I've also wondered about Phil and the Witches Luci. A couple of years ago he contacted me out of the blue but I haven't heard of him since.

Thanks Aslemma for searching out that case. I've had a quick look and will have a proper look in the morning when the brain is a bit fresher. Good idea to speak to someone at the small claims court. I hope you enjoy your holiday - it sounds like you need one!

Thanks for your support Cardiff Girl and Magsy. The last contact I had with them was by phone, well after the hurricane had come and gone, when I'd made an offer to share with another person which was accepted - "We will be in touch in a few days" was the last I heard. I can't remember the date but as it was only a phone call I don't have any evidence for it.

I'm going to go back and look at the previous posts of people who have made claims as suggested. Note to self: Do not procrastinate!

Atta girl - you go for it!!

yes i agree,GO FOR IT!the DE owes you a cruise cause you kept your part of the deal when you sent in your tokens,i suggest you photyocopy ALL paperwork/correspondence that you have and send it by recorded post so SOMEONE then has to sign for it so then you have a record of the DE receiving the letter making it clear to them that they have 2 weeks to reply if not you WILL take them to the small claims court(dont be surprised to get a never heard of yuou...you didnt fulfill ALL the obligations of the offer letter back,)and if the reply is unsatisfactory which is bound to be the case then fill in the claim on line submit your payment which the last time i used it was £35 per thousand and then they will know that you are serious and you may get the cost of a cruise in remuneration because the DE will not want to go to court over which is a smalll amount to them so the court may suggest arbitration which is so simple that you DONT even have to meet or speak to the DE you just have to put your case to the arbitrator and they deal with it and very impartial they are too! Oh and dont forget that when you make the first claim letter to the DE put in a photocopy of the cost of a cruise very similar to the one that was on offer to you and of course dont forget to put on the single supplement.
good luck and always come back to this site and ask for advice from HT members!but more than that DONT LET THE DE TRY TO PUSH YOU AWAY SO THAT YOU ARE TEMPTED TO GIVE UP!YOU'LL WIN THROUGH,phew i sound as though im rallying the troops for battle....go get em

Here here Bao Lou! This is good advice especially since it comes from a person who had a successful claim in fairly recent times! Go for it!

I was hoping Bao Lou would come on board as he has gone down this route so his advice is absolutely spot on. I'm glad you finally found us Flora. Rally to the HT flag troops and sound the battle cry - The DE must not and shall not be allowed to win.

Thanks for your advice Bao-Lou. I am determined now to give it my best shot and I will report back on my progress. I've got all my paperwork in a folder so I can copy it at work on Monday and post it off. You've all given me quite a boost by responding so positively!

thats the spirit,i just wish that we could get in touch to all those other people who have just "let it go",i did have the support of these wonderful people on HT and a bit of fighting spirit i followed thier advice which took me to a successful conclusion and that was some time ago
just one drawback with the dust cloud this week me and my partner are supposed to be flying to Seville on tuesday so could all you HT members please draw a big deep breath and with your fingers crossed blow hard northwards so that damm cloud goes away!
see ya all soon
Bao-lou and Mo

Oh dear Bao Lou, I can so understand how anxious you might be! There are some flights leaving from Scottish airports now so you might got to the BAA site and have a look. Other than that a ferry from Portsmouth to Santander and then rail or air to Seville. I have heard though from a friend who sailed from Amsterdam to Newcastle, that the ferry was fully booked with people who were stranded on the European mainland so I have no idea how buys they might be!

I will of course keep everything crossed for you!!!!

thanks for the support magsy,i looked for tickets for european rail network and they were quoting £534 from Calais for 2 people, overnight sleeper and 20 hours journey and that was only ONE way!we thought about other ways of getting there but none of them are practical or cost effective,we heard the news of certain airlines doing test flights with no problems so we are hoping that the pressure from some of the big boys may just open up the airways again but they had better be pretty quick!and to rub it in we have just had our confirmation of flight details sent by e mail......HUH!

Wow, now I have heard everything The airline should have been advising you that there may be problems rather than confirming your flights.
Yes, I too heard the news saying that Airlines are up in arms because the volcanic dust wouldn't harm their engines! I rather think the financial implication of 'no flying' is causing them to make such statements!!!My husband told me about last time this happened when it certainly affected the engines, so much so that a large commericial passenger airline actually glided to a soft crash landing having lost power in all engines
I did hear that the government are going to send naval craft to pick up stranded people - perhaps they should give you a lift over, after all they will be travelling empty
It is sounding slightly more hopeful though and like I said, I will keep everything crossed for you and hope to hear all about it when you return! When you write your review, please just pop in to this thread and tell us where we can find it!

I'm keeping everything crossed for you bao-lou. It's nightmare for everyone as nobody really seems to have any idea of when it will end. I'm due to fly to Tunis on Saturday with BA.

Also keeping everything crossed for you bao-lou. Here's hoping it dosn't get extended past 7pm tonight. It must be a pain when you're all psyched up to go.

Hi all. I can't believe this thread is still open. I received my cruise in 2005 after many frustrating calls. I was one of the first to phone the DE marketing dept . I didn't have to go thru all nonsense everyone else experienced! I've just seen DE advert on tv re being a trustworthy paper - same advert that was shown in 2005!!!! Good luck to those still fighting

Hi Elaine,
Yes, surprisingly the odd person appears who hasn't given up and those of us still around help where we can. I wonder how the latest claimant Flora is getting on??? In general, the people who we have encouraged to go for it, even after all this time, are generally successful. I would dearly like to put an advert in another daily pointing out the success people have had and point them towards this site!!! Wouldn't that oh so truthful and trustworthy newspaper just love that!!! I wouldn't of course because I wouldn't want to bring any wrath down on this website without whom of course none of us would have won, well at least not so many of us!!! What a pity googling wasn't so prominent nearly six years ago!!!
Magsy

Hi both of you, hope you are keeping well. I was looking at some old pics of the Melody recently and they brought back some happy memories! I too wonder what happened to Flora as we haven't heard anything for months.

Hi Aslemma, I sent Flora a PM just to ask if she (?) has taken her claim any further. Perhaps as a newcomer she doesn't have the box ticked to receive emails when anything is posted!

Dear little Melody, I suspect her days are numbered with the MSC fleet now. Their fleet now has more superliners than anything and even the 'big four' (Opera,Lirica,Armonia & Sinfonia) are probably now considered to be ageing when compared to the rest of the fleet in that they have so few balcony cabins. I would be sad to see them go because that size of ship is definitely my preference!

Hope this finds you well!

I'm fine thanks Magsy - I keep meaning to give you a ring. I loved the little Melody and it would be sad if she and others of the smaller ships disappeared. Flora did seem determined to persue her case so it's strange we haven't heard anything further but unfortunately I find this happens quite often.

I loved Melody too but suspect that was partly due to the great company of my fellow DE cruisers, all of whom fought the great fight, just like you and Tony and the others did. A bit of refurb certainly wouldn't go amiss! We got a double bonus in making new friends and getting our cruises! Like you though, I do hope Flora carries on the fight. I firmly believe she has justice on her side and will win! We had to fight a long fight to prove the point and providing she did exactly what was required, she too will win!