Cunard's Coronavirus Cancellations/Refunds (Merged threads)

[Windsurfboy]

6 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Why exactly?

 

So the law doesn't get changed , and the people who want and some will desperately need it get the refund not a FCC

[IB2]

14 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

So the law doesn't get changed , and the people who want and some will desperately need it get the refund not a FCC

Isn’t that a bit short sighted?

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Celebrity has cancelled all cruises until May 12.....time for Cunard to step up and stop playing dead or whatever it is they are doing....just rip off the bandaid/plaster and GET IT OVER WITH.

[oskidunker]

Royal Caribbean has suspended all cruises till May 12. Canada and Alaska July 1 .

[bazzaw]

2 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

Celebrity has cancelled all cruises until May 12.....time for Cunard to step up and stop playing dead or whatever it is they are doing....just rip off the bandaid/plaster and GET IT OVER WITH.

Cunard are playing poker with their customers - trying to see who will blink first in regard to cancellations. The final hand of this poker game will be played on 12 April when QE is supposed to sail around Australia. 

[oskidunker]

Hopefully they will not wait that long or they could be the last Cruise line giving up on April.
 

Just out of curiosity, Why are deposits not refundable in the UK? Law? 

[bluemarble]

On 3/23/2020 at 10:17 AM, oskidunker said:

I just received this from  Cunard. Hi Mike, our balance due dates will remain the same and will not be lessened to 60 days at this moment in time. Thank you, Ayesha

 

Looks like it only took about a day for the policy to change in North America, moving the final payment date to 60 days for voyages sailing through September 30. Just saw this posted on the "Interim Cancelation Policy" page of the Cunard US website. Don't see anything similar on the UK website.

 

New final payment and cancelation fee policy.

For cruises sailing July 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020.

Enjoy greater flexibility! We have now updated the Cunard Final Payment due date, reducing it from 120 days to 60 days prior to sailing. This change applies to new and existing bookings on cruises booked in North America.

 

This new policy is applicable to all voyages that are between 120 and 200 days out, or up to end of September 2020.

 

Cancellation Fee schedule will be as follows

• 31 to 59 Days to Sail: 50% of net fare
• 15 to 30 Days to Sail: 75% of net fare
• 0 to 14 Days to Sail: 100% of net fare

Edited March 25, 2020 by bluemarble

[oskidunker]

Thank you. They do not say anything about the deposit which is normally refundable prior to final pay date. 

[samiam1]

If the money doesn't come back 30 days after cancellation; I'd say only a 50-50 chance it will anytime soon.  And what's with that 90 day expiration on FCC's when Cunard can't even issue them timely?  They only have 3 ships and all are accounted for unlike other lines that still are trying to still disembark passengers or deal with COVID19 repercussions. Not that the other lines I am dealing with are better, Ponant is refusing to refund for cancelled cruises and Crystal has gone quiet like Cunard.

[Canuker]

I want to be sure I have this right.

The cancellation fees are still to be converted into FCCs?

Or is that idea out the window now?

And the 'cancel up to 48 hours before sailing'. Is that out too?
Lastly, what is this "90 day expiration on FCC's" that samiam1 is mentioning in post #1009?

Signed,

'Confused'

 

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by Canuker

[bazzaw]

I have read and reread the enlightened new rebooking Policy - and can only see that it applies to when someone wants to cancel an upcoming cruise and rebook another. But I want to go on my cruise of 09 May - their policy does not explain at all as to what will happen if Cunard cancels this cruise! I have already had one cruise cancelled by Cunard and have a letter/email/communication from Cunard that says I will receive a full refund for that cancelled cruise. 

Edited March 25, 2020 by bazzaw

[bazzaw]

Anybody here has or had a booking on the QE "Around Australia" departure on 12 April??? Have you transferred your booking and received an FCC? According to Cunard, they have temporarily stopped operations until 11 April , so at this time it looks like you don't need to cancel or reschedule

[anjo]

I have a booking on QE around Australia  12th April.  Have not done anything  with it yet. Just reading all the comments on here makes me angry. Our flights to and from NZ on Qantas and Jetstar  can not go ahead. We need 14 days self isolation at both ends of cruise, can't  enter Australia  as I am not a Resident, we in NZ start a 4week lockdown tonight and Australian  ports and borders are now closed. How on earth can Cunard think this cruise can still go ahead? Have not heard a word from them other than to send an email with E ticket and luggage tags attached for printing. And to make matters  worse, they are still selling presumably  already cancelled cabins as the cruise was sold out in about 2 days originally. Come on Cunard, CANCEL. 

