WAAAYTOOO Posted August 9, 2023 Report Share Posted August 9, 2023 Was very VERY happy to get a full refund of all air miles plus upgrade fees and taxes on our flights to/from Panama City. So, I have now cancelled the Waldorf Astoria (probably my one and ONLY chance to ever stay in one !!) and have directed my TA to cancel both of the cruises. Most likely we will do nothing to replace these cruises unless something exciting hits me in the face. Up through Jan 2024 we are cruising a LOT so maybe this will be a welcome respite. Hoping (but not holding my breath) that casino comps will come back at some point. I won't be surprised to see some southern Caribbean cruises out of Panama pop up on their list !! LOL Sad that we are going to miss our bucket list Panama Canal crossings but I'm sure there will be more opportunities. sk8erguy1978 and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted August 9, 2023 Report Share Posted August 9, 2023 I have booked Odyssey on 3-16-24. It's an 8 night "enhanced" southern Caribbean to - guess where ? - Aruber and Curacao ! Since we have never cruised on OY before, I thought this was a good make-up cruise for the cancelled RH (which we had also never sailed on) sailings. It's just 8 nights vs 14 nights on RH, but it's better than going to Panama for the enhanced experience ! Dan had a really crappy casino cert that was going to expire today so we used it. $100 off is better than $0 off ! PPPJJ-GCVAB, JustMeJoe, Sweety and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 9, 2023 Report Share Posted August 9, 2023 7 hours ago, smokeybandit said: Though I'm sure people would be happy to pay more in port fees to transit the canal than have to completely replan their cruise since the new itinerary is highly annoying. 99.9% would be up in arms and screaming if they increased the price. Welcome to the 0.1% club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 9, 2023 Report Share Posted August 9, 2023 28 minutes ago, twangster said: 99.9% would be up in arms and screaming if they increased the price. Welcome to the 0.1% club. In general yes, but not for a bucket list cruise. Meanwhile I'm paying $2500 more for a replacement cruise (granted saving a lot in airfare) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_A Posted August 9, 2023 Report Share Posted August 9, 2023 I Cancelled and rebooked Odyssey for the same week. 400 bucks more though, but I am sure the flights will be cheaper as well as hotel. I was planning on going down to Panama 2 days prior and staying an extra day after. so all in, the 8 day Odyssey will be cheaper than the 7 day Rhapsody Hopefully a Panama Canal trip will come back up in the near future, like 2025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonykit Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 hi all, we were booked on the 3/9 sailing tried contact head office but as normal nothing from them, you call in its a take or leave it attuide pretty much the norm for them nowadays!!! not a word of offering any credits or on the price of new horrible sailing....i bet its at the same price as our bucket list trip....shame on them we are just cattle to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 And thus ends the best group cruise that never happened. sk8erguy1978, WAAAYTOOO and baltodave 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 15 hours ago, Mark_A said: I Cancelled and rebooked Odyssey for the same week. 400 bucks more though, but I am sure the flights will be cheaper as well as hotel. I was planning on going down to Panama 2 days prior and staying an extra day after. so all in, the 8 day Odyssey will be cheaper than the 7 day Rhapsody Are you on 3-16-24 OY ? We booked that one, too. We were in a 2 BR GS on RH and I was only able to get a JS on OY but I am ok with that. The price of each were very close so cost-wise I am about even but of course a JS is a couple of notches down from a 2 BR GS. I'm sure I'll survive. I will probably be able to eat in the CK on OY even though I'm in a JS. I'm ok with this switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 2 hours ago, tonykit said: hi all, we were booked on the 3/9 sailing tried contact head office but as normal nothing from them, you call in its a take or leave it attuide pretty much the norm for them nowadays!!! not a word of offering any credits or on the price of new horrible sailing....i bet its at the same price as our bucket list trip....shame on them we are just cattle to them. Pretty much "take it or leave it". They made the change well before final payment date, and technically the cruise isn't cancelled, just rerouted. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 5 minutes ago, Matt said: Pretty much "take it or leave it". They made the change well before final payment date, and technically the cruise isn't cancelled, just rerouted. Though it showed up as canceled on my cruise planner. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 3 hours ago, tonykit said: hi all, we were booked on the 3/9 sailing tried contact head office but as normal nothing from them, you call in its a take or leave it attuide pretty much the norm for them nowadays!!! not a word of offering any credits or on the price of new horrible sailing....i bet its at the same price as our bucket list trip....shame on them we are just cattle to them. Not sure what "head office" means but their customer service line should be able to help you. The email I received said: keep, change ship & itinerary, or refund. I picked refund personally. Good travel agent plug. She sent an email with the situation and I replied with my choice. No stressful phone calls. Heck, I didn't even have to mute my WebEx at work! Good luck with whatever you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_A Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 6 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Are you on 3-16-24 OY ? We booked that one, too. We were in a 2 BR GS on RH and I was only able to get a JS on OY but I am ok with that. The price of each were very close so cost-wise I am about even but of course a JS is a couple of notches down from a 2 BR GS. I'm sure I'll survive. I will probably be able to eat in the CK on OY even though I'm in a JS. I'm ok with this switch. yes, the same one! I already had the week booked off so figured it made the most sense. plus It will be my second time on OY! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 I must admit, booking a flight to Orlando is a lot simpler and cheaper than booking one to Panama City. WAAAYTOOO, sk8erguy1978 and teddy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 12, 2023 Report Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/10/2023 at 11:50 AM, sk8erguy1978 said: Good travel agent plug. She sent an email with the situation and I replied with my choice. No stressful phone calls. Heck, I didn't even have to mute my WebEx at work! This is one major reason I love travel agents. Let them deal with the paperwork and phone calls. FloatyBoaty, sk8erguy1978, teddy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted August 12, 2023 Report Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/10/2023 at 7:20 AM, tonykit said: hi all, we were booked on the 3/9 sailing tried contact head office but as normal nothing from them, you call in its a take or leave it attuide pretty much the norm for them nowadays!!! not a word of offering any credits or on the price of new horrible sailing....i bet its at the same price as our bucket list trip....shame on them we are just cattle to them. My first reaction was that Royal should have offered more. Having now seen the reason for the cancellation of the canal crossing, I realize that there was not an option for Royal to keep the cruise itinerary as it was. I can't really expect more from Royal since it was not really their choice. FloatyBoaty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snotarni Posted August 14, 2023 Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 We rebooked (thanks MEI!) to the Explorer of the Seas 5-day, same week without any issues. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 14, 2023 Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 2:35 PM, wordell1 said: My first reaction was that Royal should have offered more. Having now seen the reason for the cancellation of the canal crossing, I realize that there was not an option for Royal to keep the cruise itinerary as it was. I can't really expect more from Royal since it was not really their choice. I think they should have offered some sort of price protection. I mean sure they couldn't let you transfer from Rhapsody to Icon, but I'm paying 50% more for a cruise now as a result of them voluntarily canceling a cruise. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 8, 2023 Report Share Posted December 8, 2023 Just paid final payment on my replacement cruise. Oh what could have been.... sk8erguy1978 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted December 8, 2023 Report Share Posted December 8, 2023 6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: Just paid final payment on my replacement cruise. Oh what could have been.... I was personally looking forward to it. Now instead I'll be on the Icon inaugural sailing. Blah, not the same AshleyDillo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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