AdvGirl

But if you drove to the cruise port you're only out the gas and tolls. :) I think my on board bill was about $100 per person. So I'd say we paid $250 for our free cruise. . But yea those who flew aren't as lucky, so results may vary

Yep in today's world sometimes getting to a cruise can be almost as much as the cruise for those not lucky enough to be able to drive.

People without thinking assume this is like a free cruise - well depending on how you got there and what you have to do to get back - it is far from free if you plan on having a do over.

They pretty much have a free cruise next time since they are getting 100% refunds. And 50% off. So they can do 2 cruises for a big discount or one cruise and really upgrade themselves.

Ok let's do the math: (I will make up numbers that make the math easy - they are close though)

Original cruise 750 per person plus port fees of $250 per person. Total Cruise Cost $2000

Travel to cruise port by air. $350 Per person or $700

Hotel stay day before cruise $100 plus dinner for two $50. Grand total $150

Transportation to airport and parking for 6 days $150

Grand total for free cruise $3000 - 2000 cruise refund to arive in 4 to 6 weeks or $1000

Other expenses - flight change fee $400 to fly back early - still up in the air if it will be refunded. Let's assume it does so we are still at a free cruise cost of $1000

Cancel cruise expenses not refunded. drinks, extra cost meals, on board purchases $300

So right now the free cruise cost $1300

Let's book a new cruise - same cost.

$2000 including port fees minus 50% of the cost of cruise minus port charges or $750. So next cruise will cost $1250. Now let's add in another flight, hotel and dinner and parking and transportation for a total of $1000

So the grand total cost of a good cruise one with no severe storms and some ports will be $1250 plus cost of free cruise $1300 plus transportation and parking and hotel and dinner for another $1000. So my next real cruise will cost $3550 compared to the cost of my original cruise of $3000.

A 100% free next cruise would of helped by reducing the cost by $1250 or total cruise cost of $2300 with free second cruise. Transportation and Loding make the math look much less attractive then our instincts. Reality can be a downer. :eek:

Only sometimes?;)

Ok - I am a Optimus :D;)

Actually, CC posters have some of the most up to date info on a lot of topics (sometimes better info than RCI reps). Totally legit to ask here.

Yes of course we will be talking to RCL but customer service folks in all business give wrong answers from time to time - sharing information is a good thing. Thanks for affirming this.

I am going to assume we do not get any C&A cruise points for this cruise because of the refund. If anyone knows different please let us all know. ;)

So far so good. Staff very friendly. Spoke to a crew member who said 75% of damage has been repaired with the rest to be completed as we go.

Fair winds and following seas to all onboard. :D

I will be calling C&A for sure, but it is my experience that you do not always get the same answer when you call customer service - thus the reason for this post we can compare notes and make sure when we talk to C&A we get the right answer.

All changes are new flights - so not sure how they can not compensate. I changed my flight twice on board - once for the first scheduled arrival and then for the second - the first change cost $385 for two of us more then original the second change was no cost since flights where same cost. Thanks to Southwest very fare flight change process.

Hopefully someone that has navigated this process can provide us with more insight on how to approach RCL for rebate of increased cost to fly home.

To answer your question about the 50% off, yes it's off the cruise fare only. You are still responsible for port fees and taxes.

 

Refund for your cruise will most probably be refunded back to the credit card on file.

 

If you want any info, call C&A 1-800-526-9723 as they would be a better starting point.

 

If you used a TA, I would also check with them.

I will be calling C&A for sure, but it is my experience that you do not always get the same answer when you call customer service - thus the reason for this post we can compare notes and make sure when we talk to C&A we get the right answer.

The only thing I can add to this conversation is don't be surprised if the credit to your card doesn't come all in one shot. I had a refund a couple of years ago that came in three credits of varying random amounts. I almost called after the first one but waited a day and another appeared. I held off and then received the last. Good luck.

Thanks that is good to know - I will be patient then when the money starts to be returned.

Anyone dealing with flight issues have any insight on getting change difference refunded?

We are going on Liberty and out of Galveston for the first time in July. Can't wait to see the changes. We were disappointed to find hear that Liberty doesn't have the Freestyle drink stations. We chose this cruise because we've never been to Roatan or Belize and haven't been to the Galveston pier. We're driving and plan to tack on a couple of days in New Orleans on the way back. Can't wait to hear more about all the changes.

Who said no Freestyle machines - they had them on our Jan 2013 sailing out of Florida can not imagine they took them off.

I just got off Anthem and had connecting balcony cabins on Deck 10, the connecting doors were right as you walk in the main cabin door next to the full length mirror and did not get in the way of any furniture. We were also able to have the balcony partition opened up to connect the balconies.

Had a midship cabin on deck 11 - connection in no way effected the use of the stateroom - just like she said.

