Dad2Cue

I'm not sure I should disclose my L&S experience with my Alaska cruise on Quantum.  Originally,  it was very straight forward and done quickly.  The price protection was done but taxes and fees increased by $150.  Best I could tell, it seemed correct. There was a FCC involved that tends to obscure the actual cruise price.

About a week later someone posted information that involved some glitch that resulted in the price protection to be incorrect.  When I looked at my remaining balance, it was approximately $300 more.   I had to call again to get the $300 removed.  The first response was there was no price protection because the cruise wasn't eligible for a L&S.  Clearly,  that wasn't true so I had to explain that Royal cancelled the Quantum cruises to Alaska in 2021 and my cruise was eligible for a L&S to 2022.   It involved a bit of hold time but the matter was resolved relatively quickly.  When everything was done the second time, the remaining balance came back $1,000 less.  Somehow I think I received an extra $700 in price protection.  I'm not one to complain so I just said it sounded correct.

Whoever posted the information about the glitch ... thank-you.  I think there is still a glitch but this one seemed to work in my favor.  I just hope the cruise happens in 2022.  I doubt the price will ever get any less.

1 hour ago, rjac said:

Is it possible that once the ship is fully loaded with fuel, water, staff, crew, passengers, etc. the water line will raise up and cover the bottom of the "C" and "S"?

The "C" must already be underwater because I can't see it .

4 hours ago, LizzyBee23 said:

Optimistically (meaning if deaths and hospitalizations continue to drop precipitously... Which I think has to happen for ships to sail anyway even with all of these restrictions), I think at the end of the CSO we would probably see the first round of relaxations. Probably not all the way back to business as usual, but maybe a meaningful point somewhere between.

Buuut, that expires 11/1.

Yeah, to be honest ... I'm not even counting on the Allure B2B happening either.  I just think the odds are better.  I think a private island itinerary on Allure has a decent chance of happening.   The wild card is how well the vaccinations progress.  I'm hoping vaccinations will be a game changer.

4 hours ago, markinct said:

A Panama Canal cruise is definitely on my bucket list.

Yes, it is on my bucket list as well.  I just don't think it will happen in 2021.  For one thing, it isn't even listed anymore on Royal's website because the CDC won't allow cruises more that 7 days to be marketed through the end of October I believe.  Back to back cruises lasting 14 days however can be booked. 

Another problem with the Panama Canal cruise is that it stops in about 6 different countries-a logistical nightmare in the covid world.  I don't think I want to tackle those risks that soon.  Maybe in 2022.

4 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

We may be on the same sailing (2 private island stops).  We're sailing Oct. 24 on Allure.

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We will be on Allure (hopefully !) on Oct 3-17.

Allure October 17 and 24 B2B here.  Big Ten football and everything will be normal is my prediction. 

I still don't think the October 1-15 Panama Canal cruise on Radiance will happen.  I probably should just cancel it now.

Allure is my back-up plan because I doubt things will be THAT normal on October 1st --- I decided to give it 2 more weeks. However, spending almost the whole month of October 2021 on a cruise ship sounds good at the moment. 

On 2/4/2021 at 4:30 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

We're not going to book anymore, either, for now.  I doubt the Norway GC will go, and I have doubts about my October Allure sailing. 

I'm more optimistic about my October Allure sailing.  It has 2 private island stops and I don't really care too much about the other stops.  I have never been to CocoCay and that surely will be open by October I would think. 

I have no optimism for the October 2021 Panama Canal cruise on Radiance though.  It is booked refundable so I'm just waiting to see what a Panama Canal cruise in 2022 will look like.  In a way ... still optimistic.

My strategy changed a long time ago.  If I can't do a L&S, I reschedule cruises into the foreseeable future before the final payment date. 

When I can, I get a refund for a cruise ---  only then do I book another cruise.  Don't ask me why!! 

I have been juggling about five cruises.  If it goes bust ... I have tried to limit my losses.

Still looking forward to my Alaska 2022 cruise that was already L&S when Quantum cruises were cancelled.

3 hours ago, monctonguy said:

maybe in 5 years things will be back to norm, but I have yet to see ANY indication of that(at least in Canada)

Try to expedite the return to normalcy in Canada ... my cruise to Alaska now postponed to August 2022 hinges on that.  At the moment, we are relatively normal here in Iowa.  I'm starting to like the mask because it keeps my face warm.  My face gets sunburn on a cruise so I can see some positives there too.  I can't wait to get vaccinated if that is what it takes.

9 hours ago, twangster said:

A vaccine requirement by regulation requires they establish an acceptable validation that someone is or is not vaccinated.  The US has no national vaccine database.  There is no official record of what vaccines people may have taken such as polio, mumps, chicken pox, measles, tetanus, etc.  If a vaccine is required how will people furnish proof they have a vaccine?  A piece of paper?  An app on a smartphone?  Does each vaccine site maintain their own database (Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc)?  If it is a piece of paper what happens if someone loses their paper?  Will every vaccine site use the same piece of paper or app? How easy is it to be faked?

