Temporary Cancellation Policy Announced

[itching2cruiseagain]

Those of us leaving tomorrow don't get anything back for not cancelling..... 😞 We purchased Platinum Vacation Protection and decided to go anyway. I was't pushing for them to give extra, but it is annoying that instead of starting the day of the announcement, they are going to start 4 days later.

 

Temporary Cancellation Policy - Updated March 5, 2020

Guests who choose to keep their booking as currently scheduled for departures between March 9 and May 31 will receive the following Onboard Credit amounts:

• $100 USD / $150 AUD per stateroom for 3 and 4 day cruises
• $150 USD / $225 AUD per stateroom for 5 day cruises
• $200 USD / $300 AUD per stateroom for 6 day and longer cruise

[tonit964]

Boy, Princess is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

I bet for the cruises that are leaving before the 9th, those folks will just see the OBC on their accounts once they board.

[cng062000]

19 minutes ago, jp2746 said:

Can you guys please let me know what they say?We are cruising tomorrow toO and I’m wondering if we will get the OBC.  It’s too late to cancel.  Our family is at the point of no return at this point. 

Will do! Going strong at 2 hours and 58 minutes on hold...

[msw.delafield]

Kudos to Princess for offering this revised cancellation policy to future guests.

But, I think it’s a serious oversight to not include those committed to sailing over this weekend (3/6 thru 3/8) in the OBC benefit.

I can appreciate why this revised cancellation policy has the 72-hour caveat, benefiting customers sailing on the 9^th and after.

If anything, it’s those that have departures this weekend that truly deserve the OBC recognition as they were not able to consider the revised cancellation policy.

[Tedferg]

7 hours ago, dog said:

I can’t find that. “Anything prior to April”

 

 

It states:

April 3, 2020 or earlier

Cancel up to 72hrs before sailing to receive Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for 100% of cancellation fees

[satxdiver]

Received this at 0739 GMT this morning:

March 5, 2020 Dear XXX,   We continue to implement increased monitoring, screening and sanitation protocols to protect the health of our guests, crew and the residents of the destinations we serve. Our measures are designed to be flexible to adapt to changing conditions and recommended best practices. For your reference, you can read our Guest Travel Advisory. Nevertheless, we know you have questions about your upcoming cruise. Princess would like to share some policy updates that provide options and flexibility should you want to reschedule your currently booked vacation that sails between now and May 31, 2020. ·         Sailings departing between March 9 and April 3*: booked guests can cancel up to 3 days prior to departure, receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of the cancellation fee amount, and move your booking to any voyage that departs by December 31, 2021.     ·         Sailings departing between April 4 and May 31*: booked guests can cancel by March 31, 2020, receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of the cancellation fee amount, and move your booking to any voyage that departs by December 31, 2021. *Date of departure is from the start date of your cruise or cruisetour, whichever is earlier. If you choose to keep your booking as currently scheduled for departures between March 9 and May 31, you will receive the following Onboard Credit amounts: ·         $100 USD/ $150 AUD per cabin for 3 and 4 day cruises     ·         $150 USD / $225 AUD per cabin for 5 day cruises     ·         $200 USD / $300 AUD per cabin for 6 day and longer cruises For our guests booked on Crown Princess Mediterranean itineraries, we are finalizing some itinerary changes and a special offer that we will be sharing early next week. Please note that Future Cruise Credits will automatically be applied to each guest's Captain's Circle account after they have cancelled. The Future Cruise Credit will not be available instantly and may take up to 10 business days to be processed. Guests with Princess Vacation Protection should file a claim via www.aontravelclaim.com in the first instance. We appreciate your loyalty and look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Edited March 6, 2020 by satxdiver

[jp2746]

17 minutes ago, cng062000 said:

Will do! Going strong at 2 hours and 58 minutes on hold...

It is probably everyone sailing tomorrow and wondering why we are not included in that email!  They need to fix this problem and send a correction email to include us. Most people who are still scheduled for tomorrow are not canceling at this point so maybe they feel like they already have us so why give OBC?  

[cruisingram1]

I’ve read through this thread and haven’t seen this question answered. Nor was this specific circumstance addressed in the email.

I used a Future Cruise certificate for a deposit which was non-refundable. Does that certificate get put back on my account? We also have Princess CFAR insurance. Losing the certificate + cost of insurance would be, in effect, a $550 loss. ($200 deposit + loss of associated OBC + cost of insurance) Given the potential for illness the money is not of importance, but if I could not see a loss that would be nice.

