Chunky2219

Firsty, huge sympathy on your wife's condition and fingers crossed that she can get back to, or close to, her previous self.

Now - the practical stuff as far as I understand it.  Being in the UK not the US, it's highly likely that Cunard will pocket your deposit if you wish to cancel, regardless of reason.  Their argument would be that you should have had insurance from the date of booking.  We've long had worse conditions regarding deposits than our chums across the pond.

However, if you want to switch to an alternative, later  voyage they might be sympathetic.  I've had a similar conversation with another upscale cruise line only this week.  That was for a previously re-arranged voyage we were originally due to take last year but ......  Covid; we now don't really want to take the voyage we hasitly re-booked when it all blew up.     Some lines seem to be being very flexible at present and of course, they'll probably now be able to sell the room at a higher price than your original booking.  Also, you'll likely pay more for your replacement booking so it's win, win, win for them.

You could ask for a long-dated credit note rather than a specific sailing but unless things have changed recently I suspect you will draw a blank on that one.

I'm long term disabled myself and Cunard can accept many health problems, so long as you are not going to be relying on them in any way for support or care.  They are very good at accomodating people with difficulties and will ensure they have a plan for individual support in the case of things like a ship wide emergency.   There may be some restrictions at individual ports, for example tender ports or those with a big tidal range where the angle of the gang plank can change a lot whilst in port.

You will still need to have travel/health insurance cover and this will be more expensive than it would have been before your wife's event but in principle, if you can get insurance you can probably cruise.

So just ask.  If you have a good travel agent this will be a major help and and of course, it all depends on the current medical advice and prognosis from your own doctor(s).  I can't speak specifically about stroke but with many neurological events they often advise that you won't know the full extent of recovery for 24 months.

Good luck.

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How times change!  

Some years ago we did a 23 day TA to New York (2 days), New England, Canada and return on QV.   Clearing immigration at New York on day 1 was purgatory  -  very regimented, deck by deck, every single soul had to get off the ship even if not entering the city, a 90 minute queue and at the end of this you inevitably feel like a criminal, including having fingerprints scanned.

Further up the coast at our first stop in Canada I was stopped very briefly and very politely by an immigration officer who had noticed that my shoelace had come un-tied.  

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Flossie,

I can see that for whatever reason, you and I are not on the same wavelength and are unlikely to  become soulmates.  But for the record, I'll answer your questions/points:

• My understanding was that when things were completely crazy, many lines (including RSS, I seem to remember) were offering the chance to cancel at any point up to very close to embarkation with the option of a refund or re-booking.  The twist in the tail was that in reality this was for bookings that were past final payment date so UK deposits were not recoverable unless one went all in (as they say at the poker table) and held one's breath.  Most lines were careful not to officially re-schedule or cancel too soon.

• No, I couldn't have asked for a refund when the original cruise was cancelled.  By that point we had preemptively moved the booking on by 18 months.  See the point in post #3 above, but this time read it very, very slowly.

• I apologise for not being crystal clear with the initial question.  I wasn't seeking opinions, yours or anyone else's.  I was seeking facts and/or actual experience.  My bad, as the young people say.

• It's safe to assume that if I'm fully capable of looking up what alternative RSS voyages are available and indeed, speaking to a TA without a prompt.  At the risk of over-stressing the point, I sought FACTS & EXPERIENCE before I picked up the phone and opened up the conversation.    It's a bad habit I've picked up over a lifetime of negotiation.  My bad, again.

As an aside, if you know of any travel insurer that would have covered the situation of "I can't see the future clearly enough in 12 months time and would like to clear the decks now, rather than have it hanging over us like the sword of Damocles." ........... I'd be very grateful for the information.  I'll be sure to use them in future.  Suffice to say, the super, duper, gold plated policy that comes for free with my bank account doesn't.

Warmest possible regards,  Chunky

Edited for typo. My fat digits are a curse.

I'm aware of what the standard Ts & Cs at the time of original booking were, but that was way, way before Covid.  I'm also aware that that they were not the Ts & Cs in play during the teeth of the pademic.  Our original cruise was cancelled and the ship was moored up in Italy for most of 2021; our move to an alternative voyage was pre-emptive but with hindsight was a shot in the foot.

What I'm really interested in is whether any more accomodating terms are still in play and especially so if anyone has any recent experience, say in the last six months.

