Further nail into the cruising coffin.

[hawkesbaynz]

I agree with @tony UK  The current restrictions are a reaction to the spread of the virus from people travelling to the UK. In my view it should have happened months ago.  Arguably we would have been in a much better situation.

 

Unfortunately/fortunately we are a global hub for business, and also host people from all over the world who travel to visit friends/family abroad.

 

The British love holidays almost as much as the Germans and we managed to spread the virus from our travels abroad in 2020. Personally I have not been abroad since catching Covid-19 in Austria skiing in March, but our neighbour holidayed in Europe three times in the Summer and only managed to quarantine once. We are now banned from unnecessary travel (read drive to beach to walk the dog), let alone holidays.

 

However Covid has fallen by two-thirds in the last month and over a quarter of the population has been vaccinated. I imagine a fair percentage have had it too thus have some immunity.

 

The current rules are for February 2021 not for June 2021 (when I hope to be in Islay tasting whisky). The government must have a compelling scientific reason not to have relax the rules in ?April. There are massive financial implications if they do not.

 

Cruising is massive for Southampton. I was looking wistfully at P&Os Aurora today whilst walking the dog today. If I cannot get on the Reflection out of Rome in September I imagine there will be a berth on the Silhouette or a P&O ship out of Southampton.

 

The Italians hope to start cruising with Costa in March and the Germans are already cruising the Canaries with TUI. Takes alot from stopping the Germans going on holiday!

 

[TFree]

24 minutes ago, OUBaylor1 said:

I am in agreement with ORV as to why Celebrity waits until after final payment to cancel a cruise.  Though frustrating and annoying for us, it makes good business sense for Celebrity to acquire as much interest as possible for as long as possible.  I am one of those people who had a refundable deposit but decided to gamble on receiving a FCC of 125%.  My husband and I are booked on the 29 May 2021 Iceland/Ireland cruise and have already booked this same cruise for June 2022.  The 11 June 2022 is about $1,000 USD more per person.  So the FCC of 125% would be nice.

Exactly the same here.  We have a refundable deposit on the May 5, 2021 British Isles cruise, and extra OBC from originally having booked on board.  On the final payment date, we paid up, despite being absolutely convinced that the cruise will be cancelled.  If they offer 125% FCC when they cancel, and always assuming that RCL remains solvent, then our gamble will have paid off.  

 

Tom & Judy

[wrk2cruise]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

Unless I'm missing something here is why. Many people are booked with a non refundable deposit. If they cancel before Celebrity cancels then you will lose $200, and get the other $700 as a FCC. If Celebrity cancels either before or after FP then you get all the deposit back, or possibly a FCC of 125%. Also if they get you to make final payment then they get to hold on to your money longer for an interest free loan. 

 

Just to clarify, if your sailing is prior to 5/4/2022 and you booked prior to 1/30/2021 then your reservation is covered by CwC and NRD cancelled by you prior to final payment date will receive FCC for 100% of your deposit (penalty is waived).   Or you can move your reservation to a sailing up to 5/4/2022 retaining your full deposit.

 

I tried to move my NRD reservation to a sailing on Oct 2022 and they would not waive the admin fee.  But I was able to cancel and get FCC for my full deposit applied to the new sailing.

[marieps]

3 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Then why not move final payment date closer to sail date?  

Deleted.  I already mentioned the Oceania policy on an earlier page.  Apologies.

Edited February 18, 2021 by marieps

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, marieps said:

As I posted on another thread, Oceania is moving all FP dates to 60 days from departure for cruises sailing between start up and Halloween.  Penalties for cancellation also kick in at 60 days, rather than at 6 months in some cases.  O does not have a two-tier deposit system.  All are refundable, but the deadlines are WELL in advance of sail, usually.

Was it mentioned here on one of the CC threads that final payment for some? cruises is 45 days out?  or did I misunderstand?

[marieps]

Just now, Oceangoer2 said:

Was it mentioned here on one of the CC threads that final payment for some? cruises is 45 days out?  or did I misunderstand?

Oh, I didn't hear that.  I only know about Oceania because I got the email.  45 days is very generous.  I hope it's true.

[wrk2cruise]

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Was it mentioned here on one of the CC threads that final payment for some? cruises is 45 days out?  or did I misunderstand?

