7/22/20: Princess Pauses Operations Again

[pms4104]

39 minutes ago, spyro1952 said:

Please just go out of business and put me out of my misery.

Be careful what you wish for

[caribill]

41 minutes ago, casofilia said:

I think they are being really optimistic about Australia (& NZ) starting any time this year.

 

P&O also extended their pause for Australia and NZ, but only to the end of October.

 

P&O Cruises Extends Pause in Operations in Australia and New Zealand

MIAMI, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- P&O Cruises today announced it was extending its rolling pause in operations across Australia and New Zealand to October 29, 2020 in response to the current impact of the global pandemic on the way we travel and holiday.

P&O Cruises President Sture Myrmell said while everyone hoped sailings would resume soon, it had become increasingly clear that more time was needed for society to reinstate many modes of travel and community gatherings.

"The path to society reopening fully is continuing to evolve – and cruising will return when science and public health align and people again feel comfortable to meet.  With this in mind, we have reviewed the current end date of our pause in cruise operations," Mr Myrmell said.

"We will continue to use this time to liaise with authorities, public health experts and others in the industry to develop enhanced public health measures for when the time is right to resume sailing.

"This is by far the most challenging time the travel sector has ever experienced. However, like so many of our loyal guests and partners, we look forward to better times ahead when we can cruise again. We thank everyone for their unswerving loyalty, patience and goodwill."

The latest changes in operations are:

Australia

In Australia, P&O Cruises will extend its pause in operations to October 29, 2020 (inclusive) – an extra 42 days to what had previously been announced. 

It will affect the following cruises:

Pacific Explorer: X040, X041, X042, X043, X044N, X045N, X045P and X046
Pacific Dawn: W047, W048, W049, W050, W051, W052 and W053
Pacific Aria: A048, A049, A050, and A051

New Zealand

In New Zealand, P&O Cruises will return for its next season of sailings departing from Auckland in 2021. Additional cruises affected by this new pause are:

Pacific Aria: A042, A043, A044, A045, A046, and A047

Other cruises

As a result of the extended pause in operations and international travel restrictions, P&O will cancel Pacific Adventure's inaugural 18-night cruise (V059) from Singapore to Sydney.

Compensation for cancelled cruises from July 23, 2020

[Mademypoint]

22 minutes ago, voljeep said:

MY CRUISE was cancelled today ... bummer

 

when can I expect my FCC to be posted to my account ?

can I use that FCC as a 'deposit' and payment on a future cruise for 4/2021 ?

booked directly with Princess

day 0

maybe I will call Princess tomorrow, huh ?

Just be aware that they still may REQUIRE cash even if the entire amount of your FCC would cover the cost of your fare as they do not allow the FCC to be used towards the deposit nor will they allow you to pay it off early using those FCC's. 

[caribill]

5 minutes ago, Mademypoint said:

Just be aware that they still may REQUIRE cash even if the entire amount of your FCC would cover the cost of your fare as they do not allow the FCC to be used towards the deposit nor will they allow you to pay it off early using those FCC's. 

 

Although it may not have been for full payment, many have posted that their new FCCs were automatically applied to an already booked cruise without Princess asking if that is what the passenger wanted.

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Think 2022 which may also be optimistic.

That's what concerns me. IF they survive, I'll have 1 FCD expiring 7/31/21, 5560 FCC (537 book by 03/31/21 / 4486 sail by 05/01/22 / 537 still due), 4200 in gift cards, and $849 due in old fashion credit card refund. The only thing I can contest is the last one. 

 

On a brighter note :: my income is solid & my investments are only down YTD 8.07% and 12m down 2%. Despite a stupid move in March, pulling 4k out to buy those gift cards, & pay off a kid's student loans. Yeah .... guessed wrong with gift cards but don't regret the rest. 

[13cheermom]

21 minutes ago, Coral said:

What my TA sent me was that they can be used as a deposit. They didn't used to be.

 

You or your client should not cancel bookings that were cancelled by Princess on July 22, 2020. Your client’s booking will be automatically cancelled by Princess in the near future. You and your client should receive an email regarding the cancellation which will cover their two compensation options.

FCCs and commission protection: I want to remind you that FCCs for these cancelled cruises can now be used toward a deposit on a future booking, however, they cannot be applied toward air or hotel. Please note that FCCs in lieu of refund (limited to up to 100% of cruise fare) are refundable, but bonus FCCs are not. If your client changes their mind and later requests a refund, the initial FCC will be refunded and the Bonus FCC will be cancelled.

 

So I just called today and spoke with someone and was told this once again for verification. Like I said earlier, no consistency whatsoever. 😡

[CPOCMAN]

Am I reading the princess news correctly or is Europe not mentioned as a location for the operations pause?

[caribill]

1 minute ago, CPOCMAN said:

Am I reading the princess news correctly or is Europe not mentioned as a location for the operations pause?

 

All the Princess fall cruises involving Europe had already been cancelled.

[Mademypoint]

12 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Although it may not have been for full payment, many have posted that their new FCCs were automatically applied to an already booked cruise without Princess asking if that is what the passenger wanted.

I'm sharing my experience which was that even though the two FCC's we had were MORE than enough to pay the entire cost of the cruise princess insisted we had to pay a cash deposit. 

[Waynetor]

Europe was already paused for the remainder of 2020 

[casofilia]

The other problem might be that you might not be allowed to use two FCCs on a single cruise.

[caribill]

14 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Although it may not have been for full payment, many have posted that their new FCCs were automatically applied to an already booked cruise without Princess asking if that is what the passenger wanted.

 

1 minute ago, Mademypoint said:

I'm sharing my experience which was that even though the two FCC's we had were MORE than enough to pay the entire cost of the cruise princess insisted we had to pay a cash deposit. 

