Cabin re-allocation. Arcadia 1st May Baltic Cruise

[Presto2]

This is similar situation to what I've been asking about on another thread. It does worry me that we could end up being 'upgraded' to a cabin that we don't want. What P&O call an upgrade isn't always what we would call an upgrade ..... e.g. a move from an aft balcony cabin on Ventura to one of the deluxe cabins on D deck wouldn't really float our boat.

 

I hope that you find out your new cabin soon so that it can put your mind and rest as much as possible

[Mollag]

We’re currently on Aurora and due to go on the May1 cruise had the email saying our cabin is no longer available we have no desire to travel with P&O again after the way we’ve been treated and others are still being treated the same way as they obviously can’t control the spread and have not learned any lessons even after 4 weeks. We’ve asked for a refund not FCC so have to wait now to see if we get a response from them

[Megabear2]

49 minutes ago, Mollag said:

We’re currently on Aurora and due to go on the May1 cruise had the email saying our cabin is no longer available we have no desire to travel with P&O again after the way we’ve been treated and others are still being treated the same way as they obviously can’t control the spread and have not learned any lessons even after 4 weeks. We’ve asked for a refund not FCC so have to wait now to see if we get a response from them

Hello. Sorry that you're still having a bad time , I'd hoped things were improving for you now that isolation was over.  I assume from your post that you still perceive sickness as happening? Someone else on board had indicated things were relaxing and getting back to normal.

 

Did the email offer you the option of a refund or did you state you wanted that and nothing less?

 

Not much longer onboard for you and hopefully you can soon put it all behind you.  Wishing you good health and better days.

[terrierjohn]

5 hours ago, mickey1959 said:

I was just saying there are no inside cabins in mid aft sorry. Could be any deck.

I believe all ships have several decks in the same area being used for quarantine.

[mickey1959]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I believe all ships have several decks in the same area being used for quarantine.

Yes I believe so.

[Mollag]

9 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Hello. Sorry that you're still having a bad time , I'd hoped things were improving for you now that isolation was over.  I assume from your post that you still perceive sickness as happening? Someone else on board had indicated things were relaxing and getting back to normal.

 

Did the email offer you the option of a refund or did you state you wanted that and nothing less?

 

Not much longer onboard for you and hopefully you can soon put it all behind you.  Wishing you good health and better days.

Thanks for your concern we’re ok just fed up now it’s that bad amongst the crew now senior management are serving meals in the crew mess so I would think there’s just as many cases amongst the passengers, just waiting to be told Praia da Vitoria won’t let us in which everyone is convinced is going to happen the same as Azura not allowed to let passengers of in Canaries and missing Cadiz altogether so 13 straight days to Valletta for them 

[arlowood]

As the OP of this post I decided to delve a bit deeper after receiving an email from P&O, trumpeting the return to service of Arcadia.

 

I  went through a dummy booking process for a Select fare deluxe balcony cabin on A deck. Our existing booking is in cabin A129 which is in the aft section. When I reached the cabin selection part the online system was offering me A161 in the aft section, starboard side. On the deck plan shown there were 9 other cabins available in that area which I could have opted for.

Now I may be a bit dim, but why would they be moving me from A129 in preparation for creating a quarantine zone, when they are offering several cabins further aft which would effectively  be isolated  beyond the quarantine zone. I know there is a staircase and set of lifts between our cabin and the ones further aft  but it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Oh and another thing - the price being quoted for that A161 cabin is £4338 as a Select fare. When we booked in July 2021 the price we were charged was £5662 about £1300 more than the offer today. A161 is in the same EE grade as A129.

 

Riddle me that one Mr Riddler!!!!

Edited March 27, 2022 by arlowood

[mickey1959]

32 minutes ago, arlowood said:

As the OP of this post I decided to delve a bit deeper after receiving an email from P&O, trumpeting the return to service of Arcadia.

 

I  went through a dummy booking process for a Select fare deluxe balcony cabin on A deck. Our existing booking is in cabin A129 which is in the aft section. When I reached the cabin selection part the online system was offering me A161 in the aft section, starboard side. On the deck plan shown there were 9 other cabins available in that area which I could have opted for.

Now I may be a bit dim, but why would they be moving me from A129 in preparation for creating a quarantine zone, when they are offering several cabins further aft which would effectively  be isolated  beyond the quarantine zone. I know there is a staircase and set of lifts between our cabin and the ones further aft  but it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Oh and another thing - the price being quoted for that A161 cabin is £4338 as a Select fare. When we booked in July 2021 the price we were charged was £5662 about £1300 more than the offer today. A161 is in the same EE grade as A129.

 

Riddle me that one Mr Riddler!!!!

Quarantine cabins are forward of aft lifts.

[Gettingwarmer]

55 minutes ago, arlowood said:

As the OP of this post I decided to delve a bit deeper after receiving an email from P&O, trumpeting the return to service of Arcadia.

