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Cancellation Call: Religious Exemption Offered


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Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, but hopefully it is. 

After seeing the update on the blog last night about protocols being extended through the end of September I decided to go ahead and cancel our two cruises. We've been pushing them back for more than two years, and RC has had our money for almost three years, so I'd really rather just have it back instead of having it in limbo.

While I was on the phone doing the cancellation the representative told me that they are leaving room on their ships now for people who have either medical or religious exemptions from the COVID vaccine. He was very clear to say that this was not a guarantee, the space is limited, it might involve changing rooms to a specific section of the ship (it basically sounded like you'd be placed with the rest of the great unwashed, lol). 

I don't see us doing this for a couple of reasons, but if RC can make the accommodation without a few things happening: (1) No masks, (2) No enforcement of constantly displaying anything that would indicate my or my kid's vaccination status (Arm bands, stickers on clothes, etc.), and (3) if they want me to change rooms, it's got to be a comparable room. We'd certainly love to cruise again, so I took the information from him and sent the email. 

The email had to go to vaxaccommodations@rccl.com and had to include the following information:

INCLUDE IN YOUR REQUEST:

- The full name of the person who needs the accommodation, as the name appears on their reservation
- Ship Name
- Date of Sailing
- Reservation Number
- Best phone number to reach the requesting guest (or their legal guardian if they are a minor)
- Best email to reach the requesting guest or their guardian, should it be different than the one you are emailing from

Religious Requests:

For religious accommodation, please provide details regarding the specific nature of the religious objection to the vaccination. Your request will be evaluated by a panel to ensure that we are in compliance with all requirements related to such requests.

Medical Requests

For your request to be considered by our medical team, a letter from a physician is required. Please see the specific requirements for the letter below:
- The letter must come from a Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).
- The letter must include the full name and date of birth for the guest requesting the accommodation.
- The letter must clearly indicate the pre-existing, non-COVID medical condition or disability that is contraindicated for vaccination.
- The letter should include a note that the guest is medically fit to travel.
- The letter must be signed by the MD or DO.

****

I did get a response saying that they had received the request, they made sure to note a few things at the bottom:

AFTER YOUR REQUEST IS APPROVED or DENIED:

Approvals:

- Approvals apply only to the sailing for which they were granted and need to be renewed for each new sailing as protocols and operational needs change frequently.
- Approvals do not imply or guarantee an approval for any future sailings.
- Please note that vaccination accommodated guests must adhere to all health protocols and travel requirements for unvaccinated guests as required by the cruise line and at the local, state and national level.  

Denials:

If we are unable to approve your request, you can:

- Change the ship/sail date and submit a new request, if your denial was based on operational capacity.
- Cancel only the unvaccinated guest(s) from the booking, if the remainder of the traveling party still wishes to sail. The unvaccinated guest will receive a full refund after cancellation.
- Cancel the booking that includes the unvaccinated guest and receive a full refund for the booking. Only those guests in the impacted booking are eligible to receive a full refund. Related bookings (family, friends, etc. traveling on another booking) remain subject to the standard cancellation penalty schedule.

****

I'll try to remember to post and say what happens from here. I was wondering when I saw that they lowered their vaccinated threshold if that would mean they would start accepting religious/medical exemption requests. 

🙂

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14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Thank you for all of this information.  Unfortunately, until they drop the requirement for testing, we are still not interested in cruising but I'm sure there will be some who will be helped by your research.  Thanks again !

I get that, 100%. We have about 20 different FCCs tied up in this and I'm very worried about not being able to get that money back without jumping through even more hoops, so I'm willing to test, but I more than understand not even wanting to mess with it. If I knew for certain they would refund everything and not try to push more FCCs on me I'd drop it entirely. It might come down to that, we'll see. Like I said, we're out if we have to mask, display status, or take a room that's less than what we booked. It's frustrating to the max, but yeah, maybe it will help someone. I hope it does.