As you'll no doubt have spotted, the replacement voyages currently on offer are somewhat more expensive than even double digit inflation would warrant.  I can only assume that RSS, like the other lines, are making hay while the sun shines,   Even if there was a target voyage and suite available, it would be cheaper to lose a deposit than to dive into that pond at present, with no guarantee that the pandemic will be gone in time.

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Can anyone help with a bit of advice please?  We have a UK booking for a voyage this time next year in Asia and t.b.h. we're wobbling quite badly on whether to bail out.

Lots of reasons -  one of us is disabled, one has compromised immunity, and, well, Covid.  The voyage should have originally been 2021 for multiple important birthdays and anniversaries then re-arranged due to Covid but the moment has gone.   We always book our own flights, cheaper, direct and better suited to a wheelchair instead of via the Middle East this time with RSS, but... Covid.  There's more, but you can see where this is going.

I'd prefer to just cancel now or maybe get a long dated credit that we can spend against something in Europe, probably starting or ending at Southahmpton.

Final payment is still a long time away but it's time to book excursions, which prompts my question.  Can someone please tell me what rules RSS are curently applying for UK bookings?

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Ah, how I remember posting the same questions as you have prior to our first QG experience.  It seems years ago, as does our most recent QG experience because of all this pandemic stuff.

From first to last, we've enjoyed every voyage, including a couple of upgrades to a Q1 which, sadly, crippled any chance of us ever going back to very smallest, most bijou accomodation.  But I can offer a few thoughts about what you have in front of you.

1. QG continues to evolve and as far as the old timers are concerned, will never be as good as the old days. Ignore this nonsense.  Even if caviar isn't as easy to get hold of as when it was served in a coal scuttle, the dining experience is still good.
2. Yes, you can get almost anything in the restaurant.  There's an apocryphal story of someone asking for grilled elephant ears and the maitre d'hotel replied, "would that be African or Asian variety sir?"
3. A good idea is to forego the captain's party (which on any ship at sea, isn't as spell binding as it sounds) and head to QG early that evening.  Normally, a-la-carte is suspended in the expectation of a hoard of people crashing in all at once, but if you beat the rush and especialy if you warn them in advance,  the wait staff and kitchen will be overjoyed to rustle up something special for you.
4. Ask your head waiter and maitre d'hotel for suggestions and keep your eye on what fellow diners order.  There are some excellent off-menu items regularly made, especially the table side cooked dishes.
5. When it comes to tips, you can be parsimonious or go full American overkill, it's up to you.  But send a little into the kitchen on your last night, you'd be surprised how appreciated it is.
6. Baked Alaska.  Ask for a big one for two to share, not the little one served with cherries  Jubilee.  You won't eat it all but I guarantee the remainder will end up on a nearby table and you'll make at least two new friends.
7. Enjoy!

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Yeah, everything in life has a risk and we make our own choices.  Problem is, and here's the point that some people seem incapable of recognising ......... they aren't your choices to make. 

The cruise companies are businesses, they aren't going to take risks that have a high probability of costing big bucks or putting them out of business for good.  The decision on whether a ship can visit port A or country B isn't yours - it's down to the governmnet of that country and as we've seen, not only have events changed rapidly but there's the inevitble overlay of political decisions and the xenophibia factor.

The question here was whether vaccines will be a game changer.  They won't.  Not for cruising they won't.

But here's a bit more background to my thinking.  I've made my decision to stay at home.  Not directly because of Covid but because of the current unpredicatabiity of events and the high probability of me getting goosed on the price of self-booked flights, etc when the voyage inevitably gets cancelled.  I've moved our October 2021 voyage into 2023 because by then the situation will hopefully be a little clearer.

My second snippet is this - I have an old chap in his late 70s who comes to do my garden, his grandson is 18 years old and as fit as a butcher's dog.  He got Covid, suffrered for a week or so then got over it, as most 18 year olds would.  Last week he was doubled up with leg and chest pain and got carted off to hospital just in time to have a (thankfully) small heart attack.  The blood clot the size of a golf ball in his leg, caused by Covid, had thrown off a bit which had tracked to his heart and could have killed him.  Meanwhile the old boy has avoided Covid by exercising a bit of common sense and he too is more likely to die by drowning.  In his case it's the river at the bottom of my garden.

