Seabourn and the current issues surrounding the Corona Virus

[ael123]

On Febraury 13th I received a letter from Seabourn offering to allow me to cancel and rebook our back to back sailings on Sojourn for March 22 and Apr 3. There were two conditions. First the cruise was to have the same base rate or below as my current cruise and second it would be purchased with 100% cancellation penalty. I called guest services so I could know what they meant by cruise base rate so I could understand what cruises I could do in this exchange. The person I spoke to told me to call my travel agent. I did and she does not know which cruises those would be so I again emailed Seabourn and they referred me back to my agent. I have been waiting days, calling my agent every day as well as following up with email. She states she is waiting to hear back from her contact at Seabourn. Is anyone else having this problem. To me since Seabourn made the offer in a letter to me they should tell me what cruises I can rebook to. My agent has been taking my calls and emailing me back telling me she has sent correspondence to Seabourn but to no avail. She has been a very efficient agent and I am not sure what the situation is. I called Seabourn and asked to speak to a supervisior. I was told one would call me back but no one did. Any thoughts as to what I should do? Any help is appreciated. I have my cruise confirmation and the amounts on that for the 26 day sailing is $8299 per guest and the 12 day cruise is $3,299 per guest. However, Seabourn will not answer me when I asked them if this amount is equal to the base rate and whether I can find a cruise for the same price to rebook. They just keep referring me to the agent. If anyone has chosen to cancel and rebook how did the process go for you and do you have any suggestions for me?

[cruising kirby]

With respect to your travel agent ael123, that sounds odd to me.  TA's have the ability to obtain detailed cruise prices, including the "base rate" for each departure (ie the price not including taxes and port charges).  If your TA sends you  a copy of the Seabourn invoice when you book, you will also be able to see the base price listed as "cruise price", with taxes etc listed separately.  Perhaps if you indicated where you might want to travel and the time period, the TA could then search the various cruise options and advise which departures offer pricing within the appropriate base price.

[Chairsin]

And as to the post of Oceania’s canceled cruises while it is quite interesting to see the large number of cancels cruises the thing I note that differentiates this from Seabourn’s planned schedule is that once Seabourn Ovation leaves Singapore heading towards Dubai on March 14 they will be not be returning to Southeast Asia until next fall. So it seems to me that there is less necessity of canceling the Ovation’s cruises from March 14 onwards. 
 

The issue I see as potentially unsettling the current situation however relates to the passengers who disembarked the Westerdam a few days ago in Cambodia. While many are still “self” quarantined in Phnom Penh there are many who have flown out to numerous countries who may or may not have been infected. There seems to be a question as to the reliability of the testing performed by HAL prior to their departure that led to this potential for transmission of the virus by non symptomatic passengers. And of course I don’t believe they have yet determined where the infected female passenger who was trying to fly out of Malaysia picked up the virus. Since the ship departed Hong Kong on Feb 1 and passengers only went ashore in Taiwan either she picked it up when she went ashore there (which seems highly unlikely since there have been so few reported cases there) or she picked it up in Hong Kong prior to boarding and this is one of the rare cases where the incubation period was in excess of 14 days. In any event this situation may make some other countries in Southeast Asia who have until now not banned cruise ships to change their minds. 

[rols]

6 hours ago, longton said:

Cunard has cancelled its Asia cruise on Queen Elizabeth due to start in March. It is moving to Australia.

 

Given that Cunard and Seabourn are owned by Carnival Cruise Line I would imagine Seabourn will follow suit. I think the risk to passengers starting a cruise from Singapore will be considered too great. It would seem illogical for one company to go ahead with Asia cruises and another company to cancel.

 

I don't think it ought to be a case of 'starting from Singapore', it's probably safer here than most places in Asia. However if you look at the figures coming out of Japan and South Korea the past couple of days and add in a little speculation about some of the other countries in the region (one of which amazingly still appears not to have a single case in a population of 264,000,000 people,) just stopping all cruise ships calling in Asia right now seems like a good plan for every operator. Someone will get on with it, or catch it on an excursion and nobody wants a repeat of the Diamond Princess which turned into a petri dish tied up in Yokahama. 

 

I will now stick my uneducated guess in here. If Singapore manages to keep a lid on the transmission until March (and as of today there is one known case outside known clusters and 100s in pro-active quarantine) then the March 14th sailing goes ahead leaving Singapore, skipping anywhere in Asia and driving straight for Sri Lanka and India. If things get any worse here, the ship deadheads to Dubai and the European season starts from there. 

 

That however is 4 weeks from now and if a week is a long time in politics, a month is an eternity with respect to disease outbreaks and it's more than likely by then Europe and the middle east will have more cases. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by rols
3/14 not 3/19

[rols]

17 minutes ago, Chairsin said:

 So it seems to me that there is less necessity of canceling the Ovation’s cruises from March 14 onwards. 

well .. you and I are in agreement there, note the post above I was just writing when you posted yours. I do think this relies on Singapore keeping control of the local spread for another month but I can certainly see the ship embarking here and then heading for the middle east. 

