where do you think Marina will sail this winter?

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

What cruise is that? The first scheduled Marina cruise is Sunday 8/29, 1O day Copenhagen to Stockholm.

If there is a 5 day cruise today it must be a charter or a private cruise.

 

What would be the drop dead date to eliminate the SA winter sailings and sub in other itineraries? 60 days before Dec. 1 when final payment is due for the first SA sail date? If Marina is going to do winter Caribbean cruises from Miami and the price is right, I'd cancel my Nov. 29 Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale with Celebrity and switch to Oceania like originally planned before Sirena December sailings were cancelled.

 

Your post is somewhat confusing.  Most who booked on the Dec 1 cruise would have made their final payment back in May.   

 

Hank

[deadzone1003]

Susiesan,

 

The canary in the coal mine is MSC.  They have 5 ships scheduled for South America, 6 if you count their World Cruise ship.  The MSC Preziosa leaves Barcelona on 10/21.  If they are using 60 day final payment like other cruiselines, it looks like it is set to go.  The Costa Fascinosa leaves Barcelona on 11/4 for South America.  The Viking Jupiter leaves Barcelona on 11/14 for South America.  The MSC Preziosa will be sailing only Brazilian ports for the month of November - let's see how well it turns out.  I'm on the Rio-Miami leg on the Marina, but I may have to cancel due to personal reasons, nothing to do with covid.  Unless things gets worst in Chile or Argentina, I think most cruiselines are going, even Oceania.  

[alcpa1]

I wouldn't be terribly upset if they subbed Marina or Regatta for the Sirena sailings starting in January.

Would absolutely love the larger bathroom in February!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mauibabes]

Don’t worry, O will not “park” Marina when she returns from Europe. IF things go “south” so to speak, and they can’t sail the 2021-22 South America season, you can bet there will be more Caribbean or maybe Pacific Ocean cruises created for her.  The demand is there and I know us West Coasters would love the opportunity to sail Marina to Hawaii and other islands.  
You build the itinerary,  they will come. JMHO

Gerry 

[njhorseman]

9 hours ago, mauibabes said:

 The demand is there and I know us West Coasters would love the opportunity to sail Marina to Hawaii and other islands.  

One problem...Hawaii doesn't want you. The governor just told tourists "stay away"  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hawaii-governor-tells-potential-tourists-not-to-visit/ar-AANGj0Q?ocid=msedgntp . 

A couple of weeks ago NCL cancelled all its Pride of America Hawaiian cruises through January 22 and it would be no surprise if they extended that cancellation date.

Thinking about cruising further to French Polynesia? That's also a "no". Cruises had been operating there but cruising was recently shut down, at least for now  https://mailchi.mp/f4f431642587/communiqu-press-trade-release-renforcement-des-restrictions-tahiti-et-ses-les-3095342?e=f8000c9c00

"CRUISES ARE SUSPENDED throughout French Polynesia"

[Flatbush Flyer]

17 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

One problem...Hawaii doesn't want you. The governor just told tourists "stay away"  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hawaii-governor-tells-potential-tourists-not-to-visit/ar-AANGj0Q?ocid=msedgntp . 

A couple of weeks ago NCL cancelled all its Pride of America Hawaiian cruises through January 22 and it would be no surprise if they extended that cancellation date.

Thinking about cruising further to French Polynesia? That's also a "no". Cruises had been operating there but cruising was recently shut down, at least for now  https://mailchi.mp/f4f431642587/communiqu-press-trade-release-renforcement-des-restrictions-tahiti-et-ses-les-3095342?e=f8000c9c00

"CRUISES ARE SUSPENDED throughout French Polynesia"

At least transoceanic fans have some hope. There are many many (did I say MANY) island options in the Pacific. Given current circumstances, I’m betting you could even modify itineraries to be “cruises to nowhere” and FCC holders with “cruise by 12/31/22” deadlines would quickly fill any cabin availability. 

[Hlitner]

10 hours ago, mauibabes said:

Don’t worry, O will not “park” Marina when she returns from Europe. IF things go “south” so to speak, and they can’t sail the 2021-22 South America season, you can bet there will be more Caribbean or maybe Pacific Ocean cruises created for her.  The demand is there and I know us West Coasters would love the opportunity to sail Marina to Hawaii and other islands.  
You build the itinerary,  they will come. JMHO

