dodgestang

It would be nice....but the kids will have school so we have to cruise around their schedules. in 2019 when we sailed for the holidays....they were off the week before Christmas so technically hadn't taken a holiday cruise...we got back on the 23rd or 24th...even though it felt like one.

I know it's my own fault for losing track of the fine print....... Just did a lift and shift, after it was done I thought to myself...'Self....while you are on the phone, lets use that prime cert' So give the nice lady reservation number 1 - ohhhh so sorry sir....that's a holiday cruise, can't use it. So give the nice lady reservation number 2 - ohhhh so sorry sir.....that's a 9 night, only good for an 8 night. So give the nice lady reservation number 3 - ohhhh so sorry sir.....that's the cruise you just 'lifted and shifted' and it was already past final payment even though you aren't going for another year and 60 days now, can't use it But the good news is if I really wanted to I could trade it in for $500. It's enough to make we gamble less at this point ? Just a little vent....I'm sure I'll end up booking yet another cruise I will use it on since they extended it into 2022...but jeeze....

2021 is going to be a weird year.......we've got Oasis July 30 from NYC to Caribbean and now Alaska on the August 15th...guess I'll be taking a laptop and working for at least part of the cruises this year.

Well seemed easy enough....moved from Aug 2 2020 to Aug 15th 2021 easily enough. Two reservations moved in 10 minutes...and they cancelled the 'room hold' reservation I had done a few weeks ago without blinking an eye. We are sailing in a Royal and a Grand...and since there is only 1 royal....I had reserved it thinking it might become hard to get the room category if we were force to do a lift and shift. Still waiting on those cruise planner refunds from two weeks ago though ?

While Royal hasn't said anything....given Canada just announce port will be closed through Oct.....time to go for the lift and shift into 2021 Very sad

More Caribbean sailings would be my guess.

I decided to add 600 sq/ft to my garage. And since a tree fell on it damaging one of the eaves I was able to get it done during lock down because it was covered under essential construction because the crew had to come out and repair that damage.....and since they could come out....they knocked out the addition....and loved me for it because otherwise they weren't working.

Well 12 days....still no refund processed ?

I agree with you....still stuck playing the waiting game though. Since they haven't cancelled it.

I'm sure I guaranteed us a small Alaska season by proactively cancelling all my cruise planner items...so I can buy them all back at a higher price just before leaving ? In other news....I haven't seen the refund on them yet ? Looks like sailings are now cancelled through July 31st.....so I guess that's another month of waiting before we will know for sure about Alaska on Aug 2

Water is deeper in the man made inlets around Chill Island and better/easier to get out for snorkling. Beach/view at south beach was uninterrupted to the horizon and beautiful....but.....the water remains quite shallow.......perfect for lounging on a float mat

Based on reading several threads on this over the last few days......if they were to do away with buffets one would think the general/average health of those who sail would improve dramatically. Yes....that's a joke grenade....you'll get it.....then someone will get mad at me.

Devil's advocate...........we better up the price, get people excited to get a little extra cash to hold for refunds later ? I'm becoming very sour lately.

So I am both bored and worried. I had a cruise planned on April 16th.......it was canceled in mid March. I was offer what you should all be aware of by now.....125% FCC or cash refund and 125% cruise planner credits or cash refund. I opted to take FCC and cash cruise planner. I received the FCC in a painfully slow process the first week of May and have not received any cash refund from cruise planner or taxes/port fees from cancelled cruise (total amount $3006.88 in refunds stuck somewhere in RL systems) Flash forward....we have August 2 sailing to Alaska that I also have now paid in full for the cruise and all cruise planner items. It is looking more and more like this sailing isn't going to happen. As soon as they canceled sailings in March we were immediately locked out of cruise planner so we could not go in and manually cancel ourselves. I know from experience that previously when I needed to cancel something in Cruise planner I was automatically refunded those fund with 2-5 business day....it was VERY VERY quick and required no manual interaction from RCCL. So.....I decided to go in and cancel everything in cruise planner TODAY for my August sailing. If the world suddenly regains sanity and Aug 2 magically does happen....I will be more than happy to rebuy all my excursions, drinks, and salon services. But.....I would much rather have the $6932 NOW refunded quickly than end up waiting for those funds to be returned 3 months from now if there is a cancel. All of this assume RCCL hasn't turned off the quick automated refunds out of cruise planner. I already received all the cancel confirmation emails for every item. I will keep you all updated if anyone wants to follow a similar approach to try and mitigate the risks associated with these slow refunds.

