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I am looking at the details of the lift and shift option and the cruise with confidence program Royal Caribbean offers. They were introduced in spring 2020 as incentives to book cruises in these pandemic times. According to the rules communicated back then,  you can only take advantage of the lift and shift to switch to a cruise leaving on or before Apr 30, 2022 ; regarding using the future cruise credit, the deadline is the same Apr 30, 2022.

Since we are already in 2021, this dealine is way to close to give anybody the confidence to book a cruise without worrying that they are loosing their money.  It might have made sense at the beginning of 2020 when all this started to happen, but now it is not an incentive for people to book with confidence.

I booked a Europe cruise on Oddyssey of the Seas back in Jun 2020 with a departure date on Apr 30, 2021. My final payment deadline is approaching and I do not feel confident to make this final payment as, in the case that the cruise will be cancelled, I will not be able to " lift and shift" or to use my future credit for a cruise in Europe before Apr 30, 2022 - the reason is simply because there are no cruises in Europe leaving before Apr 30, 2022. Royal Caribbean recently published their schedule for 2022 in Europe - Oddyssey is scheduled to arrive in Europe May 7, 2022.  Same with other ships - it seems Royal Caribbean decided to start cruising in Europe only in May 2022 (unlike other years when they started in April .)

I am really disappointed and  do not know how to proceed.... I am also debating what to do with my down payment as this can only be used before the same deadline Apr 30, 2022. I feel that I am trapped and I was somehow tricked. Be warned!

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The Lift and Shift and Cruise With Confidence programs have already been extended at least once (I think twice but haven't followed closely).  If Royal doesn't start sailing soon, it's quite reasonable to assume they will be extended again.  There are plenty of posters who have bumped their cruises into the future multiple times.  It's a waiting game right now.  Just remember that financially it's better for you if Royal cancels your cruise than if you do it.  (Unless of course, you absolutely need some of the money back.)

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Did you use a travel agent to book the cruise?  My travel agent was able to move two April 2021 Odyssey cruises to other ships and dates not using the official Lift and Shift program.  She knows the ins and outs of the system so was able to move them around for me.  

She has actually done this a number of times for me as this has rolled on and gone further into the future.  

If you didn't use a travel agent simply call and ask.  Know what you desire before you call so do your research first.  Sometimes they are willing to move deposits to other ships and dates just so they hold onto deposits rather than dealing with refunds and FCC.  If you reach an agent that isn't cooperative thank them and call back an hour later to try again. 

You won't know until you try but don't assume the official Lift and Shift program with limited option and date restrictions is the only way.  

Welcome to the message boards!

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