ensued, but all was ok because he was just hiding after fisty-cuffs with his boss [emoji102] then the second port was cancelled due to bad weather. I felt most sorry for the family who were trying to exchange Christmas presents with relatives and had to take them home, despite the relatives travelling to both ports [emoji31]

[sueandphil]

Help, please! We have been very disappointed to learn that Charleston has been omitted from Adonia's transatlantic cruise because 'Charleston have advised that a berth will no longer be available for our use'. What's this all about? The cruise timetable destination site says that there aren't any other ships in on the 3rd November, so we're at a loss - did someone forget to book us in?! We were already disappointed that there are only three formal nights on a three week cruise, and to lose one of the ports that was our reason for booking this trip in the first place is very frustrating. We know that ports of call are never guaranteed, but Port Canaveral and Miami are not good substitutes for a historic city like Charleston. Has anyone got any ideas? P&O are in serious danger of losing two very loyal passengers.

Also on this cruise and also a little disappointed about Charleston and Jacksonville as these were new ports to us. Nothing on the excursions yet so not sure what we are doing in the new ports but there is always a beach if nothing else new. Also confused by only three formal nights on this cruise as we were led to believe that Adonia was a little bit more formal than some of the family orientated ships in the P&O fleet where two formals a week is the norm.

Sue will be rather peed off if they add additional formal nights while we are on board as she will have to wear the same dress twice and will have to launder my dress shirts:eek: Never mind though we will be on holiday for 21 nights :cool::)

[gadabout60]

At least you know before you go. We have just returned from a cruise to the Baltic on Adonia and missed Visby and also the Kiel canal, which was to have been the highlight of the cruise! We know of at least one other ship which did the transit on the same day we were due to do it, but am trying to find out more before we write a review.

 

Do not have much faith in P & O at the moment.

 

Thats a real shame - the Kiel Canal on Adonia is a wonderful memory of our Baltic cruise 2 years ago

Visby I wouldn't mind - we were there on a Sunday and it was wet and miserable and closed !

[BandBlady]

Totally agree with your comments about the change of itinery on your Adonia cruise. The same thing has happened to our forthcoming Aurora cruise to the USA/Canada. We were supposed to be calling at Charlottetown and found out last week that "owing to going back into Canadian waters immigration are unable to deal with it. I am sure P&O have visited Charlottetown before so should have been aware of this. After all the itinery was arranged last year before the cruise went on sale. As an alternative we are calling at Sydney Nova Scotia.Apparently unless you do the excursions there is very little to do in Sydney, as one person advised in a review the time might best be spent catching up on emails in the terminal. We had researched Charlottetown and were really looking forward to the visit. If the visit had been cancelled owing to weather conditions we could understand it. I have contacted P&O not that it would make any difference but to let them know our feelings about this late change and apart from an acknowledgement I am still waiting a reply. Like you we have always been loyal customers to P&O but I am regretting our booking with them for next year. They do seem to have a cavalier attitude to regular customers

 

We have been to Sydney and did the trip to the coal mine ,we took a local bus and had a great time ,always wanted to go down the mine but my Grandpa wasn't,t allowed to take us all these years ago .Please enjoy your day there

[Florry]

At least you know before you go. We have just returned from a cruise to the Baltic on Adonia and missed Visby and also the Kiel canal, which was to have been the highlight of the cruise! We know of at least one other ship which did the transit on the same day we were due to do it, but am trying to find out more before we write a review.

 

 

 

Do not have much faith in P & O at the moment.

 

 

I'd be very upset to miss this, but I suppose we would criticise it they attempted it in unsuitable conditions and caused some sort of consequence [emoji53]

[dsrdsrdsr]

Totally agree with your comments about the change of itinery on your Adonia cruise. The same thing has happened to our forthcoming Aurora cruise to the USA/Canada. We were supposed to be calling at Charlottetown and found out last week that "owing to going back into Canadian waters immigration are unable to deal with it. I am sure P&O have visited Charlottetown before so should have been aware of this. After all the itinery was arranged last year before the cruise went on sale. As an alternative we are calling at Sydney Nova Scotia.Apparently unless you do the excursions there is very little to do in Sydney, as one person advised in a review the time might best be spent catching up on emails in the terminal. We had researched Charlottetown and were really looking forward to the visit. If the visit had been cancelled owing to weather conditions we could understand it. I have contacted P&O not that it would make any difference but to let them know our feelings about this late change and apart from an acknowledgement I am still waiting a reply. Like you we have always been loyal customers to P&O but I am regretting our booking with them for next year. They do seem to have a cavalier attitude to regular customers

This probably isn't P&O's fault. Your post is based on the idea that P&O should have known what US Customs was going to do a year in advance - but actually it's often impossible to know what they're going to do a week in advance. Perhaps a year ago they were told there would be a dozen customs officers and the procedure would only take an hour, but since then they were told there would be two officers and no-one would get off before 3 pm?

