CANCELLED TODAY

[mrscrab]

Received an email today from Josh Leibowitz (President of Seabourn) saying my Christmas cruise from Sydney to Auckland this December has been cancelled. This is obviously due to Covid and the Australian Government not having a policy regarding cruise ships coming into Australian waters. All well and good but my booking has been transfered forward in 18 months time to another Christmas cruise from Auckland to Sydney. I have not been consulted regarding this new booking and feel very cheated and am more than upset that Seabourn had the audacity to presume I would be available to cruise with them over Christmas 2022.

[markham]

OMG! And they saved a place for you?!

 

BTW, what will you be doing at Christmas 2022?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Covepointcruiser]

Sounds like you need to cancel and get a refund.

[frantic36]

Maybe they were concerned you may wish to do the cruise and would be upset if they cancelled and when you went to rebook you couldn't get your preferred suite/deck or even on the cruise? Either you or your TA could contact Seabourn Australia and arrange a refund.

[cruiseej]

13 hours ago, mrscrab said:

I have not been consulted regarding this new booking and feel very cheated and am more than upset that Seabourn had the audacity to presume I would be available to cruise with them over Christmas 2022.

 

I don't think you have any reason to feel cheated; I'm sure that they were just trying to preserve availability for passengers who were scheduled to sail this year if you'd want to be on the next Christmas cruise. 

[Sunviking]

I found out yesterday that my Ovation cruise from Athens to Dubai was cancelled. I was really looking forward to it since it would have been my first solo cruise since my husband of 50 years death and I think I need a deviation from my new normal. I understand the complicated logistics that Seabourn is dealing with and they offered me a few alternatives. I shall mull over the choices and “go with the flow.” How could anyone have foreseen the events of the last year and a half? Hopefully we shall all be well and wiser. I pray that the first series of Seabourn cruises will go well and without incident.

[whystayhome]

We were on for 18 days R/T Athens in October and yes, we were cancelled as well.  The question is which of the 4 options to take.  The comparable cruises in 2021 and 2022 do not fit the dates we are available.  The refund would be OK, or should we let Seabourn hang onto out ~$5000 deposit for a year in exchange for getting another $500 FCC?  What is everyone thinking of doing?

 

Linda

[Mr Luxury]

On 6/19/2021 at 9:30 PM, whystayhome said:

 What is everyone thinking of doing?

Getting on with life and trying not to sweat the small stuff.

 

[Hlitner]

We have had 5 cruises canceled (so far) do to COVID with a 6th cruise (March 2022 in Asia) likely to be cancelled (because Asia is far behind on vaccinations).  No sense ruminating, whining, or getting too upset because this is our world for the next couple of years (at least).  So what to do for travelers/cruisers?  We just have to look at other options which, in our case, may well not include cruises.  I think that the longer more exotic itineraries may be dead for the next 2-3 years but there are still lots of opportunities on land.  We can speculate that Europe will be entirely open next year and there are numerous opportunities on the continent be it leasing a car for a few months and just driving, taking river cruises, or a decent tour.

 

Hank

[Tomc4253]

We were also on the Bali to Auckland cruise for December 2021. 

When we got the cancellation email and saw the choices offered we didn’t like any of them so we picked something else and applied the credit to that. Now booked on Lisbon to Stockholm departing June 18, 2022.

Hopefully things will have returned to a reasonable facsimile of normal by then. 

[Cru Doll]

Hello Tom,

I’m happy to see that you posted on the Message Board.   The roll call you started for this 21 day Lisbon to Stockholm sailing has been quiet.  Hopefully, your post will attract more interest in the roll call.

Looking forward to meeting you and other members on board the Ovation.

Anne Marie

 

 

[nzlife]

I would forget any cruise coming to NZ  for some time , we are in total lockdown .

There is presently only 26% vaccinated and the inept govt will not give any info on when we may be open to travel again .

At the moment only NZ citizens or permanent residents may enter the country and need to do 14 days managed isolation at their own cost $3000. That is if you can get a booking which is virtually impossible.

I do not think we will be able to travel , and return , before June . If you are not from NZ who knows.

[TPAtravelfan]

We're booked on the Quest over Christmas and NYE in Antarctica.  Given the remote destination and Seabourn's effective COVID policies (which we experienced on Ovation last month) we are hoping this trip is not going to be cancelled but the recent announcements and continued growth of Delta variant do have us concerned.  Any one have any new news on Quest itineraries?

