SensFan11

Quick question re: cell service in San Juan. We are flying in around noon on Saturday and are hoping to be able to communicate that afternoon or evening by phone regarding a family situation in the States, preferably without paying $7 or $8 a minute through the ship. We have T-mobile and our phones can make cell or wifi calls. Can those who have gone before us gives us a heads up. What are our chances ... ? Thanks.

 

kathy

Once you're on the ship you can get the Internet package and use ship wifi. As you mentioned, you can make wifi calls via T-mobile, but I'd also have another wifi calling backup set up on your phone, such as the Google Hangouts app, which lets you make free outgoing calls anywhere in North America as long as you're connected to wifi. You can also make voice calls to others that use messaging services such as Facebook Messenger or Apple iMessage/FaceTime.

In 2017, there aren't really many reasons to have to pickup your stateroom phone to call and pay $7/minute.

I'm not sure how you figure that the fee is more than the points value received.

 

I used the card for a couple months, met the $1500 spend and received my 25000 point sign up bonus that I converted to Marriott points. The card will be cancelled before another annual fee is due. For the $120 CDN annual fee I received enough points to book well over $1000 worth of hotel rooms.. Used 35000 points to book one night at the Marriott downtown Montreal for the F1 race next year, that room alone was $800 per night.

 

I haven't paid for a hotel room in the last 3-4 years. Usually I can find something nice for around 15,000 points that has a nightly rate of around $200US per night. Well worth the annual fee.

I think what they're saying is that the foreign currency conversion/transaction fee is more than the value of the points. Even if the points you get result in a 2% reward, that's lost when you use it in the US or another country, as the credit card company will tack on 2.5% ABOVE AND BEYOND the exchange rate.

Unfortunately Chase Canada has stopped taking application for the Amazon and Marriott Visa cards. We have the Amazon card and had seen the Marriott but never got around to applying. I did like its perqs. Tried last week and see that they have stopped. Hope they keep the cards active for a while as there is very little choice in Canada and no reward cards w/o those Foreign Currency transaction fees. I am sure most people don't even know they are paying them.

I don't personally have it, but the Rogers MasterCard looks appealing. They charge a foreign conversion fee, but then subsidize it with a larger cash back credit of 4%. Its the card I'd get if I didn't already have one of the Chase cards.

http://www.greedyrates.ca/blog/rogers-platinum-mastercard-credit-card-review/

Thanks for sharing...love the pictures! Getting excited for my upcoming cruise!

The drink card is a one time purchase and allows you to get 10 drinks. As long as your not getting beer,its a win. The drink package is a per day charge for unlimited drinks

Another advantage of the drink card is that it can be shared! Gets you a small discount per drink - works well for couples that don't think they'll both drink enough EVERY DAY to make the unlimited package worthwhile.

My rough calculation is that for the unlimited drink package to be worthwhile, we would each need to have five alcoholic drinks every day (not including beer), plus a couple bottles of water and a specialty coffee. If you can't both meet that threshold, the drink card is a better buy IMHO.

Just in case this affect anyone, Westjet has cancelled Sunday flights Toronto to San Juan until further notice.

They still fly Saturday.....

The Sunday flights were cancelled a couple weeks ago...Westjet has now cancelled ALL flight to San Juan until January 13, 2018.

We were booked with Westjet to get to our cruise on Jewel of the Seas in November...now exploring options...

We're booked on a cruise next month that was supposed to visit St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Is there any update on how things are going at those places, especially St. Maarten which was so badly hit? Wondering if we should cancel / postpone. Paying for a cruise is a huge thing for us.

I see you're cruising on Grandeur...Royal Caribbean announced yesterday that Grandeur of the Seas will be the first ship to return to St. Maarten on Nov. 5th, so I'd expect you'll go there on your sailing.

St. Thomas is still recovering, but expected to open to cruises in the next month or so.

Antigua and St. Kitts were minimally affected and are open for business as usual.

One thing I would expect is that the experience in the nations that were most profoundly affected (Puerto Rico, USVI, British VI, St. Maarten, Barbuda, Dominica) is that while they may reopen to cruise ship passengers, full recovery of facilities will take much longer.

Royal Caribbean regularly updates the status of individual sailings here:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/royal/US/en_US/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates

Although hopefully now that FEMA have chartered Carnival Fascination to house its workers this will free up much-needed hotel rooms.

Carnival Fascination has been chartered to house FEMA workers in St Croix, not San Juan.

Although hopefully now that FEMA have chartered Carnival Fascination to house its workers this will free up much-needed hotel rooms.

Carnival Fascination has been chartered to house FEMA workers in St Croix, not San Juan.

