Question about compensation for upcoming cruise cancelled due to charter

[SC_Sam]

DW and I are booked on the Freedom for January 25, 2009. I received a telephone call today advising that this cruise (or at least our reservation on same) had been cancelled due to a charter. More than a year out, I was surprised to find that there was a compensation offer of $400 per cabin onboard credit and a price match (if the replacement cruise was higher). The sailings for which the compensation offer applied were other Freedom and Liberty sailings in January and February.

 

It seems like pretty much a no-brainer, since our reservation is being cancelled anyway. I just have a few questions and wanted to "poll the audence", before I call back to tell them which sailing date we choose:

 

1) Is this type compensation offer normal for a cruise this far out? I think the fact that we were booked in a mini-suite affected the amount of the OBC compensation offer. Seems kind of high to me, actually, but I won't complain.

 

2) I booked this cruise during the WOW sale, with only a $250 deposit and $100 onboard credit. Does anyone know whether or not they will let me keep the WOW sale OBC? I forgot to ask when I was on the phone today.

 

If anyone has any experience with this type offer, I would appreciate your comments.

[PH8]

Seems like a very generous compensation you are getting.....considering you dont even have airfare or hotels tied up yet.........

 

Not sure about the OBC,but I would ask them about transferring it.........dont ask IF you keep it.......just tell them you want to make sure it does get transferred and it should assuming you keep the same booking number.....

 

Good luck and let us know...

[cb at sea]

Yeah--good for you! Plenty of time to make other arrangements and compensation, to boot!

[beachchick]

IMO, it's an excellent deal. They could just as easily have simply cancelled your reservation and offered nothing in return. At more than a year out, they have every right to change things if they choose to do so. (I'm giving an opinion on whether they should or if they should take into account that some people have to schedule vacations far in advance. I'm just saying what they can do by the terms of the contract.)

 

That they're offering both a substantial OBC (that's about the total for us for a 1 week cruise, so it would be sweet) and to match the fare if your new choice is more expensive (and honoring a lower fare I assume if you find a lower one) is more than they have to do and more than they often do.

 

Take the money and and the deal and run, don't walk, to your new reservation. Definitely point out that you booked during the WOW sale and expect to have the separate OBC for that transferred to your new booking. IF they balk, point out that they'd be giving you the $400 OBC regardless of when you booked and that the WOW OBC is unrelated to it.

 

beachchick

[suezyq50]

I also think it is an excellent deal. Our first date we had booked the Mariner got cancelled due to dry dock. We were given one of two dates to select from. We were given $100 OBC, if I remember right.

[Apoggi]

Wow, that is a generous OBC. I would jump at it ASAP. Maybe you can upgrade your cabin to a suite. I, too, would just tell them you expect your other OBC of $100 to be transferred. It sure won't hurt to tell them. Like the other poster said don't ask them, tell them what you expect. They have inconvenienced you.

[cruisePRN]

Much Much Much better then what I got when they cancelled the Rhapsody sailing on me. I was offered $200 OBC ( I had a balcony cabin) and no price protection, I had to rebook on the Voyager at their current rate.

[critterchick]

I think it's insane that they offered you that much. You couldn't have booked your airfare already, so other than a possible scheduling issue at work (and most workplaces haven't asked for 2009 travel plans, either). So you're being compensated for having to choose another cruise. I can see offering a price match if you pick an identical sailing on the same ship, but the $400 OBC is excessive IMHO. I shudder to think of what they'll offer if they cancel a sailing within the period of time people would have already purchased their airfare & made arrangements at work.

 

But congratulations on your good fortune!

[DonnaK]

I believe that if you keep the reservation number the same, then the OBC and deposit discount should carry over.

[SC_Sam]

I appreciate all your input. I'm self-employed, so we're somewhat flexible with our scheduling anyway.

 

I won't be greedy and ask for an upgrade to a regular suite. That might aggravate Karma. Plus, if I ever got DW into a regular suite, I might not ever get her to sail in anything lower. That's what happened when we sprang for a junior suite from a balcony one time. No more balconies!

 

I took the offer and ran with it. We transferred to the 01/31/09 Liberty sailing, still Eastern Caribbean, but going to Labadee (which we've never been to) instead of St. Thomas (which we love but know like the back of our hands we've been there so many times).

 

The replacement voyage was actually $50 per person less, so the price match didn't come into play. And yes, the original WOW promotion $100 OBC transferred over, so we have a total of $500 OBC, with the reservation being held with a $250 deposit.

 

I guess we all get lucky occasionally. I won't complain. I think I'm glad I'm not a stockholder, however!

 

Again, thanks for all the advice and perspective.

 

Sam

[PH8]

Congrats Sam......you got yourself a he!!uva deal!!!:D

[psygist]

We had a cruise cancelled because of a charter this past June 2007, but were only given six months notice (Dec 2006). We were rather unhappy because we had already made many arrangements (purchased airfare, time off from work, pre-cruise hotels, etc.). We ended up rebooking the same cruise for July 2007 and RC offered us $400 per cabin, accepted all coupons and OBC from the cancelled booking. They also reimbursed us for the airline fee of $200 per person for having to change our flights. Everything worked out for us in the end, but we wrote a letter to RC management complaining that they should not cancel cruises with such relatively short notice. They called me on the phone and said that this was an unusual situation in that charters are usually arranged at least a year ahead of time.

 

Take the money, rebook if you can, and enjoy your cruise. Make sure you also demand to have all the discounts and OBC you were given on your initial booking.

[PH8]

.

 

Take the money, rebook if you can, and enjoy your cruise. Make sure you also demand to have all the discounts and OBC you were given on your initial booking.

Read the OPs last post.......he got all that.......:)

[katiel53]

Wow Lucky You!

 

I wouldn't be upset if they did that for us sometime. I'm glad you got everything you wanted. Enjoy.