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For me, the Lift and Shift offer is brilliant and I think RCL is to be commended for providing this option. We were due to sail from Fort Lauderdale in October but, as we are in the UK, we have no idea whether flights will be back to normal by then, or even if we will be allowed into the US. We changed to the same cruise for October 2021. We retained our current price and package (drinks, OBC, etc.) which is great. This year's cruise is 33% lower in price for a like for like cabin compared to next year. Final payment has been moved from July this year to July next year. (This is for a Celebrity cruise through the Panama Canal but the principle is the same.)

I came on the blog to talk about the importance of TAs and saw this thread that ties into my point. So my sailing that we had is a 3 person sailing and we paid around $3,400 total for our JS (excluding taxes and port fees). I got an email from Royal today telling us we got our FCC issued! Very exciting! Except it’s for 2 of 3 passengers and only for $420 each which is NOWHERE near the realm of what we should have gotten, not even taking the 125% aspect into account. All I had to do was forward that to @michelle basically going “what in the world???” And she replies back within hours (emphasis mine) “yes all the ones they just did this week are all wrong We will get it all straightened out – so frustrating. I will take care of it so no worries” The amount of relief I felt when I found out I wouldn’t have to wait on hold to argue with Royal is legit invaluable. I can’t believe this level of service is free to me. @Matt is SO right when he says that you think you don’t need a travel agent until you really, really do.

Somewhere at Royal Caribbean... working feverishly on our refunds and FCC calculations... LOL! ?

Hopefully we will see you on board in the near future

Shareholder meeting May 28. I’m expecting some news related to new builds to come out of that.

You need an AWESOME TA to negotiate the Lift & Shift Royal wedgie!! I have one!! A HUGE HUMONGOUS "HAT'S OFF" TO SHARLA at MEI! She Lifted and Shifted our Dec 28, 2020, Galveston Adventure 7 Nt Western Caribbean to Dec 26, 2021, Miami Oasis 7 Nt Western Caribbean with Coco Cay in a Crown Loft from a Grand Suite on Adventure. With Allure being doubtful in Dec 2021 and no seven nighters in Dec 2021 in Galveston, this was a good substitute (better than the original cruise, I think). This task was dicey since we used partial FCC from our canceled March (last month) sailing on the Adventure sailing. So pleased!

We are booked on Odyssey's inaugural and after the news this week, I have a bad feeling as well. That led me to do some looking (as I really do want to sail Odyssey sooner rather than later), and I ended up booking the 8 night on Odyssey 03/12/2021. Now, I did say to a friend yesterday that might be cancelled too depending on how long Odyssey gets delayed for but that is way too far off to predict right now. Fortunately for us, we are able to put down the deposit and hold it for now and as @Neesa said, let it play out. So at the moment, I am holding two bookings for that week in March. Allure (which I was originally booked for that week but now disappointed that she won't be amped) and Odyssey (in case that inaugural doesn't go through as planned). I am hoping that by December (final payment time) we will have a more clear picture of what this will look like. At the same time, I also grabbed the 8 night on Brilliance that you are talking about, but for July. I too have been wanting to head back the the Southern Caribbean and the July itinerary on Brilliance has St. Lucia as a port of call. This is also my Plan B in case I decide not to go the Norway GC. I have always been a book cruises way in advance person, but this is getting crazy. I am starting to lose track of all the Plan A, B, C, Ds that I am juggling at the moment lol.

Not sure if its any indication but some European countries published when they are planning to start and allow tourists to visit : Cyprus - June Italy , yes Italy , Bulgaria , Greece - July. Spain Turkish - August France - currently only 2021

@Ampurp85 I learned something new this week from a fellow blog insider. I have always thought that the policy was that the FCC would be issued in the name of the passenger, however, a fellow blog insider this week had some luck otherwise. One of her sailings got cancelled (she paid for everything) and they had their son's friend on the booking with them. She was concerned that the friend's portion of the FCC would be useless to them as they would not be bringing this friend on future cruises. Anyway, to make a long story short, she called and pleaded her case and Royal issued the FCC back to them, not the friend. So you might want to call and try your luck...worth a shot.

Remember, folks -- give those mothers in your life what they really want.

