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Windstar delays re-start of sailings

AlanS

We have been waiting to see if our 20 May 2021 Treasures of the Aegean cruise will go. As of yesterday, neither Tauck nor Windstar Cruises had made any decision. This morning Tauck called to ask about 2022 wailtist dates (we were on three) to clean up the lists. Tauck still hadn't cancelled our 2021 cruise. Though I checked Windstar yesterday, I decided to look again-

As of today, 24 Feb 2024, Windstar has officially delayed the re-start of sailings another month- into June 2021! The SY Windstar won't sail again until 19 June. https://www.windstarcruises.com/travel-health-advisory/

So it looks like we will be 0 for 3 in 2021 and 1 for 6 since Jan 2020. :'(

Comments

Smiling Sam

It can't be, per the Points Guy, the travel boom is in progress!!!

AlanS

I re-booked for 2022 but will need to wait (a month?) for Tauck to officially cancel our 2021 trip to get the re-booking credit/discount and have our funds transferred to the new trip. That is not a problem, it's not like we have anything else to do with our travel money at the moment.

Smiling Sam

AlanS - I think you must be the leader with the most trips booked, cancelled, re-booked, and still on the books. Perhaps British but I think she's stopped rebooking. That is why I think you're 'The Leader of the Pack'. I thought I'd throw in a musical reference since you commented about 'When I'm 64' that BKMD made in a different thread.

FYI - The group is the Shangri-Las, from 1964.

What is your tally sheet:

Tauck trips cancelled: ?
Tauck trips rebooked: ?
Tauck trips with multiple reservations on the books (just in case): ?
Tauck trips cancelled, but not rebooked: ?

And any other categories you can think of.

AlanS

Smiling Sam
12:04PM
What is your tally sheet:

We are booked for our third attempt at Jordan & Egypt and XMAS Mkts, Rhine, and second attempt at Treasures of the Aegean

Tauck trips cancelled: 5 (3 discrete)
Tauck trips re-booked: 5 (3 discrete)
Tauck trips with multiple reservations on the books (just in case): 3 (double bookings) (additionally, on waitlist for 3 dates before one trip was cancelled and before we re-booked). It might have been 4 double bookings if Tauck hadn't (prematurely?) cancelled XMAS Mkts 2021.
Tauck trips cancelled, but not re-booked:

And any other categories you can think of.

The above are COVID era only. In prior years we cancelled two trips, one we re-booked for the following year, the other (XMAS Mkts) we re-booked a few years later in the COVID era (jinxed?)! So, technically, we are on our 4th attempt at XMAS Mkts!#$%^&!

Re-booking but did NOT (initially) get the corresponding dates the following year nor the same cabin category, etc. as the cancelled trip: 1 *

*We eventually got the date we wanted via the waitlist for our second attempt at Jordan & Egypt. That one was eventually cancelled later that year, too! Since we double-booked we got our desired date and cabin for our third try.

Smiling Sam

AlanS - That has to be $50K to $100K floating around in the bookings category with product never delivered. You need to be a CPA just to track it all and keep it straight.

Again, All Hail Alan - Oh wait, that's a different thread.

AlanS

No, not anywhere near that much, because some trips weren't paid in full when we double booked. Even though we booked the follow-on trips before we/Tauck cancelled the initial trips, we only paid the deposit and insurance on the new one. Some trips were "relatively" low dollar trips, like XMAS Mkts. Also, I don't usually book air thru Tauck, but that adds around $6000 per trip to the amount "floating around" in $ or credits. We've only received the full $500 p/p for re-booking a trip or two, so we mostly just get the $250 p/p.

Though prices have increased a number of times, so far, we haven't lost any money (knock on wood). However, I haven't started the next round of airline cancellations/re-bookings. I will wait for the flight booking window to open up for J&E first.

I would be lost, however, without my spreadsheets. We fence our "trip money" in a separate account which I track and forecast using a spreadsheet. I also track actual and projected trip expenses on another spreadsheet linked to the first one- I enter known and projected amounts into the spreadsheet. That way have a really good idea how much $ we will need (and must send to Tauck or AMEX ), and just as importantly, when. I project out at least 3 - 4 years. It is all very logical- at least to me and has worked great since 2013.

I also keep every Summary of Purchase, even those for completed and cancelled trips. They came in handy last month when I couldn't figure out why the re-booking "credit" from a previous trip wasn't carried forward. Reviewing the SOP helped me realize the re-booking "credit" in the "Tauck Travel Wallet" wasn't real money like funds in the DreamSaver account. The money in the Tauck Travel Wallet can't be "spent" and isn't carried forward when you re-book, since it is just a discount. Fortunately, so far Tauck continues to issue new ones, but the original just goes away if the trip is cancelled- you only get back or rolled over, what you actually paid.

Unfortunately there are too many sections of my spreadsheet that have headers like this one