My cruise got cancelled!

[Vampiress88]

So we have two cruises booked for next year. Both in school holidays (Easter and summer) as I will get charged and frowned upon if I take them out during term. 

 

First cruise was for azura in April going to Spain and Portugal. This was cos I wanted to go to Gibraltar (my great grandfather is buried there and the kids wanna see the monkeys) paid £2896 booked few months back. Inside cabin. Sailing from Southampton. 

 

Second one is in mid August on Ventura going to the Canary Islands. Paid £3750 as booked a few months back. Inside cabin. Sailing from Southampton. 

 

I have been sent an email this morning to say the azura cruise in April is cancelled. They can either cancel the whole booking or transfer to the Ventura that sails a day later but it’s on the canary island itinerary and I will get £100 towards other holiday as compensation either way. 

 

Now I don’t want to end up with no holiday at Easter. 

 

I feel very miffed. The azura April cruise was posted at £1309 pp few days ago whereas the Ventura at £949. It’s not like it’s even the same value. 

 

I cannot go on a cruise to Canary Islands in April the go again on same ship to same places in August. Ridiculous!

 

what the hell am I supposed to do?

 

called p&o and they are pretty useless. 

 

I feel like cancelling everything with them as this has tainted my loyalty to towards them now. 

 

Any advice

[majortom10]

Cancel and look at other cruise companies P&O are well known for there poor customer service and the way they treat loyal customers.

[Eglesbrech]

Did they give a reason for the cancellation?

[philsuarez]

Give MSC a look. Great for kids

[BarneyCat]

I’d wait til nearer the dates and pick up a bargain myself. Especially if you’re happy with an inside cabin. Would it be so bad to go to the canaries twice if on one of those you were in a balcony or paying half the price you originally were? 

[Vampiress88]

8 minutes ago, BarneyCat said:

I’d wait til nearer the dates and pick up a bargain myself. Especially if you’re happy with an inside cabin. Would it be so bad to go to the canaries twice if on one of those you were in a balcony or paying half the price you originally were? 

 

Yes I wouldn’t want to go to the same place twice unless I liked the place. Definitely not the same place in the space of four months

[Vampiress88]

13 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Did they give a reason for the cancellation?

 

The azura is going in for the refit early they have said. 

 

Have been to travel agents and p&o are cheapest for school holidays 

[Eglesbrech]

I’m really surprised that they are doing a refit in a major holiday. That does not make much business sense.

 

It is really disappointing when things get cancelled like that. Hope you get sorted for something that suits you.

[BarneyCat]

59 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

 

Yes I wouldn’t want to go to the same place twice unless I liked the place. Definitely not the same place in the space of four months

Ok. I would - for me it’s the cruise rather than the location. 

[Vampiress88]

Just now, BarneyCat said:

Ok. I would - for me it’s the cruise rather than the location. 

 

I get that it is for some but for me it’s a way of seeing lots of different places without being stuck. I don’t wanna go on a weeks beach holiday to Tenerife when I could go on a cruise to all the islands. 

 

If  I liked it then I would possibly book to go back but I wouldn’t book two exactly same cruises next year. 

 

I want the itinerary I booked. I want to go to specific locations and I am just so cross. Had we not have had another cruise booked in August then I might have been ok with the change. They just don’t seem to understand that they are having a knock on effect. I can’t even rebook cruises as they are either all out for some or there prices went up ridiculously and I don’t wanna pay more just cos they have decided to do this. 

 

The ventura cruise was quoted at £350 less than the azura one in the last few days and now they think it’s ok for me to change onto what I would say is a “lesser” cruise than what I booked. 

 

I am getting headache over this  

[majortom10]

Wouldnt it be cheaper and an option to cancel the whole holiday and then book Ventura at the cheaper price than to transfer that is if you want to stick with P&O and "suffer" Canary Islands twice in one year.

Edited March 26, 2019 by majortom10

[Thejuggler]

2 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

I’m really surprised that they are doing a refit in a major holiday. That does not make much business sense.

 

This will be the weekend after the Trans Atlantic, probably a good time to get it in dock before the summer season.

