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skitrips

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  1. Thanks Barrycat - Have now received a W/S invoice for the "postponed" cruise. They have of course assumed we're going to keep our booking. However, the net price to us has gone down $1K. And $200 in OBCs have been added as represented by Mr. Prelog. And apparently, we're going to receive a refund subject only to about $740 in deposits. With the balance due nearly a year from now in September of 2024. With the ability to cancel at that time with no liability other than a $50/person cancellation fee. So now we have a decision to make because we're looking at something far different than a feared. Yes December of 2024 is a long ways off. But if we're only putting up a $740 refundable deposit, why not keep the booking? I checked the proposed itinerary and don't see the loss of two ports. The itinerary appears to be the same as our initial cruise, however, in reverse. And we'll still be able to attend the 2024 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Gran Prix if that be our choice. We can't look at air fares/reward travel because it's too far in advance. But this far out, I'm thinking our odds of booking award travel might be good. And now we can build in a longer stay in Dubai inasmuch as it looks like something more incredible than what we envisioned when we first made our booking. Hopefully you will be offered something similar for the "postponement" of your cruise. But let us know if W/S offers you more.
  2. Thanks to all. Yes Jazzbeau. I live in the U.S. Lake Tahoe specifically. So without my consent, W/S has re-booked us on their0 cruise for December of 2024. However, departing from Muscat, Oman vs. Dubai, UAE. Where the air fares, connections, layovers, flight times will be worse compared to flying into/out of Dubai. Don't know yet if the award travel costs from the U.S. will be any different. We haven't yet responded because we're evaluating our options. We have examined the W/S passage contract and it does not address "postponement." Since this is the remedy W/S has exercised, IMO there is no contract authority for anything it has done. Or might in the future agree or refuse to agree to. We booked our air with award miles on United and American. And I am soooooo happy we did. We were able to cancel all air travel and our reward miles have been re-deposited into our frequent flyer accounts. The add'l fees we were charged by the airlines for taxes/other fees, have been refunded to our credit card. And we have not been assessed any re-deposit fees. Had we purchased our tix, at best, we would have nothing more than thousands of dollars in future travel credits with an expiration of one year. And if we had purchased the lowest priced basic economy tickets, we would have nothing as they are non-refundable/non-cancellable/non-creditable towards future travel. I respectfully disagree with 6rugrats when it comes to booking refundable hotels. My experience is that the difference in cost for non-cancellable versus cancellable lodging reservations up until "x" days prior to occupancy, is typically 20% or more. I guess if you don't mind paying more for your lodging, that's the route to go. We found a third party source for booking our lodging before/after our cruise. It's called stayforlong.com. First, our cost was lower than any other source. Even lower than the hotels direct even though they advertise that their rates are guaranteed to be the lowest which is not true. Second, our reservations were cancellable up until "x" days prior to occupancy even though their rates were the lowest. Our "x" date was October 23, 2023 so we had time to cancel. Third, part of our lodging cost represented a fee to stayforlong (a whopping $73) should we cancel our reservation. But it was a relatively small fee. So I view the bookings as a hybrid of cancellable versus non-cancellable. Yes I was able to cancel our lodging reservations. And yes I waived the relatively small portion which was taken from me when we first made our lodging reservations because I cancelled. Other than that, we're good pricewise assuming W/S gives us a full refund. But of course at this stage we don't know what is going to happen. But if they tell us they're not liable for our $73 in lodging cancellation fees because that's what the passage contract says, IMO they're mistaken. So now you know what we know. We're mulling over whether we want to take the postponed cruise. Will keep you informed.
  3. Thank you for your responses r&rd and jazzbeau. Three more pieces of information, FWIW. First, our cruise was priced at a starting fare of $3,299/person. The cruise is supposed to end on Dec 3, 2023 in Muscat, Omen. Well it turns out our same ship departs Muscat on Dec 3, 2023, returning to Dubai on Dec 13, 2023. And the itinerary for the Dec 3, 2023 departure is the same itinerary as our itinerary with two exceptions. First, it is in reverse of our itinerary. And second, the starting fare is $1,799/person. In other words, $1,500/person less than the fare we have been charged. The proposed "postponed" cruise will be the same itinerary as our itinerary, however, in reverse. In other words the Dec 3, 2023 cruise. However unlike the Dec 3, 2023 cruise, there is no mention in Mr. Prelog's e-mail of crediting us back what should be the $1,500/person reduction in price. Next, take a look at W/S' passage contract. Do a word search for the words "postpone" or "postponement." Nowhere does it provide for remedies where W/S is the cause of a postponement. So does that mean such remedies exist? Finally. W/S' passage contract includes the following language: "If you are entitled to a refund, Windstar Cruises reserves the right to offer you Future Cruise Credits ('FCCs') as an alternative to a refund." Mr. Prelog's e-mail says nothing of what used to be traditional 125% FCCs. Mr. Prelog's e-mail ends by stating he "want(s) to assure (us) that...our trust and satisfaction are of utmost importance to" W/S. Well I guess we'll see how important our trust and satisfaction really are. Because at this stage all we've been offered is $200/person in OBCs, however, pre-conditioned upon our agreement to the proposed postponement.
  4. Hello all - So my wife and I just received notice from W/S that our upcoming inaugural Dubai, UAE - Muscat, Omen cruise (5 weeks away) culminating in the Abu Dhabi 2023 Formula 1 Gran Prix race, has been cancelled. And the reason? "The current environment and...evolving circumstances in the region." In order to attempt to avoid liability, W/S has labeled its cancellation a "postponement." But wait. There's good news! Our cruise has been rescheduled to more than a year from now departing December 4, 2024! And rather than departing from Dubai as originally publicized, our cruise will depart from the more expensive (for travelers from the U.S. to reach) Muscat, Omen Airport. And more good news. Rather than W/S' more expensive "inaugural" Gulf States sailing, our "postponed" cruise will depart 2 weeks after W/S' inaugural 2024 Gulf States cruise. And regardless of our other expenses and inconvenience, in addition to keeping our paid in full money for the next 13+ months, W/S is offering us a generous $200/person OBC. In the unlikely event we're not thrilled with news of the postponement, W/S states we "are welcome to call (its) Guest Services team to process our cancellation." Wait a minute. We haven't cancelled anything. It's W/S which has cancelled our cruise. So why try to turn this around so that we're the bad guys? Moreover, there's no mention of cruise refunds. Nor excursion refunds. Nor the $1,599/person Formula 1 race refund (which were originally represented as being non-cancellable). Nor refunds for non-cancellable airline fares/taxes, Nor refunds for non-cancellable hotel lodging. Nor the usual and customary 125% in future cruise credits ("FCCs"). Have any of you ever been involved in a similar situation with W/S? If so we'd like to hear your experience(s). Thank you for reading and hopefully responding.
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