NS8VN

{sarasm:ON} Great first post. {/sarcasm:OFF}   

Just the facts:
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/CTC_Not_For_BR.pdf
To be clear, you can argue what is and isn't fair all you wish.  But if you want to preface something with "just the facts" then the fact is this is the document you agreed to abide by.  Fairness is subjective, not factual.

Just the facts:
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/CTC_Not_For_BR.pdf
To be clear, you can argue what is and isn't fair all you wish.  But if you want to preface something with "just the facts" then the fact is this is the document you agreed to abide by.  Fairness is subjective, not factual.

Just the facts:
https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/CTC_Not_For_BR.pdf
To be clear, you can argue what is and isn't fair all you wish.  But if you want to preface something with "just the facts" then the fact is this is the document you agreed to abide by.  Fairness is subjective, not factual.

If you need to transfer data from a phone to a thumb drive then I would suggest purchasing one with both a USB A and micro USB (or Apple lightning) connectors.  Then you can just plug the drive straight in to the phone.

That's funny, on another forum covering Disney Cruises someone very specifically was upset that DCL did not make magic happen.  They went to WDW before their cruise, which was cancelled.  That person expected DCL to set them up in accommodations for them since they couldn't get a new flight and was livid that they didn't.  Had never cruised at all before and decided they never will with DCL.  Which has led to a 10-page (and counting) argument.  (Complete aside, that person had asked a question a couple weeks ago about what happens if they win a big jackpot in a Nassau casino, yet was not prepared for the possibility of a hurricane in September.  Priorities.)
Moral of the story is that no cruise line can perform magic, not even the company with ships named Magic, Wonder, Dream, and Fantasy.

Welcome to the site!
I have worked in the insurance industry, but not in travel insurance so my reading of this may be incorrect.  It sounds like if the San Juan airport is closed for 24 hours straight and your arrival time falls in that 24 hours then they cover it.  If we were to assume that Maria follows this path exactly (it won't) then they will likely close the airport sometime Wednesday.  If it takes a direct hit from a Category 3 hurricane then it is likely the airport will remain closed in to Saturday.
However it might not matter.  If your flight is cancelled then you will be refunded and if your cruise is cancelled you will be refunded and (probably) offered an incentive on rebooking.  Really waiting and seeing is the best option for your situation.  Due to the timing you likely won't know what is going on until much later in the week.

RC & NS,
I believe what Cari is referring to has to do with the Allure. One of the azipods was damaged (?) and the ship cannot attain a cruising speed over18 knots. If it does there is a lot of vibration, which is not good for the ship nor the passengers. As a result, Royal has changed the itineraries for the Allure replacing some of the islands that the ship cannot make due to her speed limitation.The Allure is scheduled for dry dock and repairs to the azipod the week of January 21, 2018. 

Order a bottled water with each drink - then you build up a supply in your stateroom to have on hand! :) 

Well I might have been referring to the fact that it is a giant ship with a lot of things to do so if you are stuck for 4 out of 6 days then there will be activities.  I might have been inferring that a smaller ship would have much less to do during that time and thus the loss of a port would be something they would work harder to find an alternative for.  I could even have been saying there is nothing great about this situation for anybody but getting stuck with an extra sea day on the Oasis is not exactly painful.
But you're right, I'm just thinking of getting drunk.  Pro tip: drink lots of water and you won't have a hangover.

