Question about Princess cruise credit - from a cancelled cruise

[Coral]

Ok - asking for a friend (really)!

 

Long story short - they booked a cruise in Europe with Princess Air and had Platinum Insurance. 

 

They had economy plus plane tickets and were flying out a few days early for their cruise. Their initial flight was cancelled and subsequently missed their flight to Heathrow. Princess air (or United) could not get them to London or the next port on economy plus (for across the ocean flight). Only economy. Due to variety of reasons, economy would not work for them. They tried to work with Princess Air and also with United Airlines. All economy plus tickets were booked and they were not given an option to upgrade to Business Class (those seats were full also). Only seats available were economy.

 

They chose not to go on their cruise. I hope this falls under trip cancellation as their flight was cancelled (and they get a refund).  If for some reason it doesn't - when would their FCC from insurance expire? If the cruise was in June 2023, do they have a June 2024 or until December 2024 to use the credit. Does it go by book by or sail by date?

 

I have never been in this situation. 

[Steelers36]

Did they ask for another airline?

[Coral]

32 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Did they ask for another airline?

Yes they did. They would have flown on any airline. Princess Air was not helpful, not was United.

 

The flight was cancelled due to weather at the connecting destination port (Newark) where they were going to go to Heathrow. It was delayed and then finally cancelled. They were flying Wednesday, supposed to arrive Thursday for a Saturday cruise. So they did build in some time in case of issues.

 

Also - the economy options they gave them would get them into Heathrow at noon the day of the cruise which would probably not get them to the ship in time.

 

I am curious if the FCC would go by book date or sail date. I assume sail date or cancellation date but I vaguely remember reading that it is good until December of the next year.......

 

Again - I am hoping this falls under trip cancellation but was curious if it goes to FCC what the date criteria would be.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Coral

[Coral]

They got caught under this:

 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/thousands-flights-canceled-busy-summer-travel-season-heats/story?id=85461398 

[Coral]

Someone has to have had a FCC for a canceled cruise........

 

If so, what date does it go by on when it has to be used. Cruise purchased in May, sail date in June and cancelled in June.

 

Do they have until May or June of next year to use it or December of next year to use it?

 

Hoping it doesn't become a FCC but thought I would ask.

[suzyed]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Ok - asking for a friend (really)!

 

Long story short - they booked a cruise in Europe with Princess Air and had Platinum Insurance. 

 

They had economy plus plane tickets and were flying out a few days early for their cruise. Their initial flight was cancelled and subsequently missed their flight to Heathrow. Princess air (or United) could not get them to London or the next port on economy plus (for across the ocean flight). Only economy. Due to variety of reasons, economy would not work for them. They tried to work with Princess Air and also with United Airlines. All economy plus tickets were booked and they were not given an option to upgrade to Business Class (those seats were full also). Only seats available were economy.

 

They chose not to go on their cruise. I hope this falls under trip cancellation as their flight was cancelled (and they get a refund).  If for some reason it doesn't - when would their FCC from insurance expire? If the cruise was in June 2023, do they have a June 2024 or until December 2024 to use the credit. Does it go by book by or sail by date?

 

I have never been in this situation. 

In our situation it went back to the sail by date....well for most of them anyway.  We had a real mixed bag of FCCs and it was all a confusing mess.  Some of the FCC expired and were lost. But I worked it out with a lady at corporate and she re-instated the "lost" FCC....I told you it was a mess!  So to answer your question for your friend....who knows??
If they had Platinum insurance they could cancel for any reason and get their fare back in FCCs.

[Coral]

30 minutes ago, suzyed said:

In our situation it went back to the sail by date....well for most of them anyway.  We had a real mixed bag of FCCs and it was all a confusing mess.  Some of the FCC expired and were lost. But I worked it out with a lady at corporate and she re-instated the "lost" FCC....I told you it was a mess!  So to answer your question for your friend....who knows??
If they had Platinum insurance they could cancel for any reason and get their fare back in FCCs.

They are really hoping that it falls under trip cancellation (and a refund) as the flights were canceled and they couldn't get on any flights to meet the ship. Even economy seats were too close to catch the ship.

 

Though - if they need FCC (don't get a refund), I didn't know if it was good for one year from cancellation (or whatever date they use which I don't know what it will be) or good until the end of next year.