 

Please vaccinate and wear a mask when required so we can get back to our normal travel routines!

[tjcox9]

13 minutes ago, TPAtravelfan said:

We're booked on the Quest over Christmas and NYE in Antarctica.  Given the remote destination and Seabourn's effective COVID policies (which we experienced on Ovation last month) we are hoping this trip is not going to be cancelled but the recent announcements and continued growth of Delta variant do have us concerned.  Any one have any new news on Quest itineraries?

 

Please vaccinate and wear a mask when required so we can get back to our normal travel routines!

Does your cruise still appear on the SB website (such as it is) if you do a search for it? The last search I did, nothing from November, the beginning of the repo to get to SA to do the Antarctica voyages has disappeared and others after that until January.  But, then who knows what is going on behind the scenes with negotiations with the various countries. Hope you get to do it as it was our last cruise  (Dec 2019 - Jan 2020) before we were attacked by the Covid! Hoping for the best for you.

[TPAtravelfan]

58 minutes ago, tjcox9 said:

Does your cruise still appear on the SB website (such as it is) if you do a search for it? The last search I did, nothing from November, the beginning of the repo to get to SA to do the Antarctica voyages has disappeared and others after that until January.  But, then who knows what is going on behind the scenes with negotiations with the various countries. Hope you get to do it as it was our last cruise  (Dec 2019 - Jan 2020) before we were attacked by the Covid! Hoping for the best for you.

Thanks!  Yes, it still shows up and we are hopeful.  This may also be a way to stagger cancellation calls for customer care if, indeed, they are cancelling.  It also staggers the refunds which is better for CC.  I know another cruise line that puts all suite categories on "wait list" for a week or more before they are officially cancelled.  Removing the cruises all together from the Seabourn website is ominous. 

[Catlover54]

On 8/21/2021 at 1:42 AM, nzlife said:

I would forget any cruise coming to NZ  for some time , we are in total lockdown .

There is presently only 26% vaccinated and the inept govt will not give any info on when we may be open to travel again .

At the moment only NZ citizens or permanent residents may enter the country and need to do 14 days managed isolation at their own cost $3000. That is if you can get a booking which is virtually impossible.

I do not think we will be able to travel , and return , before June . If you are not from NZ who knows.

This is very disappointing for both you, and NZ visitors, though I understand many of your countrymen want to keep NZ *totally* Covid-free and support the lockdowns. We were last in your beautiful country in 2015 on a Silversea cruise and absolutely loved it, and would love to visit again.  Hopefully it will open up before we get too old for the long flight from the U.S.

 

In  words that would not violate CC rules, can you advise what is causing the hold-up on getting more NZ people vaccinated (not on where the political judgment on risk/benefit of partial opening should fall)?  Is it primarily a shortage of vaccine, or a shortage of people willing to get vaxed similar to Australia (especially young healthy people, as I understand is a problem in Australia, e.g., those who were marching in the streets opposing lockdowns this last weekend)? 

 

In the U.S., though we are at roughly 73% of adults being vaxed with at least one dose, we still have a long way to go to stop the virus. There  is plenty of free vaccine in most areas, but there is a large group of hold-outs that will not consent, for various diverse reasons beyond the scope of this forum.  Fortunately 92% of people over 65, the highest risk group for hospitalization and death from Covid (3/4) are vaxed, though now we are going into booster mode.  I suspect 100% of American residents who follow CC are vaxed, or they wouldn't be able to even consider cruising.  

 

I would love to go to Antarctica this winter, and NZ next year, but Argentina and Chile so far remain closed to us and all other foreign nationals.  

We are living in very challenging  times for many.  I hope things improve within the next few months.

 

 

[frantic36]

19 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

a shortage of people willing to get vaxed similar to Australia (especially young healthy people, as I understand is a problem in Australia, e.g., those who were marching in the streets opposing lockdowns this last weekend)? 

 

 

This is not actually how things are going here in Australia. Yes there were some protests but not as many people as you would think and most were protesting lockdowns not vaccinations.

 

Here in Western Australia they only opened up vaccinations for 16-39yo last week and the vaccine rate jumped up as that cohort are keen to get vaccinated. One of my sons got his first last week and the other son is getting his first done today. Victoria is only just opening up to that cohort next Monday. NSW opened up that cohort a few weeks ago but predominately in the areas the Covid outbreaks are highest. Here in WA as we had no local cases the younger cohort were restricted to only Pfizer as per Therapeutic Health Advice. They couldn't access AstraZeneca which is what my husband and I had.

