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He's sneaky like that. Probably waited for you to post ?

On the bright side, I'm booked on the new inaugural in April! I expect more changes to be announced though.

It's the same old story. Old ships like an old car may be paid for but have a higher operating cost. New ships like a new car cost less to operate and are more fuel efficient plus they have the latest features and options but they come with a loan payment. I own a 20 year old car. No loan payment but stuff breaks on it all the time. It's easy to work on but it's work that costs money. Fuel economy sucks relative to new cars but there is no loan payment. It doesn't have anti-lock brakes or power windows or a navigation system or bluetooth. Still fun to drive and did I mention no loan payment? I can't use it to offer ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft - it's too old. They know their customers want to be serviced in something newer. Cruise ships follow this analogy. Old ships are not fuel efficient and have higher operating costs, they tend to break down unpredictably like when Grandeur's rudder broke last year. However Royal finds themselves with these ships back under their ownership. Royal faces a choice - spend millions to rebrand them as Royal ships, sell them as-is or scrap them. Who is buying old, used cruise ships right now? Not many. Do they need another two ships offering cruises right now? No. Do customers want old ships lacking modern decor or features? Some might but most do not. Selling for scrap may be the most logical choice given the times we live in.

I know you're comfortable sharing a room, Yep. Each check I put money into a Ally savings account JUST for cruises, without using it this year (well, I might have borrowed some for a new grill - IE, not putting my refunded drink packages back into the account) there is MORE than enough to upgrade to a GS with money left over for drink packages and spa treatment for wife.

I can't believe we're spoiling our kids with star class on their first RC cruise - I don't want to hear any complaining about cots, LOL! Let's be honest, I'm really spoiling myself and giving myself something to look forward to in all of this madness. And anything seems like less money when you break down the payments over 22 months! "Only" 635 days til we sail...

@monctonguy I said the SAME this morning, my husband was concerned I was moping around so much...... no sailings/all cancelled in 2020. Fast forward, just booked another 2021, I just hope I get my cruise planner refunds by then......fingers crossed. Cheers! But I agree, this needs to be over!

I Think November 1.. I think they very much want to have a Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Season..

This is more difficult than predicting the next number on a roulette wheel, with that said, my random guess ... November 1st, 2020. It's only July 1st tomorrow, so anything is possible. They really need to treat this on a week by week basis, with decisions made based on scientific facts and right now facts say the US isn't over the first wave yet given the increase in other states.

Also just out of curiosity, I calculated that route too. Here's how that would work: 21.49kts there and 23.19kts back. (pretty much the absolute max they can run at.) ...now I probably should get back to work, but I'll consider this as part of my work ?

This is the reason we quit taking any FCC. If I could use them more like the cash I gave them initially, we would still have a bunch of them. I would have to start a spreadsheet and make a job out of following all these things for years because every time I used a couple, they were naturally over by some margin, and guess what.....they will then issue you more FCC's for the difference. NO Thanks! Let's see....no combining, no stacking, no transferring, etc. Make it more like spending cash, you know, like when I gave it to you.............

well that clears that up! That is why I asked here! ? I knew you guys would be able to tell me the real scoop... thanks!!

I just read the article by Matt about RC considering limiting capacity on their ships, at least initially. I hope they do this but I hope it is done fairly. I was initially booked on Allure OTS when it was going to sail out of Galveston. I L&Sed my cruise to Symphony OTS out of Miami for the same price (except for minor port fees). I booked my cruise as soon as Allure was announced and got a really good price. When I moved to Symphony I did a mock booking and the price was $3000 more than what I am paying, for the same cabin. I sure hope that RC doesn't decide to limit occupancy by cancelling my cruise and keeping the higher profit bookings intact. I am probably just being paranoid but that is the first thing that came to mind. After all, they have to get their lost revenue back somehow. Steven

Agreed! It keeps Royal holding the money they need right now and keeps the customers happy. Will increase demand on other sailings which could inflate prices for new bookings as well.

I wanted to touch base once again with more good news regarding this moved casino comp booking. When I made the move from August 2020 to Feb 2021 with this casino comp, I completely forgot about the $150 Free Play that was part of the original comp deal. I figured...there is no way they are going to add that back in, since it was not part of the original switch....but I figured it was worth a call. To my great surprise and glee, the Casino Rep said, "No problem. I see that you had $150 each in Free play on the original booking. I will add it back". So, with that....in less than 2 minutes, I had restored the $150 each in Free Play to our booking !!! With so many BAD things happening with cancellations, rebookings and S.L.O.W refunds, I wanted to provide a GOOD report. Not everything is going wrong. I think that Royal is really doing the right thing with this latest announcement about Odyssey and Jewel/Liberty. They are now allowing affected pax to book ANY same-itinerary cruise with price protection on a cruise within 1 week on either side of the cancelled cruise. This is the way they should have done it all along....and they are learning. With each successive round of cancellations, they are adding more and more options to try and keep those booking. Price protecting to a different ship is a great thing for everyone.

