More Cruises Canceled as Omicron Spreads The New York Times

Table Of Content

• Cruises to/from Vancouver (Gulf of Alaska Cruises, Alaska Cruisetours and Pacific Coastals)
• All 2020 Alaska Cruises and Cruisetours for Star, Golden, Pacific, Coral, Royal & Grand Princess
• Royal Caribbean Cancels 4 Sailings Amid Omicron Spread — What to Know
• Omicron prompts more cruise lines to cancel trips.
• No Africa Cruise Planned

As an alternative, cruise lines will give customers on canceled cruises a future cruise credit for the amount they paid, often with a "bonus credit" added to make the credit more enticing. Most cruise lines have offered customers on canceled sailings a full cash refund. Kuther and Feldman recommended travelers purchase travel insurance before sailing, which can help cover those costs.

Cruises to/from Vancouver (Gulf of Alaska Cruises, Alaska Cruisetours and Pacific Coastals)

The intense fallout is drawing comparisons to infamous debacles such as the Fyre Festival — the "luxury" music festival that was more like a "disaster relief area." When the Life at Sea cruise line failed to purchase the German cruise ship AIDAaura, seen here in 2020, its plans for a worldwide cruise embarking in November began to unravel. Soon after TPG contacted Grand Circle, one member of Johnson's group, Barbara Ballard, 64, of Tucson, unexpectedly received the refund she had been seeking from Grand Circle.

All 2020 Alaska Cruises and Cruisetours for Star, Golden, Pacific, Coral, Royal & Grand Princess

Despite the setback, Witman says she's been able to form connections with other would-be passengers, who have been keeping in touch via apps and group texts. "In two days' time, we own this vessel," Life at Sea itinerary planner Robert Dixon said in late September, speaking in a promotional video from the bridge of a ship he called the "MV Lara." And rather than portioning the cruise for sale in smaller stages, the company required customers to commit to the full three years.

Royal Caribbean Cancels 4 Sailings Amid Omicron Spread — What to Know

Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. The cancellations are the first mass-cancellations by Royal Caribbean since they restarted operations in June 2021, and reminiscent to many of what happened in March 2020. On the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards, Pattycruise thinks perhaps too many crew members testing positive is the reason, "Lack of crew members who are Covid free would be my guess." Royal Caribbean did not specify why these particular ships were chosen, although cruise fans certainly have plenty of theories. For Serenade & Symphony of the Seas departing January 8, 2022, and Jewel of the Seas departing January 9, 2022, Royal Caribbean is providing passengers with a 100% Future Cruise Credit to book a new cruise by May 31st, 2022.

Cruises

They're also dealing with an extraordinary volume of refund requests due to simultaneous cancellations of sailings on all ocean, river and yacht vessels around the world into June. The omicron-led travel uncertainty is also causing guests on other sailings to cancel their bookings as a few ships have also had to skip ports due to onboard infections. Cruise lines may also offer additional compensation, such as a future cruise credit, though passengers could have to choose between that and a refund, depending on the company. Charter-related cancellations tend to take place with more notice than emergency dry docking, according to Joanna Kuther, a New York City-based travel agent and owner of Port Side Travel Consultants.

In his new role, Williams will share his expertise with cruise directors across the fleet, spending time on various ships around the world. The contacts have tested negative but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on Jan. 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on Jan. 8, the company said. Royal Caribbean joins Norwegian Cruise Line and others that also cancelled sailings on select ships.

Last month, Royal Caribbean chose to temporarily pause new bookings on cruises departing through early January "because our ships will continue sailing with a limited capacity to accommodate physical distancing." Say instead of canceling your trip, you simply don’t show up on cruise day. Cruise lines make it clear that if you don’t show at the port, that will lead to no refund. First and foremost, yes, you are allowed to cancel a cruise that you’ve booked. As well, you can cancel your trip for any reason that you want — even if you just simply decide you don’t want to take the cruise. Prospective passengers might pause before booking, though, when they see that the voyage was already supposed to set sail on Nov. 1.

