Sad day today - cancelled my cruise

[oceanfun77]

We cancelled our Alaskan cruise at the end of May.  Originally the $1000 deposit was nonrefundable, but I called them up today due to coronavirus getting more severe, and I was able to get the $1000 back.  Whew!

[Baby_Bear]

That's great to hear. Our deposit was also non refundable for $200. If Princess is showing flexibility on this, I will definitely call them. I assume you'd already received the balance of your payment as a refund?

[remydiva]

1 hour ago, san diego sue said:

You are in the 50% penalty phase. It took a couple of days and I got a refund on my credit card. It was for 1/2 the fare and I think maybe port taxes.No explanation just a dollar figure. I was thinking maybe Princess will do the other 50% automatically. In reading the letter for people with no Ins. , apparently they just get it. For people with Ins. said to apply to Aon. I asked the AON rep if we would get it automatically but she didn't know and to be safe she said apply for it on line. She also said it could take at least a month before we get it. Cancel for any reason is a FCC.

If you do it medical, cash refund.

Thanks...I hear ya re: CFAR being FCC...USUALLY ...but am hoping that in THIS case the reason is MEDICAL kinda...at risk passenger who wishes to NOT get sick...not getting any younger and by Dec 21, 2021 nearly 2 yrs older than now so not sure if cruising to use the FCC is in our future.

[Sanz]

4 hours ago, Baby_Bear said:

My mom and I were booked on the Caribbean Princess on May 16 out of Fort Lauderdale. In view of the increase in coronavirus cases across the US, we reluctantly decided over the weekend to cancel our cruise. My mom turned 70 last year and would therefore be at greater risk in the event she got the virus, although she has no major health concerns aside from arthritis. Both of us love to cruise and were super excited to be sailing again after all land-based trips last year, but recent events plus the CDC warning just tipped the scales in favor of playing it safe. Ironically, while I'm more worried about her getting the virus, she herself isn't worried so much about getting sick as opposed to getting quarantined (which is an additional worry for me too given work pressures, etc.).

 

So I called Princess early this morning. After a wait time of 1 hour, 45 minutes, I got through to an exhausted sounding Princess rep and cancelled. She noted it might take them up to 5 days to process the cancellation as their systems are so backed up. Is this what other people are hearing? She told me they have been swamped with cancellation calls all weekend. We are 68 days from sailing, so that should be fine. We will get back all but the deposit - not sure about that. She sounded confused about the deposit - it was booked as non refundable, but she thought that in view of the unusual circumstances, Princess might give me back the deposit as a future cruise credit. Maybe someone here can confirm? Regardless, its $200 and while I would much prefer not to lose it, if I have to eat it, I will. 

 

So that's my cancellation story. We are both so sad to cancel, we hope we did the right thing, but who knows?

 

As an aside, spare a thought for the cruise line reps and cruise TA's who are all getting hammered right now with calls. And prepare for long hold times!

 

Stay safe everyone and happy cruising. Now off to change flights!

 

[kiwichick62]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

I cancelled my April 19th cruise on Friday. If I waited longer, I would be in 100% penalty (Friday I was in 75%).

 

Oddly, there was a sense of relief once I made the decision. My trip included France (and 3 nights hotel after in Paris) and they have over 1000 cases now. 

I felt relief when cancelling as well as a slight sense of grief, perhaps because of the anticipation we had of travelling and for the loss of our plans.   🙂

[Coral]

26 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said:

I felt relief when cancelling as well as a slight sense of grief, perhaps because of the anticipation we had of travelling and for the loss of our plans.   🙂

Yea - me too. I had done all this research and was hitting some new places for me. I also planned it to mark a "milestone birthday". 

[Griller]

Emailed the large agency we booked with in UK and they know nothing about any changes to cancellation policy and told me I would only get a small percentage back and nothing at all for the beverage package or prepaid gratuities or wifi.

So we have not yet cancelled as its not worth doing to get so little returned.

