Imagine Cruising - Swindon

Val O'Brien

My first holiday/cruise with this company was great including very timely hotel transfers in Italy. I'm still not sure they charge so much up front, so early, as the deposit? My second experience was very disappointing. The rep who shall remain nameless, talked thru his 'script' and when I asked questions did not listen and regularly talked over me. Shocking customer service. I was given 3 different prices for a holiday involving flights/cruise/Italian lake holiday? including a supervisor approved discount!! I ended up booking it independently and saving 50% on their 'final' book on the day price?

Eric Woods

Having been booking holidays for over half a century, I have to say that doing so with Imagine Cruising has been a delight. In particular, Concierge Executive BELL has been outstanding. When she had to advise us that the highlight of our South African holiday next year - the Blue Train - was being withdrawn because of (very understandable) health, safety and efficiency issues, we were grateful for the heads-up. But Bell then went on to help us to chose an alternative holiday, and could not have been more helpful in finding us exactly what we wanted. We are looking forward to it. Thank you, Imagine Cruising - and, especially, thank you Bell. Eric and Sandra Woods, Sturminster Newton, Dorset.

Liz Booker

We booked a trip to Australia/New Zealand in January 2024. No complaints about the holiday itself but we did end up paying a lot more than the advertised price. Had to upgrade to better airline and cabin. Still we agreed to that and it was fine. Just tried to book our next cruise and gave up in the end. So much smoke and mirrors and so patronising. The price went up and down like a yoyo. Impossible to get a straight answer. Then I get offered an amazing deal, just for me, but I cant think about, I have to book right now. The amazing deal was way over the brochure price and did not include the free WiFi and drinks package as advertised. Apparently that was a mistake! Sorry you lost our booking altogether. Just be honest and straightforward please ?

Keith Sonley

We booked a major holiday with Imagine and were very pleased with the arrangements. We then received a call to say that they had had to change one part of the holiday, but they provided a very good replacement and the communication and arrangements were handled in a friendly and helpful way quickly and effectively.

Denzil Murphy (Nomad)

Having just booked the most expensive holiday / cruise we have ever considered we have been bowled over by the professionalism, efficiency, assistance and patience of Nicole from Concierge. We were a little nervous to start with as some of the previous reviews were less than encouraging but the determination shown by Nicole to achieve the best holiday for us was impressive. We asked to have a specific room in a specific building in the Intercontinental Tahiti along with a pre stay extension of a week there, before starting our cruise, which was handled and achieved with total efficiency and when the question was raised about how much the flights were, and how much we had been charged for them considering the flights hadn’t been released yet, Nicole clarified the whole situation and achieved the extra nights stay from the excess that had been charged for the flights. Overall a totally stress free experience with all questions and concerns dealt with swiftly and professionally. Thanks Nicole.

David McKay

Bell has been outstanding for us when our holiday was cancelled due to the cruise ship being damaged. She was very sympathetic and very informative as well as being most understanding of our situation. Could not have better service from this lady absolutely outstanding.

Janet Taylor

Not a very good start. The actual booking phone call was good. Then no deposit receipt sent (until I called when I realised it had not arrived). When the booking confirmation arrived the wrong cabin had been booked (it was confirmed by reference to the call recording that the cabin booked was not the one agreed). It seemed a very long day to get this sorted and we ended up with a cabin in not such a nice location.
I'm also concerned about the very large deposit requested, far higher than the cruise line deposit and full cost of the flights that we were told we had to pay. It's a round sum amount and I've no idea how they calculated this.
We've not used this company before and I think in future we will go back to our original agent.

Rina Vermaak

To: Mr Robin Deller
CEO
IMAGINE HOLIDAYS

Dear Mr. Deller,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am writing to express my severe dissatisfaction with the recent cruise experience organized by Imagine Holidays. We embarked on the Rosa Donna in Linz on Saturday, 7 September 2024, with an itinerary that included arriving in Vienna on Sunday, 8 September. Unfortunately, we are now on Wednesday, 11 September, and the boat remains idle at the Port in Vienna due to a technical issue. We have been informed that the remainder of the cruise is canceled, and there is uncertainty about whether we will even proceed to Bratislava.

This is not the first issue we have encountered. Initially, we boarded the boat in Linz instead of Enfelhartszell due to prior technical problems. Given that we paid in full for this vacation, we are demanding a full refund.

Moreover, the service from Mr. Thobela, who responded to my call on the Imagine Holidays WhatsApp number, was unacceptable. His responses were dismissive and unhelpful, and he incorrectly claimed that Imagine Holidays was not responsible for the cruise issues and directed us to complain directly to the boat company. This is contrary to the expectation that Imagine Holidays would handle such matters for its customers.

Given the gravity of this situation and the collective dissatisfaction among passengers, we request a prompt resolution. We seek a full refund for the cost of the cruise and any additional expenses incurred due to the disruptions.

Please provide a swift response so that I can relay the outcome to the other passengers, who have formed a WhatsApp group to address this issue collectively.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Kind regards,

Mrs C M Knoetze
21 Spring Grange Rd
Westville, KZN 3628
Mobile: +27 828 833 138
Email: [email protected]