Ian T

We are booked on a 12 night Southern Caribbean sailing on Anthem in late 2021 with friends of ours. It will be their first time cruising and their teenage daughter, whilst super excited, is a bit anxious about a few things. I think we have managed to put her mind at ease that the Bermuda Triangle is safe ? but she is also concerned about sea sickness, which is one of the reasons we have gone with a larger ship; however one thing that has just occurred to me is this may necessitate the use of tenders. I would be grateful therefore if anyone could tell me whether any of the following ports are unable to accommodate a Quantum class ship? Philipsburg, St Maarten St John's, Antigua Bridgetown, Barbados Castries, St Lucia Basseterre, St Kitts Many thanks! ?

Firstly I want to say that I am keeping everything crossed for all the folks who are on tenterhooks regarding 2020 cruises out of the US ?; however one benefit you have is that cruises in waters outside of US jurisdiction are not subject to the same CDC restrictions that appear to be the main sticking point for the US itineraries. I am hopeful therefore that - providing of course the European countries are accepting cruise ships again by then (which I believe to be a distinct possibility given all the recent talk of an impending relaxation of borders in the region) - Europe features highly in the schedule for the expected phased return to cruising. I am holding on to my Anthem October sailing from Southampton, although I admittedly have an additional month grace before I need to make a decision (final payment date 21st August). This said I am also mindful that she is currently in Mumbai repatriating crew, so RCCL may take the decision to send her directly back to the US when done rather than wait until November. ?

Phew! I was worried for a moment that my October sailing out of Southampton was already another casualty of this pesky virus! ? I can continue to live in hope for the time being...

Do you mean Adventure... unless RCCL has yet to tell me about a schedule change, Anthem is still due to sail out of Southampton until the end of October, then transatlantic to Bayonne on 1st November? ?

Not sure the CS rep gave you the correct information regarding honouring the original FCC:

I believe you will get the original FCC back and then the option of 100% refund or 125% FCC (assuming the current deal applies) for any money that you have paid over and above (e.g. the deposit if you paid this before RCCL recently changed the terms to allow this to also be covered by using FCC). As for cruise planner credit, I doubt that you will be able to get that refunded in cash; I expect instead that it will be re-credited in the same way as the cruise fare FCC. In short, my understanding is that any FCC will be credited back to re-use and any cash paid will be subject to the choice of 100% refund or 125% FCC.

I wasn't aware at first either so enquired on here and was delighted to discover that they can. One thing to bear in mind however is you need to be able to pay for everything in US$ so make sure your card issuer provides this option (most do I believe, but best of course to be sure).

Yep. We have an 8 day sailing to Bahamas/CocoCay in Feb and a 12 day Southern Caribbean in Dec, both on Anthem out of Port Liberty. We got a great deal on the Dec sailing in this past weekend's sale and my better half is super happy as both of our adult sons and their partners, along with good friends of ours (a family of four who will be cruising for the very first time ), have also booked to join us ? Given that this trip is a lot more involved than our usual couples booking we entrusting the arrangements to @michelle at MEI for the first time, to whom I must give a big shout out for sorting everything so efficiently at such short notice (replying to my initial enquiry on a Sunday and then liaising with me here in the UK re the details on the very last day of the sale). It remains to be seen whether our Oct 2020 Canaries cruise out of Southampton (also on Anthem... it's just the way the cards have fallen) happens of course, but we are determined to stay positive! ?

Interesting to hear from Cruising With Don that Michael Bayley has announced RCCL have shelved Seaface and said that if they need to use masks they can order them. Being a glass half full kinda guy I see this as an encouraging indication that RCCL are not looking to make face masks mandatory for guests ?

We have received our FCC and taxes/fees refund for our cancelled May sailing but are also awaiting the 125% OBC. I called RCCL on Friday and was advised that it has not yet been processed but they are hoping to do so in the next couple of weeks, although I can't say with any confidence whether this was based on reliable info or simply optimism on the part of the agent in question ?

Whilst I am not keen to cruise if masks are mandatory in all public areas, particularly outside where the risk of infection is, we are told, significantly reduced, I agree that close proximity with others in the casino does raise the stakes. To me however, such proximity is a welcome part of the casino experience as it helps to give me a sense of "we are all in this together against the house" as we share the emotions of good/bad card flips or throws of the dice. Admittedly I am not a big gambler (RCCL will certainly not be reinstating any of the postponed amps off the back of my casino revenue ?) and I generally only spend around 2 hours max in the casino at any one time, so personally I will be OK wearing a mask for that period if it means partly relaxing social distancing (I would still expect us to exercise prudent common sense of course... as much as I may want to hug the person next to me when I hit that ace, I will have to show restraint ?) providing I can then remove it when I head out to a bar elsewhere on the ship to count my winnings/lament my losses.