 

The Alaska 2021 sailing which are currently "on hold" have a 45 day final payment date as well as other options available

 

"While we are exploring alternatives, for guests who choose to maintain their booking, reservations approaching their final payment due dates will be adjusted to 45 days prior to departure."

[Shadow9612]

9 hours ago, jagoffee said:

I was wondering why you would just cancel.  Thank you for the explanation.  
I would hope that Celebrity would at least waive the $100 fee and give you FCC for the total amount if you decide to cancel a 2021 cruise.  I am a little surprised that they are still charging the $100 fee.  

Since my cruise was booked in 2019, I think I do get the full deposit as a FCC.

 

I brought up the $100 fee as an example, because I would be happier to pay that $100 fee and get the balance $800 refunded, rather than the entire $900 as a future Cruise credit.

 

Or alternatively, there should not be an expiry date on the future Cruise credits.  

 

Does anybody know, is celebrity now allowing the usage of more than one future Cruise credit on the same cruise?  

[upwarduk]

3 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Does anybody know, is celebrity now allowing the usage of more than one future Cruise credit on the same cruise?  

So it says on their web site.

[paulh84]

19 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I won't claim to be an expert on the commission structure but I believe that their commissions are often reduced when FCC's are used for the cruise.  Perhaps some FCC's are treated differently and this isn't the case.  I'm not sure if you are suggesting that TA's only deserved to be paid for one of your cruises if you cancel.   I'll suggest that's not an appropriate way to look at the situation.  The TA's really don't work for the cruiser, they work for the cruise line.  It' really shouldn't matter to you if they get paid for the cancelled cruise and a new cruise.  About half the time the cruiser elects a refund.  The cruise lines recognize the TA's are vital to their business model and need to find a way to keep them in business. and this is a way to channel some commission to the TA's while no ships are sailing.

 

 

I'm not disagreeing with you. Just saying that Celebrity/RCG has definitely made effort to help TA's by paying them something for cruises that are cancelled and rebooked. They absolutely deserve to be paid. You would have to be a saint to put up with the headache they have dealt with for the past year. 

[jojo1966]

6 hours ago, upwarduk said:

So it says on their web site.

hi - are you able to screenshot where it says this - for some reason intermittently on the Celeb UK website - the page goes really pale and i cannot click on anything or navigate around it but could do with seeing where it says this as it will definately impact what we do with cancellations - thank you 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, jojo1966 said:

hi - are you able to screenshot where it says this - for some reason intermittently on the Celeb UK website - the page goes really pale and i cannot click on anything or navigate around it but could do with seeing where it says this as it will definately impact what we do with cancellations - thank you 

I've posted this recently on another thread, but here's the text:

 

 

Can I use the Future Cruise Credit across multiple itineraries, or does it have to be used for a single booking?

Your Future Cruise Credit may be used across multiple sailings if there is a remaining balance after its initial use.  Any remaining funds on the FCC will continue to be available until you have used the entire value of the FCC or it expires, whichever occurs first.  A recent enhancement now allows multiple FCCs to be applied per guest within the same reservation.

 

If you still need a screen shot:

 

[TeeRick]

I think there is a special case if you made a future cruise reservation during a cruise (at the Future Cruise desk).  My upcoming cruise is in a Celebrity Suite in August (9 night) on Silhouette to Norway.  Final payment in May.  Not likely to go but not cancelled yet.  So we have $1800 tied up in our deposit.  But here is the language in my cruise document:

 

Your CruiseNow Booking may be cancelled. Your Deposit and any further payments you make will be refundable if you cancel prior to the commencement of cancellation charges under the applicable Celebrity Cruises cancellation schedule applicable in your country of residence.

 

Am I reading this correctly?  My deposit is fully refundable?  Anybody have experience with this?  

[Shadow9612]

On a related note, given the discussion on this thread about FCC, does anyone have thoughts on this scenario:

- booking made in 2019 with a NRD 

- sailing is set for June 2021 (I don't think it will sail)

- final payment coming soon (but not yet)

 

Should I Cancel or Just Move Sail Date to a new sailing in the future?

 

If I cancel before final payment - would receive 100% of the deposit as a FCC with an expiry date.

 

Wouldn't it make more sense to just change the sail date to a future sailing in 2022 or 2023 for example - then I don't have to worry about any FCC expiry?  

 

Why would anybody cancel and take the FCC route then?

