“Cruise With Confidence”- cancellations up to 48 hours before sailing

[loririemer]

16 hours ago, JOHN474 said:

Just wanted to return the favor ... after many folks contributed to my understanding via this bulletin board.

After spending about 6 hours on several attempts to get through to Costco Travel ... as they were having phone issues, and Celebrity was also backed up when Costco called them. I can now share what I learned. I just cancelled 5 B2B trips.

I can clarify many questions. My non-refundable deposits went to FCC. Port charges and Taxes went to CC for refund. The normal cancellation penalty, if applicable, ie. 25%, 50%% or 75%, went to FCC. The remainder went to a CC refund. I did not have Celebrity insurance but asked and was told, the insurance charge would be lost. There was no charge by this particular travel agent. Although it is true, you can cancel, under the Cruise With Confidence program up to 48 hours before, the closer you get to sailing, the greater the monies to a Future Cruise Credit. I think the chance of Celebrity going bankrupt is slim, it is to your advantage, if you feel you will probably cancel, it is advantageous to cancel sooner rather than later. Also, in the fine print, Celebrity notes they could withdraw this offer at any time. If exponentially more people take this offer, than expected, Celebrity might withdraw it. Based on the fact that it took me 6 hours to cancel, many folks might be doing same. 

Thanks again to Celebrity, and Cruisecritic Board. Celebrity could add examples to their FAQ to help folks understand some of the details. This Board help fill the void. 

My advice ... if you are a senior citizen like me, and or have serious health conditions, this offer from Celebrity is something you should seriously consider. As there is no way to confirm an infected individual does not make it onto the ship, it only takes 1 infected individual not showing symptoms to get onto the ship. Look at the ship off California, they will not let the 21 individuals off the ship until everyone is tested. This could happen on other ships and probably will. Countries will be challenged to handle such large numbers on cruise ships. If I were young without health issues, it might be worth the gamble to cruise, especially at a discounted fare. Since I am not, I am very grateful Celebrity offered this temporary flexible cancellation program. 

 

Morning John

Huge thank you for the clarification!!!  We also booked on Costco and the refund amount was puzzling.  Your post clarified what was happening and saved me 6 hours on the phone with Costco.  If we ever meet on a cruise, I owe you dinner!!!

Lori

[lostchild]

15 hours ago, JOHN474 said:

 

just to be clear, the normal cancellation % penalty goes to the FCC. If you cancel sooner, a smaller cancellation % penalty will go to the FCC and a large amount to the Credit Card Can refund.

 

Understood.  And I just cancelled this morning.  Costco Travel now has a website setup just for cruise cancellation for cruises before May 30, 2020.  If you call, they will tell you to send an email to cruisecancel@costcotravel.com to get the link to the cancel form.  You have to do one form per cabin though.

Edited March 8, 2020 by lostchild

[Andie 49]

Well yesterday I was set not to cancel our cruise in June to Alaka but now I am getting more and more pressure from family and friends to do so. I think from what I have been reading Celebrity will give 100 percent credit refund but the cruise needs to be taken in the next two yeats 2020 or 2021. There is still a risk of things still being up in the air  at that time ,with the virus, and even though I have been almost craving this cruise, I don't know if it will be the cruise of my dreams(only our 2nd one ever) if the ship will be filled with paranoia. Also family members mostly on my partner side are begging him not to go. There are elderly people on his side near 95 and 100 years old and his young niece and my own grandchildren to be considered if there are future complications and we could inadvertently become carriers. So lots to consider that are more to due with other people.

We have a week before final payment to decide. I am wondering if we wait till 48 hours before if we would indeed get full credit or if that is a sliding scale. ? 

Did not see that in the announcement but perhaps should go back to read that. 

Thanks for any light anyone may be able to shine. 

[JOHN474]

1 hour ago, loririemer said:

 

Morning John

Huge thank you for the clarification!!!  We also booked on Costco and the refund amount was puzzling.  Your post clarified what was happening and saved me 6 hours on the phone with Costco.  If we ever meet on a cruise, I owe you dinner!!!

