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Oasis Crane Crash


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Royal Caribbean
 
ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
 

 

Dear Guest,

Yesterday, while undergoing repairs to the propulsion system in the Grand Bahama shipyard, there was an issue in the dry dock structure that caused considerable damage to the facility that will prevent us from completing the work on Oasis of the Seas. The incident also caused a construction crane to fall onto the ship resulting in damage to the Aqua Theatre and some suites. We are very grateful that there were no life-threatening injuries and everyone is recovering, as the safety of our crew and guests is always our number one priority.

Given the situation and our need to complete the scheduled maintenance, we now must reposition the ship to Cadiz, Spain which is the only facility with immediate availability for a ship her size. We are sad to share that as a result, we are forced to cancel our April 21st cruise, as we work to get the ship repaired.

We know this news is disappointing and we’re terribly sorry for the impact to your vacation. We understand a lot of time goes into planning and coordinating your cruise vacation. Therefore, we’ll provide you with the following:

 

  • You’ll receive a full refund to your original form of payment, including any non-refundable deposits by Monday, April 8th, 2019. Times may vary depending on your financial institution.
  • All pre-paid amenities, packages, and shore excursions will be refunded to your original form of payment within 7 - 10 business days. 
  • Plus, if you reserved your air with our Air2Sea Program, we’ll provide you with a refund. If you didn’t book your air with us, we’ll reimburse you for non-refundable airline change fees (up to $200 per guest for Domestic flights and up to $400 per guest for International flights). Please email us your receipts to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com. 
  • Given this late cancellation, we will also provide you with a Future Cruise Credit valued at 100% of your cruise fare paid on your cancelled sailing. You can expect to receive your Future Cruise Credit via email by Friday, April 5th, 2019. We hope you’ll come and experience everything that we have to offer at a later time.

 

If you have any questions or need assistance with finding a new cruise, please contact your Travel Advisor.

Thank you for understanding. We hope we have the opportunity to welcome you onboard in the near future!

Sincerely,

 Image did not load.

Here are some helpful answers to questions you may have.

Why is my sailing being cancelled?

Your sailing is being cancelled because unfortunately, a construction crane fell onto Oasis of the Seas and we now need additional time for these unforeseen repairs. We are terribly sorry. We know this is disappointing. Your safety, and that of our crew, is our number one priority and we need to ensure the ship is seaworthy. We do hope you find an alternate vacation option with us.

How much am I getting back because of this cancellation?

We understand that this cancellation was made last minute because of this unforeseeable circumstance, so we are providing you:

 

  • A full refund of your cruise fare paid to the original form of payment. You should see this post to your account by early next week.
  • A full refund of all pre-booked Cruise Planner items to the card on file. These refunds will take about 7-10 days to post to your account.
  • Future Cruise Certificates in the value of 100% of your cruise fare paid. These will be available for use by Friday, April 5th, 2019.
  • And, if you booked your air with us through our Air2Sea Program, we will provide you with a full refund for your air.
    • If you didn’t book your air with us, we’ll reimburse you for non-refundable airlines change fees (up to $200 per guest for Domestic flights and up to $400 per guest for International flights).

 

What if my reservation had FCC’s applied?

Your refund will be issued for the full value of the Cruisefare paid. 

What if I booked a shore excursion?

All pre-booked shore excursions will be refunded to the original form of payment within 7- 10 business days.

What if I booked through the non-refundable program?

You will receive a full refund of your deposit, including the non-refundable program service fee.

What about my Crown & Anchor points. Will I receive all my CAS points?

Unfortunately, since the sailing was cancelled, no Crown & Anchor points will be awarded to anyone. We truly apologize for this inconvenience.

Where/how can I send my air receipts for reimbursement?

Please submit your air change receipts via email to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com.

Will you be refunding my Royal Caribbean Travel Protection?

We will be withholding the amount of Royal Caribbean Travel Protection, so our guests can file claims for any additional travel costs that are not covered by our compensation.

How was my refund calculated?

All monies paid to Royal Caribbean are being refunded – with the exception of Travel Protection.  Please keep in mind that if you used multiple forms of payment for your cruise, each corresponding amount will be refunded to each form of payment.

I have more questions, where can I call?

Please contact your Travel Advisor.

How do I redeem my Future Cruise Credit?

