Cruising-Snowbird

We buy the RCL travel insurance.  Over the years we have had to cancel THREE cruises within a week of leaving due to health issues.  RCL refunded excursions/onboard purchases/etc and the insurance paid 100 percent of the cruise fare less the insurance premium.  We had the check in hand in less than two weeks after we called to cancel.  We would not go on a cruise without the insurance.  It is worth every penny. 

Also if you are flying to the cruise and book with RCL insurance, be sure to book the air fare through RCL.  The air fare will be put on the cruise booking confirmation and if you have to cancel, the air fare will be covered.

On 6/25/2019 at 9:07 AM, Cruising-Snowbird said:

We will be arriving in Anchorage 3 days BEFORE the Land Tour starts on July 14th.  I called RCL and asked if I could get a shuttle to the Anchorage Marriott when we get off the plane.  The Anchorage Marriott does not offer an airport shuttle.  Basically, RCL said TOUGH....  The shuttle option is only available if you arrive at the airport the day the Land Tour starts, that is when you check in for the tour at the hotel.  If on arrives any earlier, they have to take a taxi or find another way to the hotel.

I finally got our Guest Ticket Booklet for our Land Tour that starts July 14th.  We are flying into Anchorage on July 11th..  I must have asked the wrong question when I called RCL, because they gave me bad info.

The section of the Guest Ticket Booklet labeled 'Pre-Cruise CruiseTour' has the following info in it concerning Transfer to hotel.

"Transfer Requirements
Air/Sea Guests:If you purchased your airline flights through
us and have not change your day of arrival, your airport
transfer is included with your Cruisetour.
Choice Air Guests: If you have purchased your airline flights
through our Choice Air program and have not changed your
day of arrival, your Cruisetour package transfer is included
if you arrive into the Anchorage International Airport
between 10:00 AM and 11:59 PM."

So I called RCL back and specified that I bought the plane tickets through Air2Sea and briefly reviewed the above quote.  I asked how I would find my RCL shuttle to the Anchorage Marriott.  I was told that they know the time/day we will be arriving at the airport and someone will be waiting for us near the luggage pickup with some kind of a sign identifying them as Royal Caribbean.  So, hopefully they will be there.  If worse comes to worse, there is always a taxi....

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

I was advised that this was being eliminated by celebrity for all cruises after Feb 1, 2020.  You can buy travel insurance from some insurance companies directly.

 

Is their something wrong with the Ins company?  Has anybody actually filed a claim and got a refund?

I suspect that the RCL corporation does not want to deal with any insurance hassles anymore.....

I have had to cancel 3 cruises over the past several years for medical issues.  All were insured by AON thru Royal Caribbean.  I called AON to register a claim and they e-mailed the forms to me.  After I filled out two pages and the doctor one page, I scanned the forms and e-mailed them back to AON.  Royal Caribbean had credited me for excursions, etc previously when I called to cancel.  I got checks from AON within a week for the balance of everything I spent less the insurance premium.  AON was efficient and prompt.  Excellent service.

Did you go to this web site?     'travelcruisecare . com'  Just click the applicable cruise line to get started.  Then enter all the info.  I have not gone this far, but it says you purchase the insurance after it comes back with a quote.  Most of my booked cruises were booked with the insurance before the new 'rules' took effect.  The only one after that date is in 2021....

I have noticed that you need to be close to the 'Final Payment Date' before you can buy the insurance.  I have tried it for cruises a year or more out and it does not work.  As long as you pay for the insurance before 90 days before the cruise, you will be set.  So, wait till 100 to 110 days before the cruise and then go to the web site to purchase the insurance.

This is our second Alaska cruise.  Back in 2015 we took another land tour that started in Fairbanks and worked it's way to the ship in 6 days.  LOVED IT!!!!   I took a lot of photos of the Hubbard glacier back then.  I am curious to see if the glacier has shrunk since then.

This time, we were sold on the cruise by the offering of a Land Tour that included Katmai NP and  the complete 90 mile trip into Denali with a plane ride back to the hotel.  The only drawback is that it is the most  expensive cruise/land tour.....But, one only lives once.....

We will be arriving in Anchorage 3 days BEFORE the Land Tour starts on July 14th.  I called RCL and asked if I could get a shuttle to the Anchorage Marriott when we get off the plane.  The Anchorage Marriott does not offer an airport shuttle.  Basically, RCL said TOUGH....  The shuttle option is only available if you arrive at the airport the day the Land Tour starts, that is when you check in for the tour at the hotel.  If on arrives any earlier, they have to take a taxi or find another way to the hotel.

Good to hear that the card can be used on the next cruise if not completed.  Just bought two of them for our July Radiance cruise.  Next RCL cruise is the Harmony in February.  I got spoiled with the great coffee while on some Celebrity cruises with the drink pkg promos.....

I don't think that anyone mentioned the RCL Diamond benefit yet.  When you call up to register for the Captains Club, tell them your 'status' on RCL.  You will have to give them your C&A numbers so they can verify your RCL status.  If you are Diamond or above, you will be classified as 'Elite' in Celebrity.  Somewhere on the Celebrity web site, there are descriptions of the benefits for each of the tiers.

When we took a B2B on the Adventure up to Quebec City last Sep, the only way to get up the mountain into the old town was WALK or take a taxi.  The Celebrity Summit was also in port that day.  After we hoofed it up the LONG hill, we saw that Celebrity had shuttles running back and forth to their ship about every 15 minutes.  I vowed then that the next time we cruise to Quebec, it will be on Celebrity.....

