Updated Peace of Mind

[warburg]

Thanks, luv2krooz.  Wow! That was a super fast response. You are absolutely right about the course we will take. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Mary

[luv2kroooz]

18 minutes ago, IrishKathy said:

If you want a cash refund of your deposit do you still have to cancel at the 120 day point?  We have reservations on the August 14, 2021 sailing of the Bliss.  Right now the balance due date is April 16, 2021.    If I wait and decide to cancel 60 days out will I still receive a cash refund or have to accept FCC? 

Great question. It sounds to me like you ought to be able to get cash at the 60 day mark. I'd ask NCL. And I would get the response in writing with a name and position attached to the response. They've been known to give incorrect or misleading advise before and this is a new policy that many of the "minimum wage" earning call center employees would know nothing about.

Edited July 29, 2020 by luv2kroooz

[Gigi1068]

18 minutes ago, IrishKathy said:

If you want a cash refund of your deposit do you still have to cancel at the 120 day point?  We have reservations on the August 14, 2021 sailing of the Bliss.  Right now the balance due date is April 16, 2021.    If I wait and decide to cancel 60 days out will I still receive a cash refund or have to accept FCC? 

For all 2021 cruises through October 31, cancel up to 15 days prior and receive a Future Cruise Credit, or a full refund when you cancel up to 120 days before your vacation.

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, kismet618 said:

When do you think Miami, Tampa, or Port Canaveral will be opening up for cruises?  Europe was much more diligent across the board when it came to COVID, thus, selective itineraries exclusive to that part of the world should move forward. I’m more concerned about my 7 day Eastern on the Joy out of Miami on January 10, 2021. Any thoughts?  Based on this letter, my final payment date hasn’t changed. Hopefully it will when November ultimately gets pulled too in a couple of more weeks. 

That's a good question, I wouldn't want to make a specific prediction regarding dates, but my hope is that at least the December Christmas/NYE cruises will happen. We're booked on the Joy out of Miami a week before you, so we are definitely expecting/hoping that will happen. In my opinion (and that's all it is, just an opinion), the cruising industry isn't going to go from 0% to 100% overnight. It will be gradual, and there will be lessons learned from each cruise about best practices (social distancing, temperature taking, muster drills, capacity, disinfection, and so on). I AM 100% confident that cruising will resume, in some form or fashion.

1 hour ago, TeresaJ said:

Referring more in the USA. Florida numbers are high and that's where major ports are located. I don't foresee them opening soon.

Major sports are being changed, no spectators, etc. College sports where I live have all been cancelled this fall.

Can't envision them letting us on a ship with 4 or 5,000 people anytime soon.

Yes, Florida has a lot of cruise ports like Miami, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. But it's not the only state with cruises. There's Galveston, New Orleans, Baltimore, Bayonne, New York, Los Angeles, and others. And of course there are many ports outside the US, too. I wouldn't expect cruises to resume sailing at full capacity right away, either. We're going on a land based vacation next month and the resort is only open at 30% at the moment. That's what the cruise lines in Europe are doing, too, (not sailing at capacity, that is).

Edited July 29, 2020 by DCGuy64
edited for clarity

[VtMac]

Just to play devils advocate, I actually think NY may sail first.  Based on the trends of the pandemic, if you buy into the data, NYC is in better position to resume than Miami Dade county, Orlando, or Tampa.   We are already seeing rapidly increasing air traffic in NYC, from my seat anyway.  With hotels in Ny opening, the city is learning to handle what needs to happen, coupled with the protocols in place with the cruise ships, and those still to come.  My bet...NY first.  If I win, you all send coffee to Vermont!  I you win, send beer.

 

[julig22]

29 minutes ago, IrishKathy said:

If you want a cash refund of your deposit do you still have to cancel at the 120 day point?  We have reservations on the August 14, 2021 sailing of the Bliss.  Right now the balance due date is April 16, 2021.    If I wait and decide to cancel 60 days out will I still receive a cash refund or have to accept FCC? 

FCC.  The 60 days for final payment doesn't apply to 2021 cruises.

