How long until next cancellations?

[az_tchr]

CDC this evening - Sunday - advised no gatherings larger than 50 people for next EIGHT WEEKS. Appreciate the Celebrity Q&A sheet but it seems maybe a bit late as things have already gone much worse in most of the World.

Am expecting some sort of domestic airline travel restrictions to be announced in days.

[downsmead]

John474 - thank you for you reply. In reality it looks as though the April 11 recommencement of sailings is very optimistic from the posts on cc and news in general. It looks like most places will see it get worse before it gets better. As opposed to sailing the world, people will be staying at home and only going out as necessary. 

[upwarduk]

10 minutes ago, downsmead said:

In reality it looks as though the April 11 recommencement of sailings is very optimistic from the posts on cc and news in general. It looks like most places will see it get worse before it gets better. As opposed to sailing the world, people will be staying at home and only going out as necessary. 

I really cannot see the TA’s taking place, in which case I assume  that Celebrity will cancel sailings from Southampton. That way, I shouldn’t have to forfeit my deposit (UK T&C).

I just hope that as an over 70 yr old, I will be allowed to go out to buy essential supplies.

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by upwarduk

[downsmead]

Assuming the supermarkets have any supplies on the shelves!

They way they are emptied at present, it is as though everyone has stocked up for 4 months quarantine 🤷‍♀️.

Edited March 16, 2020 by downsmead

[plettza]

We're in a bit of a quandary.  We were initially set to fly to Japan for a couple of weeks in April and then set sail onboard Westerdam to Vancouver.  But as everyone knows, Westerdam got cancelled.  We then found the X Eclipse cruise out of Honolulu on the 20th of April and were set to fly from Tokyo Haneda to Honolulu on Hawaiian.  We thought it best not to travel to Japan and Hawaiian subsequently cancelled the Japan flights to Honolulu anyway.  So we were about to change that flight to direct flight from Sydney to Honolul a few days before Eclipse sails.  However, Hawaiian Airlines have also suspended those flights from Sydney until the end of April (30/4/2020) leaving us with no easy way of getting to Hawaii unless we transit through another airport.  We wanted to avoid that and frankly, I haven;t even bothered looking if there are indirect flights.  I think we should cancel the X cruise but we wanted to wait for the cruise line to cancel as it appears we won't be getting to Vancouver in any event.

Edited March 16, 2020 by plettza

[Daniel-J]

Now we have to plan with a possible return of the ticket. We don't know if your flight will be cancelled next or not.

[cluso]

9 hours ago, az_tchr said:

 

Think we will be doing a lot of hikes and gardening in the next few weeks.

 

 We will be doing the same, and in our area, Spring has sprung.  🌼  And, we'll also be doing some of those projects that have been "kicked down the road".  🙄

[TeeRick]

April 11 at this point is a Pipe Dream.

 

[az_tchr]

5 hours ago, plettza said:

We're in a bit of a quandary.  We were initially set to fly to Japan for a couple of weeks in April and then set sail onboard Westerdam to Vancouver.  But as everyone knows, Westerdam got cancelled.  We then found the X Eclipse cruise out of Honolulu on the 20th of April and were set to fly from Tokyo Haneda to Honolulu on Hawaiian.  We thought it best not to travel to Japan and Hawaiian subsequently cancelled the Japan flights to Honolulu anyway.  So we were about to change that flight to direct flight from Sydney to Honolul a few days before Eclipse sails.  However, Hawaiian Airlines have also suspended those flights from Sydney until the end of April (30/4/2020) leaving us with no easy way of getting to Hawaii unless we transit through another airport.  We wanted to avoid that and frankly, I haven;t even bothered looking if there are indirect flights.  I think we should cancel the X cruise but we wanted to wait for the cruise line to cancel as it appears we won't be getting to Vancouver in any event.

What is your quandry?  You decided you only want direct flights and for some months the are likely to be few to no flights and no cruises.

This is a time to sit back and spend time with family. Cruising IMO for some months will not happen. July?  Possible but what is the rush?

DW and I will cruise and take holidays in the future, but not bothering right now. Other things much more important.

[dandee2]

In a perfect world, nobody would be allowed back on a cruise ship until the the passenger can show a vaccination certificate (unlikely) The peak in Europe will happen sooner than in North America. Does Italy and Spain want tourists that bad this Summer/Fall?

[hvbaskey]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

April 11 at this point is a Pipe Dream.

 

 

My thinking is that Canada (ban until July 1) and New Zealand (ban until June 30) are more on track of what is a reality at this point.

[hvbaskey]

20 hours ago, az_tchr said:

Celebrity has not done a very good job with press releases - interesting Princess much better - hope they execute them better in the future.

 

I have been a Celebrity loyalist for 7 years (no other cruise line other than).  

However, Princess has earned my utmost respect for their transparency, communications, and more realistic 60-day suspension.

I am keenly watching all the cruise lines response to this pandemic and based on their actions, it will determine who will receive my business in 2021.

[C-Dragons]

I guess we've been X “loyalists” since our first sailing in 2003. We have tried other cruise lines, including Princess, and IMO, they're just not equal to the X product (different strokes for different folks). 😊

Given the unprecedented circumstances that have occurred and evolved so rapidly in the last few weeks, I am willing to cut them some slack. Nobody’s perfect, sometimes mistakes happen: admit it, apologize and offer compensation, which is what X has done. I worked in the Travel Industry for 28 years. I can imagine what they are dealing with and this situation will not make or break our relationship with them. We have 4 upcoming cruises booked with X and intend to keep them, if they’re going we’ll be on board. I hope that the industry will eventually recover, and am praying for the continued success of all the cruise lines. 

