DaiC01

You'll also get to play the repricing & upgrade game if you use a US travel agent, they have given me  {UK} a few quotes recently. As said above you will need a CC that allows US$ payment or a US$ cash transfer.

I haven't read the whole thread so this might not be relevant, we had out refund on the 11th April, no associated documentation just cash credited to my credit card. I have included below the email we received on the 26th March.
Dear Guest,
We wanted to reach out to you with an update on the status of your refund for your April 30, 2020 sailing onboard Quantum of the Seas.
We know we promised you your refund by March 25th. But, as a result of this unprecedented global situation caused by COVID-19, we've experienced a delay. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. We now expect to have your refund to you the week of April 13th, 2020.
Please know, we are currently working diligently on processing your full refund and can assure you that it is being prioritized. We kindly ask for your continued patience as we work on getting this matter resolved for you as soon as possible.
Again, we're sorry for this unexpected impact to your vacation, and thank you for your patience, understanding, and cooperation during this unfortunate situation. We wish you good health and hope to have the opportunity to sail with you under different circumstances soon.
Sincerely,
Royal Caribbean International

This. As of last week the scientists tracing the virus have found 8 dominant "strains" that are concentrated most heavily in specific parts of the world. None of the strains differ in terms of severity, morbidity, or infectiousness; the mutations are in non-functional / unimportant / unused parts of the genetic code, and just help the scientists as markers to trace who got which strain as they get swabbed and tested.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/27/scientists-track-coronavirus-strains-mutation/5080571002/?fbclid=IwAR2Ru3XGzW-O7QBxlwS3k07cLguj2KQ-S4ILLZuT2TJeX33OAQL6i3Dbk1Q

Be prepared to wait a hell of a long time to get a credit refund to your original payment card / account.

HEPA purifiers can capture the COVID-19 virus. But that's a moot point, because it's not airborne.

This is great news ? if its from cabin to cabin via AC only then im just going stay in the bar 24/7 from now on....  ???

@DaiC01 Seen this and found it interesting, don’t know the creditability of it yet. Looks like some research could put more to light if I had time, however I’m fully booked with sitting on the couch This week doing nothing, maybe next week something might open in my busy schedule.
 https://nationalfile.com/video-japanese-vice-pm-says-who-should-be-renamed-chinese-health-organization/

I was to sail March 15. RCC cancelled my cruise and I opted for 100%  cash refund in lieu of 125% FCC. I was offered those with RCC email on March 13 cancellation letter. I have now received 100% FCC emails. Customer service tells me they see notes on my account for cash refund but cannot do that now. Its a complete cluster. My suspicion is that if RCC refunded all the people that asked for it, they'd have to file for bankruptcy. Thus, RCC chose to refund some and FCC others regardless of what the customer asked for. There are hundreds of people in same boat. RCC is very inconsistent in the handling of this. I for one am so angry I'll like not ever use RCC again. If I cannot get my cash refund as RCC promised, I'll donate my FCC to a non-profit to help raise money. RCC is sliding towards irreversible bad publicity on this. 

Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here.
No profanity No personal insults No political discussion This includes tropes about politicians and generalizations about political parties No debating religion Keep your posts relevant and accurate to each specific thread. We can all have our little fun within each thread but please make sure the information you're putting out there is correct and current.   Topics not related to Royal Caribbean may be removed. Posts or comments encouraging cruisers to break any Royal Caribbean policy is not allowed and will be removed.

As with all such things, there's going to be a balancing act. Celebrity was already pricing 2021 cruises significantly higher than this year's, so much so that people who have chosen to cancel their Iceland & Greenland sailing for this year due to health concerns are refusing to rebook on next year's itinerary. And even with the current year, the pricing they are charging on some excursions has been nuts vs. what I see when I look at directly booking with a third party.
When they see that people aren't booking, aren't buying drink packages or dining, and/or are not booking shore excursions with them; and when people continue to refuse to even think about booking because everyone they talk to continues to malign the entire industry as a hotbed of disease, the industry as a whole won't have a choice but to lower prices or else take a loss (at best break even) on those sailings.
They're a business, they're not going to let themselves continue to hemorrhage money like this, and they know it's going to be critical to restore faith in the industry and positive word of mouth if they ever want to return to previous levels of profitability.