I've been following your stuff a bit, have you been able to get refunds on the FCCs?

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I do not think there are any delineations towards unvaxxed kids (wristbands, necklace) nor do I think unvaxxed are currently relegated to certain areas of the ship.
When they did have people wearing wristbands it was the vaccinated, and that was because they had vax only venues, so you needed to show proof.
Royal has done away with the vax only venues and therefore the wristbands.

The only protocol I see an unvaxxed adult having to follow would be the additional test on boarding day and the test the last full day of sailing.  I still don't understand why either is necessary as we all know those who are vaxxed and even double boostered are still getting/spreading this.  I would think there is sufficient data to determine that the unvaxxed kids are not leaving the ship with Covid (or if they are it's not at any of a higher rate than the general vaxxed numbers).  If anyone knows whee to find data on this I would love to read it.

Thank you for sharing your info for the unvaxxed.....I will be bringing this up to my daughter who has a friend who cannot vax for medical reasons.  Sadly it would appear you have to go through the process of making deposits, submitting a letter and crossing fingers that the person can go and then if they cannot undo the entire process-which we all know is a pain.

 

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3 hours ago, Bowen said:

have you been able to get refunds on the FCCs?f

Yes.  100% so far.  It’s not easy though.  Having a super star TA to handle this has been an immeasurable blessing.  All love and thanks to @michelle for everything she has done for us.  
 

The process is pretty burdensome.  Basically, you have to pay your cruise in full (unless protocols have already been announced for the dates of your cruise…which has never happened for us 😢😢), then once protocols are announced, you can request a cash refund.  We were extremely fortunate to have gotten cash for all of the FCCs we had.  I bundled all of them into one cruise fare (Symphony August 2021) and then when we cancelled that one, Michelle worked her magic and they all got refunded.  It was almost $25K if I recall correctly.  It took a long time to get everything back but eventually it all came back.
 

The next one I have is for Voyager in Sept.  I intend to downgrade my room to the lowest category I can (currently have a GS booked), then pay the [significantly reduced] balance when it’s time, and once protocols are announced, request a full refund.  This will be the first one I have had to do on my own (this is a casino upgrade and I didn’t involve Michelle b/c the casino has basically cut the TAs out for commissions on casino cruises.  They still get a small commission but it’s not worth the headaches they have to go through, IMO). Fingers crossed that it will be successful.  I would maybe try and use the religious exemption on this one but with my luck they would approve it and then we’d still be stuck b/c there’s no way we will take a COVID test !   Best to stick with the process that has worked for us in the past !

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8 hours ago, Bowen said:

have you been able to get refunds on the FCCs?

I feel compelled to edit my response to your question.  I did NOT receive 100% of the money back from all of our FCC's.

We did get a cash refund on 100% of the certificates....meaning that all certificates were submitted (and approved) for a cash refund HOWEVER, there were some penalties.  To be honest, I really do not know which of the FCC(s) were responsible, but there was about $1200 of the value of the FCC(s) that were subject to cancellation penalties.  To the best of my recollection, these were L&S cruises that incurred some associated cancellation fees.  That turns out to be something like 5% of the total value.  I didn't want to mislead you (which I HAD done, but not intentionally) into thinking that I recouped all of the money.  That isn't true....but just the fact that we submitted all of the FCCs for refund and they were all permitted to be processed for refund is pretty remarkable.  I hope our good luck continues as I hope that yours does.

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Thank you for posting this.  We are in a similar situation.  We have a cruse booked for September (pushed out several times from 2020).  I was planning to cancel this week since they announced the extension of the protocols.

I would also not cruse if they are going to make us do anything different than any other passengers.  No markings or limitations because we are not vaxed.  

I am also concerned about the ports, they could have rules that un vaxed would not be allowed to do certain things.  We would be going to Grand Cayman and Jamaica. 

