mv_hana

22 hours ago, Sarnia 432 said:

@mv_hana could you post the new itinerary letter on the Island princess world cruise roll call.  There are a lot of segment cruisers who would be very pleased to finally see what that section will look like.

22 hours ago, Sarnia 432 said:

@mv_hana could you post the new itinerary letter on the Island princess world cruise roll call.  There are a lot of segment cruisers who would be very pleased to finally see what that section will look like.

Feb.16 Melbourne (new port)

Feb 21 Perth

Feb 29 Port Louis, Mauritius (new port)

The attachment shows everything from Feb 29 through April 15. No word yet after April 15, but assuming it will be all sea days until Fort Lauderdale.

21 hours ago, souths said:

It’s not just Azamara going through the Red Sea, Princess, Holland America, Virgin, seabourne, Oceania, Reagent of the Sea are also scheduled for Cruises. No decision have been made by these cruise lines. It must be difficult to navigate what could be a drastic change.

We are on Princess WC and notified this evening of our adjusted itinerary. We will be traveling to South Africa after Australia and then head north for Western Europe and the Med after which will continue on our Atlantic crossing as scheduled. Overall we are very grateful that the cruise was't cut short. 

51 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

In Buenos Aires on the 5th.  Which is not what we booked of course, since we never booked the mini legs...we booked the quarter to end in LA.  Not sure what hoops we will be on...like a B2B2B now I guess. 

 

This cruise seems to be a project in process.  And not sure what the full cruisers will have to go through either....with going through all the processes of the 17 legs and how it will affect them as well.  

When we went from LA to Buenos Aires a few years ago we were booked for the whole itinerary. Didn't realize it was also sold as segments, but it never interfered with our plans or excursions. Guests on and off for their leg were hardly noticeable.

If you go to the "Post Office at the End of the World" in Ushuaia and want to mail post cards drop it off inside. We put ours in the mailbox outside the entrance door and are still waiting! Maybe they never checked the box lol. 

Also, Machu Picchu is an experience of a lifetime. If you're on the several day excursion the hotels where you stay and the restaurants serve coca tea at breakfast and coca candy, tea, energy bars are sold everywhere. Yes, coca as in cocaine but without the high. If you get altitude sickness (any many do) it resolves it very quickly. However, don't try to take it back on the ship or across the border because you'll be in arrested (they warn you). Not a good way to spend a vacation.

Can't wait to hear about your cooking class in Buenos Aires! We always heard about the beef in Argentina, and have to say it's the best we every had, Funny about the restaurants serving dinner so late. We stayed in Buenos Aires for 2 weeks when we disembarked there. First night asked the hotel concierge to book us at a restaurant for 7:30 pm. She laughed and told us no one eats dinner before 9pm and that was early. So we did as the locals do and it was great. Also, many different types of empanadas and all delicious! 

Patagonia is a beautiful and breathtaking part of the world. Enjoy every second of your trip and safe travels!

Lorraine

31 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Don't think the  actual temperature will be that bad, low 40's but it might be the 20kt to 30 kt Winds you will have around Cape Horn which will really make it feel cold.

We went from LA around SA to Buenos Aires in 2017. Temperatures and weather can change as you navigate through the fjords and straits within minutes. It can get very cold and windy, however, the weather is completely unpredictable and hopefully you'll be lucky with milder temps. The waters around Cape Horn can be very rough. We were lucky to have an unusually calm day when we passed around. I believe you'll be navigating around the Cape from East to West so the currents might be a little more challenging. West to East can be more forgiving, but the Captain will be well aware and make the appropriate decisions with his course. Definitely take a penguin excursion! We took one in the Falklands and it was fabulous! We'll be leaving on Island Princess WC Jan 4 (short for 111 days compared to yours!) Enjoy your adventures and Happy Holidays to All! 

You might want to look into Travelon or any other antitheft bag manufacturer. They make various waist packs, crossbody bags, etc. They have a built-in anti theft security system - slash resistant mesh barrier on all sides and bottom of bag, slash resistant straps, locking compartments/straps and RFID blocking organizer. I use them for international travel and also everyday here in the States. Of course you always have to be very aware of your surroundings, but it's given me a little comfort especially in crowded situations. 

