What if CELEBRITY cancels?

[Spif Barwunkel]

Totally agree with post #21. The big tell, as to European cruises, will be whether or not the ships go TA in April. Obviously, if they don't, or delay in going, that will affect all cruising dates and destinations from various EU ports. You can't help but see less light at the end of the tunnel considering the ever-changing circumstances across the landscape.    

Edited March 12, 2020 by Spif Barwunkel

[upwarduk]

15 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

It sure would be nice if Celebrity would clue us in on what they plan on doing...and do it soon--BEFORE they come looking for that final payment...

I have just sent Celebrity an e mail asking if they are changing our itinerary, as we have 4 ports in Italy. Our cruise leaves Southampton on August 1st, so we are also outside the 48 hour ‘cancel for any reason.’

Personally, I wonder if the ships will even do their TA’s. I too, think it’s time Celebrity made a decision, especially as passengers will be stranded in Europe.

[sippican]

5 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

I have just sent Celebrity an e mail asking if they are changing our itinerary, as we have 4 ports in Italy. Our cruise leaves Southampton on August 1st, so we are also outside the 48 hour ‘cancel for any reason.’

Personally, I wonder if the ships will even do their TA’s. I too, think it’s time Celebrity made a decision, especially as passengers will be stranded in Europe.

 

That's almost 5 months from now! Do you really believe they know that so far in advance? I'm confident they are working hard making decisions minute by minute and you are still outside your final payment window. They send out updates as soon as they happen.

I sent X an e-mail three weeks ago totally unrelated to Corona virus, but have yet to hear back. The company is flying by the seat of their pants trying to deal with today, tomorrow and perhaps next week. They have far more pressing issues. I have a cruise from Sydney in 5 weeks, but yes, I am covered by the guarantee. I am sure the window will be extended if warranted. 

I think your expectation that they make a decision on a trip so far into the future is unrealistic. Be patient and understanding of what they are facing at present. They may even suspend all operations.

[lamb616]

22 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

I have just sent Celebrity an e mail asking if they are changing our itinerary, as we have 4 ports in Italy. Our cruise leaves Southampton on August 1st, so we are also outside the 48 hour ‘cancel for any reason.’

 

I am certain you wouldn't even be able to get an answer out of them for May-June sailings at this point, much less August.  

They (probably) just really don't know what they're going to do

Edited March 12, 2020 by lamb616

[aleboeuf]

I am sailing out this Saturday out of San Juan. My wife and I still plan on going. Today marks the last day people can cancel and get the refund Celebrity offers. I am hoping that Celebrity themselves will not cancel since the Caribbean has very few cases. 

[janetz]

I expect Celebrity, Royal, etc to follow Princess and not sail 

Edited March 12, 2020 by janetz

[C-Dragons]

We have a cruise coming up in 30 days, which is paid in full. Apparently, at this time, X intends for our cruise to be a go.

I am sure X is monitoring the current pandemic situation and making adjustments daily. For those of you who have cruises several months out at least you have a little bit of time to decide your course of action. We're not as fortunate.The whole situation is really depressing. We really want to take this cruise but have to weigh the underlying risks.

If X were to cancel, I would hope they would give us at least 3 days notice. It is obvious they are overwhelmed by the enormous response of those canceling. At the same time they have to juggle itineraries and port changes for multiple ships as more and more countries are denying entry. They are probably working on cruises in order of departure, with those that are immediate ranked higher in importance. These are pretty tough challenges. I understand that uncertainty is nerve racking and everyone wants answers yesterday. But I am trying to remain calm.

[nikel]

Viking has just sent out a letter to all that they are suspending cruises till April 30 for now and REFUNDING money paid or  FCC at 125% with 24 months to use. 

Now Princess has suspended sailings too.

Celebrity are you reading this !!!

[cruisingnewtoit]

26 minutes ago, nikel said:

Viking has just sent out a letter to all that they are suspending cruises till April 30 for now and REFUNDING money paid or  FCC at 125% with 24 months to use. 

Now Princess has suspended sailings too.

Celebrity are you reading this !!!

and I heard if they don't use that FCC by the end of the 24 months you get a refund. That is a wonderful incentive to rebook the cruise.

[pauly]

We are leaving Sunday for 7 days Western Caribbean on the EDGE. We have until midnight tonight for the Cruise with Confidence FCC. I keep packing yet I am still "on-the-fence" UGH! I want to go, and I am not so much afraid of catching the virus as I am Trump and/or his administration getting more unhinged and not allowing back into the country. Well I have 12 hours, unless RCI/Celebrity decides for me.

 

Paul

[Harrylinden]

If Celebrity does suspend all cruise's till May.I hope they are as generous as Princess is being to their cruiser's who had cruises planned for this spring! My son and daughter inlaw who were suppose to cruise on Princess on Monday were offered 2 options, One was a 225% refund on the price they paid in a FCC plus another FCC for a future cruise,OR 100% money back ,plus a FCC!  They are choosing option 2!

