What happens if the bookings are so low Carnival cancels

[choppe]

Does anyone know what Carnival will do if it cancels an entire cruise?  Will we get fully refunded in cash, future credit, or lose it all?  

[Bookbug53]

7 minutes ago, choppe said:

Does anyone know what Carnival will do if it cancels an entire cruise?  Will we get fully refunded in cash, future credit, or lose it all?  

If Carnival cancels? They will refund your money. 

[CarolSW]

I think this is going to happen, which is unfortunate for those who are wanting to go on their cruise.

Of course a cancelled cruise is always a possibility when you book, for a variety of reasons, but this is unprecedented, and goes beyond just one ship.  I am guessing that at least half of us will cancel and rebook.  It seems doubtful that Carnival will be willing to sail ships that are only half full IMHO.  

[sanger727]

Cruise lines aren't like airlines where there are constantly planes going out of service so a cancelled flight means a redeployed plane somewhere else. Cruise lines have staff on contract and I'm sure contracted resupplies that they would be on the hook paying at least some for anyway. I have a hard time seeing it being cost efficient to start cancelling cruises due to low bookings this late in the game. 3-6 months ahead of time when they could get rid of the crew and find somewhere to drydock maybe. But this situation evolves so quickly there would be no reason to do that. If they get people on the ship, even for free, it creates on board revenue. Look at the hero cruises celebrity is offering. They would rather have people on the ship for free to low cost just to get the drink packages, casino spend, and shore excursions sold.

Edited March 7, 2020 by sanger727

[bobandsherry]

I think this is going to happen, which is unfortunate for those who are wanting to go on their cruise. Of course a cancelled cruise is always a possibility when you book, for a variety of reasons, but this is unprecedented, and goes beyond just one ship.  I am guessing that at least half of us will cancel and rebook.  It seems doubtful that Carnival will be willing to sail ships that are only half full IMHO.  

 

Carnival has a huge fixed cost to a ship just sitting idle not to mention the reputation risk and paranoia that would result from keeping ship docked. As long as passenger fares cover cost of fuel and food I'd guess better to sale than sit docked and eat a loss. And Carnival will do what it takes to put butts in cabins. Just think back to 9/11 timeline. That scared many more people from cruising, I'm not aware of any cancelled cruises due to capacity shortage. Instead, as we sailed in November of that year, Carnival upgraded people who kept their sailing. We were upgraded from balcony to suite, and they offered discounts to help fill the ship.  

IMHO, only reason Carnival would stay docked is being directed by government.

 

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[bingomamma19]

1 hour ago, choppe said:

Does anyone know what Carnival will do if it cancels an entire cruise?  Will we get fully refunded in cash, future credit, or lose it all?  

They will not cancel cruises, they will sell rooms at discounted prices if they are available to get as many people on board.    I am sailing April 4th on the Breeze and most of our roll call is still going..only 2 have cancelled.   

 

If you are elderly and have underlying conditions, i agree you should cancel.  If you are healthy, there is nothing to worry about.   Have you ever feared the flu when you cruise?  Because that affects millions of US citizens and kills 12k to 60k a year in the US alone.

 

This is a blip in time, created by the media coverage.   All will be fine.

[hawkeye93]

 IMHO, only reason Carnival would stay docked is being directed by government.
 
I agree completely. But I also am not convinced that’s not a possibility.
 
 
 
 
 

[Brad1185]

What’s happened so far to princess ships is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t see how the cruise lines will recover from this. I think your going to see hundreds of ships sitting idle. People are not going to chance going on a cruise only to face a 2 week quarantine. Just wait until  another couple of ships has the infection on board. The cancellations for future cruises will ramp up where they will have no choice and will have to completely shut down.  

[tonit964]

12 minutes ago, bingomamma19 said:

They will not cancel cruises, they will sell rooms at discounted prices if they are available to get as many people on board.    I am sailing April 4th on the Breeze and most of our roll call is still going..only 2 have cancelled.   

 

If you are elderly and have underlying conditions, i agree you should cancel.  If you are healthy, there is nothing to worry about.   Have you ever feared the flu when you cruise?  Because that affects millions of US citizens and kills 12k to 60k a year in the US alone.

 

This is a blip in time, created by the media coverage.   All will be fine.

I think most people are more worried about being quarantined than the virus and that's why they are choosing to cancel.

They have never had anyone quarantined for the flu or Noro before.

[CarolSW]

EDITED because my comments were off topic and I don’t see a delete button yikes.

 

Instead I will say that I agree folks are more concerned about being quarantined on the ships rather than getting sick themselves.  But even the fear of being exposed is legit when you consider bringing back covid19 to family members who themselves have compromised immune systems.  
 

