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whitsmom reacted to Kathleen in Lift and Shift on reservations just made
Full payment is not due until 90 days before your new date that you lifted and shifted. We L&S Oct 2020 to Oct 2021 and my new confirmation list payment due on July 12 2021
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whitsmom reacted to rjac in Lift and Shift on reservations just made
Our friend at MEI (Michelle) took care of me today. A L&S for our scheduled Alaska trip this upcoming August for the same cruise and cabin next August. I canceled our airplane tickets and have e tickets/credit which I can use once the airlines post their August 2021 itineraries. THANKS MICHELLE!
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whitsmom reacted to Dad2Cue in Update from Royal on FCC and Refunds
I was tempted by a L&S but I would still have endure the process of my cruise planner purchases being refunded.
My hair is totally gray but I prefer to think of it as "sun bleached." I don't have that much hair to worry about so no need for a salon. The stress may cause me to lose more hair though. ?
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whitsmom reacted to FionaMG in LIFT & SHIFT! THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD USE A TRAVEL AGENT!
Just bailed on our Allure Med cruise for September. We used Lift & Switch to change to Harmony.
First time ever working with @michelle from MEI and she sorted it all out in the blink of an eye. So glad we took the plunge and asked her to look after our booking.
The current price of the Harmony cruise is more than double what we paid for Allure and now we have something to look forward to rather than worry about.
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whitsmom got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in Update from Royal on FCC and Refunds
Me too! We are still debating doing the L&S; however, I am cautiously leaning on keeping it and if RCI cancels then we get the FCC 125% for everything. It has my mind saying "Should we or Shouldn't we" over and over...Oh boy! However, the FCC is a huge headache so far for everyone that has/is going thru the process. I guess I will just have to go on my gut when the time comes to decide before our final payment on July 10th if we do the L&S or finish paying and possibly still do the L&S, or just ride it out.
This stress doesn't help my "gray showing" ? either since we still don't have our hair salons opened up yet!
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whitsmom reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Lift & Shift Tagline
Adventure seems to get the short end of the stick every time on refurbs. She had a modified refurb the last time due to hurricanes.
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whitsmom reacted to JLMoran in Lift & Shift Tagline
Freedom had her AMP refurb shortly before the stuff hit the fan with Covid-19, so she's got a lot more new shiny than Adventure right now -- Playmakers, Lime & Coconut, etc.. I would get on her in a heartbeat if given the chance at no extra cost!
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whitsmom reacted to vanelli56 in Future Cruise Credit
Just spoke with our TA... she said she was just off the phone with RC and confirmed that a lot of FCC's this weekend were issued incorrectly... including ours. But that it would be rectified in the next few days to a week.
On another note.... we had a replacement cruise rescheduled due to a May cancellation... it was on 'hold' with a zero deposit thru the end of May... which RC allowed during this time for people getting a FCC from previously cancelled cruises.... We'll while checking on our FCC and the potential for a 'lift and shift'.... RC has just magically cancelled our reservation.
So in a way... the messed up FCC was a blessing... in that it allowed our TA to discover our hold had been cancelled. Thankfully they were able to reinstate it no problem.
Now... fingers crossed.... our Lift and Shift gets processed with out any issues. (crossing all fingers, toes, etc.)
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whitsmom reacted to Kcusack89 in Future Cruise Credit
Ta finally got through and got my credit all sorted out!
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whitsmom reacted to Snotarni in LIFT & SHIFT! THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD USE A TRAVEL AGENT!
So finally finished, just to find out the Royal would NOT honor my reservation for a Lift and Shift. I "bought" the cruise with Marriott Vacation Club Points, and Royal told our TA that it was purchased under a certain promotion that was not eligible. I could definitely shift it, but it would've cost me another $650 to move it (kinda defeats the purpose of the Lift and Shift program). So, I did not Lift and Shift, I'll cruise if I can (in August) or take the FCCs if it's cancelled... (Too much way-too-fine print I guess). ? I feel for my TA who spent 2.5 hours working this.
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whitsmom reacted to CrznTxn in Lift & Shift Tagline
It is a shrewd business move on Royal's part. If they can keep your current money AND have a cruise on the books, they can show the lenders they have booked orders. This can possibly get more capital and a lower rate if they have to dip into the well for more sustaining money.
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whitsmom reacted to Kathleen in Lift & Shift Tagline
LOL @Baked Alaska I don't care what you call it, because of the Blog and all of you, I was able to take advantage of it and turn a worrisome upcoming vacation filled with worry into a vacation in filled with anticipation and excitement again.
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whitsmom reacted to Baked Alaska in Lift & Shift Tagline
The name of it sounds like a tagline for underwear: "Lift & Shift for that Royal Wedgie."
