Important Information from Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian Spirit 04.15.2020- 12.07.2020 Cancellation

[desibee]

7 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Cruise Lines very rarely cancel cruises.  They will sail after a Norovirus outbreak on the previous cruise or with the ship running at less than full power.  Its more likely they will cancel a port stop than cancel the full cruise.  

 

Yes the hype around this is probably making it worse than it really is but travel companies are not taking chances.  Disney has closed Shanghai Disneyland for two months and all the American airlines have suspended flying out of China.  Why help spread the outbreak?  Let's say 20,000 people in the US are going to die from the flu this season.  If preventing an outbreak in the US of coronavirus prevents killing another 10,000 people, why wouldn't you do everything to prevent it.  

 

If they actually cared about 'not taking chances' with this virus they would have cancelled current cruises already puttering around Asia.  They have not.  That pretty much proves that it's just a cost-saving measure rather than a life-saving measure.

 

And there's already been 10,000 flu deaths in the US this season.  But no one is restricting travel in and out of the USA due to flu, are they.  Why aren't we doing everything to prevent flu deaths?

[luv2kroooz]

7 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Cruise Lines very rarely cancel cruises.  They will sail after a Norovirus outbreak on the previous cruise or with the ship running at less than full power.  Its more likely they will cancel a port stop than cancel the full cruise.  

This is a true statement, generally speaking. However, I bet more cruises have been cancelled/altered in the past month due to Coronavirus concerns than have been cancelled in the entire 12 preceeding months.

[luv2kroooz]

20 minutes ago, desibee said:

And there's already been 10,000 flu deaths in the US this season.  But no one is restricting travel in and out of the USA due to flu, are they.

Coronavirus is not flu, and flu is not Coronavirus. My understanding is Coronavirus is more similar to pneumonia, than flu.

I also think that there is much more unknown about Coronavirus which causes heightened concerns plus there is no vaccine. I am also becoming more skeptical about the number of cases and deaths that are being reported by the Chinese government. I think they could be higher than what is being reported. Finally, not saying flu doesn't warrant concern, because it does. I just don't think you are going to see travel restrictions being imposed due to fears over flu.

Edited February 10, 2020 by blcruising

[desibee]

4 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Coronavirus is not flu, and flu is not Coronavirus. My understanding is Coronavirus is more similar to pneumonia, than flu.

I also think that there is much more unknown about Coronavirus which causes heightened concerns plus there is no vaccine. I am also becoming more skeptical about the number of cases and deaths that are being reported by the Chinese government. I think they could be higher than what is being reported. Finally, not saying flu doesn't warrant concern, because it does. I just don't think you are going to see travel restrictions being imposed due to fears over flu.

 

Not exactly.  Coronavirus is a classification.  The common cold, for example, is a coronavirus.  So are SARS and MERS.  Coronavirus is not similar to pneumonia in form, however in those with weakened immune systems or impaired cardiovascular systems the virus can complicate into respiratory infections like pneumonia.  The flu can also complicate into pneumonia or bronchitis, for the record.  However for the most part, an otherwise healthy person with a decent immune system will not have complications and instead show mild to moderate symptoms like fever, cough, sneezing, etc.

 

The danger with the current coronavirus is that it is highly infections with a long incubation period and mild or non-debilitating symptoms that mimic other well-known viruses like the common cold or influenza.  So people can easily spread the virus without knowing they are infected, and in places like China or India or Malaysia, the spread can quickly outpace the ability of the health care system to handle those cases where complications happen.  That is why WHO issued a global emergency in the first place.  So if you happen to reside in mainland China or a country with dense population, overburdened health care systems, and poor air quality (Wuhan especially had appalling air quality and that may be part of why so many cases of coronavirus are complicating into serious respiratory illness when the same rate of death is not happening in other areas), then definitely quarantine is called for and precautions should be taken.  For those outside of mainland China, however, it seems like the panic surrounding coronavirus might be doing more damage economically than it's actually doing good public-health wise.

[AlanTBT]

Imagine how much money they are losing, on top of the refit. It's disappointing but we'll just wait until next year. Only decision is where to now.

Thoughts with all whose health is impacted, this was just a holiday after all...

