USE OF FCC...4/11 EQUINOX SAILING, MANY CABINS AVAILABLE

[treehugr]

Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look at how booked our upcoming 4/11 Equinox sailing was with all the recent cancellations. Obviously this is the first scheduled sailing coming out of the 30 day break, and could be all for nothing with things changing so rapidly. Found a site that showed all cabins available in each category and compiled the list below. Not sure how up to date the site is, I actually thought the vacancy number would be much higher.  I was surprised as to just how few inside were cabins available vs the large number of balcony cabins available. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a cruise to spend your FCC on, there is plenty of cabins available on this one.

 

CABIN CATEGORY	VACANT CABINS
8	6
10	10
9	10
7	8
2D	1
2C	13
1C	25
2B	35
1B	30
2A	15
1A	49
C3	50
C2	57
SV	14
C1	8
FV	2
A2	18
A1	22
S2	11
S1	1
CS	5
RS	4
PS	1
TOTAL SHIP CABINS:	1425
TOTAL VACANT CABINS:	360
VACANCY %	25%

[lostchild]

If you do book 4/11 with FCC and they cancel on you.  Do you get cash back? 😛Probably not.  But maybe you will get 125% FCC.  Do it again and again... especially the Alaska ones... since you know they probably will be cancelled until at least July.   Pretty soon your 100% FCC will turn into 500%!   And you didn't even do anything wrong... just booking cruises... it is their fault that they cancel on you.

Edited March 17, 2020 by lostchild

[treehugr]

5 minutes ago, lostchild said:

If you do book 4/11 with FCC and they cancel on you.  Do you get cash back? 😛

Wow, who knows anymore. I've read of folks who've utilized an FCC that either had their cruises cancelled or cancelled under the cruise with confidence program that didn't get a new FCC....considered cashed in? If the case, I hope Celebrity realizes their error and corrects.

[kwokpot]

Trust me,that cruise is not happening.

 

[hcat]

Not a great idea to book it.  Some are just waiting or hoping it will be on the next list of cancellations so they can get their  refunds or fcc

[Alakegirl]

Some are not

[treehugr]

9 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Trust me,that cruise is not happening.

 

Yeah, our thoughts as well. Being that we're local with no flights to worry about, we can wait until such time Celebrity cancels. I do hope they learned something from this last round of last second cancellations and give folks more notice the next go around.

[MEcruzr]

Bad idea. Once you "redeem" your FCC certificate it's considered spent. You don't get it back if you don't go on that cruise. I don't know why this is... I just know that I've been reading up on it because we are getting a FCC. Be very careful when you apply your FCC. As far as I can tell, the FCC certificates can not be reissued. Use it or lose it once you redeem it.

[lostchild]

30 minutes ago, MEcruzr said:

Bad idea. Once you "redeem" your FCC certificate it's considered spent. You don't get it back if you don't go on that cruise. I don't know why this is... I just know that I've been reading up on it because we are getting a FCC. Be very careful when you apply your FCC. As far as I can tell, the FCC certificates can not be reissued. Use it or lose it once you redeem it.

 

It is spent if you don't go on it.  But what happened if they are the one who cancelled it?   It seems outrageous that they would let you book with FCC and then cancel their cruise and take your FCC.

[az_tchr]

13 hours ago, lostchild said:

If you do book 4/11 with FCC and they cancel on you.  Do you get cash back? 😛Probably not.  But maybe you will get 125% FCC.  Do it again and again... especially the Alaska ones... since you know they probably will be cancelled until at least July.   Pretty soon your 100% FCC will turn into 500%!   And you didn't even do anything wrong... just booking cruises... it is their fault that they cancel on you.

It could take weeks to get your FCC and it does not appear you would get FCC on FCC. More likely to lose it if I maybe understand their FCC terms.

[Nachosdelux]

Personally I would not book a cruise in 2020.  Between the logistics of getting there and the risk of cruise lines shutting down, it's not worth the hassle.

[MEcruzr]

37 minutes ago, lostchild said:

 

It is spent if you don't go on it.  But what happened if they are the one who cancelled it?   It seems outrageous that they would let you book with FCC and then cancel their cruise and take your FCC.

 

To that I would say... these are uncharted waters. What seems "outrageous" on one day is apparently "normal" on the next. Just look around. New situations, new rules. I would not assume ANYthing. Nor would I risk/play around with my FCC certificate. 

[treehugr]

1 hour ago, MEcruzr said:

Bad idea. Once you "redeem" your FCC certificate it's considered spent. You don't get it back if you don't go on that cruise. I don't know why this is... I just know that I've been reading up on it because we are getting a FCC. Be very careful when you apply your FCC. As far as I can tell, the FCC certificates can not be reissued. Use it or lose it once you redeem it.

