Final Payment on Ovation of the Seas due 3 August 2020

[CCC's]

Looking for advice please.....My final payment is due on 3 August 2020 cruising on Ovation of the Seas.   To date I have not  been advised by RC that this cruise, to depart Sydney mid October, 2020 (Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, return to Sydney) will be cancelled.  What would be a reasonable timeline for RC to cancel this cruise?  Also, if I haven't been advised by due date should I go ahead and pay the remaining $3,000+ then possibly fight them for a refund should they cancel after I have fully paid?  Any advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I have a similar dilemma but for a Princess cruise, final payment 21st July for a mid-September cruise. My gut feeling is that if Princess haven't cancelled by then I will probably cancel and if by some miracle the cruise does go ahead I might be able to pick up a last minute cabin. However my biggest concern is that even if the cruise does go ahead it may be with restrictions that are unacceptable to me as they would not make the cruise enjoyable.

[MicCanberra]

17 minutes ago, CCC's said:

Looking for advice please.....My final payment is due on 3 August 2020 cruising on Ovation of the Seas.   To date I have not  been advised by RC that this cruise, to depart Sydney mid October, 2020 (Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, return to Sydney) will be cancelled.  What would be a reasonable timeline for RC to cancel this cruise?  Also, if I haven't been advised by due date should I go ahead and pay the remaining $3,000+ then possibly fight them for a refund should they cancel after I have fully paid?  Any advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

That cruise is unlikely to proceed, what sort of deposit do you have?

Perhaps call them and see if you can change your deposit to another cruise later in 2021 or 2022.

[banzaii]

7 minutes ago, CCC's said:

Looking for advice please.....My final payment is due on 3 August 2020 cruising on Ovation of the Seas.   To date I have not  been advised by RC that this cruise, to depart Sydney mid October, 2020 (Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, return to Sydney) will be cancelled.  What would be a reasonable timeline for RC to cancel this cruise?  Also, if I haven't been advised by due date should I go ahead and pay the remaining $3,000+ then possibly fight them for a refund should they cancel after I have fully paid?  Any advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

Unfortunately I don't think there will be any cruises out of Oz this year.  I am also going through this for Ovation Trans-Pacific in September. 

 

My advice is to leave your decision until 31 July (as this keeps open RCCL cruise with confidence options) and think very carefully about paying any more money on this particular cruise. 

 

Also depending if you booked direct or via a TA, phone the appropriate agent and confirm final payment date and check if there is any chance of an extension on final payment.  While on the phone, discuss options and deadlines for possible lift & shift, penalties re refunds and if you are keen to rebook ,check out similar itineraries in 2021for pricing.

 

My cruise was originally due for final payment 26 June but this was extended to 17 July.  Luckily the 2021 TP were released last Friday - so now weighing up L&S or cancel rebook but still waiting as long as possible to see if RCCL cancel which opens up 125% FCC.

[Snowgums]

Hi

I had a cruise booked for Aug 12 with Carnival and final payment was due May 27th. They notified me about 2 weeks before that date to advise cruise had been cancelled, so hope RCL will do something similar for you. They also gave us a fantastic FCC deal - $900 per cabin onboard credit. We have 2 cabins booked, so we hope we can take up this offer next year some time. This is on us having paid the deposit only. We have until Dec 31st to rebook another cruise up to the end of 2022. Hang in as long as you can, but don't make final payment. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Snowgums

[qbay46]

I had a cruise with Celebrity in Europe book for  September this year and a week out from final payment I rang my TA and asked her to see if I can transfer to a cruise out of Sydney next year. She came back to me and said that I could but they want to increase my deposit from $100 to $800 I told the TA too tell them i am only paying the original deposit  and she got back later and said all transferred and no extra deposit And new sailing keeper all the perks from the first cruise. So I would say ring and either get a later payment date or transfer to another cruise but don’t give them any more money yet.

[Chiliburn]

11 hours ago, CCC's said:

Looking for advice please.....My final payment is due on 3 August 2020 cruising on Ovation of the Seas.   To date I have not  been advised by RC that this cruise, to depart Sydney mid October, 2020 (Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, return to Sydney) will be cancelled.  What would be a reasonable timeline for RC to cancel this cruise?  Also, if I haven't been advised by due date should I go ahead and pay the remaining $3,000+ then possibly fight them for a refund should they cancel after I have fully paid?  Any advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks.

You have 3 options.

1 don’t pay the final payment and loose your deposit.

2 pay the final payment and when RC cancel wait 2 months to get your money back or transfer a credit to another cruise.

