JohnK6404

YOLO booked it! Just added 8-night sailing on Odyssey for 2/12/22... My wife just realized it will be Valentine's Day during that cruise. This will be our first Quantum/Quantum Ultra experience and the first time we're going to Grand Cayman, Curacao and Aruba! Only 647 days to go for that one! LOL!

Hi @Cruising Family ! I believe Matt posted the info here under the "Royal Caribbean Blog" tab up top on the page... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/04/29/royal-caribbean-offers-updates-refunds-odyssey-of-the-seas-and-the-presidents-cruise ... and here... https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/04/30/royal-caribbean-apologizes-guests-refunds-taking-longer-expected

Maybe, and that would stink, but the Lift & Shift program expires in less than 90 days from now this August (8/1/20) unless they extend it of course!

Love these updates/new offers! We'll need to at least consider the Lift & Shift for our Oasis sailing on 10/4/20 since we got such an amazing deal and NY/NJ will be a little iffy this year! Things that make you go hmmm.... we have until 8/1/20 to take them up on that program.

Hi Daniel! Yes, fingers tightly crossed for OCT and Cape Liberty! My wife and I are also booked on Oasis (10/4/20)... switched from our original 5/31 sailing. I can’t comment on flights as we will be driving to the port since we’re so close. Which sailing did you book?

Excellent!

Surprise, surprise... Michael Winkleman is the same attorney that is handling the Chloe Wiegand toddler tragedy.

I guess both my wife and I are hybrids of the Ghost/Regular/Vlogger... "Ghost" is too extreme... maybe somewhere in between. We are friendly, appreciative, respectful, and interact with the crew and have a good time, but we do not go out of our way to interact or distract the crew. Not quite a "Regular", and you certainly would not want me to take over as Captain, but I am a big researcher before I go on any cruise! I like to know as much as I can before I step foot on the ship so I can relax. We learn so much here on this blog, on Facebook and on YouTube. I joke with my wife that by the time we board the ship we already know the layout and technical specs by heart! Not a "Vlogger", but an aspiring blogger for our forum/blog, LOL... love to share our experiences with everyone and truly enjoy reading and learning from others!

339 days since our Allure cruise... ? 158 days until our re-booked Oasis cruise (fingers tightly crossed)! ? 360 days until our Symphony cruise!

Yep, Sabor is gone... interesting. I wonder where they will host that... that whole side of the Boardwalk is now Playmakers.

Good luck!

Hi @USCG Teacher! Take a peek at @Crazycruiser50 's post above... the fine print from the e-mail received from Royal is posted. My understanding is that we'll receive an e-mail at some point notifying us that the "promotional" 125% OBC is available.... then we need to let Royal know which specific sailing you want to apply this OBC to... Looks like it goes into the Cruise Planner (referred to as "Available Spend") of the sailing you choose prior to your sailing so you can make pre-cruise purchases. Any balance left over in the CP will automatically convert to OBC that may be used on your sailing. "Guests that have been awarded Promotional OBC will be able to log in to Cruise Planner prior to the sail date of their booked cruise and see their available Promotional OBC in US$ where the booking was priced in US$. ...Available Spend may be used to purchase shore excursions, dining, beverage packages, internet packages, spa & fitness services, entertainment activities and any future ancillary products / services available for purchase in advance of your cruise via Cruise Planner. ...Should you have any residual Available Spend at the cut-off date for making purchases utilizing Cruise Planner, such Available Spend will be automatically converted back to US$ for spend onboard your booked cruise." Any "promotional" OBC that you do not use will be lost/forfeited if not used while on your sailing. "Please note that Promotional OBC is non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the final night of your cruise." I believe that's how it works from everything I've heard and read to date. I guess we'll all learn as this continues to develop!

Great question! I'm hoping generic OBC... nothing in the CP or opt-in survey stated only for CP purchases... just states what you purchased in the CP will be returned as 125% OBC if you opt-in for OBC. I guess we'll see! I know it's use it or lose it once you choose which sailing to apply it to unlike the 125% FCC from the cruise fare!

Sorry, I took your comment as a general statement of NYC subways and my reply was meant to be humorous. I've lived here in New York my entire life and have been to NYC many, many times as it is a short train ride away. I did not mean to confuse you.

I know, it's not technically a Cruise Planner sale, but... My wife just noticed that the DBP, The Key, and a few other items in our CP dropped significantly just this evening for our 10/4/20 Oasis sailing... I checked the CP just a few hours ago and the old prices were still posted! Take a peek in your CP just in case! DBP dropped from $59 this afternoon to $44... nice! The Key dropped from $26.99 to $21.99... we grabbed both and will worry how to spend our 125% OBC when the time comes! It's still a whopping $89 (DBP) and $37.99 (The Key) for our 4/24/21 Symphony sailing...

... nah, no worries... just avoid eye contact and don’t touch anything! ?

We were booked for Oasis on 5/31... it was just cancelled as everyone knows. We really wanted to sail Oasis class out of NY/NJ and sail on the amplified Oasis. We did book a backup date for Oasis of 10/4/20... fingers crossed that cruise will be a go. It will be the first cruise that my wife and I will go on alone since our honeymoon back in 2004. Good news is that Oasis will still be here in 2021 too if they cancel the 10/4 sailing! We booked Symphony for 4/24/21 before we booked Oasis and can’t wait for that as we are going with our good friends that we sailed on Allure with back in May 2019. We originally had booked Harmony that month, but the cruise was cancelled by Royal due to the 5-year maintenance dry-dock. Royal was awesome and we moved effectively to the same cabin on Symphony at the same cost plus they threw in $200 OBC for the inconvenience. Fingers crossed that cruise will be good to go as well!

Funny, I just checked the planner again... it’s back to $79 for our cruise. Glad I grabbed it! Keep checking because apparently there is no rhyme or reason to the price changes.

A little off track from Odyssey,... you probably already noticed, but it looks like we'll have Oasis (25 dates), Anthem (37 dates), Freedom (NE/Canada & Bermuda - 34 dates) and Empress (NE/Canada & Bermuda - 17 dates) out of Cape Liberty in 2021 based on the website!

Just an FYI... they removed the which "Voyager" sailing question... just completed the opt-in survey for the 125% OBC.

Just an FYI... looks like the pass dropped to $68.99 tonight for our 10/4/20 Oasis sailing (fingers crossed)... going to cancel and repurchase!

At least they are still working on Odyssey! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/04/17/take-360-degree-view-around-the-shipyard-where-odyssey-of-the-seas-being-built

Along with the rusty hulls and frat party/"booze cruise" rep... the numerous mechanical/engine problems over the years, the infamous "poop cruise", multiple failed recent CDC health inspections, dumping violations... We too would at least consider Carnival if a friend/family member booked a cruise and asked us to go, but I don't think we would initiate a Carnival booking unless it was say on the Mardi Gras (or at least one of their newest ships) or an insane rate. We have friends in Florida that sail Carnival and Royal regularly, but Carnival only because it's convenient, inexpensive, and as they say any cruise is a good cruise.

It will probably change to which "Icon of the Seas" sailing... LOL! ?

Yeah, seems typical with these "opt-in" surveys. When we booked our Symphony cruise for next year, we booked a CP balcony room that came with the Dine, Drink, Discover package. When they eliminated that perk, we had to complete a survey to "opt-in" to keep the package vs. getting a $50 OBC. Of course no confirmation e-mail... had the TA call to confirm at a later date while making an adjustment. RC stated they see the choice in their system, but they cannot send an e-mail to confirm our choice. Strange... better not have any issue once onboard next year... I'll take either perk at this point.