Anybody relieved to cancel a cruise trip

[Pavovsky]

Thank you. Yes Venice remains on the bucket list. We were in doubt about spending five nights there which was part of the plan. Probably a Venice Florence combo on one of our next trips.

 

 

A fantastic trip is to start in Venice and finish in Naples. Travel by the excellent Italian rail service. Visit Venice, Verona, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

 

 

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[cle-guy]

I also work very hard and have paid taxes and done the same as you and have raised 3 wonderful adults who also work hard but seriously complaining about organising a holiday. I love organising a holiday and that is when I de-stress from my work and I do it all on my own. My TA only does the cruise side. I just think of so many people in this world who would love to be in your shoes

 

 

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I actually have a relationship with my TA that when I book hotels etc. myself, I just enter her IATA number she gave me so she gets commissions on these pieces as well, though she normally only handles cruises.

 

So she gets an extra $20 hotel commission for doing nothing, but she takes care of me too :-)

[Viv0828]

We've never cancelled a cruise, probably because we only book a few months out and we only book after we've already researched flights, ports, accommodations, etc.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Viv0828

[Onelung]

We cancelled a cruise earlier this year on P&O and ended up doing a land holiday instead. Like you said, as the date got nearer and nearer we each said to the other "Do you really want to do this" and the answer was "No". So we cancelled it and did not regret it at all. Sometimes what you think you want/need at a particular time can change the closer you get to it.:)

 

Mind you, we've cancelled land trips as well (quite a few actually).

[villauk]

We cancelled a cruise earlier this year on P&O and ended up doing a land holiday instead. Like you said, as the date got nearer and nearer we each said to the other "Do you really want to do this" and the answer was "No". So we cancelled it and did not regret it at all. Sometimes what you think you want/need at a particular time can change the closer you get to it.:)

 

Mind you, we've cancelled land trips as well (quite a few actually).

 

I'd have done the same if I'd booked P&O too :rolleyes: :p. Sorry, only joking, couldn't resist :D.

[DebbieMacG]

I also work very hard and have paid taxes and done the same as you and have raised 3 wonderful adults who also work hard but seriously complaining about organising a holiday. I love organising a holiday and that is when I de-stress from my work and I do it all on my own. My TA only does the cruise side. I just think of so many people in this world who would love to be in your shoes

 

 

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And you are complaining about someone complaining?!?! :eek:

 

The OP was just saying they strangely felt relived canceling what should have been a great holiday and was that odd, I didn't see a complaint and I'm not sure why you posted only to pick fault? :(

 

OP I can understand what you mean, sometimes you like something and then it just doesn't work out or feel right. Sadly here when we book a cruise and want to cancel its a £300 costly mistake!

[redjetz]

We canceled a cruise late last year for August 2015 on the new Viking Oceans line. We were initially very excited to be on one of the inaugural cruises of this line but ultimately canceled due to Vikings ridiculous requirement of full payment 18 months out and a lack of communication.

 

Turned out it was a good decision due to ship issues that disrupted that cruise and the one prior and Some customer service/communication issues that Viking was poorly prepared for. Though we may very well try the new line in future when they are better organized.

 

Sometimes it's best to cancel and regroup!

[misty57]

I've mostly been concerned that I may HAVE to cancel a cruise than be happy that I did.That being said, our next cruise on Equinox is not making my heart beat faster like our Alaskan cruise last summer. The Panama canal is one of DH's ideas. I think it will be nice to see some other ports, but DH lets me do all the planning and I'm just not that much into this trip. The cost may be one factor, but also that its our first Celebrity cruise. I really like the familiarity of Royal, even if the ports are repetitive for us. If DH said he didn't want to go I would cancel in a heartbeat if I could book something else on Royal. There probably wont be any European cruises for us, as DH isn't much on history. It wouldn't be worth the time and expense or the risk with his health issues. If we did go to Europe I would go through a TA for help with the details. It would just be easier and less stressful. For Caribbean or North American departures I do my own bookings. We are grateful to be able to cruise for now. Its something to look forward to.:D

[LabGuy64]

Not really sure what the point of your thread is....a fearful and easily stressed person cancels a cruise?.....all your concerns and stressful events are the fun part for most here......well good luck with whatever you plan to do

 

 

 

 

This is no doubt a strange post but thought I would share our thoughts after cancelling an October 2016 cruise. We had booked a Venice stay and 11 night X Constellation Venice to Istanbul. It was getting near time to book hotel and flights (planning to use points for both). We were concerned about Istanbul as a departure point, hotel availability in Venice, and trying to hook up with some business class seats (using points) which is always a headache. And cabin location and class, etc. Since I still work there was also minor stressing over 17 days off (I have some other vacations planned next year). Then there was other issues to work out (tours, insurance, limos). Money is always a concern but was not really on the list.

