Temporary Cancellation Policy Announced

[Coral]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:02 PM, PoohUnderstands said:

That is incorrect.  I just cancelled yesterday under the new cancellation policy.  My cruise was to leave on March 15th.  I had my Ezair tickets and all set to go.

This was the general breakdown of what I got.  First of all, I received the entire final payment amount back in some way.  This included my ezair, princess insurance, transfers, port fees, etc.  My cancellation fee was 82% of the total I had paid.  That amount is what I will get back on FCC.  The other 18% I received already this morning as a credit on my credit card.  Then there was an additional credit for the water and drink package I had purchased; then there was a third credit for the excursions I had paid for. So yes you do get cash back(some).

 

Pooh

In the fine print - it says insurance is not refundable.

 

1. Are PVP premiums refundable?
   Since PVP has additional benefits not covered by this policy, we will not be refunding PVP premiums. For exceptions, please contact Customer Relations.

2. Will my PVP carryover to my new booking or do I have to purchase it again?
   It needs to be purchased again. PVP is not refundable in the event a cruise booking is cancelled by the guest.

I haven't received my paperwork yet so can't confirm.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Coral

[polmcs]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

These offers are different.

 

Royal's policy applies to any existing or new bookings.

 

NCL's policy is only for new bookings made after March 10.

The way I read it, any new bookings made after a March 10 for sailings up to Sept 30 can be cancelled up to 48 hrs before sailings and can be used on future voyages out to the end of 2022. Any existing bookings for voyages up to a July 31 departure are also covered under the same 48 hr policy, but only through the end of 2021. That is significantly more lenient than the current Princess policy that only goes out to May 31 departures, with the same end of 2021 limitation.

[WNcruiser]

12 minutes ago, polmcs said:

The way I read it, any new bookings made after a March 10 for sailings up to Sept 30 can be cancelled up to 48 hrs before sailings and can be used on future voyages out to the end of 2022. Any existing bookings for voyages up to a July 31 departure are also covered under the same 48 hr policy, but only through the end of 2021. That is significantly more lenient than the current Princess policy that only goes out to May 31 departures, with the same end of 2021 limitation.

I still have hope that Princess will match their competitors this week. I have a May and August cruise booked on Princess and really dont want to cancel this far out. I would much rather wait another month to reassess. 

[ClwtrBoi]

2 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Under the terms of contract, I believe that if Princess cancels a cruise, the money paid is fully refunded.  If one cancels under the new policy, you get an FCC for the amount paid.  Not clear that cancelling before the last minute allowed under the new policy is the right move.  Thoughts??

I think this is the best move, we are waiting until the last minute to cancel our March 19 sailing out of Buenos Aires...

[polmcs]

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

I still have hope that Princess will match their competitors this week. I have a May and August cruise booked on Princess and really dont want to cancel this far out. I would much rather wait another month to reassess. 

 

I’m in the same boat “so to speak”. I have a June 13 sailing. I would have no qualms with regards to cancelling and leave the booking in place, if I knew for sure that I could cancel within 48 hrs of the sailing and would receive a FCC. I know that as of right now, I’m still free to cancel up until 60 days out without penalty, but there are other deadlines that may push me towards cancelling well before that date.

[azbirdmom]

This post on the Princess FB page may answer some questions for folks here.

 

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

4 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

For the future cruise credit, does it go back to the person who paid, or to each passenger? My booking is myself and 3 kids (one of whom is not mine) and I paid everything. It would be worthless to me if the kids (especially the one who isn't mine) got the FCC?

Aren't you a travel agent?  Would think you have access to better info than CC postings?

[PoohUnderstands]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

In the fine print - it says insurance is not refundable.

 

1. Are PVP premiums refundable?
   Since PVP has additional benefits not covered by this policy, we will not be refunding PVP premiums. For exceptions, please contact Customer Relations.

2. Will my PVP carryover to my new booking or do I have to purchase it again?
   It needs to be purchased again. PVP is not refundable in the event a cruise booking is cancelled by the guest.

I haven't received my paperwork yet so can't confirm.

I agree with you but I will tell you this.  Adding up my FCC and my actual credit to my credit card equaled the total amount I had paid to Princess for this cruise and that figure included my Princess Platinum Insurance payments.  I had figured out what I should be getting back before cancelling and did it without the ins.payment but they paid that back to me. The figure that I got back on my credit card does not equal any of the individual charges but like they just figured out the cancellation fees and then subtracted that from the total I paid and gave me the remainder in cash as a credit on my credit card!  Then there were separate credit entries for my packages I had prepaid for and my excursions.  Go figure, but I'll take it!

 

Pooh

[Astro Flyer]

We have 2 early May cruises which we need to decide whether to cancel by 3/31...over a month before embarkation.

 

If Princess allowed passengers to cancel up to 48 hours like some other cruise lines we’d wait to see the situation in May; lacking that option we’ll need to cancel by the end of the month to get a FCC & refund.

 

Hopefully Princess will soon extend the deadline or even better go to 48 hours otherwise due to the uncertainty we’ll need to cancel sooner than later. We hope to enjoy our cruises but also need to have an option to cancel closer to sailing. I will not assume that Princess will extend the deadline & risk losing our cruise fare after the 3/31 deadline.

[sfpd3000]

So if I understand this correctly:

if I cancel our 4/11 cruise by 3/31, we will get a full 100% refund on our already paid-in-full fare port fees, and taxes?

And we will get a FCC on 100% of the cancellation fee?

[Astro Flyer]

36 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

So if I understand this correctly:

if I cancel our 4/11 cruise by 3/31, we will get a full 100% refund on our already paid-in-full fare port fees, and taxes?