Lori

 

Lori

 

Thanks much. Glad to help you and possibly others. Dinner not required 🙂

Just watched Dr Anthony Fauci on Meet The Press this morning. He strongly recommended the "elderly" or those with underlying health conditions not get on any cruise ship. I don't see myself as elderly, but still glad we cancelled. Yesterday I several  3 cruise ships were identified to have individuals with Corona Virus. Several other trips were cancelled or delayed until individuals are tested. 

 

John

 

[Fouremco]

41 minutes ago, lostchild said:

 

Understood.  And I just cancelled this morning.  Costco Travel now has a website setup just for cruise cancellation for cruises before May 30, 2020.  If you call, they will tell you to send an email to cruisecancel@costcotravel.com to get the link to the cancel form.  You have to do one form per cabin though.

Any idea if this can be used by Canadian Costco Travel clients?

[JOHN474]

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Any idea if this can be used by Canadian Costco Travel clients?

 

I cancelled 5  B2B cruises through Costco Travel yesterday.  I opted not to send an email to Costco Travel to get link to that website. Took a long time to get a real person but it was worth it. They explain to you every item going to CC Refund and FCC. My posts in "Cruise With Confidence Cancellation " thread on Bulletin Board, explain details. Costco Travel while you are on phone with them, calls Celebrity, confirms everything they tell you before sending you confirmation emails. Highly recommend you spend additional time to talk to a real person. Very glad I cancelled 5  B2B cruises yesterday. The sooner you cancel, the greater amount goes to CC Refund versus FCC.

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, JOHN474 said:

 

I cancelled 5  B2B cruises through Costco Travel yesterday.  I opted not to send an email to Costco Travel to get link to that website. Took a long time to get a real person but it was worth it. They explain to you every item going to CC Refund and FCC. My posts in "Cruise With Confidence Cancellation " thread on Bulletin Board, explain details. Costco Travel while you are on phone with them, calls Celebrity, confirms everything they tell you before sending you confirmation emails. Highly recommend you spend additional time to talk to a real person. Very glad I cancelled 5  B2B cruises yesterday. The sooner you cancel, the greater amount goes to CC Refund versus FCC.

But did they offer you that option? I know how long things can take at the best of times, and I'd prefer to fill in the form if .ca customers are eligible.

[lostchild]

30 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Any idea if this can be used by Canadian Costco Travel clients?

Don't know... but you could call the regular Costco Travel number to see if they have recording for cruise cancellation.   They may or may not direct you to send email the same place.   

[JOHN474]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

But did they offer you that option? I know how long things can take at the best of times, and I'd prefer to fill in the form if .ca customers are eligible.

 

When you call Costco Travel in US ... you get a message after specifying cruises, that if your cruise starts before May 31 ( I believe that was date) you can send an email to get a link to a website that allows you to request cancellation. It is optional. I wanted to talk to a real person. Yesterday their call back system was overloaded , the system that would call you back in X minutes, so you don't need to stay on hold.That system was breaking down. Yesterday the phone system where you wait on hold was even overloaded and disconnecting folks. I called in and asked for rental cars and asked to be transferred as I had been knocked off 2 times. Today might not be as bad. 

When you get a real person at Costco Travel they confirm your phone number, so they can call you back if you get connected. They work with you until all transactions are completed to your satisfaction.

If I were redoing the cancellations, I would still opt to talk to a real person.

[Fouremco]

Thanks, John. With the Canadian site, there's no similar message, so I guess I'll just have to play the waiting game.

[Buckeye94]

I'm on the first Silhouette sailing of the European season, May 1, out of Southampton. I guess I'll watch to see what happens in Europe. What are the chances that the TA and Europe season could be delayed/cancelled? Could Celebrity keep Silhouette in the Caribbean longer? Who knows!!  It's a logistical nightmare everywhere. I guess I'll wait to see if the TA departs as expected. Glad they're allowing cancellations up until 48 hours! 

