st5310

6 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

I have no idea what the  benefits or care  I just need the access space for my wife.....  What I criticize is the type of people who book top cabins to look special and let everyone know just  how cool they think of themselves... being from SF I think you will understand that attitude.  Ya'  I dont like that......  Thats my beef

Being from SF?  What the heck is SF... San Francisco?  And why do you think I'm from there?  More importantly, why would I understand that attitude? 

Look, Hawaiidan, nobody likes pretentious people, but you are stuffing all suite class people into one basket by assuming all of us are "too cool" to hang with regular folks.  Your prejudice is obvious.  And ugly.

I am sorry about your wife's condition and you are a good husband to want to make these days great for her, especially since you're in an unwanted upscale cabin with many of us "faux elitists."

2 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Really..... I am concerned with  access for my disabled wife and this may be her last cruise./travel ever....OK.......I guess I wannabe a caring husband in this difficult time in her life.......    Your a classic.piece of work 

So you're booked on the Marina in an Oceania Suite with exclusive access to an executive lounge?  And you have the chutzpah to criticize "faux elite classes?"

4 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Let me  explain please,   Yes  I feel ill at ease on a the massive celeb ships which I felt were designed for people who did not want to be on a ship..   lawns,!!!    I complain about the class system with "special" venues  too

 

It makes sense that you discover your on a huge floating mall, packing in thousands upon thousands, and then making people pay$$$$ to be able to get away from those masses and giving them fancy silly names of elitism. Might as well have the "Mystic Knights of the Sea" class and you  could pay to be a "King Fish"

 

This is why I do not sail them anymore...2 points..... masses of people  and faux elite classes that they sell people who want to get away from those masses..

Thanks for clarifying.  TrulyBlonde is quite right.  Nobody knows what cabin you're in unless you choose to share that information.  As I'm walking thru the ship among the "multitudes" I cannot detect who is and is not in a suite.  I never ask nor do I care.  I happen to like the perks that accompany suites, especially the private venues.  Even when I sail a smaller ship, like O's Insignia, I seek out quiet venues.  We book suites and love the dedicated venues aboard, including the lounge and the restaurant, but we can also choose to stroll and shop through the "malls."  I have had this argument many times and I'll say it again: if I pay 3-4 times more for a suite that someone else pays for an outside cabin I expect more than just a few extra square feet.  There is nothing elitist or snobby about it.  We just decided to spend more money. 

On 9/14/2020 at 10:30 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

1st or 3rd🤔

 

I don't get it.

Glad you asked that, 'cause I don't either. 

To address the question as to whether I would go if I had to wear a mask... masks WILL be required, no doubt.  So, yes.

3 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....as they say   What the price of Celebrity, at any level can not compensate for is the massive size of the ship and the general mass of people you have to endure,  unless yo stay in your cabin.   For me its the overt class system of "us and them" ... and you pay to keep the others at bay....   Not for me.. some may want that..that is why they offer it

I'm confused.  You're criticizing the size of the Celebrity ships and complaining about the "general mass of people you have to endure," then in the next breath complaining about "us versus them" and paying to "keep others at bay" that you state is not for you.  This makes no sense.

2 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

 

Thank you st5310, for your comment.

The point is, I am not paying suite prices to order off the MDR menu on a routine basis. The Luminae menu is limited and heavy with meat and the hamburger is very, very dense, not sufficient juice to really savour.

 

Guess it depends what one is looking for in food - love California and Med cuisine with meat and carbs and fab tastes and colour etc. Did not get that in Luminae, so no more.

 

Oceania had a way better and more varied menu that allowed more customization - but at a very high price price.

 

Rather just cook at home or go to the many restaurants in my region - way better food at a much better price.

 

I read you loud and clear, Doubt It, but I must ask... if you'd rather cook at home or dine out locally, why go on a cruise at all?  For me a major perk of cruising is that I DON'T have to cook.  Or clean up.  And I can eat dishes I would not normally make at home.  The price of a suite on Celebrity covers a lot more than just Luminae.  And I do think it's worth it. 