I would rather wait and hope Princess cancel it but I somehow think that wont be happening as they get a grip on the situation.

 

Last time I will ever book with them. They consistently display remarkable ignorance.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Griller

[kiwichick62]

22 minutes ago, Griller said:

Emailed the large agency we booked with in UK and they know nothing about any changes to cancellation policy and told me I would only get a small percentage back and nothing at all for the beverage package or prepaid gratuities or wifi.

So we have not yet cancelled as its not worth doing to get so little returned.

I would rather wait and hope Princess cancel it but I somehow think that wont be happening as they get a grip on the situation.

 

Last time I will ever book with them. They consistently display remarkable ignorance.

When is your cruise due to depart Griller??  Sounds like the TA is trying to pocket your money 😧 They are either ill informed or crooks.

 

Before cancelling with our TA I went to the Princess website and cancelled the extras I had paid for on the cruise personaliser.  Princess refunded my shore excursions and beverage packages directly to my bank account two days later. 

 

Please visit Princess.com and look up the cancellation policies, they are as follows -

 

 

You will get a refund/future cruise credits valid to 31/12/2021 depending on how many days to departure you are.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

My wife and I are both 70. We have a Caribbean cruise scheduled at the end of May on Princess and a Mediterranean cruise scheduled in September on HAL. We are not canceling either cruise. I feel this is a serious situation and I understand why some chose to cancel. We’ll enjoy having a ship that’s not so crowded. 

[Griller]

7 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said:

When is your cruise due to depart Griller??  Sounds like the TA is trying to pocket your money 😧 They are either ill informed or crooks.

 

Before cancelling with our TA I went to the Princess website and cancelled the extras I had paid for on the cruise personaliser.  Princess refunded my shore excursions and beverage packages directly to my bank account two days later. 

 

Please visit Princess.com and look up the cancellation policies, they are as follows -

 

 

You will get a refund/future cruise credits valid to 31/12/2021 depending on how many days to departure you are.

Hi I already sent them that as I had the email from Princess but they don't believe it apparently, and I paid per day on my cruise fare for the extras, not online.

 

I am not even sure we want to cancel yet but it may happen depending on what I would get back and what happens in the next few days.

 

This was a UK booking but it should not make any difference but the agents there are really not clued up about anything.

 

Cruise is departing April 11th so there is time yet for things to settle - maybe.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Griller

[Jimbo]

How come Princess ships are the only ones we hear of as having issues with the virus and not other cruiselines?

[Griller]

22 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

How come Princess ships are the only ones we hear of as having issues with the virus and not other cruiselines?

 

I would say -  and no doubt will get shot down in flames - that its a combination of at least 

Bad Luck and failing to listen to passengers with concerns

Commercial greed by having many passengers from China and Cruises in Asia

Poor hygiene by some crew

Swapping crew from one ship to another

Number of ships with longer cruises

Lack of effective enforcement of handwashing

Passengers who for some reason have lower standards of hygiene than other cruiselines, due to age infirmity or socio-economic reason. 

 

Lot of this applies to Noro of course

Edited March 9, 2020 by Griller

[MJSailors]

    Baby-Bear

         You and your Mom are not the only ones to cancel a vacation due to the Coronavirus implications. You were wise to consider both the affect to your job if indeed you were quarantined and your Mom’s health. 

        I am 67,my DH 68. At the moment,we are both healthy although I do have asthma ( well controlled). It has been a longtime desire of mine to play golf at the Fairmont Southampton Princess in Bermuda. The course is stunningly beautiful and a well-designed par3 which I can easily play.

        We have been trying to have this bucket list item fulfilled for a few years. However, illness and family occasions such as weddings and christenings have prevented us with booking travel to Bermuda. Now, just when we are free to go without any constraints, along comes the Coronavirus! I am calling it CV19.

