Frick_&_Frack

How long did it take to get your FCC once you cancelled? I live in the panhandle of Florida and we were to sail on Harmony on Sept. 9th, but when they changed to 4 nights, sailing on the 12th, we thought we would still drive to Port Everglades and get on it, however last night we couldn't get very far on the highways because of road closures, so we are back home and I called this morning and cancelled for FCC, that said it would be approximately 14 days or more for us to receive it and the other prepaid things would be credited to our credit card. The gentleman that helped us was very nice. He did say that we had 1 year to rebook.

Mine was e-mailed on the 8th - the day I rebooked Allure for October 29th. (was Allure 10th).

Originally I had been told 2 - 4 weeks (but, maybe it was expedited so I could rebook since a cabin was being held for me at that point).

Yes, someone did say that, but that does not mean they are correct.

 

You have to use the FCC within one year. You don't have to actually take the cruise within one year.

Mine specifically states:

• Cruise must be taken by 09/08/2018.
  

Didn't someone say you have to book within the next 60 days for a cruise within the next year to use the FCC offered? I would agree if they gave you a couple years to use the FCC, that would be a reasonable accomodation.

I know my FCC for the 9/10 Allure stated nothing about a booking deadline; however, it DID state that the replacement cruise HAD to start by September 8th of 2018 (within one year).

Again, as with all cruise lines, YMMV.

I know all of mine kept appearing and disappearing yesterday randomly. Each time I waited a bit after logging out and back in and they re-appeared.

Given the IT "issues" we had at work (HQ is in Miami for us), just sort of seemed that kind of day. :p

I knew this would have happened to someone, unfortunately it was you. It does sound as though you have a plan and the spirit to match it. 🙂 We sail Harmony September 30th and I am working on plans of just in case.

 

I'm carefully watching the storms path and thinking of my mom's water front condo in Sarasota. We have had the place since the late 80s and have been lucky so far, this might be the storm. The thing is, it is just a building.

Star Class "leftovers" were slim pickings for the rest of the year for a solo (my poor TA and I checked voyage by voyage on Allure, Oasis & Harmony). I just got lucky as it was the exact same suite (you had shared pictures of it when I first booked last year). It's all good. I'm just glad I bailed and am not now in Florida in a shelter. (And to think I was concerned about flight delays since I was flying day of...LOL :'):')).

I remembered your Mom was in Florida. Hopefully she's safe and with you. And, you are so very right, people are important, memories are important, things are not. And I hope Harmony on the 30th is unaffected for you - can't wait to follow along on Periscope!

That was my thought too. The issue would be if there are only a handful of Star Class suites how could you use all of the FCC, especially if you already had a few Star Class cruises booked? That being said hopefully they would let you use it on a current booking (pre-final payment) if you already had a Star a Class cabin booked.

 

In reality this is a very limited case as there are few cabins in this possible situation.

Andrew - Yep, I'm in that situation. ;p My TA is trying to work something out. I've booked for 10/29 already (boss doesn't know as he's busy evacuating Florida at the moment). And, I lose my TA's OBC (which is sizeable). There is a difference that they are trying to get applied to one of the bookings I have already or something. Given I'm solo in Star Class, it's kinda spendy. But, I do like it very much.

(And, since I'm wound up over Irma, I'm already ready to pull to the trigger on some for 2019 - just making a few final decisions on specific weeks. Haven't slept in days, might as well research cruises.)

Should be clear that it is what it is. Their ships - their rules. Glad I didn't lose all the money (trying to deal with airlines, etc. now, and that's not going to be fun). And I plan on have a super cruise in October (sounds silly, but a Halloween Cruise has always been something I wanted to do).

Has anyone had any luck getting their FCC released? I was scheduled for the 9/9 Harmony. I'm not taking the chance on the Tuesday shortened cruise, but want to rebook on 9/30, but they haven't released the future cruise credit yet and will make me pay out of pocket if I try to rebook before they release the credits. I have a hold on 2 cabins jntil Friday morning hoping that they are released by then, but I am sure the home offices will have to close to evacuate. I just want to ensure I have these cabins secured. Frontier let me move my flights free of charge but they had to take place within 30 days of the original flights. I was hoping RCCL would at least extend the hold on the cabins until the FCC are released, but they aren't .

 

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I called, my TA called - we were advised between 2 and 4 weeks to get the FCC. For me to switch, the cabin would be 150% of the fare I had for this Allure cruise, so, well, it's a chunk of change I might scrape up but doubt it. I'm figuring it out tonight. Good Luck and I hope they help you!!

2:30p ET UPDATE:

-Norwegian Cancels Sky, Escape sailings from Miami; others modified;

-Royal Caribbean Cancels Enchantment of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas sailings to Bahamas; others modified;

-Florida Gov. Scott Activates National Guard;

-Airlines Cancel Hundreds of Flights.

LATEST HERE

Also, RCCL has not yet "modified" any other sailings. Just cancelled Enchantment and Majesty for Friday, 8th September. Some others are confirmed as OK and others are pending the 6pm update tonight.