 

They have unusual schedules so this is tricky.

[Coral]

8 hours ago, suzyed said:

In our situation it went back to the sail by date....well for most of them anyway.  We had a real mixed bag of FCCs and it was all a confusing mess.  Some of the FCC expired and were lost. But I worked it out with a lady at corporate and she re-instated the "lost" FCC....I told you it was a mess!  So to answer your question for your friend....who knows??
If they had Platinum insurance they could cancel for any reason and get their fare back in FCCs.

They really don't want FCCs as they have weird schedules and this was a big expensive trip. I hope they get a refund.

 

If they do get FCC's they are curious if it is 1 year from book date (May), 1 year from Sail date (June) or if it is the end of the following year. So December of next year.

 

Thanks for trying to answer. Sorry yours was a mess.

 

I would hope there would be someone who got FCC and can tell me the date time frame.

[Coral]

It turns out the economy seats they were offered would most likely not get them to London in time to get to Southampton. They asked about flights to Bergen (first port) but Princess didn't come up with any solutions for that either. It was a mess.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

They really don't want FCCs as they have weird schedules and this was a big expensive trip. I hope they get a refund.

 

If they do get FCC's they are curious if it is 1 year from book date (May), 1 year from Sail date (June) or if it is the end of the following year. So December of next year.

 

Thanks for trying to answer. Sorry yours was a mess.

 

I would hope there would be someone who got FCC and can tell me the date time frame.

I think you need to hear from someone with a recent situation and not go by anyone with a Covid cancellation because PCL probably wasn't doing their normal thing then.

[Coral]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

I think you need to hear from someone with a recent situation and not go by anyone with a Covid cancellation because PCL probably wasn't doing their normal thing then.

I completely agree. There has to be someone who cancelled and got FCC. Right?

 

Again, I hope this is treated as a covered reason and a refund is given.

[azbirdmom]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

They are really hoping that it falls under trip cancellation (and a refund) as the flights were canceled and they couldn't get on any flights to meet the ship. Even economy seats were too close to catch the ship.

 

You said that they were offered a flight that would arrive in Heathrow at noon.  Surprisingly that is the latest published time that flights can arrive prior to sailing from Southampton for our cruise next Sunday.  Hope this doesn't trip them up.  I hope they had contacted Princess before the cruise to let them know the situation and officially cancel.

[Coral]

Just now, azbirdmom said:

 

You said that they were offered a flight that would arrive in Heathrow at noon.  Surprisingly that is the latest published time that flights can arrive prior to sailing from Southampton for our cruise next Sunday.  Hope this doesn't trip them up.  I hope they had contacted Princess before the cruise to let them know the situation and officially cancel.

They are working with a TA. This TA was sent information saying that this Saturday there will be 5 ships in port and there is something going on in Southampton which will cause huge delays in traffic from London to Southampton and huge traffic and delays in Southampton.

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-warns-passengers-of-delays-at-major-homeport/104026 

[Steelers36]

15 minutes ago, Coral said:

They are working with a TA. This TA was sent information saying that this Saturday there will be 5 ships in port and there is something going on in Southampton which will cause huge delays in traffic from London to Southampton and huge traffic and delays in Southampton.

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/princess-cruises-warns-passengers-of-delays-at-major-homeport/104026 

A Perfect Storm has hit them indeed.

[Coral]

29 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

A Perfect Storm has hit them indeed.

I feel bad as their flight was Wednesday night for a Saturday cruise. They planned on flying in advance for their cruise. One would have thought that they would be fine. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Coral

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I completely agree. There has to be someone who cancelled and got FCC. Right?

 

Again, I hope this is treated as a covered reason and a refund is given.

 

There are only five covered reasons for cancellation in the Princess Vacation Plan. Briefly, they are as follows:

 

1.sickness, death or injury

2.being involved in a traffic accident enroute to departure

3. having your home become uninhabitable because of fire or natural disaster 

4. being called to jury duty or being subpoenaed 

5. being called to military duty in response to a natural disaster 

 

Your friend may have received compensation up to the policy limit ($500) under Trip Delay in order to catch up to the cruise, but it does not appear that cancellation is covered under these circumstances. Most likely they will receive FCC under the Cancel For Any Reason provision

 

 

[Coral]

11 minutes ago, Babr said:

 

