terry&mike

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!

I am a TA and have received emails from Royal for my client's FCC's, which I have forwarded on to my clients. When they are ready to use those FCC's they can either book with me again, book with another agent, or book directly with Royal, as they like.

8 minutes ago, caribnsnrklr said:

Thanks for sharing!  It looks like we are on the Grand Princess  together 3/21!

Wonderful! Yes, DH and I are boarding Grand Princess on March 23, 2021, and doing the 28 day sailing to Rome. Looking forward to it!

I have successful in cancelling tours for clients that were tagged as non-refundable during the virus issue. I start the dialogue by asking them if they will make an exception based on the unusual and unforeseen circumstances of COVID-19. My original ask is for a refund. If they are unwilling to provide a refund, then I ask if the tour can be rescheduled for a date in 2021.  Thus far, most tour guides/tour operators are happy to oblige, as they want to be able to return to business as well. 

48 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royal doesn’t pay commission until after the ship sails.  Since they guaranteed commissions on everything after final payment TA’s shouldn’t see cash flow issues from cruises for 90 days.  It’s the bookings from July through the end of the year that are being cancelled that will hurt TA’s 

And when you factor that in with the complete collapse of all the land bookings scheduled to travel from mid-March until XXX date, which are not commission protected, that's a pretty deep cut.

13 hours ago, dreamercruise said:

Will look into flying Delta in future.

Wish AA also extends deadline of travel credit.  I was being naive for purchasing air tickets way too early.  No way I shall fly in a few months time.

In watching the changes as they roll around in regards to the big 3 airlines during COVID-19, I have seen them first adopted by Delta, with United usually following suit a couple to a few days later, and then American at some point after that. If American is not honoring what you want it to honor as of yet, hold off a bit longer, it is most likely coming down the pike.

To the OP, I understand that you feel that HAL is ignoring your emails "like you don't exist", so I'd like to offer a bit of explanation, as a travel agent.

You stated you are booked with a big box retailer as your travel agent. HAL would be sending emails in regards to your cruise cancellation, cancellation options, and so on to your travel agent. Your travel agent should be forwarding them on to you.

As an agent who has several client bookings with HAL in similar circumstances, I have received communications from HAL in regards to these bookings.  It is my responsibility to communicate these to my client, and assist my client in getting their selections processed. 

Also, this process may take some time as we are in an unprecedented situation, involving thousands upon thousands of bookings. 

10 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

It was a resale of a cancellation by another customer.  I've used this agency for 15 years and it has always been a HAL charge unless the cruise is packaged with air, hotel, etc.

Thanks for all your help!

Oh good, I figured you had it worked out. 

It'll be a good day when we get all of this behind us, and get back to traveling the world again!

Cheers to you!

48 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

It must be rough for HAL in Seattle, but for you, too, as you are also on the receiving end of a lot you can't really deal with, yet.

 

I was wondering how the refunds, FCCs are handled.  For the cruise HAL cancelled, the TA at the agency we booked through asked us for a copy of the letter from HAL about what they were offering us.  She said they wanted it for our file at the agency.  So, HAL does all the refund and FCC work?  I note our credit card was billed by HAL for FlightEase and by the travel agency for the cruise and taxes.  Thanks!

You are in a more unique situation, in that you paid your travel agency for the cruise and taxes, rather than the cruise line directly.

Generally speaking, in our industry, it is a red flag if a client is paying the travel agency for bookings, and then the travel agency is paying the travel provider. For example, any bookings that are processed by our agency, the charges on clients' credit cards are always from the travel provider directly, such as Holland America, Tauck Tours, etc, and never from our agency. Please do not misread this, as I am not saying that your travel agency did anything wrong, I am merely saying that in instances where I have seen problems arise in our industry, this has been a practice. Also, you are in Canada, so possibly things are different than in the U.S.

But yes, HAL does all the refund and FCC processing and moves it along. 

35 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

Thanks. You are giving all of us a lot of help and it is much appreciated.  Time will tell.  I don't expect the refund and FCC for a couple of months, so I won't be booking for quite a while, enough time for all this to shake out.  I would prefer HAL to be more informative, though, in the first place.

