Cancelling Cruises because of the C word

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

sorru CC on my phone is not going well 

 

I press submit once and it’s seems to do multiple. Some don’t even submit at all!

 

sorry again

Ain't technology grand ? 😀If it works!!

Avril 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Adawn47

[Vampiress88]

1 minute ago, Adawn47 said:

Ain't technology grand ? 😀

Avril 

only when it works. It’s make me look like a plank today (not that I usually need much help)

[jaydee6969]

Got to say the over zealous merging of threads is getting ridiculous.  

 

Time to leave this place for a while until things settle down.

 

[kruzseeka]

2 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Good luck getting through on the phone. We have tried countless times today and get a message that they are busy then it just cuts you off.

 

Yesterday we rang to cancel (deposit paid and payment due) and wanted to transfer the booking to a different cruise next year.  Like you we were cut off. 

This may not work if you aren't planning to book a different cruise but I tried a second time but instead of pressing #1 on the tree for ' ringing about a cruise I've already booked with P&O' (or something to that effect) I pressed #2 for  'to book a cruise'.  It connected quite quickly and I just said I wanted to book a new cruise but cancel an existing booking and transfer the deposit.   It was all very smooth.  

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, kruzseeka said:

 

Yesterday we rang to cancel (deposit paid and payment due) and wanted to transfer the booking to a different cruise next year.  Like you we were cut off. 

This may not work if you aren't planning to book a different cruise but I tried a second time but instead of pressing #1 on the tree for ' ringing about a cruise I've already booked with P&O' (or something to that effect) I pressed #2 for  'to book a cruise'.  It connected quite quickly and I just said I wanted to book a new cruise but cancel an existing booking and transfer the deposit.   It was all very smooth.  

Thanks for the advice.

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

Anyone just thinking

 

and so it begins........

Mmm! I get this feeling that forgetting about cruising for several months is a good idea. Especially as there will be nowhere to cruise to!

[Adawn47]

33 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

Got to say the over zealous merging of threads is getting ridiculous.  

 

Time to leave this place for a while until things settle down.

 

It's all been merged into 2 threads now. Much simpler. Coronavirus threads I mean.

Avril 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Adawn47

[zoe sproodle]

When this thread first started we were quite adamant that we wouldn't cancel but since then the doubts have started to creep in, so many 'what ifs?', but we'd decided that we'd still cruise at the end of June unless it was decided otherwise for us. Today's announcement means we've got just over 3 months to see how things develop - all being well we'll still be going and with the OBC we've already got will have a cheap couple of weeks.

[happy v]

We really want to go on our cruise, great itinerary and price. Also no health issues so no excuse to cancel. The only problem is ports being open i.e. Italy. With this excellent cancellation policy we can wait until just before we go and see what the situation is. .....and think of how to spend all this money!!😄

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Malta are currently banning anyone from Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland if the article below is to be believed, published 2 hours ago. So a cruise from Southampton would have to go there avoiding all of the above places.

 

Add to that the fact that Greece have closed schools, university’s and many major historical sites and where to go an what to see?

 

“VALLETTA (Reuters) - Malta on Wednesday banned travel with Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.”

Thanks for that- so obviously the entire summer cruising season is shot. Where will Oceana go, and when will we know?  

I have to say, I'd hate to be working for P&O at the moment!

[jeanlyon]

That's what finally decided us to cancel.  Italy is a no-no.  Spain is getting just as bad.  We had 4 Italian ports, 3 Spanish, Lisbon and also the fear of being put into quarantine.  So it was a no brainer.

[jake 26]

24 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Thanks for that- so obviously the entire summer cruising season is shot. Where will Oceana go, and when will we know?  

I have to say, I'd hate to be working for P&O at the moment!

 

Nor me.

 

I wonder how the Norwegian closing of Bergen and Stavanger  to cruise ships will affect Iona.

[kruzseeka]

38 minutes ago, happy v said:

We really want to go on our cruise, great itinerary and price. Also no health issues so no excuse to cancel. The only problem is ports being open i.e. Italy. With this excellent cancellation policy we can wait until just before we go and see what the situation is. .....and think of how to spend all this money!!😄

 

Get into the shops quickly happy v!,😉   We had some generous additional obc for a cruise which experienced a number of problems - we were notified just before the homebound TA.  So 2,000 pax with a significant extra amount to spend on board - and no more ports to mop it up with excursions consequently the ship was awash with obc and passengers trying to spend it!  Short of drinking ourselves into oblivion, it was a case of Spa treatments, speciality restaurants - or the shops!   You can imagine the stock soon ran low.  I think the jewellery shops had a very successful time.  The duty free shelves soon looked rather bare too!

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by kruzseeka

[wowzz]

I'm beginning to wonder if at some stage cruise lines will just have to suspend their entire operations.  They will  not be able to  dock anywhere, and if anyone gets CV, the ship is put into quarantine.  Time to cut their losses.

[wowzz]

31 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

That's what finally decided us to cancel.  Italy is a no-no.  Spain is getting just as bad.  We had 4 Italian ports, 3 Spanish, Lisbon and also the fear of being put into quarantine.  So it was a no brainer.

A few weeks ago we were in the "we are on the cruise no matter what" faction. However, we have now done a U-turn,  and are cancelling our April cruise, and booking a new cruise with our FCC as far in advance as possible!

