Voyager Cruises in Asia; Feb & March 2020

[mrlevin]

silverseas8968; sorry to hear about the abrupt cancellation of your cruise.  How many days do they anticipate it will take for all of you to get flights home (or onward)?  Will they allow you to stay onboard?  We had a cruise on Voyager abruptly cancelled in Athens in 2010; took a week to get everyone home and they allowed us to stay onboard for the first four days.

 

here is Seatrade insider interview with FDR:  https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/coronavirus-set-near-panic-among-travelers-del-rio-says

 

Marc

Edited February 21, 2020 by mrlevin

[motone]

Is there anyone that booked on the March 1st cruise heard from Regent regarding full refund and future cruise credit?   

[Kitekat]

21 minutes ago, motone said:

Is there anyone that booked on the March 1st cruise heard from Regent regarding full refund and future cruise credit?   

 

Have you booked through an agent? All this information is then supposed to come through them, but we've heard nothing from our agent about our March 13th cruise. I had to tell them that it was cancelled! But only heard that from this forum!

[mrstanley]

What is the reason for the abrupt cancellation of the cruise? 

[motone]

Our travel agent didn't know our cruise had been cancelled either!  Regent must be so overwhelmed with all this that they're having trouble keeping up with telling travel agents.  We've heard that a relation on the 27th sailing which has been cancelled will get a 100% full refund plus 25% future cruise credit to use this year.  mrstanley - if you read mrlevin's Seatrade insider review, Frank Del Rio says that all cruises in Asia are now cancelled.  I hope those people on the Voyager now in Bangkok can get home safely.

[GrJ Berkshire]

3 hours ago, mrstanley said:

What is the reason for the abrupt cancellation of the cruise? 

I would have thought that the answer to this question is quite obvious, if you read other threads. Regent was about the last cruise line to cancel out in this area, and with access via Singapore and Hong Kong airport impossible to allow for boarding , most travel logistics were not possible.

[Pcardad]

Your TA gets an email from Regent if they have a booked client on the relevant cruise. It may not get to them as fast as the sum of the knowledge represented here but within 24 hours.

[Ladys Mom]

Bottom line is NCLH will send no ships to Asia until September.  Beyond that, as in where they will go next, I do not know.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

It'll be interesting to see how they redeploy Voyager, and when.

[BettyDol]

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article that says NCL has cancelled all Asian cruises on NCL. Oceania and Regent through September 2020.  I am sorry I do not know how to reproduce the article here on the forum.  The article is on page B3 of the Feb. 21 issue. There are 40 cruises involved- 24 on Norwegian, 10 on Oceania and 6 on Regent.  Regent's website does not reflect the changes yet.  We are sailing on Explorer's April 3rd Transatlantic and there is space available !  Maybe a good replacement cruise????

[Kitekat]

Not long after I left my message here, our TA phoned to confirm that the cruise was cancelled and that we would receive 100% FCC and 25% FCC as compensation. Both had to be used this year. 

 

TA said they would now start to process the cancellation but had large numbers of other cruisers with cancelled cruises so were somewhat overwhelmed at the moment. We are just trying to find a replacement cruise which is at a time that suits us - other breaks in the pipeline - and has ports that interest us. (A round Britain cruise doesn't quite cut it for us!)

[rcandkc]

41 minutes ago, Kitekat said:

Not long after I left my message here, our TA phoned to confirm that the cruise was cancelled and that we would receive 100% FCC and 25% FCC as compensation. Both had to be used this year. 

 

TA said they would now start to process the cancellation but had large numbers of other cruisers with cancelled cruises so were somewhat overwhelmed at the moment. We are just trying to find a replacement cruise which is at a time that suits us - other breaks in the pipeline - and has ports that interest us. (A round Britain cruise doesn't quite cut it for us!)

Since they canceled cruise it seems to me you should get refund, not FCC for the cost of canceled cruise. 

[Kitekat]

I would probably agree with you but Ts & Cs are different here in the UK from the US, sadly. 

[Ladys Mom]

36 minutes ago, Kitekat said:

I would probably agree with you but Ts & Cs are different here in the UK from the US, sadly. 

I understand that different countries have different rules, but in this case if Regent is cancelling the cruise they should give you your money back.  By any chance do you have trip insurance that might reimburse you?

[Gilly]

I thought that our Ts & Cs offered more protection than the rest of the world, @Kitekat.  We are booked on the cruise starting in Abu Dhabi and have been following the threads carefully, hoping that our cruise would be unaffected.  We are not so worried about port changes but really hope it isn't cancelled altogether because I very much doubt that we could find another cruise this year which fitted in our schedule.  After all, we booked this cruise two years ago and have more or less planned all the rest of our travel around it (and unsurprisingly, we have other commitments and a life to lead at home too!)  I took a look through the brochure yesterday "just in case" and there really are very few options.  Whilst I appreciate Regent's financial situation having read FDR's statement linked in another post, I think I would be investigating my rights when the company I have a contract with withdraws their service, especially bearing in mind the amount of money involved - i.e. quite a hefty sum and a lot more than I'd want to blow on a cruise I didn't really want to take.

