MadMarine
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Posts posted by MadMarine
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We are scheduled for the LA to London segments. I’m researching alternatives with my TA at this point. I’m not willIng to hand over 6 figure numbers to Viking come 6/15. I believe that cruising might just be getting back to maybe semi-normal. I’m not willing to risk multiple schedule changes and possibly miss ports that are on the bucket list.
Currently, we are into the WC ~$10k. If we can successfully move that to a future cruise to our liking, we will. If not, we will eat the cost. -
31 minutes ago, sierrafloridacruiser said:
So, I can’t proceed with this until I’ve received the refunds from the cruise lines? or is there paperwork I can get from the cruise lines that will satisfy this requirement of the insurance company?
We lodged a refund for a cancelled cruise and the return of insurance premium through the travel agent at the same time on 3/30. No money yet. I expect this will take some time to sort out.
Mad
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papaflamingo,
Allianz does have an exception for coronavirus as listed on their website.
On 3/30/2020 at 4:43 AM, boblerm said:This is on the Allianz web site
PLAN REFUND INFORMATIONCustomers may change their plan’s effective dates to cover a new or rescheduled trip. Alternatively, for a temporary period, we are offering refunds for the cost of your travel protection plan to customers who wish to cancel their travel protection plan if the customer’s travel supplier canceled the customer’s trip due to COVID-19, so long as no payable claim has been filed under the plan.
Mad
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10 minutes ago, Caroldoll said:10 minutes ago, Caroldoll said:
I don't believe so. I just had to cancel a cruise because my husband developed cancer and had to have an operation. I finally got what the insurance paid, but they didn't refund their premium, so I would say no.
There are several responses to this earlier in the thread. During this time, some companies are refunding the premium if your cruise is canceled by the cruise line and you have not already made a claim. My TA is currently processing my refund with Regent as well as a refund of my insurance premium with Allianz. YMMV!
Mad
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I got this from Regent a hour or so ago:
http://x.luxury.rssc.com/ats/msg.aspx?sg1=8e35b7cac72752e46adfff6bd174cd36
Mad
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1 hour ago, v4e said:
It appears Regent has canceled some cruises but have not posted yet. I just placed my cruise itinerary number into the Regent refund request page. It now is allowing me to take a refund for my Explorer May cruise. I expect the web site got ahead of marketing.
Hi v4e,
Did you complete the process? I was also able to establish that it would accept my booking for refund. I didn’t complete it since I work through a TA. Nothing else on the website indicates any other changes from the last announcement that I can see.
Mad
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This is an excerpt from the insurer’s travel sitem
PLAN REFUND INFORMATION
Customers may change their plan’s effective dates to cover a new or rescheduled trip. Alternatively, for a temporary period, we are offering refunds for the cost of your travel protection plan to customers who wish to cancel their travel protection plan if the customer’s travel supplier canceled the customer’s trip due to COVID-19, so long as no payable claim has been filed under the plan. Please call us at the number listed on your plan and we will be happy to assist you.
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The US Pres just extended the self-isolation guidance until the end of April. I’m assuming this will have an impact on near-term cruise cancelations.
Mad
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I have insurance from a prominent US national company that will refund the premium if the cruise is cancelled under certain conditions. Only for cruises cancelled due to coronavirus.
Mad
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7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:
Really hope that a decision is made for April cruises as soon as possible. Based on when Regent cancelled their March cruises, they may not take action until the 30 days has expired (April 12th?). I know that waiting is horrible (I was just finishing my packing when our cruise was cancelled). I knew that it was possible that it would be cancelled but when it actually happened, I felt half disappointed and half glad that it was cancelled.
Hope that you will receive a refund and that your cruise will be cancelled sooner than later!
Thanks, TC. More of a rant than anything. Like you, we are hunkered down for the duration. Hopefully our state will shortly reach its peak and start recovery. All the best to you and DH. Stay safe!
Mad
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43 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:
My feelings are that we should all - stay calm - not worry about things that we cannot control - take steps to control what you can and - most importantly - do whatever it takes to stay safe and healthy!
TC, I have been patiently waiting for the cancellation of my 4/27 departure from Barcelona. This cruise is mostly Spain and Portugal. Does any one think that the Explorer is going to dock in Barcelona any time soon? I’ve looked at future cruises and there are really none that duplicate the itinerary that I signed up for. An FCC doesn’t do it for me. A declaration on Regent’s part of cancelation will allow me to get a significant cost back including insurance. The sooner the better, the clock is ticking for us!