TPG app

The industry is expected to grow to 130 million global passengers in 2026, which is up from 73 million global passengers in 2022, according to a 2023 report from the Cruise Lines International Association. While Grand Circle has rebooked passengers on canceled sailings for next year, passengers will be able to change the dates that the company has chosen for them, Shannon added. The good news for those who are worried about their refunds is that refunds are happening. TPG has heard from readers on a number of canceled sailings who already have received their money back. At Miami-based Crystal, all employees -- not just refund processors -- have been working at home for weeks due to stay-at-home orders, spokesperson Susan Robison told TPG.

Celebrity Xcel will feature a redesigned Grand Plaza and will offer the line’s popular Retreat resort area, with private spaces for suite guests. The ship’s maiden voyage is a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale on December 3, 2023. Following the inaugural, Celebrity Ascent will operate 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises through the winter season. Following her 7-night maiden sailing, Carnival Firenze will operate 4-night cruises to Catalina Island and Ensenada, and  5-night cruises calling at Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas. The 4,000-guest ship’s Italian vibe will be seen in her design, inspired by the city of Florence, and in her Italy-themed public spaces and activities. Williams is known for his unique style and big personality, and a range of talents that include singing, dancing, and comedy.

On her most recent cruise, two port calls had to be cancelled so that the ship could return to its homeport on schedule. Carnival Cruise Line has cancelled Carnival Panorama’s next four cruises due to an engine issue that is affecting the ship’s maximum cruising speed. The 4,000-guest ship will be temporarily taken out of service while repairs are made. “We booked the cruise last March and assumed that things would be getting back to normal... By mid-December, I was mentally prepared for a change of plans,” said Holly Bromley, a consulting arborist, who canceled her booking on Norwegian Epic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had last week advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into onboard cases on more than 90 ships.

Royal Caribbean Cancels Cruise Due to Technical Difficulties - Cruise Hive

Royal Caribbean Cancels Cruise Due to Technical Difficulties.

Posted: Sat, 23 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

She said she has never seen passengers bumped as a result of a full-ship charter less than nine months to a year ahead of sailing. When you are notified of a change in cruise plans, the first step is to read the notice carefully to understand your options. If you booked through a travel agency, call your adviser if they do not reach out first. Have them explain the reason for the bump and any options the cruise line offers.

Witman says she also shipped boxes to have on the cruise, back in early October. "Still waiting for my refund. And now you've gone belly up?" a woman who identified herself as a Life at Sea customer said recently on the company's Instagram account. The woman, a retired educator, did not respond to NPR's message seeking further comment. Witman, who owns a marketing agency named Clever Lucy, was planning to work remotely aboard the ship, using its Starlink internet service. And as a single woman, she had been looking forward to exploring the world with a group. Johnson was one of several members of her group who reached out to TPG and provided documentation of the initial offer of a refund from Grand Circle.

These penalties will vary from cruise line to cruise line and even based on the length of the cruise. In general, the longer before your cruise you cancel, the smaller the penalty fee will be. Just because you book the trip doesn’t mean you are obligated to actually sail. Of course, that doesn’t mean you are entitled to get all of your money back (more on this in a moment). Given the tremendous increase in distance, Anthem of the Seas will need to sail at top speed to make her schedule and have as little impact as possible on future itineraries. Instead, by cancelling the voyage altogether, Anthem of the Seas can move directly from Southampton down the western coast of Africa, ultimately a more fuel efficient and faster way to move the ship from Southampton to Dubai.

"We thank you for your support and deeply regret any inconvenience this causes you." Instead, the best way to cancel the trip is to give the cruise line a phone call. Connect to a representative and then let them know that you’d like to cancel the trip.

Dry docking – when ships are taken out of passenger service for regular maintenance or refurbishment – is usually planned years in advance, according to Jared Feldman, owner of travel agency Jafeldma Travel. However, if a ship is damaged while in service, it may need to go to dry dock immediately for repairs. If you were really concerned about cancellations, you could purchase a "cancel for any reason" add-on to your insurance plan. These can be pricey and possibly not worth the cost just to protect against an unexpected bump. When you pay for your cruise, not everything your paying is the cruise fare. For instance, you pay the cruise fare, but also taxes, fees, and often other extras.