I can’t see both Vista and Freedom cruising out of Galveston half empty or less.  I would think they would combine to have one fuller ship.  But I am not in the cruise industry so I don’t know how they think in light of a situation like this. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by CarolSW

[bury me at sea]

6 minutes ago, CarolSW said:

I have heretofore been in the “this is being blown out of proportion” opinion, until now.

i realize I am in the higher risk group - over 60 - but I do not have underlying medical concerns other than age.  I don’t expect to get sick, but then who really does?  It has been a long time since I have had an illness that knocked me down for more than a day.

 

That said, even if I did get exposed to covid19, and contracted it with minor symptoms, I have close family members who are even younger than me who DO have compromised immune systems.  They do not need me exposing them to this - or any - virus.  Thinking of those dear to me being put at greater risk because of me is changing my mind about a lot of things.  

 

There is a lot of food for thought in your post.  I never once considered cancelling before this morning. That door has now been cracked open.

 

I still have a few days to wait and watch, I'm still heavily leaning toward cruising, but with a seed of doubt.

 

 

[CarolSW]

Here is my original post that I edited because I thought it was off topic of ships cancelling.

But since bury me at sea quoted it faster than I got the edit done, this is what I said, for what it’s worth. :

 

I have heretofore been in the “this is being blown out of proportion” opinion, until now.

i realize I am in the higher risk group - over 60 - but I do not have underlying medical concerns other than age.  I don’t expect to get sick, but then who really does?  It has been a long time since I have had an illness that knocked me down for more than a day.

 

That said, even if I did get exposed to covid19, and contracted it with minor symptoms, I have close family members who are even younger than me who DO have compromised immune systems.  They do not need me exposing them to this - or any - virus.  Thinking of those dear to me being put at greater risk because of me is changing my mind about a lot of things.  

Edited March 7, 2020 by CarolSW

[sanger727]

17 minutes ago, CarolSW said:

EDITED because my comments were off topic and I don’t see a delete button yikes.

 

Instead I will say that I agree folks are more concerned about being quarantined on the ships rather than getting sick themselves.  But even the fear of being exposed is legit when you consider bringing back covid19 to family members who themselves have compromised immune systems.  
 

I can’t see both Vista and Freedom cruising out of Galveston half empty or less.  I would think they would combine to have one fuller ship.  But I am not in the cruise industry so I don’t know how they think in light of a situation like this. 

 

yeah, but again. This isn't airlines where their goal is to get you from point A to point B in the most cost effective (for them) way possible and pushing your flight forward or backwards a few hours or and moving your seats forwards or backwards a few seats is standard practice. They can't tell everyone on the Freedom - well, it's not cost effective to have two ships running so we are going to keep your bookings but shift you over to the vista so those of you picked rooms now get new rooms and you leave a day earlier and go to different ports now. They would have to cancel the freedom bookings and allow them to move to the vista if they choose to. Anyone who didn't move would get a refund for having the canceled cruise- and the last thing they want to do right now is cancel out thousands of bookings and issue refunds with the hope that maybe they will choose to move their bookings to a different ships. These are just two different animals. 

[jimbo5544]

Unless government mandated or so strong a recommendation that basically does the same thing, IMHO, there is almost zero chance of not sailing.   They might have to discount significantly, but there is more at stake than that sailing.  They (and it is a collective they, meaning the industry) have to reestablish their business as soon as they can.  I cannot say this strong enough, it is critical.  

[jamieleighann16]

Unless government mandated or so strong a recommendation that basically does the same thing, IMHO, there is almost zero chance of not sailing.   They might have to discount significantly, but there is more at stake than that sailing.  They (and it is a collective they, meaning the industry) have to reestablish their business as soon as they can.  I cannot say this strong enough, it is critical.  

But at what cost? They have to know that lives being lost is likely if they continue to sail. I think it’s just a matter of days before we are discussing multiple ships affected.


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[coevan]

1 hour ago, Brad1185 said:

What’s happened so far to princess ships is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t see how the cruise lines will recover from this. I think your going to see hundreds of ships sitting idle. People are not going to chance going on a cruise only to face a 2 week quarantine. Just wait until  another couple of ships has the infection on board. The cancellations for future cruises will ramp up where they will have no choice and will have to completely shut down.  

 Thank you Mr. gloom and doom

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, jamieleighann16 said:

 

But at what cost? They have to know that lives being lost is likely if they continue to sail. I think it’s just a matter of days before we are discussing multiple ships affected.


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Well that is a view, jaded and lopsided but still a view.  So, I am betting that if you had a cruise scheduled you are still going....right?  For the record they think and believe just the opposite.   Not a bad idea for a thread tho, why don’t you start one asking of people agree with your scenario.  

Edited March 7, 2020 by jimbo5544

[Jerseygirl1416]

6 minutes ago, jamieleighann16 said:

 

But at what cost? They have to know that lives being lost is likely if they continue to sail. I think it’s just a matter of days before we are discussing multiple ships affected.