Mad
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1 hour ago, DaveSJ711 said:
Eight Canadians left on a Viking cruise ship. The mind boggles.
Dut, dut, dah, di, dut.. Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip,..... fair winds and following seas to our awesome, intrepid Canadian sailors!Mad
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The Explorer was to do a TA on 4/3. We were to pick her up in Barcelona. If the TA isn’t happening, what is the likelihood that our cruise on 4/27 will be canceled as well?
Mad
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3 minutes ago, boblerm said:
Jackie, I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Do you know whether this is now Regent policy from now until...forever??? Or is it just policy that stays in effect during the present crisis?
Just FYI, I didn’t find this on the Regent site.
Mad -
3 minutes ago, Gray Eagle02 said:
This the relevant part of the WHO recommendations:
”Recommendations for international travellers
It is prudent for travellers who are sick to delay or avoid travel to affected areas, in particular for elderly travellers and people with chronic diseases or underlying health conditions.”
Elsewhere in the statement they define affected areas to include those countries with diagnosed cases.
So that makes, CDC and the US Department of State who advise all US citizens to avoid boarding cruise ships, and WHO who advises elderly and people with chronic diseases to delay or avoid travel to affected areas.
+1
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1 minute ago, Travelcat2 said:
I have checked that site but did not see any statement that says to avoid all cruise travel. If I'm missing it, kindly let me know which paragraph you saw it in. Thank you!
That was my point. WHO is behind the curve (last traveler advisory on 2/29), is not updating their traveler information in a fluid and dynamic fashion. Unlike the CDC, which is providing near daily updates to keep US citizens informed. That’s a major difference in my book.
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7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:
My bad - I should not have mentioned the CDC as they are part of the problem - not the solution (in my opinion). Will check out the latest from the World Health Organization to see if their recommendation about cruising is the same.
Oh, yes. WHO is right on top of the situation with the latest travel advisory dated 2/29:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/travel-advice
Italy apparently didn’t get the memo.
Mad
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2 hours ago, kjbacon said:
Thank you for posting. Here is the full text from the website:Passengers on Cruise Ships
U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship. CDC notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures that have denied port entry rights to ships and prevented passengers from disembarking. In some cases, local authorities have permitted disembarkation but subjected passengers to local quarantine procedures. While the U.S. government has evacuated some cruise ship passengers in recent weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities.
This is a fluid situation. CDC notes that older adults and travelers with underlying health issues should avoid situations that put them at increased risk for more severe disease. This entails avoiding crowded places, avoiding non-essential travel such as long plane trips, and especially avoiding embarking on cruise ships. Passengers with plans to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website and see the latest information from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/index.html.
I’m wondering, given this alert from the State Dept, if Regent will begin to cancel cruises for the next month or so? This could change the dynamic on how many pax they are going to lose as well as the scheduled ports. Not looking good, I 🤔
Mad
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4 minutes ago, Azulann said:
One of those experts, noted in the CNN article that advise the CDC, is Dr. Osterholm from the University of Minnesota.
He was interviewed today about advising people over 60 to limit their travel, stay away from large crowds etc.
He said he is following his own advice being over 60. Not traveling by air for the near future or goign to a resort.
We had the first COVID-19 in MN. It is a person who was on a cruise and retired .
Got sick on Feb 25 and yesterday called doctor with this information.
Person was tested by state lab on Thursday and at noon today the test came back postitve.
Person is at home and County health officals are investigating those that have come in contact with person.
Governor had a pressser with all health officals givng very factualinforamiton and what theya re doing going forward.
This person had to get home from cruise by air so there is taht to consider.
Meanwhile in Maryland , three people who were on a river cruise in Egypt have been tested positve but have gone all over their community since being home: school event, retirment community and nursing home.
Again risk management for all of us ,not only for those of us that love to cruise, but also the people we interact with in our home towns.
Be smart , be safe, be realistic.
+1
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11 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:
VP Pence is meeting with cruise industry execs tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some clarity after that.But note the disease experts used the phrase “should strongly consider”...
Mandate is not “strongly consider...”. Words do matter. We have law and tradition in the US of not forbidding travel of our citizens with few exceptions, Cuba and North Korea come to mind. Would this suggest that I should be mandated not to travel to Seattle for the same reason?
