SpeedNoodles

I'm sorry a family member got sick but didn't you read what you purchased?  With respect it's not shameful.  
I had to walk away from a cruise when my daughter graduated from the military.  I got zero back after paying in full.  I had zero expectations that they would bend the rules for me.  I knew the cancellation policy so when it applied it wasn't a surprise or shameful.
If I book a non-refundable plane ticket I don't expect the airlines to refund me if I don't need to fly anymore.  
If you buy a brand new car and wreck it on the first day you still have to pay for it.  That's the way contracts and life works.  
It's not easy to sell cruise cabins with just a few months to go before sailing.  Most people make bookings many months or years in advance.  They'll likely lose money now that they'll have to drop the price hoping to find someone who can sail in your cabin.  Why should they lose money when you back out of the contract?  

That has got to be the most hilarious thing I have read today.  As if people buy insurance planning on using it.
"Gee, I didn't buy life insurance because I didn't plan on dying soon."
"Gee, I didn't get car insurance because I didn't plan on crashing it."
"Gee, I didn't get homeowner insurance because I didn't plan on that tornado hitting."
I love how people think that their excuse should exclude them from the rules and how horribly shameful it is that they are treated exactly like everyone else.  To the point of joining a forum just to complain.  Nope, family member being diagnosed does NOT make a difference.  Nope, your fixed income does NOT make a difference.  This is a sad situation, but one that was preventable.  Your failure to prevent the financial loss is nobody's fault but your own.
Best of luck to your family member, I do sincerely hope for a happy outcome there.

No one ever plans on getting sick.  That's why insurance exists for such things.  Sorry to hear about your family member.

I'm sorry to hear about your personal life changes, but you gambled and lost on this one.
Seriously though....is it really taking advantage of people when they lay out all the ground rules in advance and you even had the option to purchase insurance but declined?
 

While I have never purchased the Key, I have no reason to believe that the Chops lunch would be different from any other Chops lunch.
We find lunch at Chops on embarkation day to be a respite in a tornado.  It is quiet, tasty and very very enjoyable.  It has become a sort of tradition with us.  MANY times we are the only people in the restaurant.  That will almost certainly change with the Key but in the past, it was a wonderful, quiet place to enjoy a good lunch with a madhouse going on around you.

I think you meant to say that the walls are metal.  I sure hope the walls aren't magnetic !  
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Hi @SoSiWe, welcome to the message boards!
As far as things to bring, I think a big one that many of us here take along is some kind of USB charging hub for our various devices (phones, tablets, cameras, etc.), as even the newest ships (outside of Quantum class) don't include any USB ports in the room's outlet complement. If you don't yet have one of these and want to get one, there's a unit made by Anker that I own and can highly recommend. It passes the safety requirements for use on a ship -- no surge protector, not a high current draw -- and it can charge up to 5 devices at once, one of them using higher speed / higher amperage charging for a faster battery top-off.
If you happen to require a CPAP when you sleep, you don't need to bring an extension cord or distilled water. You can email [email protected] and let them know your requirement, and they'll provide both to you at no charge.
Which ports are you going to? Some of them have rockier beaches (including Adrenaline Beach on Royal's private destination, Labadee) and a pair of water shoes would be a good thing to have for them.
That's really all I can think of after checking my usual packing list. Hope this helps!

Yes from the Visa site. It will definitely show up for the reservation # and ship that you input to the form. 

If you mean RCI Visa card you will get 2-4 weeks before your cruise. Don't prepaid Gratuity use OBC for it. I did that and my bill at the end of the cruise is really low.

True, however they dropped Ketchikan as a port, and I'm wondering if it's because Ovation is simply too big for that port (which doesn't bother me since I find Ketchikan incredibly dull).

Actually, for a "modest" investment in RCI you get to name one of the new islands. Sorry, I can't divulge that amount nor the name of the island I came up with. 

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad this moron and his friends got banned for life !!! FINALLY!! RCCL got something right!!
 
 

Saw it.  No words.  #timetogrowup 

Interesting:  Ships account for less than 1% of the outbreaks for norovirus.
 
https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/trends-outbreaks/outbreaks.html

The pier was originally supposed to be completed nearly a year ago.  March 2018, then June 2018, then December 2018, then January 2018, then March 2019.  It's a complex project that has been years in the making clearing protests and environmental hurdles along the way.
If their construction contractor (an American company by the way) notifies them of another delay they have no choice but to alter more sailings where they intended to have two Vision class ships share the pier.  That's the nature of construction underwater - sometimes you get into the project and discover something that calls for another approach and re-engineering.
Let's be clear, the impacted cruises involved two ships that were supposed to use the pier on the same day.  No pier, only one ship can visit that day.  
On the itineraries that were impacted they stopped advertising CocoCay many months ago.    I just sailed one of them.  
There were a handful of itineraries that were impacted.  That's it.  No other ships impacted.  They are not just randomly cancelling calls to CocoCay.
The intent was to have two Vision class ships share the new pier.  That will eventually happen.  When the pier wasn't ready for those ships that were double booked they had to make a decision and one of the two ships had to find an alternate port. 
For me on Vision last week we went to Miami instead.   That was changed and we were notified many, many months ago.  They stopped selling that cruise with CocoCay listed long before final payment due date.  For OP on Grandeur she was diverted to Grand Bahamas.  Same deal - Grandeur lost and Enchantment lucked out. 
There remain some Vision and Grandeur itineraries that were not impacted.  Next week for example the Vision ports of call are reversed in order compared to what I just sailed.  As a result, she isn't double booked with Enchantment into CocoCay.  That's why they continued to sell that particular Vision cruise with CocoCay still listed - it's still going there.  
Not bait and switch.

This has been my night at work.  Nothing like using company time, company equipment, and company ink to get ready.

It tells me you ought to read that cruise contract you agreed to when booking a cruise. You agreed by booking the cruise that RC is under no obligation to actually go to any of the ports advertised.  
I get that you're upset your cruise isn't going to CocoCay, but unfortunately things happen.  Sometimes rides at Disney World have to close due to maintenance or the Space Needle is not open to guests due to a private event, refurbishment, etc. Nature of travel sometimes.  But it's not a deliberate plot to fool guests into booking a vacation under false pretenses.

Love, love, love the big smile! Thanks for taking the time to blog - it's so much fun to follow!

The first few pictures look like daycare for older kids. . . No sharp edges, just alcohol and showers. . . hmmmm
 

This cruise addiction is bad isn’t it? I know that the closer that I get to my cruise the more useless I become at work.  I’m just glad that the firewall at my jobs allow this website as well as RCCL through otherwise I’d be in trouble!!??

We don't mind driving if we had the time but it adds 4-6 days of PTO, which we can't always get approved.  

Be sure to check to make sure your travel agent doesn't charge you. While possibly not the majority, some agents/agencies DO charge a service fee (I got stuck with a $100 service fee for booking my cruise with a local travel agent - she offered last week to book my flight for another $50 service fee - needless to say I've booked my next cruise with an MEI agent).

1993 more days for me! (Me? counting? Never!)

Be sure to check to make sure your travel agent doesn't charge you. While possibly not the majority, some agents/agencies DO charge a service fee (I got stuck with a $100 service fee for booking my cruise with a local travel agent - she offered last week to book my flight for another $50 service fee - needless to say I've booked my next cruise with an MEI agent).