Tomm Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 Hi All: Unfortunately we were booked on the Oasis this November 29th, had a great rate, great itinerary (4 Eastern Caribbean stops), newly updated ship, and great cabin locations (mid-ship deck 12). We have one balcony, one inside cabin. We finally made the difficult decision to lift and shift and had immense trouble - due to Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as some "special" sailings not eligible for lift & shift - our travel agent also told us we would lose cruise cash ($200!) and other benefits provided by the agent since this would be like a "new" booking per the agent (keep all RC benefits only). The major upside was by lifting and shifting before final payment, it meant we would not need to make this payment for another year. In addition, of course, keeping our rate .. rates have gone up over 75% on similar sailings vs. what we paid! The options we were presented with on the Oasis were not ideal, itineraries were different and we had been to all stops before, the sailing we wanted we were not eligible for. We sailed on the Symphony last year and prefer not to have all the same shows, etc. ... so we landed on the Harmony .. 3 Eastern Caribbean stops .. older ship ... and now after RC has moved our booking, we find out we have extremely limited cabin options (our original rate codes - 5D & 6V - was so low it's not available on the Harmony). The cabins they assigned us are on Deck 14 towards the back (not mid-ship), directly below the Teen Living Room and Teen Disco, and directly above Wonderland. We'll be close to the elevators and on the same floor as the kids clubs (3 kids travelling), that's a plus. But I am concerned about the noise from above or below as we tend to hit bedtime between 10 & 11pm (and my elderly parents even earlier). We've been told that due to all the lifting and shifting, etc. going on we have no other options for cabins except making a special case circumstance to RC to allow us to move, of which the only likely option is on Deck 9 right next to Dazzles. Frankly, this whole thing has felt like a major letdown .. I feel like it's a cruise I never would have booked if I wasn't "forced" into limited options and didn't want to make full payment. While likely the original November sailing would be cancelled, we didn't want to pay and then have a 125% cruise credit that didn't cover the cost of a new cruise. Appreciate your comments / thoughts on this experience and in particular the concern about new cabin location. I feel like we're "stuck" a bit with no backing out now. PPPJJ-GCVAB and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlena Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 I dont have insight on those rooms, however I would say I also don't LOVE how we had to make lift and shift work. We had 2 rooms. 1 large balcony and 1 regular balcony right next to each other in hopes to open up both balconies together. When we lifted and shifted they had NO options to do it on that sailing and to top it off...if we wanted to downgrade to 2 regular balconies it would cost another 1600$! I understand its price protected so people don't have to pay more for same room, but you would think they would let you down grade for free. So now we are far from our family members...not what we were hoping for. Neesa and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 I think part of the problem is there are limited sailings available to move all the people that are getting displaced as the number of cancellations grow. When the next month's worth of sailings get cancelled (and we know it's coming), just think how much trouble those people will have getting their cruises lifted and shifted! In a few months when Royal releases new inventory for 2022, things will probably open up as people rearrange their sailings yet again. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazycruiser50 Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 We lifted and shifted from a 5nt on 11/20/2020 (got back before Thanksgiving) to 11/22/2021. Got the Thanksgiving Cruise no problem. Not sure why they told you that you couldn’t do that. It’s not listed as one of their holidays that aren’t L&S eligible. Then last week that 5 night was converted into a 4 night, so we were able to move it again to 12/29/2021 (which is the NYE Cruise). Apparently issues with the Galveston cruise terminal building/renovation, we are on Adventure of the Seas. I hope we are actually cruising by then... @Tomm I would call again until you get a rep that gives you what you want. The L&S should always work in your favor. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacki_MEI Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 I'm sorry this happened to you. I don't think Wonderland will be much of an issue, but the Teen Disco is generally open until 1-2am, so if you or your parents are light sleepers, this could be an issue and it may be worth paying a bit extra to move to a different location to avoid stress during your vacation. Lift & Shift is only allowed once during the lifetime of your reservation, but you should be able to change stateroom categories on the same sailing without penalty. Baked Alaska and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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