bizinsider

Hi there, former Bay Area person here. We'll be on the same cruise. We've done a few Seabourn, Regent and Crystal cruises, and we're really looking forward to this one after having had to cancel Norway twice because of the combo pandemic and the birth of grandkids. We're flying out tomorrow for a week in Germany (through LHR) before driving to Copenhagen and boarding. My wife has a travel blog (themodernpostcard.com) and will be writing post cruise. We look forward to reading yours and @SLSD posts and may chime in if we have anything to add. See you in Seabourn Square. Cheers, Herb

@toseaornottoseaThanks for the suggestion! @nancygpI'm impressed you put 2+2 together! I take a back seat in all of this to Mary, whose writing style is considerably more elegant than mine! Mary is thrilled to know that you have followed her blog (themodernpostcard.com.😉) Hope we get a chance to meet on a cruise one day, and if you are ever on one that stops or starts in San Diego, let us know! Herb

Thanks Nancy and Dunnedge. It's such a tough call. We've were in Copenhagen for a few days before a Crystal cruise quite a few years ago, and did quite a bit. Plus this will be on a Sunday when some things we would like to repeat are closed. I would LOVE to leave the day we arrive, but the risk of the tight squeeze is concerning. So... we're likely to stay the night. We have great memories from our last visit.

Thanks, Ira. This is actually for next June, and that flight is currently on the schedule. Just getting ready to book flights. I have a feeling we'll wind up overnighting.

Hi all... For those who have done a disembarkation on Seabourn in Copenhagen: The BA flight to LHR > the U.S. we need leaves at 10:50 a.m. The ship "arrives" at 7. We're debating overnighting vs. that morning. I'm curious what the recent experience has been for those with morning flights. Thanks!

I have to agree. I checked the filings as well and zero mention.

This update - our agent says she was told by Seabourn that our "paid in full, plus payment for booked excursions" is held in escrow.

I agree 5% or 10% produces a great rate of return (mine was 5%, struck back when rates were zero.) Just remember, high yield is high yield for a reason! think the most bearish case is whether they have the ability to cover their interest coupled with the potential need to raise even more cash if thinks get... rocky. So, for example, if there's an "event" in China with Taiwan, or Russia invades Europe or this new variant of Omicron causes greater problems... who knows? I think that's his far outside most bearish case.

I'll add... The real issue here is that a discount for paying in full is likely like getting interest on a loan, which suggests you are like a lender which translates into being a potential creditor. That's my ultimate concern, especially after reading this today... Then again, one way to raise cash it sell assets. Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo has remained cautious on the Underweight-rated Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) shares after another “chunky forecast cut.” The analyst slashed the price target to a new Street-low of $7.00 per share from $13.00 to reflect the lowered FY22e EBITDA guidance and mirroring “weaker than expected occupancies, weakening pricing, elevated unit costs and higher fuel costs.” The analyst also slashed the 2H22 forecast for revenue by 15% on pressures led by a later-than-expected return to a 100% resumption. Rollo also introduced a new bear case of $0 in case a new major demand shock is to materialize. “If the high yield market closes, and/or if there is a demand shock that causes trip cancellations or weak bookings (and hence customer deposit outflows), liquidity could quickly shrink. Even then, leverage looks unsustainably high we think, with net debt remaining >$30bn for the foreseeable future,nearly triple its pre Covid level. We think this needs to come down to under 4xFY23, to ~$20bn or so, which implies a ~$12bn equity raise. This is similar to CCL's market cap, so could require a material,and therefore likely very dilutive, discount. If its equity value drops much further, it could become very challenging to raise this much,” the analyst concluded. By Senad Karaahmetovic

I believe our situation is somewhat different. We have entirely paid for a cruise 1+ year out. We had transferred payment forward on a cruise we had paid for and cancelled due to family circumstances. In return we were able to stick with the original price plus a discount for the use of our cash. We used the credit card recourse to get our deposit back after Crystal ran into trouble. At the time I distinctly recall that there was a time limit after the cash had been paid for the credit card companies to act. Regardless, we're checking with our agent on escrow. If there is no escrow, we may bag it. Very tough call.

I don't know the answer to the question - are deposits held in escrow? We have fully paid for a trip a year out in exchange for some discounts. Pre-pandemic, that would have been a no-brainer. Now? It's something to rethink. Obviously, if Carnival got into a tight spot it could sell assets, notably Seabourn. If it was sold, I suspect all future deposits would go along with the sale. On the other hand, as Crystal passengers found out, nothing should be taken for granted. So back to my original question ... does anybody here know if deposits or fully paid future cruises are held in escrow? Thanks!