SSCAF001

1 hour ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Hi SSCAF00,

 

With respect you have an enormous sum of cash at risk and I urge you to take some prudent steps rather than seek reassurances on a forum.

 

With all due respect, I'm unclear as to what help the Visa global standards document offers you with respect to your protection in your own country with your own card.  It seems to me to only to state the minimum timeline for making a claim which may turn out to be better on your own card.  It offers no reassurance with respect to actual purchase protection which will vary from country to country depending on the offers and underlying consumer legislation. In the EU purchaser protection on credit and some charge cars are enshrined in law so all cards offer protection. The global standards therefore simply seems to offer you a theoretical minimum timeline - that may not be as good as the one you actually have - to open a dispute with what may turn out to be the receivers of a bankrupt company - if ABTA that is, doesn't underpin your guarantee.  So I'm unclear as to what reassurance that offers.

 

As you know, your terms and conditions with SS were those that were in force when you made your booking unless the latest terms were retrospective. So that is something you need to check.

 

I suggest you do three things:

 

1. Have you separate travel insurance that covers you? If it is simply for example a UBS add-on I do not think it covers you for purchaser protection of failure of the company but you need to check. So do you have separate insurance that specifically protects you?

 

2. Read your booking confirmations to see whether it specifically states that YOUR booking IS subject to the ABTA protection. If it is unclear then understand that Silversea are doing all they can to avoid customers cancelling cruises. It seems that they have not stated that you are CERTAINLY covered by the ABTA guarantee, but that you "should be OK" and it is questionable that you may or may not be unless Silversea have paid an extra ABTA premium to cover non EU bookings made through the London office. I believe it is an option that Silversea can make if it is paid for. So your first task is to ask is to check the documentation you have AND ask your contact in Silversea to confirm in writing where it states that your booking is subject to ABTA protection. I hate to state to obvious but simply stating that you are covered without firm ABTA supporting documentation is no good to you if your fears materialise and SS proves wrong but not in existence to be answerable for the incorrect information.

 

3. Check whether your visa card offers "purchaser protection" in the case where the travel company goes bankrupt.

 

So for what it's worth, you must not be reassured by any general advice you read on a forum but you need to make water-tight sure you are fully protected rather than possibly or should be or maybe.

 

Good luck and to report back what you find out.

 

Jeff

 

Many thanks Jeff. I will try to follow your recommendations and let you know.

1 hour ago, alexandria said:

Both VISA and MasterCard have a little known policy that allows for a longer period of time for disputing charges related to services that aren't performed at the time of purchase but expected to be performed on or before a future date.

(MasterCard Chargeback Guide, beginning at page 49:  https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/en-us/documents/rules/chargeback-guide.pdf)

(Visa Chargeback Guide, beginning at page 687:  https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/about-visa/visa-rules-public.pdf)

 

Essentially, those policies provide that a dispute timeline can be based on one of two start dates. Either the dispute must be processed within 120 calendar days of the transaction processing date or within 120 calendar days of the last date the customer expected to receive the goods or services (but not to exceed 540 days of the original transaction processing date). 

 

You can look at the language specific to Europe on page 688, "For a Dispute related to non-receipt of travel services from a provider who has failed, if the services are covered by a bonding authority/insurance scheme, the Issuer must attempt to obtain reimbursement from the relevant bonding authority/insurance scheme., unless the bond or insurance scheme is insufficient. If the bond or insurance scheme is insufficient, the Issuer may use information in the public domain to initiate the Dispute."

Thank you. I will have a look at your attached link regarding VISA.

25 minutes ago, sail1658 said:

Here in the UK Silversea Standard Terms and Conditions allow you to cancel more than 120 days before sailing and receive a full refund except for an administrative fee of £130 per booking which can be converted to a Future Cruise Credit. I'm not sure if it's different in Switzerland.

 

So as I understand it you could cancel all three cruises now without losing anything. 

 

CRUISE CANCELLATIONS

If you find it necessary to cancel your reservation or any component thereof, you or your travel agent are required to contact the Silversea Reservations Department by telephone as well as submit your cancellation in writing. If your cancellation request is received more than 120 days prior to your initial sailing date, a £130 non-refundable administrative fee will be charged per booking. This administrative fee may be converted to a future cruise credit valid for travel within 12 months from the date of the cancelled voyage. Cruise cancellation requests received within 120 days of the initial sailing date will be subject to the following charges, regardless of suite resale:

120 – 91 days prior to the initial sailing date: 15% of the total cruise fare per person;

90 – 61 days prior to the initial sailing date: 50% of the total cruise fare per person;

60 – 31 days prior to the initial sailing date: 75% of the total cruise fare per person;

30 – 0 days prior to the initial sailing date or nonappearance at the time of sailing: 100% of the total cruise fare per person.

