WAAAYTOOO

47 minutes ago, eaglesfaninfl said:

I am pretty sure that CLIA's legal advisors told them that they will never get a doctor to sign the release. What I find interesting is that this apparently was rescinded back around April 3, I believe, but it is just now being reported. Obviously, there were no cruises affected so no need to quickly release the announcement but it seems to be dribbling out by word of mouth. Just seems a little strange, but what doesn't these days?

I agree.  It could certainly have precluded a lot of anxiety.

I just read on that "other site" that the requirement for over-70 to present a doctor's notice was rescinded in April.  I canNOT vouch for the validity of this information.  It is anecdotal. I have not read this information anywhere else.

I'm not entirely sure that I understood the OP but I think they are saying that they were not allowed to combine 2 casino offers.  If that is what they told you, then you were given bogus information.

Both Dan and I are Prime members and usually get identical offers on clubroyaleoffers.com.  We have always been able to combine our offers, which bumps you up one cabin category and then either get a "free" cruise (which is never free...there are always taxes, ports fees and gratuities to pay) or you can upgrade to a higher category with a casino discount. And OBTW, if your offers say "$100 free play", then you will BOTH get $100 free play on the combined offer.

There is one rule regarding combining offers.  You can combine certificates so long as they were earned on the SAME sailing or they are the SAME online offer.  You canNOT combine certificates from different sailings and you cannot apply more than 1 certificate/offer to a cruise except as I described (same sailing/same offer code).  You cannot combine an online offer and a certificate from a sailing. Basically, you can only apply 1 casino discount per cruise except for the certificates/offers that are the "same".

Regarding the issue of a second cabin, in the past, Club Royale has extended SOME offers to a second cabin but not always.  We have never tried to do this so I really am not familiar with how it works.

My recommendation is to get a good travel agent that has experience dealing with the casino.  It matters.  A lot.  If you have not yet booked your offer, I recommend you contact Michelle Cunningham ([email protected]) as she is the best at dealing with the casino.

Just be sure that you get your confirmation and verify that the OBC is still there before you hang up with the agent.

This is the first time I've ever even heard of this website.

Was your FCC from cancelled cruise fare or cancelled cruise planner purchases ?  The cruise fare FCC was never intended or advertised as applicable to cruise planner purchases.  If your FCC was from cancelled cruise planner purchases, it should be available to use for CP purchases.

4 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

I really want to book Mariner getaways in June, July and August just in case one of them finally goes .... but for now my next up is September on Indy for the double private island run ... I really really hope that one goes ... 

It's interesting that you say this.  I had thought of the same thing but I began to worry that I would not be able to use all of the FCC's if they started to roll in.  I guess you could do cash refund but I decided I would NOT book a bunch more cruises...well, I think I booked 2 more after that but they are waaay down the road.

8 minutes ago, Chadster said:

That might actually be a good idea, now that I think about it -- in case there's a group specialty-dining night or something. Maybe I'll just go ahead and take advantage of the lower price for it; I was planning on doing lunch at Chops on embarkation day anyway, so adding that in to the price of the 3-night and figuring in any other specialty lunches, the UDP might be the best value. It's currently only $154 for the 7 nights with the sale that runs through mid-May.

Sorry...thinking out loud!

35 minutes ago, Chadster said:

Do you think the 3-night package would make more sense on a Brilliance 7-night? I'm definitely planning on the UDP for an 8-night Anthem cruise, but of course there are a ton more options.

Yes, I think the 3 day pkg would be good for Brilliance.  Just FYI, we have the UDP for the Brilliance group cruise.

While it is possible to move a booking from one agency to another, it is not easy.  Crucon would have to willingly give up the booking and agencies don’t want to do that.  I’ve done it once. Never again.  Better to wait until next time.

There are already many threads on this forum regarding delays in refunds.

I can’t imagine that you would lose the entire deposit.  A non-refundable deposit would cost you a $100 PP penalty under normal circumstances, however, with Cruise With Confidence, you should not be assessed any penalty.  If I understand the situation correctly, you should receive a cash refund to you credit card for all taxes, ports fees and gratuities (if they were prepaid) and a FCC for all other monies paid, including 100% of your down payment. 

15 minutes ago, Ogilthorpe said:

That could be a motivation for RCL to help maintain "social distancing" ...in a half empty theatre

If NCL didn't already have it  (assuming licensing stipulations) ... I think Jersey Boys would be popular.

Of course, I could always go for White Christmas

I know....I would LOVE LOVE LOVE Jersey Boys.  We saw it in London a few years ago.  AWESOME...but unfortunately, as you noted, NCL has that license.  

3 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

I don't want to cancel my cruise but is it easy to change the original ship and/or sail date when booked refundable?  Is it necessary to cancel and rebook?  I would rather make changes and not have to worry about the refunds, FCC, etc.