Sell ships to who?  Who would buy a cruise ship right now?  Let's say Vision was worth $200M before the virus.  Now?  Maybe $20M would fetch a buyer.  
So you sell ships below market value.  Let's say someone has ample cash and buys up older and smaller ships from the big three.  A year from now they launch a brand new budget friendly cruise line offering cruises for $40.  They can offer dirt cheap cruises because their cost to acquire a fleet was pennies on the dollar.  
Now 1/3 of all future cruise business goes to this new cruise line making it that much harder for the big three to crawl their way back out of the red.  This is exactly why Carnival has a lot of older and smaller ships in the fleet.  Safer to keep them close as opposed to fueling a competitor who will steal some of the market away from you.

Juxtaposing your ideas onto RCCL's situation, why not ride out the storm as it were, but leave some ships in port/drydock when the industry is moving again. Sell a part of the fleet to raise cash, unless that's the plan to bring down the debt. I think RCCLs strategy is like hoping a band-aide will hang on during a long, hot shower.

Nope. 30 days is if you choose a refund over FCC under their new deal. 
Refunds for purchases like drink packages/the excess was supposedly instant. Still have not received any kind of refund other than the email. 

GOOD LUCK with your REFUND!
PLEASE, the first cruiser that receives their 100% booking fee REFUND, let others know on this post. Let us all not forget; the cruises that are cancelled are within the 100% prepaid 90 day prior to sailing time frame. That means RCCL already has our money for every cancelled sailing, yet the ships are moored and not sailing. That money should be REFUNDED, ASAP!

@Dodger - I get where they are. I just got exhausted trying to make another cruise happen for my boys. We just lost my mom in October, my dad in February after caring for him and helping him die. This cruise was to be a family reset and respite. It's a major expense for us. I'm just a single mom trying to make something special happen and wish that RCI would handle things differently. 
@princevaliantus - I think you mis-read my post.

Sorry, but I think RCI are doing their best in a very difficult time.
They have massive overheads, thousands of staff to consider, and need to remain strong for the time when things return to normal.
Just take the refund and maybe you have to wait a bit, and enjoy your future cruising with some other line, or maybe just stay at home and be bitter about it all !

I'm so disappointed to find out that I won't be able to use the 125% credit to cover a new cruise. Because of the way they're treating those credits, I'd be out another $2000. So, in order to accomplish a cruise this year, I'll have to take the regular refund. But, wait! That's not all! The refund will take 30 days to process. Meantime, I have to shell out another $3500 and pay credit card interest until the refund arrives. If we weren't traveling with friends and family, I'd forget the whole thing. I still may give it up. This is my first experience with RCI and I already know it'll be my last. I know this is a tough time, but come on. If you're going to give 125%, let us use the whole thing to cover the more expensive summer cruises.

