Who else just got canceled on Majestic to Alaska?

[pms4104]

23 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

 

Only vaccines approved for use by the WHO or US FDA are accepted.  Children under 12 involved in clinical trials would not be accepted as the FDA/WHO has not approved use of vaccine for those under 12.

Of course ... sorry for the misinformation

[addie19]

18 hours ago, billco said:

It says on the Princess website “There is no age restriction on this series of cruises to Alaska but guests of all ages must be fully vaccinated. “

 

18 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Were you already booked or was this a new booking since Alaska was given the green light? I was under the impression that Princess had the kid thing accounted for and would not allow the booking to proceed if they had met their limit.

 

Yep. They've said that since the sailings were basically approved after the Alaska tourism recovery act. I was afraid we would get canceled immediately after that, but they assured us when I called (along with the webinars john cherneskey has had) that they would actually be following the 95% vaccinated cdc suggestion. And that we were approved and part of the 5% threshold. 

 

That's why I actually paid in full, because that was assured before our final payment was even due. I hadn't scheduled any flights or hotels or rental cars until that was given the ok. Now I have and probably have some major adjustments to our itinerary to figure out. We still planned to vacation in Seattle and around Washington cruise or no cruise.

 

 

7 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Interesting theory and you may be on to something here.  But I would think that the bookings would have been linked and that the actions to "moveover" addie19 would have applied to the rest of the group as well.

 

We were already booked and all reservations were linked! 

 

We were originally scheduled on an Alaska sailing that was set to go june(like right now!), but that was canceled back in January or February. After figuring out schedules we booked this one shortly after that got canceled. My mom and brother called within the past 14 days and approved for their 2 bookings to be linked with us.

 

I'm still waiting on a call back or return email, but the cruise vacation planners aren't open on weekends. I'm not expecting to hear until Monday. 

 

We still have access to our booking, so it hasn't been canceled completely(yet). Maybe they think we could find somewhere for the kids to stay and my husband and I could sail? That'll be a mess to figure out! My dad even offered today to stay behind with them. That's not fair to him. And he won't have a thrilling time in Seattle with two young kids. I wouldn't even want to do that by myself!

 

(I even looked up if I could enroll them in a trial, but none are close to us. I was surprised at that because my dad was involved in 2 in the Raleigh area--he's actually received 4 pfizer shots! And it's certainly crossed my mind that I could totally give them one from work - I work in a pharmacy and give vaccines! I have access to ALL of it! But, you know, risk prosecution, endangering my children, losing my job after 20 years, fines from them, etc., definitely a bad idea!)

 

Our next concern is if it is ok for our oldest son (age 13) to sail without his parents on board. And what documents if any are needed to approve him traveling with my brother, sister, and parents. 

 

It is what it is. Maybe they'll make a policy change again? Maybe the Florida lawsuit will end up canceling all cruises anyway? Maybe the cdc and the cruise lines will just say eff it all and go back to cruising like before?

[ceilidh1]

3 minutes ago, addie19 said:

 

 

Yep. They've said that since the sailings were basically approved after the Alaska tourism recovery act. I was afraid we would get canceled immediately after that, but they assured us when I called (along with the webinars john cherneskey has had) that they would actually be following the 95% vaccinated cdc suggestion. And that we were approved and part of the 5% threshold. 

 

That's why I actually paid in full, because that was assured before our final payment was even due. I hadn't scheduled any flights or hotels or rental cars until that was given the ok. Now I have and probably have some major adjustments to our itinerary to figure out. We still planned to vacation in Seattle and around Washington cruise or no cruise.

 

 

 

We were already booked and all reservations were linked! 

 

We were originally scheduled on an Alaska sailing that was set to go june(like right now!), but that was canceled back in January or February. After figuring out schedules we booked this one shortly after that got canceled. My mom and brother called within the past 14 days and approved for their 2 bookings to be linked with us.

