Celebrity Refund and Cancellation Covid 19 Policies ending 4/30/22?

[Desert Diamond]

After searching the Celebrity website, I am wondering if anyone knows what Celebrity's new policies will be regarding quarantining/pro-rated refunds if testing positive during a cruise? We're cruising on May 3rd and I noticed that the website shows an expiration date of 4/30/22 for various related policies. 

 

CELEBRITY CRUISES REFUND* AND CANCELLATION POLICY FOR COVID-19

"The below policies are effective February 25, 2022 and apply to all Celebrity cruises scheduled to sail between February 25, 2022 and April 30, 2022, inclusive:" 

 

There is no mention of new policies beginning May 1st. Maybe they are letting these expire and going forward, any onboard positive cases will be treated as other diseases and there will be no more pro-rated refunds for days in quarantine? There is also no mention of covering expenses if quarantining on land or assiting with arrangements to return homne. My travel agent has been off due to illness so I may need to call Celebrity next week but thought perhaps someone on CC will know this info.

 

I did also notice that Cruise with Confidence applies to all cruises booked before March 31,2022 so that appears to be ending as well.

 

Thank you in advance for any insight. 🙂

[jelayne]

CWC says cruises booked by 3/31/22 so that will cover anything currently booked.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if they lapse and things go back to pre pandemic policies.

 

 

[PaperGrandma]

The way I understand this policy is that if you booked by 3/31/22 then the policy is in effect.  We sail June 3, 2022.  We were booked and paid in full as of yesterday.  I would expect that the covid policy would be honored if we develop covid on our trip.  Is my understanding wrong?

[jelayne]

CWC and the Covid 19 policies are 2 different things.  CWC allows you to cancel within 48 hr of sailing and receive a FCC if your cruise is booked by 3/31/22. So cruises we currently have booked for 2023 and 2024 are covered.

 

The Covid 19 assistance, applies if you test positive within 10 days of sailing you an get a refund.  If test you positive for Covid while onboard it covers quarantine, medical expenses  and transportation home assistance and pro-rated refund for portion of the cruise that is cut short.  That Covid 19 assistance is what  is scheduled to end with cruises departing after 4/30/22.

[Arizona Wildcat]

And asking what will happen with policy in the future?  Similar to picking the NCAA basketball tourney champion. 

[canderson]

9 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

And asking what will happen with policy in the future?  Similar to picking the NCAA basketball tourney champion. 

And the way my brackets blow up every year, I refuse to make any guesses on this topic!

[Jeremiah1212]

On 3/7/2022 at 10:48 PM, jelayne said:

CWC and the Covid 19 policies are 2 different things.  CWC allows you to cancel within 48 hr of sailing and receive a FCC if your cruise is booked by 3/31/22. So cruises we currently have booked for 2023 and 2024 are covered.

 

The Covid 19 assistance, applies if you test positive within 10 days of sailing you an get a refund.  If test you positive for Covid while onboard it covers quarantine, medical expenses  and transportation home assistance and pro-rated refund for portion of the cruise that is cut short.  That Covid 19 assistance is what  is scheduled to end with cruises departing after 4/30/22.

 

CWC only applies to cruises through sailing through 9/30/22. The cruise has to be booked by 3/31/22, but the CWC benefits do not cover cruises on/after 10/1/22. 

[LB_NJ]

So if they continue the pre-cruise COVID testing requirement (or one of the destination ports require it) and the test comes back positive within 48 hours of embarkation you can't board and you don't get a refund.

 

Not even sure travel insurance covers it.

[koolforkatz]

2 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

So if they continue the pre-cruise COVID testing requirement (or one of the destination ports require it) and the test comes back positive within 48 hours of embarkation you can't board and you don't get a refund.

 

Not even sure travel insurance covers it.

 

That's the way I see it too. You wouldn't necessarily get your test back in time to take advantage of the CWC refund. We have an upcoming cruise in June. I am hoping by then either this has been extended or pre-cruise testing has been eliminated. 

[LB_NJ]

8 minutes ago, koolforkatz said:

 

That's the way I see it too. You wouldn't necessarily get your test back in time to take advantage of the CWC refund. We have an upcoming cruise in June. I am hoping by then either this has been extended or pre-cruise testing has been eliminated. 

The pre-cruise testing is scheduled to go away on March 31 for US originated cruises unless extended.  However, I have a cruise to Bermuda and the country requires a pre-cruise COVID test.

[Jeremiah1212]

2 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

The pre-cruise testing is scheduled to go away on March 31 for US originated cruises unless extended.  However, I have a cruise to Bermuda and the country requires a pre-cruise COVID test.

 

For US departures the pre-cruise test has already been extended through April 30. 

[koolforkatz]

13 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

The pre-cruise testing is scheduled to go away on March 31 for US originated cruises unless extended.  However, I have a cruise to Bermuda and the country requires a pre-cruise COVID test.