We sailed out of Miami on Monday Sep 4th for a 4 day cruise to what was supposed to be Nassau, Coco Cay, and The Keys. At that time the hurricane was in the Atlantic and we were not too concerned due to the uncertainty of how it was going to behave in the coming days. Besides, we were confident the captain and RC's meteorologists were watching the storm closely, and we would just change itinerary if needed. 
On Tuesday Sep 5th we docked in Nassau and spent the day at Atlantis. We got the package on RC's website and it was a better experience than we were expecting! The slides, pools, and facilities were extensive, and we had access to their private beaches, casino and aquarium on site. We got to spend the entire day there from 9am to 7pm with shuttles leaving every 30 minutes to take us back to the ship. It was well worth it in our opinion! Unfortunately later that evening, the captain came on the intercom to tell us Coco Cay and The Keys were being evacuated, and we would be staying in Nassau overnight.
Everyone on board was obviously disappointed, but the tension and nervousness could be felt for the entirety of the cruise. There was a huge line at guest services after the initial announcement, partially for refunds and partially questioning our safety. For us, we decided it was out of our control, to trust the captains judgement, and enjoy ourselves as much as we could. 
The next day (Wednesday) we got another announcement on the intercom from the captain. We would be staying another day in Nassau but would cut our cruise short. We would begin our return to Miami that evening as the city was beginning evacuations. Commence another ship-long line to guest services with people in varying degrees of distress. Everyone had their own situations, but for us, we were planning to stay in Miami through Friday and fly home Saturday afternoon. Hearing forecasts that the storm would hit Friday or Saturday, we were almost positive our flight would be cancelled, not to mention our hotel closed. RC opened all the phone lines for us to make international calls without being charged. They also offered anyone who could not make travel arrangements to stay an additional night docked in Miami through Friday morning, the original time we were supposed to leave.
That night we got a notification that our flight was cancelled and there were no room on earlier flights. Our hotel called us to say they would be evacuating and could not honor our reservations. I'll admit I felt the panic welling up at that point. We were being dumped in an evacuating city with no where to stay and no way to leave. After calling home to my dad, he went online and arranged a car rental from MIA to drive home to Cleveland, Ohio. 
In the moment, I was angry we were going back to Miami. We overheard angry cruisers saying we should have left Nassau for Miami earlier, or they should have sailed away from the storm, not in the path of it. How would it make sense to drop a bunch of tourists in an evacuating city with no where to go with a hurricane coming? Later I realized there were Florida residents on the ship that had to prepare their houses and meet with their families. Others that drove from other places that had their car parked by the dock. I came to the resolution that we took a risk taking a cruise this time of year and once we disembarked, I alone could be responsible for my own safety. 
Thursday morning we chose to disembark, everything riding on the car rental. Sailing up to Miami was eerie. Few cars were on the roads, resorts and beaches were deserted. We joined the line to get through customs, people in line still calling their airlines and trying to make arrangements. Once we left the terminal, there was a roped off area of taxi companies yelling at us like paparazzi that they would take us to the airport. They were playing off our fears, but it was working. It was chaos and the air started to feel panicked. We jumped into a nearby taxi and decided anywhere would be better than staying there.
We drove through nearly empty roads to get to the airport car rental area, which was very busy, but to our relief, had a car reserved for us. We set off and ran into some serious traffic by Daytona Beach. Hundreds of thousands of people trying to go North. The first time we stopped for gas, they were empty. Nervousness set in as we drove off the beaten path a bit to find a gas station that had just been filled up, the worker starting to open pumps again. We got lucky. There was a line of cars waiting and people filling red gas containers. To avoid traffic, we drove through the night until we couldn't stay awake anymore, pulling into a rest area literally packed with cars. I don't think I'll ever forget what we saw there. We saw people with elderly and disabled parents, children, babies, dogs and cats. People with U-hauls and trailers. All these people prepared to lose everything. I could no longer complain. We drove up onto the grass and slept for about 2 hours. The drive home ended up being 26 hrs with traffic.
I was grateful for my time spent at the beach and in the sun. I enjoyed the drinks and food on the ship and appreciated everything the staff did to make our trip fun despite the circumstances. We got refunded for the day we missed and the excursions we didn't go on. The staff remained professional and calm in the midst of stressed and angry customers. I will definitely be going on another cruise to get the complete experience, just not during hurricane season. 

Unless you had the drink package during your first time... Er, we might be talking about different things

I have heard of people doing it in recent months, so it is still a valid option.  I do think their standard rooms have a capacity of 4 and so only come with 4 passes.  If you have more than that you need another room, so for a family of 5 the savings can be much lower.

