coronavirus

[letsdive]

7 hours ago, Petoonya said:

They aren't required to stay on the ship. They can go have fun on Tahiti and eat and stay on the ship. I don't think they are allowed to go to Moorea. They did get a heck of a deal from PG though. Total refund of this cruise and 125% FCC for next 2 years.

This is not correct. 
There is no refund for this current 7 March cruise that was cancelled. 

We are to receive a Cruise Credit of 125% of fare paid for a 2020 cruise, or a Cruise Credit of 115% of fare paid for a 2021 cruise.
A very generous offer from PG. 

[Petoonya]

2 minutes ago, letsdive said:

This is not correct. 
There is no refund for this current 7 March cruise that was cancelled. 

We are to receive a Cruise Credit of 125% of fare paid for a 2020 cruise, or a Cruise Credit of 115% of fare paid for a 2021 cruise.
A very generous offer from PG. 

Thanks LetsDive. I was quoted this news about a refund etc by someone else on your cruise. Maybe he misunderstood. It's still an OK deal but your airfare is shot with only half a cruise. How are you feeling about compensation?

Edited March 14, 2020 by Petoonya

[SWFLAOK]

Given there are three cases in FP now with one on Fakarava, one has to wonder if it made it aboard the PG while they were there. Asking for a friend.

[Emdee]

Ponant is stopping all cruise operations and has promised to support disembarked crew financially. 
Kudos to them.

 

May our PG family be safe and well during this troubled time.

[crfreema]

13 minutes ago, Emdee said:

Ponant is stopping all cruise operations and has promised to support disembarked crew financially. 
Kudos to them.

 

May our PG family be safe and well during this troubled time.

Any news on forward looking PG cruises? No updated official guidance since the 12th. We have a booking on the 28th.....

[Emdee]

44 minutes ago, crfreema said:

Any news on forward looking PG cruises? No updated official guidance since the 12th. We have a booking on the 28th.....

I heard that they were aborting the current and cancelling the next two.

So not sure if yours is the one being cancelled or not.

 

Suggest you call PG and ask directly...they are the nicest people and will help you any way you can. 
 

 

[SWFLAOK]

1 hour ago, Emdee said:

Ponant is stopping all cruise operations and has promised to support disembarked crew financially. 
Kudos to them.

 

May our PG family be safe and well during this troubled time.

Where did you see this? I couldn't find it on Ponant's website, and the only cancellation that I could find searching the internet was the cruise to New Zealand, which obviously can't proceed at this point.

[SWFLAOK]

2 minutes ago, Emdee said:

I heard that they were aborting the current and cancelling the next two.

So not sure if yours is the one being cancelled or not.

 

Suggest you call PG and ask directly...they are the nicest people and will help you any way you can. 
 

 

I'll ask again, where did you hear this?

At this point, the people who answer the phones at PG are not at all nice. I can attest to that based on my own experience this past week. They were quite clear that they will not be cancelling the next 2 cruises. When confronted with these cruises being repositioning cruises that they won't cancel because even a few  passengers are better than no passengers, we were told that this was not a repositioning cruise. A person I will not name online told us very rudely that we were wrong, and that there were other cruises between our arrival in Bali, and the ship sailing to Singapore for drydock. We told here she was wrong. She told us that there was a charter from Bali to Fiji, and we said "Yes, we're aware of that charter,  but it's after drydock in Singapore.  It doesn't sail from Bali until May 20th, and our cruise ends on April 27th".  After that, she no longer said anything rational, and we were tired of her attitude.

 

[Emdee]

12 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

Where did you see this? I couldn't find it on Ponant's website, and the only cancellation that I could find searching the internet was the cruise to New Zealand, which obviously can't proceed at this point.

Crew-center.com

[SWFLAOK]

8 minutes ago, Emdee said:

Crew-center.com

Thanks so much for that. I see it and am going to read it now.

 

[Emdee]

1 minute ago, SWFLAOK said:

I'll ask again, where did you hear this?

