Final Payment Due (Covid Preps) should I bail?

[MaisonRose]

APR. 19 Celebrity Constellation T.A Tampa-Barcelona. Final due this week. No real news on status. Full refund available up to 48 hours prior to departure.

Should I seek a later sailing or wait this out?   I’m in Group 1B in Md and pretty sure we’ll get our vaccines in time.

We are motivated to get to our house in France and have Euro passport + residence permit. I’ve actually considered keeping this and adding another later TA, with similar refunds.   😁 I’m sure there are opinions out there: what would you do?

 

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

APR. 19 Celebrity Constellation T.A Tampa-Barcelona. Final due this week. No real news on status. Full refund available up to 48 hours prior to departure.

Should I seek a later sailing or wait this out?   I’m in Group 1B in Md and pretty sure we’ll get our vaccines in time.

We are motivated to get to our house in France and have Euro passport + residence permit. I’ve actually considered keeping this and adding another later TA, with similar refunds.   😁 I’m sure there are opinions out there: what would you do?

 

 

If you cancel at the 48 hour time, do you get a cash refund or a FCC.  If cash, I might keep it.  If FCC, I would cancel now.

 

DON

[sanger727]

This sailing isn't going to be permitted by the CDC in April and therefore will not be sailing out of Tampa. Really won't matter if you have your vaccine or not. Agree with donaldsc. If you can get a cash refund by cancelling early, I would do that. If you can get a cash refund up until 48 hours till then wait, but I'd be looking at flights to France instead. 

[Gwendy]

Don’t think I would consider going to France with their rate of Covid.  The vaccine is not a silver bullet.

[dobiemom]

9 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

APR. 19 Celebrity Constellation T.A Tampa-Barcelona. Final due this week. No real news on status. Full refund available up to 48 hours prior to departure.

Should I seek a later sailing or wait this out?   I’m in Group 1B in Md and pretty sure we’ll get our vaccines in time.

We are motivated to get to our house in France and have Euro passport + residence permit. I’ve actually considered keeping this and adding another later TA, with similar refunds.   😁 I’m sure there are opinions out there: what would you do?

 

1. I thought cruises longer than 7 days originating in the US were not allowed?

2. Will Europe allow people coming from the US to enter?
 

It’s  all so confusing. 😕

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

APR. 19 Celebrity Constellation T.A Tampa-Barcelona. Final due this week. No real news on status. Full refund available up to 48 hours prior to departure.

Should I seek a later sailing or wait this out?   I’m in Group 1B in Md and pretty sure we’ll get our vaccines in time.

We are motivated to get to our house in France and have Euro passport + residence permit. I’ve actually considered keeping this and adding another later TA, with similar refunds.   😁 I’m sure there are opinions out there: what would you do?

 

 

Celebrity seems a bit late canceling. Some other lines have already canceled through April.

 

As another poster said, if there is no penalty and you can get cash back, I suppose there is no reason not to keep it on the books, but I think the chances of it sailing are slim.

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Don’t think I would consider going to France with their rate of Covid.  The vaccine is not a silver bullet.

 

Have you looked at a chart?  Far fewer cases in France than in the US....

[iancal]

I certainly would not make the final payment.

[SelectSys]

14 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

...

We are motivated to get to our house in France and have Euro passport + residence permit..:\. what would you do?

 

 

Fly whenever you want.  Since you have an EU (French?) passport and residency I assume you could leave tomorrow if you are really motivated.  You actually might be able to get the vaccine faster in the EU than in the US.  Who knows...

 

Bottom line - Get your refund as this cruise has a very low probability of happening and flying is the simplest option for 2021.  

 

4 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Will Europe allow people coming from the US to enter?

 

I think pretty much all countries permit their citizens and permanent residents to repatriate.  The OP claims both. They may have quarantine requirements but they will be admitted.  One of my colleagues is Canadian and went home to see his kids for Christmas even though he lives and works in San Diego.  

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by SelectSys

[LHT28]

I would cancel now  & get your $$ back  if you booked through a US TA

 

I doubt anyone will be sailing  before the summer  at best

 

[George C]

We also canceled our April celebrity cruise before final, we didn’t want the 125 percent for future since we have two more cruises booked .

[MaisonRose]

On 1/10/2021 at 9:31 AM, dobiemom said:

1. I thought cruises longer than 7 days originating in the US were not allowed?

2. Will Europe allow people coming from the US to enter?
 

It’s  all so confusing. 😕

Confusing, for sure. The plus with this itinerary is that it is not returning to the US and so the 7 day rule might not apply. That has not been clarified.

