A Couple of Questions: Itinerary & FCC on Cancelled Cruise

We booked a cruise onboard that has since been chartered and cancelled (Koningsdam Caribbean Wayfarer Feb 14). We received the email with compensatory OBC offer and are now trying to decide between cruises that work with our respective vacation schedules and our personal interests. However, most of the ports are new to us and I just don't have a clue as to which might be of more interest.

About us: We're not that into snorkeling and tend to like nice beaches, touring forts or ruins, or interesting flora/fauna. Our goal on a cruise is relaxation and not to feel like we need a vacation after our vacation. We pretty much cruise HAL specifically for the cabanas so this a must for us. I'm pretty sure that my husband's favorite port was St. Kitts and I'd guess that mine is either HMC or Grand Cayman but I also really like San Juan.

So, that brings us to the questions:

1. We're looking primarily at 10 or 11-day cruises. The notification email mentions only cruises aboard the Koningsdam, which would be ideal, but can we also look at other ships that fit the day parameters described above? Some of the Zuiderdam itineraries look interesting as well and might work better with our calendar though I had my heart set on the new ship.

2. Will we be able to shift our FCC OBC over to the new booking? It was a doubled OBC (I think the cruise consultant applied the ZPM promo for us). We're outside the 2 month window but that really isn't our fault. Will we be able to stack this with the compensatory OBC and the Ready Set Sail Event?

3. Considering our wants/interests, which itinerary would you recommend? Seafarer (10 day) goes to HMC, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Wayfarer (11 day - Jan 3) goes to St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Antigua, St Thomas, and HMC. Zuiderdam Panama Canal varies by the number of days so I won't include it here. We've been to Grand Turk, HMC, St Maarten, and St Thomas. Or is there another itinerary that you'd recommend in the 10-11 day range on a ship with cabanas?

I emailed my PCC to ask these questions but it appears that she's out on maternity leave. I'll call her substitutes on Monday but thought I would check here so I could limit the number of questions.

Sorry for the long post but I figured the detail might be helpful. Any insight you can offer on one or all of the questions is much appreciated! :)

We had a nice cruise on the Zuiderdam last month to the Panama Canal. Ours was the 10-day version, with stops at HMC, Aruba, Curacao, Panama Canal, and Costa Rica. All of the ports have things that should interest you. Of the Koningsdam cruises you listed, both look great. I'd lean to the longer one--just because it's one day longer. Although I love the ABCs and wouldn't feel bad about having to take the 10-day cruise.

We booked a cruise onboard that has since been chartered and cancelled (Koningsdam Caribbean Wayfarer Feb 14). We received the email with compensatory OBC offer and are now trying to decide between cruises that work with our respective vacation schedules and our personal interests. However, most of the ports are new to us and I just don't have a clue as to which might be of more interest.

 

So, that brings us to the questions:

1. We're looking primarily at 10 or 11-day cruises. The notification email mentions only cruises aboard the Koningsdam, which would be ideal, but can we also look at other ships that fit the day parameters described above? Some of the Zuiderdam itineraries look interesting as well and might work better with our calendar though I had my heart set on the new ship.

 

2. Will we be able to shift our FCC OBC over to the new booking? It was a doubled OBC (I think the cruise consultant applied the ZPM promo for us). We're outside the 2 month window but that really isn't our fault. Will we be able to stack this with the compensatory OBC and the Ready Set Sail Event?

 

3. Considering our wants/interests, which itinerary would you recommend? Seafarer (10 day) goes to HMC, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Wayfarer (11 day - Jan 3) goes to St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Antigua, St Thomas, and HMC. Zuiderdam Panama Canal varies by the number of days so I won't include it here. We've been to Grand Turk, HMC, St Maarten, and St Thomas. Or is there another itinerary that you'd recommend in the 10-11 day range on a ship with cabanas?

 

I emailed my PCC to ask these questions but it appears that she's out on maternity leave. I'll call her substitutes on Monday but thought I would check here so I could limit the number of questions.

 

Sorry for the long post but I figured the detail might be helpful. Any insight you can offer on one or all of the questions is much appreciated! :)

1. Look at one of the 14-day Veendam cruises to the Caribbean. It covers some of your favs above and leaves on a weekday which means lower airfares and hotel rates. It would also be cheaper the K'dam. By moving to a 14-day cruise, your Carnival stock goes from $100 to $250 additional OBC funds.

2. We were bounced from a charter a few years ago, too. Our OBC compensation offer was added to the latest promotion, CCL stock, and ZPM to leave us with $1800 in OBC. A visit to the Casino on the last day produce a number $100 bills.

3. I liked the Wayfarer best with a visit to the drive-in volcano and the numerous photo ops of the itinerary. We always take advantage of a stop in St Maarten to bring home some amazing Gouda cheese wheels from St Maartens.

When we have been bounced from a cruise because changes and charters, we were given a few cruises to choose from. One time it didn't work for us. We chose a different cruise and all we got were the original shipboard credits that we were due on the original cruise -- no extra perks because of the cancelled cruise.

You better find out if you can choose any cruise.

We had a nice cruise on the Zuiderdam last month to the Panama Canal. Ours was the 10-day version, with stops at HMC, Aruba, Curacao, Panama Canal, and Costa Rica. All of the ports have things that should interest you. Of the Koningsdam cruises you listed, both look great. I'd lean to the longer one--just because it's one day longer. Although I love the ABCs and wouldn't feel bad about having to take the 10-day cruise.

