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Tell your TA to look it on their site: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/CWC_Enhanced_FAQs.pdf 32. Understanding that the same itinerary, stateroom category, sailing length, and timeframe are a requirement, is it essential that my client rebook on the same ship as well? No, it is not required that your client rebook on the same ship or ship class

It only took me a trip to divorce court.

Update: So I sent my TA an email last night with the links to Royals site that has the info listed saying that it looks to me that I don't have to stay on the same ship. Lo and behold today at lunch I get a voice mail and email from the TA " Oh look I talked with Royal and I am able to get you switched to Symphony!". Yeah thanks That is all I wanted to hear. But why did "I" have to do all this? It was her job in the 1st place. And that is why I am going to go with MEI for all my future sailings.

We never gave trip insurance a thought until January of this year when we saw someone evacuated out of Labadee on a medical helicopter. My wife and I both looked at each other with the same thought...."what if??" In addition, we both have things that could be considered pre-existing, so we decided to learn more about travel insurance. After a lot research and asking for recommendations, we went with Allianz on a per trip basis for our two upcoming cruises (as opposed to a yearly plan). Prices were very reasonable, and we met their requirements for pre-existing conditions. As we get older and into (semi) retirement, we will probably go with a yearly plan, but for now, single trip plans meet our worst case scenario needs.

You can request an accounting for any expected refund. They can look up a cancelled cruise and tell you the various refund amounts that are associated to that exact cruise. I've been in a situation more than once where I am expecting refunds for more than one cruise. Then those bizarre amounts show up and it's challenging to associate them to the right cruise.

I think travel insurance is a great idea for a lot of people, but the biggest mistake with travel insurance is not understanding what it covers (and doesnt cover). Be sure that whatever policy you buy covers the scenarios you have in mind.

In answer to your first question I did. My travel agent took care of it for me. Saved quite a bit of money. All done within a day. Use MEI.

Two years ago life was a bit easier and carefree. Also, this lady was at dry dock. Click the link for a video of what the Symphony of the Seas looked like then at dry dock, still getting some work done. I hope that she will be filled with smiling faces and laughter soon. (preferably mine and my family's lol) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YWQZCBK5N0&t=11s

Obviously, you are a Saint. May God bless you and keep you. ???

Ugh. Horrible situation. If it were me, I would tell the current TA that unless he/she handles the L&S correctly within the next 3 days, I intend to contact Royal and ask for help with having the booking transferred out of the current agency. Now, I realize that this is a bit of a bluff as it’s next to impossible to move a booking that the Agency isn’t willing to give up, but I’d sure make the current Agent believe that a YOU believe it can be done !

You are correct with what you say, the article does state that a cruise may in fact be safer than going on a vacation to a city such as London....HOWEVER it says in a Covid environment at no point does it mention crime rate. My question would be have you ever been to London or are you just going by reports in newspapers. London is no different to any other major city in the world! It has its good and bad areas, good and bad citizens, US cities will have far worse crime rates, shootings, killings and thats just the police!

Aida looking to start sailing in August, short itineraries, half full ships but it's a start https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23205-aida-to-offer-cruises-in-august-on-three-ships.html

UPDATE!!! With the current sale going on as of today (July 9th) I called again to receive another $144 off of our cruise fare. In just under one month, we have now saved $388! Keep checking those prices! FYI: I use the price alert feature on the Shipmate app to monitor prices. It sends me an email each time the price changes (up or down).

We went with Allianz also based on a recommendation from our MEI TA. We like the fact that Allianz just moved our policy from this years cruise to next years. A little different from some of the stories I've heard about other travel insurance companies out there. I hope we don't have to find out how they handle a claim!

Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. You have a TA to be an advocate, not an adversary. Although this is our first cruise with MEI, I have nothing but high praise for them to this point. Short example. Found out on June 20th our TA was leaving MEI. Contacted our new TA on the 25th requesting a Lift & Shift. Lift & Shift completed on the 26th. How's that for service?

No.....You didn't pay the fees yet. You paid the deposit so if it was refundable you will get it all back, if NRD then it will be 600 FCC.

I only took one batch of FCCs for this reason. Cash can be used how I want but the FCCs have too many restrictions on top of not being able to stack.

Do you have any other FCCs, refunds, credit card disputes, or future flight credits to keep you busy?

I don’t think so, Denise. I think the only way that “two become one” is if one has been applied to a cruise and then that cruise got cancelled. Instead of issuing 2 FCCs, they would combine them and make 1 big one with a new expiration date...but if these 2 FCCs have nothing to do with each other, to my knowledge, they cannot be combined and you can only apply 1 FCC (each) to any Cruise. That’s the rule I wish they would change...but I don’t think they have changed it.

