AspiringCruisePlanner

Does this mean I should book a cruise on Oasis in Jan 2024?

I'm confused why having unredeemed FCC's puts them in a bad financial position. People who took FCC's for sailings that either Royal or themselves canceled essentially gave Royal an interest free loan that you've agreed to have them pay you back via a discount on a future sailing that must happen within a relatively short timeframe. With FCC's, the cruise line comes out ahead. They are basically gift certificates. People buying gift certificates doesn't put a company out of business. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Also, FCC's are a good marketing tool because people are more likely to upgrade to a higher stateroom category than they originally purchased because the out-of-pocket cost for doing so is small in comparison to when they originally booked. I'm not saying Royal is financially stable, I'm just saying FCC's are not going to be something that puts them under.

Yup, there's a couple bullet points before that to consider as well. This FAQ page was just updated today. The first bullet point hints that they may continue pre-boarding testing until March 2023, which is interesting. Obviously protocols have not been released that far out, but the fact they are stating it here with a date way out in the future suggests they plan on keeping it around. 100% cruise fare refund for you, and your Travelling Party, if any of you tests positive for COVID-19 within 10 days prior to the cruise or at the boarding terminal, for cruises departing on or before March 31, 2023. Pro-rated cruise fare refund if your cruise is cut short for reasons related to COVID-19, for cruises departing on or before April 30, 2022. So they'll refund you if you test positive before you get on the boat until March 2023, but you're on the hook for medical expenses if you test positive for COVID-19 or are suspected of contracting COVID-19 after April 2022? Also, steps taken to contain and evacuate are at the sole discretion of Royal. Definitely a good reason to purchase decent travel insurance.

I know. Its spirit will live on with some of us until then.

At your best, you were a program that provided piece of mind for cruisers to book a cruise knowing that they had flexibility in case their travel plans changed and could even reprice their fare even past the final payment deadline. At your worst, you were a complicated mess of conflicting information from support agents, redemption deadlines, issuance delays, and transfer restrictions. We'll always remember waiting for the next notice that you may stick around just a little longer; that you might be a part of our next booking. This is bitter sweet because we know that in order for us to get back to the way that things used to be, we have to go our separate ways.

Sounds like a nice backup flotation device

This might be a stretch, but thought I'd ask. Is the fee for the nursery or late night parties waived for guests staying in Star Class?

PSA: It also looks like your recommendation didn't do so well in their tests.

Slow your roll, buddy. Google isn't always your friend. And dermatologists are doctors who spend their lives on studying and treating the body. Consumer Reports (the most respected, independent, and unbiased produduct test/rating company) specifically tested claimed SPF ratings in their ratings for sunscreens. Their methodology was modeled after FDA test requirements (check the photos below for more details). Most, but not all, sunscreens tested at 69% or less than the claimed SPF ratings on the label. Interestingly, most sunscreens marketed for facial use tested at below 50% labeled SPF rating. Here's an example of one of their higher ranked sunscreens that had only performed at 69% or less ("Good" rating) of the labeled SPF 50 protection.

What a great deal! No idea that they could be combined. Although, I despise Royal's legal department. What's stated is often not the case. This is from the casino royale promo Ts&Cs page: "All complimentary Stateroom Casino Offers and complimentary Instant Reward Certificates are nontransferable, not combinable with any other casino offers, discounts, special offers or promotions or Crown and Anchor offers" https://www.royalcaribbean.com/terms-and-conditions/casino-promotions I actually looked, and it seems other people have had issues with doing the two together. So if you've gotten them both in the past, you were lucky.

Did they tell you whether you'd be able to apply for exemtion on future sailings? Also, did you get a full refund or FCC? I know this was for a friend's wedding and you might not have plans to cruise otherwise in the near future. I'm just curious what they laid out for you.

No need to cancel and rebook. Just call and have them reprice your booking. That way if you had cruise planner purchases, they wouldn't have to be rebooked.