I am still before the final payment date so I think I will be able to get a full refund and not have to deal with FCC's

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Update: 

I realized today that the need to take a PCR test (assuming we'd just be following unvaccinated child protocols) 3 days in advance would mean that the test date would interfere with my son's summer camp. I can move the camp, but he had some friends who would be going at the same time so I really didn't want to if I didn't have to. I called RC to try and push the cruise a couple of weeks but they told me that since final payment had passed they were not able to do it. They did also tell me that if the religious exemption is denied then we will be receiving FULL refunds of all money AND FCCs applied toward the booking. This was a HUGE relief, I can't even express that enough. 

He said it does take 10-15 days to get either accepted or denied the exemption, so we probably won't know for another couple of weeks, but just knowing I can get that refund is a load off. I'm so tired of dealing with all of this, it's been an enormous amount of stress added to an already incredibly stressful couple of years. 

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A YT vid that I saw today said that Princess has announced that they will begin taking unvaccinated pax without any exemption required....but I have heard that exactly one place (that vid) and nowhere else.  According to this Vlogger, Princess will allow unvaxxed up to 10% (the new CDC threshold) and it will be on first come, first served as to who can sail.  I will not believe this until I see something in writing from Princess BUT if they do it and they also eliminate testing, I will be making a jump to Princess ASAP.

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40 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

A YT vid that I saw today said that Princess has announced that they will begin taking unvaccinated pax without any exemption required....but I have heard that exactly one place (that vid) and nowhere else.  According to this Vlogger, Princess will allow unvaxxed up to 10% (the new CDC threshold) and it will be on first come, first served as to who can sail.  I will not believe this until I see something in writing from Princess BUT if they do it and they also eliminate testing, I will be making a jump to Princess ASAP.

I’m just wondering - what’s the reason you’re not wanting to get tested? I get that some people are not comfortable with the vaccine, but testing seems pretty harmless. Is it the risk of being so close to the trip then you can’t go? I’m just wondering - and you don’t have to answer if it’s personal! 

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

A YT vid that I saw today said that Princess has announced that they will begin taking unvaccinated pax without any exemption required....but I have heard that exactly one place (that vid) and nowhere else.  According to this Vlogger, Princess will allow unvaxxed up to 10% (the new CDC threshold) and it will be on first come, first served as to who can sail.  I will not believe this until I see something in writing from Princess BUT if they do it and they also eliminate testing, I will be making a jump to Princess ASAP.

Thanks for the info. I'm jumping right behind you!

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46 minutes ago, spursfreak21 said:

I’m just wondering - what’s the reason you’re not wanting to get tested? I get that some people are not comfortable with the vaccine, but testing seems pretty harmless. Is it the risk of being so close to the trip then you can’t go? I’m just wondering - and you don’t have to answer if it’s personal! 

Never been tested and never will (voluntarily).  Not something to discuss here.  Just a general distrust…

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1 hour ago, spursfreak21 said:

I’m just wondering - what’s the reason you’re not wanting to get tested? I get that some people are not comfortable with the vaccine, but testing seems pretty harmless. Is it the risk of being so close to the trip then you can’t go? I’m just wondering - and you don’t have to answer if it’s personal! 

I've had to get tested once for a surgery I had to have back in 2020 (the very end of the year), I've never done another, and (unless this cruise goes through) I never will. I am willing to do it only because they've had my money for so long that I am worried I won't get it back or I'll have to stress even more in order to jump through the hoops. I'm hoping they do not give me the exemption now that I know I can get the full FCC/money back. My reason for not wanting to mess with the tests is the cost. You can tell that they're trying to make you not want to sail, take a PCR test three days before, take another test day of, take another test before you leave. If it felt like it had rhyme or reason then I'd be okay with it, but after two years....it's just discouragement, that's the only way I can view it.  That said, I'll be on the ship, I'll be paying for the tests, all of that, because it's thousands of dollars. 🙂

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1 hour ago, Bowen said:

