VACruiser

Also found out this morning that my wife had insurance on the flights from Washington Reagan National to Miami, so although we lose $200, the rest is on a credit from Expedia so we can use it to fly to Orlando in December and should have no issue using the remainder of the credit for the flights. All well that ends well in these poor circumstances.

They rebooked my wife and I as a package deal in 1 room.

I know catchy title but the worst happened this week. I have a cruise for this Sunday, 8 March 2020 on Oasis of the Seas. We booked this cruise a year and half ago and was really looking forward to it. I woke up Tuesday morning with the room spinning out of control and feeling very nauseous. I knew that feeling, it was the flu. Knowing I couldn’t just ride it out I had to go to the doctors and get a note indicating my status to inform RCI. Under the rules I had to be 14 days well to sail and I was well within that window. So off I went to the walk-in clinic where they jabbed a cotton swab so far up my nose I thought they were hitting brain. Nurse puts it in a container and says I will be back in 10 minutes to let you know the results. PA walks in next and says what I already suspected- Influenza Type A....UGH! There goes the trip. At this point I send an email to @michelle at MEI to let her know what was going on. Michelle let us know our options - Go to insurance (always get insurance people) and get the money back or she would TRY and rebook us but no promises. She had me choose 3 cruises by priority and she would give them a call. This morning I woke up to a new cruise in December 2020 and all the previous items for the Oasis cruise will be refunded and the cruise money itself will transfer over to new cruise. I just have to replan the cruise for what we want to do. I love doing that already so I’ll have fun doing a new cruise planner. I found about MEI from this blog, as I have never had an agent before, and this is a classic case of why they are so important. I have learned so much from this site so thanks to @Matt for starting this blog forum. Plug for Michelle - she did an awesome job in a very short amount of time and I am so thankful for her help. If you ever thought of an agent but said no, I could do it myself, think again...I would still be on the phone with the flu trying to fix this mess. Instead I was home in bed taking Tamiflu and getting rid of this flu without having to rebook or fight the insurance for a refund! Thanks again and maybe this thread can help someone else in the future if the worst happens to you pre-cruise week. Oh BTW - someone should be getting a Royal-up for Junior Suite 12636 soon since I had to cancel. And, I did have a flu shot this year so It didn’t work so well.

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes - strong and kills a lot of germies or Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Wipes

Could you imagine Cozumel when six cruise ships are in port and someone coming down with symptoms after leaving port? Or someone testing positive to COVID-19 a week after visiting the island. That would be a mess. Oh yea, I will be in Cozumel 13th of March with six ships that day so it is something I have thought about but not worry about it.

I am pretty sure that this is the one and only time a person mistook an open window on a cruise ship and lifted a child up to a window and released the child as if the window would hold the child and the child fall to its death. There is so many wrong thoughts in doing that act it is hard to begin to understand what was going on in the Grandpa's mind. I feel so sorry for the family and I couldn't even imagine them sitting down for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner together in the future. The pain and tragedy would be too much.

The one item that I didn't look at the first time I bought luggage was how the wheels on the bottom of the suitcase are protected. The first cruise and two of the four broke. If you have ever seen how your luggage gets onto the ship you will quickly see how much torture it takes. Make sure you look at those things that protrude from the case itself and think how it will stand up to the pressure of movement. They take a lot more torture going onto the ship than they will ever do at the airlines which toss them around pretty good as it is. I'm trying a new one this time that protects the wheels but we shall see. I wish there were wheels that can be retracted back into the case and you can lower them only when required.

I am - I'm on the 8th of March 2020 sailing on the Oasis.

I normally take Bonine for a couple of days after a cruise and it seems to help a lot. I'm very prone to the swaying effect whereas my wife never gets it.