 

I'm still waiting on a call back or return email, but the cruise vacation planners aren't open on weekends. I'm not expecting to hear until Monday. 

 

We still have access to our booking, so it hasn't been canceled completely(yet). Maybe they think we could find somewhere for the kids to stay and my husband and I could sail? That'll be a mess to figure out! My dad even offered today to stay behind with them. That's not fair to him. And he won't have a thrilling time in Seattle with two young kids. I wouldn't even want to do that by myself!

 

(I even looked up if I could enroll them in a trial, but none are close to us. I was surprised at that because my dad was involved in 2 in the Raleigh area--he's actually received 4 pfizer shots! And it's certainly crossed my mind that I could totally give them one from work - I work in a pharmacy and give vaccines! I have access to ALL of it! But, you know, risk prosecution, endangering my children, losing my job after 20 years, fines from them, etc., definitely a bad idea!)

 

Our next concern is if it is ok for our oldest son (age 13) to sail without his parents on board. And what documents if any are needed to approve him traveling with my brother, sister, and parents. 

 

It is what it is. Maybe they'll make a policy change again? Maybe the Florida lawsuit will end up canceling all cruises anyway? Maybe the cdc and the cruise lines will just say eff it all and go back to cruising like before?

What a nightmare! I hope that you can try to reason with them when you get to speak with someone - maybe when they realise that you have several family members sailing they might relent and bump someone else? If not, they should at least offer some form of compensation after assuring you that you were good to go. While I know it's not their fault that CDC is putting in the rules, Princess DID make the decision to allow the unvaxxed 5% so that piece is on them...

 

So sorry you have to go through this after truly believing you would be sailing soon!

[azbirdmom]

15 minutes ago, addie19 said:

 

 

Yep. They've said that since the sailings were basically approved after the Alaska tourism recovery act. I was afraid we would get canceled immediately after that, but they assured us when I called (along with the webinars john cherneskey has had) that they would actually be following the 95% vaccinated cdc suggestion. And that we were approved and part of the 5% threshold. 

 

That's why I actually paid in full, because that was assured before our final payment was even due. I hadn't scheduled any flights or hotels or rental cars until that was given the ok. Now I have and probably have some major adjustments to our itinerary to figure out. We still planned to vacation in Seattle and around Washington cruise or no cruise.

 

 

 

We were already booked and all reservations were linked! 

 

We were originally scheduled on an Alaska sailing that was set to go june(like right now!), but that was canceled back in January or February. After figuring out schedules we booked this one shortly after that got canceled. My mom and brother called within the past 14 days and approved for their 2 bookings to be linked with us.

 

I'm still waiting on a call back or return email, but the cruise vacation planners aren't open on weekends. I'm not expecting to hear until Monday. 

 

We still have access to our booking, so it hasn't been canceled completely(yet). Maybe they think we could find somewhere for the kids to stay and my husband and I could sail? That'll be a mess to figure out! My dad even offered today to stay behind with them. That's not fair to him. And he won't have a thrilling time in Seattle with two young kids. I wouldn't even want to do that by myself!

 

(I even looked up if I could enroll them in a trial, but none are close to us. I was surprised at that because my dad was involved in 2 in the Raleigh area--he's actually received 4 pfizer shots! And it's certainly crossed my mind that I could totally give them one from work - I work in a pharmacy and give vaccines! I have access to ALL of it! But, you know, risk prosecution, endangering my children, losing my job after 20 years, fines from them, etc., definitely a bad idea!)

 

Our next concern is if it is ok for our oldest son (age 13) to sail without his parents on board. And what documents if any are needed to approve him traveling with my brother, sister, and parents. 

 

It is what it is. Maybe they'll make a policy change again? Maybe the Florida lawsuit will end up canceling all cruises anyway? Maybe the cdc and the cruise lines will just say eff it all and go back to cruising like before?