Lol! This is exactly what I tell my kids every cruise. They are getting a free cruise, zero complaints. They alternate the cot, so whoever gets the cot on one cruise, get the sofa bed the next.

Give an idea of couch and rollaway in 10724 on Anthem...

Like with @rjac we can remove my now cancelled Odyssey 3/26 sailing as well as my Harmony 8/16 sailing. I was able to move that one to Symphony on 1/30/21 though.

9/15/2020 in limited offerings...

With this latest cancellation (The Odyssey) RCCL offered a slide so to speak, it said I can take the sailing and apply my monies to another SHIP within a week before, same week or the week after the date scheduled. I looked but then thought, I'm not falling for that one. While I love sailing and am always positive I have little faith now we will be sailing until 2021, just my gut telling me this. I am going to miss sailing Thanksgiving as I look forward to it, but I am requesting a refund. We have too much money tied up in RCCL right now and honestly have little faith in Mr. Fain, it dwindles with every video he does. The cruise lines seem beaten down and don't seem to be fighting for their industry or their people any longer, so sorry....RANT. OVER. Now that being said if they do sail I will go to the Cocoa Beach area and wave to my lucky fellow cruisers who had more faith then me! I would LOVE to get back to safe & healthy sailing, and we know it can be done.

In the Netflix movie "Like Father" the ship sails from NYC and visits Jamaica then back to NYC on a 7 night cruise. If they can do it for a movie surely they can do it from Barcelona.

Make a refundable booking in the interim. Best of all options.

Congratulations on Star Class! In my opinion 6 months is not too early to be excited and I think most here will agree ? That's a great upcoming trip to help get you through these times of waiting.

If they were to push it a bit on the way back and reach 76.4699 kts ...would temporal displacement occur? ?? ...and if it did would that mean an extra free sea day? ??

I looked...that wasn't there when I made my post. My guess is that Matt was in the middle of writing it !!!

I was bored so I did the math on that one; You would have to go at 66.28kts from Barcelona to Cococay And then 72.22kts on the way back from Labadee to Barcelona.

Congratulations on Star Class. It will ruin you for sure ! Yes, in-suite dining is not a problem at all. The Genie will coordinate with the specialty restaurant that you want to order from and with room service to get everything delivered and cleaned up. In-suite dining from the specialty restaurants is one of the completely exclusive amenities of SC. Any full suite can get room service from the MDR but only SC can get room service from the specialty restaurants. Since you want this service on embarkation day, it is particularly important that you coordinate with your Genie pre-boarding. This will be easy to do since the Genie will contact you a full month prior to sailing to start coordination. Your Genie should provide you with all of the specialty restaurants' menus so you will know what you have to choose from and plan your menu. I'm sure your Genie will make the birthday celebration very special. This is an area where Genies are particularly skilled. The SC drinks package basically follows the Deluxe Drinks Package rules. I will say, however, that I have only been charged any "overage" for a drink I've ordered as SC once...and that was in Vintages on Anthem. I can't recall the label that we ordered but it was super duper expensive (ordered without seeing the price first !!) and they charged us for it. We have never been charged any overage fee any other time. Of course, we don't drink much alcohol anyway so it's rare that we ever order anything in that category. There is nothing on any of the specialty restaurant menus that is off limits for SC. You can order anything, as much as you want, at the restaurant or for in-suite delivery - no extra charge, ever. I will offer this advice: on Anthem, if you are ordering breakfast for room service, be SURE to stipulate that you want it from the Coastal Kitchen. I assumed (incorrectly) that it would always come from CK, but that is not always the case. We once got powdered eggs from the MDR and it was horrible. Make sure you indicate CK and that you want FRESH eggs. Also, when you order anything for room service, be sure you ask for everything you want. They will bring you exactly what you ask for, so if you want salt, pepper, bread, butter, jam, juice, coffee, ketchup, etc., include that in your order. With SC you will have an ample supply of beverages in your suite (sometimes WAAAYTOOO many !) so those are not normally a problem, but some of the condiments can be an issue. If you don't ask for it, they will not bring it.

It depends on the financing terms of the transfer that put these ships into the Pullmantur fleet. Were they paid for in one lump sum or were they being paid off on a monthly basis or some sort of lease like arrangement. There would be a cost to bring them back to RCI to participate in cruising. Under normal times that would involve a lot of signage and branding. That adds up and I'm not sure there is budget for that right now. If there remains debt obligation that a reorganized or dissolved Pullmantur can no longer service then the ships might return to RCI ownership. That doesn't mean they'll enter the fleet and be offered for cruises by Royal. If you sold a car to a neighbor and you offered financing to them then they stopped paying the monthly loan you might file to repossess the car. The ownership returns to you but you might store the car and try to sell versus driving the car on a daily basis. Royal may claim the assets before a bankruptcy court tries to but they could just go into cold storage or be scrapped wearing the current Pullmantur paint job. Time will tell.

As USCG stated if you want it sooner you have to call. I was SHOCKED when we lifted & shifted, this OBC followed the new booking. Thought I was going to have to call again & have it moved.