 

My comment was about already booked cruises. Your experience was to book a new cruise.

 

But, as Coral said, you should have been allowed to use your FCC towards a deposit.

[caribill]

1 minute ago, casofilia said:

The other problem might be that you might not be allowed to use two FCCs on a single cruise.

 

That is not supposed to be a problem.

[Mademypoint]

11 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

 

My comment was about already booked cruises. Your experience was to book a new cruise.

 

But, as Coral said, you should have been allowed to use your FCC towards a deposit.

 

Okay so to repeat myself as apparently I wasn't clear enough.

 

We were booked on a cruise in March. It was canceled. We received TWO Fcc's. One for the full value one for 75% we put THOSE towards another cruise. We were told that by August 4 we HAD to come up with $400 CASH as the terms were the FCC could NOT be used for the deposit. Trust me I have zero interest in passing along false information. We were not going to offer up the credit card until THAT day because it was obvious the cruise was likely to be canceled. We also had TWO original FCC's from the time we took a cruise two years ago that was supposed to mean we did not owe a deposit but in a SUITE apparently they require one.

 

So again, this is not a new booking and hasn't been since around mid March. And rather than assume what someone else tells you if you read your own invoice you would see it does tell you FCC's cannot be used as deposits. Its' there in black and white and its even bolded.

[kiwimum]

14 minutes ago, casofilia said:

The other problem might be that you might not be allowed to use two FCCs on a single cruise.

Definitely was not an issue with prior FCC. Speaking from experience.

[Mademypoint]

15 minutes ago, casofilia said:

The other problem might be that you might not be allowed to use two FCCs on a single cruise.

You can because we have six and all would be used for the three of us in one suite. Now that they canceled we want our money back.

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, Mademypoint said:

Okay so to repeat myself as apparently I wasn't clear enough.

 

We were booked on a cruise in March. It was canceled. We received TWO Fcc's. One for the full value one for 75% we put THOSE towards another cruise. We were told that by August 4 we HAD to come up with $400 CASH as the terms were the FCC could NOT be used for the deposit. Trust me I have zero interest in passing along false information. We were not going to offer up the credit card until THAT day because it was obvious the cruise was likely to be canceled. We also had TWO original FCC's from the time we took a cruise two years ago that was supposed to mean we did not owe a deposit but in a SUITE apparently they require one.

 

So again, this is not a new booking and hasn't been since around mid March. And rather than assume what someone else tells you if you read your own invoice you would see it does tell you FCC's cannot be used as deposits. Its' there in black and white and its even bolded.

The pause that happened in March did not allow FCCs to be used as deposits. They supposedly upgraded their computer system later to allow for this on later pauses (not sure if it was Pause 2 or 3 that allowed for this).

Edited July 23, 2020 by Coral

[caribill]

3 minutes ago, Coral said:

The pause that happened in March did not allow FCCs to be used as deposits. They supposedly upgraded their computer system later to allow for this on later pauses (not sure if it was Pause 2 or 3 that allowed for this).

 

Certainly for the pauses where refundable OBC + bonus OBC was the choice, it makes sense to allow for deposits. If not, once could request the refundable OBC to be refunded and then apply it for a deposit.

[PoohUnderstands]

I' m still waiting for my deposits to be refunded for an August cruise and a September cruise which I cancelled back in April.  Just wondering how long this new set of cancellation refunds will take!  Heard today that RCCL is doing their refunds at about the 30 day mark or less?!  I love you Princess, but come on......... please!

 

Pooh

[lbfluffy]

Darn it. We were on the Royal for December 12th. We got a huge upgrade from an obstructed balcony to a mini. We have never had a mini suite before. We have the Majestic booked for next December. I wonder if they would be nice and give me a mini again. Probably unlikely. Oh well. 

[suzyed]

3 hours ago, ccruisequeen said:

I knew it has to happen. I'm afraid to book anything this far ahead again.  

Why? If they cancel you get your deposit back(if it's a refundable deposit)  I wouldn't book independent air though.

 

[caribill]

48 minutes ago, PoohUnderstands said:

I' m still waiting for my deposits to be refunded for an August cruise and a September cruise which I cancelled back in April.  Just wondering how long this new set of cancellation refunds will take!  Heard today that RCCL is doing their refunds at about the 30 day mark or less?!  I love you Princess, but come on......... please!

 

Pooh

 

To quote the Princess announcement:

 

"Finally, we recognize past frustrations over delays with refunds over COVID-19-related cancellations. Please know this is one of our top priorities and to that end we have significantly increased manpower resources in this area and ramped up systems capabilities to accelerate the process. We appreciate your continued patience and understanding."

[chipmaster]

This is like sports, everyone looking to see who goes first, no brainer, things are still out of control for the Americas, I can see Far East ( Australia ) and possible Europe given how they got things stating to come together starting earlier.  

 

The new world is a circus and likely for US won't get a settled direction till January or perhaps November depending on the election.  I can see rest of the world getting to normal for the new year and 2021 really will be a celebration for them coming back to the top of the world, Americas will be far behind and likely wont' return to anything like good times again till spring 2021 at the earliest.   

 

 

[casofilia]

@chipmaster

 

Don't bet on Australia; Victoria is heavily shutdown in a terrible second wave of Covid 19.

[chipmaster]

1 minute ago, casofilia said:

@chipmaster

 

Don't bet on Australia; Victoria is heavily shutdown in a terrible second wave of Covid 19.

 

There most certainly will be second waves and many more till a vaccine appears in 2021, till then those that squashed it and have put in place a national strategy including testing, tracing, confinement / quarantine, will they keep on top of it.

 

Those that wish it away and leave others to deal with it get a curve like we got, and ain't going cruising, ain't going eating out, pretty much cabin fever, feel like on a cruise ship with no ports, LOL