Oceania's Action Plan for Coronavirus

[manuwolf]

If I understood the letter of OC of today correctly, they will offer us also a - what they said very generous - compensation. I guess they will come up with all details early next week.

[ohmark]

28 minutes ago, manuwolf said:

If I understood the letter of OC of today correctly, they will offer us also a - what they said very generous - compensation. I guess they will come up with all details early next week.

Please reference in what letter OC said "very generous compensation."  Thanks

[LHT28]

38 minutes ago, ohmark said:

Please reference in what letter OC said "very generous compensation."  Thanks

probably the post in #169  but the phrase was

 

"we will communicate them to you along with very attractive goodwill compensation."

 

[TrulyBlonde]

This just now from NCL....would assume they will do same with O and Regent

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION

Reservation: xxxxxx   Date: 02/07/2020   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners: On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. Due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus in Asia, all Norwegian Spirit sailings from April 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020 operating in Asia have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued. This credit will be available within 7 days and can be applied towards any of our currently published sailings if you book a new cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in the next 45 days. Furthermore, we will cover up to $300 per person for any airfare change fees. Please submit your receipts at www.ncl.com/case-submission. When you are interested in choosing another sailing, please contact Norwegian Cruise Line at 1-866-234-7350 or your travel professional. For any guests booked outside of the U.S. and Canada, please visit www.ncl.com for local contact information. We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your upcoming vacation at sea. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.       Sincerely, Katty Byrd Vice President, Guest Services

[ohmark]

23 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

This just now from NCL....would assume they will do same with O and Regent

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION

Reservation: xxxxxx   Date: 02/07/2020   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners: On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. Due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus in Asia, all Norwegian Spirit sailings from April 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020 operating in Asia have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued... Sincerely, Katty Byrd Vice President, Guest Services

Very good news, indeed.  

Edited February 7, 2020 by ohmark

[PaulMCO]

I would not assume anything.  The NCL ship is based in Asia.  So it will be likely redeployed. 

Both Nautica and Insignia are passing through..

[dog]

On 2/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, manuwolf said:

Where do you got this information from??? We have friends on the Westerdam on Feb. 29 leaving from Yokohama. They had 2 more changes in their itinerary but they are still scheduled to sail. This is the latest news from 3 hours ago - we keep each other updated.

Can we please stick to facts in this roll call?

The situation is difficult enough so no need to create more insecurity, especially by people who are NOT scheduled to sail on March 4 or March 18.

Please!

•  

 

On 2/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, manuwolf said:

 

 

Statement on Holland America website:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/ships/ms-westerdam/statement-regarding-westerdam-in-japan/?source=122648

Holland America Line has been notified that the Japanese Government will not permit Westerdam to call in Japanese ports. The ship had been scheduled to call to Ishigaki Island, Naha, Okinawa, Nagasaki and Fukuoka (Hakata), before its scheduled turn in Yokohama on Feb. 15, where the next cruise was scheduled to embark. The ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board.

(Above excerpt is only the opening statement - more detail at the link posted.) 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE!

 

I CERTAINLY HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR ...QUESTION     RE: SOURCE.

 

AND I WAS NOT AWARE THAT THIS IS A ROLL CALL, IS IT?

Edited February 7, 2020 by dog

[Rob the Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, dog said:

•  

 

 

Statement on Holland America website:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/ships/ms-westerdam/statement-regarding-westerdam-in-japan/?source=122648

Holland America Line has been notified that the Japanese Government will not permit Westerdam to call in Japanese ports. The ship had been scheduled to call to Ishigaki Island, Naha, Okinawa, Nagasaki and Fukuoka (Hakata), before its scheduled turn in Yokohama on Feb. 15, where the next cruise was scheduled to embark. The ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board.

(Above excerpt is only the opening statement - more detail at the link posted.) 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE!

 

I CERTAINLY HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR ...QUESTION     RE: SOURCE.

 

AND I WAS NOT AWARE THAT THIS IS A ROLL CALL, IS IT?

 

+1

[dog]

On 2/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, manuwolf said:

Where do you got this information from??? We have friends on the Westerdam on Feb. 29 leaving from Yokohama. They had 2 more changes in their itinerary but they are still scheduled to sail. This is the latest news from 3 hours ago - we keep each other updated.

Can we please stick to facts in this roll call?