Love me some Philly! We are close enough to enjoy a day trip to NYC but far enough not to have to deal with all the congestion. Although our single home is in the city, it is far out from the 'downtown' area and we have a big backyard and trees everywhere. Also, home prices are fairly reasonable as compared to NYC. We were left off the original quarantine list by FL and so our PA snowbirds can come and go to FL as we please. BTW, we are a multi-pet household: dogs, cats, and birds. It is always heartbreaking to lose a member of the family, but our little animal companions are so perfect that heaven always calls them all too soon!

That was me, and if I recall correctly, it was @Ogilthorpe who helped me out with that, so I'll pay it forward. ? If you call 1-888-305-4626, they can expedite the availability of the reward OBC and put it right into your cruise planner. I just contacted them last week with another redemption, and it was in my account within 15 minutes of hanging up the phone. ?

For years now there are sites that display a ship without explicitly naming it. They slap some arbitrary price on the posting and sit back and wait. If someone comes along and expresses interest (some rich oil prince maybe?) they'll connect them with the owner for a smallish multimillion dollar finders fee. If anyone is referencing these sites are proof of something it's leaves a lot to be asked about the legitimacy of said person. These sites have been out there for years now and every couple month someone finds one and thinks it's breaking news.

What’s your best guess on a date when RC will sail again in any way shape or form with paying guests? My gut tells me: April 2021

Keeping my fingers crossed that my November 8 sailing aboard the Oasis is on. I REALLY don't want to wait until next year to cruise. Fingers crossed!

I like the way you think. So much so you have convinced me to book a December 2020 cruise ?

@twangster I am trying to be optimistic. I stand by my assessment that people are inherently evil and we have to work at being kind and good. Since I work from home, I have been helping my friend at her restaurant on the weekends. She has been open for a month: three weeks of patio seating only and one at dining room, all socially distanced. Other than the yahoos off the street with no mask who just walk in and use the bathroom without asking, everything else is going smoothly. People are desperate to be out, so they have been following all the rules. However, this is Chicago and we have been pretty good about mask, social distancing, etc. Although Texas and Florida are seeing spikes right now, I feel like in the next month or so they will get their act together. I think the 15th of Sept is feasible, that's 10 weeks away. A lot can change in 10 weeks. I think the CLIA did the lines a favor by voluntarily suspending cruises. When China starts back in July, they will have an idea of how things can go or should go, plus enough time to implement changes.

I would do a 10 or 11 day on Liberty out of Galveston in a heartbeat.

So I just called back and a second person confirmed that my grand loft suite has the capacity for 5. This is so weird!

I am still going with this year 2020. Regardless if cases are going up, there is no reason the CDC will extend the ban. 2021 is too far away, cruise lines might as well just file bankruptcy if that is the case. There will probably be stringent rules but I am sure there will be Thanksgiving and Christmas sailings. Right now a lot of people who don't want to listen are feeling the burn but by Aug things should be different. We could avoid a second wave if everyone is careful and be cruising.

Nah....I would be there if I could be...doesn't bother me at all. Lockdown and loss of rights and liberty bothers me more.

I'm sure you know more about this than me. I hope you're right !

My understanding of my Allianz policy is that if I had a trip planned and the cruise portion was canceled by Royal, it doesn't matter why it was canceled; it should qualify as a cancellation by a common carrier.

Then I guess I will need to request that the new Icon class ships all have rockets attached to them. ?

Ahhh, the beautiful Bermuda beaches. Glowing pink and soft as powder. I could surely be tempted to fly directly there and relax for a few days. Now if only I would receive my RC April refund I could splurge on those airline tickets!

The 360th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, featuring how Ryan proposed to his girlfriend while on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Ryan took his girlfriend on Oasis of the Seas, and shares what steps he took to plan the perfect proposal. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-360-ryan-proposes

So sorry to hear about your experience! We too purchased a policy with Allianz for our 5/31/20 cruise. Fortunately, when it was cancelled we were able to successfully move it first to 10/4/20, and then most recently they allowed us to move it again to our existing 4/24/21 cruise after we did a L&S on the 10/4/20 cruise. Once we explained the reason each time, they just moved it to the new trip dates with no penalties or hassle, etc. Due to the current climate they have been very flexible.

Last cruise I learned an interesting fact...I enjoy Pina Colada's. I am also becoming quite creative. Here is my Pina Colada with a Strawberry Daiquiri "swirl" it was delish! We are planning a little beach getaway end of July / beginning of August ourselves, cannot wait. Anyway - Cheer to you too!

This is how I feel about hubby’s service. He tells me it was clear early on that he was not cut out for the military and, due no doubt to a little too much partying on his off days in Sicily, he received a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions. But he DID SERVE and I am proud of him for it.

I am very sorry to hear the sad news. We have had an unfortunate dog year also, we lost 2 boys shortly before this all started and are on the list for 2 pups. Whatever your decide about the puppy, I always take the approach that you can't have too many dogs! ???