A Disney board I'm on has been insane.  The DCL one is pretty similar to any other cruise one, wondering about where uncancelled cruises next week will go and such, but the Disney World one has just gone off the deep end.  The main Irma thread is getting something like 100 posts an hour, people talking about 6+ hour hold times to cancel their trip, so many arguments about this and that, last night it started feeling like a chatroom with how quickly people were posting.  I do not envy the mods over there right now.
Luckily I had this board to run to for a more relaxed thoughtful discussions.  Usually
And as always, best of luck to everyone affected in any way.

I remember warning my sister-in-law about this last year when she told me she was planning her honeymoon.  We are in a La Nina weather pattern, which reduces wind sheer and stability over the Atlantic where the strongest storms form.  Couple that with especially warm water this year and you end up with a stretch of warm humid air and nothing to disrupt the developing storms.  Everything is set up to foster strong storms like Irma this year.

I didn't expect anything for my Nov '18 cruise, but checked anyway and they did have Voom Surf & Stream on sale for 20% off.  Figured it can't hurt, still have 450 days to either get a better deal or be glad I locked it in when I did!

Welcome to the forum Speggy!  I'm taking my first RCCL trip next year as well and one thing I'm good at is research.
AFAIK all bars on the ship accept the package, including the Bionic Bar last I have seen.  You can definitely use it for drinks during dinner, though a recent discussion here seems to point to service being somewhat slow when ordering a drink at dinner (at least in the MDR) and that stopping by a bar on your way to dinner and bringing the drink with you is a much better option.  You are correct that room service is not included, but you are always welcome to get a drink and take it back to your room to enjoy.
The line is doing a trial run on the "all or none" package purchase on a few sailings this year, no idea what they will do from there.  With any luck the push-back will convince them not to implement it fleet wide, but given Carnival and Norwegian both have a similar requirement I am thinking it is not a matter of 'if' but 'when'.

Tuesday AM Update from Liberty
Over the past 24 hours the moods on board have improved significantly!  Passengers have sorted themselves out for the most part in to one of two groups.   Fortunately, the majority have had time to process the situation, make decisions the best they can and have moved on.  However, there are still some frustrated souls who don't know what to do and want the Captain "to make this all end", as if he has any personal control over Harvey.  
When we went to bed last night the best ETA they had was 2 pm Miami time and were recommending passengers not book any flights out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale before 7 pm. WE rolled the dice and booked a 6:45 flight out of FLL in hopes of getting home yet tonight.  We will self carry  our bags off and if the RCL-provided airport transfer bus looks like it will sit awhile before full, we will catch our own cab / uber.  I am happy to give a thumbs up to Southwest Airlines who rebooked us on our cancelled HOU - MCI flight to a FLL - MCI flight at no charge.  I do know that the last minute fares on flights as well as Houston area airports being closed are pushing a lot of people into the next group:
Passengers who are staying with the ship until it's return to Galveston will be able to leave the ship and visit the Miami area before disembarking late that night around midnight.  They have even offered a shore excursion to take a bus tour of the area. That is all subject to how things are looking in Galveston area, but their preliminary ETA there is Friday morning. 
Everyone is going through customs in Miami so that once they do return to Galveston they will simply need to disembark.  I have not heard  what percentage are leaving the ship but our personal conversations indicate maybe about a third of the group will not be on board the ship tomorrow. 
The crew onboard continues to be fantastic.  Captain and staff held a Q&A and stayed until the last question was answered - even the absolute ridiculous ones!
Someone at the Q & A had talked to a personal source on land and stated that as of Monday morning the parking lots at Galveston port had not flooded, but there was no route open to get them off the island.  Captain states they will not leave passengers stranded with no place to go, and they will definitely be able to stay on the ship at least through Sunday morning. 
He was tactful in a statement to remind all that we are not in a great situation but we are doing relatively well compared to all those who have been displaced from their homes on land. 
Time to start packing. This 10 day cruise will never be forgotten!

You've been added.  Enjoy your first Royal Caribbean cruise!