The situation is difficult enough so no need to create more insecurity, especially by people who are NOT scheduled to sail on March 4 or March 18.

Please!

I hope your friends have a wonderful cruise. So sorry if my post caused you to over react. I throughly research before I post.  And my post was in response to someone considering cancellation 

and your friends might take a look at their Roll Call where they are discussing this topic. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by dog

[Mary-K]

I booked the Nautica departing Hong Kong, sailing to Tokyo with stops in Taipei, South Korea, China, and Japan, ending in Tokyo. This was a gift to my husband for his 70th birthday to see the Great Wall, an important bucket list item. 
 

Prior to all the coronavirus press, Oceania  removed South Korea from the itinerary. We did not ask why but no huge deal. 
 

Now, we hear friends booked on other cruise lines are able to cancel their cruise to China with a full refund-Holland America, for example. 
 

Oceania has advised me that there will be no refunds. My doctor has advised me to not go to Hong Kong or anywhere near China due to some respiratory issues. 
 

So the whole point of the cruise is erased with no possibility of going to the Great Wall. I can’t believe the cruise line has no sensitivity and plans to keep every penny of our $25k cruise fare. No future credit, nothing. 
 

Needless to say, Oceania is off our list of luxury cruise lines. 

[shank63]

The cruise industry is receiving a ton of bad press recently with ships quarantined and passengers restricted to their staterooms.  While these conditions currently apply to Asian ports, it likely has a negative impact on people considering a cruise in any market as well as those of us booked on cruises to sail later in the year.  We are booked on a Mediterranean cruise to Istanbul and other Eastern Med ports, sailing in mid June.  We are not overly concerned about the coronavirus, but are watching the situation as we approach the final payment date.  Do anyone have a feel of the effect on cruise bookings for summer and fall for the European markets?

[Flatbush Flyer]

59 minutes ago, Mary-K said:

I booked the Nautica departing Hong Kong, sailing to Tokyo with stops in Taipei, South Korea, China, and Japan, ending in Tokyo. This was a gift to my husband for his 70th birthday to see the Great Wall, an important bucket list item. 
 

Prior to all the coronavirus press, Oceania  removed South Korea from the itinerary. We did not ask why but no huge deal. 
 

Now, we hear friends booked on other cruise lines are able to cancel their cruise to China with a full refund-Holland America, for example. 
 

Oceania has advised me that there will be no refunds. My doctor has advised me to not go to Hong Kong or anywhere near China due to some respiratory issues. 
 

So the whole point of the cruise is erased with no possibility of going to the Great Wall. I can’t believe the cruise line has no sensitivity and plans to keep every penny of our $25k cruise fare. No future credit, nothing. 
 

Needless to say, Oceania is off our list of luxury cruise lines. 

While the Wall is important to you, the S. Korea stops were important to others. And still others just want to go to sea and have some new (to them) ports in the mix.

 

Bottom line: It's a cruise- ports changing is not a rare occurrence. We once did a transpacific and missed multiple Australia stops due to weather. Disappointed? Yes. So, we've booked another cruise that focuses on Australia.

 

That said, are you reading the posts above and/or the emails from Oceania (direct or through your TA) regarding the changing situation and Oceania's indication that "very generous compensation" is on the way?

 

The Wall isn't going anywhere. And there will be other opportunities to see/do it (perhaps funded, at least in part by the pending Oceania compensation). And, whatever ends up being the final itinerary for your upcoming cruise, it will be a worthwhile adventure in its own respect.

 

Finally, you say your MD advises against traveling to Asia. If it's a truly severe situation for you, you may want to peruse your travel insurance policy, particularly if the CDC increases the warning levels to "no go." The right letter/documentation from an MD might be the catalyst for a reasonable claim.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[ohcsim123]

12 hours ago, shank63 said:

The cruise industry is receiving a ton of bad press recently with ships quarantined and passengers restricted to their staterooms.  While these conditions currently apply to Asian ports, it likely has a negative impact on people considering a cruise in any market as well as those of us booked on cruises to sail later in the year.  We are booked on a Mediterranean cruise to Istanbul and other Eastern Med ports, sailing in mid June.  We are not overly concerned about the coronavirus, but are watching the situation as we approach the final payment date.  Do anyone have a feel of the effect on cruise bookings for summer and fall for the European markets?

We too have a European cruise on Oceania set to start at the end of July.

