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Post by barney » 26 Jul 2017 14:28
I told my friend to expect a very different experience on a November Canaries cruise with P&O to the Indy of the Seas.
The demographic will be very different but they are open minded about it.
I did say that at 60 & 58, they may well be the youngest on board
We enjoyed Oceana, Gill and would happily sail on her again.
I'd love bassman to tell us what happened between the airport and the ship.
This is the response to Barney's request put back in the right place.
We were booked on Thomas Cook MT1186 Charter Economy from LGW. As nothing had been said to the contrary, we had assumed that this was a bonded flight, just like previous trips to the Caribbean. There was even a dedicated check-in desk for P&O Cruises. The e-ticket said "After your arrival at the airport(MALTA), you will be met by our local P&O Cruises representatives and transferred to the ship. Porterage for up to 2 bags per person and all local taxes are included"
This did not happen. For a start, the flight was not a charter for P&O, it was a scheduled TC holiday flight and 75% of the passengers were TC holidaymakers going to Malta. It finally flew out 1.5 hours late. We were decanted in into a crowded arrival area with no P&O staff in sight and after passport control we had to find our luggage on the carousel. There was no porterage offered, and we literally struggled with our suit cases and hand luggage to the exit where there were some people waving P&O boards. We were told to take our cases to the coaches, where they were grabbed by a coach driver and put on board. The coach then left without us. We were told don't worry, get the next one, they're all going to the same place. At the end of the coach journey, we joined yet another queue for the check-in procedure, just like Southampton. We then had to walk another 400 m to the ship, carrying our hand luggage. We boarded at 8.45pm, so late that the muster drill was rescheduled for 9.30. We were finally able to grab some food at around 10.45 in the buffet. (Hats off to the catering crew, by the way!). When I made a formal verbal complaint about the chaotic lack of organisation, the misrepresentation of the "charter flight" and the lack of promised assistance, I was told by the Loyalty Manager that "I should have had an email about it". I'm still waiting, and that's one reason why I'm going with CMV next year. From our experiences, nothing has changed about the fly-cruise journey since April!
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