[dutchclogs]

1 minute ago, Buckeye94 said:

I'm on the first Silhouette sailing of the European season, May 1, out of Southampton. I guess I'll watch to see what happens in Europe. What are the chances that the TA and Europe season could be delayed/cancelled? Could Celebrity keep Silhouette in the Caribbean longer? Who knows!!  It's a logistical nightmare everywhere. I guess I'll wait to see if the TA departs as expected. Glad they're allowing cancellations up until 48 hours! 

 

You are not alone wondering! I see there are many empty cabins on the TA but I do not know how this compares with earlier bookings.

[hvbaskey]

1 hour ago, Buckeye94 said:

I'm on the first Silhouette sailing of the European season, May 1, out of Southampton. I guess I'll watch to see what happens in Europe. What are the chances that the TA and Europe season could be delayed/cancelled? Could Celebrity keep Silhouette in the Caribbean longer? Who knows!!  It's a logistical nightmare everywhere. I guess I'll wait to see if the TA departs as expected. Glad they're allowing cancellations up until 48 hours! 

 

We’re on the Reflection in May (out of Dublin); waiting to see if she makes it there.  I believe we’re the 2nd cruise of the EU season (vs. first).   Waiting ... our cruise has loads of cabins available now and “zero” price reductions since FP.   Interesting that Revenue Dept is not trying to sell off the high inventory available.

[mac_tlc]

3 hours ago, Andie 49 said:

Well yesterday I was set not to cancel our cruise in June to Alaka but now I am getting more and more pressure from family and friends to do so. I think from what I have been reading Celebrity will give 100 percent credit refund but the cruise needs to be taken in the next two yeats 2020 or 2021. There is still a risk of things still being up in the air  at that time ,with the virus, and even though I have been almost craving this cruise, I don't know if it will be the cruise of my dreams(only our 2nd one ever) if the ship will be filled with paranoia. Also family members mostly on my partner side are begging him not to go. There are elderly people on his side near 95 and 100 years old and his young niece and my own grandchildren to be considered if there are future complications and we could inadvertently become carriers. So lots to consider that are more to due with other people.

We have a week before final payment to decide. I am wondering if we wait till 48 hours before if we would indeed get full credit or if that is a sliding scale. ? 

Did not see that in the announcement but perhaps should go back to read that. 

Thanks for any light anyone may be able to shine. 

You get a future cruise credit for any amount that, under normal cancellation, you would lose. It all depends on when you cancel. If you cancel before final payment, and you had a non-refundable deposit, you normally would lose $100 per person and the remainder would be in an FCC. Under the "cruise with confidence" program, you would get an FCC for all of it. 

 

If you were within final payment, the normal cancellation penalty is a sliding scale from 25% to 100%. That would be the amount you would normally lose. Now, instead of losing the $$, it becomes an FCC. The sooner you cancel, the more $$ you would get back and the less $$$ that would go to an FCC. 

 

In my case, I have a number of future cruises, so I am waiting until closer to the 48 hours because I will just apply the FCC to those future cruises. If I didn't have any planned, I would cancel sooner and minimize the FCC and maximize the amount that gets refunded. Port charges and taxes are refunded to original form of payment, and you will have to "re-pay" them on the cruise that you apply the FCC to. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

mac_tlc

[AidenL]

22 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

We’re on the Reflection in May (out of Dublin); waiting to see if she makes it there.  I believe we’re the 2nd cruise of the EU season (vs. first).   Waiting ... our cruise has loads of cabins available now and “zero” price reductions since FP.   Interesting that Revenue Dept is not trying to sell off the high inventory available.

We are booked on that too, and watching closely to see what happens.

[JOHN474]

I was asked to resubmit my post from yesterday as it helped several folks understand how Celebrity's offer works.

****

Just wanted to return the favor ... after many folks contributed to my understanding via this bulletin board.

After spending about 6 hours on several attempts to get through to Costco Travel ... as they were having phone issues, and Celebrity was also backed up when Costco called them. I can now share what I learned. I just cancelled 5 B2B trips.