12 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

 

That wasn't my take on the post.  My take was they cruised in the Celebrity suite class for one sailing (once), and came to the conclusion it wasn't for them.

 

And one can hardly them them - one bad experience does not usually result on a second try in cruising.

Yes, that could be.  And I agree that a bad experience in a ship's restaurant probably will not warrant a second try.  What's the old adage... you get only one chance to make a first impression. 

In the case of Luminae, however, our experience has always been extraordinarily good; I do not recall "heavy sauces," or "gross" hamburgers.  It's true that the Luminae menu is limited, but you can also order off the main dining room menu, which we have done many times.  Luminae is smaller, quieter, and less frenetic and we dine there almost every night.   

So, ABoatNerd, you ate at Luminae once and came to all those conclusions after that one time? 

Wishuponasea, we did our first Oceania cruise on Insignia--the smaller "R" ship"--in 2018 after many years of Royal and Celebrity.  I agree that Celebrity's 4 Perks program is a good deal and that Oceania "is more intimate, quiet and comes with fabulous food."   In the end, Oceania was the most compatible for us.  We are past 70 and really enjoyed the low-key atmosphere, especially the fact that there were few children on board. 

A daily combo played at 4:00 tea with dancing, scones and assorted pastries.  The dining rooms, including the main one, felt like upscale restaurants.  And there was even Bingo!  In other words, it was just our speed.  We've been back on Celebrity and Royal since, but really looking forward to back-to-back O sailings next July.

1 hour ago, Bear79 said:

Our family of 6 has a 2 Bedroom Grand Suite booked on Ovation of the Seas for an Alaska cruise next year.  For the past couple weeks it shows in our cruise planner the we have purchased the Deluxe Drink package.  However we have not.  Is anyone aware if there is a glitch or is this a perk of that type of stateroom?   Thanks

Yes, a glitch.  No drink package comes with that level of suite.  A few perks do apply, however--free Voom, access to the suite lounge, Coastal Kitchen, etc.  You'll have to move up to a Grand Loft Suite to get an included drink package.

I know... the boards are filled these days with refund questions and answers, but I'd rather not swim thru the thousands of replies to get to the one that is most relevant.  So, here goes.

My next cruise is scheduled for December 18.  On or about September 18 if Royal has not cancelled thru to year's end, I shall owe a balance of $4K.  I have had 4 cancel this year so far, had paid the balances, then received a full refund.  This time I would rather not do that.  Let's say for the sake of this thread that the $500 deposit paid is non-refundable.  Gambling that Royal will cancel thru the end of 2020, if I decide to cancel before Royal does, what is their credit policy on this?  Thank you for your time.

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Here is what happened to us.  We were booked for b2b Baltic/Norway sailing for august.  We had paid our initial $500 NRD for each cruise over a year ago. That's a total of $1000.   Our balance due was just over $8500.  Final payment was due in May.  Europe sailings had not yet been cancelled but knew they would be because of all the travel restrictions.

So we decided Not to pay rcl over $8500 and possibly wait 60 to 90 days to get refunded.  That is what people were saying for their refunds at that time.

So the day final payment was due I phoned and elected to receive our $1000 NRD as a fcc.

I was emailed my FCC 2 or 3 weeks later and will hopefully use it europe next summer. 

But there was no way I was going to tie up $8500 not knowing when I would get it back.

Fyi my brother and his wife that would have been sailing with us did the same as they also didnt want to give rcl a 2 or 3 month loan of their money for a sailing we knew wasnt going to happen.

Pretty simple to understand.  Not sure why some have trouble understanding the options.  

We have 4 booked cruises from dec to may and hope to sail on at least one of them.

 

Yes, I get it.  You didn't want to tie up $8500 and chose to cancel.  Your decision was prudent and I might have done the same given the time frame.  (That was not the argument that I was responding to).  It is not, however, absolutely certain at this time that our December cruises will cancel.  I suspect they will, but if they don't, DW and I are going on those cruises.  For the record, it did not take 2-3 months to get my refunds.  But even if it did, it would only matter that I get it, not necessarily how long it takes.  In fact, I accept the inconvenience that I'll likely have to wait a while.

