nova_gal

15 hours ago, KJones said:

@Johnstewarthwhich Skagway/ White Pass Railway excursion was cancelled?

I also had the White Pass Railway and Skagway Highlights excursion. Received the following email yesterday from RC. It will now be a round trip within U.S. I have never been on this train (never been to Alaska)... For those who have been, is it worth keeping it even though it never leaves U.S.? Shall I keep it?

Dear Guest,

Due to operational challenges that would cause significant delays at the US/Canadian border, the White Pass Railway tour operator has advised they're temporarily suspending any train services into Canadian territory for the 2022 season. Unfortunately, this impacts several of the shore excursions operating out of Skagway, Alaska.

As a result, we've modified this tour so that guests will now take a roundtrip train that remains within the U.S. We know how much time and effort go into planning your vacation, and we're sorry for the inconvenience. If you would like to cancel your reservation for this excursion and receive a full refund, please visit Cruise Planner and select cancel. A full refund will then be issued to your original form of payment, which you should see within 14 business days.

My TA confirmed with Royal that the vacation protection plan fees will be refunded because Royal cancelled on us. Still waiting for those refunds from the March, May and July cancellations...

My question would be "Many of your customers are confused why refunds (for cancelled cruises) are being issued in several partial payments spaced over several weeks (months). Please provide some insight to why this is the case so that your customers' expectations can be adjusted accordingly."

3 hours ago, SteveinSC said:

are they refunding the travel protection? 

I received my refund today on my April 4 cruise which Royal cancelled. It came in 2 separate transactions - one for cruise fare, other one for taxes, fees & port expenses. Note: my cruise fare refund was $39 less than what I paid, so make sure to check it against your booking confirmation. I did not see a refund for Royal's travel insurance. I'm hoping that it will be refunded & have asked my TA to help follow up (and also about the cruise fare discrepancy).

Received the same email for our cancelled April 4th cruise from my TA yesterday. Checked my credit card this morning and the refund (most of it) is there! There were 2 deposits - one for the fare and a separate one for taxes, fees & port expenses. The refund on the fare is $39.40 less than what I paid. Also there's no refund (yet) for Royal's Vacation Protection Plan for which I paid $397. I'll be inquiring about this with my TA. At least this is some good news.

8 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

YOU HAVE to use it all on that sailing – it will be non-refundable and will not carry over

This is new and very helpful information! TY. I'll have to consider this since my May 31st sailing out of Cape Liberty doesn't look very hopeful. 

1 hour ago, MrHaga said:

How long does it usually take to get the cruiseplanner cancel refunds back into a mastercard? Cancelled a week ago and still no refund

I received my credit card refunds 4 business days after I cancelled. 

Curious. I generally like cabins on higher decks, typically 2-3 decks below the pool for its proximity to the pool and Windjammer. For those who choose mid or lower level decks, what do you like about those locations (other than greater ship stability for motion sickness)? TY

For me, I cancelled all of my shore excursions, beverage packages, etc. on Friday March 13th evening (so after business hours) and all were refunded on my credit card on 3/19. I count this as 4 business days since I technically cancelled over the weekend. 

@ameblas I was in the same boat as you. Having learned a ton from reading all the advice on this forum, I contacted my travel agent who upgraded my oceanview balcony room to a junior suite for no upcharge. Very happy!

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

Best bet is to get them registered when you get onboard and then have them hang out there on night one. That way the cliques don’t form without them. 

@Andrew72681 I have an only 13 yo, so this is a good tip. Thanks! 

5 hours ago, mpink said:

We leveraged the Continental Breakfast daily (and do on all of our cruises)---  nothing better than Coffee and pastries on the balcony first thing in the morning. 

To @SteveinSC and everyone on this blog - thank you for all of the wonderful tips!! I would have never considered ordering the free continental breakfast room service, but breakfast appetizers, here I come!

5 hours ago, FManke said:

We like to think of this as breakfast "appetizers."

@FManke Breakfast appetizers. I love it!

Thanks for your post! I remember when I first booked the beach bed that 2 loungers were included because we're a family of 3 and the loungers would have provided extra seating. I guess now we'll be extra close. That's what family is for, right?! 

16 minutes ago, emsff02 said:

Make sure you put it in exactly how it appears on your reservation.

Thanks for the tip! I would have just defaulted to my nickname, not the official doc/ID name on the cruise registration.

@KristiZ Ahh, thank you!  I got confused when the cruise planner asks you to choose guests and I was misinterpreting it as who would be using the internet. Thanks for the clarification. 

Hello! New to RC. How do I sign up for the 3-device internet package on the cruise planner? Do I select the 3-device package and check off 1 person (me) and I then share the access code with 2 others in my cabin? Or do I select the 1-device package and check off all 3 people? Please help! Thank you.

5 hours ago, SteveinSC said:

1. Whats your favorite thing about cruising? Relaxation, seeing parts of the world, the food, the party? 

2. If you could go on a cruise, anywhere in the world, right now.....where would you go and on which ship? 

1. Getting pampered with good food that I didn't cook, no dishes to clean & put away, experiencing new cultures

2. Alaska, river cruising in South America!

Thanks for all of your input. Obviously the refreshment package offers more and since this is our first RC cruise, we’ll keep that to get the most enjoyment and cancel the others. Thanks for being a sounding board!

This is our first Royal Caribbean cruise. It's on Anthem in April. Very excited. Hubbie, teen son and me. Need your help deciding on which non-alcoholic beverage package. Hubbie likes soda & specialty coffees. Teen son doesn't like carbonated soda but likes Coke's Minute Maid Lemonade (does Freestyle machine have Minute Maid options?). I don't drink soda but drink lots of water, so bottled water is convenient but can go without any beverage package. Knowing that I can cancel before the cruise, I currently have Refreshment package for all 3 of us (at $19 per person) AND Classic Soda (for hubbie) AND Coffee Card. I know it's overkill right now, so I would appreciate your experienced feedback to help right size it.Thanks! 

I found where someone on Cruise Critic forum gave a review of their Mariner Bahamas cruise (Jan 6-10, 2020) and he included photos of the cabana guide map at Coco Cay. Cabana and beach beds are numbered. I read suggestions where once you're on board you should go to the excursion desk and make a request for a specific number. It's worth a try. The link to the review is here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2722616-mariner-live-review-4nt-bahamas-jan-6-10th/page/3/

Depending on your cruise date, it might be peak school spring break time. I know it is for our April 5th Anthem cruise. I'm just going to expect it and roll with it. 

Ah, well I guess you can't have it all. Thanks for all of the replies!

Hi, We'll be on our first Royal Caribbean ship (Anthem) in April departing from Cape Liberty. I plan to bring onboard 2 bottles of wine and 12 bottles of water which RC allows. We'll be stopping at Cape Canaveral on day 3 and we'll be getting off the ship. When we come back on at the end of the day, can I bring on board 2 more bottles of wine and more non-alcoholic beverages?

Adding my 2 cents, too.

Our family was in FL during the last week of December this year and went to KSC on our own (not cruise-related). We arrived at 10 am and by 2 pm we were quickly exhausted because there was so much to see. So much history! We went to the bus tour line as soon as we arrived and still waited a good 25-30 minutes. When we were leaving at 2 pm, the bus tour waiting line extended out almost to the entrance! Yikes! I felt sorry for the people waiting because they were going to spend a very long time just waiting in line. If the RC excursion provides a way to skip this general waiting line, then I think it's worth it. Also, while the bus tour was good, there's still plenty of other things to see so consider skipping the bus if time is short. Have a fun trip!