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5 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:
This doesn't specifically mention cruising, but it can be inferred (dang, though 64 I don’t feel elderly):CDC says older adults should “stay at home as much as possible” due to coronavirus
From CNN Health’s Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield
Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new guidance on its website, encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to “stay at home as much as possible.”
This advice is on a CDC website that was posted Thursday.
The CDC says early data suggests older people and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease are at higher risk for more serious illness from the novel. coronavirus. The CDC says older people are twice as likely to become seriously ill if they become infected with the virus.
Some context: This advice from the CDC comes as two top infectious disease experts with ties to the federal government have advised people over 60 and those with underlying health problems to strongly consider avoiding activities that involve large crowds, such as traveling by airplane, going to movie theaters, attending family events, shopping at crowded malls, and going to religious services.
A Trump administration official tells CNN that the US Department of Health and Human Services “is in the process of doing targeted outreach to the elderly community and those that have serious underlying health conditions.”
Well, Ragnar. I don’t see a hint of mandate here. We should all exercise caution and make informed decisions for ourselves. Calm reasoning is needed.
Mad
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4 minutes ago, mrlevin said:
Maria, yes, that was option I was given but decided to leave the cancellation in place. This new policy is great for passengers but will really impact insurance companies as now no real reason to purchase cancellation insurance.
Marc
Hey, Marc. I think a minor disagreement. Travel insurance has generally been transferable to a future cruise within a year. Consumers still have the same incentive to ensure future travel on a personal level short of a global health problem.
Mad-
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This post was made by SantaFe1 on the April Barcelona -London Cruise. Reposted with her permission:
About once every 5 years I get a person on the phone who is calm, professional, very well informed and answers all my questions. I just called Regent and got such a person. My regular Regent agent is off today. So if you can stand one more long email from me, here is what I learned. (and first let me say that my husband is 70 and has controlled asthma, so in the high risk group).
we have until Saturday, March 28 to make the decision to cancel. The repositioning of the Explorer is scheduled to go forward. After canceling the Asia cruises last month, all cruises are sailing on schedule and expected to continue to do so at this time. If we decide to cancel, we have one year from the cancelation date(so, say March 27) to book another cruise with our Regent vouchers. The actual sailing date can be any time in 2020 or 2021, so conceivably even a Dec. 2021 cruise. Any money paid for a shore ex, and we have one, will be refunded to our credit card. All port fees and other associated fees will be refunded to our CC. After those fees are deducted, Regent issues the voucher for the remainder. (I certainly didn’t know that!!)
if things escalate and Regent cancels our cruise altogether, which she thought was highly unlikely, but admittedly couldn’t say for sure, we would be refunded 100% to our CC or whatever method of payment we used. However, Regent can and will change and/or cancel ports as it sees fit. This is common to all cruises I have been on.
I was worried about my air since I booked it myself. If for example the sport of Barcelona is closed, it is likely, she said, as was the case in Hong Kong, that flights into the city would also cease. She also said that Regent would help us as much as they could to get flights to the ship. She said they are dedicated to getting all passengers to their ship on time, especially if they change ports. She said if things get dicey enough for Regent to cancel Barcelona or Lisbon, chances are the airlines will put those cities on the no fee to change waiver list.
So, we are going to hang in there. We want to go, we don’t really have time in 2020-21 to squeeze in another cruise. If the Alhambra is closed, no big deal. We can come back, or there are just some places I am not destined to visit, I guess. The Captain on our WC last year always delivered bad news about everything from the weather to missing Easter Island, saying, well, it is what it is. That’s good enough for us right now. We will go forward with hope but not expectations.
Sorry for the info overload, but wanted to share. I hope to see most of you onboard, and will miss those who choose to cancel.
christine
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30 minutes ago, MadMarine said:
Just a data point. I’m booked on Viking for a WC starting 1/4/21. Final payment is 6/15/20. 6 months prior to departure.
Mad
10 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:I am repeating what I read on the Regent Facebook page. If it is incorrect, kindly advise what the policy is. If someone tells me when he final payment is - that is the date that it is paid by. It would not occur to me to ask to move the final payment date.
Just to be clear, the final payment date I cited above was not negotiated and was the date published when I booked 5/1/19.
Mad
Upcoming Viking World Cruise 2021 and COVID-19 danger
in Viking Ocean
Posted
Thanks for the info, but the cancelation penalty of $100/per doesn’t apply to world cruises. For a WC, the penalty is $1000/per + the cost of the insurance which is much dearer.
We’re still looking as further cruise credit as a mitigation.
Mad