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Oriana passengers praise P&O over handling of ship delay
Passengers on board P&O Cruises’s Oriana have praised the company for the way they were treated when their cruise was cut short due to bad weather yesterday.
P&O Cruises was forced to delay a departure by 24 hours due to strong gales which prevented the ship from moving to a terminal in Southampton where passengers could board safely.
The 1,500 delayed passengers were put up in local hotels and offered a 50% refund on the four-night cruise to Guernsey and Belgium.
Meanwhile, those who were due to disembark after a 12-night Norway and Northern Lights cruise were given the option of staying on board for an extra night in port or leave at 8pm last night.
Many posted messages on Facebook thanking the cruise line for the way it had handled the situation.
"We’re in the premiere inn Southampton. P&O have been amazing," said one.
But she said other passengers had been over demanding.
"We’ve seen some disgusting customers demanding the Hilton Hotel due to their ‘grade’ of cabin and even having chairs and wine brought to them whilst waiting for a taxi outside and even so much as having a P&O member of staff being a sun block for these disposable people.
"All the staff we’ve dealt with have been brilliant. We’ve had dinner bed and breakfast along with the other things. Yes it was manic but it has been a logistical nightmare. My hat goes off to P&O and their professionalism."
Another said: "Wow been blown away today at P&O’s professionalism, their staff have been polite, professional and calm, the ladies at The Grand Harbour Hotel deserve a medal, we will be booking P&O again it’s rare to find a company that go the extra mile."
Passengers who were due to take the four-night cruise are due to board at lunchtime today and will still call at both locations.
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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