Anyone sailing Med on Costa March/April?

[dritan]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

If you have already paid in full and Costa cancels your Cruise last minute,  they will not refund your money but give you a 150% fcc

According to the call last week, I would be offered a refund if Costa cancelled( perhaps it's a UK market thing).  The lady mentioned that different markets had different T&Cs.

[drsel]

Would you prefer a 100% refund to a 150% fcc ?

[drsel]

If you are planning to avoid Costa forever, then of course you have to take the refund

[Plan B]

We are supposed to be going on Costa Smeralda 6th April from Barcelona.  Ryanair (outbound) and Vueling (inbound) have emailed today to say that my flights have been cancelled, which I was obviously expecting, both Ryanair and Vueling offered refunds or re-booking.  We can only holiday between mid November to early April so decided to ask for a refund because we want the flexibility to book what we want when we want.  The Ryanair email says that the refund should show in my account in the next 5 to 7 days.  

 

But, when the confirmation email arrived from Vueling it states "If your request is for a refund, you will receive an email in the next 10 days, which will include a VOUCHER for the value of your booking to use on your next trip. The voucher is valid for all purchases via the Vueling website until 31 December 2020."   What?  Why can't I have my money back ??  Anyone else have this problem?

 

I booked Costa through Logitravel and the only thing I hear from them is that they haven't heard anything from Costa - I have my fingers crossed that Costa cancel and I receive my full refund in cash.  We did look at re-booking (not that it is actually being offered to us) for next Easter but the Smeralda is not visiting La Spezia which is the main reason we picked this cruise line and ship.  Really wish Costa would just bite the bullet and get on with it!!!

 

 

[dritan]

I like Costa but the only opportunities to sail are during school holidays.  The next time is end of Oct but the prices are too high even with the 150 credit. But have my eye on a Costa Pacifica cruise. 

[Tripi23]

6 minutes ago, Plan B said:

We are supposed to be going on Costa Smeralda 6th April from Barcelona.  Ryanair (outbound) and Vueling (inbound) have emailed today to say that my flights have been cancelled, which I was obviously expecting, both Ryanair and Vueling offered refunds or re-booking.  We can only holiday between mid November to early April so decided to ask for a refund because we want the flexibility to book what we want when we want.  The Ryanair email says that the refund should show in my account in the next 5 to 7 days.  

 

But, when the confirmation email arrived from Vueling it states "If your request is for a refund, you will receive an email in the next 10 days, which will include a VOUCHER for the value of your booking to use on your next trip. The voucher is valid for all purchases via the Vueling website until 31 December 2020."   What?  Why can't I have my money back ??  Anyone else have this problem?

 

I booked Costa through Logitravel and the only thing I hear from them is that they haven't heard anything from Costa - I have my fingers crossed that Costa cancel and I receive my full refund in cash.  We did look at re-booking (not that it is actually being offered to us) for next Easter but the Smeralda is not visiting La Spezia which is the main reason we picked this cruise line and ship.  Really wish Costa would just bite the bullet and get on with it!!!

 

 

Yes we had the same thing with Vueling.  Have responded to their email asking for a refund as I don’t think I will be travelling with them in the next 12 months so want my money back.  Very cheeky!

[Tripi23]

6 minutes ago, dritan said:

I like Costa but the only opportunities to sail are during school holidays.  The next time is end of Oct but the prices are too high even with the 150 credit. But have my eye on a Costa Pacifica cruise. 

Easter next year? Costa Smeralda from Rome 

[gerryuk]

47 minutes ago, Plan B said:

We are supposed to be going on Costa Smeralda 6th April from Barcelona.  

 

 

I don't think so, I live on one of the Spanish islands and we are in lockdown. All the beaches are closed, all bars, restaurants and shops are closed. You can only go outside to get food or visit the pharmacy or doctors. All hotels have been ordered to close.

There is not a cat in hells chance that any cruises will be sailing from April, no matter what Costa are saying on their website.  

[Plan B]

7 hours ago, gerryuk said:

I don't think so, I live on one of the Spanish islands and we are in lockdown. All the beaches are closed, all bars, restaurants and shops are closed. You can only go outside to get food or visit the pharmacy or doctors. All hotels have been ordered to close.

