To think I deserve more compensation?

[Birdsongsinging]

We were due to go on a cruise holiday and the flight we were on was cancelled so we missed the boat. The holiday company have said they will refund us the cost and give us each £300 in their company vouchers.

I am thinking that £300 of vouchers isn’t very much for us now having taken a weeks holiday for nothing. Sat at an airport all day on the day we were meant to go and the following day had to wait to hear what was happening.

AIBU for thinking we should get more? And if so how do I go about it?!

Ok maybe I am being a bit unreasonable as I’m grumpy at not getting my lovely holiday!

I have just noticed that I got a discount on the holiday of £300! So if we rebook then the vouchers will only make us even!

I am going to phone them when they open tomorrow. It’s all fuss though! When I should be relaxing!

I agree with you that that's a bit rubbish, especially as the compensation is actually in vouchers rather than cash. I would be annoyed too.

However....I would be focusing on booking something else instead, rather than putting your energy into arguing about it. There must be other last minute deals available, even if it's just a cottage somewhere in the UK. Or try lastminute.com for some short breaks abroad leaving tomorrow or Tuesday.

They should have a reporting line you can contact at any time, not waiting for Monday.

This would really piss me off OP, and I would fight hard to get more. As you say, given that the holiday was already discounted by £300, you have literally got nothing. Effectively no compensation for your inconvenience at all. No holiday, no compensation.

It’s frustrating when others say just book holiday another time. For many of us it doesn’t work like that. Where I work we have to decide our holiday about 6 months in advance, and then it’s set in stone. You can’t change the weeks as other people will have booked them.

In my experience the first offer of compensation for anything is derisory. They hope you’ll accept it but they have the wherewithal to increase it if you don’t.

Our flights were cancelled recently we were (eventually) put up in a hotel and flew the next day. The cruise ship had spent an extra day in a port so we could pick it up, imagine it was the majority of the flight passengers joining the cruise. We got £500 each compensation for missing a day of our cruise as it was long haul. At first it was hard to get any sense from the airline but we went on a specialist website (can’t remember the name but the Money Saving site gave us the link). The amounts for missing flights are clearly set out, so this may actually be the max you’re entitled, certainly doesn’t compensate for missing a holiday.

It’s only online with phones open Monday - Saturday.

I wouldn't want £600 in vouchers, to be fair. I'd want cash so I could take my business elsewhere because there might be options elsewhere for this week!

This. Greedy much OP?

Rude. Much?!

YABU. Your annual leave is not their problem; they have fairly compensated you.

I think they've been more than fair. It's not their fault the flight was cancelled or that you can't rearrange your annual leave.

I fail to see how it’s the cruise company’s fault the flight was cancelled. Yes it was part of a package but they had no control over the flight you were on being cancelled.

I think the £300 is generous. From their perspective they now have an empty cabin they cannot resell for the duration of the cruise. It’s not their error your flight was cancelled.

I would however pursue the flight company for more compensation as it is their issue

Have you had a look for something last minute? Even in the uk if that's where you are now? The weather is nice atm so you could still have a nice week and claim back the cruise on travel insurance

It's not £300, it's £300 in vouchers with a company that has proved unreliable and probably have a short expiry date and probably are non transferable.
When my partner received compensation for not being allowed to use facilities based on skin colour on a Greek island from the tour operator, it was worthless to us as we would never book a holiday with that tour operator again.

OP, whereabouts are you? I'm in Dorset (near Weymouth) and we're having lovely weather right now. Obviously you can never be sure about UK weather but you might be able to have a lovely time down here by the sea this week with that compensation money. Paddleboarding, boat excursions, seafood restaurants, country walks, cycling, relaxing on the beach...

Sailing, even, if that's your thing.

I don't blame you being annoyed at losing out on your holiday but YABU.

Can you book a flight to a different port and get on the ship there?

But your money was refunded as well as getting the vouchers?

Grabby .

I think the airline should be stumping up more and it be passed on to you. Especially if it was BA with yet another instance of IT failures.

Could you not use the money for a week's unpaid leave?

I wouldn't accept £300 vouchers for that amount of inconvenience. £300 cash maybe but not vouchers.

You lost a day at least waiting to find out, then have lost the whole holiday, so more inconvenience.

It's vouchers. Meaningless as probably can't use them alongside any discount code etc.

Well established con in travel industry