PurdueFlyer

my issue is that the CDC at the moment considers cruise ship travel a "level 3" caution.  avoid non-essential travel & a 14 day self-quarantine upon your return.  

As such, my company requires us to self-quarantine if we travel to a level 3 area.  I'm not going to voluntarily take a 5-night cruise and then voluntarily sit on my duff for 2 weeks when I get back.  I'm already bored to tears at home

they will probably put the screws to the CDC soon to either roll back the level 3, or else extend the cancellations.  If Trump says "OK cruises are good to go now" and the CDC keeps cruises at a level 3, then we have a problem.  

1 hour ago, Scrumps said:

I don't believe for a moment that any ships will be taking passengers in April..

+1

I have a solo on Brilliance booked for April 13th, and I plan on going unless Royal or the government forces my hand.

DiamondPlus ain't gonna happen on its own 

30 minutes ago, aberfoylespring said:

 I booked the cruise via Costco Travel. So if I decide to cancel it (based on new policy, I will get the FCC), should I call Costco Travel or call the Cruise support line?

Another question: If I get the FCC, will it be associated with the agency (Costco Travel)? That is, in the future, if I want to book cruise, do I must use Costco Travel or can I book it on RCL site directly?

 

Thanks!

Welcome to the boards!

You need to call Costco Travel to initiate the process.

Also ... RE:  the FCC, you may need to ask Royal to confirm that you can use it with a new Costco cruise booking, but you *should* be able to.  I had a similar issue several years ago with a cancelled sailing on Empress that Royal whacked 10 days before departure.  We are airline employees, and usually book via ID90 travel (or another interline agency where the rates are highly discounted for us).  The cancellation got us an FCC of around $200, and originally I was told it had to be redeemed through Royal.  I called again, and explained that the ID90 rates we get are better than the rack rate usually available, so if we HAD to book directly next time, it really wasn't much compensation if I could just book a cheaper rate with ID90 without the voucher.  Royal agreed, and clarified that I could use the FCC with another ID90 travel agency booking.  So if they tell you no, ask again, and reference my story

interesting, on Jewel last week they ADDED Doha in lieu of the Khasab / Muscat stops.  I wonder what changed in Doha all of a sudden.  great ...

I'd still relish 16 days on a boat though!  

we are currently on Jewel in the Persian Gulf.  originally had 2 stops in Oman (Khasab / Muscat) on days 3 and 4.  Royal elected to cancel the Oman stops on their own after we had gotten underway.  

Royal's explanation is that Oman has open borders with Iran (trade/immigration etc) which is something I hadn't even considered.  As Iran has a huge spike in cases & their public health sector ain't so hot right now...this was probably a good decision.  They subbed 1 day in Doha Qatar in lieu of the 2 Omani ports, which we did yesterday.  so we lost a port and gained a sea day.  

stated compensation was an onboard credit in the amount of 1 day of the equivalent cruise fare.  if the credit is more than our seapass account balance, the remaining will be refunded to our credit card.  I didnt ask about port taxes refund too, but will check today.  I'd assume 2 ports in Oman cost more than 1 day in port in Doha, but I don't really know what the breakdown is.

data point:

we were assigned our balcony GTY 12 days out for our upcoming Dubai sailing on Jewel

11 minutes ago, Dries said:

 

We’ve decided to go to the Maldives.

 

certainly a stellar alternative!  and you'll have quite the story to tell.  enjoy... 

wow ... just wow. 

so glad we cancelled 2 weeks ago and booked Jewel to Dubai instead.  

we would have been on the flight to Singapore right now too.  

We ended up cancelling the Quantum sailing  as I alluded to up-thread.  I found a 7-nighter on Jewel out of Dubai the following week that worked for us.

Instead of waiting for my fare voucher to show up, from the cancelled Quantum sailing, Royal allowed me to immediately roll those funds into my new Jewel sailing since I already told them what I wanted to do.  That was nice of them.  Not like I wouldn't be cruising at some point this year anyways, but a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush as the saying goes.  

Also got a refund of the DL flights to Singapore so thats, $1550 back in my pocket.  Our new flights AMS-DXB were only $550.  Not bad for 2 weeks out. 

My only disappointment is earning 7 cruise nights instead of 9 this time.  All the more reason to book another one! 

On 2/6/2020 at 1:03 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Cruise purgatory.

Is that like being eternally on a cruise?  I'd be fine with that.  

4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Good luck.  

Delta came back with basically waving the change fees, but an add-collect (fare difference) of $159 pp to change the tickets to return from SIN instead of HKG.  And of course, I'd submit that receipt to Royal for re-imbursement.  I would be fine with this.  Otherwise, if we elected to cancel it straight-up, I'd have the $1550 value of the plane ticket to use for a year. 

