Dad2Cue

We just did a short 90 minute flight to visit relatives and to see what flying was like with the new policies in place. I can't say the experience was that much different from flying before the pandemic. The flight was full and the policy was that they "offer" you the option of taking a later flight. On our flight, I only saw one empty seat so not many people took that option. The only difference was that everyone wore a mask while boarding and during the flight. The airlines can't enforce the mask rule in the airport itself and I didn't see any enforcement at the gate but most people were compliant. Social distancing on the plane really didn't happen since the flight was full. I would consider driving to the port once cruising resumes.

I technically have only three booked for 2021. I recently did a lift and shift of B2B cruises originally booked for January 2021 to January 2022 --- Can I count those two cruises? Two other cruises were originally supposed to happen in 2020. Move it baby, move itI ain't fakin', whole lotta shakin' goin' on! Next year... I hope.

I was thinking they were cruising out of South Carolina which made me think Royal was opening a new port. Charleston, SC might be nice because of family nearby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886 This says $762 per person. I don't see why a ship can't just stop somewhere in Canada and nobody gets off. Would that meet the requirement? I have already been to Victoria once so I wouldn't have to get off the ship. It is after all, an Alaskan cruise.

You can't go wrong if you only have 4 devices. We have shared a 4 device package with 6 people with devices and it wasn't too bad because usually not all 6 were trying to get access at the same time.

It all sounds doable. I think that I will still be polite and let someone else go ahead of me.

Sorry but I'm planning on bringing Anthem over in April-May 2021. What are the chances of being allowed entry in Spain, France and the UK? If not, Alaska in August 2021 might be a good bet. I will stay onboard the ship if Canada doesn't want me to visit. I have already written off the ABC islands in January 2021.

Wouldn't that be fantastic if your cruise happens! We are booked on the Anthem TransAtlantic to Southampton in April-May 2021. It was originally planned for April 2020 so a bit delayed but still booked. That cruise was what precipitated this post. I have monitored the price since we rebooked it since the 2021 cruise cost more than it did in 2020. Lift and shift wasn't available at the time. That price hasn't budged either higher or lower in close to 6 months. If your cruise is a go than I assume our cruise may also happen! At this stage, I don't really care if the price decreases and I only hope it happens.

For me, it is not wanting to buy anymore FCCs. Also, it doesn't seem sensible to pay a much higher price for a refundable fare when the prices are going up --- then, I'm stuck with the refundable price.

More and more it seems like book for 2021 and lift and shift and HOPEFULLY cruise in 2022. I have no idea if my 2021 cruises will be some of first cruises selected to happen. Because of the likely limited capacity, I can't be sure that my stateroom won't be cancelled if the cruise happens. Then, if my Jan 2021 cruise happens, I doubt that I want to be one of the first to take a cruise. I just as well lift and shift that cruise now and pretend it was a good deal compared to the listed 2022 price. I could also look forward to my first B2B in 2022. I have 5 cruises between Jan 2021 and Jan 2022 and I don't need any more. It would be nice if the rest of the 2022 schedule was released because I would also likely lift and shift my Trans Atlantic for April 2021 to April 2022! I can't afford to wait past the final payment date to decide because that would involve shelling out even more money. I already have two nearly fully paid for cruises over a year from now.

I admit that I only have 5 booked cruises that I monitor for price decreases. Two of the cruises were a lift and shift where the price guarantee was much lower than the price in 2022. The other 3 cruises are spaced out in 2021. I have only seen price increases in a long time although there seems to be ample availability --- no fun!

Personally, I feel really good that I don't have any cruise planner purchases. I don't think I will bite on this one.

That would be nice ... effectively, a "future" cruise credit becomes an "earlier" cruise credit !!! Something tells me it won't be that simple. I might try that later when actually going on a cruise seems more certain. Maybe Royal will start booking virtual cruises that can be enjoyed from the comfort of home. What was that song, "Living in a Virtual World"? Maybe it was a "Material" World --- I'm too old for the virtual stuff.

It was L&S before the final payment date. I'm indifferent about the Jan 2022 cruise. I mostly would like to get the entire $1,500 applied to an earlier cruise. I believe that when I did the L&S it more or less cancels the cruise with confidence provisions. I think there will be change fees and/or cancellation fees.

This concerns a January 2021 cruise that was lifted and shifted to January 2022. The only purpose was that it was going to be something warm to do in January. It was relatively inexpensive but it was paid in full so approximately $1,500 tied up in a cruise more than 16 months away. I'm okay with that but now we have other cruises booked before this cruise that have only the deposit paid. I think that doing a L&S changed some of my cruise with confidence options but I'm not sure what options are left. My main interest is moving money to another cruise that might happen sooner. The nonrefundable deposit was $500 and there wasn't a FCC involved. The L&S provided price protection and a significant savings. What happens IF ... #1 I want to UPGRADE my cabin? I probably lose the price protection ... right? #2 I want to CHANGE to a different cruise? Is the change fee $100 per person ($200 total)? #3 I want to CANCEL the cruise? Is the cancellation fee $500 and is $1,000 refunded or will it be a FCC? #4 I want to SHIFT MONEY to pay for an earlier cruise? Can I leave the $500 deposit but move $1,000 to an earlier cruise? Thanks.

