Icon September 28 canceled

[Ken at the beach]

5 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Finally having to claim on own insurance is again a future financial penalty when you have to declare if you have ever made a claim on future policies.

Love your rules over there in the UK.. Never have had to make such a statement when purchasing a trip insurance policy over here.

 

Part of the reason you are getting a FULL refund AND a 100% FCC is to offset all of those :"extra" costs and have you still remain "whole" yet not profiting from an unplanned incident.  The time off is something that nothing can be done about

[PhillyFan33579]

6 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

I have four people because I’m Icon’s target crowd—families. You can get to $6k on an interior with a family of four. 

I find it interesting that younger families these days appear to be willing to pay way more to cruise than older people. I realize this is a generalization to some degree, but the prices tend to support this view. Although prices on Icon and Star are still extremely high, you can still find good deals on every other class of RCI ship. I would never pay $6K to go on any RCI ship in a balcony, let alone an interior. You could book a cruise on Oceania for that amount. But as a stockholder I like that young families seem to have no issue paying the current prices to book Icon and Star. 

 

[JasonL78]

We go on October 5th, and have been told RCI is "confident" that we'll sail! I'm hoping a bunch of people cancel out of fear so we get an upgrade! 🙂 

[pyrateslife4me84]

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I find it interesting that younger families these days appear to be willing to pay way more to cruise than older people. I realize this is a generalization to some degree, but the prices tend to support this view. Although prices on Icon and Star are still extremely high, you can still find good deals on every other class of RCI ship. I would never pay $6K to go on any RCI ship in a balcony, let alone an interior. You could book a cruise on Oceania for that amount. But as a stockholder I like that young families seem to have no issue paying the current prices to book Icon and Star. 

 

For my family, it’s worth extra to get slides, rides, extra dining, etc. 

[karmamule]

23 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

For my family, it’s worth extra to get slides, rides, extra dining, etc. 

 

Exactly, we're just a couple but we paid a LOT more for a suite on Icon than we normally would, and it's because the ship itself is the spectacle with tons to do, see, and of course eat and drink!  Normally we wouldn't pay this much but it's a one time "what the hell" because I recently retired so it's a treat for us. We'll be in a suite on Sun Princess the week immediately following our Icon cruise and that'll be about half the price of the Icon trip.

[SUgwoz]

47 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I find it interesting that younger families these days appear to be willing to pay way more to cruise than older people. I realize this is a generalization to some degree, but the prices tend to support this view. Although prices on Icon and Star are still extremely high, you can still find good deals on every other class of RCI ship. I would never pay $6K to go on any RCI ship in a balcony, let alone an interior. You could book a cruise on Oceania for that amount. But as a stockholder I like that young families seem to have no issue paying the current prices to book Icon and Star. 

 

A few of us families went on Icon paying $4k with gratuities included.  One of the families went to Disney for 4 nights, only 2 days in the parks and spent $4k a few months later.   1 night 2 days of parks in Universal ran us $1k+.  Disney World Halloween and Christmas Party nights sell out every year, for a family of four that is $800 for one day of tickets. Cruises is still a bargain for families, for ksf and food. 

 

Even a week cabin trip in TN/GA will easily run you $3k+ for a family and that includes cooking most meals yourself.

Edited Tuesday at 02:01 PM by SUgwoz

[Klstaack]

Sadly, we have been impacted by this cancellation.  I'm trying not to take it too badly since we have a cruise booked in Utopia in December, but it is still disappointing.  Thankfully, my TA has some group rates left for March, so we will be using the FCC for that trip and will not have to pay that much more for the new date.  I'll use the 100% refund for our cruise on the Beyond in August.  If my CC gets hit with an immense credit, it will likely get spent on random things, so paying for the next cruise with it is the best possible use of the funds.

[chengkp75]

15 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

With Royal it seems  it is always the azipods

 

Given Icon's diesel configuration, unless they have two or more engines down for repair, it is most likely an azipod failure.  Though it is interesting that Icon's large diesels are smaller than the large diesels on Oasis class.

[thewynn]

2 hours ago, JasonL78 said:

We go on October 5th, and have been told RCI is "confident" that we'll sail! I'm hoping a bunch of people cancel out of fear so we get an upgrade! 🙂 

I am on Oct 5 as well and I think we may see the opposite, We are B2B and I have seen people being able to move to the Oct 19 sailing. I think we may a full ship.