Try this for a little thought excercise.................  Whatever your view about how the Covid versus vaccine dynamic might pan out in your own corner of the world, begin by recognising that no vaccine ever works 100% of the time for 100% of people - the best you can hope for is a high percentage of people avoiding the very worst effects of a disease.  Now assume that it is dramatically different in half a dozen other countries where:

• a new variant has just sprung up a month ago, or
• vaccine uptake is poor or patchy because of political/philospohical/theological or just plain stupid reasoning, or
• vaccines work great but some people, some countries, some groups won't use or don't trust vaccine passports, or
• vaccine uptake has been awesome but after 2, 3, 4 or more waves they now don't trust many other countries and don't want their citizens, plus
• one of these countries is on your cruise itinerary, or
• someone from one of these countries is on your ship, or
• someone from one of these countries was on your flight to your cruise start point

Now factor in that a cruise ship is an almost perfect breeding ground for the virus, like a big prison where people can mix freely 24/7.  Now think about the typical demographic of most cruise ships with respect to succeptibility to serious effects.  (it's not positive).

Once you've got this far, now imagine you are a cruise ship operator planning 3 years in advance normally and maybe 3 months in advance now.  All this while trying to make at least a break even position out of it all.  It's a high sunk capital cost, rapid revenue turnover and highly inflexible business.

I personally can't think of a more difficult industry in which to keep operating.  Unless and until Covid 19 naturally dies back to be as threatening as the common cold it's not going to be sustainable.  Sadly, vaccines won't change the game.

15 hours ago, GOARMY said:

....... our chances of being in Tokyo for a three-day pre-cruise segment at Slim to none--with Slim on the way out of town.  

 

Final payment due in mid-November................

 

You have my deepest sympathy for the position you are in.  We're not due to start off in Tokyo until October 2021 (Explorer) but I'm getting very nervous about all the other plans around it that we'll have to consider soon. 

Upgrades to business class or switch to cruise only with self-booked flights with/without cancellation?  To cover all the bases I could rack up some serious but potentially unnecessary cost.  Extra hotel days are easier to think about but then we get into transfers (with a wheelchair) and .....  the list goes on.  Don't even get me started on final payment date versus late cancellation policy - all the lines are assuming the world is back to normal by then so it's standard policy for me (so far).

Best case - we get immunity sorted but still manage to score a cheap upgrade to Master Suite if the ship is half full.  Worst case -  SHMBO's 60th birthday and our 40th anniversary might work out a lot cheaper; if Covid's still bubbling we might not even be able to hold a party at home!

Fingers crossed for you.  🤞

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I can't help but wonder what was the point of moving Explorer from Florida to Italy (I'm not sure where Splendor was before, maybe the same?) unless there is at least the hope of some sort of plan to get something going sometime soon.

For example, Explorer was (is) scheduled to sail from Barcelona on 6th November for 76 nights to Auckland, then 47 to Hong Kong and finally 60 days to Vancouver.  No-one can predict when the virus will fade out, if ever, when an effective vaccine will be available, if ever and at the end of it all how many people will still have the funds and the willingness to splash out on any sort of cruise, let alone one at the very top end.

I suspect that they will simply hop and skip ships to ports that are reasonably close to where/when the next go/no-go decision will be made, so that revenue generation can begin as soon as possible once the fog clears.  Ravenna isn't that far from Barcelona, only a couple of days sailing.

But when we start to see ships massively out of position for scheduled itineraries, that's when we have to wonder about the future of ships and lines.  If Explorer is still in the Med. when she should have been in the Pacific it won't be a good sign.  Ditto for the others.

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Well, the first answer is out.    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/carnival-cruise-bookings-surge-600-after-august-relaunch-announcement

Carnival are taking bookings for August, with four days starting at $119.  That's per cruise, not per day.   "Carnival said earlier this week it is focusing operations on homeports that are largely accessible by car. "

I suppose it gives them a chance to sail around a bit to shake the barnacles off, it might even be nearly as cheap as the cost of standing at a mooring.  They can dish out some pretty adequate food while selling huge quantities of booze and pushing everyone into the casino with cattle prods. The marginal cost/revenue numbers might even be slightly positive.

But that sort of pricing still won't stop the parent group circling a massive, glooping vortex of financial disaster.  It's a business model that certainly won't work for Cunard, not  unless they put a water slide over the pool and do a sponsorship deal with Burger King.

There's an old saying  - if you owe the bank £100, that's your problem, if you owe them 6 billion, that's their problem.  There will be more "financial restucturing" than you can shake a stick at.

I don't buy the idea that people will cruise more to support the industry, certainly not based on a small proportion of a survey population that would barely fill one of the larger ships. 

Once this all shakes out there will be lots of people who are counting the pennies and won't be spending big on holidays for quite some time, the folks still taking multiple cruises a year will be thinner on the ground.

