Kevin Turnock, a P&O Cruises customer, wrote to the Telegraph on January 11, 2024.
“Although the dangerous situation in the Red Sea is reported daily, many travel companies do not provide their customers with updates and some do not even respond to customer queries. This is clearly not acceptable, especially when families are spending huge amounts of money with these companies and are clearly concerned about the situation.
“Our situation is as follows: P&O is conducting a world cruise on the ship, Arcadia. The ship left Britain this week for the first leg of its cruise to the US and the Caribbean. My wife and I will meet the cruise in Sydney and depart for Great Britain on February 22, 2024. Arcadia will transit the Red Sea and Suez Canal on return to Britain.
“Unfortunately there currently appears to be almost daily missile and drone attacks on shipping in the Red Sea area and I cannot imagine that P&O will be sending a large white ship complete with Union Jack colors through the area anytime soon.
“I have been trying to contact P&O since November for an update to try and determine if my cruise will be canceled (as many cruise lines have already announced for itineraries involving the Red Sea), diverted via Africa (as at least one cruise line has already announced). line and several commercial shipping companies have already done this), or are aborted and passengers are flown home from, for example, Singapore or Sri Lanka.
“To date, I have generally not received a response or, in one case, a message stating: ‘We are continually assessing the situation, any changes that may need to be made to any of our itineraries will be communicated to our guests. .’
“In our case, the cruise was booked to celebrate our 60th anniversary, so we need sufficient time to make alternative arrangements should the cruise be cancelled. We are sensitive to this possibility because a previous trip was canceled only 48 hours before the departure date.
“I don’t understand why the company is so reluctant to provide a meaningful update or engage in conversation. I appreciate that a final decision may not yet be available, but the options being considered should be available now and perhaps the right to request a penalty-free refund should be made available.”
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said:
“We are monitoring the situation daily and will inform guests if any changes to the itinerary are required.
“The safety, security and well-being of guests and crew is our absolute priority. Should we decide to change the itinerary based on our own assessment of the situation or based on advice from, for example, authorities such as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), we will inform guests of the revised itinerary and any other impact on the cruise, if applicable.”
Greg Dickinson, senior travel writer, advises:
The situation in the Red Sea is constantly changing and very unstable. Last week, Britain and the US launched airstrikes on Houthi military bases in Yemen. It is therefore understandable that P&O Cruises is taking a cautious approach and following the FCDO advice on this matter. As it stands now, the Arcadia The ship is scheduled to sail through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal in early April.
You and your wife are understandably frustrated and want answers, especially considering the holiday is a big double birthday party. However, at this stage your options are limited.
Because your cruise is less than 90 days away, you cannot convert your itinerary to an alternate cruise. If you choose to cancel unilaterally, you will only receive a partial refund.
Since you’ll be joining the cruise on February 22 (just over a month from now), you’ll have to pay a 75 percent cancellation fee (P&O Cruises spreads cancellation fees based on proximity to the departure date). This would amount to a loss of many thousands of pounds.
P&O Cruises reserves the absolute right to change its schedule after departure. Considering that the Arcadia has already departed from Southampton (on January 6) and is currently en route to the Caribbean, clause 43 in the Terms and Conditions is of crucial importance to you and your wife.
“After departure, P&O Cruises does not guarantee that the ship will call at every port on the route or follow every part of the advertised route or timetable or that every part of the package will be offered. P&O Cruises reserves the absolute right to decide whether or not to skip such port(s) and/or call at additional ports and/or change the advertised itinerary, schedule or package.”
P&O Cruises adds that if it is unable to provide a significant part of the package (for example by avoiding the Suez Canal and diverting through Africa), it will “make suitable alternative arrangements, at no additional cost to the guest, for continuing the journey.” of the package.”
If you and your spouse do not accept the rerouting plans “for good reasons”, P&O Cruises will “provide the Guest with transportation back to the place of departure or to another place where P&O Cruises and the Guest have agreed to it.”
As the situation in the Red Sea is unavoidable, exceptional and beyond the control of P&O Cruises, it is unlikely that you will be entitled to any additional compensation.
For now, it’s best to keep in close contact with P&O Cruises, and also keep a close eye on what other cruise lines are doing. Fred Olsen Cruises says it still plans to transit the Suez Canal in April: “If there is an escalated risk closer to the time, we will of course implement a contingency plan,” the report said. Viking Cruises, meanwhile, has canceled the planned overnight call of its world cruise to Haifa, Israel, but for now the previous Suez transit in April remains in place.
It goes without saying that, if you board the Arcadia on February 22, you and your wife must ensure that you have comprehensive insurance.