The Panama Canal is definitely tempting. I'll have to check to see if this is even a possibility with the cancellation. I don't want to lose all the perks if I can help it but it's also going to depend on our availability. Getting vacations moved post-bidding can really a pain in the arse. The Panama Canal cruises actually provide far more flexibility than the Koningsdam which is why I started looking.

1. Look at one of the 14-day Veendam cruises to the Caribbean. It covers some of your favs above and leaves on a weekday which means lower airfares and hotel rates. It would also be cheaper the K'dam. By moving to a 14-day cruise, your Carnival stock goes from $100 to $250 additional OBC funds.

 

2. We were bounced from a charter a few years ago, too. Our OBC compensation offer was added to the latest promotion, CCL stock, and ZPM to leave us with $1800 in OBC. A visit to the Casino on the last day produce a number $100 bills.

 

3. I liked the Wayfarer best with a visit to the drive-in volcano and the numerous photo ops of the itinerary. We always take advantage of a stop in St Maarten to bring home some amazing Gouda cheese wheels from St Maartens.

While I'd love to a 14-day, it'd pretty much eat up all our vacation time for the year. Plus, does the Veendam have cabanas? Good to know on the stock OBC. I really need to talk DH into that stock purchase. I tried to get him to buy way back when (during the 2008 recession) but he resisted as he couldn't see the value and didn't care for the volatility of the stock with all the cruise ships coming on the market. I think he sees it now since we do cruise once a year but he still prefers his other dividend stocks. Coulda shoulda woulda!

I don't know that we'll get as high OBC as you managed but, by my calculations, it should be somewhere in the $750 range plus pre-paid gratuities. The casino would definitely be in our future (as would my first visit to Pinnacle grill and my usual trip to Tamarind).

We've been to St Maarten but for some reason the cheese wasn't even on our radar. Silly us! That will be rectified on our next visit! I actually favor the Wayfarer but DH really wants to see the ABC islands. I've wanted to see Barbados and St Lucia but it's never quite worked out. The date of the Wayfarer is also a bit problematic as DH is in accounting/finance and that coincides with the year-end, SEC filings, etc.. The Jan 24th itinerary is different (doesn't include St. Lucia) and the March 8th is a bit late for us. Decisions, decisions!

When we have been bounced from a cruise because changes and charters, we were given a few cruises to choose from. One time it didn't work for us. We chose a different cruise and all we got were the original shipboard credits that we were due on the original cruise -- no extra perks because of the cancelled cruise.

You better find out if you can choose any cruise.

Good to know. I'll definitely check on that.

.............

We've been to St Maarten but for some reason the cheese wasn't even on our radar. Silly us!

The cheese store is located bout 50 yards from the end of the pier just a few steps up and behind the Tourist Information booth on the right. The store is not much larger than a couple of HAL staterooms and the cheese is located in a cooler near the back of the store. We paid $29 for a 6.6 pound waxed wheel.

The cheese store is located bout 50 yards from the end of the pier just a few steps up and behind the Tourist Information booth on the right. The store is not much larger than a couple of HAL staterooms and the cheese is located in a cooler near the back of the store. We paid $29 for a 6.6 pound waxed wheel.

Thank you! I'll definitely check it out.

Will see if I can get in contact with HAL tomorrow about these questions. If, as Krazy Kruisers indicated, the double credit for the FCC can't be shifted over to another sailing that works with our schedule, we'll probably just cancel. None of the Koningsdam sailings that were offered will work out for our mutual vacation and professional schedules. That Feb 14th date was just perfect.

Once I have more information, I'll report back here just to provide clarity on the questions I asked for the future.

Finally reporting back! I had some other issues arise that required my attention.

Here are the responses (in blue) to the original questions:

1. We're looking primarily at 10 or 11-day cruises. The notification email mentions only cruises aboard the Koningsdam, which would be ideal, but can we also look at other ships that fit the day parameters described above? Some of the Zuiderdam itineraries look interesting as well and might work better with our calendar though I had my heart set on the new ship.

Yes, you can book other cruises other than ones mentioned in the notification email. I had choices of anytime in the 2018 Caribbean season. It turned out that we couldn't locate one that would work in the necessary timeframe (other than aboard the Eurodam which we've sailed 2 times now). The HAL reps were understanding of our professional limitations and said that we could cancel this cruise and they'd note our various credits. We could then rebook for December 2018 once the itineraries come out. (Shifting to the December 2018 timeline without released schedules was where I encountered the most difficulty but it was quickly, easily, and satisfactorily resolved.) I'm quite pleased.

2. Will we be able to shift our FCC OBC over to the new booking? It was a doubled OBC (I think the cruise consultant applied the ZPM promo for us). We're outside the 2 month window but that really isn't our fault. Will we be able to stack this with the compensatory OBC and the Ready Set Sail Event?

Yes. All the credits (including the double FCD credits) were transferable. We could have kept our pricing and the previous promo or used the current promo. This will also apply to our December 2018 booking.

Hopefully this helps someone else who is in this position. I didn't really have to engage what my husband calls my 'holy terror' negotiation skills. (I refer to them as my results-oriented operational mode. He doesn't care what it's called as long as it isn't directed at him and instead directed towards various other entities like Comcast, State Farm Insurance, etc.) I was polite and positive while, at times, being direct and assertive but no more than I'd be in any other negotiation. As suggested by one of the reservation accounting individuals, I did follow up with an email outlining precisely what I was told I would receive along with the timeframe involved, and this was confirmed in writing. I would suggest this for anyone to create an audit trail. (Being married to an accountant, I appreciate these audit trails both with businesses and with said accountant. ;))

So, in summary, all's well that ends well. I felt like the folks at HAL were both willing to listen and to adjust to my particular needs.