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I don't want FCC or LIFT&SHIFT!!!!!


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Hi cruising friends,

I'm booked of Ovation sailing out of Sydney November 8.  I can't go, even if the ship does sail (which seems unlikely to me).  Final payment is due in a few days and I'm scrambling.  My circumstances have changed drastically so I have no idea when I'll be able to cruise again.  Definitely don't want lift and shift, either.  I've called twice asking them to refund me the $100 deposit and it's a hard no.  Does anyone else think this is crap, or am I being too entitled?   Nov 8 is JUST passed the CDC no cruise date of Oct 31, I was really hoping they'd extend the ban so I could get a refund.  But paying the final deposit and crossing my fingers isn't really a financial option at this point.  Azamara refunded my $400 deposit for May 2021 without any problems!  And I'm diamond plus with RC, whereas that was going to be my first sailing with Azamara.  Any advice?  Should I just suck it up, take the FCC, and hope for the best?

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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.

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CDC no cruise date has nothing to do with a Sydney embarkation.  Just cancel b4 final payment and eat the $100.  It's the cost of doing business. Yes, you are being entitled if you booked non refundable deposit and are expecting them to give you refundable deposit terms.

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Hi @harlipac.  Welcome to the RC Blog Forums.  I have a Nov 1st Harmony cruise scheduled where final payment was Aug 3rd, so I understand RCL wants you to make a decision on your cruise.  I am not sure why you are against a FCC or L&S.  If your deposit is indeed only $100 you are lucky.  You can keep trying to get your money back, and hope in the meantime the cruise is cancelled by RCL.  If you think you are in jeopardy of losing out on your $100 then why not use FCC or L&S to push out your options?  SInce you are D+ I would guess you have a lot of experience in dealing with TAs and RCL.  Maybe by the time you need to use the FCC or L&S the world with be different and you will be in a better position to take advance of those options.

FYI, I was on last Anthem sailing before the shutdown and now may be on one of the first cruises post-shutdown - feels pretty weird.  Anyway, no matter what my next cruise gets me to D+ which I am looking forward to.  I just hope I get to cruise again...

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On 8/6/2020 at 9:38 PM, harlipac said:

Final payment is due in a few days and I'm scrambling. 

Definitely don't want lift and shift, either.  I've called twice asking them to refund me the $100 deposit and it's a hard no.

But paying the final deposit and crossing my fingers isn't really a financial option at this point.

Not sure if you're past the deadline yet but figured I'd chime in ... To me the last sentence says it all, giving more money in hopes the cruise gets cancelled to get a full refund while having financial issues is an unnecessary risk, especially chasing $100 dollars. You're going to put forth thousands you cannot afford to in hopes to get $100, not something I'd do.

If it was me, I'd wait until the last day hoping they cancel (which is unlikely), if not, cancel & get the FCC. As stated it is good until April 2022, hopefully that's enough time for you to cruise again. If not, write the $100 dollars off as - well, I did book with a non-refundable deposit, lesson learned.

I'm sorry you're in this horrible situation and wish you the best of luck.

Edited by sk8erguy1978
Typo
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On 8/7/2020 at 4:08 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Congratulations in advance !  What a great milestone !

@WAAAYTOOO Thank You!  For Ceil and I it feels like a real accomplishment.  We started cruising in 96 on our Honeymoon.  Now it looks like it will be on our 25th anniversary that we reach Diamond Plus.  Pretty cool.  I wonder how long it takes most people to get to D & D+?  @Matt or @twangster probably know.  I would guess with today's huge number of Diamonds and Pluses a whole lot quicker.  Seems like people have more vacation time and more money to spend on Suites than us, but none-the-less we are still proud - if that is even the right word.

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50 minutes ago, YOLO said:

I wonder how long it takes most people to get to D & D+?

I think this varies greatly amongst cruisers. 

The cruiser who can take several long cruises every year are not the majority.  I'm thinking the average US cruiser might take one or two cruises every year or two.    

Often when you look at the numbers revealed at the top tier events you appreciate how many on board are new to Royal (often the majority of the ship).

I tried a number of cruise lines before finding Royal and staying here.  I think it's natural for people to try different lines.  The side effect is diluting progress in any one loyalty program.  

I think it's perfectly normal for Diamond to be achieved over many years, often ten or more.  Diamond Plus is more than double that commitment but for some people as they retire or have more time as empty nesters they can cruise more so some people achieve D+ quicker than how long it took them to achieve D.

Bottom line - it all depends.  There is no normal time to reach any level.  With enough time and money you can move up the ladder quickly but that isn't the norm.

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On 8/7/2020 at 2:32 PM, ted52 said:

I don't think you'll be sailing in November so I would personally just wait it out. If you are uncomfortable with that eat the $100

eating the $100 pp deposit on a cruise is nothing, how about having bought $6k worth of airline ticket that can not be used, not even in the foreseeable future.  now that's harder to eat,  chomp chomp, not tasting good at all

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On 8/10/2020 at 11:16 AM, YOLO said:

I wonder how long it takes most people to get to D & D+? 

On 8/10/2020 at 12:04 PM, twangster said:

I think this varies greatly amongst cruisers. 

