MaritimeR&R

This is part of the email that my T/A got:

To anyone that booked the March 9th Serenade sailing as a replacement - as of yesterday this sailing is now also "officially" a charter, as is the February 16, 2018 sailing.

As of today, per the RCI resolutions dept. the February 16th, 2018 AND the March 9, 2018 sailings on the Serenade are officially listed as chartered in their database. The Dept. has not received any specifics on either charter as of yet. More information will be forthcoming."

Mobile Passport is great for a speedy check through, also if you have Global Entry (bring the small card used for border passing with you) you can breeze through there as well.

Seeing how RCCL is trying to claim they know nothing about a charter on their Facebook page replacing the 3/9 Serenade....I posted them the link to the charter!

lol. I saw that. and added the other link.

When they contact you ask if you can switch your cruise to the charter at the same price. It can't hurt.

 

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The charter is more money AND it is only a 7 night eastern Caribbean that visits San Juan, St. Maarten and Labadee. They paid for a 10 night Southern Caribbean cruise that was to visit St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Nevis/Kitts, St. Maarten and Dominca, hardly what I would call an even trade, despite the presence of Melissa Etheridge.

Thanks, Bob.

Does anyone know how the percentage of the pooled tips are actually distributed?

I must be one of the fortunate ones, RC has always worked with me on any issues that I have raised in the past, albeit they were small ones. I am hoping that if the third leg of my B4B is cancelled due to a charter that they will do their best to reconcile the issue to my satisfaction and my pocketbook.

Sophie, I can imagine your frustration when a charter occurs during the middle of your B4B. I was going to suggest looking at a different ship, and doing a side 2 side, but you already did. I hope something benefitting you ends up occurring. 😊

 

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Hopefully, I will know by the time we are in Barcelona...lol

If it does come to pass. I would take the redeployment OBC, cancel the 4th leg and use both $$ to book something entirely different. :D

Sounds good in theory, but just in theory. I booked all four of my cruises on the day they were released. I have done my research and to rebook something now to replace the third and fourth leg gives me only two options Freedom and Navigator. Freedom would be an 8/6/8 giving me 22 nights versus the 21 I am currently booked for and Navigator a 9/5/9 would give me an equal number of nights that I am currently booked for.

If I do Freedom, I have to pay for one night in a hotel plus transportation from the port to the hotel and then back to the port plus my meals. If I do Navigator, I have to go from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. The current pricing for these ships in the cabin class I am booked in would be thousands more than I am currently paying.

Do you really want to spend 4 weeks on a RC ship?

 

I'm ready to get off on day 7....

 

There are many people who spend more time than that. Retirees, like myself, often spend weeks on board to escape the cold weather in the north and just enjoy being at sea.

I left you some info on your roll call about the March date....so don't be surprised if yours has changed and no notice....they started selling tickets to the March one by 11/1

That's exactly why I am annoyed. - Nov. 1st cabins went on sale for a march 9 "7 night Melissa E. experience 3/12--3/19 ---those who are currently booked on the 10 ni southern Caribbean starting 3/9 have not heard anything from RC about their sailing being cancelled. That is bad business!

Just curious.....................

 

If you could keep the cabin at the current or lesser price, would you go this week?

 

Just wondering.

 

Good luck and let us know what happens

No, it would cost me RT airfare and a hotel, and I just got back earlier this past week from a B2B on the Freedom. And then what do I do about my fourth leg? --- fly down and back again, pay another hotel bill. Xmas is around the corner and I will have a house full. So, my answer to your question is "no way."

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask RC to notify it's passengers immediately upon accepting a charter instead of leaving us all to speculate on what's happening.

I doubt this is possible. The original cruise was departing FLL on the 9th and was 10 nights. The chartered cruise would be departing on the 12th for 7 days. Both are totally different ports. I doubt that they would change the ports have one set of passengers board in FLL and then pick up the charter in SJU and then disembark both original passengers and charter passengers in FLL.

 

Unfortunately this will also most likely affect the cruise before it as well unless they just add in a short Bahamas cruise to fill the couple of extra days.

I am not on the cruise destined to be torn apart by the Melissa Ethridge sailing that is on March 9th, however, I am annoyed that RC has not contacted those people already booked for that sailing. If you look at my upcoming cruises, you will see that I am talking about my Serenade 2/16/18 cruise which is the third leg of four cruises that I am booked on. The cruise has been listed since late Friday as sold out on the RC website and I fear the same fate that has befallen the 3/9 and 4/20/18 cruises will happen to my 2/16/18 cruise.