You are welcome. I feel like if we all try to help wherever we can, we have the best chance of getting through this.

I have had several clients rebook for same/similar itineraries in 2021, and put down the deposit. Once the FCC comes through, I'll post that. But I feel like everyone needs to move forward when it is comfortable for them. 

I understand that guests are frustrated with the time it is taking to process the refunds, FCC's, and the information being provided. All I can say, is that in talking to my connections inside the cruise lines, they are under a lot of pressure, busy beyond imagine, stressed, on the receiving end of many very unhappy phone calls, and working as fast as possible to get this right, all the while things keep changing in an issue they didn't create. 

23 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

 

This is good info: the FCC can't be used for the deposit on new cruise.

 

Questions: in this case could you use the bought on board FCD/FCC for the deposit?  If so, would you be able to get the FCC that comes with that FCD?

 

Messy, isn't this?

Interesting. Yes, it is messy. These are untested waters and will require a bit of muddling around. 

I would think you could use an FCD bought on board for the deposit. Beyond that, I'm not sure how it would suss out.... I imagine some of this is still to be determined.

As an agent, I am getting clarification on things from my Holland BDM (area rep) in writing through emails. As I know that things are changing often, and different programs are open to interpretation based on who is looking at them, I will be keeping a very organized paper trail.

The best advice I can give during this time is to document everything - make notes as to date, time and person you spoke to, what was said. Keep a thorough paper trail. Also, if you are on the phone with a rep, I suggest that after getting a response to your questions, that you summarize your perception of the information back to them, something like, "what I understand you are saying is that if XXXX, then XXXX". And when in doubt, always practice HUCA (hang up, call again). 

6 hours ago, marianoam said:

I have a related doubt. Last year I paid $800 + taxes for a cruise that was recently canceled. I should receive $1000 in FCC. If my new cruise is $1000 + $340 (taxes) and the minimum deposit is $350 (which I have to pay by credit card). Can I then later apply (almost) all my FCC to pay the rest? I would use $990 of my FCC.

If I want to do that, I need them to consider my deposit ($350) as taxes, as I can't use my FCC for taxes.

Again, I don't know the particulars of your offer, and there are a few different offers out there, I'm not sure what your FCC will be. In using your example, you could book your cruise for $1340 ($1000 + $340) and apply your $350 credit card deposit. When your FCC comes through to you, apply the $1000 to the $990 balance due. Once that is done, I would request a $10 refund of the over payment back to your credit card. In this example, your full $1000 FCC is used to pay for cruise fare, and you have used your credit card to pay for the $340 taxes. Also, I see you are in Argentina, and things may be handled differently there; I am in U.S.

10 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

If the offer is:  100% refund plus 100% of base fare as FCC.  Cruise was cancelled by HAL.

 

 

As I don't have a client with this particular offer, and have not seen it, I am unfamiliar with it. Also, as I don't know the exact wording or fine print of this particular offer, I can only make assumptions. If it is truly 100% refund of the original cruise, and 100% of base fare as FCC, in using the example someone posted above of $2967 cruise fare + $410 taxes/fees, then you would receive a credit card refund of $3377x2=$6754, and you would receive $2967x2=$5934 FCC. I doubt you would receive anything on the taxes and fees on portion 2, as these are refundable items that have been refunded to you, not cruise fare (kind of like pre-paid gratuities). Again, these are only assumptions as I don't have information on the particular offer you have referenced.

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

So, the FCC will come with a cash portion refunded (the taxes, etc)?  The fare part as FCC and nothing else?

Taxes and port fees are refundable items when a cruise is cancelled, so yes, they are refunded to the credit card used to pay for them.

In SilvertoGold's example, if they qualified for the 125% FCC, they should receive $3708.75 per person FCC, and they should receive $410 pp refunded to their credit card.

Base fare is the amount of your cruise, such as $2699 per person for a balcony cabin. Taxes and Fees are the same as Taxes and port fees, these are fees that are refunded to your credit card. 