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing journey! DH and I are booked on Island's 24 WC r/t FLL. You've provided so much valuable information and insight to the various ports that we haven't explored yet. You've been such a great help in planning ahead and it's been a joy following you on your adventures! Wishing you many more beautiful journeys!

2 hours ago, Namvvet68 said:

I noticed that the Crown Princess has moved from the anchorage to a pier in Singapore and has been at the pier for several days.  If they are just refueling or taking on supplies, they are at the pier for a couple of days.  I am wondering if they may be doing some refurbishment since the last one was done in 2018.  Anyone have contacts aboard the Crown?

We were on the Diamond a couple of years ago through SE Asia prior to it going into drydock for a 2 week refurbishment in Singapore. There are several shipyards in Singapore with a range of comprehensive services/shipbuilding, conversions, repairs, etc. Perhaps the Crown is in for updates.

Considering percentages of vaccinations administered worldwide I am not surprised about the risk assessment form. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html

20 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

I am certain there are many very dedicated and committed. My daughter is an atty with the government, but when she was in a supervisory role, she had some not so kind words for a chunk of her colleagues. She now has been picked to clean up others messes eg, court cases challenged/re-litigated)

Somewhere between the grunt work and the decision making is no mans judgement  land. Its that judgement I bring into question and  lot of the time its management. eg, I bring the judgement of CDC into play as did they choose to go too far on these issues.

 

Airlines?? they receive to much money to snark back at the government They cannot afford to rock the boat. And thats the independance issue and the problems with lobbys

 

There is a problem otherwise we woudl not have the disconnect between the Cruis elnes and CDC

 

 

Not disputing and agree with your comment. There is certainly a degree of ethic issues and toxic culture across all industries/agencies, etc. & it's so disheartening for those that are dedicated. We will never truly know the dynamics of what is playing into the CDC amongst others.

2 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

I am happy you believe that. How about bias and their marching orders?

 

Go refer to the link I posted earlier about he GAO and US financial statements.  The GAO is saying we have lousy data reporting systems in the US and 5 Presidents and 12 Congresses  have turned their backs on the problem, which is one of their primary responsibilities.

 

When I see this report , I do not trust any of them, on anything. Especially on health issues. There is little if any accountability in our government. The Government Accountability Office calls out the problems but again I say it falls on deaf ears. Its not fun to do the real difficult grunt work of fixing serious problems.

11 operating divisions including 8 agencies amongst others under HHS. One of those NIH. I can tell you there many very dedicated PhDs & MDs at NIH who are committed to their research regardless of pressure.

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Maybe they have not yet managed to figure that out. The plan for the CDC just asks what they will do. If the plan is approved, they might then scramble to get a vaccinated crew.

I think they're looking at all angles. Carnival is a billion $ corp and no doubt they have operational analysts that look how to improve cost effectiveness across all platforms. Besides the logistics and cost of vaccinating the crew they have to have confirmation regarding which ports will accept their ships  worldwide. When I think about the logistics of supplying the ships while in various ports and how to guarantee no virus contamination while interacting with port personnel, and then the huge challenge of insuring excursions are safe while making a profit overall just to name a few -  it is all a massive undertaking.  They can't misjudge or their future is questionable. The short cruises that are starting up will be an indication of their future.  Meanwhile there's many of us that have had several cruises cancelled and took FCC. I hope I didn't make a mistake. 

On 4/8/2021 at 10:34 AM, mjmalino said:

I was on a webinar with Princess a few weeks ago and, at that time, it was stated that they did not have immediate plans to require crew to be vaccinated mainly because many crew members did not have easy access to vaccines, if any access at all, in their countries. This can certainly change as more and more countries start vaccinating, but that was the last I heard on the subject.

This is very disappointing. I understand the logistics are extremely difficult regarding the crew. However, I'm curious how Royal Caribbean and Norwegian managed to insure vaccinations for their crew members. We're booked in 2022, but just testing the crew would not be acceptable. Vaccinations for all or we will have to make other plans.

Dec 2017 Ushuaia and still waiting. Maybe we made a mistake by putting the postcards in the mailbox outside the post office instead of inside. Maybe they are still sitting there - lol. Postage  was $4 for each card.