 

But to kinda answer that question, prior to the implementation of POM in March, there was a short period where NCL changed final payment to 90 days - and it appears that the final payment date and cancellation date weren't actually linked.  A person posted that they had paid in full, then decided to cancel assuming the 90 days.  They were assessed the 25% penalty for early cancellation.  So it pays to read (and have a printed copy) of the T&Cs & cancellation policies in effect at the time you book, make your final payment, cancel your cruise....

[shof515]

1 minute ago, VtMac said:

Just to play devils advocate, I actually think NY may sail first.  Based on the trends of the pandemic, if you buy into the data, NYC is in better position to resume than Miami Dade county, Orlando, or Tampa.   We are already seeing rapidly increasing air traffic in NYC, from my seat anyway.  With hotels in Ny opening, the city is learning to handle what needs to happen, coupled with the protocols in place with the cruise ships, and those still to come.  My bet...NY first.  If I win, you all send coffee to Vermont!  I you win, send beer.

 

 

where will you cruise to?

Canada is not accepting cruise ships

By the time cruises do actual resume, it will be out of season to Bermuda so you cant go there

Bahamas might be an option if the port allows it

Caribbean might also be an option, depending on the islands it might be impossible to do it in a regular 7 day cruise 

 

With this pandemic, i got a feeling that the 3-4 days cruises will most likely be the most popular and they will hold off on the longer 7+ day cruises

 

 

i would love to see a cruise to no where return like what they used to back in the day. if they allowed, it wont mind it 

 

 

 

[complawyer]

we just got the same letter, but is  really strange is that we have a cruise booked for march 9th, almost completely paid for, but the email references i cruise i have on a courtesy hold for next july. if i dont put down a deposit i wont have that cruise anyway. so far i havent spent a dime on that one.

 

go figure!

[julig22]

26 minutes ago, complawyer said:

we just got the same letter, but is  really strange is that we have a cruise booked for march 9th, almost completely paid for, but the email references i cruise i have on a courtesy hold for next july. if i dont put down a deposit i wont have that cruise anyway. so far i havent spent a dime on that one.

 

go figure!

Their system treats a courtesy hold as a booking.  I got 3 letters, 1 for each of my bookings.  Just booked one of them yesterday.

[complawyer]

my point was that there was no mention of the cruise thats already booked and paid for  sailing in march

[jxtgreek]

I have 2 NCL cruises booked, one in January 2021 and another in March 2021.  When I booked part of the booking included $200 OBC.  If I cancel does that stay with me or do I just get back my $$?

[ggTexasGal]

8 minutes ago, jxtgreek said:

I have 2 NCL cruises booked, one in January 2021 and another in March 2021.  When I booked part of the booking included $200 OBC.  If I cancel does that stay with me or do I just get back my $$?

 

This is in the T&Cs:

Can guests choose to carry promotional amenities or value adds from their cancelled reservation to their future booking?

At time of cancellation, all promotional offers, amenities and value adds will be removed from the booking and will not carry-over to future reservations. Future reservations are subject to prevailing fares and offers in market at the time of booking.

[kismet618]

2 hours ago, VtMac said:

Just to play devils advocate, I actually think NY may sail first.  Based on the trends of the pandemic, if you buy into the data, NYC is in better position to resume than Miami Dade county, Orlando, or Tampa.   We are already seeing rapidly increasing air traffic in NYC, from my seat anyway.  With hotels in Ny opening, the city is learning to handle what needs to happen, coupled with the protocols in place with the cruise ships, and those still to come.  My bet...NY first.  If I win, you all send coffee to Vermont!  I you win, send beer.

 

I live on Long Island and am grateful that Cuomo and the Legislature took the necessary steps that got us out of those horrible early days. With the current 14 day mandatory quarantine from 34 states and Puerto Rico in place, and the potential for more hot spots around the country in the ensuing months, where are all of these potential NY cruisers going to hold up for 2 weeks in NYC prior to boarding?

