August Europe....

So I think we will be pulling the plug. Partly because I think this thing will only be starting to calm down this summer and partly since income is taking a hit so europe cruise for 7 will be out. Would like to get my deposit back soon!! We already have 5 of 7 plane tix so have to figure that out.
Anyone else pulling the plug on later summer cruises? We can commiserate together...
So I just cancelled my end of July 10 night med cruise today. PIF was in 2 days so had to make a call. Here’s some of what my DH and I considered:
1 - even if ports WERE open and FLIGHTS do resume, the virus isn’t going anywhere. It may slow down but if we get it, we want to be here and not in Europe.
2 - even if ships DO cruise and we were to go, the odds are still high someone may get sick on the boat thus another scenario which now plays like a bad movie
3 - until there’s a vaccine, everything is a risk at this point
4 - the risk just wasn’t worth it to us when we can go another time when things calm down

For us, we too have a large chunk of money in the airfare portion and we’re 3 people. I spoke with the airline last night as that is/continues to be the biggest stresser for me given how much we have sunk into that. AA advised that even though my flight is in July they were willing to waive the cancellation fee (this is a NON refundable fare mind you) BUT the airfare credit is only good for one year from issue date of credit voucher. (March 28 if I had). I don’t know that I can burn that kind of dough in one year given for many months, no one is traveling. So that would be months wasted.

So, I’m going to wait as long as possible to cancel. IF this goes longer and the airline cancels the flight, the odds of a refund are greater per transportation rules (as I understand it). So given the situation, I’m in NO hurry to deal with the airline UNLESS I start to see signs airports may open as I think if that happens, the odds of them helping you may go down. So best case scenario, airline cancels the flights and a potential for a refund, minimum of credit for a year.

I actually feel better having cancelled the cruise. I don’t know how enjoyable it would have been worrying about the factors of what’s currently going on. And again, while cases/impact may go down, until there is a vacinne, the virus is still there....but so are so many other risks....

This was the decision our family was more comfortable with, including my child’s input.
 
So I just cancelled my end of July 10 night med cruise today. PIF was in 2 days so had to make a call. Here’s some of what my DH and I considered:
1 - even if ports WERE open and FLIGHTS do resume, the virus isn’t going anywhere. It may slow down but if we get it, we want to be here and not in Europe.
2 - even if ships DO cruise and we were to go, the odds are still high someone may get sick on the boat thus another scenario which now plays like a bad movie
3 - until there’s a vaccine, everything is a risk at this point
4 - the risk just wasn’t worth it to us when we can go another time when things calm down

For us, we too have a large chunk of money in the airfare portion and we’re 3 people. I spoke with the airline last night as that is/continues to be the biggest stresser for me given how much we have sunk into that. AA advised that even though my flight is in July they were willing to waive the cancellation fee (this is a NON refundable fare mind you) BUT the airfare credit is only good for one year from issue date of credit voucher. (March 28 if I had). I don’t know that I can burn that kind of dough in one year given for many months, no one is traveling. So that would be months wasted.

So, I’m going to wait as long as possible to cancel. IF this goes longer and the airline cancels the flight, the odds of a refund are greater per transportation rules (as I understand it). So given the situation, I’m in NO hurry to deal with the airline UNLESS I start to see signs airports may open as I think if that happens, the odds of them helping you may go down. So best case scenario, airline cancels the flights and a potential for a refund, minimum of credit for a year.

I actually feel better having cancelled the cruise. I don’t know how enjoyable it would have been worrying about the factors of what’s currently going on. And again, while cases/impact may go down, until there is a vacinne, the virus is still there....but so are so many other risks....

This was the decision our family was more comfortable with, including my child’s input.
I think you’ve 100% made the right decision. I wish we could do the same as we are booked on the EBTA but our PIF passed in January (I think, we paid when we booked). That’s all we can do is wait for DCL to do the right thing and cancel/refund.

I really don’t think (again my personal take!) that Europe will be in a fit state to accept visitors this year. I live in the UK and we are bracing ourselves for a tough and painful few months ahead :(
 
We're PIF for the 5/11 EBTA, and hoping DCL cancels/provides full refund instead of 15 month credit for another cruise. I believe they will do so around 4/12, because there's no way that they'll be sending the Magic to Europe this Spring. Airfare is another problem. We're scheduled on Delta flight to Miami and on Norwegian for flight home from Barcelona. I know European law requires airlines that cancel flights to give a refund not sure what Delta would be required to do.
 