Good decision Jean.

[happy v]

11 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

 

Get into the shops quickly happy v!,😉   We had some generous additional obc for a cruise which experienced a number of problems - we were notified just before the homebound TA.  So 2,000 pax with a significant extra amount to spend on board - and no more ports to mop it up with excursions consequently the ship was awash with obc and passengers trying to spend it!  Short of drinking ourselves into oblivion, it was a case of Spa treatments, speciality restaurants - or the shops!   You can imagine the stock soon ran low.  I think the jewellery shops had a very successful time.  The duty free shelves soon looked rather bare too!

 

Oh, that wont be any good for me I'm a ditherer and go back about three times before I make up my mind. I'll admit this, just because I know you,😉 I am about to look at the menus to see how many times we could go to the speciality restaurants. Though we probably wont be able to get in there either. Nice problems to have.

I saw you had cancelled and booked again. It's good you did it yesterday I bet no one could get through today. The prices will start to go up soon with so many re-booking.

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, happy v said:

The prices will start to go up soon with so many re-booking.

The problem is,  that very soon no ports will be allowing cruise ships to dock. 2020 will be a catastrophe for the cruuse industry. 

[happy v]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The problem is,  that very soon no ports will be allowing cruise ships to dock. 2020 will be a catastrophe for the cruuse industry. 

But only for a while. Then it will get back to normal.

[galeforce9]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm beginning to wonder if at some stage cruise lines will just have to suspend their entire operations.  They will  not be able to  dock anywhere, and if anyone gets CV, the ship is put into quarantine.  Time to cut their losses.

Viking has done just that 

[Lees Cruisin]

A couple of questions,we are sailing on the Azura 26th July...We have paid £250 deposit and our remining £4000 balance is due April 12th. We have no intentions of cancelling and the added £400 OBC is a nice bonus...

 

1. If P & O cancel the cruise, do we get our money back in full?

2. If we miss a shore stop and we have booked an excursion do we get our money back?

3. We have a Sea view cabin, what are the chances of an upgrade?

[funinhounslow]

10 minutes ago, Lees Cruisin said:

A couple of questions,we are sailing on the Azura 26th July...We have paid £250 deposit and our remining £4000 balance is due April 12th. We have no intentions of cancelling and the added £400 OBC is a nice bonus...

 

1. If P & O cancel the cruise, do we get our money back in full?

2. If we miss a shore stop and we have booked an excursion do we get our money back?

3. We have a Sea view cabin, what are the chances of an upgrade?

1 If they cancel it, yes

 

 2 Yes

 

3 No idea. Be careful if they do offer you an “upgrade” though - it might be for example a slightly higher grade cabin but in a less desirable part of the ship. This is why some people specify “do not upgrade” on their booking. 

[Lees Cruisin]

28 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:

1 If they cancel it, yes

 

 2 Yes

 

3 No idea. Be careful if they do offer you an “upgrade” though - it might be for example a slightly higher grade cabin but in a less desirable part of the ship. This is why some people specify “do not upgrade” on their booking. 

Thankyou

[Daftlad]

And the silence from Marella is deafening. 

My attempt at sampling another cruise line looks like coming back to bite me on the backside.

[kruzseeka]

8 hours ago, happy v said:

Oh, that wont be any good for me I'm a ditherer and go back about three times before I make up my mind. I'll admit this, just because I know you,😉 I am about to look at the menus to see how many times we could go to the speciality restaurants. Though we probably wont be able to get in there either. Nice problems to have.

I saw you had cancelled and booked again. It's good you did it yesterday I bet no one could get through today. The prices will start to go up soon with so many re-booking.

 

Yes, we were so disappointed.  We should have been going in just over a week but cancelled before Christmas as we were concerned insurers would query us having paid in full at a time of uncertainty over health issues.  Unfortunately now resolved but in the event we would have cancelled now because of the current situation.  That was the first cancellation.   

The other this week was nervousness about paying in full and not knowing what the next few months will bring.  Also very disappointed as it was a rather unusual itinerary we were especially looking forward to.   Never mind we have a few lined up for next year now! 😁    We'll see how things go and hopefully get something sorted for later in the year.  But you're right, there will be a run on bookings as confidence returns.

In the meantime, we just hope for the very best outcome for everyone in terms of their health - holiday cancellations don't figure in comparison. 

Keep well. 😊

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by kruzseeka

[janny444]

11 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

 

Yesterday we rang to cancel (deposit paid and payment due) and wanted to transfer the booking to a different cruise next year.  Like you we were cut off. 

This may not work if you aren't planning to book a different cruise but I tried a second time but instead of pressing #1 on the tree for ' ringing about a cruise I've already booked with P&O' (or something to that effect) I pressed #2 for  'to book a cruise'.  It connected quite quickly and I just said I wanted to book a new cruise but cancel an existing booking and transfer the deposit.   It was all very smooth.  

Hi....when you rebooked your cruise was there a vast price difference. Reason why I am asking is our cruise that we go on next month....April....we are going to cancel and I looked at booking same cruise....same month April 2021...same cabin grade But it would cost an extra £300pp...£600 extra to book same cruise next year and that is for a 7 night cruise

Edited March 12, 2020 by janny444