Last weekend, passengers on what OnTheWight are told had been sold as a ‘Bruges Cruise’, were left sorely disappointed when, over breakfast, they were told by the Captain that a scheduled stop at the Belgium port would not happen.
According to several Islanders who were onboard the P&O cruise ship Azura, due to high winds, Zeebrugge port had been closed, forcing the ship to turn back and return to the UK.
Held captive on the ship
One Islander told OnTheWight,
“Clearly I hadn’t anticipated such a thing happening. I must say, (particularly on a May weekend). I stood out on the balcony, it didn’t look too bad, so I don’t know why it was so easily accepted. We got up early to disembark, but we could see no land and we were simply drifting. The Captain came over the Tannoy to tell us half way through breakfast.
“There was quite a bit of disappointment because some passengers had arranged to do things and even meet people in Bruges. There was no option but to spend a boring sea day and spend money on the ship.”
No guarantees of docking
Our reader warns,
“One thing is for certain, most people don’t know that there are no guarantees with these P&O trips and even though the product is sold as a ‘Bruges Cruise’, without the Bruges, you are told there is no refund or compensation, despite the fact that if you shop around for a product and the actual does not fit the description. They are outside normal trading laws in their view and tell you so too.”
No refund or compensation
He goes on to say that so far, P&O have not offered a refund or compensation for failing to deliver on the description of the product package.
He finished by saying,
“Most people, while on board, took a stoic view in true British style, but you couldn’t mask the disappointment.
“We were a captive audience with nowhere to exit the performance.”