Depending on the internet connections, my plan is to try to do a live/semi-live review. I was hoping someone from the cruise this week would do one, but other than a couple of post about the airport and transfer to the ship I haven't seen anything. I know that everyone cruising in the next few months is looking for information from cruisers on the ground, so to speak.

We cruise on Jewel on Nov 26th, and I can guarantee many from our roll call would be following along!

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Depending on the internet connections, my plan is to try to do a live/semi-live review. I was hoping someone from the cruise this week would do one, but other than a couple of post about the airport and transfer to the ship I haven't seen anything. I know that everyone cruising in the next few months is looking for information from cruisers on the ground, so to speak.

We cruise on Jewel on Nov 26th, and I can guarantee many from our roll call would be following along!

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Interesting thread. I've never booked a guarantee, but thinking about trying it. So here's my question...

If I book an inside guarantee (cat Z), can I at a later point pay to upgrade to a balcony guarantee? Does it matter if it's before or after my cabin has been assigned?

That is what I heard. I was able to book a few hotels but I was skeptical and rightfully so. The bookings were computer generated and it turned out the hotels were not taking reservations. I sure hope these people don't get there and find no hotel availability. Made sense to me to chan ge flight to Saturday especially with a late sailing. First time ever

I'm certainly hopeful that the hotel situation will resolve itself by the time our cruise rolls around Nov 26.

Flying in the 'day of' isn't that easy for everyone...it eliminates that buffer of an extra day to catch the cruise, with the very real possibility of a snowstorm at that time of year.

Also, we're booked on Westjet, which has cut back their schedule to Puerto Rico since Maria...the no longer fly to SJU the day of our cruise.

I am actually going to take a 50% loss and cancel my cruise leaving November 19th(Jewel of the seas), our hotel at Sharaton San Juan is closed and I don't want to deal with finding a hotel before and after the cruise, I also don't want to deal with the increased crime rates, possible power outages, fending for essentials like food and water and whatever else the media is telling us. I served in the navy and I'm just making a judgement call as I know how things can get. Unfortunately I don't have any travel insurance. I'm going to take a 900USD loss + Airfare losses in return for my sanity. Lesson learned.

I contacted Royal numerous times and they basically don't care and can't make any exceptions.

I asked politely if I could get 75% back instead of 50% and they said no.

Kind of ridiculous as they're going to possibly resell my room to someone else and double dip.

 

I'm going to go have our honeymoon in Orlando (try to stay at a Disney resort or something) instead. RIP bank account lol.

 

 

I hope any of you that are travelling in the next month or two.. be careful and let us all know how it goes.

cruiser69420 - one more thing...

Have you called Westjet? I expect you should be able to either use your original flights to and from San Juan towards new flights to Florida, and/or get a travel bank credit with Westjet for future flights within a year.

While Westjet hasn't formally listed flexibility with flights to/from San Juan on their website, they have for St Maarten and other Caribbean airports impacted by hurricanes. I have a feeling they just haven't gotten around to it, as they don't have any flights to San Juan for another month. There are reports from others here on cruise critic that have reported Westjet being flexible with changes to flights to San Juan.

And, if they're hesitant to waive change fees, you should also point out that their #1 competitor, Air Canada, recently announced flexibility for AC flights to San Juan up to April 2, 2018.

And finally, if they're still insistent on charging you a change fee...did you ever check on your flight to Toronto? Is it in fact Dec 3rd? If it is, Westjet cancelled that flight - this is the ace up your sleve: under the Westjet tariff they MUST offer you a refund on this flight, because they made a schedule change. It's Rule #75, subsection C.2.E:

https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/about-us/legal/tariffs/international-transborder-tariff

I am actually going to take a 50% loss and cancel my cruise leaving November 19th(Jewel of the seas), our hotel at Sharaton San Juan is closed and I don't want to deal with finding a hotel before and after the cruise, I also don't want to deal with the increased crime rates, possible power outages, fending for essentials like food and water and whatever else the media is telling us. I served in the navy and I'm just making a judgement call as I know how things can get. Unfortunately I don't have any travel insurance. I'm going to take a 900USD loss + Airfare losses in return for my sanity. Lesson learned.

I contacted Royal numerous times and they basically don't care and can't make any exceptions.

I asked politely if I could get 75% back instead of 50% and they said no.

Kind of ridiculous as they're going to possibly resell my room to someone else and double dip.

 

I'm going to go have our honeymoon in Orlando (try to stay at a Disney resort or something) instead. RIP bank account lol.

 

 

I hope any of you that are travelling in the next month or two.. be careful and let us all know how it goes.

So sorry to hear it's come to that. :(

I agree with others that things will probably be a little clearer in the next few days, as reports come in as to how cruisers fared getting on tomorrow's Adventure of the Seas cruise in San Juan, and especially the Oct 14 Adventure cruise (when there isn't option to stay on the ship the night before); but I totally respect everyone's personal level of comfort and chaos caused not just by the hurricanes, but also RCCL's reponse to the situation.

