January Cruisers - you can rebook without penalty!

[jondfk]

Just now, PacnGoNow said:

So you don’t have to rebook to use this option?  Did you lose your insurance premium paid?

TIA

I desperately tried to rebook, I could see open cabins in higher categories on several sailings but the chat rep said it wasn't possible (perhaps a more skilled person . . . ).

 

We didn't have Princess insurance (we do 3rd party covering the year not trip by trip) but all cancellations penalties were waived under the circumstances.  I don't know how they would have handled Princess insurance, sorry.  Logically seems like they should refund, but logic has failed us several times since our trip to Travis . . .

[PacnGoNow]

14 minutes ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

Not saying we will cancel our 1/23 Caribbean Princess sailing but we booked through TA and we had insurance through them which shows we cannot cancel if it’s just fear of getting Covid.  
Is there something from Princess that overrides this or am I kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place ?

Your TA would have to call PCL and ask.

I have PVP Princess ins. and my TA is checking with them to see what the rules are.  

[PacnGoNow]

15 minutes ago, jondfk said:

I desperately tried to rebook, I could see open cabins in higher categories on several sailings but the chat rep said it wasn't possible (perhaps a more skilled person . . . ).

 

We didn't have Princess insurance (we do 3rd party covering the year not trip by trip) but all cancellations penalties were waived under the circumstances.  I don't know how they would have handled Princess insurance, sorry.  Logically seems like they should refund, but logic has failed us several times since our trip to Travis . . .

You would think so… 

We will see. 

 

[Shelly97060]

3 hours ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

Not saying we will cancel our 1/23 Caribbean Princess sailing but we booked through TA and we had insurance through them which shows we cannot cancel if it’s just fear of getting Covid.  
Is there something from Princess that overrides this or am I kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place ?

It’s a Princess policy change. Princess mentioned it on their phone message over the weekend. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Shelly97060

[CruiseSter1ing]

Well enough people cancelled that it opened up an MB category room next to ours for $528/cabin less that we paid.  Got on with Chat.  Only took 1 minute for agent to join.  Explained what I was seeing and wanted fare credited but keep our same cabin.  We gave up a $100 OBC for a Specialty Dining for 2 promo.  So net, net we are better and happier.  Still got the grats, drinks, and wifi that we had signed up for before.  

[mrsmckee]

On 1/2/2022 at 11:28 AM, ZoeyVictoria said:

Has anyone had any success with Live Chat?  After trying for two hours, I had a short chat with a rep, only to be disconnected while she was reviewing my booking.  Tried again, after a few times I got to the welcome message and was disconnected as I sent my name and email address.

No luck today, either on phone line or live chat feature.  Please post if you have any luck! Thanks!

[CruiseSter1ing]

@mrsmckee  I must have gotten lucky.  See my post #55.  In addition, our cabin category MB fare for our 22 day European on the Regal in October came down $600.  I got that one reduced as well.  In both cases, I was able to point out that a same cat. was available for the lower price.  But did not have to change the cabin.  I gave up a cabin OBC of $100, but got Specialty Dining for 2.   

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@PacnGoNowI just got off the phone with my Princess vacation planner who said the entire fare including insurance could be refunded without penalty for all January sailings…..IF you say you are worried about covid as the reason for cancelling. Of course you can rebook as well. 
While I had Princess insurance, I don’t think that mattered as the insurance is also refunded. So even those without insurance should get same accommodation. 

Lots of rooms are opening up in many categories and there is little to no single supplements still. The prices are incredibly cheap (except for full suites). Even club class minis are on sale on the Ruby sailings I looked at for January.  And even though the full suites are NOT discounted, they have an extremely small supplement for a solo traveler. I’ve never seen that before!

 

I’m in a club class mini Jan 31 on Ruby that went down by $500. Unfortunately my PVP got someone in customer relations that would only give me $250 back.  They said the new prices weren’t for those just wanting to refare. 
 

I’m happy for those who were able to get refared though!  
 

Edited January 4, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[PacnGoNow]

14 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

@PacnGoNowI just got off the phone with my Princess vacation planner who said the entire fare including insurance could be refunded without penalty for all January sailings…..IF you say you are worried about covid as the reason for cancelling. Of course you can rebook as well. 
While I had Princess insurance, I don’t think that mattered as the insurance is also refunded. So even those without insurance should get same accommodation. 

Lots of rooms are opening up in many categories and there is little to no single supplements still. The prices are incredibly cheap (except for full suites). Even club class minis are on sale on the Ruby sailings I looked at for January.  And even though the full suites are NOT discounted, they have an extremely small supplement for a solo traveler. I’ve never seen that before!

 

I’m in a club class mini Jan 31 on Ruby that went down by $500. Unfortunately my PVP got someone in customer relations that would only give me $250 back.  They said the new prices weren’t for those just wanting to refare. 
 

I’m happy for those who were able to get refared though!  
 

Thank you so much for posting that!  
Really appreciate it. 

[hsmom]

23 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

@PacnGoNowI just got off the phone with my Princess vacation planner who said the entire fare including insurance could be refunded without penalty for all January sailings…..IF you say you are worried about covid as the reason for cancelling. Of course you can rebook as well. 

 

Refunded money or only FCC?

