Cancelling a February cruise

[EM35]

Hi everyone, hoping someone can help. I, like I'm sure many people, have a cruise booked on Iona in February. As I have only paid the deposit, the remainder of the payment is due on the 18th November because this is so soon after the restart (not that I think they will restart then) I have decided not to go. Do I need to contact P&O, which is almost impossible, or just not pay the final balance? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks 

[ann141]

2 minutes ago, EM35 said:

Hi everyone, hoping someone can help. I, like I'm sure many people, have a cruise booked on Iona in February. As I have only paid the deposit, the remainder of the payment is due on the 18th November because this is so soon after the restart (not that I think they will restart then) I have decided not to go. Do I need to contact P&O, which is almost impossible, or just not pay the final balance? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks 

Its up to you but if it was me I would wait until nearer the date the balance is due because if P and O have cancelled by then you could get a refund of the deposit whereas if you cancel now you will lose the deposit. 

[pete14]

2 minutes ago, EM35 said:

Hi everyone, hoping someone can help. I, like I'm sure many people, have a cruise booked on Iona in February. As I have only paid the deposit, the remainder of the payment is due on the 18th November because this is so soon after the restart (not that I think they will restart then) I have decided not to go. Do I need to contact P&O, which is almost impossible, or just not pay the final balance? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks 

I think you should contact them as soon as you can. If you leave it and just don’t pay the balance, you may end up being charged cancellation fees under the normal terms and conditions. 

[EM35]

Thank you both for your advice. I guess waiting a little longer is sensible: although based on previous cancellation lengths, I suspect they won't cancel all the way to February with the next announcement. But I will certainly cancel before the final payment date. 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, EM35 said:

Thank you both for your advice. I guess waiting a little longer is sensible: although based on previous cancellation lengths, I suspect they won't cancel all the way to February with the next announcement. But I will certainly cancel before the final payment date. 

I’m in a similar situation, except that my cruise is in March.

 

I will leave it as long as possible In the hope that they cancel my cruise first. However, they still seem to be announcing piecemeal short term cancellations, after the due date of the balance, so I fully expect to lose my deposit. 
 

They seem to be in the habit of making major announcements at 10am on Tuesday. So, when the time comes, I will wait until after the Tuesday announcement time, before taking action, just in case. 

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

I think you should contact them as soon as you can. If you leave it and just don’t pay the balance, you may end up being charged cancellation fees under the normal terms and conditions. 

Why would you be charged additional money on top of the deposit.?

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, EM35 said:

Hi everyone, hoping someone can help. I, like I'm sure many people, have a cruise booked on Iona in February. As I have only paid the deposit, the remainder of the payment is due on the 18th November because this is so soon after the restart (not that I think they will restart then) I have decided not to go. Do I need to contact P&O, which is almost impossible, or just not pay the final balance? 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. Thanks 

Definitely cancel before final payment if you are certain you don't want to go but leave it until closer to payment date in case P&O cancel and you would get your deposit back.

[wowzz]

Just move your deposit to a 2022 cruise. 

 

[EM35]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Just move your deposit to a 2022 cruise. 

 

I don't believe this is possible for a cruise booked next year but thanks for the suggestion. 

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, EM35 said:

I don't believe this is possible for a cruise booked next year but thanks for the suggestion. 

Taken from the P&O web site.

If you are sailing on or after 12 November 2020 then you can take advantage of our free flexible transfer policy up to 90 days prior to your holiday.

• Transfer your booking to any P&O Cruises holiday currently on sale (and not just to those within the next 12 months).

• Transfer your booking to a cruise of higher or lower value (and not just of a higher value, as is usually the case).

• Transfer your booking an unlimited number of times (and not just once).

• Transfer your bookings free of charge.

• This policy modifies the transfer policy in our Booking Conditions.  This policy may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice.

[EM35]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Taken from the P&O web site.

