"Painful" Blown (or Cancelled) Cruise Stories

[Z'Loth]

Might as well start an interesting discussion topic... What were some major cruises that you had planned a year or so in advance, only to have it blown apart, cancelled, or otherwise major changes occur due to events completely out of your control? I'm sure that a certain pandemic would play a role in this, but please include when you booked the cruise and when the cruise was supposed to sail.

 

I'll start... 10 Day Eastern Carribean Cruise that would visit Antigua, Barbatos, St Lucia, Martinique, St Kitts & Nevis in late September 2022. This was booked in September 2021 as a "revenge" cruise for my mother and myself after I had to work through a birthday week off due to a major project at work, plus it was to be my first major vacation after moving halfway across the country at the beginning of 2019. We were even lucky to score a Sunset Veranda cabin, plus I was the first poster for the Cruise Critic Role Call. Flash forward to July-August 2022 time frame, and my mother was having some health issues, and her physician provided a note stating that a cruise was inadvisable, and since I was her caretaker, the cruise was cancelled. My initial plans were to have my passport renewed at the end of the cruise, but within 24 hours of cancelling the cruise, my passport was on it's way to Irving for routine renewal. The cruise has since been rebooked for January 2024, but it's a solo cruise for myself with an Oceanview cabin. I'm also paying for a relative to fly and take care of my mother while I take this long overdue vacation.

[sparks1093]

We lost one cruise to COVID but I can't remember the details other than we did receive a full refund. We recently booked a Southern Caribbean cruise with Celebrity for February 2025. A couple of months after booking Celebrity changed the homeport for our ship and cancelled this itinerary. We rebooked with another line for a cruise that is one day longer and that visits Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. 

 

Sorry to hear about your mom's health issues.

[StollyBolly]

Iceland was on my bucket list.   We had a really great itinerary on Regent from NY to Iceland via Greenland booked for June 2020.   Need I say more?  We booked another Iceland cruise for 2021 and I can’t recall all the details except it didn’t happen!   We finally made it to Iceland this year. 

[ldubs]

We cancelled one cruise and one land trip during COVID.  Outside of COVID, we are batting 1000.  

[ontheweb]

We lost one cruise, Norwegian fjords cruise on Princess due to Covid. We did get all our money (deposit and one excursion booked in advance) back. We even got our private insurance back as our TA knew that NY state required this.

 

Before that we lost one river cruise, and have never since found one that worked for us. DW was an elementary art teacher (now retired), and we found a river cruise round trip from Amsterdam that fit in the Christmas/New Year's vacation. It was chartered out from under us after final payment. We were offered other European cruises and with upgraded cabins, but we wanted to go to Amsterdam. We ended up taking a land trip there. And BTW, it is much easier to pay a cruise line than to get your money refunded.

[Lois R]

Of course there was good ole 2020😮. I retired on Dec 31st, 2019 and had booked 2 cruises to celebrate said retirement for April 2020. I was supposed to go on my first TA crossing which was to be 16 days. It was Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona. Once I got to Barcelona I was going to fly to Portugal for a couple of days and then take a river cruise on the Douro. After that cruise (which was ending in Madrid), I was going to stay there a couple of days to see that part of Spain.  Well, as mentioned earlier, Covid was now infecting everything and both cruises were cancelled.☹️ That was my current event.

 

The first time I ever had to cancel a sailing was back in August 2011. I was supposed to go on a cruise out of Cape Liberty to Bermuda but 4 days before my cruise my Dad died☹️I was in no position to take a cruise.........

 

 

[jsn55]

Too many cruises/trips cancelled because of the virus disaster.  Booked, cancelled, rebooked, cancelled.  Ugh.  My cracker-jack TA took care of all the cruises, but I had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all the refunds and credits.  I do my own air ... Delta still has $4K and a bunch of SkyMiles which they refuse to redeposit into my account ... they insist that I call to rebook.  It expires 12/31 and I am just disgusted.  I'll figure out something next month.  Had the same issue with a United flight and they took care of it automatically so I could rebook with ease.  OTOH, Virgin Atlantic completely rebooked two upper class flights (including a change of traveller) without a whimper.  Nobody else gave me any real trouble; Avalon actually refunded a big cruise without my requesting it.  For me, the major negative since 2020 is that I no longer enjoy the excitement of getting ready for a trip; my subconscious just thinks it will all be cancelled AGAIN.  Leaving tonight for a Med cruise; perhaps I'll get my mojo back after a couple of weeks on NCL Epic.  

[Lois R]

5 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Too many cruises/trips cancelled because of the virus disaster.  Booked, cancelled, rebooked, cancelled.  Ugh.  My cracker-jack TA took care of all the cruises, but I had to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all the refunds and credits.  I do my own air ... Delta still has $4K and a bunch of SkyMiles which they refuse to redeposit into my account ... they insist that I call to rebook.  It expires 12/31 and I am just disgusted.  I'll figure out something next month.  Had the same issue with a United flight and they took care of it automatically so I could rebook with ease.  OTOH, Virgin Atlantic completely rebooked two upper class flights (including a change of traveller) without a whimper.  Nobody else gave me any real trouble; Avalon actually refunded a big cruise without my requesting it.  For me, the major negative since 2020 is that I no longer enjoy the excitement of getting ready for a trip; my subconscious just thinks it will all be cancelled AGAIN.  Leaving tonight for a Med cruise; perhaps I'll get my mojo back after a couple of weeks on NCL Epic.  