 

I can vouch from experience that US Customs can be very unwelcoming to P&O. Four hours in San Francisco, 8 hours in LA, walk off and welcome in Charlotte. They have no consistency.

[Florry]

This probably isn't P&O's fault. Your post is based on the idea that P&O should have known what US Customs was going to do a year in advance - but actually it's often impossible to know what they're going to do a week in advance. Perhaps a year ago they were told there would be a dozen customs officers and the procedure would only take an hour, but since then they were told there would be two officers and no-one would get off before 3 pm?

 

 

 

I can vouch from experience that US Customs can be very unwelcoming to P&O. Four hours in San Francisco, 8 hours in LA, walk off and welcome in Charlotte. They have no consistency.

 

 

Looking forward to my US/Canada cruise now [emoji45]

[dorsetgirl]

Don't just think it's P&O. In July CMV changed Magellan's itinerary because they hadn't been able to do the work necessary to enable her to go through the Kiel Canal. That was one of the reasons I booked but CMV considered it wasn't a highlight because it would have been an evening transit!

 

Also in August on Azores they changed the call in Dublin from a full 12 hour day to just a morning. They said it was required by the port, don't know why!

 

In both cases CMV gave no compensation!

Edited September 10, 2015 by dorsetgirl

[miles38]

At least you know before you go. We have just returned from a cruise to the Baltic on Adonia and missed Visby and also the Kiel canal, which was to have been the highlight of the cruise! We know of at least one other ship which did the transit on the same day we were due to do it, but am trying to find out more before we write a review.

 

Do not have much faith in P & O at the moment.

 

We have returned from the same cruise to the Baltic on Adonia. Not only did we miss Visby and the Kiel Canal the itinerary was also significantly changed, reducing time in Stockholm and spending an overnight stop in Tallinn. Worst of all, two passengers were left stranded on the quayside in Stockholm in full view of those on the port side of the ship. This created a very negative atmosphere.

 

Have cruised several times with P&O in the past but are unlikely to do so in the future.

[balf]

Don't just think it's P&O. In July CMV changed Magellan's itinerary because they hadn't been able to do the work necessary to enable her to go through the Kiel Canal. That was one of the reasons I booked but CMV considered it wasn't a highlight because it would have been an evening transit!

 

 

 

Also in August on Azores they changed the call in Dublin from a full 12 hour day to just a morning. They said it was required by the port, don't know why!

 

 

 

In both cases CMV gave no compensation!

 

 

This is routine by CMV.

 

David.

[RB1961]

At least you know before you go. We have just returned from a cruise to the Baltic on Adonia and missed Visby and also the Kiel canal, which was to have been the highlight of the cruise! We know of at least one other ship which did the transit on the same day we were due to do it, but am trying to find out more before we write a review.

 

Do not have much faith in P & O at the moment.

 

The ship which made the transit of the Kiel Canal on 5th Sept was the Nautica which is a sister ship.When Adonia changed course at 0330 she was ahead of

Adonia. She arrived and began her transit at about 0600 and cleared the canal at about 1530. These times are local times. Adonia could have arrived at the canal at the same time. This information was obtained from Marine Traffic.

[Downsouth80]

Thanks for that information, it was such a disappointment and we couldn't understand quite why we didn't do the transit. The captain's explanation wasn't clear - she mentioned tugs and bad weather - but we hit bad weather in the North Sea much earlier than if we had done the canal.

 

The strange thing was, when we received the ships newsletter, the Horizon, at 6pm on 4th September there was no mention of the next days activity ie the transit of the kiel canal, usually there would be lots of info about the next port of call etc, but no mention at all. It would appear that the decision had already been made much earlier than we were told, at least that's what it seemed like to us.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Downsouth80

[Cruising Nomads]

Not sure if you are aware but in April Oriana was due to visit Jacksonville. This port was cancelled at the last minute with the explanation that the ship would not fit under one of the bridges. Also in Charleston they had problems with immigration. The ship docked about 1.30pm and the last passengers were not cleared until 10.30pm. The rumour in Charleston was that they want tourists but not cruisers as they do not fill hotel bedrooms or the many restaurants.

