Help our cabin is not what we expected!

[eddiecat]

Whilst I have sympathy with the predicament you find yourself in, your agent is the one at fault here, not you and not P&O. You accepted a guarantee Cabin in a certain grade and that is exactly what you have got. If the agent told you that it is a cabin just like all other balcony cabins, it is they who are at fault. Proving you were told that will be difficult though because the agent will presumably deny having said it.

 

 

 

Hopefully P&O can sort it out for you although it will be out of goodwill and not obligation. I don’t suppose you are the first people this has happened to. If you both choose to sleep in one of the single beds, at least you will be cosy but try to avoid garlic with your evening meal.[emoji42]🤢[emoji40]

 

 

 

Problem we have is that the cabin technically has only 1 bed. The other 3 are temporary. The TA never said this was even a possibility, they told us our cabin would be the same as any other balcony cabin. P&O aren’t willing to help and said it was “our fault for booking through a 3rd party”. Can’t argue with them but they were dismissive. We then rang the TA, who was also understanding but there was nothing they could do. However they did acknowledge that the price we paid was unfair and not correct for our grade cabin. We asked who to complain to and said “we will get back to you tomorrow”. Feels like we are just being ignored despite having not been told clearly the T&C’s of the cabin... just feel like screaming! Losing all hope.

 

 

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[miniyorkie]

Ours is 2 weeks, starting on the 14th of June.

 

 

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eddiecat

I have been reading all the responses to your dilemma and I would feel exactly the same as you do. You just want everything to be as perfect as possible and you are now having this problem before you even get on the cruise. You just wanted to be told a cabin number and it be just as you both hoped, and to be able to start with the excitement and anticipation of the pre holiday planning. I really do think that there will be cancellations and no shows, as others have said, as there is still plenty time before your holiday. Hopefully P&O have not "overbooked" as airlines and hotels do to compensate for the cancellation percentage. Positive thinking - I hope you get a suite upgrade and have a wonderful time together.

[PORT ROYAL]

We've been on Oceana 5 times and have never heard of or noticed this cabin type previously. I am hopeful that polite persistence on your part with P&O will lead to some kind of resolution either beforehand or once on board. At the very least maybe a little extra on board credit would ease the disappointment?

Personally I think that a lot of the fault lies with your TA, particularly given your comment "Yes, to be fair it was a guaranteed booking, however the TA informed us that the cabin would be like any other balcony cabin! We trusted them with this holiday...."

 

With that in mind (and if it is not resolved to your satisfaction) I wonder whether you may be able to make a case with ABTA? Whilst not exactly the same I was thinking about the following:

 

 

 

https://abta.com/holiday-help-and-complaints/how-can-we-help-you/im-on-holiday-and-im-not-happy-with-my-hotel-room-what-should-i-do

 

I sincerely hope that once on board you quickly forget about all this pre-holiday stress (who needs it?) and have a great time.

 

All the best

Damian

 

ABTA will have no teeth, as the TA's copout legal clause in the "Contract, is they are only acting as "An Agent Only" on the OP's behalf. Therefore, their screwups are the responsibility of the OP.

Have been down this road before, hence now we only book direct.

[balf]

Well what we can’t understand is why they wouldn’t swap our cabin with someone who has bought the same grade cabin as us, but has asked for a twin bed configuration with non fixed beds. (So beds could be pushed together)

Like I’ve said before, if we are stuck with this room then that’s fine, I just want to exhaust every possibility of getting a better cabin before giving up.

 

 

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I think it’s been pointed out here that no cruise can sail with every cabin occupied. Disasters can happen to make cabins unoccupiable so they have to keep some in reserve. I would suggest asking to see the Hotel Manager as soon as you board. From personal experience this has worked for us in the past.

 

DAVID.

[PORT ROYAL]

I think it’s been pointed out here that no cruise can sail with every cabin occupied. Disasters can happen to make cabins unoccupiable so they have to keep some in reserve. I would suggest asking to see the Hotel Manager as soon as you board. From personal experience this has worked for us in the past.

 

DAVID.

 

Has anybody in CC got the Hotel Manager's E-mail address?

[eddiecat]

Had a word with the customer service department of our TA, they will be ringing up everyday for cancellations, it’s the best they can do.

 

 

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[madison quest]

I really hope this works out for the OP.