Whatever you do, don't cancel or change the booking until officially notified by RC, else you will not be eligible for any consideration from RC.

Yes, I know that Bob. But, it is likely that consideration will be given only for the charter cruise. That will not help me with what would have been the fourth sailing in the same cabin.

Yes, I have checked my roll call. We are all awaiting official word. No one has any confirmation of a charter or has been contacted by RCI.

I am aware that the cruise line has the right to cancel any cruise due to whatever reason, however when they do that they should first inform their currently booked passengers BEFORE the charter that has taken over the cruise starts selling cabins that the currently-booked passengers still have deposits on instead of just listing the cruise on its website as "Sold Out." Case in point - the March 9th, 2018 10 night southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade is listed as sold out. To date, currently-booked passengers have not been informed that the cruise has been chartered, but cabins for a Melissa Etheridge 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise (San Juan, St. Maarten, Labadee) starting on March 12 and ending on March 19th are being sold online by the charter. Currently, I am awaiting word on the third leg of 4 consecutive sailings I have booked on the Serenade for January and February of 2018. No one at RCI knows anything other than the ship has been pulled from inventory (the usual excuses were given and no mention of a charter was among them.) A google search turned up nothing. If my Feb 16, 2018 sailing becomes a charter, it will leave me in an expensive and inconvenient pickle as I do not want to incur the expenses to fly home to New York and back again for my fourth leg (the 11 night southern) with another hotel fee for the night before. I strongly feel that RCI needs to promptly communicate with its customers as soon as they charter a ship, especially to those customers whose consecutive sailings will be interrupted and do not live local to the disembarkation port!

As of this morning, The Feb 16 2018 sailing is shown as "Sold Out" on the RCI website and yet there were still plenty of cabins available three days ago when I was checking price drops. There is nothing in my messages folder from RCI. Anyone hear anything about a charter or know of anything other than an unusual consumer demand that might cause the ship to be suddenly sold out?

We will be staying at the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Marina. I have a number of questions and I've been getting various answers, so I'm going to consolidate here and see what happens.

 

1. Is there a liquor store close to the Hilton? Anything that we should do while staying there?

 

2. I understand that we can take 2 bottles of wine onboard....could we do 4 since we are doing a Back to Back Cruise?

 

3. We are Diamond Members....what are the times for Diamonds to get their complimentary drinks daily? Is the Diamond lounge consistently overflowing?

 

4. I understand that Diamond Members can sit in Giovanni's for Breakfast. Do they serve breakfast or is it just seating?

 

5. Anything else that Diamond Members get that I should look out for?

 

6. How does the Back to Back work at the end of the 1st leg? Are we allowed back in our rooms after going through customs? or do we have to wait until they open for everyone?

4-8 for drinks, went to the CL so can't tell you about DL, seating only in Giovanni's . You will receive a letter telling you where to meet on turn around day, as a consecutive cruiser - all in the group go through customs together, yes, upon returning from customs you can go back to your room. Don't forget you get a free pic for each cruise.

I had thought from what I read on CC that it was a PS understood that they received the perks right away. After that many cruise nights IMO they deserve it.

That had always been my belief as well, but as I said, recognition of attaining Pinnacle, yes, but receiving other perks starting with that sailing including the Gold Card as evidenced on my Freedom sailings Nov. 20th and 26th was not the case.

Pretty sure Pinnacle is the only level that you earn while onboard. I'll actually be able to verify this next week. The part I am unsure about is weather or not you have the new status for the entire voyage, even if you don't hit 700 until several days in. It may be up to the ships management.

There seems to be an inconsistency here, John, depending on ship: ie; on the Vision last January, a friend became Pinnacle and received her Gold Card the same day. I just got off a B2B on Freedom and on both sailngs, those who reached Pinnacle were recognized, but were told they needed to wait until the next sailing for their Gold Card. One of them was on a B2B and reached Pinnacle on the first leg; she did not receive her Gold Card for the next leg and had to go to Guest Services on the morning of disembarking the second leg. I am sure that was an oversight, but apparently receiving your Gold Card on the cruise you attain Pinnacle is not practiced fleet-wide. I've seen it done on some ships and not on others.

Trolls, Captain America, Star Trek, Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Finding Dory. There were a couple more but I can't remember their names.

 

 

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Thank you.

Can anyone tell me what movies are being shown on Freedom. I board a week from today for a B2B and want to download some movies on my tablet. I don't want to duplicate something being shown onboard. Thanks!

Current movies on board?Thanks.