At this point, the people who answer the phones at PG are not at all nice. I can attest to that based on my own experience this past week. They were quite clear that they will not be cancelling the next 2 cruises. When confronted with these cruises being repositioning cruises that they won't cancel because even a few  passengers are better than no passengers, we were told that this was not a repositioning cruise. A person I will not name online told us very rudely that we were wrong, and that there were other cruises between our arrival in Bali, and the ship sailing to Singapore for drydock. We told here she was wrong. She told us that there was a charter from Bali to Fiji, and we said "Yes, we're aware of that charter,  but it's after drydock in Singapore.  It doesn't sail from Bali until May 20th, and our cruise ends on April 27th".  After that, she no longer said anything rational, and we were tired of her attitude.

 

See my earlier response....

 

I feel for you...and for them. These conditions are taking a toll on the best of us. I had to take a massive FCC on Regent and will likely lose it if Norwegian declares bankruptcy. 
 

The cancellations of these cruises happened overnight when the FP authorities and French government decided to close the ports. What could PG do in those circumstances I don’t know. Added to that they are located in Washington and are likely worried about their own health. 
 

 

[SWFLAOK]

I think that they could have anticipated that a cruise heading to Fiji, and then to Bali no longer had any other ports that they could expect to stop at. All of the small islands did not want to take a chance of having any cruise ship stop at their ports, bringing them something that they had no ability to handle.

And as I was typing this, we were notified of the cancellation of our April 11th cruise. It's a future cruise credit, but we were only looking to rebook in the future without a penalty. Maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Thanks for the head's up Emdee. You've got a good source at that website.

 

 

[samiam1]

What do your PG Terms and Conditions say about cancellations by the cruise line?  Our Ponant ones say we have the choice of a refund or a credit but so far Ponant is only offering crusie credits.  If they are not honoring their own terms and conditions, this is a serious breach of contract.

[Tahiti1]

If a cruise line cancels your sailing and will not offer you a refund, call your credit card

 company and submit a chargeback.  You essentially paid for something you never received and therefore you should get a refund.  Going down this route essentially means the credit card company then deals with the merchant on your behalf.

[Friscorays]

Embarkation port, disembarkation port and every stop along the way on our planned June 6 Fiji to Tahiti cruise currently closed to cruise ships.  PG site currently shows at least 116 available cabins for the trip!

[FlightMedic555]

We are on the 6/17 cruise. Doubtful it will happen.  While I love PG that have not been proactive at all.  At a minimum they should allow a change of date at no charge.  Taking 10%off the top and then charging the list price is absurd and not customer friendly.  

[Hutchinj]

15 hours ago, FlightMedic555 said:

We are on the 6/17 cruise. Doubtful it will happen. 

That's still quite a ways off. What makes you feel so doubtful? 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Hutchinj

[FlightMedic555]

It is a long way off but this is not looking good.  The ship is supposed to go into dry dock soon and that is questionable as to whether that will happen.  The number of COVID-19 cases in the US is far from what will probably be the peak.  It is quite ugly here at the hospital.  All of us are just trying to stay safe.

[Hutchinj]

1 hour ago, FlightMedic555 said:

It is a long way off but this is not looking good.  The ship is supposed to go into dry dock soon and that is questionable as to whether that will happen.  The number of COVID-19 cases in the US is far from what will probably be the peak.  It is quite ugly here at the hospital.  All of us are just trying to stay safe.

 

Understood. Our PG cruise is 7/04, not that much later than yours. I'm trying to remain hopeful as the cruise is just one part of a land and sea bucket list trip which at our age and financial situation is most likely to be our first, and only, visit to FP. 

 

As you are on the front lines of this war, we thank you for your efforts and pray for your safety.

 

[azdrydock]

On 3/16/2020 at 2:02 AM, Friscorays said:

Embarkation port, disembarkation port and every stop along the way on our planned June 6 Fiji to Tahiti cruise currently closed to cruise ships.  PG site currently shows at least 116 available cabins for the trip!

