USCG Teacher

My guess is the e-mail you got after cancellation was automated, it's been my understanding since the launch of L&S that Casino fares were ineligible. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. ? http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/CWC_Enhanced_FAQs.pdf

Had much the same feeling about August! ? Good luck to you whatever you end up doing!

Just curious how a Junior Suite guest goes about making dinner reservations for CK (assuming that perk continues, I've read rumors of potentially no more JS access to CK at all)? I'm assuming it's not available in Cruise Planner, so do you have to actually walk up there once on board? Can you do it on the phone?

This is exactly what I did, and mine was even more "questionable" than your situation because I upgraded my oceanview to a JS GTY on my 08/2020 cruise because it was so cheap, THEN did a Lift & Shift to 2021. Took 3 calls and a supervisor for my TA to get it done, but I'm here to tell you that they CAN get it done!

Was supposed to be on that same cruise! I L&S'd it to 8/8/21.

If you've never been to NYC, it's a great opportunity to double up your vacation. As a local, I fully agree with @WAAAYTOOO, EWR is the way to go unless you can find SUBSTANTIAL savings into JFK. Only go to LGA if it's life or death. Now if it were me, I'd fly in a few days early and find a nice hotel in Jersey City to home base in for a few days. The rooms should be significantly cheaper, and as long as you are comfortable on public transportation, taking the PATH into NYC from Jersey City is a fast and easy way to get in and out. See the sights, do the tourist thing, and getting a shuttle to Cape Liberty the morning of your cruise should be cheaper and easier from the NJ side of the Hudson. Just this Jersey boy's two cents!

I'd have your TA call back & ask for a supervisor if necessary. As with all things RCI, if the 1st rep. doesn't give you the "right" answer, there's a decent chance the next one will! Good luck!

While I would believe that Royal would try to avoid taking any actions that would reduce revenue streams if possible, I think this is a really good idea!

Was in this exact situation. They did L&S my GTY Suite reservation, even though it wasn't even an option on the August 2021 itineraries I was eligible for. Original rep said they couldn't do it. Took my TA two days and literal hours on hold to finally get a hold of a supervisor, but long story short, they were able to do it.

FWIW, the bus system (https://www.gotobermuda.com/sites/default/files/bta19-bus-schedule-may.pdf) and ferries (http://www.rccbermuda.bm/ferries_about.aspx) are both very easy to navigate and very affordable (https://www.gov.bm/bus-fares). @JLMoran is right, outside of departure day, the biggest reason to do cruise line-based excursions is gone. We managed to do Horseshoe Bay and St. George's on our own at a fraction of the cost of organized excursions and had a good time getting there and back, especially skirting along the north side of the island on the Orange Route ferry out to St. George's!

I just checked out the website, this is really cool! It's also definitely the closest I'll ever get to playing on anything remotely resembling a PGA course!

?

Close, but we didn't have the color-matching sleek molded type. Guess we weren't fancy. ? We had the generic type:

These are the exemplar reusable cup. I think I started using one around age 2 (with the equally iconic Tupperware "sippy cup top") and continued to use it pretty much until High School. (The Tupperware, not the sippy cup! ?)

Gotcha. I think part of this here is a fundamental difference not just in whether or not to use the professionals, but how one utilizes the shots. In your exact 110 shot scenario, I would've ended up with 10 pictures: my favorite shot from each of the backdrops, my favorite sail away shot, my favorite shot from MDR night #1, etc. Between my time in photography and my wife's experience as a graphic designer, we're pretty good at narrowing down and agreeing on what we think are the best photos of the family. I totally understand the mentality of wanting all the shots, it's just not how I operate personally. Thank you for taking the time to break it down; the 100+ number is much easier for me to wrap my brain around when I think of it in terms of proofs, not "keepers."

I have to ask a question, and it is going to sound like I'm being flippant, but I swear I'm genuinely interested. How did you manage to take more than 100 photos? Was it longer than a 7 day cruise? Were you part of a really large group? That's more than 14 pictures a day with the photographers for a week. It's been a long time since I've been on a cruise ship, so I'm seriously floored by the logistics of that! Are there more photographers than there used to be? More candid opportunities throughout the ship. Again, sorry if it seems like I'm banging on here, but I am a photo guy, I even used to manage a photo lab back in my college days, and I figured a 20 picture package would do me just fine. Maybe I need to rethink that. ?

I'm certainly not complaining! ?

While not quite the upgrade that @1978bucketlist scored, I was just able to upgrade my August 2020 sailing from a Deck 3 Oceanview cabin to a Suite Guarantee for a grand total of $193 for the 4 of us (NOT per person!), then Lift and Shift it to August 2021. Did it take may TA 5 hours on hold to make it happen? Yes, yes it did. Am I sending him a bottle of his favorite Bourbon for his efforts? You better believe it. Many thanks to @Matt and everyone on the board for their expertise and quick dissemination of information to allow this to happen!

And when they're giving me rates at 40% of what they are next year, plus price protection even past final payment date, I'm more than happy to! Like @Kathleen said, it's not going to shake out right for everyone, but in certain scenarios it's going to be a big win-win. Same rules as always apply: do your research, work with a good TA and do what's right for you!

Personally I couldn't imagine traveling without it in the past. Thinking about not having it NOW?

Given the source, I find this to be reassuring! ?

So, theoretical question. Booked on a cruise this August. Prices are obviously low for that sailing right now. Could I upgrade that reservation to a better cabin category, THEN "lift and shift" it to an August 2021 sailing? Get upgraded at 2020 prices for a 2021 sailing sounds like a good deal if that doesn't violate terms and conditions. Thoughts?

You could do A LOT worse in the area. As @bytheslice mentioned, the mall and IHOP are. very close, as is a Ruby Tuesdays. I understand that their shuttle to/from EWR is one of the more reliable in the area as well. GrubHub/Door Dash/Uber Eats also greatly opens up your dining possibilities both of the local and chain varieties, and that property has a number of nice public spaces where you could besides being in your room. All in all, a good choice.

I had to use HOWLONGAGO.com to figure out that it has been 5,463 days since my last cruise. A few kids, 4 degrees and a couple of jobs fell in between. ? It was supposed to be 109 days until my next cruise, but it looks like 473 may be more realistic. After 5,400 days, what's another 300 or so?

This must be a wide-spread Jersey thing, because it's much the same down here by Princeton. We even have a drive-thru farm around here, which is great. You order fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs online, print out your order form or just have it on your phone's e-mail. You drive into the barn, show them the print out or e-mail (which they scan through your window), then pop the trunk. They fill you up with farm-fresh produce and you're on your way. I've gone every week since they started!