 

Just trying to understand the options with NRD.  What am I missing?

 

@jagoffee @wrk2cruise @TFree - do you have any thoughts...

[TFree]

4 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

On a related note, given the discussion on this thread about FCC, does anyone have thoughts on this scenario:

- booking made in 2019 with a NRD 

- sailing is set for June 2021 (I don't think it will sail)

- final payment coming soon (but not yet)

 

Should I Cancel or Just Move Sail Date to a new sailing in the future?

 

If I cancel before final payment - would receive 100% of the deposit as a FCC with an expiry date.

 

Wouldn't it make more sense to just change the sail date to a future sailing in 2022 or 2023 for example - then I don't have to worry about any FCC expiry?  

 

Why would anybody cancel and take the FCC route then?

 

Just trying to understand the options with NRD.  What am I missing?

 

@jagoffee @wrk2cruise @TFree - do you have any thoughts...

Two questions.  (1) was this booked on board, so that you have extra OBC attached to the reservation?  (2) are the only options you are considering to cancel now or to move to a new sailing date, in either case before final payment date?  In other words, would you consider making final payment and waiting for Celebrity to cancel?

 

Tom & Judy

[nosapphire]

On 2/18/2021 at 1:07 PM, Bruin Steve said:

But, THAT section says “advice”, not “requirement”...The paragraph I quoted is in the regulations when you look up “how to quarantine”.  It clearly allows one to quarantine LESS than the 10 days...as long as you quarantine the entirety of whatever shorter time you are in the UK...

 

So, it appears that we persons from outside the UK MAY cruise from the UK...and that citizens of the UK still may cruise...just that they are “advised” against it...and might, possibly, require a test, may end up with a fine and will need to quarantine upon return...so, it would be of benefit for a UK citizen to be on a cruise that does not end back in the UK, rather one that ends elsewhere so they might be tested three days before flying home...

 

”Advice” does not mean prohibition...

It is currently illegal for UK citizens to travel on holiday, even within the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cruise-ship-travel

Quarantine requirements for those arriving in the UK need a contactable address. Quarantine does NOT mean mingling with others on the same cruise ship.

Good try, though. And it may all have changed again in a month.

 

[ORV]

20 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Just to clarify, if your sailing is prior to 5/4/2022 and you booked prior to 1/30/2021 then your reservation is covered by CwC and NRD cancelled by you prior to final payment date will receive FCC for 100% of your deposit (penalty is waived).   Or you can move your reservation to a sailing up to 5/4/2022 retaining your full deposit.

 

I tried to move my NRD reservation to a sailing on Oct 2022 and they would not waive the admin fee.  But I was able to cancel and get FCC for my full deposit applied to the new sailing.

I know what you're saying, but my cruise was booked in early 2019, and the sailing date was 9/20 and we cancelled before Celebrity. This was before CWC & L & S. If we had waited another 60 days Celebrity cancelled before final payment. Oh well......

[Shadow9612]

1 hour ago, TFree said:

Two questions.  (1) was this booked on board, so that you have extra OBC attached to the reservation?  (2) are the only options you are considering to cancel now or to move to a new sailing date, in either case before final payment date?  In other words, would you consider making final payment and waiting for Celebrity to cancel?

 

Tom & Judy

1. yes - booked on board

2. yes - I don't want to tie up additional $ with X, or run into a situation where it actually sails (since for sure I would not sail).

 

Thanks for your quick response 🙂

[wrk2cruise]

44 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

1. yes - booked on board

2. yes - I don't want to tie up additional $ with X, or run into a situation where it actually sails (since for sure I would not sail).

 

Thanks for your quick response 🙂

 

If you booked onboard then I believe your entire deposit is $100 pp correct?

 

The key here is if your new sailing is before 5/4/2022.  If so then yes just move the existing reservation and the $100 pp penalty is supposed to be waived under CwC.  The reservation will still be NRD so make sure you get NRD pricing on the new cruise.

 

If the new sailing is after 5/4/2022 then CwC doesn't apply so you would have to cancel and rebook but your entire deposit $200 would be issued as FCC but you would have to do full deposit on the new cruise.  One advantage of this would be you could select a refundable deposit.   They should also be able to apply the book onboard OBC benefit to the new sailing based on the new sailing length and stateroom category.   You could ask them if they would do a reduced deposit for you in this case but don't be surprised if the answer is no.

