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It took me a minute to get this one.??

A great discussion topic. For me I've tried to gauge how probable the cruise is. My nearest cruise has a low probability of occurrence, so I left it alone. My spring '21 I have a "little" more hope so purchased some discounted specialty dining.

and 6month equal payments, no extra charges....

I'm looking forward to the free delivery!

listen, If I can "order" a cruise on my Prime account...I may be for it... ?

Seems like that should be assessed as a double minor ???

I was just watching a youtube showing Mein Shif 2 (TUI) complete a successful 3 day cruise to nowhere with zero Covid. I am excited that they are moving forward with ways to evaluate and adapt! Although, Mein Shif 1 had issue with Crew and COVID. Have you heard how RCL are dealing with the incoming crew and COVID

Our next sailing is 11/29, which I re-booked due to our April cruise cancellation. I'm so desperate to sail again, but now I'm really losing my elan for it. Most people fully expect all of November and probably December to be postponed, so I'm just not in a hurry to buy any of my cruise planner or non-RC excursions. I guess I'm just "cruise depressed".

My Soulmate and I just met cruising friends (for the first time since the end of February) IN PERSON. We were distanced and had lunch on our porch. It was glorious. It got us thinking about how many friends we have made through cruising, and how we miss them more than the ships and cruising experience. I am afraid 2020 is a loss, and we have hedged our bets for 2021 with only cruises out of European ports. Still, we hope that we see our cruising friends again, and make even more in the future. To all the people we have met, for all the funny and fascinating conversations ... thank you. To all the people we have yet to meet ... we can't wait. To everyone ... we hope that you Stay Safe, Stay Apart and Stay Connected. Curt from Canada

To quote a dear friend of mine, this is MOO (my opinion only), but I think availability is going to be tighter next year as everyone who has had a sailing cancelled this year, or has simply initiated their own L&S due to uncertainty, rebooks for next year.

If it follows previous years, probably November.

My 'story' is pretty much the same...used CWC to cancel April 13, 2020...then Royal cancelled it. I didn't even bother trying to get a refund since I knew what I agreed to when I cancelled was set in stone. I did try to get my travel insurance $ back but got nowhere with that! ? Rebooked to April 19, 2021...just recently used the FCC to pay (only had to payout a little new money since I upgraded from 4 Spacious Balconies to 4 JS) . So, I believe if this one gets cancelled I will still only receive FCC for what I paid in FCC and any NEW monies paid toward the cruise fare would probably get refunded. After reading so much material on all this my understanding is the original form of reimbursement stays with me until I use it or lose it. Any newly paid money begins a new round of refund offers should this sailing be cancelled by them.

Part of my job is to go into nearby casinos and work on their currency sorting equipment in the vaults and count rooms. At the ones around here they are open but about half the slot machines are off to encourage social distancing and the tables are also only at a half capacity. Everyone gets a temp check and has to wear a mask (I don't think many keep them on long)

Correction - that's one of ten Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences that cancelled. To date 11 of the 23 Division I conferences have cancelled - Big Sky, Colonial, Ivy, Mid-east Athletic, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Patriot, Pioneer, and Southwestern Athletic of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) - the highest level of college football with an NCAA Championship all cancelled before the MAC.

That's what it looks like

Thanks for the heads up. I knew I should have purchased my Harmony GC drink package a couple of days ago when I was looking at it (I know better!). It's gone up a bit, but I still snagged it today just in case it gets even worse!

For me, it's a total escape from reality. I am blessed with a wonderful life...a husband I adore, 3 successful and independent adult children and 3 grandchidren, and amazing friends. That said, life has stress. The second I walk onto a ship, all of my worries seem to just disappear for a short time. I'm a nurturer, and having somebody else (or lots of somebodies) is such a blessing, and really rejuvenates me to come back and give my best to those in my life. I love the sound and smell of the ocean, and that my only responsibility for the duration of my cruise is to make sure that I am clean...and even if I'm not (didn't get out of the hottub in time, whatever...) someone will still graciously care for me.

Did you just go online? I ask because when we booked our June 2021 cruise in May of this year everything we looked at said it was not available but when we called the rep got us what we wanted.

Escargot, prime rib and the strawberry cheesecake.

Lines getting their CDC back to sail plans approved by the gov't. That's one enabler. Ports opening another... Rumors of crews coming back to ships. Some ships are on min manning and a lot of people will need to get into the right position. Guessing just a few ships to start - then gradually build back up the itineraries. I think we still have a long wait.