I don't buy the budget basement, ultra no-frills idea either.  People have become accustomed to whatever standard of voyage they have experienced and will be unwilling to go backward, even if prices are lower.  Just look at how many people still mourn the good old days of silver service on QE2.  You can only sail a ship from A to B at a certain minimum price because fuel is such a major component. 

The Chinese buying up lots of ships (at a bargain price) would be an obvious answer in normal times, but these times are no longer normal, whatever that was.  A world in lockdown will devastate the Chinese economy just the same as it will in the west and that burgeoning middle class is going to evaporate.

Simple -

• Medivac by air or sea - provided free by the nation doing the collection.  I'm not sure that would be true off the coast of N Korea, but you get the idea.
• Ship diverts to meet Medivac - provided free by cruise line.  We don't know for sure if this is the case where your problem is due to your own gross stupidity (e.g. get blind drunk, decide to slide down the banister and crack your head open) but I'd guess they would be hard pushed to charge you.
• Your travel insurance is there to cover medical costs when you are back on land wherever it is and by whatever means and also to provide Medivac to home if the medical problem cannot be resolved locally in good time, etc.

On the stupidity front, I once went to check in for a flight from Sweden to the UK and when asked about hand baggage, declared that I had a tin of surströmming.  This is basically herring that has been allowed to go rancid in the tin, so much so that the tin becomes bloated and distended.  It smells every bit as bad as it sounds (but tastes good if you've necked enough aquavit). 

The check-in operator had a bit of a fit and told me that the previous year a tin of it had burst open at altitude and the cabin stench was so bad that the plane had to divert and land early , then had it to be be deep cleaned.  The offending passenger was potentially on the hook for the cost.  Needless to say, my tin ended up in the bin.

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Even once CV-19 is no longer a threat because we've all either had it or been vaccinated, the global financial damage will have been deep, substantial and long lasting.  It's going to shake out a lot of problems that were festering in the shadows. The sunny uplands will be a long time coming back and there will be far fewer people up for a cruise.

It's an industry heavily dependant on covering the cost of fuel, food, maintenance and labour.  Expect lots of multi-ship operators to just park up a proportion of their ships and milk what ever they have left on the sea for as much revenue and profit as possible.  I can't see that it will lead to lower prices; those who want and can afford to cruise will likely pay more for the pleasure.

Our next booking is way out in October 2021.  The price is fixed, excursions are included as is booze, but I expect to get comprehensively goosed on flights. Hopefuly I might claw a bit back on hotels.  Of course, Regent might park  Seven Seas Explorer up, in which case I guess we'll be having a new kitchen.

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The Norwegian fjords are the only voyage we've done 3 times - QE, QV and Celebrity, that's how good it is.  We've done 7 days, 12 days including some of Sweden & Denmark and 14 days going all the way up to North Cape.    We've only done New York once, as a 23 day out and return on QV also going up the coast to new England and Canada before sailing back.

I wouldn't hesitate to cruise Norway again but t.b.h. even though we went into the Manhattan terminal not the usual  Red Hook and we got an overnight there, I'd much prefer to see NYC again by plane, not cruise. 

I know the voyage is supposed to be part of the experience but I honestly can't see the point of spending a week on the Atlantic with only the prospect of storm force winds to liven things up.

On 8/21/2019 at 10:55 PM, newjoisey said:

the thread is about on-board tipping.........re-guard less who's territorial waters you are in............  

Now............. there's the problem with reading only the part of the message that catches your eye and then reacting to a portion of it.

Read the quote again.  It starts with, " If only the world was like Japan , "  No territorial waters involved.

As for geographic details, we shared  a ship with loads of Ozzies (two of whom are now good friends).  Many were queuing 3 deep to cancel auto grats on day one but the staff couldn't have cared less if they were dealing with Americans or antipodeans - they were excellent regardless.

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I can't argue with the idea of befrending a somelier.  The good ones are wonderful at suggesting interesting but inexpensive wines and they usually have access to some bottles from the previous wine list ,which as bin end, can be cracking value.

My wife has to avoid alcohol one day a week (because of meds that day).  Knowing this, one somellier who tuned in to us used to turn up at our table with a black towel over his arm on those days, bu t also having found me a large single glass of something to match my food.

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On 8/6/2019 at 11:04 AM, Windsurfboy said:

If only the world was like Japan , where staff get paid decent wages, and tipping is almost an insult.

