You may have read my recent article about my Grand Tour departing from Mahe in the Seychelles and concluding with 4 nights in Abu Dhabi, with a 16 night Silversea Cruise in the middle. However, with less than two weeks to go our cruise was cancelled, which has been a little bit stressful but I’m delighted to share with you that ‘Gilly’s 2024 Grand Tour – TAKE TWO’ is now booked, can you guess from the photo where we are going?

So what happens if your cruise is cancelled?

“Now if you’ve booked a package (with me) then whilst you will be disappointed your holiday is not going ahead you can sit back and relax with the knowledge that you will receive a full refund for the flights, pre/post hotels, transfers and of course the cruise.”

However, with most travel agent ‘educational’ trips booking a package is not possible which means all the elements are purchased individually. So, whilst our Silversea cruise will be refunded in full, I had flights booked to the Seychelles and returning from Dubai, with hotels booked in Mahe and Abu Dhabi. Unravelling this in a timely and cost-effective way has been challenging and is exactly the position you will find yourself in if you source all the elements of your holiday separately, rather that booking a package.

What happens when you book your holiday as separate elements?

There are two important factors to note from the outset:

  • Silversea are not responsible for reimbursing us for our now useless flights and hotels, as our contract is ‘cruise only’. However, they have offered us up to £400 per person in compensation as a goodwill gesture, though our flight and hotel costs exceed £4000.
  • It is also unlikely that your travel insurance will cover you in full, or at all.  Though policies and cover vary, so it’s important to check.

Our flights were booked with Emirates and are non-refundable, though they can be changed by paying the amendment fees, plus the increased flight costs, which can be significant the closer you are to your travel date.  I must say that Emirates were easy to get hold of and very helpful. We looked at lots of possible scenarios and decided to amend our flight to travel in September to Mauritius. This worked well for us as we already had the hotel booked but not the flights. The cost of this amendment was £750. It’s also important to note that if like us, you have paid for extra legroom, if the seats are available on the new flight, and it’s the same destination (in our case the Birmingham to Dubai return) then they will re-allocate these seats to you free of charge, however, for the new Dubai to Mauritius return leg we’ve had to buy these a second time.

Our hotel in the Seychelles was easy to cancel as it was payment on arrival, however, our Abu Dhabi hotel has been paid in full, and like our flights was non-refundable. However, the hotel have been very accommodating and have switched our dates to our new ‘2024 Grand Tour – TAKE TWO’.

Also don’t forget to cancel/amend your airport hotel, lounge and parking if you’ve book these too.

If you’re wondering why our cruise was cancelled?

We were sailing from the Seychelles to Oman (and then on to the UAE), whilst not in the Red Sea (nor were we cruising the Red Sea), cruise lines are currently diverting from this area to avoid the operational and safety risks that the situation with the Houthi’s is creating.

Grand Tour Take 2…

These ‘Grand Tours’ are all about learning new things that I can share with my clients.  Now we will be flying with Etihad Airways to Seoul, spending two nights here before embarking on Riviera (Oceania Cruises) for 11 nights. We will be visiting several ports in Korea and then on to Japan where we will spend two nights in Tokyo. From Tokyo we will be flying back to Manchester, with a 4-night stopover in Abu Dhabi, staying in the hotel we amended from our original trip.

This trip is full of firsts:

  • First time I’ve flown with Etihad;
  • First time I’ve been to Korea;
  • First time I’ve sailed with Oceania Cruises (I have done several day ship visits!);
  • First time I’ve been to Japan;
  • First time I’ve stayed at the stunning Conrad in Abu Dhabi.

I will of course be sharing all my advice and insights from each part of my trip, so if you’ve got any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

“My last day in the office is now the 5th March and I will be back in the office on the 28th March. Please book an appointment here if you’d like to catch up before I go”.