[onetimearoundtheworld]

Damn has this company changed. I have rarely the need to contact them but when I needed around 2010/2012 their responses were different. I had my TA forward a letter as I am not happy with the offer after cancellation. Especially the capped airfare credit and the conditions of the 10% FCC (45 days / one year). Not even sure how the $300 per cruise works when you have a b2b booked as two separate cruises and only one flight ticket. Just got a standard response without even elaborating on the details I asked.

 

Dear xxx, 

Thank you for contacting Norwegian Cruise Line. 

I am sorry to learn that your guest is feeling that way. 
As a company we can assure you, that we do not take such changes lightly and that we would only amend or cancel an itinerary when absolutely necessary as we understand the impact on our valuable guests and how much this could affect their plans.

However, such changes are often required in this industry for so many reasons, we never can guarantee that it will be 100% delivered, as you can may appreciate that cruising can be unpredictable, especially when planning so far ahead.

We do cover such possibilities in our Terms and Conditions, and without wanting to dismiss your concern I would have to advise you that as per ABTA guidelines we are not able to provide further compensation than the compensations than you have received in the letters. 

I am sorry for any further disappointment this news may bring.

Should you have any doubt, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,
yyy zzz | Contact Centre Guest Services Agent
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line Group UK Limited | Company No. 04083983
Mountbatten House | Grosvenor Square | Southampton | SO15 2JU

[wyualice]

On Jan 2, My family of 4 booked a late May Asia cruise on the Norwegian Spirit via Orbitz. Seeing the latest news, and having had no update from Norwegian on the status of this cruise, I did a Google search and discovered this thread. May I ask whether Norwegian is sending out cancellation notifications by regular mail or email ...? Our family has not received any notification at all from Norwegian or from Orbitz. We have already spent USD $4,800 on airfare (all non-refundable fares, with hefty change fees). This has never happened to us before. The airfare was paid on a credit card with travel cancellation benefits. I'm hoping that these benefits will extend to help with our airfare losses but I am not sure if this would be considered a "covered loss" since the airlines did not cancel the flights. Has anyone successfully used their credit card travel benefits to get compensation in a similar situation? I'd appreciate your thoughts and experience.  Norwegian's offer of $300pp for airfare change fees is going to fall far too short. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by wyualice

[Zippeedee]

30 minutes ago, wyualice said:

On Jan 2, My family of 4 booked a late May Asia cruise on the Norwegian Spirit via Orbitz. Seeing the latest news, and having had no update from Norwegian on the status of this cruise, I did a Google search and discovered this thread. May I ask whether Norwegian is sending out cancellation notifications by regular mail or email ...? Our family has not received any notification at all from Norwegian or from Orbitz. We have already spent USD $4,800 on airfare (all non-refundable fares, with hefty change fees). This has never happened to us before. The airfare was paid on a credit card with travel cancellation benefits. I'm hoping that these benefits will extend to help with our airfare losses but I am not sure if this would be considered a "covered loss" since the airlines did not cancel the flights. Has anyone successfully used their credit card travel benefits to get compensation in a similar situation? I'd appreciate your thoughts and experience.  Norwegian's offer of $300pp for airfare change fees is going to fall far too short. 

Sorry to hear about your flights. The airlines seem to be better with cancellations/credits than the cruise lines. Have you contacted them to see what they are willing to do?

 

NCL sent an email announcing the change and a cancellation confirmation email about a week later. Your travel agent should have been notified and forwarded the messages to you. 

 

I was happy to hear that InsureMyTrip was willing to work with the insurer to make an underwriting exception and refund my trip insurance premium for a cruise that now won't happen. Anyone with private insurance and nothing to claim should contact their agent or insurer.

[NLH Arizona]

41 minutes ago, wyualice said:

 Norwegian's offer of $300pp for airfare change fees is going to fall far too short. 

I think NCL should be looking at the individual passenger's fee to change their ticket, especially for international flights, where the change fee can be has high as $750.

[equinelady]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:09 AM, DarkJedi said:

I agree with it being the smart decision, but until December seems excessive. That would mean the outbreak lasted twice as long as the next longest modern outbreak, and most likely would be a worldwide pandemic leading to total global collapse by that point.

Both SARS and MERS returned the following fall.  A good chance that the coronavirus will follow suit.

[cybergremlin]

On 2/10/2020 at 10:03 AM, Rob_H said:

Did anybody have the Spirit asia cruises cancelled from their account and the cruisenext vouchers refunded yet?

 

Our two cruises for June are still showing on the account (even though the cruises no longer exist), with cruisenexts applied, and no voucher.

