The end of the NeoClassica

Hello Maryann, great to hear you’ve been offered an alternative you like. India is wonderful and I can’t await visiting new parts of it. By the way India is introducing electronic visa for cruise tourists in November with landing cards instead of the need of multiple entry visa http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=169752.

Yes I do plan to make it to India hopefully 2019 Stefan. Thanks for the info about the visa. Electronic will make it easier.

The last neoClassica cruise from Mumbai - Male, 3rd. March 2018 - 17th. March 2018 has been cancelled (as previously stated she sold as from 10th. March). neoClassica was due to leave Mumbai for Venice on 17th. March.

 

 

So what could happen to your cruise:

 

a. Costa charters another cruise ship just for this repo cruise. Problem finding a ship to accommodate just 1300 passengers, bigger ship would make the cruise into a loss making one.

 

b. The Victoria is in the vincinity, Goa 3rd. March, could be in Mumbai 4th. March. What would you do with the Victoria passengers for 13 days? Also would there be enough empty cabins to take neoClassica passengers? I think unlikely as Costa would have two ships with unhappy passengers.

 

c. Divert the neoRiviera (due to leave Port Louis, Mauritius 3rd. March) by not stopping at Victoria, Seychelles, to Mumbai, would be there either 9th - 10th. March. 10 day wait til neoClassica passengers would arrive. Also would there be enough empty cabins to take neoClassica passengers? I think unlikely as Costa would have two ships with unhappy passengers.

 

d. If I was booked on the neoClassica cruise, I personally would start to look for another cruise, as I do not think it will take place.

The Victoria is arriving in Savona from Singapore on March 17th so most likely your cruise will be on her.

Not so. She has been offered the same 14 night Cruise from 17 Feb to 3 March

Not so. She has been offered the same 14 night round trip Bombay to Bombay Cruise from 17 Feb to 3 March on Neoclassica itself.

Neoclassica's last Cruise is one way from Bombay to Male, 3--10 March. But who would want to be on the very LAST cruise ?

You have got things mixed up.

kcdionysus: was originally due to sail on the neoClassic 3rd. March - 17th. March (Mumbai - Male - Mumbai), second leg was cancelled. The lastest from kcdionysus was that he has been offered compensation and the same cruise but two weeks earlier, he has not decided as yet.

maryann2: was originally booked on neoClassica 17th. March Mumbai to Venice, cruise was cancelled. maryann2 has now been booked on the neoRiviera sailing from Port Louis to Savona 3rd. March - 27th. March.

I was referring to the cruise of kcdionysus being preponed by 14 days on the same Neoclassica ship. The new dates offered are 17 Feb to 3 March, Mumbai to Male to Mumbai

I wonder what will happen to the production team and shows of Neoclassica. Will they be also shifted / added to the existing production team and shows of neoRiviera ? If so, that would be great, as neoRiviera would then have double the number of shows for their long 26-29 night voyages, Venice to Mumbai and Port Louis to Savona

I had booked and paid the deposit (2 months ago) for Neoclassica which was later changed to neoRiviera at the same price.

Today, I just received an email from Costa Crociere saying that they have increased the price of my Cruise already booked and confirmed.

Can they increase the price retrospectively after the $198 deposit is paid and then demand more ?

Hi

We did this cruise earlier this year. The ship was in a good condition. Everything clean and I did not notice any rusty bits. Both pool decks in good shape and lounges good. No fraying seat covers etc.

I don't think it could deteriorate much in a year.

Alicat

Thank goodness, this is the reply I just received--

""Kindly note per procedure, we need to insert the OBC EUR200 in USD equivalent to your booking prior to departure.*

We are waiting for HQ to send us the discount code so we can waive this charge.*

Rest assured that OBC is complimentary and your total booking amount is the same.*

Regards,

Juanita Campiot*

Costa Cruises Asia Pacific & China*

Costa Crociere S.p.A. - Shanghai Representative Office*

1115, Building One, Corporate Avenue, No. 222 HuBin Road, P.R.C - 200021 Shanghai

Do you think that it is worth while to do the 14 night Mumbai to Male to Mumbai round trip? How much did you pay for it?

Kindly post your review on

http://www.cruisecritic.com

The latest 2 reviews (Feb 2017 & July 2016) are very derogatory and not even recent. Just 1 review in the last 14 months! It appears that nobody is interested in the Neoclassica, more so now that it is being sold or scrapped (acc. to cruisecritic expert review)

We were booked on this Mumbai to Venice and just learned that we are out of luck. Our travel insurance for the cruise (Roam Right) and air (AON) will not cover trip cancellation due to cruise company defaulting. We are FRUSTRATED! Is anyone else booked? What is your plan? We cannot accept an itinerary they reassigned us to as the dates conflict with family plans (a new grandbaby) nor do we wish to take that cruise.

Ask for a full refund of your deposit or a future Cruise credit of the entire deposit amount paid.

We were booked on this Mumbai to Venice and just learned that we are out of luck. Our travel insurance for the cruise (Roam Right) and air (AON) will not cover trip cancellation due to cruise company defaulting. We are FRUSTRATED! Is anyone else booked? What is your plan? We cannot accept an itinerary they reassigned us to as the dates conflict with family plans (a new grandbaby) nor do we wish to take that cruise.

I was booked on the Mumbai to Venice cruise and was changed to Mauritius to Savona March 3rd to 27th. The dates and itinerary work fine with me but can understand the conflict for you as 2 week difference in dates.

