terry2

19 hours ago, lucky13uk said:

If we can't get our deposit back, I'd be ok with our deposit being held and then used towards a future cruise.

 

 probably the most sensibly thing to do at the moment.  I suggest you try that phone number - one of the options is for people with existing bookings. 

On 11/20/2020 at 9:02 PM, lucky13uk said:

 

 

We don't have a UK number to phone so it would cost a fortune to contact the US.

 

 Well you could try phoning the UK (free) reservations number 0808.234.0680 and see if they can help or transfer you to the right place. 

If not and you have a landline, then check with your provider  (a) the price to the US (they came down a lot some years back) and (b) if they have a call package for free overseas calls (normally charged monthly and you only have to take it for the month during which you are phoning  - gives you a cap on expenditure - we did that when daughter went to the US for a year).

Your info doesn't say where you are based, which is relevant to this question.   Most ships for the UK market have small (or no casinos), as gambling is completely legal both on land or on-line, so casinos offer nothing new for us.

On 9/22/2020 at 12:09 PM, Brummijam said:

We haven’t gave any thought to Fred but it will be worth having a look on here and YouTube. Good food and service are as important as itineraries to us.😉

 Well, I dislike giving recommendations for food and restaurants, as everyone's tastes are different.  However in our opinion the food on Fred is as good (and maybe slightly better) than Marella or P&O, and we've never had any problems with the service.

In answer to the original question.  After I've had the vaccine and things start to stabilise (which won't happen until many other people have been vaccinated), then I will start to look at the cruises on offer. 

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

I look in from time to time but just before the COVID start I had decided to give up flying for a year or two, then Marella stopped UK homeport cruises and my North Cape from Newcastle this summer was cancelled. So it is either P&O or Saga and P&O have already cancelled two cruises. Saga is somewhat expensive 😟

 Well there is still Fred Olsen. Also Princess lines are cruising from southampton in 2021.

We too have decided that we will wait until after vaccines are generally available, and even then we will only go on a cruise that doesn't involve flying.

On 6/28/2020 at 11:28 AM, shot2bits said:

Morning PC. I cancelled our cruise before it was cancelled by Marella, I’m not sure if it has been cancelled or not at this moment, given the lifting of some travel restrictions,we were due to sail on the 25th July. Our TA said we would lose our deposit (£500) but this was back in March and I figured it was a price worth paying for peace of mind. Do you think I should get onto the TA and push for a refund?

 In my view the date on which you cancelled is important,  what was it?  Also which countries did the cruise visit?

1 hour ago, Pensioncruiser said:

I know exactly it was 1930hrs on the 23rd of March. The deposit (cancellation fee) is not refunded if the cruise goes ahead in any form that is why, I think, we had to wait until after our cruise date. 

OK, thanks.  That explains why you can get it back, but I don't think I can. 

It was after I cancelled, on Mar 12th that the FCO said oldies (ie over 70s, like me) and other people with medical reasons shouldn't cruise.  If that  had been in force when I cancelled, then section 12(7) and 12(8) would have meant I could get a full refund.   In your case, the FCO said on Mar 17 that there should be no non-essential travel; so your cancellation should have been covered by section 12(7) and a refund of the deposit should have been automatic.  I assume they were just delaying things.

4 hours ago, Pensioncruiser said:

Hi Terry we cancelled on the last day prior to final payment and the cruise was 6th June. 

 Thanks, can you remember exactly which date that was that you cancelled? 

We were due to cruise on 22nd May from corfu.  We had paid the full amount, but when the FCO advised  no travel to italy (and the cruise went to venice), we decided to cancel.  We did so on March 11th (just about the last day when we could cancel and just lose the deposit), the rest of the money we had paid was promptly refunded. 

On 6/28/2020 at 11:17 AM, Pensioncruiser said:

Have just received our deposit refund from a cruise which we cancelled prior to Tui cancelling .

 That's interesting, and hopefully useful.  On what date did you cancel, and what was the date of the cruise?

7 hours ago, davecttr said:

edit - on top of all this my BT internet has been playing up for the last couple of days. Up until 6 months ago I had terrible problems but BT where no help. Then a friend said it is their cr**py equipment and try a new modem/router. I bought an Asus, the connection has been rock solid since, up until 2 days ago . the router system log says the BT server won't reply. 🤬

  If you have a land line - then check to see if there is any noise on the line, especially intermittent noise. If there is then report it as a line fault (do not, repeat do not mention your network problems when you report the fault).   

On 5/31/2020 at 3:44 PM, Pensioncruiser said:

Think you may be right, but to be honest my feelings are that Tui would be better concentrating on cruises from UK ports, no way will we be flying anywhere in the forceable future but could consider a cruise, in a bubble, from the UK. Just a thought. 🙄

Yes, we agree. The boss has said that no way are we going on a plane for at least the next year,  so it is only cruises departing from the UK  for us.

3 hours ago, suekay said:

Please can you add a link to the section on the Marella website which says you can cancel with a full refund if you are 70 or have an underlying health condition? I've trawled the site but can only see that anybody due to sail before 30th June can amend to another cruise or holiday for free.  Thanks

It isn't there now,  it was only up for a couple of days - just after the FCO advised against cruises. 

1 hour ago, Pensioncruiser said:

WHO now declared pandemic 😞

 Well it was always going to be one (given the number of cases in china before any action). Essentially, it will run its course until the majority of people  have been exposed to it and have developed immunity.

2 hours ago, shot2bits said:

Yes, I understand that. Trouble is it could be all over by July , or not! I don’t think I am willing to gamble. I’ll hang back for a couple weeks and see how it pans out.

 Well we've run out of time for our cruise - the 70 day limit when I can cancel and only lose the deposit runs out tomorrow.  So we've jumped and have cancelled.

<boo-hoo> 

If it all gets sorted soon, then I might rebook it, but I doubt things will be clear in that timescale.  

15 minutes ago, MrSilversurf said:

This link posted by rkingphoto on the corona-virus thread states that all future Asia sailings are also cancelled (see para 4). Problem is, I can't see this statement by Marella on their web page ????
 

  You get to it by clicking the travel information link at the top of the cruises web page - then there are a number of travel alerts, one of which is today's marella statement. However the  time-stamp is 16:38 today - so hardly prompt.

11 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

In the UK an average of 600 die from common/garden flu

 

 600 well, yes, no, maybe. That is an estimate.  There are also estimates that go up to 13000 for a bad year.   

Understood. Thanks

Thanks for that information.  Are they happy about taking you to the airport in the  middle of the night in order to check in for a 6am flight?

That sounds very useful. Many thanks.

Hello, Advice needed. This year we are planning to do a cruise from corfu with the flight out of bournemouth airport. However its a 6am flight.  We would like to stay in a hotel overnight, leave the car parked at the hotel, and take a taxi to the airport.  Do you have any suggestions as to a suitable hotel - especially if you have done the same thing.  Thanks in advance. Cheers  Terry 

Just for completeness.  I ended up staying at the Holiday Inn, Eastleigh before the cruise. They too included B&B, parking, and taxis to and from the cruise terminal.   They are also easy to find, being just off the M3.

3 hours ago, coachman8 said:

 I see that in St Petersburg it seems to be split between Alla tours and official Marella ones, what made you pick Alla ? I’m also told the excursions are quite expensive because of visas etc ? 

 You don't need a visa if you are arriving on a cruise ship which is only staying 48hrs.  However to go on-shore you do need to use a tour company that is licensed by the russian authorities  - and essentially they all will be.  Note that is what Marella does too (ie use a local licensed firm and, presumably, adding a mark-up for arranging it). 

Britboys, Thanks for even more useful information.