June 21 itinerary change OASIS

[CruiseKeeper]

A letter forwarded by our TA from RCI.  I was wondering where we would go:

 

Dear Guest,

As global regulations and port restrictions continue to change amid this health situation, we are all facing, we know you've probably been wondering about the status of your upcoming Oasis of the Seas June 21^st, 2020 sailing. 

The Canadian government implemented a new travel restriction on cruise ships carrying more than 500 people, which unfortunately means, we can no longer sail there. While we know this is disappointing, we must respect each country's decision to evaluate cruise ship and guest entry, but we know many of our guests are eager to go on vacation or need a vacation at this point, no matter where. As a result, we'll now sail to Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida and our private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay - keeping in mind that the ship itself is quite the destination! We're sorry for any inconvenience caused by this change, but we're more than confident you'll have an excellent time with us. Below, please find our revised itinerary. 

Day	Port of Call	Arrive	Depart
Sun	Cape Liberty, New Jersey		4:00 PM
Mon	Cruising
Tue	Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida	1:00 PM	9:00 PM
Wed	Perfect Day at CocoCay	9:00 AM	6:00 PM
Thu	Cruising
Fri	Cruising
Sat	Cape Liberty, New Jersey	6:00 AM

Given the situation and the change of itinerary, below are some options we've prepared for you.

Option 1: If you choose to sail, we'll provide you with a credit to spend onboard!

• $300 USD for Interior, Ocean View, and Balcony staterooms | $500 USD for Suites.
  • This credit is refundable and can be used anywhere onboard. Any unused amounts will be refunded back to your credit card on file about 3 - 5 business days after the sailing ends.
• Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions for the original ports of call will be refunded back to your original form of payment in the next few days. Then, feel free to browse all the exciting shore excursion options for your revised sailing in Cruise Planner!

Option 2: If you want to sail with us a little later, we'll provide you with a 125% Future Cruise Credit to come back and sail with us by December 31, 2021.

• This amount will be based on your total cruise fare paid. And, we're giving you a little extra, knowing that this is such a unique circumstance.
• We will automatically issue you your Future Cruise Credit by Saturday, May 30^th, 2020 via email. So, there's nothing for you to do!
• Taxes & fees, Cruise Planner items, and any RoyalUp upgrades will be automatically refunded. You can expect to see these in 30 days after you submit your request.
• If you purchased refundable air or hotel accommodations through Royal Caribbean, they will be automatically refunded to you.
• If you booked non-refundable air through Royal Caribbean or booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.

• Please note:

• • If you opted into the Cruise with Confidence 100% Future Cruise Credit for this sailing, you do not qualify for this offer.
  • And, if you used a Cruise with Confidence certificate on this sailing, you'll receive a new Future Cruise Certificate for 125% of your total cruise fare value paid, including the value of your original certificate.
  • If you were impacted by our global suspension (sailings through May 11^th, 2020), and paid additional monetary funds on your current booking, you'll receive two 125% Future Cruise Credits: one for the original booking and another equal to 125% of any monies paid towards cruise fare on this reservation. You are able to opt in to refund one or both via the process below.

Option 3: If you choose to cancel for a full refund, we'll be sad to see you go!

• We'll process a full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare to the original form of payment, including any non-refundable deposit.
• If you purchased refundable air or hotel accommodations through Royal Caribbean, they will be automatically refunded to you.
• If you booked non-refundable air through Royal Caribbean or booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.
• You can expect to receive your refund 30 days after you submit your request.
• Please note: If you used a Cruise with Confidence certificate on this sailing, and you request a refund instead, we'll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we'll reinstate your original Cruise with Confidence certificate.

It's important to us that you find the best vacation option and we want to give you as much time as possible to decide on what best fits your needs. To avoid waiting on the phone, we ask you to please click here and we'll get the process started for you right away! Please advise us of your decision by April 13^th, 2020 to ensure we process your request prior to your sailing.

