Cancellation

[coloxray]

Our cruise is Feb 13 on Harmony. We are trying to decide if we want to go or not because it probably won’t be the cruise we reserved 2 years ago for our 50th anniversary. Probably no stops and not the entertainment either. How close to the cruise date can we cancel?  We did purchase the travel insurance. 

[OnTheJourney]

5 minutes ago, coloxray said:

How close to the cruise date can we cancel?

Here is info I got from my TA recently regarding my upcoming March cruise, being that I'm also considering the possibility of canceling depending on how things are going in a few weeks. What I received when raising the concern about canceling is the following....  "If you decide to cancel the March cruise, you must do so 48 hrs prior or more and have to rebook by 5/31/22 to sail by end of December 2022.  In your case you could sail within 1 year of cancelled cruise which would be March 17, 2023.  They are not making exceptions at this time."

 

I'm still a tad confused on being able to delay sailing till next year, but I'm not going to question it further until we get closer to March. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[firefly333]

I'm sure you will stop somewhere, there is some law that there has to be a foreign port. Might not be what you booked true. Cwc you can take the credit as fcc and move it further out. To cancel say you cant deal with protocols and push it if they want to not give you a refund.

 

I'm going, nothing could stop me, but I know to some it's important they see the ports they booked. 

[firefly333]

Just now, OnTheJourney said:

Here is info I got from TA recently regarding my upcoming March cruise. Thought it might be helpful...  "If you decide to cancel the March cruise, you must do so 48 hrs prior or more and have to rebook by 5/31/22 to sail by end of December 2022.  In your case you could sail within 1 year of cancelled cruise which would be March 17, 2023.  They are not making exceptions at this time."

 

I'm still a tad confused on being able to delay sailing till next year, but I'm not going to question it further until we get closer to March. 

That 48 hours is for getting a fcc with cwc, not to cancel with a refund.

 

Idk the op wants to rebook later.

[OnTheJourney]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

there is some law that there has to be a foreign port.

You're referring to the PVSA wherein a departure from a US port and returning to a different US port (if sailing under a foreign flagged ship) must visit a "distant foreign port". 

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

You're referring to the PVSA wherein a departure from a US port and returning to a different US port (if sailing under a foreign flagged ship) must visit a "distant foreign port". 

Can be a closed loop cruise as well.

[OnTheJourney]

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Can be a closed loop cruise as well.

If closed loop there is no need to visit a "distant" foreign port. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Here is info I got from TA recently regarding my upcoming March cruise. Thought it might be helpful...  "If you decide to cancel the March cruise, you must do so 48 hrs prior or more and have to rebook by 5/31/22 to sail by end of December 2022.  In your case you could sail within 1 year of cancelled cruise which would be March 17, 2023.  They are not making exceptions at this time."

 

I'm still a tad confused on being able to delay sailing till next year, but I'm not going to question it further until we get closer to March. 

 

This link has the current protocols.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center

 

The cruise line is updating and changing what they are offering people, so keep a close eye on what is being offered.  You can cancel up to 48 hours prior to your sailing for a future cruise credit.  People are getting refunds if they say they don't agree with the protocols or if they can prove a positive test in their sailing party.  I am sorry that you might have to cancel your cruise but we all have to do what is best for our own situations.  Happy 50th!

[coloxray]

Thank you all for your answers. We might just celebrate next year. We will wait until Feb 1 to decide. I will be watching what the cruise line is saying and also what I read here. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, coloxray said:

Our cruise is Feb 13 on Harmony. We are trying to decide if we want to go or not because it probably won’t be the cruise we reserved 2 years ago for our 50th anniversary. Probably no stops and not the entertainment either. How close to the cruise date can we cancel?  We did purchase the travel insurance. 

We have all been in a pandemic for nearly 2 years. And nothing is exactly the same as it was 2 years ago. So, accept that you are sailing in the middle of a pandemic (just like taking a vacation in the middle of a pandemic), go on your cruise, and enjoy yourself. 

 

We did 3 cruises last year (4 more booked, so far, this year). Were they the same as pre-pandemic, absolutely not. But, each and every cruise was wonderful and we had a great time. The un-crowded ships were wonderful. A little less entertainment, sure. But we did not miss it at all. We enjoyed live music every night, and danced the night away. Ate too much at our favorite shipboard restaurants (and drank a little too much too). All around had a great time.

