bandp407

I did finally get through to HAL & spoke with a supervisor. Based on the email we received for our March 29th cancellation we selected the FCC. Should we change our minds, based on what happens the next few months , we can request a cash refund of the base cruise rate. The timeframe as given in the link is Jun 1,2020 -Dec. 31,2021. We want nothing more than to use ! 

In the meantime, prayers for our fellow cruise mates on the Zaandam & Rotterdam.  What an ordeal to say the least . Hoping arrangements can be made to get them into Port Everglades & get the sick passengers some much needed medical care!!!

Hello all - DH and I had been scheduled to sail on the NS this past Sunday. We received the e-mail 2 weeks ago offering Option 1 & Option 2. We did select Option 1 (FCC) in advance of today's ( March 31) deadline. If HAL did not hear they would automatically  refund. As many, given all the uncertainty HAL & the cruise industry in general are suffering, we continue to waiver as to whether or not we made the right decision. I realize this is a very personal decision, but as we come close to the deadline to change to Option 2 ( CASH ) I would be appreciative of some of your views. Also this is attached to the compensation form that we completed. We take it to be that we can change our minds after June 1 & revert to a cash refund of the base fare. Thoughts..............

This is a clarification regarding the Option 1 Future Cruise Credit ("FCC"). If a guest elects Option 1 and does not use his/her FCC and wants a refund thereafter of the original base cruise fare paid, between June 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, the guest can request Holland America Line to exchange the FCC for a refund of their base cruise fare paid. Refund will be issued within approximately 60 days from request date. Requests accepted via email to guestrelations@hollandamerica.com. In no situation shall a guest be entitled to a refund greater than the base cruise fare paid. Guests selecting Option 1 and requesting a refund as set forth herein will not be entitled to any other compensation/credit. Guests selecting Option 2 shall not be entitled to any additional refund (other than the initial refund as set forth in Option 2) at any time. All FCC’s expire on December 31, 2021 and are subject to published terms, conditions, and restrictions. Offer and its terms are subject to change.

7 hours ago, Himself said:

 

 

 

John:   I never thought I would say this of a Pinnacle Class ship but she is a sight for sore eyes.  I traveled on her first as a passenger and later I was Chaplain on her. I sure hope this bloody pandemic ends soon so things can get back to normal.  Thank You for the "heads Up."

THANK YOU SO MUCH  for this post. DH  & I were booked on today’s sailing. We will hopefully see the sail away-even though without us.😥😥  and what a beautiful day for a sail away!!! We too hope this pandemic ends soon!! Stay safe everyone!

following along

following along. I just submitted my form to take the FCC for what would have been our cruise on March 29 on the Nieuw Statendam. 😥

3 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

Also of note: If you do rebook BEFORE your FCC is processed and credited to your Mariner account (approx 2 weeks), you will be responsible for the entirety of the deposit necessary to secure your new cruise. They can't just take it on faith.

 

How this worked for us is they immediately credited our taxes/port fees from the cancelled cruise to the deposit for the new booking as that would have been refunded to our credit card anyway but we had to make up the difference in the deposit on our credit card before the hold on the cruise cabins expired. This is not a huge deal to us as the cruise was about 2x the cost of the old fare so our FCC will get eaten up completely and we will end up spending the money anyway down the line. BUT if you are booking something near or at the same price, you are better off waiting until the FCC is applied before you book so that can be applied first.

 

None of this was made clear during the cancellation/booking process but my PCC emailed me all the details along with the need for further funds for the deposit and I made the rest of th deposit payment online without issue.

 

Also FCC funds can ONLY be used for base fare charges, nothing else. No taxes/port charges I would assume is what is implied by that.

 

I also sent her a few questions concerning our possibly lost for good OBC from our old style FCD and asked her if indeed the FCC can be credited back to our Mariner account once again should Heaven forbid we have to cancel this new cruise before final payment thanks to the virus or whatever.

OMG - I thought I  understood this whole thing but I am coming up with more questions. Our deposit & booking was done onboard last March.   Do we loose the OBC for booking onboard or will that be applied to the FCC  or new booking?  In our case we are within 100% cancellation. I understand it will take about 2weeks for the credits to show on our Mariner account. My thought is to use the future cruise deposit that we also booked last year for the new  booking . Otherwise I will loose my trip cancellation with my credit card. If a new deposit is made they will not cover any future cancellations on the rebooked cruise just in case it had to be cancelled.   This is really very complicated and I think we are all trying to cover our bases and loose as little as possible.  Thanks to all for the feedback. Hopefully we can help each other through this!

