Cunard's Coronavirus Cancellations/Refunds (Merged threads)

[PORT ROYAL]

3 minutes ago, LGC100 said:

Can anybody clarify what amount of FCC we would be entitled to. We would like to make an informed decision regards cancelling completely or accepting their offer of 125% of the value of our cancelled cruise (M009). Our cruise was booked as a 'cruise and stay' through a TA. Our booking confirmation says that the contract is between us and Cunard with our TA acting on behalf of Cunard. Neither our TA or Cunard are taking calls  but neither do I want to phone them knowing they've got better things to be doing right now. 

 

Will the FCC be 125% of the total package value or will they separate out the Cruise value and base the FCC on that?

 

The online cancellation form asks for the total paid but I wouldn't like to assume that the FCC would be calculated on the total package only to find that it isn't. 

 

The senario is that the TA is acting as a booking agent only on your behalf, so you must go through them for any cancellations.  

If the cruise stay package was a Cunard one then could recover all from Cunard.  

If it was TA cruise stay package then you may only recover from Cunard the cruise section.  Some nasty TAs may seek to recover a cancellation fee from you, being legal within their terms and conditions.

Good luck with your TA

[Forky]

13 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Why would you pay a cruise a year in advance. Or are talking about down payment?

 

No not a down payment …. I did pay for the cruise in Full last June … why would I not … I do not like paying things up or waiting till last minute to pay as I see no sense in that.. but that is just my opinion.. I had the money so paid it … same  as I always take travel insurance the exact same day I book any holiday … in fact when I booked this May cruise I also booked a 2nd Cruise for December this year … yep in Full !  my bank manager does not have a problem with me spending my money and I have no husband telling me not to spend .. when he died he gave me his blessing to spend his money as and when I wish... on any cruise as he loved sailing with Cunard also.

[PORT ROYAL]

3 minutes ago, Forky said:

 

No not a down payment …. I did pay for the cruise in Full last June … why would I not … I do not like paying things up or waiting till last minute to pay as I see no sense in that.. but that is just my opinion.. I had the money so paid it … same  as I always take travel insurance the exact same day I book any holiday … in fact when I booked this May cruise I also booked a 2nd Cruise for December this year … yep in Full !  my bank manager does not have a problem with me spending my money and I have no husband telling me not to spend .. when he died he gave me his blessing to spend his money as and when I wish... on any cruise as he loved sailing with Cunard also.

 

Continue to do it your way....... with blessing and love...  you are a Cunard cruiser...

not just a vacationer....

 

[longton]

What a great, generous attitude from Forky.

[L4605]

We are due to sail on Queen Victoria at the end of April, we will go if it goes ahead. But part of it was paid with Tesco points so not sure if we can carry them onto another cruise if they cancel this cruise.

[Bigmike911]

4 hours ago, Forky said:

 

No not a down payment …. I did pay for the cruise in Full last June … why would I not … I do not like paying things up or waiting till last minute to pay as I see no sense in that.. but that is just my opinion.. I had the money so paid it … same  as I always take travel insurance the exact same day I book any holiday … in fact when I booked this May cruise I also booked a 2nd Cruise for December this year … yep in Full !  my bank manager does not have a problem with me spending my money and I have no husband telling me not to spend .. when he died he gave me his blessing to spend his money as and when I wish... on any cruise as he loved sailing with Cunard also.

Good for you and good for your late Hubby. 

[resordanis]

Here we are Wednesday morning. Still no communication from Cunard re our cancelled cruise on 15/3. Why did they have to say in their cancellation email that they would be in contact with us Saturday evening to rearrange our travel plans..?

[pmcl]

25 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Here we are Wednesday morning. Still no communication from Cunard re our cancelled cruise on 15/3. Why did they have to say in their cancellation email that they would be in contact with us Saturday evening to rearrange our travel plans..?

According to the Cunard Aus website, their call centre for customer contact centre has been placed in lockdown.

Good luck with getting any emails from them.

[babs135]

We don't have to pay the balance until mid June for a cruise in October, if we decide to cancel rather than complete the booking will we get the deposit back?

