USCG Teacher

I am inclined to think something along @mathbees proposal makes sense. Require viewing of a safety video at checkin or in your cabin, and then a physical visit to your muster station where you get signed in, but then are free to leave. It helps reduce crowds and still requires people to at least physically go to their muster station. Would that have the same effect on automatic response as spending 20 or so minutes there? Who knows? In my experience, generally speaking any safety training passengers/amateurs have received prior to getting underway goes right out the window as soon as sirens start sounding or shoes start getting wet. It's normally the professionalism and training of the crew that makes things work.

Yep. It's a curious error to pop back up into CP, but I supposed I should never underestimate the IT department over there!

Newly available on my August 2021 Oasis of the Seas booking. ?

Understood and agreed! ?

My $0.02 here, if you're thinking of flying DC to Newark, have you considered Amtrak? I've made that trip (and New York Penn - D.C.) plenty of times, and it's a really easy and relaxing 3 hour trip. Hourly departures, no security, plenty of leg room, and fares usually around that $150 roundtrip price on a bad day. Don't mean to sound like an Amtrak salesperson here, just throwing another option at you if you're planning that trip!

I may be dating myself a bit here, but come on, I can't be the only one who thought it!

Seems like a good approach to take in general right now. Thank you!

Hey @JohnK6404, following along, but I'm wondering if you've heard any word as to whether or not the OBC will be added to your CP prior to your sail date, or if it will end up being actual, old-school ON BOARD credit? There doesn't seem to be a lot out there on this point. If you don't mind, could you keep us updated as to how and when this gets applied for you?

Check out the tail end of this thread, seems pertinent to your situation.

As I understand it, you can absolutely apply your FCC to already booked cruises BUT getting your FCC in time to make your final payment due date seems unlikely if current trends continue. Based on others' reports, there doesn't seem to be any way to expedite the process. More to the point, RCI's time estimates for processing seem to be optimistic at best, so mid-May should be viewed as a best case scenario.

Sorry to pile on to the question line, but it looks like you're on a roll! ? If you take your Cruise Planner purchases as an FCC, how soon does it become available to you? Can you use it to pre-book items in the Cruise Planner for the future cruise you apply it to, or can you only use it for on board purchases?

See? This board is a veritable mine of highly specific and useful information.

Okay, continuing on my recent trend that are extremely limited and scope and probably affect very few others, figured I'd throw another one out there. The success rate so far has been 100%, and hopefully the information might help someone else out there! So, I have some OBC credited to my upcoming cruise from my RCCL Visa through My Cruise Rewards. Does anyone know what happens to that OBC if the cruise gets cancelled? What about if I end cancelling through the Cruise with Confidence program (not what I'm planning to do right now, but could be a concern as time goes on)? Could I reassign the OBC to another cruise I have booked for next year? Would the points go back to my card? Is it gone? ? It seems as though even the customer service folks at My Cruise Rewards aren't entirely sure, so I was wondering if anyone here had any insight. As always, TIA!

Okay, there's been a million FCC questions flying around, so why not one more? Let's say my cruise gets cancelled and I take the 125% FCC. Can I use that FCC on a cruise with a different Travel Agent? I presume that the agent (or agency) isn't tied to the FCC and I'd be free to use someone else, but with so many specific rules involved with these things, figured I better turn to the experts! TIA!

Nope. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/04/01/no-royal-caribbean-did-not-extend-its-cruise-cancellations-until-september

So, no I think? You'll get back your original 125% FCC to use towards another cruise, and then 125% of any extra money you've spent on the new cruise (Cruise Planner purchases or cruise fare beyond the initial FCC). But not 125% of the original 125%. I think. Or, perhaps, the opposite of what I think is true. Which is possible...

Exactly. It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't spots...

We have some of these idiots up here in Jersey, too. These clowns are a few towns over from me: https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/police-break-up-house-party-with-dj-in-ewing-township

When you're right, you're right! Mmm....Aspic....

Gonna have to go with @Lovetocruise2002 here!

Since it's a fantasy cruise, can I take an around-the-world trip in an Oasis-class family suite (I'm not picky, any one will do! ?)? Perhaps I could even move some bridges to create a more port-intensive itinerary! More realistically, and I know this is a controversial opinion, but I'd like to take a cruise where we hit both Labadee and Coco Cay. I'm a fan of "beach break" days, and like the idea of being at a beautiful location where I can still utilize Royal's amenities. Maybe a 7-day out of Galveston or Canaveral hitting those two, Cozumel (LOVE Cozumel!) and one more island not in the Bahamas (again, I'm not picky!).

That's @CHRIS WONG, and he's a regular poster here! All of his Vlogs are interesting, but I agree that these ones have been particularly so! You can find links to a bunch of his other stuff directly on YouTube or via this thread:

Thinking in terms of supply & demand, and assuming the COVID-19 situation settles down by then, I would think prices will start to go up considerably. Not only will you have the normal cruise population booking, you'll have all of those people who cancelled right now trying to book and use their vouchers before they expire in December of '21.

If you have a TA, I would absolutely let them have at it. Save yourself the time and frustration of being on hold with Royal PLUS let an expert work out the details for you. Win win if you ask me!