NSWP Posted January 15, 2018 #51 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Seems like some people did pull out of the cruise and I wonder if they got their full refund. A greedy agent would charge a cancellation fee.:evilsmile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted January 15, 2018 #52 Share Posted January 15, 2018 A greedy agent would charge a cancellation fee.:evilsmile: If so you would spread the word and not use them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doenbucket Posted January 15, 2018 #53 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I have just spoken to my son. He phoned P&O on Friday and expressed disappointment but didn't hint that they might cancel. He was referred 'up the line' to more senior people but no offer of OBC. He was told someone would phone him back next week. I note that the OP (Datone) didn't get the offer of $100 OBC on the first phone call. Someone from P&O had to phone her back. I really think that P&O are getting off lightly if they pay some passengers $100 OBC. That is probably only $25 or so out of P&Os pocket if people spend more than they would otherwise. All the best with this. :) I contacted P&O this morning relating my disappointment.The lady I spoke with said she would pass my concerns to Customer Relations & someone would ring me within 7 days. Mmmm I thought.:rolleyes: To my surprise a gentleman contacted me about 1.30pm. He explained the reasons behind the early departure for all P&O ships on Australia day. The Australia Day Council & Sydney Port Authority pulled the plug saying it would be too dangerous to have 3 cruise ships moored during the festivities. I spoke a bit about the reasons for picking this cruise & the dismay we felt. He offered a sincere apology for the change of arrangements. We had a sensible, calm conversation & I was pleasantly surprised when he offered $100 OBC each to compensate for the inconvenience. He also said they were offering full refunds to some passengers. As loyal Princess/P&O customers I was very pleased with the outcome & the professional manner with which this matter was handled by the P&O representative. So I can only suggest passengers contact P&O direct about this matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #54 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I contacted P&O this morning relating my disappointment.The lady I spoke with said she would pass my concerns to Customer Relations & someone would ring me within 7 days. Mmmm I thought.:rolleyes: To my surprise a gentleman contacted me about 1.30pm. He explained the reasons behind the early departure for all P&O ships on Australia day. The Australia Day Council & Sydney Port Authority pulled the plug saying it would be too dangerous to have 3 cruise ships moored during the festivities. I spoke a bit about the reasons for picking this cruise & the dismay we felt. He offered a sincere apology for the change of arrangements. We had a sensible, calm conversation & I was pleasantly surprised when he offered $100 OBC each to compensate for the inconvenience. He also said they were offering full refunds to some passengers. As loyal Princess/P&O customers I was very pleased with the outcome & the professional manner with which this matter was handled by the P&O representative. So I can only suggest passengers contact P&O direct about this matter. Good result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #55 Share Posted January 15, 2018 A greedy agent would charge a cancellation fee.:evilsmile: If so you would spread the word and not use them again. Definitely would be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 15, 2018 #56 Share Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) I just phoned my son at work. He P&O rang him late this morning and offered $200 per booking. He is happy with that. :) Edited January 15, 2018 by Aus Traveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbenjo Posted January 15, 2018 #57 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I contacted P&O this morning relating my disappointment.The lady I spoke with said she would pass my concerns to Customer Relations & someone would ring me within 7 days. Mmmm I thought.:rolleyes: To my surprise a gentleman contacted me about 1.30pm. He explained the reasons behind the early departure for all P&O ships on Australia day. The Australia Day Council & Sydney Port Authority pulled the plug saying it would be too dangerous to have 3 cruise ships moored during the festivities. I spoke a bit about the reasons for picking this cruise & the dismay we felt. He offered a sincere apology for the change of arrangements. We had a sensible, calm conversation & I was pleasantly surprised when he offered $100 OBC each to compensate for the inconvenience. He also said they were offering full refunds to some passengers. As loyal Princess/P&O customers I was very pleased with the outcome & the professional manner with which this matter was handled by the P&O representative. So I can only suggest passengers contact P&O direct about this matter. So it is" too dangerous" this year but not too dangerous last year, (we were were on one of the three P&O ships they had in the harbour last Australia Day) Sounds like a bit of a cop out to me. The Australia Day Council, you would think, would not make a safety call about cruise ships and the Sydney Port Authority would have been aware of any "danger" and not given permission in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doenbucket Posted January 15, 2018 #58 Share Posted January 15, 2018 So it is" too dangerous" this year but not too dangerous last year, (we were were on one of the three P&O ships they had in the harbour last Australia Day) Sounds like a bit of a cop out to me. The Australia Day Council, you would think, would not make a safety call about cruise ships and the Sydney Port Authority would have been aware of any "danger" and not given permission in the first place. Yes, have to agree, major cop out. Someone, somewhere stuffed up big time.:eek: Maybe us folk up north are a dangerous lot.:evilsmile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doenbucket Posted January 15, 2018 #59 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I just phoned my son at work. He P&O rang him late this morning and offered $200 per booking. He is happy with that. :) Good outcome all around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #60 Share Posted January 15, 2018 So it is" too dangerous" this year but not too dangerous last year, (we were were on one of the three P&O ships they had in the harbour last Australia Day) Sounds like a bit of a cop out to me. The Australia Day Council, you would think, would not make a safety call about cruise ships and the Sydney Port Authority would have been aware of any "danger" and not given permission in the first place. Sounds very much like something changed late in the process this year which had them scrambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 15, 2018 #61 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Sounds very much like something changed late in the process this year which had them scrambling. I agree with you. There is no way that P&O would choose to have their ships leave before the fireworks