Gerry 

I think you are being a bit optimistic on major itinerary changes.  It becomes very complicated for any cruise line to make the big changes such as to the Caribbean.  And understand that each Caribbean port has their own COVID rules which, in many cases, put lots of restrictions on cruises (such as requiring bubble tours).   Those already booked on the existing itineraries would likely be given an opportunity to cancel.  "O" would then need to market new itineraries at nearly the last minute (in terms of the cruise world) and with the increasing issues related to Delta Variant adverse publicity it would likely prove difficult to sell berths.   While under normal times your "when you build the itinerary they will come" might apply I am not so certain this would be the situation now.   As an example, Seabourn decided (many months ago) to operate one of their ships out of Barbados on 7 day (most book back to backs since the itineraries vary) Caribbean cruises.  Because of the hassles with the islands it has proven to be a tough sell and the current cruise has 67 passengers on a 450 passenger ship.  None of the cruises (which started about 2 months ago) have had over 100 passengers.  SB is obviously losing money on every voyage.  I am not so sure "O" would want to get into a similar situation.

 

Hank

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

At least transoceanic fans have some hope. There are many many (did I say MANY) island options in the Pacific. Given current circumstances, I’m betting you could even modify itineraries to be “cruises to nowhere” and FCC holders with “cruise by 12/31/22” deadlines would quickly fill any cabin availability. 

Are there really many island options in the Pacific that are willing to accept cruises ? My instincts tell me it's unlikely. I also suspect cruise lines would be very reluctant to cruise great distances knowing there would be few ports where they could do emergency medical evacuations, not to mention having ports available for taking on fuel and provisions.

[Flatbush Flyer]

17 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Are there really many island options in the Pacific that are willing to accept cruises ? My instincts tell me it's unlikely. I also suspect cruise lines would be very reluctant to cruise great distances knowing there would be few ports where they could do emergency medical evacuations, not to mention having ports available for taking on fuel and provisions.

No doubt, it’s a moving target. But, at least there’s lots to shoot for.

[susiesan]

15 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

Susiesan,

 

  Unless things gets worst in Chile or Argentina, I think most cruiselines are going, even Oceania.  

Celebrity has already cancelled all of their Dec.-March 2022 South American sailings.

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Are there really many island options in the Pacific that are willing to accept cruises ? My instincts tell me it's unlikely. I also suspect cruise lines would be very reluctant to cruise great distances knowing there would be few ports where they could do emergency medical evacuations, not to mention having ports available for taking on fuel and provisions.

Indeed.

Princess have just cancelled their January 2022 World Cruise.

[pinotlover]

With nowhere to go and the possibility of even more cancellations, the ability to survive and endure the continuing hemorrhage of cash comes into question. I really question the prudence of giving cruise lines deposits at the current time ( next two months). I believe skeptics on Market Watch are already giving warnings on both cruise line stock prices and continued operations.

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Celebrity has already cancelled all of their Dec.-March 2022 South American sailings.

Princess has also cancelled their early 2022 South American cruises.

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Indeed.

Princess have just cancelled their January 2022 World Cruise.

As did Crystal. 

[clo]

On 8/23/2021 at 3:10 PM, Hlitner said:

But we finally reached a point where we needed to book air (we did it with miles)

Haven't the airlines been very cooperative with refunds of points. With $$$ is it refunds or credits for future travel?

[PaulMCO]

You can add Seabourn to the list.  They cancelled the first two (Nov) of their Quest Antarctica cruises that leave from Santiago and Buenos Aires.  Argentina and Chile are both still closed to touristas.

 

Agree with Hlitner -- not easy to change itineraries.  Most of the lines doing the Caribbean have already  started the booking process.   Make a decision in November -- how many stateroom will you fill -- ship will be 1/4 full.

 

As far as Pacific, O already has Regatta sailing there.

 

Hate to sound pessimistic but cases spiking in EU, as the US so likely the wall will go back up on travel.

Cruise lines will be bleeding for another year.

 

 

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, clo said:

Haven't the airlines been very cooperative with refunds of points. With $$$ is it refunds or credits for future travel?

Sometimes and with some airlines.  We are hoping this is something we will not have to deal with and that "O" is able to continue their Marina schedule.  I do not book cruises (or plan trips) with the intent of cancelling :).  

 

Hank

[clo]

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Sometimes and with some airlines.

Who are the bad guys? We're big United customers and they've been quite upfront with their cancellations leniency.

[susiesan]

19 minutes ago, clo said:

Who are the bad guys? We're big United customers and they've been quite upfront with their cancellations leniency.

Both AA and UA allow you to cancel award tickets and have the miles redecorated without a fee. Taxes paid will also be credited back to your card. I have been booking and canceling air tix for vacations for the last year multiple times as plans change. I have had no problems. 

[Hlitner]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

Who are the bad guys? We're big United customers and they've been quite upfront with their cancellations leniency.

