New NCL cancellation policy 3/6/2020

[luv2kroooz]

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

You are talking about the existing policy for cancel before final payment or within the penalty phase.  NCL is essentially changing the terms of the penalty phase - and the new terms are that you get 100% FCC.  You could argue that you prefer the old terms and get your pre-paid expenses back but you would lose on the fare.

 

So, if I am understanding this, if I paid extra for CFAR insurance which at the time I bought the insurance entitled me to a cash refund of  75% of the base cruise fare, can I no longer get the cash refund for 75%, rendering my CFAR useless? And also they are converting port charges and beverage service charges (which were fully refundable at the time I signed my cruise contract with NCL) into nonrefundable future cruise credit?

 

It's not the end of the world because I can't imagine I won't cruise again before 2023 begins, but just an unexpected outcome given the fact that I purchased CFAR.

[julig22]

11 minutes ago, blcruising said:

 

So, if I am understanding this, if I paid extra for CFAR insurance which at the time I bought the insurance entitled me to a cash refund of  75% of the base cruise fare, can I no longer get the cash refund for 75%, rendering my CFAR useless? And also they are converting port charges and beverage service charges (which were fully refundable at the time I signed my cruise contract with NCL) into nonrefundable future cruise credit?

 

It's not the end of the world because I can't imagine I won't cruise again before 2023 begins, but just an unexpected outcome given the fact that I purchased CFAR.

Not a lawyer, just making a guess and pointing out what I think could be an option.

If you bought the NCL insurance and are eligible for a 75% refund on cruise fare and 100% refund on pre-paid stuff and that is the route you want to go, you should be able to do that.  Your insurance policy is from a 3rd party, just sold by NCL.  Contact them to ask.

On the other hand, if you don't have insurance or you want the FCC, realizing that it includes any pre-paid expenses, then you have that option.

[JustAPilot]

Not bad, all this fear I see as not having to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve pool chairs. 

[Liljo22]

28 minutes ago, blcruising said:

 

So, if I am understanding this, if I paid extra for CFAR insurance which at the time I bought the insurance entitled me to a cash refund of  75% of the base cruise fare, can I no longer get the cash refund for 75%, rendering my CFAR useless? And also they are converting port charges and beverage service charges (which were fully refundable at the time I signed my cruise contract with NCL) into nonrefundable future cruise credit?

 

It's not the end of the world because I can't imagine I won't cruise again before 2023 begins, but just an unexpected outcome given the fact that I purchased CFAR.

I am guessing you can only claim one.  You can probably turn down the FCC and file a CFAR claim or take the FCC and not file the claim.

[Named-Tawny]

3 hours ago, caterpa said:

My concern isn’t about a FCC.  Like many, I paid for a vacation that cost near 10k for my entire family of 6 (3 rooms) and getting a FCC does nothing to help now pay for an alternate vacation over spring break that I may now have to make over all this.  They just hold on to my 10k?  
 

If we aren’t able to go or ‘travel isn’t advised’ I want 100% refunded within 2 weeks.  

 

So, you want to cancel your cruise because you don't want to travel, but you want the money back asap so that you can travel for your vacation???

[McCarthyFamVaca]

3 hours ago, Lou33 said:

If you were sailing on Royal Caribbean.

 

I still haven't seen a link that shows the details of NCL's policy.  The link in post 41 is very light on details. 

I contacted NCL shortly after they posted the policy.  The lady was having to read the policy and mentioned they had just found out as well.  I asked if we would get back any port fees/taxes back now and she said NO, it was all FCC.  If the cruise is more, we pay more, if the cruise is less, we will have a remaining FCC balance.  I wonder if we could use remaining FCC for gratuities? We're leaning towards cancelling our 3/21 to avoid the possibility of being quarantined with two kids in a room for 2 weeks.  I had not heard that we had to wait until 3/10 to cancel though.

Side note, Allegiant Air is offering a one time air vouchers to be used within 1 year!

[Nn2036]

5 hours ago, SHP said:

Well, we are sailing on March 8th. Haven't started travel yet, but as soon as I saw the policy change I called in. Technically we are at 48 hours, but they don't allow it prior to March 10th.

 

No flexibility. So we, from Seattle area, are left with 2 options - (1) throw away all our money, or (2) ignore government advice not to travel, avoid gatherings etc. Being from Seattle, an area with students who attend schools now closed and with most major businesses requiring anyone who can to work from home, why am I given no option but to continue with my travel or throw away my money. I am Latitudes Gold but this (if I go) will be my last NCL Cruise. Maybe I should escalate my case to Mike Pence for his meeting with the cruise lines tomorrow. What is the difference in terms of safety from doing it effective immediately or doing it next Tuesday - it just puts more people at risk. Of course, the obvious answer, is that it's about the money for NCL. Sad....

R

I note that Holland America also brought in a 3 day cancellation policy but also WAIVED the 3 day requirement for anyone with imminent sailings. Called NCL and escalated to a supervisor who fully understood but said that they have NO FLEXIBILITY in this policy. 