This is such a good question and you would think our government would be working on this but I doubt it will happen.  There are electronic medical records but privacy laws don't provide easy access.  I do think vaccination records should be an important component of a passport.  

Another approach that covid would need is adequate proof of a positive test for antibodies.  Nobody really knows how long the current vaccines provide immunity. The natural way that one gets immunity is by having the infection --- that way of immunity should count too. That could necessitate an annual test for immunity if the vaccinations are shown to be ineffective for virus mutations. 

I don't see where this ends.  Government bureaucracy will not speed anything up.  Maybe a fast test for antibodies would be a better approach.

4 hours ago, Pooch said:

Glad I could help.  It appears to have something to do with the new policy on how an FCC can be used.  Another example of IT making an unintended mess!

I'm not sure what caused the problem.  It made my cruise vacation receipt look totally different.  I liked that they itemized the FCC and all the discounts on separate lines.  It looked much better and it was understandable as compared to when they used the FCC to create a lower cruise fare. 

The problem was that the cruise fare was listed at full price.  When they corrected it, they just changed it back to the way it was originally.  Now, nothing is itemized again.

14 hours ago, Pooch said:

On another cruise forum, a TA warned of problems with L&S cruises that have had FCC applied due to RCCL changes to how FCCs can be used.  My wonderful MEI TA indicated she had checked my cruise recently but, at my request, she looked again.  Sure enough, my Harmony Cruise was listed at full price!!  She was able to call and get my price protected cost back.  I am thankful I saw the post about the problem and that I had a great TA to handle it for me.

Thank-you so much for posting this!  I looked at my Quantum Alaska August 2021 cruise that was L&S to August 2022.  The price protection was taken off and the cruise was repriced to full price.  I was told it was outside the date range to do a L&S.  I reminded them the Royal cancelled the Quantum Alaskan cruises in 2021 so it was eligible for a L&S.  Problem corrected and they reinstated the price protection.

I just hope the FCC doesn't expire before I do the cruise in August 2022. It was originally set to expire at the end of 2021.  They let me apply it to the August 2022 cruise --- should I just assume it won't expire?  I think the expiration dates have been extended ... right???

Sadly it was NCL Pride of America.  We loved everything about Hawaii.  Unfortunately, the ship was disappointing and the service wasn't so great.  I just wasn't feeling the Pride.

To be honest ... my next cruise isn't until October 1st, 2021.  It is a 15-day Panama Canal cruise which I really don't think will happen.  I've gotten over the fact that Quantum won't be doing Alaska cruises this summer. I'm not going to worry about anything until a cruise actually happens from a port in the United States.  

I'm somewhat concerned about the financial aspect of these restrictions.  It already seems like I'm paying more for a cruise and much of the WOW comes in the form of restrictions.  Muster 2.0 sounds good though. People can be grouchy on a cruise and I can see fights breaking out about who can be in the hot tubs.  One thing I like about a cruise is when I can be in my own bubble.  I'm not sure I can handle my family bubble for the entire cruise.

All that said --- I just want to get vaccinated.

23 hours ago, FJ28 said:

I am curious if anyone else out there has had to pay extra taxes when they chose to do a lift and shift?  I chose the exact same cruise just moved it from April 2021 till April 2022 and my travel agent told me today that there will be an extra charge for higher taxes in 2022.

Alaska cruise in August 2021     taxes/fees = 144.08 per person ---- after the L&S to  August 2022    taxes/fees = $207..64 per person

 $127 increase for 2 people --- much more than I expected.  On another L&S I did,  the taxes/fees decreased a bit.

I was originally quoted that the new taxes/fees would be approximately $250 per person but I think when a FCC was applied it must have decreased the taxes somehow. 

I was also told that once the FCC was applied, the cruise would need to be repriced to the prevailing rate if I ever wanted to take the FCC off and reapply it to a different cruise.  I didn't completely understand why that was the case.  I was surprised but I went with it anyway.

1 hour ago, Ellen1961 said:

I was booked on the Quantam for a May 2021 cruise.  I am trying to determine if it is better to get a 125% cruise credit or do the lift and shine.  Does the 125% cruise credit only apply to the deposit you have paid or does it apply to the entire cost of the cruise.

 

Welcome to the message boards.   We considered several circumstances before we decided to do the lift and shift. 

#1 We still wanted to do an Alaska cruise and delaying it until 2022 was okay with us. 

#2 Our 2021 Alaska cruise only involved our deposit.  The 125% future cruise credit on the deposit only wasn't much of an incentive.  We already have 2 future cruise credits that we need to use so we don't want anymore.    

#3 The refund option didn't seem good because of having to repurchase the exact cruise in 2022,  with the same ship, same stateroom, almost same date would have cost roughly $2,500 more.

We decided to Lift and Shift with the price protection.  Also, we had a Grand Suite 1BR which had limited availability on the 2022 Alaska cruise so we wanted to decide quickly.

