I will never give Royal Caribbean my business.

[Mark Cordle]

My family recently booked a cruise with Royal Caribbean international to the Greek isles. We put a large deposit on the vacation and invested a lot of time planning what we thought was going to be the trip of a lifetime. So after making payments on the cruise we had to contact Royal Caribbean to make a slight change to our booking, nothing major, but upon contacting them we learned that they Chartered our ship to a private individual and that our cruise had been cancelled. The problem is they didn’t contact us to let us know, in fact they contacted my wife to send the remaining balance for the cruise even after it was cancelled. At this time we asked for our money back and had to fight with them to do that. We finally received a full refund and I actually emailed the CEO of Royal, but I don’t expect to hear back from him.

[TXcruzer]

you do realize this board has no affiliation with Royal Caribbean?

[ChessE4]

47 minutes ago, Mark Cordle said:

My family recently booked a cruise with Royal Caribbean international to the Greek isles. We put a large deposit on the vacation and invested a lot of time planning what we thought was going to be the trip of a lifetime. So after making payments on the cruise we had to contact Royal Caribbean to make a slight change to our booking, nothing major, but upon contacting them we learned that they Chartered our ship to a private individual and that our cruise had been cancelled. The problem is they didn’t contact us to let us know, in fact they contacted my wife to send the remaining balance for the cruise even after it was cancelled. At this time we asked for our money back and had to fight with them to do that. We finally received a full refund and I actually emailed the CEO of Royal, but I don’t expect to hear back from him.

What a frustrating experience! We have had 2 cruises cancelled in 19 years, so it isn't a frequent event. I think the CEO's staff will reply. Because we use a travel Agent, we've easily rebooked, although we were disappointed at missing our preferred itinerary. Whatever you choose to do in the future, know that you aren't alone. We all have a mix of good and not so good cruising experiences.

[twangster]

It is very frustrating when a cruise line cancels a cruise for a charter.  Unfortunately they all do it.  

[Ryan79]

This could have happened with any cruise line. This is rare to happen, but it happens. A good TA would have made this experience a lot less pleasant. 

[smokeybandit]

So many questions about posts like this.

Almost if people used ChatGPT to construct a message board rant.

[Rackham]

45 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

So many questions about posts like this.

Almost if people used ChatGPT to construct a message board rant.

Couldn't be ChatGPT. It's actually articulate.

Edit: Le ChatGPT Rant. Not providing the prompt, though it's rather simple. From GPT-3.5 (the free-to-use model).

Hey fellow cruisers,

I need to vent about the absolutely infuriating experience I recently had with Royal Caribbean. Brace yourselves because this is one rant you won't want to miss! So, here's the deal: I had been eagerly anticipating a dream vacation to the Greek Isles on a Royal Caribbean cruise. I meticulously planned, saved up, and counted down the days, only to have my dreams crushed when the company decided to cancel our cruise to charter the ship to a private group. Can you believe the audacity?!

Let me start by saying that I understand chartering happens occasionally. However, it's how Royal Caribbean handled the situation that has left me fuming. They couldn't have cared less about their loyal customers who had booked and paid for this cruise months in advance. It's like they waved a dismissive hand, saying, "Sorry, but we've got bigger fish to fry."

First and foremost, communication was abysmal. I received a generic email, buried in my inbox, informing me of the cancellation. No personalized apology, no explanation, nothing! I was expected to accept their decision and move on as if my vacation plans were insignificant. Well, let me tell you, they were anything but insignificant to me!

What really irks me is that Royal Caribbean clearly prioritized profit over customer satisfaction. Instead of valuing us, the ones who have been loyal to them, they sold out to this private group. I understand that money talks, but what about the people who have supported the company all these years? Do we not matter anymore?

It's not just the cancellation that angered me; it's the lack of compensation or alternatives. Sure, they offered a refund, but that doesn't make up for the countless hours I spent planning and researching this trip. And what about the emotional toll this has taken? The disappointment and frustration of having your long-awaited vacation yanked away without any meaningful explanation? It's simply unacceptable!

To add salt to the wound, Royal Caribbean had the audacity to suggest that we book another cruise at a discounted rate. Are they serious? They expect me to trust them again after this colossal letdown? They think a few dollars off will miraculously heal the wounds they inflicted? No, thank you! I'll take my business elsewhere.

I used to be a staunch advocate for Royal Caribbean, always recommending them to friends and family. But after this experience, they have lost a customer for life. There are plenty of other cruise lines out there that value their patrons and wouldn't dare pull such a stunt.