Thanks! NOW I remember why I stay away from politics unless absolutely necessary - or, as my earlier post demonstrates - when I have skin in the game ? Over here the BBC (and others) are also running the story but I have yet to see any comment from the UK Govt - which Secretary of State leads the daily Gov't briefing is usually an indication of the focus for that day; today it is the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, so it will be interesting to see whether the WHO announcement makes the agenda, particularly given the backlash being reported on the 14 day quarantine measures for visitors that came into effect yesterday.

I realise I may be opening myself up to a whole world of hurt here, not least as I am looking in from across the pond and do my best to follow any form of politics from a safe distance, but whilst this is of course extremely encouraging news, given Mr Trump's opinion of the WHO right now is it likely to have any meaningful impact upon the US approach?

I know our Anthem sailing out of Southampton in October is still far from safe ? but I'm determined to stay positive - RCCL can't end up cancelling all of our 2020 sailings, can they... can they?? ?

Thanks for the warning. I understand that this is the case for OBC provided by RCCL as a perk (I can't say I agree with it as I sadly lost $600 in free OBC from the same cancelled sailing, but it is what it is ?), but it's worrying if RCCL is adopting the same rule for OBC that a guest has taken in lieu of a refund of money paid on an earlier cancelled booking which is, after all, helping RCCL's cash flow! ? I hope they are not, of course, but may play it safe and apply it to our Feb 2021 cruise instead... no-one likes to hear "I told you so"!! ?

Please can you add the following for me: Oasis; Barcelona - Western Mediterranean; August 2019 Oasis; Bayonne - Perfect Day / Bahamas; May 2020 - CANCELLED ? Anthem; Southampton - Canaries; October 2020 ? Anthem; Bayonne - Perfect Day / Bahamas; February 2021 Thanks! ?

No, it can only be used toward the cruise fare, which (as per @Matt's latest blog article, now includes the deposit. Any remaining FCC balance will still be available to you to put toward another cruise in the form of a revised FCC certificate. The only way (that I know of) you can use FCC for OBC is if you opted for the 125% FCC for your OB spend on the cancelled cruise instead of the refund; however, unlike the FCC for the fare, this must be applied 100% to one cruise and any balance remaining at the end if that cruise is forfeited.

We are on the same sailing and spotted that too. We are hoping we receive our 125% OBC before the cost goes back up. I know we could book now and then cancel/re-book when the OBC arrives but given the amount of time that refunds are currently taking I do not really want to tie up that amount of money. The fact that a significant proportion of our spend will be "free" RCCL money means we are fortunate that if the price does increase beforehand it will not be end of the world, but who doesn't love a bargain? ?

So refreshing to read a balanced article reporting on a safe return to cruising rather than jumping on the sensationalist "cruising is doomed" bandwagon ?

Hard to say for sure without knowing the figures on the most recent invoice you received from RCCL, but you have already identified the taxes and fees. The $280.07 looks very close to the combined soda package + Zoom cost so it could be that you have only received refunds for 2 people so far (I have heard this happen from others). Did you select My Time dining? If so could the $323.43 be the pre-paid gratuities ?

May 24th cruise (Oasis out of Port Liberty) cancelled during second wave... 125% FCC received May 22nd Refund of taxes and fees hit my CC account today (received in piecemeal transactions for some reason but the total is correct) 125% OBC still to come At the risk of tempting providence, so far (and I appreciate that not everyone has had the same experience) whilst I have had to be patient, the correct credits/refunds are now coming through. Of course the one I am really looking forward to is the OBC (c. $1,500) so I have the flexibility to take advantage of any price drops in Cruise Planner (I cancelled and re-booked a couple of Cruise Planner items back at the beginning of May and am still awaiting the associated refunds, so would much rather "play" with OBC in this way than use real $$! ?)

Reference @Matt's recent post on the RAG rating system announced by the CDC, anything that facilitates the repatriation of crew is of course a good thing and welcome news; however my concern is that whilst we are hearing from Richard Fain and others that RCCL is working closely with the authorities on a safe return to cruising, we are now just 7 weeks out from the expiry of the current no sail order and the CDC has not even begun to review plans to safely operate cruises with guests on board. Given the time it has taken them to announce the RAG rating system I do fear that this apparent lack of urgency will result in a further extension of the no sail order. I SO hope I'm wrong! ?

Nor mine.

For purely selfish reasons I'm with @Mike.s... Given the pattern thus far of cruise lines ultimately following suit it doesn't bode well for our Oct 17 sailing out of Southampton on Anthem ? Interesting that P&O permits the transfer/gifting of FCC though.

I too am awaiting a refund for a shore excursion on an Oct 2020 sailing that I cancelled and re-booked in order to take advantage of a price drop. I am currently at around 3 weeks, so around the same time as @Crazycruiser50, and recognise that it's still early days...