Booking after the 90 day mark?

[lissie]

Looking at QE2 ex Sydney to PNG return. Departs 17 Feb 2020.  We live in New Zealand - so Sydney is quick flight for us. The issue is my partner has had cardiac issues this year and can't currently get travel insurance. If we book now we risk losing the 10% deposit (the  balance due 19 Nov 90 days before). I've been watching prices and they have dropped the last month or two.   We dont' really care which cabin - except  I want low and stable as possible (get seasick) -so looking at interior delux on deck 1 . 

 

My question is - how late can we wait  to book.  Is it likely to book out on that route?  We may get coverage for him once a doctor is prepared to sign him off but that's unlikely to be more than 6 weeks before travel.  

 

What do the prices do - will they go up for a last minute booking (like an airline) - or drop to fill the cabins? 

 

Totally new to this - I've never cruised. 

[Underwatr]

The quickest answer is yes. Or no. 🙂

 

Prices might go down at the last minute as Cunard attempts to fill the ship. Or they might go up if the sailing is very popular. If the sailing is undersold you may find a wide selection of rooms and categories; if it's popular only the less desirable locations may be available.

 

I think you may be able to see the trend at the 60 to 75 day mark. Once your partner gets his OK to travel (which is the important bit of the story for both of you) you'll be able to assess and decide to book or not. 

 

Good luck.

 

[bluemarble]

I can't help with past pricing trends on this particular voyage, but I can offer some observations that might help with your decision looking at current availability on this year's voyage. I'm assuming we are talking about the 14-night QE voyage Q007, Feb 17-Mar 2, 2020.

 

Your desire for a deluxe interior cabin on deck 1 does constrain you to a fairly limited resource. There are only 27 such cabins on the ship (17 category in GC mid-forward and 10 in category GB midships).

 

However, what you have in your favor at the moment is that those cabins haven't been selling well so far. I'm seeing 14 of the 17 GC cabins are still available and 8 of the 10 GB cabins are still available (only 5 of the 27 deluxe inside cabins on deck 1 have been sold so far).

 

I'm also seeing lots of availability in other grades such as oceanview cabins that are low on deck 1 as well.

 

If I were you I would wait, knowing there is still good availability in the grade of cabin you want, but more importantly to ensure your partner is able to get coverage for travel. I can't predict if prices will go up or down (they might go down based on what I'm seeing for current availability but that's no guarantee). Only you are in a position to know what the likelihood is that your partner will get clearance to travel, but I personally wouldn't take the chance of booking now only to find out later it's a no-go.

 

Hope this helps some.

[Bigmike911]

10 hours ago, lissie said:

Looking at QE2 ex Sydney to PNG return. Departs 17 Feb 2020.  We live in New Zealand - so Sydney is quick flight for us. The issue is my partner has had cardiac issues this year and can't currently get travel insurance. If we book now we risk losing the 10% deposit (the  balance due 19 Nov 90 days before). I've been watching prices and they have dropped the last month or two.   We dont' really care which cabin - except  I want low and stable as possible (get seasick) -so looking at interior delux on deck 1 . 

 

My question is - how late can we wait  to book.  Is it likely to book out on that route?  We may get coverage for him once a doctor is prepared to sign him off but that's unlikely to be more than 6 weeks before travel.  

 

What do the prices do - will they go up for a last minute booking (like an airline) - or drop to fill the cabins? 

 

Totally new to this - I've never cruised. 

In my humble opinion, let the deposit go and don't spend more money on this voyage until there is certainty in your partner's health. It is quite possible that you might loose the full booking amount if you take a chance and there are issues.  I would also suggest that you contact Cunard and see if you can get the deposit returned as a good-will gesture on their part. I understand the disappointment, I have been there, but canceling turned out to be the correct move. 

[lissie]

9 hours ago, Underwatr said:

The quickest answer is yes. Or no. 🙂

 

Prices might go down at the last minute as Cunard attempts to fill the ship. Or they might go up if the sailing is very popular. If the sailing is undersold you may find a wide selection of rooms and categories; if it's popular only the less desirable locations may be available.

 

I think you may be able to see the trend at the 60 to 75 day mark. Once your partner gets his OK to travel (which is the important bit of the story for both of you) you'll be able to assess and decide to book or not. 

 

Good luck.

 

Thank you - 60 to 75 days is a good time to buy  flights to Sydney too for us!  