So is the lesson to just take the refund? Asking for a friend.

Rescheduled now for Sept 26 2020 Symphony of the Seas eastern Caribbean ?

I have learned that when the drink package (DBP) first appears for a distant sail date in the Cruise Planner, the drink package (and most CP items) is not discounted (posts as the full onboard price at first). As you get closer to sail date and they start offering Cruise Planner sales, etc., you will see it drop. As an example, the price on our Symphony 4/24/21 cruise is currently $89 for the DBP. Today, for our Oasis 10/4/20 cruise, it’s currently discounted to $44 (states 40% off onboard prices). We had purchased the DBP for our original, now cancelled, Oasis 5/31/20 sailing at $51. As far as we can tell, there is no rhyme or reason for the prices as they are not set in stone by ship or itinerary and vary based on the specific sailing, time until sail date, current promotion/sale, etc. The general rule of thumb is to purchase the package when you feel comfortable with the price and then continue to monitor for price drops and then cancel your original purchase and repurchase the package at the new lower price.

Here’s another good short documentary I found (under 8 minutes) on “What It Takes To Be A Cruise Ship Performer”... filmed on Symphony!

We got our kids room back a couple of weeks ago. The credits were correct. We got our room back today and it’s totally off. (Shorted $600 ish each). Same price per room. I waited on hold for 40 mins today and gave up. I’ll try again tomorrow. PS very annoyed!

Again, the cruise contract as written states it goes in the names of those sailing. Any deviation from the policy would be a courtesy and not required. As the phone agents life’s have been torn upside down, with more than a quarter of the staff laid-off or reduced pay you could have gotten someone who’s job it isn’t even to be in a call center taking reservations. They took anyone they could to help process reservations. Again, this is precisely the reason to have people like @AnnetteJackson and the team at MEI travel on the issue. They know the rules and who can help. Having a travel agent for a cruise doesn’t cost anything, but not having one can cost a lot.

That’s wonderful news. Michelle is trying to shift me from Empress February 2021. To harmony February 2022. They are so busy and I’m very impressed with them. I’m so glad I found this site. I had AAA for my last cruise and I know they wouldn’t put in this much time to help.

Eh, just tell the teachers they’ve learned to work from anywhere. We’ll save them some pool chairs while they get their homework done. Also, any school system that begrudges a vacation after things get back to normal needs a reality check, so many kids have had their lives put on hold while still forming personalities. We all became who we are from bouncing things off of groups in school.

@TXcruzer I do agree that they are all not as well versed in the rules but remember this was issued like 3 or 4 days ago. I was able to L&S my Liberty Oct 2020 to a Allure Nov 2021, both were western Caribbean, 7 days and an OVB.There seems to be very strict rules in place for L&S. For example I wanted to do the Oct 24, 2021 out of Canaveral, it was a western as well but it included perfect day. This changed the product and itinerary, which went against the criteria. My rep said people are calling in trying to get around the criteria. Like thinking it just has to be Caribbean or it just has to be this ship etc. I went into the call with 3 options and the Rep was successful with one. He told me a lot of people were being turned down because they failed to understand it pretty much a copy and paste. Also it won't be available for all cruises as the new cruise must be 12 months out.

It's basically a go for Lift & Shift at this point. Got the confirmation about some details I had for my TA, like the fact that we will be able to cancel this cruise if we do so before the 90-day final payment mark even though the current sailing is already past final payment date. So I'm going to be giving him the go-ahead shortly. I'm not at all thrilled at having to wait another entire year for this after already waiting such a long time. But I just cannot see this sailing actually happening in any real semblance of its original form. Even if Cape Liberty were to reopen in time, it's highly unlikely Canada will be opened yet. And my contact in Iceland just told me that they will not be "back to normal" until 2021 at the earliest. They have nearly stamped out Covid-19 there, with only 20-something cases remaining. But I'm sure that like many other places, they won't reopen for tourism until we have a vaccine, some amount of "herd immunity", or other measures to have better detection and tracing.

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I have always been vexed by the values for FCCs. I don’t see how it’s possible for Royal to justify anything less than 100% - or 125% - depending on what has been promised, but they always surprise me with something less than I expected. I hope they will recalculate those who have received less than they expected but I have been disappointed before.

