Options If Maiden Voyage Cancelled

[Av8tor]

Just booked for the Regal's "new" 13 night Med/Greek maiden voyage starting on May 20th in an extended deluxe balcony cabin. The new dates and itinerary work well for us so we thought we'd try it. We haven't ever done an inaugural cruise and are a bit worried about what might happen if the ship's completion is delayed. How does princess go about compensating passengers if the cruise is cancelled or delayed? We'll be using a no-charge pass for our RT air travel that might end up being unchangeable once booked. That makes us wonder how any reimbursement for new air travel might be handled by Princess (or travel insurance) if we have to reschedule the cruise dates since we won't have a receipt to show what we "paid for the airfare.

 

Thanks for any insights...

[rkmw]

Just booked for the Regal's "new" 13 night Med/Greek maiden voyage starting on May 20th in an extended deluxe balcony cabin. The new dates and itinerary work well for us so we thought we'd try it. We haven't ever done an inaugural cruise and are a bit worried about what might happen if the ship's completion is delayed. How does princess go about compensating passengers if the cruise is cancelled or delayed? We'll be using a no-charge pass for our RT air travel that might end up being unchangeable once booked. That makes us wonder how any reimbursement for new air travel might be handled by Princess (or travel insurance) if we have to reschedule the cruise dates since we won't have a receipt to show what we "paid for the airfare.

 

Thanks for any insights...

 

princess should look after you if by some chance it gets cancelled

[Pam in CA]

I had this happen to me with the Coral Princess years ago. I'd booked what was to have been her third cruise over Christmas but several months before, the first two were canceled. Mine wasn't canceled until about December 10th. Good luck finding a Christmas cruise and changing airfare! My cruise payment was refunded within a few days. That was the extent of the compensation. When you book an inaugural cruise, that's the chance you take. I happened to be able to find a cheaper RCCL cruise; Delta gave me a refund for my canceled flights as there weren't any seats or flights left over the holidays. I was able to book on another airline for almost $1,000/pp. The whole cruise plus air was about equal to my original cruise although that was 10 days vs. 7.

 

If you are concerned (I wouldn't be since the Regal is not the first in the series the way the Coral was plus Princess appears to be confident that the ship is on schedule, unlike the Coral), I would make sure everything, including cruise fare, hotel and flights, are covered under "cancel for any reason." Independent air and hotels are not covered by Princess insurance and you would receive no refund or compensation.

[cherylandtk]

Insurance (princess or third party) will not cover airfare that has no cost, such as companion passes or point based award travel. And check any third party coverage to see if it includes full or partial coverage when cancellation is by the trip provider.

 

That said, Princess will often cover change fees for airfare, but you are on the hook for increased costs (common when rebooking close to travel dates) unless you can individually negotiate a better deal.

[chamima]

If you book air through Princess do you also need to count on insurance to cover cancellation if it's Princess that cancels the cruise?

[dorisis]

Regal seems to be ahead of schedule, so you may be worrying for no reason. But Insurance would be a good idea.

Edited January 2, 2014 by dorisis

[Colo Cruiser]

We have booked several inaugurals and had cancelations and dates moved once.

With shipyard delay's/technical issues you always have the chance of getting your cruise canceled.

If you really want no interuption/loss of airfare and peace of mind you may want to book a later cruise.

[Av8tor]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I'm surprised that Princess doesn't offer move-over offers for the cancelled cruise or at least a discount/credit to apply to another cruise.

 

The itinerary of this cruise is really what interests us and it's not available on Princess later in the season, so I guess we'll stick with the maiden voyage.

 

We almost always get trip insurance unless it's a short or last minute trip. We're almost certain to get it for this one depending on what we can get covered regarding costs for any air travel changes.

 

If the cruise cancels, I guess we'll just do a land vacation ...

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I'm surprised that Princess doesn't offer move-over offers for the cancelled cruise or at least a discount/credit to apply to another cruise.

 

The itinerary of this cruise is really what interests us and it's not available on Princess later in the season, so I guess we'll stick with the maiden voyage.

 

We almost always get trip insurance unless it's a short or last minute trip. We're almost certain to get it for this one depending on what we can get covered regarding costs for any air travel changes.

 

If the cruise cancels, I guess we'll just do a land vacation ...

 

This is what I would be planning on incase of cancellation.

Plan a land itin and research trains etc so you can see a couple of places and get to the destination to get your flight home.

I know if I did all this and was prepared for a land trip the ship is bound to be ready:D:D

We have only done one innaugral sailing and the ship came a week early so we were all offered our same cabins for the same price and we did a B2B.

 

Either way have an awesome trip on Regal, we have her booked for TG:)

[Pam in CA]

I'm surprised that Princess doesn't offer move-over offers for the cancelled cruise or at least a discount/credit to apply to another cruise.

If there are going to be any issues or delays, you would probably find out before final payment. Princess allows TAs to discount fares to start with (you can wind up paying 10-20% less.) You're getting what you paid back pretty quickly so you'd have other options.

[Astro Flyer]

If you book air through Princess do you also need to count on insurance to cover cancellation if it's Princess that cancels the cruise?

If using Princess insurance then Princess Air is included & you only pay based on the cruise fare. If using other insurance then I would purchase a policy that covers the airfare cost. I frequently use airline miles to fly internationally & think insurance would only cover the airline's fee to reinstate miles to my account.

 

Based on Pam's cancelled cruise experience, Princess only refunds the cost of the cruise & not for airfare.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Astro Flyer