Lastly, your health, safety, and well-being continue to be our highest priority. Over the last few weeks and months, we've implemented new, temporary safety precautions that include health screening protocols on embarkation day for our entire fleet. As the situation around COVID-19 is ever-changing, we ask that you visit our COVID-19 Health Protocols page to find our most up-to-date policy. Should these change prior to your sailing, we will email you and your Travel Advisor directly. Click here to learn about our safety precautions, and what we're doing to keep you safe onboard and in the ports we visit.

If you have any questions, please contact

 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by CruiseKeeper

[JayneHL]

Play it safe, cancel now for a full $$$$ refund, 

IMHO, cruising in 2020 is a losing bet

[COCKYMARK]

I disagree....I think there will be cruises this year!

[bouhunter]

Take the money and run.  

[Ocean Boy]

Don't like the itinerary at all and there are just too many future variables right now. I agree with @bouhunter

[mac_tlc]

My daughter and her husband are on this sailing, and they are staying with it. She would rather go south anyway— husband was looking forward to Canada, but the timing and price of this were the main draws, plus now refundable OBC.  That and the fact that the grandparents (code word for me and my wife) will watch the two kids 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳. 
 

I think she would do six days to nowhere.......

 

It has already gone past final payment, so if it later gets cancelled, she will take the money then. 
 

mac_tlc

[rbell]

1 hour ago, COCKYMARK said:

I disagree....I think there will be cruises this year!

wishful thinking!

[CruiseKeeper]

Sorry, I am so looking forward to funnel cake on Cococay.  I miss it.  

[Iamcruzin]

Just what Florida wants more contaminated people from NY and NJ. Why don't we just ship them blankets with smallpox?  At least there is a vaccine for that. You wouldn't get me on board with any of my people or the people from NJ. It's bad enough with the first responders and medical workers bringing it back and forth to Long Island from Manhattan. How will this work if Florida is still requiring 14 day self quarantine?  Will passenger be able to get off the ship?  Take the money and run.

[Boatsie]

Another vote for taking the money while you have a chance and they still have it to give.

You’ll have to get in line though...still waiting for my cash refund I asked for over 2 weeks ago for cruise they cancelled.

[rtazz17]

Take the money... You will prolly get another email in a month or so about it being cancelled. 

[John Reid]

2 hours ago, CruiseKeeper said:

Sorry, I am so looking forward to funnel cake on Cococay.  I miss it.  

If you can get one with the lines from the multiple RCCL ships that will be jammed in each day.

[John Reid]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Just what Florida wants more contaminated people from NY and NJ. Why don't we just ship them blankets with smallpox?  At least there is a vaccine for that. You wouldn't get me on board with any of my people or the people from NJ. It's bad enough with the first responders and medical workers bringing it back and forth to Long Island from Manhattan. How will this work if Florida is still requiring 14 day self quarantine?  Will passenger be able to get off the ship?  Take the money and run.

Good chance you would get there and not even be allowed off the ship.

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, John Reid said:

Good chance you would get there and not even be allowed off the ship.

I thought of that as well. I think RC is just trying to salvage what they can giving those who booked on Canada New England a false sense of security so they don't cancel.  Call me when the Barber shops, Salons and restaurants open and then maybe Cape Liberty sailings will see some light. Macy's just furloughed all of their employees and school bus drivers were just laid off. The unemployment site is impossible to get on.  I don't know how people will have disposable income or vacation time after this is over.  The economy scares me more than the virus. 

[COCKYMARK]

What makes everyone so sure it is not going to be better in almost 3 months?

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, COCKYMARK said:

What makes everyone so sure it is not going to be better in almost 3 months?

We are two weeks out before it peaks in NY and then it has to flatten. Some of the states along the east coast south of NY NJ are only starting to get on board now. Don't even get me started with Florida's late start to react and now New Yorkers are trying to escape to Florida. Things will probably heat up around May further south.  Mardi Gras killed Louisiana.  

