Riviera cancellation question

[Catgirl50]

 

We booked an Oceania Mediterranean cruise on Riviera, which was scheduled to leave Haifa on May 29, 2024 and end in Barcelona on June 11. Then the hostilities in the Middle East started and first the cruise line changed the itinerary to eliminate Israel and start in Trieste. I thought it was a bit soon to make the change 6 months before departure, but ok. Then last week, Oceania sent out an email saying they are cancelling the entire cruise, referencing the situation in the .Red Sea. Once again I was surprised because the revised itinerary would take us nowhere near the .Red Sea, But now I had booked flights which the airlines would not refund, only giving credit vouchers, and they charged cancellation fees besides. Our trip insurance carrier informed us that cancellation by a cruise line due to war is an exclusion under the policy. Oceania is promising 100% refunds for the cruise, plus up to $300 per person allowances for flight cancellation fees incurred , with proof. However, I don’t know if I will be able to use the vouchers in the next year, and I don’t know how long it will take for Oceania to issue the refunds. Is anyone else in this predicament with this particular cruise ?  

[AMHuntFerry]

I am so sorry your summer plans have been messed up! Riviera can't/won't go through the Suez canal, and the reroute around Africa takes quite a while to do, so some post-Suez itineraries had to be cancelled.

Why not use your plane tickets and have a fun land vacation in Europe? There is a lot to see and do between Trieste and Barcelona! Or just stay in Italy and hop over to Barcelona for the flight home (or return from Italy if easier and/or cheaper). If you're not a seasoned traveler, a TA can help with accommodations, transport, etc.

To see what others on your cruise are doing, here is your roll call where it is being discussed.

You might find this other discussion interesting:

 

 

[Sthrngary]

6 hours ago, Catgirl50 said:

 

 

We booked an Oceania Mediterranean cruise on Riviera, which was scheduled to leave Haifa on May 29, 2024 and end in Barcelona on June 11. Then the hostilities in the Middle East started and first the cruise line changed the itinerary to eliminate Israel and start in Trieste. I thought it was a bit soon to make the change 6 months before departure, but ok. Then last week, Oceania sent out an email saying they are cancelling the entire cruise, referencing the situation in the .Red Sea. Once again I was surprised because the revised itinerary would take us nowhere near the .Red Sea, But now I had booked flights which the airlines would not refund, only giving credit vouchers, and they charged cancellation fees besides. Our trip insurance carrier informed us that cancellation by a cruise line due to war is an exclusion under the policy. Oceania is promising 100% refunds for the cruise, plus up to $300 per person allowances for flight cancellation fees incurred , with proof. However, I don’t know if I will be able to use the vouchers in the next year, and I don’t know how long it will take for Oceania to issue the refunds. Is anyone else in this predicament with this particular cruise ?  

@Catgirl50 I will provide you with a few approaches.  The challenge is only you know your situation.  Let's start with Travel Insurance.  Still put in a claim. The next thing you do is put in a claim on your credit card you used. They usually have some coverage.  Finally, you send the Airline a very nice letter certified to the top four executives.  Explain your situation, why it happened, and your suggested/fair resolution from them.  In the letter acknowledge that they don't have to do anything for you.  You know that.  You are asking for a professional Courtesy. 

 

I have done all the above approaches and usually everything works out.  The more you travel the more things happen to you.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Guest]

We were on the second leg of that cruise and were crushed when cancelled. Here is what I did. Booked us on an August cruise from Barcelona to Rome. (Our airline credits needed to be used by September!). I asked Oceania to look into honoring our credits for booking the cancelled cruise while on another cruise and another credit for booking early. We only had the deposit down which they will switch to new cruise. Trawick insurance allowed us to switch coverage but had to pay for 3 additional days. I would confirm with the insurance company if you could switch cruise plans and still be covered. It was a horrible few days but am now looking forward to future trip! Good luck to you.

[Catgirl50]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Some airlines, do quietly make exceptions to their rules.  When we felt compelled to cancel our O Marina cruise (because O's last minute change of debarkation from Lima to Santiago was very problamatic) we were sitting on Delta Business Class tickets paid for with lots of miles and some fees/taxes.  When we explained the situation to Delta, they not only refunded all of our miles (they would have likely done this in any case) but also decided to refund all the fees/taxes to our credit card (they had no obligation to do this).  

 

But you need to realize that Delta has a pretty good reputation of doing this kind of thing, but they are the exception.  Other US airlines and most foreign operators are not as nice.  There are over 5000 airlines (around the world) and they each have their own rules, rules enforced by their own governments, international rules, and issues with their own alliances (i.e. code shares) which also complicate things.  Expecting them to take a hit because of various cruise lines is a nice thought, but not reasonable.  The airline can simply say, "you had to right to buy fully refundable tickets and made the choice not to do so."  Most folks do not even look at the cost of fully refundable airline tickets, but the cost can really be shocking when compared to non-refundable tickets (which is now the norm).  

 

Hank

 

9 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Catgirl50 I will provide you with a few approaches.  The challenge is only you know your situation.  Let's start with Travel Insurance.  Still put in a claim. The next thing you do is put in a claim on your credit card you used. They usually have some coverage.  Finally, you send the Airline a very nice letter certified to the top four executives.  Explain your situation, why it happened, and your suggested/fair resolution from them.  In the letter acknowledge that they don't have to do anything for you.  You know that.  You are asking for a professional Courtesy. 

 

I have done all the above approaches and usually everything works out.  The more you travel the more things happen to you.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Thank you for the great advice!