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The virus isn’t killing anyone that the flu wouldn’t kill. You make it sound like everyone infected is going to die. This unnecessary drama is getting old. Very soon its going to be too late to bother with the quarantine containment and then the real people who need to worry about getting infected will have to deal with this virus like they deal with every other virus they could catch.

[choppe]

We are scheduled for an April 5th sailing and I think there are lots of high school senior spring breakers on that trip.  Maybe just the older at-risk passengers will cancel but don't see many younger passengers canceling because of fear of the virus.  But I do see the issue of cancelling because they can't afford to be quarantined for 2 weeks. 

 

We are driving from Michigan to Florida for our trip.   Our plan is to still cruise and worst case scenario find somewhere in Florida near a beach if it gets cancelled.  Our high schoolers definitely want to enjoy warm weather.  Financially, it would suck to be simultaneously spending money on food, drinks, hotel, & entertainment in a beach town if CCL issues a future cruise credit even though I hopefully can apply it towards my already scheduled December 2020 cruise.  It's not going to break the bank by all means but I am planner and like to know my expected costs.

 

But under the circumstances its all a crap shoot.  At least we still have 4 weeks for things to settle down - at least I hope things settle down.

[choppe]

2 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

What’s happened so far to princess ships is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t see how the cruise lines will recover from this. I think your going to see hundreds of ships sitting idle. People are not going to chance going on a cruise only to face a 2 week quarantine. Just wait until  another couple of ships has the infection on board. The cancellations for future cruises will ramp up where they will have no choice and will have to completely shut down.  

Do you think the cruise industry will go belly up and go out of business after this?  I hoping to capitalize on the low stock prices, up my monthly dividend check, and maybe sell at a profit years from now.

 

I agree the issue may be the 2 week quarantine.

[jamieleighann16]

Well that is a view, jaded and lopsided but still a view.  So, I am betting that if you had a cruise scheduled you are still going....right?  For the record they think and believe just the opposite.   Not a bad idea for a thread tho, why don’t you start one asking of people agree with your scenario.  

 

I do have a cruise booked on Panorama in April. Along with a week of travel beforehand in California. So I’m watching very closely and am leaning towards rescheduling. With their debarkation delay today I’m hoping it’s nothing serious. I get that my view is lopsided and I just always tend to err on the side of caution.

 

I also can’t help but think about the crew on all of these ships that are at a greater risk than all of us. Because of the thousands of passengers rotating in and out each week on these ships and then being stuck on the ship I’m sure they’re all terrified being so far from home. I feel for them. It’s a tough situation all around.

 

 

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[bingomamma19]

3 hours ago, Brad1185 said:

What’s happened so far to princess ships is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t see how the cruise lines will recover from this. I think your going to see hundreds of ships sitting idle. People are not going to chance going on a cruise only to face a 2 week quarantine. Just wait until  another couple of ships has the infection on board. The cancellations for future cruises will ramp up where they will have no choice and will have to completely shut down.  

No cruiselines will be shutting down.   They dont shut down for a flu outbreak and that affects millions and kills 12k to 60k a year in the US alone.   Stop watching the news and all the hype about this.   They love the ratings this is bringing them.

 

Most people who get the coronavirus have such mild symptoms, they dont even know the difference from a cold.     If you are elderly with severe u/l conditions, then you should take extra precautionary measures and not travel.

 

I for one am on the April 4th cruise on the Breeze, and we have no fear whatsoever.   We are going and enjoying our selves.    In looking at the rooms available on carnival for our cruise, looks like most are still sailing, there are only a few rooms here and there left.

[jimbo5544]

41 minutes ago, jamieleighann16 said:

 

I do have a cruise booked on Panorama in April. Along with a week of travel beforehand in California. So I’m watching very closely and am leaning towards rescheduling. With their debarkation delay today I’m hoping it’s nothing serious. I get that my view is lopsided and I just always tend to err on the side of caution.

 

I also can’t help but think about the crew on all of these ships that are at a greater risk than all of us. Because of the thousands of passengers rotating in and out each week on these ships and then being stuck on the ship I’m sure they’re all terrified being so far from home. I feel for them. It’s a tough situation all around.

 

 

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It is tough for everyone.  I feel as well for the crew, they are Carnivals best asset.  I heard from someone on Horizon today that crew is serving on lido, another smart move.  

[bingomamma19]

3 hours ago, tonit964 said:

I think most people are more worried about being quarantined than the virus and that's why they are choosing to cancel.

They have never had anyone quarantined for the flu or Noro before.

We are not worried about quarantine.   They wont be quaurantining all these ships in the carribean.  If so, it will cancel out the next few cruises anyway.

 

Most of my roll call is still going and not worried.    A few who have elderly relatives who were going have cancelled, and that is understandable.

 

[hawkeye93]

It is tough for everyone.  I feel as well for the crew, they are Carnivals best asset.  I heard from someone on Horizon today that crew is serving on lido, another smart move.  

Excellent move!


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