WAAAYTOOO

Yes, for all of the ships that have a specialty restaurant. Not sure about Empress since I haven’t cruised on a Empress, but all of the other ships with specialty restaurants have a Suites breakfast. Sometimes the breakfast is in Giovannis, sometime Chops...but it will be somewhere.

You are so welcome. I forgot to mention - double Crown &Anchor points, too !

They had the 3D tours a few years back (look for one of the Aqua Theater Suites !) but they went away. Nice to see they are coming back.

Most likely, yes. The only time I have known of B2Bers not having to physically disembark on turnaround day was when there was a very large B2B group, in which case CBP came onto the ship to process the B2Bers. It is extremely rare for that to happen. 99% that you will be required to shortly disembark and reboard. But you will be permitted to go to your cabin (if you wish) immediately. You will not have to wait until 1:00 like the newbies.

Yep !

I don’t think it would be difficult to do so long as your connecting rooms were refundable deposits.

Yes, you can use MEI. The only stipulation is that you must pay in USD $$.

Honestly, I think what they told you is not correct. If you move your January cruise, your FCC should be re-issued. I think they were mistaken. I would certainly call back again....or better yet, transfer the booking that you just made to MEI and let them take care of it for you !!!

Yes. This definitely CAN happen

In the very most technical of terms, a reprice is a new booking....but b/c they do not change the booking number when they reprice, you do not lose your CP items.

Yes. I agree. This is another problem they need to solve.

You should also be able to get a latte in the Main Dining Room and in most of the specialty restaurants.

The way I read it, they would simply combine the FCC that you already paid on that cruise and the final FCC that would be created as a result of that cancelled cruise into 1. 1 FCC instead of 2 as a result. Better....but they still aren't allowing more than 1 FCC to be applied to a booking, as far as I can tell. I have more than a half dozen FCC's just sitting there waiting to be placed somewhere. If I place one of the little bitty ones onto a very expensive cruise, then that cruise can never receive another FCC. So I have to be very selective on which FCCs I place onto which cruise. It's nice to know that if they cancel a cruise where I have placed an FCC (which has already happened), I will just get 1 FCC rather than 2....but that is not as helpful to me as a new policy which would allow multiple FCC's to be applied, would be.

No, you would not lose your good cruise planner pricing just for repricing a cruise fare. The only time you would lose your cruise planner items is if you cancel or move your cruise to a different ship or sail date.

This is a SLIGHTLY better policy than they have had in the past. Combining the value of the FCC's will make it easier...but what I really want them to do is to allow multiple FCC's to bookings. Combining the FCC's into 1 will help with that but it's still not what I want. I am still going to ask for cash refunds rather than FCC's. If they change their policy to allow multiple FCC's per booking, I would go back to asking for FCC's.

Hmmmm...very interesting.

One thing I noted recently. Not all of the available discounts are eligible for refundable deposit bookings. I have been on a rampage lately, utilizing military discounts. Every time I asked, the refundable rate was not eligible to incorporate the military discount...only the non-refundable deposit option permitted the military discount. I think the D+ balcony discount almost always applies but I know for sure that the military rate sometimes does not.