Wishing you a FUN and Uneventful trip😀 Big Bon Voyage!

[Toofarfromthesea]

I am of Polish extraction, and I spent 6 weeks there in 1974 as a student.  Then in 2016 I convinced my wife, who had never done any traveling to go there for an organized tour and she loved it.  So in 2018 I planned a trip where we would spend 4 days in Krakow during the pre-Christmas season, then take the night train to Budapest, stay a day, and then get on a Viking river cruise down the Danube, visiting the Christmas markets.

 

We got to Krakow, had lunch, walked around a bit, and then went to the hotel to change for dinner.  I stepped out onto the balcony to take in the ambiance of the city.  The balcony was icy, and my legs slipped out from under me and down I went.  Completely tore the quads in my left knee, and poof, out dream trip was gone and 3 days later I was back in an American operating room.

[jsn55]

OMG, I'll NEVER complain about a cancelled trip again, never.  What an awful accident.  I hope you grit your teeth and rebook what sounds like a truly memorable trip ASAP.  

[Toofarfromthesea]

Just now, jsn55 said:

OMG, I'll NEVER complain about a cancelled trip again, never.  What an awful accident.  I hope you grit your teeth and rebook what sounds like a truly memorable trip ASAP.  

If you are referencing my sad story I won't be rebooking for 2 reasons. My wife passed in Feb.,😒 and my kids have banned me from taking winter trips to cold places. 😘 On the plus side, my daughter and SIL are enchanted with the idea of Christmas in Poland, so they and their kids may do the trip in a couple of years.  So I may get to do it vicariously.

[Szt]

5 hours ago, StollyBolly said:

Iceland was on my bucket list.   We had a really great itinerary on Regent from NY to Iceland via Greenland booked for June 2020.   Need I say more?  We booked another Iceland cruise for 2021 and I can’t recall all the details except it didn’t happen!   We finally made it to Iceland this year. 

Did you love it? That’s on our bucket list. 

[puppycanducruise]

We had a cruise booked for May 2020, sailing out of Venice.  Then COVID came along and that got cancelled.  And you can't sail out of Venice anymore either.🙁  Of course, this was early in the COVID situation and who thought that it would last so long?   So, we booked a different cruise that was to sail in May 2021 but that was on a ship that was still under construction so it was delayed until August 2021.  Okay, we'll wait.  But then, that cruise was cancelled too.  So, we re-booked a different cruise for August 2022.  Then Russia invaded Ukraine and the ship we were going to be sailing on was used to house Ukrainian war refugees in Rotterdam, so that cruise was cancelled.  So we re-booked for a cruise for May 2023  and we got to go on that one!!!! 🙂  It was terrific.

[StollyBolly]

27 minutes ago, Szt said:

Did you love it? That’s on our bucket list. 

30 minutes ago, Szt said:

Did you love it? That’s on our bucket list. 

Yes   Absolutely beautiful and we were very lucky with the weather.   

Iceland was on my bucket list.   We had a really great itinerary on Regent from NY to Iceland via Greenland booked for June 2020.   Need I say more?  We booked another Iceland cruise for 2021 and I can’t recall all the details except it didn’t happen!   We finally made it to Iceland this year. 

[Szt]

9 minutes ago, Szt said:

 

21 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

We had a cruise booked for May 2020, sailing out of Venice.  Then COVID came along and that got cancelled.  And you can't sail out of Venice anymore either.🙁  Of course, this was early in the COVID situation and who thought that it would last so long?   So, we booked a different cruise that was to sail in May 2021 but that was on a ship that was still under construction so it was delayed until August 2021.  Okay, we'll wait.  But then, that cruise was cancelled too.  So, we re-booked a different cruise for August 2022.  Then Russia invaded Ukraine and the ship we were going to be sailing on was used to house Ukrainian war refugees in Rotterdam, so that cruise was cancelled.  So we re-booked for a cruise for May 2023  and we got to go on that one!!!! 🙂  It was terrific.

What cruise line was that? It’s great to know they are using their resources to help people. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Szt
Wrong board

[Mike981]

Some might remember 13 years ago when Carnival Splendor had an engine fire off the west coast of the U.S. and had to be towed back to land. This happened two months before we were going to be sailing on it with some friends. Our friends had never been on a cruise and we had never taken one out of LA. Since air was paid for we had to search for alternatives, luckily we found a similar cruise on Princess that worked.

 

My memory is foggy (too many whiskey waters), but I seem to remember we had the choice to get a full refund or take FCC and additional ship credit. We took the latter and the next year we booked one of those cool wrap around balcony's at the back of the ship. Boy did we have fun out on that balcony!

