The special operation in Ukraine made its own adjustments to many areas of life not only for officials and people with “blue blood”, but also for ordinary citizens. Travel for citizens of Russia and Belarus to European countries and America is limited. Moreover, far from the best sons of the fatherland, they still managed to do this.
But this article will not be about that at all, and will only partially touch upon politics. I outlined one of the reasons why club members cannot travel using accumulated bonus points. But that is not all. Let’s start in order.
The outflow of InCruises club members.
The problems began not in February, but long before that. A series of events beyond the control of the club’s management led to what we have now.
Covid-19 Pandemic
The pandemic has hit the travel industry hard. This also affected our company. Many club members are simply tired of waiting for the end and lifting of quarantine. We were desperate and lost hope of ever getting on a cruise. And as a result, they stopped paying monthly membership fees. This could not but affect the business as a whole.
I must note that in this difficult situation for the industry, President Michael Hutchison has done a lot for the company. It’s not for nothing that he is an anti-crisis manager.
The weakest and, as it turned out, the least protected members of the community left. They just lost their nerve. Some people also began to be indignant that they were not going to pay anymore. And we would like to return the funds that we contributed.
Membership Introduction 2.0
The second Reason was the introduction of membership 2.0. Let me remind you for the uninitiated about the rules of initial membership. For valid reasons, a club member could not pay membership fees for up to 11 months. And even in the eleventh month of missing payments, he could clear the debt without losing the funds deposited years earlier. All you had to do was send a letter to the company about it.
Well, aren’t the conditions loyal? Absolutely!
But neither 11 months to come to their senses, nor the opportunity to reset the debt brought the “rabid” members to their senses. Laziness or maybe… I don’t know what motivated them. In general, complaints reached management, and they responded to these “attacks” with updated membership 2.0.
Perhaps the new membership looks attractive to newcomers to the company, but I personally prefer the original version. I’m just torn to say – well, we got it? Where are you all now? YOU GOT EVERYTHING BACK!
And they didn’t need anything but gray noise in the crowd. But how many nasty things the scoundrels have done with their actions.
Sanctions
Well, okay, what happened happened. The company has been preparing updated membership rules 2.0 for more than six months. Don’t cancel it. And I think the club didn’t allow its own benefit either, due to the changes.
After the well-known February events, even bigger problems were added. Sanctions limited entry (as I wrote above) and companies were also prohibited from collaborating. And the company InCruises is an American company with registration in Puerto Rico (the unofficial 52nd state). And don’t go to grandma here, the outcome is known. US regulators have banned cooperation with the Russian Federation and Belarus.
To be more precise, according to the management:
The rules are changing to comply with sanctions against Russia and Belarus that were imposed by the US Treasury Department through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These sanctions limit the ability of cruise lines to do business in Russia and Belarus, and residents of these countries — sail on the ships of these cruise lines.
Dry residue — we cannot yet travel and develop business in our countries.
More precisely, we can invite business partners, but from other countries. The post-Soviet space is one thing, many have not yet forgotten the Russian language, but with non-CIS countries it is much more difficult.
Holidays for the Russian Federation and Belarus
Again, it is worth giving credit to the company’s management. Despite the situation, the club announced, so to speak, a holiday on paying membership fees. For now for a period of 6 months. Previously booked and canceled cruises for today will be returned to the accounts of club members with 100% of the cost.
This is understandable, there is no way to pay, international cards do not work. And no one can even imagine when the situation will change.
And the longer this uncertainty lasts, the less enthusiasm the partners have.
Thinking out loud.
People often ask questions about the reliability of a company before joining. Here is an example of a company that showed an example of a network business. But who knew that the reasons described above could even arise. There are no guarantees anywhere, but there are only a few such companies.
You know, my opinion is this. People, by and large, are indifferent to all this. I watch them go en masse into very dubious projects. Why?
The answer is simple. It’s simple — small entrance, promised quick income, etc. Get into the matrix and pay off from the second invitee, familiar? Has anyone ever wondered what kind of product this is, where the money for payments comes from?
Come on, Seryoga! But quickly, we’ll have time to hit the jackpot.
Has anyone counted how many of these people didn’t make it? Do you know how fast such “shit” multiplies on the Internet?
I think, or rather, I hope that after the bitter experience, people will more carefully check information using different sources. Do not trust the same little-understanding partner who immediately grabbed you by the ear and poured out a tub of information that you did not understand. Most likely, he is not out of malice, he himself is far from it, but in the end you will suffer.
What to do?
Favorite question of Nikolai Gavrilovich (I’m exaggerating).
Returning to InCruises, I would like to note that partners in 190 countries around the world successfully continue to work and travel, but for now without us.
- As a positive person, I really want to believe that everything will work out. Preferably in this life.
- But my other half, where I am a realist, does not allow me to mark time waiting for a miracle.
Everything I told you about didn’t happen now, not at the end of May, or even this year. I was just rethinking, digesting different information, hoping and believing.
Last fall, just in case, I finally decided to “lay out straws.” Having decent experience, I chose an equally (and in modern conditions even more) reliable and officially registered investment company.
“I hope, but I’m holding my tail with a pistol.”
— Blog author, Sergey Buslaev
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