No, the expiration dates of CWC FCCs is not impacted by being re-issued. Meaning, if you are re-issued FCC from a sailing you canceled from which you paid with FCC, the re-issued FCC expiration date would remain the same. Keep your eye out for changes in the climate. Protocols could change by the end of the year. Not necessarily, but they could. As a side note, they removed the "book by" date requirement for CWC FCCs (see Matt's post below). So you don't have to book by April, but you do need to use it on a sailing departing on or before Dec 31, 2022. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/02/03/royal-caribbean-removes-deadline-redeem-future-cruise-credits

And the answer is... D, None of the above!

Alright kids, it's time for a quiz. Which price is correct? A, B, C, or D? All are the same cabin for the same dates with the same mix of passengers. 3 adults and 1 child in a GS stateroom. A. Royal Caribbean's Website B. Cruise Quick's Website C. Cruises.com D. None of the above I know everyone's answer will be "ask a travel agent". I get it. I just think it's funny how different each of these sites are on pricing for this kids sail free promo. I guess a follow up question for a travel agent is if cruisequick or cruises.com actually sells these at an incorrect rate due to their own calculation, do they still have to pay Royal the "correct" price? It also looks like Royal's math is wrong based on my calculations from the price by guest screen.

Also interesting, considering the CDC updated their page with that guideline on Feb 18th. You called just to ask that question?

Glad that it's cleared up. I'm hoping for you that things change so you can go on your cruise. I guess I forgot about that fact. Interesting indeed. Honestly, it'll be a tough sell to the CDC when conducting a risk-benefit analysis for that age group and the current viral climate.

Any News on Protocols?

Your message came off more caustic than kind and honest to me. This is a message board about cruising, not trying to convince people to make personal life choices. Let's keep it that way.

I feel like they would be obliged to do so, especially if the age eligibility limit is removed by the CDC. I think they are finding it hard enough to maintain a >95% rate right now. When you factor in kids sail free, Summer sailings, and possibly the CDC eliminating age limit vaccine eligibility they are going to struggle. I'm not arguing that they won't do the sale. I'm sure it will happen. I'm just saying that unless something changes with their involvement in the CDC program or a change in the program itself (in Royal's favor), they likely wouldn't meet the criteria on many of their sailings. I don't like to have to explain a meme, but the concept was: Royal sees news about Moderna seeking EUA for under 6, decides to say screw it, offers a kids sail free promo, and says "imma head out" to the CDC program.

That's correct, as of today. However. they specifically don't include them as they are not vaccine eligible (quote from their footnotes below). If Moderna gets EUA, then kids 5 and under are now eligible which might lead them to changing their rules for the ratio count. Note the first words of the footnote. "[5] At this time, children under the age of 5 years (i.e., children who are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines) will not be counted when determining the percentage of passengers on board who are fully vaccinated or up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines." from https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/management/technical-instructions-for-cruise-ships.html Obviously this is is speculation, but I don't think it's unsubstantiated.

Maybe Royal read this news and said...

Please refer to Matt's blog post regarding the kids sail free promo starting tomorrow for sailings starting June 1st. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/03/23/royal-caribbean-bringing-back-kids-sail-free-deal I had the feeling that as long as Royal is participating in the voluntary CDC sailing guidelines, they wouldn't offer a kids sail free promotion. So, seeing this sale come up for cruises starting on June 1st has me thinking. Is Royal banking on having sufficient ages 5-12 vaccine percentages in order to be above the 95% passenger vaccination requirement? Or is Royal intending on dropping out come June 1st? Or is there planned changes to the CDC program before that date? The protocols were recently extended for sailings through May 31st and the sale applies for sailings starting June 1st. It could just be a coincidence those dates line up like that, but I think there's something more happening behind the curtain. I don't expect them to eliminate vaccine requirements, but it seems like they may drop out of this CDC program. Thoughts?

The last pushback was for the June cruises for 60 days instead of 30. I think that's a good indicator that the July and beyond cruises would stay at the 90 day threshold. I hope I'm wrong about this though.

That's nuts. I'm assuming this was for a larger group. $2500 is still a big chunk of change.