Help with a delimma?

[druidspirit]

My wife, kids and I go on a few cruises per year. We normally always do star class when available. We booked an Oasis of the Seas cruise from Bayonne for Oct 25, 2020 and had originally booked  Star Loft 1720 w/$300 OBC for booking while on the Anthem. In February my sister and her husband said that they would like to go on a cruise with us some day and had been saving up for the past year. So my wife and I started talking and decided to switch our cabin to the A1 ATS 8330 and surprise them with the Star Class treatment on their first cruise and they would only need to pay the cost for the 4th and 5th guest which came out to around $2500 for both of them. It also turned out to be about the same cost for us $13,500.

So, we call Royal to have them added and was on the phone for about 4 hours. In the end the CSR just wanted to get us off the phone and when we tried to verify everything was correct her reply was "It is, I have other people to take care of". A few hours later I start looking at our reservations and she put my sister and her husband as guest 1 and 2 with the balance of around $12k and my family as guest 2 - 6 with a balance of $4k. I immediately called Royal back and they said that because it was already in the system they could do nothing about it. So fine, I talked to my sister and they would just give me their part and I would pay the entire balance.

Here is where the issue comes in, because of Covid, there is no guarantee that this sailing will take place and my sister and her husband have already stated that this will probably be their one and only cruise as they do not have the money to do it regularly. So do I go ahead and pay the final payment, as we all really want to go on the cruise, and risk it getting cancelled with FCCs issued to the wrong people? I really hate how Royal issues the FCC to individual people and not to the person who paid the bill. Or do I not take the chance and just cancel and request a refund of what I've already paid, I believe I can do that until August 1st.

[AshleyDillo]

This is one of the cases where using a TA would really benefit you.  I don't know if you're still in the window where you can transfer your booking or not, but you may want to look into that.

If you cancel at any points prior to final payment, you would still get FCC for the deposits and they would be issued in the individual names.  Once you are past final payment, if you cancel you will end up getting the FCC for the cruisefare.  But you have until 48 hours before sailing to cancel in this scenario with Cruise with Confidence.

I would keep working with Royal and escalate to try and get the passenger names switched around and corrected just to make it the best case to figure out your options in the future if your cruise does get impacted by cancellations.

If the cruise ends up being canceled by Royal then you should have the option for a full refund back to the method of payment, which would be the easiest way to go in your situation with the two different families involved.  

[Andrew72681]

11 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

My wife, kids and I go on a few cruises per year. We normally always do star class when available. We booked an Oasis of the Seas cruise from Bayonne for Oct 25, 2020 and had originally booked  Star Loft 1720 w/$300 OBC for booking while on the Anthem. In February my sister and her husband said that they would like to go on a cruise with us some day and had been saving up for the past year. So my wife and I started talking and decided to switch our cabin to the A1 ATS 8330 and surprise them with the Star Class treatment on their first cruise and they would only need to pay the cost for the 4th and 5th guest which came out to around $2500 for both of them. It also turned out to be about the same cost for us $13,500.

So, we call Royal to have them added and was on the phone for about 4 hours. In the end the CSR just wanted to get us off the phone and when we tried to verify everything was correct her reply was "It is, I have other people to take care of". A few hours later I start looking at our reservations and she put my sister and her husband as guest 1 and 2 with the balance of around $12k and my family as guest 2 - 6 with a balance of $4k. I immediately called Royal back and they said that because it was already in the system they could do nothing about it. So fine, I talked to my sister and they would just give me their part and I would pay the entire balance.

Here is where the issue comes in, because of Covid, there is no guarantee that this sailing will take place and my sister and her husband have already stated that this will probably be their one and only cruise as they do not have the money to do it regularly. So do I go ahead and pay the final payment, as we all really want to go on the cruise, and risk it getting cancelled with FCCs issued to the wrong people? I really hate how Royal issues the FCC to individual people and not to the person who paid the bill. Or do I not take the chance and just cancel and request a refund of what I've already paid, I believe I can do that until August 1st.

If you cancel it will be a future cruise credit coming back. You’d only get a refund if they cancel the cruise. This is where at TA is so much help as they wouldn’t have let this happen. 
My suggestion would be to change the names of guest 1-2 to something else and yours and your wives, then after that have your names installed back as guest 1-2. The rule has always been someone from the original reservation has to remain, which in this case would be true. 