 

I  went through a dummy booking process for a Select fare deluxe balcony cabin on A deck. Our existing booking is in cabin A129 which is in the aft section. When I reached the cabin selection part the online system was offering me A161 in the aft section, starboard side. On the deck plan shown there were 9 other cabins available in that area which I could have opted for.

Now I may be a bit dim, but why would they be moving me from A129 in preparation for creating a quarantine zone, when they are offering several cabins further aft which would effectively  be isolated  beyond the quarantine zone. I know there is a staircase and set of lifts between our cabin and the ones further aft  but it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Oh and another thing - the price being quoted for that A161 cabin is £4338 as a Select fare. When we booked in July 2021 the price we were charged was £5662 about £1300 more than the offer today. A161 is in the same EE grade as A129.

 

Riddle me that one Mr Riddler!!!!

You are forward of the aft lifts in a quarantine zone. Those cabins aft of the lifts are not in a quarantine zone. 
 

I just noticed A129 is just about adjacent to the stairs. It depends where the fire doors are which are used to close off the quarantine section. 
 

if you like one of those cabins you see now maybe ring up to grab one rather than wait and see what you’re given. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Gettingwarmer

[arlowood]

 

Seems a bit odd as A129 is right at the lift/stairs access point so to quarantine that cabin effectively could mean closing off access to the lifts and stairs. Have been in that area before on the Arcadia but I can't remember where the fire doors are but it would create a very small quarantine section if they need to leave access to the lifts/stairs for those cabins further aft

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2022 by arlowood

[Gettingwarmer]

9 minutes ago, arlowood said:

 

Seems a bit odd as A129 is right at the lift/stairs access point so to quarantine that cabin effectively could mean closing off access to the lifts and stairs. Have been in that area before on the Arcadia but I can't remember where the fire doors are but it would create a very small quarantine section if they need to leave access to the lifts/stairs for those cabins further aft

 

 

 

 

 

If the fire door is at A129 then A131 and those further aft would have access to the stairs and lifts. A129 and forward to the fire door before the mid lifts would be the quarantine section. 

[molecrochip]

Did take a quick look about a week ago.

 

I actually think its A130 and A135 forward that are blocked. On B Its B108 and B121 forward.

Edited March 27, 2022 by molecrochip

[arlowood]

26 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

If the fire door is at A129 then A131 and those further aft would have access to the stairs and lifts. A129 and forward to the fire door before the mid lifts would be the quarantine section. 

OK I see that as a possibility.  However, from other contributions posted here and elsewhere it seems that the aft section tends to be the chosen area for quarantine rather than mid-aft as it is directly above the kitchens ( and possibly the medical centre).

 

Anyway I am resigned to that fact that we will lose our carefully chosen cabin. Near the lift and stairs, only one flight of stairs up to the self-service Belvedere, not under any area on Deck 9 that has high traffic (a disabled toilet above our cabin) and pretty direct access to the  main restaurants below

 

The fact that P&O are showing several cabins further aft as being available then I'm struggling to understand why they could not have moved us to one of those without all this cloak and dagger stuff. Maybe we're going to be offered an upgrade?????🤣

Edited March 27, 2022 by arlowood

[molecrochip]

4 minutes ago, arlowood said:

OK I see that as a possibility.  However, from other contributions posted here and elsewhere it seems that the aft section tends to be the chosen area for quarantine rather than mid-aft as it is directly above the kitchens ( and possibly the medical centre).

 

Anyway I am resigned to that fact that we will lose our carefully chosen cabin. Near the lift and stairs, only one flight of stairs up to the self-service Belvedere, not under any area on Deck 9 that has high traffic (a disabled toilet above our cabin) and pretty direct access to the  main restaurants below

Depends on ship design.

 

Azura/Ventura are aft Aft

Iona/Britannia are mid

Arcadia is mid-Aft

 

Can't remember Aurora.

[molecrochip]

It's all to do with a) having a dedicated staff staircase servicing the quarantine cabins and b) having some accessible cabins within the quarantine zone on at least one deck.

 

This varies from ship to ship.

[livinforcruisin]

Hi Everyone,

 

My husband and I are booked on a b2b cruise on Azura out of Malta commencing May 19th.  We booked a select fare aft suite on D deck.  This is our preferred cabin of choice on all our cruises. Private, quiet, fully covered balcony.  We received the dreaded emails a few days ago telling us that our cabin is now being taken out of service.  But not to worry as we are being 'upgraded', but we don't know where too!  The only upgrade we could see online were the midship Riviera deck suites.  We absolutely would never book those cabins.

