ALASKA ?????-Why are we NOT hearing from Princess!

[Roberto256]

52 minutes ago, Moonstruck1115 said:

cherylandtk and Roberto256  that's what I was thinking too, but everyone keeps telling me otherwise INCLUDING my TA!!!  That's why I'm so confused.  Of course, you call Princess and they don't want to hear from you if you're cruise leaves outside of the 60 day cancellation they just announced.  So frustrating!

People here are excited about getting extra FCC ... 150% of cost, or whatever.

 

A credit is never as good as cash.

 

When cruising resume, who knows if there is a cruise that one wishes to take as a replacement?

 

While it might be easy to dream of a replacement cruise, who knows what cruises will be offered

before the FCC expires.

 

Additionally, if the desired replacement cruise happens to be on (gasp) a different cruise line,

a princess FCC isn't going to be much good.

 

But, since Nevada has shutdown gaming, this is what is left for us!  🙂

 

[pseudoswede]

If a cruise line files for Chapter 11, do FCC remain on the books? And if you accepted FCC in lieu of a refund, are you still allowed to file a chargeback with your credit card company?

[lderochi]

Don’t know about the credit card but in a bankruptcy you would probably be an unsecured creditor, which is definitely not what you want to be. Low man on the totem pole. 

[cherylandtk]

3 hours ago, Moonstruck1115 said:

cherylandtk and Roberto256  that's what I was thinking too, but everyone keeps telling me otherwise INCLUDING my TA!!!  That's why I'm so confused.  Of course, you call Princess and they don't want to hear from you if you're cruise leaves outside of the 60 day cancellation they just announced.  So frustrating!

You will need to go through your TA to cancel. Who either does not know the newest (March17) cancellation policy or is misleading you.  Either way, your TA is not being completely forthright with you about what percentage is cancelation penalty->FCC and what percentage is refund.  Reason enough to call them on it or seek a new TA.  
 

Since you know you will cancel, do you wish to parlay your cruise cost into a higher value in FCC or do you prefer 90% cash with 10% in FCC?
 

If the latter, you are on Day 62 today, (19th).  You have through day 58 (Mon) to cancel at above rates.  On day 57 it becomes 50%50%.  

[StuartP]

We're booked on the Coral Princess cruise tour departing Vancouver on 1 July - even though that's technically the date Canada's cruise ship ban ends, can't see them starting again right on 1 July.

 

Got an email from Princess today and I thought it would be some news about the Alaskan cruise season, but instead it was a final payment notice due mid April - with notification of a 25% cancellation fee up until that date, going up to 50% after that.

 

There's no way we can (or even want to) go on this trip anymore, so really just waiting for Princess to sort itself out so we can get our deposit back. Certainly don't want to pay the balance for the cruise in such uncertain circumstances - but it almost seems like that's what Princess are expecting us to do.

[13cheermom]

delete

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by 13cheermom
delete

[letbob]

54 minutes ago, StuartP said:

We're booked on the Coral Princess cruise tour departing Vancouver on 1 July - even though that's technically the date Canada's cruise ship ban ends, can't see them starting again right on 1 July.

 

Got an email from Princess today and I thought it would be some news about the Alaskan cruise season, but instead it was a final payment notice due mid April - with notification of a 25% cancellation fee up until that date, going up to 50% after that.

 

There's no way we can (or even want to) go on this trip anymore, so really just waiting for Princess to sort itself out so we can get our deposit back. Certainly don't want to pay the balance for the cruise in such uncertain circumstances - but it almost seems like that's what Princess are expecting us to do.

I am on the same cruise July 1.  My understanding is final payment due April 1 and still get full refund back if you cancel by May1.

[puppymama1]

4 hours ago, cherylandtk said:

You will need to go through your TA to cancel. Who either does not know the newest (March17) cancellation policy or is misleading you.  Either way, your TA is not being completely forthright with you about what percentage is cancelation penalty->FCC and what percentage is refund.  Reason enough to call them on it or seek a new TA.  
 

Since you know you will cancel, do you wish to parlay your cruise cost into a higher value in FCC or do you prefer 90% cash with 10% in FCC?
 

If the latter, you are on Day 62 today, (19th).  You have through day 58 (Mon) to cancel at above rates.  On day 57 it becomes 50%50%.  