[lastofthebohicans]

Given that Canada has now placed a ban on all Non-Residents / Non-citizens from arriving into Canada, the only people who can board our ship in April will be Canadian citizens and permanent residents and US citizens.

 

This is going to force a lot more people to hold their nose and take a bad deal from Celebrity.

[idh2019]

This might make a difference, From BBC web site. 

 

Posted at 20:00

European Union to shut borders - Macron

In his press conference just now, the French president announced that the European Union would be closing its external borders on Tuesday.

We knew this drastic measure was set to be discussed by the EU's 27 leaders but were not expecting Mr Macron to announce it this evening.

It remains unclear if all states have formally agreed to it.

 

[idh2019]

Had an e-mail form Celebrity today about the the 30-day suspension and cancellations. Now I know who "LLP" is.

 

The FAQ contained this item:

Why only 30 days, do you think that in as little as 30 days the virus will be contained? 

A: As of right now, we plan to resume sailings on April 11. Since this situation with COVID-19 remains fluid and is always changing, and we’re consistently receiving updated regulations from the CDC and WHO, there is a chance that our suspension period will be extended. However, at this time no decisions have been made to cancel sailings past April 10. If you would like to cancel your sailing, you are still eligible to do so under our Cruise with Confidence policy, which allows guests to cancel their cruise up to 48 hours before they set sail and receive 100% in Future Cruise Credit. 

 

Wow someone is smoking the good stuff.

 

My interpretation: "we know there is no chance of restarting on April 11 but if you go for the 125% FCC as "insurance" we get to keep your money. If we admitted that we will be cancelling more cruises you might wait until then and get the 100% refund = we don't have your money."

 

Where will the Celebrity "brand" be after all this.

 

 

[plettza]

VTT Group have agreed to refund the tickets so good on 'em for that.

 

 

I'm still determined to sail Eclipse as I've never sailed X before but as others have suggested, it looks like it ain't gonna happen.

 

I guess we'll see what cruises they have on offer net year.

 

 

[Carole2313]

My cruise is supposed to start Apr 14, 2020 in Auckland, NZ.  Prime Ministers in NZ, OZ and French Polynesia have banned cruise ships until June 30.  Our cruise is still selling cabins.  Makes no sense.

[Pushka]

On 3/16/2020 at 12:00 AM, travel1light said:

I would hope they do at least a rolling 2 week notice.  So next 30 day (whatever-4 weeks) on March 27. 

My guess is that no cruise will be cancelled until after that cruise's final payment date has occurred. 😉

[dutchclogs]

45 minutes ago, Pushka said:

My guess is that no cruise will be cancelled until after that cruise's final payment date has occurred. 😉

Wish we had a sad button🙁

[dutchclogs]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

My guess is that no cruise will be cancelled until after that cruise's final payment date has occurred. 😉

 

 

Hmm although maybe Celebrity will be forced to make decisions regarding the European summer season? 

Hoping this will at least be clearer by mid June  with our late September cruise from Southampton in mind...

[Eglesbrech]

17 hours ago, hvbaskey said:

 

I have been a Celebrity loyalist for 7 years (no other cruise line other than).  

However, Princess has earned my utmost respect for their transparency, communications, and more realistic 60-day suspension.

I am keenly watching all the cruise lines response to this pandemic and based on their actions, it will determine who will receive my business in 2021.

Princess suffered the worst publicity of any line so had to go above and beyond because of that.

 

I think you are absolutely correct however and that many customers will be watching closely to see how they are treated compared to passengers on other lines. People have long memories and how they are treated now will absolutely determine who they book with when this is over. 
 

We have already had one cruise cancelled (not Celebrity) and we were not impressed with either how it was handled or the cancellation terms offered. It will be interesting to see how Celebrity deals with it by comparison as this continues.

[Perky1]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

Princess suffered the worst publicity of any line so had to go above and beyond because of that.

 

But Princess did the responsible thing and cancelled for more than 60 days and they will come out of this and be rewarded for their handling of this on all fronts.  Celebrity - not so much

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love Celebrity, just not their handling of this outbreak.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Perky1

[Eglesbrech]

16 minutes ago, Perky1 said:

But Princess did the responsible thing and cancelled for more than 60 days and they will come out of this and be rewarded for their handling of this on all fronts.  Celebrity - not so much

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love Celebrity, just not their handling of this outbreak.

I agree that so far Princess are well ahead in customer service and social responsibility.
 

I’ll reserve judgement on Celebrity meantime but like many others expect them to take some more decisive action very soon. How they handle this will potentially affect their business for years to come. That said the current situation can’t be easy for any business.

 

While at the end of all this I might lose some money on a few cruise holidays, if that’s the worst thing that happens I’ll be happy.

 

Stay well all.

[C-Dragons]

20 minutes ago, Perky1 said:

But Princess did the responsible thing and cancelled for more than 60 days and they will come out of this and be rewarded for their handling of this on all fronts.  Celebrity - not so much

 

Don’t get me wrong, I love Celebrity, just not their handling of this outbreak.

Sorry, don't agree with you about Princess. They of all the cruise lines had to shut down, as they had very large outbreaks of Covid19 on 2 ships. There will probably be many, many lawsuits coming due to the circumstances involved. It will be interesting to see if they survive this.