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Wonder of the Seas to Port Everglades


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2 hours ago, Jdf said:

We were booked on Allure from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona 14 days on 24/4 its now cancelled in cruiseplanner. Can we expect RC to move us as well to Wonder ??? 🤞

Seems true according to the email I just received.  She departs April 20th ---  four days sooner than when Allure was scheduled to depart.  I think I can make that work  ---- I WILL make that work!!!

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

VERY few SC suites on Wonder.  No Star Loft Suites at all.  No prices for anything yet, that I can see.

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I had a Star Loft room booked on Allure this summer, so I am paying close attention to discover how they're going to manage those reservations. They are going to have some very unhappy customers if a bunch of people get downgraded from Star Class.

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2 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Will you share email (without personal details)

I haven’t received anything and would like to see the details. 

Here's the full email text (on the same June 5th sailing):
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Dear Guest,

We’ve been diligently working to prepare for our Royal Comeback. It’s taken months of planning and coordinating to get up and running - from activating new homeports and communicating with local governments and authorities, to ensuring our new protocols maintain your wellbeing with our Healthy Sail Panel.

As we continue to review and analyze our itinerary plans, we’ve decided to reposition some of our ships to offer our guests the very best experiences for our return to cruising. Our original plan for Allure of the Seas was to offer sailings departing from Barcelona, Spain and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy beginning April 2022. However, Wonder of the Seas - our newest and latest flagship - will now take its place. Unfortunately, this means your sailing will be cancelled.

The good news is, Wonder of the Seas will offer similar itineraries! Starting September 22nd, we’ll automatically move you to a Wonder of the Seas sailing on the same day as your original Allure of the Seas sailing to help make the transition easier. This way, you’ll still have the opportunity to enjoy a sailing like you were looking forward to!

We know how much time and effort go into planning your vacation and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change. While we’re confident you’ll have an amazing time onboard, your vacation is important to us - along with providing you the flexibility to make the best decision for you and those in your party. Below, we’ve outlined your options along with a few additional details.

Option 1: Stay onboard the Wonder of the Seas cruise

  • We’ll automatically move you to the Wonder of the Seas sailing departing on the same day as your original cruise. So, there’s nothing for you to do!
  • Your new sailing will still offer the same beautiful destinations as your original cruise, and it’ll depart from the same destination.
  • We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like stateroom and your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.
    • If you were already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for any difference in pricing. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment 30 days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution.
  • Lastly, as we return to service, our sailing protocols will continue to evolve. To stay informed and up-to-date, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/Health.

Option 2: Select a 100% Refund

  • If you no longer wish to sail, we’ll be sad to see you go. We’ll process a full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare to the original form(s) of payment, including any non-refundable deposit.
    • You can expect to receive your refund 30 days after you submit your refund request. 
  • If you booked your airfare through Royal Caribbean International, it will be automatically refunded to you. However, if you booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.
  • Lastly, if you used a Future Cruise Credit 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 certificate.

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to shifting an entire season of sailings and rebooking all guests, so please bear with us as we work to make this process as easy as possible for you. All moves will be completed by October 13th, 2021, and we’ll send an updated reservation confirmation with your revised details to the email address on file as soon as your reservation has been completely updated with the pricing fully adjusted. If you prefer to cancel your cruise, please call us at 888-281-9344 or contact your Travel Advisor by October 20th, 2021. And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by October 20th, 2021, you’ll remain booked on the alternate Wonder of the Seas sailing. Should you decide to cancel after our moves are complete, you will continue to be covered by our Cruise with Confidence policy.

If you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at: 

  • 1 800 754 500 in Australia 
  • In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005
  • 1 866 562 7625 in the U.S. or Canada

Thank you for your understanding. We hope you find another cruise vacation with us. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or looking to explore, relax, and recharge - we have no doubt your time with us will be nothing short of amazing. We look forward to welcoming you onboard.
--------------

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38 minutes ago, VoidoftheSeas said:

I had a Star Loft room booked on Allure this summer, so I am paying close attention to discover how they're going to manage those reservations. They are going to have some very unhappy customers if a bunch of people get downgraded from Star Class.

When Allure was first cancelled from Galveston they moved me from an A2 on Allure to a Grand Suite on Liberty.  

Not happy but that's all they offered.  Refused to include drink package or UDP or Voom or gratuity.

My only viable choice was a refund.  Not happy at all but that's where it ended up.  

With so few Star on Wonder, it's not going to be pretty.  

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I think they will try to it 1 to 1 as they have at least most of the room the same although might be smaller . I have done the Spectrum of the seas and I found out the JS was smaller but not that big difference (main was missing the walking in closet) the other main difference was missing the diamond lounge but they can use one of the other vinew for it . The casino is designed differently,  much more tables and less machine) but not sure if they already design and build it for the wonder (or ordered the equipment). Regarding star class I do not see a reason why they will not have it , after all it's just requires to have genies on board and mark some of the cabin as star class .