If you have a fully refundable deposit and are outside of the final payment window, yes, you can change your ship and/or sail date without penalty.  Whether or not they will simply "transfer" the funds from one cruise to another is a guess, at this point.  Back PC (pre-COVID), as long as the reservation number remained the same, there no need to transfer/refund, etc.  They simply made changes to the existing reservation, recalculated cruise fares and that was that.  It used to be fairly easy.  Not sure sure how they would handle it today.

In actual fact, if you change the ship and/or sail dates, the booking is, in fact, a cancellation and rebooking...but to keep things simple, they would allow you to do it, in the past.  My fear would be, that in this day of Royal trying to retain/accumulate as much cash as possible, they may require that you officially cancel and rebook, requiring refunds, FCC's, etc. which would likely take months.  I DO NOT KNOW....I am guessing.  I hope I'm wrong, but the only way to know for sure is to ask.

It is not a CDC restriction...it is a CLIA restriction that came from CDC recommendations (read this, "blackmail").  The cruise industry made a very bad bargain (IMO) to appease CDC and now they have to live with it.

Personally, I think these kinds of restrictions will EVENTUALLY be quietly overlooked or even rescinded completely, but at least at the beginning of cruise resumption, I think it will disappoint and disenfranchise many and cause the cruise lines to lose a lot of much-needed and never-to-return business.  Of course, time will pass and they will acquire new fans and devotees, but for a time, it's going to be a poison pill.

I only have 1 experience with an Anthem “spacious” balcony and that was in Feb in a Grand Suite with spacious balcony.

1.  It was so cold and the weather sucked so bad that I might have ventured out there twice.

2.  The extra space was a weird corner that required a divider door to be slid open. Even if the weather had been beautiful I don’t think it would have been useable really.  

Total waste of money, IMO.  I will say, it seems like the extra space in those balcony rooms might be more accessible than the ones in the Grand Suite. Bottom line....I wouldn’t spend much extra for it.

52 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Yeah it used to just say GTY and now there is a cabin. 7132. 

I guess there were suddenly lots of available rooms !

1 hour ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Do you guys find this odd? We had a guarantee ocean view on Oasis for the cruise that was cancelled a month ago or when ever that was. No cabin number had been issued yet but I just checked as the cruise still shows up in my "upcoming cruise" section just to torture me. Anyway now a cabin number was issued and the cruise was cancelled weeks and weeks ago. You find that strange? By the way I do not like the cabin location at all, cabin # 7132. Low in the ship and way forward. Glad we have a CP Balcony and know the cabin number and know the location and like it from what we see from the plans anyway.

Yes, I think that’s very odd.  Weird that they would bother with that after it being cancelled.  Just add it to the list of weird sh*t that’s goin on.

Oasis, Jan 23, 2022.

B3B with Jan 9 and 16.

I think this will work like any other no-show.  Only the taxes and ports fees (and gratuities, if they were prepaid) would get refunded. 

If you were to cancel the cruise outright, FCC‘S for the refunded fares would be issued in the names of each of the original pax.  There’s really nothing different about a casino cruise other than the reduced cruise fare.  If you used a casino certificate and then cancel the cruise, you would not be able to rebook just for yourself.  Once a certificate is used, it is gone....even if you don’t actually take the cruise.  Royal made some specific exceptions for annual Prime cruises last year if they were cancelled by Royal, but as a general rule, once used, they are gone.

The only drink package that requires both persons to purchase is the Deluxe Beverage Package, which is the alcohol package.  If you want the Refreshment or Soft drink package, you can purchase just for yourself.  Shouldn't be a problem in your case since you don't want the alcohol package anyway !!!

Jesus Christ, Super Star !  My absolute fave !!!

More info on new debt relief

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3564469-snubbed-u-s-cruise-lines-get-help-from-germany?utm_medium=email&utm_source=seeking_alpha&mail_subject=rcl-snubbed-by-u-s-cruise-lines-get-help-from-germany&utm_campaign=rta-stock-news&utm_content=link-3

25 minutes ago, Chadster said:

I LOVE this one !

1 minute ago, crazytaxman said:

So what would happen to the deposit if a person decides they do not want to cruise ever again? Do they lose out of the entire deposit since it was NRD? We booked 4 cabins on a cruise for March 2021 and three couples have decided they do not want to cruise this sailing. I know that I have until final payment to decide, which will be in December, if they want to transfer to another cruise.

Yes.  If someone received a FCC for any reason and then decided they never wanted to cruise with Royal Caribbean, then the FCC will eventually expire and have no value. If you simply decide to book a different cruise, then the FCC can be applied to the replacement cruise with the restrictions discussed above...penalties, limitations, etc.  Also be aware that each individual person who is originally booked on the NRD booking will receive their own FCC and the FCCs are not transferable.  There are also expiration dates for an FCC so they aren’t good forever.