 

It raises a question, as to why Select bookings should offer Guarantee cabins? I know they do, as I recall paying something like a £30pp ‘premium’ to take the next (inside) cabin grade up from the lowest (guarantee) when booking a very cheap Oceana repositioning cruise. We really didn’t want to find ourselves in the cabins ‘behind/in front of’ Cafe Jardin, which make moving around that deck difficult.

 

So, should P&O cease making Guarantee available to Select bookers, or should customers pay a relatively small amount more to chose their cabin when booking? I think the former. I can’t see how a ‘pot luck’ cabin can constitute a ‘pay the highest amount to tailor your holiday’ Select booking

 

 

totally agree with your comment. a benefit of booking select was always that you could choose your cabin number from anywhere available on the ship. they have narrowed this down over the last year to make a few more pounds out of the "punter" oh sorry I mean guest/ customer. :o:o its not good enough if you are paying full amount you should have full choice.

[john watson]

I have done a bit of research on this cabin issue and I have found out some interesting facts.

 

Princess Cruise line had a ship built in 1995 called Sun Princess. This was the original ship which gave rise to the name "Sun Class" ships. Other ships followed; Dawn Princess 1997, Sea Princess 1998 and finally Ocean Princess 2000. At some point P&O acquired two of these Sea Princess became Adonia for a while and left the fleet but P&O also acquired Ocean Princess and renamed her Oceana. So Oceana is the same design as all the aforementioned Sun Class ships and they are all very similar in layout if you care to look at online Deck Plans particularly those provided by the cruise lines..

 

If you understand the basis of cabin grades, there is a first letter denoting cabin type; inside, outside balcony etc. but the second letter indicates the grade level or quality with A being best then B and so on. On Sun Class ships P&O grade Oceana balcony cabins HA, HB, HC, HD, HE and HF and from what I can make out the cabin in this thread falls into HD (I am a bit colour blind). So that is mid-range in terms of quality. Princess grade their Sun Class ships BA, BB, BD and BX there are only four BX grade balconies listed; B730, B732, B735 and B737. Princess list these four balcony cabins as: Non standard layout, Twin config only, 2 fixed lowers and 2 upper pullmans.

 

My conclusion is that Princess have identified four dodgy balconies and put big red flag warnings on them, X is a long way down the alphabet and the frank description, whereas P&O have lumped them in on a forward, mid-forward, midship, mid-aft and aft classification system ignoring the obvious less than satisfactory facilities offered by these four balcony cabins.

 

Regards John

[madison quest]

Had a word with the customer service department of our TA, they will be ringing up everyday for cancellations, it’s the best they can do.

 

 

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eddiecat, you have done all you can for now. hopefully things will come right in the end for you (yn) In the meantime look forward to a wonderful sunny, warm, cruise on Oceana she is a lovely ship, and the places you visit will mean a lot more than the beds in the end. good luck.

[Tom Baker]

I have done a bit of research on this cabin issue and I have found out some interesting facts.

 

Princess Cruise line had a ship built in 1995 called Sun Princess. This was the original ship which gave rise to the name "Sun Class" ships. Other ships followed; Dawn Princess 1997, Sea Princess 1998 and finally Ocean Princess 2000. At some point P&O acquired two of these Sea Princess became Adonia for a while and left the fleet but P&O also acquired Ocean Princess and renamed her Oceana. So Oceana is the same design as all the aforementioned Sun Class ships and they are all very similar in layout if you care to look at online Deck Plans particularly those provided by the cruise lines..

 

If you understand the basis of cabin grades, there is a first letter denoting cabin type; inside, outside balcony etc. but the second letter indicates the grade level with A being best then B and so on. On Sun Class ships P&O grade Oceana balcony cabins HA, HB, HC, HD, HE and HF and from what I can make out the cabin in this thread falls into HD (I am a bit colour blind). So that is mid-range in terms of quality. Princess grade their Sun Class ships BA, BB, BD and BX there are only four BX grade balconies listed; B730, B732, B735 and B737. Princess list these four balcony cabins as: Non standard layout, Twin config only, 2 fixed lowers and 2 upper pullmans.