 

So, congratulations NCL for continuing to put people at risk

I also have March 8 cruise. I will cancel for sure now. If they denied me my Acc, I will keep escalating and will try to file a dispute with credit card company.

 

I wasn't able to talk to any agent after waiting for 2 hr.

 

 

[Lou33]

1 hour ago, blcruising said:

 

So, if I am understanding this, if I paid extra for CFAR insurance which at the time I bought the insurance entitled me to a cash refund of  75% of the base cruise fare, can I no longer get the cash refund for 75%, rendering my CFAR useless? And also they are converting port charges and beverage service charges (which were fully refundable at the time I signed my cruise contract with NCL) into nonrefundable future cruise credit?

 

It's not the end of the world because I can't imagine I won't cruise again before 2023 begins, but just an unexpected outcome given the fact that I purchased CFAR.

He wasn't talking about an insurance policy, it was about NCL's cancellation policy.  If you have CFAR, you should always have the option to cancel for a 75% refund.  Or now you have the option to take 100% FCC.  

[zeppgirl]

So questions I have...if we have $10,000 we spent on a cruise, can we split this up into more than one future cruise?  What about if we had 2 people going and now want to downgrade but take family of 4?  Or will it only apply to the 2 people on the original reservation?  If the cruise goes down in price, can I get the rest in OBC?  

[luv2kroooz]

4 hours ago, Lou33 said:

He wasn't talking about an insurance policy, it was about NCL's cancellation policy.  If you have CFAR, you should always have the option to cancel for a 75% refund.  Or now you have the option to take 100% FCC.  

Right, but wouldn't I have to cancel my cruise in order to file an insurance claim, subjecting me to NCLs cancellation policies? The problem is that I intentionally didn't insure port charges or service fees. There was no reason to because they were fully refundable at the time I purchased the policy. I only insured the non refundable portion of the trip expecting a 75% cash refund on the cruise fare from insurance plus a cash refund of port charges and service fees from NCL if I had to cancel. Not sure I'm going to get that because it sounds like NCL is now changing up their policy....things that were refundable costs at the time I booked are now nonrefundable. Oy vey.

 

I guess I'll sort it out closer to the cruise and figure out what I am going to do. I guess a full cruise credit valid for over two years is not the end of the world. I expect to be flamed and accused of being a troll or having unhealthy obsessions about repeatedly bashing NCL for writng this, so allow me to acknowledge these are challenging times and I appreciate the gesture by NCL....it is just not the outcome I was expecting when I purchased the CFAR policy.

Edited March 7, 2020 by blcruising

[FLAHAM]

2 hours ago, zeppgirl said:

So questions I have...if we have $10,000 we spent on a cruise, can we split this up into more than one future cruise?  What about if we had 2 people going and now want to downgrade but take family of 4?  Or will it only apply to the 2 people on the original reservation?  If the cruise goes down in price, can I get the rest in OBC?  

If you spend less than your FCC on a future cruise within the timeframe, your FCC balance with will be reduced to the unspent amount and you can use it toward another cruise.  

[ozzyngcsu]

I am thinking of cancelling my May 18th cruise that leaves from Italy. If I book a future cruise or even the same one if this does down. Assuming the new cruise is cheaper can the FCC be used towards excursions?

[bluesea777]

Check out https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence?intcmp=pro_hp_PEACEOFMIND as it's been updated with FAQs.

[put me on a ship]

10 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

 

 

I hear you loud and clear.  We sail on march 8th also.  My husband wants to cancel.  I figure even if mike pence steps in on Saturday, want be for Sunday sailings. Hope NCL doesn’t live to regret the few days they allowed people to reluctantly travel.

We sail tomorrow, also. We have talked about cancelling, but only if we get our money back, whether a full refund or FCC. Sounds like we won't, so, yeah, I also hope NCL doesn't live to regret this. 

We are already talking about cancelling our Dec. South America cruise with them, because of the way this is being handled.

[Mrworldwide_88]

Has anyone cancelled and revoked on same cruise at a lower price using the credit

[Mrworldwide_88]

From the FAQ, it takes up to 7 days to get credit, knowing what their pricing structure is like then it could go wrong and the price goes up

[JinxyB]

We are sailing today... I think it’s bad business for NCL to not offer this policy effective immediately.  I wonder why the date of March 10 was chosen?

We are going and will make the best of it, but I honestly would have cancelled given the option.  We are young and healthy, so I’m not too worried about getting sick.  I cannot handle missing work due to a potential quarantine, kids missing school.  Not to mention we are closing on our house within 2 weeks of the sailing.  Can’t use insurance, either (don’t have CFAR). 

 

[luv2kroooz]

23 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

Check out https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence?intcmp=pro_hp_PEACEOFMIND as it's been updated with FAQs.

Thank you for sharing this. I interpret this to mean they will be refunding my port charges to me if I cancel but the beverage package charges are now future cruise credits. I also like that the FCC carryover to a future sailing if not used on one sailing. Overall, I am satisfied with all of this given the current situation. It seems pretty fair to me and resolves a lot of unnecessary stresses. Now to see what Norwegian Airlines, not related to NCL, is going to do about my Rome flight, if anything. Although I suppose that is still covered under my CFAR policy....thanks again.