My understanding is FCC can only be combined if it was from the same sailing. i.e you paid for a cruise with half FCC and half cash, so instead of reissuing the older FCC with a new expiration date, then anothrer new FCC for the cash moneys paid. They would combine them both and get you one FCC. I don't think you can combine FCC from two cancelled sailings into one large FCC or combine them to pay for one cruise on RCCI.

Very glad to hear this ended up working out in your favor. Sorry you had to jump through so many hoops to make it happen. Good call. ?

DH and I decided that we wanted the CP moneys back on the card, as we weren't sure we'd spend that amount again on our next cruise (already purchased drink pkg at a reasonable price), so we instructed our TA to do nothing -- not to ask for the CP money as the 125% deferred amount -- and we did nothing -- which, to my mind, meant we would get it back on the card eventually. (Cancelled cruise we for the end of this month.) About 10 days ago, I get a cheerful email from Royal congratulating me on my 125% CP credit, that we could start applying to our next cruise!! Messaged the TA - Did you ask for this when we got our 125% FCC? No -- so luckily for us, she spent time on the phone with Royal to get it straightened out. No idea how long that will take...

According to my Agent, a full refund of both cruise fare and cruise planner purchases are on their way from my cancelled Sept. Liberty cruise. The cruise fare was exact and the CP purchases added up correctly even though the amounts were completely bizarre. It hasn't hit my bank account yet but apparently the refunds are on their way. If so, it will be the first of my 5 cancelled cruises that will be completely and totally refunded.

Really looking forward to seeing some form of cruising take place soon so we can gauge the aftermath and read about what people are saying about their on board experiences!

I always buy through tripinsurance.com . They carry three different types of insurance and you choose which meet your needs and budget. The reason I go with them is because they are always extremely helpful any time I have a question about various policies. or my individual policy. I always speak with one of the same two people, which is nice for me - I don't feel lost in a huge corporation (which it probably isn't).

From RC: "Global government agencies, including the CDC, play a critical role in preserving life, preventing COVID-19 transmission, and protecting public health. Our intent is to adopt the panel’s recommendations as well as the CDC standards across the global fleets of both companies."

Yes they can. But for us it always ends up to be cheaper if we pay in USD and convert the money on our own. So there are ways around it if a Canadian wanted to use a US based TA.

I cannot say the same. I am Canadian and every cruise we have taken (other than our first) we have paid for in US funds. All my past TAs, and my current one, are from the US. When I book direct with Royal, I also pay in USD. We have a US credit card and we find that we save by converting money locally, at a lower rate, rather than letting Royal or Canadian credit card companies convert it.

Yes! Me too! That describes it perfectly!

My wife says I do that on every cruise. I like people in moderation.

As @WAAAYTOOO says, I would definitely suggest not trying to rent a car. You would need an IDP to do it, and even if you could find a company that would come to the port with the car (a big if), you will only be able to estimate what time you get to disembark. The immigration process in Japan for cruise ships is definitely one of the, shall we say, least customer service oriented systems I've seen ? You will definitely need some yen if you want to do things on your own. While more places are taking credit card than have in the past, non-cash forms of payment being accepted in Japan is never guaranteed. The fastest/easiest way to get around is by taxi. You would need two with a group that size, but that is easy to do. Some taxis take credit cards. You can also check out something like AirBnB Experiences and see if you can get a local guide for a day. This is an excellent basic travel guide for Okinawa: https://www.visitokinawa.jp/?fbclid=IwAR1gg15J2v_ro8RgPuDN2bACBViV5d1WIJrcCsFVeq24mBnzkhmH3F8KdYY Here is the castle near Nagagusuku: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7107.html If you're there during the week, this is a good lunch spot (please ignore the crap website): https://tantantei-minami-uebara.food96.com/ This is a small chain, but also good local food: http://danbo.jp/store_info/ Heading north from the port will get you to some lovely natural areas. Enjoy, and feel free to ask more questions!

Everyone is going to get it. Just a matter of time. Do you pull off bandaids fast or slow?

Yes we can trust 1 social media comment. The 100's of medical experts and doctors I have heard from or spoke to say the opposite. It is not me that I worry about it is the exponential number of contacts I will come in contact with during or after that I could ruin their lives.