I've had to get tested once for a surgery I had to have back in 2020 (the very end of the year), I've never done another, and (unless this cruise goes through) I never will. I am willing to do it only because they've had my money for so long that I am worried I won't get it back or I'll have to stress even more in order to jump through the hoops. I'm hoping they do not give me the exemption now that I know I can get the full FCC/money back. My reason for not wanting to mess with the tests is the cost. You can tell that they're trying to make you not want to sail, take a PCR test three days before, take another test day of, take another test before you leave. If it felt like it had rhyme or reason then I'd be okay with it, but after two years....it's just discouragement, that's the only way I can view it.  That said, I'll be on the ship, I'll be paying for the tests, all of that, because it's thousands of dollars. 🙂

Sorry, but I am confused. You can get testing free in the U.S. Also why would you be taking 3 tests for one cruise vs. 1 test? Are you referring to test requirements from another country?

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

A YT vid that I saw today said that Princess has announced that they will begin taking unvaccinated pax without any exemption required....but I have heard that exactly one place (that vid) and nowhere else.  According to this Vlogger, Princess will allow unvaxxed up to 10% (the new CDC threshold) and it will be on first come, first served as to who can sail.  I will not believe this until I see something in writing from Princess BUT if they do it and they also eliminate testing, I will be making a jump to Princess ASAP.

I saw the same video that you did...  I just went on princess website and this is what it said for their updated policy.. 

We manage an exemption process for a small number of guests who are ineligible for vaccines, subject to the regulations of the ports we visit. Exemptions are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Children under five years old (who are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines) are not required to apply for a vaccine exemption but must still follow all other requirements for unvaccinated guests.

To request an exemption, please call us:

  • North America: 1-800-PRINCESS
  • United Kingdom: 0344 338 8663

Please note that Canada is supporting a process for medical exemptions to vaccination with proper documentation. Cruises that begin, end, or visit Canada will require sailing guests who are not Canadian citizens, and ages 12 and above, be fully vaccinated, unless they are granted a medical exemption. Find out if you can enter Canada at travel.gc.ca^.

^You are now leaving princess.com and navigating to a 3rd party website that is not owned, operated, or controlled by Princess or any of its affiliates.

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2 hours ago, Bowen said:

I've had to get tested once for a surgery I had to have back in 2020 (the very end of the year), I've never done another, and (unless this cruise goes through) I never will. I am willing to do it only because they've had my money for so long that I am worried I won't get it back or I'll have to stress even more in order to jump through the hoops. I'm hoping they do not give me the exemption now that I know I can get the full FCC/money back. My reason for not wanting to mess with the tests is the cost. You can tell that they're trying to make you not want to sail, take a PCR test three days before, take another test day of, take another test before you leave. If it felt like it had rhyme or reason then I'd be okay with it, but after two years....it's just discouragement, that's the only way I can view it.  That said, I'll be on the ship, I'll be paying for the tests, all of that, because it's thousands of dollars. 🙂

When we were scheduling our tests for our December cruise which my son was too young to be vaccinated, I was doing it all for free.  Including the port and onboard test for my son.  So cost really wasn't a factor for us. 

We have had to have tests for other reasons.  Like my husband had to have a positive official test for my daughter for his caretaker benefits to kick in and not have to work so he could take care of the kids.  We had to eventually have negatives for my kids to return to activities, etc.  Now the protocols have changed, so we technically didn't need to test, but recently when my son had symptoms but we did an at home since we need to stay away from certain high risk relatives if we are positive.

But in all the tests we have needed for various things they have all been free.  We use the at home government ones now that we don't need formal stuff.

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

Sorry, but I am confused. You can get testing free in the U.S. Also why would you be taking 3 tests for one cruise vs. 1 test? Are you referring to test requirements from another country?

If you are not vaccinated you need a PCR test 3 days before, you get one at the port (rapid), and if you are longer than 5 days one before you debark the ship.

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1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

Sorry, but I am confused. You can get testing free in the U.S. Also why would you be taking 3 tests for one cruise vs. 1 test? Are you referring to test requirements from another country?

