twangster

With NRD - non refundable deposits, there is a $100 per person fee for changing ship or sail date. If your deposit was greater than $100 the difference is granted in the form of future cruise credit or FCC. For example, if your was deposit was $250 pp, $100 pp is lost and $150 pp is provided in the form of FCC. If your NextCruise booking included reduced deposits you may just lose the deposit up tp $100 pp. NextCruise bookings give you 30 days to change without fees. When did you book?

That date seems oddly familiar.

Your bid will be doubled, no different than guests with two in a cabin. Try going through the motions of bidding. You'll see the double effect as you step through it.

More like 3/17/21... should only take a day or two to reach that conclusion.

So you are saying it's ill conceived?

Try 4 guests. Next try 2 guest. Virtually same price divided by 4 now divided by 2. Next try solo. Nearly the same final price divided by one guest. Yikes. Super expensive. over $9k for a solo in an ATS.

Just be aware that not all Royal reps are well founded in FCC process. I let my travel agent deal with it and it took her several calls to resolve. One told her no residual so she called back and pointed out the verbiage to them so so then they said first cruise where FCC was used has to be completed. After completing that cruise she tried to get the residual FCC and was given another run around that wasn't resolved then the next day I got an email from Royal with the new FCC. Bottom line is be persistent and if you don't like the answer call back and speak to a different agent. I applied my FCC to a cruise that was paid in full under 90 days away. A few days later I got a credit card refund in the amount of the FCC we had applied to that cruise. Once that cruise completed is when we went back and asked for the rest of the FCC. Keep detailed notes. If for any reason the new cruise is cancelled you'll appreciate having detailed notes about the FCC.

Came across this reference: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/partial-cruise-request Restrictions: Certain countries, such as the U.S., Italy and Norway, have cabotage laws affecting passenger movements. These laws restrict foreign flag passenger vessels (such as those operated by Royal Caribbean) from transporting guests from one port to another port in the same country. In the U.S., the cabotage law applicable to the cruise industry is commonly called the Jones Act but is legally titled the Passengers Services Act. A brief summary of this U.S. law follows: If a passenger (as listed on a vessel passenger manifest) embarks in a U.S. port and the vessel calls in a nearby foreign port (such as Ensenada, Grand Cayman and Nassau) and then returns to the U.S., the person must disembark in the same U.S. port. A passenger who embarks and disembarks in two different U.S. ports (such as Los Angeles and San Diego) would result in the carrier (not the violator) being fined. The vessel must call in a distant foreign port before the U.S. embarkation and disembarkation ports can differ. The nearest distant foreign ports are in or off the coast of South America. If either the passenger's embarkation port or disembarkation port is in a foreign country, then the provisions of this cabotage law do not apply. Nor do they apply in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Similar passenger movement restrictions exist for cruise vessels calling in Italy and Norway.

If Royal follows down the Voyager path of AMP, each ship will have some differences. That's intentional, otherwise why sail again on the other sister ship? I wouldn't be surprised if there were some minor differences.

It all depends. If sales are strong don't spend a lot of time looking...

Maybe "consumed" is a better word compared to displaced. I love Vintages but it never seems that busy.

Indeed. I wonder if Vintages is being displaced. Makes sense placing a bar in a restaurant, serves double duty.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/07/11/royal-caribbean-announces-165-million-upgrades-and-enhancements-allure-of-the-seas

Here are three example for Adventure, Brilliance and Serenade coming from North East ports repositioning to other US ports. All include some of the ABC islands. By the way, sometimes these repo cruises are good deals as seen above. 11 nights for $620. Need points to raise the family up the C&A ladder? Cruise solo. With double solo points that would be 22 points for $1,240 (with solo supplement) plus ports fees and taxes. Nice bump of 22 points to level up you and your significant other.

That I know of. If you look at East coast repos they tend to involve the ABCs or they sail empty. When Mariner, Harmony and Allure recently moved home ports within Florida they sailed empty.

Yep. The waiver removes the need for a distant foreign port, but all cruises still require some kind of foreign port. Otherwise they would have needed to swing by the ABC's to repo the ship to Bayonne.