Princess offer doesn’t offer much to change our decision process as CFAR is good past the 3 day limit of their offer. Cruising end of March and haven’t decided what we will do yet. Leaning towards cancelling.


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[trrn2016]

3 hours ago, lhsail said:

Does anyone know if EZAir is also included?

I cancelled and had ticketed EZAir fare. It was included.

[Joelocal]

3 hours ago, Albinroo said:

Would this new policy also apply to those have already cancelled their upcoming April/May cruises in the last few days?

We cancelled our cruise for March 14th last Friday, Feb 28th.  We lost 75% of our full fare.

I'm sure some of you will say "to bad , so sad".

We cancelled for the same reason as any of you that are thinking about cancelling. I will call Princess and plead my case.

I have two criteria that I think qualifies for the full refund FCC. I am of age (over 60 that the CDC says are in a warning group) and I had a severe cold that lasted 6 weeks in Jan/early Feb.

I will call next week when things settle down (or ramp up).

[trrn2016]

1 hour ago, mthomp5 said:

I’m wondering the same.  I will call my TA in a few days at after the dust settles.  They will be bombarded.  

 

I’m glad Princess did this during this extraordinary time.  

I cancelled yesterday around noon with 1078.00 cancellation. Fee. I was told this morning it will be given as a FCC.

[ClwtrBoi]

2 minutes ago, trrn2016 said:

I cancelled and had ticketed EZAir fare. It was included.

Thanks, was it given back as FCC or go back in your credit card?

[trrn2016]

1 minute ago, ClwtrBoi said:

Thanks, was it given back as FCC or go back in your credit card?

I cancelled yesterday. The cancellation fee from yesterday (which is now a FCC today) was a little less than the EZAir amount so I am assuming it went back to the credit card. Nothing has been credited yet. 

[mthomp5]

8 minutes ago, trrn2016 said:

I cancelled yesterday around noon with 1078.00 cancellation. Fee. I was told this morning it will be given as a FCC.

Thank you for the info!  Did you work through a travel agent or directly through Princess?  

 

When you cancelled at noon, was the new temporary cancellatIon policy in effect yet?

[remydiva]

UPDATE--JUST GOT EMAIL WITH COST BREAKDOWN.

APPEARS OUR AON CLAIM TOTAL IS FOR 50% OF CRUISE, 50% AIR AND 100% PVP INSURANCE COST

 

Just cancelled using my personal cruise planner by phone. We were to cruise April 19.  She gave me the amount that will be credited back to my CC within 10 days and sent email with AON online and phone info for contacting PVP insurance company AON. See below at end of this post.

 

My questions she answered were 

1. prepaid shore excursions refunded.

2. EZ Air refunded 

3. Cost of PVP insurances is NOT refunded. UPDATED CANCELLATION EMAIL FROM PRINCESS SHOWS THAT COST OF INSURANCE IS CONSIDERED 'CANCELLATION FEE' THAT IS SUBMITTED TO AON FOR REMINBURSEMENT.

Is that 'fair'? Meh...I just know that having the insurance in the first place gave us peace of mind and that is worth something to me.  I'm not going to argue cuz I'm just happy Princess is making our decision 'easier' as we were worried given hubby's health putting him at higher risk.

4. I haven't gotten the final itemized tally but doing the math it appears the amount put back on the CC is 50% of cruise fare, transfers, shore excursions AND EZ Air.

So I got approximately 50% back onto CC now (within 10 days) and the other approximately 50% will be FCC to be used by Dec 31, 2021. I can live with that.

 

To file your AON claim, you first need to phone Princess to cancel so that you know how much Princess is putting back on your CC (it will be different for everyone depending on how many days ahead you are cancelling) and then they tell you how much is the remainder as you must put THAT number in your AON claim.

 

You also  need 'forms' to fill in the AON claim on line but there is no special box to check for 'coronovirus'...just 'other' and you write explanation. You do need 'supporting documents' so I just uploaded PDFs of the Booking confirmation to show the itinerary, the Flight confirmation and the Final payment to show the cost break down. I also uploaded a PDF of the email we all got from Princess. Hope this is helpful.