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We were booked on the 8/5 Magic and had to bail. Husband and I have both lost our jobs, and unfortunately, I don’t think it would have been a good decision for us anyway. Even though we are healthy, I think it would have been a big risk. IF it even sails, which is anyone’s guess. If it does sail, there are still unknowns about what the status of the port countries will be like.

So... I’m 99.9% ok with our decision to cancel. We’ve requested our deposit back and are still waiting. We’re out A LOT of money on non-refundable airfare and hotel in Copenhagen. I also pre-paid our hotel in London, but Marriott was really generous in refunding it. Very grateful for that.

I was thinking more about the flights last night and remembered that Delta had moved our departure time out of Copenhagen twice already. It was to the point that I was really, really nervous that we wouldn't have had enough time to get off of the ship, clear customs, and get to the airport and make the flight. I mentioned this to my husband, since he had bought the airline tickets with his credit card. First thing this morning, he was on the phone to Delta to see if they would agree to a refund based on the change in departure time. They initially wanted to see if there was another flight time they could offer instead (nope! not until the next day). After a brief hold, they gave him the choice between refund or voucher. Yes, REFUND, please! For a family of four, this was not a small amount of money.

So now we are just out the money for two hotel rooms at the Scandic Palace (expensive!) and the flight between London/Copenhagen on Norwegian (nominal cost). Anastasia Tours is also dragging their feet on providing a refund on our 2-day land tour of St. Petersburg.
 


I was thinking more about the flights last night and remembered that Delta had moved our departure time out of Copenhagen twice already. It was to the point that I was really, really nervous that we wouldn't have had enough time to get off of the ship, clear customs, and get to the airport and make the flight. I mentioned this to my husband, since he had bought the airline tickets with his credit card. First thing this morning, he was on the phone to Delta to see if they would agree to a refund based on the change in departure time. They initially wanted to see if there was another flight time they could offer instead (nope! not until the next day). After a brief hold, they gave him the choice between refund or voucher. Yes, REFUND, please! For a family of four, this was not a small amount of money.

So now we are just out the money for two hotel rooms at the Scandic Palace (expensive!) and the flight between London/Copenhagen on Norwegian (nominal cost). Anastasia Tours is also dragging their feet on providing a refund on our 2-day land tour of St. Petersburg.
Hi EllieBride, so sorry you had to cancel. We are also on the 8/5 Northern Europe cruise and are still taking a “wait and see” approach (idiotically optimistic, I guess). I am concerned about Anastasia Travel, though. I’ve put quite a bit of money over to them and if we do end up canceling (most likely) I was wondering how that would work. Have they agreed to give you a refund? How have they responded? Thanks and appreciate the info you’ve given so far.
 
So I just read this article: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dr...trictions/ar-BB11YZGm?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP

And it includes this quote:
During the conversation last week, Fauci and Collins discussed whether a “second wave” of coronavirus could hit after business start reopening and people start moving around again.
Addressing that question, Fauci offered what he called an “unbelievable” fact: Now that China is “coming out of their restraints, they’re starting to see [new] cases,” but it’s not coming from the Chinese people.
It’s coming from people outside China who are now able to travel to China.
Fauci emphasized "the irony of it," noting that “China started" the coronavirus crisis, "seeded others, and now they’re getting it back.”
“I think that’s an important lesson for us,” he told Collins. “Because I think we saved ourselves a couple of bullets by very actively and early on doing travel restrictions from China.”
And now, he added, “Europe is the new China,” with more cases now in Italy than China ever had.
“So we need to be really careful about when we do try to reemerge to normality, that we don’t just lift all the travel restrictions,” Fauci said.
Collins responded: “That means we’re going to have … real serious [border] closures to think about for a long time.”
“Right, I think so,” Fauci said.



😭😭😭😭😭
 
Hi EllieBride, so sorry you had to cancel. We are also on the 8/5 Northern Europe cruise and are still taking a “wait and see” approach (idiotically optimistic, I guess). I am concerned about Anastasia Travel, though. I’ve put quite a bit of money over to them and if we do end up canceling (most likely) I was wondering how that would work. Have they agreed to give you a refund? How have they responded? Thanks and appreciate the info you’ve given so far.