 

Also. Company related as it was Celebrity, they accidentally put my daughter as guest 2, which would have screwed up the included perks. A simple phone call and five minutes later it was fixed.  I’m not sure why they are giving you a hard time here  

 

[ChessE4]

13 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

My wife, kids and I go on a few cruises per year. We normally always do star class when available. We booked an Oasis of the Seas cruise from Bayonne for Oct 25, 2020 and had originally booked  Star Loft 1720 w/$300 OBC for booking while on the Anthem. In February my sister and her husband said that they would like to go on a cruise with us some day and had been saving up for the past year. So my wife and I started talking and decided to switch our cabin to the A1 ATS 8330 and surprise them with the Star Class treatment on their first cruise and they would only need to pay the cost for the 4th and 5th guest which came out to around $2500 for both of them. It also turned out to be about the same cost for us $13,500.

So, we call Royal to have them added and was on the phone for about 4 hours. In the end the CSR just wanted to get us off the phone and when we tried to verify everything was correct her reply was "It is, I have other people to take care of". A few hours later I start looking at our reservations and she put my sister and her husband as guest 1 and 2 with the balance of around $12k and my family as guest 2 - 6 with a balance of $4k. I immediately called Royal back and they said that because it was already in the system they could do nothing about it. So fine, I talked to my sister and they would just give me their part and I would pay the entire balance.

Here is where the issue comes in, because of Covid, there is no guarantee that this sailing will take place and my sister and her husband have already stated that this will probably be their one and only cruise as they do not have the money to do it regularly. So do I go ahead and pay the final payment, as we all really want to go on the cruise, and risk it getting cancelled with FCCs issued to the wrong people? I really hate how Royal issues the FCC to individual people and not to the person who paid the bill. Or do I not take the chance and just cancel and request a refund of what I've already paid, I believe I can do that until August 1st.

Other folks have posted, and I agree, that this is a good reason to have a travel agent.  Maybe it's not to late to transfer your booking and get some help from a TA?!  Have a great cruise...

[WAAAYTOOO]

Wow.  I think you took the whole "we repriced the entire cruise incorrectly the first time" pretty well.  I don't know that I would have been so calm about it.  Quite a tribute to your positive attitude !!!

You are really in a rock-and-hard-place situation.  IMO, it is very unlikely that this cruise in October out of Bayonne will sail.  If you use Cancel With Confidence, your sister and BIL are going to get FCC's in their name (as unfair as this is to you !).  I can tell how badly you guys want to sail NOW (trust me, you are not alone there) but IMO, the best option would be for you to Lift & Shift this cruise to next year.  Even if you chose to simply cancel the cruise prior to August 1st (assuming that is your final payment date), you will lose $100 per person to the suite cancellation fee.  

I have read of very specific instances when Royal allowed all of the FCC's to be issued to the "purchaser" vs the passenger, but those have been anecdotal, at best.  I certainly wouldn't count on it.  I guess you have a bit of time to decide.  Maybe Royal will make an announcement of which ships/itins they will sail before you have to make final payment.  I wish you well and hope that your sailing moves forward.

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

IMO, it is very unlikely that this cruise in October out of Bayonne will sail. 

+1 on this point.

27 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

Or do I not take the chance and just cancel and request a refund of what I've already paid, I believe I can do that until August 1st.

Like others have already mentioned, because this is a suite, if you did not make final payment and cancelled before that, all you would get back is FCC.  I don't think you would lose the $100pp if you cancel under CWC, but you will still get back FCC only, not cash.

If you are a risk taker, then like @WAAAYTOOO mentioned, I am also of the mindset that Oasis will not be sailing out of Bayonne anytime this year.  You could chance it, make final payment, hope that it does get cancelled, and at that point, you can request a full refund.

I don't envy you.  I am going to find myself in this very situation come September.  14 of us are booked in the Villa on HM in December.  Because of the way the price P1&P2, that really messes it up for the others.  I am really praying that we don't have to make this choice in a few months.

[druidspirit]

Thank you for the replies everyone. We thought about lift and shift, but our kids only get 1 week for an educational trip and we already have the Anthem booked for Thanksgiving 2021 (for the next school year) so that would put them over their allowed number of days to miss school.

We tried a TA on our last Anthem cruise and had a bad experience. He had our credit card information from booking the cruise and said that he would make the final payment 3 days before it was due. The day after it was due I get an email from Royal stating that our cruise is going to be cancelled if we don't make our final payment. I frantically call the TA and leave a message (multiple time I might add) he finally replied later that evening and apologized, he was on a cruise and forgot to pay ours.

I just need to find a good TA for the future, one that I can actually trust.