Now Bermuda! Should you chose to join us, our updated compensation is: • A 50 % refund, which will be added to your Onboard Account as a refundable onboard credit. • And, because we know that this is not how any of us wanted this to go, and we want you to give us another shot, we will be also provide you with a 50% future cruise credit. • In addition, if you purchased an internet or beverage package, unlimited dining package, or pre-paid your gratuities, you’ll receive a prorated refund as a credit for the 3 days your cruise was shortened by to your Onboard Account. • Any pre-purchased Royal Caribbean International shore excursions for the impacted ports will also be refunded to your Onboard Account. All credits applied to your Onboard Account can be used anywhere onboard, and any unused credits will be refunded back to your credit card on file about 3 – 5 business days after the sailing ends.

I work in a facility that you have to key punch to gain access to the work spaces. That is a virtual hot-zone of sickness so I have started wearing gloves when I have to punch in. Yes, everyone laughs at me but I feel like the picture above...don't mess with my cruise with your sickness. Germ-X is going fast at my desk - is it good as a mouthwash ?

I am on the Oasis of the Seas in 32 days, 8 March, and I would like to self-quarantine myself from my oh-so-sick co-workers. Hacking and coughing everywhere...oh the humanity! I am sure they got it from their booger pickers anyways.

I always think of items like these on a cruise that if you have to ask how much then it’s too much for you already. ? nice pictures thanks for taking the time to post!

@AshleyDillo - thanks for the detailed response but as you can see it is still a toss up as to if you will get your money back. The cruise alone could be 3-4K or more depending on rooms chosen as well as $500-1500 on flight so this isn't chump change we are speaking of. I'm glad you discussed about getting paperwork as I'm not sure I would have thought about that in the state of shock I would be in. All interesting things to think about. I'm glad we have this forum to discuss these type of odd events.

Just curious as to would happen if you failed the health requirements and were left standing there dumbfounded - would you get reimbursed for the cruise? You now have a flight seven days from now, if it is a seven day cruise, and you now have to get home. I would lose that ticket as it is probably non-refundable. I can imagine all the costs that would start racking up as I try to get my, supposed sick-self, back to Virginia? Thoughts?

Looks like Oasis needs to be put on diet for a while - that tushy is getting rather robust ? And, I will be on her in about 35 days so I shall tell her then. Hope she is ok with a soft suggestion.

I’m also on the 8th of March cruise in a junior suite. The last Crown Loft suite was booked about 6 months ago. I watched the pricing for months but couldn’t pull the trigger. Down to 7 weeks now - can’t wait. I got a Royal-Up email about two weeks ago.

I had a January 2021 IOS cruise cancelled because of a charter. I just moved to a Feb 22, 2021 cruise and got a couple hundred dollars into my OBC fund. Not a big deal, as it was pretty far out, but I can see how it can very inconvenient if it required more than just my wife and I to coordinate changes with.

Ghassem Soleimani was responsible for hundreds of U.S. service members deaths as the leader of Qods Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom of which I deployed five times so if he met his very untimely death I won’t miss a night of sleep. If this situation wrecks some cruises because of larger global issues than so be it. I personally lost people because of this guy so forgive me if I don’t blame the U.S president. This is a raw subject for me so excuse me if I come off too strong.

I have been to Nachi Cocom several times and always have the Icy drinks and never had a problem - it's safe.

Historically I received a credit back on my credit card within 7-10 business days from the change being made. After you cancel your cruise that task is given over to a finance department that handles the exchange. If you have not seen it within 2 business weeks you should call them back. The cruise voucher is an actual voucher that comes to your email address they have listed for you.

How lucky are you to be cruising at your age? I didn’t go on my first one until I was 54. By the way, cool VLOGS. I look forward to more!

I got it for $21.99 for my Oasis of the Seas March 2020 cruise. It started at $29.99 and dropped once to $24.99 and then to $21.99. I grabbed it at the low price.

Oh there's got to be a good story hooked to that statement - care to share? ?

I can also add to JLMoran's post a little - If they don't have that data you can provide it to RCI NextCruise desk as your default TA or you can get the information details upon return and give it to your TA and then your TA can take over the cruise from RCI. Either way it's very easy to do.