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whitsmom reacted to coneyraven in Covid 19 Test On The Spot
I don't see it happening ..... if they were to test all passengers before boarding, it would kill the business. Nobody will book a cruise, make the investment in airfare, hotel, etc and run the risk that they could be turned away at the last minute....and if someone tests positive, what about those in the terminal near that person?
People (myself included) will just say, No Thank You, not worth the hassle, I'll just use the $$ for a land based vacation, or, perhaps, an all inclusive.
Now, as @whitsmom just mentioned, for crew, not passengers. That makes a lot more sense.
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whitsmom got a reaction from coneyraven in Covid 19 Test On The Spot
They may want the tests to use on the crew members not the passengers.
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whitsmom got a reaction from WAAAYTOOO in LIFT & SHIFT! THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD USE A TRAVEL AGENT!
I know, that is why we are watching it closely. Part of me wants to go on and shift it and part of me wants to hang on. My TA is looking into it today with our group (my TA is also in our cruising group) and try to decide our best plan of action. We got a great deal on our flight also (Delta first class round trip under $430 each) so if I cancel that for credit to use next year - I am sure I won't get that price again. Please "Rona" go away!!!
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whitsmom reacted to JohnK6404 in Future Cruise Credit
Somewhere at Royal Caribbean... working feverishly on our refunds and FCC calculations... LOL! ?
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whitsmom reacted to spiralqueen in Future Cruise Credit
I came on the blog to talk about the importance of TAs and saw this thread that ties into my point. So my sailing that we had is a 3 person sailing and we paid around $3,400 total for our JS (excluding taxes and port fees). I got an email from Royal today telling us we got our FCC issued! Very exciting! Except it’s for 2 of 3 passengers and only for $420 each which is NOWHERE near the realm of what we should have gotten, not even taking the 125% aspect into account.
All I had to do was forward that to @michelle basically going “what in the world???” And she replies back within hours (emphasis mine) “yes all the ones they just did this week are all wrong
We will get it all straightened out – so frustrating.
I will take care of it so no worries”
The amount of relief I felt when I found out I wouldn’t have to wait on hold to argue with Royal is legit invaluable. I can’t believe this level of service is free to me. @Matt is SO right when he says that you think you don’t need a travel agent until you really, really do.
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whitsmom reacted to Neesa in Future Cruise Credit
I would think (and I am just surmising here) they took the total amount you actually paid for the sailing then took off the taxes and port fees to be credited to original form of payment and then added the 25% additional to that and then split the amount by the 2 of you. At the end of the day it is 125% of what left your wallet for entire sailing minus the taxes and fees. The 60% off thing is just a promotion to get us to bite!
This is why when mine is cancelled in June Sharla my TA will serve me up the math. I hope this helped but again just thinking out loud here. Good luck, stay safe and healthy.
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whitsmom reacted to Traveler in What should happen so we can safely resume cruising ?
Not sure if its any indication but some European countries published when they are planning to start and allow tourists to visit :
Cyprus - June
Italy , yes Italy , Bulgaria , Greece - July.
Spain Turkish - August
France - currently only 2021
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whitsmom reacted to Kathleen in A thought exercise on Lift and Shift...
I know what you mean. We were set to sail the Greek Isles out of Rome on Explorer of the Seas (whose Amp has now been delayed/canceled) in October. It was a cruise we have looked forward to for quite some time. Recently, though, the anticipation of the cruise has been overshadowed by worry. As soon as I saw Matt's Blog post on Wednesday, I researched same itineraries for October 2021 and once I saw that ours was available and on Odyssey of the Seas, we decided to jump. Our room, a 2BR suite, is limited and since there was one available our reschedule became easier to accept. The price differential was significant (the room we booked would have been 6000.00 more total over 4 people had we not been able to carry forward our original pricing) making it all the much easier to accept cancellation for this year. As an added perk we are now sailing on a ship with Suite Class so we will gain some additional benefits with our room now on Odyssey. I look at it this way; we have traded a vacation which became overshadowed with a little worry to one filled with excitement and anticipation again. And as they say, "time flies", and that year delay will be here before you know it. Because, like you, we need a vacation, we are hopeful that by the time we would have sailed, we can somewhat travel within the states, to a vacation spot that allows further distancing, and enjoy some R&R that way for 2020.
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whitsmom reacted to AnnetteJackson in Dear Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Thank you for all of this.... I have sent this to the Sales team at Royal. Not sure it will make a difference, but they need to see what is going on with their patrons.
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whitsmom reacted to RBRSKI in B2B and Other questions...
We had to change stateroom on our past Christmas cruise on the Adventure and it was only three staterooms away. We became friendly with the stateroom attendant during the first part. She told us once the people left, it would be the first stateroom to be cleaned and by our luck, they were gone early. We moved everything our self and the process was done before we had to leave the ship for custom reasons.
It really is a unique experience. Your are gonna love it!