Updated Cancellations - 1/11/2022 - From NCL website

[vacation44]

3 hours ago, jlseymour3 said:

Getaway 2/2, playing the same game.

Joy 2/12, also playing the same game.

[Bartfast]

9 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

Anyone know if other lines are seeing this many cancellations? I haven’t been following the other lines lately, 

You can find this information with a Google search, such as this: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-cancelled-cruises-2022.

[Keene33]

We're currently scheduled for the Joy 2/5 cruise.  It's hard to play the waiting game but have come up with a back up plan.

 

In looking at the schedule, it appears this allows the ship two weeks before beginning cruising again and then see how 1/29 sailing goes?

 

Hard to know what they will do but I'll be pleasantly surprised if it is a go.

[Karaboudjan]

34 minutes ago, Thain said:

We're currently scheduled for the Joy 2/5 cruise.  It's hard to play the waiting game but have come up with a back up plan.

 

In looking at the schedule, it appears this allows the ship two weeks before beginning cruising again and then see how 1/29 sailing goes?

 

Hard to know what they will do but I'll be pleasantly surprised if it is a go.

I think a clue will be what happens to the ship color on the CDC list.  If it goes back to Orange or Green then I think things would look pretty good for 2/5 unless something goes bad quickly on the 1/29 sailing.

 

[mssandora]

15 hours ago, Av8torcrj said:

Sorry to sound dumb but thanks. Yes... 15th escape is now showing “sold out”. I’m elated. I waited for this versus FCC. 10k was on the line. 

I sail on the Breakaway leaving New Orleans this Sunday and at this point, I wouldn't mind a cancellation. Although I'd like to know before I get to New Orleans (unlike those poor souls who had their 1/5 cruise cancelled on 1/4 after they were already in Miami).

 

[jlseymour3]

2 hours ago, TeresaJ said:

Yes, correct you can convert FCC into a refund. You have to request it online. I did this recently. They don't advertise it and it is buried deep on their website. 

I think the 1/4 cancelation notices indicated that if you had paid for your cruise with an FCC you could request that it be converted into a refund.

[AnitaVacation]

I think alot of people are getting covid enroute to the cruise port.  They test negative before they travel, they test negative at the terminal...somewhere between these two tests, they are contracting covid...and unknowingly spreading it like wildfire before they even know they have it...

 

Why are the airlines not testing or even requiring vaccination??  They have caused themselves this big mess they are in.... it's no wonder why there is a shortage of flight attendants.... it's just ridiculous.

[ECCruise]

32 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

Why are the airlines not testing or even requiring vaccination??  They have caused themselves this big mess they are in.... it's no wonder why there is a shortage of flight attendants.... it's just ridiculous.

There has been a good bit of discussion on just that.  There is a bill that has been introduced in Congress that would require vaccinations on domestic flights, but it has little or no traction.

The Assn. of Flight Attendants supports it also, but the largest airline trade group representing the carriers (as well as some of their CEOS) oppose such a mandate.

 

So, bottom line, you aren't likely to see it.

[Snowrose]

19 hours ago, KurtMo said:

From NCL website:

 

.

For affected reservations paid via a previously issued Future Cruise Credit, please know the full value of the FCC used will be re-applied to your Latitudes account within 7 days. This is done automatically, so no further action is required on your or your travel advisor’s part. Learn more about booking a cruise with your FCCs here.

 

Within 7 days, huh? I guess we'll see. When we cancelled our cruise (Yes, we cancelled ourselves.), we were told by our cruise consultant it could take months to get our FCC back because so many people were cancelling.

[vacruizer]

1 hour ago, Snowrose said:

 

Within 7 days, huh? I guess we'll see. When we cancelled our cruise (Yes, we cancelled ourselves.), we were told by our cruise consultant it could take months to get our FCC back because so many people were cancelling.