@deep1 I got right through to a royal vacation planner to reschedule the cruise but then the post cruise dept had to move the FCC. Actually the royal vacation planner was in communication with the post cruise dept and that was when I was placed on hold. The royal vacation planner did apologize occasionally for the delay because he was having trouble getting through to the post cruise department. I'm not really sure why I was placed on hold because they didn't seem to need me for anything except to announce at the end that they got everything done. I said thank-you and that was the end of the call. I have done a pure L&S that didn't involve a FCC and that seemed to be quick and easy so moving the FCC must be more of a challenge..? As for which cruises qualify for a L&S that is for Royal to decide. They seem pretty flexible but it might depend on what Royal rep handles your call. It seems like a second opinion never hurts if you don't like the first answer ?

I think that is allowed. I "rescheduled" a paid in full cruise that was largely paid for with a FCC. I say "rescheduled" because it was booked refundable so there was no restriction on date, cruise length, itinerary, etc. A L&S can only be one year later + or - 30 days and limited to similar itinerary, same length, etc. It took awhile so if you are calling Royal be prepared to be on hold for a long time.

I didn't know about that ... thanks. I did manage to do that with my very first FCC and received a $1000 CC refund from a previously paid in full cruise. That was nice. I think I can deal with getting a FCC on another couple of cruises that I have booked nonrefundable and have only paid the deposit. Now I just need to L&S those cruises before the final payment date or else I might get stuck with another big FCC if I decide to cancel later. That is another thing I don't completely understand ... if I make the final payment does just the deposit become the FCC and does the remainder of the cruise fare get refunded?? I don't really want to make any final payments just to find out. One "good" thing is that prices on future cruises seem to be much higher so it becomes easier to apply the full amount of the FCC.

So far, I have a "manageable number" of FCCs. However, that assumes that cruises will resume at some point --- hopefully in the near future. As the months of cruise cancellations add up, the window for using FCCs is getting smaller before they expire. Also, I don't need to be the first person to return to cruising so I have applied my large FCC to a distant cruise in August 2021. I'm not too sure when my FCC expires but I think it is the end of 2021. If I accumulate more FCCs then I need to seriously start considering a B2B cruise. My guess is that Royal will need to extend the expiration dates eventually but then the survival of the company comes into play. I find that the "dollar amount" of the future cruise credit is more of a problem. When the value of the FCC exceeds the cost of the future cruise, you have to wait until after the first cruise and apply the remainder to another cruise. I've already decided to upgrade to a GS just to be able to use the entire FCC on one cruise. My other dilemma is that I now have 5 future cruises booked in the next 15 months. I used to be a 1-2 cruise per year person.

I hate to admit this but I recently booked a Jan 2021 cruise just so I could lift and shift it to Jan 2022 ... It was a big savings compared to booking the Jan 2022 directly. I'm not that sure the Jan 2022 cruise will even happen but at least I will have a place to park a FCC if my April 2021 doesn't happen. I think I'm going crazy!!

Shall I go ahead and lift and shift my Jan 3, 2021 cruise to 2022 now or wait awhile until closer to the final payment date? After the January cruise there is a trans Atlantic cruise in April 2021 which was supposed to have happened April 2020. I cancelled the April 2020 cruise and received a large FCC. Assuming that England will let me get off the ship in Southampton I would like to go. Unfortunately, there are stops in Canada, The Azores, Spain and France too. I suppose I can lift and shift that cruise just as soon as the schedule for the rest of 2022 comes out. Then there is my August 2021 Alaskan cruise which I think might still happen --- I promise not to get off the ship in Canada. I just don't need anymore large FCCs. Am I correct that CWC involves no cancellation/change fees and only my deposit amount becomes a FCC??

Big Ten Conference cancelled the fall football season. They may play a conference schedule in the Spring. What is this world coming to??? Looking forward to basketball season now ... Go Hawkeyes!

Thanks ...I guess it all depends on when cruising restarts. A January cruise and an April cruise needs to happen first.

Oops, meant to say Diamond level.

If everything works with 2 cruises before the Alaska cruise, we will be Diamond level by then. What will that get us?? There is a "golden" room on deck 4 but I don't know what it is for. I don't think the size of our suite will matter that much ... the larger balcony seems like it will be nice for sightseeing in Alaska.