If you get a covid antibody test and the results are positive that you have the antibodies for covid and you can't remember the last time you even coughed, then you are one of the vast majority of the population who had it, beat it and didn't know it.

less than 800,000 cctv cameras in london as of 2020. Also i watched a news report last week where Donald said that the telephone was invented by America ?? pretty sure Alexander Graham bell was Scottish Also watched the film U571 where it was made out that America got the Egnima code machine in WW2, So Just because we read or watch something doesnt mean its true. Who wants to watch a show where everything is good? Glorify the bad get people talking ( a bit like the documentary here last week about cruise industry being responsible for covid! And yes the Miami Herald was involved in the show ) There are far worse places than london to get robbed! Paris, Barcelona, Detroit, New York, Rio, my kitchen when i leave my wallet lying about... Ps being scottish i cannot believe im actually defending a place i dont actually like! but i believe people should not make judgement on something unless they have true facts or sampled it themselves.

The public is so bad at looking at the media's reporting critically...that is as damaging as the response and the virus itself. Why isn't mortality being reported with the spiking cases. I saw one social media comment from someone who says they are a doctor that the with the current numbers right now (I haven't seen it elsewhere yet for more credibility), this wouldn't even be listed as an epidemic in a normal situation much less a pandemic. This whole thing has just eroded more of my personal trust in media and government bureaucracies which were low to begin with. No, not low....I will say non-existent.

I'd love to try the Chef's table...I'm just too picky of an eater and it would be a waste for me to join them :( #ISuck

NOT QUITE YET... ....is this going to be a Live Blog. I am NOT looking to set the new World Land Speed Record for starting the earliest Live Blog. It will turn into a live blog MUCH later when we get closer to sail date. I just wanted to announce to the world that the long anticipated 8 night Symphony itinerary for 21 - 29 August 2021 has finally shown up on the website !!!! I've been stalking this cruise for months. They announced the itinerary - Labadee, Aruba and Curacao - months ago, but never opened it for booking until today. I quickly snagged one of the Deck 8 Aqua Theater Suites because I could not afford (or didn't want) any of the other Star Class rooms that were left. Believe it or not, some of the SC rooms were already gone by the time I got there !! The aft-facing Star Loft was there but I don't really want that one. I have NO interest in that awful Ultimate Family thing and the Royal Loft is WAAAY out of my price range on this cruise (and so was the Ultimate Family thing, to be fair). So let the fun begin. I BELIEVE that this will be the first Oasis class ship to go to Aruba and Curacao. I could be wrong about that. For sure it will be the first time Symphony has been there. This will also be my first cruise on Symphony and I'm very excited. 3 ports in 8 days is my idea of heaven. Interest, anyone ?

Hello, All! Been a while since I've been here. Several times in the past, I've done a second "mock-booking" of my existing reservation, to see if I would come up with a lower price to no avail. With the current 2021 sale going on, I was able to see that booking an available cabin RIGHT NEXT TO MINE was $79 cheaper so I decided to call RCCL. (Not a bunch, but, hey, every bit helps!) To my surprise, not only was the basic rate $79 cheaper, but, I actually qualified for an additional discount as a resident of MICHIGAN! This has NEVER happened for me. In my experience, those discounts have usually been available for those in the home port state. At the end of the call, I had a $244 discount off my cruise fare! If not for finding this blog a few years ago, I wouldn't have known that re-pricing an existing reservation was possible.

Now instead of only 155 days I am at 513 days until sail date. uuuggghh!!

Absolutely agree with @sk8erguy1978, we wait until the week before we leave on any cruises as there is no "early bird" discounts and once purchased, you bought it.

Nope

Just some more data points... Cruise planner refund requested June 30. Refund posted to Amex held with Wells Fargo and a Delta Amex July 9. Also posted were some of the refunds I had to ask Royal about, see post in this thread from July 2. Waiting for refunds to a Costco Citi card for the same sailings. Someone else's card so I don't have real time information.

I called Royal and they said your understanding of the policy is incorrect... Then continue the bluff with @WAAAYTOOO's suggestion.

This is where I think your MEI representative can be of great help. I had FCC in the craziest amounts, we are a family of 3 and I just pay for everything. Not realizing hubby was full boat and my daughter was less and I was 60% off I was physically ill thinking what did I do? I can't lose this money, etc. Sharla my MEI TA said she would take care of it, and she did. I don't work for MEI but recommend them highly, your rep will advocate for you and you will be in great hands, don't go it alone! AND I think they may be able to extend that hold until your FCC comes in. Good Luck!

I just dont see how social distancing would even be possible on a ship. People are literally everywhere, touching everything and not to mention you are breathing recirculated air on the ship. My wife and I have decided that we are going to wait until all of this blows over and things get back to a normal state. After dealing with all of this on land I can't imagine paying to deal with it on vacation. Just my opinion.

Who is going to enforce this as they dont even enforce the time or capacity limits on the hot tubs now?