cruiserccl

1 hour ago, twangster said:

FCC have an expiration date.  That hasn't changed.

All that has changed is the requirement to apply the FCC to a booking before April or May of 2022.   

Expiration for older FCC was the end of 2022.  With new FCC being created in 2022 the expiration date for new FCC tends to be one year from sail date.  If a January 15, 2022 cruise became new FCC, the expiration should be something around January 15, 2023.  If you CWC a cruise next week in February 2022 the resulting FCC should have an expiration date in February 2023. 

Older FCC from 2020 or 2021 should expire at the end of December 2022.   

So, if I cancel the Feb 2022 cruise under CWC and rebook for Oct 2022, I can use the FCC for the Oct 2022. But what if I cancel the Oct 2022, will my FCC  still have an expiration of Feb 2023 or will I be issued a new FCC that will expire Oct 2023?

Sorry for the convoluted question. I just want to understand and know my options. 

7 hours ago, Marlena said:

this may be an unpopular opinion...but I am ok with these protocols.

HOWEVER there is a specific reason for this. I am from Canada, and we still have that damn neg PCR to return. I appreciate the protocols while this rule exists because its facilitates being allowed back in my home country!

Once the neg PCR rule is lifted I`m happy to enjoy a mask free vacation.

 

 

I agree about the return PCR test to Canada. My family has decided that we're not travelling until Canada lifts the PCR testing requirement. It's too stressful now that they add the risk for fines or quarantine in the US.

We have a few cruises booked this year. I hope we don't need to cancel them.

4 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Book a refundable cruise for this year....apply FCC and then cancel the cruise before final payment.  The FCC will be re-issued with new expiry date.

We have a backup cruise in December if our March cruise doesn't work.  If March works out, then I plan on applying any FCC to the Dec one before cancelling.  (If March doesn't work, then we have the cruise booked already to try again)

So, let me see if I understand this correctly.

If I cancel a cruise in July 2022 for which I get FCC for the non-refundable deposit, and then use the FCC for a cruise for May 2023. Technically, my FCC would expire July 2023 so I'm still good with May booking. 

But what happens if I cancel the May 2023 booking, will the FCC expiration still be the July 2023? Or will it be reissued to expire May 2024?

I don't have any advice for the OP, but I thought I would share something that may help.

We've been cruising with our children for over 10 yrs...in the beginning, we didn't let them have charging privileges. As they got older, we needed to set ground rules. I gave them a limit and they would have to be responsible. It usually works. Sometimes, they can't keep track so I remind them to check their account before purchasing something. They've never gotten close to the limit.

Our last cruise, we decided to give them a limit and if they don't spend it, we would give them the rest. My son spent less than half of the limit and my daughter didn't spend a dime (now she normally doesn't spend a lot of money so not a surprise)...she will, however, ask us to get her a hoodie which we normally would get one thing for them...but this time, neither wanted anything.

We told them to think about the spending and decide if it's worth it. Generally, if my husband and I buy things for them, they don't always consider how much it costs. But when it's their money, they think it through.

8 minutes ago, Sharla said:

That I don't know about. But I am pretty sure that they make a commission if you book with them directly. 

I understand. Thank you.

15 minutes ago, Sharla said:

They work for Royal Caribbean, employed by them. I don't know if they get commission, but my guess is that they are on salary plus commission. 

Makes sense.

I just felt that they wanted me to book with them immediately and I wasn't ready at the time. I've cruise with another cruise line and I never felt somewhat pressured to book with them. 

If I book with them and I transfer it to my preferred travel agent, I just wanted to make sure I didn't take their commission away. For some reason, I always thought that if I book directly, it wouldn't be commission based sales. 

This may be a strange question, but....Are the travel advisors at RCCL Travel agents?

Essentially, do they work for a Travel agency and get commission or do they work at RCCL?

If they are directly employed by RCCL, do they get commission for cruise bookings?

Appreciate any info.

48 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

 It's the Canadian border rule that makes us hesitate, not covid itself.

Exactly how we feel!

27 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I cancelled a cruise in August 2021 using CWC.  I still have yet to receive the FCCs from that one!  My TA has called so many times but still nothing.

Wow. That's also a long time. I hope you receive it soon.

