mandream

We chose a 2:00 checking for Oasis because there are things we'd like to do in Miami before we board. Are we still able to drop off our luggage at the pier early and come back later for check in? If so how early can we drop off? We used to do it around 9 or 10 (although that was on Celebrity). 

Thanks in advance, 

Mike 

4 hours ago, njcanuck said:

Celebrity, is really screwing over loyal customers by not offering lift and shift to the same sailing next year.

  

Yes, this is super disappointing.  We already moved our July 20 sailing to July 21 at the prevailing rate when they wanted us to make final payment on a cruise that we knew was going to be cancelled.  Now for us to move this sailing to July 22 will cost us approx $1,600 more.

I don't see why they don't offer the same options as the other sailings that have been cancelled.  I get that this is killing them financially - so part of me understands - just really disappointed in the options available.  I'm going to wait it out a week or two and hope they reconsider the options (I know, very unlikely.  but possible) - otherwise we'll just take the refund.  The bonus FCC only amounts to $200 so totally not worth it.

Mike

11 hours ago, Suncoastsailors said:

We did a lift and shift for 4/10/2021 Rhapsody of Seas Transatlantic to Rome 14 days. Oddly enough it offered me a 16 day Sydney to Honolulu April 10 2022 on Ovation of Seas, which was priced at about three times my cruise. I submitted the request and it was excepted. Price protected, only a small increase for higher port charges. 

That's fantastic.  Congratulations.

Lift and shift worked out very well for us as well - significant savings over us having to rebook (although not quite as good a 3X savings).

Mike

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

I did my lift and shift online then called the next day because I really wanted only 1 sailing and chose 2 more that were not as good.  The rep was able to help me in 10 minutes.  I would definitely call.  Who knows when the next round of cancellations will be and the wait times will be horrendous if it happens.

Thanks - called a little while ago and it was taken care of.  I only listed one sailing on the form instead of the 3.

The person I talked to said my request got "stuck" somewhere.  He didn't provide any details and I didn't press since he was able to take care of it for me.

Mike 

53 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

No, lift and shift applies to any booked cruise.  May 6 is the day they started the program. 

All done.  Have to admit I was a little nervous during the multiple times on hold while he was "checking to see if he could do it while we were on the phone" - thinking of all the excuses why he was going to come back and say he couldn't do it - but he did it!

So appreciate all your help and advice.  Feeling so much better now that I have invoice in hand.

Mike

21 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

C&A would be my first choice. 

Ok - was getting ready to call but want to make sure I have my facts straight.  I went back to the Cruise with Confidence page and am confused by the section that says:

As of May 6th, 2020 we have also added the new "Best Price Guarantee" and "Lift and Shift" options outlined below. If you opted into our Cruise with Confidence program before May 6th, please learn more about that program here.

Does that mean only cruises booked after May 6th are eligible?  The cruise I am trying to shift was re-booked in March - the same day my cancelled cruise was supposed to sail.  Hope I'm not reading that correctly - and there is some other snafu more easily resolvable....

Mike

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

That’s odd that it’s taken this long.  I would probably call Monday. 

Ok will do.  Thanks.  Standard reservation #? 

On Celebrity I would typically call Captain's Club to start - I'm Elite +.  Often it's easier to get through and they can just take care of things.  Not sure if it's helpful to call C&A - or just the main number.

Mike

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

What category did you have on Freedom. 

Owner's Suite - 1BR

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Varies.  I’ve had lots back the next day but I’ve also had done that take a few days...especially over a weekend.  I’ve found that shifts that the cabin category does not exactly match on the new sailing can take longer. 

Ok - I'll probably give it until Tuesday before I call.  The cabin cat. matched - but the ship is completely different.  Freedom -> Oasis.

Mike

On 11/18/2020 at 8:02 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

i've done 100+ shifts and I have only ever submitted one preference and received it every time.

 

Once its done it is set.  Check before you submit that there are the same category cabins available (owners suite I believe you said)

What's been you experience with timing?  I made my request Wed eve. when I lasted posted.  I received the email saying I would get confirmation of the new sailing within 72 hours...... yet here I am 4 days later and no confirmation and my old cruise is still showing online.

Should I just be a bit more patient - or does is this atypical and perhaps I should call?

Mike

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

What’s your March break.  Ours is the 12th.  We shifted to Symphony. 

Calendar isn't out yet, but based on past experience we are hoping it's March 20th.  If not - I guess our kids will have a two week break 🙂

Mike

23 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

i've done 100+ shifts and I have only ever submitted one preference and received it every time.

 

Once its done it is set.  Check before you submit that there are the same category cabins available (owners suite I believe you said)

Thanks again.  Form has been submitted with just one preference.  There were a number of Owners Suites available for that sailing (I was actually a bit surprised by the availability given it is Spring Break).  

Just having the form submitted is a bit of a load off......

9 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have done several lift and shifts, one this morning that have had FCC applied and it just carried over to the new booking.  The one this morning had an expiry date of Dec 2021 and it was shifted into 2022.