[freezincruiser]

We just ended up booking a beautiful Airbnb in place of the cancelled Icon. We'll make the best of it. Perhaps this trip will now turn into an unexpected gem of a vacation we weren't expecting? Check out different parts of Florida. Spend some time in Disney World? We'll use the refund+credit to our advantage. Hopefully all works out for the best! Is what it is and can't change it now.

 

What is ridiculous is I keep receiving emails from RCCL about my upcoming sailing as well, the app still shows it as if nothing has happened. I expected better from Royal when it comes to that. Likely all automated but that doesn't explain the app still showing full steam ahead...

Edited Tuesday at 03:49 PM by freezincruiser

[cruiselvr04]

I’m sorry for anyone affected by this. Before I retired vacation days were extremely hard to get and you couldn’t just give them back. The compensation seems fair though.

 

Hopefully most are able to scramble and still have a trip or cruise. Stuff happens and you have to roll with it but it’s doesn’t mean there’s not disappointment. 

[Another_Critic]

18 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Given Icon's diesel configuration, unless they have two or more engines down for repair, it is most likely an azipod failure.  Though it is interesting that Icon's large diesels are smaller than the large diesels on Oasis class.

 

Icon is LNG.  Does it also have diesel engines?

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

Icon is LNG.  Does it also have diesel engines?

LNG is a fuel for a diesel engine.  Diesel engines can run on a variety of fuels, from crude oil to flour or coal dust.  It just depends on how you set up the fuel system.  But, Icon's diesel engines are always using about 5% diesel and 95% LNG, since LNG will not auto-ignite in a diesel the way that most fuels will.  The 5% diesel fuel "gets the party going" by igniting when sprayed into the combustion chamber, and this heat then ignites the LNG (which is no longer LNG actually, but gaseous propane when injected into the engine).

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, karmamule said:

 

Exactly, we're just a couple but we paid a LOT more for a suite on Icon than we normally would, and it's because the ship itself is the spectacle with tons to do, see, and of course eat and drink!  Normally we wouldn't pay this much but it's a one time "what the hell" because I recently retired so it's a treat for us. We'll be in a suite on Sun Princess the week immediately following our Icon cruise and that'll be about half the price of the Icon trip.

 

My first retirement cruise was an 11 night TA in an OV balcony on Anthem, followed by 7 nights in Wales.  The entire trip for 2 was ~$2500.  🙂

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

LNG is a fuel for a diesel engine.  Diesel engines can run on a variety of fuels, from crude oil to flour or coal dust.  It just depends on how you set up the fuel system.  But, Icon's diesel engines are always using about 5% diesel and 95% LNG, since LNG will not auto-ignite in a diesel the way that most fuels will.  The 5% diesel fuel "gets the party going" by igniting when sprayed into the combustion chamber, and this heat then ignites the LNG (which is no longer LNG actually, but gaseous propane when injected into the engine).

 

I knew that diesels could run on various bio fuels, but didn't know they could run on LNG.

 

I don't think I'll be running my John Deere diesel on flour.  I do have a couple of barrels of coal though.  😄

[davidrlewis2302]

Propulsion issues on cruise ships aren't unusual. This isn't the first and certainly won't be the last. It's unfortunate but it's luck of the draw.

Icon has quite a tight itinerary, particularly on Eastern Caribbean cruises. She regularly travels at 22kts on sea days to get to the destination on time. While some ships might be able to bob about while having one azipod down for weeks or even months (Allure anyone?), that that would have a massive knock on effect for Icon's schedule. To me it seems Royal have sacrificed a full cruise at the expensive of getting it fixed, rather than having weeks of things not quite right.  Probably the right call.

Unfortunately these things happen. It's a ship with moving bits after all. A full refund and a FCC for the same value is generous, all be it a bit of a shame that the massive pricing increases will cost people out. Travel insurance wouldn't really help there, but it might help if people are out of pocket for flights and hotels.

Based on what they are paying out, the lost revenue, and the reputational damage of this happening to one of their newest and biggest cruise ships, I can't imagine Royal are particularly happy either!

I would have been gutted if this had been the week we were onboard.  I was picturing where I would have been when the news came out. At a hotel the night before flying out from the UK. I'd have been heart broken.

 

Edited Tuesday at 05:19 PM by davidrlewis2302

[Engineroom Snipe]

I have never had a complete cruise cancellation but it would be a big disappointment since my wife only gets so many vacation days a year and must plan them well in advance.

 

With such short notice, we would be scrambling to get something which would probably be at a much higher cost due to last minute flights and hotels just for starters.

 

Even with a reasonable compensation policy, money cannot buy the lost time.