 

Mine's European, so at this point who knows. Fingers crossed.

[cruisinsusin]

9 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

CWC only applies to cruises through sailing through 9/30/22. The cruise has to be booked by 3/31/22, but the CWC benefits do not cover cruises on/after 10/1/22. 

I copied this from the CWC explanation on the website:

"Cancel up to 48 Hours Before you Sail You have up to 48 hours before you sail to cancel and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit to use on a sailing that departs on or before December 31, 2022 or within one year from your original sailing date, whichever is later."

 

So if a cruise is booked before 3/31/22, and is scheduled for 4/2024, the FCC for the deposit should be good until April 2025, right?

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, cruisinsusin said:

I copied this from the CWC explanation on the website:

"Cancel up to 48 Hours Before you Sail You have up to 48 hours before you sail to cancel and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit to use on a sailing that departs on or before December 31, 2022 or within one year from your original sailing date, whichever is later."

 

So if a cruise is booked before 3/31/22, and is scheduled for 4/2024, the FCC for the deposit should be good until April 2025, right?

CWC only applies to cruises through Sept 2022. If your reservation is for Oct 2022 or later you are not covered by CWC and cannot cancel up to the 48hr mark and get the FCC. 
 

Celebrity Cruises’ “Cruise with Confidence” program provides individual guests and guests in non-contracted groups who booked a cruise on or before March 31, 2022, on sailings between June 12, 2020 and September 30, 2022, with the option to either: (i) cancel their cruise reservation up to 48 hours prior to the vacation start date and elect to receive a Future Cruise Credit under the Cruise with Confidence program (a “CWC FCC”) equal to the amount of the cruise fare the guest paid to Celebrity for their cruise, or (ii) opt in for our Cruise with Confidence “best price guarantee” on their current sailing up to 48 hours prior to the vacation start date. If the guest cancels an eligible booking before the 48-hour cut-off and elects to receive a CWC FCC:

[cruisinsusin]

22 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

CWC only applies to cruises through Sept 2022. If your reservation is for Oct 2022 or later you are not covered by CWC and cannot cancel up to the 48hr mark and get the FCC. 
 

Celebrity Cruises’ “Cruise with Confidence” program provides individual guests and guests in non-contracted groups who booked a cruise on or before March 31, 2022, on sailings between June 12, 2020 and September 30, 2022, with the option to either: (i) cancel their cruise reservation up to 48 hours prior to the vacation start date and elect to receive a Future Cruise Credit under the Cruise with Confidence program (a “CWC FCC”) equal to the amount of the cruise fare the guest paid to Celebrity for their cruise, or (ii) opt in for our Cruise with Confidence “best price guarantee” on their current sailing up to 48 hours prior to the vacation start date. If the guest cancels an eligible booking before the 48-hour cut-off and elects to receive a CWC FCC:

If that is the case, to what does the “Dec. 31,2022 or 1 year after original sail date whichever is later” refer? 
thanks

[rakes5]

38 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

If that is the case, to what does the “Dec. 31,2022 or 1 year after original sail date whichever is later” refer? 
thanks

This policy has been in place for some time, thus the wording seems out of date now.

 

Once we passed Dec 31, 2021, the 1 year after original sail date now applies.

 

We just cancelled a March 13, 2022 cruise, and had to apply to a cruise sailing before March , 2023.

 

Our TA said if we weren't sure where we wanted to apply the FCC, we could book a Sept 2022 cruise before March 31, 2022. Then we could still be eligible to cancel later, and would be able to apply it to a cruise sailing up to Sept 2023 

Unless they update the policy, Sept 30, 2023 would be the latest that you could extend a CWC FCC, as long as it is booked before March 31, 2022.

 

Sounded way to confusing to us. Luckily we found a Feb 2023 B2B  cruise we liked, so we could apply the whole FCC.

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, cruisinsusin said:

If that is the case, to what does the “Dec. 31,2022 or 1 year after original sail date whichever is later” refer? 
thanks

If you had a cruise between June 12, 2020 and Sept 30, 2022 that you chose to cancel and take an FCC, you have until Dec 31, 2022 to use that FCC -or- you have one year from the original cruise date, whichever is later. Cruises after September 2022 have no CWC provision.
 

If you cancel a cruise today using CWC, your FCC would be valid through March 2023. But if your cruise was scheduled in March 2021, you have to use that FCC by December 31, 2022. 

[dreams_of_travel]

9 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

If you cancel a cruise today using CWC, your FCC would be valid through March 2023. But if your cruise was scheduled in March 2021, you have to use that FCC by December 31, 2022. 

That was my understanding, too.  The rep I spoke with yesterday was not aware of this policy, and was trying to tell me I had to use my FCC from my recently cancelled cruise before Dec 22.  Hope the reps get up to speed soon.

