longton

I agree with Trevor33. Social distancing is impossible on a cruise ship.

It may be possible to wear a mask on a flight of a few hours but I can't imagine wearing a mask on a ship. For most people, that wouldn't be a holiday.

I won't be cruising again until there is an effective vaccine. Cruise companies will need to ensure everyone has had the vaccination prior to embarkation. There will need to be a vaccination card or certificate confirming this. (I have a card confirming I have had a yellow fever shot.)

And everyone must have comprehensive medical insurance and prove they have it prior to boarding. Or the cruise company arranges insurance for all passengers and adds the cost to the fare.

We have a cruise booked to Norway on Queen Victoria leaving Southamption on 7th August. 

We have to pay the balance of around £5,000 on Monday.

The cruise will almost certainly be cancelled. We are tempted to pay the balance and hope the cruise is cancelled and then get 125% FCC.

The cruise is still being advertised, and at 25% less than what we will pay.

They could also have flown Perth - Singapore - Dubai - London - New York.

They could have had one or two nights stopover in each city if ultra long flights were the issue.

The longest flight on this routing is London to New York which they now seem to be well enough to undertake.

I suspect most passengers were being economical with the truth when telling Cunard they couldn't fly.

The sea air obviously works wonders.

We did a world cruise segment on Queen Victoria from Hong Kong to Cape Town last year.

I think there were about 300 passengers doing the whole world cruise. The ship holds around 2,000.

So whole world cruise passengers were in a minority. We never felt it was a case of "us" and "them". 

From Cunard website:

A Catholic Priest sails permanently on Queen Mary 2

Captain Hashmi won't be conducting a Christian service since he's Moslem.

We have twice sailed on Cunard: one Southampton to CapeTown and the other Hong Kong to Cape Town.

On both cruises there were medivacs.

Obviously these are vital for the patient. For Cunard the cost of additional fuel if the ship has to head to the nearet port must be a considerable expense.

Just wondering, who pays for the medivac - the patient's insurance or Cunard?

Not sure why QM2 needed to enter Durban since foreign passengers and crew cannot enter South Africa, unless it was to let South Africans off.

Why couldn't they refuel offshore and get going?

The ship should be Cape Town today so well behind schedule.

Due to sail 1 April.

Our cruise Cape Town to Southampton was cancelled by Cunard.

Today I received a Cancellation Invoice showing the full amount we had paid. 

There were no details about what we should do. 

Should I contact Cunard to discuss refund or FCC or will they contact us again later to go through our options?

Thanks.

Great pictures, Richard, thanks. And what a lovely day!

What a great, generous attitude from Forky.

My cruise Cape Town to Southampton on QM2 is cancelled. It was due to depart 1st April.

In the cancellation email I was offered FCC of 125% for cruises booked before 31 December 2020.

On Cunard.com it now states:

If you have a Cunard voyage booked that was due to depart prior to 11 April 2020, we’re very sorry to have to cancel your plans. We are pleased to offer you a 125% Future Cruise Credit to be used for a new future cruise sailing any time before the end of March 2022 – simply book by 31 December 2021. 

Contradictory messages.

Thanks, IB2.

Good comments and advice.

Yes, we got the email re cancellation.

We may ask for 100% refund. 

We booked directly with Cunard in the UK. They are ATOL protected so if the company collapses then I assume we will get  our money back if we opt for 125% FCC. 

Our cruise leaving Cape Town on 1 April has now been cancelled. 

I haven't yet received confirmation from Cunard in the UK.

I want a cash refund. The cruise line may not be around in a few months time.

For your info, I am a shareholder in Carnival Cruise Line. I bought 100 shares in July 2019 for £35 a share. They are now worth just under £12.

You can cancel this cruise now and get the money back in the form of credit for a future cruise.

If Cunard cancel the cruise you should be entitled to a cash refund.

I suggest you try to claim airline tickets and hotels on your travel insurance.

Canuker,

From cancellation notice on Seabourn cruise critic:

As your cruise has been cancelled so close to departure, each guest will also receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 25% of the cruise fare paid on this voyage. The terms and conditions of this Future Cruise Credit appear below.

Yes, if we cancel up to two days before departure we will get 100% FCC.

I think Cunard will cancel it themselves before then. In this case, I assume we will be entitled to 100% cash refund which will be our preference.

Or they might offer 125% FCC which Seabourn has done. 

Who knows?

I've just had an email from Cunard telling me there was a mistake in their email re cancellation I received yesterday.

It says that for my voyage M009 Cape Town to Southampton departing on 1 April there will be no additional on board credit. So $900 disappeared overnight!

Cunard may decide to cancel stops in Tenerife (Spain) and Madeira (Portugal) and so go Cape Town - Walvis Bay - Southampton.

But the President's order is for 30 days. Stops in Tenerife and Madeira are 13 and 14 April, so just outside. Of course the order could well be extended as things develop.

I think it's a fair and reasonable offer from Cunard.

We have two cruises booked. One on QM2 leaving Cape Town on 2 April and one to Norway on QV in August.

We'll wait until 3 days before departure to decide our course of action.

It doesn't remain superb onboard if a passenger or crew member contracts Coronavirus.

Given the age demographics on a Cunard cruise, I would expect quite a few passengers have "an underlying medical condition".

Celebrity Constellation cruise due to depart Dubai on 17 March to ports in Sri Lanka and India has been cancelled due to cruise ships being banned from docking in India.

Seabourn Ovation has two ports of call in India so I expect your cruise will have its itinerary changed again or it will be cancelled.