Hi Sorry but I just have to have a moan. Our daughters paid for us to go on a minicruise to Spain that should have left yesterday. An hour before our coach should have picked us up it was canceled because of bad weather. We had already left so when we got to Birmingham we had to come home. They just said to ring in the morning. We have just rang and they say they only just opened and the manager not in yet and they have to speak to P&O. We understand that the weather is beyond their control and we wouldn't want to travel if it was unsafe but we thought they would have had some form of contingency plans. My husband has booked these few days off and we are stuck at home waiting. We could book something else but time is going by and they have our money until we see if they will refund. I was very upset yesterday and feel deflated today, the holiday company seem not to be bothered, it doesnt seem to have occured to them that we should have been on holiday as from yesterday and they seem to have no urgency in sorting this out. I now have to ring again middle to late morning to see what they are going to do.
jane

Oh Jane, how annoying!  I hope that it all works out for you! 

Why don't you give P&O a ring to find out what happened. I have just looked on their website and can't see any of thier ships in Southampton or around Spain.  Are you sure it is P&O?

I have travelled with P&O a lot and I have never known them cancel a cruise out of Southampton because of the weather.

The cruise was from portsmouth, it was a minicruise. There was a message on their website yesterday saying it was canceled because of bad weather. I have just rang the coach company again. They say that P&O still havent responded to their enquiries so they have no information for me. They said that P&O didn't let them know that they had canceled the sailing they heard it from a passenger and when they tried to ring P&O yesterday they couldn't get a reply. They had 2 coaches travelling to Portsmouth and some passengers were already on the coach. They can't tell me what is happening until they speak to P&O. It is very frustrating, I can't travel now until easter as I work in a school, but if they are going to refund I can see about booking a short break somewhere else for this week (if hubby can get the extra days off). It is  a waiting game very annoying but nothing I can do.
jane

It can't have been a P&O cruise ship, they don't go out of Portsmouth.  It must have been a ferry which would explain the weather problem.

I would still ring P&O yourself and find out what happened and how long the delay was, your travel company could be stringing you along, it all sounds a bit dodgy to me for your company to have cancelled on a passangers information without finding out the facts.

The P&O website has an information piece about the cancelle mini cruise - it states -

We regret to inform customers that our Bilbao-Portsmouth departure on Tuesday 13 February has been cancelled due to severe weather conditions. Please call us on 08705 980 333 to make alternative arrangements or a full refund.

Hope this is of use -  I too work in a school and know how difficult it is to only be able to book a break at certain times of the year ( expensive ones :D)

Yes I did see that on the web site, thanks for letting me know. I didn't book with P&O but with a coach company. They were supposed to be ringing me to let me know what was happening but by 3pm they hadn't rang so I rang them. She said they are in the process of sending out letters to outline our options. I asked what these were and the minicruise has been re-scheduled but I cannot make the dates. I asked for a refund and have been told I have to wait for the letter and then notify them in writing if I want a refund. I explained that I want to book something else now and I don't want to have to wait for the letter so she said she will e-mail it "when it is ready" but then it will have to be passed to their accounts department. I am so upset and disappointed I want to cry. I understand that they had to cancel and it was out of their control but they could be more sympathetic towards the customers who have now been left with no holiday.
jane

I really sympathise with you as have been in that position myself. We had booked a cruise a couple of years ago and had to cancel a week before we were due to go due to OH's health problems. He has no travel insurance for his condition as the insurance companies won't insure him for anything less than a premium of £900 per week so we took a chance and booked a cruise that left from England (he is not allowed to fly) as he had been in remission for two years. Unfortunately his health problems then escalated and we had to cancel thus losing the money we had paid.

It was really disappointing but nothing we could do about it - we took a chance and it didn't come off - so just had to swallow hard, choke a bit and mutter various swear words under our breath :D Now I drive to France as there is some health care available under reciprocal agreements and can get back fairly quickly if the need arises.

Hopefully you will be able to get your money back soon and be able to book something else :)

Looking on the bright side the sea would probably have been so rough that you would have been ill all the way there and back and would have thought it a lot of money to have paid in order to have spent your whole time studying the inside of the toilet :D

Lol. Yes you are right. They didn't send me an e-mail but I am not surprised. Although I am disappointed about the cancellation I do understand why and I wouldn't want to go if the sea is that rough. I am angry with the way the coach company have dealt with it. I think they should have been quicker with some answers and given refunds if asked so as customers can book something else. I think their attitude has been unsympathetic and I feel I have wasted an entire day waiting for  phone calls that never came and for them to give some answers to questions that they don't want to answer. I hope I have a more fruitful day tomorrow. I just want a refund and book something else. Thank you for your replies.
jane