[nikel]

7 minutes ago, Harrylinden said:

If Celebrity does suspend all cruise's till May.I hope they are as generous as Princess is being to their cruiser's who had cruises planned for this spring! My son and daughter inlaw who were suppose to cruise on Princess on Monday were offered 2 options, One was a 225% refund on the price they paid in a FCC plus another FCC for a future cruise,OR 100% money back ,plus a FCC!  They are choosing option 2!

 

If Celebrity does not follow suit, it would be a stupid move on their part.  They would land up losing a lot of loyal clients !

[Hawkstar33]

27 minutes ago, pauly said:

We are leaving Sunday for 7 days Western Caribbean on the EDGE. We have until midnight tonight for the Cruise with Confidence FCC. I keep packing yet I am still "on-the-fence" UGH! I want to go, and I am not so much afraid of catching the virus as I am Trump and/or his administration getting more unhinged and not allowing back into the country. Well I have 12 hours, unless RCI/Celebrity decides for me.

 

Paul

My same fear.   I have till 11 tomorrow to decide

[sam49]

39 minutes ago, pauly said:

We are leaving Sunday for 7 days Western Caribbean on the EDGE. We have until midnight tonight for the Cruise with Confidence FCC. I keep packing yet I am still "on-the-fence" UGH! I want to go, and I am not so much afraid of catching the virus as I am Trump and/or his administration getting more unhinged and not allowing back into the country. Well I have 12 hours, unless RCI/Celebrity decides for me.

 

Paul

 

Go for it!  You only live once and there are worse places to be stuck than the western caribbean

[mic123]

2 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We have a cruise coming up in 30 days, which is paid in full. Apparently, at this time, X intends for our cruise to be a go.

I am sure X is monitoring the current pandemic situation and making adjustments daily. For those of you who have cruises several months out at least you have a little bit of time to decide your course of action. We're not as fortunate.The whole situation is really depressing. We really want to take this cruise but have to weigh the underlying risks.

If X were to cancel, I would hope they would give us at least 3 days notice. It is obvious they are overwhelmed by the enormous response of those canceling. At the same time they have to juggle itineraries and port changes for multiple ships as more and more countries are denying entry. They are probably working on cruises in order of departure, with those that are immediate ranked higher in importance. These are pretty tough challenges. I understand that uncertainty is nerve racking and everyone wants answers yesterday. But I am trying to remain calm.

Well, my mom was supposed to go on an Antarctic expedition on Saturday and was due to fly to Argentina tomorrow.  She was just notified by the TA today that the cruise line said not to come.  Those who are already in Argentina will still be going on the cruise. 

This was due to the new restrictions Argentina placed yesterday requiring automatic 14 day quarantine if coming in from selected countries of which US is one. 

So, I suppose you will be given as much notice as they get which may not be three days.

 

[maitaidreaming]

On 3/3/2020 at 3:51 PM, minikiss said:

I am the cruise right before yours, June 28-July 5, Venice to Rome. Also, in limbo and watching the situation carefully.

 

 

18 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Okay...there is a lot of talk about Celebrity's policy if YOU cancel your cruise...up to 48 hours prior, etc.

 

BUT, what if Celebrity is the one to cancel the cruise?  What happens then...what will they do for you?

 

Okay...As of RIGHT NOW, I have back to back bookings on Infinity--July 5 and July 12--Rome to Venice, Venice to Rome...We've had the things booked for about a year...We put down deposits on these cruises and Celebrity has had that money for a long time.  We've also purchased a little over $100 in shore excursions and specialty restaurants above and beyond our OBC.

 

As of right now, Celebrity has told us nothing.  They haven't canceled either cruise...or changed either itinerary...but as this whole crisis moves along, it seems less and less likely that these cruises will actually take place.  Up until the past few days, I've assumed they'd move the ship and revamp the itinerary...So, instead of what we were supposed to do, we'd end up cruising out of Barcelona or Istanbul or Athens or Southampton...and we'd go to different ports...Of course, that cruise would bear little resemblance to what we signed up for, but we'd clearly consider it--because we really need a vacation...

 

And I could understand why Celebrity wasn't in a hurry to announce anything...they are undoubtedly clueless about the state of things four months from now...

 

But, right now, there is all of this talk of various ports and countries completely shutting down--not allowing cruise ships to dock at all.  If things continue in this direction, it's entirely possible they won't be able to offer ANY cruises by July.  HOWEVER, our final payment due dates are approaching rapidly...and they still expect us to fork over several thousand dollars?

 

Now we've seen the moving target policy on US canceling:  Maybe partial refund, maybe future cruise credit.  But, if THEY cancel the cruise, then it is not us canceling, not us defaulting on the contract.  It would be either THEM in default, or, at best, impossibility of performance.  Theoretically, they would have to provide an immediate full refund...

 

BUT, what ARE they doing?  Have they canceled any full cruises yet?  If so, what have they offered the customers?  And, for anyone whose final payment has come due recently, has there been any concession there?  It is sort of hard to imagine paying out major money to cover a cruise that the cruise line may have no present intention to provide.  OR, do the cruise lines expect the pandemic to be suddenly over or the ports involved (like, in my case, the entire country of Italy) to change direction and look to welcome the ships and tourists within the next four months?