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1 hour ago, Traveler said:

I think they will try to it 1 to 1 as they have at least most of the room the same although might be smaller . I have done the Spectrum of the seas and I found out the JS was smaller but not that big difference (main was missing the walking in closet) the other main difference was missing the diamond lounge but they can use one of the other vinew for it . The casino is designed differently,  much more tables and less machine) but not sure if they already design and build it for the wonder (or ordered the equipment). Regarding star class I do not see a reason why they will not have it , after all it's just requires to have genies on board and mark some of the cabin as star class .

They already earmarked a DL on Wonder on deck 4 like her sisters (or most of them).

The "Golden Room" will presumably be repurposed to Jazz on 4.

137838206_ScreenShot2021-09-15at11_18_05PM.thumb.jpg.88787a9e25ca7d74e0209db29c1f34e1.jpg

 

There are star cabins, just not very many at the moment.

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They can add some star class , after all it's pure revenue for them and people always occupies it (beside maybe now) that will also help for the Allure switch . They might also  convert the silver dining room (if didn't do it yet) to something else and gold one to CK. I guess we will know more in the next few we weeks. 

 

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3 minutes ago, DanielB said:

Is Oasis the only ship that has Portside BBQ?  I was kinda surprised to not see this on Wonder but again the Chinese market would not go for that.....ok so now I am surprised an El Loco Fresh was onboard.  

Yes to Portside BBQ.

I'm guessing they've known this is coming for some time now and they have been able to schedule some minor updates to suit the US market.  There is some time between the anticipated turn over date and the inservice date.  Maybe they are keeping her in the shipyard after accepting the ship into the fleet.  Not really sure. 

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14 minutes ago, twangster said:

It's coming back at least to fulfil the Allure TA Westbound to Port Canaveral in Florida that it's assuming.   After that is unknown.    

So most likely, otherwise it would probably go east if headed back to China?

The minor updates to suit the US market also seem to favour this scenario. 

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On Odyssey last week our CD Mike S. from Canada was explaining that he is heading to Wonder next.  He explained that Bobby Brown is the "take out" CD for all new builds but Bobby is retiring.  Bobby is also heading to Wonder.  The plan, Mike explained, is for him to assume Bobby's role as "take out" CD for new builds going forward.  It's also customary to have two CD's on take out cruises consequently there will be three CD's on the Wonder to start.  There will be Bobby with Mike in training as take out CD and a 3rd CD since it's a new build.

In hindsight he did add a comment about Wonder's future that was a glimpse into this change citing "some hurdles to getting her started in China".  He said "it might come to Europe, it might come to the states, nothing has been announced".   

It's been announced now.  

Crew rumors are cheap and easy to come by so I found it interesting but never imagined it would come true so quickly.

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12 minutes ago, mattymay said:

So most likely, otherwise it would probably go east if headed back to China?

The minor updates to suit the US market also seem to favour this scenario. 

I think it buys them some time to evaluate the pandemic and hurdles they faced with getting her to China, whatever those hurdles may be.  October 2022 isn't that far into the future but a long time in terms of the virus and variants.  If China remains "hurdled" then maybe she spends the winter in Florida.  If the pandemic winds down to something easier to manage then maybe she heads to the Pacific.  They'll have a better idea in the coming months. 

Cruises typically have a long sales cycle .  They want it open so they have a longer window to sell it.  It says a lot about the uncertainty of the pandemic that they aren't opening the winter of 2022 on Wonder just yet. 

My guess would be keeping her in Florida since she is there.  Then in the spring they could send her to Europe and onward through the Suez.  That's a SWAG without any foundation to support it.

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5 minutes ago, sammy79 said:

Do we know how close the ship is to being finished?  March, 2022 isn’t too far away and I would hate to schedule a cruise on our spring break and the ship being delayed. Thanks. 
 

Never mind. Just read @Matt article. Looks like the ship is finished and ready to go!

You beat me to it with your edit.... ha ha

 

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24 minutes ago, barjpoe said:

Though I thought the Chinese are big spender - Top shelf liquor, gambling. ?

When the NCL Joy came out as a China-market ship…the casino was tripled in size. Then when they decided to bring her back to the US market, they had to renovate the new ship to remove most of the casino. What a waste.

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28 minutes ago, barjpoe said:

Though I thought the Chinese are big spender - Top shelf liquor, gambling. ?

Gambling for sure but I've heard bar sales are pretty slow in China.  Very few would consider a drink package, bars rarely have a line, bartenders standing around with little to do sort of thing.  

One issue faced by cruise lines in China is breaking the stereotype that cruises are just for gambling.  The concept of cruising for a vacation has been hard to put forward but Royal was making headway in this area with an increasing Chinese customer base that was booking Royal in other regions having experienced the product in China.  Guests were beginning to see cruising as more than just gambling.

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