Thanks so much for answering! Do you happen to know how many cartons per person/per cabin they allow you to get on the boat? You'd think i'd be able to wait 17 days to find this out on my own...but alas, im antsy lol

I believe it is 200 cigarettes (one carton) per adult. St. Thomas rules are different; however. So, you need to check the rules for which ports you visit (and, I believe, different rules apply to those returning to Canada/etc.).

I know I usually buy a carton onboard for the week. Then, may get one to bring home either on the ship or, depending on port stops, a reputable place in St. Thomas, etc.

Hope this helps.

You get the carton(s) right away. I do that first night/next morning so I don't have to drag more with me.

The package works on CoCoCay. :)

We did it on our 5th. It was well worth the money (it was only the two of us aboard). We knew a few staff and crew and they were all given permission to attend and witness. It really was special.

Thanks Frick & Frack....did you just leave the cash in envelopes labeled in your room? Appreciate your help on the details!

I handed it directly to the Concierge, Butler and Room Steward. Usually in a small envelope with a note (yes, still filled out the Vacation Hero cards - but, I liked just including the short note).

I usually did the Concierge on day before "home". Same with Room Steward and Butler (Room Steward in evening, Butler in afternoon/evening). Too much craziness on departure morning (just my opinion of course).

We also will be in our first suite in less than two months....how do we pay, do we arrange payment for them through our NCL account somehow? I know we need to pay them extra tips but just haven't looked into how we actually do that.

I believe you can do it through your onboard account (or at least you used to be able to do so); however, we always tipped in cash to keep it simple (and avoid the figuring out of transferring from the onboard account to them, etc.).

I've been shopping for years (yes, I get distracted by shiny objects ;p ). I have generally purchased what means something to me rather than for "a super-fantastic deal". I find that the things I have gotten, when I wear them now, bring back the exact memories of the cruise (and, personally, *that's* priceless to me).

Have fun (but don't get too caught up in the sales pitches!)!

I honestly say it is just for PR, for the "new" cruiser, either to Star Class or overall. For my next one I will answer the questions with the strangest of answers just for fun and see if anything comes from it.

 

For the island question I answered the following.

1)Food

2) Water

3) Birth control

 

Needless to say my wife changed my answers. Last March I said sea plane, fuel, and a pilot.

Great answers! I made sure "electricity" was on my list this year (since the whole deserted island thing sounds super!) ;)

Just thought I'd throw this one out there, anyone tired of doing the pre-cruise survey yet?

 

Just curious.

Andrew

Funny you should bring this up as I received mine yesterday for the Allure cruise. I was wishing there was a way to "copy and paste" from the last one (no, it's not hard to answer, but, meh). I doubt they read them other than maybe to get a hint as to preferred name?

On the Escape, I found I enjoyed La Cucina the most (OK, after Margaritaville for lunch - that was a great place). I thought their Osso Bucco was excellent and enjoyed the Beef Carpaccio for the starter. Enjoyed it enough that I switched reservations around to get in there an extra time.

When we were on Spirit Dec. 2015 she was concierge there. Her boys and husband were on the ship for turnaround and they lived in Orlando so maybe the same one.

 

She had a background in Engineering and was the best concierge we've had.

The twins. :hearteyes: Love them to bits.

If it's Florentina with the twins (and I believe she was the only Florentina), then, she is not currently with NCL and is in the U.S. She's doing wonderfully as we are in touch quite often. (And, if possible, the boys are getting cuter by the day - amazing how they grow up so fast!)

IF they are the same ones, Florentina and Virigina are now Concierges.

If this is the same Florentina I'm thinking of, she is now in the US and not working for NCL.

Congratulations, Bob! I look forward to learning more from your posts! Have a fantastic day!

My last - well, lost count - quite a number of cruises were NCL Haven Only. I just completed my first RCL Star Class in March and immediately booked more. That experience was amazing with the Genie. If I wanted something, she was there. If I wanted to just enjoy the ship, no one knew. For me, it was a perfect mix.

I use a lanyard; however, mine has a really cool applique on it so (by force of habit), that is the side that is always showing. I just wear it so I don't misplace it.

Just curious as to how warm the Solarium and indoor pool area are during the winter months. I'd love to do a winter cruise out of Cape Liberty but I like my pool time on sea days but don't want to freeze.

This past March it was a super-cold week (snowed a day or two before departure). The indoor pool and solarium areas were quite warm (and, for me to say that, they must have been since I wear a sweater in August in NY). I popped into the Solarium as well here and there and it was nice in there too. I was pleasantly surprised at the indoor areas.

Hi Denise - My condolences to you and your family. While I am also a widow, we did not have children.

However, I have begun cruising again. And, as to "downtime" (as I was my DH's caregiver - it was a major concern for me since I'd forgotten what "time" was), I only have as much of it as I want.

I have come home from recent cruises with a list of things I wanted to do/try and never got around to. Either, I was reading, enjoying participating in games (or mostly watching), etc. The time flew right by.

Good luck. Just remember, please, that this is a new (sort of) experience. Enjoy the time with your children. Some days may not be perfect, and, trust me, you may envy the "perfect" families you see too. But, hopefully, you have happy memories as well and can build a new tradition for your family.