New cancellation terms updated for Alaska and Odyssey

[princevaliantus]

Royal Caribbean Announces Global Suspension Of Cruising

Last updated March 1st, 2021

At Royal Caribbean International, our guests and crew's safety and well-being are always our top priorities. After further consulting with our partners at Cruise Lines International Association and in conjunction with the CDC, we have decided to extend the suspension of sailings for our global fleet for all sailings through April 30th, 2021 – excluding sailings onboard Quantum of the Seas in Singapore and Spectrum of the Seas sailings departing April 2021 in China. Our plan is to resume further operation in May; however, the following circumstances have extended the suspension for the following ships and sailings:

• Quantum of the Seas Alaska sailings departing April 5 to October 14, 2021: In order to allow additional time for our preparation, Quantum of the Seas will remain in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Odyssey of the Seas May 9 to October 28, 2021 sailings departing from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy. Instead, Odyssey will begin her inaugural season out of a new homeport, Haifa, Israel from June to October 2021. These new sailings will be available for residents of Israel only.

 

We're now offering more options.

Below are some options for you, including one that has been very well received by our guests, as it provides a little something extra to use when we all start cruising again!

As a result of this change, we’re providing you with a 125% Future Cruise Credit to come back and sail with us by September 30th, 2022. Please re-book using your FCC by April 30, 2022. We will automatically issue you your Future Cruise Credit (FCC) via email, so there’s nothing for you to do!

• Please know, taxes & fees and any RoyalUp upgrades will be automatically refunded. You can expect to see these in 45 days.

• If you used a Cruise with Confidence certificate on this sailing, you’ll receive a new Future Cruise Certificate for 125% of your total cruise fare value paid, including the value of your original certificate.

• Guests booked on charter sailings are not eligible for offers related to the Global Suspension or Cruise with Confidence. Please refer back to the charter client for more information.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How quickly will I get my Future Cruise Credit so I can rebook?

• How is the 125% Future Cruise Credit calculated for cruises cancelled due to the COVID-19 operations suspension?

• My cruise was cancelled due to a previous global suspension. I rebooked and now my new cruise has been cancelled. What happens to my refund and/or Future Cruise Credit?

• If I opted into the Cruise with Confidence 100% Future Cruise Credit, do I qualify for the 125% Future Cruise Credit or a refund for sailings cancelled due to the COVID-19 operations suspension?

• How can I redeem my Future Cruise Credit?

 

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If you prefer to move your existing booking to a sailing next year – we’re happy to move you! We will price protect the original pricing and/or promotion on the same itinerary, length, product, and stateroom category as your original sailing within 4 weeks (before or after) of the original sail date in 2021. For example, if you are moving from a March 1st, 2021 sailing, you can move to a sailing that is the same itinerary, length, product, and stateroom category, and the sail date between February 1st, 2022 – March 29th, 2022.

• If your sailing was cancelled on:

- February 18th, 2021, please contact your Travel Advisor or call us by March 4th, 2021 to move to a new sailing.

- March 1st, 2021, please contact your Travel Advisor or call us by March 18th, 2021 to move to a new sailing. And remember, since you were booked on an inaugural Odyssey of the Seas sailing, you can Lift and Shift to any sailing with a similar sailing length (+1/-1 day) in 2022 to a like for like category on any open sailing! We will price protect your original cruise or refund any price difference.

• If we don’t hear from you, we will automatically issue your Future Cruise Credit.

• Only available for sailings cancelled as part of our global suspension on May 20th, 2020 or after.

• Only sailings departing on or before April 30, 2022 can be rebooked as part of our Lift & Shift offer. Sailings departing after April 30, 2022 are unavailable as options through this offer, regardless of the original sail date (unless otherwise specified).

• Additional exclusions may apply. Please refer to the letter issued to you via email for the full details of your offer.

• Complimentary Casino offers are not eligible for Lift and Shift.

If you prefer the lower value in a full refund instead of the 125% Future Cruise Credit, we’re happy to process this for you.  

• We’ll then deactivate your Future Cruise Credit and process your refund to your original form(s) of payment, which will include any non-refundable deposits.

• To avoid waiting on the phone to cancel, please click here and we will get the process started for you. Note: Please know, once we receive your refund request, we unfortunately won’t be able to accept an FCC request if you change your mind.

• You can expect to receive your refund 45 days after you submit your request.

• Please note: If you used a Cruise with Confidence certificate on this sailing, and you request a refund instead, we’ll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we’ll reinstate your original Cruise with Confidence certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Until when can I request a full refund?

• If I opted into the Cruise with Confidence 100% Future Cruise Credit, do I qualify for the 125% Future Cruise Credit or a refund for sailings cancelled due to the COVID-19 operations suspension?

