Confused and need the experts to chime in...

[chloemonkey]

I have now cancelled two cruises.....one was refunded (still trying to figure out if I rec'd all that I had already paid) and one we had to cancel as I am a cancer patient and we decided back in early March that it was not worth the risk.  Good thing as our ship was three days at sea and then had to turn around and head back due to the cruise industry lockdown in March.

All that I have in the works for now is a cruise for February 2021 - which I know is NOT gonna happen.  We have been offered the extended final payment (60 days from sail date if I recall) but also still owe a slight balance as this replacement cruise is a day or two longer than the one that we replaced.  Bottom line is that we have NOT made final payment.

SO....my question to you experts is this - Is it best to wait until Oceania cancels the cruise?  And then use whatever we have paid towards a new booking?  What if I make a NEW booking now?  Would the refund from Oceania be able to be transferred to an existing booking?  Sorry but we are NOT Oceania past passengers.....have only sailed Azamara a few times and NCL NUMEROUS times (still love the Haven!!) and RCCL years back......etc., etc.....

Thanks all for your expert opinions!

[kitty9]

Look at the responses I got from a post I wrote a few days ago.  You and I are in the same boat, so to speak, and the responses I got in my thread will also apply to your situation.  We also had a cruise booked for Feb 2021, and we pretty much know it will be cancelled, so we refuse to give O any more money as far as a final payment is concerned, since O already owes us a FCC for the cruise they cancelled in March. 

Edited November 18, 2020 by kitty9

[LHT28]

If you are going to get cash back  not an FCC  I would cancel  & when things settle down & cruising begins again    you can choose a cruise  then

 

You did not say whether you used an FCC to pay for the Feb cruise  if so I believe it just carries over   but I would confirm that with your TA or Oceania

JMO

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

If you are going to get cash back  not an FCC  I would cancel  & when things settle down & cruising begins again    you can choose a cruise  then

 

You did not say whether you used an FCC to pay for the Feb cruise  if so I believe it just carries over   but I would confirm that with your TA or Oceania

JMO

Right now, FCCs used for a cruise that is then cancelled are being redeposited with a new "book by" date - usually 12/31/21. But, the "cruise by"  date can vary depending on when was the cancelled cruise that generated that FCC. 

I advise that you contact both your TA and O to make sure that their reported deadlines match.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, chloemonkey said:

I have now cancelled two cruises.....one was refunded (still trying to figure out if I rec'd all that I had already paid) and one we had to cancel as I am a cancer patient and we decided back in early March that it was not worth the risk.  Good thing as our ship was three days at sea and then had to turn around and head back due to the cruise industry lockdown in March.

All that I have in the works for now is a cruise for February 2021 - which I know is NOT gonna happen.  We have been offered the extended final payment (60 days from sail date if I recall) but also still owe a slight balance as this replacement cruise is a day or two longer than the one that we replaced.  Bottom line is that we have NOT made final payment.

SO....my question to you experts is this - Is it best to wait until Oceania cancels the cruise?  And then use whatever we have paid towards a new booking?  What if I make a NEW booking now?  Would the refund from Oceania be able to be transferred to an existing booking?  Sorry but we are NOT Oceania past passengers.....have only sailed Azamara a few times and NCL NUMEROUS times (still love the Haven!!) and RCCL years back......etc., etc.....

Thanks all for your expert opinions!

Sorry but I've got to ask: How do you not know how much you've paid?

In any case, some O cash refunds can come in pieces including deposit, taxes/fees, final payment and added purchases (e.g., tours).

BTW: if you take an offered FCC, the part of your fare that is port taxes/fees will be refunded to your CC.

 

FYI: We used FCCs from two cruises earlier this year to mix with cash to pay for a third cruise that O recently cancelled. We got our original FCCs redeposited and a new onevisdued for the paid cash (less taxes which will be returned to our CC).

As I stated in another post, all the FCCs now have "book by" dates a year out but the "cruise by" dates vary per their original issue date (but still be at least a year from the cancellation of the recent cruise that used them.

Sounds a bit complicated but it's not.

 

FWIW: So far, we've waited for O to cancel our cruises (knowing that they would have to) to get the 125% value. And we've already (re)applied them to a late 2022 cruise.

We did transfer an upcoming January 2021 cruise to the same cruise in 2022, which is allowed without penalty as a book onboard perk. We did that when we saw how fast 2021/22 cruises were filling (often by folks needing to meet deadlines for using their FCCs).

There's no best answer to "who should cancel" or FCC vs cash except to say READ THE RULES and DO THE MATH.

 

 

 

 

[msn123]

Let your travel agent work out what will be the best for you.   There is no "one size fits all" here depending on when you would need to book again and when you need to sail by.

[chloemonkey]

Thanks all!  Loads of good information here and I will follow up.....and I truly appreciate all of your input.