Requesting Cancel Advice From Veteran Cruisers

[Baileybasset]

We have an October 2020 Hawaii cruise booked with a July 19th final payment due date. Two cabins, both single supplements and both have the Platinum Cancellation Plan. Shore excursions, laundry and internet packages purchased too.  Because we recently had access to some money before the Covid-19 crisis, we decided to pay for the cruise In Full (we have sure learned our lesson about that now).  Both of us are in our 60's and in reasonably good health, though not perfect.

 

I read if the cruiseline cancels us, most likely we can chose a 100% refund or FCC.  However, if we cancel prior to our July 19th final payment, would we be refunded all except the deposit and the cost of the Platnium Plan?  How about if we cancel after July 19th?

 

We have multiple pets and a very understanding house/pet sitter, so we are more worried about not being able to return to her as scheduled and leaving her in a mess.

 

Thank you for any advice you can provide.

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I would stand fast until mid June and see what the situation is then.   Hopefully we will be returning to normal and your cruise will operate as planned.   

 

If you don't want to cruise regardless, then cancel now.   Don't wait trying to anticipate some future policy. 

[kazu]

 

Quote

I read if the cruiseline cancels us, most likely we can chose a 100% refund or FCC.  However, if we cancel prior to our July 19th final payment, would we be refunded all except the deposit and the cost of the Platnium Plan?  How about if we cancel after July 19th?

 

With the assumption you do NOT have a non refundable deposit (if you do that is lost),

check your page 2 of your confirmation from HAL.  Usually final payment date is when cancellation payment penalties kick in, but not always.  It depends on the cruise and the itinerary.

 

Assuming that cancellation starts on July 19th, if you cancel you will be refunded everything including your deposit with the exception of possibly the Platinum Plan.  (We need someone more knowledgeable to speak on that.

 

If you do decide to cancel, go to your itinerary and cancel your prepaid items first as refunds are getting delayed and the refund of the prepaid items is pretty quick since I think it is still automated.

 

If you cancel after July 19th, you will be subject some forfeiture of your monies (unless HAL is still offering.

 

Quote

We have multiple pets and a very understanding house/pet sitter, so we are more worried about not being able to return to her as scheduled and leaving her in a mess.

 

Thank you for any advice you can provide.

 

I understand the issue with pets.  We have some ourselves and while we are happy to leave them short term - we don’t want an issue either.

 

You have a bit of time to go so I would wait and see what Dr. Fauci says.  There is talk right now of it coming back in the fall which made me leery enough (especially since we were going to Japan) to cancel our September cruise.

But there is time to go so my advice - do what makes you feel good.  If you are ok to wait until close to final payment or in that area until you get a sense of things, do it.

 

If you are worried about it now and feel that it won’t be resolved, cancel

 

No one has the answers sadly.  The virus has us in it’s grasp and we all are just trying to avoid it’s clutches right now.  I wish I had a crystal ball, but unfortunately none of us do.

[cruzn single]

This is just one person’s experience, so take from it what you will.  I was scheduled for a dream trip—an April 19 departure on Nieuw Statendam transAtlantic ending in Amsterdam. One day In February I just didn’t feel right about the cruise (and no COVID-19 anxiety), so cancelled.

 

I was after final payment, and into penalty time.  I got my purchases back immediately, and my cruise amounts back about two days later.  I lost $419 which included my CPP of $179.  But, since that date I haven’t looked back.  The money I lost is minor considering the nights I have slept well.  
 

I haven’t wasted any time figuring out what I might “get back in extra compensation” from HAL.  Even before this pandemic ramped up I was at peace with my decision, and will just go on.  My separately purchased airfare is in limbo, and if it is lost, oh well!

 

Do what you feel is best for your situation and go on with life.  Stay safe and well.

[PSR]

43 minutes ago, kazu said:

If you do decide to cancel, go to your itinerary and cancel your prepaid items first as refunds are getting delayed and the refund of the prepaid items is pretty quick since I think it is still automated.

 

Not sure that is true now. Before I cancelled our June cruise on 3/23/20, I did as you just suggested, thinking that the shorex would be quickly, as usual...got confirming HAL emails right away, too. As of yesterday, I have not gotten any of the 5 shorex fees returned to any of the 3 different credit cards I used....and of course the full final payment is in limbo and credit card due to be paid in 18 days.