I agree that it varies. We finally hit Diamond in 2018 and took our first Royal Caribbean cruise in 2007. Not counting this year, we missed two years of at least one cruise on Royal Caribbean. One was to try NCL the other was for an extended (and expensive) Hawai'i trip. So, 11 years and several cruises we traveled in a Grand Suite (never higher yet). For the last 5 years we only sailed the 5 Night Bermuda from NJ itinerary which slowed us down but luckily we were able to splurge on a Grand Suite for the last 3 years.

Side note: we LOVE Bermuda, favorite island thus far, but unless it's not the only cruise that year, I am definitely over that itinerary. So glad Royal has started offering other trips from Bayonne. (Not that we will not fly to port but we like to sail with friends where it's easier to just drive).

Edit: I'd like to say my guess is it takes an average loyal to Royal customer 15 years. That's taking into account an average sailing of 7 nights in a room category below a Jr. Suite as 80 / 7 = 11.43 (rounded). Figure 1 7 night cruise a year means year 12 is the Diamond year but add a few more years to try other lines or just not cruise that year.

Edited by sk8erguy1978
add a guess.
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As to how long it would take to each D or D+. It really will be YMMV situation as if it wasn't for this virus I would I have made Diamond in less than 2 years. I mostly cruise solo and have a set amount of vacation each year. Since I live in the Midwest, I would have to fly, which means I am not going to just do one cruise. I had a Jr. Suite booked with family for 7 days and a Jr. solo this year; that would have been 21+14. I was going to have a S2S in Jan 2021 as a solo that would give me 16. In Oct 2021 I am staying in a 2br GS which is 14 and I have another 5N solo, so that would be another 15 points. So I would have made D in Nov 2021 but having lost so many cruises, I will probably just make Platinum....if things improve I am hopping to be D in 2022.

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My April 2020 got canceled but we canceled it 3 weeks prior to royal cancelling it themselves. No refund for me. Got screwed once. 

Rebooked for March 2021 and paid 1000$ more the then original cruise and I have fcc for the rest but not confident we can go. If I canxel getting another fcc.   Screwed twice. 

Got a special rate for March 2021 kids sail free. Would like to rebook for summer 2021 but kids sail free not applicable.. Screwed three times. 

They are holding on to my 4000$ almost and I have no power to recover it. Don't know what else to do. 

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9 hours ago, gi333 said:

My April 2020 got canceled but we canceled it 3 weeks prior to royal cancelling it themselves. No refund for me. Got screwed once. 

Rebooked for March 2021 and paid 1000$ more the then original cruise and I have fcc for the rest but not confident we can go. If I canxel getting another fcc.   Screwed twice. 

Got a special rate for March 2021 kids sail free. Would like to rebook for summer 2021 but kids sail free not applicable.. Screwed three times. 

They are holding on to my 4000$ almost and I have no power to recover it. Don't know what else to do. 

My March sailing was cancelled too but because we cancelled two days before they announced it, we also had to take FCC.  I wouldn't say we were "screwed" as it was our choice to cancel, just annoying that they did not announce it sooner than the day before March break.  My annoyance with them back in March is that we were told we would get 125% FCC and we did not.  But that is water under the bridge.  If we think back to pre-covid days, cancelling that close to final payment would have resulted in the forfeiting mostly all our money, no FCC at all. 

The $1000 extra that you paid out of pocket for your March 2021 cruise should be able to be returned to you should Royal cancel that 2021 sailing, and the FCC that you rolled in should be re-issued.

As far as kids sail free, it was never a promotion that was run in the summer months or holidays, so it is definitely disappointing, but I wouldn't say that Royal was out to get anyone but not offering on summer sailings, they never have for that one.

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I feel your pain. My husband and I have been loyal RC customers for a long time. We were supposed to sail on March 23, 2020 on Serenade of the Seas. At that time the company was one offering a future cruise credit. We had no choice but to accept. Shortly after RC came out with the option of a refund. They have repeatedly refused our request, and were quite nasty about it. They have treated us very badly, and I would recommend that future cruisers think twice about sailing with them. Shame on you RC. 

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17 minutes ago, breakfastpop said:

I feel your pain. My husband and I have been loyal RC customers for a long time. We were supposed to sail on March 23, 2020 on Serenade of the Seas. At that time the company was one offering a future cruise credit. We had no choice but to accept. Shortly after RC came out with the option of a refund. They have repeatedly refused our request, and were quite nasty about it. They have treated us very badly, and I would recommend that future cruisers think twice about sailing with them. Shame on you RC. 

My thoughts on this:  the day you made your decision to cancel (whether it was with Cruise with Confidence or not) whatever Royal was offering on that particular day for cancellations is what you agreed to and should receive.  Even if the very next day Royal cancels and offers better deals...you are not entitled to their new offerings because you agreed to what you accepted on the day you cancelled.   

Yes it would be nice if you could reap the benefits of the new deal but you pretty much entered into a contract with them and agreed to their terms on the day you made your decision to cancel.  Some win....some lose (oh and I do place myself in the loser category) however,  I will continue to sail with Royal regardless and hope to be on my April 19, 2021 cruise with my group of 32 family and friends!!!!

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