So, fellow cruisers, beware of Royal Caribbean's lack of respect for their customers. They may seem enticing with their glossy brochures and tempting itineraries, but when push comes to shove, they'll ditch you in a heartbeat for a private group. Let's use our voices and make it clear that we deserve better treatment and transparency from the companies we choose to support.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Together, let's hold Royal Caribbean accountable and ensure they learn from this disgraceful act.

[smokeybandit]

This one is from Google's Bard

 

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with Royal Caribbean International. I had booked a cruise with them for my family and I, and we were all very excited to go. However, we were shocked and dismayed to find out that our cruise had been cancelled without our knowledge.

We had paid a large deposit on the cruise, and we had also made several payments towards the balance. We had even booked flights and made hotel reservations in anticipation of our trip. When we found out that our cruise had been cancelled, we were devastated. We had been looking forward to this trip for months, and now it was all for nothing.

We tried to contact Royal Caribbean to find out why our cruise had been cancelled, but we were unable to get through to anyone. We left messages, but we never received a call back. We were left feeling completely abandoned and disappointed.

We understand that things happen, and that cruises can be cancelled for a variety of reasons. However, we believe that Royal Caribbean could have handled this situation better. They should have at least had the courtesy to let us know that our cruise had been cancelled. Instead, we found out about it through a third party.

We are very disappointed with Royal Caribbean's customer service. We feel that they have not treated us fairly, and we will not be booking another cruise with them in the future.

[SpeedNoodles]

7 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

. A good TA would have made this experience a lot less pleasant. 

A good TA would have made this experience a lot less painful.   

[BrianB]

‘Trip of a lifetime.’ ‘Dream vacation’. ‘Planned for months’.

Seems to me to be some of the key phrases in these hit and run rants.

They could just shorten it in the interest of brevity….. 

‘Royal bad, we mad, so sad.’

I empathize with anyone who has had a cruise cancelled…it’s annoying and ruins plans and dreams. I know it happens for only a few reasons…especially charters and unexpected mechanical issues. 
It’s frustrating to know the company made the business decision to bump existing reservations for a charter. Sort of like saying ‘yeah, we decided their business is more important to us than your’s’. 

It sucks.

But what also sucks are the agenda-driven hit and run posters who have an ulterior motive for their negative posts.

I’m certainly not accusing this poster of being one of those. That wouldn’t be in the spirit of this forum. Just my opinion.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, BrianB said:

‘Trip of a lifetime.’ ‘Dream vacation’. ‘Planned for months’.

Seems to me to be some of the key phrases in these hit and run rants.

They could just shorten it in the interest of brevity….. 

‘Royal bad, we mad, so sad.’

I empathize with anyone who has had a cruise cancelled…it’s annoying and ruins plans and dreams. I know it happens for only a few reasons…especially charters and unexpected mechanical issues. 
It’s frustrating to know the company made the business decision to bump existing reservations for a charter. Sort of like saying ‘yeah, we decided their business is more important to us than your’s’. 

It sucks.

But what also sucks are the agenda-driven hit and run posters who have an ulterior motive for their negative posts.

I’m certainly not accusing this poster of being one of those. That wouldn’t be in the spirit of this forum. Just my opinion.

For an infrequent or first time cruiser this may very well have been a trip of a lifetime.  In this case the Odyssey itinerary the week that was chartered was more rare and not offered on a regular basis.  That's extra salt rubbed in the wound.

I argue it's quite sad that the practice of dumping guests has become so common place that regular cruisers have become normalized to it.  "Oh well, dumped by Royal again".

The OP's rant is well deserved by Royal and other cruise lines that do the same.  They wouldn't have an agenda were it not for being poorly treated in the first place. 

[teddy]

44 minutes ago, twangster said:

For an infrequent or first time cruiser this may very well have been a trip of a lifetime. 

This is a very good point that is easy to lose sight of after x amount of cruises. 
 

Our first cruise ever was on Mariner in 2019.  We were blown away and that experience led us to book another later that year.   The experience on our second cruise mirrored the first, so we booked another….then another, and when we flew to Nassau to be able to cruise in 2021, we realized we were past the point of no return.
 

If that first or second cruise had been like some reviews I’ve recently read, we would have moved on to another vacation type.   Now that we have time and money invested in our cruising “career”, we’re more likely to excuse bad reviews as one-offs or blame the messenger.  
 