 

That is quite a story.  I really hope that Princess can do something to get you back onboard again unless they are reverting to EVERYONE onboard being vaccinated which would mean NO kids under 12 sailing Alaska.  If that is the case, they shouldn't just bump part of the family, especially since your older son is still technically going.  But would the rest of your family want to bail on the cruise too?

 

In the days before Covid (hard to remember those wonderful days actually), when Princess was in an oversold situation, they made moveover offers.  We had a wonderful one we accepted a couple of years ago.  This is just like that except you don't the have option to say no.  Those who accepted the offer usually got a free cruise up to x days (often in an upgraded cabin)  plus the fare paid established as OBC on that cruise.  They would also pay for change fees on air, hotel, etc. up to a certain threshold.  And if your entire group is amenable, each of you should get that.

 

In any event I do hope you circle back after you've spoken with them.  And you are right, there are a lot of things that could go wrong with the lawsuits, no plan yet submitted to the CDC by Princess yet, etc., so all of us may need to be making other arrangements!  We will know soon enough but I really hope Princess will make this right for you, one way or another!

[beg3yrs]

39 minutes ago, addie19 said:

..

Our next concern is if it is ok for our oldest son (age 13) to sail without his parents on board. And what documents if any are needed to approve him traveling with my brother, sister, and parents. 

...

I believe you need to provide a permission letter signed by both parents and notarized. Thinking a little more my experience with a similar situation involved international travel so it might be a little simpler as this trip doesn't technically leave the country. Call Princess, I know you can do this.

[Coral]

On 6/12/2021 at 6:05 PM, addie19 said:

 

 

Yep. They've said that since the sailings were basically approved after the Alaska tourism recovery act. I was afraid we would get canceled immediately after that, but they assured us when I called (along with the webinars john cherneskey has had) that they would actually be following the 95% vaccinated cdc suggestion. And that we were approved and part of the 5% threshold. 

 

That's why I actually paid in full, because that was assured before our final payment was even due. I hadn't scheduled any flights or hotels or rental cars until that was given the ok. Now I have and probably have some major adjustments to our itinerary to figure out. We still planned to vacation in Seattle and around Washington cruise or no cruise.

 

 

 

We were already booked and all reservations were linked! 

 

We were originally scheduled on an Alaska sailing that was set to go june(like right now!), but that was canceled back in January or February. After figuring out schedules we booked this one shortly after that got canceled. My mom and brother called within the past 14 days and approved for their 2 bookings to be linked with us.

 

I'm still waiting on a call back or return email, but the cruise vacation planners aren't open on weekends. I'm not expecting to hear until Monday. 

 

We still have access to our booking, so it hasn't been canceled completely(yet). Maybe they think we could find somewhere for the kids to stay and my husband and I could sail? That'll be a mess to figure out! My dad even offered today to stay behind with them. That's not fair to him. And he won't have a thrilling time in Seattle with two young kids. I wouldn't even want to do that by myself!

 

(I even looked up if I could enroll them in a trial, but none are close to us. I was surprised at that because my dad was involved in 2 in the Raleigh area--he's actually received 4 pfizer shots! And it's certainly crossed my mind that I could totally give them one from work - I work in a pharmacy and give vaccines! I have access to ALL of it! But, you know, risk prosecution, endangering my children, losing my job after 20 years, fines from them, etc., definitely a bad idea!)

 

Our next concern is if it is ok for our oldest son (age 13) to sail without his parents on board. And what documents if any are needed to approve him traveling with my brother, sister, and parents. 

 

It is what it is. Maybe they'll make a policy change again? Maybe the Florida lawsuit will end up canceling all cruises anyway? Maybe the cdc and the cruise lines will just say eff it all and go back to cruising like before?

I just want to wish you luck! I am so sorry this happened to you.

[Peckishpixie]

This really stinks. I know Princess really loves its families. I bet it will affect their bottom line too if kids can't sail. I wonder if you can rebook on a cruise with less kids, or maybe a different week?