 

😢

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I knew that diesels could run on various bio fuels, but didn't know they could run on LNG.

 

I don't think I'll be running my John Deere diesel on flour.  I do have a couple of barrels of coal though.  😄

LNG buses use a spark plug for ignition, but marine diesels are too big for that.  Wartsila has developed many years ago, an engine that runs on crude oil, so offshore oil platforms can take crude straight from the wellhead and use it to power the platform.

[Aaron3]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

 

My first retirement cruise was an 11 night TA in an OV balcony on Anthem, followed by 7 nights in Wales.  The entire trip for 2 was ~$2500.  🙂

A week in Wales costs more than that now! 

 

[JsMom2]

16 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Just my personal opinion, but Celebrity Beyond blows Icon out of the water. However, I am in my late 50s so I am the target demographic of Celebrity. Icon is a great ship for young families, but those days are long gone for me. I think/hope you will have a great time on Beyond. There are a lot more similarities than differences between Celebrity and RCI. The biggest difference I notice when cruising on Celebrity is there is limited nightlife compared to RCI, especially Oasis class ships and Icon where there is always a lot of things going on around the ship even late at night (bars, casino, Central Park, Promenade, etc. ). There is nightlife on Celebrity ships, but the options are more limited. 

I love cruising Celebrity solo!  I actually prefer the M and S class ships.  But I know I'll have a great time.  Looking to rebook Icon in a few months from now - I need to check out that class of ship at least once!   But looks like I will need to miss an Eagles home game, rather than being able to watch an away game on this ship!  At least the refund plus FCC should cover the cost.  Go Birds!

[Another_Critic]

22 minutes ago, Aaron3 said:

A week in Wales costs more than that now! 

 

May 2023 - 7 nights in Wales

 

Rental car (Southampton to LHR): $347.05  + $149.66 (petrol) = $496.71

2BR/2BA house rental (Wales): $612.60

Groceries (Wales): $113.94

Sightseeing: Free

[JsMom2]

45 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I have never had a complete cruise cancellation but it would be a big disappointment since my wife only gets so many vacation days a year and must plan them well in advance.

 

With such short notice, we would be scrambling to get something which would probably be at a much higher cost due to last minute flights and hotels just for starters.

 

Even with a reasonable compensation policy, money cannot buy the lost time.

 

😢

This is the second time this has happened to me.  Last time was a B2B, so even though I'm retired, it still hurt to miss out on that much time away.  This was the last thing I expected yesterday.  I was just worrying about making the cut to use my Pinnacle benefits in the suite area.  Then I was worried about the hurricane, but it looks like that'll miss Miami, so I thought all was good!  Was really excited to check out this new ship.

[JsMom2]

2 hours ago, freezincruiser said:

We just ended up booking a beautiful Airbnb in place of the cancelled Icon. We'll make the best of it. Perhaps this trip will now turn into an unexpected gem of a vacation we weren't expecting? Check out different parts of Florida. Spend some time in Disney World? We'll use the refund+credit to our advantage. Hopefully all works out for the best! Is what it is and can't change it now.

 

What is ridiculous is I keep receiving emails from RCCL about my upcoming sailing as well, the app still shows it as if nothing has happened. I expected better from Royal when it comes to that. Likely all automated but that doesn't explain the app still showing full steam ahead...

Yes, I'm still getting emails talking about sales on drink packages!  The reservation needs to remain untouched until they process it for refunds.  If you cancel it prior, then the system wants to withhold penalties and its a whole thing.  The only exception is if you do have Cruise Planner purchases, I'd recommend going in to cancel those.  They don't always refund automatically.  Cruise Planner will be locked by tomorrow or the next day.

[JsMom2]

6 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

 

The Beyond was a great choice - beautiful ship, great crew and Captain Kate too!!!! We hope to see you on board Sunday. Safe travels!!!

I was so happy to see that Capt Kate will be onboard.  Although I do love Capt Tassos and his brother as well.  I think Celebrity has the best Captains!

[Klstaack]

3 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

Yes, I'm still getting emails talking about sales on drink packages!  The reservation needs to remain untouched until they process it for refunds.  If you cancel it prior, then the system wants to withhold penalties and its a whole thing.  The only exception is if you do have Cruise Planner purchases, I'd recommend going in to cancel those.  They don't always refund automatically.  Cruise Planner will be locked by tomorrow or the next day.

My cruise planner is not showing as locked. But I cannot go in and cancel pre-cruise items.  I tried to do this last night after I started thinking again but could not do so.