Voyager sailing chartered--what's a good alternative?

[allesonwonderland]

Although I haven't gotten the official call, I'm seeing info on other threads that the Voyager sailing I have booked for our Spring Break 2011 has now been chartered. What would be a good alternative? We had never been on a Voyager-class ship. (Heck--we haven't been on RCCL since our first cruise on the Majesty. LOL) We had connecting promenade staterooms and were really excited about those and the itinerary--we've never been to Belize or Roatan before. Anyway, any thoughts? We chose Galveston because we could drive, NOLA would be an option too, but there's no 7 day cruises that week (March 20, 2011.) I looked at pushing it back to 2012, but our break dates must line up with Texas next year so the sailings are all $500pp higher on Royal. Eek!! We have sailed on the Conquest out of Galveston, we liked it but would like to see some new places. (Though we did miss our stop in Jamaica, so I guess it would still be somewhat new.)

 

Thanks in advance. I'm so disappointed!! :(

[jam82]

If you wait until 2012, you would be sailing on the Magic out of Galveston. That would be different. NCL also has a 7 day out of NOLA on March 20th, 2011.

[allesonwonderland]

NCL also has a 7 day out of NOLA on March 20th, 2011.

 

 

That is the same itinerary we were going to have. I've never sailed on NCL, any comments?

 

Sounds like we'll be offered an OBC if we rebook with Royal, but it wouldn't make up for the price increase if we push the cruise back to 2012...if I found some good airfare it may cover flights to another port for a 2011 cruise?

 

Chime in everyone! ;)

[jam82]

Food for thought, sorry I couldn't be more decisive.

 

I liked NCL very much, but not everyone agrees about the Freestyle cruising. It is a different mindset. I will do it again in the future. IMHO, it is not as much "bling bling" as RCCL, but I thought it was more relaxed and there were less lines. RCCL does have some nice ships out of Florida if that is an option. It is often cheaper to fly and sail from Florida, than it is to drive and sail from Galveston or NOLA. (We are about 30 minutes from Galveston.) (I also like meeting people from all over, and the Galveston and NOLA cruises tend to be mostly locals, again a different mindset.) It might also depend on the ages of your kids and what your priorities are on board. It's nice that RCCL has the rock wall and the ice skating, but if you're not going to use it, it may not be worth flying to Florida for. It's so much easier to drive to port.

[allesonwonderland]

We were excited for the 'bling bling' on RCCL. Kids will be 13 and 10, so they'd definitely be using the rock wall and ice rink. Checked out the RCCL ships out of FL, all are the same price or more expensive that week. Perhaps rates might drop before we'd be going. I called and they offered to honor our rate for 2 weeks in March or 1 in April, plus an obc. I tried to see if they'd give us that same rate for the Mariner (or even the Voyager out of NOLA) in 2012, but that was a no go. :rolleyes: I'm just bummed. We have til the 21st to decide what we're going to do, the rep said.

[Cruisin Kay D]

Who/What could charter the WHOLE Voyager??

[jam82]

If you want to stick with RCCL then I can think of 3 options:

1. Take the kids out of school and go a different week.

2. Pay more.

3. Change cabins. Did you try booking a suite instead of two cabins? It would only have one bath, but it might work. You could also look at OV or insides.

OR

Go with NCL and less bling, but you'd still be cruising to the ports you want.

 

Good luck. Let us know what you end up doing.

[Tennisdoc]

A rep called me two days ago saying the ship had been chartered. A $200 per room OBC does not seem to be enough Where is the cancellation policy from the RC perspective? Why do we have to give in at all? I am traveling with 5 kids during AZ spring break so getting to florida is not too easy.

[Cruisin Kay D]

What a bummer for you all!!! Agree the $200 per room doesn't seem enough.... Wonder why they won't book you for 2012 at same price....

[allesonwonderland]

What a bummer for you all!!! Agree the $200 per room doesn't seem enough.... Wonder why they won't book you for 2012 at same price....

 

They'd probably let me book any other week in March 2010 for a similar price, but the week I'd need it to be is much more expensive because it's Texas' spring break. This year they are the week before ours, so the week I booked was lower. They won't honor rates for that week this year either.

 

I suppose I could always book the 2012 dates, then move it when the 2013 dates come out...gambling that our breaks won't line up again. That's just sooooo far away!!!

[Tennisdoc]

i finally rebooked on Voyager February 20-27, 2011. It was confusing though. My online agent said the $200 OBC was only good the week prior so I finally got through to Conflict Resolution. She said the $200 OBC was good for any re-booking but hte price guaranteed was only for the the week prior (March 13). When I called by the RCI agent, we was confused but helpful. At least we are booked!

[allesonwonderland]

i finally rebooked on Voyager February 20-27, 2011. It was confusing though. My online agent said the $200 OBC was only good the week prior so I finally got through to Conflict Resolution. She said the $200 OBC was good for any re-booking but hte price guaranteed was only for the the week prior (March 13). When I called by the RCI agent, we was confused but helpful. At least we are booked!

 

 

Glad you got it worked out! We had to cancel altogether, when I called and tried to move to a different year I was told the OBC was only if we moved it around the same original date--maybe a month or so before or after. That just wouldn't work for us since we can only go that week, and airfare was outrageous to fly to a different port. I wrote a letter expressing my disappointment, but never heard anything back. (Didn't expect them to do anything, but just an acknowledgment would have been nice.)

 

We decided to go ahead and try the NCL Spirit out of New Orleans, since it's still within driving distance. Hope you have a great cruise! I'm sure we'll get to try the Voyager someday!