DMLM

What happened was these companies try to be nice and accommodate by going the extra mile but 1,000 influencers from social media posted about a hack to the game the system and gain a benefit by lying and 100,000 followers tried the hack so companies had to stop being nice to avoid the masses taking advantage of generosity.   Social media is the demise of our society.  
Some people get married several times a year to try to get a free cake.  Then they post about it.  Then the free cakes go away.  

I agree that there are way too many companies losing sight of true customer service as well.  Nickel and dime everywhere.  This has been eroding for years (like our social norms) and it is very sad.  What happened to the days when a company would charge a fair price and leave you very excited when they did something above and beyond for service?  That to me grew so much loyalty.  It has gotten to the point (at almost every company I can think of) that even when you need to call about an issue you can only call Customer Service that knows nothing about Customer Service.  

Last update:  The credit was applied and cleared.  I'm glad it happened but took way too long to work through.  Should never have been that difficult but thankful that it is now behind me.  

Last update:  The credit was applied and cleared.  I'm glad it happened but took way too long to work through.  Should never have been that difficult but thankful that it is now behind me.  

I agree that there are way too many companies losing sight of true customer service as well.  Nickel and dime everywhere.  This has been eroding for years (like our social norms) and it is very sad.  What happened to the days when a company would charge a fair price and leave you very excited when they did something above and beyond for service?  That to me grew so much loyalty.  It has gotten to the point (at almost every company I can think of) that even when you need to call about an issue you can only call Customer Service that knows nothing about Customer Service.  

I would agree with the fact that it extends across most generations.  I do not see it from what is left of the great generation and the most of the one right after.  It appears to be getting progressively worse from there.  Not any one generation but clearly getting worse. 

Sadly, manners seem to have gone the way of cursive, just too old fashioned.  And in our current political state, unlikely to change.  But we can all try!  A little kindness can do wonders.

I agree but am not hopeful at all.

Latest update:  It appears that I have now made progress with Allianz.  I called again yesterday and spoke with another supervisor.  I again demonstrated they have the documentation showing the positive Covid test and my canceled flight (for weeks now).  The dates of the flight are the same dates of the policy.  I also reminded them of their policy and that I was operating within that policy.  I also closed with saying this has been way too long and will be looking to escalate to corporate if this si not resolved this time (not trying to be threatening but rather look for alternate resolution paths if needed).
Within 5 minutes after the call I received an email yesterday that has lead me to believe they finally understood my points.  The proof will come when I see the refund on my credit card. 

I'm an old school believer.  Once there is an agreement you adhere to it unless there was something outrageous.  I have tried to follow a philosophy of "say what you mean and mean what you say".  While not exactly the same it is still applicable to what others have indicated.  If I agreed then I should adhere to it.  It also applies to what Royal should practice (and sometimes struggles).  I'm hopeful that we start to see some of the values that the earlier generations held so highly.

I tipped $20 at Wonderland and $10 at playmakers.  Service was much better at Wonderland but it was also likely due to the overall experience.

I'm an old school believer.  Once there is an agreement you adhere to it unless there was something outrageous.  I have tried to follow a philosophy of "say what you mean and mean what you say".  While not exactly the same it is still applicable to what others have indicated.  If I agreed then I should adhere to it.  It also applies to what Royal should practice (and sometimes struggles).  I'm hopeful that we start to see some of the values that the earlier generations held so highly.

I tipped $20 at Wonderland and $10 at playmakers.  Service was much better at Wonderland but it was also likely due to the overall experience.

I sailed on Symphony back in June and the reservations were in the app the day of the cruise.  That was the first time I had to do that (used to be online pre cruise).  There was actually a spot on the ship that you could meet with the crew (it was like at 11 am) where they could tell you how to make reservations in the app.  I would start to look in the app for the activities (prior to cruise day) and find if/when/where they offer that.  For us it was a great location.  We got on the ship, went to the location & got all of our reservations, walked out and finalized the muster.  We were done with the admin and off to eating & drinking!

Another option:  If you reschedule your cruise Allianz will change the dates of your policy to the new timeframe.  This happened to us when Royal cancelled our cruise.

Maybe try showing them a screencap of your credit card statement showing the original charge and then the matching refund?

It is common practice to provide proof of cancellation from the travel supplier (cruise line, airline, hotel, etc) what submitting a travel insurance claim.  It will show if there were any refunds (cash, credit) provided by the travel supplier to ensure you have not already been indemnified.  I was able to get a proof of cancellation letter from Royal Caribbean.  It did take a long time (6 weeks).  It was in the beginning of the pandemic.  

I just wanted to provide an update.  We finally received our remaining balance last week.  The good news is that we received the funds within the time defined by the resolutions desk.  Glad the TA continued to work this for us.

I just wanted to provide an update.  We finally received our remaining balance last week.  The good news is that we received the funds within the time defined by the resolutions desk.  Glad the TA continued to work this for us.

I just wanted to provide an update.  We finally received our remaining balance last week.  The good news is that we received the funds within the time defined by the resolutions desk.  Glad the TA continued to work this for us.

I just wanted to provide an update.  We finally received our remaining balance last week.  The good news is that we received the funds within the time defined by the resolutions desk.  Glad the TA continued to work this for us.

I personally like Giovanni's better than Jamie's.  Especially Giovanni's Kitchen.  Love the menu and pistachio dessert.  And the complimentary limoncello was a nice  touch. 

They have different recipes. 
Giovanni's Table has a more upscale dining feel -- white tablecloth type of environment. They have a great filet option for folks who aren't looking to go the pasta route and they have an excellent eggplant parmesan dish.
Jamie's is more casual italian dining -- checkerboard tablecloth type of environment. They really shine in their pasta dishes.  If you like truffles, they have a creamy truffle pasta dish that is great.
Giovanni's Kitchen is the newest Royal Italian concept and it is more casual like Jamie's but has a pizza oven.  Their pizzas are fantastic and they have a lot of great appetizers, plus everyone gets a complimentary shot of limoncello at the end of the mail!

Any of the selected cruises sound great.  The experience will largely depend on what you make of it.  The ships are different, the ports are different, but they all offer the backdrop for what can be a great adventure.
A few thoughts regarding activities.  Jamaica has Dunn's River Falls (which can be fun to climb) and I believe a different trip we did the horseback ride that also went into the water which was fun (caution on horse poop in the water), Grand Cayman is supposed to have amazing scuba and snorkeling (we have done the sting ray sand bar excursion and that was fun), Coco Cay has Thrill water Park, and most islands will have the beaches to get the Kayak/Jet Ski type activities. 
I think you will find what you are looking for on any of these trips.  Enjoy your planning, but more importantly, have a great cruise on any of them!   

Fully agree on this.  Royal has been famous (for years) for creative ways to spin the sales, create excitement, and end up with around the same deal.  It is amazing how they can increase a base fare and then increase the discount to end up the same.  They also lower the base fare and decrease the discounts.  They will reduce discounts and offer OBC.  In the end all of these things equal about the same.  When it first started I was so surprised they could actually get away with the old increase price and discount with heavy marketing on "Sale".      Always worth checking though 🙂
 
Still love cruising and especially cruising Royal!