 

Here is the FAQ on getting the OBC moved to your new reservation.

 

What will happen to my Celebrity Passages onboard credit if I take advantage of the Cruise with Confidence program?

Should you choose to cancel and receive a Cruise with Confidence FCC, your Celebrity Passages onboard credits will be applied to the new sailing when you rebook.  

 

Here is the FAQ regarding NRD and CwC.   What it doesn't mention is the restriction that the new sail date has to be within the CwC timeframe which is 5/4/2022.  I just went through this exercise with them a couple of weeks ago moving a NRD from 6/2021 to 10/2022.  I had to go through the cancel with FCC and rebook path.  You may try to push back saying there is no restriction on the new sail date in the FAQ.

 

How are Non-Refundable Deposit bookings impacted by this policy update?

Non-Refundable Deposit bookings sailing on or before May 4, 2022, are eligible for the Cruise with Confidence program. Prior to the final payment due date, if you wish to change a Non-Refundable Deposit booking to an alternate ship you can do so without incurring a change fee; the change fee will be waived.

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by wrk2cruise

[jojo1966]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I've posted this recently on another thread, but here's the text:

 

 

 

Can I use the Future Cruise Credit across multiple itineraries, or does it have to be used for a single booking?

Your Future Cruise Credit may be used across multiple sailings if there is a remaining balance after its initial use.  Any remaining funds on the FCC will continue to be available until you have used the entire value of the FCC or it expires, whichever occurs first.  A recent enhancement now allows multiple FCCs to be applied per guest within the same reservation.

 

If you still need a screen shot:

 

Thank you ...

[TFree]

10 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

If you booked onboard then I believe your entire deposit is $100 pp correct?

 

The key here is if your new sailing is before 5/4/2022.  If so then yes just move the existing reservation and the $100 pp penalty is supposed to be waived under CwC.  The reservation will still be NRD so make sure you get NRD pricing on the new cruise.

 

If the new sailing is after 5/4/2022 then CwC doesn't apply so you would have to cancel and rebook but your entire deposit $200 would be issued as FCC but you would have to do full deposit on the new cruise.  One advantage of this would be you could select a refundable deposit.   They should also be able to apply the book onboard OBC benefit to the new sailing based on the new sailing length and stateroom category.   You could ask them if they would do a reduced deposit for you in this case but don't be surprised if the answer is no.

 

Here is the FAQ on getting the OBC moved to your new reservation.

 

What will happen to my Celebrity Passages onboard credit if I take advantage of the Cruise with Confidence program?

Should you choose to cancel and receive a Cruise with Confidence FCC, your Celebrity Passages onboard credits will be applied to the new sailing when you rebook.  

 

Here is the FAQ regarding NRD and CwC.   What it doesn't mention is the restriction that the new sail date has to be within the CwC timeframe which is 5/4/2022.  I just went through this exercise with them a couple of weeks ago moving a NRD from 6/2021 to 10/2022.  I had to go through the cancel with FCC and rebook path.  You may try to push back saying there is no restriction on the new sail date in the FAQ.

 

How are Non-Refundable Deposit bookings impacted by this policy update?

Non-Refundable Deposit bookings sailing on or before May 4, 2022, are eligible for the Cruise with Confidence program. Prior to the final payment due date, if you wish to change a Non-Refundable Deposit booking to an alternate ship you can do so without incurring a change fee; the change fee will be waived.

 

Wow, @wrk2cruisegave a much better and detailed answer to @Shadow9612than I could have given.  I would just have focused on the idea that by moving the cruise now, rather than canceling, you would be able to maintain the extra OBC attached to the reservation.

Tom & Judy

[wrk2cruise]

As I said I had just recently been through the exercise, it wasn't as straight forward as I thought.  I have no idea why they enforce the 5/4/2022 limit on the new cruise to waive the penalty.  I understood that once I moved it the new sailing would no longer be covered by CwC but they held firm that I would have to pay the admin fee.

 

As I said it worked out for me as I was able to rebook with a refundable deposit and get the OBC from the onboard booking applied.  I did have to give them a new deposit and apply the $200 FCC.

[Shadow9612]

35 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

If you booked onboard then I believe your entire deposit is $100 pp correct?