[Jeremiah1212]

8 hours ago, dreams_of_travel said:

That was my understanding, too.  The rep I spoke with yesterday was not aware of this policy, and was trying to tell me I had to use my FCC from my recently cancelled cruise before Dec 22.  Hope the reps get up to speed soon.

 

Right. Simply put, any cruise canceled under CWC in 2022 would have one year from the original sail date to use the FCC.

[TeeRick]

So what is the new Cruise With Confidence 48 hr cancellation date?  The CC article yesterday says it was extended for sailings booked on or before March 31 for sailings through Sept 2022.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6819/

 

But here is what the Celebrity web site states:

 

"You have up to 48 hours before you sail to cancel and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit to use on a sailing that departs on or before December 31, 2022 or within one year from your original sailing date, whichever is later."

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

 

So is it September or December?

[chamima]

9 hours ago, rakes5 said:

This policy has been in place for some time, thus the wording seems out of date now.

Once we passed Dec 31, 2021, the 1 year after original sail date now applies.

We just cancelled a March 13, 2022 cruise, and had to apply to a cruise sailing before March , 2023.

Our TA said if we weren't sure where we wanted to apply the FCC, we could book a Sept 2022 cruise before March 31, 2022. Then we could still be eligible to cancel later, and would be able to apply it to a cruise sailing up to Sept 2023 

Unless they update the policy, Sept 30, 2023 would be the latest that you could extend a CWC FCC, as long as it is booked before March 31, 2022.

 

Sounded way to confusing to us. Luckily we found a Feb 2023 B2B  cruise we liked, so we could apply the whole FCC.

 

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Right. Simply put, any cruise canceled under CWC in 2022 would have one year from the original sail date to use the FCC.

 

 

We have an FCC from a cancelled Feb. 11, 2022 cruise .(For which we didn't get the full 100% , but that's another story). Because of the 2023 schedule we want to apply it to a similar cruise that departs Feb. 13, 2023. That's 2 days after a year. I called Celebrity in January and asked if that would work and the phone rep said yes but I didn't get it in writing (BIG MISTAKE!) Our TA said she doesn't expect it to apply. (She's out of town currently but will deal with it when she returns)

Anyone have experience with something similar?

OR - can we actually book a phantom cruise for this coming September as rake5 did and then cancel it and re-use the FCC? I would have thought the FCC reverted to the original issue date.

Edited March 12, 2022 by chamima

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

So what is the new Cruise With Confidence 48 hr cancellation date?  The CC article yesterday says it was extended for sailings booked on or before March 31 for sailings through Sept 2022.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6819/

 

But here is what the Celebrity web site states:

 

"You have up to 48 hours before you sail to cancel and receive 100% Future Cruise Credit to use on a sailing that departs on or before December 31, 2022 or within one year from your original sailing date, whichever is later."

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

 

So is it September or December?

 

CWC coverage ends in September. If you sail in October onward, you cannot cancel up to 48hrs, etc. 

 

FCC's have to be used by Dec 31, 2022 or a year from the original sail date. Whichever is later. If you were to cancel a cruise leaving today, your FCC would be good through March 12, 2023. Any cruise canceled in 2022 would have a full year from the original cruise date to use the FCC since a year from any 2022 sail date is later than Dec 31, 2022. 

[wrk2cruise]

@Jeremiah1212  To clarify for a prior poster about canceling/moving a sailing after applying the CwC FCC, using your example where someone cancels a sailing today and then in August 2022 books a Feb 2023 sailing using the FCC which would be withing the published time frame everything is ok.

 

If they subsequently cancel that sailing the FCC would then be reissued but with an expiry date of March 12, 2023.   Also trying to move that Feb 2023 reservation to a sailing beyond March 12, 2023 the FCC would be expired and not applied.

 

It's my understanding that's how it works under the current policy dates.  Correct?

 

 

 

[chamima]

22 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

@Jeremiah1212  To clarify for a prior poster about canceling/moving a sailing after applying the CwC FCC, using your example where someone cancels a sailing today and then in August 2022 books a Feb 2023 sailing using the FCC which would be withing the published time frame everything is ok.

 

If they subsequently cancel that sailing the FCC would then be reissued but with an expiry date of March 12, 2023.   Also trying to move that Feb 2023 reservation to a sailing beyond March 12, 2023 the FCC would be expired and not applied.

 

It's my understanding that's how it works under the current policy dates.  Correct?

 

 

 

 

Are you saying that the original expiry date of an FCC can be extended by using it to book a cruise (as long as that cruise is before Sept. 2022) and then canceling that cruise?

Again, I would think the FCC would revert to the original expiration date.

[Blossom3]

Flights, pre-cruise hotel, private transfers and cruise all booked direct with Celebrity, in the event of cancelling under the CWC, with the future cruise credit cover all these expenses or just the cruise portion?