[aljo66]

On the UK website this morning

 

In light of new Government guidance and global restrictions to halt the spread of Covid-19 we are working through our plans for the resumption of sailings and will communicate our initial plans as soon as possible.

[exlondoner]

15 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

So the law doesn't get changed , and the people who want and some will desperately need it get the refund not a FCC

 

If they desperately need it, they are unlikely to have committed it to a holiday in the first place. But clearly circumstances change. They do for businesses too. It seems to me that the recovery, when it happens, is likely to be more straightforward, if people look at the wider picture, rather than solely at their immediate advantage now. Surely measures to avert the destruction of an entire business sector would be prudent?

[ellie1145]

20 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

If they desperately need it, they are unlikely to have committed it to a holiday in the first place. But clearly circumstances change. They do for businesses too. It seems to me that the recovery, when it happens, is likely to be more straightforward, if people look at the wider picture, rather than solely at their immediate advantage now. Surely measures to avert the destruction of an entire business sector would be prudent?

Not strictly true. My daughters partner is self employed and his business will not survive a 3 month lock down which looks likely, and they have a once in a lifetime holiday booked to Peru in September. When they booked and paid for it they didn’t ‘desperately need it.’ But they will definitely need the money to pay their mortgage.  They have gone from a business which was steady to one which will fail through no fault of their own. 

 

Don’t assume that everyone who books a cruise is rolling in it. Often people save up for a holiday of a lifetime. There are definitely people out there who will be praying for a cash refund. Not everyone can afford to book several cruises in advance or pay to sail in a Grills Suite!

 

Many ordinary working people save up to sail on ?Cunard (even though it’s really Carnival.. a rose by any other name...) and they will be hard pressed to lose their money.

I’m afraid that helping save Cunard, or more correctly Carnival, will not be their top priority. Saving their business and providing for their family will be a top priority for most people. Cruising is a luxury. Paying the mortgage is not.

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by ellie1145

[hypercafe]

If the cruise industry needs government money after this I wonder what government will give it. Sure Carnival is a American co on paper but the ships are all foreign flagged with no Americans for crew and are built and serviced overseas. When the QM comes here to NY she spends 12 hour's, puts a few porters to work and leaves. The government just voted to spend 2 trillion dollars on recovery however that's best spent here at home. I wonder how much US taxes Carnival and Cunard pay, I bet 0$.

[Windsurfboy]

15 hours ago, IB2 said:

Isn’t that a bit short sighted?

21 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Why exactly?

 

So the law doesn't get changed , and the people who want and some will desperately need it get the refund not a FCC

 

Many people committed to a cruise a year or two ago and paid up 3 months ago before coronavirus. 

 

 for many families, and small business owners the refund money will be the difference between survival and spiralling into debt.

 

Cruise companies shouldn't use payment for future cruises for today's running costs. A bit like a Ponzi scheme.  This greed is the cause.

 

I would prefer to protect families and small businesses rather than carnival.  As a shareholder I  will loose out , but my shares aren't worth much now anyway, less than the refund they owe me.

 

The ships won't dematerialise,  someone will pickup the cruise industry and start again

 

 

 

[Windsurfboy]

Now parliament is closed the law can't be changed until it sits again. But keep lobbying your  MP

[KetoCruiser]

5 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Anybody here has or had a booking on the QE "Around Australia" departure on 12 April??? Have you transferred your booking and received an FCC? According to Cunard, they have temporarily stopped operations until 11 April , so at this time it looks like you don't need to cancel or reschedule

We are supposed to be on the 12 April cruise and Cunard have not yet cancelled it even with the shut down of boarders and ban on all but essential travel they are still hanging us on and still selling the cruise. We are from the U.K. so are unable to enter Australia and we will not cancel as I don’t don’t want future cruise credit.