I called Royal and confirmed that if we do cancel voluntarily, we would receive a voucher in the amount of the cruise fare in approximately 14 days from via the travel agency.  The voucher is valid for 1 year (the email concerning this sailing doesn't mention this timeline, but RC confirmed "1 year" over the phone).  

Given all of this, my current plan is to wait a week or so, see if the waivers get extended or the pot sweetened, and then cancel the cruise & the plane tickets.  I just don't feel like the stars are lining up this time.  MY S/O has a colleague who's Chinese wife is in HKG right now, and they won't let her leave.  Yesterday a Costa Cruise was quarantined on arrival back at her home port.  If anything happens in 3 weeks with the current situation further deteriorating, and we get held up in Singapore or barred from boarding return flights because we've been to Singapore / Thailand / Vietnam ... 

I think Royal has mitigated the situation ... I'll say "sufficiently."  This is more about me not wanting to insert myself into a questionable environment when I can use the funds elsewhere within a year.  Too many "hanging chads" right now on this sailing, in this part of the world.  Good luck to all those who are pressing on!  

thanks for that.  Waiting for a Delta RES to call me back now.  Will see what they come up with.  

just got the email. 

It's alledged that Royal has "worked with airline partners" to waive change fees for re-scheduling your return travel out of SIN instead of HKG.  If you booked airfare on your own, Royal will cover up to $400 for international itinerary changes / change fees.

My next stop is to call Delta and see what the ticket changes are going to cost.  S/O still wants to go.  At this point, I'm ready to bail and just do something else.  I have 3 weeks off and don't want the stress of dealing with any of this anymore.  I can use the funds towards a future sailing.  The problem is-  we are not connecting through China in either direction.  Seoul both ways.  And HKG is not part of the Delta Coronavirus waiver.  So it'll take an act of congress to get a refund from Delta since my air itinerary isn't technically impacted by this waiver.

The cruise was $450 pp including tax.  The plane tickets were $1550 pp   So my gut says Royal will pay the change fees and we'll probably still end up going.

 

irritated that they cancelled another Spectrum sailing, but we still haven't heard a peep about Quantum.  Did they forget that Quantum is doing Asia sailings too?  These cruises cater to the same group of clientele.  

I'm not worried about getting sick, I'm only worried about getting stuck in a constantly-evolving situation over there, where different nations / authorities react unpredictably & travel may become difficult based on last minute flight or customer embargoes. 

If Royal gave me a "waiver" option of some kind, where I could cancel this cruise for free but, say, have to use the value of the cruise within a year, I'd probably do it.  I don't need a refund.  Just let me use the money towards another cruise.  If I sail 3-4 times per year, this wouldn't be hard to do, and Royal keeps the revenue.  

On 1/25/2020 at 8:45 AM, icmartin777 said:

We're also booked on this cruise; made our booking back last May.    I wish RCCL will update us immediately since the itinerary incudes Hong Kong which has just declared a state of emergency.  I'd think that with the SOE the cruise will at least be redirected elsewhere and passengers would be updated ASAP so they can make proper arrangements.

CruiseFever.com and other sites are now reporting that the Jan 27th sailing of Spectrum o/t Seas (departing Shanghai) has been cancelled over the Corona Virus concerns.  No mention of Quantum sailings, which embark from other ports in the region, but serve basically the same clientele.  

I think, logistically speaking, its easier to cancel a 4 or 5 night sailing that begins and ends in Shanghai, instead of our 9-night one-way sailing.  We begin in SIN and end in HKG.  The next cruise is the same thing in reverse; 9 nights beginning in HKG and ending back in SIN.  If they scrapped ours, they'd probably have to scrap the return also, so they'd be refunding 2 cruises worth of passenger fares (for 18 nights).  I'm not surprised if Royal waits a bit longer to pass judgement on what happens to those sailings.  

But I don't really think I have more or less chance of getting sick on Quantum than I would on Spectrum, JUST BECAUSE Spectrum departs from a mainland Chinese port.  Singapore already has reported cases of the virus, too.  It's also unclear how long any Wuhan / Hubei province-based passengers are going to be embargoed from sailings on Royal ships.  It can't be indefinitely. 
 

Royal Caribbean International has cancelled Spectrum of the Seas’ sailing departing from Shanghai on Monday (January 27) amid concerns over the Chinese coronavirus outbreak.

The Quantum-Ultra class ship was due to sail a four-day Best of Okinawa cruise, but the line has decided to suspend the voyage and is offering affected passengers “full refunds for the cancellation”.

On Friday, Royal said passengers who had travelled through or were from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first broke out, would not be allowed to board its ships.

However, the line has now adopted a tougher stance in a bid to protect passengers.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/356154/royal-caribbean-cancels-sailing-over-coronavirus-fears
 

we are on Quantum on 15 FEB for the 9-nighter, Singapore to Hong Hong.  I'm watching the situation closely.

