Jim S

Odyssey must be returning to Rome at the end of September 2022. We have just booked a 12 night Holy Land cruise 19-31 October ‘22. Looking forward to it.

We are booked on Harmony on May 9th for a 7 night Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona. Same dilemma here; do we pay our final balance next week or do we cancel the cruise under the RCI “Cruise With Confidence Program”?

This would be the 8th cruise cancellation since March 2019 and we have already transferred our previous cruise credits to the Harmony cruise.

Does anyone have any more information on if or when the May 2020 cruises are likely to be cancelled?

My understanding is that RCI would issue drinks against your seapass in the DL as well as in the bars. That would restrict the number of drinks to the allocated number no matter where they are taken on the ship. You would need to pay for any additional drinks.

I recall hearing some time ago that RCI were considering issuing drinks against each seapass in the DL as a pilot to analyse the amount and value of drinks being given out.

I have heard that on the sailings on Quantum class ships from China and the Far East, the free evening drinks in the Diamond and Concierge Lounges are now issued against your sea pass and that D members receive 4 free drinks per day and D+ members receive 5 drinks per day. I have also heard that the free drinks have a value limit ($12?) and are available ALL DAY and not limited to between the hours of 5:00pm and 8:00pm.

Is this a wind-up or is it for real?  If true I think that this would work well and ease the congestion in the lounges each evening.

It really is my lucky day. Discovered that by bringing our cruise on Harmony one week forward that we save £1,040.00 for the exact same cabin and itenary. My TA managed to get RCI to change the booking. Whoopee, Happy days.

On 11/22/2020 at 11:28 AM, Morganno said:

Hope so I've booked to go on her in May 09' 2021  

I’ve just booked that same cruise from Barcelona. Hope it does not get cancelled.

54 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Congratulations !  The good news is....even if May 2021 doesn't sail (and I have faith that it will !!), you can always L&S it to May 2022.  I realize that the L&S program is not currently being allowed past April 2022 but if they cancel cruises into May 2021 I feel confident that they will extend that program.  It has been wildly popular.

Thanks for that info WAAAYTOOO. Does L&S include onboard credit in the original booking?

These prices seem too good to be true and I am wondering if that is because the cruises in May 2021 are still doubtful due to COVID-19. I have now booked the Crown Loft Suite for the 7 night May 2021 Mediterranean cruise. Hope it does not get cancelled like my other 7 cruises.

After checking the RCI website today for a 7 night Mediterranean cruise in May 2021 I see that a Crown Loft Suite (LF) is only £150 per person more than a 1 bedroom Grand Suite (GS). This certainly seems worth the extra cost.

Has any of the forum booked a Crown Loft Suite on Oasis Class ships? Do the onboard benefits justify the increase in price over that of a Junior Suite, i.e. £330.00 per person for a 7 night cruise.

17 hours ago, Ray said:

Mercure is a well know chain over this side of the pond.

 

Various hotel websites say nearest hotel is 0.2m to cruiseport with numerous others within a mile or so ( of course its google so it could br wrong lol ) 

I stand corrected. I see from booking.com that there are some hotels not too far from the port. I never noticed any on the three occasions that I have been there. I suppose that I was just not looking for them at the time. However, I still think that it would be better to stay at the airport or in Rome and take a taxi to the port on cruise day.

From what I recall, Civitavecchia is only a port and there are no hotels nearby. Best stay at the airport and take a taxi to the port, but this is quite expensive. I was quoted £100 ($130) for a taxi from the port to the airport at the end of a cruise that was cancelled due to COVID. The cruise line may offer a bus transfer but I think that is also quite expensive.

19 minutes ago, twangster said:

I was under the impression that when a travel company offers a complete vacation (flights, transfers, accommodations, etc) different consumer protection laws apply in the UK compared to a cruise only vacation where the guests arranges their own travel to the port of origin, especially when that embarkation port is not in the UK.

Did I misunderstand that difference?   

Yes that is correct, and RCCL come into that category as well if they provide flights along with the cruise holiday. That may well be the reason that RCCL stopped offering flights to reduce their liability.

50 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I seem to remember that option disappeared from the UK website when it switched over to the same format as the US site. At the time I suspected it might have something to do with the tight EU laws regarding responsibility when things go pear-shaped. By not offering anything other than the actual cruise, Royal would ultimately limit their responsibility to the customer. That said, now that the UK has left the EU I'm not too sure how binding those laws would now be on travel providers.

Yes, it is not a very recent thing. The change took place several months ago. It might have something to do with the Travel Agents wanting to take care of customer travel arrangements to their financial benefit.

Does anyone know why RCCL no longer offer flights (and hotels) when booking a cruise on their website? In the UK, P&O and Cunard (Carnival Group) include flights and also port transfers in the price. I find this very convenient and saves a lot of time and hassle searching for flights and connections to match the cruise itenary. The prices are usually very competitive as well.

13 minutes ago, Katy H said:

My transatlantic, which WAS leaving on Thanksgiving day, was cancelled.  We were able to lift and shift to next year, Oct 31 on the Harmony transatlantic.  It will be our first time on a big ship!  We are really looking forward to it!  However, if by chance everything opens up for winter 2021, we will be on a ship!  Any ship!  Any itinerary!

We have just booked Harmony for the 31 October 2021 transatlantic cruise as well. Previously we have done similar cruises on Harmony 2016 and Symphony 2018. Loved both of them.

Just been notified by RCI that our November 1st transatlantic cruise on Anthem has been cancelled. Fortunately this happened only a few days before the final balance was due. Will receive my deposit plus 25% in FCC.

That’s now 5 cruises cancelled. Hopefully our next B2B cruises Jan/Feb 2021 on P&O Iona will go ahead but we are not overly confident as Iona is still under construction.

Good news for us . We keep our fingers crossed that our Trans Atlantic Anthem sailing from Southampton to New York on November 1st takes place and Bermuda is open for cruise ships on November 10-11.

We are booked on Odyssey for the Transatlantic Ft Lauderdale to Rome cruise in April 2021. Hopefully by that time things will be getting back to normal, well the “new normal” anyway, whatever that might be.

P&O (Carnival Group) operate mainly in Europe out of Southampton and also from Barbados in the Caribbean. They also have a world tour on one of their smaller ships every year.

I received an email today confirming the cancellation of our cruise on the newly constructed Iona, which was scheduled for 19-25 September. All P&O cruises cancelled until October 15 at the earliest.

14 minutes ago, Jill said:

I wonder if I call the C&A line I might get through faster? 

Better to call RCCL Customer Services. I’m sure it helped push my refund along. Had to wait about 30 minutes for an answer but the person I spoke to was very helpful. I told him that I was a loyal customer and was very concerned about the delay and to put a note on my file to that effect. Got the refund about a week later.

So what about the savings on this one??? 

Just wondering if you are able to use the FCC towards the final balance on a cruise that was booked prior to the cancellation of the cruise where the FCC has been issued. Does anyone know if RCCL will allow this?

Our next RCCL cruise is transatlantic on Anthem departing Southampton on November 1st. Hopefully that cruise will be sailing. Will keep our fingers crossed anyway. Very keen to get "floating" again.

Refund (£7k+) from our Jewel of the Seas B2B March 16 and March 23 cruises posted to my credit card account yesterday. Very happy about that.

Hopefully the credit card company can arrange to transfer it back into our bank account.