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Important Notice to Guests on our ’22 Cruise Programs

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BIG PICTURE

  • The CDC has declared it is unsafe to cruise regardless of your vaccination status.
  • There continues to be a nationwide rise in COVID-19 transmission rates and reported infections on cruise ships.
  • In response, Jazz Cruises has cancelled its programs scheduled for January ’22.
  • ’22 Guests may elect to receive a refund, apply their ’22 payments to an existing ’23 reservation or complete a ’23 reservation now.

PERSONAL NOTE

For more than 21 years Jazz Cruises has presented the highest quality cruise programs earning its reputation as the Gold Standard of Jazz At Sea. The decision not to sail will be a financial hardship for Jazz Cruises, one that could have been avoided by sailing. However, given CDC’s unequivocal warning as to the risks of sailing regardless of one’s vaccination status, nothing we can do will make our guests feel safe, nor help us produce cruise programs that guarantee their maximum enjoyment. For those and the other reasons stated above, Jazz Cruises will not sail in ’22, but is looking forward to a great ’23 season.

—Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of Jazz Cruises


MORE INFORMATION

Action by CDC. On Thursday, December 30, 2021, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice (the highest such level) stating that, due to current health and safety conditions, sailing on a cruise is unsafe regardless of one’s vaccination status.

Dramatic Rise in COVID-19 Transmission Rates on Cruise Ships. The action by CDC has been prompted by a dramatic rise in COVID-19 Transmission Rates on Cruise Ships. Almost every day there is another report of positive testing among both guests and crew members.

Jazz Cruises’ Response.Until that announcement, Jazz Cruises had been working diligently to establish guidelines and protocols to combat the current issues and to ensure safe sailings for our ’22 programs. In March ’22, we announced that our cruises would require proof of vaccination. Later we added our Jazz Cruises’ Travel Requirements and Travel Safely Programs. Recently, we hired Spotlight Medical to conduct COVID-19 tests, at our expense, for our guests prior to boarding. We were pro-active, on top of every aspect of the issue and ready to pay for whatever our guests needed to “Travel Safely and Board Successfully.”

In the cruise world, however, CDC is the umpire. You may think that you are “safe,” but, if CDC calls you “out,” you are out! CDC’s December 30, 2021 announcement of the Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice ended our efforts to take on the risks of the current health crisis. To Jazz Cruises, CDC’s notice was not just a “recommendation,” it was a command.

For the safety of our employees, guests, and staff, we cannot in good conscience sail in the face of a Level 4 COVID-19 Travel Health Notice. The CDC has told us “to avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status,” that the “chance of getting COVD-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose,” that “since the identification of the Omicron variant, there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise passengers and crew reported to CDC,” and that “it is especially important that travelers who are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, regardless of vaccination status.” Based on the CDC’s public advisories, all four of our January ’22 sailings will be cancelled, and we will move forward with our ’23 sailings, as planned.


WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Unwinding four cruises will take time, but we can share some thoughts now about how this pertains to your current reservation.

Refunds. As we did when The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’20.2 was cancelled, there will be a Refund Program established for any guests wishing to forego their reservation status and receive a refund of their Stateroom price. The details of the Refund Program will be sent to you no later than January 31, 2022. At this time, no action is required if you wish to enter the refund program.(See below for details on refunds for add-ons like Cruise Essentials, Ground Transport, etc.)

Moving to ’23 Cruise Programs. You may wish to apply your ’22 payments to either an existing ’23 cruise reservation or to a new reservation.

  • The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’22 Guests WITH ’23 Reservations Completed. If you have already completed a reservation for a ’23 Cruise, your payments will automatically be applied to that cruise. A reconciliation of that application will be sent to you.
  • The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’22 Guests WITHOUT ’23 Reservations. Blue Note at Sea ’23, The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’23.1 and The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’23.2 are currently in Open Booking, meaning any guest may reserve any available stateroom. If you are interested in sailing in ’23, you may apply your ’22 payments to that reservation. All three sailings are more than 50% sold at this time. We recommend that you make a reservation on our website now. You will pay no money down and Jazz Cruises will move the funds paid for 2022 to this new reservation.
  • The Jazz Cruise ‘22 Guests WITH ’23 Reservations Completed. If you have already completed a reservation for a ’23 Cruise, your payments will automatically be applied to that cruise. A reconciliation of that application will be sent to you.
  • The Jazz Cruise ‘22 Guests WITHOUT ’23 Reservations. You were promised the exclusive right to rebook your current stateroom for The Jazz Cruise ’23 at any time until January 20, 2022. That offer remains effective. You can make a reservation right now on our website using the promo code and reservation token you received via email on December 9, 2021. You will pay no money down and Jazz Cruises will move the funds paid for 2022 to this new reservation. Open Booking for The Jazz Cruise ’23 begins on January 21, 2022.

Travel Insurance. If you purchased travel insurance through Travelguard (Jazz Cruises preferred travel insurance provider) or you have secured travel insurance through another provider, please contact them prior to your scheduled sailing departure date to request a voucher for future use or a policy modification to transfer coverage to another trip. Voucher and modification requests made after your scheduled departure date are typically not honored by the insurance companies.

  • To request a voucher from Travelguard, click here.
  • To request a policy modification and update the dates and trip cost of your coverage through Travelguard, click here.

Refunds for cruise “add-ons.Refunds for all additional purchases made through Jazz Cruises, such as Cruise Essentials, Beverage Packages and Ground Transportation from the Pre-Cruise Hotel to the Cruise Terminal will be refunded in full no later than January 31, 2022.

Your Pre-Cruise Hotel.If you made a pre-cruise hotel reservation, please do not forget to contact your hotel directly to cancel your reservation and avoid any cancellation fees.


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