Need Advice

[travelinmoma]

I'm just hoping to get some advice from those of you who have more experience cruising than we do.  First I'll lay out the background info.  Back in December I booked a trip for our family of 3 on Empress for a NE/Canada cruise in late July/early Aug.  I originally bought a flight on SW into NY, but after checking this board, it sounded like it was going to be a huge hassle.  So, I didn't cancel the SW flight, but I booked another flight on American into Newark.  At the time, we had enough money I wasn't too worried about it, and thought we could use the SW vouchers for a family wedding in September. So as of now, I have two flights to the NY/NJ area.  Fast forward to today.  We are approaching final payment date (late April).  I booked with a non refundable deposit, but I did buy Royal Caribbean's insurance.  The current price is still more expensive than what we paid.  We got a good deal.  If I cancel the cruise, it would cost me more money to stay in NY for a week (plus I don't even want to do that).  I don't think I can get anything back for my flight to NJ on American.  Even if I was able to get a voucher, that would give me three vouchers each -9 total ( because I also had a Vegas trip this month that we canceled) that I have to use by December 2020.  I'm a teacher, so I can only travel at limited times AND we are hosting a foreign exchange student next school year, so if we used the vouchers, we would have to add in the cost of buying tickets for him.  Then to top it all off, my husband has been furloughed from his job.  So, would you pay the final payment and wait to see if Royal cancels and maybe the airline would work with me or better yet, we actually get to go on the cruise? Or would you pay final payment, hope for the best and just lose the money for the flight (possibly donate it?) if they cancel the cruise?   Or would you cancel the cruise and eat all the costs that have been paid so far (air tickets and deposit), but save the money that would have been spent on final payment?  Thank you for taking the time to respond.  I want to make an informed decision.  

[Ourusualbeach]

If you cancel before final payment the non refundable deposit would be returned to you in a FCC for the full amount and would be valid for a sailing departing prior to Dec. 31 2021.

 

Airlines have not cancelled that far out yet.  There is a good chance they will or your flight will be changed by more than 2 hours in which in either case they must offer you a refund and not a travel certificate 

[Ned11]

If you pay the full balance and then you decide to cancel, you do have up to 48 hours before the departure date, then you will get 100% FCC. If they cancel, you get 125% FFC or a full cash refund where you won't lose the deposit. 

No one is going to be able to tell you whether the cruise is going to go or not, this is going to have to be your decision, though I know it's a hard one.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Ned11

[denamo]

29 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you cancel before final payment the non refundable deposit would be returned to you in a FCC for the full amount and would be valid for a sailing departing prior to Dec. 31 2021.

 

Airlines have not cancelled that far out yet.  There is a good chance they will or your flight will be changed by more than 2 hours in which in either case they must offer you a refund and not a travel certificate 

This is good information about the non refundable deposit being converted to a FCC.  I am awaiting a call from our TA, and this is my exact question.  I am keeping my fingers crossed on cruises being cancelled through May. We'll take our May one in a refund.

 

We have a cruise to Alaska scheduled the last of August. I am considering cancelling. Until the cruise lines can get the 70+  Covid-19 specific, doctor's permission removed, my husband can go no where. And I really wouldn't put him in harm's way.  We've been following the stay in place order for three weeks now. Haven't even been to the grocery store. Had all of our groceries delivered. We're very good rule followers. 🙂

[ARandomTraveler]

Cut your losses, cancel now! That’s my advice and here’s why. From reading your post, it sounds like you have some concerns about the potential cost of all this (you mentioned your husband has been furloughed, and it sounds like adding the cost of an additional person next summer might put a strain on you financially that you don’t want).
 

You’ve already spent the money on the flights, it’s a sunk cost, the money is gone whether you go on the cruise or not, unless the airline cancels. They aren’t going to work with you in the event the cruise gets cancelled, they don’t do that, so don’t expect it. They are currently offering a future travel voucher for flights that leave before September 1st, which is generous considering under normal circumstances you’d just lose the money entirely. 
 

