Your cruising questions answered

As the global coronavirus pandemic hit South Africa, many cruise ships were quarantined, banned from docking and cruises altogether cancelled.

This left many cruisers uncertain about what will happen with tickets they already bought.

Chuck Flagg, cruise consultant with travel specialist Cruise Planners, answered some of the crucial questions on cruisers’ minds.

Will I get a refund or a future cruise credit if the cruise line cancels my sailing?

This is something that is specific to each individual brand. Most lines are offering either full refunds of the fare paid or up to 125 percent of the value of the cruise fare as a future cruise credit (FCC), which can be applied [toward the purchase of another sailing]. Most lines are allowing passengers to apply their credits to cruises departing until the end of 2022, but you should always check with the line in question first.

Refundable deposits have been returned to the form of payment if a client cancels before their final payment is due. Some brands are allowing clients to take their non-refundable deposits back in the form of an FCC for the value of the deposit. This is cruise line specific and, as mentioned before, policies have been updated daily, if not hourly in some cases, in this world-changing situation.

When will I get my future cruise credit?

Agents are being told it can take up to 30 days from the time of cancellation to get future cruise credits back to consumers.

With many lines, you can rebook immediately. Carnival, for instance, was able to move a portion of the money paid on a cancelled sailing to a new booking. The FCC will take a bit longer to be applied. For the Royal Caribbean brands, it can take up to 30 days to process the FCCs, but they have extended the deposit due date out to May 31.

When should I rebook my cruise?

I believe people should rebook when they are comfortable. Cruises for 2021 and 2022 are already booking up with certain lines. The same is holding true for late 2020 sailings.

It depends on the brand, but I have seen most FCC policies allow up to the end of December 2021 to apply the FCC’s to new bookings.

Will the perks I secured on the cruise I originally booked be transferred to my next cruise?

The perks may not be transferred to your next cruise. I believe this is going to be brand specific, and the current promotions at the time of rebooking will be in effect.

Is now a good time to be looking for bargains in 2021?

I always tell people to book when they are ready. Travel professionals with a brand like Cruise Planners have tools like our Value Tracker to continually monitor pricing of different sailings for a lower price and or an upgrade if available. People are booking out to 2021 and even to 2022.

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