Next round of cancellations

[LXA350]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Doubtful Europe will see any cruises this summer. Even if a home port is open, there still isn't any international air travel, and most (if not all) itinerary ports-of-call are in countries where travel restrictions are still in place.

 

The tendency seems to go into a direction that borders will be opening by June and latest by July will also allow traveling at least within most European countries without having travel restrictions in place, which might even get extended further, but before this will happen between the US and Europe it will be with Asian countries.

[Snit13]

2 hours ago, johnjen said:

We're on the same boat (no pun intended) but ours was for June 22nd. We lift and shifted the same cruise to next year on Jewel out of Amsterdam - June 21st, Baltic. Right now, our (former) cruise stands at 403 empty cabins - that's 37% empty, unheard of a month out. In January only two cabins remains unbooked. And I will say this, the process was painless and relieved some stress because we don't want to go on a cruise wearing masks and being policed constantly. All of our excursions and the royal brunch we reserved will be refunded in 45 days; the prepaid gratuities carried over to next cruise so even if those go up in price we are locked in.

I canceled the dining on April 26 and the excursions on April 29 but did not receive any notification as to when refund would be on my Visa.  We plan to switch to Celebrity Reflection for 2021 British Isles cruise if cabins are still available after we get our refund.  I prefer Celebrity to Royal.  I still wait patiently for June 12 to cancel.

[Snit13]

2 hours ago, bbinz said:

Why is it disgusting? They are a for profit business. You can’t blame them if they wait as long as they can. They are going above by offering 125% FCC if they cancel. You can also cancel at anytime on your own and get 100% FCC or move your sailing to next year with no price changes. 
 

Very reasonable to me and we have taken advantage of both offers... a canceled March cruise and upcoming to be canceled June cruise. 

How are we supposed to get to Europe for the June 12 cruise?  I don't know how to walk on water and most airlines are not flying from US to Europe.  In addition, many states are still under lock-down either totally or partially.  Not interested in a future cruise credit.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, bbinz said:

Why is it disgusting? They are a for profit business. You can’t blame them if they wait as long as they can. They are going above by offering 125% FCC if they cancel. You can also cancel at anytime on your own and get 100% FCC or move your sailing to next year with no price changes. 
 

Very reasonable to me and we have taken advantage of both offers... a canceled March cruise and upcoming to be canceled June cruise. 

Lift and shift- unprecedented generosity in this business.

[SNJCruisers]

22 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

How are we supposed to get to Europe for the June 12 cruise?  I don't know how to walk on water and most airlines are not flying from US to Europe.  In addition, many states are still under lock-down either totally or partially.  Not interested in a future cruise credit.

Relax, you will get a full refund once Royal announces their next round of cancellations.   There will not be a cruise on June 12, there will not be a cruise on July 12 and August 12 is on the fence.

[SNJCruisers]

21 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Lift and shift- unprecedented generosity in this business.

And also another way to keep money in the coffers instead of processing delayed refunds.

[alpal1993]

What good will it do to take a cruise out of Europe,if you have to quarantine for two weeks? 

[LXA350]

8 minutes ago, alpal1993 said:

What good will it do to take a cruise out of Europe,if you have to quarantine for two weeks? 

 

There are not only Americans that cruise, hence for those nations that don't need to quarantine a cruise is a option if the situation will allow a safe operation.

[newcruiser1573]

I just got off the phone with cruise air (not a good experience). I was checking my flights on Delta and there were no reservations listed.  The woman from cruise air tried to convince me that they still existed.  After 20 minutes she said they did not exist and she needed to rebook flights, when questioned as to why when my June 12th cruise should be cancelled, she adamantly stated "this cruise is not cancelled."  When I indicated I cant leave the airport for 14 days, she stood firm that she needed to find me new flights at the same fare.  I tried to explain to her that my flights were not chosen for the fare, but by the date, time and convenience of a direct flight, yes it was double the price, but it was easier for me and my toddler. Well in the end I told her don't make any changes, keep my flights the way you saw them when I first called, I'll wait for royal to cancel my cruise.  