Not sure if you're past the deadline yet but figured I'd chime in ... To me the last sentence says it all, giving more money in hopes the cruise gets cancelled to get a full refund while having financial issues is an unnecessary risk, especially chasing $100 dollars. You're going to put forth thousands you cannot afford to in hopes to get $100, not something I'd do. If it was me, I'd wait until the last day hoping they cancel (which is unlikely), if not, cancel & get the FCC. As stated it is good until April 2022, hopefully that's enough time for you to cruise again. If not, write the $100 dollars off as - well, I did book with a non-refundable deposit, lesson learned. I'm sorry you're in this horrible situation and wish you the best of luck.

Happy for any positive news at this point!! ?

Sorry to hear you are in this position. At least if you take the FCC they are good through April 2022, so that does give you quite a bit of time to hopefully use it on a new reservation!

In their press release they said they were doing that because it wasn't profitable, it's not about the kids health, they don't care about them, just money

So sorry you caught the brunt of Isaias' wrath! I do hope you get back to normal soon...just wanted to extend my well wishes.

What Liberty fiasco are you referring to? Being in Texas, always interested in references to the Liberty.

Congratulations in advance ! What a great milestone !

Hi @harlipac. Welcome to the RC Blog Forums. I have a Nov 1st Harmony cruise scheduled where final payment was Aug 3rd, so I understand RCL wants you to make a decision on your cruise. I am not sure why you are against a FCC or L&S. If your deposit is indeed only $100 you are lucky. You can keep trying to get your money back, and hope in the meantime the cruise is cancelled by RCL. If you think you are in jeopardy of losing out on your $100 then why not use FCC or L&S to push out your options? SInce you are D+ I would guess you have a lot of experience in dealing with TAs and RCL. Maybe by the time you need to use the FCC or L&S the world with be different and you will be in a better position to take advance of those options. FYI, I was on last Anthem sailing before the shutdown and now may be on one of the first cruises post-shutdown - feels pretty weird. Anyway, no matter what my next cruise gets me to D+ which I am looking forward to. I just hope I get to cruise again...

I think this is the one that will actually mean something. Of course, Royal will never announce that they are recruiting/manning ships, but we will know...there are plenty of people out in the etherworld that have connections and will hear when Royal starts to hire. That is when we will know things are moving. Presently, they are still trying to get staff OFF the ship and back home so it doesn't seem like things are turning the corner yet. ...but I am sure we will hear about it once Royal, or any of the other lines, start hiring.

The Healthy Sail Panel will have some initial thoughts near the end of August. I'd suggest waiting to see what of those are made public rather than wild and unsubstantiated speculation by those like me who have no idea.

Several years ago our Oasis Cruise was partially chartered by LulaRoe. They make obnoxious leggings for women but men were wearing them too. It’s a MLM scheme and those people kept trying to sell to passengers. They were quite annoying. Men in leggings ?

If you're not in the financial position to make the final payment, you'll just have to cancel and accept the FCC at this point unfortunately.

I understand completely. The first cruise I ever went on had a partial charter of cruisers I was not particularly thrilled to be around, but they didn't give me much trouble. I just politely said no thank you the 2 times someone from them approached and started to speak to me. I know there was a thread about this earlier this year. I wish the cruise lines would let let potential guests know if there's a partial charter on any given cruise and who's doing it. I guess they don't do that because regular guests may cancel, or not book a cruise if they knew the one they're interested in is partially chartered.

And my morning Bloody Mary, mid-day and post-lunch margaritas, 2 glasses of wine with dinner, and Baileys on the rocks with espresso shot don't hold a candle to that butter or cheese! ?

I checked in for my September 2020 cruise even though the odds of sailing back then were quite small. Like you, I hope for the best in these situations. Soon, we will all be on the water again.

Ironic that they lifted the International Travel advisory but Americans are banned from almost everywhere on this planet.

I will take this as a positive! Certainly a step in the right direction. Many more steps to go ... but we need to start somewhere. ?

What if you re-book your new cruise (the one that you are trying to use your FCC on) with a travel agent? Have them deal with Royal. @Matt only posts facts on the blog so this should be able to be done. This is one of the reasons I use a TA. I can do everything, but like you said, I don’t particularly want to be tied to the phone and my free time is more valuable than that.