The only other piece of advice I'd offer is to investigate the option of travel insurance before you book your Disney honeymoon trip...that's one lesson that I know many are taking from this experience.

All the best with developing your new plans - Disney will be fantastic!

I'm Flying Halifax -> Toronto -> San Juan Saturday 18th November with west jet.. To catch the Jewel of the seas Nov 19th cruise.

I paid $1600 USD for a balcony suite that can now be had for $700 USD... friggen rip off.

 

I have a hotel booked but I don't even know what the status of that hotel is(Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel).. and I'm 'stuck' hanging around Puerto Rico from November 26th to December 3rd as the next Westjet flight out is December 3rd.

 

I have a car rental set up, I was going to head to Rincon and try to find an Airbnb thats safe and has electricity.

 

This is all a train wreck (Our honeymoon) and we would love to cancel our whole trip but we have too much money invested in it.

:(

Oh my...I hate to be the bearer of bad news...

We were originally booked on the Dec 3rd Westjet flight from San Juan to Toronto...until a couple months ago when Westjet cancelled that flight! Double check that that is what you booked. Westjet actually never informed me of the cancellation - I have an app that tracks all my future flights and it alerted me to the schedule change.

Westjet does have a flight on Sat Dec 2nd that might work for you....or you could look at options to get a refund from Westjet and book a different airline.

But it's also clear to me how stressed and upset you are with the way things have gone...so I have to ask the question: do you have trip cancellation insurance? Either a separate plan, or maybe via a credit card?

If you do, you may be able to cancel and get some/most/all of your money back and still plan an alternative trip for November. The Government of Canada has an advisory that Canadians should Avoid All Travel to Puerto Rico. As long as that advisory is there (and with recent progress on the island it may get downgraded any day now), most insurance policies will honour it is a covered reason for cancellation.

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/puerto-rico

We are sailing on the Summit, Nov. 18. United has daily flights through EWR, ORD and IAH. Delta, Porter/JetBlue and American have flights scheduled as well. There are significantly more than 3 - 4 flights per week from Canada to San Juan.

Until mid-December, there are only 3 flights per week from Canada. Sure, you can make all manner of connections through the US - and our post-cruise flight is via Philly. All I was pointing out was that there already were limited flights direct from Canada and IMHO here's a risk those might get cancelled too.

Flying from Grenada on Liat. Their website isn't showing any flights to/from Puerto Rico from now through the end of the year - which is the furthest out I've checked. I've emailed them multiple times only to be told that all flights are "suspended" and to keep checking back at a later date. They won't refund because the flight isn't "canceled."

Ugh, that's not good...but with SJU reporting as of today that they're back to full regular operations, hopefully in the next day or two Liat will switch your flight from suspended to confirmed.

I'm also concerned about my flight from Canada to San Juan in late November. Originally, there were only four flights per week from Canada to San Juan (two on Air Canada, two on Westjet)...Westjet recently dropped down to one per week, but I'm worried with the impact on tourist facilities and the resultant drop in demand for flights, and both Canadian airlines may just pull out of the island for the rest of the year...that's exactly what Westjet already did with St. Maarten.

However, for you with Liat, I would expect they'll be trying to get flights up asap, with San Juan being a major transit hub for across the Caribbean to places beyond.

Has anyone with an international flight been able to find out if their flight is now scheduled to fly into Puerto Rico? Mine is still "suspended" which is leaving us in limbo. Since they haven't canceled it, they aren't refunding the money for us to book a new flight.

Where are you flying in from? Puerto Rico tourism is reporting that limited international flights are now operating...but my understanding is that most international flights are inter-Caribbean.

The ship is expected to sail full on Saturday and will cruise to St. Kitts, St. Johns (Antigua), Martinique, St. Lucia and Barbados.

Seems pretty optimistic.

Sounds like it will be sold out, but hard to know in advance, under these circumstances, whether it will actually 'sail full'. With the airport situation much improved but still recovering, there's a good chance some folks will have their flights cancelled and not be able to rebook in time.

There's also the possibility that there's Puerto Ricans who are booked on the ship, are unable to go because of the devastation in their communities, and unable to cancel due to lack of phone service.

Agree completely! Although I don’t sail until the end of November I just don’t feel comfortable traveling to and from Puerto Rico at this time. We always fly into the port city 2 days ahead of time to unwind and explore the city. IF there are still curfews and alcohol restrictions that will significantly cut in to the enjoyment of our vacation.

 

I’m not asking for my money back. I would just like the ability to switch to a cruise out of a different port. I don’t understand why they won’t allow it. They still get their money!