 

My conclusion is that Princess have identified four dodgy balconies and put big red flag warnings on them, X is a long way down the alphabet and the frank description, whereas P&O have lumped them in on a forward, mid-forward, midship, mid-aft and aft classification system ignoring the obvious less than satisfactory facilities offered by these four balcony cabins.

 

Regards John

 

Very informative John. Princess have obviously had this problem in the past and ave rectified it. I suspect that their BX grade of cabin is cheaper than BA BB and BD grades to compensate for the inferior product.

[eddiecat]

I have done a bit of research on this cabin issue and I have found out some interesting facts.

 

Princess Cruise line had a ship built in 1995 called Sun Princess. This was the original ship which gave rise to the name "Sun Class" ships. Other ships followed; Dawn Princess 1997, Sea Princess 1998 and finally Ocean Princess 2000. At some point P&O acquired two of these Sea Princess became Adonia for a while and left the fleet but P&O also acquired Ocean Princess and renamed her Oceana. So Oceana is the same design as all the aforementioned Sun Class ships and they are all very similar in layout if you care to look at online Deck Plans particularly those provided by the cruise lines..

 

If you understand the basis of cabin grades, there is a first letter denoting cabin type; inside, outside balcony etc. but the second letter indicates the grade level or quality with A being best then B and so on. On Sun Class ships P&O grade Oceana balcony cabins HA, HB, HC, HD, HE and HF and from what I can make out the cabin in this thread falls into HD (I am a bit colour blind). So that is mid-range in terms of quality. Princess grade their Sun Class ships BA, BB, BD and BX there are only four BX grade balconies listed; B730, B732, B735 and B737. Princess list these four balcony cabins as: Non standard layout, Twin config only, 2 fixed lowers and 2 upper pullmans.

 

My conclusion is that Princess have identified four dodgy balconies and put big red flag warnings on them, X is a long way down the alphabet and the frank description, whereas P&O have lumped them in on a forward, mid-forward, midship, mid-aft and aft classification system ignoring the obvious less than satisfactory facilities offered by these four balcony cabins.

 

Regards John

 

 

 

Gosh this makes me even more frustrated with P&O. Such a disappointment and they’re refusing to do anything.

 

 

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[eddiecat]

Very informative John. Princess have obviously had this problem in the past and ave rectified it. I suspect that their BX grade of cabin is cheaper than BA BB and BD grades to compensate for the inferior product.

 

 

 

But P&O are selling these BX cabins at the same price as an average balcony cabin! Feel like we’ve lost money in all of this.

 

 

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[CruiseGal999]

So yesterday my boyfriend and I were given our cabin number on the Oceana. We leave on the 14th of June. We paid for a guaranteed balcony cabin. However the cabin we have received just isn’t up to standards! We are loyal customers and are paying a lot of money to go on this holiday. We have been given,what P&O call a ‘railway cabin’, it’s long and narrow and has 1 fixed single bed with 3 Pullman beds!!!! We are a couple and didn’t expect this whatsoever. We have spoken to P&O but the cruise is full booked so can’t even upgrade us!!! Can someone put me at ease and give some advice??????

 

 

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I absolutely think this is robbery. I have never sailed P & O, I don't have solutions for you, unfortunately. I have cruised some, but not as experienced as many on CC. But to pull this crap and have you pay that exorbitant price is just criminal.

I feel so incredibly sorry for you both. I have to say I think your TA is to blame for part of this. TA knew it was your honeymoon and TA knows what 'can' happen with a guarantee. She should have worked it better from the beginning. Is TA compensating at all with On Board Credit or anything?

[pete14]

Problem we have is that the cabin technically has only 1 bed. The other 3 are temporary. The TA never said this was even a possibility, they told us our cabin would be the same as any other balcony cabin. P&O aren’t willing to help and said it was “our fault for booking through a 3rd party”. Can’t argue with them but they were dismissive. We then rang the TA, who was also understanding but there was nothing they could do. However they did acknowledge that the price we paid was unfair and not correct for our grade cabin. We asked who to complain to and said “we will get back to you tomorrow”. Feels like we are just being ignored despite having not been told clearly the T&C’s of the cabin... just feel like screaming! Losing all hope.