It depends. In North America in my experience the first cruise where the FCC is applied has to be completed before the residual FCC will be issued in the form of a new FCC. Other regions may not allow splitting the FCC between two cruises. Typical FCC terms and conditions in North America: (expiration date will vary based on your booking) Redeemable towards cruise fare only. Guest is responsible for taxes and fees where applicable. Not valid on Complimentary cruises, Incentive bookings, or Charter sailings. One certificate per person, per booking, and valid only for the person noted on this certificate. If credit is applied to a booking of lesser value, the difference will be issued as a new Future Cruise Certificate. Royal Caribbean reserves the right to void the FCC Savings amount if the guest named above receives reimbursement. Cruise must be taken by 10/30/2020. Valid only for the cruise brand shown above. As are all requests for reservations, the offered space is subject to availability, and from time to time, itineraries may be altered or services on a specific ship may be discontinued. Certain restrictions apply Non-transferable and may not be redeemed for cash.

However if you dig through the menu to find the water only option it still works without a coded cup, at least on the ships where I tried it.

So far Royal has only stated Radiance will get a "multi-million dollar" refresh just before she moves to Brisbane. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/03/19/radiance-of-the-seas-sail-brisbane-australia-2020 What does that mean? More than one million dollars. How much will be spent on marine maintenance and how much will be spent on guest areas is anyone's guess.

Balconies were not refreshed. The railings may have a new coat of varnish but other than that they have not changed substantially in any way.

It's a complex algorithm that factors in a lot of data points that exceeds the capacity of many of us to fathom. It's called the Marisa methodology.

This is why many of us are voicing our thoughts in this thread. We all have compassion and feel terrible about the loss of life. If the family hadn't attacked the cruise line with such tenacity refusing to accept any blame or admit it was simply a terrible accident many of us would have remained silent and grieved with them.

Actually it's the PVSA, Passenger Vessel Services Act. The PVSA introduces the concept of near foreign port versus distant foreign port and closed loop versus open jaw routes. A closed loop sailing has to visit at least one foreign port. Closed loop means it starts and ends in the same US port. A closed loop itinerary could include a near or distant foreign port so long as there is a foreign port on the itinerary. When Oasis begins operating from Bayonne she will perform closed loop itineraries. For open loop sailings such as repositioning cruise between US ports the itinerary must visit a distant foreign port. Panama is designated as distant which is how Panama Canal cruises are legal. The ABC islands are designated as distant ports. For a cruise such as Boston to Florida to be legal it includes all or some of the ABC islands. Sometimes you'll catch a Radiance or Voyager class ship doing these types of repo cruises. San Juan has a waiver in place so repo's can occur. It's the only US port at the moment with a waiver allowing open loop (repositioning) cruises. Alaska North/South cruises start or stop in Canada so they are legal. Same with Hawaii cruises. Same with Quebec City to/from Bayonne or Florida. All are legal because they start or stop in Canada therefore they are not cruises starting and stopping in different US ports. For Oasis to carry passengers between Florida and New Jersey she would have to visit the ABC islands. So far an Oasis class ship has never ventured that far South for whatever reason. Perhaps those ports can't accomodate Oasis class. The result is she has to sail absent of guests to and from Bayonne when she repositions. Sailing empty for a few days is costing them millions in lost revenue since the ship only makes money when guests are sailing on her. They must figure it's worth it to place Oasis in Bayonne. Incidentally, certain positions on the ship are not considered essential to ship operations and they may be subject to the PVSA as well. This includes NextCruise which is a sales function, not essential to ship operations and sometimes entertainers. For this reason they can't offer free cruises to guests on this repo since guests are never essential to ship operations.

I'll be on Oasis soon after her AMP later this year. I suspect the new changes are going to make her the Queen of the Seas again. Oasis in TX would be pretty epic.

Not surprised if it works out that way. Moving a show is a big deal. New contracts with the show owners and a lot of work to adapt and breakdown set pieces. Entertainment staff have joked it's easier to move a ship to a new home port than it is to move a show.