 

10's of thousands of people cruise every week and have a splendid time. Be one of those people. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by BirdTravels

[Tolkmit]

2 hours ago, coloxray said:

Our cruise is Feb 13 on Harmony. We are trying to decide if we want to go or not because it probably won’t be the cruise we reserved 2 years ago for our 50th anniversary. Probably no stops and not the entertainment either. How close to the cruise date can we cancel?  We did purchase the travel insurance. 

 

I'm not sure why you think there will "probably" be no stops. There are 100+ large cruise ships going every week, and only a handful of cruises total that have not had any stops. Entertainment wise, the big production shows getting shut down isn't rare, but they still seem to be going on more ships than they are not.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think looking at everything and deciding whether you want to go or not is prudent... but I think your assessment of the likelihood of trouble is off, since the majority of cruises that don't have these problems aren't getting posted about. I also think it's a mistake to assume things will be any different a year from now. Last February I think most would have pictured cruising back to normal this February.

[smplybcause]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

If closed loop there is no need to visit a "distant" foreign port. 

 

No, but a stop at a foreign port is required for closed loop cruises. It's why congress had to do something so this last Alaska cruise season could go. 

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

No, but a stop at a foreign port is required for closed loop cruises. It's why congress had to do something so this last Alaska cruise season could go. 

Thanks. I knew it was true. 

[ngrund]

US port to same US port-must stop at a foreign port

 

US port to another US port-must stop at a "distant" foreign port

[ZoeyVictoria]

I canceled my January 9 cruise for the same reasons, but I plan to cruise on February 5.  My reasoning is that the number of infected crew members has to decline at some point, simply because the majority will have had it and recovered (returned to the ship).  I am sure that will not be at 100% by February 5, but hopefully the numbers will have decreased enough at that point to be able to visit ports and have entertainment.

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, ngrund said:

US port to same US port-must stop at a foreign port

 

US port to another US port-must stop at a "distant" foreign port

 

I believe this is correct.  You have to get down into the weeds to find which ports are considered "distant."

[Ourusualbeach]

12 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 "If you decide to cancel the March cruise, you must do so 48 hrs prior or more

It is 48 hours prior to the date of sailing.  Small but important difference as you need to cancel by midinght 2 days before.  leaving it until the next morning would be too late.

[Ourusualbeach]

12 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'm sure you will stop somewhere, there is some law that there has to be a foreign port. Might not be what you booked true. Cwc you can take the credit as fcc and move it further out. To cancel say you cant deal with protocols and push it if they want to not give you a refund.

 

I'm going, nothing could stop me, but I know to some it's important they see the ports they booked. 

You currently cannot cancel a February cruise due to protocols for a refund.  That only applies to cruises departing through Jan 31.  

 

 

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You currently cannot cancel a February cruise due to protocols for a refund.  That only applies to cruises departing through Jan 31.  

 

 

Ok I thought I'd read a few got refunds by pushing.

[Ourusualbeach]

12 hours ago, coloxray said:

Our cruise is Feb 13 on Harmony. We are trying to decide if we want to go or not because it probably won’t be the cruise we reserved 2 years ago for our 50th anniversary. Probably no stops and not the entertainment either. How close to the cruise date can we cancel?  We did purchase the travel insurance. 

Your travel insurance will most likely not come into play as most policies exclude payment if the cruise line is offering an FCC.  If you have cancel for any reason you could also cancel and choose not to take the FCC in which case your insurance may cover it.  Check with your policy holder.  If you can cancel and take the FCC or refund from Royal you may be able to get a refund on your insurance policy or move the policy to another date.

 

You can cancel now and get an FCC for 100% of your cruise fare.  You could also wait up until 48 hours prior to the date of sailing and still get the FCC.

 

If you wait Royal may extend their current protocols which may allow you to get a refund instead.

[firefly333]

40 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You currently cannot cancel a February cruise due to protocols for a refund.  That only applies to cruises departing through Jan 31.  

 

 

And yet daily I read people do it. Just now read a post the couple with a unvaccinated baby flying to miami from Scotland their ta got them a full refund for march 20th. 

 

I read posts daily who got refunds. So I'd call and ask if I wanted to cancel. 

[Ourusualbeach]

15 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

And yet daily I read people do it. Just now read a post the couple with a unvaccinated baby flying to miami from Scotland their ta got them a full refund for march 20th. 

 

I read posts daily who got refunds. So I'd call and ask if I wanted to cancel. 

Current policy is Jan 31.  Of course there may be exceptions made depending on the circumstances however there was nothing in the OP's post to indicate anything exceptional.