10 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Nothing official, but someone on another forum posted that they were able to L&S Quantum sailings only past April 2022.  They did it just this morning.

I just did a L&S of my Alaska cruise on Quantum from August 30, 2021 to August 29,2022.  A FCC that was attached to the 2021 cruise transferred over seamlessly - it was very efficient!  It was price protected but taxes/fees were about $125 more ... bummer.

@Sharla  Any word about when L&S might be extended?  It seems like it has already been extended for some people.

6 minutes ago, Sharla said:

Correct, however even with Cruise with Confidence if you cancel before Royal Caribbean does you do not get a refund, you get FCC. That has been a factor for some people, burned by non-refundable deposit. 

I was in the process of adding that.    with the exception of a refund if I decide to cancel.

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Here's a breakdown of refundable versus non-refundable cruise fares

My advice these days is to always book refundable cruise fare

All true but should be updated because cruise with confidence waives change fees for example.  Now days I think hard about booking refundable when the price is increased so much that it costs more than the deposit that I'm trying to protect.

It seems to me that booking nonrefundable in combination with cruise with confidence gets you most of the flexibility you would otherwise only get by booking refundable with the exception of a refund if I decide to cancel.

1 hour ago, Rfk said:

Essentially a reduced balance due at 90 days prior, an incentive in exchange for committing to nonrefundable at time of booking/deposit.  

That's correct.  We can leave the art of repricing the cruise for later.

1 hour ago, Rfk said:

So deposit is the same at time of booking, regardless of refundable/non-refundable fare, but you're contracting for a refundable/non-refundable fare at that time, balance of which is due 90 days prior to sailing.  Is that about right?

And over time, that initial refundable fare/balance due may prove to be less costly than converting to non-refundable fare, closer to sailing date?  Right?  Hypothetically, could you covert from refundable to non-refundable fare the day prior to sailing?  (Assuming you'd only want to do so for a better fare.)

The above sounds correct --- I agree with @Sharla that you can only convert from refundable to nonrefundable before the final payment date.

The following example shows what happens:

Cruise Fare            $2000                     compared to            Cruise Fare      $2000

Discounts NRD      $  500                                                       Discounts        $  250

Total charge          $1500                                                        Total Charge   $1750

Deposit paid          $ 500                                                        Deposit Paid   $  500

Amount Due          $1000                                                        Amount Due    $1250

Royal charges the refundable "fee" by decreasing the discounts --- in this case to book refundable costs you $250.

I didn't dream up their system so don't blame me if it doesn't make sense.

3 hours ago, Rfk said:

I'm trying to get a grip on the differences between these, in anticipation of booking family cruise later this year to sail in 2023.  Family of five, figure we'll book two connecting balcony cabins when the time comes.

Deposits - two different amounts possible, depending on whether you book refundable or nonrefundable deposit?  Is the difference per person, or per room (I think I saw example of the latter on a separate thread)?  And this can be changed from refundable to nonrefundable at any time until full payment is due, typically 90 days prior to sailing? 

Fares - two different amounts possible, based on nature of deposit that's in place when final payment is made (refundable vs. nonrefundable)?  As you get closer to final due date (up to 90 days prior) and become very confident of sailing, might you want to convert a refundable deposit to nonrefundable, to capture nonrefundable fare vs. refundable?  And/or, is it possible that the refundable fare you may have booked previously could actually be lower than nonrefundable fare if you do that late conversion, up to 90 days prior to sailing?

There may be easy answers to these questions (and maybe easier ways to ask them)...  Any planning insight is helpful, thanks! 

The deposits are the same whether the cruise is booked refundable or nonrefundable.  The price of the cruise is higher when it is booked refundable.  When you receive a cruise vacation receipt you won't see any refundable fee itemized but you will have paid more for the cruise than if you had booked nonrefundable.

The refundable "fee" is actually a price increase and varies widely from one cruise to the next.  It even varies depending on the stateroom that you book.  When you look at your cruise planner receipt, you will see NRD in several places to designate that you booked nonrefundable.  The NRD will be missing if you booked refundable.

You can pay the refundable price and later change it to a nonrefundable price.   When you do this you may or may not save money because the cruise will be repriced at the nonrefundable price on the day you make the change.  Sometimes (usually) it is better to keep the refundable price you paid when you first booked.

it is hard to explain but I hope this helps.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The email comes from "Royal Caribbean International" and it is titled "Here's Your Future Cruise Credit".

Thanks ... I found one!  It was in the trash.  There should be another one but I couldn't find that one.  On the one I found, the expiration date says 31-Dec-21 but that has been extended I guess.  Do you think they will send me an updated one?

What does a FCC look like?  I have never actually seen one!  I have no physical evidence that they exist.  Royal just says I have a couple and the credits have been applied to future cruises.

14 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

In that regard, I got doubly lucky.

I'm not much of a gambler but everything seems like a gamble these days!