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Booking a risky trip - Australia early 2022

Virga

By Virga,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Virga

Virga

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Posted

So I have now postponed a (land based) trip to the Great Barrier reef twice.  I have worried for years that the reef will continue to degrade and I'll never get to see it in all it's glory.  Carnival has been tempting me with insanely attractive rates with high onboard credits on Australian cruises next year for months now - I love the Spirit class ships, and I'm considering biting.  The rates I'm looking at include $375 onboard credit per person, with a nonrefundable $150 deposit.

 

I'm just trying to get a feel for what could happen.  Say Carnival postpones their Oceania start again and our cruise is cancelled... I assume I'd be entitled to a full refund, or I could let them keep what I've paid and they'll give me that plus $600 towards a future cruise?  What about the $375pp OBC, does that follow me as well?

 

If I end up cancelling because Carnival decided to sail, but Australia doesn't want to let me in (or will only let me in with a long quarantine) what then?  Do I still get my full cruise cost back as FCC, or do I actually lose my deposit? 

 

I haven't dealt with any of this yet, and can't seem to make sense of it.  I will have trip insurance, so the monetary risk is fairly low to me, but I still want to know what I'm in for...  Thanks for any advice you can offer!

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mondello

mondello

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If you book, ride it out. You'd probably get OBC to rebook if they cancel you. 

You could lose non-refundable deposit if you cancel before they announce any protocols that affect your cruise.

I have a casino Premier offer right now with $1000au OBC but the timing and airfare don't work for me right now.

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Virga

Virga

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23 minutes ago, mondello said:

If you book, ride it out. You'd probably get OBC to rebook if they cancel you. 

You could lose non-refundable deposit if you cancel before they announce any protocols that affect your cruise.

I have a casino Premier offer right now with $1000au OBC but the timing and airfare don't work for me right now.

 

Tbh, I think our plan is to book a date we can hopefully take but don't have our hearts set on, with a reasonable expectation of them cancelling on us.  I'm glad to know for sure the $375 won't follow us, though I certainly wouldn't have complained if it did =p

 

Will we be allowed to use the FCC on any available promo when we rebook?  Like, we could use that credit even if the promo says 'new bookings only?'

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mondello

mondello

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14 hours ago, Virga said:

 

Tbh, I think our plan is to book a date we can hopefully take but don't have our hearts set on, with a reasonable expectation of them cancelling on us.  I'm glad to know for sure the $375 won't follow us, though I certainly wouldn't have complained if it did =p

 

Will we be allowed to use the FCC on any available promo when we rebook?  Like, we could use that credit even if the promo says 'new bookings only?'

Don't hold me to it but, Seems I saw a post somewhere about an Australia cruise that someone couldn't move the money back to a different cruise? Just have a nagging feeling I read something about they were stuck with an Australia cruise. Anyone else see any post about that?

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Hunter69

Hunter69

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Posted

Ok, Carnival cruises here are cancelled to mid Feb at the moment, the same with most cruise lines. 

Our Boarders to international travel Coming in won't open up for a while. We have a fascination of getting high Vacinnation rates before anything happens. 

I live in the largest population state New South Wales (Sydney Capital), we have 91% first dose & 71% double dosed as of yesterday. Yesterday our State opened up. For the first time in 3 months. As we where having around 700 Covid cases a day & about 5 deaths. Before yesterday you could only stay/travel within your local government area. (Sydney has 10 plus LGA's). All Taverns, Restraunt, cinema, basic retail where closed, only click & collect or Takeaway.. 

We still can't travel to another state until they get there Vacinnation rates up to at least 80% double vaxxed, which should be early December. (Our summer). So with state boarders opening in December. Most cruises reckon at least MARCH 2022 at the earliest.. 

But The Great Barrier Reef is worth it...

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Virga

Virga

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3 hours ago, mondello said:

Don't hold me to it but, Seems I saw a post somewhere about an Australia cruise that someone couldn't move the money back to a different cruise? Just have a nagging feeling I read something about they were stuck with an Australia cruise. Anyone else see any post about that?

 

I did read in the refund terms that, "The FCC/OBC may only be used toward one (1) booking in the same currency in which the above voyage was originally paid."   That gave me pause, but when I go to purchase an Australian cruise, the FAQ at the bottom includes, 

 
What is the cruise price currency?

 

Cruise Fare is in US Dollars.
 
I'd argue the heck out of that issue, and take the refund if they fought me.  
 
I'll try to search the site again now that I'm hearing that some people may have been bit by that or another bit of fine print.
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mondello

mondello

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1 hour ago, Virga said:

 

I did read in the refund terms that, "The FCC/OBC may only be used toward one (1) booking in the same currency in which the above voyage was originally paid."   That gave me pause, but when I go to purchase an Australian cruise, the FAQ at the bottom includes, 

 
What is the cruise price currency?

 

Cruise Fare is in US Dollars.
 
I'd argue the heck out of that issue, and take the refund if they fought me.  
 
I'll try to search the site again now that I'm hearing that some people may have been bit by that or another bit of fine print.

Yeah, that's the kicker. We'd be willing to rebook but most likely would see fares rise.