[Nn2036]

11 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

 

 

I hear you loud and clear.  We sail on march 8th also.  My husband wants to cancel.  I figure even if mike pence steps in on Saturday, want be for Sunday sailings. Hope NCL doesn’t live to regret the few days they allowed people to reluctantly travel.

 

 

So you are still going tomorrow. I will cancel my tomorrow cruise today. I will fight them for FCC later. The risk is too much for me to get on the cruise this point.

[JamieLogical]

I really wish they were offering onboard credit as incentive to keep our bookings the way Carnival is. What is to keep us from cancelling just to get a better deal now, since prices are likely to bottom out as more and more people cancel?

[MariNY]

We are on a land and sea Alaska cruise in July. Last week I purchased the travel insurance for $798 because of the instability with this virus.  Now that they’re offering a full credit if canceling within 48 hours, I’m thinking of canceling the travel insurance to save $798. The insurance policy has a 10 Day Right to Examine and I’m still within the 10 days.  Has anyone done that and do you think it’s worth it?

[Nn2036]

13 hours ago, SHP said:

Well, we are sailing on March 8th. Haven't started travel yet, but as soon as I saw the policy change I called in. Technically we are at 48 hours, but they don't allow it prior to March 10th.

 

No flexibility. So we, from Seattle area, are left with 2 options - (1) throw away all our money, or (2) ignore government advice not to travel, avoid gatherings etc. Being from Seattle, an area with students who attend schools now closed and with most major businesses requiring anyone who can to work from home, why am I given no option but to continue with my travel or throw away my money. I am Latitudes Gold but this (if I go) will be my last NCL Cruise. Maybe I should escalate my case to Mike Pence for his meeting with the cruise lines tomorrow. What is the difference in terms of safety from doing it effective immediately or doing it next Tuesday - it just puts more people at risk. Of course, the obvious answer, is that it's about the money for NCL. Sad....

 

I note that Holland America also brought in a 3 day cancellation policy but also WAIVED the 3 day requirement for anyone with imminent sailings. Called NCL and escalated to a supervisor who fully understood but said that they have NO FLEXIBILITY in this policy. 

 

So, congratulations NCL for continuing to put people at risk

 I emailed Harry Sommer and Katty Byrd to see if the policy can apply to us departing on March 8th and their canned answer is NO. 

 

Perhaps you should email them too. If more complaints, may be they made an exception 

HSommer at nclcorp dot com

 

kbyrd at ncl dot com

 

 

 

 

 

We thank you for writing in.  But at this point, the cruise is operating, we have strict protocols in place, and all that is left for us to do is wish you a pleasant voyage.

We would love for you to join us.

 

 

 

 

[coolhandjiohnson]

My guess is to wait it out  and see if the cruise line will be forced to offer real time refunds in cash to people who want to opt to cancel.  I do not want all of my money sitting on a future cruise credit, in my case about 3k.  

 

If I were on a ship and I purchased a future cruise credit it would only cost about $100 per person and final payments would be at my discretion.  I like to be in control of my own destiny.

 

Remember this, If the cruise lines cancels the cruise you should get all your money back in cash.  If you (the traveler) cancels the cruise you will lose money.  This Future Cruise Credit is BS.  They could have offered it earlier.  They want to stay in control of YOUR MONEY.  They act like they are doing you a favor (or are they?)

 

NOW THAT  THE GOVERNMENT IS INQUIRING AND GETTING INVOLVED AND NOW THAT THE CORONA VIRUS CONTINUES T0 ESCALATE WE MAY SEE SOME ACTION.  I SUGGEST WAITING IT OUT....what do you think?

[Russiamomm]

11 hours ago, helloxxannie said:

I was thinking the same thing! Would love to know if anyone has successfully done this - cancelled and rebooked at lower rate for same cruise? 

I'm thinking the same thing.  No one will be able to answer this question until at least the tenth, but it would sure help a lot of people.  The price of my TA in April is now about 1/3 of what I paid.  Would love to simply cancel and rebook the same cruise at the lower rate and bank the difference as FCC.  As it stands now it looks like it’s doable, but why do I suspect they will change the rules to not allow you to do this?

[luv2kroooz]

31 minutes ago, coolhandjiohnson said:

NOW THAT  THE GOVERNMENT IS INQUIRING AND GETTING INVOLVED AND NOW THAT THE CORONA VIRUS CONTINUES T0 ESCALATE WE MAY SEE SOME ACTION.  I SUGGEST WAITING IT OUT....what do you think?

Correct. Wait it out and keep options open until 48 hours prior to sailing and make a decision at that time. From NCL, although it seems contradictory to me. They say they are going to modify itineraries 30 days prior to arrival date based on the level warning at time of voyage.........At the current time, our plans are to avoid any area that is denoted as a ‘Level 4 – do not travel’ area by the State Department at the time of voyage. We will modify any itinerary visiting those areas approximately 30 days prior to arrival date to avoid last-minute changes. As always, we will continue to monitor all State Department advisories and take appropriate action as necessary.

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by blcruising