 

Rob 

 

Hi Rob

My booking for the 28th July was taken off my account yesterday and cruise next vouchers applied this morning, still waiting for the refund to my credit card tho.

[cybergremlin]

1 hour ago, wyualice said:

On Jan 2, My family of 4 booked a late May Asia cruise on the Norwegian Spirit via Orbitz. Seeing the latest news, and having had no update from Norwegian on the status of this cruise, I did a Google search and discovered this thread. May I ask whether Norwegian is sending out cancellation notifications by regular mail or email ...? Our family has not received any notification at all from Norwegian or from Orbitz. We have already spent USD $4,800 on airfare (all non-refundable fares, with hefty change fees). This has never happened to us before. The airfare was paid on a credit card with travel cancellation benefits. I'm hoping that these benefits will extend to help with our airfare losses but I am not sure if this would be considered a "covered loss" since the airlines did not cancel the flights. Has anyone successfully used their credit card travel benefits to get compensation in a similar situation? I'd appreciate your thoughts and experience.  Norwegian's offer of $300pp for airfare change fees is going to fall far too short. 

 

Not sure where in the world you are from but in the UK you can claim for associated costs for cancelled trips for anything paid on your credit card, Im going through it at the moment to try and claim back non refundable flights and hotel due to the cancellation of my spirit cruise in July

[wyualice]

28 minutes ago, cybergremlin said:

 

Not sure where in the world you are from but in the UK you can claim for associated costs for cancelled trips for anything paid on your credit card, Im going through it at the moment to try and claim back non refundable flights and hotel due to the cancellation of my spirit cruise in July

Alas, we reside in the US.  I'm reaching out to the airlines first to pin down the change vs cancellation costs and then call the credit card company to see whether there is any coverage. Then after all that, decide on the best course of action. Since the cruise begin and ends in different ports, all the tickets were one-way booked on different airlines. What a headache! 

[wyualice]

In case this helps anyone: The credit card travel cancellation insurance benefit is no use at all. There is an exclusion for travel cancelled due to epidemics or pandemics. We have no choice but to eat the $4,800 airfare loss, minus the $300pp that Norwegian will hopefully pay out.

Edited February 12, 2020 by wyualice

[wyualice]

On 2/7/2020 at 11:14 AM, mantadiver said:

I just got this in my email.  We are bummed.  We were going to sail late August:

 

Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued. This credit will be available within 7 days and can be applied towards any of our currently published sailings if you book a new cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in the next 45 days. Furthermore, we will cover up to $300 per person for any airfare change fees. Please submit your receipts at www.ncl.com/case-submission.

 

 

The case submission link at https://www.ncl.com/case-submission does  allow one to send a submission with a "Sail Date" in the future. Does this mean it is not possible for me to request the $300pp airfare compensation from NCL until the sail date of my cancelled cruise 3+ months later? This seems crazy. The cruise is already cancelled and my plane tickets are non refundable. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by wyualice

[cybergremlin]

17 hours ago, wyualice said:

 

The case submission link at https://www.ncl.com/case-submission does  allow one to send a submission with a "Sail Date" in the future. Does this mean it is not possible for me to request the $300pp airfare compensation from NCL until the sail date of my cancelled cruise 3+ months later? This seems crazy. The cruise is already cancelled and my plane tickets are non refundable. 

 

i submitted mine with the sail date as of last year and just added it to the comment box.

 

As i can't change my flights i'm not expecting NCL to pay out the $300 as it says "for any airfare change fees" i hope I'm wrong tho

[wyualice]

3 hours ago, cybergremlin said:

 

i submitted mine with the sail date as of last year and just added it to the comment box.

 

As i can't change my flights i'm not expecting NCL to pay out the $300 as it says "for any airfare change fees" i hope I'm wrong tho

 

I emailed NCL guest relations to ask for clarification on what the $300pp will cover.  Hopefully I will hear back and can share their answer here.  In my situation, the cruise was supposed to start in Hong Kong and end in Yokohama. So either I forfeit my non-refundable tickets (or pay an enormous penalty to change the dates -- departure/arrival cities change not permitted) ... or attempt to use them anyway and reconfigure the vacation to a land-based holiday. However, this will force me to buy new tickets to bridge the distance between Hong Kong and Tokyo --- which the ship was supposed to take us, but now won't. I would hope that NCL will step up and cover this gap, as the only reason I purchased 1-way tickets to these cities was on sole reliance that their ship will take my family from point A to point B.  And honestly, this is a change in airfare arrangements that is a direct result of NCL's cruise cancellation, so why shouldn't it fall under the umbrella of airfare change fees?