As I starting to get into this I reviewed everything with my wife and asked,

'are you really excited about this trip?' The answer from both of us was 'no' and we agreed to cancel and were happy about it. In analyzing this it was almost a burden to do all of the prep so far in advance. We had just been to Europe a few times and the trips were unforgettable but alot of work did go into the planning. I wouldn't say it was stressful but it did have an element of that and everything is so 'locked up in advance'.

Anyway we are more pumped up about having a few weeks to play in October. Maybe a last minute cruise, maybe a vacation but no 'planning pressure'. We may wind up sitting around the house thinking we could have been in Europe but I don't think so.

 

In perspective we have planned January Reflection cruises over the past few years and we couldn't be more excited about them (including 2016).

 

We have been blessed to take some very nice vacations over the past years but this is probably the first time not planning a cruise was exciting.

 

Anyway know this is an off beat post but felt compelled to share it. Definitely thinking about a major trip/ cruise in 2017 so we are far from 'giving up' our cruise fever completely.

[VK3DQ]

 

Of course for me, I'm pretty brand loyal, s :-)

 

 

Hi Curt

 

We have cruised with X twice and with RCL once

 

We changed our mind about our next cruise which was to have been in the Solstice in March 2016 .

 

We changed our minds for a number of reasons one being that we felt that a number of changes over the couple of years made X less of a perfect fit to our cruising needs

 

We were "relieved" that we were able to change to another line that we feel MAY suit us better

 

 

Here in Australia for many years we have had a sequence of "older" ships cursing and have had not much choice , however the re-entry to the market place by RCL and X did shake up the local scene a great deal.

 

 

We have decided that Princess MAY suit us so have decided to try Golden Princess twice , we will be on their Christmas cruise to New Zealand (14 nights) and in March to the Pacific Islands (14 nights) .

 

We chose a ship that was NOT normally based here in Australia as we believe the standard MAY be somewhat higher that some of the Older, Smaller locally based ships

 

 

So I suppose we could not be called loyal to any brand :eek:

 

The proof of the pudding of course will be in the eating , hopefully we wont get indigestion :p

 

Best Regards

John

[Iamthesea]

Last month, we cancelled a Celebrity cruise to Aus/NZ because frankly, I was tired of the planning. Having enough vacation days and the flying also played a big roll in the decision to cancel.

 

We currently have two European cruises booked on either side of the cancelled cruise...all within a 7 month span! All the planning was running together. :( I just didn't have it in me to plan for areas that I was not familiar with. Having been to Europe multiple times, the planning for the other two cruises was/is a bit easier.

 

We also wanted to try a new cruise product. The Celebrity product, although very good, was getting stale to us. Had we not cancelled the cruise, we would have sailed on 5-6 Solstice class ships in a row. :rolleyes: I know, I shouldn't complain to have such good fortune. :o

 

We ended up booking a relaxing Caribbean cruise on Oceania Cruises for next February in place of the Aus/NZ cruise. New product, 3 new Caribbean islands, and easy to plan. ;)

 

Now, two years ago, we were planning a land trip to Israel and Jordan with a group for our church. DH and I were constantly reviewing the trip. Should we go or not. Is it safe or not. Are we really excited about this trip? We were not. :rolleyes: The thought of traveling without the comforts of a ship, having to take a small suitcase for a 10 day trip, eating strange food, staying in multiple hotels was not our way of travel. However, we were afraid that if we didn't go, we would always regret it. Frankly, we were both dreading the trip up until the day we arrived in Israel. All I can say is WOW...are we ever glad we took that trip! :D

 

PS - We are rebooking the Aus/NZ cruise to coincide with an Asian cruise in February of 2017.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Iamthesea

[hughdm]

Hi Curt

 

We have cruised with X twice and with RCL once

 

We changed our mind about our next cruise which was to have been in the Solstice in March 2016 .

 

We changed our minds for a number of reasons one being that we felt that a number of changes over the couple of years made X less of a perfect fit to our cruising needs

 

We were "relieved" that we were able to change to another line that we feel MAY suit us better

 

 

Here in Australia for many years we have had a sequence of "older" ships cursing and have had not much choice , however the re-entry to the market place by RCL and X did shake up the local scene a great deal.