[LostFan#1]

I am trying to get through to my TA (no luck today) to reschedule our Jan. 19 sailing to Hawaii. Am I to understand that, if my same stateroom category is available, I would have to pay the fare difference if the March 10 sailing is higher? And I would not be guaranteed to receive the full perks package I have now? 

 

A mini-suite is now $850/pp more on March 20 than Jan. 19. I won't pay that difference, so will I be entitled to a full refund provided my reasoning is I'm afraid of getting Covid?

 

Thanks for any clarification anyone has. I am ready to get this settled.

 

 

[NavArch64]

May depend on who you get to talk or chat with. Also may depend on whether you intend to rebook or not.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

2 hours ago, hsmom said:

Refunded money or only FCC?

Refunded to the original form of payment. Credit card, FCC, however you originally paid.
 

And it doesn’t matter who you talk to. The cancelling or the rebooking is a new accommodation from Princess. The only grey area is getting refared if you still intend to cruise in January.  This program is not intended for refared but it seems there is some wiggle room on that. 

Edited January 4, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, LostFan#1 said:

I am trying to get through to my TA (no luck today) to reschedule our Jan. 19 sailing to Hawaii. Am I to understand that, if my same stateroom category is available, I would have to pay the fare difference if the March 10 sailing is higher? And I would not be guaranteed to receive the full perks package I have now? 

 

A mini-suite is now $850/pp more on March 20 than Jan. 19. I won't pay that difference, so will I be entitled to a full refund provided my reasoning is I'm afraid of getting Covid?

 

Thanks for any clarification anyone has. I am ready to get this settled.

 

 

Yes to all of your questions. 

[LostFan#1]

9 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Yes to all of your questions. 

Thank you!!

 

[LostFan#1]

I finally got a return call from my TA who has been overwhelmed with bookings (not cancellations!). He couldn't guarantee we would receive a full refund, but we cancelled anyway. $6k of our $7,700 fare was in FCCs, so surely we'll receive all those back. The rest of the fare was on a CC, but if it gets returned as FCC, we're fine with that. I am just going to have faith that Princess will honor the penalty-free cancellation.  

 

 

[lhsail]

Handled mine through email with my TA. Mine was all booked with FCC. Showed back up in my account almost immediately. 

[cmh]

On 1/1/2022 at 10:29 AM, jondfk said:

Added to the 1-800-Princess intro message today is information about allowing penalty free rebooking for cruises inside the 30 day cancellation deadline.  Call in and listen for yourself if you are uncomfortable with your upcoming sailing.

 

I just called my travel agent regarding our cruise sailing January 31st.  We can cancel and all money returned as a credit towards another cruise which expires the end of this year.

[LostFan#1]

Thanks for the replies - just checked, and FCCs are already returned to our accounts. However, not all of them. I need to find out if we were assessed a penalty.

 

[PacnGoNow]

16 minutes ago, LostFan#1 said:

Thanks for the replies - just checked, and FCCs are already returned to our accounts. However, not all of them. I need to find out if we were assessed a penalty.

 

My TA said PCL did not charge any penalties for the Jan cancellations.

But, it may take some time to finish

all the processing FCC, old ones, new ones, credit card refunds, cruise and port fees etc.  It seems very complicated the way they process it.  I’m sure there will be some delays.

[lhsail]

1 hour ago, LostFan#1 said:

Thanks for the replies - just checked, and FCCs are already returned to our accounts. However, not all of them. I need to find out if we were assessed a penalty.

 

The FCC we used for this cruise was from multiple previously canceled cruises. Although my detail seems to be missing a portion that should be credited back, the total in my account is correct. 

[dog]

11 minutes ago, lhsail said:

The FCC we used for this cruise was from multiple previously canceled cruises. Although my detail seems to be missing a portion that should be credited back, the total in my account is correct. 

What is book by. Sail by date for your FCC now?

[lhsail]

1 minute ago, dog said:

What is book by. Sail by date for your FCC now?

12/12/22

[Ccohen314]

We booked through Costco travel.  After 70 minutes waiting on phone, an agent rebooked our 1/8 cruise on Sky Princess for 12/10.  Same ship, same cabin, $100 per person cheaper.  Whole process took 2 hours.  

[mrsmckee]

On 1/3/2022 at 1:34 PM, jondfk said:

I desperately tried to rebook, I could see open cabins in higher categories on several sailings but the chat rep said it wasn't possible (perhaps a more skilled person . . . ).

 

We didn't have Princess insurance (we do 3rd party covering the year not trip by trip) but all cancellations penalties were waived under the circumstances.  I don't know how they would have handled Princess insurance, sorry.  Logically seems like they should refund, but logic has failed us several times since our trip to Travis . . .

Not sure if you're still searching for a better cabin, but....I did eventually get someone on live chat and requested to upgrade to a balcony room instead of an inside.  I could see a bunch of unsold balcony cabins and the cruise was 2 weeks away at that point.  At first he tried to tell me I had would have to pay a couple of hundred more which I won't do for a 4-night cruise....but I had taken a screenshot of the current price indicating it was only about $60 more for a balcony on a "new" reservation.  Shared the screenshot with him, he honored the price.  So yeah, I think you have to be a little bit pushy on that!