Robinsoncruiseso

You have 60 days and must not be PIF

On 4/30/2020 at 6:40 PM, MsTabbyKats said:

As a fellow city dweller, I had the 10/12 cruise booked and I canceled it back in mid March.  In the unlikely event that it did sail, there's no way I'd be on it.  I'd rather lose the $300 than $3500.

 

BTW...I'm starting to see toilet paper on the shelves again.  My supermarket even had pasta today!

(I didn't get my refund yet so I put in a credit card dispute.)

Be careful with credit card disputes.  The offer of a refund or future cruise credit is often accepted as good faith by the credit card issuer and you may lose the dispute.  Worse is you could end up on the "no sail" list of the cruise line.  Use credit card disputes only when you know there is a breach of contract without possibility of resolution.

What I don't understand is if you dislike a cruise line so much, why do you even bother with their forums?  This goes for cruise critic, facebook and others.  We all may like one thing over another.  Pizza on MSC, Steakhouse on Princess, Waterslides on Carnival, but if you absolutely hated everything about Holland America, why bother yourself with the boards.  I personally like all cruise lines, all ships.  I have parts I don't like, but no enough that it would keep me from cruising that ship/line.  KEEP CALM AND CRUISE ON

19 hours ago, sunshine639 said:

My friends cancelled their Alaska trip coming up in September.  Two of the six that were traveling are elderly and disabled.  The whole party bought the travel insurance since this trip was really for grandma and not sure she will make it to September (but two in the party could not go till September is why is was planned at the end of the season for Alaska).  Carnival is not giving them a refund....only a credit for a future cruise.   In order to use the credit, they have to book their next cruise by December 2020 and travel by December 2022.  While that is fine for most travelers, this was a special event for a grandma's last wish.  The family is not interested in going on another cruise as this was a one time deal that grandma had on her bucket list.  They are out the $2400.  But.......their friends booked their Alaskan cruise on Princess, and they cancelled and are getting their deposit refunded.  This is frustrating since Princess is owned by Carnival.  Anyone else experiencing this?

Two things.  First Princess is not owned by Carnival.  Carnival Corporation owns Carnival, Princess and a slew of other lines.  Each line is independently operated with its own policies.   If your friends cancelled for September, they would be subject to any cancellation fees per their contract.  I am assuming the travel insurance is through Carnival vs an outside insurance provider which is why they have a credit for their deposit.  They are not out the $2400, they just need to plan a cruise. If any of the cruisers is unable to cruise "forever", give Carnival a call (or have your TA handle, they have different phone numbers and speak to different reps, plus they have a designated business manager at Carnival).  If you provide them with documentation from the passengers doctor certifying they are unfit to sail,  Carnival may issue refund or transfer the credit to another person.  At this time, any person over 70 will most likely need a Dr's certification of fitness to sail anyway. 

On 4/21/2020 at 9:08 PM, trummy said:

Good luck. From the CDC website....

 

April 9, 2020 Update

On April 9, 2020, CDC renewed the No Sail Order and Other Measures Related to Operations Order signed by the CDC Director on March 14, 2020—subject to the modifications and additional stipulated conditions as set forth in this Order. The Order is published in the Federal Register and effective as of April 15, 2020 (https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2020-07930external icon).

The extended Order is in effect until one of the following occurs:

• The Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declares that COVID-19 no longer constitutes a public health emergency, or
• The CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations, or
• 100 days have passed from April 15, the date the extended order was published in the Federal Registerexternal icon and went into effect. 100 days from April 15 is July 24.

See the attached order (print-only) pdf icon[PDF – 9 pages] for the full requirements.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/index.html

Note the 100 days is how long the order will remain in effect if one of the other two obligations does not occur.  I believe CLIA is working closely with the CDC and others to come up with "other considerations" so to have the order modified.  This is where the new boarding procedures, on board procedures and care and the "hospital" ship come into play.  The cruise lines are very aware of the CDC orders.  

Passports - do you need them, no.  Should you have them...normally yes.  You may cruise with just birth certificate and govt. issued ID.  If you happen to be from one of the few states, such as Washington, that issues enhanced ID (different from Real ID), then that will work also.  Please note Passports are currently taking longer than the 4 to 6 weeks.  They are not processing expedited passports at this time.  IF you need to get home from a port in Mexico, you will need a passport.  You would need to have an emergency passport issued, which can be done.  So you are not "stuck" in Mexico. With that said, if everything goes back to semi-normal soon and expedited service is available, you may want to get a passport.  Oh, and be sure to bring any bridge documents if your name on ID and birth certificate are different (such as marriage certificate).