[addie19]

Ok. Got a call back.

 

New blanket policy for now is no kids under 12 allowed to sail at all!

 

They still have then 5% threshold of non-vaccinated, but exclusively only allowed for adults. Apparently there were too many kids taking up the 5% space. My cvp said it was affecting 160ish passengers (unsure if that's just August 1st or all Alaska sailings). 

 

Not happy with that decision. Not like a kid gets a discount on pricing and they'd make more money booking adults instead. 

 

Options now:

 

1-Sail without kids

2-price protection and rebook for same cruise next year (can cancel this in future if needed and get refund)

3-full refund 

4-FCC with 10% bonus valid for any cruise until end of next year 

 

Also, got another call today about kids being able to participate in covid vaccine study. I asked about possibility they could sail then. Nope. No one under 12 allowed. 

 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, addie19 said:

Ok. Got a call back.

 

New blanket policy for now is no kids under 12 allowed to sail at all!

 

They still have then 5% threshold of non-vaccinated, but exclusively only allowed for adults. Apparently there were too many kids taking up the 5% space. My cvp said it was affecting 160ish passengers (unsure if that's just August 1st or all Alaska sailings). 

 

Not happy with that decision. Not like a kid gets a discount on pricing and they'd make more money booking adults instead. 

 

Options now:

 

1-Sail without kids

2-price protection and rebook for same cruise next year (can cancel this in future if needed and get refund)

3-full refund 

4-FCC with 10% bonus valid for any cruise until end of next year 

 

Also, got another call today about kids being able to participate in covid vaccine study. I asked about possibility they could sail then. Nope. No one under 12 allowed. 

 

 

Oh wow.  That is crazy.  I'm so sorry to hear the explanation.  This is very different than the 5% unvaccinated threshold representing kids / religious / medical issues that has been shared on recent Princess webinars.  I actually didn't have a problem with that explanation from Princess when there were kids counted as part of that but I'm not happy with adults comprising up to 5% of the unvaccinated passengers.  I wonder if this is something that came out of the negotiations with the CDC?

 

The compensation stinks too, especially because you confirmed the rules BEFORE you paid in full.  I hope you don't lose any money on your other arrangements.

 

Did they say anything about your other son or why they were splitting up the group?  If your entire family cancelled too would they get the same offer as you did?

 

I sure wish you well as you figure this whole thing out.

 

 

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, addie19 said:

Ok. Got a call back.

 

New blanket policy for now is no kids under 12 allowed to sail at all!

 

They still have then 5% threshold of non-vaccinated, but exclusively only allowed for adults. Apparently there were too many kids taking up the 5% space. My cvp said it was affecting 160ish passengers (unsure if that's just August 1st or all Alaska sailings). 

 

Not happy with that decision. Not like a kid gets a discount on pricing and they'd make more money booking adults instead. 

 

Options now:

 

1-Sail without kids

2-price protection and rebook for same cruise next year (can cancel this in future if needed and get refund)

3-full refund 

4-FCC with 10% bonus valid for any cruise until end of next year 

 

Also, got another call today about kids being able to participate in covid vaccine study. I asked about possibility they could sail then. Nope. No one under 12 allowed. 

 

Oh, wow! That sucks! It also makes me a little mad - I have a 10 year old and it's not like we have any choice over whether or not he gets vaccinated. He CAN'T get vaccinated. I'm ok with this rule in the very short-term, as they start up the initial sailings...but I sure hope it changes sooner rather than later. Penalising families for something they have no control over is a little harsh! As your case highlights, it's not just the family with the child that is affected - it's all other parties connected to that booking, too!

[addie19]

Yes, they can all choose the same offers if they want. It's being offered to all cabins in our group (total of 3).

 

And it's fine if we choose to cancel just our room and 13yo sails without us.

