How Will RCL Handle the EU Ban Against the US?

[johnjen]

While fairly confident this might be temporary, I am curious how the cruise line will handle this situation for Americans traveling to EU booked on cruises. We're not cruising until next Summer, but best to know at least ahead just in case. I'm also confident that this was in response to the US ban against EU citizens coming over here.

Edited July 8, 2020 by johnjen

[Milwaukee Eight]

Sail without US citizens who would be flying into the EU for a cruise. 
 

M8

[johnjen]

4 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Sail without US citizens who would be flying into the EU for a cruise. 
 

M8

Yeah totally, but hopefully we'd get full refunds?

[Milwaukee Eight]

2 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Yeah totally, but hopefully we'd get full refunds?

FCC. Royal doesn’t seem to want to cancel before final payment. 

[johnjen]

Just now, Milwaukee Eight said:

FCC. Royal doesn’t seem to want to cancel before final payment. 

Yeah....crazy, something I wouldn't want, I've heard bad experiences on FCC. I am sure this is temporary tit-for-tat maneuvering because we banned them coming here.

[Wine-O]

Sailing in the EU won't begin until all bans are lifted, in my opinion.  🍷

[not-enough-cruising]

30 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Yeah....crazy, something I wouldn't want, I've heard bad experiences on FCC. I am sure this is temporary tit-for-tat maneuvering because we banned them coming here.

Not really “tit-for-tat” both bans were easily justified. 

[Ashland]

Not cruising out of UE until next July (British Isles) and certainly not concerned at this point.

More concerned about my southern caribbean B2B out of San Juan mid March.

[A&L_Ont]

52 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Yeah....crazy, something I wouldn't want, I've heard bad experiences on FCC. I am sure this is temporary tit-for-tat maneuvering because we banned them coming here.

I don’t see it that way. 

[Canadianmama3]

1 hour ago, johnjen said:

While fairly confident this might be temporary, I am curious how the cruise line will handle this situation for Americans traveling to EU booked on cruises. We're not cruising until next Summer, but best to know at least ahead just in case. I'm also confident that this was in response to the US ban against EU citizens coming over here.

The ban on people from the US entering many counties (including Canada) isn’t retaliation.  Just because some leaders act like that doesn’t mean others do.  The bans are because the cases in the US are out of control, and it seems to the rest of the world that nothing is being done to stop it.  
 

Other countries have worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to bring their numbers way down.  They don’t want to import new cases.  And the US is a huge hot spot right now. 
 

I can’t see the bans being lifted until the US gets things under control and to a level similar to other countries.  

[reallyitsmema]

34 minutes ago, Canadianmama3 said:

The ban on people from the US entering many counties (including Canada) isn’t retaliation.  Just because some leaders act like that doesn’t mean others do.  The bans are because the cases in the US are out of control, and it seems to the rest of the world that nothing is being done to stop it.  
 

Other countries have worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to bring their numbers way down.  They don’t want to import new cases.  And the US is a huge hot spot right now. 
 

I can’t see the bans being lifted until the US gets things under control and to a level similar to other countries.  

 

I agree with you for the most part. 

 

Some areas of the US are out of control, not all.  The northeast was hit hard early on and locked down for a long time.  The gradual reopening is still in process.  I am in Massachusetts and we are only in the beginning of phase three, which just started this week for most of the state, with Boston starting next week.  Each phase has multiple steps with two weeks between each at a minimum.  People entering Massachusetts, from all but eight states, have to self quarantine for two weeks.  We currently have a less than 2% positive test rate with over a million test done in our small state alone.  Other states in the northeast have similar progress.

 

Other areas of the country are regressing.  They opened too soon and too quickly and are now having ridiculously high numbers of positive cases.  Until those areas get their act together, I can totally understand why there are bans against the US.

 

 

[LXA350]

This is likely only a aconcern for the 2021 season as the cruise season in Europe is probably done for this year before it started. Should we have cruises next summer and not allowing US Citizens to enter Europe then RCL sure will have a flexible option for the passengers concerned. But as said, if we should be in such situation next year then who knows if cruises in Europe will happen at all.

[Missusdubbya]

5 hours ago, johnjen said:

 I'm also confident that this was in response to the US ban against EU citizens coming over here.

In my opinion, you are misinformed and mistaken.
 

The reason for the ban is that allowing US citizens to enter the EU (or any other country) is an unacceptable health risk - as the US government on the whole is failing to manage the spread of COVID. 

 

3 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Some areas of the US are out of control, not all.  The northeast was hit hard early on and locked down for a long time. 

Citizens from other countries see this, and we sympathise with you. It is very sad you are in this situation, and our thoughts are with you. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

3 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

People entering Massachusetts, from all but eight states, have to self quarantine for two weeks. 

Who enforces the quarantine?  We had the same requirements from those entering Florida from NY, NJ, and CT. News crews saw most people flying into airports who were given the quarantine papers disembarking, and throwing them in the trash. Our first 3 CV19 patients here were in contact with NY’ers who didn’t follow the quarantine. You really believe most people will stay quarantined?  I don’t. We did for a few weeks. 
 