 

The key here is if your new sailing is before 5/4/2022.  If so then yes just move the existing reservation and the $100 pp penalty is supposed to be waived under CwC.  The reservation will still be NRD so make sure you get NRD pricing on the new cruise.

 

If the new sailing is after 5/4/2022 then CwC doesn't apply so you would have to cancel and rebook but your entire deposit $200 would be issued as FCC but you would have to do full deposit on the new cruise.  One advantage of this would be you could select a refundable deposit.   They should also be able to apply the book onboard OBC benefit to the new sailing based on the new sailing length and stateroom category.   You could ask them if they would do a reduced deposit for you in this case but don't be surprised if the answer is no.

 

Here is the FAQ on getting the OBC moved to your new reservation.

 

What will happen to my Celebrity Passages onboard credit if I take advantage of the Cruise with Confidence program?

Should you choose to cancel and receive a Cruise with Confidence FCC, your Celebrity Passages onboard credits will be applied to the new sailing when you rebook.  

 

Here is the FAQ regarding NRD and CwC.   What it doesn't mention is the restriction that the new sail date has to be within the CwC timeframe which is 5/4/2022.  I just went through this exercise with them a couple of weeks ago moving a NRD from 6/2021 to 10/2022.  I had to go through the cancel with FCC and rebook path.  You may try to push back saying there is no restriction on the new sail date in the FAQ.

 

How are Non-Refundable Deposit bookings impacted by this policy update?

Non-Refundable Deposit bookings sailing on or before May 4, 2022, are eligible for the Cruise with Confidence program. Prior to the final payment due date, if you wish to change a Non-Refundable Deposit booking to an alternate ship you can do so without incurring a change fee; the change fee will be waived.

 

Wow - thank you so so much @wrk2cruise.  Very helpful.  

 

The "financially complicating" factor is the deposit was on a suite, so $900 deposit for a single reservation.  They allowed me to make the booking with 1 person on it and only 1 $900 deposit.  I worry that could cause a problem somewhere down the road.

 

So, I'm trying to find the simplest way to preserve the funds and flexibility, without having to worry about a FCC expiry.  I really wish they would just treat any FCC issued during the pandemic as having no expiry date (or something much more clear like 2030). 

 

I certainly plan to sail with Celebrity again - when it feels safe for me.  It bothers me to "worry" about losing the $900 just because of timing of not being able to use a FCC (e.g. if I can't cruise for a while).

 

Based on your explanation, IF Celebrity allows me to move the sailing past 5/4/22, then there's no need for me to even look at the cancel/rebook option, right ?    [no matter how many times I read all of these things, it always feels like I'm still missing something 🤔]   

 

Thank you so much for your help/clarification. 

 

 

[Shadow9612]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

As I said I had just recently been through the exercise, it wasn't as straight forward as I thought.  I have no idea why they enforce the 5/4/2022 limit on the new cruise to waive the penalty.  I understood that once I moved it the new sailing would no longer be covered by CwC but they held firm that I would have to pay the admin fee.

 

As I said it worked out for me as I was able to rebook with a refundable deposit and get the OBC from the onboard booking applied.  I did have to give them a new deposit and apply the $200 FCC.

 

In this scenario, what happens if you can't take the new cruise (e.g. you don't feel sailing is safe yet due to covid), will they let you move the 200FCC and your "new deposit"  to a new cruise if you move the booking again?  

 

That is what I am concerned about with my potential for $900 FCC in the post above if I get it as a FCC.

 

To be honest, I don't have a problem if at some point on this path I did have to pay a $100 admin fee - I realize they are a business, and I want to support X because I want them to stick around... I just don't want to lose the full $900.  

 

So, in your example in the earlier post, if I cancelled my June 2021 booking, received $900FCC, made a new refundable booking for 2023 with a new deposit and apply that $900 FCC --- do I lose the $900 FCC if I cancel that 2023 cruise or move it again?

 

 

[Shadow9612]

33 minutes ago, TFree said:

Wow, @wrk2cruisegave a much better and detailed answer to @Shadow9612than I could have given.  I would just have focused on the idea that by moving the cruise now, rather than canceling, you would be able to maintain the extra OBC attached to the reservation.

Tom & Judy

I Agree @TFree that @wrk2cruise has an amazing handle on all this.  No matter how much I get my head around things, it still feels like it is gonna explode with confusion 🙂 🤯