Guests who downgrade suite categories within 120 days of the initial sailing date will incur cancellation fees on the difference in cruise fare between the two suites.

Thanks. It seems the situation is different for me even if it has been sold by Silversea UK in London

 

So even now, I could not cancel without losing 10% of the full fare!

Seeing the latest development with NCL yesterday and having paid in full for 3 cruises with SS, I am getting nervous about how to get back my money. Even if my future cruises are all beyond the 120 day mark (September 10, 2020, December 4, 2020 and May 25, 2021) having paid them in full to benefit with the early booking bonus, I cannot ask for a refund now without a 10% fee. So I am about to wait SS to cancel them one after another. I have to specify that the 3 of them have been booked and paid for directly with SS in the UK. I have talked to my SS cruise consultant who was very straightforward regarding the situation and the fact that the September cruise has almost no chance of operating. When mentioning the fact that I was nervous with my money in case SS get out of business, he told me that I should be OK because my bookings are covered with ABTA. I have been on the internet and found out that ABTA is covering bookings made within the European Economic Area. I live in Switzerland and Switzerland is not part of the EEA. Do you know whether Switzerland residents are covered with ABTA? If yes, what kind of protection is given?

Moreover, the 3 downpayment have been done through a VISA Premier credit card. Do you know whether I have the possibility to get back my money through VISA in the case I got nothing from SS at the end of the process? What is the time frame to submit the case to VISA and how can I do it?

I am not so sure that there are many Swiss residents on this forum but I am struggling to get the answers to these questions. Any help will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

On 4/25/2020 at 5:48 PM, Travelcat2 said:

There are still flights flying to many places (we had a flight booked to Athens in May on a cruise that is now cancelled).  There were not many flights from YVR to ATH but we could have flown there if the cruise had not been cancelled.  

As far as I know, the European Union borders are closed to non-European citizens, at least until May 15 but probably after that date as well. Same for European citizens who cannot fly to the US (even if there are still some flights between the two continents but they are only devoted to repatriation flights mainly). So I doubt that you could be able to fly to Greece just to board a ship (unless you are a European citizen of course).

I may be totally wrong but even if Oxford university vaccine is ready by September (which seems extremely optimistic) can you imagine how long it would take to vaccinate hundreds of millions of people! It will have to be produced in huge quantities first, then delivered around the world then given to people. It will take months/year for that. And i do not think that flying to the UK would speed the process because the Britains will keep the vaccine for themselves in the first place. When I see the tremendous difficulties to manage the supply chain of masks at the moment I am not optimistic about the speed of distribution of a future vaccine. Again even if one is ready by fall 2020, it will take quite a long time before being vaccinated. This is my humble opinion.
Take good care of you.
Christophe from Montreux Switzerland


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I am exactly in the same situation not with Seabourn but with Silversea. I have booked a gty cabin for a late May 2021 cruise. I was very surprised to discover last week that I have been assigned a cabin, the worst possible in the ship. I have called my SS TA who told me that this may be due to the fact that many people canceling 2020 cruises, some 2021 cruises are filling quickly and cabins are allocated well in advance : I have very strong doubts about this explanation! I have asked to see whether I could be assigned a better cabin but anyway this is the game of the rule when booking a gty cabin. Anyway I am afraid that both of us will not have to deal with this issue because I would be very much surprised that any 2020 cruises take place. As long as the virus is still there and there is no vaccine I would not see how a cruise line could operate. I cross my fingers but I am not really optimistic. Take care. Christophe.


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How about this as a hypothetical.
What if cruise lines in the future will require some form of clearance before letting passengers board - such as a versions of 70+, Dr’s letter, pre-existing conditions or some other restrictions.
You have a FCC but now cannot use it as you are not cleared to cruise - will they give you a refund or will you just lose it?

That’s a very relevant question. On silversea, before the cancellation of cruises mid March, they were asking for all senior traveler a letter from their doctor certifying not only that the patient was fit to cruise but also that he/she does not have any pre-existing conditions. My mother is 85. She has some heart failure but she is in great shape with her medicine. We were on a 2 week cruise end of last year from Bali to Sydney and everything went very well. I am afraid that when cruises will resume she will be ban from cruising for ever. We have booked a 2 week cruise in December in the Caribbean. I am afraid she will not be authorized to board the ship (if the cruise operates which is not a given at the time we speak). Christophe from Montreux Switzerland.


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On 11/19/2019 at 4:02 AM, zqtchas said:

so was everything on sale?