 

Foreign ports are an issue, perhaps they won’t want the Constellation to call. Or maybe some will, some won’t. To be honest the TA stops don’t matter to me.  Surely the ship won’t sail if the passengers cannot disembark on arrival in Spain.

France is currently under lockdown but my friends and neighbors have already had their first shots (but generally the French are vaccine averse...go figure.) My 1B Group has not been called here in Md.  With our passport status I’m pretty sure we’ll be admitted and I’d even happily quarantine in Barcelona if needed. Our little mountain village hasn’t had one case, yet.

 

I hate flying and would rather wait than fly. But I might never come back!!

 

[SelectSys]

32 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

With our passport status I’m pretty sure we’ll be admitted

 

Call/email the Embassy or Consulate serving Frederick and they will give you instructions on repatriation.  

 

32 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

I hate flying and would rather wait than fly.

 

I think you are likely to be waiting until 2022 for a eastbound transatlantic crossing from lines like Celebrity.  Perhaps Cunard's service will start sooner between NY and Southampton as that is a regular service rather than a once a year relocation.  

[Pudgesmom]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

 

Call/email the Embassy or Consulate serving Frederick and they will give you instructions on repatriation.  

 

 

I think you are likely to be waiting until 2022 for a eastbound transatlantic crossing from lines like Celebrity.  Perhaps Cunard's service will start sooner between NY and Southampton as that is a regular service rather than a once a year relocation.  

This is exactly what I was thinking. The ships move east in the spring for summers in the Med and west in the fall after hurricane season for winters in the Caribbean. Cunard may be the best if not only option for sailing when they return to service.

[ldubs]

On 1/10/2021 at 4:05 AM, Gwendy said:

Don’t think I would consider going to France with their rate of Covid.  The vaccine is not a silver bullet.

 

Maybe like the US it depends on the location.  

[SelectSys]

On 1/11/2021 at 12:44 PM, MaisonRose said:

France is currently under lockdown but my friends and neighbors have already had their first shots (but generally the French are vaccine averse...go figure.)

 

Interesting comment as I came across this story regarding French vaccination progress.  Your friends and neighbors in France seem very lucky.

 

https://www.consultancy.eu/news/5526/frances-lagging-vaccine-rollout-puts-the-lens-on-consultants

As France’s vaccine roll out continues to struggle, more and more criticism is mounting on government leaders, and in its slipstream the consultants they are using to help deliver inoculations.

The French Covid-19 immunisation scheme has been routinely lambasted by critics in recent weeks, having only managed to immunise less than 10,000 people between December 27th and early this week.

The performance has been labelled as scandalously slow by detractors, who have pointed out that hundreds of thousands of vaccines have been distributed in Germany over the same time span – while the UK has mustered 1.3 million vaccinations from an earlier stating date.

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

On 1/11/2021 at 5:47 PM, Pudgesmom said:

This is exactly what I was thinking. The ships move east in the spring for summers in the Med and west in the fall after hurricane season for winters in the Caribbean. Cunard may be the best if not only option for sailing when they return to service.

Actually, West-bound trans-Atlantics generally depart European ports between September and November -- when the hurricane season (June-November) hits its peak and then settles down.  

[cruisemom42]

I think Celebrity canceled the OP's cruise today. I wonder what they decided to do?

[Pudgesmom]

On 1/12/2021 at 6:31 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Actually, West-bound trans-Atlantics generally depart European ports between September and November -- when the hurricane season (June-November) hits its peak and then settles down.  

I'm familiar with Windstar and Regent, and those cruises have happened later than you're saying. And hurricane season ends November 4, the rest of November is not hurricane season.

 

[cruisemom42]

It seems the hurricane season extends longer than it once did. When I was a kid, my grandmother (in Florida) taught me one of those almanac-type weather ditties about hurricanes, which went something like:

 

June, too soon.

July, stand by.

August, come they must.

September, remember.

After October, all over.

 

Actually, looking at NOAH's chart of the frequency of hurricanes (and named storms) by month, November is still pretty safe. Not sure I'd really consider hurricanes a major risk at that time of year -- at least, after November 10.

 

[sanger727]

12 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

I'm familiar with Windstar and Regent, and those cruises have happened later than you're saying. And hurricane season ends November 4, the rest of November is not hurricane season.

 

November is considered hurricane season although they are less likely. We went to Mexico last year from nov 15-23 and while we lucked out w no hurricanes during the trip, there were two the hit earlier in November and one headed to central America during our trip.