Although not overly concerned, either, we are also watching the news with that in mind.

Our final payment will be mId-March and we will cancel then if It seems prudent.

Cancellation would cost us about $1500 in lost deposits so it could be sad but necessary.
John

[dog]

On 2/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, manuwolf said:

Where do you got this information from??? We have friends on the Westerdam on Feb. 29 leaving from Yokohama. They had 2 more changes in their itinerary but they are still scheduled to sail. This is the latest news from 3 hours ago - we keep each other updated.

Can we please stick to facts in this roll call?

The situation is difficult enough so no need to create more insecurity, especially by people who are NOT scheduled to sail on March 4 or March 18.

Please!

 

Reference is also noted in Posts #160, #161 on this thread, as well.

Hope this helps.

[susiesan]

2 hours ago, ohcsim123 said:

We too have a European cruise on Oceania set to start at the end of July.

Although not overly concerned, either, we are also watching the news with that in mind.

Our final payment will be mId-March and we will cancel then if It seems prudent.

Cancellation would cost us about $1500 in lost deposits so it could be sad but necessary.
John

Why would you cancel a European cruise in July? I am looking forward to my June Baltic cruise on Marina since the ports should not be as crowded, since Chinese nationals are not going to be traveling around the world much for the rest of the year as no countries will let them in. Chinese tourists have been mobbing European cities for the last few years so I expect these places will see smaller crowds. If your cruise is in the Med you will appreciate the lower numbers of tourists there. The Med has become an overcrowded over touristed mob scene and I won't be taking a Med cruise ever again. I don't think Baltic port cities have reached saturation point yet but they are getting there.

Edited February 8, 2020 by susiesan

[Shawnino]

3 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Why would you cancel a European cruise in July? I am looking forward to my June Baltic cruise on Marina since the ports should not be as crowded, since Chinese nationals are not going to be traveling around the world much for the rest of the year as no countries will let them in. Chinese tourists have been mobbing European cities for the last few years so I expect these places will see smaller crowds. If your cruise is in the Med you will appreciate the lower numbers of tourists there. The Med has become an overcrowded over touristed mob scene and I won't be taking a Med cruise ever again. I don't think Baltic port cities have reached saturation point yet but they are getting there.

 

Fingers crossed you're right.

[ship-disturber]

I think all of the Cruise Lines are dealing with a very difficult fluid situation.  They think they have things worked out and another curve ball gets thrown at them.  I know someone on the Jade who was on the ship and they had to discharge 250 passengers in Thailand because all of sudden Vietnam would not let a ship dock if it had people on it who had flown through Hong Kong.  While we are all impacted in some way on future cruises there are some very real situations out there right now.  Cruise lines are sensitive to the planning we have put into our vacations and they know changes can cost us dearly especially if we have non refundable air tickets.  Lets give them a little bid of credit for trying hard to make things work.  At this point I am hoping that they cancel my cruise.

[PaulMCO]

23 hours ago, Mary-K said:

So the whole point of the cruise is erased with no possibility of going to the Great Wall. I can’t believe the cruise line has no sensitivity and plans to keep every penny of our $25k cruise fare. No future credit, nothing. 

 

 

 

You could always do a quick transit trip through Hong Kong within 30 days of your sailing.    That is one way of getting a full refund.

Edited February 8, 2020 by PaulMCO

[tocruiseguy]

8 hours ago, susiesan said:

Why would you cancel a European cruise in July? I am looking forward to my June Baltic cruise on Marina since the ports should not be as crowded, since Chinese nationals are not going to be traveling around the world much for the rest of the year as no countries will let them in. Chinese tourists have been mobbing European cities for the last few years so I expect these places will see smaller crowds. If your cruise is in the Med you will appreciate the lower numbers of tourists there. The Med has become an overcrowded over touristed mob scene and I won't be taking a Med cruise ever again. I don't think Baltic port cities have reached saturation point yet but they are getting there.

 

What this has pointed out to me is the fact that cruise ships, due to the close proximity of passengers with typically a much older and thus more susceptible demographic, are extremely vulnerable to diseases that can be passed from individual to individual.  Makes me think, have I just been lucky that haven't been on a ship with some sort of issue.....

