Travel agents have been assured P&O Cruises is sorting out issues with its Polar Online booking system, after they complained of difficulty accessing it to make bookings.
Several agents told Travel Gossip they are often unable to log on to Polar, the booking tool that’s available through the Complete Cruise Solution system.
Lynne Woodward, who runs Coddiwomple Travel in Wallasey, said: “It’s been going on for around a month. We use Polar for P&O Cruises and Cunard bookings. Every time I try to log in, it just ‘hangs’. It has been very hit and miss, as on another day I can get on OK.
“No matter what browser I try – and across all my computers – it is a problem. I clear cookies and it works and then, later the same day, it doesn’t.
“P&O Cruises is aware but there’s no resolution as yet for the long term. The additional problem is getting through on the phone as they are clearly very busy having to deal with those of us that can’t do our bookings online.
“Currently it’s directing us through One Source which is primarily the Princess site, but it is then hit and miss if we can access Cunard and P&O on there.”
Agents say Polar works on some search engines but not others, and some say they can only get on the system if they go ‘incognito’. Others advise logging in through One Source and selecting Polar from there.
One agent said: “Polar has been horrendous for weeks now;” another described it as going ‘up and down like a yo-yo’; another said it was ‘very frustrating’ and another added: “Going incognito is the only way I can get round it.”
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “We are aware of a small number of travel agents experiencing issues with CCS.com and Polar Online and we are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Agents who require assistance should contact our partnership helpdesk team for further support.”
The spokesperson added agents should refer to the Contact Us page on Shine Rewards Club for details on how to get in touch.