Psychologically, you may feel better taking the flight if you at least got the cruise out of the deal, but it sounds like you’d be pretty upset if your gamble didn’t pay off, and you paid more money into this vacation, and ended up not being able to go. If the cruiseline cancels, you’d get cash back, but if you get to a point where you don’t feel comfortable going on the cruise, or your family income becomes more strained, and want to cancel yourself, you’re stuck with another credit you don’t really want, and probably won’t use, which equals more money down the drain. 
 

Sounds to me like parting with the cash for final payment is a gamble for you, and that is never a good idea in my book. Cut your losses, cancel the cruise, get your FCC for the deposit (knowing your may never use it and it’s lost money), and hold out on your airfare in hopes the airline cancels or makes a significant time change that would allow you to get the money back.

 

Dont take the risk unless you’re willing and able to lose more money. 

Edited April 10, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[ARandomTraveler]

Here’s another way to think about it - let’s say you went to the casino, sat down at the blackjack table, and had to decide if you wanted to place a $2500 bet, knowing that if you won, you’d be ecstatic and feel like you just got a free vacation. How would you feel if you lost? Would you be bummed out, but otherwise walk away unscathed? Or would it ruin your day? 
 

That’s basically what you’re doing right now. It’s easy to think about how you’d feel under a “best case scenario,” but how will you feel if it ends up being a worse case scenario and you lose all your money to a bunch of future cruise credits you can’t or won’t use? How will you feel if you spend the money but your husband doesn’t get his job back anytime soon? Will you still want to take that trip? Will it put you under financial strain?
 

I may be a bit of a pessimist, but if you make decisions with the worst case scenario in mind, you’ll be a lot more prepared in the event that things don’t go the way you hope. 
 

Cancel. 

[Coralc]

I wouldn't give them any more money. You are in awkward situation where you might have to take the $200 loss and the FCC for the remainder. But I wouldn't give them any more money. You will have a credit with southwest.

 

You might be able to get a voucher with AA or a refund if the change or cancel the flight. This is a weird time, but if it was me, and I didn't want to use the flights or cruise. I would just try to cut my losses.

 

And we have insurance, but unless I come down with some fatal or debilitating disease between now and the fall @ARandomTraveler The insurance that I purchased in January 2019 is not going to help us. And your continued harping and smugness on Cancel for any Reason insurance helps no one at this point. Pandemic was not even on my list of worries. Car accidents were number one, and they are even less of a concern for now. 

[ARandomTraveler]

21 minutes ago, Coralc said:

I wouldn't give them any more money. You are in awkward situation where you might have to take the $200 loss and the FCC for the remainder. But I wouldn't give them any more money. You will have a credit with southwest.

 

You might be able to get a voucher with AA or a refund if the change or cancel the flight. This is a weird time, but if it was me, and I didn't want to use the flights or cruise. I would just try to cut my losses.

 

And we have insurance, but unless I come down with some fatal or debilitating disease between now and the fall @ARandomTraveler The insurance that I purchased in January 2019 is not going to help us. And your continued harping and smugness on Cancel for any Reason insurance helps no one at this point. Pandemic was not even on my list of worries. Car accidents were number one, and they are even less of a concern for now. 

I said nothing in this thread or in my responses to this poster’s question about insurance.

Edited April 10, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[kccrzr]

17 hours ago, travelinmoma said:

 I originally bought a flight on SW into NY, but after checking this board, it sounded like it was going to be a huge hassle.  So, I didn't cancel the SW flight, but I booked another flight on American into Newark.  At the time, we had enough money I wasn't too worried about it, and thought we could use the SW vouchers for a family wedding in September. 

 

If you haven’t done so recently, you might want to check prices on Southwest now. You might be able to get your new flights as well as have additional credit to use in the future. 

 

Many Southwest route prices have dropped greatly. Yesterday I was able to get a $94 credit on a one-way flight I had previously booked and $96 on another. 