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Maybe my answer above was not obvious to you.

 

Say you have a cruise on 11/8. You booked that on a previous sailing and have only a $200 deposit. Final payment is another $2,000. Final payment is due in a couple of days and you have no plans to sail anytime in the near future. What do you do? If you cancel, you get an FCC for $200 which may never be used. To get a refund of your $200, you have to make final payment and wait till sometime in September when RCI cancels, to request your refund. It would be nice if RCI cancels in the next few days so you can get that $200 back.

Biker19, I am faced with this scenario for our December cruises.  The suspension has been moved back to October 31st, but my final payments are due in September.  Surely I would love it if Royal would just cancel thru to the end of the year, but it is also true, I believe, that Royal actually does hope to resume sailings on November 1 as it is in their best interest to do so.  I am not crazy about having to shell out a few thousand bucks then (probably) have Royal cancel after-the-fact, but we're in a pandemic and I choose to roll with it.  I shall, therefore, pay the balance for my December cruises in September and hope for the best.  In the end, I would rather have Royal cancel on me rather than the other way around.  As my experience indicates, I will be refunded the total amount paid. 

I hear the gripe, but what would you (or anyone) have Royal do about that?  As long as they pay  refunds, I don't have a problem.

13 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

 It is not my complaint but that of some on this site. I'm offering one possible explanation why RCI is not likely to cancel sailings outside of final payment. 

 

There was a post some time ago outlining what RCI is experiencing in terms of folks asking for a refund  - that % may have changed since then. The do nothing crowd default to the FCC, some are enticed by the 125% FCC and some like the L&S option. In all of those cases RCI keeps the customers' money.

 

As I mentioned, it's not my issue (I have no money with RCI), but many here would like to have cancellations happen outside of final payment to have less or any of their money tied up with RCI. Some here, begrudgingly cancel and take the 100% FCC, because they don't want to make final payment. 

OK.  I'm a tad late to the thread, but I wasn't going to scan thru the thousands of posts.  Thanks for clarifying.

I am still baffled by the suggestion that Royal should time cancellations so they are outside final payment.  Every cancellation is outside someone's final payment window.  Again.. this makes no sense.  Perhaps a person for whom this is an issue will answer that for me.

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

This is a US example with 90 day final payment. Let's assume October sailings involve about 10,000 cabins and that everyone has a deposit of $500 on them - that's $5M RCI is holding. On 7/1 they cancel all those sailings and let's assume 1/2 the people get a refund, RCI is now holding $2.5M.

 

If RCI doesn't cancel till 8/1 and assume final payment on those 10K cabins is $1,000 each, throughout the month of July RCI rakes in another $10M and has $15M total. Assume the same 1/2 the people want a refund after the 8/1 cancellation, now RCI has $7.5M.

That's a lot of assumptions.  Why are you assuming that only half get (or want) a refund?  Royal is required to return ALL monies collected if they cancel a sailing.  If we agree that Royal wants to resume operations as soon as possible, what would you have them do?  I'll ask again... Exactly what date would you have them announce a suspension so that no one has to pay their balance?

I have had 4 sailings cancel, and had paid the full balance on each prior to the cancellation announcement.  Royal has refunded every penny owed to me.  It came in increments and took a while, but I have been fully compensated.  I don't understand your complaint.

12 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It may not to you, but it does to RCI. They could have cancelled the October cruises a month ago instead of yesterday. All the folks on one months worth of sailings had to make final payment. Some portion of that crowd will do nothing (and get the FCC), L&S or opt for the FCC. All that full payment money stays in RCI coffers, instead of just deposits had they cancelled a month earlier. That difference between deposit and full payment is probably quite sizable and is one of the reasons RCI doesn't want to cancel before final payment.

If they moved the suspension date of 10/31 a month ago, then people who had already paid their balances for September thru October could make the same case.  Your reasoning still makes no sense.  I'll repeat: sailings are scheduled every day/week all year long; any cancellation will affect a lot of people regardless.  Exactly what date would you have them announce a suspension so that no one has to pay their balance?

