brucefan21

26 minutes ago, josephine678 said:

Just curious any ideas how they will decide who gets to sail on a reduced revenue ship as I am assuming most of the cruises are booked full. I'm set to sail on Oasis in August. Doubt it's going to happen.

I was wondering this as well.  We are approaching our date to pay in full for a July cruise and half my family will not feel comfortable cruising.  We would love to lift and shift but don't have that option if this cruise actually sails.  But maybe they would ask for volunteers to shift if they have more than the reduced capacity already booked?

My in-laws got us all a floating cabana for our cruise next year.  That was very generous so I will certainly do the tip for the attendant but I'm not sure what a reasonable tip would be.  Any suggestions?  $200?  A certain % of what we paid for it?  Thanks!

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

Not sure if Chops+1 includes hibachi, might be just regular Izumi.

I think it said in the fine print you could do the hibachi for $10 more - but I've looked at so many things I could be confusing them.  I don't even care but the kids love hibachi so I'll be a nice mom 🙂

32 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Chops might be doable but Izumi, especially for hibachi, for that many will tough - you'll need to be real flexible on timing and book as soon as you board.

Thank you for your insight!  We may do the Chops +1 option which looks like at least we can book the Chops time when we purchase it in the cruise planner.  Then we can make a beeline to book Izumi once we board and hope for the best.  

We were looking at booking Chops and the hibachi at Izumi.  We aren't too limited as far as eating a specific time.  This is on Symphony of the Seas.

How difficult is it to get a specialty restaurant dining time for a group of 14?  I would assume we would need two tables but is it a problem getting them at least next to each other?  Thanks!

Darn - I think my July 2021 cruise is too far out.  Those prices haven't changed.  I remember someone saying at some point that the big sales are if your cruise is within 9 months or so but I don't know if that's true.  At any rate mine are still the same!  

36 minutes ago, gdwest said:

I cancelled our cruise (before final payment) mid-March. I received most of my refund late April. I still haven't

received any email regarding the FCC.

Same scenario here.  We did call a couple of times about the FCC since we wanted to apply it to another cruise and got different answers on when we would receive it.  Just that it is in process.  And they did not offer to give us the code over the phone to apply that way.  They just said we would get an email with it.

15 minutes ago, ILOVEHI50 said:

We got an updated invoice immediately for our Lift and Shift from our travel agency.  Big box store starting with C.  Makes no sense that they can do it; but others can't

It seems to be a delay that just started this week.  The speculation was that it was supposed to save some time by processing the shift then worrying about fixing the pricing later but we were on the phone for the typical two hours anyway so I'm not sure how much more time it would have taken to fix the price then and there too.

Has anyone who lifted and shifted a cruise and was told the new invoice would be available in 48 hours seen one with the lower price?  We did ours just about 48 hours ago and I've gone on as if I'm making a payment online to see what they show as the balance.  So far it is still the higher price.  Just wondering how long it has taken others to see the price go down.  

Also, does anyone know if a gift certificate someone bought for us and was used to pay down our balance on a cruise we then canceled and are awaiting FCC for would that be part of our FCC or would the money be credited back to the original credit card of the person giving the gift certificate?  Thanks!

15 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You cannot use the FCC as the deposit.

 

If your FCC covers the FULL cruise fare then the only thing you would have to pay is the taxes and fees if you call to book a new reservation

Thank you!  I wish speaking with RCI was as definitive and clear as your responses🙂

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Using the S&L you are not converting anything.  Everything stays on the booking exactly as it is

Sorry to beat a dead horse - but we have gotten different answers after calling RCI.  We had a July cruise booked for a long time.  When the time came to pay in full in April we certainly knew we weren't comfortable cruising in July or putting out the full fare and getting an FCC when July was canceled.  This was before the updated CWC program.  We were told we would receive FCC for the nun-refundable deposit.  

We have not yet received that FCC although we did cancel the cruise so it is in process.  Since we haven't gotten the FCC yet can we book another cruise and use that as the deposit or is it considered FCC already and we would now be putting out another $500.  Thanks!

1 minute ago, KsucAts said:

 

Because you didn't pay in full and canceled your reservation.  