 

The problem for the younger cohort has been lack of supply of Pfizer and no Moderna but thankfully our Pfizer supplies are increasing significantly and we should be getting Moderna arriving later in September.

[Mr Luxury]

On 6/18/2021 at 2:13 PM, markham said:

OMG! And they saved a place for you?!

 

BTW, what will you be doing at Christmas 2022?

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Still moaning about it

[seattleskibums]

On 8/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, Tomc4253 said:

We were also on the Bali to Auckland cruise for December 2021. 

When we got the cancellation email and saw the choices offered we didn’t like any of them so we picked something else and applied the credit to that. ...

We're curious whether Seabourn gave you any consideration for canceling your cruise.  Our January cruise on the Venture was canceled and -- like you -- we didn't like any of the choices in Josh's cancellation letter.

 

The new cruise we wanted to book was less than what we already had paid for the Venture cruise, but Seabourn was not willing to refund the difference to our credit card.  All they would offer was a FCC with an expiration, which means we would have had to risk forfeiture of almost $2,000 if we didn't take another cruise within seven months of the one we were hoping to book.

 

Anyone in the Seabourn Club with a FCD on file could have received the same deal as we were offered without risking the forfeiture of almost $2,000.  When our cruises on Silversea and Crystal were canceled, they actually gave us bonuses that made it advantageous for us to book a future cruise.

 

Seabourn’s offer was totally inadequate because we would have lost money upon the likely expiration of the FCC.  That really wasn’t much of an incentive for booking another Seabourn cruise, so we just took the 100% refund.  Now Seabourn can hope we'll forgive them some day for trying to scam us.

[TPAtravelfan]

Interesting that Seabourn Customer Care "has no knowledge" of any Antarctica cancellations.  When I mentioned that the ship has to get to Buenos Aires for embarkation somehow and that the two previous trips that get it there are now gone from the website, the response was *crickets*.  Then I was told maybe it had to do with the World Cruise (on Sojourn) being cancelled.  What?  We're on Quest!

 

Seabourn is not being forthcoming on what is happening.  I can book a replacement holiday trip (hello, skiing in Colorado!) but my back-up plan choices will be limited if they wait until November to break the news that they already know today.  

 

 

[cruiseej]

@TPAtravelfan The customer agents may not always have up-to-date information as things are rapidly changing. You're on the December 20 Quest cruise? And you think they know it's not going to sail but don't want to officially cancel it and refund money yet? I actually don't think it's likely it has been canceled, at least not yet.

 

Just last week, Argentina announced that Ushuaia would be opening this fall to support the winter Antarctic sailing season. The primary issue for cruise lines is whether and how to get their passengers to and from South America. Will Buenos Aires be open to international travelers? One would think that opening Ushuaia would be useless unless people can get there -- generally from Buenos Aires or Santiago, Chile -- so the government officials who made that announcement know that there will be additional changes forthcoming to allow international travelers. It's possible Seabourn might be considering whether they can operate from Buenos Aires, or whether to fly people to Ushuaia and have the trip depart from there.

 

For what it's worth, we're booked on a Silversea cruise departing Ushuaia on the same day, and so far, none fo the Silversea Antarctica trips have been canceled. 

[TPAtravelfan]

Talked with Seabourn customer care and escalated to a supervisor who confirmed they are no longer selling the two November Quest itineraries.  That said, it could much be different than cancellation as you point out.  They may indeed be reworking the itineraries to embark out of Ushuaia.  This plan only works with commercial flights if you can transit BA airport to connect to a domestic flight to Ushuaia.  That may require two different airports.

 

I got the impression Seabourn really wants to operate the Antarctica trips and is working on contingencies.  They are still selling the holiday cruise.  We'll just have to stay informed, wait and see what happens.

 

[cruiseej]

Our Silversea cruise travel is via Santiago to Ushuaia. Some cruises are departing from Punta Arenas as well. So there are options, assuming one or both countries open up at least somewhat to international travelers.

[TPAtravelfan]

I’d much rather embark in Ushuaia that Punta Arenas, having been to both places several times, but Chile is better vaccinated than the USA so if it ends up RT Santiago, I’m good with that.