Months? But you only have until December to sail?  They are marketing the POM policy but making it so difficult to use between the cutoff, not promptly letting you apply the FCC, and the overinflated rates the rest of this year that I’m guessing many folks won’t be able to redeem them. That’s a win for NCL when they get to keep your money for good. This and their refusal to extend a CruiseNext certificate I have expiring this month (that’s been applied to multiple bookings that never sailed during the shutdown) has left me with a sour taste for NCL and how they are choosing to do business. 

[usahawk1]

Is it possible that ncl are canceling sailings hoping people will book another ship to increase capacity of the ships that are still scheduled to sail? Just a thought. 

[aubreyc1988]

13 minutes ago, usahawk1 said:

Is it possible that ncl are canceling sailings hoping people will book another ship to increase capacity of the ships that are still scheduled to sail? Just a thought. 

 seems like a big gamble on NCL's part. 

[vacruizer]

42 minutes ago, usahawk1 said:

Is it possible that ncl are canceling sailings hoping people will book another ship to increase capacity of the ships that are still scheduled to sail? Just a thought. 

I’ve wondered that myself. The Joy hasn’t run into port cancellations but they cancelled the next two sailings. It could be a crew outbreak. But those two sailing also had haven rooms down to about $1200pp a few days ago which makes me think they weren’t selling well. 
 

Still sailing are a couple ships with the higher priced Eastern itineraries where ports have been refusing ships.  It might not increase bookings on other ships, but they might have cancelled sailings they’d run at too much of a loss. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by vacruizer

[usahawk1]

32 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 seems like a big gamble on NCL's part. 

It would be a gamble either way. Pick your poison.

[vacation44]

50 minutes ago, usahawk1 said:

Is it possible that ncl are canceling sailings hoping people will book another ship to increase capacity of the ships that are still scheduled to sail? Just a thought. 

My thoughts have been leaning towards this also.  The February Joy prices have also come down a lot over the last few weeks.  I think, and again, just my thoughts,  there were an awful lot of cancellations under the new POM and not enough cruisers cruising to make it profitable.   

[snugzny]

I am not blaming NCL - but the whole thing feels like an unintentional Ponzi scheme, of sorts.

 

Cruisers still waiting on vacations they booked in early 2020 keep getting cancelled and rebooking with FCC, only to be cancelled again and offered additional perks discounts. Then, more people book other cruises, only for the same to happen. 

 

The more this happens, the more backup it creates for future cruises, and the more the prices go up on those. So your FCC (or cash, if you were lucky) doesn’t go as far as it would have based on this “inflation” of sorts.

 

And of course, NCL has all these folk’s money hostage throughout the process. 

 

Even if you had a Haven suite, and have purchased additional perks and shore excursions (as I did)… there’s no guarantee the FCC will cover the cost for the “same” or even similar vacation in the future.  

 

The more cancellations occur now, the worse prices get going forward as two years worth of cruisers - some with their money tied up by NCL since 2020 - attempt to rebook for 2022 and 2023. 

 

Someone is going to get left holding the bag and will lose out, again, even if unintentionally. I don’t think NCL is attempting to be malicious by any means; they’re doing their best. 
 

But the whole situation really does fit the bill of a Ponzi scheme (without the blatant fraud). Where future cruisers are the source of the $ for cruises “owed” to people who are still waiting from two years ago. NCL needs to keep booking, even if they know how unstable things are and with a high likelihood of you canceling and then holding onto your money as FCC. They might be able to cancel cruises, but they can’t stop booking - they need the money coming in, to make good on two years worth of cancelled cruises. 

 

The current situation is untenable for both cruisers and the industry. 

 

Don’t be the last one out the door and have your money tied up in any FCC for years for a vacation that might not happen unless you spend even more money since you’ve “already put so much in anyways.” 

 

It seems like you either have to rebook right away - while prices for cruises later this year are still “sane” (although still significantly more $ than most of these cancelled ones, with no guarantee the same cancellations won’t happen again) - or just get out while you can.

 

I was fortunate to have NCL cancel my sailing on the Joy (1/15) for a cash refund, and in enough time to cancel my hotel with no penalties. 