I'm not familiar with the particulars of an FCC, but does one have to redeem upon booking the cruise or can they hold until a later date (final payment?) to cash in? Obviously this wouldn't be applicable to this cruise, but maybe for another outside of penalty window.

Edited March 17, 2020 by treehugr

[Pickels]

Also had a surprise with the FCC; Celebrity led me to believe I was getting a credit for 100% of cost for a cancelled cruise to be used for a future cruise.  But, the credit is adjusted for taxes, port fees, etc.

[cruiserchuck]

1 minute ago, Pickels said:

Also had a surprise with the FCC; Celebrity led me to believe I was getting a credit for 100% of cost for a cancelled cruise to be used for a future cruise.  But, the credit is adjusted for taxes, port fees, etc.

 

You should be receiving the taxes, port fees, etc. back to your credit card or other payment method.

[npb]

They are no longer taking bookings for this cruise.

[MEcruzr]

8 hours ago, Pickels said:

Also had a surprise with the FCC; Celebrity led me to believe I was getting a credit for 100% of cost for a cancelled cruise to be used for a future cruise.  But, the credit is adjusted for taxes, port fees, etc.

 

Those will be refunded, the remainder will be your FCC total.

[MEcruzr]

8 hours ago, treehugr said:

I'm not familiar with the particulars of an FCC, but does one have to redeem upon booking the cruise or can they hold until a later date (final payment?) to cash in? Obviously this wouldn't be applicable to this cruise, but maybe for another outside of penalty window.

 

It's up to you. You can book another cruise and not use your FCC until you're ready. I will save it for final payment... and you're right, to do that you must book something that isn't within 90 days of sailing.

[treehugr]

6 hours ago, npb said:

They are no longer taking bookings for this cruise.

Just pulled it up...no problems.

[npb]

11 hours ago, treehugr said:

Just pulled it up...no problems.

Wish they would make up their  mind.  We are booked on this cruise, but not convinced it is a go.   

[Hawkstar33]

I think you just need to wait at least these next couple of weeks.  Nobody knows how this is gonna end up.   It appears China and South Korea are calming down significantly,  while Europe and the USA are climbing.   India is claiming to have a medicine to combat this..  Who knows...

[treehugr]

22 hours ago, npb said:

Wish they would make up their  mind.  We are booked on this cruise, but not convinced it is a go.   

Same here, although our thought is they will have the decision taken out of their hands soon by the government. Most already have with all these ships stranded offshore and no one willing to let them in to port. Even a ship full of healthy passengers are having difficulties with itinerary stops and getting back home now. 

[oneputt18]

On 3/17/2020 at 10:29 AM, az_tchr said:

It could take weeks to get your FCC and it does not appear you would get FCC on FCC. More likely to lose it if I maybe understand their FCC terms.

From Celebrity Cruise With Confidence FAQ:

"19.What if my client used a Future Cruise Credit to pay for their existing cruise and now wishes to cancel under the Cruise with Confidence terms? The original Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated with the prior FCC amount and expiration date.  If expired or due-to-expire before October 31st, 2020, your clients will be granted an extension through October 31st, 2020 to redeem. Your client will also receive a new Future Cruise Credit based on the remaining amount paid and following the Cruise with Confidence policy terms. "
18

[treehugr]

21 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I think you just need to wait at least these next couple of weeks.  Nobody knows how this is gonna end up.   It appears China and South Korea are calming down significantly,  while Europe and the USA are climbing.   India is claiming to have a medicine to combat this..  Who knows...

 

Like all of us, I'm sure the cruise lines are hoping things will simmer sooner than later here as well and still be able to go 4/11. Our thought is they will hold out as long as they can, maybe with the thought of handing out more FCC than cash back. We don't want an FCC and will hold out until they issue refunds. 

[treehugr]

3 minutes ago, oneputt18 said:

From Celebrity Cruise With Confidence FAQ:

"19.What if my client used a Future Cruise Credit to pay for their existing cruise and now wishes to cancel under the Cruise with Confidence terms? The original Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated with the prior FCC amount and expiration date.  If expired or due-to-expire before October 31st, 2020, your clients will be granted an extension through October 31st, 2020 to redeem. Your client will also receive a new Future Cruise Credit based on the remaining amount paid and following the Cruise with Confidence policy terms. "
18

The only problem I see with this is the 10/31/20 expiration date. These are unprecedented times and the reissue of the utilized FCC should be treated as such, like those FCC issued for those who paid cash but cancelled. A lot of people just won't have time, money, or possibly stomach to go on another cruise so soon.