 

Heck, I still have my air reservations (via Celebrity Air, so also subject to payment within the next month) to fly into MILAN on June 25 and out of Rome after the second leg...

 

And, when I get some idea of what is happening, I'll have the additional task of undoing six pre- and post-cruise hotel reservations (one is unfortunately pre-paid--but in Northern Italy), a pre-paid car rental deal out of Milan to be returned in Civitavecchia, a private tour in one of the ports and private transfers Civitavecchia to Rome and Rome to FCO post cruise...It's going to be a lot of work to undo everything...and I am dreading fighting with people to recover those pre-paid sums (which I haven't done yet because my arguments change based on the actual reasons for cancellation).

 

It sure would be nice if Celebrity would clue us in on what they plan on doing...and do it soon--BEFORE they come looking for that final payment...

 

[C-Dragons]

3 minutes ago, mic123 said:

Well, my mom was supposed to go on an Antarctic expedition on Saturday and was due to fly to Argentina tomorrow.  She was just notified by the TA today that the cruise line said not to come.  Those who are already in Argentina will still be going on the cruise. 

This was due to the new restrictions Argentina placed yesterday requiring automatic 14 day quarantine if coming in from selected countries of which US is one. 

So, I suppose you will be given as much notice as they get which may not be three days.

 

  Considering that things are constantly changing, I fully understand that what I may hope for might not be possible.

[Ken the cruiser]

Something seems to be going on. We are booked on a 25 day b2b on the Infinity from Ft Lauderdale to the western Med starting Apr 25 and when we tried to check in today (44 days out), we weren’t allowed to on either leg.

[Fly and Sail]

What about cruises booked through MGM / Fortunes Club that are fully comped? $0 + 25% FCC = $0.

[patty1955]

36 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Something seems to be going on. We are booked on a 25 day b2b on the Infinity from Ft Lauderdale to the western Med starting Apr 25 and when we tried to check in today (44 days out), we weren’t allowed to on either leg.

We on the Apr 25 TA and I was able to check in just now. There was a new question "

• Will you or anyone you’ve been in contact with have traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and/or Italy within 15 days of your cruise’s sail date?
• Yes
• No"

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

We on the Apr 25 TA and I was able to check in just now. There was a new question "

• Will you or anyone you’ve been in contact with have traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and/or Italy within 15 days of your cruise’s sail date?
• Yes
• No"

Nope, not for us yet, but glad to see you were able to check in to the Infinity TA cruise. 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[DrKoob]

6 hours ago, lamb616 said:

 

I am certain you wouldn't even be able to get an answer out of them for May-June sailings at this point, much less August.  

They (probably) just really don't know what they're going to do

 

This is EXACTLY correct. As a travel professional (TA) I can tell you that we have been asked by cruise lines, airlines and other travel providers not to call until two weeks before a cruise. They are just swamped. Some hold times exceed 2 hours and others just hang up on TAs. It is frustrating for us but think of them. Viking has done the best so far but that has everything to do with them being family owned and not having a board or stockholders to answer to. 

 

Jim

[hvbaskey]

7 hours ago, aleboeuf said:

I am sailing out this Saturday out of San Juan. My wife and I still plan on going. Today marks the last day people can cancel and get the refund Celebrity offers. I am hoping that Celebrity themselves will not cancel since the Caribbean has very few cases. 

 

Celebrity Summit - March 01, 2020
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/two-more-cases-of-covid-19-confirmed-in-waterloo-region-1.4849266?fbclid=IwAR0Uo1ORNkBZ8kODy1Cb7MqOKPlkIFRooCx2i2Mxg_d9qlKrbahWqa6ne_U

[aleboeuf]

7 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Celebrity Summit - March 01, 2020
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/two-more-cases-of-covid-19-confirmed-in-waterloo-region-1.4849266?fbclid=IwAR0Uo1ORNkBZ8kODy1Cb7MqOKPlkIFRooCx2i2Mxg_d9qlKrbahWqa6ne_U

I am not saying there is no risk, but I don’t feel there is any more risk than me being around hundreds of students and staff every day. 

[Bruin Steve]

4 minutes ago, aleboeuf said:

I am not saying there is no risk, but I don’t feel there is any more risk than me being around hundreds of students and staff every day. 

 

There are two alternate sets of risk:

1)  The obvious medical risk--the risk of contracting the virus and either dying or just getting fairly ill and suffering a bit, followed, perhaps, by having to be quarantined, etc...and...

2)  The risk of having ports cancelled because the folks at any particular port are not willing to allow cruise ships, whether their fear is real or perceived and the risk of being quarantined, perhaps if someone on your ship is diagnosed with it...or maybe if just the general perception is that, since no one knows, why take chances...and the risk that even your home country doesn't let you back in...as everyone's policies keep changing almost daily.

 

Due to that second set of risks, you could remain relatively healthy and still have it turn out to be the cruise from hell.  The closer we get to our final payment date, the more I am being convinced we ought to just cancel and wait...