There is not a cat in hells chance that any cruises will be sailing from April, no matter what Costa are saying on their website.  

We live in Spain too and completely agree with your comment.  We have known for a few weeks that the Smeralda won't be sailing and don't understand why Costa can't be pro-active!   3 adults in a balcony cabin at Easter - it wasn't a cheap deal 🤨

[dritan]

Been checking and it's now over a week since they updated their website.  Just don't get why they aren't biting the bullet like MSC have done ( they have cancelled their Med cruises in line with the EU 30 day travel ruling).

I'm 90% sure that my cruise on 11th won't be happening but would like to have some options without having to ring them again.  They should be announcing what they are doing.  It's certainly making me assess whether I want to cruise with them again. ( And I've sailed with them 5 times before)

[Tim-C]

I feel the same about giving them more business in the future due to the lack of updates. 
 

My flight on 4th is already cancelled. I can’t imagine for a moment that the cruise on 6th will sail from Barcelona - it’s as if they’re keeping us in the dark as long as they can, hope we transfer to another cruise (I had considered that but there’s too much uncertainty). 
 

It’s basically “who blinks first” - Costa or their customers. 
 

 

[ighten]

forgot to add anymore live reports as I have started on the blog - we had to disembark in marseilles..

 

Basically good communication - good compensation for ports missed - and despite the fact we had our own air transfers in place but  back from Barcelona costa simply asked on board what our final destination was and took care of the rest (at no cost to us)... I was impressed.. Fist part of the blog is up now  - i'll transfer it here once I finish

[Bobbingbob]

Think you may have been very lucky in the scheme of things especially being able to disembark in Marseille. It is a rapidly changing scenario. Glad it all worked out well for you.

[gerryuk]

20 hours ago, dritan said:

Been checking and it's now over a week since they updated their website.  Just don't get why they aren't biting the bullet like MSC have done ( they have cancelled their Med cruises in line with the EU 30 day travel ruling).

I'm 90% sure that my cruise on 11th won't be happening but would like to have some options without having to ring them again.  They should be announcing what they are doing.  It's certainly making me assess whether I want to cruise with them again. ( And I've sailed with them 5 times before)

 

19 hours ago, Tim-C said:

I feel the same about giving them more business in the future due to the lack of updates. 
 

My flight on 4th is already cancelled. I can’t imagine for a moment that the cruise on 6th will sail from Barcelona - it’s as if they’re keeping us in the dark as long as they can, hope we transfer to another cruise (I had considered that but there’s too much uncertainty). 
 

It’s basically “who blinks first” - Costa or their customers. 
 

 

Just to point out that the emergency restrictions / lockdown in Spain has just been extended to April 11th. You are not going on any cruise out of any Spanish port.

I think under the present circumstances there will be nobody working at Costa offices in Italy,  there are some call centre staff working from home but will have little or no authority in dealing with a lot of issues. Their website has not been updated since 13th March, probably because they have no staff available in their offices to update it.

The president of Costa and senior management have a lot to answer to, but wont have to answer anything until this crisis is under control.

[Tim-C]

Gerry

I agree but I would think that Costa staff would be able work from home?  
 

I don’t doubt that they’re extremely busy, but even an update on their website to say “Your cruise is cancelled - we are currently snowed under but you will get a refund if you’re booked on a cruise on 6th April from Spain” would be enough. 
 

it’s obvious that they can’t offer what we paid for - through no fault of their own - but they are handling the mess that we are all in, really badly and it creates a sour taste. 

[Tripi23]

8 minutes ago, Tim-C said:

Gerry

I agree but I would think that Costa staff would be able work from home?  
 

I don’t doubt that they’re extremely busy, but even an update on their website to say “Your cruise is cancelled - we are currently snowed under but you will get a refund if you’re booked on a cruise on 6th April from Spain” would be enough. 
 

it’s obvious that they can’t offer what we paid for - through no fault of their own - but they are handling the mess that we are all in, really badly and it creates a sour taste. 