I wonder why the timing is all over the place. Since it expires, they have to be aware that people are waiting for them.

I'm nervous about how long mine will take. 

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I did it both myself and through a TA.

You just give them the reservation number of the canceled cruise that gave you the FCC and they go from there.

Thanks so much!

I will try it. 

14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

You should be able to book a new cruise without putting any money additional down knowing you have FCC coming.

 

I did this twice. They put a long term hold on the cruise until the expected FCC issue date, then once you get the FCC, call them up and they apply it.

Thanks so much for the suggestion. I didn't know this was possible. 

Is this long term hold through a TA or would it need to be directly through RCCL?

What type of proof would I need that I will be getting the FCC?

11 minutes ago, ChrisK2793 said:

I cancelled a thanksgiving week cruise way back in July  ……. Totally forgot about it ……. The FCC’s just came this past week and it took me a while to figure out what they were for since I totally forgot I cancelled a cruise after all this time.

I’d call and ask about them if you don’t get them in 2 weeks.

 

Wow, that's a long time. Did they give you a reason why it took so long? Was this through a TA?

Thank you for the advice and I will contact them after 2 wks. I hope it's not going to be months.

Unfortunately, we decided to cancel another cruise. This is the first time I will be getting FCC since we chose to book with non-refundable deposits. The PIF isn't until a couple of months, so all I would be getting in FCC is the deposits.

How long does it take to receive the FCC after cancelling?

I would like to use it to book the next cruise.

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

I was expecting a long time but I received my cruise planner refund in 5 days.

7 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Hello.  I remember you from our Anthem December roll call.  Happy to hear you ended up going and all was great....and especially you got in a Royal cruise prior to this border change.  Good too you didn't have to deal with getting your own PCR test taken post cruise.  Sorry that it's impacting your next cruise, but as per the dilemma, completely understand you cancelling.  Hopefully by the summer things will be better again!

From a direct experience on Anthem, you were happy with the ship's protocols?

 

 

I'm so glad you're planning on more cruises. I remembered how disappointed you were that you had to cancel. And I really appreciated all the help you and the others provided. This was only our second RCCL so it was a little overwhelming with all the pandemic preparations.

As far as the ship's protocols. I do feel that most people were following the restrictions. It did feel a little strange since there is always this "cloud" (for lack of a better word) around us which made people a little more on edge. But I think most, eventually, became relaxed and learned to live with the rules. 

There were only a few times that I thought the crew could have done better and that's ensuring that those areas for vaccinated are only for vaccinated. The issue was usually at the music hall which really had no one checking the vaccinated deck. So, it was very important that we kept our masks between drinking.

I felt the staterooms were very clean and I was confident our stateroom host was alway sanitizing. 

The theatres had every other row saved for social distancing and generally people were trying not to sit right beside each other. The floor seats (section closest to the stage) weren't separated by rows. So we chose not to sit there. We had two issues sitting at the theatre. One was an older woman who sat beside my son and coughed towards him for a long time until the show started...we were thinking she was seriously ill, but when the show started, not one cough. And the other issue was a mother and daughter waited until the lights were off and sat in the saved for social distancing seats and left before the lights went back on. 

The elevators were generally keeping to a comfortable number of people except for when disembarking. We waited several elevators before we entered. Some people were very patient while others were not, which is very typical. 

I found the customs very quick and smooth. I wish they would do that in all ports. 

The PCR testing for return to home country went very smoothly. However, getting the correct protocol from any crew member was a challenge. We asked 9 crew and they gave us 9 different answers. In the end, we chose to follow the one that made the most sense.

Otherwise, it was nice to be able to relax in the Solarium and CocoCay. Everyone had a great time...but there were rumours between the teens that there were at least 100 people who had to quarantine...but I don't know if that's true. We didn't hear any announcements or warning or anything.

4 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

For any fellow Canadians, I know you will understand the dilemma.  As some background....we are a family with two kids (gr 11 and 7).  We lost our Anthem cruise March 2020 and have been trying to go on her ever since.  We almost made it in December but had to cancel 3 days before due to a kid having covid in our son's class.  (We would have been fine in every way - negative, out of quarantine, etc...but Royal's questionnaire needs no contact for 14 days and it would have been 11 on the day of the cruise).