 

[Billy Baltic]

10 minutes ago, COCKYMARK said:

What makes everyone so sure it is not going to be better in almost 3 months?

Given what happened in China, or what they’ve told us. What’s going on in Italy, Spain, the U.K., etc, etc, etc. Global pandemics don’t just go away. They have to be managed while science gets a chance to develop a vaccine or even treatment against the worst symptoms. That doesn’t happen in 3 months. 

[hladygirl]

There is no way cruise ships will be allowed to cruise in June and if they did I would never get on one.

[Hoopster95]

36 minutes ago, COCKYMARK said:

What makes everyone so sure it is not going to be better in almost 3 months?

 

Because, according to a few on this forum who are/were COVID-iots, the USA was surrounded by a huge invisible COVID19 barrier wall

 

20 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Given what happened in China, or what they’ve told us. What’s going on in Italy, Spain, the U.K., etc, etc, etc. Global pandemics don’t just go away. 

 

China started in Nov... it's now end of March... that's 5 months and they are not open for business.

The USA has just started ... what maybe a month ago lock down? So 1 month in, add 4 more months to get where China is today.... and that's only if people properly lock down (not like the stupidity in NYC and Florida with photos of hundreds at the beach for example.)

Edited March 31, 2020 by Hoopster95

[CruiseKeeper]

2 hours ago, rtazz17 said:

Take the money... You will prolly get another email in a month or so about it being cancelled. 

I know, but a girl can dream...until then. 

[Boatsie]

47 minutes ago, COCKYMARK said:

What makes everyone so sure it is not going to be better in almost 3 months?

 

For specifically the Oasis of the Seas....they have a bunch of crew members on board (14 reported and unofficially around 60) who have tested positive for corona virus.  The logistics of how they plan on getting the crew off the ship are unknown, so that might throw a wrench into their plans...for the whole industry, over & above the problems dealing with a manpower nightmare with future ‘paying’ bookings drying up,   (1)  there is no cure for viruses; (2) vaccine for the virus is 12 months away at best; (3) most every port for touring & replenishing supplies, is closed thru summer (4) a lot of people who might have cruised,  are currently unemployed.

 

Cruising in June isn’t happening...RCCL & all the other know it, they just want to hold on to everyone’s money as long as they can.

[ARandomTraveler]

This seems like a VERY generous offer for a simple itinerary change. I don’t know if I’d go forward with taking the cruise myself, but they seem to be offering a lot of incentive to keep people on the ship. 
 

I’d rather go to Bermuda though, not Florida or coco cay. 

[mugtech]

42 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I'd rather go to Bermuda though, not Florida or coco cay. 

Bermuda very proactive, closed until who knows when.  Oasis too big for Bermuda.

[A&L_Ont]

12 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

China started in Nov... it's now end of March... that's 5 months and they are not open for business.

The USA has just started ... what maybe a month ago lock down? So 1 month in, add 4 more months to get where China is today.... and that's only if people properly lock down.

Thinking out loud... China took 5 months, with an extreme lock down. If the States don’t take the same approach it will be 5 months after the last state plateaus before “normality” returns.
 

If they hold the current approach with random state by state lockdowns, this will last for a long time. Especially when people in droves hang on the beach and ministers still hold church with hundreds of congregation members.  
 

A uniform plan united across the states is what is needed.  United you stand, divided you fall. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[Judyrem]

13 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I thought of that as well. I think RC is just trying to salvage what they can giving those who booked on Canada New England a false sense of security so they don't cancel.  Call me when the Barber shops, Salons and restaurants open and then maybe Cape Liberty sailings will see some light. Macy's just furloughed all of their employees and school bus drivers were just laid off. The unemployment site is impossible to get on.  I don't know how people will have disposable income or vacation time after this is over.  The economy scares me more than the virus. 

Agree.