 

I wonder if there is such a reduced capacity of passengers that it really made the numbers problematic. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by addie19

[ceilidh1]

Just now, addie19 said:

Yes, they can all choose the same offers if they want. It's being offered to all cabins in our group (total of 3).

I would go with the price protection for next year, in that case. I have a feeling pricing for next year is going to be insane! Lock it in while you have the chance. Good luck and so, so sorry!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

41 minutes ago, addie19 said:

I wonder if there is such a reduced capacity of passengers that it really made the numbers problematic. 

 

That's exactly the case - if they are capped at say 50% capacity the 5% can only come from the 50% number, not the total ships capacity.  Who knows whether CDC is basing all this on standard double occupancy capacity or maximum coast guard/lifeboat capacity, which would include 3rd/4th berths in the overall #s/% calculation.  regardless it's a mess

[ceilidh1]

5 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

That's exactly the case - if they are capped at say 50% capacity the 5% can only come from the 50% number, not the total ships capacity.  Who knows whether CDC is basing all this on standard double occupancy capacity or maximum coast guard/lifeboat capacity, which would include 3rd/4th berths in the overall #s/% calculation.  regardless it's a mess

I agree with you, but the problem I have with this is that Princess would have KNOWN those numbers, as well as how many kids were booked. They could have made the decision to have no kids on day one - that way, everyone would know well ahead of time. Instead, they actively promoted the fact that they would allow children up to the 5% non-vaxxed capacity. Seems a little unfair to change this after the fact (and after final payment...) Why make your customer base angry/frustrated/confused instead of just putting in the policy when announcing the restart?

[nocl]

Much easier for the cruise line to make a blanket decision for all under 12, than to try and explain how they picked which ones got canceled.

 

Also avoid the problem of dealing with unvaccinstead children having to follow different rules for masks and other protocols than their vaccipare  parents.

[pms4104]

24 minutes ago, nocl said:

Much easier for the cruise line to make a blanket decision for all under 12, than to try and explain how they picked which ones got canceled.

 

Also avoid the problem of dealing with unvaccinstead children having to follow different rules for masks and other protocols than their vaccipare  parents.

Princess has created their own special rat's nest here.

 

I get that it may be easier to not permit onboard those ineligible for vaccination because they are of a certain age.  Easy often does not work out very well.

 

I don't get that Princess will accept passengers who CLAIM to be exempt due to health issues ... and laws prohibit Princess from asking for proof.  I would expect those people will be required to mask and distance always and everywhere.  Enforcement?  Not easy, is it? 

 

With the Delta strain (now in the US and said to be more virulent and to spread more readily than previous strains) ... not sure I would elect to be part of that 5%.  I too clearly remember the news of the Diamond, Grand, Coral, Ruby etc.

 

 

[nocl]

1 minute ago, pms4104 said:

Princess has created their own special rat's nest here.

 

I get that it may be easier to not permit onboard those ineligible for vaccination because they are of a certain age.  Easy often does not work out very well.

 

I don't get that Princess will accept passengers who CLAIM to be exempt due to health issues ... and laws prohibit Princess from asking for proof.  I would expect those people will be required to mask and distance always and everywhere.  Enforcement?  Not easy, is it? 

 

With the Delta strain (now in the US and said to be more virulent and to spread more readily than previous strains) ... not sure I would elect to be part of that 5%.  I too clearly remember the news of the Diamond, Grand, Coral, Ruby etc.

 

 

These are e Alaskian cruises from Seattle, no laws preventing them from asking for whatever proof they want for vaccination.

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, pms4104 said:

Princess has created their own special rat's nest here.

 

I get that it may be easier to not permit onboard those ineligible for vaccination because they are of a certain age.  Easy often does not work out very well.

 

I don't get that Princess will accept passengers who CLAIM to be exempt due to health issues ... and laws prohibit Princess from asking for proof.  I would expect those people will be required to mask and distance always and everywhere.  Enforcement?  Not easy, is it? 