I don't think the PCR testing that I would have to get is free. I could be wrong, but I think there's some cost with it, around $50 per person, unless it's covered by insurance. As to the multiple tests RC has some verbiage in the exemption request about having to take another test after 4 days on the ship and a final test before leaving, so nights 4 and 6, as well as the PCR pre cruise, all at the customers expense.

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11 minutes ago, Bowen said:

I don't think the PCR testing that I would have to get is free. I could be wrong, but I think there's some cost with it, around $50 per person, unless it's covered by insurance. As to the multiple tests RC has some verbiage in the exemption request about having to take another test after 4 days on the ship and a final test before leaving, so nights 4 and 6, as well as the PCR pre cruise, all at the customers expense.

Every PCR test we have ever done or scheduled for my son for the cruise was all free.

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1 hour ago, IzzyB said:

If you are not vaccinated you need a PCR test 3 days before, you get one at the port (rapid), and if you are longer than 5 days one before you debark the ship.

Ah okay, I didn’t realize it was fully referring to an unvaccinated situation (the cruise lines we sail on have all been requiring vaccinations except for younger children who do have to have several tests); I read it as the cost was the reason the poster didn’t want to get tested unrelated to cruising vaccinated or unvaccinated. 👍🏼
 

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14 hours ago, IzzyB said:

Every PCR test we have ever done or scheduled for my son for the cruise was all free.

The only one I've had was back in December of 2020 and wasn't covered, but maybe the rules changed once testing became more widespread. If they accept the exemption I'll definitely let everyone know.

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9 hours ago, Bowen said:

The only one I've had was back in December of 2020 and wasn't covered, but maybe the rules changed once testing became more widespread. If they accept the exemption I'll definitely let everyone know.

Walgreens and CVS both have PCR tests at no charge.  We have only done rapid at those places, but we did PCR at a county site as they would do a rapid and PCR at the same time, so we did that when my daughter was positive as we needed to know who could go to school and my husband get time off to care for who couldn't go to school.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/21/2022 at 12:09 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yes.  100% so far.  It’s not easy though.  Having a super star TA to handle this has been an immeasurable blessing.  All love and thanks to @michelle for everything she has done for us.  
 

The process is pretty burdensome.  Basically, you have to pay your cruise in full (unless protocols have already been announced for the dates of your cruise…which has never happened for us 😢😢), then once protocols are announced, you can request a cash refund.  We were extremely fortunate to have gotten cash for all of the FCCs we had.  I bundled all of them into one cruise fare (Symphony August 2021) and then when we cancelled that one, Michelle worked her magic and they all got refunded.  It was almost $25K if I recall correctly.  It took a long time to get everything back but eventually it all came back.
 

The next one I have is for Voyager in Sept.  I intend to downgrade my room to the lowest category I can (currently have a GS booked), then pay the [significantly reduced] balance when it’s time, and once protocols are announced, request a full refund.  This will be the first one I have had to do on my own (this is a casino upgrade and I didn’t involve Michelle b/c the casino has basically cut the TAs out for commissions on casino cruises.  They still get a small commission but it’s not worth the headaches they have to go through, IMO). Fingers crossed that it will be successful.  I would maybe try and use the religious exemption on this one but with my luck they would approve it and then we’d still be stuck b/c there’s no way we will take a COVID test !   Best to stick with the process that has worked for us in the past !

You didn't have to try to have an exemption request on the books to get a refund?  We are booked For LOTS in September, and while we would love to go, we are not willing to take the shot to make it happen.  We originally booked a cruise for our Honeymoon in 3/2020, and have been trying to cruise ever since.  I would rather have the refund then have it continue to be tied up and no vacation to take 🙄

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No.  I have never submitted any kind of exemption.