Ok...so next Anthem booking is March break with final payment in two weeks.

We have also booked xmas on Anthem as a backup.

We would drive from our place to New Jersey breaking up the drive over 2 days...but as little contact as possible (e.g. take in for food).  Kids vaccinated and DH and I have boosters.

The issue?  The Canadian government has added a clause to the border crossing that if you have a positive PCR test, we should wait until 11th day to avoid being fined $5000 per person.

I have a big pro/con list of whether to say "screw it" and still go in March, or versus to wait for Dec.  Pros for March....it's half the price of Dec (but not with an additional 20k!), more likely smaller crowds, still under CWC, double points, DH and I still work from home.  Negatives for March....potential border crossing fine if positive, we have an important trip in the summer and if this goes bad, that may kill that one if same rules are in place.  If we wait for Dec, we have an additional week post cruise where kids wouldn't miss school if need to quarantine.  And of course unknowns in Dec...another variant?, border could be closed completely....or on the good side...the fine and/or PCR test could be lifted (but I feel they'll be around for awhile).

I know this is not something anyone can answer for us, but just wondering what others would do?  Logic says we should wait, but like others, am so sick of this covid thing....esp if we are to catch covid, it'll most likely be similar to a cold.  If we postpone, it'll be the third March Break we will have lost and we only have one left with our son.  If we cancel March, we may find something in Canada instead but it would be no where as good as a cruise (and sad to say, but all I can think of is "boring").

Not even sure whether to pay it off for now and then wait it out for an additional month as this cruise is still under CWC, or just to cancel it now and not bother with FCC and waiting for re-issuing, etc.

Sorry for the long post.  It just helps getting other's perspective and what others are doing.

 

So sorry you had to cancel your Christmas cruise. I hope you can go ahead with your March break cruise. I really do believe the cruise ships are much safer with regards to protocols/sanitation than a grocery store or restaurant. If there was a cruise from Canada right now, we'd go without hesitation. Three of us have our boosters and just waiting for the age to lower for under 18 for my other child.

As for what we did for our March break cruise, we cancelled it. Two main reasons, first is that it was in Florida - DCL Fantasy cruise. We're not comfortable with the Florida protocols at this point. 

And second, which became more important is the fine that may be charged if entering with a positive case. On our Christmas cruise, luckily, our PCR test on the Anthem was all negative. However, if someone was positive, our plan was driving directly home and quarantining knowing that the border would allow us in and be told to take 2 tests and quarantine, which we were all ready to do. 

At this point, we are not prepared to pay the fine or stay in the US for 11 days. 

We do have more cruises this year, so I'm hopeful the Canadian government will eventually remove the testing and threats of fines and we can go on with our vacations.

Our next cruise is in July, so I'm very hopeful.

I think it's important to evaluate what you're willing to accept. I think we were willing to take the risk in Dec when it seemed we had our contingency plans in place. 

Good Luck!

That's exactly what we did for our Dec 24th Anthem cruise from Cape Liberty.

We took the antigen test at Shoppers on Wednesday (Dec 22nd) morning and received the results in 30 mins...went home, made copies of it.

We packed up our luggage and drove to the land border, showed our vaccination records, crossed, stayed at a hotel for 2 nights in Jersey city.

Woke up in the morning of Dec 24th, drove to Cape Liberty for our 11:30am check in.

Unfortunately, they were not checking for check in times and people who were in front of us in the line had 12:30pm check in. In the end, it wasn't as long as it looked even though we had to wait outside for awhile.

They checked our Antigen test results for date and name (and of course that it was negative). No issue at all with the the Shoppers results.

Reminds me of when my family and I were sitting in the theatre waiting for the show (Anthem Dec 24th cruise). A woman sat down two seats from my son and asked if anyone was sitting there. My son said no. She then proceeded to cough for at least 2 minutes facing my son without even covering her face or turning the other way. After awhile, I looked over since there could have been something seriously wrong with her. But no one came over and she finally stopped when the lights went down. 

It almost seemed like she was just coughing to make us move. She didn't make one coughing noise throughout the 1.5 hr show. 

Needless to say, my son didn't drink the beverage he had set on the side of the coughing woman and just tossed it after the show.