 

 

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Technically and in actuality, according to the deckplan, you have two fixed single beds and two additional upper Pullman berths which will be folded into the wall for you. The fault appears to be with the agent who gave bad advice that your guarantee cabin would be like every other balcony cabin. I am amazed the agent told you the price you paid was unfair and not correct for that grade of cabin. Presumably they will correct the error and refund you what they believe you have been overcharged. Won’t change the fact your cabin is not what you want, but it may help you to cope with it and enjoy your cruise.

The moral of your experience is not to accept a guarantee cabin, even if you are booking a select fare. They are only guarantee because most of the cabin type have been sold so the likelihood is that you may be given a cabin nobody else has chosen (for good reason).

[Happyhummingbird]

I have to say that to some degree having oddly configured cabins is the risk you take with a much older ship. In times past, they built the ship and then slotted all sorts of cabins in around the working elements of the vessel. I remember on our very 1st cruise, we were on an older ship and were given an L shaped cabin. It had 2 single beds which could never be made into a double. Newer ships have standardised cabins, generally built off site as complete units with all the plumbing & fittings already installed and then craned together at the shipyard. The cruise industry has changed so much over the years. :)

[FAB1]

Technically and in actuality, according to the deckplan, you have two fixed single beds and two additional upper Pullman berths which will be folded into the wall for you. The fault appears to be with the agent who gave bad advice that your guarantee cabin would be like every other balcony cabin. I am amazed the agent told you the price you paid was unfair and not correct for that grade of cabin. Presumably they will correct the error and refund you what they believe you have been overcharged. Won’t change the fact your cabin is not what you want, but it may help you to cope with it and enjoy your cruise.

The moral of your experience is not to accept a guarantee cabin, even if you are booking a select fare. They are only guarantee because most of the cabin type have been sold so the likelihood is that you may be given a cabin nobody else has chosen (for good reason).

 

The deck plan is not strictly correct and there is only one fixed bed as per the following information on the P&O website:-

 

Oceana

 

The following cabins have fixed twin beds:

A201, A202, A203, A218, A221, A223, A316, A317, A319, A640, A641, A709, A710, A711, A726, A729, A730*, A731, A732*, A735*, A737*

B205, B207, B209, B210, B226, B231, B233, B314, B315, B317, B709, B710, B711, B726, B729, B730*, B731, B732*, B735*, B737*, B746, B751

C305, C306, C314, C315, C316, C317, C318, C319, C321, C323, C324, C326, C329, C331, C709, C710, C711

D315, D319, D320, D321, D322, D323, D324, D325, D326, D329, D330, D333, D335, D709, D710, D711

E318, E319, E321

F225, F227, F228, F229, F230, F232, F233, F234, F235, F236, F237, F238, F231, F240, F242, F244, F314, F315, F317

*Please note that cabins are longer and narrower than standard cabins (known as railway cabins). In these cabins, one lower berth is fixed, the second lower berth folds away against the wall when not in use to give more space during the day. Upper berths in these cabins also fold up against the wall.

[davenew]

So yesterday my boyfriend and I were given our cabin number on the Oceana. We leave on the 14th of June. We paid for a guaranteed balcony cabin. However the cabin we have received just isn’t up to standards! We are loyal customers and are paying a lot of money to go on this holiday. We have been given,what P&O call a ‘railway cabin’, it’s long and narrow and has 1 fixed single bed with 3 Pullman beds!!!! We are a couple and didn’t expect this whatsoever. We have spoken to P&O but the cruise is full booked so can’t even upgrade us!!! Can someone put me at ease and give some advice??????

 

 

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You booked a guaranteed balcony, and that is exactly what they have allocated. It looks like you and your boyfriend are in for a cosy cruise. Enjoy it.

Its obviously a lottery, but depends on what is available after others have laid for their exact cabins.

 

 

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[john watson]

You booked a guaranteed balcony, and that is exactly what they have allocated. It looks like you and your boyfriend are in for a cosy cruise. Enjoy it.

Its obviously a lottery, but depends on what is available after others have laid for their exact cabins.

 

 

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Yes I think legally the cruise line have fulfilled the contract in terms of allocating the passengers "a balcony cabin". I think that any case on this would centre on whether the goods and services provided were of fit and merchantable quality. Princess cruise line describe these four cabins in obvious stark tones and P&O seem to have buried the information in small print with asterisks and references. A person booking under a minimum grade guaranteed contract should easily be able to understand what the worst case scenario is from the outset and this is not so in this case it has been well hidden. An unfair contract could be what has happened here in a similar way as ppi mis-selling took place a few years back.

