WAAAYTOOO

27 minutes ago, Kcusack89 said:

@WAAAYTOOO thank you so much. You guys all make an indecisive person feel better about her decisions!

In general, the consensus appears to be, if you were already planning on purchasing internet for everyone, then the Key is a good value. You will get embarkation lunch from Chops (usually served in the MDR) and have access to reserved seating at the theaters, which are things that JS normally do not get.  There will be a location (usually the main theater) where you can drop off your carry-on luggage at embarkation and it will be delivered to your room.  This is a perk that neither suites nor senior C&A members get !  There are also special reserved times for certain activities (flow rider, etc) but generally I’m not sure this is a perk that many take advantage of.  Then, there is a special disembarkation day breakfast and escort off the ship.  Overall, I think that, for new RC cruisers (someone who has minimal C&A status), the Key is a nice program.

8 minutes ago, Neesa said:

Am I also looking at the 30 to 45 day turn around for my refunds? 

That's a great question.  I cancelled a bunch of CP purchases and then repurchased at the lower price so I have some refunds coming, too.

I really don't know but I am expecting the refund to be "delayed" similar to what the cruise refunds have experienced.  After all, I feel certain that these "sales" are designed to infuse cash and it would be counterproductive (from their aspect) to turn right around and immediately refund the higher priced items in exchange for lower prices.  They are looking to hold onto ALL cash as long as they can.

1 minute ago, Kcusack89 said:

@WAAAYTOOO wow that was nice of your neighbors I didn't realize there were some junior suites in the hump too that may be a game changer especially if we can find two next to eachother since we're going with my relatives.

Actually, I think that was @Tim B. but thanks for thinking about me !!!!

I thought I would check and see if I made a mistake by already purchasing my RT airfare for the October 2020 group cruise on Brilliance.

I purchased RT First Class DCA-BOS-DCA (10/18 Oct) on Feb 6 for $807.60.

I did a mock booking for the same exact itinerary a while ago and the total was $896.40 so it's actually more expensive now than it was back when I booked it in early Feb.  I'm sure there are deals going on somewhere, but they never seem to find me !!  Now I'm glad I booked when I did.  Now, let's just hope that the ship sails !!

23 minutes ago, Matt said:

Editor's note: It is way more difficult to make up what I'm doing, than to report on what I actually did!

Perhaps @Traveler could conduct a class.  He is very good at it !!!

New article from Bloomberg about more RCI funding

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-23/royal-caribbean-in-talks-for-more-financing-to-ride-out-shutdown?sref=DWzi38c2

3 hours ago, Mike.s said:

We had a junior suite of Rhapsody earlier this year, our first, loved the extra space in the cabin, especially the bathroom and the extra space at the foot of the bed, think we're hooked. When our end of June cruise get's cancelled (we fully expect it to) we'll be re-booking a JS on our next cruise. Oh and the double points are the icing on the cake 

See above....

4 hours ago, Tim B. said:

@Kcusack89I was on the IOS last year in a hump balcony room and I met my neighbor who had a Junior Suite next to mine...I was in 9340 and they were in JS 9338. They were kind enough to allow us into their room to take a look at  the differences and it’s a much larger room and bathroom. The balcony room can feel squished, especially in the bathroom area and shower,  but the JS is much larger and more like a living room feeling. No jumping around the bed as there is plenty room to walk around in the room. The bathroom is also much larger. The size of a JS is about a balcony and a half room. If the cost is close I would definitely take a Junior Suite over a Balcony hands down. You get double the points and priority embarkation. And, never forget the walk-in closet.

Sounds to me like you are on the slippery slope to Suite Snob.  Watch out !  It is a powerful force.

This happens to me all the time.  It is always temporary but it is very annoying !!  Glad you were able to get in.

I understand that you are looking for a MTD reservation, but Keep in mind that with MTD you can go anytime you want to...so even if you cannot get your earlier reservation, just go whenever you are ready to eat.  I feel sure you’ll be able to get your earlier reservation once you’re on board.

23 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

It has never been a problem before this.  Do you go through a travel agent to do cruise planner purchases?  In the past, I've done cruise planner purchases online and they were totally separate from anything related to the cruise fare.  I have cancelled cruise planner purchases to take advantage of sales ... the refunds always happened in 2-3 days.

No, never for CP purchases

43 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

See above post for context ...