We're sorry, too, as we were so very excited about this trip. We were going to be celebrating our 10th anniversary. Now we are just hoping to salvage our business and hope that we come out on the other side in one piece :(

We had booked land tours with both Nordic Experience and Anastasia. According to the contract, both of them offered refunds (Nordic took a 3% fee). When I notified them, they were both very polite and understanding of the circumstances; however, they both did everything in their power to try to keep my reservation/money on file, such as offering to extend it to a future date in 2021. I had to be especially firm with Nordic, basically saying "PLEASE GIVE ME MY MONEY!" A full week went by and there wasn't any sign of the funds from either one and I was beginning to get a little nervous since I wasn't sure what the financial status of either company might be like, so I followed up. They both replied promptly and said they were still working on it and I am happy that both refunds were received this week. Unfortunately, the exchange rate on the rubles has dropped a lot just since February, though. Our original bill from Anastasia was ~$1500 and we received ~$1200 back.

I understand wanting to hold out hope about that cruise - the itinerary is amazing! But I think it is smart to start preparing yourself now for the very real possibility that it might not sail OR the ports may not be open and available to you if/when you get there. :(
 


So cancelled the cruise (can take while for refund), cancelled our last night hotel just now. Luckily had not booked our pre cruise stay yet... So you think late June I should try to cancel flight if airline hasnt cancelled (AF through fly blue miles and AF through delta booking).....
 
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So I just read this article: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dr...trictions/ar-BB11YZGm?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP

And it includes this quote:
During the conversation last week, Fauci and Collins discussed whether a “second wave” of coronavirus could hit after business start reopening and people start moving around again.
Addressing that question, Fauci offered what he called an “unbelievable” fact: Now that China is “coming out of their restraints, they’re starting to see [new] cases,” but it’s not coming from the Chinese people.
It’s coming from people outside China who are now able to travel to China.
Fauci emphasized "the irony of it," noting that “China started" the coronavirus crisis, "seeded others, and now they’re getting it back.”
“I think that’s an important lesson for us,” he told Collins. “Because I think we saved ourselves a couple of bullets by very actively and early on doing travel restrictions from China.”
And now, he added, “Europe is the new China,” with more cases now in Italy than China ever had.
“So we need to be really careful about when we do try to reemerge to normality, that we don’t just lift all the travel restrictions,” Fauci said.
Collins responded: “That means we’re going to have … real serious [border] closures to think about for a long time.”
“Right, I think so,” Fauci said.



😭😭😭😭😭
I don't know if DCL will cancel August cruises, but I have a feeling the travel ban to Europe is going to be extended until at least June 1st and I wouldn't be surprised if it was extended up until August or beyond. I'm on the Baltic cruise in August. I'm in a wait and see mode, but I'm starting to think of other things we can do in the US during August. Maybe it's finally time to take that Washington D.C. trip.
 
Well the Edinburgh festival got cancelled today. Takes place throughout August and is the third largest international event after Olympics and World Cup So I can imagine the decision wasn’t taken lightly. Think that says something about where the UK might stand with international travel and open borders and we are a long way off from August.
 
Well the Edinburgh festival got cancelled today. Takes place throughout August and is the third largest international event after Olympics and World Cup So I can imagine the decision wasn’t taken lightly. Think that says something about where the UK might stand with international travel and open borders and we are a long way off from August.
And Wimbledon!
 
Our original bill from Anastasia was ~$1500 and we received ~$1200 back.

I was really afraid the exchange rate dropped by a lot, we're also awaiting a refund from Anastasia. I knew we would lose money but now it looks real bad. We booked a two day tour for 6 people so we'll lose even more with the rate difference. Ugh.
 
