Independence UK 2020 sailings cancelled

[Clarea]

8 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I wonder what compensation RC will give for airfares and pre-cruise hotels for people who have already booked?

 

I've not seen RC give compensation for prepaid hotel.

[grapau27]

12 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I've not seen RC give compensation for prepaid hotel.

I often book and pay up front for non refundable hotel deals in Southampton and flight's paid 9 months in advance.

Fortunately today I just booked Allure from Barcelona next year and nearly booked a couple of short cruises on Independence as well so pleased to read this before I booked but feel sorry for anyone who has already booked.

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by grapau27

[Shrewsbury on Tour]

Aghhhhh....

 

In a nutshell that’s our wedding anniversary holiday gone up the spout...after spending loads of effort and time researching etc

 

novice cruiser sailed once with NCL and Royal Caribbean, so maybe a case of once bitten twice shy...

 

That said is 25% credit confirmed off total cruise fare, or just deposit paid??

 

Need a drink before I tell the wife!!!

 

[Saab4444]

When Cuba cruises come to an end they could send Empress to Europe with focus on port intense cruises to Northern Europe. I would love this for traveling to smaller ports in e.g. Norway, Iceland or the UK. Unfortunately Serenade is gone from Europe as well.

 

They converted Independence into a big fun ship with the slides and yellow ball on top so switching her from itinerary focused cruises in Europe to short fun cruises in the Bahamas was the logical next step.

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Ridiculous high or low?

I find the prices in Sept, when we try and travel, are a lot higher per night than say Caribbean or out of NY, even with added flight and hotel costs. Plus you have Bay of Biscay and chilly days at beginning and end to contend with. Limited choice next year with RC should keep the prices high on Anthem though 

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, FionaMG said:

High. Sailings out of the UK are crazy high. Royal are pricing themselves out of the market, especially with new builds by competitors like MSC and Costa. 

I agree, they may find a lot of cruisers turning to other lines if limited choice and high prices 

[grapau27]

25 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I've not seen RC give compensation for prepaid hotel.

RC are usually very good.

When we were on Harmony' during her maiden season in 2016 there was a lifeboat accident on board during a drill in Marseille.

We left Marseille the next day which meant we missed a port but considering the circumstances we didn't mind.

The captain unexpectedly announced everyone would get obc based on their cabin cost for the late delay and loss of a port stop We personally got over $300.

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by grapau27

[Kingseat]

I am very much a novice cruiser but to me the cost of a cruise from Europe is so expensive. Pricing themselves out I reckon. My cruise in June which was paid for early is cheaper now and a balcony is cheaper than our inside cabin. We can’t make any changes in the Uk. 

 

I feel for those who have received the news today. 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, Kingseat said:

I am very much a novice cruiser but to me the cost of a cruise from Europe is so expensive. Pricing themselves out I reckon. My cruise in June which was paid for early is cheaper now and a balcony is cheaper than our inside cabin. We can’t make any changes in the Uk. 

 

I feel for those who have received the news today. 

I totally agree with you.

[SAmome]

3 hours ago, molsonschooner said:

Maybe RC just realized that they have no ships in Fort Lauderdale next summer. 😂 Maybe they will do 7 nights. 

Have you seen the prices they are charging for 3 night sailings that include coco cay 2020?  I think they'd make more money running 3 and 4 night sailings.

 

[sgmn]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

I've often assumed that European's are more savvy with their money spending less on board compared to American's.  Is that a fair assessment?

 

Do you think the higher base rates in Europe driven by the reduced revenue on board? Why are base fares so much higher in Europe?

Our on board bills have been from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand (yeap we got done over good on the spa), so think we do spend money. Don't forget that a lot of UK cruises often include drink package but we always pay for upcharge dinners and RC tours each cruise

[sgmn]

55 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I wonder what compensation RC will give for airfares and pre-cruise hotels for people who have already booked?

Airfares can only be booked around 48 weeks before hand so hopefully will only impact a few 

[kalaniiwow]

43 minutes ago, Shrewsbury on Tour said:

Aghhhhh....

 

In a nutshell that’s our wedding anniversary holiday gone up the spout...after spending loads of effort and time researching etc

 

novice cruiser sailed once with NCL and Royal Caribbean, so maybe a case of once bitten twice shy...

 

That said is 25% credit confirmed off total cruise fare, or just deposit paid??

 

Need a drink before I tell the wife!!!

 

Confirmed cruise fare according to their twitter. They corrected themselves.