Excursions - agree do Rhythms in Puerto Vallarta.  With private excursions, you will normally have a smaller group at a lesser price.  I never hesitate to use them. But you have to go to them.  This may be right outside the pier or a taxi ride away.  With the ship's excursions, you will often meet in the ship theater (for Cabo) or at a designated area in the pier area.  If this makes you more comfortable, certainly book these.  You will have a great time.

Check and see if your phone company offers free calling in Mexico.  If so, you only have three sea days so you may be able to manage without service on the ship.  Each ship has an emergency number.  Be sure to leave this with your kids caregivers.  If your kids are older and staying alone, just figure they will have a party and deal with it when you get home.  Check the mailbox for receipts for limes and other garnishes..lol

Most importantly, be safe and have fun.  

Carnival is working on refunds and credits in the date order of the cruise sailing.  The cruise will most likely remain on your account/personalizer and you may even receive notices to continue checking, getting ready to sail, etc as these are automatic notices.  Once the sail date has passed and your refund is processed, the cruise should disappear.  It is a way for them to keep track of everything.  (note this may sound like I am speaking on behalf of Carnival...I am not🙃)

5 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Because we drink too much.  We are not the customer you want to have a drink package. We are better of paying the "service charge" rather than tipping $1 a drink.

Steve

Gotcha, I though you said you did NOT use the perks.  We had the drink package on our last three cruises (MSC, Princess and NCL).  Originally it was $1800 (2 people) difference on the NCL for balcony with all the perks.  This is before adding the drink/dining gratuities.  We do not drink nearly that much.  Moved my booking into a group and got a mini suite for $200 more with the drinks and all.  So for $20 a day in gratuities it was worth it but I did find myself looking for reasons to drink.  

Given CLIA will come out with minimum guidelines for the CLIA lines to follow.  Celebrity has their prepared form for both those over 70 and the general form all will complete.  I am guessing (note I said guessing) all cruise lines will use similar wording.

See attached files.  Please read completely before saying "I'm this or that, now I can't cruise"

physician-fit-to-sail-form.pdf public-health-questionnaire-v2.pdf

A couple of notes.  Yes, if you file a chargeback against a cruise line, they may ban you from all their lines, ie NCL could ban from Oceana, Regent.  Second, the credit card issuers know of the cruise lines policies and offers of refunds.  While the disputed charge is temporarily removed from your account, the merchant will have 30 days to respond.  Third...if you had used a TA, the TA could have commission recalled by NCL in the amount of the entire chargeback.  TA's have been hit enough through all this.

Best advice is to give it 90 days.  Probably won't take that long.  Those NCL employees who are working their butts off to handle screaming rude customers AND process these refunds/FCC by hand are not doing anything intentional to delay the payments. They are working in order of cruise departure date.  I completely understand that you want your money back, but given the state of everything with this pandemic....we all need to chill, just a bit.

TA's are not only being notified timely by the cruise lines, but there are also numerous occasions for TA's to attend webinars with the cruise lines advising them of the refund/credit policies.  It could be the info is not funneling down from the leader of the big box to individual TA's.  It is hard as cruise lines will not normally communicate with the cruiser if they used a TA.  Many are making an exception, especially when it comes to money.  

The restrictions in regard to age and chronic conditions will not be decided upon by the individual cruise lines.  CLIA will negotiate the guidelines with CDC and others.  All CLIA lines will need to adhere to the requirements.  Currently, we are looking at a Dr. Authorization for those over 70.  Such authorization might read "I hereby certify that this patient does not suffer from any chronic illness (e.g. heart, lung, liver or kidney disease or immunodeficiency status due to HIV/AIDS, cancer or diabetes) which would make this patient susceptible to complications arising after infection with the Novel Coronavirus (2019- nCoV)/COVID-19"

Prior to embarkation each guest will also be asked if they have are under treatment for or known to have any chronic conditions or conditions which lower their immune system.  IF the passenger answers yes, they will be sent for secondary screening.  They should only be denied boarding if they have a contagious disease or are obviously too ill to cruise.  This could be temporary and the over 70 letter could be modified to a self-declare type of authorization.  One thing for sure, and this is my opinion, if people lie on this form, such as they say they do not have any conditions and it comes to be known they do, they should be put off the ship at the next port and held in the "lower cabin" aka the brig until such time.  May be harsh, but why is their vacation more important than the health of others.   Princess and Celebrity have all the above posted on their site.