6 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You may have missed the fact that RCI usually only cancels sailings after final payment

This makes no sense.  Ships go out every day/week in a normal year.  There will always be some folks whose cruise is cancelled after final payment no matter when the suspension begins.  This applies to ALL cruise lines.

On 7/6/2020 at 6:59 AM, kasmrobi said:

Thanks everyone! I put a deposit down for a January 2021 cruise on the Grandeur. Final payment isn't due until October, so plenty of time to make changes or cancel between now and then. The pricing was too good to not lock in! We'll see what happens between now and October.

Kasmrobi, did you book the Jan 2-9 sailing?

I'll throw in my 2 cents... agree with all the posts thus far.  We have had terrific experiences on the Anthem.  As we sail in Grand Suites, we have access to Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge, both of which are outstanding amenities in Royal's suite class.  Our last Anthem cruise was this past December.  We booked one for March in a Grand Loft, our first time in Star class with a Genie, et al.  Can't wait!

Just now, Boyetter2013 said:

Best bet is to read the analyst recommendations on the stock. They have more detailed financial info and the experience to decipher it. Bankruptcy is always a possibility. Currently no analyst who covers the stock has it on a sell recommendation so they are seeing a very small to zero chance as of now of bankruptcy.

 

Analysts Recommendations

	current	1 Month Ago	3 Months Ago
BUY	10	11	N/A
OVERWEIGHT	0	1	N/A
HOLD	6	7	N/A
UNDERWEIGHT	1	0	N/A
SELL	0	0	N/A

Thank you for the reply, Boyetter2013.  You evidently have a better grasp of the analyses as they pertain to Royal stock.

My two cents, if I may.  I had one cruise cancel--May 10 Oasis, but I have 3 more scheduled for July on the Adventure.  As some of you have pointed out, those sailings will likely be cancelled as well.  I do have one great fear in this, and that is the possibility of bankruptcy.

I did some crude calculations.  If most people (including me) take the refund, the cruise lines will be required to dig into their stash of emergency funds (if such a stash even exists).  Let's say that 20,000 booked passengers request refunds amounting to an average of $1,000 per person, the cruise line will be paying out $20 million... and those numbers are highly conservative; depending on how long the crisis endures, those numbers could easily exceed $100 million by year's end.  With enormous investments tied up in bigger and more expensive ships under construction and the loss of major revenue along with millions in outgoing expenses (refunds), cruise lines will be hard-pressed to stay fiscally sound.  I hope Royal Caribbean can weather this storm, but if bankruptcy happens, there will be no refunds for any of us.

Please tell me I'm wrong.

14 hours ago, clochette said:

i am not expecting anything i was just saying in the cruise planner it is telling me the cruise is cancelled 

Sure about this?  I'm booked July 15 on Adventure and there is no such alert in Cruise Planner.  To my knowledge, as Ourusualbeach affirmed, cruises beyond July 1 are still on.

42 minutes ago, TwinMamainMN said:

 

Thank you for circling back with an update!! This helps us a lot. We have another cruise booked Jan. 2020 and think we will take the 125% FCC and apply it to that. Now I know Allianz will transfer the policy to another booking too. I appreciate this great info. Good for Allianz too!

You're welcome, but the FCC may not apply to cruises already booked.  Promise me you'll confirm that with Royal. 

Just now, RWMike said:

How about Royals Trip Interruption Insurance, will it be refunded?

I would imagine so since it was likely included in your original payment.  Not 100% positive about that, so I'll defer to someone who may have direct confirmation of that.  You might be served better by getting the answer right from the horse's mouth; call or email Royal with the question.  Earlier the better.

I have an update to my original post.  I spoke with an Allianz customer service rep within the past hour.  She confirmed what was posted by Heymarco earlier in this thread, that Allianz will refund the amount paid if the cruise line cancelled due to COVID-19.  I was told I would need to contact sales support via email (salessupport@allianzassistance.com) with confirmation that I opted for the refund and not the Future Cruise Credit.  If, however, I opt for the credit, Allianz will transfer the policy to another booking.

That's righteous, IMO.  Thank you all for your replies.