FoxboroCruiser

We absolutely LOVE your Vlogs! Your love for cruising on Royal Caribbean is obvious and Anthony is hilarious (mostly on purpose ?). Please keep them coming!

Ok got it, thanks for the info. So we need to pick a second cruise that has a final payment date later than the first cruise ends... too bad that really limits the options a bit. Is the left over credit typically available right after a cruise ends or should we book cruise two a few weeks or even months after the first?

Good question, and interested in the various things people do at Atlantis. Nassau hasn’t looked like an intriguing port option tomus but after watching some YouTube videos of Atlantis the idea is growing on us. It looks spectacular.

We received our FCC for our May 30th Adventure to Bermuda cruise, haven’t checked the full math yet but it looks right. No refund of port fees and taxes yet but am sure it’s on the way soon. The extra 25% on the FCC May help book another cruise after it’s applied to the rebooked 2021 Freedom/Bermuda trip... my bad for not reading all of the FCC posts carefully enough but most were just frustration over waiting for the refunds/credits so I skimmed through them without gaining a better understanding of what happens when your FCC is more than the balance due on a cruise they are applied to. Michele/MEI recommends not applying the FCC until closer to final payment, but once we do apply it can we then apply any remaining FCC balance to another booking?

The Pullman beds on the Ocean View Empress cabins really suck if you don’t need them. Makes the cabin that much smaller, really inconvenient when there’s just two of you in the room. Wish the terrible TA at AAA had told us about them. We had two cabins right next to each other and both had those beds, but each room only had 2 people in them. It was right there on the ship map but she didn’t tell us , explain or suggest we pick rooms without them. Make sure you do if in a similar situation. Loved the ship.

I had those same surgeries in 2010/2011. The take down (re-connect) was less than 1/2 as invasive as the total collecting, but was still a right few weeks after. We went to Disney while I had the colostomy and it was fine. I’d easily cruise that way. Personally, I think the window from mid-July surgery to Aug 8th cruise is a bit tight. I’d stay with the Oslo my and delay the second surgery a bit. At least she know what to expect as she is. Once ups go through step 2, you enter uncharted waters (pun intended). Could it work out with your timeline. Absolutely! Depending how port intensive the cruise is would factor in the decision for me. I went to the bathroom a lot in the weeks after takedown. I avoided situations and places where finding facilities might be challenging. If she wants to relax and enjoy the ship, no problem. hope that helps. Happy to answer any question or talk more, if you prefer to do so more privately feel free to message me! Thank you for your service!

That’s our next cruise, great to see her. Thank you for sharing!

Same here, and then got Trump’d out of Cuba but the crew and that ship made it an amazing vacation for my family. Royal gave us a 50% refund when Cuba was canceled and we still sailed. That’s what made our May 30th Bermuda cruise possible. Now it’s Bermuda next year on Freedom but we know it will be worth the wait. Love Empress!

Our first too! Honeymoon May 1994. Miami to Cozumel to Grand Caman to Jamaica to CoCo Cay - amazing!

That fact made it a little less painful to move our May/June 2020 Adventure sailing to Bermuda to a June 2021 Freedom to Bermuda sailing... just a little.

Just my opinion but I wish that new members had to wait 24 or 48 hours to post, and/or read at least a dozen threads before the could post or may be at least start a new thread. The majority of needles posts ( like the dozen or so single posts about refunds) are by people that signed up , posted twice (Total) and are never heard from again... I get that as a resource people should be able to sign up on this forum and post one or twice and never return, but if just 30% of the newbies read a few things before they posted we’d have a lot fewer senseless threads. Maybe as someone who lurks far more than I contribute, I should just keep my opinions to myself ?

Ooh so sorry, I should have figured that out. The Refreshment Package is $34 for our cruise too. I wish the “sale” prices other people are seeing were offered on voyages 400+ days out as well!

$34 sounds great! Our 2021 Freedom price is $77... There’s no way that’s going to happen.

Thanks @AnnetteJackson for taking the time to update everyone. So glad we are now clients of MEI (Michelle is our agent).

That's really all I was trying to say - may be I could have chosen more appropriate words or examples. A real community is there for each other through think and thin. That said, there are some people that are only here for a short time with a very specific agenda and they don't deserve the same considerations - and sometimes even long established members of a community can cross the line. This is a leisure activity for all of us (both the blog, message boards and cruising in general). When it doesn't feel like that for too long or too often, may be its OK for someone to suggest it's too much.

I get venting, really I do. That said there was one member who posted rough 50times in the same month they joined. That’s excessive. Sorry if I hit too close to home but seeing the same negativity from the same small number of people makes me want to vent too. May be I’ll post the anti vent every time I see a repeat complainer and the the complainers can just not open those topics. Work for you?

Great post @AnnetteJackson ! Always great to hear a voice of reason. Money can cause a lot of anxiety, frustration, and every other human reaction and emotion. I need my fees and taxes back to make the deposit on a rebooked cruise. Its my money and I expect to get it back. Others may need it just to put food on the table, and others might just get wound up at the thought that they aren’t going to get the money back at all. Those members posting over an over about it is not going to make it happen any faster and has made coming to this forum far less attractive for me in the last few days. Everybody has the right to do as they please, but count me among those that are tired over the vocal minority who post about the same issue again and again.

May 30th on Adventure to Bermuda was just canceled, so we’re trying to make lemonade out of lemons and book the same cruise on Freedom in 2021. Hoping to use the 125% to make it a better experience with cabin upgrades ?

Thank you @codyh21 much appreciated! Guess the trick will be making sure we use it all!

Wondering the same thing! The cruise we are hoping to book to replace our canceled May 30th sailing is almost exactly the same cost. the taxes and port fees refund will almost cover the $1,000 deposit on next years booking. If I book next year’s cruise now and put down the $1,000 deposit and then use the FCC to pay off the remaining balance, we’d much prefer to have the left over money available in the Cruise Planner. It’s probably not going to be much but at least we’d be guaranteed to use it! Hoping the experts in the forum will weigh in for the best strategy to make that happen!

If I missed where the port was I apologize but I was just asking what location it was? Jamaica?

That tubing excursion looks awesome, where is that?

Booked on that sailing too ?

No indoor smoking is permitted on Empress of the Seas.