 

There's also the question of Sojourn which is on the world cruise and due to spend 3 weeks in Asia. Again I'm sure Seabourn is waiting to see what happens but they must be considering heading down to Australia early and doing a couple of circuits around there. 

[Chairsin]

Well there you go - two great minds in agreement based on some logic and a boatload of hope but with little inside information (at least in my case). My thinking is also that Singapore might be treated as a unique, and therefore a less risky  Southwest Asian port, given the country’s supposed transparency in reporting and measures undertaken to contain further outbreaks.  

[fdnycruiser]

Rols, I’ve been speculating the last few days, and quite in agreement with your thoughts. We’re booked on the 3/14 sailing from Singapore to Athens.  I’m assuming that while the ship is in dry dock that the ship is being sanitized and cleaned from top to bottom. I almost can see the Ovation deadheading to Dubai straight from drydock.  Seabourn can then present the ship as “clean “ with no passengers embarking in Asia. The original cruise then backtracks with the exception of stops in Singapore, Myanmar and Phuket.  Just my 2 cents, and Im still  planning on sailing either way. I just hope that whatever happens works out for everyone involved .

[SLSD]

I just read some very sad news---two of the Diamond Princess passengers have died of the virus.  

[ael123]

3 hours ago, cruising kirby said:

With respect to your travel agent ael123, that sounds odd to me.  TA's have the ability to obtain detailed cruise prices, including the "base rate" for each departure (ie the price not including taxes and port charges).  If your TA sends you  a copy of the Seabourn invoice when you book, you will also be able to see the base price listed as "cruise price", with taxes etc listed separately.  Perhaps if you indicated where you might want to travel and the time period, the TA could then search the various cruise options and advise which departures offer pricing within the appropriate base price.

Thank you for the input. I don't know anything about how travel agents work with cruise lines and what the base rate meant. From my understanding this agency bought some cabins at a very low price due to their relationship with Seabourn. I will do as you suggested and see what she says. 

 

[Two4Sea]

ael123, while taxes & fees would certainly be distinct from the basic fare I would like to suggest further. Fares are routinely put on sale and I wonder if that may be what is being pointed to. For instance if you were on a $10,000 cruise that had been sale discounted by 10% to a $9,000 cost, maybe Seabourn is saying they would not let you use that on a $12,000 cruise that is discounted 30% to an $8,400 cost even though the net cost is lower.

 

If part of that sale price is because your agent got a quantity discount, Seabourn's point could still be the same. The difficulty today is that while Seabourn has dropped the useless "brochure" prices they haven't put anything else in, all that ever shows is the sale price of the moment whatever it may be. Although you now know to look for mentions of sale discount percentages, you may still be stuck with trial & error enquires.

 

A second point is that I doubt Seabourn would pass up an offer your part to chip in cash for any shortfall of your credit towards a cruise you liked :) .

 

The final point is that there is a game of brinkmanship going on here. If in the next month Seabourn cancels these trips, they will owe you the whole amount back leaving you free to buy any future cruise you please. The Sojourn is on a World Cruise here so they are under pressure to keep sailing although it may be by very different ports.

 

Good luck with the shopping (or gambling), Bill

[ab21au]

ael123, we just picked a cruise (in the Med) we were happy doing, got a price from our TA that we were happy with and they put it to SB and SB approved it. The refund will be put towards the cruise we have booked. 
 

The whole process didn’t take much longer than 24hrs. 

[SLSD]

I find this map of port restrictions due to the Corona virus to be interesting.  It is updated daily.  https://wilhelmsen.com/ships-agency/campaigns/coronavirus/coronavirus-map/?fbclid=IwAR0Uhixj7YJ62-jP0cBaU9UKAfBZ8SP8tPooAx7C0zHlq0SmaCRYTkR5dIo

 

[SLSD]

And then, there is this article---which makes several issues very upfront.  Political decisions to be made, health decisions to be made.  Nothing is easy.  I really feel for all the passengers and also for the cruise lines who are caught up in this:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cruise-americans/2020/02/20/b6f54cae-5279-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html?fbclid=IwAR17BT9Us1xkXMahQP-u8L11ekQDyPEasiukg1xcdxfymvoYWQHNP_oDHX4&utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

 

[Paulchili]

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

And then, there is this article---which makes several issues very upfront.  Political decisions to be made, health decisions to be made.  Nothing is easy.  I really feel for all the passengers and also for the cruise lines who are caught up in this:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cruise-americans/2020/02/20/b6f54cae-5279-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html?fbclid=IwAR17BT9Us1xkXMahQP-u8L11ekQDyPEasiukg1xcdxfymvoYWQHNP_oDHX4&utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

 

It seems that you need a subscription to WP to read the article.

