Just cancelled our last reservation :(

[Travelling2Some]

Sadly, the "cool storage" news was the last straw for me.  We had been keeping one last reservation (deposit only on it).   Just too many unknowns and I'm not up for a whole new round of stress and bother only to have to cancel everything again.  Even looking at Alaska in June '21 there are still too many issues:  airline prices?,  insurance?, "normalcy" of cruise experience?, last minute changes in government rules?  Will the Canadian ports open?  Possible quarantine?  bankruptcy after final payment?  It's all anybody's guess.  I'm guessing the next cruise we take will have to be a last minute one out of our home port.  In the meantime we will just travel within the USA.  So glad we did take a spur of the moment cruise in January of 2020.  Little did we all know what was about to happen back then.

[HaveWeMetYet]

Same for me.

Until I see cruises back up and sailing without all the restrictions going on in Europe then I will take a look and plan something.

[billyu]

Cancelled my 4 cruises this week to get deposits back.  

 

To much unknown and I want to make sure the money ends up back in my pocket.  

[Sea saw 56]

We cancelled two cruises in April, received our refunds back early in May. NCL did a good job with that for us.

I look constantly at cruises offered that I would REALLY love to book, and though it is getting tougher all the time to just wait it out, I am resigned to waiting until cruising from US ports is up and running for a while, and safely visiting  foreign ports seems possible.

The other booking criteria will be positive cruise reviews accumulating on this forum.

I try to be positive, but the timing seems to keep getting pushed farther out😔

[Cruzaholic41]

Same here. I had a Regent cruise booked and I just canceled it. I’ve got a couple deposits down on other lines, but there’s no chance I’ll book any NCLH cruise in the very near future. 

[atanac]

You know a nice sleeper car on Amtrak for a three or four day scenic route is sounding like a possibilty now.

[roger001]

I'm not going to be a pioneer on the first ships to sail....or put any money out on what now becomes more and more just speculation.  When they are up and running someday without restriction, I'll love to jump on board.  But not until then.  It's just not looking good anytime soon.    Darn virus!

[Travelling2Some]

15 minutes ago, atanac said:

You know a nice sleeper car on Amtrak for a three or four day scenic route is sounding like a possibilty now.

Not opposed at all.  We have taken overnight trains in Europe and recently took Amtrak's "Adirondack" route back to New York after cruising up to Quebec.  It was very scenic and enjoyable.  We are retired now so no need to rush home.

[BirdTravels]

For us, there is a big, big difference between a Amtrak train and a cruise ship. We continue to book cruises int he spring. 

[TSUmom]

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

For us, there is a big, big difference between a Amtrak train and a cruise ship. We continue to book cruises int he spring. 

I have an August 2021 booked and a B2B for March 2022....FCC's were used - I keep hoping things will get better.

[njhorseman]

18 hours ago, billyu said:

Cancelled my 4 cruises this week to get deposits back.  

 

To much unknown and I want to make sure the money ends up back in my pocket.  

We just did the same. We've now cancelled all seven of our winter bookings. The good news is that NCL refunded the deposits for our last four bookings in under a week.

[Travelling2Some]

28 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

We just did the same. We've now cancelled all seven of our winter bookings. The good news is that NCL refunded the deposits for our last four bookings in under a week.

That's good to hear.  We cancelled another (deposit only) cruise about a month ago and got the deposit back in about a week too.  The phone rep said 60 days is now the official word but deposits are being refunded much sooner.  Hated to cancel though because it was a very good deal.

[Sand and Seas]

I had four cruises booked when this started.  Two of them have been cancelled by NCL and I changed another to a later date. 

 

All of my cruises are booked with two CruiseNext deposits.   I have just moved those deposits to four other cruise dates.  I'm now booked for three cruises in 2021 and one in early 2022.     If that spring 2021 cruise looks like it isn't going to sail, I'm planning to move those two CN deposits to 2022.   Nothing more out-of-pocket until we know it's a 'go'.

[EllieinNJ]

I also cancelled my Jan. 2021 cruise two days before they extended final payment to 60 days.  At first I felt bad because I lost that extra time but I would have probably cancelled anyway.  The TA I booked with charged me $100 fee but said I could get a voucher for OBC on a future cruise if I rebooked with them by Dec. 2021.  But now their cancellation fee is $100 PER PERSON so until I see the ships sailing again with NO RESTRICTIONS I will only book a last minute cruise that I know I can take.

 

On the other hand, the TA I usually book with is stating on their website no cancellation fees during this pandemic.  I  was enticed by the above online TA because they were offering such great OBC and extras and never thought I would have to cancel.  I learned my lesson and will stick with my original TA.

[mikaula]

I’m waiting till the CDC announces when cruises are allowed. No reason for me to book unless it’s a for sure thing. I don’t want the hassle of changing booking or trying to get a refund. Too much info is still up in the air. 

[sprint180]

Oh how sad.  It is disappointing isn't it.

 

[latserrof]

21 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

We have taken overnight trains in Europe and recently took Amtrak's "Adirondack" route back to New York after cruising up to Quebec. 

