Cruise_More_Often

Yes. Refund posted to our credit card on 7/7/20 for an NCL Sun 5/21/20 Alaska cruise. Refund requested on 3/28/20. 

10 minutes ago, KSSS2013 said:

 

 The Sun cruises have a different form to fill out:

 

 https://www.ncl.com/case-submission/sun-alaska-form?fbclid=IwAR0JjF77aaOka0BZI0_IJfJhV0TtECycL-v0-W5oxols_-Vd3NRKe4ntsUs

 

 

Thank you!

2 hours ago, KSSS2013 said:

Maybe clear your cache if you're not seeing it...I'm able to see the dates up to the 14th of May.

 

 

But it only goes as far as the 14th. How about for those canceled Alaska sailings on the Sun, beginning with May 21, 2020?

5/21/20, the Sun's first Alaska cruise. Others on that cruise did receive the correct offer.

4 hours ago, edspec said:

I think in this case it is a combination, just given how my cancelled Carnival cruise was handled.  With the TA sending out the cancel survey today, instead of waiting until 4/20 it gave customers the impression that a refund isn't available.  The NCL communication said the same thing.  I have called both NCL and TA, and been assured that my sailing fell w/in the refund guidelines, but if I hadn't read it here on CC I wouldn't have had any way of knowing. Very poor customer service,  and that is being generous on my part. Not sure if it is NCL driven, but still...the TA is supposed to be my advocate.

We haven't received any survey from the big box store, but we did get the email from NCL mentioning only that we would be receiving a future cruise credit for our 5/21/20 cruise cancelation. Thank goodness for Cruise Critic, I was pretty sure we should have been able to request a refund, even though the NCL email led me to believe we were only entitled to the FCC. 

I finally spoke with a big box TA yesterday. After going around and around with her about the erroneous NCL email and being put on hold while she supposedly spoke with someone at NCL, the TA assured me we were definitely within the window of receiving either a refund or a FCC based upon the information they had received from NCL. She instructed me to wait until the cancel request form appeared on NCL.com on 4/20/20 and complete the area requesting a refund.

How could anything be so confusing? Who do we believe -- NCL, the big box store or our friends here at Cruise Critic? The first TA rep I spoke with actually said I should ignore anything I read about this on Cruise Critic. Hah!

7 minutes ago, edspec said:

Hi,

Just received the same email as you Cruise More Often, and yes, we're with the big box store too.  I called, complained, said it didn't make Norwegian look good...if I didn't know any better I'd think the FCC was my only option.   I'll be on the phone tomorrow as well, lucky for me I'm always up by 4.  

Super tacky.  I'm done with NCL.

Maybe NCL was hoping we'd be excited about the FCC option and do nothing. I did call our TA (over an hour on hold). Unfortunately, by the time I explained the email, NCL was closed. I was asked to call back tomorrow to have a TA contact NCL and get it straightened out.

A few minutes ago, one of the members of my roll call group told me the email we received is just an automated one and that we should ignore it and file for a refund on April 20. I'll call our TA again tomorrow, but definitely not as early as you. 

We were booked on a May 21 cruise. The email we received late this afternoon didn't offer us a chance to choose a refund, nor were we offered a 125% credit. The email simply said we would be given a Future Cruise Credit, followed by this statement: 

     "Pursuant to your request, we have canceled your current reservation

     and will be issuing a future cruise credit in the next seven days."

WHAT? Where did they get that? We've been quietly waiting until they canceled so we could request a credit. Guess I'll be spending some time on hold with the big box store.

Thank you for posting this, Canuker. It is interesting to see just how many ships will be sidelined until the Canadian ports open up. 

Thank You!

19 hours ago, Redphotog said:

. . . 

Have you sailed NCL before?  There is a sailing on the Sun which seems perfect (only 1900), the other sailings are on the Bliss which is pretty much a no go for us with the 4000 passenger count!

This year's Sun Alaska cruises are for 11 days, and she will sail through Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay and Endicott Arm. The ship is the perfect size. In May we will sail on her for the fourth time, third time to Alaska.

4 hours ago, KristyMisty14 said:

This also also really great info!  We aren't interested in Whale Watching, as we live in Vancouver and have local companies we can take from Victoria that do tours if we anted too. I do want to do the walk from the pier into the town of Hoonah and try their local beers and some food.... But I also didn't want to not get out and see some of the Chichagof Island, so I like what you said about the the driver took you around.  Did you book that directly with Misty Bay Bear and Wilderness Tour or through your cruise line?

We booked through the Misty Bay website, but we were directed to another company that handles their bookings (https://www.mistybaylodge.com/bear-wilderness-tour). We went with Misty Bay because we had done a whale watch with them in 2012. AK Stafford (Post #2) provided a link to another provider that sounds good as well. 

1 hour ago, Anita Latte said:

We had excellent service and a good experience with Glacier Winds in ISP but the whale watching was pretty sad...and I wrote all about it in my TR.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's better in May.

Anita Latte, you have done the best review of Icy Strait Point I have ever read. I agree with you--it's one of my favorite port visits in Alaska, too.