Hurricane Harvey update from Liberty of the Seas Kansas Cruiser
Well it has been an eventful and stressful 36 hours on board the ship. It is early Monday morning and it is with mixed emotions that I sit in the Cafe Promenade instead of my office back home to begin the Rat Race once again.  I am very happy that I am not the person or committee who has called the shots for our ship during this devastating event.  They are making decisions that affect 5877 souls on board and the multi-million dollar impact this storm is having on their company.  Every passenger has their own story and I am thankful that ours does not involve property in Texas.  I do have a daughter in Houston and she appears to be in a safe area for now.  
Overall I believe Royal Caribbean has acted responsibly.  They can never make decisions that will be agreeable to all.  I do know that I was very disappointed Sunday morning to wake up and find that we were sitting just outside the port of Galveston.   All the data and information had been indicating this was the wrong place to be and had hoped we would change course while we were sleeping.  However, the decision had  been made and they then had to execute Plan B.   We were all surprised that Miami was our destination and not New Orleans or Tampa. Hubby ran into the Cruise Director at the bar last night who explained  during an impromptu and heated Q & A session that Liberty was too big to be docked in those two ports.   It will be interesting to confirm that information. 
So Plan B is to arrive at Miami sometime Tuesday and passengers will have the option to get off there and find their own transportation home. Or they can stay on Liberty and cruise with her back to Galveston - currently estimated to be an arrival of sometime Friday ( although in my opinion that doesn't look likely either).   They continue to house, feed and entertain us at no additional cost.  Since we do not have a car waiting for us in Galveston we plan to disembark in Miami and fly home to Kansas.  I was very frustrated yesterday trying to book that flight since we had no firm ETA yet and the wireless service on board was extremely spotty and slow.  We had a several hour delay leaving Galveston area due to reported medical emergencies involving 3 passengers. I'm sure due to HiPPA we may never know the specifics but I would not be surprised they involved heart attacks or serious anxiety attacks. A number of passengers were totally freaking out and a great more had very long faces most of Sunday. The rainy and cloudy day didn't help the mood any.
Attached below are the two letters we received on board Sunday and Monday mornings, along with our current location.
I'll try to update more later.  I'm going to try very hard and make today a true Vacation day and enjoy the free ride!  ( Trying to focus on the bright side!). Thoughts and prayers are with the people on land affected by the hurricane and their friends and family whom are my fellow passengers.  Many of them are starting to wake up and I want to post this much before I start competing for wireless. 

YYZ...Is that a Canadian airport named after the band Rush?  Or maybe the other way around...

We are very happy with .........
Our decision to spend the extra money on the Junior Suite Stateroom.  Our original intent was to try a Balcony stateroom.  After a closer look we decided to spend the extra money on the Junior Suite.  It was around $800 more total and it was the best "extra" money we spent on this cruise. We booked only 5 weeks prior to the cruise so I have no idea if this is the norm or if this was a clearance sale.  Regardless, the extra space and expedited boarding process was so worth it.Our stateroom was port side and in Roatan and Costa Maya we had view of the port which was nice.  
Picture of suite below
The Behind the Scenes tour overall was fantastic!  There were a few boring segments and I do feel it is overpriced, but the view from the bridge and the information learned in the control room made up for it (at least for these two nerds).  It was also interesting learning where the crew lived and played and that they have their own gym and disco! ( we only walked the first deck corridor but saw maps of where everything crew-related is located).
Picture of voyage stat sheet and ship directory including crew areas blow
Our favorite spot was the very front of the ship on deck 5.   It is almost spiritual as you stand there viewing the vast waters in front of you and feel the strength of the wind as it whips by. 
Picture of ship front below
The Solarium pool is a sanctuary!  Kid free and lots of shade made hubby happy and the bar tender served him while we were in the pool. The photographer was even there on day 2 and captured a great picture of us together in the pool. 
The All Inclusive Digital Photo Package. I remember the package was offered at around $249 in the Cruise Planner, but thanks to a post I read on this site I knew it might be the one thing that was cheaper on board. Sure enough the price dropped to $196 up until day 3.  For a couple who don't get many photo ops of them together, we had a lot of fun seeking out all the booths. We will have around 150 pictures of us by the end and it takes that many for us to get a handful of perfect poses to share.  The BIG SURPRISE was that once we bought the package you can download the images immediately and start sharing with the crew back home while you are still on board. 
So far I have not experienced any sea sickness. ( I am one who gets motion sickness very easily in a car or on a lake.). We have yet to sail home behind Harvey but the Bonine I took on Day 3 of our slightly rocky ride kept things in check!  I have also been taking a daily supplement of Ginger a Root at the insistence of my mother.  
Staff has been great!  Our stateroom attendant was quick to supply an extension cord for my CPAP machine.  (There are no electrical outlets on the headboard side of the bed.). I only had to ask once and fresh ice was in our room twice a day.)

