Alaska cruise cancelled. Cruise credit or refund?

[DennBu]

I was scheduled to leave for Alaska on July 4, from Seattle on Norwegian. I received notification today that all cruises were cancelled until July 31, 2020. They offered a 125% refund of the fare paid in the form of a future cruise credit, which can be applied toward any cruise through December 31, 2022. Is it wise to rebook or is it better to take the cash refund? I have never had to do this before, so I am reaching out for advise. I still hear the talk about them possibly going bankrupt. I sure can't afford to lose that money. Thanks in advance for all your input!

[Jobeth66]

Only you can decide what's best for you - my preference for my canceled cruise was to take the refund.  I can use that money for another vacation, and re-book Alaska when everything is back to some semblance of 'normal' and I see how things shake out and what the new cruise requirements will be.

[ColeThornton]

20 minutes ago, DennBu said:

I sure can't afford to lose that money

 

 

You just answered your own question.  🙂

[sanger727]

The only person who can answer this is you. I really don't have any fear at this point of NCL going out of business. For me it would come down to how sure I was that I would want to cruise in the next couple of years ON NCL. We are not loyalists. We don't purchase cruise next because we vary our vacations so much that it's easy to go years without a cruise on any particular line. We base on vacation decisions on 1. where do we want to go this year, 2. is it better suited to a land trip or cruise, 3. if we want to do a cruise what itineraries and prices are each line offering. If NCL is the winner we will book with them, if someone else is the winner we won't.  I would take a refund to not be tied down to having to choose a vacation with NCL in the near future in case someone else catches our fancy. But if you know you will want to vacation with NCL in the near future, 25% is a good return on your investment. 

[bluesea777]

Don't forget that if you book a new cruise by May 31st for Oct 2020-Dec 2022 you'll also receive 20% discount.

 

If you want to receive cash refund it's 100%, not 125%, and it may take at least 3 months before you receive the monies. And you cannot apply for it until June 8th.

 

NCL has put out the whole 9 yards of new itineraries for 2021, 2022 and part of 2023, and there are quite a few brand new ones that are interesting and out of ordinary. Like R/T out of Iceland to Greenland, R/T out of Buenos Aires to Antarctica, Asian  cruises with no less than 4 Vietnamese ports of call, Sky's Panama Canal cruises with the ABC islands out of either end of the canal (Panama City or Colon), to name a few.

 

We drooled over those new itineraries (when our June cruise got canned) and have booked two 2022 cruises - with the 20% discount.

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by bluesea777

[CruizinKittie40]

I'm not booked until September, but if given the choice, I would take the FCC and rebook by the end of the month for the twenty percent off.  You should get 150 percent FCC since you were booked from July 1 to 17

[kaprin02]

1 minute ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

I'm not booked until September, but if given the choice, I would take the FCC and rebook by the end of the month for the twenty percent off.  You should get 150 percent FCC since you were booked from July 1 to 17

 

Where did you see that?  Everything I've seen is that everyone on cancelled July sailings would get the 125% FCC or 100% refund, just like the rest of us.  It was only the first few days of cancellation in March that received 150% FCC.

[tallnthensome]

Take the money .... there’s no certainty at all with future cruise credits or with cruising.  Cash in hand is king. All they are doing is jacking up prices. Don’t fall for it .

[CruizinKittie40]

you are right, my mistake!

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, DennBu said:

I was scheduled to leave for Alaska on July 4, from Seattle on Norwegian. I received notification today that all cruises were cancelled until July 31, 2020. They offered a 125% refund of the fare paid in the form of a future cruise credit, which can be applied toward any cruise through December 31, 2022. Is it wise to rebook or is it better to take the cash refund? I have never had to do this before, so I am reaching out for advise. I still hear the talk about them possibly going bankrupt. I sure can't afford to lose that money. Thanks in advance for all your input!

According to NCL, about 50% of the people take the FCC. 50% take apply for the refund which will take 90 days from June 8th. 

 

Out of the 50% who selected the FCC, about 30% have already rebooked future cruises taking advantage of the additional 20% discount for booking this month. 

[Petoonya]

Take the money and run.

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, sanger727 said:

But if you know you will want to vacation with NCL in the near future, 25% is a good return on your investment. 

There’s really no way for the OP to know what return they will have on their “investment,” since NCL controls not only what that investment can be spent on, but the price of what it can be spent on.  
 

OP, welcome to Cruise Critic. As others have said, only you can decide what is best for you. Personally, I’d be taking the refund, not the FCC. 
 

Good luck, and stay safe and well. 

[pmd98052]

Prices are marked up though so the 20% discount is meaningless. Even with the 125% refund the prices seem so much higher for 2021 and 2022 that it doesn't make up the difference. Better to get cash back. No one knows if NCL will be around when cruising does open back up. You don't know if you will be comfortable cruising (if there isn't a vaccine) when it opens back up.

 

We cancelled our Aug 16th Barceolna cruise when final payment was due back in early April. Sad but didn't see a smart alternative.

[sanger727]

23 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

There’s really no way for the OP to know what return they will have on their “investment,” since NCL controls not only what that investment can be spent on, but the price of what it can be spent on.  
 

OP, welcome to Cruise Critic. As others have said, only you can decide what is best for you. Personally, I’d be taking the refund, not the FCC. 
 

Good luck, and stay safe and well. 

 

Well, they get 25% over the money they currently have invested with NCL. As I said, that is only a good deal if they will definitely book a NCL in the near future regardless of the price. I believe some people with cruise next certificates are in that boat. If they are definitely going to book a NCL cruise because they are loyal, because they have cruise next certificates close to expiration, because they have friends or family cruising that they want to book with, having an extra 25% is better than not having an extra 25%.