Hotel rooms for sure were hugely discounted! 😀

Have you seen post #4 of this thread just above?

As a follow up I just wanted to let you know that I have just spent 3 days in Hong Kong walking to many places (Central, Admiralty, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, Tsimshatsui, among others). I took the MTR and the star ferry. I have not seen a single protestor nor a single policeman. It was very quiet and pleasant everywhere we went. I think we were very lucky because obviously I know that many unrest events occurred those last days in Kowloon. I am now in Bali for 4 days boarding the Muse on Friday. 

16 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

This is the time to go as everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is on sale.  Get it and enjoy yourself like you’ve done in the past.

Thanks! I will!

On 11/10/2019 at 2:06 PM, WesW said:

SSCAF001; below is a cruise critic link that describes well the many dining (including breakfast options) on board the Silver Muse.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=1104&pgtype=dining

 

For a change of pace/light breakfast, you may want to try the Arts Cafe, (pls see below) or head to the Panorama Lounge, Dolce Vita (main lounge Deck 5), or Tor's Observation Lounge for coffee, fresh fruit, croissants/pastries.

 

The Arts cafe serves food from early in the morning to late at night. In the morning, it offers items such as jars of fruit and oatmeal smoothies, croissants, muffins, yogurt and sandwiches, along with fruit- or veggie-infused water. (Really enjoy the Avocado Focaccia sandwich in early morn (about 6:30am if memory serves)

 

And, to conserve your time, if you have a day that has an early morning excursion, you may want to order room service for breakfast vs. taking the time to have breakfast in La Terraza, Altantide or the Arts Cafe

 

 

Thank you so much for this detailed answer. Quite useful. 

4 hours ago, Colgal said:

We are just leaving Vietnam now and boarded the Muse in Hong Kong.

 

I was concerned about the unrest , particularly because we arrived on a Saturday evening. We had no encounters in Kowloon and traveled everywhere. Perhaps we were fortunate but it just wasn’t a problem during our 3 night stay. Our flight from LAX to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific was a full flight but comfortable.

 

Having a wonderful time on the Muse- the ports have been challenging as they are quite a distance from the city centers, but the food and service are still great! 
 

We will be going overnite to Bangkok as the 3 hr each way is just too much for two consecutive days- wish SS had their smaller ships on this itinerary.

 

have a great cruise!

Thank you very much. Enjoy the second week of your cruise!

2 hours ago, Colgal said:

Currently sailing on the Muse and have enjoyed several breakfasts in Atlantide.

 

Much calmer Atmosphere than La Terrazza and the food a notch above. Would highly recommend it unless you have time constraints.

Many thanks. I will do that for sure

I will fly from Zurich to Hong Kong this Friday on Cathay Pacific and it seems that my flight is quite empty. I am supposed to spend 2 days there before heading to Bali to embark silver Muse. I have lived in HKG 28 years ago and have returned there many times since then but I am a little bit worried about the situation. I am supposed to stay in Wanchai. I guess I will go to Stanley Market on Sunday to avoid any potential problem with the current unrest. 

I have read on internet that even if Atlantide restaurant is an open seating restaurant it is recommended to book a table for dinner. I am surprised because I didn’t think it was possible. I have cruised aboard silver Whisper and it was not possible to reserve a table at the Restaurant. 

And what is the link with my question?

18 minutes ago, etual324 said:

Aheads up on the Wind they serve FROZEN waffles  (EGGO)   !!!!!!!!!

I do not understand your answer. What is the meaning of EGGO?

1 hour ago, Elginjock said:

You can have a leisurely breakfast in Atlantide .

Thanks!

Except at La Terrazza, is there another place where it is possible to have breakfast on Silver Muse? Thanks. 

Thank you! Usually the cyclone season starts in January? Correct?

1 hour ago, Glossop Traveller said:

Hi there, did the same trip on Seabourn in November 2017.

The  weather was great  and sailing was very smooth but the only place we couldn’t get off was at Mooloolaba as we were due to use tenders but the swell was too much. 
Otherwise sure  the itinerary will be pretty similar.

have a great trip

Thank you very much!

I was wondering what kind of sea conditions I should encounter during my coming cruise between Bali and Sydney end November / beginning December. Anyone having cruised in this part of the world at that time of the year, thanks for sharing!

I have booked a vista suite gty aboard the Muse and have just seen this morning on “my Silversea” a suite number which is a double upgrade   I am very pleased obviously. Knowing that we are 30 days prior to the cruise I was just wondering whether it would be possible that the allocated suite is changed in the meantime. If yes, can it be both ways (upgrade and downgrade) or should I consider that at least I will be granted a suite in the current category. Thanks.