anyone know what happened to ATW20?

[NoWhiners]

I have been checking this board since Insignia left Miami, and I never saw a thread devoted to this cruise. Last month (I think), I checked to see where she was, thinking they might be having issues getting into ports. At that time, she was off the coast of South America.

 

Given all the ports that are closed to cruises now, is Insignia still sailing? Has she made any port stops since the virus caused issues?

 

Just curious what happened. I think if I went on one of these and a pandemic hit and had such a big impact on my cruise, I would be very disappointed and frustrated.

[LHT28]

The RTW cruise ended last week in Rio

 all pax were off loaded  & she is heading north  bound 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:711474/mmsi:538001663/imo:9156462/vessel:INSIGNIA/_:5eef6ba49ab270e29ebb7e5ef90926f6

[NoWhiners]

Do you know if they will be given refunds for half their cruise? What a bummer...

[CintiPam]

The thread begun Tuesday by cbb regarding “credit card shenanigans at rio airport” was started by someone on the 2020 ATW cruise.

[cbb]

We were on ATW20 when the cruise was cancelled in Rio.  It had been a wonderful cruise and we were able to finally see Machu Picchu and Iguazu Falls. Those Overlands were extremely well done; hotels were amazing the tour guides very knowledgeable and well-organized, and ground transportation was efficient.

 

Some weeks before the cancellation on March 13 we had received info from O (at the bottom of the bed!) stating how much $ we would receive if we left the ship in Cape Town and the formula used to arrive at that $ amount.  Using that formula for each cabin level you could ascertain what you should receive.

 

When the cruise was very unexpectedly ended on March 13 and the passengers left the ship on March 15, we were given a full refund for the unused portion of our cruise or 125% FCC.  We have not received that full refund yet.

 

We received $ refund for all shorex paid for but not taken and received on board non-refundable OLife excursions that were not taken.  We donated those OLife funds to the crew fund while still on board. 

 

earlier the Asian ports were cancelled and a new itinerary was published that would have us sail to Australia, NZ, Fr Poly, Hawaii and on to San Fran. 

 

At that point some passengers began to tell others that they were probably going to fly home from Cape Town--especially the Aussies on board who had no desire to cruise around their country.  For that itinerary change we received some FCC as  well. 

 

We were very impressed with how the staff and crew handled the situation; we also have no issues with the $ amounts received from O.  Our hearts go out to the wonderful crew who are still on board and unable to fly home since their home countries are locked. 

[NoWhiners]

3 hours ago, cbb said:

We were on ATW20 when the cruise was cancelled in Rio.  It had been a wonderful cruise and we were able to finally see Machu Picchu and Iguazu Falls. Those Overlands were extremely well done; hotels were amazing the tour guides very knowledgeable and well-organized, and ground transportation was efficient.

 

We were very impressed with how the staff and crew handled the situation; we also have no issues with the $ amounts received from O.  Our hearts go out to the wonderful crew who are still on board and unable to fly home since their home countries are locked. 

 

Thanks for this report. I am so sorry to read this cruise ended this way.

 

Be well.

[Snidjud]

We were on the ATW2020 until it ended in Rio. In addition to the fine report from CBB, I would add that, up to and including Rio, we did not miss a single port because of the coronavirus. (We missed a couple at the beginning and the Falklands because of weather.) Although the news about the virus kept worsening, tours went ahead and we had a wonderful visit to 15 different countries in our 70 days on board. As I look back, I can see how lucky our timing was - two or three days later arriving in Rio may have made getting off and home much more difficult.

[NoWhiners]

Great attitude, but it must be disappointing. I don't know about you, but for us to leave for 6 months would take a lot of preparation.

 

Thanks for your notes.

[Floridiana]

Our expedition ship was docked behind the Insignia. We saw her passengers leave and their luggage taken out, but we didn't know it was the sudden end of a world cruise. Our own cruise also ended in Rio instead of Belem and Iquitos. We were on a b2b to Iquitos.

 

Things were very fluid, on March 13th, Brazilians were out partying in Paraty. On March 14th, Ilhagrande refused to let passengers come ashore. Our captain kept us informed in person in the theater. What looked like the ship could go on to Belem on March 14th, on March 15th,  the company decided to end the cruise in Rio. They booked flights for everyone who had booked with them or wanted them to do it. I think they made the right decision. It would have been much more difficult to disembark 10 days later in Belem. The cruise up the Amazon to Iquitos was impossible by then.

 

Rio was gorgeous on that Sunday, perfect views and everybody crowding the beaches. 

[NoWhiners]

Sounds like you had a bit of an adventure too. Lots seems to have happened in a short time. Sorry you missed the Amazon, that would have been great (we did an Amazon cruise this past November). Definitely agree that getting out of Rio was much easier than Belem.

[ShopperfiendTO]

I know this doesn't really apply to this thread since I think everyone probably had air included, but does anyone know what O would have done if you had arranged your own air for the ATW or segment but ended up debarking in Rio instead of the itinerary's debarkation port?

 

Would O have covered the air from Rio back home or would you still have to make your own way home?

 

Is this a general cruise line practice or is does this vary by line (e.g., HAL vs. O vs. Az)?

Edited April 3, 2020 by ShopperfiendTO

[grmmybtty]

17 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

I know this doesn't really apply to this thread since I think everyone probably had air included, but does anyone know what O would have done if you had arranged your own air for the ATW or segment but ended up debarking in Rio instead of the itinerary's debarkation port?

 

Would O have covered the air from Rio back home or would you still have to make your own way home?

 

Is this a general cruise line practice or is does this vary by line (e.g., HAL vs. O vs. Az)?

We were on the ATW and chose to make our air arrangements ourselves, receiving $1000 air credit. When the cruise abruptly ended in Rio, we made our own arrangements to return home. We did not ask the concierge or the Oceania travel department to assist since we knew that they would be busy making arrangements for the approximately 300 who used their air. We had no expectations that Oceania would cover our flight home.

[cbb]

We too, made our own air arrangements since we only had to fly from San Francisco to Miami at cruise end in July. 

 

We decided to leave the cruise in Rio and purchased tickets March 8 to fly from Rio to Miami on March 15.   We were all informed on March 13 that the cruise was cancelled. 

 

Under the circumstances we did not expect that Oceania would pay for our flight home and were relieved that we didn't have to scramble for reservations as many of our friends (or their TA) did.

 

BTW....I think everybody needs to cut the O office in Miami some slack.  They are all working from home  ....and not everyone is going to be the first ones to get their refunds.  Some of us might not get all our refunds for months.

 

Mr Wonderful is well as is our family...and me too.  I'm grateful.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Thanks for providing the actual experience.  One-way last-minute international fares are generally quite expensive!

Edited April 3, 2020 by ShopperfiendTO

[RJB]

On 4/3/2020 at 2:42 PM, cbb said:

We too, made our own air arrangements since we only had to fly from San Francisco to Miami at cruise end in July. 

 

We decided to leave the cruise in Rio and purchased tickets March 8 to fly from Rio to Miami on March 15.   We were all informed on March 13 that the cruise was cancelled. 

 

Under the circumstances we did not expect that Oceania would pay for our flight home and were relieved that we didn't have to scramble for reservations as many of our friends (or their TA) did.

 

BTW....I think everybody needs to cut the O office in Miami some slack.  They are all working from home  ....and not everyone is going to be the first ones to get their refunds.  Some of us might not get all our refunds for months.

 

Mr Wonderful is well as is our family...and me too.  I'm grateful.

Yes I am sure the office in Miami is over worked and has been for some time.  Can't be easy to do this stuff from home so I agree. Cut them some slack