Cruising-along - exactly my question. Say you book a Nov 2020 sailing with your FCC and due to the “flu” are unable to travel. Can you take the FCC from that booking and move it to a Nov 2021 sailing or will you loose it. THAT IS A HUGE!

We like many are on the fence about cancelling a sailing the end of the month.  Not possible yet to reach HAL , but have read on the Celebrity site about this issue. We have a sailing on them the end of June.  Does anyone know if it is true that once you receive FCC for a cancelled trip under the new guidelines and apply it to a future cruise the following would apply. If it becomes necessary due to illness, etc., to cancel that future sailing you LOOSE all of that money??  Thought about taking insurance but have seen posts stating that the insurance companies would not cover it as the FCC used has NO cash value. So if all is correct we would LOOSE all of our money ???. In our case and for many within full payment this is a whole lot of $$$$.    

If anyone who has cancelled and understands & can confirm  all of this, we would appreciate the feedback as to whether or not this is correct. 

HAL - if by any chance you see this and can reply it would answer many a question. Its impossible to get through on the phones.  

Many thanks!

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

in regards to the tables on top of each other, i havent seen a pic but that type of thing is a turn off for me. has anyone requested to wait for a more private 2 top with success. id rather wait 20 min and get a better table than 1.5 hours listening to people 6 inches from me or have to shimmy between tables to get in/out.

Yes we agree as well & this is a huge put off & may be a deciding factor not to sail on the Summit. There was a post by Jim_Iain from is b2b on the Summit  which shows some photos of the main dining room . I believe the photos were around page 12? I am sorry but was unable to post the link.Hope we hear from someone with success getting a more private table. We have had luck on the Equinox. However, one of the reasons we gave up on Aqua class was the tables in Blu had gotten ridiculously close. Don’t know how they are now as it has been several years. We enjoy chatting & meeting people but prefer dinner to be our time. May start a separate post if we don’t get any replies. 
 

2 hours ago, MEcruzr said:

Like any restaurant there are choices that can be hit or miss... I've had my best meal and my worst meal on a ship in Tuscan Grille! Best meal was a sea day lunch. Everything about it was exceptional. In October I had my least favorite meal. I had the Lobster Rigatoni Alfredo in case you're wondering. A real miss. Our waiter noticed I wasn't eating and offered to get me ANYTHING else but I declined. Our check came and he had taken 30% off both meals. I will still go to TG in May... because I'm a hopeless optimist and who knows, we might have another best meal ever! 

Now that's a great attitude!  ENJOY!

5 hours ago, hcat said:

I'd book it!

It's an outstanding itin with overnights. We are focused on having  lunches out in the  ports,  if you book early enough,,try for  AQ Class or a suite for a diff dining experience, esp for your 35th!

 

Jim's  detailed review of his b2b  encouraged  us even more; and now we want to do the Boston version, sooner rather than later.

 

Bando407...    ...Hi in Naples...we are in Venice for the season. Great weather so far!

 

HCAT - thanks for your enthusiasm ! We did Aqua Class on all of our Reflection & Silhouette sailings  before moving to Florida. On Equinox we have been in standard balcony cabins & dined in the main dining room & Murano. Enjoyed both. I will keep an open mind about the Bermuda, Charleston cruise & read up again on Jim's blog & the various Aqua cabins & food in Blu. . Depending on the price it might be something to consider. Always wondered about noise from the Oceanview & Pool above though. 

And yes HCAT the weather has been beautiful!  Look forward to your review of the Bermuda, Charleston cruise!! When do you go?  

My fellow cruisers , thank you very much for the wonderful  feedback & Jim_lain for the Tuscan Menu! It’s pretty much what I remember from the Equinox. We did not love it either & think my brother should try to concentrate on getting a somewhat private table for 2 in the dining room based on Lorimay’s (happy 30th) feedback.

Hope Celebrity is seeing this & try’s  to address the situation. In addition to my brother doing the Summit for his 30th, DH & I are contemplating the Summit May of 21 to Bermuda, RI, & Charleston for our 35th.  We live in Florida & would be doing it for the itinerary like hcat. After reading this I think we will rethink. We too have done only the S class ships & enjoy Murano .