Please contact your Travel Advisor directly to redeem your Future Cruise Credit. Your Future Cruise Credit is redeemable towards cruise fare only and is not valid on Complimentary cruises, Incentive bookings, or Charter sailings. All guests are responsible for taxes and fees where applicable.

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Given the damage to the azipods, can Oasis even do the TA on her own power?  Or is this a TA tow to Cadiz?  And looking forward, with Freeport having the only dock, now damaged, that is capable of handling an Oasis class ship (and barely at that, from my understanding), is it really wise to plan to have 6 Oasis class ships plying the Caribbean in 3-4- years?  Also, what we haven't heard is how serious the damage is with the dock?  

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12 minutes ago, DDemuth said:

Given the damage to the azipods, can Oasis even do the TA on her own power?  Or is this a TA tow to Cadiz?  And looking forward, with Freeport having the only dock, now damaged, that is capable of handling an Oasis class ship (and barely at that, from my understanding), is it really wise to plan to have 6 Oasis class ships plying the Caribbean in 3-4- years?  Also, what we haven't heard is how serious the damage is with the dock?  

Sounds like a tow from what’s being said 

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What a disappointment to all.  So sorry to hear it.  Think of how many disappointed people are involved here !

Sorry, Twangster and anyone else that is missing their cruise.  I know there are a number who are celebrating anniversaries and birthdays.  I feel so bad for you.  I know how horribly upset I would be if this happened to me.  Oh wait....it did....a while back....twice... with Empress.  But this is so much worse.  I am truly sorry.

Anyone have any alternate cruise options ?  Different ship....?

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4 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

Tough year for the cruise industry.  Oasis issues have affected somewhere around 35,000 passengers since January.  Add the Norwegian Epic and the Viking Sky problems.    I wonder how all of these problems in a short period of time will affect the industry.

What Oasis issues have impacted 35,000 ?

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3 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

Actually closer to 30,000 - 4 weeks canceled here, and the Noro virus week.  

This?  This will have zero impact on the cruise industry.  People will be disappointed but it won't dissuade them from a cruise vacation.  400 people getting sick on a cruise won't either.  Nor will fake media reports of the ship on its side.

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4 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

'provided humanitarian assistance' sounds a little dramatic as well...........

I respect their response.   Coming to the aid of fellow mariners is a time honored tradition, even if those mariners are not floating in lifeboats in the middle of the ocean, or if someone wants to split hairs and argue that a dancer on a cruise ship isn't a classic example of a mariner.  

Two thousand displaced crew with nothing but the clothes on their backs.  IMO their response deserves a round of applause. 

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10 hours ago, twangster said:

Nope.  Cancelled.

Wow that’s going to be one big bill for someone insurance company to pay RC, plus I see they are refunding air fare change fee if booked independently which is great news...? hope everyone gets sorted out with new travel plans..

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Like you say, these things happen and can be really disappointing but no one was seriously hurt and people around seemed to jump to help which is even better to see.

There is always the vocal minority that will complain that something out of everyone's control has affected them and will/are demanding RC do more than they currently are because they are now inconvenienced.

Its good to see that the ones on the board take it in their stride and look at other alternatives. Sets a good example for ones like myself who haven't experienced the disappointment of a cancelled cruise but if it does happen to me I hope I have learnt how to deal with it from yourselves.

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18 minutes ago, cmdrfrag said:

Like you say, these things happen and can be really disappointing but no one was seriously hurt and people around seemed to jump to help which is even better to see.

There is always the vocal minority that will complain that something out of everyone's control has affected them and will/are demanding RC do more than they currently are because they are now inconvenienced.

Its good to see that the ones on the board take it in their stride and look at other alternatives. Sets a good example for ones like myself who haven't experienced the disappointment of a cancelled cruise but if it does happen to me I hope I have learnt how to deal with it from yourselves.

The only ones they should really help are the ones getting married anboard they could offer guests on other ships a compensation package to give up thier cabins so the wedding and thier guests can get married as planned...

but all in all it’s just a cruise take it on the chin and move on otherwise it will eat up up and make you very bitter..?

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There are over 15 thousand stories because of this accident and I am sure there are some scenarios that I can't even imagine because of this event. Life happens and you have to be flexible but I can't envision how I would feel if I had booked this cruise 2 years ago and I was to be on the ship on Sunday, 7 April 19, and I now found myself left adrift (excuse the pun). It would be mentally difficult for a couple of hours before I collected myself and came up with a new plan and that was just a vacation (1st world issues). I am sure there are some interesting stories of what was to be - marriages for example...wow I can't even image how this affects so many people.