 

Also, as we are on a b2b,  the chances are we will be moved after week 1.  There is no offer to cancel etc.  Needless to say this has left us very distressed and with rising covid numbers again, very concerned about travel in general.  They must have known about these required changes prior to final payment which was only 4 weeks ago.  We feel completely duped and would stand to lose a significant amount of money if we were to cancel now.  Plus in 5 days time, our % loss on cancellation goes even higher, but they're in no rush to identify what cabin we are being moved to.  We did call P&O but were asked to wait until allocation.  What help that will be I don't know.  I we have detailed our complaint to them in an email, but we have little hope of this being resolved.  I have thought about going to our credit card company for re-imbursement as our email clearly states, we booked a 'select price cabin and ticked no upgrade'.  Again unsure if that will work as the devil is always in the detail of the T&C's.  Currently have 4 cruises with P&O booked going forward.  Will probably now cancel those too.

 

A very unhappy customer.

[Pippa04]

It's difficult to understand why P and O don't approach this problem the other way round.  The re-allocation of quarantine cabins has been a major problem for many months and probably will be for many more.  Why not try re-allocating these cabins in advance in consultation with passengers?  When we reach the happy situation that cabins are no longer needed for quarantine passengers can simply be moved back.  The current situation is causing such distress to so many people who are being forced to spend their hard earned money on holidays which no longer suit their purpose.

 

I've mentioned on another thread that I spend £16.5k on 3 cabins for my family on Azura in the Caribbean.  I got the dreaded email 6 weeks before we were due to go and was allocated "upgraded" cabins which would not have suited our purposes.  I asked P and O that same day if I could have 3 which would have been acceptable (but still not as nice as the ones I'd booked) but they refused unless I gave them over £1k more despite the fact that they were on sale at that time for far less than I had paid.  To cut a long and very stressful story short, it took them until a few days before we were due to sail to get back to me.  They agreed a refund and then rescinded the offer the next day and said I had to book another cruise or lose 90% of my money as it was so close to sailing.  Whose fault was that?  Certainly not mine!

 

As far as I am concerned I booked this cruise under the old T & C's which clearly state I should have been offered a refund (and compensation!)

 

P and O are not only acting unlawfully (disclaimer - in my opinion...) but they are being really stupid.  I have cruised with them many times and as an early retiree I intended on doing so several times a year for as long as I could.  After this treatment I will never cruise with them again.

 

Perhaps those of us who are more than a little disgruntled with our treatment should get together to try and get our money back.  The way we are being directed to go through our insurers or via chargeback through entirely innocent banks leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

[TAD520]

So for being downgraded in our case from a suite to a deluxe balcony in a part of the ship we dont want to be we get just a measly £100 per person onboard credit. I am still yet to find out how much refund we will get for the pelasure of being either now we are on a lower grade cabin, not a good experience and will never sail with P&O again!

 

I called P&O to be told your TA will tell you how much the refund is. Call the TA to be told P&O have not told them, you can't make this stuff up and highly frustrating when the crusie is 4 weeks away!!

[Huggsy]

Is it worth taking it up with ABTA?

[arlowood]

Thought I'd take the opportunity just to wrap up the saga of our cabin re-allocation.

Since I first posted I'd contacted our TA to see whether they had any indication of what was going on and whether they could throw any more light on the topic.

I had a response yesterday to say that they had received confirmation that P&O had re-allocated us to a cabin in the forward section of B deck (same grade as our existing choice).

 

She already knew that we were unlikely to be happy about that move so went into the P&O system to see what other cabins were still being offered for booking.

 

Lo and behold, there were several cabins still available on A deck just a few positions aft of the one we had originally booked.

She contacted P&O and suggested that we would much prefer to be moved to one of those and they agreed to do that.

We've just now received the email from P&O with that new cabin on A deck confirmed.

 

We're much happier bunnies now and can only underscore the importance of having an excellent TA who knows their client and can take the initiative on their behalf.

If I'd booked direct, I very much doubt if P&O would have engaged with me personally to bring this to an amicable conclusion.

Edited April 1, 2022 by arlowood

[Gettingwarmer]

On 3/27/2022 at 10:54 AM, Gettingwarmer said:

 

if you like one of those cabins you see now maybe ring up to grab one rather than wait and see what you’re given. 

That’s what I said to do on Sunday. 

[Mollag]

42 minutes ago, arlowood said:

Thought I'd take the opportunity just to wrap up the saga of our cabin re-allocation.

Since I first posted I'd contacted our TA to see whether they had any indication of what was going on and whether they could throw any more light on the topic.

I had a response yesterday to say that they had received confirmation that P&O had re-allocated us to a cabin in the forward section of B deck (same grade as our existing choice).

 

She already knew that we were unlikely to be happy about that move so went into the P&O system to see what other cabins were still being offered for booking.

 

Lo and behold, there were several cabins still available on A deck just a few positions aft of the one we had originally booked.

She contacted P&O and suggested that we would much prefer to be moved to one of those and they agreed to do that.

We've just now received the email from P&O with that new cabin on A deck confirmed.

 

We're much happier bunnies now and can only underscore the importance of having an excellent TA who knows their client and can take the initiative on their behalf.

If I'd booked direct, I very much doubt if P&O would have engaged with me personally to bring this to an amicable conclusion.

I asked our TA to cancel and get us a refund and the money was back in the bank this morning couldn’t believe it