We did these two in February 2020. We enjoyed them both. The trikes in Aruba were not RCCL but the cave and beach in Curacao were RCCL. The walking around at the shops in Curacao was a short walk from the pier. Hope this helps And

Royal math. Something to do with how many they plan on selling, what the current sales numbers are, and likely a ton of other factors. I've got pricing for DBP on Harmony for $49 one week and $57 the next, then two months later on Odyssey it's $84. If you're going to be getting internet too a lot of times the DBP+Voom package is a better deal too, on the Harmony ones above it's only $8 extra for voom instead of the $11.50 for getting it separate. As far as I know though the current promotions they're running are only for sailings from September -> December. Buy when it hits a price you like or can deal with and if it drops later you can cancel and rebuy ?. I use it as an excuse to check back several times a week and daydream a little while waiting...

As @JohnK6404 said buy it when you feel comfortable. That Allure sailing may reach that same level or may bottom out at about 65 a day depending on early demand for that sailing. Many pricing factors go into the deluxe beverage package, sailing length, destinations, crowd. There’s plenty of data they may be using that we don’t know. If they were smart they would know the historical drink package possibility based on prior sailings of those guests. The Harmony 2021 group cruise drink package is priced now at 89.00 a day.

Same..... was supposed to recieved over 2000 in fcc... got my email yesterday.... only 500. Seriously Royal!?! Facebook groups are lighting up... apparently this weekend Fcc is a complete cluster $%#@.

If this is easy enough and cheap enough the workforce can be tested monthly at every employer to monitor employees. Its a way to open up everything. How this helps cruises I don't know but I know this, I want to cruise on our Oasis cruise is Sept. I don't want to social distance on a cruise and I don't want to wear a mask/face covering so things need to be figured out. I'm not smart enough to know the answers but social distancing and face coverings on a cruise is not the answer. If I have to personally buy 7 of these tests for each day of the cruise I will do that and take one each day. I do not want to be restricted in who I interact with or how man people I interact with and I do not want to wear a face covering everywhere I go on the ship. Sorry, just my thoughts.

Great article with a lot of good points. The Points Guy: 5 reasons why I’m bullish on the return of cruising. https://thepointsguy.com/news/5-reasons-why-im-bullish-on-the-return-of-cruising/

I'm in a similar situation. Even if you subtract the Cruise Cancellation fee (which they shouldn't and I will fuss about since I didn't cancel - it''s a reimbursement) they still granted me over $2000 less than I should get and more than a $1000 less than I paid for the berth alone. This can't fly - or float.... My guess is that they brought in some temps who don't know the business. At least I hope that's the problem. I'm looking for my first cruise and I can go somewhere else (and sell my stock).

Ok, I’m going to have to ask for some sort of responsibility here from you, rather than just leaving that comment here. Let’s say I bought a new volvo last year, I signed all the paperwork, maybe reading some of it and ignoring other parts. If I decide I don’t want it anymore I should just be able to give it back and not have to eat the depreciation penalty? No one is forced (in the US as deposit rules differ elsewhere) to take a non-refundable deposit but many choose to do it. Ignorance of the policy doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply.

I wasn’t judging what someone was going through, questioning the motive is an entirely different issue. However, most of the crew members are still under contract and getting paid at the rates they agreed to prior to the stop sail order. Also, as a publicly traded company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders, and pointing out that the CDC put an uneven burden on the industry with charter flights was what they should have done. No other industry was held to that. Should colleges have been forced to repatriate students? Should tech companies charter jets for their H1 visa workers? Possibly, but they weren’t.

I'm not sure how it can be 125% of what I paid when 800 isn't anywhere close im completely stumped and feel robbed

Beat's being in Iraq or Afghanistan! Prove me wrong.

I think this is the first time since all this started that I am not on the side of the crew. What a ridiculous farce, and in reality shows a lack of respect for your employer in my opinion.

What??? Are you implying that Royal has cruisers that are heavier than that? Say it ain't so........