         Of course it was a disappointment,but we made the decision to cancel. We would have been in Bermuda as I am writing this. We,along with many others, were concerned with a possible quarantine situation and travel through an international airport. 

        After reading several posts concerning Princess cancellation policy and the refunds customers are getting, it seems that Princess is being a bit more fair to their passengers who are cancelling than the airline with which we booked a travel/resort package. No refunds are being given, but the travel funds are good for booking travel a year from cancellation. 

        Perhaps, we will be able to reschedule this vacation. I need to go to Bermuda in cooler months as I have found the humidity there in the warmer months to be difficult given the asthma situation. Baring any important family/friends celebrations and staying in relatively good health , we could think about booking something for early 2021. Hopefully, CV19 will not be a concern by then and the world will not be faced with any other crisis- for awhile anyway.

        I do hope you and your mother can rebook this cruise or enjoy a land based vacation sooner rather than later. 

[riffatsea]

We will cancel our March 28 cruise but I don't think I"d cancel a cruise booked for this summer!

I'd wait and see what happens closer to the pay in full date.

I certainly hope things will calm down by then!!

[Justalone]

10 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

    Baby-Bear

         You and your Mom are not the only ones to cancel a vacation due to the Coronavirus implications. You were wise to consider both the affect to your job if indeed you were quarantined and your Mom’s health. 

        I am 67,my DH 68. At the moment,we are both healthy although I do have asthma ( well controlled). It has been a longtime desire of mine to play golf at the Fairmont Southampton Princess in Bermuda. The course is stunningly beautiful and a well-designed par3 which I can easily play.

        We have been trying to have this bucket list item fulfilled for a few years. However, illness and family occasions such as weddings and christenings have prevented us with booking travel to Bermuda. Now, just when we are free to go without any constraints, along comes the Coronavirus! I am calling it CV19.

         Of course it was a disappointment,but we made the decision to cancel. We would have been in Bermuda as I am writing this. We,along with many others, were concerned with a possible quarantine situation and travel through an international airport. 

        After reading several posts concerning Princess cancellation policy and the refunds customers are getting, it seems that Princess is being a bit more fair to their passengers who are cancelling than the airline with which we booked a travel/resort package. No refunds are being given, but the travel funds are good for booking travel a year from cancellation. 

        Perhaps, we will be able to reschedule this vacation. I need to go to Bermuda in cooler months as I have found the humidity there in the warmer months to be difficult given the asthma situation. Baring any important family/friends celebrations and staying in relatively good health , we could think about booking something for early 2021. Hopefully, CV19 will not be a concern by then and the world will not be faced with any other crisis- for awhile anyway.

        I do hope you and your mother can rebook this cruise or enjoy a land based vacation sooner rather than later. 

You will have other opportunities to fulfill your bucket list.

Just curious,  you do not consider your asthma as an underlying heath risk, or have a compromised immune system with the present Covid-19 outbreak?

Edited March 9, 2020 by Justalone

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Griller said:

 

I would say -  and no doubt will get shot down in flames - that its a combination of at least 

Bad Luck and failing to listen to passengers with concerns

Commercial greed by having many passengers from China and Cruises in Asia

Poor hygiene by some crew

Swapping crew from one ship to another

Number of ships with longer cruises

Lack of effective enforcement of handwashing

Passengers who for some reason have lower standards of hygiene than other cruiselines, due to age infirmity or socio-economic reason. 

 

Lot of this applies to Noro of course

We had just canceled a Royal Caribbean Alaska Cruise for August 2020 for a Princess Alaska Cruise in September of 2021, now not so sure we are doing the right thing. My wife really wanted to try Princess for Alaska, but like I  said, no so sure we are making the right move.

 

We did book a Royal Caribbean Cruise for this September 2020 Canada/ New England Route..........Time will tell if even that will be possible.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Jimbo

[BigGuy25]

We canceled our Vancouver to Hawaii cruise today.  It’s a long way off but, after 30 cruises, we’re comfortable in the decision that we simply don’t need to take this voyage this year. I wanted to give plenty of advance notice to those on our Roll Call who signed-on to shore excursions that I had booked so that they could make other arrangements. I’m sure there will be many more cruises in our future, but for now, we’re going to begin making plans to do something different this summer.  