Edited March 31, 2020 by PSR

[Sharon in AZ]

24 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Not sure that is true now. Before I cancelled our June cruise on 3/23/20, I did as you just suggested, thinking that the shorex would be quickly, as usual...got confirming HAL emails right away, too. As of yesterday, I have not gotten any of the 5 shorex fees returned to any of the 3 different credit cards I used....and of course the full final payment is in limbo and credit card due to be paid in 18 days.

Yes, it is taking longer now.  I canceled my laundry package about 3 weeks ago and that credit appeared fairly quickly.  I waited to cancel the excursions, just did that about 10 days ago, and they haven't appeared yet as credits.  Waiting game right now.

[iancal]

cruzn single....best advice yet that I have seen.   Go with your gut and don't look back.

[dag144]

Since you have the Platinum Cruise PP, you can cancel for any reason up to 24 hrs. before the cruise starts and get a refund of 90% of your costs minus the cost of the insurance.  To get this if you have a non-refundable situation you will have to have purchased the insurance at the time of your booking.

 

I always but the Platinum plan for the ability to cancel for any reason.

 

Prioritize.  If the money is important cancel now and take the smallish loss.

[Baileybasset]

21 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

With the assumption you do NOT have a non refundable deposit (if you do that is lost),

check your page 2 of your confirmation from HAL.  Usually final payment date is when cancellation payment penalties kick in, but not always.  It depends on the cruise and the itinerary.

 

Assuming that cancellation starts on July 19th, if you cancel you will be refunded everything including your deposit with the exception of possibly the Platinum Plan.  (We need someone more knowledgeable to speak on that.

 

If you do decide to cancel, go to your itinerary and cancel your prepaid items first as refunds are getting delayed and the refund of the prepaid items is pretty quick since I think it is still automated.

 

If you cancel after July 19th, you will be subject some forfeiture of your monies (unless HAL is still offering.

 

I understand the issue with pets.  We have some ourselves and while we are happy to leave them short term - we don’t want an issue either.

 

You have a bit of time to go so I would wait and see what Dr. Fauci says.  There is talk right now of it coming back in the fall which made me leery enough (especially since we were going to Japan) to cancel our September cruise.

But there is time to go so my advice - do what makes you feel good.  If you are ok to wait until close to final payment or in that area until you get a sense of things, do it.

 

If you are worried about it now and feel that it won’t be resolved, cancel

 

No one has the answers sadly.  The virus has us in it’s grasp and we all are just trying to avoid it’s clutches right now.  I wish I had a crystal ball, but unfortunately none of us do.

Thank you Kazu, very helpful.  

We do have a refundable deposit.  Page 2 shows July 19th = $300 forefited.

The confusion is over the 10% penalty on top of the loss of the Platinum insurance and if that 10% will be lost before and/or after the July final payment due date.  As we are paying single supplements on a 17 night cruise, it is a sizable chunk of money when added to the insurance loss. 

I will cancel the excursions and ship extras and then monitor into June to see Covid status around then.  My gut says we will be canceling and trying again at another time.  Definitely won't risk our health and pets over money.  

[Baileybasset]

2 hours ago, dag144 said:

Since you have the Platinum Cruise PP, you can cancel for any reason up to 24 hrs. before the cruise starts and get a refund of 90% of your costs minus the cost of the insurance.  To get this if you have a non-refundable situation you will have to have purchased the insurance at the time of your booking.

 

I always but the Platinum plan for the ability to cancel for any reason.

 

Prioritize.  If the money is important cancel now and take the smallish loss.

Thank you dag144.  I'm close by in PD.  Our deposit is refundable  Our confusion is about the 10% loss with the insurance.  If we cancel prior to our July 19 final payment date, do we only lose the Platinum insurance or also the 10% on top of it.?  Or is the 10% loss only added in if we cancel after July 19? 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Baileybasset
Name change on quote.

