Lift and Shift Alaska 2022

[robostock]

I'd like to share my experience with a Lift and Shift I just completed last last week.

It seems that my options were a little different than previous Lift and Shift experiences I've read about.

My family and I were scheduled for Alaska aboard the Serenade of the Seas from Vancouver June 12 to June 19. When I called my TA, I was advised that I could only do a Lift and Shift up to a year before or after our original sail date. Which meant that it would be either June 6, June 13 or June 20, 2022, not a year and month before/after the original sail date. I was also advised that I could not change my cruise type. I wanted to change it from a round trip cruise out of Vancouver to a Northbound cruise to Alaska from Vancouver.

He said it was not an option and if I wanted to do that, I would have to get a refund and rebook an new sailing. I decided not, but do a straight Lift and Shift to June 13 and still on the Serenade. I opted for the Lift and Shift because mainly for two reasons. The first being that I got a really good price and wanted to maintain it and the second being at the time, my final payment (I only had the minimum deposit) was due at the end of February.

I think Royal has shortened final payment window from 90 to 45 days. I might have waited out later if I knew that, make the final payment and get the FCC deal. I'm still very new to cruising and I am so glad the blog is here and has all this wonderful information available!

This is my first post and I hope it was informative.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Welcome to the blog, @robostock .  Thank you for your post.  I know that the rules for L&S have recently changed so your experience is greatly appreciated !  Keep posting !

[Matt]

Welcome to the boards! Thanks for sharing your experience

[Mark06]

I did a lift and shift this morning for our New England / Canada cruise for late September.  The new requirements were for the same ship.  However, the ship has been changed for that cruise.  When I called, everything went very smooth.  Changing ship was not an issue.  Even the hold time was short, less than 5 minutes.

 

[Dad2Cue]

I'm not sure I should disclose my L&S experience with my Alaska cruise on Quantum.  Originally,  it was very straight forward and done quickly.  The price protection was done but taxes and fees increased by $150.  Best I could tell, it seemed correct. There was a FCC involved that tends to obscure the actual cruise price.

About a week later someone posted information that involved some glitch that resulted in the price protection to be incorrect.  When I looked at my remaining balance, it was approximately $300 more.   I had to call again to get the $300 removed.  The first response was there was no price protection because the cruise wasn't eligible for a L&S.  Clearly,  that wasn't true so I had to explain that Royal cancelled the Quantum cruises to Alaska in 2021 and my cruise was eligible for a L&S to 2022.   It involved a bit of hold time but the matter was resolved relatively quickly.  When everything was done the second time, the remaining balance came back $1,000 less.  Somehow I think I received an extra $700 in price protection.  I'm not one to complain so I just said it sounded correct.

Whoever posted the information about the glitch ... thank-you.  I think there is still a glitch but this one seemed to work in my favor.  I just hope the cruise happens in 2022.  I doubt the price will ever get any less.

[robostock]

Come to think of it, the price was slightly higher (tax and port charges were higher) than the previous booking. I'll have to call them and have them adjust it.

I agree with you 100% that I will not find a cheaper rate and if anything, supply, pent up demand and the possibility of running less than capacity may actually drive prices significantly up. We got the same cabin location and almost identical itinerary.

June 2022 seems so far away... might have to also book something sooner!

[Dad2Cue]

19 hours ago, robostock said:

Come to think of it, the price was slightly higher (tax and port charges were higher) than the previous booking. I'll have to call them and have them adjust it.

There is no price protection on taxes and fees when doing a L&S.   I don't know why my taxes and fees were $150 higher on a nearly identical cruise in 2022 as compared to 2021.  I have done two other L&S and the taxes and fees were a few dollars less on one and a few dollars more on the other one.  When there was a $150 difference on the Quantum Alaska L&S I thought it was high but what can you do?  I suppose local government and port authority revenue has taken a big hit. I think they will want to make up for lost revenue too when cruising resumes.

I have never figured out how those taxes and fees are calculated but they seem to be trending higher.  There seems to be a fair amount of variability from one cruise to the next.  I suppose taxes go up when the cruise fare increases but I don't really know how it works.

I do know the taxes and fees become fixed when a cruise is repriced.  It doesn't seem to matter what the current taxes and fees are on the day the cruise is repriced.  Why are they fixed for a repriced cruise and not a L&S???  Supposedly everything else stays the same for a L&S.  Might be an interesting topic if someone knows more than me.