I had used miles for my flights and Costa has reimbursed the change fees. Had to send in receipts. Perhaps you could contact Costa by email and see what your options are.

customercare@us.costa.it

I truly wish I could make the last sailing....as I was on her maiden voyage. I loved this ship...and to see her retire regardless of her final fate would be emotional for me as a ship lover. But my worry would be reduced services, using up remaining food supplies and drinks rather than the normal provisioning....just getting the cruise out of the way. Best to save the good memories than to see her discarded like an old pair of shoes. Now if she gets new owners that put some money into her...I'll seek her out and book.

Ciao Classica

RMS, why do you think that the services, food, shows, activities and entertainment will be reduced for the final few sailings? Costa has to maintain its standard.

I was booked on the Mumbai to Venice cruise and was changed to Mauritius to Savona March 3rd to 27th. The dates and itinerary work fine with me.

I had used miles for my flights and Costa has reimbursed the change fees. Had to send in receipts.

Dear Maryann, how much OBC pp did they give you as compensation for the change in ship and itinerary?

Also, how much was the flight change fee and was it reimbursed as a cash discount on the cruise fare or additional OBC? Thanks

Dear Maryann, how much OBC pp did they give you as compensation for the change in ship and itinerary?

Also, how much was the flight change fee and was it reimbursed as a cash discount on the cruise fare or additional OBC? Thanks

They told me they would reimburse me for the change fee and hotel up to $250 and mine was less. Have not received it yet as they will issue it after final payment in Dec. Not a discount on the cruise fare.

The only compensation they gave was $100 OBC . Have a really good solo price on the cruise so not complaining.

Guess you didn't get the 600 euros you were going to request

Cruise Critic Message Board Forums - View Single Post - Costa cancelled our cruise

They told me they would reimburse me for the change fee and hotel up to $250 and mine was less. Have not received it yet as they will issue it after final payment in Dec. Not a discount on the cruise fare.

The only compensation they gave was $100 OBC . Have a really good solo price on the cruise so not complaining.

 

 

Guess you didn't get the 600 euros you were going to request

Thanks, Maryann.

I have not yet asked for more OBC or anything else. I'm wondering if I should. Should I?

Is €300 pp too much to ask for?

Btw, Costa still hasn't removed the extra charge of $235 (=€200) added to our Cruise fare, in lieu of the €100 OBC pp given as compensation. Costa Asia claims it will be removed when she gets the discount code from the head office. I'm still waiting!

The compensation, I find a bit on the low side for all the upheaval you are going through.

 

......

 

How long do you have to make up your minds?

 

Can you still cancel and get your money back?

 

I look upon such compensation as trying to bribe me, when I have been in such a situation I totally disregard the compensation, I only take into consideration the total holiday cost (flight and cruise) against what to expect from the changed itinerary. The compensation offered is only a small amount compared to the total cost of the holiday.

 

If I was in you position, I would see what sort of deal I could get from Costa for Mauritius cruise.

 

Costa will be doing the Indian route 2018/19, the alawys have special offer.

 

Let us know how you get on.

Well we finally received a refund after months of aggravation....

There was a lady from Cruise Nation dealing with our situation but she went on holiday. So I left it for a 4/5 weeks and eventually emailed her to remind her that we’re waiting for an answer in case she’d forgotten but didn’t get a reply. I called Cruise Nation and apparently, this lady is on ‘extended sick leave’ and has been for weeks so won’t be answering any correspondence? But now they know, someone else will be dealing with it. Basically, we asked for anything in the Indian Ocean and in an effort to be flexible, we could take any date but wanted a different ship. We hoped we might get an alternative offer for the Mauritius cruise but if it was India/Maldives, then fine as that’s where we wanted to go anyway. The reply we got was that Costa wouldn’t offer an alternative, so we had to go for a refund.

We didn’t get any enticement or compensation like future OBC or future discount and considering we hadn’t cruised with Costa before and they effectively pulled our holiday from beneath us on this first occasion, we thought they might offer something to entice us to try them again but alas not?

It also took a lot of chasing to finally get the refund out of Cruise Nation once we were told there wasn’t going to be an alternative offer. It was like pulling teeth. If they wanted to keep our money/business, offer us something else even with another cruise line, if not, just return it. But it was a long drawn out struggle and left me fed up and frustrated. So all in all, not a positive first time experience with Costa or Cruise Nation.

For those of you concerned about the fate of the NeoClassica, don’t worry she won’t be going to the breakers. She was sold to the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line in Palm Beach County, Florida. She will be renamed the Grand Classica and be going to Grand Bahama Island every other day from West Palm Beach, Florida. This cruise Line will take extremely good care of her. I welcome you to come to the sub tropics of Florida and the blue waters of the Bahamas to see her in her new role in the U.S.A. She will start her new itinerary in April, 2018.

I read on the Forum regarding the Costa NeoClassica possibly being taken out of service. We are doing the Mumbai to Mumbai cruise on 17th February, so hope the ship will be in tip top condition and not run down. Does anyone know if the voltage plus in use on the ship will be the European type, i.e. two round pins? We are from Australia. Love to hear if anyone watching here who will be on the ship. :)(yn)

The neoClassica is in Marseille for maintenance since last week. Tomorrow she’ll leave to Genoa and there I’ll board her on Saturday to go all the way to India. So I’ll be able to report. There will be 220 V 60 Hz and continental European sockets for plugs with the round pins. Some ships also offer 110 V, but not the neoClassica. I don’t know whether there will be alternative sockets as on other ships.

Many thanks for the info Cool Cruiser. Goodness you will certainly be on a long cruise if you are leaving Saturday. Enjoy.