Will Peace of Mind be extended?

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

Does anybody have insight into this?  We would like to book a cruise for next year but  the 120 day free cancellation is a joke as I think that's what it normally is.  Right now, we have no clue what shape any of the embarkation port cities will be in with this virus by next April.  Maybe not 48 hour free cancellation but at least 7-14 days...

 

[Budget Queen]

Flip a coin.    Just book the cruise you're looking at,    Final payment is months from now-  simply  wait out any future promotions.   

[Fido Chuckwagon]

On 7/25/2020 at 12:24 PM, Budget Queen said:

Flip a coin.    Just book the cruise you're looking at,    Final payment is months from now-  simply  wait out any future promotions.   

Booking a cruise is insanity right now.  There's a very good chance the lines go belly-up and you lose your deposit.

[zqvol]

On 7/25/2020 at 12:04 PM, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Does anybody have insight into this?  We would like to book a cruise for next year but  the 120 day free cancellation is a joke as I think that's what it normally is.  Right now, we have no clue what shape any of the embarkation port cities will be in with this virus by next April.  Maybe not 48 hour free cancellation but at least 7-14 days...

 

 Do you really want to tie any money up with any cruise line right now? First, it seems very unlikely that anyone is sailing next spring.  Second if a cruise line seeks bankruptcy protection you become one of thousands of unsecured creditors who might get a couple of pennies for each dollar, that you have given them.

 

The wise move is to simply wait and not book anything now.

[chipmaster]

Booking is always exciting as is then the building anticipation, and figuring out excursions etc.   Given the hard earned money, forget it right now.

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

 Do you really want to tie any money up with any cruise line right now? First, it seems very unlikely that anyone is sailing next spring.  Second if a cruise line seeks bankruptcy protection you become one of thousands of unsecured creditors who might get a couple of pennies for each dollar, that you have given them.

 

The wise move is to simply wait and not book anything now.

Unfortunately, we already have a lot of money tied up in CruiseNext deposits we are hoping to use.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Unfortunately, we already have a lot of money tied up in CruiseNext deposits we are hoping to use.

I hope for your sake that the cruise lines do not have to seek protection from the courts. The good thing about cruise next deposits is that you really have nothing tied up in them, because of the credit that you got when you bought them.

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Unfortunately, we already have a lot of money tied up in CruiseNext deposits we are hoping to use.

I already mentioned-  it's no risk to book what you're considering.    The  Cruise Next is simply returned to your Latitudes Account.     It buys you time to see what happens  until final payment.   

[Trimone]

I wouldn’t book a bike right now, a cruise! Keep your money on your hip, when everything is 100% covid free, there will still be bargains and reductions everywhere.

Cruising will never command the big bucks again, it’s tainted like airlines, none of them stood by their loyal customer base, they tried to screw them with credits.

[drvmywifecrzy]

Y'all are some scaredy-cats

[BirdTravels]

On 7/25/2020 at 12:04 PM, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Does anybody have insight into this?  We would like to book a cruise for next year but  the 120 day free cancellation is a joke as I think that's what it normally is.  Right now, we have no clue what shape any of the embarkation port cities will be in with this virus by next April.  Maybe not 48 hour free cancellation but at least 7-14 days...

You have to make your decision at final payment in December if it Peace of Mind has not extended yet.

 

120 days isn't bad considering that I need to pay 100% for a plane ticket within 24 hours of booking. And I can only cancel my air ticket for a FCC equivalent, not cash. 

 

You can always protect yourself with a CFAR insurance policy.  

[DCGuy64]

18 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

Y'all are some scaredy-cats

Yup.

[PelicanBill]

Risking a deposit from $100-250 is okay with me. But the reason I canceled November was to avoid leaving $4,000 tied up and at risk.  I will keep a cruise booked on deposit but make the hard decision by final payment time. Once cruising restarts, I would hope "Peace of Mind" extends for some time until we are sure there the risk of outbreaks on board is past.

[BermudaBound2014]

23 hours ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

Unfortunately, we already have a lot of money tied up in CruiseNext deposits we are hoping to use.

 

I will not give NCL any 'new' money , but I have no problem using a next cruise to book something for the future and wait this out. As budgetqueen said, there is nothing to lose until it's time to make final payment (and I'll lose my next cruise with any restructuring anyway). Personally, I intent to wait to apply my next cruise until just before it expires (December), and then I will book something as far out as possible. If cruising opens early than I expect, I'll pick something up last minute. No one knows when cruising will open, but I'm betting on Q2 of 2021 and making my plans accordingly. If cruising opens in January there will be amazing deals to be had by waiting until last minute to purchase. For the life of me, I can't find a single advantage to booking something for Q4 of 2020 or Q1 of 2021 unless you are the type of person that just feels better having something on the books.  