 

 

We have decided that Princess MAY suit us so have decided to try Golden Princess twice , we will be on their Christmas cruise to New Zealand (14 nights) and in March to the Pacific Islands (14 nights) .

 

We chose a ship that was NOT normally based here in Australia as we believe the standard MAY be somewhat higher that some of the Older, Smaller locally based ships

 

 

So I suppose we could not be called loyal to any brand :eek:

 

The proof of the pudding of course will be in the eating , hopefully we wont get indigestion :p

 

Best Regards

John

We've been on Solstice once and Golden Princess twice. While we loved both, based on ship, food, entertainment, and service, I think you made a mistake, albeit a small one. But you weren't really asking for an opinion...

[hughdm]

And back on topic, we cancelled our only Oceania cruise attempt a few years back in the Med when Grecians were rioting. Never regretted it.

[Shaco]

I find planning ahead for any cruise to be very stressful. As we age, stress just gets worse. My main problem concerns my health. We will fly in flatbed business class overnight to Rome. Great, right?

 

Does that mean I'll be able to get off the plane and head straight for a tour of the Vatican? Or, will I be so exhausted and in pain that I'll have to forfeit the considerable amount of money the tours cost? We only have two nights in Rome and don't anticipate ever having the opportunity to return. What would you do?

[Project_gal]

I find planning ahead for any cruise to be very stressful. As we age, stress just gets worse. My main problem concerns my health. We will fly in flatbed business class overnight to Rome. Great, right?

 

Does that mean I'll be able to get off the plane and head straight for a tour of the Vatican? Or, will I be so exhausted and in pain that I'll have to forfeit the considerable amount of money the tours cost? We only have two nights in Rome and don't anticipate ever having the opportunity to return. What would you do?

 

Not clear from your post whether you have flown "flatbed business class" before. If not, please be assured that you should find the experience considerably better than other flights. [i only say "should" because everyone is different. I will not fly BA Premium Economy again because I find the seats excruciatingly uncomfortable and would much, much prefer their Economy. No one else I know understands why this is.] Compared with many hotel beds, I find these flatbed unbelievably comfortable. These days, my "aches and pains" means that I am not usually comfortable all night in my own bed.

 

Unfortunately, you can only try these flatbeds on longhaul flights so unable to give them a try in advance to be certain, but, if I was you, I would work on the assumption that you will get a restful enough night and concentrate on doing the things that reduce the effects of jetlag. We are all aging all the time and, as you say, opportunities are reducing all the time.

 

You can, of course, improve your chances of making the most of your current opportunity by booking as private a tour as possible so that you can ensure that you can go at your own pace rather than that of a group.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Project_gal

[Mill99]

I find planning ahead for any cruise to be very stressful. As we age, stress just gets worse. My main problem concerns my health. We will fly in flatbed business class overnight to Rome. Great, right?

 

Does that mean I'll be able to get off the plane and head straight for a tour of the Vatican? Or, will I be so exhausted and in pain that I'll have to forfeit the considerable amount of money the tours cost? We only have two nights in Rome and don't anticipate ever having the opportunity to return. What would you do?

 

Flatbed business class sounds amazing to me as we've only ever flown cattle class on flights of up to 12 hours. Anything more than that we have to stopover.

 

Would a TA cruise be better than the business class flight to get to Rome (does such a TA itinerary exist - I'll have to look on the website!)

[gordylad]

I dont know what all the issue is with Istanbul. It hasn't been mentioned on the tv for a while and personally I'd feel more afraid walking around other cities other than Istanbul.

 

You can catch a taxi or walk to the centre of Istanbul from the cruise ship and once there you have some stunning architecture not forgetting you are standing in a city that splits europe from asia.

 

Personally if we had a cruise booked that included Istanbul we wouln't cancel but each to their own.

[goody1]

I dont know what all the issue is with Istanbul. It hasn't been mentioned on the tv for a while and personally I'd feel more afraid walking around other cities other than Istanbul.

 

You can catch a taxi or walk to the centre of Istanbul from the cruise ship and once there you have some stunning architecture not forgetting you are standing in a city that splits europe from asia.

 

Personally if we had a cruise booked that included Istanbul we wouln't cancel but each to their own.

 

Well said. My Wife and I have been there twice, once on an overnighter with Azamara, and the other time a 5 night City Break. Didn't feel remotely unsafe at any time day or night.