If they really need your "ticket number" this is a much longer number, usually around 13 numbers or so. You can often find this on your online receipt, or further down in your booking information.

We still have a Scenic south of France booked for July 2020, and am hopeful it will go forward. Just lost a land trip to Kenya in May, that the tour provider cancelled, but am considering re-booking for September 2020. As soon as travel resumes, I will resume traveling. 

I have 4 clients who had their early May 2020 Greek Odyssey cruise cancelled by HAL. They rebooked the same cruise immediately for May 2021. With the 125% FCC, and just a little more of their own money, they were able to go from Ocean View cabins to Balcony cabins, and with the current "Have It All" promotion, get beverage packages, dining packages and pre-paid gratuities. They are happy and focused on their new trip. 

This is a charter group. In this case, these passengers have a booking, and a contract, with a company that chartered the sailing. That company has a contract with Royal. The passengers issue is actually with the company they booked through.

The same is happening with a Dave Koz cruise in May, but it's not making news as it is a group of Jazz lovers, rather than medical personnel. 

7 hours ago, Bgwest said:

beshears - For the life of me I just cannot understand the animosity and hostility you seem to have toward Steve. 

Please let me offer for your consideration a fresh perspective. I've worked with Steve for years and have come to trust him without hesitation. His advice and counsel have always been flawless and patiently offered.

 

The world of trip insurance is something I find very daunting. Some years back I was ready to throw up my hands and just buy the stuff offered by the cruise line. Then I discovered Steve and the Trip Insurance Store. He and his staff have very patiently worked with me to help me understand the finer points of this very unwieldy subject. Now, while I'm still far from an expert, I have a pretty darn good grasp of the subject. I think I've finally got my arms around the world of trip insurance and I surely couldn't have done so with out Steve's understanding and his always accurate support. 

 

I'm stunned when I read your comment about not "getting much out of him". My experience and that of many, many others I've referred to Steve over the years is the exact opposite.  

I agree with Bgwest, I have found Steve to go above and beyond with providing answers and advice. He is an incredibly valuable resource. 

I find that the international airfares offered by cruise lines tend to be very competitive. And if you choose the Flexible fares option, also give you lots of leeway in changes, cancelling, etc.

I received an FCC for a client yesterday, it did not include port fees/taxes. It also did not include their cruise line insurance. They did not pre-pay gratuities, so nothing there. Here is how it was calculated -

Cost paid for cruise, less Casino Credits, less taxes and port fees, less cruise insurance; with refund divided exactly in half for each of the 2 people booked in the cabin.

Hello to the OP, and others who may face this problem, I am a travel agent.  Please call Royal and explain the situation, and have them take over the booking, and work directly with them on your cruise.

I disagree with the writing of a strongly worded letter, and other actions that have a negative connotation.  I am certain that this travel agent had no intention of being without a job this week, and could possibly be in an uncomfortable financial position. I am certain that this travel agency had no intention of shutting their doors this week, and may possibly never recover from this. I truly feel for people in the travel industry right now.

Being a travel agent is not a job that pays a lot of money to begin with, most people are attracted to it because they love what they do, they love helping people plan amazing trips and create great memories through travel. 

I am in a fortunate position in that I mostly work from home to begin with, so it is easy to continue to work from home full time. I am considered an independent contractor at my agency, which means I am paid commission only. Luckily, I am retired from the field of real estate, and this is my "happy job" to give me something to do that I love. (DH is also fully retired, but his personality doesn't need to be as busy as mine does, so he enjoys the relaxing life!) I am not financially dependent on it. I can say that not everyone who works at my office is in this same position, and I know they must be under great stress right now. I also wonder how long the owners of the agency will be able to pay rent on our storefront and so on.

Currently, I am spending a lot of time cancelling trips that I previously spent a lot of time putting together, and each day that I work I am reducing my income.  That can be difficult to process and depressing at times. If you were to add to that the stress of someone who had bills to pay, children to feed, etc, I can imagine it would be a very tough time.  

I think we'll get through this and come out the other side, and travel will begin to strengthen and grow again. But it will require patience. 

Great news! Thanks for an awesome read, and allowing us to follow along.