Guests may initiate a new claim with Aon Affinity by calling (877) 846-8833 or (516) 342-2720 during their regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8 AM-10 PM EST, Saturday 9 AM-5 PM EST, closed Sundays) or 24 hours a day on The Aon Affinity website at www.aontravelclaim.com.

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by remydiva
UPDATE WITH COST BREAKDOWN

[trrn2016]

Just now, mthomp5 said:

Thank you for the info!  Did you work through a travel agent or directly through Princess?  

 

When you cancelled at noon, was the new temporary cancellatIon policy in effect yet?

I had heard rumors of an email coming out about changes in cancellation policy yesterday morning. I called Princess and they said no changes. I called my TA and he said no changes. So I cancelled thru my TA with the cancellation fee. I contacted him today since the email is dated yesterday and wanted to know about my status. He stated Princess is "sweeping the system" and I will be getting the FCC but it could take 15-30 business days to show up.

[dog]

1 hour ago, itching2cruiseagain said:

Those of us leaving tomorrow don't get anything back for not cancelling..... 😞 We purchased Platinum Vacation Protection and decided to go anyway. I was't pushing for them to give extra, but it is annoying that instead of starting the day of the announcement, they are going to start 4 days later.

 

Temporary Cancellation Policy - Updated March 5, 2020

Guests who choose to keep their booking as currently scheduled for departures between March 9 and May 31 will receive the following Onboard Credit amounts:

• $100 USD / $150 AUD per stateroom for 3 and 4 day cruises
• $150 USD / $225 AUD per stateroom for 5 day cruises
• $200 USD / $300 AUD per stateroom for 6 day and longer cruise

Did you call Princess and get this info?

[NancyIL]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

They earlier changed their final payment date. They may have helped several people because they made that announcement earlier.

 

I am in a weird situation. My cruise is 26 days. If I had booked it as a B2B I would be in 50% penalty but because it is booked as 1 cruise I am in 75% penalty and I am disembarking in France which isn't the best place to go (others are disembarking in London). So I am not overly thrilled with this offer but I am happy for those who booked 3rd party insurance and didn't have the option to cancel and get a future cruise credit.

 

My cruise leaves April 19th (air April 18th).

 

Thanks...I hadn't read that until now.  Royal's updated policy for all cruises departing between now and July 31 is full cruise credit for cancellations up to 48 hours prior to departure: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence

[mthomp5]

7 minutes ago, trrn2016 said:

I had heard rumors of an email coming out about changes in cancellation policy yesterday morning. I called Princess and they said no changes. I called my TA and he said no changes. So I cancelled thru my TA with the cancellation fee. I contacted him today since the email is dated yesterday and wanted to know about my status. He stated Princess is "sweeping the system" and I will be getting the FCC but it could take 15-30 business days to show up.

Thanks!  You’re probably lucky with the timing since you cancelled on the day the policy was put in place.  Probably not so lucky for me since I cancelled last week.  My TA seems overwhelmed right now and is not able to even get through to Princess.  She has so many clients that has questions for Princes.  Tough time for the TAs 

[Tedferg]

52 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

Received this at 0739 GMT this morning:

Totally unrelated to the topic, but why do you quote GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

 

Hmmm could that be General Mountain Time 🙂

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Tedferg

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Just as a PSA for those cancelling, these FCC certificates may not end up being worth much.  Given what is happening and the stock price for Carnival and how leveraged the company is a bankruptcy isn't out of the question.  If that happens the FCC's might not be worth the paper they are written on.

Edited March 6, 2020 by Fido Chuckwagon

[satxdiver]

3 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Totally unrelated to the topic, but why do you quote GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

 

Hmmm could that be General Mountain Time 🙂

 

 

It is GMT or UTC or for the military zulu which helps anyone in the world who wondered when the email was received.  For me it was zulu for many years before switching to GMT due to my radio hobby. 

[jwattle]

5 minutes ago, Fido Chuckwagon said:

Just as a PSA for those cancelling, these FCC certificates may not end up being worth much.  Given what is happening and the stock price for Carnival and how leveraged the company is a bankruptcy isn't out of the question.  If that happens the FCC's might not be worth the paper they are written on.

Seriously doubtful

[Tophat4321]

i may be a little dense but what is AON?

[hllwdcruiser]

1 hour ago, tonit964 said:

Boy, Princess is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

 

I bet for the cruises that are leaving before the 9th, those folks will just see the OBC on their accounts once they board.

 

Do you really think so? I doubt it. But I sure hope you are right.