terry&mike

22 hours ago, terry&mike said:

I understood it as a joke, and did not take it any other way. Yes, we Americans are not getting a handle on this situation due to many people making poor choices.  I am still able to find humor in situations, and find a bit of brevity helpful during these unusual times of negativity. 

Obviously my coffee had not kicked in when I posted this. I meant I "find a bit of levity helpful" no brevity! Hah. Although I do appreciate brevity too.

I understood it as a joke, and did not take it any other way. Yes, we Americans are not getting a handle on this situation due to many people making poor choices.  I am still able to find humor in situations, and find a bit of brevity helpful during these unusual times of negativity. 

13 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

In your first example of clients getting back their deposit, did they use an FCD or was it a cash deposit?

In both instances the clients paid a "cash" deposit with their personal credit cards. 

I have air booked for a trip that begins in Bangkok and ends in Rome for March 2021.

I don't know if this will help you or not, but I will give you 2 examples of clients cruises I have dealt with from Princess that are similar.

Cruise sailing date July 11, 2020. Client decided they were uncomfortable with cruising and cancelled cruise on March 21, 2020. Deposit of $200 returned to clients credit card on June 28, 2020.

Cruise sailing date August 16, 2020. Princess cancelled this cruise on May 6, 2020. I requested refund on clients behalf on May 13, 2020. Client still awaiting return of $200 deposit. 

Yes, DH and I are visiting Thailand and Cambodia independently next March, before we board the Grand Princess in Singapore. (Well, you know, we hope we are visiting them....) And we've been reading on this.  Currently, we'll pay a $3,000 per person deposit to enter Cambodia, and that will cover the required COVID-19 test at the airport, and if needed, quarantine, medical care, etc. They've made it so that if one person tests positive on the plane, then we have to enter 14 days quarantine. We are keeping a watch on this, as we'll drop Cambodia from our trip rather than navigate this.  

You will also want to take into consideration that ships often practice rafting, whereby river cruise ships are docked side by side and the passengers need to walk through other ships to reach the shore, or when returning to their ship.  Also, the gangway to the shore can be steep at times. This can sometimes create challenges for those with mobility issues. 

12 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Yes  I had thought about them last time but you may not get them as they are only available on the day and they only take you part way   I  am not expecting to do Petra at all

Oh darn, I was hoping that could be a solution.  I hear very good things about Aqaba though, so should be a fun alternative.

On 5/31/2020 at 6:41 AM, windsor26 said:

It looks interesting but it still needs the walk back to the visitors centre and that is 5 k  I am sure neither of u could do it now so sadly although Petra was a long time bucket list I will have to pass  unless we find one that has no walking except perhaps 1 k around the ruins  

Did you see Avram's quote below yours about golf carts? This may be able to help you.

22 hours ago, Avram3 said:

What cruise are you taking that brings you to Petra? Tina and I want to do that adventure at some point.

 

Avram

We are on the Grand Princess, Singapore to Rome, March 23, 2021. Stops in Oman, Abu Dhabi, Aqaba (for Petra) and several other ports.  DH and I are also on the Emerald Azzurra Red Sea cruise with a small group, Feb. 5, 2022, which starts in Aqaba. 

7 hours ago, windsor26 said:

Of course   sorry did not pick up  Yes that sounds interesting   also we have decided that we cannot do {Petra so anything you know of that does not require kilometers of walking iat that stop ,would be good  Keep me posted please

What do you think of the idea that Avram3 posted just after you on the tour to Petra with the possibility of adding the camel or cart for transportation? Do you think that would work for you. I'd be in for that tour if we kept it between 7-10 people (7 or more get us an English speaking guide for the full day). 

If you think that wouldn't work, the port town of Aqaba is a beach resort town with a promenade and some charming atmosphere. 

On 5/28/2020 at 8:18 PM, windsor26 said:

I we are also on the Grand cruise in March 2021  What tours were you interested in?   We love private tours and are interested in any that are recommended and a bargain compared with the cruise ships price.

Hello windsor26, you might not have realized it, but this is terry&mike from over on the Grand roll call. Oman Day Tours does have a full day tour to Jebel Shams that we would consider.  I'm also thinking of just taking a shuttle or taxi from the port over to the Mutrah Market area and strolling around.  

8 hours ago, deltasigma said:

First time poster on this forum.

 

We have a Douro cruise booked with Scenic in October this year.  Like others on this forum, we believe it is best to 'play chicken' with Scenic and wait for them to cancel rather than cancel ourselves.  We also have a Russia cruise booked with Scenic in 2021.

 

We don't know what options we will take - and it depends on what they offer of course - but my gut feeling is even if this is a 'force majeure' event, why should Scenic simply feel they can keep travellers' money in its entirety if the cruise is not operating?

 

Our concerns include:

 

Will Scenic still be in business in 1-2 years time?  If not, a future credit is worthless.  Unlike the behemoths of ocean cruising (Carnival, RCCL, NCL) they are a relatively small company.  

 

Offering 110% value on future credits is all very well, but will their current price structure stay in place?  Or will they recover this apparent generosity by applying price increases?

 

So far we have only paid a deposit for the Douro cruise.  What are our choices at final payment time next month?

 

Will we be able to use the credit for the Douro cruise and apply it to the Russia cruise the following year?  And if so, will they honour the price for the Russia cruise they have quoted?

 

Like almost all of us, we hope the cruise business survives and prospers when this 'end of days' time is over.  We have had two good experiences with Scenic.

Scenic is in a very good position financially, and has continued to keep it's new builds for ships such as the Emerald Azzurra on track during this virus, so will likely fair okay when this is over.