 

With the Delta strain (now in the US and said to be more virulent and to spread more readily than previous strains) ... not sure I would elect to be part of that 5%.  I too clearly remember the news of the Diamond, Grand, Coral, Ruby etc.

 

 

And here's an interesting question - for the 5% unvaccinated that must follow different protocols, how do you know who those folks are once they are on the ship? Do they have to wear special t-shirts saying "I'm Not Vaccinated" or is it 100% relying on the honour system? At least with the under 12 set, it would be pretty easy to identify them!

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, nocl said:

These are e Alaskian cruises from Seattle, no laws preventing them from asking for whatever proof they want for vaccination.

Isn't the law around asking why they are exempt? Rather than asking for proof of vaccination? At least in Canada, you can't ask someone why they have an exemption, you just have to take their word that they do...

[pms4104]

1 minute ago, nocl said:

These are e Alaskian cruises from Seattle, no laws preventing them from asking for whatever proof they want for vaccination.

But they can't ask for proof, or even an explanation, of health issues that MAY exempt someone a Covid vaccine.

[pms4104]

1 minute ago, ceilidh1 said:

Isn't the law around asking why they are exempt? Rather than asking for proof of vaccination? At least in Canada, you can't ask someone why they have an exemption, you just have to take their word that they do...

Sadly, tis true ... not as cut and dried as banning anyone under 12.

[PescadoAmarillo]

4 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Princess has created their own special rat's nest here.

Boy, have they.
 

While I sympathize with the OP, we booked our August 8 cruise because, and only because it was being promoted as a fully vaccinated cruise. We knew there were no guarantees about the status of crew vaccinations, but guests needed to have their final shot at least two weeks prior to the start of their cruise. Then, after we booked, we heard SVP John Chernesky say in his Alaska video, available on YoutTube, that exceptions were going to be considered on a case by case basis. That is NOT a fully vaccinated cruise. 
 

I realize that we will be around unvaccinated people at the airport, on the plane, in ports, perhaps crew members, and our risk will never be zero. But this was a bait and switch of the highest order. 

[pms4104]

9 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Boy, have they.
 

While I sympathize with the OP, we booked our August 8 cruise because, and only because it was being promoted as a fully vaccinated cruise. We knew there were no guarantees about the status of crew vaccinations, but guests needed to have their final shot at least two weeks prior to the start of their cruise. Then, after we booked, we heard SVP John Chernesky say in his Alaska video, available on YoutTube, that exceptions were going to be considered on a case by case basis. That is NOT a fully vaccinated cruise. 
 

I realize that we will be around unvaccinated people at the airport, on the plane, in ports, perhaps crew members, and our risk will never be zero. But this was a bait and switch of the highest order. 

I believe the serious risk is to those unvaccinated.

 

Not sure Princess knowingly is doing a bait and switch ... they seem to be caught up in some state of chaos because they keep changing their mind on what to do.

 

Not a pretty sight.

[nocl]

18 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Isn't the law around asking why they are exempt? Rather than asking for proof of vaccination? At least in Canada, you can't ask someone why they have an exemption, you just have to take their word that they do...

the ADA prevents one from asking why someone is considered to be disabled, why the have a placard, assist animal, etc.

 

The law does not prevent an employer or company from asking for proof of medical exemption. For example half of the states. explicitly require proof for medical exception from state mandated vaccination programs. There would not be able to do that if the ADA did not allow it.

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, nocl said:

the ADA prevents one from asking why someone is considered to be disabled, why the have a placard, assist animal, etc.

 

The law does not prevent an employer or company from asking for proof of medical exemption. For example half of the states. explicitly require proof for medical exception from state mandated vaccination programs. There would not be able to do that if the ADA did not allow it.

Interesting - thanks, I didn't know that. Next question, does that proof actually exist for an exemption from getting the vaccine? I'm not even sure who would be medically exempt/why? People who are immune compromised? Would those people even want to risk taking a cruise right now? So many questions...