What Happens with missed ports/cancelled cruises

[NewCruiserMPC]

I'm on the Caribbean Princess. I'm having a hard time looking up things on my phone so thought I would just ask you all who are more knowledgeable. This is only my second cruise... Or not.

 

What happens when the cruise misses a port? Do they offer a credit back? Refund? What about if the entire cruise is cancelled? Would we get a credit back? Even for those that don't have insurance? Just wondering.

 

 

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[mek]

Normally if a port is missed they will refund port charges/taxes, but no refund for any part of the cruise just because a port is missed - it happens all of the time. However, your situation is different since you haven't even left and it is unknown if the ship will even make it out. It's a bummer, but you will just have to sit tight and see what happens.

Edited March 23, 2014 by mek

[Putterdude]

Normally with an missed port you get an apology and your OBC is credited with port fees and any taxes related thereto. However there is no refund of a portion of the cruise.

[paul929207]

Unless it is the ship's fault that a port is missed, you will just get back the port charges and these are usually not a huge amount,

[Steviewonder1]

Your ship is not leaving port today as there has been a collision in the channel and the port is closed. Yes only port fees are refunded and most are not much.

[Coral]

I think Princess will do something for the Caribbean Princess passengers. They don't have to as it is not Princess's fault that the event happened but I think they will make it up to the passengers onboard as a goodwill gesture.

[timetravler]

Last year during hurricane Sandy we missed 4 ports and went to 4 other small Canadian ports instead. I asked the purser if we would get back any port fees and he only said they don't amount to much, so I didn't check any further. I so hope you do get compensation even if you leave today. That's really a bummer.

[smilz]

Our cruise out of SJ a few years ago on CB was canceled due to engine troubles. The cruise the week before ours was canceled as well. All through that week Princess kept saying that our cruise would not be affected. I actually found out on CC by accident on Friday afternoon at 3ish that our cruise on Sunday was canceled. DH called Princess and they kept saying we were still sailing. A lot of people were already in SJ. DH called our TA and put a hold on a cabin on Celebrity while we were trying to figure things out. We were very lucky because we were taking his parents with us and needed 2 cabins. Princess did not notify us until 7pm that our cruise was canceled. We had gotten our flights on our own so we were still able to fly down on our fight on Saturday but the Celebrity cruise was leaving on Saturday. Embassy suites would not refund our money and we had no place to stay the following Saturday night. Talk about stress. We both have jobs that we can't arbitrarily change our vacation so postponing was not an option. To make a long long story short... we had to pay for the new cruise (obviously) and had to wait 4 months for a refund from Princess. A little tight on the bank account!! They offered a 25% discount on a future cruise but as luck would have it the deal we got on CB was great and I haven't seen one like that again. We have sailed with Princess again a few times and are sailing on Royal in a few weeks but we are still disappointed with the communication from Princess. A lot of people were left high and dry. There aren't many flights out of SJ and at the time there were only 3 ships. If it had been a cruise out of Florida, things may have been different. The fact that CB had been limping along for weeks missing ports because they had to run slower etc made us uncomfortable as our cruise date approached. But I blame Princess for not canceling a few cruises with enough notice to arrange alternate plans for their passengers and do the necessary repairs. It could have ended like a few Carnival cruises with a ship dead in the water!

[Pam in CA]

I've been on many, many cruises that have missed ports or had an itinerary change at the last minute. It happens all the time. Heck, on my T/A on the Royal in September, I have no doubt we'll miss a port or two.

 

The only thing Princess will do is refund port charges although I agree with Coral that they might give them some OBC as well as a good will gesture.

 

If a ship is experiencing a mechanical problem but the ship is still able to make most of the ports, it'll continue to sail. The issue is finding a yard with an available dry dock that's within sailing distance. It's not like driving into the nearest service station. Repair yards are often booked months if not years in advance. Sometimes, an availability opens up quickly so Princess will grab it. As long as the ship is able to sail and onboard operations are normal, you are getting what you paid for: cabin, dining, entertainment, etc.

[OCruisers]

Normally if a port is missed they will refund port charges/taxes, but no refund for any part of the cruise just because a port is missed - it happens all of the time. However, your situation is different since you haven't even left and it is unknown if the ship will even make it out. It's a bummer, but you will just have to sit tight and see what happens.

 

Agree! At this point no one knows if they'll even be able to cruise.

It's a different sort of situation.

LuLu

~~~

[Loonbeam]

The official policy is that as long as the ship provides food, transport, housing and entertainment on any given day, that counts as a cruise day, regardless of itinerary. If a port is missed, you get credited back only those charges directly related to the port.

 

It actually costs more in most cases for the ship to have people stay on board (between missed excursion revenue, extra food used, extra power, etc - only slightly offset by additional onboard revenue) so the lines do try to make as many ports as possible.

 

Once they know when the port will be clear, they can update the itinerary and then figure out what will be appropriate.