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Pacific Passenger

April 2nd, 2009 admin No comments

Lies And Insults From P & O Staff Re Pacific Dawn Cruise To Tasmania 30/1/2001

Points for your consideration prior to dismissing this article as sour grapes.

*The Hobart "service" was not a routine 31 hour maintenance as per the story the Captain had told the passengers. Lie.

*The ship leaked oil into our beautiful ocean all the way to Hobart. Key staff members knew about the propellor problem before leaving Brisbane but still chose to pollute and sail on.Was that so that their revenue base would not be affected. Ignorance.

*One day when we were meant to have sailed from port at 5:30 a.m., I rang the pursers desk at 8 a.m.wanting to know what was happening in regard to the delay. I was told and I quote "We are just waiting on clearance from immigration before we can sail." Lie. Not ten minutes later the captain announced a noon update in regard to sailing time because our repairs were taking longer than scheduled. I rang back the Pursers Desk to complain about being misled and the staff member told me he had only just started his shift and had been told to give the usual response. Not even relevant as we had never left Australian waters. I suggested they may need to have a better communication system with their heads of staff e.g. start of shift meeting and with their so called captain. Insult.

*The $25 credit given to all adult passengers because of inconveniences caused for the delays was an insult. I demanded my credit be reversed by the company that same day. After that discussion with the Acting Duty Purser and purser desk staff, I was not as favourably smiled at or asked if I needed assistance as politely any more. Lack.

*I was also informed by staff of the Pursers Desk that any comments or concerns I may or did have with regard to the cruise could be written in letter form and placed in the Passengers Question Box. I was assured that all these letters/notes/comments would be read daily. On several of those complaint sheets I asked for a reply. Not at any time did anyone on board address my complaints or concerns even though I had clearly asked for a response. Insult. Lack.

*The tender operation at Port Arthur was a disgrace. Mayhem. What a joke this whole act turned out to be. Hours to be taken off, hours of lining up like a cattle herd to get disembarkation tickets, lack of direction from staff (some who had friends visiting them on the dock while they were supposedly working), some staff pushing us up the dock landing to clear the area and other staff wanting us to stop so photos could be taken.Mayhem. Lack.

*Disembarkation ticketing arrangements. Mayhem. After the Port Arthur fiasco with disembarkation delays, passengers lined up much earlier in the alleyways of the Promenade Deck for tickets, to ensure they would not have to wait the hours they had before. Total disorganization by staff to address this congestion. Elderly and infirmed standing in lines for over an hour. Lack.

*Final disembarkation talk by Zoltina J. Ignorance. We were asked for one person from each cabin to attend this event. They then televised it later. Why not make the talk over the public announcement address system and let peole stay in their cabins, at the food outlets or wherever they are for the 10 minute talk. Televise it while it is happening if you need to be sure passengers are paying attention. Give us some credit please. We do not need to keep being herded together.

*Port Arthur Shore Tour 'Eco Wilderness' cost $209 per person. The company this tour originates from, which is in Port Arthur just one street away from the dock, charges $100. So why do P & O charge $210 when all they provided was a small bus ride not 5 minutes away. That would be a pure profit amount of $80 at least per person. Rip off. Lack. After demanding for the third time for a response from Glenn in the Shore Tours office I received a letter explaining P & O prices were comparitable with other cruise lines for that area. How ingenous a reply. That was not the question I asked. I had asked why does the company feel it is okay to double the cost of a tour? By the way the shore tour service and experience from Eco Wilderness were superb. Not worth P & O charges of $209 per person though.

*The food on board was great but definately not sublime. But why for the whole 11 days were passengers offered the same identical menu for lunch in the dining room? Not one variation for 11 days. I personnally prefer to dine in the dining room and not line up in the cattle rung.The menu was so boring even that word can't describe it. For breakfast and dinner you were offered 2 or 3 extra choices. Lack. Ignorance. Please be more creative, even if it is only to have a chef prepare one different lunchtime main meal as an alternative.

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Pacific Passenger