[Snit13]

5 minutes ago, newcruiser1573 said:

I just got off the phone with cruise air (not a good experience). I was checking my flights on Delta and there were no reservations listed.  The woman from cruise air tried to convince me that they still existed.  After 20 minutes she said they did not exist and she needed to rebook flights, when questioned as to why when my June 12th cruise should be cancelled, she adamantly stated "this cruise is not cancelled."  When I indicated I cant leave the airport for 14 days, she stood firm that she needed to find me new flights at the same fare.  I tried to explain to her that my flights were not chosen for the fare, but by the date, time and convenience of a direct flight, yes it was double the price, but it was easier for me and my toddler. Well in the end I told her don't make any changes, keep my flights the way you saw them when I first called, I'll wait for royal to cancel my cruise.  

I seem to recall you too are on Brilliance out of Amsterdam.  We were/are scheduled to fly to Amsterdam June 9 arriving June 10.  Original flight was TPA to AMS direct but a week or so ago I received an email changing the flight TPA to ATL to AMS and returning via ATL June 30.  On Amsterdam site it states if you arrive at AMS airport you are not permitted to depart airport thus no way to join a cruise in June 12.  Waiting for RCCL to bite the bullet and cancel so we can make alternate plans.

[Waycoolrob]

Since we are all speculating on when the next round of cancellations will occur, I would like to offer a new idea. Maybe they will go! I am booked on the Symphony for June 20th , I am holding onto the hope that maybe, just maybe they will sail, and that is why no announcements have been made.   Nothing wrong with hope....

Edited May 16, 2020 by Waycoolrob

[CruisingHogFan]

3 minutes ago, Waycoolrob said:

Since we are all speculating on when the next round of cancellations will occur, I would like to offer a new idea. Maybe they will go! I am booked on the Symphony for June 20th , I am holding onto the hope that maybe, just maybe they will sail, and that is why no announcements have been made.   Nothing wrong with hope....

I’m all about hope but also have to a realist at this point. So I’ll hope that the CDC will not extend the no sail order past July and all lines will start sailing again in August. I’m sorry but Royal doesn’t have more pull then the other cruise lines to start sailing before that time. It’s a business strategy for them not to cancel yet but it’s coming soon.

[Waycoolrob]

1 minute ago, bbinz said:

I’m all about hope but also have to a realist at this point. So I’ll hope that the CDC will not extend the no sail order past July and all lines will start sailing again in August. I’m sorry but Royal doesn’t have more pull then the other cruise lines to start sailing before that time. It’s a business strategy for them not to cancel yet but it’s coming soon.

You are 100% correct, however I will hold onto hope until they cancel,  I need vacation!!

[newcruiser1573]

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

I seem to recall you too are on Brilliance out of Amsterdam.  We were/are scheduled to fly to Amsterdam June 9 arriving June 10.  Original flight was TPA to AMS direct but a week or so ago I received an email changing the flight TPA to ATL to AMS and returning via ATL June 30.  On Amsterdam site it states if you arrive at AMS airport you are not permitted to depart airport thus no way to join a cruise in June 12.  Waiting for RCCL to bite the bullet and cancel so we can make alternate plans.

Thats funny, we too are on the direct flight (Detroit to AMS) leaving on June 9.  We did not receive any notification of changes.  There is only one flight listed to AMS on Delta right now for that day.

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, Waycoolrob said:

 Maybe they will go! I am booked on the Symphony for June 20th , I am holding onto the hope that maybe, just maybe they will sail, and that is why no announcements have been made.   Nothing wrong with hope....

Here's a dose of reality for you.  Del Rio from NCL said they would start up in the late third or early fourth quarter, so that's late September or early October.   Carnival is possibly starting 8 ships from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston in early August.  The CDC has their late July edict.  What makes you possibly think that RCI will be sailing on June 20th?

The reason they are dragging their feet is because it delays the time that another round of refunds needs to be processed.  They need to hold onto cash liquidity as long as possible.  The lift and shift will help through August 1 and delaying each round of cancellation announcements helps as well.