[dag144]

Can't answer that.  But I do know if you USE   the insurance to cancel , you will forfeit 10 %

[yerdua]

3 hours ago, Baileybasset said:

Thank you dag144.  I'm close by in PD.  Our deposit is refundable  Our confusion is about the 10% loss with the insurance.  If we cancel prior to our July 19 final payment date, do we only lose the Platinum insurance or also the 10% on top of it.?  Or is the 10% loss only added in if we cancel after July 19? 

If you cancel prior to final payment, and you booked with a refundable deposit,100% of your cruise fare and port charges are refunded. I'm pretty sure your airfare would be fully refunded also as long as you booked a flexible fare and did not prepay it in order to choose seats. The only thing you would forfeit is the cost of the insurance itself. I never buy the insurance until just before final payment when I'm confident I will be going (barring unforseen future events), unless I'm booking under a non refundable deposit (the only time I pay for cancellation insurance prior to final payment). 

Edited April 1, 2020 by yerdua

[TriumphGuy]

On 3/31/2020 at 5:03 PM, cruzn single said:

This is just one person’s experience, so take from it what you will.  I was scheduled for a dream trip—an April 19 departure on Nieuw Statendam transAtlantic ending in Amsterdam. One day In February I just didn’t feel right about the cruise (and no COVID-19 anxiety), so cancelled.

 

I was after final payment, and into penalty time.  I got my purchases back immediately, and my cruise amounts back about two days later.  I lost $419 which included my CPP of $179.  But, since that date I haven’t looked back.  The money I lost is minor considering the nights I have slept well.  
 

I haven’t wasted any time figuring out what I might “get back in extra compensation” from HAL.  Even before this pandemic ramped up I was at peace with my decision, and will just go on.  My separately purchased airfare is in limbo, and if it is lost, oh well!

 

Do what you feel is best for your situation and go on with life.  Stay safe and well.

We were booked on the same April 19 cruise as cruzn single. We cancelled on March 7, after HAL offered a 50% refund back to our card and a 50% FCC. A few days ago my wife contacted HAL to find out when the refund to our card would happen and we were told it would be 60 days.
I will be surprised if we get anything back at this point. I think Carnival and it's subsidiaries are in a cash flow crunch that may not end well for us cruisers.
I will point out that our prepaid items were refunded within 24 hours, but not so sure that would happen now.

[cruzn single]

I am not going to post this a dozen places, but only where I posted my one reply about cancelling in February. This was for an April 19 Transatlantic.  I received a refund of 90% of my fare, and all excursions.  Lost the $$ for the insurance and balance of cruise fare.  I was satisfied, and certainly did not want to push for more.  My cancellation date was February 18.

 

Imagine my surprise this morning when I received an email from HAL that I would be receiving the other 10% as a FCC !  Has to be used by December 31 at this time, but who knows when things will be a time for booking cruises.  As the email stated, it is for all cancellations after January 20, 3020.

[mrmoviezombie]

On 4/1/2020 at 12:57 PM, Baileybasset said:

Or is the 10% loss only added in if we cancel after July 19? 

Yes. The 90% is calculated on any non-refundable amounts, anything that is refundable you get back with or without insurance.

 

For example, if you cancel before the final payment and if your deposit had been a non-refundable, then you still would get 90% of that deposit back and HAL would only keep 10% and the platinum premium.

[Roger88]

I cant say that I am a veteran cruiser but if you plan to cancel your cruise, do it. Dont expect people to give you a wrothy piece of advice. If you cancel before hand you can expect to get around 90% (without vat). Also, you may be offered to transfer these money into a gift card, credit points or to make a deposit for a future cruise with their company. There are many cancelation options available these. Pick the one fits you the best

[Baileybasset]

Just an update.....

We did decided to cancel October 2020 cruise.  As advised by Kazu, I cancelled the "extras" on 4/1/20 and received the credit card refunds for these on 5/10/20.  On 4/14/20, we submitted the formal cancellation notice to HAL, received the cancellation document back showing all would be refunded, except for the Platinum Plan amounts.  Still waiting for the 60 days to go by (according to Chat rep) before pursuing cruise fare refunds with credit card company.  Thanks to all who submitted comments on this.

 

On a side note, a friend who was booked to sail at the end of March, decided to cancel her trip and just received her full refund from HAL.