24 hours is not a hunger strike. It’s intermittent fasting. People do it all the time. And the story is a farce, mentioning the crew members nationality but “they don’t want to be named” they went on a “hunger strike” corporate and the captain clearly know who they are. And who ever went on a “silent” hunger strike, aren’t those usually used to bring publicity to an issue?

I try to have paella in the Windjammer for lunch on embarkation day. For dinner I choose a fish entrée of some sort. I loved Chocolate Sensation for dessert, but lately that hasn't been available. That said, anything chocolate is good for me! I am not sure what your delivery options are, but I hope you can enjoy your special celebration. When we sailed from Southampton, we toured the Canaries, so perhaps you can find some nice videos online...I recall a travel show that described Funchal and the hand-pushed carts down the hill (we actually did that). Take care...

Developed in my home state at our State College. I'll take this monthly if needed. This is easy.

And when they're giving me rates at 40% of what they are next year, plus price protection even past final payment date, I'm more than happy to! Like @Kathleen said, it's not going to shake out right for everyone, but in certain scenarios it's going to be a big win-win. Same rules as always apply: do your research, work with a good TA and do what's right for you!

When I married my wife 10 years ago, I took her on her first cruise (my 5th). She only saw the upfront cost and didn't believe it. Then we did a trip to Universal Studio... She was sold on the cruises after that. Especially with dinner every night... Where do we want to eat tonight? Same restaurants, same food... On the ship... same dining room, new food! And we didn't have to deal with "the food was really good at that restaurant, but the prices were so high!" I just want to relax and enjoy the vacation. I have every confidence the cruise industry as a whole will be OK in the long run. But I am anxious to get it moving again.

For us, the monies that Royal Caribbean has is not full payment but instead our deposit. There was no requirement we pay in full prior to moving our sailing. Our cruise was not scheduled until October 2020 and full payment would have been due until end of June. We could take advantage of the Lift and Shift program and they merely moved our deposit and gave us the price of our 2020 sailing in October 2021. For Cruisers whose sailing are mid August through December and have not had to make final payment will be able to lock in their current price by just transferring their deposit to a sailing in 2021. It won't work for everyone, but some, like us, if your willing to make decision to delay now, it was better than the FCC granted through the straight Cruise with Confidence rules.

Absolutely fascinating story, had no idea this is where the ships were, I winder if they let them have a break at CoCo key or Labadee! https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33338/satellite-images-show-armadas-of-vacant-cruise-ships-huddling-together-out-at-sea

Did you know Darth Vader had a sister? Her name was Ella........... and of course their relationship had its ups and downs......

You're definitely right in the log term, but I think for the short term it would make sense, even if they lose money. For one thing 50% is better than the 0% they are currently bringing in, so it could slow the burn a little. But, as some others have pointed out, the cruise industry needs some "burn in" time... a chance to try their new procedures to verify the effectiveness, and to prove to the CDC, cruising public, et al, that they are on top of this. I suspect many die hard cruisers would jump at a chance for a half empty ship (half-empty Oasis class - Sign me up!), which is what I am inferring from the number of Casino offerings, especially free cruises. I suspect RCI is trying to keep the regulars on the hook because it'll be harder for them to attract new cruisers for a while. I also think this is a stronger argument for them starting to sail with the smaller ships, but some bean counters somewhere probably know exactly what number of passengers make each ship profitable.

STEALING!!!! Thank You

I'd settle for a stale bag of peanuts and a bottle of warm water if it meant I was cruising soon.

YOLO booked it! Just added 8-night sailing on Odyssey for 2/12/22... My wife just realized it will be Valentine's Day during that cruise. This will be our first Quantum/Quantum Ultra experience and the first time we're going to Grand Cayman, Curacao and Aruba! Only 647 days to go for that one! LOL!

Here is a speculative musing: What if Royal Caribbean is not only delivering current crew to various places throughout the world, but they are also picking up NEW crew who have already been quarantined and tested ? With airlines still not flying reliably, maybe they are picking up new crew when they go to the Philippines and Malaysia and Indonesia, etc. Of course, if they have not already been isolating these new crew and tested them, then it wouldn't be a reasonable plan but maybe they had planned ahead and have new crew ready to board ? Just thinking of possibilities....