FCCs no longer expire

[Done]

Per the home page of this blog posted by Matt:

Royal Caribbean removes future cruise credit expiration dates

Our dilemma: We booked a cruise using FCC's before their expiration dates so we wouldn't lose them.  We are now wondering if we could cancel the cruise and apply the FCCs to a cruise more to our liking.

 

[HeWhoWaits]

Just received an email about this that sure sounds like we have an FCC out there that we didn't know about. Where do we go to find this magical money that Royal thinks they owe us?

Dear Guest,

We have exciting news for you! To provide you with additional flexibility to sail with us, we have extended your Future Cruise Credit (FCC). Your FCC will remain active and will never expire.

Our systems still require an expiration date on file, so in the next few days we’ll update our records to reflect an expiration date far in the future – rest assured these credits do not expire. No action is needed on your part, we’ll take care of everything for you!

Thank you for being a part of our Royal Comeback. We can’t wait to welcome you back onboard soon!

[Matt]

2 hours ago, Toby said:

Our dilemma: We booked a cruise using FCC's before their expiration dates so we wouldn't lose them.  We are now wondering if we could cancel the cruise and apply the FCCs to a cruise more to our liking.

If you cancel a cruise, the FCC should be re-issued back to you. I'm not sure if they would still be considered CwC credits or not (only those qualify for no expiration date)

[smokeybandit]

In the year 2525, if my FCC is still alive
 

[WAAAYTOOO]

27 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

In the year 2525, if my FCC is still alive
 

...can Royal still survive...

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

After ALL the stresses and emails and still trying to figure out actual monies of FCC refunds….NOW they decide to make expirations non-existent!  

[AspiringCruisePlanner]

@Matt, would you know the answers to some questions I have regarding this new change?

Would FCCs for cancellations of upcoming CWC bookings still be issued without an expiration date? Or does this only apply to FCCs issued before today?  I'm led to believe it will apply towards all CWC FCCs, past and future, but I can't be sure.

If a cruise is booked using these CWC FCCs that is lower in price than the value of the FCC, does the unused portion of the FCCs that is re-issued now have an expiration date?

[Done]

52 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

After ALL the stresses and emails and still trying to figure out actual monies of FCC refunds….NOW they decide to make expirations non-existent!  

I would guess there are a significant number of FCCs that are in danger of expiration.  Those unused FCC's also represent significant lost revenue opportunities from on board purchases, dining, drink packages, bar bills, excursions, etc. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said:

Would FCCs for cancellations of upcoming CWC bookings still be issued without an expiration date? Or does this only apply to FCCs issued before today?  I'm led to believe it will apply towards all CWC FCCs, past and future, but I can't be sure.

 Not Matt….but it is my understanding that CWC is over and that no new CWC FCCs will be awarded…

[AspiringCruisePlanner]

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 Not Matt….but it is my understanding that CWC is over and that no new CWC FCCs will be awarded…

There are still some CWC eligible bookings.  Any booking confirmed on or before March 31, 2022 for a sailing that departs on or before September 30, 2022 is still eligible.

[Done]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

If you cancel a cruise, the FCC should be re-issued back to you. I'm not sure if they would still be considered CwC credits or not (only those qualify for no expiration date)

I am unsure about that.  I re-read the notice again and it says: "As of June 1, 2022, Royal Caribbean announced that all unredeemed future cruise credits (FCC) offered under the Cruise with Confidence program will no longer expire.

 

The term "unredeemed" used in the notice gives me pause.

[Matt]

2 hours ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said:

Would FCCs for cancellations of upcoming CWC bookings still be issued without an expiration date? Or does this only apply to FCCs issued before today?  I'm led to believe it will apply towards all CWC FCCs, past and future, but I can't be sure.

I think all CwC cruises. It did not specify otherwise.

