hjm

Letter alas...

Ally

The one thing that annoys me about how VOD has handled this is that when cruising you know that the itineraries are never set in stone, weather and other 'acts of god' can mess things up. In this case the problem is a faulty engine which they must have known about for some time...otherwise why redo all the itineraries and send out letters to guests, all that takes time to work out in regards to time taken from point A to point B and will we need to chop point C and so forth.

Which begs the question, to me at least, why didn't they give guests the option to cancel without penalties if they were not happy with the itinerary change. They could easily have worded the letter to that effect and given guests the choice in advance to go ahead or find an alternative.

I would love to know how long they knew about the fault, their reaction to your calling them makes me think they have known for several weeks and if that is the case, then they definately should have given the option to continue or cancel without penalties...not keep suggesting that guests write letters asking for refunds as that extends the process and loses them custom, which they cannot afford to do.

__________________
Ally - CruisingTalk Administrator
Whenever I mention exercise, I go wash my mouth out with chocolate...

15/03/2009 - Costa Fortuna - Transatlantic - Ft Lauderdale, Nassau, Catalina Island, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Tenerife, Madeira, Barcelona & Savona - 17 Nights

10/10/2009 - Costa Classica - Grand Oriental Cruise - Shanghai, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kobe, Naha, Keelung & Hong Kong - 16 Nights

Ally

They are selling the cruise that your mother was on as a 'late offer'...along with several others...

www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk

That is a bit cheeky as there is still no mention of an engine problem and i dare say they are selling the cruises cheaper too.

They need to be honest and say that the ship has a problem and not keep flogging cabins with the new itineraries as if nothing was wrong and nothing had been changed.

__________________
Ally - CruisingTalk Administrator
Whenever I mention exercise, I go wash my mouth out with chocolate...

15/03/2009 - Costa Fortuna - Transatlantic - Ft Lauderdale, Nassau, Catalina Island, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Tenerife, Madeira, Barcelona & Savona - 17 Nights

10/10/2009 - Costa Classica - Grand Oriental Cruise - Shanghai, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kobe, Naha, Keelung & Hong Kong - 16 Nights

middy

Hi hjm Have you posted your letter?

__________________
Middy


Cruises completed on.
Edinburgh Castle, Thomson Topaz, MV Van Gogh (2) Thomson Emerald. Airtours Seawing. Thomson Spirit. Princess Sun. Thomson Celebration (2). Splendour of the Seas. Celebrity Constellation. Fred Olsen Braemar.Thomson Calypso (2). NCL Gem, Celebrity Century, Independence of the Seas

Artemis Panama Cruising in: 35 day(s), 18 hour(s), 4 minute(s)

hjm

Yep, I posted it on Thursday. I'm hoping that the fact that they have renamed the cruise completely -- i.e. it is not the cruise my mother booked for -- will lead to a speedy refund. The delightful people on another cruise company are holding a cabin for ten days for her. I don't know how the VOD customer services will respond, but I hope, for the sake of their reputation, with grace and goodwill.

Ally

I too hope that you get the result that you deserve. Although I will be away from the end of this week til almost the end of June, I hope that you'll post the result here...good or bad

__________________
Ally - CruisingTalk Administrator
Whenever I mention exercise, I go wash my mouth out with chocolate...

15/03/2009 - Costa Fortuna - Transatlantic - Ft Lauderdale, Nassau, Catalina Island, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Tenerife, Madeira, Barcelona & Savona - 17 Nights

10/10/2009 - Costa Classica - Grand Oriental Cruise - Shanghai, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kobe, Naha, Keelung & Hong Kong - 16 Nights

middy

Nice that they are holding the cabin for you

__________________
Middy


Cruises completed on.
Edinburgh Castle, Thomson Topaz, MV Van Gogh (2) Thomson Emerald. Airtours Seawing. Thomson Spirit. Princess Sun. Thomson Celebration (2). Splendour of the Seas. Celebrity Constellation. Fred Olsen Braemar.Thomson Calypso (2). NCL Gem, Celebrity Century, Independence of the Seas

Artemis Panama Cruising in: 35 day(s), 18 hour(s), 4 minute(s)

hjm

You have both been absolute stars -- thank you so much for your support! I will report back with news....!

hjm

I rang them today; and while I couldn't speak to Customer Services the nice woman on their information staff checked my booking number -- they have agreed in this case for a full refund. I am so incredibly pleased, and actually really delighted that they acted so promptly and professionally. It certainly has made me feel much better about this company, and I think I'd certainly think about using them in the future -- once they've cleared up their crankshaft problem

So all in all, hooray for Voyages of Discovery.

And thanks again to you all for your support! I'll let you all know how the alternative cruise to Spitsbergen goes!

hjm

Ally

Great result

Which line are you going with instead?

__________________
Ally - CruisingTalk Administrator
Whenever I mention exercise, I go wash my mouth out with chocolate...

15/03/2009 - Costa Fortuna - Transatlantic - Ft Lauderdale, Nassau, Catalina Island, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Tenerife, Madeira, Barcelona & Savona - 17 Nights

10/10/2009 - Costa Classica - Grand Oriental Cruise - Shanghai, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kobe, Naha, Keelung & Hong Kong - 16 Nights