Different Approaches from Cruise Lines

#1

Over the last 12 moths or so I have encountered itinerary changes missed ports with three different cruise lines and it is interesting in the way that the cruise go about this.

P&O - we had a cruise booked with P&O where they completely turned the itinerary round and replaced three ports with different ports. The attitude from P&O was this is what we are doing and if you don't like it then tuff!!

Princess - on our recent Princess cruise we missed three ports of call. Princess gave all passengers a FCC of 20%. Now I know that missing three ports is unusual but it has happened in the past and had nothing from the cruise line.

Silversea - I was notified yesterday that there has been a change to the itinerary of our Silversea cruise next year. One port, where we were due to be for three days, has been cancelled and three other ports have been added. If we wish to stay on the cruise we will $500 OBC plus 15% FCC - there other options to cancel with full refund, rebook another cruise with a 10% discount or a full FCC.

The significant difference here is that the American cruise lines treat their passengers far better than the UK cruise lines.

#2

Silversea

very posh

You wouldn’t mind so much if they gave you an honest explanation why. It’s all very well them giving you compo, (forms still available) but if you chose the cruise specifically for those ports it kind of makes the cruise a bit pointless once they are taken away.

They book these ports months if not years in advance so why change them. No doubt someone in accounts got their figures wrong which means clawing back some revenue. That’s my theory anyway.

#3

Stephen wrote: ↑17 Jun 2023, 12:05
You wouldn’t mind so much if they gave you an honest explanation why.

The Silversea reason is "Due to significant geopolitical unrest in Myanmar" - which is fair enough. Wasn't too keen on two and half days there anyway.

#4

I think it's the same difference as we've experienced with air flight disruption. EasyJet rubbish. Jet2 excellent. I think it reflects their fare structure. P&O and EasyJet cheap with little surplus to be generous if things go wrong. Jet2 and Siilversea higher fares so more in the pot to dish out.

#5

Obviously if you pay big bucks for a superior cruise, the care to passengers is noticeable compered with the likes of us cruisers that travel steerage with lines like P&O. A bad service given to well heeled clients may be harder to get them to cruise again with you, where as cheaper lines can ride the wave knowing the market for thier passengers is that much greater.
You just need to look at airlines like Ryanair, holiday company TUI. They both have a lots of bad publicity, but the price draws them back.

#6

If you look at the cost of a cruise with all three of these companies there is not a lot of difference when you look at the whole package (base fare, drinks, tips, excursions etc) - in fact our last cruise on Princess was cheaper per night than the equivalent on P&O and Silversea only starts to become significantly more expensive when you add on the cost of flights and hotels.

I was also reading about an NCL cruise that missed some ports and their offering of compensation was even better than that of Princess.

I am coming to the conclusion that the reason is that the Americans demand/expect better compensation when something goes wrong/changes and as usual us Brits just take it lying down. I don't altogether go along with the cost argument - I believe that it is an attitude issue.

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