Black Sea cruises

[Patsy Flower]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know if a cruise to the Black Sea can be cancelled if the itinerary is changed due to the problems in that region?

 

I know that this is beyond the control of the cruise line but if people have specifically booked to see this area and the area is withdrawn do passengers have to accept "new ports" which may be a duplication of the first week of the cruise?

 

I suspect the answer will be no but it will be interesting to hear any views on the matter.

[Pam in CA]

The itinerary will change. It could be very different from what you booked so keep an open mind. Also, it might be very frustrating because Princess tries to stick to the original itinerary until or unless it's clear that sailing to a port wouldn't be safe. People get mad at the delayed news but there have been times when other lines have changed itineraries early and when things settled down, changed them back. Princess prefers to make changes only when they have to.

 

Years ago, we were booked on an Eastern Med cruise out of Athens that went to Cairo and then two days in Israel. Due to unrest, our itinerary was changed to two days in Istanbul. Some people were upset but we were thrilled because we'd planned to go there some time plus we got a very nice fare reduction due to the changed itinerary.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Pam in CA

[Patsy Flower]

Thank you for your response Pam.

 

The cruise is over a year away so I suppose things could change before then.

 

This region is somewhere hubby has always wanted to go so it would be a massive disappointment but if there is unrest it would be understandable for things to change.

 

Just not sure whether to risk booking the flights or whether it would be better to hang on and just lose the deposit.

 

There again any cruise is better than no cruise!!

 

I an trying to be positive.

[Colo Cruiser]

Being that far out you can cancel your cruise regardless of any iteniary changes up to final payment.

Its a very fluid situation there, things will be changing regardless.

Once you are past final payment there will be penalties.

We had a cruise booked oin the Island Princess once that had an iteniary change and they gave us the option to cancel. We didn't.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[Cruise Junky]

Being that far out you can cancel your cruise regardless of any iteniary changes up to final payment.

 

Its a very fluid situation there, things will be changing regardless.

 

Once you are past final payment there will be penalties.

 

We had a cruise booked oin the Island Princess once that had an iteniary change and they gave us the option to cancel. We didn't.

 

 

No she can't. She's from the UK

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[paul929207]

We will be on the Black Sea cruise on the Ocean Princess. The two Ukraine ports were dropped several months ago. So any one could cancel without penalty (and several did).

[Colo Cruiser]

No she can't. She's from the UK

 

Don't think thats true anymore, there have been multiple posts from UK posters saying they have been able to cancel their cruise now with no additional penalty. ;)

Edited July 3, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[avcruz]

Don't think thats true anymore, there have been multiple posts from UK posters saying they have been able to cancel their cruise now with no additional penalty. ;)

 

But it can depend upon the promo code that they booked their cruise under. Some of the better deals require a non-refundable deposit...

[Patsy Flower]

Thanks for everyone who replied to my post.

 

I booked the cruise using a FCD so loss at the moment would be minimal even if Princess would not return that to me.

 

The biggest issue is that at some point I will need to make a decision to book flights and that's when I would lose money if the cruise was cancelled at a later date.

 

From what I can see the ports that would be dropped are Yalta and Odessa. I am assuming that Nessebar (Bulgaria) and Volos (Greece) would remain??

[Pam in CA]

Yeah. Yalta and Odessa would probably be dropped or alternate ports scheduled. Unfortunately, these are the best ports on the itinerary. Nessebar is interesting, haven't been to Volos but then I haven't been to a Greek town/city I didn't like. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for everyone who replied to my post.

 

I booked the cruise using a FCD so loss at the moment would be minimal even if Princess would not return that to me.

 

The biggest issue is that at some point I will need to make a decision to book flights and that's when I would lose money if the cruise was cancelled at a later date.

 

From what I can see the ports that would be dropped are Yalta and Odessa. I am assuming that Nessebar (Bulgaria) and Volos (Greece) would remain??

 

Its hard to say what will stay and what will go, sounds like you may want to pursue a different iteniary.

[msmoger]

We're on the same October Ocean Princess cruise as Paul. Yalta and Odessa were dropped and Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Santorini were added. We're still scheduled to go to the Black Sea ports of Constanta in Romania and Nessebar in Bulgaria.

 

We're disappointed we can't visit the Ukrainian ports but of course understand why we can't and are relieved they made the decision earlier rather than later.

 

We're happy with the new ports. Santorini has been on our bucket list and Ephesus will be a "happy to return" port. However, there are others booked (or were booked - not sure which) that are doing B2B and both of the new ports are on both itineraries. Needless to say they're not too thrilled with that.

[paul929207]

For our October 2014 Black Sea cruise, Yalta and Odessa were dropped. They were replaced by Santorini and Kusadasi. Istanbul, Volos, Nessebar, and Constanta are still on the schedule.

[MandE-UK]

For our October 2014 Black Sea cruise, Yalta and Odessa were dropped. They were replaced by Santorini and Kusadasi. Istanbul, Volos, Nessebar, and Constanta are still on the schedule.

It is a real shame. The main reason for anyone to do a Black Sea cruise was to visit Yalta, Odessa and Sevastapol (another port that has been pulled now!) I have long wanted to visit the Crimean War Battlefields so have decided no Black Sea cruise until it is resolved. The replacement ports are no real alternative!

[5326jan]

Yeah. Yalta and Odessa would probably be dropped or alternate ports scheduled. Unfortunately, these are the best ports on the itinerary. Nessebar is interesting, haven't been to Volos but then I haven't been to a Greek town/city I didn't like. :)

 

Hi Pam! When you go to Volos, try to get a private guide to Meteora. You'll fly by the ships tours! What an amazing place!:)

[StLouisCruisers]

We were booked on the Nov. 2 Black Sea Ocean Princess cruise followed by the Nov. 20 Holy Land cruise. We have cancelled both since the ports Princess substituted for Yalta and Odessa were not even in the Black Sea! There would be too many visits to Santorini and Kusadasi in those 30 days.

 

We are now booked on Holland America for Oct. 5 and will see a lot of the Black Sea on their itinerary. Only three months to go!

Edited July 4, 2014 by StLouisCruisers