M8

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

5 hours ago, johnjen said:

Yeah....crazy, something I wouldn't want, I've heard bad experiences on FCC. I am sure this is temporary tit-for-tat maneuvering because we banned them coming here.

 

It's nothing of the sort.  

 

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Who enforces the quarantine?  We had the same requirements from those entering Florida from NY, NJ, and CT. News crews saw most people flying into airports who were given the quarantine papers disembarking, and throwing them in the trash. Our first 3 CV19 patients here were in contact with NY’ers who didn’t follow the quarantine. You really believe most people will stay quarantined?  I don’t. We did for a few weeks. 
 

M8

 

People are going to do what they want.  Hotels, rentals, campgrounds, etc are supposed to check where people are coming from.  Whether it is happening, who knows, all those things are just starting to open.  I know people from Massachusetts are still required to quarantine when they go to Maine though those from Maine do not have to quarantine when they come to Massachusetts.  Maine is still worried about the high numbers that Massachusetts had and the Maine governor will not work with our governor on a compromise.

 

Time will tell.

[zekekelso]

The US has sky high and growing numbers of COVID-19 cases. And a big chunk of the country is totally ok with that and doesn’t want to make the sacrifices necessary to get the numbers down. Of course the counties of Europe that have sacrificed aren’t going to want Americans coming in to screw that up. This isn’t a momentary retaliation thing to make a political point. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by zekekelso

[twangster]

It would be interesting to see what cruise lines would do especially if you haven't booked air through them.  

 

Under normal circumstances if you had an expired passport and were missed the flight, or if your criminal background made you inadmissible to the country the cruise departs from, that's on you, not the cruise line.  You'd get port fees and taxes back.  

 

In theory you are responsible to have the proper documents and qualifications to reach the departure port.  In the case of an EU based cruise it's not the cruise line stopping you from sailing, it's the EU preventing you from entering the EU, the ships ready and waiting for you to arrive and it's going to sail with EU residents (or non-ban citizens).   That's not much unlike you missing your flight and therefore missing the cruise - not the cruise lines fault, the ship sailed.

 

I can't think of any situations where a common carrier is on the hook to ensure you meet admissibility requirements arriving to another country before the carriage has started.

 

I'm not saying they aren't going to offer FCC, just that they don't have to.  

 

I've got an April cruise on Odyssey assuming she's ready by then and assuming the EU will let me in.  If things are up in the air 91 days out I'm cancelling and taking any FCC available or losing $100 to the NRD fee.  I'd rather make 2021 the season of multiple Alaska cruises than risk going that far from home if things are still up in the air.

Edited July 8, 2020 by twangster

[Ourusualbeach]

35 minutes ago, twangster said:

If things are up in the air 91 days out I'm cancelling and taking any FCC available or losing $100 to the NRD fee.

Your cruise was booked prior to Aug 1 so CWC applies and the $100pp fee is waived,  you will get a FCC for the full amount of your deposit. 

[twangster]

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Your cruise was booked prior to Aug 1 so CWC applies and the $100pp fee is waived,  you will get a FCC for the full amount of your deposit. 

 

That's assuming CWC will still be around in 8 months.  

[Milwaukee Eight]

14 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Your cruise was booked prior to Aug 1 so CWC applies and the $100pp fee is waived,  you will get a FCC for the full amount of your deposit. 

Going to do that soon for October 25 Allure. 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

That's assuming CWC will still be around in 8 months.  

CWC applies to all sailings booked before Aug 1.  Cruises booked after Aug 1 do not qualify for CWC.

[TravelerThom]

42 minutes ago, twangster said:

I can't think of any situations where a common carrier is on the hook to ensure you meet admissibility requirements arriving to another country before the carriage has started.

I thought the common carrier is always responsible for checking that your paperwork is in order for admission to your destination country, before they allow you to board. The carrier is both subject to fine if you are not admissible and financially responsible to get you to destination that will accept you. 
https://airlines.iata.org/analysis/document-verification-travel-trouble

[twangster]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

CWC applies to all sailings booked before Aug 1.  Cruises booked after Aug 1 do not qualify for CWC.

 

Until when?  How long will CWC itself be around?  Until 2022?  Until 2030?  At some point CWC ends and goes away.  Could be tomorrow or could be in 2021.  CWC only exists until it doesn't.  At that point if you haven't exercised CWC you won't be able to.  

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Until when?  How long will CWC itself be around?  Until 2022?  Until 2030?  At some point CWC ends and goes away.  Could be tomorrow or could be in 2021.  CWC only exists until it doesn't.  At that point if you haven't exercised CWC you won't be able to.  

Yes it ends Aug 1 but it applies to any booking made prior to Aug 1.  That part does not go away.

 

it offers toy the ability to cancel up to 48 hours prior to the date of sailing and get a 100% FCC without penalty and gets you price drops up to 48 hours prior to the day of sailing.  Those 2 things remain in place for all bookings made prior to Aug 1.  Everything else goes away.

 

• Now, even more flexibility! Cruise with Confidence has been extended to allow cancellations up to 48-hours prior to sailing in exchange for a 100% Future Cruise Credit on sailings through April 2022 for bookings made on-or-before August 1, 2020!

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Ourusualbeach