November TA planning

[the_dylaness]

Hello there, I’m not a very frequent poster on Royal Caribbean. My last cruise with them was in 2002. Our family of four is booked on the Allure TA this November.  Final payment is due in July. I’ve been doing some reading here on the board and trying to understand what our options are regarding this cruise.  It seems it somewhat unlikely to me that it will be occurring, but who really knows. I guess I’m wondering if they do cancel it would likely be prior to final payment? I did buy trip insurance, we have airfare to Barcelona that isn’t fully refundable...   It was a real miracle for me to get three weeks off in a row from work, but right now we are working on October and November schedules so if I’m not going, I need to be added back in. I realize no one can predict the future but is anyone who’s a little more familiar with how RC works able to give me some of the options? I saw the lift and shift program, I have no idea if it would be eligible but I don’t know that I can get three weeks off again next year instead.

Edited May 8, 2020 by the_dylaness
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[mps69_1999]

We're in the same position at the moment, hoping against hope that it will still go ahead, we've had it booked since Feb 2019.

I'm working on the principal that I'll make the final payment, and if it gets cancelled, RCI will give me a choice of full refund or move to another cruise.

I've got flights booked from the UK to Spain and then the US back to the UK, but I've not used RCI, these were all done by myself. We've also got a hotel booked in Barcelona, but that can be cancelled without loss of payment thankfully.

I think if it does get cancelled we'll be able to move the flights, but who knows at this time.

The dilemma I'm facing is we want to stay in the US for a few days after the cruise, and the flights tie up with that.

I've seen the lift and shift program too, again if the cruise does get cancelled we can just swap to the next TA in 2021.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

I guess I’m wondering if they do cancel it would likely be prior to final payment?

Other than some very rare ship specific cases, I don't believe any sailing has been cancelled before final payment. You have plenty of time to decide what to do - things should be clearer by your final payment.

[Milwaukee Eight]

Cancelled after final payment insures a cash flow to Royal. Same boat as you and really no options work for us. 
 

I don’t believe Royal will cancel prior to final payment. 

[JBSteelerfan]

I think you have to "lift and switch" before the cruise would be canceled.  Once canceled I think options are either a refund or FCC.

[Mapleleafforever]

By November cruises will most likely be taking place but with added safety measures ie masks. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 minute ago, Mapleleafforever said:

By November cruises will most likely be taking place but with added safety measures ie masks. 

What about the ports?

[the_dylaness]

Not really sure that I can or want to lift and switch. Not sure if I can get the time off next year. Also if I L&S then my airfare will present a problem whereas if the cruise is canceled hopefully my travel insurance will cover cancellation fees etc.

[the_dylaness]

That’s my other concern about the ports. We are supposed to have 2 day layover in Lisbon, then 3 days in Barcelona, then Palma, Valencia, Tenerife... all seem Unlikely 

[lr657]

12 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

By November cruises will most likely be taking place but with added safety measures ie masks. 

 

We are booked on the Explorer November TA and we are almost 100% sure that it will be canceled. Even if cruising has started back up in November, many ports may not be open for cruise ships yet. The TA's are departing from European ports which don't seem to be in a hurry to allow any international travel soon. I guess that at least half of those sailing my TA have already used the "Lift and Switch" option to switch to a 2021 TA. Unfortunately this will not work for us as we already have a 2021 TA which is preceded by 3 cruises prior to it. We are deciding whether to cancel with CWC or make the final payment and wait until Royal cancels. 

[Mapleleafforever]

3 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

What about the ports?

Good question. I would suspect that many will be open because their economies are based on tourism.....and of course......masks will likely be mandatory if they're open. 

[Mapleleafforever]

2 hours ago, lr657 said:

 

We are booked on the Explorer November TA and we are almost 100% sure that it will be canceled. Even if cruising has started back up in November, many ports may not be open for cruise ships yet. The TA's are departing from European ports which don't seem to be in a hurry to allow any international travel soon. I guess that at least half of those sailing my TA have already used the "Lift and Switch" option to switch to a 2021 TA. Unfortunately this will not work for us as we already have a 2021 TA which is preceded by 3 cruises prior to it. We are deciding whether to cancel with CWC or make the final payment and wait until Royal cancels. 

November is 6 months away.....a very long time. I would put money on the fact that it will be sailing. 

[lr657]

28 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

November is 6 months away.....a very long time. I would put money on the fact that it will be sailing. 

You are definitely more optimistic than most, including me.

[TeDaKi]

I'm on the Anthem T/A from Southampton to Cape Liberty also in November and optimistic that it will go ahead. Ports can't stay closed forever and cruise ships can't stay floating around either 🤞 staying positive! 

[the_dylaness]

I think another interesting part of the TA vs other cruises is that we are so far from medical assistance.  If you are in the middle of the Atlantic ocean you can't just get offloaded in the next port if you do get sick with COVID-19.

[taglovestocruise]

6 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

That’s my other concern about the ports. We are supposed to have 2 day layover in Lisbon, then 3 days in Barcelona, then Palma, Valencia, Tenerife... all seem Unlikely 

We are also on that cruise and the Oct 25. We emailed our TA yesterday to apply the Lift and Switch to the Harmony sailing next year.  I feel pretty confident this sailing will happen but with temporary useless rules and guidelines put into place making the cruise not so fun. PIA if they impose masks and any type of distancing . If you booked through Air2Sea you will probably get your air refunded.  We have already booked Jetblue for FLL to LA and have Hotel 1898 in Barcelona  booked. Both are fully refundable. Harmony may be a better choice as Allure will not get amped at dry dock and Harmony will just be coming out of dry dock in 2021. . 

[Pratique]

9 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

I saw the lift and shift program, I have no idea if it would be eligible but I don’t know that I can get three weeks off again next year instead.

You can lift and shift to the Harmony TA.

 

You can only make a decision today based on the information and choices you have today. If you wait, there is a risk that your choices may become more limited in some respects (cabin availability) or more broad in others (if the cruise line sweetens the deals or adds other cruise options). There are more unknowns than usual but otherwise I suggest planning your vacation as you normally would.

[RMILLER4292]

We're on the Rhapsody 11/07 TA from Tarragona to Tampa...we were able to book the RS some time ago and obviously that's not an easy room to get..I hope we don't have to cancel and rebook...

[firefly333]

I read about someone who was on a TA and was able to lift and shift their TA to a different ship and get the cabin next to where presently booked, so it's possible to change ships if you need to.

[pcur]

On 5/8/2020 at 5:58 AM, the_dylaness said:

Not really sure that I can or want to lift and switch. Not sure if I can get the time off next year. Also if I L&S then my airfare will present a problem whereas if the cruise is canceled hopefully my travel insurance will cover cancellation fees etc.

I'm hoping I'm wrong, since I have a cruise booked for the end of October on Princess, but I think there's a possibility Spain may not be fully open to cruise ships in November.  Plus, we will be entering our next flu season, most likely without a vaccine.  

 

I would cancel before final payment and get the Future Cruise Credit.  It can be used for any cruise until the end of 2021. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by pcur