[BandBlady]

Crystal Symphony is in these ports when Adonia should be there.!!

Jacksonville has Carnival sailing out all winter too ,much larger ships than Adonia or Oriana.

We are waiting on an explanation from P&O.:mad

Thanks for the info .

[annieuk]

At least you still have a cruise - we were on the trip on Adonia the other way at the end of the Caribbean season - three weeks, two in the Caribbean and then the third returning to Southampton via Miami, Jacksonville, Charleston etc. Well when Carnival decided that Adonia should be sent to "fathom cruises" our three week cruise was cancelled! Compensation - £100 per person off another cruise. Of course when this happened - June time - a lot of next year's cruises that we might have gone on had already been booked - at least the cabins we would have chosen had. Not happy!

[balf]

At least you still have a cruise - we were on the trip on Adonia the other way at the end of the Caribbean season - three weeks, two in the Caribbean and then the third returning to Southampton via Miami, Jacksonville, Charleston etc. Well when Carnival decided that Adonia should be sent to "fathom cruises" our three week cruise was cancelled! Compensation - £100 per person off another cruise. Of course when this happened - June time - a lot of next year's cruises that we might have gone on had already been booked - at least the cabins we would have chosen had. Not happy!

 

 

In sharp contrast to if you had cancelled.

 

David.

[soraya]

It is disappointing when they cancel bits of the cruise. We're on Adonia in December and our cruise was billed 'Amazon, Orinoco & the Caribbean'. until P&O cancelled the Orinoco part!

 

The thing is that P&O cancelled the Orinoco last year too and you wonder in it's just a sales gimmick to get people to book.

 

I know that there was lots of trouble over it, with P&O refusing to let people cancel. In the end, there was a real mixed response from P&O, some people were able to cancel without losing their deposit, others were told they could move to another cruise of the same value and some were given some OBC that P&O were adamant wasn't to be called compensation! The people who did get to cancel argued that it was a significant part of their trip that had been cancelled.

[sueandphil]

Now they have canceled the smart jacket required evenings. Doesn't bother me too much but no notifications to what's going to replace them

[dsrdsrdsr]

It is disappointing when they cancel bits of the cruise. We're on Adonia in December and our cruise was billed 'Amazon, Orinoco & the Caribbean'. until P&O cancelled the Orinoco part!

 

...

 

I know that there was lots of trouble over it, with P&O refusing to let people cancel. ... The people who did get to cancel argued that it was a significant part of their trip that had been cancelled.

In cases where the cancelled part is part of the title of the trip, I doubt P&O would have a leg to stand on if they tried to claim it's not a significant part of the trip.

[annieuk]

Sue and Phil - the letter we've just had from P&O about our February cruise on Adonia says that the Smart Jacket nights have gone and it will be a mixture of Formal and Evening Casual - I would guess 4 formals and the rest Evening Casual on a 14 night cruise. It does also say that not having to take a jacket is helpful from the weight point of view.

[Redlandpolly]

Now they have canceled the smart jacket required evenings. Doesn't bother me too much but no notifications to what's going to replace them

 

We haven't heard that yet - it seems to me that customer service is now very low down on P&O's priorities. We were disappointed enough at losing some formal nights, and now the jacket required evenings are gone, too. Everything looks so special when people are dressed up a bit - we might as well book Easy Cruise. It looks as though we shall have to defect to Cunard if we want a bit of glamour.

[balf]

In cases where the cancelled part is part of the title of the trip, I doubt P&O would have a leg to stand on if they tried to claim it's not a significant part of the trip.

 

 

The problem as always is the contract. All the cruise lines give themselves lots of wriggle room to ensure they can alter the itinerary pretty much as they wish.

 

From P&O conditions.

 

ALTERATION AND CANCELLATION BY P&O CRUISES AFTER DEPARTURE

43. After departure, P&O Cruises does not guarantee that the ship will call at every port on the itinerary or follow every part of the advertised route or schedule or that every part of the Package will be provided. P&O Cruises reserves the absolute right to decide whether or not to omit any such port(s) and/or to call at additional ports and/or to change the advertised route, schedule or Package. If P&O Cruises is unable to provide a significant proportion of the Package, it will make suitable alternative arrangements, at no extra cost to the Passenger, for the continuation of the Package.

 

David.