NCL Suspends Operations for 30 days - BREAKING

[Tpratt]

I talked to NCL customer care just this morning and asked if their Peace of Mind cancellation policy was still being offered in light of the new cancellation policy. I was told it was. 

[cruisernh]

On 3/14/2020 at 5:41 AM, mugtech said:

Gonna take 9 days to get the form available online?  Must be a very complex form, requiring their lawyers to go over it with a fine tooth comb.  Or they just want to keep your money as long as possible.  Would appear if you paid 90 days in advance and then they take another 90 days to return it to you it should include 180 days of interest.  Why should you give NCL a 180 day interest free loan?

I agree, no form to even start filling out. Someone mentioned doing a charge-back. Is that even possible with American Express since I did authorize the charge in the first place.

[fanotravel]

Our sailing was for the date of March 16 so we will get the 150% FCC.   We know we will be cruising in the future so we will take the 150% cruise credit.  50% return on an investment is not a bad return if you choose to look at it in that light.  

[NoobCroozer]

48 minutes ago, fanotravel said:

Our sailing was for the date of March 16 so we will get the 150% FCC.   We know we will be cruising in the future so we will take the 150% cruise credit.  50% return on an investment is not a bad return if you choose to look at it in that light.  

It would be, I agree. But something tells me the costs associated with cruising may go up, at which point you'll probably break even. Still a good faith offer. As is the 100% refund.

[wampuscat7]

1 minute ago, NoobCroozer said:

It would be, I agree. But something tells me the costs associated with cruising may go up, at which point you'll probably break even. Still a good faith offer. As is the 100% refund.

This is exactly why is was interesting to me to read Carnival's policy. They are giving people until December to request a refund vs. the credit. That way people can take the credit (which is automatic), wait on it to see how things go, and still request a refudn later (via a form). 

 

I get the impression that the cruise lines ceasing operations was somewhat forced, but it is apparent that some line were more prepared than others and some are making this easier on their customers than others. 

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, fanotravel said:

Our sailing was for the date of March 16 so we will get the 150% FCC.   We know we will be cruising in the future so we will take the 150% cruise credit.  50% return on an investment is not a bad return if you choose to look at it in that light.  

I agree with you based upon your viewpoint. However, I could present a case where your return is not 50% and, in fact, you could lose 100% of what you paid. It is all how you view it.

 

Somecritical questions I've been asking myself are....will I be prepared to commit to a cruise within one year or will I be concerned about Covid,  will I be prepared to accept the rates being offered NCL and will they resemble the prices I've historically paid, will NCL allow elme to apply a FCC to the port charges and service charges or am I imited to cruise fare only, and do I believe NCL will exist at the time I end up sailing. If my answer is yes, and all of these align, then yes, I have the potential to recognize 50% return on investment. Problem is, I am not able to answer yes to all of the questions. I'd take a 100% cash refund.

[fanotravel]

11 minutes ago, blcruising said:

I agree with you based upon your viewpoint. However, I could present a case where your return is not 50% and, in fact, you could lose 100% of what you paid. It is all how you view it.

 

Somecritical questions I've been asking myself are....will I be prepared to commit to a cruise within one year or will I be concerned about Covid,  will I be prepared to accept the rates being offered NCL and will they resemble the prices I've historically paid, will NCL allow elme to apply a FCC to the port charges and service charges or am I imited to cruise fare only, and do I believe NCL will exist at the time I end up sailing. If my answer is yes, and all of these align, then yes, I have the potential to recognize 50% return on investment. Problem is, I am not able to answer yes to all of the questions. I'd take a 100% cash refund.

 

[woodards]

Just off the Escape, and just landed back to UK.......

 

Good cruise generally and crew did well to minimise impact of heightened hygiene position.
 

Was a weird atmosphere knowing nobody was getting onboard after us. Our flight was significantly delayed (not corona related) so we drove up to Fort Lauderdale, never seen so many ships in port!!!

[fanotravel]

Sure,  you could suppose a scenario for yourself to justify the refund as opposed to the FCC.  It is a decision with which you must feel comfortable.   In my situation I will be cruising again.  Concerning future rates they could certainly increase as they will anyway but if one is flexible the deals will still be there.   

 

You will always have the port charges to pay.  The FCC credit is for the base cruise fare.  The port charges, taxes and service charges  will be refunded in full.   Our base cruise fare on the March 16 cruise was $2406 total for the two of us.  We will receive $3609.00 as an FCC.  That will be applied to the next cruise we take.  If the next cruise is more we pay the difference.  If less we will have the difference as an FCC until December 31, 2022.  In our case it will all be used by then.  If you feel that NCL will no longer exist when you are ready for your next cruise then you certainly should take your refund now.   I will take my chances that they will be in business and I like my odds.