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Brkintx

Brkintx

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OP, I do not have any confidence that the sailing you're looking at will actually occur.  I have a similar concern but on a cruise already booked.

 

I'm booked on two casino offers for Australia cruises - one in May 2022 (Splendor) and one in June 2023 (Spirit). Both are the same offer - $4k AUD, free balcony (deposit becomes OBC), free drinks, blah blah. 

I do not think the May 2022 one will happen. In fact, I've already booked a replacement cruise for that period of the calendar next year (on the Panorama). I've paid the deposit, but still owe like $200 (port taxes / fees). More accurately, I kinda hope this one cancels - airfare is ridiculous, and I'll wait another year until things return to normal. That said, I also don't have (yet) a legit reason to cancel it myself.

 

My thoughts are that my possible outcomes if I let it ride are:

  • Carnival cancels the sailing (which is, IMO, unlikely to occur prior to the final payment date).
  • Carnival has not canceled the sailing by the time the final payment is due... 
    • I don't pay the balance and Carnival cancels non-payment (forfeiting my deposit).
    • I do pay the balance, hoping the cruise will cancel. If it does, full refund. If it doesn't, lose the entire amount ($400ish).

What I'm thinking about is this (group thoughts please!)... 

The same offer (All In Australia) still appears in my profile, and IS applicable for the sailing one week earlier than my June 2023 sailing. I  am thinking about calling them to see if they will cancel my 2022 sailing and move the deposit to a second week on the Spirit (creating a B2B on that 2023 trip). 

 

Any thoughts?  Guidance?

 

 

 

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travelplus

travelplus

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Posted (edited)

My Cousin is from Sydney and his Mother is living there. He advised me to wait to book a cruise I was considering until December 2022  at the earliest as even he is not sure about the restrictions even as an Australian citizen. I may go as a solo traveler sooner if the restrictions ease up. Right now airfare is very high! I am in no rush to go there. He lives in New York.  I would wait it out a bit to see what happens. I would let a few cruises go on for a month or two and fully complete the itinerary before committing to a cruise out of Sydney.

 

I work in Tourism Research and Development so please take my advice and my Cousin's advice to postpone any travel for awhile.

Edited by travelplus
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my kids mama

my kids mama

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I had a cruise out of Sydney booked for Jan, 2022.  My son was supposed to get married Jan, 2021, and had to postpone for a year, so I postponed my cruise on the Splendor to Jan 2023.  Hopefully by then, we will be back to some sort of normalcy, whatever that means. 

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SNJCruisers

SNJCruisers

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9 hours ago, mondello said:

Yeah, that's the kicker. We'd be willing to rebook but most likely would see fares rise.

I had a Royal cruise booked for August 2021 out of Bayonne on the Oasis that was cancelled.   I took the 125% FCC and had just enough for the same cabin for June 2022, so it went up just under 25%.

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silvercrikhix

silvercrikhix

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I cancelled a few months ago. A Visa is required and it can take 6 months. I told Carnival that:

They aren’t accepting Visa Applications rt now 

We couldn’t get a Visa in time If they were. 

They aren’t accepting travelers anyway

 

I moved those 2 sailings (B2B) to 2 individual cabins for 1 cruise on the Dream in Nov 2022. I kept my OBC also. 
They had no problem with that. It did take 2 transfers on the phone call but I was lucky

they answered my call right away. Maybe a 10 minute phone call total. They know very well that

Australia March 2022 is not happening.  

Edited by silvercrikhix
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my kids mama

my kids mama

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On 10/13/2021 at 8:15 PM, silvercrikhix said:

I cancelled a few months ago. A Visa is required and it can take 6 months. I told Carnival that:

They aren’t accepting Visa Applications rt now 

We couldn’t get a Visa in time If they were. 

They aren’t accepting travelers anyway

 

I moved those 2 sailings (B2B) to 2 individual cabins for 1 cruise on the Dream in Nov 2022. I kept my OBC also. 
They had no problem with that. It did take 2 transfers on the phone call but I was lucky

they answered my call right away. Maybe a 10 minute phone call total. They know very well that

Australia March 2022 is not happening.  

A visa is required?  Do you mean a passport, or something different to go to Australia? 

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nwcruiselover

nwcruiselover

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An electronic visa has been required for many years to visit Australia.  My first visit was in 2000 and I have been there many times since, always with an electronic visa that had to be arranged prior to arrival in Australia.

Edited by nwcruiselover
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my kids mama

my kids mama

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6 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

An electronic visa has been required for many years to visit Australia.  My first visit was in 2000 and I have been there many times since, always with an electronic visa that had to be arranged prior to arrival in Australia.

Thanks to both of you for letting me know this.  I had no idea it was any different than cruising to the Caribbean or the Med. I have lots of time as my cruise doesn't leave until December 30th 2022.  I will keep tabs on how long it takes to get a visa as we get a little closer.  

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nwcruiselover

nwcruiselover

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The electronic visa for Australia used to be a fairly quick process that was done on-line. Just enter all the required info and pay the nominal fee, and it was approved quickly, usually within a few minutes.  That part might have changed with covid.  Obviously I haven’t been able to travel to Australia lately so I don’t know the current procedure.

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