Ok now that I am home just wondering how to get our Rebates, Discounts and Refunds. Please lets keep this post to facts and questions from passengers on the Feb 6th sailing - Those of you who have used the process or have what they believe to be accurate information please share - it would be very helpful. I am sure I am not the only person wondering.

First I know the letter I got said we will be refunded the full Cruise price, but not to expect to see anything for 4 to 6 weeks. I am ok with that and will keep my eye open for it when it comes.

Second on the 50% discount on next cruise. I understand it is only up to the amount you paid for this cruise, but not including the port charges - is this correct? I did not get any voucher or secret hand shake so I am wondering how to get this discount and what is the time limit on using it if any (I assume there is a time limit)?

I was told we would be rebated any flight charges caused by having to change our flight to an earlier date. I have no idea how to get the rebate applied for - if anyone knows please let us know!

Please share your questions and answers so others can learn form your experience.

Thanks everyone!:D

I have another thing I forgot to mention. The ship always felt open and not very crowded - I know we where pretty much a full ship but somehow the flow of the ship prevented it from ever feeling over crowded. I can not say the same for the Alure - it felt crowded a lot. Liberty was very much like Anthem - I knew there where a lot of people on board just did not feel that way. There where only two times when I noticed it getting crowded - Monday morning following no food for 18 hours - the Windjamer did get crowded. Also one day when they were having a sale on the Promanade, it was a good sale so seemed like black Friday for a bit. :D:eek:

A tip - if you ever notice an area starting to feel crowded move a little bit away and you will find lots of places that are not. Great ship I want one for Florida sometime in the future.

There is no way thats real. It doesnt fit the haters agenda at all. Im sure this is someone paid off by Royal to give a positive spin on things :rolleyes:

 

 

Great interview!

My experience was pretty much the same - even had the same feelings the next day - I laughed also listening. The only thing I can add is no more M&Ms or Snickers for a while - that is the only food I had from noon on Sunday till 8am on Monday - the mini bar had them, then my room attendant came by with more. - She may of been the one with the Rosary - she was very scared - I felt bad for her - I was much more calm about the whole thing. Exception is the few times I had lift off from my bed - that got the adrenaline flowing for sure.:D

They used Azipod as a general term. It was the clutches that they actually replaced. A lot less complicated process.

 

The Azipods on the Quantum are of a newer type and a lot more service can be done without the need for a drydock.

Hmmm! I did not know the Azipods had clutches - not something you would need with an electric motor even with reduction gears. I will have to read up on them more - know of any good articles on them - I work on Locomotives - much the same process a big Diesel Generator providing power for Electrical motors. We do not have any clutches because electric motors can be electrically controlled from very low speed to very high speed with no slipping or clutches.

Im laughing over here not because I don't feel badly for the passengers, I do especially those who get sea sick and those who were scared to death.

Back in 2005 we were coming up the east coast and Hurricane Ivan had already hit land so we were sailing behind it. Out of nowhere Ivan decided to take a U turn and head back out to sea. We were hit with gale force winds and 40 foot waves for more than a full day. That said, we didn't get a free cruise, no 50 % of our next cruise, no free mini bar or free drinks afterwards. That was before Social Media..

I think the big difference is we had just started our cruise - we were sent to our cabins less then 24 hours after leaving port. The storm was with us before that. Cruise was canceled the next day. Sounds like most of your cruise had already happened. I think if we where on the way back we would not of got a refund - probably free mini bar - because no food, probably free movies because we where confined to our staterooms and had nothing else to do. Hard to compare apples and oranges. I think Royal was fair in that the cruise was over before it really started. Also if the port and ship would allow it, we would been back in port in Bayonne on Tuesday. It took us less then 24 hours to get into the storm from the port no reason we could not get back in less then 24 hours.

A lot of the posting is by people that where not even on the ship. I think it is good for those onboard to express their feelings about what happened. The speculation and drama from those that where not onboard - agree may be over blown. :D

Channel 4 News (NBC NYC) just said that the decision will not be made until tomorrow morning. :eek::eek: That's gotta be really tough on those who still don't know if they're leaving or not. I hope she's able to sail, and that they have a great cruise.

As a feb 6th anthem passenger - i see no reason they should not sail - i am sure most of the stuff they could not fix why we where at sea are repaired now and everyone should be comfortable sailing on her - even more so - she can take a licken and keep on sailing. Good ship - have fun do not worry.

I will try and keep the review short and sweet and "Storm" Free:D

Ship: First the ship is beautiful. I really did like the look and feel of ship.

Cabin: My cabin was 11184 and I really liked it. I think it was narrower then the Cabins I had on Liberty and Alure - but I also think it was longer. I will confirm they are not as sound insulated as other Royal ships I have been on. It was never horrible but I could clearly hear what was happening in the Bathroom above us. I found closet space and storage space to be good as other ships not better, about the same just in different way. Balcony seemed fine just never got much chance to use it.