[Project_gal]

I dont know what all the issue is with Istanbul. It hasn't been mentioned on the tv for a while and personally I'd feel more afraid walking around other cities other than Istanbul.

 

I imagine it is the terrorist attack on 10 August this year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33844246

[Gordoncruickshank]

Thank you. Yes Venice remains on the bucket list. We were in doubt about spending five nights there which was part of the plan. Probably a Venice Florence combo on one of our next trips.

I would say 5 nights would be too long in Venice. We did effectively 3 nights, one on board and two in a hotel and we walked over almost every street there is in that time. By the end I was getting fairly bored.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Not clear from your post whether you have flown "flatbed business class" before. If not, please be assured that you should find the experience considerably better than other flights. [i only say "should" because everyone is different. I will not fly BA Premium Economy again because I find the seats excruciatingly uncomfortable and would much, much prefer their Economy. No one else I know understands why this is.] Compared with many hotel beds, I find these flatbed unbelievably comfortable. These days, my "aches and pains" means that I am not usually comfortable all night in my own bed.

I agree that BA Premium economy is a waste of time and I feel the same about Virgin, having had to travel in Premium Economy in March this year from Miami (own fault, wouldn't pay the extra). I do find that the Virgin business is slightly better than BA. I think it is more the way you are treated both in the Clubhouse and during the flight.

[chisoxfan]

A few thoughts (amazing how many different 'takes' a post can generate).

 

I would have liked to visit Istanbul and hope to in the future. I am not a person who is 'afraid' of visiting areas (we were in Tunis last year) where there are some disturbances going on. We were more concerned about Istanbul as a debarkation port where any problems would potentially magnify travel disruption.

 

Yes we have been fortunate to be able to take many nice trips in the past few years. This had a bearing on our decision not to travel to Europe next year.

Was not trying to whine and cry about how 'stressful' trip planning is but rather saying we came to understanding that the unknowns and planning challenges of the vacation just weren't worth the reward to us in this instance. By cancelling we felt good about the decision and free to plan a 'zero' stress trip next year if we choose. 'Zero stress' trip for us is a shorter vacation (a week or less) which is much less disruptive to our home life and going on a cruise or to LV where there is minimal planning. Also planning more 'last minute' allows one to be more secure that health and personal matters are not in the way of enjoyment.

We had been to Europe twice in the past three years and unlike others I cannot say I 'enjoyed' the planning. It was a lot of work to me even though the results were wonderful.

 

Business Class can be great but I find that it does little to negate jet lag- just makes the experience more pleasant. I like to get value for my money and

BC does generally not provide it. We use airlines miles or sometimes run across a great deal (my wife and daughter had an 1800 r/t business on Delta

to London this year which was a no brainer). Plus the BC experience can be very different depending upon carrier and plane. Anyway I have a hard time spending more than 3,000 r/t for a bc flight to Europe. When you think about how you could spend the difference between coach and b/c (meals , hotels, tours) 8-10 hours of 'confinement' doesn't seem so bad.

 

So thanks again to the many posters who seem to have had the same thought process and felt that cancellation of a complex trip turned out to be a

good decision.

 

I am sure I will be 'back in the trenches' (God willing) planning a Europe vacation/cruise for 2017.

[Iamthesea]

chisoxfan - Very good thread! I wish you a relaxing Fall of 2016. ;)

 

I find planning ahead for any cruise to be very stressful. As we age, stress just gets worse. My main problem concerns my health. We will fly in flatbed business class overnight to Rome. Great, right?

 

Does that mean I'll be able to get off the plane and head straight for a tour of the Vatican? Or, will I be so exhausted and in pain that I'll have to forfeit the considerable amount of money the tours cost? We only have two nights in Rome and don't anticipate ever having the opportunity to return. What would you do?

 

I agree with Project_Gal. Go! Try taking something to help you sleep on your flight. I assume that you already have a tour of the Vatican booked, but if not, I do recommend a private tour that will pick you and your luggage up from the airport and whisk you to the Vatican. All the best for you! ;)

[gordylad]

Re I imagine it is the terrorist attack on 10 August this year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33844246

 

Take a look at the following re terrorist attacks. Istanbul is only one of very many across the world..........

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2015

[boblin]

Talking about business class, I paid for it once on a flight to Brazil, flat bed and all, but found the bed very uncomfortable, divided into 3 sections as it was.. I slept little. Slept much better coming home economy, altho', granted, I was doped up on meds because I had contracted a mild case of shingles on a S.A. cruise. So, you never know!