How often do cruises get randomly cancelled?

[fluffybunny22]

I have a Norway cruise booked for next June. When I originally posted asking about MSC people said cruises randomly get cancelled. How often does that happen and is it generally specific itineraries? We are looking into purchasing airfare and it's a significant cost and I'm worried about the cruise getting cancelled and us stuck with air we don't want to use. I can't buy cancel for any reason insurance because it's been too long since I put the deposit down. If the cruise gets cancelled and I have regular travel insurance would that be a covered reason to make a claim for the airfare costs? Any guidance would be great.

[drsel]

it is highly unlikely that your Cruise will be cancelled

maybe one or two ports could be cancelled due to bad weather but I still suggest you book air tickets/visas 3 months prior to the sailing date.

 

[Brighton Line]

On 6/30/2023 at 1:26 PM, drsel said:

it is highly unlikely that your Cruise will be cancelled

It happens, cruise lines sellout entire ships to governments or event planners—usually the large mainstream and their smaller vessels. 

Also, unplanned dockyard to fix something that would impact a cruise where even with adjusting/changing ports the ship could not sail safely.

 

This April Queen Mary 2 TA cruise was canceled on the day they were to board and of course the return trip since the ship never left was canceled as well.

https://cruiseradio.net/two-queen-mary-2-transatlantic-voyages-canceled/

 

This is all highly unlikely but this is also why people buy travel insurance. Yes, the cruise line will refund you but other expenses like the hotel the night before in the case of QM2 insurance can cover. 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Brighton Line

[perakcruiser]

If happens, but really very rare. With a Norway cruise the risk is extraordinary small as MSC is doing this business for decades.

 

The cruise lines would pay for air tickets you bought unless you live and booked from a country that has zero consumer rights.

Edited July 3, 2023 by perakcruiser

[karmamule]

Booking on newer ships or ships freshly out of refurbishing raises the odds of issues leading to cancellation. We've been on 11 cruises and had 2 cancellations. The first was the NCL Prima because they ended up chartering the entire ship for the voyage we were on, and the second time was on Virgin Voyages because they decided to postpone the rollout of Resilient Lady until later in the year.

 

Both turned out to be blessings in disguise because we replaced the NCL Prima trip with one on Celebrity Apex and had a fantastic time, and rebooked on the Valiant Lady for Virgin, and since they had given us a 200%(!!!) credit we were able to book the Massive Suite and again had a great time.

 

Part of me hopes for another cruise cancellation to see what will happen next. 😄

[Ulsteinvik]

I never saw MSC cancelling Norway cruises.

[FLCruZar]

Mine just was

 

Dear Valued Guest,
 
Thank you for choosing MSC Cruises for your cruise vacation.
 
We are contacting you with an important update concerning your cruise which was scheduled to sail on 6/1/2024 from Southampton, UK aboard MSC Virtuosa. Due to necessary operational reasons, we regret to inform you that we’ve had to make changes which have impacted your sailing. 

• MSC Virtuosa 6/01/2024, 14-nightsailing has been cancelled. 
  
• We would like to offer you a new 12-night cruise aboard MSC Virtuosa which will sail from Southampton on6/3/2024. The new itinerary will include visits to beautiful port cities in the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal before returning to Southampton on 6/15/2024. 
  
• A prorated refund will be applied for the two (2) missing nights. 

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and any disruption to your vacation. 

[Essiesmom]

OMG, that’s quite an itinerary change.  EM

[niko40]

8 hours ago, FLCruZar said:

Mine just was

 

Dear Valued Guest,
 
Thank you for choosing MSC Cruises for your cruise vacation.
 
We are contacting you with an important update concerning your cruise which was scheduled to sail on 6/1/2024 from Southampton, UK aboard MSC Virtuosa. Due to necessary operational reasons, we regret to inform you that we’ve had to make changes which have impacted your sailing. 

• MSC Virtuosa 6/01/2024, 14-nightsailing has been cancelled. 
• We would like to offer you a new 12-night cruise aboard MSC Virtuosa which will sail from Southampton on6/3/2024. The new itinerary will include visits to beautiful port cities in the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal before returning to Southampton on 6/15/2024. 
• A prorated refund will be applied for the two (2) missing nights. 

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and any disruption to your vacation. 

They have also cancelled the 29th June 2024 cruise and moved them to 13 July 2024

[Jeal]

You could buy insurance for your airline tickets. Many airlines offer this when booking a flight or buy travel insurance for just the airfare portion of the trip. 

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, Jeal said:

You could buy insurance for your airline tickets. Many airlines offer this when booking a flight or buy travel insurance for just the airfare portion of the trip. 

Certainly MSC needs to fully pay for the airline tickets. Every cruise line. Recently had a Celebrity cruise with a date change, they offered to pay my air tickets or be happy and take OBC. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by perakcruiser

[Ryan82]

10 hours ago, FLCruZar said:

Mine just was

 

Dear Valued Guest,
 
Thank you for choosing MSC Cruises for your cruise vacation.
 
We are contacting you with an important update concerning your cruise which was scheduled to sail on 6/1/2024 from Southampton, UK aboard MSC Virtuosa. Due to necessary operational reasons, we regret to inform you that we’ve had to make changes which have impacted your sailing. 

• MSC Virtuosa 6/01/2024, 14-nightsailing has been cancelled. 
• We would like to offer you a new 12-night cruise aboard MSC Virtuosa which will sail from Southampton on6/3/2024. The new itinerary will include visits to beautiful port cities in the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal before returning to Southampton on 6/15/2024. 
• A prorated refund will be applied for the two (2) missing nights. 

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and any disruption to your vacation. 

I was booked on this one too.virtuosa doing 2 nighter before now to cherbourg and then this. Pro-rata refund isn't very generous and I've lost my cabin too somehow. 

[globe-trekker]

They have been canceling Norway cruises this year on the Virtuosa and I just had my Oct 2024 cruise cancelled on the Euribia- Northern Europe...  but I have plenty of time to regroup for that.  I'm also leary of cruise cancellations after losing money with Crystal when they folded...   also when a river cruise was canceled.  We ended up just using  our flights for land trips instead..  I would also be interested in knowing what insurance may do about flights in those cases.   I suspect they would not pay anything since most airlines will give a voucher for the value of the ticket good for 1 year from issue date (minus any cancellation fees).

[AndieDH]

Hi everyone,

I just booked my first cruise in 20 years with my 82-year-old mother (she used to cruise all.the.time with my father).

We are on the Euribia, Oct 1- 8, Norway cruise.

We are only two months out, so, I am assuming we are pretty safe (unless something dramatic happens weather-wise, etc) with respect to it not being cancelled?  

I noted some posts saying canceling these cruises is rare, which sounds very positive.

More worried for my mother, than for me....

Also - any tips for her, she can walk fine, but only for shorter distances, so if you have any ship-advice for that, I will gladly take it.

 

[perakcruiser]

56 minutes ago, AndieDH said:

We are only two months out, so, I am assuming we are pretty safe (unless something dramatic happens weather-wise, etc) with respect to it not being cancelled?  

Extremely safe, they need to bring the ship to Hamburg for it´s winter route 😄

 

Advice for the ship for your mothers situation is probably too late as you have booked already. Perfect would be a cabin on a higher deck in the back of the ship, because then you are close to the buffet. That can be a long walk on the Euribia. Deck 14 is best. As it is a cruise with different ports for embarking and disembarking it will not be full, maybe they will allow you to chance (if you have Fantastica or higher).

Edited August 1, 2023 by perakcruiser

[AndieDH]

@perakcruiser  Thank you!  That's great to know, and thanks also for the tips.