[LeeW]

Not sure about Southwest or American, but United has switched policies on how they handle cancelling and rebooking airfare.  Even flights I have through December are in the new policies.  And in some cases fares have gone way down.  If they are not offering refunds they might still offer partial refunds if you book a cheaper replacement flight.

 

Example:  Had a flight for April 18 that had to cancel/move for around $800.  Moved it to September.  New fare only $400.  Thought I would just get a voucher for future travel for the remaining $400 but it is being refunded to credit card.  I was NOT expecting a refund.

 

Normally Southwest just gives you a future credit if you cancel a flight, but under current conditions you need to check.  This stuff is constantly changing.  

[island lady]

I had June Grandeur NE/Canada cruise booked...waited until cancelled by RCI (actually they totally changed entire itinerary, but gave me same option as being cancelled).   I took the 125% NCC, of which I will put towards one of my cruises next year.

 

I waited to cancel American Airlines flight until they pushed forward their cancellation window, which they did.  Cancelled yesterday, was given future voucher...called back later in the day...booked flight for my January cruise to SJ.   Did not lose a penny.  

Edited April 10, 2020 by island lady

[Cruising Grandma 13]

I received a refund on my Southwest flight for June 21st that was cancelled.  Southwest attempted to put my family

on a flight that went from O'Hare, stopped in Dallas and arrived in Orlando at 3:30.  With the 45 minute drive to Pt. Canaveral I would have been waving good-bye to the ship, that is if the ship was sailing!!!  

[travelinmoma]

Well, we decided to cancel.  I'm still stuck with a lot of flight vouchers, and there's still the possibility that I will lose all my money for the American flight.  However, the good news is I was able to easily rebook the cruise for July 2021, and I got one of the awesome larger ocean view cabins with two windows!

[ARandomTraveler]

1 hour ago, travelinmoma said:

Well, we decided to cancel.  I'm still stuck with a lot of flight vouchers, and there's still the possibility that I will lose all my money for the American flight.  However, the good news is I was able to easily rebook the cruise for July 2021, and I got one of the awesome larger ocean view cabins with two windows!

Good call. Those flight vouchers may end up with extended expirations dates and hopefully the American flight will cancel. Since you have another cruise booked for 2021, you can use the FCC from the deposit on the cruise you just cancelled, so you’ll likely have no loss in the long run. 
 

No matter what happens, at least this way you know the outcome and were in control of it. 

Edited April 14, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[travelinmoma]

On 4/13/2020 at 11:27 PM, ARandomTraveler said:

Good call. Those flight vouchers may end up with extended expirations dates and hopefully the American flight will cancel. Since you have another cruise booked for 2021, you can use the FCC from the deposit on the cruise you just cancelled, so you’ll likely have no loss in the long run. 
 

No matter what happens, at least this way you know the outcome and were in control of it. 

You were right!  I got an email from American today that vouchers will be extended through Dec. 2021, so I can use them for my cruise next July.  I was able to use the FCC for the deposit on the new cruise, so I feel like I've been made whole.  🙂  I did lose the money I had paid for insurance, but I'm ok with that.  I still have to figure out what I want to do with my Southwest vouchers and my other set of American vouchers. 

[ARandomTraveler]

24 minutes ago, travelinmoma said:

You were right!  I got an email from American today that vouchers will be extended through Dec. 2021, so I can use them for my cruise next July.  I was able to use the FCC for the deposit on the new cruise, so I feel like I've been made whole.  🙂  I did lose the money I had paid for insurance, but I'm ok with that.  I still have to figure out what I want to do with my Southwest vouchers and my other set of American vouchers. 

Insurance money is never a loss. You bought peace of mind that you’d be taken care of in an emergency, and had you gone on your vacation and didn’t have to make any claims, you’d be in the same position having paid for insurance you didn’t use. So all is good.

 

I’m glad it worked out for you!