cambe

Hi all, this is the first time I have posted on the cruise forum as I am new to cruising but wonder if any of you experienced cruisers can help me with this.

I booked a cruise with Costa last October leaving October 2011 from Venice and calling at Alexandria for 2 nights and Ashdod in Israel for Jerusalem. The reason I picked this cruise was it visited these 2 destinations and did not go to Turkey (I visited Istanbul and Ephesus last year).

I have just been contacted by the company I booked through to say that Costa had cancelled all stops in the middle east for 2011 and produced a new itinerary. The cruise now stops in Piraeus for Athens, Izmir for Ephesus and another place in Turkey. They have also changed the stop in Santorini for Rhodes.

I no longer want to take this cruise as I have been to all the new stops on the new itinerary and have no wish to return. I have been informed that if I cancel I will lose my deposit or I can transfer to another cruise for a small administration fee.

The deposit is not huge but Costa changed the itinerary, surly I am entitled to a full refund or does one have to accept that a cruise company has the right to change destinations as they see fit.

I would be interested in your thoughts on this before I spend a lot of anguish trying to fight this with Costa.

Thank you

Dayenu

I don't think cruises are like airlines where you have the option to get your money back.

Not familiar with this particular cruise line, but there must be small print that the itinerary can be changed any time. At least in this case you know in advance about the change.

Maybe ask on Cruise Critic, these people know everything!

Jimingso

Cruise lines change their itineraries all the time...not just for military/political crises, but also for hurricanes and other weather issues.

Costa, like all the cruise lines, covers this in there cruise contract.

There is nothing you can do but abide by the terms of the contract which you agreed to when you booked the cruise.

cambe

Thanks Dayenu there are 7 pages about this on Cruise Critic. Looks like I will lose my deposit but thankfully it is only the deposit. Those people who booked for May will lose a lot more if they cancel.

Ryan

Costa is owned by Carnival. Have you considered contacting Carnival Corporation directly? Perhaps they will allow you to apply your deposit to a cruise on another line they operate around that same time (if of interest to you.) Making the case that they can earn a paying fare and not just a cancelled security deposit might hold sway - especially this far out.

Doesn't hurt to ask if you'd like to use your funds productively. No worse off if they so no.

I had a medical emergency after the cancellation period with Celebrity a few summers ago and they returned the deposit in the form of credit towards a future booking. We used it this past summer.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....=irol-products

Ryan

Make that "say no"

jacketwatch

I doubt much can be done. Stuff like this is included in the cruise contract. I am surprised about canceling Ashdod however. Celebrity cancelled our stop in Alex. and this is for Oct. but left Ashdod alone and added 2 days in Haifa.

Aristotle

I think with cruise lines, you pay your money and they get their choice.

P_M

I had a similar experience in 2000 when I chose a cruise mainly for the stop in Israel. About a month before we sailed some fighting broke out in Israel and that stop was cancelled, with Cyprus as the replacement. I considered cancelling the cruise, silly me, I thought they had to offer a refund. But no, if you read the fine print on your ticket you will see they have the right to make any changes they wish for your safety. It's worth asking but don't be surprised if there is nothing you can do.

Although I was disappointed to miss Israel I must say I really enjoyed my day in Cyprus. That is a country I probably never would have seen if not for this change and now I'm glad it happened. I eventually did go to Israel on another trip.

If you do end up taking the cruise and not going where you planned, please try to keep a positive attitude enjoy the places you do see, even if you are seeing them for the second time. Not every trip goes as planned and you must roll with it and make it a good trip anyway.

Good luck, I hope it will be resolved to your satisfaction.

qwovadis

insuremytrip.com independently allows me to cancel

might look at that if not to late.

they just had a bombing in jerusalem

might keep that in mind monitor travel.state.gov

Cruise ships themselves are not liable

for your decisions usually especially with very cheap fares

Costa is particularly unhelpful for me in the past.

qwovadis

priceline.com has awesome value on Costa for me

$299 out of Venice for short cruise in ths spring

if you do make a new booking you might save

your cancel fee that way

cambe

Thank you all for your advice. I have never cruised before and having spent last summer hauling luggage on and off planes and boats in the Greek Islands and Turkey this appealed to me as it included 2 destinations I really wished to visit without the hassle. Much as I loved Greece and Turkey I have no interest in going back again this year so I am going to cancel.

qwovodis, I have annual travel insurance so I might try them to see if I can recover my deposit. It was only £100 which I can afford to loose on the other hand Costa do have some cruises around Italy and France. two countries I will never tire off, so I might transfer.

P_M

cambe, please post back and let us know if Costa allows you to transfer. Good luck.

Dayenu

I've been reading cruise reports, and a ship in February cancelled their Morocco stop. They didn't change the port, just added another day at sea. People who'd arranged private tours were not happy. I wouldn't be happy either, but what can you do!

cambe

P_M I will post back when I hear something concrete. I had a phone call from the agent today and she thinks she can get my deposit back as my cruise is not until October and they have changed the topic from Egypt/Israel to Greece/Turkey. I won't know for sure for 2 weeks but will post back.

Perhaps cruising is not for me, however I have also booked a Baltic cruise which includes St Petersburg in June. I hope trouble doesn't happen there in the meantime!

I feel very sorry for the people who are were booked on the Egypt/Israel cruise in April and May as they have paid for their cruise and the only compensation they are getting is an on-board credit. Hopefully a few free gins & tonic will ease their pain for not seeing the Pyramids and Jerusalem. Hadn't thought about those people who would have booked private tours to these destinations - nightmare!

Ryan

If you booked the Baltic Cruise with a sister company of Costa, you really should have your travel agent see if they'll apply the deposit to ship board credit if they won't outright refund it.

BTW, the Baltic is a great place to visit on a cruise. I posted a trip report from our cruise there last summer, perhaps there will be some useful information that helps you.

traveller69

I just have one question regarding your deposit. Who informed you that you would lose your deposit? The cruise line themselves or a travel agent? With more than 50 cruises in the past it was always stated (and we had to cancel on more than one occasion) that the deposit was fully refundable if it was 90 days prior to the cruise - and October is certainly more than 90 days away. I have never sailed with Costa and just based on reports from fellow passengers on cruises who have I wouldn't book with them but I can't see why their policy is different. I can speak to the cancellation policy with Princess/Hal/Celebrity. Just confirm with the company that you definitely can't get a refund. It is a good reason in future to travel with another line. Good luck and I hope you do get a refund so you can book a cruise that suits you better.

BudgetQueen

Is this OP out of the US?? Some bookings are bound by a whole different contract. I know UK passengers can have some highly restrictive cancelation penalities.

In the US, it's a simple matter to get deposit refunds outside of final payment.

traveller69

I think that it is interesting that on our upcoming Singapore to Vancouver cruise HAL has made changes to the ports of call due to the tragedy in Japan. They have offered full refunds to anyone who wants to cancel (cruise starts April 14) and is picking up the costs of the Russian visas as they are now visiting there as well as Korea (no visa necessary there) They are also donating $25,000 to the Japanese Red Cross. This certainly is good reason to think about booking with HAL in the future. I certainly feel more comfortable traveling with a tried and true line.

Giovanna

Hope things work out to your satisfaction cambe. We had hoped for a cruise to both Egypt and Israel in fall this year, but fortunately had not booked before cruise lines started cancelling ports. Mexican cruises have almost been eliminated because of the drug wars there.

We were disappointed to miss the Falklands on our cruise last year because of high seas, but understand that Mother Nature takes precedence over Princess. Many of the passengers were very angry. We weren't angry, just disappointed, but glad that Princess placed our safety above our desire to visit the Falklands.