I am on Indy the latter part of the month and this new has got me thinking what would I do if it happened. Contingency planning if you will.

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12 hours ago, twangster said:

This?  This will have zero impact on the cruise industry.  People will be disappointed but it won't dissuade them from a cruise vacation.  400 people getting sick on a cruise won't either.  Nor will fake media reports of the ship on its side.

I disagree......eventually bad press, rumors, pictures, videos, horror stories etc will have some kinda negative impact. I can tell you that for people that HAVENT cruised before, these types of things are reasons and excuses not to ever try it. And there has been quite a bit lately....and its not all fake news.

 

Do I think this is going to hurt Royal much...nah.........but to say it will have zero impact, I disagree emphatically. There will be ripple effects from all of this. And for Royal, they have the most to lose out of all the players with the $$ and inventory of massive ships they have and continue to build.

 

While for people who are rich or cruise often, this may not affect ur future cruise plans..but for someone who has saved for years and planned this and something like this happens, there is a good chance they don't try again anytime soon or ever to book a cruise.  A cruise vacation isn't like booking/taking an AI vacation or other land vacation when it comes to being cancelled or trying to rebook and make something happen when these things are canceled a few short weeks before peoples expected vacation dates.

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Hey everyone,

i just saw this news last night and are very concerned because we are on Oasis for the May 19th, 2019 sailing. RC is saying that date isn’t affected at this time but it certainly could change.

How likely is it that our cruise will be cancelled as well? We’re flying from Los Angeles to Barcelona and I’m trying to come up with contingency plans. Does anyone know if it’s possible for us to add travel insurance at this late stage? We purchased the trip insurance through RC when we booked over a year ago. I also have insurance on the flights (we booked ourselves through Delta) but it looks like that only covers illnesses and the like. Thanks everyone and I’m so sorry for those whose cruise was cancelled; I can’t even imagine the stress. 

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1 hour ago, monctonguy said:

I disagree......eventually bad press, rumors, pictures, videos, horror stories etc will have some kinda negative impact. I can tell you that for people that HAVENT cruised before, these types of things are reasons and excuses not to ever try it. And there has been quite a bit lately....and its not all fake news.

 

Do I think this is going to hurt Royal much...nah.........but to say it will have zero impact, I disagree emphatically. There will be ripple effects from all of this. And for Royal, they have the most to lose out of all the players with the $$ and inventory of massive ships they have and continue to build.

 

While for people who are rich or cruise often, this may not affect ur future cruise plans..but for someone who has saved for years and planned this and something like this happens, there is a good chance they don't try again anytime soon or ever to book a cruise.  A cruise vacation isn't like booking/taking an AI vacation or other land vacation when it comes to being cancelled or trying to rebook and make something happen when these things are canceled a few short weeks before peoples expected vacation dates.

We can agree to disagree.  A crane in a construction yard falling on a ship that is empty of all guests with zero loss of life. 

Royal bookings, nor any other cruise line will see a dip from this.  Ships will sail full.  Already any available cabins on other ships are disappearing.

Full refund plus 100% future cruise credit will go a long way to erasing this from the minds of 99.9% of all impacted guests.

That's not to say there won't be disappointed guests and special circumstances such as marriages but even in those cases it's a pretty tough argument to hold Royal responsible for this.  

When a cruise is cancelled for a charter there is greater opportunity for negative sentiment and that happens much more frequently than a crane falling on a ship, yet the industry "survives" those cancellations time and time again.

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4 minutes ago, scottish67 said:

Hey everyone,

i just saw this news last night and are very concerned because we are on Oasis for the May 19th, 2019 sailing. RC is saying that date isn’t affected at this time but it certainly could change.

How likely is it that our cruise will be cancelled as well? We’re flying from Los Angeles to Barcelona and I’m trying to come up with contingency plans. Does anyone know if it’s possible for us to add travel insurance at this late stage? We purchased the trip insurance through RC when we booked over a year ago. I also have insurance on the flights (we booked ourselves through Delta) but it looks like that only covers illnesses and the like. Thanks everyone and I’m so sorry for those whose cruise was cancelled; I can’t even imagine the stress. 