It is my opinion, but I believe your Douro cruise in October will sail. Portugal is on track to open earlier than most European countries for tourism, and river cruises will be able to navigate the new normal better than ocean cruises due to their smaller passenger numbers. I also have an October Douro cruise, but on Scenic's sister line, Emerald Waterways, and I think it will sail.

If you don't feel comfortable traveling in October, then you might want to go ahead and cancel now and you should be able to receive a credit for your deposit which you should be able apply to your Russia cruise next year. If you already have a booking under deposit for Russia, that price is locked in. I am using should, as I'm assuming you are in the U.S., but if not there may be different procedures. 

Although Scenic isn't offering a money back option, they are being generous with the use of their credits. You can use the credit towards an existing booking, or towards a new booking, you can use the credit yourself, you can allow someone else to use your credit, you can use it on Scenic River, or on another one of their products (Emerald Yacht, Emerald River). 

As to options for paying your final payment on the due date, you will need to pay that or the cruise will cancel. 

I was able to get re-booked with Scenic, and received my new confirmation yesterday. Was booked on a river cruise to the South of France for July, 2020, which Scenic cancelled about a week ago. Re-booked same itinerary for September, 2021. Very pleased with Scenic's handling of the re-booking. 

On 5/10/2020 at 11:35 AM, gone2c said:

Kenya was on my list for 2021 but now that I've made switches from this year to next looks like it'll be 2021.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you in July but I don't think I'd count on it just yet.  A girlfriend and I did 21 days in France with Scenic back in 2017 and it was great!  Walked off the boat with a 0 bill.  Love this cruise line.

Scenic just cancelled river cruises through August 31, so there went my south of France sailing. Trying to decide if I want to book a small bike and barge ship I found, or rent an apartment around Avignon or somewhere, or scrap the whole thing....

22 hours ago, gone2c said:

My April cruise to Bucharest was cancelled.  Scenic offered me a 125% credit to use on a future cruise to be used by 12/2021.  I rebooked a Christmas market cruise for November 2021 which was also on my bucket list.  The extra 25% credit will pay for my air.  I will rebook my Bucharest cruise when the 2022 bookings become available as I will use my United air credit for this as I have until 12/2022 to use.  What a mess this has been as 2 other cruises this year have been cancelled.  I've had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of credit and refunds.  Just as a FYI, my Princess refund is now at 90 days and counting to hit my cc.     

I am in a similar place as you. I have a saved document where I have all of my information on cancelled trips, credits due, refunds due, and so on. It is a lot to keep up with. Thus far we have had 3 trips take a fall, including a fabulous trip to Kenya that I was leaving next week for. Our next journey involves a Scenic river cruise in France in July, I'm still holding out hope....

notamermaid, I wanted to take a moment and applaud the government of Germany, and your Chancellor Merkel. During this interesting time in our world, your leadership seems to be a model for how to steer through a crisis. 

Welcome Jazzbeau to being the host of this board! I am familiar with you as I read a lot of the boards that you currently monitor, and find you to be both kind and fair. 

I am sorry for the staff reduction at CruiseCritic, but I know the travel industry is hurting now. I am a travel agent myself, and these are tough times, but hopefully they will pass soon.

Like you, I very much look forward to being on a ship again soon!

57 minutes ago, Cruisin_n_Boozin said:

 

Different from a franchise.  I would not be a franchisee, I would be treated as an independent contractor.

Usually your host agency is a franchisee, or their own agency, and you would be an independent contractor under them. For what you have in mind, yes, the usual set up is that you would pay a set up fee at the beginning, usually $300-$500, to have access to programs, training, online resources, etc. Then many have a small monthly fee, usually around $15, for online access, email storage, etc. Then you split your commissions with them, which can vary depending on your contract. 

5 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

And the naive thought of a one time issue,  years ago with a coworker's cousin  etc etc  etc   is going to keep repeating every time,   they fly on airline abc.       Or the single experience of a once/year flyer,  becomes an assumption of an "always"  ,  then leads to a "never"  decision.           I don't get it.     Every trips starts new with the airlines most of CC posters fly.     It's not a perfect operation,   but overall,  I think they do a darn good job getting people transported, safely.   

Agreed!

I am a travel agent, I have clients flying all over continually, and I also travel quite a bit. I can tell you that in discussing air bookings with each of my clients, they each have their own thoughts on airlines they won't fly, such as "anything but Delta (or United, or American, or British Airways, or put in any major carrier here) as I ALWAYS have problems with them being late (or cancelling, or rescheduling, or put in any complaint here)". There has yet to be a consensus on any airline that is avoided or adored by a significant amount of clients as of yet. 

Is there any chance that you requested to have the air ticketed? Sometimes clients request this done so that they can upgrade seats, etc. If so, at that time the Flexible Air becomes ticketed air, and is no longer refundable. 

I doubt this is the case in this instance, but wanted to mention it for others that may be reading it with similar circumstances.

Also look at Vueling for the separate economy flight from Paris to Barcelona.

As a TA with 2 group sailings booked, as well as singular bookings, on Scenic products over the next 20 months, I am watching how Scenic responds during this virus situation.  I know that most TA's are monitoring cruise lines, tour companies, and other travel providers, and their responses to cancellations, refunds and rebookings -- certainly this will effect future bookings.

Diamond Princess, January 6-20, 2020, Singapore to Tokyo. We were a group of 29 on this 2 week sailing, and had a spectacular time - great cruise, great people, great itinerary! 

Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the sailing directly after ours, the January 20th Diamond sailing, as that was the quarantined ship that was all over the news. It became so that none of us could ever mention our trip to anyone and how great it was, without everyone saying things like "You made it out just in time", "Were you scared?", "Oh, bet you won't cruise again", and other comments that stole the joy away.

No matter though, to us, this was and remains a fabulous trip. I look forward to the next time!