What is the March 17 cancellation policy?  The most recent one I saw was last weekend... We are booked on the June 10 Whittier to Vancouver cruise, which we assume will be canceled but we are holding out hope it will somehow still sail... But if things don’t change or improve by our final payment date of April 10, we will have to cancel..😕

[cherylandtk]

36 minutes ago, puppymama1 said:

What is the March 17 cancellation policy?  The most recent one I saw was last weekend... We are booked on the June 10 Whittier to Vancouver cruise, which we assume will be canceled but we are holding out hope it will somehow still sail... But if things don’t change or improve by our final payment date of April 10, we will have to cancel..😕

March 17 WAS the policy when I wrote that response.  Two hours ago Princess expanded it yet again and dated it today:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

[cheeseclan]

My TA said there was a webinar today with VP sales.  VP said Princess is working on the Alaska sailings and will let everyone know once they get it all worked out.

Right now they are dealing with the current cancellations.

 

They and all other cruise lines have a lot going on right now.  I am giving them some slack right now..  

[caribill]

8 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

If a cruise line files for Chapter 11, do FCC remain on the books? And if you accepted FCC in lieu of a refund, are you still allowed to file a chargeback with your credit card company?

 

Technically it would be a debt that does not need to be paid.

 

But companies that are in Chapter 11, which is a bankruptcy that is used when the company wants to continue in business, will preserve the value of items such as FCCs if they expect past customers to ever be with them again in the future.

[npcl]

I would think that the cruise lines realize that they cannot afford to start back too early and have things go wrong on one or more of those first cruises.

[Roberto256]

4 hours ago, cherylandtk said:

March 17 WAS the policy when I wrote that response.  Two hours ago Princess expanded it yet again and dated it today:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

 

Thank you for being so up-to-date on this.

The policy being a moving target makes this especially hard for people to decide.

 

Not to be insensitive to anyone's personal situation -- but who know what will happen in one's town...

Will 'you' still have a job?   What will your finances be?  Will 'you' be interested in a vacation, or will you

wish you had cash?

 

I would take the cash.  You can't eat a cruise credit.

 

And, if nothing bad does happens, 'you' can simply spend the cash and purchase a replacement cruise.

I would expect cruise prices to be very low once ships begin sailing.

 

It will take a while for demand to increase enough to drive prices.

 

 

[13cheermom]

6 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

I would take the cash.  You can't eat a cruise credit.

 

And, if nothing bad does happens, 'you' can simply spend the cash and purchase a replacement cruise.

 

You are correct, and while I realize everyone's situation is different, we had almost 10K in our Alaskan cruise (2 cabins) tied up.  Even though they asked for cruises after 5/11/20 to wait for refund process, today is our last day to receive full amount minus $100/pp cancellation.  So I went ahead and cancelled yesterday because I agree I don't want that much money tied up in FCC with expiration dates.  Actually they were very nice and took care of it very quickly.  You have to make the best decision for yourself.  In our case we aren't interested in extra FCC, and are fine with just receiving the $200 (cancel fee) in FCC rather than the entire cruise fare.

[rocklinmom]

13 hours ago, StuartP said:

We're booked on the Coral Princess cruise tour departing Vancouver on 1 July - even though that's technically the date Canada's cruise ship ban ends, can't see them starting again right on 1 July.

 

Got an email from Princess today and I thought it would be some news about the Alaskan cruise season, but instead it was a final payment notice due mid April - with notification of a 25% cancellation fee up until that date, going up to 50% after that.

 

There's no way we can (or even want to) go on this trip anymore, so really just waiting for Princess to sort itself out so we can get our deposit back. Certainly don't want to pay the balance for the cruise in such uncertain circumstances - but it almost seems like that's what Princess are expecting us to do.

If you aren't planning (or even wanting) to go on the cruise, why haven't you cancelled it yet? I wouldn't wait. Cash is better than a credit that might not end up being usable. 

[13cheermom]

13 hours ago, StuartP said:

We're booked on the Coral Princess cruise tour departing Vancouver on 1 July - even though that's technically the date Canada's cruise ship ban ends, can't see them starting again right on 1 July.

 

Got an email from Princess today and I thought it would be some news about the Alaskan cruise season, but instead it was a final payment notice due mid April - with notification of a 25% cancellation fee up until that date, going up to 50% after that.

 

There's no way we can (or even want to) go on this trip anymore, so really just waiting for Princess to sort itself out so we can get our deposit back. Certainly don't want to pay the balance for the cruise in such uncertain circumstances - but it almost seems like that's what Princess are expecting us to do.