And we will get a FCC on 100% of the cancellation fee?

Based on this Princess statement you’re correct: “April 4, 2020 - May 31, 2020 - Cancel by March 31 and automatically receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of cancellation fees”.

 

In addition you should get refunds for any advance purchases made for your cruise.

 

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

Edited March 10, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[coo359a2]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

In the fine print - it says insurance is not refundable.

 

1. Are PVP premiums refundable?
   Since PVP has additional benefits not covered by this policy, we will not be refunding PVP premiums. For exceptions, please contact Customer Relations.

2. Will my PVP carryover to my new booking or do I have to purchase it again?
   It needs to be purchased again. PVP is not refundable in the event a cruise booking is cancelled by the guest.

I haven't received my paperwork yet so can't confirm.

Are you waiting on the Princess cancellation paperwork that lists what was reimbursed and was cancellation fees. If you used a TA, do you expect Princess to send  the paperwork to your TA who then will forward on to you.  How long have you been waiting after canceling 

[caribill]

7 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

Since my husband is in the demographic warned not to cruise due to higher morbidity risk, instead of having to use future cruise credits I feel we should be able to get our money back or at least transfer it to another name so someone can buy it from us or we can give to other family members or friends who may want to use it, similar to how an airline lets you change names with a fee

 

 

Today's warning is for conditions today.

 

Six months from now all might be fine. So you may both be able to take a Princess cruise later this year or in 2021 to use the credit.

 

By the way, airlines no longer allow you to change names, even for a fee. There have been many posts on Cruise Critics when an airline would not even let a person correct an error in the spelling of their name without purchasing a new ticket.

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We have 2 early May cruises which we need to decide whether to cancel by 3/31...over a month before embarkation.

 

If Princess allowed passengers to cancel up to 48 hours like some other cruise lines we’d wait to see the situation in May; lacking that option we’ll need to cancel by the end of the month to get a FCC & refund.

 

Hopefully Princess will soon extend the deadline or even better go to 48 hours otherwise due to the uncertainty we’ll need to cancel sooner than later. We hope to enjoy our cruises but also need to have an option to cancel closer to sailing. I will not assume that Princess will extend the deadline & risk losing our cruise fare after the 3/31 deadline.

 

I agree with you.  I'm in almost the same situation.  March 31 is just around the corner, yet much can happen between now and May.  With all that Princess has gone through with 4 ships, I would think that the worst if over.  Screening will be more comprehensive.  But right now, there are no ships that are due back to the West Coast for a few more days. Hard to tell what will happen to them. (Example:  Star arrives 3/13)

[remydiva]

1 hour ago, coo359a2 said:

Are you waiting on the Princess cancellation paperwork that lists what was reimbursed and was cancellation fees. If you used a TA, do you expect Princess to send  the paperwork to your TA who then will forward on to you.  How long have you been waiting after canceling 

So far waiting four days ....

[subaru94]

We were notified of the new temporary cancellation policy princess have put in place, they say the following applies to new and existing bookings on cruises and cruise tours in all markets globally.  My question is does anyone know if you get the Onboard credit amounts for cruises between March 9 and May 31 for new bookings please?  Have not been able to get through to Princess.

[crystalspin]

I would suspect you do not. (And I am cancelling two cabins with a combined promotional 'perk' OBC of $1000 for five people. So I suspect *I* do not.)

 

ETA: After all, compassion goes so far. We really shouldn't want the cruiseline to go out of business... 

Edited March 10, 2020 by crystalspin

[cruze610]

We’re booked on the CB may 16th and contemplating canceling. It kills me to even think about canceling but it’s something we must consider. Taking the chance of getting stuck on the ship for 2 additional weeks is not something we want to or can afford to do. Also this is our first vacation away from our dog since we got her almost 3 years ago and we don’t want to be away from her for that long 🐕. We took a break from cruising after we rescued her and took dog friendly vacations for the last couple years.  

[Coral]

8 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

This post on the Princess FB page may answer some questions for folks here.

 

The only thing is those who cancel and can get cash back - those in 50% or 25% penalty may want to call sooner.

[sfpd3000]

8 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Based on this Princess statement you’re correct: “April 4, 2020 - May 31, 2020 - Cancel by March 31 and automatically receive a Future Cruise Credit for 100% of cancellation fees”.

 

In addition you should get refunds for any advance purchases made for your cruise.

 

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

Thanks for clarifying.

[AF-1]

crystalspin;  you are cancelling your cruise?

[JerrySueW]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

The only thing is those who cancel and can get cash back - those in 50% or 25% penalty may want to call sooner.

Exactly. We go from 50% penalty to 75% on March 14 for a 3-week cruise, so would prefer to cancel earlier and get the larger refund. It would be helpful to be able to indicate the desire to cancel now and have it processed at a later date.

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

The only thing is those who cancel and can get cash back - those in 50% or 25% penalty may want to call sooner.

 

That actually could be behind part of this.  I'm sure that it would be easier for Princess to hang on to the cash for the short term.  I definitely have the cancellation fee deadlines in mind as I'm mulling over calling our favorite person to cancel our cruise too.  Feel so bad for her and everyone else in the travel business!

Edited March 10, 2020 by azbirdmom

[tonit964]

Does anyone know if the port fees are refunded on your card and only the cruise fare is kept as FCC or do they put the entire amount you paid into the FCC?

Thank you.

[ceilidh1]

6 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

Does anyone know if the port fees are refunded on your card and only the cruise fare is kept as FCC or do they put the entire amount you paid into the FCC?

Thank you.

Port fees go back to your credit card. As does anything you pre paid like grats, excursions etc