Dad2Cue

@Jason12 Yes ... I'm trying to be optimistic about it. My wife says she isn't going unless things get better so I need some good information. Anything related to quarantines and masks is bad.

@Jason12 How is England?? My cruise that was cancelled was a trans Atlantic to Southampton on Anthem last April. We rescheduled that cruise for April 2021. We have rail passes in England which are unused and will expire in January 2021. I was thinking about flying into London and use up the rail passes before going to Spain.

@Jason12 It wouldn't hurt to call them about the FCC. I never did receive an email about the FCC. When I called, I was told that it was processed 3 weeks before and they applied the FCC to a cruise that was already booked --- the Allure TA in fact. I had a remaining balance on that cruise that was less than the FCC. When the FCC was applied, I received a $700 refund from the Allure TA. Tell me that Spain is opening up so Allure will have guests back to Miami.

Freedom on January 10, 2021 --- price is good too. I'm optimistic.

I can hardly see the ABC islands but Aruba looks grey. St Maarten is my other port. My cruise starts in Puerto Rico so at least San Juan is might be good to go.

I would say it depends on how many FCCs you need to put to use. A FCC from a longer cruise seems to require a suite on a shorter cruise so you can use the whole FCC. A suite on a smaller ship makes sense too when you are used to paying for a smaller stateroom on the the larger and newer ships.

I'm more afraid of being quarantined in my room and being at sea for weeks. It seems I can justify an upgrade just in case that happens.

Today, I enjoyed reading about this topic on the Royal Caribbean Blog. It made me think about the cruises we have done. Our first cruise was an interior room mostly for economic reasons. I found that I needed at least a window so we shifted to an interior stateroom on the promenade on Freedom class. Then we got a virtual balcony on Anthem but the balcony overlooking Central Park on Allure was much better. An ocean view balcony was okay but I liked Central Park more. I had no issue with a junior suite except for the price. Is this a dangerous trend and should I stop eyeing those other suites??? ? ...?...?

That is the exact same scenario with me except my cancellation was in March and there wasn't the 25% bonus. We applied the FCC to a November trans Atlantic cruise from Spain to Miami. I'm very happy about using the FCC except my wife thinks it wouldn't be wise to do the cruise. My only defense for her concern is mostly about making sure we use the FCC.

Ultimately FCC expire and go "poof"... or that happens to me in my race to use the FCC. Plus, with a refund, I enjoy spending the money a second time on ANYTHING I want. Even with the extra 25% with the FCC, it isn't worth all the hassles!

My 401K took a huge hit in Feb-Mar and I thought it would take a few years to recover. I'm retired and I was thinking I wouldn't be taking as many cruises during my retirement years. My 401K has already recovered and with today's gains, it should be positive for the year so I booked another cruise.

@cstern90 I'm still working on a refund from United Airlines and have disputed the whole thing with the credit card company. My 1 layover flight turned into 4 layovers with a segment in the middle cancelled. All I can say is RCCL at least attempts to process the refunds which is much more than United did

I have an early confirmation that shows $0 so when it it was first done it seemed correct---it just didn't show the FCC on the receipt. The weird thing is I now get a new confirmation each time I purchase something on cruise planner. I make those purchases with my CC but the amount I spend for something gets added to the amount I owe for the cruise itself.

@Matt I worry about the same thing. I cancelled a cruise in early April and the only option at the time was a 100% FCC for the fare. I was fine with that until there was a delay in "processing" the FCC. The refund for gratuities, taxes and fees eventually happened but was also delayed. When I called about the FCC, I was informed that there was a FCC "in the system" and it had been processed a few weeks before I called. I never did get an e-mail about it. Royal's customer service rep helped me apply the FCC to a cruise I had already booked for this November and the FCC covered the remaining balance of the November cruise. Eventually, I received a partial refund from the November cruise. I got concerned when I received my receipt for the November cruise which showed that I still had a balance due when I was told that the November cruise was paid in full. When I called about why I still owed money, I was told that their "internal system" showed it was paid in full and to ignore the receipt. My concern is that the receipt doesn't show that the cruise was paid with the FCC. It only shows that the cruise fare was reduced to almost zero. What will happen IF the November cruise is cancelled?? It is booked refundable so we may even cancel it. I have no documentation that there was ever a FCC applied as the receipt only shows a super low cruise fare.

"Never again" will I take a "future anything credit". United Airlines had a nice gimmick where I had to cancel my flight before I could request a refund but they couldn't "advise" me about what to do. That was after I was notified that a segment of my "flight was cancelled or not confirmed". Then they had the audacity to say I couldn't have a refund because I cancelled.

