Bucket29

9 minutes ago, island284 said:

Are you also on the 5/14/22 Explorer?  That’s what we booked. Eight night had to be another eight night. Explorer was our only choice. 

No- we are on Radiance and had not made final payment- it was due in February but extended to April.  So, they truly don't know what is causing it if you made final payment and we had not.  It can't be an issue with all May L&S or surely we would have heard more about it.  Let's hope they figure it out soon. 

46 minutes ago, island284 said:

Your story sounds EXACTLY like ours. I’ve been calling everyday for 5 days now. We’ve been told the same thing. Supposedly they have now “frozen” the deck 7 cabin number so we will have it when and IF this fiasco is remedied. Had we not gone out to our cruise page we wouldn’t have known about the cancellation and been out a Lift & Shift. 
 

my patience level is quickly fading. 

Thanks- I'll have to ask them to "freeze" our room numbers.  When I called the second time the rep said she would see if my original rooms were indeed still available but "not to worry"- if they were not,  they'd find me other rooms- urgh,  I BOOKED THOSE ROOMS FOR A REASON! 

6 hours ago, island284 said:

Is anyone else having a problem with the computer (supposedly) cancelling their May 21 Lift & Shifts? We shifted our 5/8/21 Indy cruise to 5/14/22 Explorer.  (met all the criteria.)  The computer keeps cancelling the reservation sometime during the night.  We've spoken to RC five days in a row now, the past two days to a supervisor who supposedly fixed the issue.  The reservations shows up that day on our future cruise page, only to disappear the next morning.

 

Same thing has happened to me- twice now- on a May 2021 L&S moved to May 2022.  I would never have known my L&S was cancelled by RCI had I not logged on to my cruise planner and noticed the May 2022 sailing had been removed. 

The first time it happened (3 days ago) I called RCI and the rep did not understand what caused it- said it was probably a computer glitch and was able to fix it after about an hour on the phone.  I checked a short while ago after seeing this post  and yup- it was cancelled again.  Called RCI- they have again fixed it but my rooms were up for grabs on the web site and I was lucky they weren't sold.  They think this is happening b/c of final payment being pushed out.  They said if it happens again they will cancel the whole reservation and issue a new reservation number.  I'm kind of miffed they won't just cancel and rebook now- instead I have to keep checking to see if they cancel it again.

So- anyone with a L&S where you did not make your 2021 final payment- might want to check and make sure your cruise is still active... good luck!

I vote Oasis class too- the ship has been as much fun as the destinations for us.  We usually book two connecting cabins for our family of four- the two bathrooms are worth it- and surprisingly the pricing isn't usually that different from a single cabin for four.  Enjoy!!

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I guess what my question would be is... what would be "dirty" with this reservation? What potential pitfalls could you see with this?

That's what I'm trying to figure out- I don't see any obvious pitfalls and just curious if anyone can foresee any .... I could definitely put the $ 500 to good use ... I'm thinking drink package 😉

I have the option to lift and shift a 2021 cruise (7 night balcony Alaska) to 2022 which would price protect it  OR I can book the exact same cruise under a new reservation for $ 500 more (and take a refund for the 2021 deposit).  I'm trying to decide if having a cruise without 'old baggage' is worth $ 500 ....

5 hours ago, DJLDRUMS said:

Watching for the next announcement in mid April announcing cruises being cancelled for June and July, unfortunately, that seems to be the pattern on how announcements have been coming down. Let me go one step further asking those who booked through RCI or a TA where they had cruises booked prior to April and May as well as in those two months. Have you received a notification that your cruise has been cancelled and what were your options.

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

I have an Alaskan cruise - May 28, 2021  departure- that I booked directly through RCI.  No emails ... but I just checked my cruise planner page and it says "Voyage Cancelled".   not surprised but don't officially know what my options are.

4 minutes ago, rockmom said:

Those are the dates to use Future Cruise Credit.  The Lift & Shift program ended in January.  The only L&S options are happening if Royal cancels a cruise--then they send those affected an email letting them know if they have an option for L&S and as others have said, it has been a much more narrow set of rules that allow you to move to the exact same ship, same itinerary,  one year out within one week +/- of that original week.  

Oh geez- you guys are right.  I need to log off for the night.  

I am helping out by giving vaccines at our local vaccine center- we are primarily vaccinating age 65 and over and giving both Moderna and Pfizer.  In talking to people when they come back for their 2nd shot most are telling me they experienced no side effects, or,  a sore arm after the first shot.  We don't see them after their second shot but understandably a lot of people are concerned about what they might expect.  In talking to people in general I'm hearing most people over 65 are just having a sore arm and some fatigue after the second shot.  40-50 year olds are having chills and muscle aches- plus a sore arm.  And under 40 are having the typical flu symptoms along with fevers- plus the sore arm.  Weirdly most people I've talked to are experiencing the side effects right around 10-12 hours after the shot but for some it's been delayed by a day and then it hits them.  Most are feeling better about 24 hours later. 

This is just a generalization and I'm sure we will hear more characterizations as more groups get vaccinated but I wanted to share what I've been hearing.

The way I understand it is that you can sail a L&S by Sept 30, 2022 but you need to book it by April 2022.  That may only be for Alaska though.

Same thing happened to me- first rep couldn't fix it but the second rep could.  