[susiesan]

On 2/7/2020 at 5:51 PM, Mary-K said:

I booked the Nautica departing Hong Kong, sailing to Tokyo with stops in Taipei, South Korea, China, and Japan, ending in Tokyo. This was a gift to my husband for his 70th birthday to see the Great Wall, an important bucket list item. 

 

My doctor has advised me to not go to Hong Kong or anywhere near China due to some respiratory issues. 

 

So the whole point of the cruise is erased with no possibility of going to the Great Wall. I can’t believe the cruise line has no sensitivity and plans to keep every penny of our $25k cruise fare. No future credit, nothing. 
 

 

Mary-K: If you have respiratory issues you should have never planned any kind of trip, cruise or land tour, that goes to China. You should have listened to your doctor. China has some of the worst air quality in the world in their big cities, especially Beijing in the winter. You would likely have gotten sick while there. My photos of Beijing look like it was a foggy, cloudy day when we were there. It was typical bad air pollution. My husband who has no health issues at all picked up a terrible bronchial infection while we here that took weeks for him to get over. He was in his 50's when we visited. You didn't miss anything not seeing the Great Wall, it has become so crowded with tourists you can barely see it with all the people on top of it. 

[Paulchili]

14 minutes ago, susiesan said:

My photos of Beijing look like it was a foggy, cloudy day when we were there. It was typical bad air pollution. My husband who has no health issues at all picked up a terrible bronchial infection while we here that took weeks for him to get over. He was in his 50's when we visited. You didn't miss anything not seeing the Great Wall, it has become so crowded with tourists you can barely see it with all the people on top of it. 

Glad I was there over 30 years ago when everyone was still wearing blue or green Mao suits and tourists were the rarest sight of all.

Pollution was not an issue as you barely saw a car - everyone was on a bike or walking.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Paulchili

[kitty9]

I don’t think anyone has the right to lecture another poster about their own personal lives.  Would you dare to tell me that because I’m suffering from asthma, post polio, and use a scooter full time, that I shouldn’t cruise or travel?  It’s the same issue for anyone who suffers from any physical malady——-should they have to think twice before traveling?  We guess what, despite my disabilities, I’ve been on more than 100 cruises, all over the world, including some places you might deem inappropriate for someone with my issues.  And I’m not going to stop cruising.

[Mary-K]

I do not intend to stop cruising, but also am not offended by the comments of SusieSan.  Maybe I’m naive or uninformed, but I was unaware of the dangers cited when I booked the cruise.  If I had met her and she warned me, I probably would’ve sought other destinations.  In any event, I’m not going now and am pleased that China was never a part of the world cruise we plan for 2021.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 minutes ago, kitty9 said:

I don’t think anyone has the right to lecture another poster about their own personal lives.  Would you dare to tell me that because I’m suffering from asthma, post polio, and use a scooter full time, that I shouldn’t cruise or travel?  It’s the same issue for anyone who suffers from any physical malady——-should they have to think twice before traveling?  We guess what, despite my disabilities, I’ve been on more than 100 cruises, all over the world, including some places you might deem inappropriate for someone with my issues.  And I’m not going to stop cruising.

I will respectfully disagree with you to a point.

Just two days ago, we were on a safari-type excursion in South Africa where the four wheel drive truck on a very rough road proved way too much to handle for a guy with a "bad back" issue. He disregarded the clear warnings about physical capacity, which were in the tour description. We had to cut the tour short because of his decision to be inconsiderate. 

As you can expect, this type of behavior is not uncommon.

[TrulyBlonde]

9 hours ago, susiesan said:

Mary-K: If you have respiratory issues you should have never planned any kind of trip, cruise or land tour, that goes to China. You should have listened to your doctor. China has some of the worst air quality in the world in their big cities, especially Beijing in the winter. You would likely have gotten sick while there. My photos of Beijing look like it was a foggy, cloudy day when we were there. It was typical bad air pollution. My husband who has no health issues at all picked up a terrible bronchial infection while we here that took weeks for him to get over. He was in his 50's when we visited. You didn't miss anything not seeing the Great Wall, it has become so crowded with tourists you can barely see it with all the people on top of it. 

We were on a cruise to Asia this past October. We did see the Great Wall on our first tour day. The pollution was so bad that my my nose kept running and it gave me a sore throat. Between the pollution, terrible traffic, and the restrooms with hole in the floor, we chose to stay on the ship the next two days and miss Forbidden City. It was disgusting.