F1guynz

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
 
 

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
 
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thank goodness.  I was able to delete those awful emoticons once I got to the laptop.  

We have 100 night booked in 2021, all in suites.  Not sure how the “C&A discount” clause is going to affect them.  We rarely use the C&A discount anyway.  Some random promo discount usually pushes the C&A Discount out. Many of these bookings are casino comps so no C&A discount was applied.   SO...if all of them Sail and are awarded an extra point, we would accumulate 300 points in 2021.  We currently need 190 points to make Pinnacle. It’s looking good !
 
 
 
 

@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.
 

@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.
 

Chops Grill (Steak)  and Izumi (Japanese) will have sea views. Giovanni’s Table (Italian) is down on the Promenade and has no sea view.
Given  I’m not a big fan of Japanese food I would plump for Chops But it really depends on the type of food you enjoy.
Giovannis and Izumi‘s decor are only superficially themed to match the style of restaurant so that shouldn’t be a big factor.
you should be able to find pictures with a google search if you want to see the inside.
 

I agree. Auckland went back into lockdown  today as we have 4 new cases.

I agree. Auckland went back into lockdown  today as we have 4 new cases.

I agree. Auckland went back into lockdown  today as we have 4 new cases.

"It may well be possible that we'll resume operations in China and potentially Australia before the end of October."
Living in New Zealand, I find the above statement from the earnings call to reconcile with what I see happening in this region
 Australian International borders are closed to everyone except returning Australians and passengers with exemptions, and anyone arriving in the country must undergo a two-week quarantine at their cost.   The Australian Government has banned all International travel unless you have an exemption.  Borders between states are closed due to the surge in cases in Melbourne, so it is not possible to travel from Sydney (New South Wales) to other states within Australia.  New Zealand borders are closed to everyone except New Zealand citizens, likely until the end of the year and possibly longer. Anyone arriving in the country will have to undergo a  two-week quarantine at their own cost. The limitations above are in place for the foreseeable future, and it is highly unlikely there will be any relaxation by October/November. Any crew arriving would have to quarantine before passengers would be allowed on board, crew and passengers would have to quarantine again for voyages to New Zealand.
There is a general distrust of the cruise industry after the Ruby Princess and Diamond Princess outbreaks earlier in the year, particularly the Ruby Princess which was responsible for aiding the original spread of the virus in New South Wales.
I am not familiar with the situation in China, so this might be a more realistic appraisal for that region.
 

We were originally pointed on that cruise but have rebooked for next year. The final payment isn’t due until 30th August so I would just let things play out until then. If the cruise is not cancelled by then I suggest cancelling using the Cruise with Confidence (CwC) guarantee so that you get the $100 FCC. Not ideal but at least if circumstances change again you will have some time to use it. The other option is lose it completely. The deposit amount you mention sounds unusual as it is normally $400 with Royal for cruises of this length. Is this through a travel agent?
One other more risky thought I have is to move your booking to one of October 2020 bookings still on sale as these will be highly likely being cancelled in the next few days, the deposit will move with it not costing you any more. You can book a cruise out of Sydney towards the end of the month so you will have a 2-3 weeks until final payment is due, once it is cancelled by Royal you can apply for the full cash refund. if it doesn’t cancel then just use the CwC policy to get your $100 credit before final payment. With Australians not allowed to leave the county and nobody allowed into Australia it is impossible for the cruises to proceed. i just booked one for October 2020 and paid in full to get the 125% FCC to apply to one of our other cruises we have booked.

We were originally pointed on that cruise but have rebooked for next year. The final payment isn’t due until 30th August so I would just let things play out until then. If the cruise is not cancelled by then I suggest cancelling using the Cruise with Confidence (CwC) guarantee so that you get the $100 FCC. Not ideal but at least if circumstances change again you will have some time to use it. The other option is lose it completely. The deposit amount you mention sounds unusual as it is normally $400 with Royal for cruises of this length. Is this through a travel agent?
One other more risky thought I have is to move your booking to one of October 2020 bookings still on sale as these will be highly likely being cancelled in the next few days, the deposit will move with it not costing you any more. You can book a cruise out of Sydney towards the end of the month so you will have a 2-3 weeks until final payment is due, once it is cancelled by Royal you can apply for the full cash refund. if it doesn’t cancel then just use the CwC policy to get your $100 credit before final payment. With Australians not allowed to leave the county and nobody allowed into Australia it is impossible for the cruises to proceed. i just booked one for October 2020 and paid in full to get the 125% FCC to apply to one of our other cruises we have booked.

I did a L&S on one of our cruises where the price on the new sailing was cheaper. In this case it is much easier to get them to move the cruise rather than doing a L&S.
I made the mistake of thinking it would update to the lower price but I had to spend quite a bit of time of the phone with them to sort it out. In the end I just got them to honour the lowest price guarantee. 

Just imagine how many FCC's @twangster is having to keep track of 😀 The kind of stuff from which spreadsheets are made.

Friends don't let friends cruise alone (not that you'll be alone), so I booked the first two.  Dinner in Coastal Kitchen?
Have to see about the next two.  HNL to YVR for sure but may delay Alaska to accommodate family. 

That’s fabulous news !  I will make a point of it !