[kruzerci]

Very interested to see if they have Independence do a 3/4 schedule, 4/5/5 schedule, or 7 nights during the summer. 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are primarily RCI loyalists, but we may be cruise line hopping in 2021 as we want to do the British Islands.  Princess is our cruise line of choice for that right now.  We will look at the others, but RCI has very limited options.  Now even fewer.

[Rotherham_Cruiser]

We were booked on the Transatlantic from Southampton.

Awaiting a call from our TA to confirm they have re booked us on Alure from Barcelona. 

 

Bit gutted though because we love Indy and have sailed on her many times

[Sancho_proudfoot]

We have been almost totally Royal Loyal since beginning our cruising life 12 years ago (only went Celebrity for a Panama transit). 

 

We were on the Indy's maiden cruise, and have sailed her twice since. We wanted the Indy for this summer, but no 14 day cruises matched our dates. We went with Explorer, as Southampton is good for us, so we can take all the baggage we want.

 

That said, the prices are eye-watering. We have said since sailing Brilliance last year that for what we pay RCCL, we could get a fly-cruise with MSC in a better cabin, with a Yacht Club experience  and indeed we have booked with MSC for 2020.

 

RCCL used to call Indy "Britain's favourite ship".

 

Dont fancy the Allure, so RCCL may just have lost us as customers.

[Shrewsbury on Tour]

Now I have calmed down a little...

 

It’s just greed nothing else....pure and simple...

 

Selling a product to someone, take a deposit, then cancel and offer to someone else to make more money..and advertise it on the same day as you have cancelled. For a small business you would be closed in weeks...for a huge corporate company it’s all about $...

 

Loyalty....yeah right....

 

Time to look elsewhere....

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Shrewsbury on Tour
Error

[livylotte]

Someone just posted that Anthem prices have just gone up ...

 

and so have the prices for Brilliance sailing out of Amsterdam.  We are booked to sail on this next year and I was just checking for price drops this morning and prices have gone through the roof.  And now we know why.  I can hazard a guess it is in anticipation of people switching to these ships.  Disgraceful RC 🤬

 

So disappointed for all those booked on Indy - I hope you all manage to find something to replace your cruise.

[Lynnwood]

The very fact that a large number of people are looking to book will influence the "Live " pricing and push up the rates very quickly.

[bigeck]

Maybe Odyssey will take Indy's place in Southampton

[CruisingJoe09]

4 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Maybe Odyssey will take Indy's place in Southampton

It's unknown if Anthem will be well received in the 2020 Southampton season, so I'm not sure adding Odyssey would be a good idea.

Not to mention that it doesn't give variety for people who aren't fans of Quantum Class (quite a lot of people missed ID when AN was in Southampton in 2015).

Edited May 9, 2019 by CruisingJoe09

[bigeck]

10 minutes ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

It's unknown if Anthem will be well received in the 2020 Southampton season, so I'm not sure adding Odyssey would be a good idea.

Not to mention that it doesn't give variety for people who aren't fans of Quantum Class (quite a lot of people missed ID when AN was in Southampton in 2015).

I think the same. They took Indy away for 1 season and it didn't go down well.

Odyssey looks like the only option unless they do more cancelling

[akb5k]

Just got my email canceling Independence of the Seas- and I had such a great deal because I booked early on Black Friday 😞 Wish they would honor your original booking sale/deal. We were booked to Norway, not sure why they suggested Anthem to Spain as a replacement?

Any opinions on Jewel to the Arctic Circle? What's a good price? Right now the price is crazy (to me) and it's a smaller older ship, definitely not my first choice, but I really want to see Norway! The other option is jumping ship (haha) to Crown Princess which is still more for 7 nights than my original 9 night trip on Indy, but cheaper than Jewel.

[bigeck]

4 minutes ago, akb5k said:

Just got my email canceling Independence of the Seas- and I had such a great deal because I booked early on Black Friday 😞 Wish they would honor your original booking sale/deal. We were booked to Norway, not sure why they suggested Anthem to Spain as a replacement?

Any opinions on Jewel to the Arctic Circle? What's a good price? Right now the price is crazy (to me) and it's a smaller older ship, definitely not my first choice, but I really want to see Norway! The other option is jumping ship (haha) to Crown Princess which is still more for 7 nights than my original 9 night trip on Indy, but cheaper than Jewel.

Arctic Circle won't get any cheaper. Maybe look at Brilliance from Amsterdam to the Baltics