Since your 2020 cruise was cancelled, didn't they reissue the FCC from 2019? Isn't the reissued FCC for the 2020 cruise good for at least another year if not the end of 2021? I'm not in your situation yet but it does concern me somewhat for another reason. My cruise was cancelled back in April ... actually I cancelled it but RC cancelled the cruise a few days later. In any case, I received an 100% FCC for the April cruise. That part was good because I applied the credit to a cruise that was already booked for Nov 2020 --- now paid in full. What worries me is the receipt only shows that the cruise fare was reduced to $100 per person plus taxes and fees. Nothing shows that it was reduced by the FCC. My concern is ... what if the cruise in Nov is cancelled or we decide not to go. Will our refund or FCC only be $200??? I'm just hoping that the Nov cruise happens and I "never again" get a FCC. I still like Royal and I think their customer service is relatively good. I agree that it gets confusing at times when you get different explanations from different reps. Hopefully, I haven't confused anyone.

The lockdown is so you don't need the masks and 6 feet...and you just end up going crazy.

Agree with the first part and you might end up with a bigger FCC. Usually not transferable for the second part. I wouldn't try the insurance part just because it doesn't sound right. I'm not sure what NCL policy is. For RCCI, I was told I would have to book the cruise and pay the deposit before the FCC was applied because the FCC couldn't be used for taxes/port fees. If NCL does refunds like Royal, you may have more money tied up before everything is sorted out.

Having to fly to the port might be a deal breaker for me. Especially since my next cruise in November is a trans Atlantic and departs from Barcelona, Spain. Any sort of mandatory quarantine before and/or after the cruise would be a definite deal breaker. The bottom line for me would be how much extra cost I might incur. Health risks are also a big factor but I don't think a cruise is more risky than other places but staying home might be safer. Finally, there is the "hassle factor" and there is only so much hassle that I can handle.

There is much debate on the subject. I personally think a mask will help although I don't like wearing one. The key word is cleaned "properly." I would add worn properly, removed properly, and touched properly. There is also the issue of masks providing a false assurance of safety. I personally get winded when I wear one. There are some downsides to a mask. If someone prefers that I wear one to protect them --- I will comply. I'm not so sure it helps me that much.

Isn't that just when the cell phone is connected to the internet via cellular data? That might get costly when traveling outside the country. I just purchased the Key for my wife and me. It was an easy choice in part because I wanted to try it. The other aspect was the cost was $13 per day per person so approximately $26 per day total. That compared favorably to the $18 per day for a 2 device internet package that we usually get. I hope the extra $56 for the week is worth it. I have read that it is nice when there are many ports and when tendering. I'm the one going early to the show to save a seat. I'm also the one who watches the carry on bags while the wife explores the ship and spends at least $56. The extra $56 for the Key is mostly for me Does anyone know if an Alexa device will connect to Royal Wi Fi?

I don't mind the FCC I currently have. I don't really want or need any more FCC given all the uncertainties at the present time. Then again, refunds seem uncertain too. I like L&S and CWC but is that enough to book non-refundable? @twangster $400 on a $3500 cruise for 2 people ... not per person. @JLMoran I thought a reprice on a non-refundable booking involved a $100/person change fee as a way to discourage small price adjustments except when an upgrade is involved. I can't keep all the rules straight anymore.

@JLMoran Thanks ... I vaguely understand most of that. I'm hung up on the price difference between refundable and nonrefundable--- $400 for the cruise I'm looking at. I haven't seen that much of a price difference before. I usually don't change too much once I book a cruise but I like to reprice it. Booking refundable allows any option before the final payment date but getting a refund seems to be horrendous.

I usually book a cruise refundable and take advantage of price decreases that happen later without having any change fee. Booking refundable allows the option of cancelling with a refund before the final payment date. Usually, the price difference between refundable and non-refundable isn't that much. When it gets closer the final payment date I switch to non-refundable when I am more certain about going on the cruise. Now, I am looking at a cruise for next year to replace one that was cancelled in April 2020. "Cruise with confidence" allows a FCC but not a refund IF I book non-refundable and IF I cancel. L&S allows some limited changes but booking refundable allows ANY change. The price difference between refundable and nonrefundable is $400 for the cruise I'm looking at. Am I wrong in thinking that booking refundable is still the best option since the cruise is April 2021? It was a pity that L&S wasn't available when the April 2020 cruise was cancelled.

We had a round trip one stop flight from London to home via Chicago with a modest layover. United didn't cancel the flight but kept changing it and eventually I had 4 stops and I was flying all over the United States. One of the connecting flights departed 2 hours before the preceding flight landed so I doubt it would have worked. When I called they just said I could reschedule it without a change fee but the flights weren't cancelled. They also said that they couldn't "advise" me about what to do but commented that I had good price for my itinerary. When I asked if I could just keep the return part the itinerary which was in October, they said NO but they would be happy to re-book a one-way flight and charge me double what the round trip cost. Finally, they notified me that one of the segments on the return was cancelled but didn't give me the option of a refund. When I cancelled on the website, the system kicked out a future flight credit. It took me forever to find how to "request" a refund for the upgraded seats and airfare. It has been more than a month and the refund status button on the website still says "refund request pending. review." I think they might be waiting for an Act of Congress to issue a refund but at least I got a future flight credit.