[julig22]

2 hours ago, complawyer said:

my point was that there was no mention of the cruise thats already booked and paid for  sailing in march

My point was that you should get an email for each cruise.  2nd email may come later, go to spam or it's lost forever in cyberspace.  2 of mine came at about the same time, 3rd was an hour later.

[drafterdw]

7 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

My conclusion is many people are canceling just before final payment. As I did. They are trying to keep the bookings they have. The longer the uncertainty the more people will cancel and avoid new bookings... so these actions are meant to retain bookings and provide some safety net on new ones.

 

I hope they extend final payment deadlines if November and/or December sailings get canceled. I am booked for Feb. 28 and not sure I will send final payment end of October if the restart is not happening.

I feel the same. Our cruise is the beginning of March. I wrote them a letter concerning the fact they did not change our final payment and if they are not sailing by then I will cancel. 

[Comi.uy]

This is great for me, I have 2 cruises "coming up" next November and didnt want to pay the final payment yet due next month. Lets see how it goes. I dont see the change in my account yet however...

[BirdTravels]

On 7/29/2020 at 2:45 PM, Gigi1068 said:

I am booked on the Encore, 3/1/21.  If the final payment does not change for my cruise, I will save myself the aggravation and cancel the end of October.

So, why not cancel now because it won't change.

 

Can you expand on what your "aggravation" is? Why cancel? 

[Gigi1068]

31 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

So, why not cancel now because it won't change.

 

Can you expand on what your "aggravation" is? Why cancel? 

Being snarky is not becoming.  You don’t know that the final payment deadline will not change.  Like many others, I have decided to wait and see.  If the final payment for my cruise does not change from 120 days to 60 days by the end of October, I will cancel.  I do not want a FCC and I am not playing the submit a request between this date and that date game.  It is my hope that we will have a better idea of what the future of cruising will look like in the coming months and I will make a decision that best fits my needs when I see fit.

[tallnthensome]

13 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So, why not cancel now because it won't change.

 

Can you expand on what your "aggravation" is? Why cancel? 

What is so hard to understand? Some only have low deposits on their cruises and have them booked at good prices versus possibly rebooking at much higher prices for the same cruise. Many like me are waiting to see what goes on with the virus and state cases like Florida. It’s not worry about getting a low deposit back early, it’s about making a big final payment a day before the deadline. No rush to cancel yet for a $100 deposit. 

 

[Gershep]

Thanks for posting.

[luv2kroooz]

14 hours ago, Gigi1068 said:

Being snarky is not becoming.  You don’t know that the final payment deadline will not change.  

It has been suggested by many on these boards that the user in question is a shill for the cruise line or perhaps a paid employee due to, among other things, extreme one sided positions that always support the cruise line. The definitive remarks made about the final payment date not changing indicate to me that the suggestions could be true unless the user is irresponsibly making statements about which they have little or no first hand knowledge.

 

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So, why not cancel now because it won't change.

 

 

[Budget Queen]

On 7/29/2020 at 3:01 PM, luv2kroooz said:

Deposits are typically paid with cash. So that it the money I reference.

There is a significant number who deposit with Cruise Next   (which frankly is the smarter thing to do.   🙂 ) 

[luv2kroooz]

8 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

There is a significant number who deposit with Cruise Next   (which frankly is the smarter thing to do.   🙂 ) 

Really? Please share that number with the community. Don't keep it in. Or did you only post to be argumentative?

Edited July 31, 2020 by luv2kroooz

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Really? Please share that number with the community. Don't keep it in. Or did you only post to be argumentative?

I only make deposits with Cruise Next certificates. It's 50% off cash, so I would never use cash. Especially if I can use 2 CN certificates. 

[luv2kroooz]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

I only make deposits with Cruise Next certificates. It's 50% off cash, so I would never use cash. Especially if I can use 2 CN certificates. 

Same here. But we are way off point which is that for December bookings reserved with cash deposits, NCL can now keep that cash for 60 days longer. I suggest that this is a smart move financially as the majority of bookings and likely all 1st time cruisers deposit cash. Who does and doesn't use CN is irrelevant to this topic.