[puppycanducruise]

59 minutes ago, Szt said:

 

What cruise line was that? It’s great to know they are using their resources to help people. 

Holland America.

 

[NMCruiser55]

We had a Panama Canal cruise with Celebrity booked for Nov. 2020. Based on what I knew of the 1918 pandemic, we canceled in April 2020.  Refund with no drama. 🙂

[shipgeeks]

We did a cruise in January, 2020, and enjoyed it so much we came home and booked another on the same line, for just a few months later.  Of course, we didn't get to do it.  We re-booked four times, but never did get aboard, and the ship then went to the Med for good.

More recently, we were booked on a C/NE cruise which was re-routed due to the hurricane. It went from our favorite itinerary to our least, but we had no thoughts of cancelling. However, the day before departure, our agent called to ask if we were still going, to which we said "Of course!".  Well, she says, 28 of the 32 people in the transportation group have cancelled, and we are not able to run a 60-seat coach for four of you.  No cruise.  The 900+ people who did sail said it was one of the best cruises ever, even with no shorts in their luggage.

[no1racefan1]

We were booked on a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas as part of a large group in April 2020--of course that didn't happen. I was more bummed about the whole trip rather than just the cruise; DH and I are trying to see a game at every MLB ballpark AND we are also visiting as many national parks as possible. So on this same trip I had bought baseball tickets in Miami and Tampa, and booked tours in the Everglades and Biscayne. It was going to be such an epic trip! 

 

We got all our money refunded from Carnival (although it took FOREVER) and we got vouchers from United, which we were able to use before they expired. Miami Marlins also refunded all the baseball tickets automatically. However, Tampa Bay Rays NEVER refunded the tickets and we ended up filing a claim with our credit card company to get our money back. 

 

Just haven't had the heart/excitement to re-plan this trip yet, although we've done a few small land trips and we're going on our first major post-COVID trip/cruise next year, to Alaska. Fingers crossed!

 

 

[Szt]

Spring, 2019- booked a dream European cruise to the Mediterranean for April 2020 for

my hubby’s 50th. It was to be us and my mom. We used cruise next credits as our deposit. 
Jan 2020. - we decided to visit family in South America in March and rebooked an even better cruise to Northern Europe for spring 2021. Ncl was good enough to transfer our credits which were due to expire in 2020. We did go to Ecuador in March. We made it home on the last flight before the airport shut down and borders closed. 
2021 Northern Europe cruise- you know what happened there. So rebooked for fall 2021. But Covid was still raging. 
Tried again for Spring 2022, back to the Mediterranean cruise. 
November 2021, my very healthy 90 yr old mom had a heart attack and passed away in Jan 2022. In Feb both my husband and I lost our jobs. I was in no mood to take the spring cruise. 
Rescheduled again for Oct 2022.
Ncl let us continue to book with our credits and let us give her reservation to our now graduated kids. We finally got that dream cruise, 3 years and 6 attempts later. It was awesome! But a little bitter sweet. Mom would have loved it. 

[ShipsandDipper]

We got on Virgin Voyages’ deposit list when it opened (I think in 2017?).  VV was supposed to start sailing in April 2020, and we booked Scarlet Lady for a few months later, in October.  Cancelled and rebooked that one three more times as the pandemic wore on.  In the fifth iteration, we were scheduled for VV’s to-be newest ship, Resilient Lady, out of San Juan in November 2022. Then VV decided not to bring Resilient Lady out until 2023 and cancelled all its fall 2022 sailings. VV’s other itineraries didn’t appeal to us and we were tired of waiting. So we ended up getting our money back (after 5 years, for the deposit) and sailing another line. 
 

(Notably, that first Scarlet Lady voyage was supposed to go to Havana, but then Havana became impossible anyway.)

[MelbTone]

I booked the Queen Elizabeth 3-night cruise from Melbourne to Burnie (Tas) and back, 11-14 Feb this year. The day before departure I was surprised to get an email from Cunard saying that although the cruise would be going ahead, we might need to skip visiting Burnie as further hull cleaning was required before the QE’s New Zealand cruise which was to follow ours; if this was to happen we would each receive 100% FCC and $150 onboard credit (spending money), a more than generous offer.

 

What happened? The hull cleaning had to be abandoned because of rough seas, we did go to Burnie (to the regret of those hoping for the FCC) and those who joined the ship on Feb 14th expecting to go round New Zealand found themselves on a cruise to Queensland and back! Full story here:

 

  and following comments

Edited October 12, 2023 by MelbTone

[Honolulu Blue]

I had one cruise canceled on me during the pandemic, and I think I canceled three for pandemic-related reasons.  I also had a cruise canceled because it was chartered to the gummint.  That one was before the pandemic.  None of those were as painful as this one:  

 

 

TL,DR:  The ship left without me because sometimes I do stupid things. 🙃

Edited October 12, 2023 by Honolulu Blue