Fingers crossed, our cruise will leave Abu Dhabi as planned and all will be well.  We are holding our breath.

[Kitekat]

2 minutes ago, Gilly said:

I thought that our Ts & Cs offered more protection than the rest of the world, @Kitekat.  We are booked on the cruise starting in Abu Dhabi and have been following the threads carefully, hoping that our cruise would be unaffected.  

We are protected much more than many other countries - if the company goes bust we can at least get our money back with ATOL/ABTA bonding - but I haven't really looked at the Ts & Cs in detail but it's probably in there - we had contracted to purchase a cruise so I suspect that it's a bit of an each way thing... 

Will have a look at the UK terms tomorrow - been looking into what we want to do with the time and other cruises... and I feel a bit tired at the moment. 

 

I do hope your Abu Dhabi leg isn't cancelled. That sunshine and warmth seems very appealing after the storms in the UK!

[piscean]

We were on the 23rd March cruise which has now been cancelled.

Kitekat check with your TA I think you’ll find that you get a full refund and a 25% fcc

here is what our letter via our agent said...
Regent Seven Seas Cruises will provide a full refund of your paid fare per person as well as a Future Cruise Credit of 25% of your paid cruise-only fare per person. This credit can be used toward any Regent Seven Seas Cruises voyage that sails in 2020. Please advise our Reservations team or your Travel Advisor that there is a credit in your name when you reserve your next Regent voyage.

sadly it’s very difficult finding a replacement at such short notice .

[Gilly]

50 minutes ago, Kitekat said:

 

I do hope your Abu Dhabi leg isn't cancelled. That sunshine and warmth seems very appealing after the storms in the UK!

 

Indeed!  I can well imagine you are tired of it all.  It's stressful  just trying to keep up with what's going on, never mind trying to make new arrangements and so on.

 

I just looked at the ABTA website, which had specific information for the scenario you describe - a company going out of business.  But in relation to Coronavirus, it was a bit more sketchy, I thought.  Like you, I would be more focused on sorting something out in terms of an alternative cruise, I think.  Here's hoping you can do that without too much bother - or you'll need another relaxing break to get over this one.

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, Kitekat said:

Not long after I left my message here, our TA phoned to confirm that the cruise was cancelled and that we would receive 100% FCC and 25% FCC as compensation

I think your TA has given you incorrect information. 
Our TA has told us full refund back to the original payment method plus 25% FCC.

Edited February 21, 2020 by flossie009

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

It'll be interesting to see how they redeploy Voyager, and when.

Voyager will start its next cruise in Abu Dhabi on 16 April.

[Kitekat]

We've had nothing in writing yet... so we'll wait and see and debate if necessary! 

[flossie009]

18 minutes ago, Kitekat said:

We've had nothing in writing yet... so we'll wait and see and debate if necessary! 

I would chase up your TA.

We had an email from ours Thurs morning with a copy of the RSSC email attached. We had some queries, most of which were promptly answered Thurs pm.

(We were booked on the cancelled March 27 Voyager cruise, whereas I think you were booked on the cancelled 13 March sailing. However I think the refund and FCC compensation terms should be similar)

Edited February 21, 2020 by flossie009

[Kiwifromkiev]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

Voyager will start its next cruise in Abu Dhabi on 16 April.

Flossie009, are you going on this leg (i know you were supposed to start earlier) or planning to cancel all together?

 

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, Ladys Mom said:

I understand that different countries have different rules, but in this case if Regent is cancelling the cruise they should give you your money back.  By any chance do you have trip insurance that might reimburse you?

 

Not necessarily.  Laws in the U.K. are very different.  For instance, as I understand it, if you make a deposit for a cruise and then cancel, you lose your deposit.  And, there is not an automatic "Business Class" booking on international flights out of the U.K.  Some passengers need to use economy air.  For  many countries,, there is no included air at all.  On the other hand, there are some "consumer laws" that are apparently better than ours.  In my opinion, a 100% future cruise credit is more than fair - especially with the additional 25% FCC.  

 

Most of us do not understand their laws - nor do they understand ours (likely because we do not need to).  

[Kiwifromkiev]

13 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Not necessarily.  Laws in the U.K. are very different.  For instance, as I understand it, if you make a deposit for a cruise and then cancel, you lose your deposit.  And, there is not an automatic "Business Class" booking on international flights out of the U.K.  Some passengers need to use economy air.  For  many countries,, there is no included air at all.  On the other hand, there are some "consumer laws" that are apparently better than ours.  In my opinion, a 100% future cruise credit is more than fair - especially with the additional 25% FCC.  

 

Most of us do not understand their laws - nor do they understand ours (likely because we do not need to).  

TC2, this is only fair if a person can take another time off during 2020. IMHO it would be more fair if FCC was for 2020 AND 2021. Potentially, 2021 could be without further 25% FCC. We were holding our breath (sill are) for 16 April Abu Dhabi departure. If this is cancelled, there is no way on Earth we can take another holiday this year, the earliest would be the end of 2021. And although many of the cruisers are retired or semi retired, there are also those who still work  and have other commitments for the rest of 2020.

Edited February 22, 2020 by Kiwifromkiev