I can clarify many questions. My non-refundable deposits went to FCC. Port charges and Taxes went to CC for refund. The normal cancellation penalty, if applicable, ie. 25%, 50%% or 75%, went to FCC. The remainder went to a CC refund. I did not have Celebrity insurance but asked and was told, the insurance charge would be lost. There was no charge by this particular travel agent. Although it is true, you can cancel, under the Cruise With Confidence program up to 48 hours before, the closer you get to sailing, the greater the monies to a Future Cruise Credit. I think the chance of Celebrity going bankrupt is slim, it is to your advantage, if you feel you will probably cancel, it is advantageous to cancel sooner rather than later. Also, in the fine print, Celebrity notes they could withdraw this offer at any time. If exponentially more people take this offer, than expected, Celebrity might withdraw it. Based on the fact that it took me 6 hours to cancel, many folks might be doing same. 

Thanks again to Celebrity, and Cruisecritic Board. Celebrity could add examples to their FAQ to help folks understand some of the details. This Board help fill the void. 

My advice ... if you are a senior citizen like me, and or have serious health conditions, this offer from Celebrity is something you should seriously consider. As there is no way to confirm an infected individual does not make it onto the ship, it only takes 1 infected individual not showing symptoms to get onto the ship. Look at the ship off California, they will not let the 21 individuals off the ship until everyone is tested. This could happen on other ships and probably will. Countries will be challenged to handle such large numbers on cruise ships. If I were young without health issues, it might be worth the gamble to cruise, especially at a discounted fare. Since I am not, I am very grateful Celebrity offered this temporary flexible cancellation program. 

[hammo]

Thanks John and to all the contributions here -

Its been many days following the threads and advice and as we are 23 days out of our cruise and obviously in that 100% penalty category we are are in limboland at the moment. We are 65 and 63 so in the target window but " fit as fiddles" at present .

Our cruise on Solstice is the 13 night Fiji cruise and seems ports have diminished due to denying entry but that isnt so much of a concern for us . We love cruising on Celebrity and love Solstice . The quarantine threat is another matter , hence the quandry.

We are Aussies booked with a USA TA , the big one cc , and understand if we do cancel we need to do so with them rather than Celebrity direct .(?)

I have sent emails with questions regarding such to TA -cc - and hope to receive a reply sooner rather than later . The companies fine print has a cancellation policy of $US50 per person so I guess we just wear that . Do they issue the FCC or does Celebrity ?

 

Our alternative is to wait to see what eventuates in the next 20 days and then cancel but communicating with the TA may be probematic for sure given the time differences and the workload they must be under  . Seems like Im talking myself into cancelling now .😪

 

 

[JOHN474]

35 minutes ago, hammo said:

Thanks John and to all the contributions here -

Its been many days following the threads and advice and as we are 23 days out of our cruise and obviously in that 100% penalty category we are are in limboland at the moment. We are 65 and 63 so in the target window but " fit as fiddles" at present .

Our cruise on Solstice is the 13 night Fiji cruise and seems ports have diminished due to denying entry but that isnt so much of a concern for us . We love cruising on Celebrity and love Solstice . The quarantine threat is another matter , hence the quandry.

We are Aussies booked with a USA TA , the big one cc , and understand if we do cancel we need to do so with them rather than Celebrity direct .(?)

I have sent emails with questions regarding such to TA -cc - and hope to receive a reply sooner rather than later . The companies fine print has a cancellation policy of $US50 per person so I guess we just wear that . Do they issue the FCC or does Celebrity ?

 

Our alternative is to wait to see what eventuates in the next 20 days and then cancel but communicating with the TA may be probematic for sure given the time differences and the workload they must be under  . Seems like Im talking myself into cancelling now .😪

 

 

 

Hammo. You do need to go through your TA to cancel, if you decide to do that. I am 65 and in perfect health.... so our circumstances are similar. I just cancelled 5  B2B cruises on the Silhouette. Thanks for the Thanks.