and have unhappy customers. They will lose money by refunding some passengers and giving OBC to some others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted January 15, 2018 #62 Share Posted January 15, 2018 So it is" too dangerous" this year but not too dangerous last year, (we were were on one of the three P&O ships they had in the harbour last Australia Day) Sounds like a bit of a cop out to me. The Australia Day Council, you would think, would not make a safety call about cruise ships and the Sydney Port Authority would have been aware of any "danger" and not given permission in the first place. Was thinking the same thing. Plus even if that were true, how about 2 cruise ships then instead. Doesn't pass the sniff test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karoo Posted January 15, 2018 #63 Share Posted January 15, 2018 In my view, fireworks are overrated & I just don't get this "it's not a celebration (of anything) if there's not fireworks" fixation. They’re are pretty impressive out of Sydney actually. I’m lucky as they can be seen from where my daughter lives. The Harbour will be full of dinner cruises, etc. and all the Harbour front restaurants will be full. In the park near where my daughter lives people will get there extremely early often camping out the night before, (although I think they may have banned that) to get a good viewpoint. It would be disappointing to miss out after booking the cruise believing you would see them. A cruise ship would be a great viewing spot. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #64 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Agree about the ship being a great place to view the fireworks, however, the majority of the Australia day events are held during the day, so they may have been missed by being at White Bay anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 15, 2018 #65 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Agree about the ship being a great place to view the fireworks, however, the majority of the Australia day events are held during the day, so they may have been missed by being at White Bay anyway. The original itinerary for the Pacific Aria had the ship leaving White Bay at 5.30 pm, then anchor in the Harbour until 9.30 when they would depart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cheznandy Posted January 15, 2018 #66 Share Posted January 15, 2018 We are flying down on Australia Day as we board the Ovation on Saturday. They have moved the fireworks from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay this year, apparently all the action is at Circular Quay, this may be why the ships cannot be in that area as it will be too congested. They state there will be no fireworks on the bridge or Darling Harbour. Info here https://www.australiaday.com.au/events/whats-on/ showcasing 3 P&O ships as part of the attractions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #67 Share Posted January 15, 2018 The original itinerary for the Pacific Aria had the ship leaving White Bay at 5.30 pm, then anchor in the Harbour until 9.30 when they would depart. Exactly, you would have had to be on the ship by 4pm and as such would have missed most of the circular quay afternoon activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #68 Share Posted January 15, 2018 We are flying down on Australia Day as we board the Ovation on Saturday.They have moved the fireworks from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay this year, apparently all the action is at Circular Quay, this may be why the ships cannot be in that area as it will be too congested. They state there will be no fireworks on the bridge or Darling Harbour. Info here https://www.australiaday.com.au/events/whats-on/ showcasing 3 P&O ships as part of the attractions Cheers, that explains a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 15, 2018 #69 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Exactly, you would have had to be on the ship by 4pm and as such would have missed most of the circular quay afternoon activities. Sydney is not the start of the cruise, just a port stop on a Brisbane-Brisbane itinerary. Therefore, the deadline for passengers is 30 minutes before sailing - 5pm, not 4pm. :) The ship is still sailing at 5.30, but continuing on and out of the harbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 15, 2018 #70 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Sydney is not the start of the cruise, just a port stop on a Brisbane-Brisbane itinerary. Therefore, the deadline for passengers is 30 minutes before sailing - 5pm, not 4pm. :) The ship is still sailing at 5.30, but continuing on and out of the harbour. I suppose that gives them a bit more time around the quay before having to get to White Bay then.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 16, 2018 #71 Share Posted January 16, 2018 https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/news.cfm?ID=8338 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 16, 2018 #72 Share Posted January 16, 2018 From the article - The P&O spokesperson told us: “As these circumstances are largely operational in nature, based on our desire to give guests the best possible Australia Day experience, we don’t believe a general approach to compensation or refunds applies in this case but, as always, we have dealt with individual situations on a case by case basis.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted January 16, 2018 #73 Share Posted January 16, 2018 From the article - The P&O spokesperson told us: “As these circumstances are largely operational in nature, based on our desire to give guests the best possible Australia Day experience, we don’t believe a general approach to compensation or refunds applies in this case but, as always, we have dealt with individual situations on a case by case basis.” Just like Princess with compo for cruises that should have had the Ocean Medallion. They have given compo in form of obc to the North Americans, but decline to give it to Aussies. Speaking from experience.:evilsmile: But what's new? Our Royal Princess cruise in June was supposed to an 'Ocean Medallion Cruise.' The Americans got compo, mine was declined by Princess Australia. I might have to withdraw from the Automatic Wage Subsidy Fund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted January 16, 2018 #74 Share Posted January 16, 2018 From the article - The P&O spokesperson told us: “As these circumstances are largely operational in nature, based on our desire to give guests the best possible Australia Day experience, we don’t believe a general approach to compensation or refunds applies in this case but, as always, we have dealt with individual situations on a case by case basis.” In other words if you complain loud enough we will throw you $100 obc. :loudcry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 18, 2018 #75 Share Posted January 18, 2018 No 'specials' available on this cruise. I have it on very good authority that the ship is fully booked. Maybe very few people heard that P&O were offering a full refund. Thanks to datone, :) we heard about that and also the possibility of an OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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