 

I always use the on line tool as there are more options than if you call

Appreciate the quick reply.  How does it work once I submit my 3 preferences.  Will I have any options when they come back - or will it just be booked?

And am I guaranteed they will keep the same category and not downgrade me?

Would appreciate some advice -

We originally had a cruise booked for this past March that Royal cancelled.  It was more than 1/2 paid with FCC that was set to expire this Dec 2020.  In March (actually on the day we were supposed to set sail) we booked a new cruise for March 2021.   The payment was covered by a combination of the new deposit I had to put down, the payment ($) from the cancelled March cruise, the FCC from the cancelled March cruise + the original FCC that was due to expire this Dec.  I'm not sure if they made an exception to allow the old FCC to carry over - OR if this was standard - but they did it.  We are in an Owners Suite.

We're now not sure we want to sail in March - it may end up being too close to cruises starting up for our comfort.  We're also booked for July on Celebrity - but more comfortable with that.  I checked the online tool and it listed a number of options.  None great - but ok.

Couple of questions -

a)   Under lift and shift - will they still honor the FCC that was due to expire this year?  I'm sure this has been discussed but I haven't been following CC since our cruise was cancelled :-(.

b) Am I better off calling - or submitting the request via the form?  I prefer to call so I know specifically what categories are available on which ships and decide based on that - but I'm reading here availability is better on the form.  Will I have any better (or different) luck with respect to a) which way I go.

c) any other advice / considerations I'm not thinking of?

Thanks in advance and appreciate any and all opinions.

Mike

16 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Yes,,,,

Unless the airline gives you a credit to be used towards a future flight when you cancel the flights. Insurance isn't going to pay out unless there is a financial loss. A future flight credit is not a financial loss in their eyes.

Similar situation - but my cruise was next week and already canceled.  The tricky part is American is waiving change fees if you travel before the end of year.  We have $3,000 in airfare and no plans to use it this year.  Even if we end up using some, we likely won't use it all.  So it is likely we will have a loss eventually (at end of year) - if so it would be at least $600-800 in change fees, if not the whole ticket.

No idea how to handle this.  I've been trying to contact Nationwide - but wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge (understanding that ultimately it will be up to what Nationwide says).....

Mike

Almost certainly you will get whatever perks are associated with your new booking at the time you book.

Just made it by the skin of our teeth for our July 30 cruise.

Not really missing much.  Samana was a complete bust for us.

32 minutes ago, Realblonde474 said:

Is it worth it for two people in a deluxe veranda cabin (regular class) to upgrade to Family Veranda cabin?  

 

TIA

What ship and how much to upgrade?

In the end - only you can say whether it is worth it for you.  I can say the FV on M class ships - especially the corner ones with HUGE balconies are fabulous.

Also, since the FVs are going away and being converted to Sunset Suites - this may be your last opportunity to see for yourself at FV rates.

Mike

3 hours ago, gmros said:

Agree! She takes the bus and subway everyday. And now we have our first positive case in NYC. 

Give it another week.  Maybe then she'll be more scared of staying in NYC and the cruise will turn into the safer option 😉

4 hours ago, CanadianCruiser1985 said:

I usually wear a long dress and my partner wears a dress jacket and pants almost every night. 

What does he wear on the nights he doesn't wear pants?

On the Equinox in Concierge (and I assume balcony any others) the tv is still on an arm that will swing away from the wall.  On the Edge it was a PIA getting to that HDMI port......

3 minutes ago, skurvish said:

The only way I got it to work was to unplug the lan cable, pull the power cable and then repower. If I did it in any other way the HDMI selection would show up as disabled.

I believe you and that is why I suggested trying your method also.   Wasn't necessary for me.  The TVs could have been configured differently.

4 hours ago, skurvish said:

On Equinox now. I was able to switch to the HDMI input by unplugging the lan cable then unplugging the power and then repower it. On the bottom right there is a button that opens a menu, repeated presses of the button takes you to the input menu, press and hold opens that menu, select hdmi. If you try this with the lan cable connected or without repowering you get a message saying the function is disabled.

You can try with or without unplugging the lan cable.  We were on Equinox in November and had no issues using HDMI using the process above (except we didn't unplu the lan).  HDMI in at power up, then use the button at the bottom to navigate the menus and change inputs.  The hardest part was finding the button (and I knew in advance it would be on the bottom).

If it doesn't work, then as skurvish suggests try again with the lan unplugged.

Mike

6 hours ago, farawayatsea said:

When this question was posed last week most cruisers said they are not worried and the outbreak will have little or no impact on their cruising plans.

 

I'm wondering if now with the spread to Korea and Italy and Iran if everyone still feels the same way??

No change to plans for our Caribbean cruise next month.  Also have an Italy cruise booked for July - currently have no plans to change that unless the situation changes dramatically from where it is today.

We've decided to hold off booking any cruises to Iran for the time being.

Mike