I would definitely cancel  at this point, to recover deposit in full.  I wish we had been in this scenario and not made final payment yet, it would've made our decision so much easier, 😂

[rocklinmom]

12 hours ago, letbob said:

I am on the same cruise July 1.  My understanding is final payment due April 1 and still get full refund back if you cancel by May1.

You might want to double check your booking for the final payment date. The updated Princess cancellation/refund policy says that "beginning with July sailings the final payment date returns to our published policy" which would mean sooner than the 60 days before sailing date (which only pertains to cruises in June). Your final payment date is most likely still April 1st. You would need to cancel by then to get your money back. And as I mentioned above, cash is better than a credit you might not be able to use. 

[Jetstreamer]

25 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

You might want to double check your booking for the final payment date. The updated Princess cancellation/refund policy says that "beginning with July sailings the final payment date returns to our published policy" which would mean sooner than the 60 days before sailing date (which only pertains to cruises in June). Your final payment date is most likely still April 1st. You would need to cancel by then to get your money back. And as I mentioned above, cash is better than a credit you might not be able to use. 

 

Depends where the OP is from. Different countries have different payment dates.  The standard payment date in Germany for example is (from memory) around 45 days before departure.

[rocklinmom]

The person I answered ("letbob") is from Arizona so it does apply. True that it can vary in different countries. 

[Roberto256]

4 hours ago, 13cheermom said:

You are correct, and while I realize everyone's situation is different, we had almost 10K in our Alaskan cruise (2 cabins) tied up.  Even though they asked for cruises after 5/11/20 to wait for refund process, today is our last day to receive full amount minus $100/pp cancellation.  So I went ahead and cancelled yesterday because I agree I don't want that much money tied up in FCC with expiration dates.  Actually they were very nice and took care of it very quickly.  You have to make the best decision for yourself.  In our case we aren't interested in extra FCC, and are fine with just receiving the $200 (cancel fee) in FCC rather than the entire cruise fare.

 

I think 10K in cash and $200 in FCC is a good choice.

 

Cash doesn't expire.

 

In another thread, there were folks lamenting thousands of dollars worth

of gift cards they had bought ... and are now being squeezed.

 

And, this is a post from someone who has way more knowledge about princess than I do,

concerned with FCCs:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2741635-are-our-cruising-days-over-merged-topics-re-health-and-age-restrictions/?do=findComment&comment=59666519

 

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Roberto256

[MISTER 67]

On 3/17/2020 at 5:24 PM, Mom_of_Al said:

We're scheduled for a June Alaska cruise. I just got an email from Princess expecting it to be notification of cruise cancellation, only to find they had upgraded us to a balcony!

They did that to us for our 3/29 cruise on the Regal, the next day the cruise was cancelled when Princess ceased all operations. 

[Roberto256]

On 3/17/2020 at 12:23 PM, julia said:

Celebrity is also crickets on their Alaskan cruises (I'm booked), which leads to the references of waiving the PVSA.  Absolutely 100% NOT going to happen.  The PVSA is controlled by the Dept of Homeland Security, and can only be waived in matters of defense. 

 

The reality is clear.  There will be NO Alaskan cruises prior to July 1st, unless the Canadian Gov't amends their date.

 

25 minutes ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

I'm glad that you are so confident in your belief that a PVSA waiver is not going to happen.  I don't suppose that you can provide any source for such a strong belief can you? 

 

Here is an example of a 'service call' meeting the PVSA:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2741543-canada-ban-on-cruise-ships-until-july-1st/?do=findComment&comment=59648082

 

Ships do this in ensenada all the time.

 

Additionally, the PVSA has been waived in other than matters of defense in the past.

 

Violent weather, mechanical failure, etc.

 

I don't remember 100%, but I think the PVSA was waived so that carnival could drag the triumph back to port.

 

[nooptere]

31 minutes ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

I'm glad that you are so confident in your belief that a PVSA waiver is not going to happen.  I don't suppose that you can provide any source for such a strong belief can you?  Certainly, you might be correct but with things the way they are now I don't see how anybody can be "Absolutely 100% sure anything is NOT going to happen" concerning the coronavirus.  Must be nice to have such deep personal knowledge or well placed friends.

 

Tom

A PVSA waiver, combined with Seattle and Alaska allowing ports, is utter nonsense until the "all clear" for infection free communities and ships, which is going to be many months away with some optimism. Time to get real. 

[RD64]

Alaska is not happening until July 1st - if at all - put on your big boy/girl underwear and make an adult decision for yourselves.

[caribill]

Has anyone looked at posts on the other cruise lines' forums to see if they have any more info about Alaska than we have with Princess?