We took one of the first Bliss cruises in the Adriatic, but our "knowledgeable" PCC kept referring to it as our "Adirondack cruise."

[njhorseman]

8 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Hated to cancel though because it was a very good deal.

I know, I know. I originally booked the seven cruises in July 2019. Today the same cabin category would cost about $1,000 per person more for each of the cruises, so about $14,000 more for the two of us in total. And the perks were better, for example more specialty restaurant meals were included, when we originally booked. Oh well !

[atanac]

If cruising gets pushed back further into 2021 the only other vacation I could think of that would

be reasonably safe was a sleeper car on Amtrak. There are slight similarities to a cruise vacation

in that you pack and unpack once. Meals are provided. There is an ever changing view out of your

picture window and you can keep to your cabin easily to maintain social distancing and not need

to wear a mask all day.

 

The train from Seattle to Los Angeles is majestic. You will see mountains, lakes, farm land, the Pacific Ocean,

San Francisco and on and on. I have taken the train from Los Angeles to Dallas and the view on the way

is impossible to define. 

 

If you want an easy and reasonably safe get away, a train trip in a sleeper is a good suggestion if

crusing isn't going to happen any time soon.  

Edited September 5, 2020 by atanac
spell correction

[jaja]

15 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I know, I know. I originally booked the seven cruises in July 2019. Today the same cabin category would cost about $1,000 per person more for each of the cruises, so about $14,000 more for the two of us in total. And the perks were better, for example more specialty restaurant meals were included, when we originally booked. Oh well !

Yes indeed....I had  a great price and so many great perks on my cancelled cruise....not going to see that anytime soon...😢

[Travelling2Some]

4 hours ago, atanac said:

If cruising gets pushed back further into 2021 the only other vacation I could think of that would

be reasonably safe was a sleeper car on Amtrak. There are slight similarities to a cruise vacation

in that you pack and unpack once. Meals are provided. There is an ever changing view out of your

picture window and you can keep to your cabin easily to maintain social distancing and not need

to wear a mask all day.

 

The train from Seattle to Los Angeles is majestic. You will see mountains, lakes, farm land, the Pacific Ocean,

San Francisco and on and on. I have taken the train from Los Angeles to Dallas and the view on the way

is impossible to define. 

 

If you want an easy and reasonably safe get away, a train trip in a sleeper is a good suggestion if

crusing isn't going to happen any time soon.  

The route from Seattle to Los Angeles is called "The Coast Starlight" and is (along with the Adirondack) is one of the great scenic train rides.  There's also a train that stops inside Glacier National Park.  Huge differences, of course, between train travel and cruising but if you are the type (me) who spends their time reading on their balcony I think you might enjoy it.  If you are active, restless and friendly (my husband) you would probably feel bored and contained on a multi-day train trip.  RV travel is another good option for those concerned about the virus.

[Travelling2Some]

On 9/3/2020 at 9:44 PM, atanac said:

You know a nice sleeper car on Amtrak for a three or four day scenic route is sounding like a possibilty now.

So . . . . is Train Critic a thing?  (If anybody's seriously interested in that just google "man in seat 61.)

[d9704011]

13 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

So . . . . is Train Critic a thing?  (If anybody's seriously interested in that just google "man in seat 61.)

It’s a great site for all kinds of information.  Not only that, the site creator/moderator will respond directly to questions.... doesn’t even stray off to talk about masks, vaccinations or lengthy delay of refunds.

[HowardK]

On 9/3/2020 at 1:49 PM, Travelling2Some said:

Sadly, the "cool storage" news was the last straw for me.  We had been keeping one last reservation (deposit only on it).   Just too many unknowns and I'm not up for a whole new round of stress and bother only to have to cancel everything again.  Even looking at Alaska in June '21 there are still too many issues:  airline prices?,  insurance?, "normalcy" of cruise experience?, last minute changes in government rules?  Will the Canadian ports open?  Possible quarantine?  bankruptcy after final payment?  It's all anybody's guess.  I'm guessing the next cruise we take will have to be a last minute one out of our home port.  In the meantime we will just travel within the USA.  So glad we did take a spur of the moment cruise in January of 2020.  Little did we all know what was about to happen back then.

I see you are in NY- I usually cruise from there as I am from NJ- as it was a huge dissapointment my May Encore was of course cancelled that I booked 2  years ago I think I would only book last minute going forward. I did have a $1 deposit on Alaska last year- in hindsight I didn't question not going as I did other things that month.

Today I found out my pre cruise hotel the Times Square Hilton is closing for good.

[HowardK]

On 9/3/2020 at 9:44 PM, atanac said:

You know a nice sleeper car on Amtrak for a three or four day scenic route is sounding like a possibilty now.

I love Amtrak trains- usually I do from Philly to Baltimore or DC but took the Auto Train once . It was neat having a a sleeper car.

My only advice is- watch out for the food- got food poisining on the way back and on the way down the selection was limited.

I would bring own food if possible in a cooler.