[lissie]

7 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I can't help with past pricing trends on this particular voyage, but I can offer some observations that might help with your decision looking at current availability on this year's voyage. I'm assuming we are talking about the 14-night QE voyage Q007, Feb 17-Mar 2, 2020.

 

Your desire for a deluxe interior cabin on deck 1 does constrain you to a fairly limited resource. There are only 27 such cabins on the ship (17 category in GC mid-forward and 10 in category GB midships).

 

However, what you have in your favor at the moment is that those cabins haven't been selling well so far. I'm seeing 14 of the 17 GC cabins are still available and 8 of the 10 GB cabins are still available (only 5 of the 27 deluxe inside cabins on deck 1 have been sold so far).

 

I'm also seeing lots of availability in other grades such as oceanview cabins that are low on deck 1 as well.

 

If I were you I would wait, knowing there is still good availability in the grade of cabin you want, but more importantly to ensure your partner is able to get coverage for travel. I can't predict if prices will go up or down (they might go down based on what I'm seeing for current availability but that's no guarantee). Only you are in a position to know what the likelihood is that your partner will get clearance to travel, but I personally wouldn't take the chance of booking now only to find out later it's a no-go.

 

Hope this helps some.

Oh this is very helpful - thank you so much.   This fits with a local TA having a sale on for this cruise too.  Oceanview on deck 1 would work too - I'm more interested about being low and midships than the actual room - I figure there are no real bad rooms on the ship LOL Plus we've never cruised so we have no expectations - I'm about to head to China with  shared squat toilets! 

 

I think you're right - we're wait and see how he's going nearer to Xmas.   I think he'll get clearance to travel - in fact as far as the doctors are concerned he could travel now -  the issue is the bloody travel insurance industry in this country is very small and very risk-adverse. 

 

BTW is there anyways to see this sort of availability for the general public -or are you looking at a backend system? 

Edited October 13, 2019 by lissie
had a thought

[lissie]

33 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

In my humble opinion, let the deposit go and don't spend more money on this voyage until there is certainty in your partner's health. It is quite possible that you might loose the full booking amount if you take a chance and there are issues.  I would also suggest that you contact Cunard and see if you can get the deposit returned as a good-will gesture on their part. I understand the disappointment, I have been there, but canceling turned out to be the correct move. 

 

Just to clarify - we haven't booked yet.  So spend zero money on the trip so far!   Unfortunately I don't think anyone with heart disease ever gets certainty. At some point we hope to get  travel insurance - but if not .... We'll probablytravel anyways - though maybe not cruising 

[bluemarble]

7 minutes ago, lissie said:

BTW is there anyways to see this sort of availability for the general public -or are you looking at a backend system? 

 

I am looking at the Cunard website which is available to the general public. To see availability, you do have to start a booking (with no intention of completing it). That's what we sometimes call a "mock",  "dummy", or "partial" booking on this forum. For you in New Zealand, it is important to select the "Cunard" fare which enables you to choose your cabin rather than the "Saver" fare which does not. Once you have started a booking for a specific cabin category (such as "Deluxe Inside"), the booking process will automatically select a cabin in that category for you. At that point you have the option to "Select your room" to see what other cabins are available. That option will lead you to the room selector functionality which allows you investigate cabin availability on various decks and sections throughout the ship.

[Bigmike911]

3 hours ago, lissie said:

 

Just to clarify - we haven't booked yet.  So spend zero money on the trip so far!   Unfortunately I don't think anyone with heart disease ever gets certainty. At some point we hope to get  travel insurance - but if not .... We'll probablytravel anyways - though maybe not cruising 

Good Luck to you both. 

[babs135]

I know exactly how you feel.  We had to cancel our last two crossings in December and January 2018/2019 because DH was taken ill and two operations later although we have travel insurance in place we are not 'quite there' yet.  We are looking at December's eastbound crossing but we probably won't know for certain whether we'll be able to do the trip until the middle of November, just 4 weeks before we would fly out to New York. It's frustrating but there's nothing we can do. Cabins are still available and the price is reasonable, but who knows what will happen in the next few weeks. We certainly wouldn't dream of booking anything at this stage. I'm a firm believer in if it's meant to be then it will happen.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

Offering an alternative way to protect your trip without buying insurance: we use a Chase Sapphire Reserve card for any trip more than a few weeks away, which, in practical terms for us, means any trip. It has a large annual fee but we've found the benefits far outweigh the fee. 
 