Congratulations and condolences. You are going to LOVE the suite life thus the condolences...b/c you will be ruined from now on. That's a good thing ! Approximately 5-7 days (I've found lately that it is 5 days) prior to sailing, your Suites Concierge will reach out to you via email and provide you with a full list of Suites benefits. At that time, you will be able to interact with the Concierge, ask them questions and have them make reservations for you. If you have a dining package, you can ask the Concierge to make specific reservations for you at the restaurants and times of your choice. Another big time saver, as you will not have to go stand in line at the kiosk or specialty restaurant and do that once you board. If you are going to Labadee or Coco Cay and want a cabana or bungalow, the Concierge can do that for you ahead of time...another time saver. You will be able to check in with the Suites....which usually means a shorter line to go through check-in and security. I can't remember whether Galveston has a separate entry for Suites or not. I should remember, but I don't. At the very least, you will have your own line...which can be a huge time saver. You will have 24 hour access to the Suites Lounge. There you will find a self-service coffee machine that you can use any time it is working. I says any time it is working b/c there have been issues in the past with it running out of coffee or milk, etc. Of course, there is the Happy Hour (usually 4:30 or 5:00 - 7:00 or so) where you will get complementary beverages and snacks. You would also be eligible for this (in the Diamond lounge) since you are now Diamond (Congratulations !!!) so that's not such a biggie for you...but it's generally less crowded in the Suites Lounge as there usually fewer Suite and Pinnacle guests than there are Diamonds and D+. Most of the Concierges will provide priority disembarkation at ports of call. This can be hit-or-miss but most of them will escort you off the ship ahead of the masses, if you want to disembark that early. This is particularly important if you have any tender ports. Just be mindful that this service is only in 1 direction. You have to get back to the ship on your own the best way you can. Of course, the most valuable assistance with disembarkation is on the last day when the Concierge will get you off the ship expeditiously. Unfortunately, I have found the disembarkation service at Galveston to be kinda lame. They really don't escort you down to the CBP line like they do at some of the other ports....but it's better than nothing. One service that can be really valuable is the fact that the Concierge can help you with any Seapass/billing issues you might have. If you find that you've been charged for something that you should not have, the Concierge can take care of it for you. Generally speaking, anything that would require you to stand in line at Guest Services, the Concierge should be able to do for you. Minimizing time at GS is a real bonus !!! The Concierge will arrange special behind-the-scenes tours for you if you are interested. These generally include entertainment operations (we did one at the ice theater once that was really interesting), galley tours and bridge tours. No idea how COVID is going to affect the tour situation. My guess is that they will probably curtail some or all of these, but you never know until we get to sailing again. Of course, you will have reserved seats for all of the main theater productions and the ice shows. There are special sections that are available to suites and Pinnacles. You still have to fight for a seat, but at least there is a section cordoned off for you. My favorite Suite benefit is private breakfast at Chops. Only Suites and Pinnacles are allowed. It is a full service breakfast from a static menu. Very nice, quiet and tranquil. Such a great way to start the day ! Labadee has a Suites area that is exclusive to Suite Guests and Pinnacles. It is a nice area and they provide shuttle service from the main entrance over to the Suites beach. Even if you do not rent a cabana you will find lots of loungers. The Suites area has a private lunch that is pretty much the same as everyone else's lunch but generally less crowded. Nothing exclusive for Suites at Coco Cay, unfortunately. There's probably more...just can't think of it right now. Congratulations again !!!

Thank you, @FionaMG This kind of posting is what this forum is all about. Nice to see it !

I’m doing the same. I’ve booked 4 “new” cruises but haven’t yet applied a single FCC. I’m waiting to do that b/c I have to be strategic. Only 1 FCC (per person) can be applied per cruise (a rule I would LOVE to see changed) so I have to be careful with some of the smallish FCCs. Once I sort out my annual casino Prime choices, I will start throwing the FCCs on where they will not block my each other. This is the primary reason I have stopped taking FCCs. Cash refunds only from now on. If they would let me apply more than 1 per cruise I would gladly take FCCs again.

Have you considered having your TA just put a "hold" on your cruise until the FCC comes through ? Michelle did this for me on a couple of different cruises and it was really awesome. IF you have a pretty certain cruise in mind and you know that you want to book it (or pretty sure), just put a hold on it, which locks in the price, and then do the formal booking and apply the FCC's once they come in.

I know that guilt. My goldie died in the hospital, alone (over night) and I have never forgiven myself for that. The ONLY positive about that (and you can call me a coward for this....I know I am) is that we did not have to make the decision about putting her "down".

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear this terrible news. Few things are harder than losing a member of the family like that. ?

New puppy...maybe ?

The biggest advantage to Lift & Shift is the fact that they price protect your current price. The disadvantage to L&S is that you must wait a full year for your cruise. I would look at the cruise that you would/could L&S to and see what the prices are for your room. If your current price is significantly lower than what they are charging for your room a year from now, L&S might be a good option. Of course, there is always the possibility that the price on the replacement cruise could come down, but the odds are against that. If you want to cruise sooner than 1 year from your current booking, then FCC would be a good option. Just know that there is a significant lapse time between the time that you cancel, using Cruise with Confidence, and when you actually get your FCC/refunds. IF the time lapse is not an issue for you, then the FCC is a good option...it just takes freakin' forever to get it all done.