 

But the proviso is staff get paid decent wages. 

 

When tipping becomes US style of almost a non discretionary charge, it is no longer a thank you .

 

I always pay the auto gratuity,  any more depends entirely on the service be extra special.

 

 

In Japan it IS an insult.  After a truly wonderful meal in Kyoto a colleague and I were literally chased to the door and the tip he had left was politely but firmly thrust back into his hand. 

The Ozzies have the right idea - pay people properly, expect reasonable performance and get uppity if things aren't right.  And yes, I've cruised New Zealand to Australia and the on board staff were every bit as good, accomodating and friendly as on any transatlantic voyage or cruise around Florida.

Quick question - is it still the case that US customers can book and cancel with a full deposit refund? 

As a UK resident, having 15% deposit at risk due to having different and inferior Ts &Cs to those of our transatlantic chums meant that I only ever booked Cunard on a late basis. 

I started doing the same with Celebrity when they moved to deposit loss for a cancellation or switch, rather than giving a price reduction if a cruise became discounted after booking.

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I don't see much point in having a dozen different cruise lines in a portfolio if they all gravitate toward the same cost-pared and culturally homogenious offering.

We thoroughly enjoyed Carnival when the kids were young but wouldn't set foot aboard one of their ships now.  We enjoyed P&O when all they had were medium sized vessels but had no interest when they started rolling out mega ships with thousands crammed aboard cheek by jowl.  Cunard was always that bit special for us but it's now several years since we were aboard. In the end it just didn't seem acceptably good value anymore and wasn't special enough to be a first choice.

The on-board entertainment was never in the same class as, say, Celebrity but always seemed to match the general tone of the Cunard offering.  Personally, I'd gladly manage without a British comedian if I could be assured of not being exposed to mac & cheese.  I don't care if it comes with shrimp or even caviar, it's an abomination that needs to stay on the Carnival barges.

Our next cruise?  Sadly, we've booked Regent Seven Seas, and have no immediate plans to re-visit Cunard. We don't miss QE2, could never afford it, but I'd happily re-book with the Cunard of 5-10 years ago.

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I'm very grateful for the comments and especially for the link to the connoisseur list. 

There are several wines on there that I recognise and some even that sit on my wine rack; sadly at somewhat better retail prices than on the list.  For example, the bottle of 2014 Duckhorn (Zinfandel though, not a Merlot) that we glugged on Monday evening cost me £18 versus $60 on the list.  It seems about par for cruise line wine list prices.

No worries, we'll give the house wines a go and see if we can find a few that might hit the spot.  If we don't manage it we can always order some of the pricier stuff.

It's good to know that there are no corkage fees.  We always take some bottles of good wine on board for consumption in the suite anyway and the option to take them outside is a bonus.

Tell me, does the house wine arrive table-side by bottle, or is it a case of trying to get a sommelier's eye to get a glass topped up?

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Regent newbie here, with a voyage booked on Explorer at Penthouse level.

I know that wine and beverages are included in the price, but I'd be interested if anyone has a copy of the wine list that I can take a look at.  Also, does RSS have an additional list of "premium" wines that are chargeable? 

I've come across this with other lines where they started to include drinks and wound up the prices to match, but everything that is "free" turned out to be so-so quality. It works fine for people who want to spend a fortnight pouring cheap wine down their necks, but me and the boss-lady prefer quality to quantity.

I'm hoping that RSS has some options that better fit our ageing livers and picky palates.  Any advice please?

Cheers,  C

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We did a TA and return on QV with a trip up the coast of New England and Canada in between, making 23 days in total.

First stop was at Manhatten for an overnight in New York. On arrival it was utter bedlam - repeated delays to our deck by deck disembarkation schedule, even if you didn't want to get off that day you had to follow the plan. Long queues at immigration so that wveryone could be fingerprinted and assessed for criminality, lines of tour buses parked up with drivers and guides going mad at their schedules being knocked sideways.

At the first stop in Canada eveyone just breezed through, except I got stopped by an immigration officer to piont out that my shoelace was undone annd I was at risk of tripping up.

Absolutely no need at all for all the hassle.

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When it arrives I sincerley hope it's better than "Xcellerate" on Celebrity, otherwise known as Voom on the parent RCL. After a lot of hype I found it utterly rubbish, even when moored up in port. The login and account management was hopelessly flawed and once actually connected the on-board WiFi coverage and available bandwidth was dire.

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I tell them I'm a professional unicorn trainer but had to retire when my client base got too small.

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