Edited February 13, 2020 by wyualice

[dub237]

In place of Asia, Norwegian Cruise Line announced the Spirit will now offer a season of seven-day voyages to the Greek Isles, Turkey, and Israel through Nov. 8, 2020.

Open for sale on Feb. 15, 2020, the new destination-rich itineraries, many which boast extended port times, will explore seven or eight ports in seven days, calling to destinations including Rhodes, Mykonos; Santorini and Corfu, Greece; Kusadasi and Istanbul, Turkey; Ashdod and Haifa, Israel; Limassol, Cyprus as well as two new ports of call for the brand, Patmos and Volos, Greece.

The ship is fresh from a $100 million month-plus long drydock.

“It is truly exciting to celebrate Norwegian Spirit’s sail out of drydock to incredible destinations following her significant renovation,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line.

“Europe is the number one destination for international arrivals, and we are very proud to position Norwegian Spirit for her first post-drydock season in this high-demand region. Our brand has been recognized 12 times in a row by the World Travel Awards as ‘Europe’s Leading Cruise Line’ and we are thrilled to offer our guests even more great itineraries in the region, allowing them to explore multiple destinations while unpacking only once.”

[dub237]

Here are  the 3 new itinerary’s 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by dub237

[njkate]

14 minutes ago, dub237 said:

In place of Asia, Norwegian Cruise Line announced the Spirit will now offer a season of seven-day voyages to the Greek Isles, Turkey, and Israel through Nov. 8, 2020.

Open for sale on Feb. 15, 2020, the new destination-rich itineraries, many which boast extended port times, will explore seven or eight ports in seven days, calling to destinations including Rhodes, Mykonos; Santorini and Corfu, Greece; Kusadasi and Istanbul, Turkey; Ashdod and Haifa, Israel; Limassol, Cyprus as well as two new ports of call for the brand, Patmos and Volos, Greece.

The ship is fresh from a $100 million month-plus long drydock.

“It is truly exciting to celebrate Norwegian Spirit’s sail out of drydock to incredible destinations following her significant renovation,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line.

“Europe is the number one destination for international arrivals, and we are very proud to position Norwegian Spirit for her first post-drydock season in this high-demand region. Our brand has been recognized 12 times in a row by the World Travel Awards as ‘Europe’s Leading Cruise Line’ and we are thrilled to offer our guests even more great itineraries in the region, allowing them to explore multiple destinations while unpacking only once.”

I'm excited to see these cruises but also dreading the pricing, fortunately I can wait until after the final payment date when they tend to drop pricing. This was the first NCL ship I sailed on

[njkate]

I just put a courtesy hold on one for late Oct, booked on 10 day Star for then that I may just cancel and do this. Pricing imo was very good

[njkate]

Nothing listed for July, August or September. Wonder where she will be

[njkate]

18 minutes ago, njkate said:

Nothing listed for July, August or September. Wonder where she will be

I found them

[kjquilts]

59 minutes ago, njkate said:

I found them

 

1 hour ago, njkate said:

Nothing listed for July, August or September. Wonder where she will be

 

Itineraries are on NCL website ..... need to be signed in to see them. 

 

You are right, prices seem very reasonable.    It is very tempting.

 

[cmh]

On 2/7/2020 at 11:14 AM, mantadiver said:

I just got this in my email.  We are bummed.  We were going to sail late August:

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION

Reservation: xxxxxx   Date: 02/07/2020   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners: On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. Due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus in Asia, all Norwegian Spirit sailings from April 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020 operating in Asia have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued. This credit will be available within 7 days and can be applied towards any of our currently published sailings if you book a new cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in the next 45 days. Furthermore, we will cover up to $300 per person for any airfare change fees. Please submit your receipts at www.ncl.com/case-submission. When you are interested in choosing another sailing, please contact Norwegian Cruise Line at 1-866-234-7350 or your travel professional. For any guests booked outside of the U.S. and Canada, please visit www.ncl.com for local contact information. We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your upcoming vacation at sea. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.       Sincerely, Katty Byrd Vice President, Guest Services

We just got off the Gem and were told all cruises to Asia were canceled for the rest of the year.