In addition, cruising during the restart was a very unique experience, one that  I suspect will never be replicated (we were on Adventure with 470ish guests). Those of us who were fortunate enough to be able to cruise in this time period are probably more invested than some who only has a couple cruises under their belt. 
 

 

[tjcruisers]

Outside of a world shutdown, I've never had a cruise cancelled. If anybody has experienced it, what does Royal offer?

[twangster]

17 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

Outside of a world shutdown, I've never had a cruise cancelled. If anybody has experienced it, what does Royal offer?

In the case of a charter the typical offer is 3 or 4 cruises where you are price protected, some minor OBC or a full refund.

The problem can be the dates may not work for you and for folks in suites often the suites on alternate dates are already booked.  Cabin choice can be poor. 

I've yet to be able to take advantage of the alternate dates offered or my suites have been unavailable so I always end up with a refund.  One was a Star Class booking and there are only two cabins of that type.  They were booked on any date that could work for me so Royal's answer was tough luck, so sorry, here's a refund now get lost. 

[Bazza]

They cancelled my Oasis cruise next January (problem we had we were B2B so only half was cancelled!) and this was the email:

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, We’re reaching out to let you know that, regrettably, we have to cancel our January 21st, 2024 Oasis of the Seas sailing, as it has been chartered. We know how much time and effort go into planning your cruise, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience. Every aspect of your time with us should be enjoyable, so we’ve put together some alternate options that we hope will work for you. Option 1: Re-book one of the following 2024 7-NIght itineraries departing from Miami, Florida onboard Oasis of the Seas: Sailing to Nassau, Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica on: January 7th, January 14th, January 28th, or February 4th What you’ll receive: 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 your booking was already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for the difference. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment within 14 business days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. To sweeten the offer, you’ll receive a credit to spend onboard per stateroom: $100 USD for Interior, Ocean View, and Balcony staterooms | $200 USD for Suites Plus, an additional $50 USD for each third or more guest to spend onboard And, you’ll also be reimbursed for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car). We’ll cover up to $200 USD per guest for Domestic changes, or up to $400 USD per guest for International changes. Please email your receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement. Option 2: Re-book any other Royal Caribbean International sailing If you prefer to re-book another sailing not included in Option 1, we’ll waive any non-refundable deposit change fees. Please know, you’ll be responsible for any difference in pricing for your cruise fare, taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items. If your booking was already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for the difference. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment within 14 business days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. And, you’ll also be reimbursed for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car). We’ll cover up to $200 USD per guest for Domestic changes, or up to $400 USD per guest for International changes. Please email your receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement. Option 3: If you can’t find a new itinerary that works for you and choose to cancel, we’ll be sad to see you go. You’ll receive: A full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare (including non-refundable deposits) and any pre-paid amenities to the original form of payment, within 14 business days after we move them. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. 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.   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. Please note, if you choose this option, we will not provide additional compensation. It’s important to us that you find the best cruise option. Please call us at 888-281-9344 or contact your Travel Advisor by April 27th, 2023 to let us know your decision. And please know, hold times may be longer than usual. If you decide to go with Option 3, there’s no need to call us. If we haven’t heard from you by April 27th, 2023, your reservation will be cancelled. If you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at:  1 888 281 9344 in the U.S. 1800 754 500 in Australia / 0800 102 123 in New Zealand In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005 All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for understanding, and we hope you find another cruise 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. Sincerely, Aurora Yera-Rodriguez AVP | Guest Experience Royal Caribbean International

Was not ideal as had flights, hotels and parking all booked around the 2 cruises so had to do a lot of re-arranging. Incurred some costs, lost our flight upgrades on the return flight and still not had the compensation but we did manage to get on Oasis a week later instead so not all bad. 

 

[FionaMG]

I and others are still waiting to hear what's happening with our Freedom sailings in November/December 2024. They've been off the website for weeks and everything points to her doing her required dry dock in that period, including a booking at the port of Funchal in November that pretty much confirms this hypothesis.

But we have yet to hear anything from Royal and those who contacted them have essentially been given the run-around, which is not fair because it prevents you from making alternative arrangements far enough in advance that the prices are still reasonable. Obviously it's way too far out for anyone to have air booked yet but, even so, a couple of the apparently affected sailings are holidays sailings that will be extremely difficult to replace closer in.

I used to work in tourism and the one thing we held as gospel was always to keep our guests informed. Even if you have nothing new to tell them, you go and tell them precisely that, and you keep doing it until you do have some news for them. Nothing stirs up a beehive of discontent more than people feeling they are being ignored and disrespected.