[Canuker]

Ferrying back to base port once curfew is lifted.

 

Assumption: all 3 ships are to be moored in Southampton until Cunard resumes operations, when the 'curfew' is lifted.

However that resumption date does not mean that we can all start clambering aboard immediately (unless a planned cruise happens to start in Southampton at that time (unlikely) or there are significant changes to the planned cruises (also, I'd say, unlikely  - that would put the cat among the pigeons).
Therefore, to take QE as an example, it's going to take quite while to get to Vancouver, its planned turnaround port base for its 2020 Alaska season.
So how long will it take to get from Southampton to Vancouver?
Well, that's going to depend on a number of factors: route, fuel/supplies stops and, of course, speed.
I've done some back-of-the-envelope calculations and I estimate it will take (via the Panama Canal) the QE:

38 days if she averages 10 knots in the open sea

26 days if she averages 15 knots

or

19 days if she averages 20 knots.
Example: our cruise is due to leave Vancouver July 09. So if she's to make that departure, at an average ocean speed (slower through the canal) of 15 knots, she will need to leave Southampton 26 days earlier, i.e. June 13.
Less than 3 months away.

Hmm.
You can play with this idea to get a feel for when your (still booked) cruise might equate to a Southampton departure date.

[samiam1]

Been a week since I cancelled my June TA and nothing from Cunard about a refund or credits.  All I know is the credits expire in 90 days according to the travel agent.  If Cunard is going to put a 90 day limit credits then they should communicate.  Travel Agent is no help, he quit his job.

Edited March 17, 2020 by samiam1

[IB2]

2 minutes ago, babs135 said:

We don't have to pay the balance until mid June for a cruise in October, if we decide to cancel rather than complete the booking will we get the deposit back?

Why would you expect that?  Best wait until the cruise is cancelled, and you will get a full refund (or, probably, be offered 125% credit)

[resordanis]

20 minutes ago, pmcl said:

According to the Cunard Aus website, their call centre for customer contact centre has been placed in lockdown.

Good luck with getting any emails from them.

Thanks for the information. Luckily we could arrange our own transportation  and accommodation or we would still be waiting. They specially said they would be in contact Saturday evening.

Everyone  here seems to be worried about cruises in the future, ours was cancelled wIth less than 24 hours before sailing,! 

[D&N]

18 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Assumption: all 3 ships are to be moored in Southampton until Cunard resumes operations,

As I think Bluemarble pointed out earlier, QE is currently off East coast of Australia heading north slowly "Awaiting Orders".

It looks like they intend to try and find a berth for her somewhere in the Pacific so she'll be in a better position to restart the Alaska season. Obviously that depends on if and when the authorities permit them to restart.

[bazzaw]

23 hours ago, Forky said:

 

 they are dealing with people that were due to sail within the next 3weeks and at the moment that is their priority 

ell in that case , I should get extra special attention - because my cruise was cancelled by Cunard 4 weeks ago!!!! However I have heard nothing from them except that the cruise was cancelled and a promise to refund the fare. 

[alc13]

19 minutes ago, resordanis said:

Everyone  here seems to be worried about cruises in the future, ours was cancelled wIth less than 24 hours before sailing,! 

 

Ouch!

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, Canuker said:

Assumption: all 3 ships are to be moored in Southampton until Cunard resumes operations, when the 'curfew' is lifted.

 

Cunard's facebook page stated earlier today "... Queen Elizabeth will remain in Australia. ...". Of course this is a very dynamic situation and plans can change at any time. But that's what Cunard was saying about their plans for QE as of 12 hours ago.

[Vogatrice]

1 hour ago, Canuker said:

Ferrying back to base port once curfew is lifted.

 

Assumption: all 3 ships are to be moored in Southampton until Cunard resumes operations, when the 'curfew' is lifted.