The ship calls at one port in Thailand, and 3 ports in Vietnam.  I'm more interested in how various nations react (or over-react, as it were), and the possibility that Thailand or Vietnam would refuse docking.  But I feel this is likely only if there is some outbreak onboard the vessel, and based on what I have seen about Corona Virus, this would be hard to ascertain.  The symptoms are similar to the common cold.  Would they even have the ability to test for Corona Virus onboard and how long would it take to get those results back?  This isn't like getting a rapid-strep test done for strep throat, where you know in an hour if you have an infection.  

At this point, I don't have plans to cancel and I'm not overly concerned about the situation, but if we started getting itinerary changes & associated waivers for the sailing, I may entertain using the waiver to take advantage of a later sailing somewhere else.  

San Juan is fine, but the window cave (arch?) actually collapsed as a result of the earthquake.  You might want to re-visit that excursion and see what else you are getting for your money.  It's still a beautiful setting, but the actual arch isn't there anymore, so if that was the main draw, I'd re-consider.  taking a stroll around old san juan and El Morro is always great if you want to stay close by.  

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article238996843.html

 

pocket, pocket, pocket.

Since I work for an airline, and thus see lanyards on everyone ALL OF THE TIME while at work, I refuse to wear a lanyard while cruising on principle

any of the downtown hotels will be higher-end and on the expensive side but most, if not all, are walkable from the port.  we stayed at the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle downtown on points and walked to the port.  Very satisfied.  

Gastown, Chinatown, Granville Island, Stanley Park ... tons to do in Vancouver for any age group.  there is a free bus to Grouse Mountain / Capilano suspension bridge on the north shore, though Capilano costs a fortune and is crowded.  Lynn Canyon is free and just as nice... we bought day-passes on trans-link for $10 CAD which covered all public buses and ferries, so we got to Lynn Canyon, Granville island and around town on public transport on one ticket. 

there is no Uber / Lyft in Vancouver so plot your sightseeing list wisely!  

32 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I wonder what they meant by "loyalty has already boarded".  That doesn't make any sense.  You ARE Loyalty if you are Emerald.  Confused by this one....

so was I!

we've seen high prices ex. SJU for Sunday returns also, unless you are departing at 6 or 7am.  since that's too early for most cruise pax to book a return flight with regards to disembarkation procedures, airlines know this and price accordingly.  

last time did a SkyMiles award ticket going into SJU on a Saturday, and booked a one-way on Frontier SJU-ATL for $120 one-way at 4pm coming back.  it was a third of the price of Delta at the same time.  sometimes it helps to split it up, but not always. 

1 hour ago, Atlantix2000 said:

I'll just add my usual comment that priority checkin is only a useful thing if you get to the terminal and checked in before boarding has actually started (meaning you're arriving around 10AM).  You might get a nicer seating area or some refreshments depending on the port but once they are ready to start boarding, you get called based on priority (some preplanned order of suites, key, weddings, and descending order of C&A level).  If boarding has already started by the time you finish checking in, then priority checkin means NOTHING.  You just go get on the ship.

except at Port Everglades, they didn't allow us to just "get on the ship."  we arrived around 1030am (we are emerald), and even though we had totally completed online checkin and didnt have to stand in line at a desk, they told us "loyalty has already boarded" and we were directed to the seating corrals and told to have a seat until they called our section.

this seemed stupid to me ... surely they can't believe that every C&A status guest will have arrived by that time to take advantage of the "loyalty boarding." 

maybe this was just a one-off and Port Everglades being curmudgeons about it.

sitting on our balcony on the Ovation as I type this.  

Esplanade = upscale mall.  Feels like the Galleria in Houston and less and less like I'm on a boat.  many of the staples (like Schooner bar, which still has the nautical theme) dont have windows looking outside at the ocean, so you're just looking at the Esplanade (and crush of people) instead.  additionally, we bought the 3 night dining package for the first time on this sailing.  Izumi and Jamie's are located along said Esplanade and arent really sectioned off ... kind of felt like I was dining at a mall food court.  noisy and people strolling past.  food and service were excellent, but was hoping for a more private experience (Chops delivered in that regard versus the other two).  though I get the ship is so huge, and not everything is going to have an ocean view or else youd end up with wasted space.  

Yet I enjoy this class of ship ... generally love the public areas, two70 is fantastic, solarium is fantastic.  MDRs are a change-up, but not in a bad way.  we have tried to eat or snack at a different venue each day to experience everything we can.  we are on Day 4 of 5 straight days at sea and have had no problem finding things to do.  I think the Q-class ships are just different, but different doesn't equal bad.  

onboard Ovation now ... apparently Royal IQ was discontinued and Ovation became "regular app" capable the day of  our embarkation.  had to delete the app, redownload it and sign in again but this current sailing is now available through the normal app.  

never a dull moment with Royal IT, but I'll take it.  in any event we depart Seattle for Maui in an hour... 5 glorious days at sea lie ahead, and right now that's all that matters!