 

I won’t be booking again; $10k is far too much money to have sitting in a cruise line’s bank account with no guarantee that I’ll actually ever get what I paid for. That wouldn’t be sufficient for any company / business I choose to spend my money with. Much better keeping it in my bank account or other investments earning interest (that I’ll need if I ever want to cruise in the future, at this rate!) than having it held hostage by a (sadly) desperate and dying industry. 

 

I truly don’t know what cruising will look like the rest of this year / 2023 but something tells me it won’t be good. I don’t think it will change unless everyone realizes this is probably just something we are going to have to live with for a long time, and return to sanity and normalcy (with the correct precautions and safety measures in place, of course). Which is where I thought we were, at this point with NCL with vaccinations, boosters, masks, testing etc …. But, oh well.

 

Although I do sincerely hope I’m wrong. 

 

Again, nothing aimed at NCL here: it’s not their fault. But I definitely won’t be spending $10k with them any time in the near future. Far better ways to put that money to work enjoying life, instead of stressing about if a vacation planned for a long time will actually happen, or if you’ll be able to get the money you spent for that vacation back (in cash - not FCC, FCC is pretty useless at this point) if it doesn’t. 
 

Best of luck to all!

[SireDoime]

13 hours ago, jlseymour3 said:

For what it is worth, that is an excellent cruise, and the transit of the canal is fantastic.  Not sure why you'd cancel so many outdoor excursions . . . outdoor transmission is still not a thing as far as I know.  There is the bus ride, but that's mostly with people from the boat and you could see if they would open the windows for extra ventilation.

This is why I was going to wait till I got onboard; just in case if we can't get off the ship for any port with an excursion - as may be the case with Cartagena, Columbia because of the crime, civil unrest, bombings, and COVID. But, that is a pirate thing - I can skip that. But I really want to zipline through the Costa Rica jungles and the Guatemala safari.

 

But the port does have 72hour prior testing requirements, and one ship from another line chose not to disembark passengers (if I got that right).

Edited January 13, 2022 by SireDoime
additional context

[BenDover]

How come no official or consistent communication?

I am scheduled for Escape on Jan 22. My booking agent sent me a copy of the letter - but I have not received anything officially from NCL. I had to search in order to find the page that listed the cancellations yet when I go to my reservation it stills lists everything as if the cruise is still on. Just kind of confusing - poor communication in any case.

[snugzny]

16 minutes ago, BenDover said:

How come no official or consistent communication?

I am scheduled for Escape on Jan 22. My booking agent sent me a copy of the letter - but I have not received anything officially from NCL. I had to search in order to find the page that listed the cancellations yet when I go to my reservation it stills lists everything as if the cruise is still on. Just kind of confusing - poor communication in any case.

I’m not sure if this helps any, but when I view my reservation on the NCL app - for the cancelled Joy 1/15 cruise - everything looks just like it did before it was cancelled. No indication of any cancellation (except for the email I received last night). 
 

I’ve seen similar confusion for people on your cruise (1/22 Escape), as comms from NCL indicate cancellations “up to and including 1/22” but also say that they’ll be resuming sailing 1/22. I’d be very confused / frustrated in your case. 

 

Very poor communication. I imagine they don’t want to make these things very visible, to encourage (or rather, not discourage) people to continue booking - or just not cancelling - and handing NCL much needed money …

 

I have a very strong feeling that my 1/15 Joy cruise was cancelled because of a combo of a (sustainable) crew outbreak then made unsustainable with above-expected cancellations which broke the 1/15 cruise’s back once NCL announced their POM program amidst this Omicron surge.
 

I think they’re trying to avoid cancellations like crazy (to prevent having to cancel further cruises, vicious loop) at the expense of customers being given the consistent, transparent information we need.

[RRSeeker]

I am hoping to get my fcc from my cancelled February cruise for final payment on my May 22nd cruise. It has been 8 days and I I have 11 days to final payment. Payment is due 120 days prior to the sail date. (doesn’t make sense why they don’t just change all final payment dates but what do I know😏)
 

 The rep promised I would but if I don’t I guess I will have to cancel again. I am giving them no more $. I feel for NCL but I also don’t want to lose money. It is like being between a rock and a hard place.