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 Not Matt….but it is my understanding that CWC is over and that no new CWC FCCs will be awarded…

If you booked a cruise before March 31 and for sailing before Sep 30, you can still cancel under CwC. 

I did this last week when my kid caught the flu 3 days before the cruise. Cancelled with 100% FCC. When I rebooked, I was told no such policy would apply for the new booking.

[JasonOasis]

4 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Just received an email about this that sure sounds like we have an FCC out there that we didn't know about. Where do we go to find this magical money that Royal thinks they owe us?

I just received the same email about a FCC that I have that now will not expire. 

I thought I had used all my FCC's but now I'm going through every email I've received from Royal since April of 2020 trying to find which FCC I missed.

[HeWhoWaits]

17 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

I just received the same email about a FCC that I have that now will not expire. 

I thought I had used all my FCC's but now I'm going through every email I've received from Royal since April of 2020 trying to find which FCC I missed.

We never received any FCC emails to search through. That's why the email saying what we have won't expire is such a mystery.

[fireclan]

20 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

I just received the same email about a FCC that I have that now will not expire. 

I thought I had used all my FCC's but now I'm going through every email I've received from Royal since April of 2020 trying to find which FCC I missed.

I received the same e-mail but I know I don't have any outstanding FCCs. I received full cash refunds for my cruises due to the current mandates. I chalked it up to more Royal screw-ups. 

[JasonOasis]

5 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

We never received any FCC emails to search through. That's why the email saying what we have won't expire is such a mystery.

Royal never emailed you your FCC's? 

 

1 hour ago, fireclan said:

I received the same e-mail but I know I don't have any outstanding FCCs. I received full cash refunds for my cruises due to the current mandates. I chalked it up to more Royal screw-ups. 

I didn't take the cash refund because I the 125% was better and I knew as soon as the CDC allowed cruising to resume I would be back out there on a Royal Caribbean ship.

I jumped the gun and  canceled one cruise and only got 100% FCC but every other cruise I waited until Royal canceled and on those cruising the FCC's were 125%.

It could be Royal's mistake because I thought I used all my FCC's but I'm still searching to make sure I haven't forgotten about one because I had quite a few FCC's. 

[Cruiser4Life]

I thought I used all mine too but my TA found about $168 and change. She said reason being is that you can choose to apply the whole amount but sometimes they don’t use it for the taxes and port fees and that becomes part of your cruise balance. So a small amount may have kicked back later but customer and TA not  always notified.

[Ampurp85]

So, this make me wonder if there will ever be any FCCs now. If you cancel, they are keeping your deposit and if you change, they take the $100 change fee. So, they seem to be getting rid of FCCs in general. 

[twangster]

7 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

So, this make me wonder if there will ever be any FCCs now. If you cancel, they are keeping your deposit and if you change, they take the $100 change fee. So, they seem to be getting rid of FCCs in general. 

Traditionally FCC has been used for other purposes.  Well before the shutdown I had my fill of FCC and hated them before.  Now I really dislike them but I wouldn't go so far as to say they are getting rid of FCC, they are simply changing the cancellation and change policy.    

 

[Done]

On 6/1/2022 at 3:56 PM, JasonOasis said:

I just received the same email about a FCC that I have that now will not expire. 

I thought I had used all my FCC's but now I'm going through every email I've received from Royal since April of 2020 trying to find which FCC I missed.

I had the same issue.  I called and sat on hold for over an hour.  When the rep. checked she found the FCC and sent me the email.  I had the reservation number to help her search. 

I have had other sailings where I received no final invoice AND the automated system would not let me access them either.  I was told it is a known issue and it has not been resolved for over a year!

We have 2 cruises bought and paid for fully this year and one booked for next year.  I am going to monitor this message board and if complaints continue to surface I will cancel the 2023 booking and quit cruising.  Retirement is not going as well as we had hoped!