We had B2B cruises March/April canceled in March. Since we were already booked for 2021 I selected Option 1 to apply the larger percentage of FCC to that cruise. Waited like everyone for the FCC to be processed along with return of vacation protection, EZAir, taxes, port charges, etc to my cc. Note that I used two different cc for these charges. The FCC was posted to my Princess act April 20 and 21st. A week later I called to see what was going on with the credit to my cards. I was told it would hit any day. Finally after waiting weeks for the credit I called yesterday. They had just credited 1/2 of my EZAir to my cc. The other half was still in my holding account. Apparently the reason for this is because I had changed my departing airport back before the virus hit. So there was some rearranging with air. Also I discovered there was more than 1 holding account for us. Maybe because of the two linked cruises, but I'm just guessing. The Princess agent asked if I wanted to transfer the EZAir monies to my 2021 cruise. I told her I might not use air and drive so can I use it toward my deposit. She said no. Then she said if I decide not to use EZAir I can get a refund. 

Now I walked through the other charges that have not been credited yet. She was very nice, but it all seemed to be a little confusing to her as we sorted through the various charges applied to the 2 cruises. I repeated everything she said for clarity and wrote it down. I was put on hold several times so she could check with another department. The answers to the various charges changed a couple of times, but I think it was because what she was being told from the other end. 

Then after a long time on the phone she checks with the other end again and tells me that on June 2nd all the charges for the 1st cruise was posted back to my cc. I told her it hadn't because I check everyday and it didn't even show anything pending, but I would check with the bank since my card number had changed. However, I have received other credits for other things and the new card number was not an issue. Also, wondered why she wouldn't  know this at the beginning of our conversation. 

By the end of our conversation we had clarity on which charges are going where, however, now I will wait to see. I called the bank afterwards and asked it they saw anything pending that hadn't been posted yet. They did not. I told the agent that rumor has it that refunds have been done manually. She asked it that meant that they sent a check rather than electronically crediting it back. If so that would delay processing so check again in a few days. Who knows we will see.

So in summary the FCC is only the base price of the cruise and whatever percentage perk they offered you. All other charges go back to the cc. Give them a call. Be prepared to be on the phone for a while. Apparently they can get the credit to your card in the works if it hadn't been done yet. Lesson learned only use 1 cc in the future.  Good Luck!

We had B2B cruises cancelled back in March and picked Option 1 since we already had another cruise booked for 2021 and it was worth it to apply the extra FCC to it. The FCC only covered the actual cruise fare. Received the FCC April 20 & 21. My EZair was a bit confusing since the flights were changed due to departing airport change. Turns out 1/2 of my EZair was credited back to my cc May 28. However, all the other charges and the other half of EZair hadn't been reimbursed so I called Princess today. It's a good thing I did or I would still be waiting. Turns out the the other half of my EZair was in a holding account. The other credits were still in limbo. I walked through everything with the Princess rep and she was able to straighten it out so the outstanding credits are now being posted to my cc. Strange thing was that the other half of my EZair was to remain in the holding account. I asked her if I could apply it to my deposit for my 2021 cruise. She said it had to be used for air. I told her I might drive and not fly. She said that I would be a able to get a refund if that is what I decide. As I said very strange since the other half of EZair did go to the credit card without question. Also, there was more than one holding account for me. My advise - call Princess and be patient as you walk through it. They can now get the refunds done when you call. Good luck! 

3 hours ago, hellopuppies said:

We are on the same sailing, March 26 Crown Princess TA. We chose Option 1 on March 12 through our travel agent and got confirmation on the same day.

 

We only got 175% FCC shown on our accounts on April 21, base on the cruise fare only and excluding the EZAir, Port Fees and Taxes. My travel agent followed up with Princess saying that it would be credit to my credit card in 60 days (actually on the March 12 cancellation policy Princess quoted in 30 days)

 

It's more than 60 days by now, just wonder the choice of Option 1 and 2 makes the different. Anyone on the same sailing have any inputs will be appreciated.

 

Hope all of us will get our refund back asap. Fingers crossed.

We were also on the March 26 Crown TA - B2B Europe Odyssey & selected Option 1. Received 175% FCC on April 20 and 150%FCC on April 21st. Still waiting for the cc credit for EZAir, taxes, port charges, etc. Spoke to Princess on 5-6 and was told the credit should be showing on my card any day now. Still trying to be patient, but feel a little better now that I'm seeing others receiving their credits. I'll wait to next week before I call again. 

3 hours ago, hellopuppies said:

We are on the same sailing, March 26 Crown Princess TA. We chose Option 1 on March 12 through our travel agent and got confirmation on the same day.