[jozi]

12 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

It seems that you need a subscription to WP to read the article.

Try this link. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cruise-americans/2020/02/20/b6f54cae-5279-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html

[Paulchili]

6 minutes ago, jozi said:

Try this link. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cruise-americans/2020/02/20/b6f54cae-5279-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html

Thanks

[jtslattery]

Did anyone else notice this - don't know how long it has be on the state dept website

U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within East Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  This is a dynamic situation and U.S. citizens traveling by ship may be impacted by travel restrictions affecting their itineraries or ability to disembark, or may be subject to quarantine procedures implemented by the local authorities.  While the U.S. government has successfully evacuated hundreds of our citizens in the previous weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities. U.S. citizens should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to remain in an area that may be subject to quarantine and take the appropriate proactive measures. Passengers who plan to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information on the current rules and restrictions, and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website for updated information.

[jozi]

4 hours ago, jtslattery said:

Did anyone else notice this - don't know how long it has be on the state dept website

U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within East Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  This is a dynamic situation and U.S. citizens traveling by ship may be impacted by travel restrictions affecting their itineraries or ability to disembark, or may be subject to quarantine procedures implemented by the local authorities.  While the U.S. government has successfully evacuated hundreds of our citizens in the previous weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities. U.S. citizens should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to remain in an area that may be subject to quarantine and take the appropriate proactive measures. Passengers who plan to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information on the current rules and restrictions, and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website for updated information.

Link? I found this just now and the language is  different

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

"U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within Asia.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  This is a dynamic situation ...."

[SLSD]

51 minutes ago, jozi said:

Link? I found this just now and the language is  different

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

"U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within Asia.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  This is a dynamic situation ...."

I have also read that the virus has spread to Iran--which surprised me.  https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/21/coronavirus-latest-updates-outbreak.html 

Before I am accused of "chattering", I have a point to adding this information.  The virus is spreading to other areas of the world.  Will this be a cruising issue going forward? I do not know, but it is something to consider.  

Edited February 21, 2020 by SLSD

[jozi]

21 minutes ago, SLSD said:

I have also read that the virus has spread to Iran--which surprised me.  https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/21/coronavirus-latest-updates-outbreak.html 

Before I am accused of "chattering", I have a point to adding this information.  The virus is spreading to other areas of the world.  Will this be a cruising issue going forward? I do not know, but it is something to consider.  

“It’s clear that new coronavirus has circulated in the country and probably the source of this illness was Chinese workers who work in the city of Qom and had traveled to China,” Health Ministry official Minou Mohrez said, according to the official IRNA news agency.” Yes,  to the extent that many middle eastern countries rely on foreign labor it’s an issue. 

[SLSD]

22 minutes ago, jozi said:

“It’s clear that new coronavirus has circulated in the country and probably the source of this illness was Chinese workers who work in the city of Qom and had traveled to China,” Health Ministry official Minou Mohrez said, according to the official IRNA news agency.” Yes,  to the extent that many middle eastern countries rely on foreign labor it’s an issue. 

I don't know if Italy also relies on foreign labor, but they have also reported cases.   And then we have the passengers from the Westerdam who have flown home to various areas of the world after a number onboard have come down with the virus.  My point is that the virus IS spreading that there are a lot of unknowns.  The fact that the State Department of the United States (such as it is) is warning people about cruise ships and the virus, there are things to be concerned about if you have booked a cruise already--or are considering it--which is our situation. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by SLSD

[Flamin_June]

57 minutes ago, SLSD said:

Before I am accused of "chattering", I have a point to adding this information.  

Dear SLSD, in my comments about chattering I did also add Among the information and thoughtful comment, there is a lot, it seems to me,  of uninformed, repetitive speculation. On the whole, I'd say your posts belong in the former category🕊️

[SLSD]

17 minutes ago, Flamin_June said:

Dear SLSD, in my comments about chattering I did also add Among the information and thoughtful comment, there is a lot, it seems to me,  of uninformed, repetitive speculation. On the whole, I'd say your posts belong in the former category🕊️

I have just tried to add information that might figure into someone's broader knowledge of this epidemic.  I do try not to speculate.  

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

From CNBC virus updates page (Venice is the capitol of Veneto):

 

1:15 pm Northern Italy reports 16 coronavirus cases

An outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy worsened, with officials announcing 14 confirmed cases in the wealthy region of Lombardy, while two cases were reported in the adjacent region of Veneto. Just hours after revealing that six people had come down with the virus in the first known cases of local transmission in Italy, officials said a further eight had tested positive for the disease, including five health workers. Separately, ANSA news agency said two people had been diagnosed as suffering from the highly contagious illness in Veneto, although it was not immediately clear if the cases were connected. —Reuters

[mjminseattle]

we are booked on Encore for the April 17 sailing Singapore to Athens.  We have not heard a peep out of our TA or Seabourn.  Anyone else have any iformation on this sailing?