michelle

Hi all
This one maybe I can get help with before calling Royal- I have foreign clients arriving in
Miami tomorrow- sailing next week - before they can cruise, they need to get an Antigen test 
somewhere close to the Port but every site they try and sign up for want a social security
number?  anyone know if there is a place they can just go to without needing that?

ANY help is appreciated 

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Several weeks ago they cancelled my HNL-YVR on Quantum, which was the third of a series of AU/NZ/TP cruises for us.  The first 2 were on OV out of SYD, and at the time, those were both still scheduled to sail.  I didn't really want to take the first 2 on OV without the final leg to YVR so I cancelled the 2 OV cruises myself (RFD).

Now that they have finally cancelled the OV cruises that I originally had booked, I feel fully vindicated !!  I would have lost those cruises in the end, anyway.  I figured they wouldn't sail so it turned out to be a good decision to just cancel them myself AND I am now so glad that I booked those AU/NZ cruises as refundable...it was so easy to just cancel.

It doesn't look like there are any possible shifts for any of them so I didn't lose anything by cancelling.

agree - AUS/NZ just are not budging - glad you cancelled ahead too

On 7/16/2021 at 9:51 PM, starbrat said:

new here what does MEI 

mean?

Howdy!  nice to meet you - It Means awesomesauce, lol - welcome to the boards

Oh interesting - I was wondering if they would make changes at all.  Labadee does make sense, I agree - but San Juan?  Have not seen anything official from our agent side of things

On 7/9/2021 at 11:52 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Another thing to consider...right now Royal is really making good use of RoyalUp.  It seems that many have been successful in upgrading their rooms since capacity is so [intentionally] low right now.  Many of the big box agencies do NOT participate in RoyalUp.  So if you are interested in a chance to upgrade your accommodations at a very reasonable price via RoyalUp, I would recommend that you investigate the Agency to see if they participate.  Many do NOT. 

great point on Royal Up -  - people do not always consider all the factors and some find Big Box agencies serve them well - I value
relationships more - it pays you over an over in the long run - many of my new clients this year simply came to us because their current agent "disappeared" 
rough year for some indeed.

 I have also seen big OBCs given, but client is not able to spend all of it - if this happens the agency not the client gets the refund back (whomever paid it) so if you are promised $300 but only use $100, you really only got $100.

On 4/18/2021 at 11:06 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

From what I understand, when they extended the FCCs to September 2022, they also changed their system to allow agents to apply the FCC directly.  In doing so, this new system does change the "cruise fare" when FCCs are applied early on, it considers the FCC applied as payment instead so it is way easier to get a price adjustment now when cruise fare goes down, even with FCCs applied.

Perhaps @Sharlaor @michelle can confirm, but I think this is the case now.  When I look at my Norway sailing for July 2022, I used $1000 FCC as deposit and my statement from Royal reflects that as payment.  The original "cruise fare" is unaltered.

@Jill

yes, like Sharla said you can apply early on now, but one thing we have learned is if you apply FCC to booking, then change your mind (like want it on
another one instead) it can take weeks for them to correct it. So be sure which booking you want it applied to if you can.

On 5/5/2021 at 11:55 AM, Matt said:

Thank you to all the travel advisors out there. What a difference a year makes, and I hope things bounce back quickly for all  of you!

Thanks Matt

On 5/5/2021 at 9:49 AM, teddy said:

Nice.   
 

We really appreciate everything  @michelle  has done for us, ESPECIALLY over the past year+. 
 

Thank you. 

Thank you !!!!   

21 minutes ago, johnt83 said:

Oh this is really helpful! Thank you!!

Seeing the dates !  woo hoo

That is great news, glad they are doing that for you !

11 minutes ago, BarbieBell said:

My amazing Travel Agent, Michelle at MEI had me booked by 7:00 a.m. Texas time for June 19 sailing. I got air DFW non stop to Nassau $400 round trip. We chose to go a day early and booked the Marriott Courtyard and they allowed a 1 night booking. 
 

Cheers to Michelle for going the extra mile to make this one happen, but then again, that’s her style when working with you on any travel plans. 

Anything for my BarbieBell

Reminder - the ships departs @ 9PM out of Nassau - to give clients time to fly in but if you are
looking for a pre or post hotel. Courtyard Nassau Downtwon- Junkanoo Beach by Marriott
has some good rates, not on Paradise Island but reasonable

 

27 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

What do suite prices look like?