Also on the 6/6 cruise. Our payment is not due until April 6 and if PG is not in the cash for cancellation mode there will be one more cabin available. Also tracking availability and  at the beginning of the month there were about 6 C's available. Jumped to about 30 before they announced suspensions and is now at 20.

 

[Friscorays]

2 hours ago, azdrydock said:

Also on the 6/6 cruise.... Also tracking availability and  at the beginning of the month there were about 6 C's available. Jumped to about 30 before they announced suspensions and is now at 20.

 

 

Are you talking about a particular cabin category?  I am currently counting 114 available cabins on the June 6 trip (out of listed ship capacity of 126 cabins).  

 

I believe some cabins are assigned to guest lecturers / performers but assuming the 12 currently booked cabins are paying passengers and no triples, that means 24 people are currently planning on going.  I can't imagine PG going to the trouble of doing the cruise with that number; especially as every port on the itinerary is currently closed to cruise ships.

 

Additionally my wife is currently talking with TA about cancellation options so the number of booked cabins should be dropping to 11 in the next day or two.

[Emdee]

3 hours ago, Friscorays said:

 

Are you talking about a particular cabin category?  I am currently counting 114 available cabins on the June 6 trip (out of listed ship capacity of 126 cabins).  

 

I believe some cabins are assigned to guest lecturers / performers but assuming the 12 currently booked cabins are paying passengers and no triples, that means 24 people are currently planning on going.  I can't imagine PG going to the trouble of doing the cruise with that number; especially as every port on the itinerary is currently closed to cruise ships.

 

Additionally my wife is currently talking with TA about cancellation options so the number of booked cabins should be dropping to 11 in the next day or two.

Come with us on the reunion in January.

[azdrydock]

1 hour ago, Friscorays said:

 

Are you talking about a particular cabin category?  I am currently counting 114 available cabins on the June 6 trip (out of listed ship capacity of 126 c.......Additionally my wife is currently talking with TA about cancellation options so the number of booked cabins should be dropping to 11 in the next day or two.

Yes C category cabins

 

Not all entertainers and cruise lines are created equal, some may be guaranteed a cabin of a certain class but more then likely they are assigned a staff cabin. If there are available guest cabins at sailing they get first choice. 

 

Under normal conditions this cruise is a hard sell. Because this is a post dry dock cruise, some are afraid the cruise may be delayed or there may be ongoing construction. I did a quick count of available cabins and came up with about 60 of 166 cabins. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Friscorays]

13 minutes ago, azdrydock said:

"....I did a quick count of available cabins and came up with about 60 of 166 cabins."

 

Something funny is going on with their booking engine.  I counted (twice) when I posted 114 number three hours ago but now see that online inventory is down dramatically from then to a number in the range of what you quote.  I don't know which represents actual availability reality versus system glitch.

 

In either case, all ports on the cruise are currently closed to ships and coronavirus problem is not going to disappear between now and early June.  The main logistical problem at the moment would be the fact that Fiji is closed to cruise ships in an effort to keep their cases at zero.

 

[azdrydock]

6 minutes ago, Friscorays said:

 

Something funny is going on with their booking engine.  I counted (twice) when I posted 114 number three hours ago but now see that online inventory is down dramatically from then to a number in the range of what you quote.  I don't know which represents actual availability reality versus system glitch.

 

In either case, all ports on the cruise are currently closed to ships and coronavirus problem is not going to disappear between now and early June.  The main logistical problem at the moment would be the fact that Fiji is closed to cruise ships in an effort to keep their cases at zero.

 

Numbers on the PG site have been consistent. I have checked  several times since the end of February. One thing I noticed is the same cabins appear in both C and CC and D and DD. If you are using a third party site it is not unusual to see strange things. 166 total cabins also came from PG website.

If you can only  get FCC for cancelling I wouldn't do it unless I new exactly what I was doing with the FCC. If you wait it out  things may improve or they may come up with a creative itinerary.