If you are sailing on or after 12 November 2020 then you can take advantage of our free flexible transfer policy up to 90 days prior to your holiday.

• Transfer your booking to any P&O Cruises holiday currently on sale (and not just to those within the next 12 months).

• Transfer your booking to a cruise of higher or lower value (and not just of a higher value, as is usually the case).

• Transfer your booking an unlimited number of times (and not just once).

• Transfer your bookings free of charge.

• This policy modifies the transfer policy in our Booking Conditions.  This policy may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice.

Interesting thank you and will certainly keep in mind as I have a few cruises booked for next year which I am not sure I will be taking. Although they are only small deposits, as booked on release, it saves throwing the money away, Now the next question is can you combine these moved deposits with FCC?

 

Thanks again wowzz

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, EM35 said:

Interesting thank you and will certainly keep in mind as I have a few cruises booked for next year which I am not sure I will be taking. Although they are only small deposits, as booked on release, it saves throwing the money away, Now the next question is can you combine these moved deposits with FCC?

 

Thanks again wowzz

That's an excellent question, to which I have no answer. In theory, FCCs can only be used on a new booking, and I'm not sure that P&O would accept a moved deposit as a totally "new" reservation. 

[EM35]

Just now, wowzz said:

That's an excellent question, to which I have no answer. In theory, FCCs can only be used on a new booking, and I'm not sure that P&O would accept a moved deposit as a totally "new" reservation. 

No I'm not sure they will either. However, I think the longer this goes on the more difficult it is going to be to say no if they want people to keep taking FCC. I've had 3 cruises cancelled so far (2 with P&O and 1 with Royal Caribbean). I only took FCC for the first P&O cruise in April because I have 3 cruises already booked for 2021 and have no idea what the 2022/23 season will look like. 

 

Interestingly, the February 2021 cruise on Iona is still the same price I paid, which must be one of the only cruises that hasn't been hit by a huge price rise. 

 

I suppose it is all just a waiting game as none of us really know what the future holds. 

[Dermotsgirl]

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Taken from the P&O web site.

If you are sailing on or after 12 November 2020 then you can take advantage of our free flexible transfer policy up to 90 days prior to your holiday.

• Transfer your booking to any P&O Cruises holiday currently on sale (and not just to those within the next 12 months).

• Transfer your booking to a cruise of higher or lower value (and not just of a higher value, as is usually the case).

• Transfer your booking an unlimited number of times (and not just once).

• Transfer your bookings free of charge.

• This policy modifies the transfer policy in our Booking Conditions.  This policy may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice.

Unless they release summer 2022 cruises before November / December this year, this wouldn't really work for me.

 

I've  got a cruise booked for October 2021 ( 19 nights) and January 2022 (55 nights).  As my upcoming cruise is in March, I'd  be moving the cruise forward for a few months, as that would be the only window of opportunity available to me.  As I only paid  a small deposit for my March cruise, I'd also have to pay more  for the moved cruise deposit.  I think the cruise restrictions will be in place for most of 2021, so I'd effectively be paying out more for a cruise I still didn't want to do!

 

I just want to draw a line under this and get off the roundabout. That's why I intend to cancel my March cruise, if P&O don't cancel it first 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Dermotsgirl

[terrierjohn]

43 minutes ago, EM35 said:

No I'm not sure they will either. However, I think the longer this goes on the more difficult it is going to be to say no if they want people to keep taking FCC. I've had 3 cruises cancelled so far (2 with P&O and 1 with Royal Caribbean). I only took FCC for the first P&O cruise in April because I have 3 cruises already booked for 2021 and have no idea what the 2022/23 season will look like. 

 

Interestingly, the February 2021 cruise on Iona is still the same price I paid, which must be one of the only cruises that hasn't been hit by a huge price rise. 

 

I suppose it is all just a waiting game as none of us really know what the future holds. 

I tried to do an up to date comparison with our G105 cruise, but there were no cabins available for our cabin grade and deck.  This might be due to the new capacity restrictions rather than being fully sold, however the price was higher but that's comparing it with the discounted launch price in April 2019.