3 call your agent and ask about a lift and shift to next year.  It has to be the same itinerary (not the same ship) and within a month each way.

 

For me the lift and shift is the best ,there one on Quantum of the seas 2nd November which I think you should be good for.

[Vader1111]

3 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

You have 3 options.

1 don’t pay the final payment and loose your deposit.

2 pay the final payment and when RC cancel wait 2 months to get your money back or transfer a credit to another cruise.

3 call your agent and ask about a lift and shift to next year.  It has to be the same itinerary (not the same ship) and within a month each way.

 

For me the lift and shift is the best ,there one on Quantum of the seas 2nd November which I think you should be good for.

Wait 2 months?  I'm still waiting for RC to refund my cruise from March!

[Chiliburn]

3 minutes ago, Vader1111 said:

Wait 2 months?  I'm still waiting for RC to refund my cruise from March!

I would like to add ,IF you get it back at all .

Also cancellation fees??

 

Lift and shift should be the best option and final payment date should be August 2021.

[The_Big_M]

19 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

I would like to add ,IF you get it back at all .

Also cancellation fees??

 

Lift and shift should be the best option and final payment date should be August 2021.

 

If you weren't going to get it back, lift and shift also wouldn't work i.e. if they're operating in 2021 then you will have got your money back. So switching to lift and shift isn't a better way of getting a return.

 

Technically the refund is less risky as they may still refund you and then go out of business later.

[Chiliburn]

44 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

If you weren't going to get it back, lift and shift also wouldn't work i.e. if they're operating in 2021 then you will have got your money back. So switching to lift and shift isn't a better way of getting a return.

 

Technically the refund is less risky as they may still refund you and then go out of business later.

Well the way I calculate it .

With the lift and shift you don’t lose your deposit and you still have a booking.But it’s a year later.The op shouldn’t have to pay final payment until August next year.
If they are in business next year is another thing.
some agents are charging a cancellation fee I believe ,even though RC canceled the cruise.

One thing I think we all agree ,is a October cruise isn’t going to happen.so instead of loosing the deposit or being charged cancellation fees and trying to get your money back.Roll it over to next year 

But the opp should talk to who they booked the cruise with and find out the conditions.
Maybe it was booked directly with Royal with no deposit?
Who knows ?

Edited July 7, 2020 by Chiliburn

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Vader1111 said:

Wait 2 months?  I'm still waiting for RC to refund my cruise from March!

It is 2 months from when they (RCI) decide a refund is allowed, not from when they cancelled the cruise.

[MicCanberra]

37 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

If you weren't going to get it back, lift and shift also wouldn't work i.e. if they're operating in 2021 then you will have got your money back. So switching to lift and shift isn't a better way of getting a return.

 

Technically the refund is less risky as they may still refund you and then go out of business later.

Better to lose a refund in 2021 or 2022,  than now though.

[aussielozzie18]

I had the Ovation booked for Tassie Jan 2021.  I had a small non refundable deposit.  Booked direct.  When I called to cancel, they surprisingly offered me to transfer the booking & deposit to a new date.  This was back in Feb just before it all hit the fan. Things might be different now but If you have booked direct, call them and see what they can offer you.

[CCC's]

Thank you all for the many suggestions and excellent advice.   I booked direct with RC with a deposit of $600.  I am very hesitant to pay the full Final amount (could be throwing my money away) by 3 August.   So, I will wait until at least end of July and see if RC cancel the cruise.  If I have not been contacted I will call them direct and try to transfer my deposit to another cruise, probably 2022 (that should be enough time for the dust to settle) and hopefully RC will have excellent processes in place to ensure all passengers are in a safe and healthy environment.

 

However, if they do not come to the party re: transferring to another cruise 2022, and I lose my $600 deposit, I will push them very hard to give me a 100% guarantee (in writing) that my cruise will be sailing mid October "in a safe and healthy environment" BEFORE I give them another cent.  I am positive that by early August they will know whether they will be sailing in Aussie waters or not.  My gut, and most of respondents to my query, believe they will not be sailing our waters until at least 2021

 

Once again, thank you everyone for your invaluable advice.

 

[icat2000]

Not going to happen. Metro Melbourne is locked down for 6 weeks. I cannot see any cruising happening this year.

[Vader1111]

6 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

It is 2 months from when they (RCI) decide a refund is allowed, not from when they cancelled the cruise.

The point is that it's currently taking RCI a lot longer than 2 months to process refunds.  I was supposed to be on the 13th March cruise to NZ, which was cancelled in the middle of the sailaway party.  It's now almost 4 months since that day, and I've yet to receive the refund.