Your kid isn't sailing with you when you finally get a chance to back on board?

Only offers I have seen are the 4th quarter Caribbean sailings they are trying to get everyone into. Depending on your various levels it varies from discount, to interior, to balcony, to JS and freeplay Other than that it is a waste land and not like we have all become accustomed to seeing with multiple offers per month

No. At least....I've never paid for anything at Chops when sailing in Star (other than the bottles of wine)

Amazing.....B.C. has approx 7 deaths per day from this farce based on the real time death tracker my wife showed me. Sorry.....letting my unpopular opinion show through ?

I put in a full deposit. But was told since I booked at the 'fully refundable rate' it would all be refundable if I changed later. I figure 1. If 2020 gets cancelled, I can work it out on the phone and lift and shift into this reservation via cancel/shift (this is probably more work than most would need/want to do but there is only one royal suite on these boats. We had it booked in 2020 and I figured if it wasn't available that would make the lift and shift offer harder to use. I also have a booking I made my inlaws who were going with us in 2020. But figured if it is cancelled, I should be able to move their reservation easily enough given the number of GS on the boat) 2. If 2020 doesn't get cancelled, this is over a year away....we may want to go again....and I can update the reservation to a non-refundable lower price point one later or cancel/move it to a different sailing altogether.

Keeping a positive vibe is always a good thing but at the same time we need to consider all possibilities. Here's another thought that occurred to me last night....if Royal can't start sailings in Alaska until August...does it even make fiscal sense for them to have any sailings in 2020 Alaska season given they need to reposition the ship(s) to support only a few weeks of sailing. This is why I believe other lines announced their bagging the whole season up north (they cited air travel, hotels, and port availability) but none of that is known for August yet....the only facts they have now are ports wouldn't open until July (earliest), their own operating expenses to get ships in position, current booking levels, and best case estimates of number of sailings they might be able to complete which led them to cancel. ? ? ? This is why I reserved a fully refundable 2021 slot last night so that if I do need to do a lift and shift....I've already placed a hold on the specific room I want, on the boat I want, on the itinerary I want. I don't like the idea of delaying this trip a year so I am still keeping positive vibes it will work out...but plan for worst...hope for the best....right ?

Ugh.....I felt obligated to just go make a 2021 reservation now because I feel even more strongly my August 2020 trip will be cancelled.

Well.... Texas Holdem has limit of $50 on pairs plus

The generally frown on photos taken in the casino ;). But I've been there alot....seems nice enough...lotsa tables and slots for a boat ? My biggest gripe (which seems to be the same on all cruise ships) is a lack of high limit play for both Slots and Table games.

Sarcasm is noted. The issue has become less about the actual virus and more about society's reaction to it. I just made the final payment for my August 2nd sailing so I am certainly on the hopeful boat ;)....but....carnival has pretty much bagged Alaska for the season, I've seen on Facebook some tour operators have bagged the season, and the whole darn thing has devolved into political arguments instead of true scientific debate; theory creation, hypothesis testing, peer review, etc. I just ordered a hard back copy of 1984....it has been 30 years since I read it as a kid and it seems so prophetic of today's environment that I feel like I need to reread it.

I am aware of that. I am also aware they have a '4 phase plan' And you're guess is as good as mine where cruising falls....I assume 4.....which is more than 90 days away according to the reported 3 weeks or so at each phase. I also know my Alaska cruise leaves from B.C.....so I am more concerned with what Canada will do with their July 1 date to end port closures. But I suspect they will follow closely to whatever Seattle is doing.