We did a bear excursion there last year in early June (with Misty Bay Bear and Wilderness Tour). We knew that was probably too early to see any bears, but we did see one's backside as he ran across the road in front of us. We enjoyed the excursion anyway. We were with a small group in a van. Our driver took us around much of the island, and we got out of the van in a few places to take photos and in one location to hike down to the water.

I agree with Guindalf's suggestion about whalewatching at ISP. We have found it much better than in Juneau, and we'll be going again this May with Glacier Wind Charters.

2 minutes ago, Cruzinnana47 said:

Looking into possibly booking a cruise  on the Amsterdam in 2021 from Montreal to Boston and considering the Lanai stateroom category.  This would be our 1st Holland America sailing.  Would appreciate pros/cons from those who have stayed in these cabins and on this ship in particular.

TIA!

Loved it! And we would definitely book another. Last summer we had cabin 3335 for our Alaska cruise. It was a perfect cabin location for us. The cabins were recently refurbished, and the bathrooms are beautiful (glass shower doors). The sliding glass door to the promenade deck is quite heavy, and you do need to carry a special key card with you to get back in your door. I can't think of anything negative about our lanai cabin. You won't regret booking one.

1 hour ago, Shellbelle28 said:

I have a feeling that the Cruse Next consultant misinterpreted the key on the deck plan! 

I think so, too. 

I agree that you should doublecheck with NCL about the aft suites on Deck 9. I just looked at a deck plan where those cabins have an open square following the suite numbers. The open square is described as "PrivaSea," which means that part of the balcony on those cabins is solid hull. The cabins that are denoted as "disabled" on the deck plans have a solid square following the cabin numbers.

We cruised in 9076 a few years ago, and it was definitely not an accessible cabin.

3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Princess (and Holland America) typically have 7 ships in Alaska...more than NCL. Don't think NCL does the land tours...do they?

They do.

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I don't try to predict the air cost. I insure as I buy parts of my trip. My initial insurance purchase is for the cost of the cruise. When I buy my plane tickets, I go back and increase the cost of the trip. And I just realized I have to go back and increase the insurance again. I weakened and upgraded my flight to first class.

 

You did it correctly, as I shall in the future.

10 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The time frame for insuring additional parts of your travel starts when you buy each of those extras. And you're right that the window varies. I use Travelguard and for them it's 15 days. 

 

I usually insure the cost of the cruise when I book it (didn't know I could insure just the deposit, so I'll check on that next time!) and put my travel dates as the dates of the cruise.  For most trips I add a few days before and/or after the cruise. When I get that scheduled, which means buying plane tickets, I go online and change my dates to include those extra days and change total trip cost and then pay the extra insurance. 

 

It looks like we are purchasing different policies through Travel Guard, because the one I just purchased has a 21-day window.

I have done exactly what you have done--add in a projected cost for airfare. I did that for our May cruise. So, when I began researching travel insurance for a 2021 cruise, I discovered the issue we're discussing here. Since I had already included a projected cost in the original total cost, I did not report the purchase of airfare to the insurance company. I now believe we are not covered for pre-existing conditions for our May cruise.

2 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

This is good to know, but when you say "within 21 days of purchase", you mean the purchase of the new non-refundable item, not the purchase of the original insurance, right? If so, I guess the days might vary, depending on the insurance company; some have less days to purchase the original insurance..15 days, etc. 🤔

Yes, that is true. For Travel Guard, you much purchase trip insurance within 21 days of the original purchase (or cruise deposit) to have a waiver of pre-existing conditions in your policy. Thereafter, for Travel Guard, you must report any new non-refundable item you purchase to the insurance company within 21 days of each purchase. Travel Guard is the only company with which I am familiar, but I know other companies have shorter purchase and reporting periods.

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Sure can.  In fact, several companies (IIRC Travelguard incl) have told me to buy the insurance when I make the deposit and insure the trip for only the amount of the deposit.  This ensures you have pre-existing coverage.  Then, when you incur additional non-refundable items, increase the amount of coverage.  

To add to this, you MUST inform the insurance company (we use Travel Guard) of any additional non-refundable costs (such as airfare and your upgrade) that you incur within 21 days of purchase. If you do not, you will lose pre-existing coverage.

At the boarding area, make sure your flight is still leaving from the gate assigned, as sometimes they will change gates.

To me one choice is more sea days vs. more Alaska! Personally, I don't like sea days that much, but I'm not a honeymooner. 

The second choice is glaciers. On the Sun you will see Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier and Dawes Glacier. And Sitka and Icy Strait Point are two of my favorite Alaska ports.

We live just north of San Francisco, yet I would never choose to cruise Alaska from there. I love Alaska, and I want a lot more of it than the Princess cruise offers. BTW, we are cruising on one of the Sun's 11-day cruises in May.

I hope you have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon!

We also used Seattle Express last summer to get us to the ship and from the ship to the airport. We couldn't have been more pleased with their service and cost. 

We stayed at the Cedarbrook Lodge, near the airport, last June, and it was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend it.

5 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Didn't really care for all the red color in the MDR on NA but its not a dealbuster by any means.  We cruise on the Eurodam in April, curious to see what her color scheme will be.

The color of the MDR on the NA reminds me of tomato soup.