WAAAYTOOO

44 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Maybe I need to upgrade to something that includes all dining.

That certainly is ONE way to handle it !!

51 minutes ago, ehw51 said:

Thanx for the info, we have a B2B in Oct 21. I also have a question, We are going to purchase the Key for the first cruise, would I have to purchase it for the 2nd cruise to get the benefits for disembarkation? I don´t think we really need it for the 2nd cruise other than disembarkation.

Yes. You would have to purchase it for the second cruise as well to get the expedited disembarkation for the second leg.

I have UDPs booked for both legs of my NAV B2B in Feb. 3 and 4 nights, respectively.

24 minutes ago, 711Dave said:

Thanks WAAAYTOO,  Appreciate it.

Any time !

3 minutes ago, 711Dave said:

I sent a request to our TA, who I have previously used, this afternoon to make a booking for an October 2021 cruise but have not heard back from her. She has given me a quote earlier today.

The current sale "Beat the Clock" ends at midnight tonight.

To not miss out on the pricing I plan to book it on RCL's website a bit later this evening.

What is the procedure for transferring the bookings to the TA in the morning?

TIA

 

It’s super simple.  Just send your TA an email with the confirmation number and let him/her do the transfer !  I think you have a great plan !

15 minutes ago, June May said:

Hi all

I recently booked a South Pacific cruise for 2022 (as soon as the itineraries came out here in Australia!) - I figure by then, we'll all be back sailing, even if it may look a little different to what it was in the past.

Previously, once I booked (direct with Royal), I'd get a guest invoice, showing the breakdown of my cruise fare, showing the deposit I'd paid and when the balance would be due.

This time, all I got was an email stating I'd paid a deposit.

Is this the new process?  Or should I be contacting Royal to get my guest invoice?

Are you sure there wasn’t a confirmation attached ?  Maybe waaay down at the bottom ?  I received a confirmation email recently and only happened by chance to notice that there was an attachment way at the bottom of the email.  If not, I would certainly contact Royal and demand a written confirmation with fare breakdown.  

Charleston, SC has had a similar love/hate relationship with cruising.  Obviously, Royal doesn't cruise out of Charleston, but it does call on Charleston from time-to-time (most notably from Bayonne) and there are locals there who despise the cruisers.  I think it's basically the "old money" that is trying to close down Charleston to cruising and it could be the same in KW....I don't know enough about the politics of KW to know who is pushing that agenda.  So those who benefit from cruise $$ are not the same ones who would champion the loss of cruise $$.

The only disappointment of Anthem (and I assume all of the Q class)  are the high end suites.  I dislike the long walk all the way aft; Deck 17 on the O class is much more convenient.  On our most recent Anthem cruise, we were in a Grand Suite and were very disappointed in how small it was.  I felt like the GS on the Grandeur was bigger than what we had on Anthem !  We loved our "middle" Grand Loft Suite on Anthem, but really hated that long walk to get to the elevators.  It's a mixed bag as I loved being Star Class on Anthem but not the location of the suites or the location of the Concierge/Suites Lounge.  Overall I do like the Anthem activities though.

That's a good question.  It would be nice b/c NAV is so great with all the amplification stuff.  I think she's wasted on the short cruises but I understand why they did it.

I've only sailed on Anthem, but I love the Quantum class.  It's my second favorite class, after Oasis.

It can seem a bit crowded along the Esplanade at certain times but generally not a big problem. There are lots of unique activities on the Q class and I love 270 and the Music Hall.

The food is about the same as any other Royal Caribbean ship.   I've actually never eaten in the MDR but I'm sure it's on par with the rest.  On Anthem, Izumi is a very small venue, if that's important - sushi only with no hibachi.  I would probably choose Odyssey just b/c I haven't been on that ship but I would not hesitate to go on Anthem, too.

28 minutes ago, joshgates said:

Hmm, not sure there.  I canceled one for July just after final payment but before they canceled it, got a refund for 75% with a FCC for the other 25%.  I'd thought the same as what you said so inquired and was told that you'd get a refund for anything that you'd typically get refunded without the CWC and a FCC for anything that you'd ordinarily forfeit.  In this case I'd assume they'd get a refund for everything except the deposit and that they'd get as a FCC.

That said, I got the refund relatively quickly but the FCC I had to call about, evidently some sort of mixup with that.  Got corrected within a few days though.

You are right.  I should have said....if you cancel using CWC, you will receive a 100% FCC on the cruise fare.  Taxes, port fees and gratuities will be refunded to the original form of payment.  If you received 25% of your cruise fare as cash, then that's the first I've heard of that !!

2 hours ago, VACruiser said:

I cancelled a cruise that was scheduled for Dec 20 on Harmony on 18 May 20 as we didn’t want to cruise in the craziness this year. 
I chose to get a refund

If you cancelled a cruise (using Cruise With Confidence), you will not be getting a refund.  The only option for self-cancellation using CWC is a 100% FCC.  Since you did this in May, I certainly would have thought that you would have gotten the FCC by now, but if you are looking for a refund, I'm afraid you won't be seeing it.