There are only five covered reasons for cancellation in the Princess Vacation Plan. Briefly, they are as follows:

 

1.sickness, death or injury

2.being involved in a traffic accident enroute to departure

3. having your home become uninhabitable because of fire or natural disaster 

4. being called to jury duty or being subpoenaed 

5. being called to military duty in response to a natural disaster 

 

Your friend may have received compensation up to the policy limit ($500) under Trip Delay in order to catch up to the cruise, but it does not appear that cancellation is covered under these circumstances. Most likely they will receive FCC under the Cancel For Any Reason provision

 

 

Ok - so my next question is (which was my original question) - 

 

How long do they have to use a FCC for? I had heard 1 year (not sure if that is from booking date, sail date) and also until the end of the following year. So if the cruise was this June, would it be next June or until next December?

Edited June 18, 2023 by Coral

[Babr]

3 minutes ago, Coral said:

Ok - so my next question is (which was my original question) - 

 

How long do they have to use a FCC for? I had heard 1 year (not sure if that is from booking date, sail date) and also until the end of the following year. So if the cruise was this June, would it be until next December?

I defer to someone who has had recent experience. Princess may have had different policies during COVID.

 

The same is true of insuring the subsequent cruise booked with FCC. If Princess will not recognize FCC as a form of payment, there are third-party policies that will. Be sure to inquire; otherwise, they will not be covered for cancellation at all.

[DeeTO]

In my case, I used Princess insurance in Jan 2023 to cancel my Feb 2023 cruise. Lost money because of penalties and given FCC for remainder of fare. FCC valid until end December 2024, not 1 year from cancellation or cruise date. None of this applied to my airfare.

[Coral]

43 minutes ago, DeeTO said:

In my case, I used Princess insurance in Jan 2023 to cancel my Feb 2023 cruise. Lost money because of penalties and given FCC for remainder of fare. FCC valid until end December 2024, not 1 year from cancellation or cruise date. None of this applied to my airfare.

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Did you book your air through Princess?

Edited June 19, 2023 by Coral

[suzyed]

14 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I think you need to hear from someone with a recent situation and not go by anyone with a Covid cancellation because PCL probably wasn't doing their normal thing then.

Well mine was a mess because some of my FCCs were from the Coral Princess in S. America when covid broke out, other FCCs were from a cancelled cruise last November...one that I cancelled only because I found a much better fare and rebooked it at the way lower price. 
As it turns out it seems that there is no "normal thing" because no one seems to know what's what.  I used the CFAR with the Platinum insurance.  I only wanted my FCCs back and AON said that they would inform Princess of that and I would have my "refund" in 10 days -2 weeks.  But the folks at Princess obviously do not know how the insurance works....they kept asking for my claim # and you don't get a claim # if all you want is FCCs and not cash.  I had to forward my emails from AON several times before they understood.  Such a chore!
I finally went to corporate and after many many emails and calls got it resolved but it took a good  2 months.  Very frustrating!

Edited June 19, 2023 by suzyed

[Coral]

5 hours ago, suzyed said:

Well mine was a mess because some of my FCCs were from the Coral Princess in S. America when covid broke out, other FCCs were from a cancelled cruise last November...one that I cancelled only because I found a much better fare and rebooked it at the way lower price. 
As it turns out it seems that there is no "normal thing" because no one seems to know what's what.  I used the CFAR with the Platinum insurance.  I only wanted my FCCs back and AON said that they would inform Princess of that and I would have my "refund" in 10 days -2 weeks.  But the folks at Princess obviously do not know how the insurance works....they kept asking for my claim # and you don't get a claim # if all you want is FCCs and not cash.  I had to forward my emails from AON several times before they understood.  Such a chore!
I finally went to corporate and after many many emails and calls got it resolved but it took a good  2 months.  Very frustrating!

Yea -I wanted one that was more recent and normal. Not COVID related.

[DeeTO]

10 hours ago, Coral said:

Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Did you book your air through Princess?

No I didn’t. Directly through another airline and received credit voucher.

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

Yea -I wanted one that was more recent and normal. Not COVID related.

ok...mine was not covid related and was just last November.

 

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

ok...mine was not covid related and was just last November.

 

I should say it was more confusing as you had some FCC cancelled due to COVID time frame cancellations.

 

I wanted an example with out mixed FCCs. Thanks though 🙂 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Coral