That was the first and only time we heard anyone cough that noticeably. I don't think people notice one or two coughs or sneeze since that could happen for any reason.

I just thought it was strange for someone to sit beside us and start coughing for that long and not seem in distress. I'm glad we had to wear a mask...otherwise, she'd be coughing in our faces.

18 hours ago, jack_4321 said:

I live in Ontario (Canada), where they aren't providing PCR tests for regular citizens if you test positive. They'll only test you if you are deemed high-risk.

So, if I test positive on a rapid test before the cruise, it that a form acceptable to Royal?

 

From Royal's website:

"To qualify for a refund, you must present your verified positive test result in a form acceptable to Royal Caribbean International"

In Ontario, I think you would need to purchase an at home Rapid Antigen test from Switch Health (or others that provide virtual screening) so that you have an actual document which shows the positive result.

If you mean a Rapid Antigen Test that is used for personal use without visual certification from a health care worker, then I don't think a photo would suffice.

I would contact RCCL just to make sure.

It just seems like it's getting more and more complicated. 

I still have no idea and my cruise is in 8 days.

I purchased the Blue Cross Covid coverage a few months ago for my family. And for our province, it covers covid emergency medical even with a travel advisory.

But so many things to worry about...after planning tests, contingency plans, making sure everything is in order, they announce this.

28 minutes ago, Amanda92 said:

Canadian here. Canada just put back it's travel advisory against ALL non essential travel. It also has an advisory against cruise travel in general. I have a cruise booked in January. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for emergency travel medical insurance? I'm not concerned about trip cancelation just medical insurance. I need coverage that covers me when I'm in the US the day before the cruise and then on the cruise. It looks like many medical insurance plans are not valid if there are any advisories in place. 

We have Blue Cross for Covid19 Emergency medical. But apparently, it's not the same for different provinces. But for us, it says that we are covered regardless of travel advisory. Although, it's likely with this current advisory, we may be cancelling.

I think if we need to take an arrival test, they should perform the RT - LAMP at the border. If they can't handle the volume and they need to send an at home test, then it should still be the RT - LAMP. This way, the quarantine is at most, a day.

And if we're doing the arrival testing, there should be no need for the 72 PCR test for land crossing.

For air travel, I understand, they need to do a test before boarding the plane. So, an RT-LAMP should b provided a few hours prior to boarding. 

Taking a test 72 hours prior to boarding doesn't help if someone gets infected after taking the test. 

I understand this could create a lot of delay, but I don't think it's any worse than what they're doing now. If everyone has to be tested, there will be delay regardless of when you take the test.

24 minutes ago, Eggbert said:

Because it is the government and governments generally are not very efficient and as they have demonstrated for the past 2 years they are not really interested in the inconveniences of COVID for businesses or citizens.

I agree...but this is an easy fix. Perhaps it's more about money. I can't imagine someone not realizing that it would be less expensive and more efficient to do it this way....no courier, no lab work

I do think it's more about the contracts that are signed between the government and companies. I just hate being caught in the middle.

There is no reason why the RT-LAMP would not be a better option - other than supply chain. But that should have been considered a long time ago.

Since its likely they will be providing at home tests at arrival, does anyone know why they wouldn't just provide the rapid LAMP test since it's handled by the same company (Switch Health)? It doesn't need to be sent away to a lab so don't need to wait days to get results and miss work or school.

It would be easier and less hassle for everyone. Just don't understand why they have to choose a test that is costly (with shipping and lab) and time consuming.

This test kit is designed for travellers. The RT-LAMP test is accepted for re-entry into Canada, amongst other countries. 

Test for presence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19. The RT-LAMP Test Kit is a molecular diagnostic test and does not require laboratory processing. It is a self-administered test observed via a telehealth experience.

48 minutes ago, Kathleen said:

They might consider doing some at home covid tests or signing up for a test at a near by provider to see where they stand currently as to whetther positive or negative. This will give them an idea as to whether this will be an issue as the cruise draws near. 

I suggested the same thing. I directed them to the same place my family ordered at home antigen tests. It's not official but it would give them an idea. 

I did mention to them that my family would be using it to test before we actually go to our pre-cruise testing location...that way we can cancel and save the $40/person if we're positive.