[Tutontow]

We took the money.  I really wanted to use the FCC and 20% off but it just didn't work for us because we were trying to book through the casino and they wouldn't apply the 20% off.  When it is all said and done we booked 2 cruises with CCL and the it didn't cost any more than my one Alaska cruise on NCL.  Of course we don't get free drinks and the specialty restaurants but we do get drinks in the casino for free and $500.00 on board credit on each cruise.  If I were you I would do some mock bookings on other cruise lines just to see what you get.

[DennBu]

Thanks for all the input! I have decided to go with the money. I can always rebook later once I see what is going to happen with the virus and with Norwegian. Now to deal with United Airines. Ugghhh   They offered a travel voucher that has to be used within a year from canceling.  Guess I will have to check with the insurance I took out on the flight and see what they say.  It is so much easier when they take your money, but play heck trying to get it back.  lol

[Turtles06]

16 minutes ago, DennBu said:

Now to deal with United Airines. Ugghhh   They offered a travel voucher that has to be used within a year from canceling.

 

United is awful and doing its best NOT to refund tix when the rules require them to, so before you contact them, make sure you know whether you are entitled to a refund:   have *they* changed your flight in any way, e.g., did they cancel a non-stop and re-book you on a connecting itinerary, or have they changed your schedule in any "significant" way?  I ask because Dept of Transportation regs require airlines to give you a REFUND if they either cancel your flight or make a "significant" change in your schedule and you don't accept that change.   So it's good to check whether either of those things happened and know your rights before you talk to them.  If your flight is as you booked it (or there's been no significant schedule change) then yes, I'm afraid a voucher is probably the most you'll get from them.  But depending on when you bought your ticket, you may need to act on this by the end of May, so don't delay:

 

 https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html#ExceptionPolicies   

 

Good luck!

[Math teacher]

My TA told me that I can ask for FCC on the base rate and ask for a refund on the taxes and fees. I think I might go that route. She also said that the 125% FCC is ONLY on the base rate and not the all inclusive total. So, if that is true, then there would be no reason to let them keep ALL of my money. 

Of course, my TA has had some different answers than what I have seen on CC. She said that FCC can't be used towards gratuities or travel insurance. (?) and yet I have seen people post here that they can use FCC towards those items. 

[Roger88]

If you plan to cruise with them, maybe credit is the best thing to choose. Otherwise there is nothing batter than real cash in your pocket. Maybe you will catch a hot deal with some other company. I hate being depended on someone. Otherwise you will be obliged to cruise solely with them  

[bluesea777]

6 hours ago, Math teacher said:

My TA told me that I can ask for FCC on the base rate and ask for a refund on the taxes and fees. I think I might go that route. She also said that the 125% FCC is ONLY on the base rate and not the all inclusive total. So, if that is true, then there would be no reason to let them keep ALL of my money. 

Of course, my TA has had some different answers than what I have seen on CC. She said that FCC can't be used towards gratuities or travel insurance. (?) and yet I have seen people post here that they can use FCC towards those items. 

The first 100% is all what you paid for the cruise - the inclusive total. The remaining 25% is the 25% of the base fare of the cruise that got cancelled.

 

 

[kaprin02]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

The first 100% is all what you paid for the cruise - the inclusive total. The remaining 25% is the 25% of the base fare of the cruise that got cancelled.

 

 

 

That was not what I received - but maybe it has changed since the first round of cancellations (My cruise was scheduled to embark April 8.  I received 100% FCC of what I had paid, which included base fare, taxes/fees, prepaid service charge, and free-at-sea gratuities.  Then I received a "bonus" FCC equal to 25% of that inclusive amount.  I had not prepaid any excursions, so I don't have personal experience with how those were handled, but I did see reports that if you had prepaid excursions, they were handled the same way (100% + 25% bonus).  Between the 25% bonus, and the 20% discount, I was able to book 2 cruises for the price I had paid for one.

[Linsuesue]

I think the future cruise credit from a cancelled cruise can also be applied to an existing reservation- can’t it? Does anyone have any experience doing that? Of course, then you wouldn't have the advantage of the 20% off for booking a new cruise, but you might have a better rate already than inflated 2021 fares. 

[tgloersen]

FCC is a worthless piece of paper until you actually use it.  And that 20% stuff, yah they raised the prices so much that the extra 25% given with the FCC and the 20%off BS is just that...BS!

 

IF cash, is important than i would take it!  As one poster said 25% is a good return on the money but only if you actually use it on a cruise that does not have inflated prices.

[kaprin02]

7 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

I think the future cruise credit from a cancelled cruise can also be applied to an existing reservation- can’t it? Does anyone have any experience doing that? Of course, then you wouldn't have the advantage of the 20% off for booking a new cruise, but you might have a better rate already than inflated 2021 fares. 

 

Yes, at least sometimes.  We had booked a cruise for April 2021 in early March (before the cancellations started).  We were able to use FCC from our cancelled cruise for our already booked April 2021.  However, I've seen reports that you can't use FCC on cruises booked a long time ago - the reports I've seen say cruises booked since March.  I've not seen anything official on that from NCL, though.

[Linsuesue]

37 minutes ago, kaprin02 said:

 

Yes, at least sometimes.  We had booked a cruise for April 2021 in early March (before the cancellations started).  We were able to use FCC from our cancelled cruise for our already booked April 2021.  However, I've seen reports that you can't use FCC on cruises booked a long time ago - the reports I've seen say cruises booked since March.  I've not seen anything official on that from NCL, though.

That might put a hitch in my plan🙂 our cruise was booked last summer. I am surprised that in the effort to keep the customers sailing with them that they do not clearly state exactly how these credits can work. I do not want to risk getting a refund in hopes that maybe I can use some of the FCC for paying off an existing cruise. Thank you for your response.  I had not read any mention of people doing this or having problems paying for existing reservations.