JUNE 19 Date
Junior Suite - $2994 for 2 people / Grand Suite - $4535 total - 2 people

SAILING DATES:   June 12, 2021 - SEPT 11, 2021 (last date)
Insides, Ocean Views, Balconies, Suites

FInal payment date is 31 March 2021 for early June sailings

June 12th rates are just about $50 less for these categories below
July rates go up and are higher, lower again later Aug  - Sept

June 19, 2021 - (not putting in any qualifiers, includes all taxes)
Inside Cabin - $1994 total - 2 people
Ocean View - $2115 total - 2 people
Balcony Cabin - 2D - $2214 total - 2 people
Connecting balony $2184 total -2 people
 

Im too afraid of 6/12 having issues and have to delay so banking on going on Cruise #2 for 6/19 instead

So excited for this announcement and cannot wait to see how it all goes on 3/25 when they open!

17 hours ago, rjac said:

For those of you who are on the fence about using a Travel Agency, PLEASE READ. This past weekend we decided to book a 7 day cruise on the Anthem out of Cape Liberty, NJ and bring our daughter and her family along with us over Easter week departing on April 22, 2022. I spent a couple of days searching the Anthem for a JS for my wife and I and two balcony adjoining rooms for our daughter and her family. I did find some of what I was looking for on different decks, near the elevators or on deck 13 (below the WJ) and they all were not acceptable. So, I contacted Michelle, MEI Travel (they also sponsor this blog) told her what I wanted and VIOLA! Today I booked a JS on deck 10 and two adjoining cabins also on deck 10. None of those cabins were available when I searched. Moral of the story here is don't waste your time, get ahold of Michelle at MEI and let her know what you want. She can make miracles happen! 

Bob - thanks for the shout out - so happy to have booked your family on this awesome cruise !   

16 hours ago, melmar02 said:

+1 for Michelle! She always gets back to me so quickly!

Thanks !  happy to help out anytime 

On 3/17/2021 at 3:58 PM, FionaMG said:

I really do think this is going to be the way forward for cruises starting up again, lots of local cruise "bubbles" not sailing very far from the home ports and restricted to passengers from the areas served by those ports. I know Harmony is on her way over to this side of the pond at the moment for her dry dock so I am hoping that Royal will manage to make arrangements for her to salvage at least part of her European season from Barcelona.

My main concern is that if they insist on all passengers being vaccinated I may be too far down the pecking list to get it done in time to cruise.

I agree sad to see but since kids are not being vaccinated it will be hard for family friendly ships to sail too - families are booking other things too though which is good to see.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/po-british-cruises-to-nowhere-vaccine/index.html

Looks like to start off small sailings, the UK and P&O lines are jumping in too

19 hours ago, cruisellama said:

 Virgin Atlantic announced they will require vaccinations for both crew and passengers when they startup in July.

Yes Virgin Voyages is requiring vaccines for all guests - but again - they only have 2 ships, with a few others ones coming

online and its adults only - so they have some advantages to making this work and securing bookings with people that

are "worried" I guess.  Time will tell.

Really hoping that they are going to do test cruises this summer and really start sailing Fall 2021 for most all cruises

fingers crossed for sure

On 2/17/2021 at 1:30 PM, teddy said:

So most of the people we work with think we're nuts, but I bet some of you understand the excitement.

We just booked a 7-night on Grandeur Jan 30, 2022.  The "Island Hop" itinerary.

We've only sailed on one Vision class ship.....Vision....and really enjoyed her.  We're looking forward to experiencing Grandeur now as well.

 

A humongous thanks to @michelle at MEI for her patience with us while we were getting our ducks in a row so we could book it.

Happy to help you as always!  excited for Barbados sailings, beautiful island

On 2/14/2021 at 7:31 PM, USCG Teacher said:

Thank you for the feedback, I'll reach out to the other agency and find out.  If they will grant it, I plan on transferring it to an MEI agent. 

Hi USCG Teacher - 
By the way - what a fun job!   Yes, tell the agency you want it released back to Royal Caribbean.  The owners have to send in a letter on agency letter head and its fairly easy to do this, but like Sharla said if that agency has a fee, you have to work with that.    It can take about 10 days for them to in fact release it
  Good Luck and any MEI agent can help you out in the future, TA are okay people

On 2/8/2021 at 12:51 PM, Ian T said:

Welcome to the boards Patt!

I too am an advocate of MEI (we are also looked after by @michelle).

I also used to book everything direct with RCCL (I am in the UK and thought at the time that it was the only option available) but, similar to @FionaMGI coincidentally made the switch to MEI not long before the world entered its current crazy phase.

It has been comforting to know that Michelle is in our corner throughout the rounds of cancellations, new bookings, further cancellations, etc, and all the ancillary activities that go with them (for example Michelle recently researched the visa requirements for a total of 10 islands/destinations that we hope to visit on 2021/22 sailings, which saved me a whole heap of time).

I don't know where you are based, but in short if you are willing/able to book in USD then I would recommend MEI all the way.

Thank you Ian - UK clients rock!