Brit-Cruiser

I don't like to be a naysayer, but why on earth would anyone have booked flights for this cruise, when it was obvious there was some sort of issue? We deliberately held off to see how this panned out & are now glad we did.

RCI have a moral obligation to help as it's them that cancelled the cruise, but as for a legal obligation, then I can't see one unless the airfare was booked direct with them at the same time as the cruise, as part of a package.

I suspect the only reason I have my email is the fact I contacted Michael Bayley for answers.

? I just tried to explain the reason for the cancelation of Indys transatlantic.

 

 

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I'm sorry, I was attempting to reply to a post that seems to have vanished...my excuse is that I was ironing at the time & can clearly not multi task! :)

I believe they changed the dry dock to Europe and make a non revenue transatlantic earlier for preparation.

 

 

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Not exactly. The fees and taxes are more for the Navigator & The Serenade. The only protected part is the actually fare before those charges are added.

Email in full.

Important changes to your booking on Independence of the Seas . 5th May 2018

Your booking reference

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean for your cruise vacation. Independence of the Seas, the

ship on which you.ve booked your transatlantic vacation, is scheduled for renovation in April 2018.

The schedule for the renovation has been extended and we need to cancel the 5th May 2018

transatlantic sailing.

I realise that this change will be disappointing and I am sorry for the disruption this may cause to

your holiday plans.

Detailed below is a list of options that are available to you as an alternative. Please take a moment

to consider what you wish to do and let us know by no later than 5:30 PM on 12th June 2017.

Your options:

A. You can change on one of the selected ship and cruise dates below. You will be allocated

the same type of accommodation and can book at the protected or best available rate. As

with all bookings, this is subject to there being suitable availability. Price protection is

limited to the cruise fare only. Taxes, fees, gratuities and other non-cruise fare items are

subject to prevailing rates regardless of the sailing chosen.

Ship Sail Date

Serenade of the Seas 20th April 2018

Navigator of the Seas 22th April 2018

B. You can change to any other Royal Caribbean International sailing, subject to availability. If

the new cruise is more expensive, then guests will be responsible for paying the

difference. If the new cruise is less expensive, guests will receive a refund for the

difference. We will be happy to help you find a suitable replacement holiday.

OR

C. You have the right to receive a full refund of all the money paid to Royal Caribbean

International, refunded

to the original form of payment.

If you choose to change (option A or B), we will be pleased to give you an on board credit for the

new sailing for:

 $200 per suite for Category Suites

 $100 per stateroom for Categories Inside, Outside and Balcony.

The on board credit is being offered as recognition for the alteration to your plans and for any

disappointment you have experienced.

Please let us know what you have decided as soon as possible and no later than 5:30 PM on 12th

June 2017. You can call us on 0844 493 4005, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. If you

prefer, you can email a completed reply form to us at RoyalCustomerServiceUK@rccl.com or fax it

to us on 01932 820 603. My team will be pleased to help you re-book or answer any questions you

may have.

Thank you for your understanding. We apologize for disrupting your vacation plans, and can

assure you that your Royal Caribbean vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and

quality for which we are known. We can.t wait to welcome you on board.

Yours sincerely,

Royal Caribbean

They are offering $200 obc for suites and $100 for all other cabins.

Just had an email from RCI.

The cruise has been cancelled.

Options offered are Serenade or Navigator.

I have called so many times & get a different response each time. I decided today to send an email to Michael Bayley & see if he would enlighten me. I have just received the following response:

" Dear Mrs. FXXXXXXX

Thank you for contacting the Executive Offices of Royal Caribbean International. Your correspondence to Mr. Bayley was forwarded to my attention upon review, and I welcome the opportunity to respond on his behalf.

I regret to learn of the concerns shared and genuinely apologize. We are currently reviewing your correspondence and will follow up with you upon the completion of our review.

Thank you, Mrs. XXXXXXX, for reaching out to us. We look forward to communicating with you in the near future."

It's not giving anything away, but at least we may get a definitive answer, sooner as opposed to later, now that the CEO's office are involved. Here's hoping.

A LOT of people got off the ship in New York, on our Transatlantic last November on the Navigator, instead of staying on to Miami. Some disembarked in Port Canaveral too. They informed RCI before the cruise where they would be leaving ship. There was no issue with this as the first port of call was Boston, where all passengers were cleared by US immigration.

