I make no secret that I cruise with Jack, my son and for years now we have cruised. We have been with a lot of Cruise lines but this year we feel that we have been badly let down by P and O. Probably badly let down is an understatement.
We booked our Cruise to go on the Aracadia a long time ago. We’re the kind of people who always book a long way ahead and then book Private Tours because that way we can see the places we want to see and don’t have to worry about whether or not we can find two seats together on the coach or having to worry about sticking to the coach rules. We’re just people who like to do our own thing.
So we’re going to Greece among other place and we booked three private tours, which were expense but the cost didn’t matter because it’s worth it because we wanted to go to these places. Suddenly, out of the blue, about twenty something days before we’re due to go, bearing in mind, it’s just coming up to start deciding what we’re taking, my son get’s an e mail. Your port days have been changed due to operational difficulties. Pardon? Out of the blue. Why? So we try to contact P and O. They ignore us. We try to find out what time the new port time are so we can change or try to change our tour times. P and O ignore us. When we do contact our Private Tour Companies they say if we cancel rather than transfer, we lose our money. Simple as that. We try to find our what these operational difficulties are. No response. In the end we ring P and O and try to speak to them face to face. Ahhh…..hmmmm…………is all we get. Well at least we go manage to get new port times but what are the Operational Problems we are? Ahh – sorry we’re not permitted to tell you. Says William on the other end of the phone.
Anyway two of the Companies have been very good and transferred us over with no problem. The third was booked up until Christmas we gather and we couldn’t get hold of him, so we contacted the Company he worked for. I wish we could get hold of him said the loved person on the end of the telephone. He has absconded with all our money. However, we will take responsibility for everything and refund your money, The private tour was actually one that Jack is doing to Olympia on his own because it’s a Historic Site.
The other thing that has sosured P and O for us is the way they’ve put all the prices up so much since we booked. Now there’s a drinks package. Who did they get to come up with that one. Dick Turpin? I mean even he had the decency to wear a mask! Every tiny think you have to pay for which we find you don’t have to on other Cruise Lines but I notice other people are having trouble with P and O. We heard one couple saying they went on a Cruise around the Netherlands and ended up in a port in Belguim as well. As yet, we haven’t been given a embarkation time. Maybe Jack and I have been spoiled by other Cruise lines who have always been more organised than this before, all I know is that we would never go P and O again.
Jack and I have great faith in watching the t.v. vloggers on You Tube and we couldn’t believe two of our favourite who were sailing with one Company. They went into their Cabin, tried to open their fridge door, and found the fridge was locked!!!
It won’t stop Jack and I cruising. That is for sure. We just won’t cruise with P and O again!
Carol Yeomanson Books 