Best wishes to you!

[lissie]

4 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

Offering an alternative way to protect your trip without buying insurance: we use a Chase Sapphire Reserve card for any trip more than a few weeks away, which, in practical terms for us, means any trip. It has a large annual fee but we've found the benefits far outweigh the fee. 
 

Best wishes to you!

Not available to non-Americans- but I'm curious?  Also I think most Americans have health insurance that covers you overseas. That doesn't exist in NZ. Are you talking their travel insurance? Do they cover pre-existing conditions without exception?  I have a platinum card that gives me insurance - but not my partner because of his health. 

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

I'm sorry I don't have the answers about pre-existing conditions. But no, our Medicare doesn't provide for much outside of the country. The Reserve card does, but you're right that it's U.S only. 
 

you may be correct that “fancier” private insurance might be better, but what my husband and I have won't help.

[Bigmike911]

4 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

I'm sorry I don't have the answers about pre-existing conditions. But no, our Medicare doesn't provide for much outside of the country. The Reserve card does, but you're right that it's U.S only. 
 

you may be correct that “fancier” private insurance might be better, but what my husband and I have won't help.

It is always wise to include the Cunard Care in your booking. A dear lady I met on more than one cruise always bought it and had a stroke in Zeebrug. She received excellent care and ended up returning to Florida with a companion provided by the insurance to make sure she was under constant care until she was home.  As an old geezer of 75, you never know what the future brings, so I always include it.  

[Underwatr]

Cunard care (like most travel insurance) has a pre-existing condition exclusion, and in my experience it isn't actually paid for until final payment. I've always bought insurance with a pre-existing condition waiver, but then again DW generally always had an active pre-existing condition.

[LittleFish1976]

Hi Lissie, I'm going on this cruise 🙂 and my final payment date is 20th October (120 days prior to sailing) so I would suggest you will have a little more certainty after that date as to availability. As to price, I note that Q007 isn't part of the current 'balcony upgrade' promotion being run in Australia so it's not one they're pushing in that regard. However, I've just had a look and there is availability at every grade of cabin apart from PG. I actually booked this cruise whilst on board last March which got me a category up-grade and which explains the dearth of PG cabins available!

 

Someone has mentioned credit card insurance, in the above discussion - I always use cc insurance but they have lots of conditions and pre-existing ailments are as important to discuss with them prior to relying on that insurance as any insurance you'd pay for directly. What an awkward situation for you to find yourselves in. I suppose the best thing to do is wait a while and see how your partner's health is. There is lots of cabin availability in my experience in this part of the world on Cunard for last minute trips (although the New Guinea cruise does sound very interesting, for sure).

 

Look forward to a glass of champagne on board with you, if you manage to make it! Best of luck with your introduction to cruising.

 

 

[Neuhoftraveler]

Re insurance for medical expenses during a trip:  Many in the US obtain special "travel insurance" on a trip-by-trip basis that includes not only coverage for trip costs in the event of interruption or cancellation (including for medical reasons which can include pre-existing conditions), but also foreign medical expenses and also medical evacuation back to the US.  There are several on-line brokers who offer a variety of competing policies, so you can pick the features that are most important to you.  I've not compared the cost or coverage of such policies to "Cunard Care."

[Underwatr]

A major difference without regard to differences in coverage - commercial travel insurance is age rated, and Cunard Care is not.

[Neuhoftraveler]

According to the Cunard Care underwriter (Aon), no pre-existing condition waiver is available, even at extra cost (at least in my State of residence, VIrginia -- I didn't ask about other States or countries).  But "pre-existing condition" means only anything for which you saw a doctor or for which you had a test within the 60-day period prior to purchasing the coverage, which can be done anytime up to final payment of the cruise fare.  (Chronic conditions controlled by a medication regimen that hasn't changed during the 60-day period also are excluded from the definition, regardless of medical visits for that condition.)  If you cancel your trip because of a pre-existing condition as so defined, you get only a future cruise credit of 75% of the forfeited cost -- no refund.

 

The Cunard Care coverage therefore does not seem useful for anyone who is regularly seeing a variety of doctors for a smorgasbord of the conditions that seem prevalent among those of a certain age.  Am I missing something here?

 

The Aon rep confirmed that the best way to approach this is to keep on top of your medical visits, and if you can get to 60 days since your last previous one, go for it without delay (assuming you haven't yet made final payment).