Since this cruise, I believe that RCI have introduced an "admin fee" for leaving the ship early. I have read conflicting amounts of $65 or $75 pp.

My DH haggled them down to a 50% discount in Chops on our Vision of the seas cruise last month. He also managed 40% a Giovanni's Table. :)

We have made our own way to the port for the past 2 years on this itinerary. Our flight landed just before 8am and by 10.30 we were on board, settled on a sunbed. The terminal is very quiet & check in is a breeze, as the guests doing the RCI transfers do not arrive until later.

We fly to Dubai tomorrow to board The Vision. STILL not finished the packing :eek:

Thanks for the review - not many from this part of the world. Interesting what you said about first time cruisers and lack of meet and mingle - don't think there is even a roll call started for our cruise on 27Feb !

 

 

Did you notice if there were any drink cards - couldn't see anything on the cruise compasses. If not think we will be going 'dry' - hurts too much to pay their prices for drinks :D

 

 

Was it easy to walk to places in Muscat - we have a dhow tour for the first day but planning on doing our own thing for the second day.

 

 

Thanks again - Sue

We are also on 27/2. There is a roll call, as I posted on it in December. There is only us & the person that started it though. It is so old, it doesn't show up unless I search my previous posts. I will post in it now & hopefully bump it to the top of the list, so it can be found. :)

I actually copied the beer list from the card left in our cabin on our Oasis cruise in December. Corona was definitely available on our sailing.

The beers on the diamond drink list are:

Budweiser

Miller lite

Amstel lite

Corona

Heineken

I guess you would not have a problem ordering any of these if they are available on draught. As for Guinness, it would be chargeable. Hope this helps.

Favourites: Drew Devine, Joff Eaton & Leigh Xueurb.

Least Favourites: Bill Brunkhorst, Paul Rutter & Mike Hunnerup.

We bought our wine in a supermarket and packed it in our hold luggage. It made it intact with no issues. I just took it out of my case at the airport and put it in my carry on bag. I intend to do the same when we do this itinerary again at the end of the month.

I have tried many times & never been able to book on the US website using a UK residential address. I now use a Stateside travel agent.

We have sailed on both & would choose the Freedom every time.

We did the Navigator Transatlantic in Nov & there were multiple issues.

I would stick with the port side. The Nov transatlantic is Westbound & on the port side you will get the sun (such as it is on that itinerary) most of the day.

The UK customer service will probably charge you to change cabins, as UK bookings do not have the flexibility of US bookings.

We did this itinerary in Nov 16, had a port side balcony & some amazing views of the Statue of Liberty when sailing into New York.

We didn’t venture far from the ship in St. Thomas and walked around the immediate area a little while and then enjoyed the Solarium sans the crowds.

 

 

 

Deck the Holidays Christmas Sailing:

 

Of all things promised if you booked a cruise during December, the only one delivered was decorations in the promenade.

 

No caroling, no holiday movies or festive films, no snow in the promenade, no tree lighting, no Santa, no elves, no entertainment filled with holiday cheer, etc. The only Christmas music I heard all week was the pool deck band playing about 30 seconds of a reggae Jingle Bells.

 

The promenade decorations were beautiful

 

 

 

 

 

 

These little magnets were on the junior suite doors. People kept stealing them -- really???

 

We were also on this cruise & we saw Santa giving photo opportunities at the Christmas tree a couple of times, with elves in attendance. We also took part in the Caroling on the Royal Promenade, again with elves. I can't comment on whether there were Christmas movies, as watching movies on holiday doesn't interest us.

It was our first time on the Oasis & we loved it so much that we have already booked it again. That said, I would find it frustrating if I didn't get information that I was expecting. The Loyalty Ambassador should have got everything to you as soon as you queried it.

On our 2 previous cruises, DH has bought a 1 device package in advance & I have used both our free days for my device when onboard.

Sorry, I forgot to say, Drew will not be returning to the Oasis, but after the Indy, he will be taking over The Liberty. Again, not sure on exact dates.

We were having a catch up with Drew Devine last week. He will be taking over the Independence from March, leaving after the Transatlantic in May. (Sorry, don't have the date he is commencing).

Actually our experience has been just the opposite. Our last two cruises, Oasis and Allure had some of the friendliest staff that we have encountered.

I completely agree with this statement. We were on the Oasis last week & the staff were all so friendly, happy & helpful.

We were quite overwhelmed when we boarded, but by the end of the cruise, we were so sad to be leaving.