Windjammer: By far my favorite Windjammer - Only did breakfast though so I can not comment on Lunch or dinner. I really liked how the food stations where layed out really flowed well. I also love the look and feel and the open air seating in the back.

Restaurants: The ability to vary the dining is nice but the restaurants lack the wow you have in the multi-story main dining rooms on other ships. Also heard from on staff person, they said staffing was sufficient, but with the dynamic dining some restaurants got crushed with people and others not so - this kind of explains the varied levels of service. Overall I thought service was good and I was always able to eat where I wanted when I wanted. I did notice when leaving a restaurant that there would be a line to get in - if I went up one floor no line at all. So if you are flexible I think it would never be a problem to get right in as long as you are willing to change venues.

Wonderland - amazing experience, unique food, liked everything I ate - but it is a once and done type of restaurant experience.

Jamie's Italian - good - nothing bad but just expected more.

American Icon - Good lunch liked Crab Cake and Salmon, Spouse liked Pasta Carbonara better here then what she had in Jamie's Italian

Grande - Lobster was good had better but still was good - did notice the quality of the Lobster varied from table to table - some looked very fresh others less so. Coconut Ice cream is very good.

270 - Fresh and very good salads - but on sandwiches make sure to ask for more meat or what ever goes in it - their standard version tends to be more bread then filling. All the salads I tried where good. Thought the Potato salad was very good.

Solarium - only did lunch - chicken salad and a curry dish I had where very good. Anything that was pre- cooked - like chicken and burger patties was on dry and over cooked side.

Entertainment:

Bumper Cars - a blast

I-Fly - fun, scary - the wind made my cheeks flap so hard I got a bruise along my cheek bone - made me laugh when I figured out that is what happened. My spouse recorded the event in slow mo - boy where my cheeks a flapping.

North Star - did not get to try was out of service most of cruise

Spectre Caberte - good - 270 is an amazing location and technology is very cool. The venue made the show not the other way around.

Robot Bar Tender - entertaining first time - if drinks where cheaper would of used it again. I had a Sheerly Temple my spouse had and exotic something or other - both where good.

Royal IQ - Technology - It worked very well at times not so good at others - would not let you cancel reservations only make them - luggage tracking worked great. Cruise Compass was out of sync - I think it had to do with our cruise being a little off from normal.

I really liked the ship - did not like sailing out of cold port. I love sailing out of Florida in winter starting warm and staying warm. Never got any warm on this cruise and coming from midwest that is what I was looking forward to the most. And yes I know it has been cool in Florida - but coming from a place in the low teens 60 degrees would feel great.

Overall really liked the ship and crew - service was good, everyone was helpful, and would not hesitate to sale on Anthem or another Quantum class ship - but only if they where sailing out of florida or some other warm departure location. ;)

I just got off the Feb 6 sailing. I did Balcony Guarantee and got cabin in middle of ship on deck 11 - I like the cabin and location. I got the cabin assignment in less then two weeks after booking and it never changed. So it worked for me.

I was on the cruise also - First it was a very bad storm - much worse then anyone expected. The Capt. first and foremost kept us safe. The ship did sustain damage some cosmetic some a little more. I think Royal worked hard to make up for what happened. I started another thread for others on the cruise to post their thoughts and memories about what happened. I still hope people use it just for that purpose to save their unique experiences. We all come from different places and also experienced different events on the same cruise. We all have a different view of the event that is unquietly ours.

I am retired Navy and have worked on ships, and sailed some - when the Captain said this was the worst storm he ever experienced I believe him. When he said the ship was never in Jeopardy - I also believe him. Last when they said the ship was routed to avoid the storm - I believe them. They never said there was not a storm - they knew there was a storm but I believe they really thought they could skirt it. They were wrong, but that is all.

The cruise director and staff onboard did a great job to make the best of the rest of the cruise. It was not the cruise we wanted or booked but I am not traumatized or anything even close to it. Mostly I am disappointed that we did not get to have the cruise we planned but - stuff happens. I will sail again and I will sail again on Royal.

On the positive side I will always remember Super Bowl 50 - how many people get to watch their favorite team win the super bowl while in the middle of a Hurricane on a Cruise ship. :D:cool:

I am sure that were scared and perhaps feared for your life, and are truly disgusted with your experience. However you are undercut your arguments by making emotional claims and presenting them as facts.

 

No, I was not on your Anthem cruise, but having crossed the Drake Passage to Antarctica and having been in a storm with 70 foot waves (much higher than the wave reports I have seen for Anthem) for 12 hours (April 2004, QE2, middle of the Atlantic, much further from rescue than you ever were), I feel that I know what it was like without having been on this particular cruise. The primary difference was that I believed (rightly or wrongly) in the seaworthiness of the vessels, and you did not. Therefore I enjoyed the ride.