We have yet to have major problems with any of the US carriers.  But we have had some issues with two European airlines one of whom went out of business (Flybe) and the other Czech Airlines who simply refused to honor their legal obligation under EU rules.  In the case of Czech we called our credit card company and told them that Czech simply refused to refund money for a flight they had cancelled (with no alternative).  The credit card company found this hard to believe, put us on hold, and called Czech.  In about 10 minutes the credit card rep came back on our line, expressed some frustration, and immediately credited back our money :).  

 

DW and I had an interesting discussion just today about how booking cruises (and trips) is almost like gambling.  One puts up lots of funds with the expectation that the trip will happen or money will be refunded.   In our case we have, so far, been made whole despite 5 cancelled (by the cruise lines) cruises.  One can look at some decent consumer advocate blogs (and related web sites) and quickly find lots of folks who have not been so fortunate.   And COVID has resulted in many weird travel related issues...some of which are almost amusing.  Just 10 days ago we arrived on the Greek island of Naxos and walked (dragging nearly 150 pounds of luggage) about 8 blocks to the Europcar location where we were to pick up our car.  When we got to that location (which is still on the Europcar website) it was now a motorbike rental company!  They told us that Europcar's local franchisee had closed that location in May!  They helped us reach the current location and the owner came and picked us up and took us to his new location.  Europcar (a very reputable and decent company) lists 3 Naxos locations...none of which exist.  All 3 were closed in May and a new single location was opened in a different place.  However to this day Europcar has yet to fix the big error on their web site...despite efforts by their Greek franchisee to get it fixed!   An almost amusing situation except it is causing many travelers lots of grief.  On our recent Seabourn cruise one common socialization topic was sharing stories of travel woes.  It felt like those who were on the cruise were in a small fraternity of folks who "made it."  

 

Travel today has become a big challenge.  When we make reservations and arrangements it seems to be akin to rolling the dice in a craps game.  Airlines and cruise lines try to avoid refunds and give out future credits/vouchers which often cannot be used (in the allotted time).  One then has to protest and push to get the usage terms extended.  Consider one who has a generous future cruise credit only to discover that nearly every comparable cruise (in the allowable time frame) is sold out and/or the price of the comparable cruise has increased (sometimes more then 20%).  It is a crazy travel world :).

 

Hank

[clo]

15 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Both AA and UA allow you to cancel award tickets and have the miles redecorated without a fee. Taxes paid will also be credited back to your card. I have been booking and canceling air tix for vacations for the last year multiple times as plans change. I have had no problems. 

Thanks. That had been my impression.

[clo]

9 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

  But we have had some issues with two European airlines

I had experiences with a European airline and cruise line. I found out, maybe through The Points Guy, that our Federal Trade Commission has authority over that. I emailed the CEO of each and got it cleared asap.

[Hlitner]

25 minutes ago, clo said:

I had experiences with a European airline and cruise line. I found out, maybe through The Points Guy, that our Federal Trade Commission has authority over that. I emailed the CEO of each and got it cleared asap.

We have tried to have a lot of tolerance and patience dealing with various travel entities in the current environment.   But at some point taking action (such as what you did) does become necessary.  Customer Service has become a real joke in much of the travel industry.  It can take hours (on hold or for a call back) to contact most US Airlines!   We recently called one of our favored cruise agencies (which has one of our future cruise reservations) only to get a recording that they would return my call within 3-5 business days!   While not a major problem (in this case) that agency has already disappeared from my favorites list and we will no longer give them bookings.   This major agency used to handle questions/issues in real time!  

 

Early in the pandemic we were very understanding about bad customer service.  But now we think that many entities are using COVID as a convenient excuse to justify bad customer service and increased errors.  As a consumer we are still able to use our best weapon which is to direct our spending to entities that provide good service.  Fortunately, my favorite cruise agency (we have been spreading our recent business over 3 different agencies) has managed to maintain good customer service and quickly deal with issues.  They will now get the bulk of our bookings :).   I hope that "O" will give us a similar experience.

 

Speaking of good service you might have seen some of my recent posts about our Greek cruise on Seabourn.  DW and I were totally blown away (for the lack of a better term) by the amazing job done by all the crew/staff on the Seabourn Ovation.  To say that everything exceeded our expectations would be an understatement.   We were also very pleased with our experience on TurkishAirlines (our first time flying with this carrier) and we look forward to giving them more of our future business.  They have a decent Business Class product.

 

Hank

[clo]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

But at some point taking action (such as what you did) does become necessary.  Customer Service has become a real joke in much of the travel industry. 

I sent a single email to each CEO. Done and done.

[PhD-iva]

7 hours ago, clo said:

I sent a single email to each CEO. Done and done.

Where/How does one find the email for the CEO of any major company?

Edited August 26, 2021 by PhD-iva
Edit