[Converse34]

16 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

For many there is no cruise to "lift & shift" to. We have b2b Radiance Transpacific Sept 4 with final payment coming due soon. It's not likely that the cruise will happen and I'm not willing to put more $$ out to pay final just to wait and see if the cruise is cancelled so I can get a refund. Booking is GS so NRD. At this point I don't want any FCCs either. I wish RCI would just cancel the cruises they know won't sail so we can get in line and get a refund. We all know that's not going to happen as they want to keep the $$$ as long as they can. 

This. I don’t want to pay in full so that I can bank on getting all my money back and it cancels.  My flights have already been canceled for Allure out of Barcelona in late August.  So if I accept a FCC and then my date cancels, I assume I don’t get a refund? I plan to issue a chargeback if this ends up being the case. I don’t want a credit. 
 

they are keeping the prices for 2021 HIGH so it looks like a great deal to lift and shift. But in reality, they will have a ton of cabins to fill and slow return of demand.  Lift and shift is NOT a deal if you can book cheaper closer to sailing and my prediction is it will be.  

Edited May 17, 2020 by Converse34

[molly361]

31 minutes ago, Converse34 said:

 

they are keeping the prices for 2021 HIGH so it looks like a great deal to lift and shift. But in reality, they will have a ton of cabins to fill and slow return of demand.  Lift and shift is NOT a deal if you can book cheaper closer to sailing and my prediction is it will be.  

You can get price drops up until final payment date and after that with their new best price guarantee if you see a lower price up to 48 hours before sailing you call them and will get OBC for the difference

[Converse34]

16 minutes ago, molly361 said:

You can get price drops up until final payment date and after that with their new best price guarantee if you see a lower price up to 48 hours before sailing you call them and will get OBC for the difference

It’s helpful, but that’s work.  Other than maybe a few dedicated people, most don’t have time to check and recheck looking for price drops. 

[blyle]

Final payment was due in April but my TA delayed it to May just in case RCCL cancelled our August cruise first.  They did not and I did not want them having my money so we just cancelled before final payment was due and called travel insurance and got a refund to use on any cruise in the next 3 years.  I bought refundable deposit cruise so money will be back in my account.  

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Converse34 said:

So if I accept a FCC and then my date cancels, I assume I don’t get a refund? I plan to issue a chargeback if this ends up being the case. I don’t want a credit. 

No refunds when you cancel - very unlikely you'll win a charge back when you cancel and RCI gives you an FCC.

[Converse34]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

No refunds when you cancel - very unlikely you'll win a charge back when you cancel and RCI gives you an FCC.

I will still try.  This is why I don’t understand when everyone applauds RCCL. They are being totally shady, waiting so long to cancel.  They seem to be fair on the surface, but far from it.  

[Milwaukee Eight]

On 5/15/2020 at 8:08 PM, NancyIL said:

 

Refundable deposits usually cost more than nonrefundable - but they are available.

We never have a choice of a refundable deposit. Everything we book requires NRD. 

[firefly333]

I'm hoping they are doing refunds in some kind of order. I'm waiting on fees and taxes from april 26 as are many others on my roll call. My roll call is still hanging together because of waiting on refunds.

 

Cancellations just mean you know... not that you will get refunds any time soon

[molly361]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm hoping they are doing refunds in some kind of order. I'm waiting on fees and taxes from april 26 as are many others on my roll call. My roll call is still hanging together because of waiting on refunds.

 

Cancellations just mean you know... not that you will get refunds any time soon

Still waiting for port fees from April 20 yet received full refund for May 29th cruise

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Still waiting for port fees from April 20 yet received full refund for May 29th cruise

I used the contact me button Thursday and someone said they heard back in about a week.

 

I got emails from 2 travel agent sites last week, only one of which I ever used, and both said something like due to heavy call column if I wanted service on a existing booking to leave a message and they would get back to me within 3 to 5 days lol. 

 

It could be worse. At least I'm booked direct. Heck I'd have loved to lift and shift, was a totally awesome rate on liberty. They didnt have lift and shift then.

 

Maybe I'm the only one thought getting emails from travel sites that if I needed service would take 3 to 5 days to return my call.

Edited May 17, 2020 by firefly333