Thanks again to all !

Can anyone who has recently been on the Summit & eaten at the Tuscan Grill provide some info? In some of the reviews I’ve read several commented on the poor quality of the beef & chicken. Simply put the meat was “tough”. 

As with all of the Celebrity Ships , the tables are getting closer & closer. My brother is celebrating his 30th Anniversary onboard the Summit to Bermuda in July. We took Select & I will reserve his dining times in advance. Can anyone suggest any areas in the dining room where the tables are more spaced out? Saw some photos with the high back chairs by the wall? Unfortunately select dining is on 4 , so no opportunity to request a table on the rail. 
 

Would greatly appreciate any information that can be shared. 

Thank you lorimay. I will make their reservations in advance and request a table for 2, hopefully with a table that is really a 2 top. I saw your review! They will have to speak with the dining room when onboard. Like you we have always been accommodated. Agreed the tables are ridiculously close!!

Any feedback From anyone on the forward balcony cabins on deck 6? I know you had a family veranda.

thank you again! Happy Cruising!

Jim- thank you so much for the link to your Summit blog with the dailies! 

DH & I have sailed the Solstice ships many times & the show times are typically 7pm &9pm. Never sailed on the Millenium Ships. We just booked my brother on the Summit for July to Bermuda with Select dining. I would like to reserve some nights for them as it’s their 30th Anniversary. Does anyone know if select dining is on deck 4 or 5 & what are the show times? I can’t find any of the Celebrity Today for the Summit.

Also had to take cabin 6043 (port forward) as it was the only cabin available that wasn’t Concierge for $700 more!! Not my choice to be so far forward.Hope it will be OK

Any info or comments would be much appreciated. 
 

Thank You.

Paula

Can anyone tell me where is the link to the cabin spreadsheet?. Contemplating the Encore for next summer to Bermuda. Does anyone know if the NCL ships , like the Bliss, generally dock port or starboard in Bermuda? 

many thanks!

This is such a beautiful  gesture & one that is truly warranted. The crew work so very hard to take care of us & ensure we have a wonderful cruise. Being away from their families for such long periods , especially during the holidays , birthdays , graduations,etc., is extremely difficult. Now they don’t have to spend their hard earned money to stay in touch whenever they can.   HATS OFF TO ORLANDO ASHFORD!! Let’s hope this will inspire some of the other cruise lines to follow!!! 

Happy Holidays & Happy Cruising to all!

97 days till our 2nd cruise on the Nieuw Statendam!

So excited to follow along! Have another fabulous cruise! Enjoy every moment!! 

Wish we were sailing with you & Edward on the Silhouette- one of our favorite!  Looking forward to following along .

Have another GREAT cruise!

Fabulous photos ! Look forward to seeing the rest of them- thank you for doing this! It’s very helpful , especially for those of us who sailed on her before the revamp .

Just off of Symphony yesterday (GREAT CRUISE) and will be on Oasis for the 4th time next November. I would love to hear about the music played in the new Music Hall. Do they still have the party bands which draws so many for dancing? We had Muzik Express - they were amazing!

Enjoy the 2nd week of your cruise twangster!

Hcat - I am back again (briefly) now that we have the music question solved!  We have never done an SV cabin but are going to book one on the Apex sailing for 2021. I believe you were on deck 7, however I am looking at the available cabins up on decks 10 & 11. The thought being there might be a bit less vibration? I realize the balcony may be a wee bit smaller , but we are OK with that. The plan is to wait and book this sailing when we board Symphony on Saturday.  The sale is still running and we will get an extra $150 OBC for booking onboard. Your thoughts once again appreciated!

Paula

Hcat - Thank you so very much for all of the music detail. This is really great to hear & exactly what we were hoping for. Such a different vibe when the music is good and people are out dancing or simply listening & having a great time! For a while Celebrity had gone in a totally other direction & we did stay away for several cruises simply for that reason.  We are going to book the Apex for March of 2021 in an SV cabin & hope Celebrity keeps bringing onthe  great bands!!  Funny, I glanced  your post on your most recent  Edge sailing re the SV cabin you were in. We are sailing on Symphony of the Seas this Saturday so I need to stop thinking about 2021 & get ready for this cruise!  However I am going to jump on that for a few quick questions about the SV cabins. Many thanks again!

Happy Thanksgiving !

Paula

Thank you hcat! Looks like a good mix! 

following..........