Is it safe?

[1Cruiser1]

Apologies for two threads in one night and apologies for the open ended question.

Currently planning a back to back cruise for November 2021 - just wondering if you think we should book?

We will be flying from UK so we will have to book cruise, hotels and flights all separate. Just after some advice and thoughts.

Thanks 

[USFFrank]

I'm not 100% sure on this in booking from the UK, but if you can book the cruises as a refundable deposit do it. Yes refundable deposits can cost more, hopefully no too much more, but if the price is right you could change to a non-refundable deposit before final payment is due if you are going to go for sure. There's always insurance too.

[1Cruiser1]

14 minutes ago, USFFrank said:

I'm not 100% sure on this in booking from the UK, but if you can book the cruises as a refundable deposit do it. Yes refundable deposits can cost more, hopefully no too much more, but if the price is right you could change to a non-refundable deposit before final payment is due if you are going to go for sure. There's always insurance too.

thanks for your advice. When going to book it doesn’t give me the option for a refundable deposit, only non refundable.

[1Cruiser1]

12 minutes ago, crisgold52 said:

Mind if I ask what the B2B Itinerary will be? The reason I ask is because there's a technicality in the Passenger Services Act in the US which requires a passenger that doesn't allow one to cruise between two ports in the same country on a foreign flagged ship. For example, here's an article from Cruise Critic about the PVSA and how it applies to B2B bookings:

 

How Does the PVSA Apply to Back-to-Back Cruises?

Closed-circuit round trip itineraries done back-to-back will not trigger a violation even when the two itineraries vary. Point-to-point back-to-back trips are another issue, however. If two or more trips, when combined into one trip, transport a passenger between two U.S. ports without stopping at a distant foreign port, then the passenger triggers a violation -- even though the ship's itineraries are within the law because the two trips are separate and distinct. Here's an example:

Passenger Z books two cruises that are back-to-back on the same ship. The first is a repositioning from San Diego to Vancouver. The second is a one-way Alaskan cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage. That passenger is essentially being transported from San Diego to Anchorage by way of Vancouver, which is not a distant foreign port since it is in North America. A violation would be triggered. Again, the cruise line is not likely to allow you to knowingly create a violation and would not allow the booking in the first place. If the booking slips through, Passenger Z would likely be denied re-boarding in Vancouver.

Passenger Z's remedies are to book the Alaskan portion of the trip on a different ship or by including a third segment that ends at a foreign port as the final destination. Simply booking the return from Anchorage to Vancouver works because now Z's trip began in San Diego and ended in Vancouver, even though that port was on the itinerary twice.

 

Seeing as November 2021 is over a year away, I would put down a Refundable Deposit when booking this in case your plans change further down the line. The flexibility is there with a refundable deposit. Hard to predict what the case counts will be in November 2021, but I feel that by that point there should be some semblance of normalcy one hopes.

 

Thanks for your help

 

here was our itinerary:

 

21st Nov- 28th Nov

Port Canaveral -  Cruising - Antigua - St Thomas - Cruising - Cococay - Port Canaveral 

28th Nov - 6th Dec

Port Canaveral - Nassau - Cruising - Falmouth - Labadee - Cruising - Cococay - Port Canaveral

[1Cruiser1]

1 minute ago, crisgold52 said:

Oh you're booking on the website no wonder. Yeah the default on the website is a NON REF. You have to phone to book a Refundable. I'd also ask the agent at RCL if this B2B itinerary would be allowed. Most people don't know about the PVSA act though but it does come into consideration whenever one books a B2B cruise. So its best you call into RCL and you can also book a refundable in the process.

Really appreciate the advice. Fingers crossed we can do it. I have heard of many people doing b2b so fingers crossed. 

[USFFrank]

2 minutes ago, 1Cruiser1 said:

thanks for your advice. When going to book it doesn’t give me the option for a refundable deposit, only non refundable.

Perhaps a travel agent could look into this better. However what you are looking at maybe some kind of sale that requires you to book it as non-refundable. For my Harmony cruise next year I got it at a super low rate, but I had to book it as non-refundable deposit.

[1Cruiser1]

6 minutes ago, USFFrank said:

Perhaps a travel agent could look into this better. However what you are looking at maybe some kind of sale that requires you to book it as non-refundable. For my Harmony cruise next year I got it at a super low rate, but I had to book it as non-refundable deposit.

My rate for 2 adults is currently:

 

Cruise 1: £1962

Cruise 2: £1558

Both cruises come with $250 on board credit. 
 

Both rooms are ocean view balcony too.

[FionaMG]

@1Cruiser1, it looks like you're booking in the UK under UK rules, in which case a refundable deposit is never an option, irrespective of whether you book independently on Royal's website or call or use a travel agent.

In order to be able to book non-refundable you would have to book under US rules. This can be done by booking on the US website or by going through a US travel agent. If booking under US rules, you have to be aware of the fact that you must pay in USD, so the exchange rate can work for you or against you. You also need to bear in mind that your credit card company may charge foreign exchange fees.

In the current climate, I would seriously consider using one of the MEI travel agents frequently mentioned on these boards to book refundable under US rules. Any additional cc/exchange rate costs would effectively work like cancellation  insurance.

As far as flights and hotels are concerned, it's way too early to be thinking about those. They will not usually be up for sale until about 11 months out, so around January 2021, and looking at this year's prices is unlikely to give you a fair idea of what to expect next year, for obvious reasons.

That said, you can still research hotels to see which ones you might be interested in and then book a refundable rate once they do come online. This will let you cancel and rebook the same/a different hotel at a cheaper (read non-refundable) rate if one becomes available closer to your travel date and you know for sure that you're going.

Flights are a nuisance because, unless you're willing to pay over the top or have some sort of elite status with the airline, they are mostly non-refundable. That being the case, I can think of two possible scenarios you might want to consider (there may well be others). One would be to wait and not book until you are very sure you will be travelling. The downside to this is usually limited availability and higher prices, but in the current climate that may be a better option than losing/scrambling to get your money back. The other is to check the various airlines' T&Cs carefully. If things are still uncertain when the flights for your dates go on sale, the airlines may still be offering such things as free changes if you book by a certain date. If they are, it may be worth locking in the dates you want, but make sure you keep a date-stamped copy of the T&Cs in case you subsequently have to do battle with the airline. 

I really hope you get to go. I would absolutely  love to do your planned itinerary. 

ETA: Re the refundable/non-refundable question, I think (but am not absolutely sure) that, even in the UK, if you book the cruise by the 1st of August 2020, you will be covered under Royal's Cruise With Confidence programme, in which case you would be able to cancel without losing your deposit;  it would be converted to a future cruise certificate. You would need to read the T&Cs on the UK website to check that.

Edited July 14, 2020 by FionaMG
Added extra information

[Matt]

13 hours ago, crisgold52 said:

Just a note if one books with a travel agent, this means they surrender all control of the booking to the travel agent and if one goes down this route, should you the passenger call into RCL to discuss anything pertaining to your reservation, the RCL call center will NOT discuss anything with you as the travel agent 'owns the booking' instead and you are at the mercy of the travel agent's hours and availability and its best to hope they don't go AWOL after taking the deposit which has happened to me

I understand you had a bad experience with a TA, but I can assure you that is not the typical experience. Moreover, your idea of "surrending all control" is a bit over dramatic characterization of what occurs.

If you don't care for travel agents, that's totally fine. But please stop spreading painting all TAs with a broad brush. There are so many hard working agents these days, and pretty much all of them are struggling.