This will only apply if the OP is in the US.  Australia, UK, Canada may have different policies.

Making the assumption you paid for the cruise with a credit or debit card.  Check your card statement to see

who processed the charge.  If the charges were processed by NCL, then your TA is not holding any of your money.

I would not advise to initiate a chargeback against NCL.  You could be banned from all NCL cruise lines, (NCL, Oceana, Regent).

Plus you would probably not win as NCL would fight it.  Since we are talking FCC, lets you should receive an FCC for everything you paid.  Note the FCC will be split across all passengers sailing. So add those all together.  From what I have heard, NCL is including the taxes and fees in the FCC.  Give it a week or so.  If it is not all there, your TA, not you, should get on the horn with NCL to reconcile.  If your TA is shady, talk to the owner of the Agency.  If still no luck, check to see if they are members of CLIA, IATA, etc and file the appropriate complaint and never use them again.

On 4/20/2020 at 4:57 PM, mscdivina2016 said:

I never spend anything on board.  I also dont use most of the perks.

Steve

Then why do you not book the fare without the perks????

3 hours ago, cruisinmeme said:

Depending on when your cruise is, if you are flying you will need a real ID drivers license. Some call it enhanced drivers license.

Real ID is not an enhanced Drivers license.  They are very different. Real ID is only valid for domestic flights. A passport will be required for international flights.

Yes, DCL will cancel one of the two cruise bookings for the passengers😁

Thanks for pointing that out. I did not want to give the impression the ship would not sail.

I like Princess and the Coral is a great ship for Alaska. With a Cruisetour, Princess will take you direct from the ship to Denali via train. No overnight in Anchorage. They have their own lodges. The naturalist on board is great and the kids will love the Puppies in the Piazza.

If you want Glacier Bay, look at the Ruby Princess.  If not a priority, the Celebrity Solstice is a nice choice.

I was speaking to a Virgin rep a couple of weeks ago (not a phone rep but the Business Development Manager) and asked the average age of those who have booked. I believe she said 49. We did talk drinks and they should be on the lower end. MSC, for example, has many alcoholic drink offerings for under $6. Hopefully this is the range Virgin will shoot for.  
 

Also note no cruise line has “free drink packages”. On Contemporary AND premium lines, you can get pricing without the included drinks and often save hundreds. NCL is the only line which makes this difficult as you will need to opt for guarantee cabin to do so.  When drink packages are offered as a perk or free item, the true cost of the package is around $450 per person. Ie...Cruise is $900 less without the free beverage package.  Look at it this way...if the cruise line did not come out ahead on those packages, they would not offer them.  The cruise lines are for profit companies.
 

Ps. For Virgin, Their pricing on the website is often displayed as “per cabin”.  

On 1/28/2020 at 11:26 AM, Daisymae14 said:

Thank you @Heatherco!  We are in much debate at the moment...lol We all love fun and sun, not full on day and night drinkers...just casual girl fun and relax!  Trying to pinpoint best itinerary, food and price. 5 day is perfect for us. ( age group 45-50 )

Look at Virgin. They are an adult only line. Cruise fare includes taxes, wifi, gratuities. No drink packages, so should not be any “get my money worth” drinkers.

Also look at MSC.  Great values. Beautiful ships. 

If this will be your only visit to Alaska, try to find an itinerary which includes Glacier Bay. This will eliminate most Royal and Celebrity voyages in 2020 and Forward as RCI has minimal permits to the Park.  Princess or Holland America are really the way to go for Alaska. Leaving from Vancouver, either one way or round trip will keep the ships between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Beautiful scenery. Larger ships, such as Princess’ Royal class, are the exception. Balcony...definitely not a requirement. 

Eventually DCL will cancel one of the cruises. Till your friends to wait before booking air.

First, I would recommend using a travel agent who specializes in accessible cruising.  For Alaska, I would recommend looking at Princess with a cruise starting in Vancouver. The ship will stay between Vancouver Island and the mainland up to Ketchikan. You will most always see land and the waters seem to be calmer. Since this may be your only time to Alaska, make sure the ship goes into Glacier Bay.  Plan on spending most off the time outside your cabin.  In general, ships are spacious.

Alaska is beautiful. Go and enjoy.

Give your TA a call. They can quickly make all reservations for you on the NCL agent site. 

You can rent a car at the airport for under $30 for the day. Less expensive than storage fees at airport. Plus, you have a car if you need it.