[EM35]

34 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I tried to do an up to date comparison with our G105 cruise, but there were no cabins available for our cabin grade and deck.  This might be due to the new capacity restrictions rather than being fully sold, however the price was higher but that's comparing it with the discounted launch price in April 2019.

 

I'm booked on G104 but did only book at the beginning of this year so could have paid an increased price anyway. Still my opportunity to try Iona may have to wait a little longer. 

[Adawn47]

17 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Definitely cancel before final payment if you are certain you don't want to go but leave it until closer to payment date in case P&O cancel and you would get your deposit back.

That's what we did. We cancelled 2days before the balance due date, even though P&O still had the cruise for sale, and transferred to a cruise next June. My advice, wait to the last possible moment to cancel because if your cruise isn't cancelled  by P&O you might be able to transfer your deposit and not lose any money.

Avril

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

That's what we did. We cancelled 2days before the balance due date, even though P&O still had the cruise for sale, and transferred to a cruise next June. My advice, wait to the last possible moment to cancel because if your cruise isn't cancelled  by P&O you might be able to transfer your deposit and not lose any money.

Avril

We did that in April for a RC cruise.

We have a P&O final due end of November and will wait until the last minute.

[No pager thank you]

Just a thought to possibly assist you with your problem.

 

Earlier in the year, we had one of our three cruises cancelled so far.  We also did not want to book another cruise, as we had already booked for 2021/22 at launch, and were miffed at P&O anyway.  However, we are damn determined not to give them any free money/lost deposit - this includes if necessary paying for the next cruise and receiving a full refund.

 

The way we sorted this out earlier this year was to book a cheap back to back cruise (almost the same as launch price), tagging on a short cruise to an already booked cruise, which incidentally triggered extra OBC to bridge any difference.

 

In your scenario, use the FCC to find a cruise that you wish to book - say in February 2022, where little price drift appears to have happened as you say.

 

Then, instead of losing your current deposit, find a two / three night cruise either at the start or end.  Transfer your February 2021 deposit to this cruise and link the bookings so that you get the same cabin, dining etc. 

 

All can be done together on the phone via option 1 and P&O will answer the phone as you are booking another cruise.

 

You will be able to keep hold of your FCCs, although the change to the booking terms is temporary and it is unknown whether/when any changes will be made.  It is also not known (more assumed) that full flexibility will be provided in terms of using FCCs in the Summer 2022/Winter 2023 launch.  What is also not known however is how price competitive P&O will be with their new brochure launch.

 

Hope that this helps you.

 

I agree with the other posters - don't decide too early 😀

 

[P&O SUE]

I don’t know if this will help but when my October cruise was cancelled (I had only paid the deposit) I phoned P&O and I was allowed to use it to upgrade my cabin for a cruise I’d already booked for 2021 from an inside to a balcony. Just another option, I also got more OBC!

[EM35]

5 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

I don’t know if this will help but when my October cruise was cancelled (I had only paid the deposit) I phoned P&O and I was allowed to use it to upgrade my cabin for a cruise I’d already booked for 2021 from an inside to a balcony. Just another option, I also got more OBC!

 

An interesting possibility but we are only talking about £57 so probably not going to have much of an impact on a cabin upgrade for me but thank you for the suggestion. 

[L751]

We have just booked for July 21 hoping things are a little bit back to some normality 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, L751 said:

We have just booked for July 21 hoping things are a little bit back to some normality 

I admire your optimism !

No way that I am booking anything for next year, land or cruise, at the moment. 

[Chrisdriving]

Our next one, booked Sept 2019 is for July next year on Aurora, i will be amazed if it sails personally.

And even more amazed if there is enough normality in April when balance is due for us to risk paying it.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Chrisdriving

[L751]

We booked it with future cruise credit so nothing really to lose, if it does not sail it will just be moved on. You have to try