[Brenna]

I was thankful for this email since it caused me to reach out to my travel agent (shoutout Beth @ MEI) who found we still had some FCC that had been reissues (and I never got an email from RCCL) so yay this feels like free money right on the cusp of us hopefully booking a Bermuda sailing for July 

[gatorskin76]

This was the right call and a great decision by them in my opinion.  I will try not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but if they did this a long time ago it would have saved a lot of frustration.  Better late than never I guess.

[mworkman]

If only Royal had a system that customers and TA’s could actually look at FCC’s availability, wouldn’t that be great.

[kt2000]

We booked a cruise in March 2023 with a fcc.  Can we cancel for refund or get credit to move to another date? 
 

Our vacation calendar has changed we will be unable to attend in March 2023

[twangster]

1 hour ago, kt2000 said:

We booked a cruise in March 2023 with a fcc.  Can we cancel for refund or get credit to move to another date? 
 

Our vacation calendar has changed we will be unable to attend in March 2023

It may depend on the type of FCC you used.  There is no single answer, it depends.  Ask your TA or if booked direct call Royal and ask.  Know what you want to switch to when you call just in case you get a green light and offer to switch.  

[therealbigredrules]

RCCL had to know long ago that they would be extending the expiration date.  They strategically delayed this announcement.  Using the previous expiration date as a means to push people on the fence to book during the more risky ramp up / return to normal phase of filling ships back up.  

Consumer behavior certainly is fascinating and hanging a lost FCC out as a carrot is typical.

And the approach worked for me.  I booked sooner with a less desirable Interary because I didn't want to lose my FCC.  Certainly not the end of the world.  Very happy to be cruising again.   But it sure would have been nice to have additional time to book what I really wanted.  But again, certainly not the end of the world.  And given their cash position, it was a good business move. 

It is just especially funny when they wrap these shenanigans in an "exciting announcement"  

 

 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, therealbigredrules said:

RCCL had to know long ago that they would be extending the expiration date.  They strategically delayed this announcement.  Using the previous expiration date as a means to push people on the fence to book during the more risky ramp up / return to normal phase of filling ships back up.  

Consumer behavior certainly is fascinating and hanging a lost FCC out as a carrot is typical.

And the approach worked for me.  I booked sooner with a less desirable Interary because I didn't want to lose my FCC.  Certainly not the end of the world.  Very happy to be cruising again.   But it sure would have been nice to have additional time to book what I really wanted.  But again, certainly not the end of the world.  And given their cash position, it was a good business move. 

It is just especially funny when they wrap these shenanigans in an "exciting announcement"  

 

 

I don't think they knew long ago.  

It's a small miracle they still exist.  They have spent most of 2020 and 2021 just trying to stay afloat.   No one had a crystal ball how long this would go on two years ago, or 12 months ago.   They are still adapting and still trying to figure out how to survive.   In short, they are figuring this out on the fly, as we go.   This is just the latest adaptation once they realized it's not over yet despite how much all of us hoped this virus would be gone by now.  The virus isn't gone.  It's still wreaking havoc on their recovery plans and for many would be cruisers.  

[kt2000]

I had a cruise  planned with a FCC credit, that no longer works with our plans since our spring break calendar change at the school.   Called today to move that cruise purchased with cruise credit to a cruise in summer 2023 and was notified I had to still go by FCC expiration date,   

I explained that I thought FCC credits no longer expired .....that was shot down, I was told i had access to FCC but only to expiration date, I am way ahead of full refund point before penalty, I guess this makes zero sense to me since FCC supposedly doesn't expire....Cruise is currently booked March 2023.   (I rushed after to book when they allowed a full year since cancellation recently in hopes that cruise would work with our vacation plans)  We have basically lost out on a weeks vacation. I was even willing to pay change fees.

I get it covid made cruising a sh#t show....  But our family has tight window when we can vacation.  We will never cruise with Royal Carribean again.