[snugzny]

14 minutes ago, RRSeeker said:

I am hoping to get my fcc from my cancelled February cruise for final payment on my May 22nd cruise. It has been 8 days and I I have 11 days to final payment. Payment is due 120 days prior to the sail date. (doesn’t make sense why they don’t just change all final payment dates but what do I know😏)
 

 The rep promised I would but if I don’t I guess I will have to cancel again. I am giving them no more $. I feel for NCL but I also don’t want to lose money. It is like being between a rock and a hard place.

Did you cancel your February (2022?) cruise for FCC or did Norwegian? I’ve seen nightmare stories of FCCs being delayed for months for whatever reason when the cruise was cancelled by the cruiser (and not NCL). Which is weird, because the cancellation email - from NCL cancelling - that I received states:

 

If your most current reservation was paid via a Future Cruise Credit (FCC), 100% of the FCC used will be re-applied to your Latitudes account. No further action is required; the FCC will be automatically added within seven business days. 
 

Seven business days! Which seems pretty standard.  
 

I don’t understand how NCL can be so quick refunding $ or applying a FCC when NCL cancels, yet some people out there have been waiting months for their FCC to show up when they cancel. But I’m sure there’s a business decision behind this, and I’m sure it has something to do with “keeping” as much money in the bank as possible. 

 

Since it’s been eight days, maybe wait a day or two more (seven business days) and see what happens? 
 

I also feel for NCL - and certainly the hardworking crew who must be struggling financially given the turmoil in their industry for two years - but no shame in cancelling. Don’t lose money on this. No corporation is your friend; you and your hard earned money come before the feelings of the board of NCL, every time.

[jlseymour3]

1 hour ago, SireDoime said:

This is why I was going to wait till I got onboard; just in case if we can't get off the ship for any port with an excursion - as may be the case with Cartagena, Columbia because of the crime, civil unrest, bombings, and COVID. But, that is a pirate thing - I can skip that. But I really want to zipline through the Costa Rica jungles and the Guatemala safari.

 

But the port does have 72hour prior testing requirements, and one ship from another line chose not to disembark passengers (if I got that right).

We did a private tour in Cartagena - tres cool.  The Zipline in Costa Rica is one of the best excursions I've done, ever.  In Guatemala we did the Volcano hike, which was also great fun.

[CarolinaMamma]

4 hours ago, vacruizer said:

I’ve wondered that myself. The Joy hasn’t run into port cancellations but they cancelled the next two sailings. It could be a crew outbreak. But those two sailing also had haven rooms down to about $1200pp a few days ago which makes me think they weren’t selling well. 
 

Still sailing are a couple ships with the higher priced Eastern itineraries where ports have been refusing ships.  It might not increase bookings on other ships, but they might have cancelled sailings they’d run at too much of a loss. 

I think you’re right. I booked a Haven 2BR on Encore 1/16/22 back in December of 2020. At the time, Encore and Joy were priced very similarly for the same week. I picked Encore because we’ve done that Western Caribbean itinerary three times and wanted something different. I’ve been watching prices over the last year. Encore Haven filled up pretty quickly. Joy did not. Then Joy Haven prices came WAY down on in the last month or so, with a lot of cabins still empty. I’ll bet the revenue they needed just wasn’t there for the upcoming sailings. 

[Twipenne]

On 1/11/2022 at 6:36 PM, KurtMo said:

I'm on the 1/29 sailing of the Escape, so the 1st week back (at this point in time).  Who knows what next week may bring?  I guess I'll play the waiting game...  (Refund preferred over FCC)

Same sailing here! And yep. Now time to just sit and play the waiting game

[wildwoods]

41 minutes ago, Twipenne said:

Same sailing here! And yep. Now time to just sit and play the waiting game

Same here as well , this was our sequel cruise and we are traveling from the U.K so having to sort out a whole load of , flights, transfers hotels etc is it true we can request FCC 48 hour before the cruise?