 

When I see words like "truly" ("truly in the minority") I see a flag to worry about the veracity of what is about to follow. While it might be true that a majority of the passengers agree with your opinion of the cruise, I doubt that you have a statically valid sample of passenger opinion to be able to make the claim you did. If you explain why your sampling method (remember that like minded people tend to congregate together) is valid, I'll withdraw my comment.

 

Nevertheless I am sorry that you had such an unpleasant experience.

I was in Navy for 26 years and I was in no position to judge seaworthiness of the Anthem. I did trust the capt when he said the ship was fine.

On those that claimed 45 degrees - to them it felt like 45 - although an incline meter would of read less it felt like a lot - so no need to argue numbers.

Everyone experienced this in there own way and experiences were varied. Balcony doors blown open, rooms flooded, celings falling. None of thosed happened to me so my comfort level was very different then those who did.

We should remember the crew as well not all are experienced sailors many of them where frightened as well.

When a very experienced capt says this is the worst storm he has been through I also belive him.

Glad you are putting a positive spin on it. Yes, the super bowl that was mostly forgettable to the country, will always be a great memory for you.

 

It is all good between you and I in my eyes. It has been an amazingly weird week in the CC posting world. Lots of people with lots of agendas spouting out things that are beyond amazing. I, personally, have no agenda, except that the truth be heard, and that people are not condemned without all of the facts being known.

 

Have a safe trip home.

 

JC

Yes- truth and remember that everyone on this cruise viewed and experienced this storm in their own way. I know that many people onboard had much more scary experience then I did. While others had similar experiences to myself.

I do not doubt you experienced the storm you experienced. I was questioning the poster who said this storm was predicted. There was a storm predicted there was not a storm of the magnitude that occurred predicted.

 

It is important to read posts in context, and not take what people post out of context to make it sound like I am a doubting Thomas.

 

I believe you were in one heck of a bad storm. Period. I do not believe anyone when the ship sailed thought that storm existed.

 

JC... Sigh....

If I took your comments out of context I apologize - i was trying not too. I also was not just pointing to you or even this post. There are some other posts where others have challenged what happened as not possible. My point was mostly to support what others on board had posted - they where not exaggerations but individual perspectives on something that was very significant for all of us on board.

I for one am not traumatized by the experience or angry with the Capt or Royal. It was something that happened and I am doing my best to make lemonade.

Last I think we may be the only people on earth that ever watched the Super Bowl from the Eye of a Hurricane. :D:cool:

Hurricane force but not the 100 to 130 knots that may have occurred. That is double the hurricane force that was possible.

 

Can you show us the actual forecast you have referred to it dozens of times? One of your compatriots showed us one that left no doubt the captain made the right decision.

 

So please quit posting the quoted statement unless you can post an actual fact. It would be most helpful to an informed discussion. Of course, I am highly doubtful that is your intent, and that will be proven when you fail to post said factual forecast.

 

JC

I am not sure why there are so many "Doubting Thomases" about what happened. It would not be in the captains or royals best interest to overstate what happened. More so to underplay it. I for one - and I am guessing most everyone else onboard, was checking the Itinerary Screen that shows position, heading, wind direction, and apparent wind speed - this information comes from wind measuring equipment on board. I saw speeds in knots over 150 a lot during the worst hours even saw a reading of 197 knots. Our ship speed at this point was rarely over 3knots.

On waves I have heard from several people on decks 9 and 10, on the side of the ship leaning toward the water, of watching a wave hit the ship and their balcony with the result of a flooded balcony and water leaking in over the 5 inch sill. I am not sure how big a wave that would be but 30ft seems to be a low estimate.

Doubt what you like this was one very bad storm.

Following the storm I felt that most people were handling it well and even after the cruise was canceled people seemed to give Royal the Benifit of the doubt. But today the tide seems to be changing. Many are questioning the decision to sail at all given the weather forecast. Also the change in arrival has not endeared cruisers. I am sure this is a PR nightmear for Royal. I think it is bad news for all cruise lines. Cruising and danger are not good bed fellows. I am sticking by my original thoughts this was Mother Nature throughing us a curveball. I can not imagine any experienced captain or Royal Caribbean either, putting us in danger on purpose.

I have changed my flights home twice so far. I was a little off put by the change of arrival, since the captain was so firm on his first announcement about when we would arrive. I am guessing that this may be a bad case of assuming the Port of New York could just let us arrive when we got back. Since I do not have to book a hotel and my second change of flights was at no cost - thank you - I am ready for one more day on the beautiful but some what ruffled Anthem.