19 hours ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

Y'all are some scaredy-cats

lol... I lean conservative with my finances, this is true :).  I notice you have four cruises planned between now and Feb 2021. Out of curiosity, do you mind sharing your thought process for those bookings?  What advantage did you gain? Were these 'new' cash bookings or FCC (which would make a difference imo).  I might be a scardy-cat, but some might call you unrealistically optimistic (not that either is bad).

[DCGuy64]

16 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

Risking a deposit from $100-250 is okay with me. But the reason I canceled November was to avoid leaving $4,000 tied up and at risk.  I will keep a cruise booked on deposit but make the hard decision by final payment time. Once cruising restarts, I would hope "Peace of Mind" extends for some time until we are sure there the risk of outbreaks on board is past.

All we've paid out of pocket is $250 in deposits, nothing else. Not worried in the least.

[drvmywifecrzy]

52 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I will not give NCL any 'new' money , but I have no problem using a next cruise to book something for the future and wait this out. As budgetqueen said, there is nothing to lose until it's time to make final payment (and I'll lose my next cruise with any restructuring anyway). Personally, I intent to wait to apply my next cruise until just before it expires (December), and then I will book something as far out as possible. If cruising opens early than I expect, I'll pick something up last minute. No one knows when cruising will open, but I'm betting on Q2 of 2021 and making my plans accordingly. If cruising opens in January there will be amazing deals to be had by waiting until last minute to purchase. For the life of me, I can't find a single advantage to booking something for Q4 of 2020 or Q1 of 2021 unless you are the type of person that just feels better having something on the books.  

lol... I lean conservative with my finances, this is true :).  I notice you have four cruises planned between now and Feb 2021. Out of curiosity, do you mind sharing your thought process for those bookings?  What advantage did you gain? Were these 'new' cash bookings or FCC (which would make a difference imo).  I might be a scardy-cat, but some might call you unrealistically optimistic (not that either is bad).

 

They are a combination.  I had two cruises booked on NCL (casino comps but you still pay for some stuff).  I took the FCC and bonus FCC of 25 % and booked two cruises (Aug & Sept) with some FCC left over.  I then booked December and July 2021 after round 2 were cancelled and FCC returned to me.

 

My two carnival cruises are also casino comps (even though I had not sailed them in quite some time).

 

So my situation is a little different than the average cruise critic member.

 

And yes I am optimistic and really hope my December cruise happens as I rarely can take two weeks off in a row.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

 

They are a combination.  I had two cruises booked on NCL (casino comps but you still pay for some stuff).  I took the FCC and bonus FCC of 25 % and booked two cruises (Aug & Sept) with some FCC left over.  I then booked December and July 2021 after round 2 were cancelled and FCC returned to me.

 

My two carnival cruises are also casino comps (even though I had not sailed them in quite some time).

 

So my situation is a little different than the average cruise critic member.

 

And yes I am optimistic and really hope my December cruise happens as I rarely can take two weeks off in a row.

You are one lucky guy! 4 cruises booked? Wow! I am lucky to get my wife to agree to 1 per year (but to be fair, she doesn't get the kind of vacation I get so we have to be judicious in how we plan our trips). I hope all your cruises are awesome.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, drvmywifecrzy said:

And yes I am optimistic and really hope my December cruise happens as I rarely can take two weeks off in a row.

 

Thanks for replying, that makes perfect sense. No 'new' money. I can see absolutely no benefit to booking something for January unless you have FCC, Casino, Next cruise, etc... especially since NCL is requiring 120 days. That means a cruise leaving in January will have to pay in full in September. Paying new money in full in September for a January cruise is not something I would be willing to do given that some of the lines are already cancelled through Mid-December. 

 

I am really routing for your December cruise to happen also!!! I am eager to gather up some of the last minute deals that are sure to arise once cruises start sailing. I'll cross my fingers for you. Happy Cruising :)

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

Just saw they are extending "Peace of Mind" somewhat - 15 days in advance for cruises booked for Jan-Oct 2021.  So we may start looking for next year.  Anniversary in April (missed our 5th in Trinidad and Tobago this year) and big birthday for sister-in-law in September.