 

This date for refit has been known about for almost a year (there's a cc post from July 18 where someone mentions it) so one can only assume P&O are only recently in a position to confirm the cancellation.

[jones721]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

 

I get that it is for some but for me it’s a way of seeing lots of different places without being stuck. I don’t wanna go on a weeks beach holiday to Tenerife when I could go on a cruise to all the islands. 

 

If  I liked it then I would possibly book to go back but I wouldn’t book two exactly same cruises next year. 

 

I want the itinerary I booked. I want to go to specific locations and I am just so cross. Had we not have had another cruise booked in August then I might have been ok with the change. They just don’t seem to understand that they are having a knock on effect. I can’t even rebook cruises as they are either all out for some or there prices went up ridiculously and I don’t wanna pay more just cos they have decided to do this. 

 

The ventura cruise was quoted at £350 less than the azura one in the last few days and now they think it’s ok for me to change onto what I would say is a “lesser” cruise than what I booked. 

 

I am getting headache over this  

Hi,

 

I have just opened my email from P&O with exactly the same thing. I don't know what to do either.

 

Similar situation except that we are going on Britannia this Easter - guess where - same itinerary that we have been offered on Ventura April 2020!! So I also have a choice, cancel completely or do the same itinerary twice in a 12 month period (not as bad as a 4 month period). I am leaning towards moving over to Ventura as I cruise for the experience and not necessarily the itinerary.

 

We have also been offered a £50 per person Future Cruise Credit - but booked two P&O cruises last week on pre-registration!! They've let us know too late!!!

 

If it's any consolation, we booked this Azura 2020 cruise back in January and it was £50 cheaper than Ventura cos I considered both and opted for the slightly cheaper one (plus a different itinerary). So we would, ever so slightly, benefit if considering prices at time of booking. That may have been thecase when you booked too?? Also, the weather should be better on a Canaries cruise than the Azura itinerary at that time of year and we have experienced more families on this particular itinerary in April than on a Med one.

 

I'm not pleased about it either (£50 FCC is nothing for a cancelled cruise - I consider that a bit of an insult) but am going to sleep on it for a few nights before I make a decision. We have till April 23rd so theoretically, don't need to decide until after we come back from Britannia.

 

Tracey

[ann141]

Can you go to the Canary Islands on Ventura in April (ask for at least a large inside because of price difference) and see if they will transfer the August cruise to a med cruise on Britannia (including Gibraltar)

Edited March 26, 2019 by ann141

[jones721]

1 minute ago, Presto2 said:

I'm now confused and a little worried. We are on Azura over the Easter break to the Fjords and sail on the 20th April. Is this the cruise before or after her now refit ????

Confused.com

Are you thinking April 2019 or 2020? This is for 2020.

 

I found out after I had booked that we were the last cruise before the planned refit. Had I known beforehand, I might have reconsidered booking a cruise immediately before dry dock (things looking tatty?). The refit has been brought forward from 19th to 3rd April 2020.

 

Tracey

[jones721]

1 minute ago, ann141 said:

Can you go to the Canary Islands on Ventura in April (ask for at least a large inside )because of price difference and see if they wi;ll transfer the August cruise to a med cruise on Britannia (including Gibralter)

That's a good idea. Remember though, that Ventura has mostly been dearer than the Azura one (certainly since I have been monitoring prices).

[cabin4three]

3 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

 

Have been to travel agents and p&o are cheapest for school holidays 

 

Have a look at Princess Cruises, we priced checked P&O, Cunard and Princess for school holidays and Princess often cheaper even when taking gratuities into account

[Spike11]

47 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

 

This will be the weekend after the Trans Atlantic, probably a good time to get it in dock before the summer season.

 

This date for refit has been known about for almost a year (there's a cc post from July 18 where someone mentions it) so one can only assume P&O are only recently in a position to confirm the cancellation.

There was already a 2 week gap in the schedule, but with this cancellation it is now 4 weeks. Makes me wonder what they are thinking of doing that will take 4 weeks??

[Son of Anarchy]

Not quite sure if I'm getting confused about the dates, but to me it looks this cruise is still available for sale on Pando's website (03/04/2020 - 17/04/2020, billed as school hols).