 

Regards John

[janny444]

Hi....When you go through the booking process you are asked what bed formation you want....does that form part of your contract? The OP wanted Queen bed formation ....I don't think they would have said that it doesn't matter. When we booked our last cruise we asked for twin bed formation and it was made clear at the time of booking that the beds would be fixed beds....no problem to us but in this case they wanted Queen formation so it should have been made clear at the " point of booking" that it couldn't be guaranteed....both sided were entering a contract.

[Harry Peterson]

Eddiecat, I feel for you. But the way things are with Early Saver bookings P&O get carte blanche to dish out whatever suits them.

 

Having said that, they do have to comply with the terms of any contract, and it depends exactly what you specified (as distinct from requested) when you booked. If you stipulated that it had to be a Queen (which I think is probably unlikely) then a Queen it will have to be, and I'm not sure that could be achieved. If you merely requested a Queen, that's entirely different.

 

Probably the only contractual obligation is to provide a balcony cabin for two in the grade stipulated (or above) and they've done that, but upsetting a young couple with potentially years of cruising ahead of them (and not necessarily with P&O) doesn't sound very sensible.

 

I'd probably have a try at getting some help from further up the food chain (try this, though it may not work: josh.weinstein@carnivalukgroup.com), though P&O/Carnival can be a notoriously difficult company to deal with when things go wrong. If you stipulated a Queen, you're on firm ground but if not it's still worth trying.

 

Whatever the outcome, you'll have a great time. The cabin's not quite what you expected, but it won't spoil the holiday (it's just a small part of the overall experience) and I'll be amazed if you don't enjoy yourselves.

[john watson]

Hi....When you go through the booking process you are asked what bed formation you want....does that form part of your contract? The OP wanted Queen bed formation ....I don't think they would have said that it doesn't matter. When we booked our last cruise we asked for twin bed formation and it was made clear at the time of booking that the beds would be fixed beds....no problem to us but in this case they wanted Queen formation so it should have been made clear at the " point of booking" that it couldn't be guaranteed....both sided were entering a contract.

 

I think all bed requirements are on the website as a "request" same as dining all "requests" which implies you might not end up with what you "want". This booking was a balcony guarantee - they got a balcony. Their contract is with a travel agent, who did not point out what could happen and the situation you might end up in. I suspect the travel agent had no idea this might happen but they should know as a professional person in this sphere of operations.

 

Regards John

[picsa]

I had this exact issue with P&O a couple of cruises ago.

 

I had booked a Saver cabin and was allocated a cabin with fixed twin beds.

 

The booking had been made direct with P&O over the phone.

 

I complained that I had been asked whether I wanted twin beds or a queen double, and it wasn't explained my request for a double was only a request and wasn't guaranteed.

 

They went away and replayed the tapes from the booking and agreed I had been misled and allocated me a cabin with a queen bed.

[my marina bay]

Apologies if I missed the post but did you say you paid £3k pp for a saver fare or did you book a select fare with a gtee balcony cabin. If it's the latter PO are ' supposed' to offer upgrades first to select fares. Have you checked with your TA to see which fare you booked.

 

If it's the latter fill in an FOI request and ask how many saver fares have been allocated balconies and which grades. That should get them moving !!

Edited May 9, 2018 by my marina bay

[picsa]

Apologies if I missed the post but did you say you paid £3k pp for a saver fare or did you book a select fare with a gtee balcony cabin. If it's the latter PO are ' supposed' to offer upgrades first to select fares. Have you checked with your TA to see which fare you booked.

 

If it's the latter fill in an FOI request and ask how many saver fares have been allocated balconies and which grades. That should get them moving !!

 

FOI doesn't apply to private companies so they can tell you to get lost.

[Eglesbrech]

Apologies if I missed the post but did you say you paid £3k pp for a saver fare or did you book a select fare with a gtee balcony cabin. If it's the latter PO are ' supposed' to offer upgrades first to select fares. Have you checked with your TA to see which fare you booked.

 

If it's the latter fill in an FOI request and ask how many saver fares have been allocated balconies and which grades. That should get them moving !!

 

Don’t think FOI applies to private organisations.