It will be cancelled if not already.  This virus is not going anywhere fast.  We booked my dad’s cruise through a travel agent and managed to get it cancelled and refunded yesterday.   We were due to depart 6th April from Barcelona 
 

[Plan B]

Just as we were expecting Costa have cancelled our 6 April cruise on Smeralda from Barca.  Email received today from Logitravel - our agent ........

 

Good morning,

We are sorry to inform you that the cruise line has cancelled your cruise due to the current world pandemic situation under COVID-19.

You will be contacted in the following weeks with information regarding cancellation conditions, however, the general procedure is the issue a Future Cruise Credit for the total amount paid.

 

You will be notified as soon as we receive the official cancellation statement from the cruise line.

Please be aware that we are receiving a high volume of requests and  it may take longer than usual to process yours.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Thank you for your understanding.

 

[drsel]

I am getting a full refund of my deposit or 30% discount on any future Cruise up to 30 November 2020 or 10% discount on any future Cruise after 1 December 2020

[drsel]

Almost everyone advises me to take the full refund of my deposit and not to transfer it to any future Cruise regardless of the discount

[Plan B]

30 minutes ago, drsel said:

Almost everyone advises me to take the full refund of my deposit and not to transfer it to any future Cruise regardless of the discount

Wish we were only talking about a deposit 🤨   Paid in full for 3 adults at peak Easter holiday time

[drsel]

Wish we were only talking about a deposit [emoji2955]   Paid in full for 3 adults at peak Easter holiday time

Wow that must be the most expensive Cruise in the entire year

[drsel]

I book Cruises when they are at the cheapest.
Luckily I can take a vacation whenever I want because I am my own boss

[Bobbingbob]

Costa have finally updated their website and say all cruises have been voluntarily suspended until 30th April. They are saying clients booked on these cancelled April cruises will get FCC.

The first cruise they say will start again on the Fascinosa on 2nd May. I very much doubt this.

[Roger88]

If I am not mistaking the ships are suspended and the cruise has been postponed. Isnt it true? The news change everyday, hard to keep up. I heard that there wouldnt be any cruises till like mid of April or something. I also wonder whether the passengers are offered a place to stay somewhere before the ship sails away. Also these cruises must be very cheap. At least for now. Can anyone share how much they paid for it?

[dritan]

HI

 

Here is the email I got today.  We had a fully paid 5 night cruise.  Like Drsel, I shop for the best bargains but am tied to school holiday times.  Think it will be a challenge to find a cruise of similar price (£588 combined for me and daughter including Comfort drinks package)  But I'll give it a go!

 

Dear Guest,

We at Costa Cruises believe that a cruise should be the most relaxing and enjoying experience that deserves all the best conditions to be memorable.

The worldwide situation is still very uncertain and characterized by a level of sensitiveness, given the ongoing  level of alert declared by the World Health Organization for CoVid-19.

In this scenario, under constant and very fluid development, Costa Cruises announced that it will voluntary continue to put on hold the global operations of ships, affecting voyages until end of April.

Despite our best efforts in trying to ensure a satisfying cruise experience, we are forced - with enormous regret, but with sheer sense of responsibility - to inform you that Your cruise with Costa Fortuna scheduled to depart from Tarragona on 11/04/2020, cannot be performed and therefore must be cancelled.

On behalf of all of us at Costa Cruises, we extend our sincere apologies for the disruption to your vacation plans and trust you understand this decision was made with everyone’s best interest at heart.

Since we’d love nothing more than to welcome you back just as soon as we resume operations, we will offer you a voucher equal to the 100% of the price already paid for the cancelled cruise plus a future on board credit of euro 200 per cabin for an equal or superior 7 days cruise or euro 150 per cabins for a less 7 days cruises.

These conditions will remain valid for bookings made within 12 months as of the day of release of this letter, and for departures no later than November 2021.

 

We at Costa are strongly committed to ensuring the safety of our guests and crew and to provide you with happiness. Now that happiness is at home. Start travelling with your imagination – it’s incredibly fascinating. Make no mistake: we will be waiting for you!

Costa Cruises