Since the COVID protocols for US sailings have been published through September, you will be able to get a full refund for any cruises you have booked through September of this year.  If you used a TA, have them call.  If you booked direct, call in, yourself.  Just tell the CSR that your party is not vaccinated and that you need to cancel, citing COVID protocols, and want a full cash refund.  I just cancelled 2 more cruises this way, earlier this week.  If you have previously purchased any Cruise Planner items (dining, drinks packages or excursions), I recommend that you cancel those before you call to cancel the actual cruise.  The money for the CP purchases will be refunded much quicker than the cruise fare (or deposit, whichever applies).

Be aware that if you call and cancel due to non-vax, the refunds are very slow…they tend to keep the reservation “active” for some period of time before it disappears from your “My Cruise” list.  I’m sure this is their way of holding onto your money for as long as they can but eventually the cruise(s) will disappear from your list and that’s when the countdown (to actually getting your refund) starts.  It’s slow but it will work - eventually.  I’ve cancelled over 20 cruises using this procedure so I know it works.  Just be firm and let them know that you will not accept any FCCs.  If you are unlucky enough to get a CSR that doesn’t understand the rules, just politely thank them, keep your reservation active, hang up and call back until you get someone on the line that knows what they’re doing.  

I really do not know if this process will continue to be successful for bookings after 1-1-23 but for now, it should be successful.

Good luck 

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On 6/2/2022 at 8:47 PM, HeatherN said:

You didn't have to try to have an exemption request on the books to get a refund?  We are booked For LOTS in September, and while we would love to go, we are not willing to take the shot to make it happen.  We originally booked a cruise for our Honeymoon in 3/2020, and have been trying to cruise ever since.  I would rather have the refund then have it continue to be tied up and no vacation to take 🙄

Nope, like Waaay said, you just have to tell them that your party won't be in compliance with the vaccine. When I called to cancel they actually stopped and asked me if I had tried to get a religious exemption, like they wanted me to know this was an option. I guess there are a lot of people cancelling, so if they can fill that 10% unvaccinated (which only includes those eligible, so not very young children) then that's extra income for them. We're still waiting for any word back, but they did ask for 15 working days, so I'll probably hear something toward the end of this week or next week. I am 100% not expecting to get it, but I'm 100% okay with that outcome. Either way, you'll get all of your money and your FCCs back, so it's a win. Hopefully the vaccine requirement will go away in the next round, or at least by the start of 2023. I'm really looking forward to cruising again! 🙂

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6 hours ago, happyIAcruiser said:

Above it says to email vaxaccommodations@rccl.com. I was told over the phone to email special_needs@rccl.com. Do these go to the same place or should I re-send my medical exemption letter to the vax email address?

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/who-should-i-contact-if-a-vaccine-is-contraindicated

The vax email address is what's in the FAQ, so I would use that one.

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On 6/6/2022 at 4:51 PM, Bowen said:

Nope, like Waaay said, you just have to tell them that your party won't be in compliance with the vaccine. When I called to cancel they actually stopped and asked me if I had tried to get a religious exemption, like they wanted me to know this was an option. I guess there are a lot of people cancelling, so if they can fill that 10% unvaccinated (which only includes those eligible, so not very young children) then that's extra income for them. We're still waiting for any word back, but they did ask for 15 working days, so I'll probably hear something toward the end of this week or next week. I am 100% not expecting to get it, but I'm 100% okay with that outcome. Either way, you'll get all of your money and your FCCs back, so it's a win. Hopefully the vaccine requirement will go away in the next round, or at least by the start of 2023. I'm really looking forward to cruising again! 🙂

So if I've had FCCs used, then I won't get cash back? Only a reissue of a new FCC?

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On 6/15/2022 at 6:24 PM, HeatherN said:

So if I've had FCCs used, then I won't get cash back? Only a reissue of a new FCC?

I can't say for sure since I haven't been through it, but I think you get cash back and not a new FCC. I think they're trying very hard right now not to issue anymore FCCs.

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On 6/15/2022 at 7:24 PM, HeatherN said:

So if I've had FCCs used, then I won't get cash back? Only a reissue of a new FCC?

