FINAL PAYMENT FOR 3-1-21 ESCAPE 5 DAY CRUISE DUE THIS WEEK - WHAT TO DO

[tmoe]

We are booked through CAS for the 5 day cruise on 3-1-21 on the Escape sailing out of Port Canaveral.  Our final payment is due to week and we have no idea what to do.  As far as I can tell, no final decisions have been made on Covid-19 requirements for sailing.  We had Covid-19 back in October and have the antibodies but I'm not sure if that matters.  I don't want to pay off the cruise and then have a future cruise credit as are only refund option.  I called CAS a few weeks ago and they were pretty clueless about everything.

 

Does anyone have any insight or information to help with our decision.  

 

Thanks everyone!

Randy & Theresa from Michigan

[oteixeira]

I just had my January cancelled.  I was refunded all my money in under 2 weeks (they say it can take up to a month).  I don't see them changing that at this time.  All that being said I also personally don't think there is any way the cruise goes because Del Rio hinted in an interview that March was a very big long shot, and April was probably only going to happen in Europe.  

Del Rio:

“We hope that the pandemic will ease and we can work out our differences with the CDC to start in mid to late March,” he said. “It’s a long shot, but I want to keep that possibility as long as I see a possibility.”

Source:  https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Norwegian-is-looking-into-the-legality-of-vaccination-requirement

[ColeThornton]

I think you already know the answer to this one.   My crystal ball is telling me that there is little chance of that cruise sailing and even if it did the restrictions would be so strict as to be unenjoyable.

 

Save your money.

[BermudaBound2014]

According to Cruise Industry News, the first possible sailing of the Escape is March 11, 2021 (and I think we all know that is a long shot). Not sure how reliable Cruise Industry News is with the estimated start up dates, but here is the link to the full article:  https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24105-latest-return-to-cruise-estimates-for-norwegian-cruise-line-s-fleet.html

 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, tmoe said:

I don't want to pay off the cruise and then have a future cruise credit as are only refund option. 

 

I think you've answered your own question.  Don't make final payment.

[sfaaa]

Trust your gut feeling and cancel. You can always rebook later on. 

[goldmom]

I had a similar dilemma.  We had a March 2021 cruise booked on the Gem.  Final payment was extended to January 3rd.  We also booked through CAS.

I figured there was no way it was sailing, so I decided to just give up on that cruise and moved the deposit to another cruise in 2023 on December 1st.  On December 2nd, NCL officially cancelled the cruise and offered 10% off a future cruise if you re-booked.  I missed an extra 10% off by one day!

My advice would be to wait until as close to final payment as you can to see if NCL cancels the cruise and offers any extras.  Of course that assumes you are planning to rebook.  Just cancel before final payment.  But don't cut it too close and remember that CAS is not open on the weekends and I don't know if you can cancel a CAS booking with the regular agents.

Good luck!

[madams77]

I was booked on this same cruise, but recently decided to cancel and book something for early 2022.  I felt it was just not the right time to cruise even if it did sail.  I was in a solo cabin but on the new booking decided to splurge on a haven penthouse on the Getaway out of Miami!  Sure it was more $$$, but you only live once!🤑😜

[roger001]

I thought it was announced not long ago that all NCL cruises were cancelled through at least the end of March.  There's no way in the world that they can have a cruise ready to go in just 10 weeks from now.  I'd sure be hanging on to my money.  

[All-ready2cruise]

4 hours ago, roger001 said:

NCL cruises were cancelled through at least the end of March. 

From the latest NCL cancellation policy post:  

Currently, we have not suspended cruises in March 2021 for Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Encore and Norwegian Joy.

 

https://www.ncl.com/suspended-sailings

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, roger001 said:

I thought it was announced not long ago that all NCL cruises were cancelled through at least the end of March.  There's no way in the world that they can have a cruise ready to go in just 10 weeks from now.  I'd sure be hanging on to my money.  

Nope. There are a limited number of Florida cruises scheduled in March to get things restarted. Both Escape and Encore have voyages scheduled on 1 Mar from PC and Miami. 

[roger001]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Nope. There are a limited number of Florida cruises scheduled in March to get things restarted. Both Escape and Encore have voyages scheduled on 1 Mar from PC and Miami. 

Thanks.  I think "scheduled" is the key word here then.  Doing the math again, that's just 8 weeks from now.  Just can't see that happening...at all.   

[MsTabbyKats]

Wait until "the day before" to cancel.  That's what I'm going to do (early April cruise).  There's no way we're going!

[mencyn]

My cruise is March 27th and it's on hold. I called and they say when they put them on hold they are going to cancel all of March sailings. Email hasn't gone out yet. Should have waited a few days before booking. 

[Sand and Seas]

2 hours ago, mencyn said:

My cruise is March 27th and it's on hold. I called and they say when they put them on hold they are going to cancel all of March sailings. Email hasn't gone out yet. Should have waited a few days before booking. 

Can you tell us what ship you are booked on?

[Cruise Wonderland]

3 hours ago, mencyn said:

My cruise is March 27th and it's on hold. I called and they say when they put them on hold they are going to cancel all of March sailings. Email hasn't gone out yet. Should have waited a few days before booking. 

 

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

Can you tell us what ship you are booked on?

 

I guess 27th March is for Escape.

 

Originally Escape / Joy / Encore still had itineraries in March 2021. A few hours ago these cruises have all disappeared.

 

Based on previous experience, NCL will likely to make the cancellation announcement after 1-2 days.

[Sand and Seas]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Wonderland said:

 

 

I guess 27th March is for Escape.

 

Originally Escape / Joy / Encore still had itineraries in March 2021. A few hours ago these cruises have all disappeared.

 

Based on previous experience, NCL will likely to make the cancellation announcement after 1-2 days.

Interesting!  So I wonder if they will move their plan for starting with just the three ships to April?

[Cruise Wonderland]

1 minute ago, Sand and Seas said:

Interesting!  So I wonder if they will move their plan for starting with just the three ships to April?

 

Currently, April voyages of all ships are still available. April bookings are also not yet "frozen".

 

Nobody knows what is NCL's next plan. I don't think they will restart all ships in April simultaneously. Perhaps some sailings in April (on smaller ships?) will also be cancelled in the next stage.

[tmoe]

Thanks for all of the responses.  I called CAS this morning and cancelled our cruise and they refunded our deposit.  At that time, the cruises were still showing up on the NCL website and no mention was made by the customer service rep.  Hopefully we will cruise at some point in 2021.

[kicia]

All NCL cruises are cancelled through the end of March, 2021.