Edited March 15, 2020 by fanotravel

[luv2kroooz]

So that there is no confusion to the above comments, my understanding is that port charges, taxes, and service charges are not refunded in full, but are converted to FCC under the peace of mind policy.

 

You do not have until December 31, 2022 to spend your FCC under peace of mind. In fact, you must spend your FCC within one year of it being issued on a cruise departing up until December 31, 2022. I trust the poster knows this but for the benefit of others, it is helpful to be perfectly clear about terms and conditions.

 

It is good that this poster can benefit from the 150%. It is a great deal!

Edited March 15, 2020 by blcruising

[Daytonasailor]

On 3/13/2020 at 3:18 PM, esm54687 said:

When you rebook.... file a claim with your travel insurance company stating you have a loss of 25%... 

 

Probably get denied but it's worth a shot 

What about filing a “trip interruption “ claim.  My insurance shows a $600 max claim for an interruption. 

[fanotravel]

24 minutes ago, blcruising said:

So that there is no confusion to the above comments, my understanding is that port charges, taxes, and service charges are not refunded in full, but are converted to FCC under the peace of mind policy.

 

You do not have until December 31, 2022 to spend your FCC under peace of mind. In fact, you must spend your FCC within one year of it being issued on a cruise departing up until December 31, 2022. I trust the poster knows this but for the benefit of others, it is helpful to be perfectly clear about terms and conditions.

 

It is good that this poster can benefit from the 150%. It is a great deal!

Thanks for the clarification.   I was not clear about the time frame to spend the FCC as I was making a point that I could sail by December 2022 so my apologies for the confusion.  I had not read the part about the service charges being a part of the FCC but after reading just now I do see that.  I did not think that would be included as 150% but if so even better.   I appreciate you setting me straight on this.

[Gregg]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:32 PM, turtlegirl2 said:

I was happy with my FCC (over losing all the $) BUT, my cruise was one of the cruises with 5 days to decide on cancel for FCC or go. We cancelled. And TODAY they cancelled. And will refund money for those who have upcoming cruises, including mine that was supposed to leave tomorrow. I would much rather have my money back NCL! What a mess! I have tweeted and DM’d NCL - will see what happens 👎👎

Similar situation with me. I had to either cancel or lose my money, no choice but to cancel and then NCL changes it’s mind and offers refunds or bigger FCC. They should grandfather in those who canceled under “peace of mind” otherwise it feels a little more like “bait and switch “

[esm54687]

35 minutes ago, Daytonasailor said:

What about filing a “trip interruption “ claim.  My insurance shows a $600 max claim for an interruption. 

Read your policy...... "trip interruption" means the trip was interrupted......  your trip was cancelled thus never interrupted. 

[Mightyjoey1]

2 hours ago, fanotravel said:

You will always have the port charges to pay.  The FCC credit is for the base cruise fare.  The port charges, taxes and service charges  will be refunded in full.   Our base cruise fare on the March 16 cruise was $2406 total for the two of us.  We will receive $3609.00 as an FCC.  That will be applied to the next cruise we take.  If the next cruise is more we pay the difference.  If less we will have the difference as an FCC until December 31, 2022.  In our case it will all be used by then.  If you feel that NCL will no longer exist when you are ready for your next cruise then you certainly should take your refund now.   I will take my chances that they will be in business and I like my odds.

 

To my simple mind, it is very simple; if they convert the money that you paid for any purpose to a FCC, you should be allowed to then apply your FCC to pay that expense on your future cruise.  I am having an extremely hard time understanding how they can take your prepaid gratuities (daily, and for the perk(s) you selected), then decide that your FCC is only allowed to be applied to the base fare.  Those gratuities were never intended to benefit NCL; they were meant to go to the staff that was going to be there to serve you.  Re-designating that money into their pocket is unethical on the best of days, and skirts legality on the worst.  And please spare me where it is might be written in small language on page 4 of a cruise contract; there are more than a few court cases out there where taking someone's money and deciding arbitrarily to use it for a random purpose can't be made legal just by hiding language in a contract.  In short, if they are deciding to keep your your money for FCC, then you should be able to apply that FCC to those very same expenses on your next cruise.

[esm54687]

15 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Similar situation with me. I had to either cancel or lose my money, no choice but to cancel and then NCL changes it’s mind and offers refunds or bigger FCC. They should grandfather in those who canceled under “peace of mind” otherwise it feels a little more like “bait and switch “

Not even close to "bait and switch".... 

 

The whole scenario is fluid and the cruise lines, Walt Disney World, etc are trying to do their best...... if the FCC were reduced to 75% would you be on the phone insisting they take 25% away? 