 

That should be enough, but am guessing you want more.  They have enough to manage right now and going back to people who have already canceled with more options would cause an additional load on their already stretched thin resources.  They are doing whatever they can to keep customers with reservations happy while managing their cash flow.  I think they accomplished that with this new policy.

I understand I canceled however I was a customer during the same pandemic as everyone else.  The playing field should be the same for each and every customer.  We would have shifted eight cabins to the same cruise next year with just a deposit - just as hundreds of people are talking about doing right now.  So no I don't want more.  I want the same opportunity that everyone else in the same situation has.  I shouldn't be penalized because mine happened last month and someone else's happens now.  If anything it should have been what was offered when almost every state was basically on lockdown not when businesses are starting to reopen.  So please don't make it sound like I'm being greedy.  Canceling my cruise that we booked 18 months in advance was a big disappointment for all of us and this is a slap in the face.

I'm sorry.  I don't seem to understand this. We had 8 cabins booked for a July 4th sailing.  With the state of the world and some older passengers we didn't feel comfortable paying in full and called at that time to ask if they were offering an opportunity to switch to next year at the same price.  They said no so we canceled.  Now, during the same CWC period they ARE offering this option but because we canceled we can't utilize this which is what we asked for in the first place?  How is this right?  

I canceled water park passes mid-March and got the credit two days later.  I canceled the remaining cruise planner items the last week of March and got those refunds last week.  We never paid our final payment for our July cruise.  We will just get the FCC - eventually - for the deposit but at least we got the refunds for everything else.

This is my first Royal Caribbean cruise.  Would someone please explain what the plastic luggage tag holders are?  I see something I can buy online but I don't know if the dimensions needed would change over time as our cruise isn't for a year.  Thanks!

I'm new to Royal Caribbean.  If we have a big group of family going does every person need to get his/her own wristband in the line or can I just go and pick up ten wristbands for several linked cabins?  Thanks!

It's interesting to hear accounts of large groups being accommodated for my time dining.  We have a group of 16 and was told several times by the groups department that we need to book the standard dining times because it is nearly impossible to guarantee that our group would be seated near each other in my time dining.  They said it is like restaurant dining at home.  You have to wait for a table to clear.

Has anyone had any experience doing MTD with a larger group?  We have 16 people and would prefer a 6:30ish dining time but so far they are saying with that size we would have to dine at 5:30 or 8:00.  I would think they could still do two tables of 8 with MTD but I'm really not sure how it all works.  Thanks!

What a thorough review!  I did have a couple of questions.

1.  Did you have to purchase food at Johnny Rockets to get the milkshakes with your dining plan?

2.  We have a group of 16.  Were you able to get a table for my time dining for your group?  They said ours is too big so we have to go to either the 5:30 or 8:00 seating.  We would rather eat at 6:30.

Thanks and glad you had such a great time!

I tried the search function but didn't get exactly what I was trying to find out.  I know there is the hot dog place for grab and go hot dogs.  Is there a place for grab and go burgers or chicken tenders?  I know you can get them at Johnny Rockets or Playmakers for a fee and for free at Windjammers but I was hoping there was somewhere that had them where my kids could grab some on the run.  Thanks!

dp and brillohead - thank you so much for your responses.  This is our first Royal Caribbean cruise so we are trying to make sure we know all the other expenses we have coming up!  Really appreciate the help!

What is the normal price for the package?  I am booked on the Symphony in July, 2020 and our cruise planner price is $57 which they say already reflects a discount.  Is that a 20% discount or even with a special sale for 30% off will I not find it much cheaper?  I was fortunate enough to get the $18 rate but none of my family members were able to snag it.  I must have been the last one before they changed the rates!

That's a "perfect day" for me too!  Would you please tell me what location that was?  We were able to book a cabana for 2020 in South Beach which I don't believe is open yet but I wouldn't mind being where you were!

7 hours ago, Mvwingnut said:

The cruise planner won't let me book two massages at the same time unless I book a couples massage.  I even called the 800 number and he could not help me either..

I am having the same issue.  We have a few people who want to get Swedish massages and I was told there is only one person who does each type of massage.  That's why I can't book more than one at the same time.  I read there are a lot of treatment rooms at the spa.  How is it possible you can't do two of the same massages at once?  If it was a couples massage there would be two massage therapists.  It makes no sense.