We are mere guests like yourself so none of us has any inside information but in my opinion, a May 19 cruise is likely to proceed as planned with the information available at this time.

Royal was very quick to email me and text me about my cancellation.  

If I had a cruise and flights booked for May 19 I would assume it's going ahead as planned.  

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This will be a big chunk that RCI will have to bare.   Depends on the Insurance Policy....  Looks like they will cancel 3 Cruises costing them about 7 million of lost revenue per cruise (avg. Cruiser pays $1500/person & avg. 5000 cruiser on this ship), that is 21 million in lost revenue.  The repairs would have to done and the cost of that will be on the Contractor assigned to do the initial work on the dry-dock.   But I believe someone said it earlier, RCI must look to build a Dry-Dock to handle the large ships that are being built for them.  The time cost of sending the ships overseas for dry dock work will almost double and that is also a lost of revenue.  To have a ship out of service one week instead of two weeks, will save approx. 7 million in revenue loss.

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As disappointed as I was last night when I got the call and email about our cruise being cancelled for this Sunday, it only took a few hours to come up with a new plan.  Since it's our 25th Anniversary, we're going to catch a last minute flight to Puerto Vallarta and stay at this fabulous looking resort I've had my eye on.   Since we ended up with this great credit offer from Royal, we are now looking at 10 day Med Cruise for next year.

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So unfortunate even and cannot control. So sorry for everyone that got cancel and RCI. According to the article somewhere cruise line only make an average close to $300 per guest (I think Oasis make more than that. The number is average from all cruise lines.)  If Oasis has average 5,500 guests on board each cruise. I think RCI lost avenue around (5,500 x $300) x 3 = $4,950,000 plus whatever need to pay the cruise members for 3 weeks and fix the beloved Oasis. However,  I am sure RCI has insurance.

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36 minutes ago, VinceC said:

This will be a big chunk that RCI will have to bare.   Depends on the Insurance Policy....  Looks like they will cancel 3 Cruises costing them about 7 million of lost revenue per cruise (avg. Cruiser pays $1500/person & avg. 5000 cruiser on this ship), that is 21 million in lost revenue.  The repairs would have to done and the cost of that will be on the Contractor assigned to do the initial work on the dry-dock.   But I believe someone said it earlier, RCI must look to build a Dry-Dock to handle the large ships that are being built for them.  The time cost of sending the ships overseas for dry dock work will almost double and that is also a lost of revenue.  To have a ship out of service one week instead of two weeks, will save approx. 7 million in revenue loss.

Carnival is the other major partner in the shipyard.  Up to this point most of their ships fit into that shipyard but even they are building bigger ships.  Not under all under the Carnival brand but within the CCL corp. family.  

Just like the two "biggies" partnered in the shipyard (despite being competitors) and have partnered to build or modify cruise ports together, I'm sure they are exploring opportunities for a solution.  

Carnival may have a bigger cultural change facing them in this respect.  Normally a Carnival ship may spend it's launch season in Europe but when a Carnival ship arrives in North America it pretty much stays here for life, never going back to Europe.  They have other brands that operate in Europe.  As their ships grow that's not going to continue working.  Their three newest and largest ships face this challenge but being new it hasn't surfaced yet.   The clock is ticking for Carnival to deal with this issue while Royal routinely performs transatlantic sailings.  They have the supply chain figured out, they have the sales channels in place for the Royal brand in Europe.   

Conversely, when Royal came up with the Oasis and Quantum concepts the business model was planned and executed knowing the shipyards in Europe would be required in the long term plan.  That plan was likely built and approved assuming transatlantic sailings for dry dock.  That will continue to be the support model for these mega ships and I for one am glad of that since I get to take transatlantic sailings on them.

Potential upgrades could include adopting the newer azipods that allow for in water bearing replacements.  That would mitigate against needing a dry dock for bearing replacements.  That might be a better solution than a billion dollar investment in a dry dock over here when the bigger picture is considered.  

The EU market seems to respond favorably to the mega ships in region so the current plan does have merit.    

Time to book the Allure transatlantic next year... ? 

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7 minutes ago, Barbara T said:

Me too.  It was my 25th anniversary trip:(

I am so sorry to hear this ..... Granted, what happened just totally sucks, but please, don't let this unforeseen accident sway you from taking your first cruises.  At least with the compensation being offered, you're in essence, getting a free cruise, so please, take advantage of it..... you'll be glad you did.

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