I want to give a big shout out to a hard working RCL employee. I have just put down the phone from calling the number for the UK regarding my cancelled Anthem Oct 2020 Southampton cruise, where I reached Mary. I proceeded to throw a whole host of requirements at her including refunds of FCC and CP purchases, conversion of an existing unused FCC into a refund (required as this was the last opportunity to use it - it is issued in GBP and all my future sailings are now booked in USD through MEI), reactivation and reallocation of a CP 125% credit voucher - and to a TA booking to boot, and chasing a separate outstanding refund. I have to say that Mary was an absolute star! ? Whilst I was on the phone for the best part of half an hour it's absolutely no surprise given how much I asked her to do - in fact I expected to be much longer. To some extent the proof will be in when my refunds arrive; however Mary has little influence over this personally and she has done everything else that she said she would - I can already see the changes in my bookings records. I would love for RCL management to know about my experience, particularly as people like Mary are at the vanguard of flying the RCL flag whilst dealing with disappointed guests during these unusual times. I could of course send an email but I have no guarantee that it will reach its intended recipient... does anyone know if there is the equivalent of an on-board crew feedback card that I can complete?

Funny but not funny. When I called this morning to get a refund for my October 4th on Harmony, I too spoke to a Mary. I'm in customer service, so I know to play it super cool to these people. What is going on is not their fault at all. My Mary was patient, kind and very professional. She processed my refund with no issues at all. I made sure to let her know that I hoped everyone she speaks to today is very kind to her. I meant that!

and THAT is exactly why i don't do buffets in real life, let alone on a cruise...

Bar service in Gold Star: In my made up trip it's 5 o'clock everywhere all the time!

A new Twangster blog!! A new Twangster blog!!! I don't care if it's completely fake and all the pictures have been seen before, IT'S A FREAKING NEW TWANGSTER BLOG!!!!!

@WannaCruise I think only you can decide this one. Buy it now if it doesn’t bother you to have the money held up. If it does, let it go. There’s always going to be another sale before March and also possibly Black Friday.

Im guessing the amount of money they save on normal helpings/servings vs some people throwing away 80% of every plate they take will be considerable.

Looks like a "Diamond Plus Member" is trying to defend RCCL! Maybe she/he works for RCCL or has become a "Diamond" due to RCCL given perks or whatever. Anyway, making excuses for a multi billion dollar corporation that apparently jumped the gun and prematurely sent out emails. What RCCL did was WRONG and DECEPTIVE. We have laws here in the USA against that. This is nothing short of "duping" their customers and keeping our money! Ampurp85, don't forget, each and every one of these cruises cancelled up to early June have already been paid for 100% by every booked passenger because RCCL require full payment 90 days prior to sailing date. That is hundreds of thousands of full paid fares that they are HOARDING right now but those ships are moored will little costs to them. RCCL is "making bank" right now with our money! They are loosing/gonna lose many if not most of these future customers. The PR is Bad. They just need to pay back our money and not lie and change their mind and jerk us around!

@Poolside I feel that saying that they will give a full refund back to someone (me and a lot of others) and then changing their minds and sending credit instead without informing anyone beforehand is screwing people over. People were then expecting that money, in a time when we as a people are struggling with this pandemic, and then they were not given it. People were told they would get the full refund after the new policy was put in place (March 13) to get the refund, not before. When people called on March 13th after already canceling to ask if they could still get the full refund despite canceling and RCCI said yes, then did not follow through with what they said. Thank you for hoping we get the refund, I understand giving the 100% credit is nice, but it will be useless for us, so we were really depending on the refund. That is where my irritation is coming from.

RE: Liberty of Sea Cruise March 15, 2020 RCC cancelled my cruise on March 13. I was proactive watching cruises being cancelled all around the world at that time and cancelled my cruise on March 12 - one day before RCC cancelled the cruise themselves. I was given 100% FCC on March 12. RCC offered me 125% FCC or 100% cash refund on March 13 email. I went online and took the 100% cash refund. RCC has stiffed me on that offer. RCC admitted to me over the phone 2 days ago that they ignored my online request for 100% cash refund. RCC customer service person also admitted that they never told passengers that RCC would ignore March 13 offers for passengers who cancelled one day prior. Totally wrong ! Bottom line is that I was penalized for paying attention and cancelling one day before RCC cancelled the cruise themselves. I'm done with RCC. Many folks in same situation and I'm signing up for class action suit being formulated now.

I have the same question. I cancelled on March 11 for a June sailing. I am due a FULL refund. I was not given an actual confirmation number, but I did get an email showing all of the my extras were cancelled. The nice lady said I would get a refund of the extras (such a beverage/internet/etc) in 3 to 5 business days. I would receive a refund on the cruise by 10 business days. I am more than 12 business days out and I have received nothing back...no refund at all.