 

We only got 175% FCC shown on our accounts on April 21, base on the cruise fare only and excluding the EZAir, Port Fees and Taxes. My travel agent followed up with Princess saying that it would be credit to my credit card in 60 days (actually on the March 12 cancellation policy Princess quoted in 30 days)

 

It's more than 60 days by now, just wonder the choice of Option 1 and 2 makes the different. Anyone on the same sailing have any inputs will be appreciated.

 

Hope all of us will get our refund back asap. Fingers crossed.

3 hours ago, hellopuppies said:

We are on the same sailing, March 26 Crown Princess TA. We chose Option 1 on March 12 through our travel agent and got confirmation on the same day.

 

We only got 175% FCC shown on our accounts on April 21, base on the cruise fare only and excluding the EZAir, Port Fees and Taxes. My travel agent followed up with Princess saying that it would be credit to my credit card in 60 days (actually on the March 12 cancellation policy Princess quoted in 30 days)

 

It's more than 60 days by now, just wonder the choice of Option 1 and 2 makes the different. Anyone on the same sailing have any inputs will be appreciated.

 

Hope all of us will get our refund back asap. Fingers crossed.

We were on the March 26 Crown TA and B2B Europe Odyssey. We also selected Option 1. Received the 175%

FCC on April 20 & 150% FCC for the 2nd leg on April 21st. I called Princess on May 6th to see the status of my cc credit for EZair, taxes, port charges, etc. I was told that it should show up on my card within days. Still waiting. I am encouraged to see that some have received their cc credits. I'm trying to remain patient & will wait another week to call again for a status update. I am hoping the call won't be necessary. 

11 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Fair enough.  I had heard and read many reports to the effect of what you were describing in the media and perhaps am overstating things as I can't know what they feel.  Still, I gotta believe, a good portion just want to get home as soon as possible in any way they can.  But it is a more difficult logistical issue then just corporate press releases and accounting matters that's for sure.

The below was taken from an article from Cruiseradio.net. Gives me hope for the crew. Certainly the cruise lines will need them physically, emotionally and mentally refreshed once back in operation. The corporate offices know that once back up and running the passengers experience will dictate whether their lines survive or not. Miserable crew equates to loss and/or failure in future business.

"Princess Cruises and Holland America Line are organizing similar repatriation voyages to repatriate crew members to their home countries.

In all, eight ships from Princess, Holland America Line and Seabourn will sail as follows:

• Regal Princess will sail to Southampton and Rotterdam to repatriate European crew from all Holland America Group ships
• Crown Princess, Island Princess, Veendam, Volendam, and Nieuw Amsterdam will sail to Asia to return Filipino, Indonesian, Indian and South African crew members to their homes
• Caribbean Princess will sail to the Caribbean and South America to return crew from those regions to their home country
• Seabourn Quest will sail to Europe to repatriate Europeans from that ship and Seabourn Odyssey"

On 5/3/2020 at 2:41 PM, BarbinMich said:

I heard some months ago that the Island was to do a 111-day round-trip world cruise from/to Ft. Lauderdale leaving Jan. 3, 2021.  It's still being sold.  And the Island was to do (and is still scheduled) Europe this summer.  Are those cruises still going?

We are booked on the 111 WC Ft Lauderdale r/t Jan 3rd. The Island was scheduled to to a TA this Aug., but it was cancelled. Their next trip scheduled trip as of yesterday is a Caribbean departing Dec. 20 to be back to Ft Laud for Jan. 3rd. Keeping my hopes up.

We were booked on a TA/B2B March/April and waited it out for Princess to cancel rather than cancelling myself. (I had booked directly rather than through a travel agent). We elected to take Option 1 since we are booked on the WC 2021 and wanted to apply the FCC to it. Yesterday received an email regarding my cancelled cruise including a cancellation charge which prompted a phone call to them today. As it turns out the email went out in error and I was told to disregard. They also just processed the FCC which is now showing on my account (this took about 9 weeks). Air was booked through EZAir. The FCC didn't show any reimbursement for air, transfers, port expenses, taxes, etc. Today I was told that this will be applied to my credit card and should hit in a few days. So it seems that all is going in the right direction & hoping the world will open and be safe to travel through by the end of the year .... Stay well everyone!