We're sorry, too, as we were so very excited about this trip. We were going to be celebrating our 10th anniversary. Now we are just hoping to salvage our business and hope that we come out on the other side in one piece :(

We had booked land tours with both Nordic Experience and Anastasia. According to the contract, both of them offered refunds (Nordic took a 3% fee). When I notified them, they were both very polite and understanding of the circumstances; however, they both did everything in their power to try to keep my reservation/money on file, such as offering to extend it to a future date in 2021. I had to be especially firm with Nordic, basically saying "PLEASE GIVE ME MY MONEY!" A full week went by and there wasn't any sign of the funds from either one and I was beginning to get a little nervous since I wasn't sure what the financial status of either company might be like, so I followed up. They both replied promptly and said they were still working on it and I am happy that both refunds were received this week. Unfortunately, the exchange rate on the rubles has dropped a lot just since February, though. Our original bill from Anastasia was ~$1500 and we received ~$1200 back.

I understand wanting to hold out hope about that cruise - the itinerary is amazing! But I think it is smart to start preparing yourself now for the very real possibility that it might not sail OR the ports may not be open and available to you if/when you get there. :(
Thank you so much for this info. Yes, I’m starting to get all my cancellations in order and really appreciate your help. I wish you all the best with your business and a very happy anniversary with many wonderful years to come. Stay safe!
 
I was really afraid the exchange rate dropped by a lot, we're also awaiting a refund from Anastasia. I knew we would lose money but now it looks real bad. We booked a two day tour for 6 people so we'll lose even more with the rate difference. Ugh.

We're a family of four, 2-day tour. I was pretty disappointed when I saw the difference in the amounts on my credit card this morning. I actually thought it had to be a mistake. I checked the amount of the rubles charged vs rubles refunded first, and they matched up, so then I looked up the exchange rate and you can see where it's taken a total nosedive this past week. But at this point, I was just glad to get anything back at all.
 
So I just cancelled my end of July 10 night med cruise today. PIF was in 2 days so had to make a call. Here’s some of what my DH and I considered:
1 - even if ports WERE open and FLIGHTS do resume, the virus isn’t going anywhere. It may slow down but if we get it, we want to be here and not in Europe.
2 - even if ships DO cruise and we were to go, the odds are still high someone may get sick on the boat thus another scenario which now plays like a bad movie
3 - until there’s a vaccine, everything is a risk at this point
4 - the risk just wasn’t worth it to us when we can go another time when things calm down

For us, we too have a large chunk of money in the airfare portion and we’re 3 people. I spoke with the airline last night as that is/continues to be the biggest stresser for me given how much we have sunk into that. AA advised that even though my flight is in July they were willing to waive the cancellation fee (this is a NON refundable fare mind you) BUT the airfare credit is only good for one year from issue date of credit voucher. (March 28 if I had). I don’t know that I can burn that kind of dough in one year given for many months, no one is traveling. So that would be months wasted.

So, I’m going to wait as long as possible to cancel. IF this goes longer and the airline cancels the flight, the odds of a refund are greater per transportation rules (as I understand it). So given the situation, I’m in NO hurry to deal with the airline UNLESS I start to see signs airports may open as I think if that happens, the odds of them helping you may go down. So best case scenario, airline cancels the flights and a potential for a refund, minimum of credit for a year.

I actually feel better having cancelled the cruise. I don’t know how enjoyable it would have been worrying about the factors of what’s currently going on. And again, while cases/impact may go down, until there is a vacinne, the virus is still there....but so are so many other risks....

This was the decision our family was more comfortable with, including my child’s input.
It's such a tough predicament! If only we could tell what the future holds but alas I think you made the right decision with the information we have right now.
 
The way things are going I can't imagine the Magic will sail to Europe anytime soon. In fact, I don't see the cruise industry doing much anywhere even in 2021. The virus will likely return this Fall.
 
The way things are going I can't imagine the Magic will sail to Europe anytime soon. In fact, I don't see the cruise industry doing much anywhere even in 2021. The virus will likely return this Fall.
I think it will depend on the travel bans. If people can't fly to Europe then what's the point of sending the ship over there. I'm not as doom as gloom as you. I think Caribbean cruises will resume sometime this Summer. The virus will come back next winter, but cases will be decreased and hospitals will be better able to handle and treat the patients. We may not have a vaccine by the Fall, but we'll most likely have some treatments for the virus.
 
A virology expert in my country (NL) has said in a news item this morning that he expects that summer holidays to Southern Europe, as in Spain and Italy are very unlikely. Not impossible, as situation might change, but with how things look now, his estimation/guess is that mass tourism will be out for the summer.
 

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