KJones

When you check in at the cabana booth they'll ask for the other guests' names and hand out the wristbands (or whatever is used to identify cabana guests) then

Matt just posted an post-shutdown review of Maya Chan on the blog's home page

So we had past our original final payment date so I expected OBC. 
But since they changed the final payment date recently we ended up with 300$ refund! #winning

Just repriced our room for $705 less! Woohoo!!! And didn't lose the shipboard credit.

Matt just posted an post-shutdown review of Maya Chan on the blog's home page

Matt just posted an post-shutdown review of Maya Chan on the blog's home page

Agreed - the aqua show on Harmony was fantastic!
We also enjoyed the escape room- though I'm unsure if that will be operating next month.

Hi All,
Some of you may remember I had a lot of posts a few months back when I was booking my mum’s first ever cruise and first ever holiday in over 17 years. We eventually booked on Anthem to go around the fjords which got changed to the med and I upgraded us to an Owners Suite as I wanted to make it special for her and to make sure she had enough space for her mobility scooter since there weren’t any accessible rooms left. Unfortunately that ended up being cancelled and changed to a British isles cruise which didn’t excite us seeing as we were planning to go end of September.
I’m super excited to say that last night I booked us on Harmony OTS out of Barcelona on 3rd October. I was holding off as it looked like Italy were going to keep their borders shut to us Brits but they surprised us all and opened up! This time I managed to bag us the accessible crown loft suite. Apparently there’s only one onboard so I’m really happy I’ve got it - my mum thinks we’ve just got a balcony room 😋. I’m a little bit nervous that she doesn’t like heights and it’s on floor 17 but I’m sure she’ll overcome that when she sees the room, right?🤔😬
 This will be my first time on Harmony and first time on an Oasis class ship. It’s been on my to do list for a while now! My question is, what can we absolutely not miss on Harmony once onboard?

I've yet to see a snorkel excursion that forces you to snorkel.  Stay on the excursion boat, wade without snorkeling if a beach stop is included, read a book, drink rum punch, what ever.
A snorkel excursion on a catamaran or large enough boat to have some shade can be quite enjoyable without getting in the water if she enjoys sailboats or excursion boats.

I'm willing to bet that there are still at least 200 who will push in front of you at the Windjammer buffet and/or rush onto the elevator without letting others off first.

+1 to Maya Chan! We were there in September 2019, so unsure what the post-covid service is like, but pre-covid service was fantastic

Oh, she will most definitely be wow'ed.
The only problem is that you'll need to find a way to un-wow her, or else she'll only be flying in first class and sleeping in grand suites from now on. 

My feelings is that the ability to pick a specific cabana at the shore excursion desk went away because multiple ships were docking at CocoCay on the same day. The booking system for the cabanas doesn't allow to pick specific cabanas, so the shore excursion desk can't see anything other than quantity in inventory and they wouldn't be able to promise a specific cabin as they're dealing with another ship looking at the same inventory. You may have more success now while they only have one ship docking there at a time, but again it also depends on who you ask.

By way of update/closure to say thanks again: I went ahead and cancelled before final payment was due; my TA is in the process of getting the FCCs I used and some OBC taken care of, which will be applied to the new cruise, a May sailing in a studio balcony cabin on Ovation to Alaska for less than my previous cruise! It's even a day longer, so that means more points. 
Thanks for all the feedback, everybody. This cruise is going to fit much better into my schedule, and the timeframe leaves extra room to get all the FCCs sorted and applied instead of worrying about final payment date approaching while still waiting for them.
Watch out, though, future group cruisers -- I'm keeping my eyes open to be amongst your numbers one day! ?

Yes, you would only be charged for the shot. Same concept for virgin cocktails (free with the refreshment package) and paying the upcharge for the alcohol only.

It was the longest hour this morning that I've ever experienced.  ?

I don't know about anyone else but I really missed this site while it was doing it's "thing" with migration...whatever that was!  Happy to be back reading up on the latest info!  
Have great day!

What a bummer of a situation! Echoing the others here, in that making final payment would tie up cash that could be spent on other non-cruise things, and making sure you can use all the credit by the expiration date.
Good luck in your studies!

Our cancellation email didn't mention anything about 125% OBC, but that could have been because we hadn't actually bought anything yet. But if I recall correctly (and it is still something RC offers), the 125% OBC is only an option if you take the 125% FCC, and doesn't apply if you take the cruise fare refund route.

Now if they could only get the floats or whatever to pass by a bar every 30 min to an hour .. that would be wonderful .. or I got it .. in the middle of the lazy river a float up bar you can get to by a couple inlets.

Our April 10th Radiance Panama Canal sailing also appears to have been cancelled - no email yet but it's disappeared from the website and its first sailing is listed as 4/30/22.

It's going to vary by ship arrival time. IIRC, our shipped docked at maybe 8am? We were on the slides by 9am.

Gosh it’s been a long time! Got up early this morning and checked us in for our late October Symphony. Yippee! Exactly 90 days out. It feels real! 

As Matt says its all about boarding times but I have just managed to get a RoyalUp confirmed from a Junior suit to a Grand Loft so now star class and the genie contacted us yesterday and we can board within an hour either side of our allocated boarding time. Bid a low amount on the upgrade and was surprised it was accepted but if we get the full benefits of the star class and I get the refund for the deluxe package and the unlimited dining we had purchased then with voom and gratuities included as well it works out almost the same as I paid for the junior suite with the 2 packages bought. 

A magnanimous offer from Royal. Bottom line, we get the difference back as an onboard credit, and if we dont use that, it gets refunded. Basically they are honouring the original bookng cost which is outstanding.
 
Dear Guest,
Recently, we reached out to inform you of the changes to our deployment planning and how as a result your reservation was going to be moved to a new ship. Since then, we’ve received some inquiries regarding Cruise Planner purchases and want to provide you with some clarity.
Regardless of whether you choose to stay on the new sailing or choose to cancel, your Cruise Planner purchases will automatically drop from your reservation. You’ll receive a full refund of funds paid to your original form of payment within 14 days.
If your reservation has been moved to the new sailing and you re-purchase like-for-like Cruise Planner items and there is a price increase, we’ll reimburse you for the difference via an Onboard Credit added to your SeaPass Account. This credit will only be added if the products purchased are the same as those you previously had. For example, if you originally booked a 1-device VOOM package –  re-purchasing a 1-device VOOM package would make you eligible, purchasing a new 4-device VOOM package instead would disqualify you from the credit.
Once you’ve completed your Cruise Planner purchases, the credit will reflect on your SeaPass account by Day 2 of your new sailing. This Onboard Credit can be used anywhere onboard and if at the end of your cruise you haven’t used the full amount, any remaining funds will be reimbursed to your credit card on file. Below, you’ll find some FAQs answered for you regarding this offer.
We hope this has clarified some of the confusion around your Cruise Planner purchases. We look forward to having you back in onboard very soon!
Sincerely,
Royal Caribbean International