[Va4fam]

20 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 IMO, it is very unlikely that this cruise in October out of Bayonne will sail. 

 

9 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

+1 on this point.

 

If you are a risk taker, then like @WAAAYTOOO mentioned, I am also of the mindset that Oasis will not be sailing out of Bayonne anytime this year.  You could chance it, make final payment, hope that it does get cancelled, and at that point, you can request a full refund.

 

Boo @WAAAYTOOO & @Lovetocruise2002......Love you guys but we are on this cruise too and hanging on  to what little optimism we have left.   Unfortunately you are probably right about the no cruises from Bayonne.   But think how bad we and @druidspirit will feel if we cancel and the cruise sails without us.

@Druidspirit.....I don't envy the position you are in.   I think you try to get it corrected now or moved to a TA and let them do the heavy lifting.  

[druidspirit]

I wish I could move it to a TA now but our booking number is from October of last year and my sister's is from February and I believe you have to move it over within 60 days of booking.

[Lovetocruise2002]

3 minutes ago, Va4fam said:

Boo @WAAAYTOOO & @Lovetocruise2002......Love you guys but we are on this cruise too and hanging on  to what little optimism we have left.   Unfortunately you are probably right about the no cruises from Bayonne.   But think how bad we and @druidspirit will feel if we cancel and the cruise sails without us.

I know, I feel bad for saying it. 

That being said, we still paid our final payment for our Royal Loft on Oasis that "sails" late August, because you are right, I would feel even worse if they sailed and we cancelled. lol  

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

move it over within 60 days of booking.

Yes, that it the rule.  However, I have heard of some TAs being able to still get it moved to them even beyond 60 days, especially if you have not made final payment yet.  YMMV

[WAAAYTOOO]

23 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

You could chance it, make final payment, hope that it does get cancelled, and at that point, you can request a full refund.

Actually, @druidspirit, I think @Lovetocruise2002 has the best advice.  You really cannot lose with this option.  You either cruise as expected or get all of your money back.

[Andrew72681]

26 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

Thanksgiving 2021 (for the next school year) so that would put them over their allowed number of days to miss school.

Normally thanksgiving week is the best as there’s only a couple of days of school that week. 

[druidspirit]

Just now, WAAAYTOOO said:

Actually, @druidspirit, I think @Lovetocruise2002 has the best advice.  You really cannot lose with this option.  You either cruise as expected or get all of your money back.

We were hoping that is the way it would actually work. Is there any chance that Royal could cancel it and not offer a full refund but instead only offer FCC?

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

We were hoping that is the way it would actually work. Is there any chance that Royal could cancel it and not offer a full refund but instead only offer FCC?

They have gone through several rounds of cancellations now since March, and they have always allowed the two options.  I don't see them changing that.  They usually do right by their customers.  But you never know.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

Normally thanksgiving week is the best as there’s only a couple of days of school that week. 

I don't think that you can L&S to a holiday week.  We tried that for the December Villa sailing and they said that Christmas and New Years and other holiday sailings are excluded from L&S.

[druidspirit]

1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

They have gone through several rounds of cancellations now since March, and they have always allowed the two options.  I don't see them changing that.  They usually do right by their customers.  But you never know.  

Thank you, we really do want to go on the cruise. We're even the crazy people that won't mind wearing a mask outside our cabin if we have to, just so we can cruise.

[Lovetocruise2002]

2 minutes ago, druidspirit said:

Thank you, we really do want to go on the cruise. We're even the crazy people that won't mind wearing a mask outside our cabin if we have to, just so we can cruise.

We are the same!  The mask doesn't bother us.  Hubby wears one daily for work and the kids and I love cruising so much, we could care less.  I just need Canada to lift that quarantine upon return order. lol

[Baked Alaska]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I don't think that you can L&S to a holiday week.  We tried that for the December Villa sailing and they said that Christmas and New Years and other holiday sailings are excluded from L&S.

This is true. The only way you can Lift & Shift to Christmas/New Year's is if your original cruise was a Christmas/New Year's sailing.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Baked Alaska
clarification

[DDaley]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We are the same!  The mask doesn't bother us.  Hubby wears one daily for work and the kids and I love cruising so much, we could care less.  I just need Canada to lift that quarantine upon return order. lol

Me too! I even have a couple cute masks I bought specifically for vacation. We don't have a quarantine upon return order but I am hoping my office remains WFH through August so I can just quarantine at home anyway from my land trip to Jamaica and not feel guilty in case I could be infecting my coworkers!