I did receive all the refunds over $2000 for the many shore excursions, drink packages, photo packages, etc.,. We are/were also expecting a full CASH REFUND to our original form of payment for our cruise booking costs. It has been 17 days since we received the Cancellation notification along with the online form/application for a full refund or 125% credit. We chose the refund and filled out the form, then immediately received the verification/notification that the refund would be coming, but could take up to 30 days and would be credited back to the original form of payment. I have saved all of these correspondences.These emails from RCCL have set a precedent and established the foundation and timeline. RCCL should "man up" and follow through with their "promise to refund". We are "simple, innocent customers" that entrusted our precious vacation dollar to this mega-billion dollar corporation that is obviously now trying to take advantage of us - claiming they made an error. TOO BAD! PAY UP RCCL!  I simply want my money refunded as was written to me. This included my daughter and her reservation. If RCCL chumps us on this situation, who in their right mind would want to ever cruise with them again. All of the extra money we spend with RCCL amounts to much more than our actual stateroom cruise fee. Does RCCL really want that future money going to a competitor? I hope not! We are cruisers! We go on cruises as often as we can find the time to do so. We will be retired soon and plan to go on even more cruises. If RCCL "chumps" us now, they will loose many, many customers for life. I want my Refund NOW, not a future cruise credit with a short expiration date! PLEASE RCCL, honor your word! PAY UP and do the honorable thing!! Salvage your customers NOW. 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
    Dear Guest,
The situation regarding COVID-19 is so fluid and we understand you have a lot of questions. We apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but as you may imagine, we are experiencing high volumes and are behind.
We took the most frequently asked questions and answered them here. If the below addresses your concern or answers your question, we kindly ask for you to fill out our form here - this will help us feel like we have taken care of you and can close out your original note to us. We have all hands on deck and we’re doing everything to respond as quickly as possible, and this will really help!
Here are the top questions:
What do I do if I’m affected by the global cruise suspension? We’ve voluntarily suspended service with the intention of resuming our cruises on April 11th, 2020. We’ve sent an email to guests booked on cruises up to April 10th and some sailings that fall outside of this window that have also unfortunately been cancelled, with information about the automatic 125% Future Cruise Certificate (FCC). To forfeit your 125% FCC for a refund, please feel free to use this request form here. After doing that - you are done! We will process your request. What is the status of my refund? General Refunds/Reimbursements: Most refunds take 5-7 business days + the time it takes your bank to post to your account. If you have not received your refund by March 30th, please reach out to us. Voluntary Suspension Refunds (sailings from March 13 - April 10): These refunds will take up to 30 days to process from your request date. What if I had already cancelled my cruise with your Cruise with Confidence offer and now my sailing is cancelled, can I get the new offer? You were in a unique situation and were able to make the decision to not travel based on your personal circumstances. Your FCC for 100% stands and you should be receiving that soon. The new offer is for the guests that still planned to travel, and are now being forced to cancel. I just got home from my cruise and I see extra charges on my credit card statement. How can I get that refunded? What you’re seeing are temporary authorizations or holds, under your pending charges. Those usually go away on their own within 5-7 business days. Timing may vary by banking institution, but ultimately we only charge one total amount for your onboard spend. I emailed about my refund for the Quantum of the Seas cancelled sailings. We kindly ask for your continued patience. We’re working on processing those refunds and we plan to have them all completed by March 31st, 2020. Scheduled to sail after April 10th and have questions? We fully intend to start sailing on April 11th and we can’t wait - we miss our guests already! If we must impact any additional sailings, we will send out a communication advising you of this and your options. If you cruise is between April 11th and July 31st and are unsure about sailing, you can still use the Cruise With Confidence policy and cancel up to 48 hours prior to your sail date for a 100% Future Cruise Certificate for use through December 31st, 2021. We put this in place to give you peace of mind to the very last minute and flexibility to plan your future sailing. If you are choosing to take advantage of this offer, please click here to begin the process. Once you complete the form – there is nothing else to do. We will process your future cruise credit. I am missing points or have questions about my Crown and Anchor account? Typically, Crown & Anchor Society points post about two weeks after the end of your sailing. For other inquiries, please know, we are working through our emails and we kindly ask for your continued patience. If we were able to answer your questions with this email, please help us by clicking here - this will let us put a checkbox by your name and we can keep working on our queue. Otherwise, our team will contact you as soon as possible. If there are any updates to your specific sailing, we will reach out with any and all information we have for you. In the meantime, we kindly ask for your patience.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We hope to welcome you onboard one of our ships under different circumstances very soon and wish you good health. And let’s face it – after this is all over, one thing is certain - we are all going to need a cruise vacation! Stay positive - and don’t forget to wash your hands.
For more information and updates on COVID-19, please visit our website here.
Sincerely,