[Jolly Ogre]

Yeah what Fiona said!!

[anneglubis]

They charter the ship? So the keep the crew on it and just have a cruise but with all people from one company or whoever chartered? Or do the just charter the ship and some other cruise company runs the trip? 

Someone mentioned charter in a different post this week. But that's the first time I ever heard of such a thing. 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, anneglubis said:

They charter the ship? So the keep the crew on it and just have a cruise but with all people from one company or whoever chartered? Or do the just charter the ship and some other cruise company runs the trip? 

Someone mentioned charter in a different post this week. But that's the first time I ever heard of such a thing. 

Full ship charters:

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/full-cruise-ship-charters.html

A company charters the ship with crew and the charter company sets the rates and is responsible for selling their event.  Royal supplies the food, crew, etc.  

[steverk]

5 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I and others are still waiting to hear what's happening with our Freedom sailings in November/December 2024. They've been off the website for weeks and everything points to her doing her required dry dock in that period, including a booking at the port of Funchal in November that pretty much confirms this hypothesis.

But we have yet to hear anything from Royal and those who contacted them have essentially been given the run-around, which is not fair because it prevents you from making alternative arrangements far enough in advance that the prices are still reasonable. Obviously it's way too far out for anyone to have air booked yet but, even so, a couple of the apparently affected sailings are holidays sailings that will be extremely difficult to replace closer in.

I used to work in tourism and the one thing we held as gospel was always to keep our guests informed. Even if you have nothing new to tell them, you go and tell them precisely that, and you keep doing it until you do have some news for them. Nothing stirs up a beehive of discontent more than people feeling they are being ignored and disrespected.

I was on Voyager recently and asked about this. (I've actually booked all of November as my kids are work for NASA and have a space launch in November 2024, but the exact date is not yet known. After watching the launch, we want to jump on another cruise) As you've noticed, the sailings still appear int he cruise planner but not on the website.  

So, I asked in NextCruise about it.  They assured me the ship was sailing but sold out.  I questioned how an entire ship could sell out for 6 sailings, all categories overnight. He assured me this was the case.

I'm choking on the "grain" of salt it took to not pursue that one further!

Anyway, Explorer out of Miami has some really terrific itineraries in November 2024 and is a great alternative to Freedom. I'd suggest booking that with a refundable fare as a backup.

[FionaMG]

28 minutes ago, steverk said:

I was on Voyager recently and asked about this. (I've actually booked all of November as my kids are work for NASA and have a space launch in November 2024, but the exact date is not yet known. After watching the launch, we want to jump on another cruise) As you've noticed, the sailings still appear int he cruise planner but not on the website.  

So, I asked in NextCruise about it.  They assured me the ship was sailing but sold out.  I questioned how an entire ship could sell out for 6 sailings, all categories overnight. He assured me this was the case.

I'm choking on the "grain" of salt it took to not pursue that one further!

Anyway, Explorer out of Miami has some really terrific itineraries in November 2024 and is a great alternative to Freedom. I'd suggest booking that with a refundable fare as a backup.

Indeed. My eyebrow is raised so high it's touching the ceiling.

I do have my eye on Explorer's December 5th sailing as a possible alternative but with the two extra nights it does push the price up. I guess I'm kind of hoping that they'll price protect us on to that one if and when they do cancel the Freedom sailings. (Yeah, dream on, I know )

[SpicyCherry]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

They were booked on any date that could work for me so Royal's answer was tough luck, so sorry, here's a refund now get lost. 

Don’t you mean: @BrianB’s ‘Royal bad, we mad, so sad.’

[mistertomatohead]

22 hours ago, TXcruzer said:

you do realize this board has no affiliation with Royal Caribbean?

Huh? What does this even mean? It's literally in the name.  I'm new to cruising and I like hearing about these issues especially after the shutdown because everything seems to be different. The experience seems very different. The cruise lines seem to treat their guests very differently. I'll leave it at that. People can decide if it's better or worse.

I also don't buy the they all do it argument. Some do it better. It's all in the details. Personally, if a cruise line did this to me I'd be pretty mad. I'd give another cruise line my business (and the chance to do the same to me again.) But that's how it goes these days.

[SpicyCherry]

2 hours ago, anneglubis said:

They charter the ship? So the keep the crew on it and just have a cruise but with all people from one company or whoever chartered? Or do the just charter the ship and some other cruise company runs the trip? 