 

Yes it sucks for everyone but understand the bigger picture. 

 

[knight2096]

13 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Similar situation with me. I had to either cancel or lose my money, no choice but to cancel and then NCL changes it’s mind and offers refunds or bigger FCC. They should grandfather in those who canceled under “peace of mind” otherwise it feels a little more like “bait and switch “

I spoke with numerous NCL reps today and was encouraged by more then one rep to fill out the "Guest Relations form" it is located under the contact us section on NCL's website. It seems that this is having an impact with the higher ups at NCL and it is being talked about. I hope this helps, good luck to all.

[luv2kroooz]

2 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

if the FCC were reduced to 75% would you be on the phone insisting they take 25% away? 

Ummm, no one of sound mind would do what you are asking.

[esm54687]

9 minutes ago, Mightyjoey1 said:

 

To my simple mind, it is very simple; if they convert the money that you paid for any purpose to a FCC, you should be allowed to then apply your FCC to pay that expense on your future cruise.  I am having an extremely hard time understanding how they can take your prepaid gratuities (daily, and for the perk(s) you selected), then decide that your FCC is only allowed to be applied to the base fare.  Those gratuities were never intended to benefit NCL; they were meant to go to the staff that was going to be there to serve you.  Re-designating that money into their pocket is unethical on the best of days, and skirts legality on the worst.  And please spare me where it is might be written in small language on page 4 of a cruise contract; there are more than a few court cases out there where taking someone's money and deciding arbitrarily to use it for a random purpose can't be made legal just by hiding language in a contract.  In short, if they are deciding to keep your your money for FCC, then you should be able to apply that FCC to those very same expenses on your next cruise.

I called and was told the FCC can be applied to the amount of your final payment...... not just base cruise fare.  Were you told differently? 

Edited March 15, 2020 by esm54687

[esm54687]

3 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Ummm, no one of sound mind would do what you are asking.

My point being....... people are complaining that they want the better FCC... the situation is fluid and unfortunately when they cancelled the COVID-19 cancellation policies where one thing... if the COVID-19 outbreak was contained and the cruise lines only cancelled operations for 15 days and offered 75%.... no one would call up and be like "I don't want 1p0 I want 75"

 

Jeepers, I was in Costco 2 months ago and they had hand sanitizer and toilet paper...... how come Costco doesn't have any for me today.   Things are fluid. 

[Love2cruise77]

It's official now:

 

Q: Does this offer apply retroactively to previously canceled bookings made by guests?
A: No. This offer ONLY applies to active bookings as of March 13, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST and does not apply to any previously canceled bookings, regardless of reason for cancelation.
Q: Does this offer apply retroactively to previously canceled Peace of Mind bookings made by guests?
A: No. This offer only applies to active bookings as of March 13, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST and does not apply to any previously canceled bookings, regardless of reason for cancelation. Guests who previously opted to cancel and take advantage of our Peace of Mind policy will be protected under those terms.

[luv2kroooz]

7 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

My point being....... people are complaining that they want the better FCC.

Of course they do...isnt that human nature? They took offer A today and tomorrow something better than offer A came along. It is not human nature to call up and offer to pay more. I think you know that, though.

Edited March 15, 2020 by blcruising

[nolegal22]

6 minutes ago, Love2cruise77 said:

It's official now:

 

Q: Does this offer apply retroactively to previously canceled bookings made by guests?
A: No. This offer ONLY applies to active bookings as of March 13, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST and does not apply to any previously canceled bookings, regardless of reason for cancelation.
Q: Does this offer apply retroactively to previously canceled Peace of Mind bookings made by guests?
A: No. This offer only applies to active bookings as of March 13, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST and does not apply to any previously canceled bookings, regardless of reason for cancelation. Guests who previously opted to cancel and take advantage of our Peace of Mind policy will be protected under those terms.

I know some lawyers....

[nolegal22]

24 minutes ago, esm54687 said:

Not even close to "bait and switch".... 

 

The whole scenario is fluid and the cruise lines, Walt Disney World, etc are trying to do their best...... if the FCC were reduced to 75% would you be on the phone insisting they take 25% away? 

 

Yes it sucks for everyone but understand the bigger picture. 

 

Adorable. You are thinking it was appropriate for those of us on the 3/14 to 3/15 cruises to fly or travel against federal and state recommendations so we could wait and see what NCL would do? 

Edited March 15, 2020 by nolegal22

[esm54687]

1 minute ago, blcruising said:

Of course they do...isnt that human nature? They took offer A today and tomorrow something better than offer A came along.

It's more "Murhpy's Law"......  I would define human nature as being disappointed but have the intellectual ability to grasp that not everything should be retroactive.