   

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
    Dear Guest,
The situation regarding COVID-19 is so fluid and we understand you have a lot of questions. We apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but as you may imagine, we are experiencing high volumes and are behind.
We took the most frequently asked questions and answered them here. If the below addresses your concern or answers your question, we kindly ask for you to fill out our form here - this will help us feel like we have taken care of you and can close out your original note to us. We have all hands on deck and we’re doing everything to respond as quickly as possible, and this will really help!
Here are the top questions:
What do I do if I’m affected by the global cruise suspension? We’ve voluntarily suspended service with the intention of resuming our cruises on April 11th, 2020. We’ve sent an email to guests booked on cruises up to April 10th and some sailings that fall outside of this window that have also unfortunately been cancelled, with information about the automatic 125% Future Cruise Certificate (FCC). To forfeit your 125% FCC for a refund, please feel free to use this request form here. After doing that - you are done! We will process your request. What is the status of my refund? General Refunds/Reimbursements: Most refunds take 5-7 business days + the time it takes your bank to post to your account. If you have not received your refund by March 30th, please reach out to us. Voluntary Suspension Refunds (sailings from March 13 - April 10): These refunds will take up to 30 days to process from your request date. What if I had already cancelled my cruise with your Cruise with Confidence offer and now my sailing is cancelled, can I get the new offer? You were in a unique situation and were able to make the decision to not travel based on your personal circumstances. Your FCC for 100% stands and you should be receiving that soon. The new offer is for the guests that still planned to travel, and are now being forced to cancel. I just got home from my cruise and I see extra charges on my credit card statement. How can I get that refunded? What you’re seeing are temporary authorizations or holds, under your pending charges. Those usually go away on their own within 5-7 business days. Timing may vary by banking institution, but ultimately we only charge one total amount for your onboard spend. I emailed about my refund for the Quantum of the Seas cancelled sailings. We kindly ask for your continued patience. We’re working on processing those refunds and we plan to have them all completed by March 31st, 2020. Scheduled to sail after April 10th and have questions? We fully intend to start sailing on April 11th and we can’t wait - we miss our guests already! If we must impact any additional sailings, we will send out a communication advising you of this and your options. If you cruise is between April 11th and July 31st and are unsure about sailing, you can still use the Cruise With Confidence policy and cancel up to 48 hours prior to your sail date for a 100% Future Cruise Certificate for use through December 31st, 2021. We put this in place to give you peace of mind to the very last minute and flexibility to plan your future sailing. If you are choosing to take advantage of this offer, please click here to begin the process. Once you complete the form – there is nothing else to do. We will process your future cruise credit. I am missing points or have questions about my Crown and Anchor account? Typically, Crown & Anchor Society points post about two weeks after the end of your sailing. For other inquiries, please know, we are working through our emails and we kindly ask for your continued patience. If we were able to answer your questions with this email, please help us by clicking here - this will let us put a checkbox by your name and we can keep working on our queue. Otherwise, our team will contact you as soon as possible. If there are any updates to your specific sailing, we will reach out with any and all information we have for you. In the meantime, we kindly ask for your patience.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We hope to welcome you onboard one of our ships under different circumstances very soon and wish you good health. And let’s face it – after this is all over, one thing is certain - we are all going to need a cruise vacation! Stay positive - and don’t forget to wash your hands.
For more information and updates on COVID-19, please visit our website here.
Sincerely,

   