[smokeybandit]

46 minutes ago, kt2000 said:

I had a cruise  planned with a FCC credit, that no longer works with our plans since our spring break calendar change at the school.   Called today to move that cruise purchased with cruise credit to a cruise in summer 2023 and was notified I had to still go by FCC expiration date,   

I explained that I thought FCC credits no longer expired .....that was shot down, I was told i had access to FCC but only to expiration date, I am way ahead of full refund point before penalty, I guess this makes zero sense to me since FCC supposedly doesn't expire....Cruise is currently booked March 2023.   (I rushed after to book when they allowed a full year since cancellation recently in hopes that cruise would work with our vacation plans)  We have basically lost out on a weeks vacation. I was even willing to pay change fees.

I get it covid made cruising a sh#t show....  But our family has tight window when we can vacation.  We will never cruise with Royal Carribean again.

CAll them again, you'll get a different answer

[twangster]

3 hours ago, kt2000 said:

I had a cruise  planned with a FCC credit, that no longer works with our plans since our spring break calendar change at the school.   Called today to move that cruise purchased with cruise credit to a cruise in summer 2023 and was notified I had to still go by FCC expiration date,   

I explained that I thought FCC credits no longer expired .....that was shot down, I was told i had access to FCC but only to expiration date, I am way ahead of full refund point before penalty, I guess this makes zero sense to me since FCC supposedly doesn't expire....Cruise is currently booked March 2023.   (I rushed after to book when they allowed a full year since cancellation recently in hopes that cruise would work with our vacation plans)  We have basically lost out on a weeks vacation. I was even willing to pay change fees.

I get it covid made cruising a sh#t show....  But our family has tight window when we can vacation.  We will never cruise with Royal Carribean again.

Once an FCC is applied to a booking it has been used.  It doesn't exist anymore, it's been consumed.  The new extension applies to unused FCC.  

Since you have a booked cruise the normal policies apply to your booking.   Technically they are correct, you can't make changes to your booking.  Sometimes you can reach a phone agent who might be willing to move the cruise but by policy they don't have it.  Virtually all cruiseines operate this way.  

In your case you might be able to argue your booking was made before the latest updates to the NRD policy were announced.  As you work through this or as you move forward with a different cruise line consider using a travel agent who can sometimes work miracles despite official policies.  

[MaryCS62]

Does anyone know if FCC still have no exp date?  We had a B2B on Oasis in August (9 day/7 day) that had to be cancelled, which we did under the CWC rather than using insurance, because it met the criteria (booked prior to March, go by Sept) and we were told our FCC would no longer expire.  It was to be a total of 8 certificates (4 people, 2 cruises each).  Reason for cancellation - my daughter had been hospitalized since early July, and by late July, it was obvious we weren't going anywhere, at least not with her, and we certainly weren't sailing without her.  Aug 5 cruise cancelled by late July, Aug 14 cruise cancelled by early August.

To date, we've gotten 3 FCC's - DH, & both DD'S, all for the 2nd cruise.   And, our MEI agent told my DH that they only have a 1 year exp!!  Younger DD & I used up a lot of vacation time (the allotted cruise time, plus more because older DD eventually passed away late August, and we needed additional time), and can't exactly drop everything to go whenever.  DH teaches at a community college, so has much more leeway & time available, but isn't going to be able to use that much of it, even if he were to cruise solo. Plus, he'd come home to changed locks and 2 very unhappy people .

Plus, we're still hoping FCC transfer is possible, since obviously one set will never be used by the original owner 

 

Can't find anything about exp dates on Royal's website, so any help people can give is greatly appreciated

[WAAAYTOOO]

@MaryCS62, so very sorry to hear of your daughter’s passing.  I recall many wonderful blog postings that included her.  Truly very sorry to hear this.

[CruiseGus]

picture of the email I received on 6-1-2022  - hope that helps

[ChessE4]

And our agent told us last week that the excess FCC we expected to receive as OBC on our December cruise, which was booked with FCC, will be reissued.