[galleycook]

On 3/7/2020 at 7:23 AM, LMaxwell said:

Stick to law. This is real. 

I agree with the lawyer. The CDC statistics are facts. If the media published information about everyone who has come down with the flu, that's all we'd be hearing about.

[POPDISPLAY]

Due to concerns for my wife's underlying asthma and her Dr's direction to her to avoid cruising during this soon to be pandemic, we cancelled on Thursday while there was still 30 days and a 25% refund available.

 

Is Celebrity going to screw us out of the remaining 75%?

[Oville]

40 minutes ago, POPDISPLAY said:

Due to concerns for my wife's underlying asthma and her Dr's direction to her to avoid cruising during this soon to be pandemic, we cancelled on Thursday while there was still 30 days and a 25% refund available.

 

Is Celebrity going to screw us out of the remaining 75%?

No, do a little research like reading this thread or going to Celebrity.com for their policy.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Oville

[POPDISPLAY]

21 minutes ago, Oville said:

No, do a little research like reading this thread or going to Celebrity.com for their policy.

Try being polite 

 

I found no details addressing my situation

[Oville]

1 minute ago, POPDISPLAY said:

Try being polite 

 

I found no details addressing my situation

I wasn’t trying not to be impolite.  Currently cruises between now and the end of July can be canceled with refunds as a FCC for the portion non refundable.  Try calling Celebrity if you don’t fall into that window.  If you are outside the window not sure anyone here can help.  Sorry if you found me rude, never my intent.

[JOHN474]

20 hours ago, Buckeye94 said:

I'm on the first Silhouette sailing of the European season, May 1, out of Southampton. I guess I'll watch to see what happens in Europe. What are the chances that the TA and Europe season could be delayed/cancelled? Could Celebrity keep Silhouette in the Caribbean longer? Who knows!!  It's a logistical nightmare everywhere. I guess I'll wait to see if the TA departs as expected. Glad they're allowing cancellations up until 48 hours! 

 

I was on that TA and the next 4 so 5 B2B.  Just be advised. You are correct.... if the cruises are cancelled you will get everything back as a CC refund. But the longer you wait, more money will go to a FCC rather than a CC Cash refund. So it is a gamble to delay. Celebrity is getting money from insurance, and many passengers who are probably young paying for cheap cruises. Celebrity could opt to continue the cruises, with reduced ports, and significant changes to the itinerary. But you are correct, that if you wait 6 weeks, and the TA does not leave, you would know at that point, your cruise in Europe would be cancelled. Guess I am not a gamble. I cancelled 5  B2B's and got the majority of the monies as a CC cash refund and the balance to a FCC, that does have some risk and negatives associated with the FCC.

[Buckeye94]

2 minutes ago, JOHN474 said:

 

I was on that TA and the next 4 so 5 B2B.  Just be advised. You are correct.... if the cruises are cancelled you will get everything back as a CC refund. But the longer you wait, more money will go to a FCC rather than a CC Cash refund. So it is a gamble to delay. Celebrity is getting money from insurance, and many passengers who are probably young paying for cheap cruises. Celebrity could opt to continue the cruises, with reduced ports, and significant changes to the itinerary. But you are correct, that if you wait 6 weeks, and the TA does not leave, you would know at that point, your cruise in Europe would be cancelled. Guess I am not a gamble. I cancelled 5  B2B's and got the majority of the monies as a CC cash refund and the balance to a FCC, that does have some risk and negatives associated with the FCC.

Agreed, it's a gamble.  At this point, I'm in the 60-31 day 75% cancellation fee window, so I have the rest of this month to cancel and get anything back as CC Cash refund.  As we've seen a whole lot can change between now and then!  My other (first world, poor me, can't believe I'm going write this) "problem" is that I would need to use the FCC on a cruise this year.  I only have so many vacation days from work, and family has a big trip planned for next year.  Not many itineraries that I'm as excited about that I could use the credit on.  I'm sure it will all work itself out.  Talking cruises and vacations is a nice distraction from my 401k!