12 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

Very helpful.  We have 4 cruises  booked over the next 12 months (starting Nov if that goes).   And we do occasionally have add-on flights in between.  I had already purchased individual policies, but in reading them, it appears they can be cancelled 14 days prior to the cruise.   I did the preliminary math and appears I do come out ahead on an annual policy over the individuals.   So may make the jump if I can.  Thanks again!

My pleasure !!!  Good luck

11 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

Might be a silly question but would you have a recommendation on when it makes sense to go with the annual?  Is it 2, 3 trips or more?

Not silly at all, but a very prudent question.

In our case, once we were doing 4 or more cruises per year, we decided that it was worthwhile to get the annual policy.  We look at it a lot like we do the Deluxe Beverage Package.  It really isn't about saving money, it's about the convenience.  Our annual policy has been $623 per year for the past 3 years so I assume that is the price that it's going to be for the foreseeable future.  We have been doing between 6-9 cruises per year. The annual policy definitely saves money over buying individual trip plans but even if it didn't, we would still do the annual policy.

For one thing, the annual policy is not just for cruises.  It is any travel that we do (of course, neither of us is traveling at all right now....but that's an anomaly) and in the recent past, both Dan and I traveled a lot for work.  Are there less expensive annual policies ?  Sure.  But we have the most inclusive policy that they offer with high limits b/c we cruise in suites most of the time and the $$ value of the overall trips is fairly high.  Now that I am on Medicare, I would not have health insurance coverage outside of the US if I didn't purchase it elsewhere.  It is mainly for this reason that we have travel insurance.

Here are the coverage caps:

I came across the following, related to COVID while I was looking up the coverage caps :

I recently renewed my annual Allianz policy and was told that it does not cover any kind of travel delay or interruption due to CV-19 but it cover illness-related issues.  So, if you get CV-19 while on a cruise it would cover hospitalization and emergency evacuation/repatriation.

Glad I was able to help, Denise.

30 minutes ago, KWong said:

Currently the Caymanian Dollar is almost $1.22USD.

Wanted to try Stingray City last time in Grand Cayman. Our in port arrival timing did not allow for it, unfortunately.

And don't be afraid to do almost nothing. 7 mile beach is gorgeous. We've been to Public Beach a couple of times and it was a lot of fun. But we went where Calico Jack's was and they've closed down, so I don't know what will be replacing it, if anything.

Welcome back !  Haven’t seen you on here in a while. Good to see you.

Wow, Joe.  This has really been a saga.  Thanks for the intel.  One more icy step in this path of treachery.

5 minutes ago, Neesa said:

I haven't lifted & shifted yet, but I am booking a 4 night Mariner on Thanksgiving 2020 in the slim chance she sails. 2x CoCo Cay & Nassau out of Port Canaveral. I am paying for this with my last FCC from my previously cancelled Mariner sailing August 3, 2020 (the 125% FCC nightmare) If this sailing is also cancelled by RCCL I know I can only receive FCC not cash refund, (ugh can't be rid of this stuff) but is the FCC then returned with the additional 25% OR just the original FCC amount paid. Thanks so much,

Signed....I'm still so confused

If the cruise with the FCC applied gets cancelled, you will be reissued the original FCC in the original amount and any “new money” that you might have added to pay the cruise fare would be issued at 125%.  But wait....there’s more !  According to the last change they made (if I’m interpreting it correctly), you would receive a new, combined FCC for the combination of those 2 amounts.  This is slightly better than the old system when you would have received 2 separate FCCs.  Now they are combining them so at least you only get 1 now.  Of course, you can always request a cash refund for any “new money” and in that case, you would just get your original FCC back. If there is no “new money” then you’re basically back where you started. To the question that I think you were asking, no, they do not “double up” on the 125%.

I don’t miss the muster drill

3 hours ago, Guy Gadwa said:

Sounds like you made a reasonable response to the survey.  I suspect the survey was for the most recent interaction with Royal but it is fair to compare the recent encounter with a previous one.

Good to see you on the blog.  It's been a while !!

Each FCC has an independent expiration date.  The rules are very fluid right now.  In the past, an FCC that was “removed” from a cruise (for any number of reasons), reverted to its original expiration date but with current circumstances, they have been changing those expiration rules.  I think “it depends” is probably the best answer to your question, at the moment.

Unfortunately, if it was booked with an FCC you would get refunded with an FCC.  So sucks

If you cancelled your March cruise using Cruise With Confidence, you would receive only Future Cruise Credits for that cancellation - no cash refund option is available for CWC.  For any cruise that Royal cancels you would/will have a choice of cash refund or Future Cruise Credits.

18 minutes ago, wstephensi said:

Saved over $700 on my Harmony sailing last summer with a military discount.  It was after final payment so it was applied as a well used OBC.  So it pays to check even after final payment.

I'm very surprised that they allowed this.  That's great news.  Generally, they would make you take the cancellation penalty before they would give you any kind of price reduction after final payment.  Happy to hear about this !