The balance due amount $412.72 is the total of my cruise planner purchases charged to my credit card.  I think something is really screwed up!!!  Maybe I will call because I have no clue what they are doing. It is giving me a headache.

Not to be Capt. Obvious, but this is where a Travel Agent can be sooooo helpful.  Good luck with your sleuthing. It can be infuriating. 

2 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

With all the speculating about what cruising will look like once it returns, I am wondering if Royal will enforce the "suggested" boarding time when things start up again. I see several YT channels making this assumption and wonder if anyone on this forum thinks our ability to board as early as possible will start to be enforced.

I think this is highly likely. It is at least an attempt to control crowds.

Depending upon how radical the itineraries could change (fewer ships sailing to fewer ports, etc), change-over day could become 2 days, with disembarkation occurring one day and embarkation occurring the next. This would totally mess up current itins but it is a thought.  Probably not very practical. 

30 minutes ago, Winterh8r said:

Has anyone else had a problem repurchasing the Deluxe Beverage Package?  I have a September and a November cruise booked and had already purchased the DBP for both.  I was able to cancel the DBP for both of us on both cruises, but the cruise planner won't let me repurchase the DBP for either cruise.  The DBP no longer shows in the history of either cruise, but when I attempt to purchase  them again, it won't let me click on our names to put them in my cart.  

No.  Last night I cancelled and repurchased a number of DBP, internet packages and 1 UDP.  No problem repurchasing.

11 minutes ago, loki007 said:

DBP on my Dec Oasis sailing was $44/pp today. Great deal. 

Which sailing ?  We’re on 12-6 and 12-13.

31 minutes ago, melmar02 said:

They wouldn't even know if the passenger didn't disclose. 

IMO, this is how they will skirt the majority of what they are calling "health evaluations".  I think it will be kind of a "don't ask, don't tell" scenario. Obviously, with something transmissible, like Norovirus or COVID, they have to be  more careful (presumably) so they may conduct something like temperature checks or maybe even quick-result onsite testing but that would get expensive pretty quickly (of course, we all know who would pay for it in the end....US).  I do realize that temperature checks is a fairly useless indicator unless you are well into the transmissible phase, but it will probably suffice for what they will do.

I think maybe the reason that my Symphony hasn't come down is b/c it is a double dip at Labadee and Coco Cay.  It's the only explanation I can think of...

Poopsville.  My Symphony (Aug 1) is still at %65 and $78.99

1 minute ago, jaredhamburg said:

Hi, everyone!  I had a question I hope someone can answer.  If both my wife and I have the deluxe beverage package, can I go to the bar and get two drinks at the same time at the bar so she does not have to go up as well?

Thanks!

J

Yes, but you will need to take her seapass card with you to the bar.  Oftentimes, once a bartender knows you and knows that you both have the pkg, they will not need to see her card, but for bartenders that do not know you, you will have to present both cards in order to get 2 drinks.

20 minutes ago, melmar02 said:

Wow! It auto selected both adults when I cancelled and repurchased. We both wanted it, so I didn't even think of trying to unselect one of us. I know a lot of people will be happy if that option sticks around!

Same here.  We were both going to get it anyway but I never even thought about deselecting one of us.  Interesting.

5 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

Not a refund, but perhaps indicative of the volume of processing at RCL currently: I made a cruise planner purchase on Friday 4/17 and it has not yet posted to my visa.

Every one of the ones I made last night have already hit my account !!!  They wasted NO time in processing every single one of them like lightning.

1 minute ago, TXcruzer said:

I cancelled about $1800 in cruise planner items on 4/10, I received 100% credit to my AMEX today, 4/21

That is awesome news.  Fingers crossed that they are going to continue with quick turnaround on CP purchases.  11 days is waaay longer than it used to take but waaay faster than the cruise fare reimbursements have been lately.

19 minutes ago, Drewww said:

I just cancelled and rebooked several drink and internet packages.  This is the first time i've been able to take advantage of a sale like this.  How long does it usually take to see the refunds for the cancelled packages to show up?

Under normal circumstances, you would see your refund within 48-72 hours but I really have no idea how long it's liable to take now.  Since I suspect that this sale is designed to generate cash for Royal, it would seem logical that they would hold onto your original purchase as long as they possibly can.  I just don't know how long that could be.  I wouldn't look for your refund quickly, like it used to be.  I hope I'm wrong !!  I also made numerous cancellations and repurchases last night.  It would be nice to get the money quickly but I'm not going to count on it.