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
    Dear Guest,
The situation regarding COVID-19 is so fluid and we understand you have a lot of questions. We apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but as you may imagine, we are experiencing high volumes and are behind.
We took the most frequently asked questions and answered them here. If the below addresses your concern or answers your question, we kindly ask for you to fill out our form here - this will help us feel like we have taken care of you and can close out your original note to us. We have all hands on deck and we’re doing everything to respond as quickly as possible, and this will really help!
Here are the top questions:
What do I do if I’m affected by the global cruise suspension? We’ve voluntarily suspended service with the intention of resuming our cruises on April 11th, 2020. We’ve sent an email to guests booked on cruises up to April 10th and some sailings that fall outside of this window that have also unfortunately been cancelled, with information about the automatic 125% Future Cruise Certificate (FCC). To forfeit your 125% FCC for a refund, please feel free to use this request form here. After doing that - you are done! We will process your request. What is the status of my refund? General Refunds/Reimbursements: Most refunds take 5-7 business days + the time it takes your bank to post to your account. If you have not received your refund by March 30th, please reach out to us. Voluntary Suspension Refunds (sailings from March 13 - April 10): These refunds will take up to 30 days to process from your request date. What if I had already cancelled my cruise with your Cruise with Confidence offer and now my sailing is cancelled, can I get the new offer? You were in a unique situation and were able to make the decision to not travel based on your personal circumstances. Your FCC for 100% stands and you should be receiving that soon. The new offer is for the guests that still planned to travel, and are now being forced to cancel. I just got home from my cruise and I see extra charges on my credit card statement. How can I get that refunded? What you’re seeing are temporary authorizations or holds, under your pending charges. Those usually go away on their own within 5-7 business days. Timing may vary by banking institution, but ultimately we only charge one total amount for your onboard spend. I emailed about my refund for the Quantum of the Seas cancelled sailings. We kindly ask for your continued patience. We’re working on processing those refunds and we plan to have them all completed by March 31st, 2020. Scheduled to sail after April 10th and have questions? We fully intend to start sailing on April 11th and we can’t wait - we miss our guests already! If we must impact any additional sailings, we will send out a communication advising you of this and your options. If you cruise is between April 11th and July 31st and are unsure about sailing, you can still use the Cruise With Confidence policy and cancel up to 48 hours prior to your sail date for a 100% Future Cruise Certificate for use through December 31st, 2021. We put this in place to give you peace of mind to the very last minute and flexibility to plan your future sailing. If you are choosing to take advantage of this offer, please click here to begin the process. Once you complete the form – there is nothing else to do. We will process your future cruise credit. I am missing points or have questions about my Crown and Anchor account? Typically, Crown & Anchor Society points post about two weeks after the end of your sailing. For other inquiries, please know, we are working through our emails and we kindly ask for your continued patience. If we were able to answer your questions with this email, please help us by clicking here - this will let us put a checkbox by your name and we can keep working on our queue. Otherwise, our team will contact you as soon as possible. If there are any updates to your specific sailing, we will reach out with any and all information we have for you. In the meantime, we kindly ask for your patience.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We hope to welcome you onboard one of our ships under different circumstances very soon and wish you good health. And let’s face it – after this is all over, one thing is certain - we are all going to need a cruise vacation! Stay positive - and don’t forget to wash your hands.
For more information and updates on COVID-19, please visit our website here.
Sincerely,

   

 

I dont want to be pessimistic, but you should take into account that a big percentage of the guests are from other countries which may not be at the same point in the virus-time than USA.
For example, currently China is near recovery after a couple of months of drastic measures, but South America is just starting the journey! So in order to start cruising its not just about USA, for the cruise to be viable economically, there are dependencies to other countrys.
Anyway, I hope to be mistaken, I also lost my cruise and although I will be refunded regarding Royal Caribbean, I will lose money from the flight tickets.

Could be Sydney.  The Rocks is an area right beside the cruise terminal.  I checked my bags and walked through The Rocks and over to the Sydney Harbour Bridge when I cruised there in February.  

I’m still skeptical of how they would even know. The form that they cite is for persons over 70...there is no way that they are going to require a signed doctors note from EVERY passenger.  If you are under 70 and have borderline Type II diabetes, how would they ever confirm that ?  If they are counting on people being honest....I have a bridge for sale.

Oh jheeze! I need another coffee! Thanks!!