 

Part of the excitement of vacation is the planning and anticipation in the weeks and months ahead. Unfortunately right now instead of being excited we’re just stressed.

I totally get where you're coming from. I cruise out of a San Juan in November too.

And while I also wish RCCL would allow passengers to switch to another cruise, and think it would b a very positive move in terms of building customer relations, I understand their reluctance from the strict 'bottom line'....if they were to let us switch out of our cabins, they'd be difficult to resell...others will be unlike to book at this time...they'd end up selling for a lower price, if they were able to sell them at all.

When we decided to sail during hurricane season, our concession was we might get a swap out of ports, not that we would have to be strung along by RCL on whether the cruise itself was a go, despite all other indications pointing to the opposite. We knew that St, Martin might get swapped for St. Kitts and so on. Fine. What we did not bargain on was RCL insisting cruises would go ahead and then canceling on short notice. We also did not bargain on RCL being determined to operate a cruise from a port with a curfew and to which international flights are not currently flying. I think that's a fair distinction to make.

Agreed...but with a Nov. 26th sail away, you're also just barely, technically still within hurricane season. This is all about the time needed to recover from a few unlucky direct hits by major hurricanes on three ports of call plus our embarkation port. The risk of a hurricane hitting the Southern Caribbean in late November is extremely low.

source: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/

My husband did call RCI and were told until they cancelled the cruise, he explained how airplanes are unable to get into the airport. All we wanted to do was switch from AOS to Harmony same dates and was told NO. Even went up the ladder 3 levels of management and got the same response.

That's really unfortunate. I had hoped Royal Caribbean had started offering some flexibility to their passengers since they added that passage to their website, but apparently not. I applaud you for trying.

I also feel compelled to point out that this really smacks of an awful way to build loyalty and retain your paying customers. The airlines that have waived change fees for ticketed passengers well into the new year (up to April 2nd with American) seem to get this imperative to build good customer relations - it's really unfortunate that Royal Caribbean does not.

I'm on the 10/7 sailing of the AOS. The least RCI can do is email a personal letter to the 10/7 passengers advising us of the current conditions at the airport, port area and general San Juan area.

 

They must be 100% confident in ALL airlines being able to arrive on 10/6 or 10/7 and able to depart on time on 10/14.

 

They must be 100% confident in all airport operations and logistics of transferring 3000 passengers to and from the airport & cruise port in a safe and timely manner.

 

If RCI cannot make these promises, they must cancel.

 

On their Facebook, they are patting themselves on the back for "not putting their passengers in harms way".

While I agree 100% that they 'must' cancel if logistics for Adventure aren't operational, unfortunately Royal Caribbean has proven over the last couple of months that they can't be trusted to make such decisions in the best interest of their passengers. The October 7th Adventure cruise is only the most recent sailing where they've strung along passengers, with the lack of changes or even acknowledgement of potential contingencies suggesting 'everything is fine'.

One thought - has anyone due to sail on October 7th on Adventure called up Royal or their travel agent and asked to switch to another cruise (either this weekend out of Florida, or at a later date)? Their latest update invites passengers "do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions"...if it were me, I'd look at alternative cruises and then take them up on that opening and call and ask them "can I change to cruise X without penalty?"

Of course I want to go on the vacation I planned. I am willing to rebook asap but I cannot do that unless RCI cancels. Too much money to lose! What is hard to understand here? They are not doing their best. It is not a good situation but they insist on sailing. Wednesday or Thursday before sailing is absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for knowing the situation. It is not going to drastically improve over night

 

 

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I think your measured frustration at Royal Caribbean is completely justifiable, as expressed here. They have had a habit, the last couple months in particular, of delaying decisions and keeping their customers in limbo. Three days before sail away is WAY TOO LATE to be cancelling a cruise, when the evidence was there much further in advance.

IMHO, today, five days in advance of Adventure's sail away is the last possible date Royal Caribbean should make a decision...if there's an emergency in any home port five days in advance, they should make contingency plans.

And if Royal is going to be stubborn and string their passengers along, maybe it's time that pressure be applied to CLIA to add a 'five day in advance' rule to their 'Cruise Passenger Bill of Rights':

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/bill_of_rights.pdf

I just checked with my credit card co. I seem to have trip cancellation and interruption coverage. Sounds like we will fall in to at least one of those categories. Last time I take a trip without proper coverage.

Good for everyone to check the details on this, because every policy is different. In particular, many credit card trip cancellation coverages have lower $$$ cap on what would be reimbursed.

Also - if you're Canadian, many insurance policies kick in if a government advisory has been issued warning against travel to a given country. The Government of Canada continues to advise Canadians to AVOID ALL TRAVEL to Puerto Rico:

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/puerto-rico