MicDay Posted October 6, 2019 Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 Hey guys My family and I are on the first sailing for Allure after her major refurbishing 05/10/2020. I’ve joined a roll call for this sailing over on CC. So I know to take everything with a grain of salt. Someone just posted this: “I was booked on this sailing and then found out about the "Royal Amplification" aka. MAJOR refurbishment this ship was undergoing right before this sailing. I decided to bite the bullet and cancel and switch to another sailing. My travel agent brought up the recent "Navigator of the Seas" boat from Royal Caribbean, which had undergone the same exact major refurbishment but ended up getting delayed and cancelled the first sailing out just TEN days before! Not only that, apparently on the second sailing, almost half of the stuff on the boat was still closed and being worked on! Cruise critic recommends not sailing on ANY boat for at least one month after dry dock. “ Please tell me this is not the Norm, I know things can happen. I’ve already bought our plan tickets and I do have travel insurance. What are your thoughts? Has anyone had a similar experience or the complete opposite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptod Posted October 6, 2019 Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 Although delays like what happened on Navigator can happen, they are not the norm. Royal and their contractors learn from every experience and will do what they can to prevent a repeat. You have the right attitude and travel insurance. Try to take a step back and not panic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicDay Posted October 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 Thanks!!! first thing I read this morning, put me in a slight panic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 6, 2019 Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 I was booked on Navigator for a B2B on the first two sailings after the amplification. A couple of things... Navigator was the first Amplification that included so much in the refresh. Previous amplifications had included less. Strong winds and weather impacted the Navigator refresh. That is obviously out of their hands to control but always a possibility during a refresh. I'd say Royal learned some lessons during that process. It cost them money in the form of refunds and future cruise credits so it's not like Royal wants to repeat that experience. Having said that there is always a possibility of something occuring during a dry dock. Look at Oasis when a crane fell on the ship. That's another cruise that Royal cancelled on me. Oh well, cranes happen. It's not like they did it on purpose. This next statement is pure exaggeration. Yes the blaster water slide was not open (the other slide was), the final fitness area was closed so they implemented a temporary fitness area and Adventure Ocean was closed. That's hardly "half of the stuff". 40 minutes ago, MicDay said: Not only that, apparently on the second sailing, almost half of the stuff on the boat was still closed and being worked on! This next statement is interesting. I appreciate these aren't your words, but someone else putting words in the mouth of CC. I often find myself at odds with CC. All the more reason to book it. 50 minutes ago, MicDay said: Cruise critic recommends not sailing on ANY boat for at least one month after dry dock. That first sailing on Navigator was amazing and one of my best cruises. I couldn't imagine avoiding the ship for a month. It's possible that something isn't finished on the first cruise out of refresh. Only you can decide if that will ruin the entire cruise or if you can move past that and enjoy everything else that did finish on time. coneyraven, IRMO12HD and Matt 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicDay Posted October 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 Thanks Guys!!! This is such a port intensive cruise, 6 out of 7 days in port. We are not really going to be enjoying the ship like we do on a Caribbean cruise with more time on the ship. I'd be ok with somethings not finished as long as it's not my staterooms and a place to eat. Cancelling the sailing would suck! I knew you guys would calm me down with facts. Thank you #ptod and #twangster Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob&Ana Posted October 7, 2019 Report Share Posted October 7, 2019 The best is to go with an open mind and make the best of whatever situation arises. The idea is to enjoy your vacation and not hang on small details. Things happen on every cruise! Enjoy your cruise! MicDay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted October 7, 2019 Report Share Posted October 7, 2019 Definitely not an alarmist, but folks aren't wrong to suggest that the first cruise may be in danger as that one would be the first once they would cancel if they couldn't finish everything to make the ship sail-able for that first run. If they do cancel the sailing entirely you will get a credit to book a future cruise and usually they offer some flight change fee coverage. They may even offer you some OBC and a future cruise credit if they haven't completed things fully by your sailing but still end up going. You could even end up ahead in that situation -- still get a cruise and then get some extra incentive to take another one! Perrsonally, I would have a Plan B in place so that in the event the cruise gets altered/cancelled you can still take the trip over there and spend the week on a land trip. It takes scrambling last minute, but that's always an option and you will still get your vacation and can use the future cruise credit to take another cruise in the future. I would also highly suggest you get travel insurance, not just because of the potential of a change/cancellation, but just to cover your family from a medical issue that could financially devastate you. In the grand scheme of things, losing out on your prepaid hotel or airfare is nothing compared to dealing with a medical emergency! Baked Alaska and MicDay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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