[exlondoner]

33 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

Not strictly true. My daughters partner is self employed and his business will not survive a 3 month lock down which looks likely, and they have a once in a lifetime holiday booked to Peru in September. When they booked and paid for it they didn’t ‘desperately need it.’ But they will definitely need the money to pay their mortgage.  They have gone from a business which was steady to one which will fail through no fault of their own. 

 

Don’t assume that everyone who books a cruise is rolling in it. Often people save up for a holiday of a lifetime. There are definitely people out there who will be praying for a cash refund. Not everyone can afford to book several cruises in advance or pay to sail in a Grills Suite!

 

Many ordinary working people save up to sail on ?Cunard (even though it’s really Carnival.. a rose by any other name...) and they will be hard pressed to lose their money.

I’m afraid that helping save Cunard, or more correctly Carnival, will not be their top priority. Saving their business and providing for their family will be a top priority for most people. Cruising is a luxury. Paying the mortgage is not.

 

 

I amsure people whose business happens to be in the travel industry feel exactly the same way. Hence the need for a wider perspective.

[ThomasFR]

6 minutes ago, KetoCruiser said:

We are supposed to be on the 12 April cruise and Cunard have not yet cancelled it even with the shut down of boarders and ban on all but essential travel they are still hanging us on and still selling the cruise. We are from the U.K. so are unable to enter Australia and we will not cancel as I don’t don’t want future cruise credit.

KetoCruiser, is it possible Carnival / Cunard are driving people to FCC, which may or not be covered under any insurance or guarantee, so when / if a bankruptcy is declared, all FCC goes away? In this manner, upfront fees are never returnable? Is this possible, if you or anyone knows?

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

So the law doesn't get changed , and the people who want and some will desperately need it get the refund not a FCC

 

Many people committed to a cruise a year or two ago and paid up 3 months ago before coronavirus. 

 

 for many families, and small business owners the refund money will be the difference between survival and spiralling into debt.

 

Cruise companies shouldn't use payment for future cruises for today's running costs. A bit like a Ponzi scheme.  This greed is the cause.

 

I would prefer to protect families and small businesses rather than carnival.  As a shareholder I  will loose out , but my shares aren't worth much now anyway, less than the refund they owe me.

 

The ships won't dematerialise,  someone will pickup the cruise industry and start again

 

 

 

Well said!

[exlondoner]

12 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

That is all very laudable in normal circumstances but if your choice is paying the mortgage so you don’t lose your home, or propping up a multi-billion pound cruise industry which will undoubtedly recover eventually, I know what I would be doing.

 

All well and good being able to appear to be very charitable but cruising is a luxury. Holding onto your home by the skin of your teeth is a necessity. 
 

Maybe all those who have numerous cruises booked in the Grills, and who by your definition can afford it, should be donating their cruise money to Cunard and not taking either a refund or FCC?

Your somewhat misplaced concern for the Carnival Corporation would be better spent on those who really ARE suffering. And I don’t just mean ordinary working people in the U.K., I recognise that those wonderful staff who served us so well over the years on ships will be suffering greatly too. Maybe you could start up a fund to help those poor souls?

 

 

 

 

Actually, I don't think I mentioned Carnival Corp. Such specific concern as I showed was for the owners of small businesses in the travel sector. As for appearing very charitable, I wasn't seeking to do that, just suggesting a wider perspective might be better for everybody in the long run. It often is.

[IB2]

21 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

Actually, I don't think I mentioned Carnival Corp. Such specific concern as I showed was for the owners of small businesses in the travel sector. As for appearing very charitable, I wasn't seeking to do that, just suggesting a wider perspective might be better for everybody in the long run. It often is.

Exactly.  It isn’t surprising that the company has a cash flow crisis, and maybe is heading for a liquidity crisis.  They are attempting to manage this with delay and incentives to hold on to future credit.  If everyone simply pushes to get their cash back ASAP, those at the front might be lucky but everyone else might not.  Rather like a run on a bank or panic buying, where some people’s panic creates problems for everyone else.

 

And, bigger picture, surely none of us want Cunard or Carnival to go under.