If you purchased Cruise Planner Items, you may be eligible to receive an Onboard Credit in the value of 125% of the total Cruise Planner purchases on your reservation.  

Frequently Asked Questions

• Until when can I request the 125% Onboard Credit?

• Is there an expiration date for my 125% Onboard Credit?

• Can I change my mind and request a refund after selecting the 125% Onboard Credit?

• How is the value being calculated for my 125% Onboard Credit?

 

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For all sailings cancelled as part of our suspension of operations due to COVID-19:

 

• If you purchased refundable air or hotel accommodations through Royal Caribbean, they will be automatically refunded to you within 45 days after we process the cancellation.

• If you booked non-refundable air through Royal Caribbean or booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.

[Jill]

Can’t believe they haven’t cancelled May. 

[SPS]

C'mon @princevaliantus, this topic title is akin to click bait. It's really only applicable to Quantum (Alaska) and Odyssey (Europe) sailings, which we've pretty much already knew was gonna happen.

UPDATE: @Matt has since updated the topic title 

[princevaliantus]

16 minutes ago, SPS said:

C'mon @princevaliantus, this topic title is akin to click bait. It's really only applicable to Quantum (Alaska) and Odyssey (Europe) sailings, which we've pretty much already knew was gonna happen.

 

Just sharing the info RCG released today which has additional information on options. It doesn't apply to everyone but those who seek this info now have it disposable to them.

[sk8erguy1978]

1 hour ago, Jill said:

Can’t believe they haven’t cancelled May. 

I had to rub my eyes when I saw April too. Guess they want to collect May payments. Rob Peter to pay Paul. Sigh.

Edit: since April was already cancelled, maybe they'll make that announcement soon. 

[emmef]

I believe it is going to start being a rolling cancellation on a ship by ship basis.  As they are able to get ships sailing those will go forward (i.e. April will be Odyssey from Israel and Quantum for Singapore) and all ships that are not yet sailing will all get canceled. I think it's going to get a LOT more messy simply because it won't be a blanket statement.  Everyone will have to be very alert to specific ship's news as they sail/don't sail depending on countries and ports.

[princevaliantus]

46 minutes ago, emmef said:

I believe it is going to start being a rolling cancellation on a ship by ship basis.  As they are able to get ships sailing those will go forward (i.e. April will be Odyssey from Israel and Quantum for Singapore) and all ships that are not yet sailing will all get canceled. I think it's going to get a LOT more messy simply because it won't be a blanket statement.  Everyone will have to be very alert to specific ship's news as they sail/don't sail depending on countries and ports.

That's what they've been doing all alone since this whole thing started.

[emmef]

@princevaliantus So far it's been "All sailings are canceled until Month, Date, Year except Quantum of the Seas".  That is very different than what we will have going forward with several ships sailing.

[JeffB]

1 hour ago, emmef said:

@princevaliantus So far it's been "All sailings are canceled until Month, Date, Year except Quantum of the Seas".  That is very different than what we will have going forward with several ships sailing.

Correct on several counts ...... if you are booked in May or beyond, you're absolutely right, you have to pay attention. I agree that there's going to be a ship by ship, port by port restart. I believe the Haifa announcement this morning presages what is to come out of global sailings to include from US ports. RCL wants to get back to it and it is going to do everything it can to do that given what they are seeing from the CDC.

I think someone posted somewhere on this forum his/her concern that European (or Mediterranean) ports might replace US ports if those became available before US ports did because the CDC continues it's obstinance and convoluted, ship-by-ship re-start technicals. That means ships normally sailing out of US ports would be moved to support that plan. There is no question that Italy and Greece (have not heard about Black Sea ports within Eastern European countries) want tourists back and cruise ships will bring them faster than boatloads of airplanes both countries have had less restrictive approaches to the pandemic. I think the UK and Germany will join them and may allow more cruise lines to operate from their ports with vaccinated crew/pax very shortly. 

With the exception of Dubrovnik - which I have heard is concerned about "over-tourism" and cruise ships dumping thousands into that port/city - Italian and Greek cities with ports aren't pushing back like, for example, Key West has, ending that port as a cruise ship stop-over. The writing is on the wall ...... ports will re-open sequentially and one-by-one to cruise ships based on local R(0), sero-prevalence (positivity) and to what level public health officials in those countries will ease travel restrictions. Then, you'll need a vaccination to board. The cruise lines aren't going to wait on the CDC to make up it's mind and that could hurt FL and several other states in the short term. I know that Governor Desantis has argued for opening FL's ports to cruise ships. It's a big part of his whole approach to the pandemic which hasn't shut down much, has few mobility restrictions and has targeted almost exclusively the elderly, especially those in LTC facilities and done a bang up job keeping that group alive and reducing hospitalizations and deaths.