twangster

I have experienced a lot of differences how one cruise is handled compared to another. In reality none of know how future cruises or future cancellations will be handled. My advice would be to try to get something on the books that works for your family in the event that it does go forward and operates as scheduled. Best case scenario is the vaccine(s) get everything back to normal quickly and if you assume that won't happen you could find yourself in a pickle if the dates for a placeholder cruise don't really work if the cruise does actually sail.

In fairness to Royal I don't know that any other cruise line is any better right now. They all seem to be having money problems and can't pay out refunds that are due. That's inevitable with no revenue for a year. I'm hesitant to give money to any vacation company that requires 100% payment 3 months in advance right now. The risk-reward isn't there. If the cruise lines fail I don't want to be the one out of pocket for thousands of dollars. Hotels you can pay when you get there. I can deal with that in 2021 once travel becomes a reality.

Just got another $500 in refunds today. $14k to go...

I still see both. It can vary depending on what ship you are on. If your ship doesn't have a PADI dive shop on board Scuba might not be offered. They participate in the prep work to validate your pass and often do the dive itself. Snorkeling is available to everyone. I bring my own mask, fins, snorkel so when I snorkel I just wade in and go (no charge). I have a set of snorkel fins that are easier to pack for when I don't scuba. If you don't want to bring your gear it is $39 for all day snorkel in November. Scuba pricing is way up for November 2021. Nearly $70 now. It

I've netted 13 points so far. Not sure why I bother. With status recognition to Elite based on Crown and Anchor I've got a long way to go to reach Elite Plus but more importantly with Always In, there is no point in having a loyalty program on Celebrity, at least in its current, revised form. A small bag of laundry that has to be used by day 4 and a small discount on the wifi upgrade hardly seem worth it.

Refunds of cruises is variable for me. In cases where I have a refundable deposit before final payment and I choose to cancel I have been getting refunds in 7 to 21 days. Refunds of cruise planner purchases are back to pre-pandemic timeframes. I had over 20 cruises booked with them going into this pandemic. There have been enough WTF moments dealing with various cancellations that it has soured my opinion of the cruise line. Around 75% of those 20 bookings cancelled gracefully. I'm down to 4 cruises booked that are non-refundable and I'm hoping they eventually cancel so I g

If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean it never hurts to call them and ask about the dates for your FCC and what you options are. You don't have decide anything on the first phone call, just ask questions and then you'll know your options.

Still on the website, just not on bookable list. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/grandeur-of-the-seas

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence Currently CWC is available for cruises that set sail through April 30, 2022. Sailings on or after May 1, 2022 are not currently eligible for CWC.

Grandeur just pulled up to the pier in St. Maarten. Her sisters Vision and Enchantment are at the other pier. PTZtv: https://www.portstmaartenwebcam.com/ She can no longer be found on the website.

Ships that have sailed in Europe during the pandemic on a very limited basis are flagged in Europe. No Royal ship is flagged in an EU member state. Here in America it doesn't take long for the PVSA to become well known to cruise ship guests and why itineraries are made the way they are. However...Europe has cabotage laws as well. The PVSA and Jones Act represent America's cabotage laws for passengers and cargo but 91% of UN member states and 80% of the world's coastlines are subject to cabotage laws. Royal is restricted to operating cruises that conform to cabotage laws everywhe

The Royal Caribbean Group has over 50 ships. Even if 10 of them were running at reduced capacity somewhere those ships might break even but the other 40 ships blowing bubbles in the ocean for another year will quickly drain any cash reserves and loans dry. If your family has a six figure combined income but now both people are working part time in retail it doesn't matter how much is in the bank, you'll quickly run through any cash reserves. Vaccines are game changers but it they do drag into Q3 for general availability and numbers don't trend downward until 2022 we will likely see some pr

Congress won't take up a PVSA amendment. The passenger vessel industry beyond cruise ships in the US contributes a lot more to the US economy compared to these foreign cruise companies. There are US operators using US flagged vessels offering cruises from Seattle and Juneau. Any PVSA relief offered to foreign companies that employee very few Americans while paying no US taxes would quickly be shot down by the courts for the right reasons. Even if that impossibility came to fruition it doesn't address the crew C-1/D visa immigration issue which also stops foreign carriers in their tra

I'm curious how this will factor into the 2021 Alaska cruise season. Royal won't want to sail ships empty across oceans or through the Panama Canal just to have Canada keep its ports closed and ships can't sail. Will have to watch it progress over the coming months.

Looks like the border could remain closed for a while. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-indicates-canada-u-s-border-restrictions-to-last-a-long-time