[MJSailors]

   riffatsea      Yes, of course we are concerned about my asthma being an underlying health risk due to a compromised immune system and it was a definite factor in cancelling.

With asthma, it could very well be the case that I would become ill on the trip and face quarantine. My DH would ,of course, chose to stay nearby to me adding additional cost for his lodging and food and also causing him  significant stress. The same would be for me if he became ill. If we both became ill and quarantined that would also be a concern.

      There are many ramifications for travelers with the existence of the virus. People must make intelligent decisions re:travel plans. No need for fear to determine our decisions, but a respectful concern in dealing with our everyday activities and our vacations.

       

[stevenr597]

Just cancelled my cruise on the Caribbean Princess for this May.  WE are taking our credit and booking on the Discovery Princess for New Years, 2021. 

 

By the way, I am 70 and also a physician.  Still working quite hard seeing my patients, many of them are ill with Influenza. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by stevenr597
Wanted to add a sentence.

[Justalone]

3 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

My wife and I are both 70. We have a Caribbean cruise scheduled at the end of May on Princess and a Mediterranean cruise scheduled in September on HAL. We are not canceling either cruise. I feel this is a serious situation and I understand why some chose to cancel. We’ll enjoy having a ship that’s not so crowded. 

Good for you.   “Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead.!”
Why cancel if you are both healthy 70’s, with no underlying health issued, and no compromised immune systems.

Enjoy your cruises!  👍👍

Edited March 10, 2020 by Justalone

[MJSailors]

1 hour ago, MJSailors said:

   riffatsea      Yes, of course we are concerned about my asthma being an underlying health risk due to a compromised immune system and it was a definite factor in cancelling.

With asthma, it could very well be the case that I would become ill on the trip and face quarantine. My DH would ,of course, chose to stay nearby to me adding additional cost for his lodging and food and also causing him  significant stress. The same would be for me if he became ill. If we both became ill and quarantined that would also be a concern.

      There are many ramifications for travelers with the existence of the virus. People must make intelligent decisions re:travel plans. No need for fear to determine our decisions, but a respectful concern in dealing with our everyday activities and our vacations.

       

Sorry, I wrote this post in response to Justalone’s question.

 

[Lucky TGO]

1 hour ago, Justalone said:

Good for you.   “Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead.!”
Why cancel if you are both healthy 70’s, with no underlying health issued, and no compromised immune systems.

Enjoy your cruises!  👍👍

Hi Justalone,

I can understand about not being afraid to go. But I just keep think about someone else getting sick. Now I’m kept in my cabin for 14 days and then I may be kept lockup on a Army base for another 14 days. 😳

Tony

[BigGuy25]

12 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

Hi Justalone,

I can understand about not being afraid to go. But I just keep think about someone else getting sick. Now I’m kept in my cabin for 14 days and then I may be kept lockup on a Army base for another 14 days. 😳

Tony

Yep ... this is why we cancelled at this time. I’m less concerned about the virus than I am about the long quarantine process if just one passenger tests positive!

[weedpindle]

I am curious as to why people feel the need to tell everyone that they cancelled a cruise. Why not just cancel it, go about your daily life an be done with it.

[BarbinMich]

On 3/9/2020 at 12:23 PM, Baby_Bear said:

. . .

@DaveyCaper I totally agree. We are now looking at land based options. Just seems less fun than a cruise, although that's probably just my grumpy mood talking, lol! The other problem is, with this virus spreading all over the globe, it sort of limits where we can go. 

We've done a number of land-based tours in Europe as well as 50+ cruises.  But I wouldn't do so now as corona is "virulent" in Italy and will probably spread from there.