 

Also had a look in the latest brochure received last week which shows the gap (18/04 - 02/05 presumably) mentioned by Spike

So a bit bemused...….not unusual

 

[Spike11]

1 minute ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Not quite sure if I'm getting confused about the dates, but to me it looks this cruise is still available for sale on Pando's website (03/04/2020 - 17/04/2020, billed as school hols).

 

Also had a look in the latest brochure received last week which shows the gap (18/04 - 02/05 presumably) mentioned by Spike

So a bit bemused...….not unusual

 

Although the cruise is still on the website, if you go through the booking process is says “ sailing not available” - hopefully the P&O IT department will get thier finger out soon!

[Son of Anarchy]

Says it all!  Thanks

[jones721]

15 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Not quite sure if I'm getting confused about the dates, but to me it looks this cruise is still available for sale on Pando's website (03/04/2020 - 17/04/2020, billed as school hols).

 

Also had a look in the latest brochure received last week which shows the gap (18/04 - 02/05 presumably) mentioned by Spike

So a bit bemused...….not unusual

 

Yes, Azura 2020 cruise still being advertised on their website (first thing I did was look was I opened their cancellation email) but will not allow you to follow through and make a booking.

 

They have offered me the sailing on the 19th April instead of my 3rd April sailing so they have indeed had to change it. They don't want to change things any more than we do.

 

The bottom of their email says that I need to go back through my travel agent if I didn't book direct with them. That's a bit of a pain as they may not tell me anything when I ring but just refer me back to my TA. I just want to ask them several questions (especially in view of hte fact that I booked two cruises jsut last week).

 

I am writing to you with news about your holiday departing April 2020 on Azura.

Regrettably it is necessary to change the date of Azura's refit from mid-April to the beginning of April in order to comply with maritime regulations.

This change to the refit date means that unfortunately your cruise on Azura, which was due to depart on 3 April 2020, has had to be cancelled. The first cruise after Azura’s refit will be A008N, departing Southampton on 19 April 2020, which we appreciate may not fit in with your holiday plans. This is available to book from Wednesday, 3 April 2019.

 

However, we are pleased to let you know that there is another holiday over the Easter period in which you may be interested - Ventura is leaving just one day later (on 4 April 2020), bound for two weeks exploring Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands. 

 

We’re so sorry to have to make this change and as a gesture of goodwill we would like to offer you a £50 per person Future Cruise Credit (applicable to the first two guests on the booking) which can be used towards any P&O Cruises holiday

[jones721]

Should you have any questions then please contact your travel agent or, if you booked directly, contact one of our personal cruise advisers on 0344 xxx xxxx (local call charges apply) to chat through your options and amend your booking.

[pete14]

2 hours ago, jones721 said:

Should you have any questions then please contact your travel agent or, if you booked directly, contact one of our personal cruise advisers on 0344 xxx xxxx (local call charges apply) to chat through your options and amend your booking.

I have great sympathy for those whose holiday plans have been disrupted. However, those who choose to use an agent to handle their booking and possibly receive a small discount, have to go through the agent they have chosen if issues such as this arise. It is normal practice throughout the holiday industry and is one of the reasons why many of us prefer to forego any small discount and book direct. 

[Vampiress88]

I booked mine direct luckily. I spoke to a manager today and they are seeing what they can do. 

 

I was also thinking as someone else meantioned taking this new Ventura canary cruise in April then swapping the one in August to a different cruise that does Gibraltar. Problem is that I will be going from a sea view cabin to inside and they want me to pay £400 more! 

 

I am so cross. I understand that it’s because their schedule for refit has been brought forward but I think it’s awful for us with a knock on affect. 

 

I love good service and if I get that I usually stay with the same company always but this is making me question why I am staying loyal if they don’t seem bothered. 

 

We will have to see what the manager says this morning but I won’t let this drop as it’s very difficult trying to get round all the school holidays but I really still want to go away abroad. 

 

No it wouldn’t be better to cancel and rebook. The £350 more in price difference I was referring to was when I checked four days ago. I booked originally in January and every single cruise I’ve looked at has increased extremely since then. Was just trying to explain that it must be a lesser cruise if they are advertising it at a lower price only four days ago.