However that resumption date does not mean that we can all start clambering aboard immediately (unless a planned cruise happens to start in Southampton at that time (unlikely) or there are significant changes to the planned cruises (also, I'd say, unlikely  - that would put the cat among the pigeons).
Therefore, to take QE as an example, it's going to take quite while to get to Vancouver, its planned turnaround port base for its 2020 Alaska season.
So how long will it take to get from Southampton to Vancouver?
Well, that's going to depend on a number of factors: route, fuel/supplies stops and, of course, speed.
I've done some back-of-the-envelope calculations and I estimate it will take (via the Panama Canal) the QE:

38 days if she averages 10 knots in the open sea

26 days if she averages 15 knots

or

19 days if she averages 20 knots.
Example: our cruise is due to leave Vancouver July 09. So if she's to make that departure, at an average ocean speed (slower through the canal) of 15 knots, she will need to leave Southampton 26 days 'earlier, i.e. June 13.
Less than 3 months away.

Hmm.
You can play with this idea to get a feel for when your (still booked) cruise might equate to a Southampton departure date.

 

It's a lot simpler in our case. If the westbound TA leaves Southampton on May 6, I'm optimistic our May 13 eastbound would go too. If she doesn't leave Southampton as scheduled, she ain't gonna be in New York for us to embark. I'll wait until they cancel on me, but I don't think we're going anywhere in May. I've paid a new deposit for December, but it's refundable and I'm not holding my breath for any 2020 sailings.

[Canuker]

1 hour ago, D&N said:

As I think Bluemarble pointed out earlier, QE is currently off East coast of Australia heading north slowly "Awaiting Orders".

It looks like they intend to try and find a berth for her somewhere in the Pacific so she'll be in a better position to restart the Alaska season. Obviously that depends on if and when the authorities permit them to restart.

I like your thinking. That would make much more sense than heading to Southampton - for both Cunard and their Alaska customers.

[kentchris]

2 hours ago, babs135 said:

We don't have to pay the balance until mid June for a cruise in October, if we decide to cancel rather than complete the booking will we get the deposit back?

Have you looked at the Flexible Cancellation Policy on cunard.com?  Unless you want to cancel/rebook under the Over 70s/Underlying Health Issues terms this is probably what you should consult: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/contact-us/travel-health-advisories/flexible-cancellation-policy

Edited March 18, 2020 by kentchris

[pmcl]

52 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Cunard's facebook page stated earlier today "... Queen Elizabeth will remain in Australia. ...". Of course this is a very dynamic situation and plans can change at any time. But that's what Cunard was saying about their plans for QE as of 12 hours ago.

The issue with the Aus Cunard website is that at least up until now, its information is often outdated, and not updated

as the situations in all countries are changing very rapidly.

Australian travellers are as of now, on a level 4 travel advisory.

[anjo]

Could someone  please post Cunards latest cancellation  offers. Are they still jst giving back FCC? Booked on 12th April. I suppose  I have to wait till they cancel.If I booked through TA, do they jst refund everything? Thankyou

 

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, anjo said:

Could someone  please post Cunards latest cancellation  offers. Are they still jst giving back FCC? Booked on 12th April. I suppose  I have to wait till they cancel.If I booked through TA, do they jst refund everything? Thankyou

 

Cunard's flexible cancellation policy for Australia/New Zealand is posted here.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-au/contact-us/travel-health-advisories/flexible-cancellation-policy

 

Since the April 12th voyage has not been cancelled yet, the current offer for that voyage would be FCC for the non-refundable portion of the fare. Once they cancel that voyage, they would presumably offer either a full refund or 125% FCC on a future voyage as they are doing now for the voyages that have been cancelled through April 11th.

[oskidunker]

2 hours ago, babs135 said:

We don't have to pay the balance until mid June for a cruise in October, if we decide to cancel rather than complete the booking will we get the deposit back?

If you cancel 120 days before the cruise you will get the deposit back. I have aMay 14 final pay date for sept 11 cruise. Have a great deal recently rebooked in Princess Grill. But I will cancel May 1 if the final pay date is not moved ahead to 60 days similar to Princess. I really doubt things will be better by May. June, maybe you have a chance.  I can cancel through travel agent so know sitting on hold.

[bluemarble]

1 minute ago, oskidunker said:

If you cancel 120 days before the cruise you will get the deposit back.

 

babs135 resides in the UK. For cruises booked under the usual UK terms and conditions, deposits are non-refundable.