Never mind. They'll be offered a bunch of flowers and tickets for a Blue Funnel cruise down to Hamble Point and back.

My parents are still holed up on the ship enjoying (free) fine wine and the finest weather Southampton can offer. One thing they've vowed as a result is that, in future, they won't try and avoid flying to join a cruise ship as any airport wait is infinitely preferable to being confined in your car for a number of hours in the Western Dock area!

Robert wrote:
Never mind. They'll be offered a bunch of flowers and tickets for a Blue Funnel cruise down to Hamble Point and back.

What a nasty comment. Over 2000 people have had their holiday which they have saved for and looked forward to cancelled at the last minute. Personally I feel really sorry for them but then some people don't really have any concern for others do they?

My sour comment is not aimed at the unfortunate passengers, Sonja, but at the cruising firms. I can't quote chapter and verse but it's fair to say that initial offers made to the victims of sudden cancellation etc have been an insult. In one historic case it really was a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates. Derisory compensation seems to be a standard first gesture and regrettaby some people accept it lamely. If you think I've made it up, it shouldn't be too difficult for you or another party to dig out the facts.

Sonja, get a sense of humour transplant please. Everybody knows the derisory compensation passengers get when cruises are cancelled and it was obviously a jibe at the companies, not the passengers. Get a life!

Much of the time, compensation is not required to be paid out by the company - it is a gesture in response to entirely unforeseen problems. But when they do pay compensation its normally quite a bit more than a box of chocolates/bunch of flowers. It would be quite a costly set of goods and services (free bed and board including the drinks) and vouchers off the next holiday.
But in this entitlement culture, fuelled by greed, ambulance chasers and the bile spewed forth from the Daily Mail, the picture is somewhat distorted.
Just so you know, I don't work in the industry, and have been on 6 cruises.

Sonja wrote:

Robert wrote: Never mind. They'll be offered a bunch of flowers and tickets for a Blue Funnel cruise down to Hamble Point and back.

What a nasty comment. Over 2000 people have had their holiday which they have saved for and looked forward to cancelled at the last minute. Personally I feel really sorry for them but then some people don't really have any concern for others do they?

Lighten up get a sense of humour sonja you sound like a sourpuss.. robert was just making lihgt out of somthing

We were on Sea Princess for the last two weeks and the story is correct, the Captain announced that there was an engine problem Friday evening during dinner. I feel very sorry for those who have saved hard and counted down the weeks to join the ship.

On a brighter note, they have all had a two night stay on a luxury ship with all food, drinks and entertainment thrown in ...and they get thier money back + 25% future cruise credit. Bottom line is it's a complex piece of machinery and some times they do break.

helen odonoghue wrote:

Sonja wrote:

Robert wrote: Never mind. They'll be offered a bunch of flowers and tickets for a Blue Funnel cruise down to Hamble Point and back.

What a nasty comment. Over 2000 people have had their holiday which they have saved for and looked forward to cancelled at the last minute. Personally I feel really sorry for them but then some people don't really have any concern for others do they?

Lighten up get a sense of humour sonja you sound like a sourpuss.. robert was just making lihgt out of somthing

How does one make 'lihgt' out of anything?

eddy wrote: "Bottom line is it's a complex piece of machinery and some times they do break."

It's just an electric motor!

It's the same as your washing machine one, only bigger.

When my hotpoint broke down the engineer fixed it same day. Why couldn't the lazy ship engineers do the same?

When my hotpoint broke down the engineer fixed it same day. Why couldn't the lazy ship engineers do the same?

How's your diesel powered washing machine going then ?
Perhaps they didn't buy the 'extended warranty' with it. But usually those are just sold to morons like you.

Despite your other readers crowing comments, my wife and I have just returned home from a lovely free weekend on the Sea Princess in Southampton docks, following the cancellation. We cannot fault Princess Cruises for the way the incident was handled and the compensation offered. The staff were excellent as usual over the two days.

However, the main problem was with our arrival at Southampton docks. The traffic was chaotic at the traffic lights approaching gate 10 due to the rediculous road junction there. Also, having arrived at midday by car, we were sent away to return at 14.00 and then held inside the docks area with our car until 16.10. Then we had to join a queue OUTSIDE the City Terminal which snaked the full length of the building, waiting to be "processed" through the very slow SINGLE security channel. We eventually boarded the Sea Princess at 18.00 whereas others boaded at 15.00.
So it's "thanks" to the Princess staff and "no thanks" to Southampton Docks. This was our first try driving to Southampton but we shall be flying in future!! GS.

Mr G. Smith wrote:
Despite your other readers crowing comments, my wife and I have just returned home from a lovely free weekend on the Sea Princess in Southampton docks, following the cancellation. We cannot fault Princess Cruises for the way the incident was handled and the compensation offered. The staff were excellent as usual over the two days. However, the main problem was with our arrival at Southampton docks. The traffic was chaotic at the traffic lights approaching gate 10 due to the rediculous road junction there. Also, having arrived at midday by car, we were sent away to return at 14.00 and then held inside the docks area with our car until 16.10. Then we had to join a queue OUTSIDE the City Terminal which snaked the full length of the building, waiting to be "processed" through the very slow SINGLE security channel. We eventually boarded the Sea Princess at 18.00 whereas others boaded at 15.00. So it's "thanks" to the Princess staff and "no thanks" to Southampton Docks. This was our first try driving to Southampton but we shall be flying in future!! GS.

cool one less moaning old **** to sit behind in the traffic

Having been on a cruise that was cancelled a couple of years ago for the same reason I speak from first hand experience. Not only did we have a free bar for several days whilst they attempted to fix the problem, I also got all my money back and an extra 25%, plus a taxi all the way home, and hotel accommodation too. The ship had to go into dry dock and have a hole cut in the side to repair it - I challenge any engineer to do that the same day!

Guess it saved them being confined to their cabins with a vomiting virus !!

garry Trestump wrote:
eddy wrote: \"Bottom line is it\'s a complex piece of machinery and some times they do break.\" It\'s just an electric motor! It\'s the same as your washing machine one, only bigger. When my hotpoint broke down the engineer fixed it same day. Why couldn\'t the lazy ship engineers do the same?

I assume that unlike me you did not speak with one of the senior engineers on board on Saturday morning? He told me that they had worked through the night to try and get the problem fixed, just like a Hot point engineer?! They were sending specialists in from France and also need to make parts to complete the repair. If your Hotpoint washing machine motor breaks chances are you can get a spare one quickly because there are thousands of them in service. How many ships do you think are using the exact same part?

We were destined to be on this cruise too, sadly twas not meant to be. We acknowledge that technical problems can occur, but Princess' handling of the situation was sadly lacking in our opinion. We were sent on mystery tours of the docks and surrounding area, my wife sustained a sprained wrist, and our 2 young children were extremely distressed by the whole experience on the Saturday. There was a serious lack of information and communication, which is unacceptable in my opinion, especially given the fact that they had been aware of the problem since the friday apparently. We encountered two helpful ladies, the rest of the staff didn't seem inclined to give a **** to be perfectly honest. Bad enough if this had been a cheapo last minute package holiday to the Costa del whathaveyou, but to have paid nearly £3000 to be messed around was not good.