Someone mentioned charter in a different post this week. But that's the first time I ever heard of such a thing. 

I’m doing my 1st Charter sailing on Celebrity Summit next year….the ship was chartered by Jazz Cruises. The initial reservation is booked through them and then a few months prior to sailing, we will receive a Celebrity booking number so we can book excursions, drink packages, etc through the cruise planner. I believe most of these Theme Cruises are Charters but perhaps some are not.

[Rackham]

2 hours ago, mistertomatohead said:

Huh? What does this even mean? It's literally in the name. 

"About
Royal Caribbean Blog is an unofficial fan blog written for other fans of Royal Caribbean International. The Royal Caribbean Blog is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean International"

From: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/

[smokeybandit]

Next cruise doesn't know. They just see no cabins available and think "sold out"

[TXcruzer]

2 hours ago, mistertomatohead said:

Huh? What does this even mean? It's literally in the name.  I'm new to cruising and I like hearing about these issues especially after the shutdown because everything seems to be different. The experience seems very different. The cruise lines seem to treat their guests very differently. I'll leave it at that. People can decide if it's better or worse.

I also don't buy the they all do it argument. Some do it better. It's all in the details. Personally, if a cruise line did this to me I'd be pretty mad. I'd give another cruise line my business (and the chance to do the same to me again.) But that's how it goes these days.

This is a fan site, no affiliation to Royal Caribbean 

 

This is an EXCELLENT place for new cruisers, such as yourself to learn all manner of things, and to get excellent advice. 

 

Writing a post about taking your business elsewhere really needs to be sent to the corporate entity, not the fan club.

 

EVERY mainstream cruise line out there cancels pre booked ships if the offer from the charter is strong enough (and YES, they ALL handle it EXACTLY the same way)

[Linda R]

Yes, all cruise lines book charters.   I have had 2 cruises canceled because of private group charters.  I have a great travel agent and it all worked out.   

[Pamela Mitchell]

I find it hard to believe that RCL would cancel a cruise to use as a charter.  What was the name of the ship?

[SpeedNoodles]

37 minutes ago, Pamela Mitchell said:

I find it hard to believe that RCL would cancel a cruise to use as a charter.  What was the name of the ship?

It's not unusual at all.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Pamela Mitchell said:

I find it hard to believe that RCL would cancel a cruise to use as a charter.  What was the name of the ship?

It's done several times every year.  

The chartering company has to pay any compensation costs for cancelled guests so they can charter the ship - the measly OBC they offer.  Ideally the ship is chartered years in advance to minimize impact but sometimes it doesn't happen that way.

 

 

[RCVoyager]

From the other viewpoint, I have been on three chartered cruises.  Two of the three were two of the best cruises I've ever been on. 

Mine were music cruises.  You have all the trappings of a regular cruise (food, ports, casino, ect), except all of the on board entertainment, with the exception of comedians, is replaced by your special interest.  In my cases, it was called Ships and Dips and featured the 90s rock band the Barenaked Ladies.   None of those stuffy music, dancing, and singing shows that bore me to tears.  Just great music from 20 or more acts all over the ship from about 10 AM til about 3 AM every day.  For my brothers and me it is/was the best of both worlds.

I do think the "offending cruise line" should be very generous with it's compensation in these cases.  Very generous to the point of someone like the OP from this thread coming on a website like this to say "we were displaced and received a 50% refund, were rebooked on a similar trip with room upgrades and reduced drink packages, and any cancellation/change fees from our airline would be paid by them"... or something similar.

This OP's post, is one of the few, perhaps the first, of these drive by "rants" that actually has merit to it... at least that I can remember.

[TXcruzer]

9 hours ago, Pamela Mitchell said:

I find it hard to believe that RCL would cancel a cruise to use as a charter.  What was the name of the ship?

Hard to believe or not, it is a legitimate occurrence a couple times a year.

[WhoCruiser]

14 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Indeed. My eyebrow is raised so high it's touching the ceiling.

