WAAAYTOOO

Wow...very hard to believe. I did read where 3 "greeters" in Port Everglades tested positive for NCV19. Maybe this is causing some ripples

Just about every booking I have is a casino comp upgrade. That's just about all we do. Unfortunately, the casino comp upgrade is not nearly as good a deal as they used to be but you should still be able to save something in the neighborhood of 30% off the fully discounted price (meaning, after the BOGO60 or whatever the current sale happens to be, has been applied). I know everyone is getting tired of hearing this, but a good Agent who is intimately familiar with casino comps and upgrades (hint, [email protected], hint) is soooooo valuable in these situations. I no longer have to screw around with the overseas representatives. Michelle knows just when to call to get the stateside ones. It's a state secret though...she won't even tell me !!!! In the meantime, however, calculate the current, fully discounted price of the cabin you want to upgrade to (cruise fare only. Do not include taxes or ports fees), subtract 30% and this about is what you should expect that cabin to cost. Then subtract what you have already paid for your cabin (cruise fare only) and that should be very close to the cost to upgrade. These back-of-the-envelope calculations are never exact...but it will give you a ballpark estimate. Just so you know, that discount USED to be at LEAST 60% but those days are long gone. I'm totally confused by the refundable/nonrefundable argument. Perhaps it has some bearing but it seems a bit like a smoke screen to me.

GO GET 'EM !!!

You can cancel your RoyalUp bid at any time up until your bid has been accepted. I have been reading of some peoples' bids have been "frozen" so I'm not sure what happens then...guess you have to call and do it "in person".

Good luck. I hope that you have a good outcome. Big travel conglomerates are excellent for certain things, but unfortunately, quick, personal service is not usually one of them. In times of crisis (and we will all be faced with at least one, eventually), there is just no substitute for a good, personal Agent that can respond promptly. I wouldn't give mine up for a million bucks.

It is not a 100% sure thing that the category is actually, completely sold out. I have read of people who got upgrades even though the category is showing "sold out". Conversely, (to the above), just b/c RoyalUp sends out an offer to bid on a cabin category does not mean that there are actually any cabins available in that category. So...the truth is...nobody really knows. Keep the faith. Call, hold, upgrade !!!

You ask all the hard questions.... ?

So...no Covid 19. GREAT ! Are there any ports left to go to ??

Not sure about the rates, but some riders, specifically, Cancel for Any Reason, can only be added if the policy is activated within a certain number of days of booking. I think that length of time varies but is generally around the 14 day mark, I think. So if you specifically want Cancel for Any Reason (which really ISN'T ANY reason) then you have to purchase it pretty quickly after booking.

This is my understanding as well.

Oops. I missed that part...

Isn’t there a rule requiring at least 1 person in the room to be 18 ? I’m surprised they allowed the booking to process with the children’s ages.

They’re probably secretly hoping that the insurance company forecloses and takes it away. Just kidding ??

I wonder how much credit the got for Epic ? Probably not much. What a crappy ship !

When we had our abbreviated Anthem cruise in Feb (what started this whole mess !!), we were at 65% capacity and there was absolutely NO “ghost town” feeling at all. It was a GREAT cruise.

??Mommy is a no-show, Mommy is a no-show...???

Welcome to the blog @TLNICHOLAS88. Sorry your first cruise has to be under these circumstances. I am in hopes that your trip is carefree and that you fall in love with cruising like the rest of us addicts. ?

I am also confused by the $100 loss. It was also my understanding that the FCC/refund was 100% of the costs. Is there maybe an Agency charge involved ?

Wow ! That's a lot of eatin' !!! Good for you. We love the UDP. You bring up an interesting point. Will prices for onboard services (drinks, food, internet) stay the same, go up or go down ? Of course, none of us know the answer to that. Just postulating... I have heard that a cruise makes the majority of its "profit" from onboard sales. The cruise fare is basically "break even" but most, if not all, of a cruise's profits are realized from onboard sales. With the cruise line losing SO much money right now from cancellations, it seems to me that they would be hesitant to lower the only remaining revenue stream - that of onboard sales. So far, I haven't really seen any kind of trend. The so-so sales are there but the really GOOD sales have not been visible (at least on any of my bookings). We were lucky enough to snatch a 2 person Voom package for the Brilliance group cruise for $18.99 but that was a while back and it hasn't come down to that level again, since. Anyone else seen any kind of trend with onboard services ?

We were on Oasis in Dec. 19. What a gorgeous new ship ! So many things to do and so many of the good ol' venues have been spruced up. You are going to love it. So much fun !

This is such a shame. I will refrain from blaming this outcome on the Agency but I have just heard so many, many, many similar stories that it makes me think that those big box Agencies just don't care.... Just so that you have some misery, as company, this exact same thing happened to me, too...and I have an awesome Agent. She was never able to get through and by the next day, all of the upper category suites had disappeared.

I agree. I have a sick feeling it is coming but don't tell anybody. ?

I thought I would just share something that is brewing in our universe. Dan works for the Navy at a big government site. They are being very proactive with possible isolation scenarios, alternate working environments etc.; very positive and proactive. One of the things that they are currently strongly enforcing is the requirement that anyone visiting ANY foreign country must now get prior permission to do so. This has always been a kind of "rule" where cleared personnel must advise the government of proposed foreign travel, but frankly, Caribbean countries visited during cruises have never been destinations of scrutiny and it was simply a formality. Not so, now. So, there is a possibility that #1, they would disapprove any "request" to visit any of the countries on our cruise itineraries or #2, that once we returned, he could be subject to self quarantine for a period of time. Obviously, #1 is a hard down show stopper. End of story. Done. #2 isn't a huge deal if they permitted him to work from home (which is one of the self isolation plans already in development). However, there could be ramifications of total self quarantine; things that we just aren't thinking of at the moment. I have not heard of anyone being refused clearance to go on a cruise YET. It's just a new complication that we have to consider, going forward. So while we are 100% #stillgoing at this time, it may be taken out of our hands if the government feels that ANY travel outside of the US becomes problematic.

This is an unfortunate example of the worst that can happen. So unfortunate. Good luck @Jim S with your plans.

I LOVE it. #stillgoing !!!!