I thought Royal has pushed back final payment to 45 days prior to sailing??  I have a May sailing where original final payment was due 2-28-21 and I planned to wait a bit longer prior to cancelling.  Some of my shore excursions have a cancel penalty unless the ship cancels the trip so I didn't want to cancel before Royal does.  Am I correct?

I decided to take the option of a Lift and Shift for a July 2021 sailing to Alaska- moved it to July 2022 (two cabins of 3 people each, with a FCC being moved for the deposit).  Rep told me it would be price protected except for port taxes and fees- which she estimated to be around $ 34 more per person (estimating to be about

$ 100 more per cabin for 2022). She told me it would take about 24 hours to receive my new cruise vacation receipt because of the FCC.

The following morning I received the receipt via email and it was appx. $ 600 more per cabin.  I called RC and the rep could not explain the increase- she said they were applying the FCC differently to the fare, therefore, I could not line item the amounts to understand how they were getting the increase- when I asked her to add up the numbers on her end- we "got disconnected".  I called back and the next rep put me on hold for awhile but came back and said they had accidentally double charged my port taxes and fees... and she corrected it.  It still did not explain the $ 600 increase but it got fixed.

Bottom line- I'm gathering 2022 receipts from lift and shifts may be tricky to reconcile with 2021reciepts, so watch your total balance due closely.   

19 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

You need to look at the specific itinerary for the weeks you are considering to see when you are likely to be sailing the Inside Passage.  

Thanks- so I looked more closely at the itinerary and the Inside Passage Cruising is on the same day as Juneau (which is a 1200 port arrival).  So cruising of the Inside Passage will be a limited experience and/or early morning hours.  I also noticed this particular cruise is entitled ALASKA EXPERIENCE CRUISE where all the others are called ALASKA GLACIER CRUISE- think I'm going to go with the GLACIER option

50 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Not sure what dates you were looking at but the July 22 only had 2 Alaskan port stops plus Victoria while the 15th and 29th had 3 port stops plus Victoria. 

Basically deciding between July 29 and August 5- both have 3 ports (plus Victoria) but one is Inside Passage and one is Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier

57 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

Personally, I would pick the second option, but look at the times in port and viewing the glacier.  Are your kids going to get up at 5am to 10am to see the glacier?

I have read the inside passage can be during the night and early am- is this the situation for every cruise?

I'm being optimistic and planning for my 2022 first cruise to Alaska (that didn't go in 2020 and likely will not go in 2021).  I am currently scheduled on Ovation end of July- have kids traveling so am opting for the bigger ship- roundtrip out of Seattle.  Will likely lift and shift and the itineraries I can shift to are slightly different.  I will be happy with all of the port options but my indecision is regarding the Alaska Inside Passage cruising option versus Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier cruising option itineraries.  Any thoughts?

On 2/1/2021 at 4:02 PM, KEN31VA said:

If refundable deposit fares are that much more, why not get the NRD fare and also get cancel for any reason insurance?

Just be careful with 'cancel for any reason' policies- the company I use ( a large company) only reimburses 75% of the fares with their cancel for any reason.

Thanks for the photos- makes me smile 🙂

I am working at a county run vaccine center- helping with vaccinations.  Fortunately, what I have seen  has gone very smoothly- I give a lot of credit to our local EMS - primarily running the operation.  We give appointments for second shots immediately after someone gets their first.  Hopefully we will be able to continue with this process but I am sure it all depends on supply. 

As others have recommended- keep a tally of the total amounts- I had no luck trying to match up the amount with a line item.  My refunds came weeks apart and in very strange amounts.  In the end, I was still short $ 429.  After patiently waiting months, I called Royal and they had officially closed my refund - I went through my charges with the rep and they agreed- after talking to a manager- I was actually still owed money.  The rep was great but that was about 7 weeks ago and since then I have only received another $ 200.  Time for another call .... 

I voted March 2021- I think there will be restrictions but no so severe that it will still feel like a vacation ... I'm hoping

I am still waiting on a small portion of my refund from a May 2020 cruise.  The amounts have come in such weird amounts the past few months that it has been difficult to track and match up everything- deposits, balances and cruise planner items for two cabins.  Royal had closed my refund until I called and pointed out the exact date of my credit charges and we totaled up about 20 strange credits from them over the phone.  The agent was patient and helpful and hopefully it will all get straightened out soon.   

Advice going forward that I would give: make a chart as you make payments, reprice things, date of refunds and if possible pay with different credit cards- it helped to sort out the mess by having things assigned to a specific card.  i.e. deposit and balances and repricing of cabin on one card and cruise planner charges/repricing on another.

Good luck, be patient and be diligent and hopefully it will all work out.

I thought I read somewhere anyone over 70 could gift their future cruise credit- can anyone confirm?

1 hour ago, Meekomist said:

Anyone have trouble getting refunds on excursions? We cancelled one, was booked for 3 people, they only refunded 1 of the 3. I've been holding off on calling; I figure if I don't see anything in a week I'll call. 

Fortunately all of my shore excursions and cruise planner items have been refunded and fairly quickly- about 2-3 weeks after request, but they come back in weird credit amounts.  I've had to make a literal flow sheet to keep track of it.  I'd give it some time depending on how long ago you received the one credit ... good luck