I do have my eye on Explorer's December 5th sailing as a possible alternative but with the two extra nights it does push the price up. I guess I'm kind of hoping that they'll price protect us on to that one if and when they do cancel the Freedom sailings. (Yeah, dream on, I know )

I'm with you on that Fiona I absolutely do not believe anything they're saying it is obviously going in for dry dock and they obviously are keeping their mouths shut when they should be telling us I'm particularly pissed off because my group has a block of 50 cabins on freedom during the affected time you would think they'd be a little more concerned it's pissing me off greatly because I have to do invitations far in advance for the actors that are coming on my trip and while I can tell them now it's in the first half of December I can't give them a definite date I can't give them a definite ship at this point we've just said f*** it and my travel agent is holding a completely different group of 50 cabins on Explorer on the 5th and will simply get rid of one booking or the other whenever Royal decides to pull their finger out and make a f****** Public Announcement. Until then if you'll pardon the bad pun I'm dead in the water on my celebrity invitations because I have no way to tell them whether they're going to be doing a 10-nighter on the 5th or an eight night or on the 7th or which God damn Islands they're going to be hitting on the way if this goes on any further I'm just going to tell our travel agent to cancel the Freedom Cruise outright and just make us officially Explorer on the 5th I can't deal with more delay.

 

Rant mode off now, LOL!

[tonyfsu21]

@Matt needs to step up the game and start chartering the ship for these RC Blog cruises! 

[steverk]

44 minutes ago, WhoCruiser said:

I'm with you on that Fiona I absolutely do not believe anything they're saying it is obviously going in for dry dock and they obviously are keeping their mouths shut when they should be telling us I'm particularly pissed off because my group has a block of 50 cabins on freedom during the affected time you would think they'd be a little more concerned it's pissing me off greatly because I have to do invitations far in advance for the actors that are coming on my trip and while I can tell them now it's in the first half of December I can't give them a definite date I can't give them a definite ship at this point we've just said f*** it and my travel agent is holding a completely different group of 50 cabins on Explorer on the 5th and will simply get rid of one booking or the other whenever Royal decides to pull their finger out and make a f****** Public Announcement. Until then if you'll pardon the bad pun I'm dead in the water on my celebrity invitations because I have no way to tell them whether they're going to be doing a 10-nighter on the 5th or an eight night or on the 7th or which God damn Islands they're going to be hitting on the way if this goes on any further I'm just going to tell our travel agent to cancel the Freedom Cruise outright and just make us officially Explorer on the 5th I can't deal with more delay.

 

Rant mode off now, LOL!

I agree with the assessment that it's going in for drydock.  I  suspect the reason they haven't announced it is a simple screw up. 

It appears the drydock would extend over Thanksgiving,  Christmas and maybe New Years Eve. They could be trying to push it out to January and won't announce it until they have no choice. 

[FionaMG]

18 minutes ago, steverk said:

I agree with the assessment that it's going in for drydock.  I  suspect the reason they haven't announced it is a simple screw up. 

It appears the drydock would extend over Thanksgiving,  Christmas and maybe New Years Eve. They could be trying to push it out to January and won't announce it until they have no choice. 

It would be great if you were right about that. The month of January 2025 is blank and has been since the sailings first went on sale.

And I agree that it doesn't seem a terribly sound move financially to do a dry dock over a period that includes Thanksgiving and Christmas, given that those are high revenue sailings.

It's just really annoying that they won't just come clean and tell people who have already booked what is actually going on to either put our minds at rest or let us make alternative arrangements. It shouldn't be necessary for anyone to put down deposits on two cruises "just in case".

[Buzzard]

I had an Odyssey sailing in August 2022 (Greek Isles also) cancelled due to the ship being chartered as well.  It was chartered for a gay cruise.  As others have indicated these things do happen.  We were only mildly inconvenienced as we were able to move the booking to the preceding sailing and the cancellation occurred prior to airfare being bookable (so just over a year away from sail date).  Our biggest hassle was changing our vacation rental home in Rome to the new dates, which occurred at a significantly higher price given the original rental was on sale due to Covid prior to things picking up.   

That said, it's the hassle of airfare, particularly if travelling a long distance which is likely the most frustrating aspect of sudden changes due to charters.   

I'm guessing that most of the time these cancellations occur a year or more prior to sailing, but not always.  With bookings at or near record levels might the cruise lines have less (financial) incentive to book charters unless during off season?  The almighty bottom line will always win the day so my guess is they won't have more incentive if they can simply get ever higher fees from companies booking the charter.

Generally speaking, anyone have any opinion when reservations become fairly "safe" from being cancelled due to a charter?  I suspect there is no concrete answer.       

[tjcruisers]

Seeing what gets offered if the cruise ship gets chartered, I'd honestly be quite PO'd at Royal.

[twangster]

8 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

Seeing what gets offered if the cruise ship gets chartered, I'd honestly be quite PO'd at Royal.

That is always one of the stages you go through whenever Royal cancels your cruise for a charter.