 

2 months might be what they do under normal circumstances.  Right now, anyone who receives a refund in under 4 months has been blessed by a miracle.

[Vader1111]

<deleted>

Was replying to a post which wasn't aimed at me.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Vader1111

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Vader1111 said:

The point is that it's currently taking RCI a lot longer than 2 months to process refunds.  I was supposed to be on the 13th March cruise to NZ, which was cancelled in the middle of the sailaway party.  It's now almost 4 months since that day, and I've yet to receive the refund.

 

2 months might be what they do under normal circumstances.  Right now, anyone who receives a refund in under 4 months has been blessed by a miracle.

I realise that, I was having a dig at the cruise line, as they are holding onto as much money as they can, hence no refunds, just FCCs or lots of waiting.

[Chiliburn]

3 hours ago, CCC's said:

Thank you all for the many suggestions and excellent advice.   I booked direct with RC with a deposit of $600.  I am very hesitant to pay the full Final amount (could be throwing my money away) by 3 August.   So, I will wait until at least end of July and see if RC cancel the cruise.  If I have not been contacted I will call them direct and try to transfer my deposit to another cruise, probably 2022 (that should be enough time for the dust to settle) and hopefully RC will have excellent processes in place to ensure all passengers are in a safe and healthy environment.

 

However, if they do not come to the party re: transferring to another cruise 2022, and I lose my $600 deposit, I will push them very hard to give me a 100% guarantee (in writing) that my cruise will be sailing mid October "in a safe and healthy environment" BEFORE I give them another cent.  I am positive that by early August they will know whether they will be sailing in Aussie waters or not.  My gut, and most of respondents to my query, believe they will not be sailing our waters until at least 2021

 

Once again, thank you everyone for your invaluable advice.

 

You are fortunate you’re dealing directly with RC.Call them if you can and talk to them.

To get your deposit back you would have to pay in full and sometime in 90 days  they would cancel and then process your full refund.But when you got it back is another story.

 

OR There is a cruise on the 2nd of November 2021 that you would allowed to lift and shift to.

Quantum of the seas is identical to Ovation.
 

[banzaii]

4 hours ago, CCC's said:

Thank you all for the many suggestions and excellent advice.   I booked direct with RC with a deposit of $600.  I am very hesitant to pay the full Final amount (could be throwing my money away) by 3 August.   So, I will wait until at least end of July and see if RC cancel the cruise.  If I have not been contacted I will call them direct and try to transfer my deposit to another cruise, probably 2022 (that should be enough time for the dust to settle) and hopefully RC will have excellent processes in place to ensure all passengers are in a safe and healthy environment.

 

However, if they do not come to the party re: transferring to another cruise 2022, and I lose my $600 deposit, I will push them very hard to give me a 100% guarantee (in writing) that my cruise will be sailing mid October "in a safe and healthy environment" BEFORE I give them another cent.  I am positive that by early August they will know whether they will be sailing in Aussie waters or not.  My gut, and most of respondents to my query, believe they will not be sailing our waters until at least 2021

 

Once again, thank you everyone for your invaluable advice.

 

I reiterate my earlier advice.  Call them now and have them go through your options and deadlines.  This will provide the best opportunity to make the best decision for you! 

 

Better yet, with the info from your first call at hand, call twice asking exactly the same questions and compare the information.  If you get a good answer, be prepared to take advantage as you may not get that same solution again.  If you get ambiguous or conflicting advice, call again.

[christodan]

6 minutes ago, banzaii said:

Better yet, with the info from your first call at hand, call twice asking exactly the same questions and compare the information.  If you get a good answer, be prepared to take advantage as you may not get that same solution again.  If you get ambiguous or conflicting advice, call again.

 

I also found that when I had  some (unrelated to Covid) but unusual circumstances I had to sort out with Princess, that I would get different answers depending on whether the call centre was in the U.S. or here. So also try calling different times of the day to get different countries.

[The_Big_M]

12 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Better to lose a refund in 2021 or 2022,  than now though.

 

Confused?

 

If you're going to lose a refund, it's more likely in 2021 or 2022 than now though.

[MicCanberra]

My point was that it is better to put/move the deposit onto a future cruise in 2021 or 2020 than to lose it now due to no refunds. If those cruises do not go ahead in the future, then it may well be lost to them then. 

[The_Big_M]

But it isn't. You're less likely to lose it now due to no refunds - and if you lost it now the cruise line wouldn't be operating so the cruise next year that you transferred to also wouldn't be operating, so funds lost anyway.