It's a no-win situation for RC.
If they cancel, people will be upset because it ruined their vacation.  If the storm's direction/intensity changes, then you really get upset people.
Clearly they have people upset with their current strategy too.
I think the issue for RC is the fact it's forecast to hang around the coast, instead of moving inland and/or away from Galveston. If Harvey were to continue moving inland, it would be well-clear of Galveston by Sunday morning.

Odds are the final decision won't be made until you are underway, and it will be at the discretion of the captain.  Generally speaking they are less concerned with whether they can dock as they are whether they can leave once docked.  Rough seas can push the ship against the dock and cause damage, and getting stuck and not returning on time to disembark (and more importantly embark on the next trip) is far worse than missing a port of call.  Also if tendering is required rough seas are going to nix just about any chance of visiting.
(Don't think I heard that podcast, so apologies if I repeat anything Matt said) Someone was taking a Disney cruise last week and concerned on another board I follow.  I reminded her that cruising is the best way to visit the Caribbean during hurricane season.  She was worried about missing Cozumel, but I told her if she does she will either get a different port or an extra sea day.  On the other hand, if you plan to fly in to Cozumel and a hurricane hits then you either cancel the trip or you get stuck on an island experiencing a hurricane.  As it happened, they did miss it, and while she was unhappy about that she did have a great cruise.  She did get a bit seasick due to rougher seas, her recommendation is to pack a couple seasick remedies just in case.  Ginger, dimenhydrinate , meclizine, whatever you think might help.  Trust that the captain and crew are going to do what they can to avoid the worst of the rough seas, will take care of you the best they can if they do hit some rough patches, and go in to it with the "I'm going to enjoy this no matter what" mindset.
Enjoy your trip and best of luck that Nine doesn't affect you too much!

Odds are the final decision won't be made until you are underway, and it will be at the discretion of the captain.  Generally speaking they are less concerned with whether they can dock as they are whether they can leave once docked.  Rough seas can push the ship against the dock and cause damage, and getting stuck and not returning on time to disembark (and more importantly embark on the next trip) is far worse than missing a port of call.  Also if tendering is required rough seas are going to nix just about any chance of visiting.
(Don't think I heard that podcast, so apologies if I repeat anything Matt said) Someone was taking a Disney cruise last week and concerned on another board I follow.  I reminded her that cruising is the best way to visit the Caribbean during hurricane season.  She was worried about missing Cozumel, but I told her if she does she will either get a different port or an extra sea day.  On the other hand, if you plan to fly in to Cozumel and a hurricane hits then you either cancel the trip or you get stuck on an island experiencing a hurricane.  As it happened, they did miss it, and while she was unhappy about that she did have a great cruise.  She did get a bit seasick due to rougher seas, her recommendation is to pack a couple seasick remedies just in case.  Ginger, dimenhydrinate , meclizine, whatever you think might help.  Trust that the captain and crew are going to do what they can to avoid the worst of the rough seas, will take care of you the best they can if they do hit some rough patches, and go in to it with the "I'm going to enjoy this no matter what" mindset.
Enjoy your trip and best of luck that Nine doesn't affect you too much!