I’ve gotten cash back on every refunded cruise (even those including FCCs) I’ve had to cancel, so far.  Earlier this week I actually cashed out 2 FCCs that they had issued me when I cancelled our August Jewel cruise (unlike all of the previous cancellations, I cancelled this one prior to final payment so the FCCs were only the down payment).  I fought with them and told them I didn’t want FCCs but they would not relent but promised that they would cash them out once they arrived.  I didn’t trust them, but to their credit, as soon as I got the email for the FCCs I called and they cashed them out without a fight.  First time I’ve ever cashed out an FCC directly. As others have said, I think they’re trying to reduce their liabilities (FCCs are a liability to their bottom line) so hopefully it will be a little easier to redeem FCCs than it has been in the past.

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On 6/19/2022 at 10:46 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I’ve gotten cash back on every refunded cruise (even those including FCCs) I’ve had to cancel, so far.  Earlier this week I actually cashed out 2 FCCs that they had issued me when I cancelled our August Jewel cruise (unlike all of the previous cancellations, I cancelled this one prior to final payment so the FCCs were only the down payment).  I fought with them and told them I didn’t want FCCs but they would not relent but promised that they would cash them out once they arrived.  I didn’t trust them, but to their credit, as soon as I got the email for the FCCs I called and they cashed them out without a fight.  First time I’ve ever cashed out an FCC directly. As others have said, I think they’re trying to reduce their liabilities (FCCs are a liability to their bottom line) so hopefully it will be a little easier to redeem FCCs than it has been in the past.

When cashing out your FCCs, did they give you the 125% or just what you paid into it?

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Want to add some positivity. I applied for religious exemption on 6/19 for a cruise on 7/8 and IT GOT APPROVED TODAY! I submitted through vaxaccommodations@rccl.com with everything requested. I called them directly today for an update since we are 7 days out and you can get right through (866) 592-7225 she told me with the holiday weekend I probably wouldn’t hear back until next week and couldn’t guarantee a day to receive a result. Got an email 4 hours later with approval!

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17 hours ago, OliviaP22 said:

Want to add some positivity. I applied for religious exemption on 6/19 for a cruise on 7/8 and IT GOT APPROVED TODAY! I submitted through vaxaccommodations@rccl.com with everything requested. I called them directly today for an update since we are 7 days out and you can get right through (866) 592-7225 she told me with the holiday weekend I probably wouldn’t hear back until next week and couldn’t guarantee a day to receive a result. Got an email 4 hours later with approval!

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So happy this worked out for you! But, wow, they were cutting it close!

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18 hours ago, OliviaP22 said:

Want to add some positivity. I applied for religious exemption on 6/19 for a cruise on 7/8 and IT GOT APPROVED TODAY! I submitted through vaxaccommodations@rccl.com with everything requested. I called them directly today for an update since we are 7 days out and you can get right through (866) 592-7225 she told me with the holiday weekend I probably wouldn’t hear back until next week and couldn’t guarantee a day to receive a result. Got an email 4 hours later with approval!

C0C82DCC-DBE0-42F9-B093-7EAA6513007D.jpeg

Excellent !  So glad to hear that SOME exemptions are being approved.  Very good news, indeed

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On 6/15/2022 at 7:24 PM, HeatherN said:

So if I've had FCCs used, then I won't get cash back? Only a reissue of a new FCC?

I put my request March 8 for our July 23 cruise. Still waiting. Glad you are approved. How much do you have to pay to be tested on board? 

12 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Excellent !  So glad to hear that SOME exemptions are being approved.  Very good news, indeed

 

On 6/15/2022 at 7:24 PM, HeatherN said:

So if I've had FCCs used, then I won't get cash back? Only a reissue of a new FCC?

 

10 hours ago, twangster said:

Hopefully this will be a trend that moves the needle back in the direction of normal while the CDC drags its feet on the issue.

 

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