F1guynz

On 1/9/2022 at 4:03 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Great to see you again !  How are things in NZ ?  I hear the COVID protocols are pretty Draconian.

I think we both agree that the only time the GS is not a good upgrade option (compared to a JS) is the GS on a Quantum class ship.  I really, REALLY dislike the Q class GS and would never choose it again.  IMO the JS is a much better choice (as far as staterooms alone, go).

Hi, Yep no cruising and vaccine passports in use at the moment. No omicron in NZ yet but that will be here within the coming weeks I am sure. Hopefully the beginning of the end of restrictions and we just learn to live with it.

I definitely agree about the GS on Quantum ships, I can see what the concept was when they put the wall in to separate the bed from the living space but it just makes the whole room feel so claustrophobic compared to the non-quantum ships even though the square footage is not that different.

We have booked the Royal Loft Suite on Quantum next year to try something new, I don't think space will be an issue with this cabin , just have to hope the cruise will go ahead next April.

We are also keen to book the Crystal Endeavor to the Antarctica some time in the next couple of years to experience a once in a lifetime holiday.

We have booked both Junior Suites and Grand Suites on Explorer and Voyager. Last time we were on Explorer the suite lounge was on deck 10 tucked away with with no windows so unless you really want a cabin with a little bit more room and a bigger bathroom I would stick with the JS. Otherwise you are paying quite a lot extra for access to a lounge and concierge which the primary amenity for GS and above. It would be cheaper to buy the unlimited drinks package than effectively pay for lounge access.

Oh I do also remember you get access to Chops for breakfast in a GS if you don’t want to face the masses in Windjammer.

‘All that being said the Grand Suite is still a really nice option if you want to treat yourself. It really depends on what is important to you.

And we now know the original poster is called Rita Yates, not a good way to stop a stalker

To be fair even if somebody knew your booking number they would not be able to cancel you cruise without other information like your name, sail date, ship etc which very is unlikely unless you provided to them.

That has always been my experience. One thing I have also found to my cost once in the past was the headline price was cheaper for the dining package so I cancelled my existing booking, only to find that when I rebooked the headline price did not include gratuities and in fact the total cost was more.

I have had this issue in the past when I booked directly with Royal so I contacted them and they reapplied the OBC. As you used a Travel Agent I would contact them first and ask them to resolve with Royal.

On 8/28/2021 at 10:29 AM, soak01 said:

I guess they would have to apply the full value of the FCC to the cruise for this to work?

Yes that is right, if it doesn’t cover the full cost of the cruise they will issue a new FCC for the remainder.

I think it would be best to book over the phone so the FCC can be applied without paying a new deposit.

My suggestion would be to book one of cruises scheduled out of Sydney in December 2021 (The new short itineraries) using the FCC as given the COVID situation it will likely be cancelled by Royal and then you will be eligible for a cash refund. In the unlikely event the cruise does go ahead you can cancel up to 2 days before hand using 5he cruise with confidence policy and get a new FCC which will have a new expiry date.

I recently booked an Australian cruise directly with RCI and received the survey.

Our cruises for this year and next year have been cancelled as well. We decided to treat ourselves and book the Royal Loft Suite on Quantum in Apr 2023. 
We originally had a Owners Suite booked on Quantum but decided to YOLO as the price seemed reasonable plus we had a few 125% FCC to apply.

It will be our first time in Star Class and we are very excited as we will have all our family with us.

We also lifted and shifted one our Ovation cruises to October 2022 so we get and extra 2 nights for no extra cost.

We will rebook the TP for Apr 2024 when it becomes available.

10 hours ago, ConstantCruiser said:

Toying with Quantum from Brisbane,

We are booked on Quantum for 2023, I hope things are nearly back to normal by then otherwise we will be in trouble.

Princess cruises has now cancelled Australian cruises through to 19 December 2021.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-cancels-australia-cruise-holidays-through-december-19-2021-301323790.html

I assume Royal won’t be too far behind.

I have paid for all our cruises in full to optimise the 125% fcc to use when we rebook.

I am assuming our Transpacific in April will be cancelled eventually which will be very disappointing as the whole extended family was going.

Even though we are fully vaccinated it is very frustrating but being able to plan anything with any certainty.

1 hour ago, mattymay said:

Early November cruise here as well.

Yeah, we were due to be on Ovation from 3rd - 23rd November. We are also the Transpacific in April but that is not too good either. Looks like we will have to wait until next season

1 hour ago, Vanessa77 said:

When is your cruise?

We have 3 booked for November which were originally last November.

No surprise really but final payments have been suspended while RCI review port closures and possible changes/cancelations.

It depends on the country you are in. In Australia or New Zealand you lose the whole deposit which is either $200 or $400 depending on the length of the cruise.

When booking a non refundable cruise you will see the fine print by clicking on cancellation policy on the guest information screen of the booking screen.

I see she was sold to Azamara’s cruises new owner’s

20 minutes ago, twangster said:

Somethings can't be unseen.  

Nope, unfortunately its never a Victoria's Secret model charter cruise

Princess cruises have cancelled all their Australia/New Zealand cruises until 31st May 2021 so I don't think it will be too long before Royal follows suit.

Hi @squeak0279,

Welcome to the forums.

Sorry to hear about the cancellation of your cruise. We have also had one of cruises cancelled and another shortened due to the changes in ship deployments.

You can read about the changes here.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/10/21/royal-caribbean-will-redeploy-six-cruise-ships-winter-2021-2022

Our Ovation cruise in November next year was cancelled due to a "charter", in reality it is now a new 7 night cruise to Queensland.

11 minutes ago, twangster said:

Sorry to hear that.  Cancelling part of a B2B is the worst.

Thanks, especially annoying when it was our first Star Class booking and part of our honeymoon cruise.

Having said that, here in NZ we are talking about keeping the borders closed until the end of next year so I am not sure how many cruises will actually go ahead.

Frustratingly the second part of our B2B cruise in November next year to the South Pacific has been cancelled and the first half to NZ has been reduced by 1 day.

This is so annoying as this is the third time our booking has been cancelled since February 2019, most of the previous booking cancellations were not due to Covid either.

It is starting to feel like a budget airline with all the cancellations we have had over the last 18 months.

Not much in the way of compensation either, $100 for a suite, but with all the previous cancellation we already had $1000 NZD of OBC so a bit more doesn't really make a difference.

@mattymay I have been booking cruises like that. I paid in full for the original cruise in October that I knew would be cancelled. I will now take that FCC and book a December cruise in Australia as I know that it almost certain it will be cancelled.

I plan to build up the FCC booking a more expensive cabin each time to create a larger FCC each time to ultimately pay for our star class on Ovation at the end of next year or our TP in 2022.

I understand one of the reasons they sail around is to make sure that algae and other foreign material don't build up on the underside of the hull as this leads to more drag making the ship less fuel efficient.