You will not have to deal with soot EXCEPT if the ship is sailing directly into the wind or docked facing the wind.. If the wind is blowing any other direction, the soot will be carried to the side of the ship.

Jr Suites may be smaller that those on other ships but at least they have a balcony so we can open the door and breathe the polluted air. We refuse to cruise unless we can book a balcony. Personal choice.

We are "Balcony Snobs" also..... :) But, we wanted to go see Havana on the 'Inaugural' cruise. So we will 'suck it up' and go on the cruise in a window room....

And the Junior Suites on Empress are about the size of standard balconies :eek:

From the deck plan of the Empress: The Junior Suite is (112 to 155 sq. ft., balcony 40 to 120 sq. ft.). Most of the Balcony class cabins on several various ships we have been on are a bit under 200 Sq. Ft. The bottom line is that the cabins on the Empress are SMALLER than the other bigger ships in the RCL line.

Empress was my very first cruise ship back in the 80s and I'm hoping to score the same balcony cabin.

There are no 'Balcony' class cabins on Empress. The only cabins with a balcony is in the Suites.

We usually get balcony cabins along with the C&A balcony discount. So, I have not taken advantage of the Stockholder benefit in a long time. But, now I have booked two B2B cruises on Empress. There are no balcony cabins on Empress so we took 'window' cabins.

I gathered all my info needed and sent it off to the e-mail address listed above. I got NO response from them that they either got it or applied it. I eventually just called RCL and asked them if the Stockholder OBC had been added. They said it was and sent me an updated Booking Confirmation showing the added OBC.

You may walk by the specialty restaurant and it may look like there are many empty tables. But, they are being held for people with reservations at a later time. They probably have to block off the table for about 2 hours for each reservation. We have found that when we go to Chops, it generally takes from 1.5 to 2 hours to dine.

I just redeemed 10,000 pts for $100 OBC and was told by the rep that they aren't refundable but she also said, as RosieRoo posted, they could be applied to a future cruise.

Thank you for the information to transfer the RCL Visa card points that I redeemed and then canceled the cruise. I canceled our Feb 5th Oasis cruise on Feb 1st. I had $100 OBC on that cruise from the RCL Visa rewards. I called up the Crown & Anchor number today and asked if I could transfer the $100 to our March cruise on the Freedom. He said yes and then filled out the paperwork to do it. An hour later he sent the updated March Booking Confirmation showing the additional $100 OBC from BOA.

Thanks to those who told me that I could do the transfer....

BTW, I got the claim form today from the RCL Travel insurance company for me to fill out and get the Doctor to fill out his page. I expect to get 100% of the cruise cost back within a few weeks...

I'm not sure about getting the points back, but I had a situation similar to yours and they allowed me to move the OBC to a future booking.

That is very acceptable to me. How did you do the move? Did Bank of America or Royal Caribbean make the move?

We have been onboard several ships when the Super bowl was being played. All of them have had the game on the screen by the pool along with the theater screen. It was also on most of the TVs in the public areas of the ship. As I recall, they pick up the 'international' feed, so it did not have the commercials or the half time spectacle.

I had to cancel our Feb 5th cruise on the Oasis today. :( I am very glad I had signed up for RCL Travel Protection program. Will get 100% back since it is due to illness.

I had redeemed 10000 RCL credit cards points for $100 OBC on this cruise. When I called to cancel the cruise, the guy did not know if I could get that $100 back or not. He suggested that I call BOA. But before I attempt to tackle that maze, I thought I would ask the most knowledgeable people around.... HERE....

So, is there any way I can get the $100 BOA OBC back?

Looking to buy OBC for upcoming cruise, but can't seem to find where to do it on RCI website. Any suggestions?

Why??? Perhaps you could explain the difference between paying RCL now for OBC versus paying RCL right after the cruise is over for what you spent.

I hope that they can come up with something to satisfy you. We are looking to take a multiple B2B cruise in 2019. Since one never knows when RCL will charter the ship and cancel all the existing reservations, how they handle your case will definitely have a impact whether we do it or not.

Please keep us informed as to how they treat you and come up with a satisfactory solution.

For those of us booked on the February 16, 2018 10 night, we received our email yesterday with the same alternative dates. As I was already booked for 4 consecutive cruises that start on January 26th, the offerings are of no use to me either as I am booked on the February 26th cruise and would have to pay additional airfare home and back from NY to take that cruise as well as pay for another hotel stay. I called them and made my objections known about the offerings but due to the incident at the FLL airport all the higher ups were in emergency meetings, so the regular redeployment person said he would check with the supervisors about an alternative in my case and get back to me on Monday.

Any update on the status of RCL canceling the middle cruise of a four cruise B2B? Please update us about how RCL handled this.

When we ran into the problem of being sold-out when trying to book an excursion a month in advance, we checked on-board and saw that the excursion was available. But, the price was $5 per person more expensive than booking earlier.... :(

For those of us booked on the February 16, 2018 10 night, we received our email yesterday with the same alternative dates. As I was already booked for 4 consecutive cruises that start on January 26th, the offerings are of no use to me either as I am booked on the February 26th cruise and would have to pay additional airfare home and back from NY to take that cruise as well as pay for another hotel stay. I called them and made my objections known about the offerings but due to the incident at the FLL airport all the higher ups were in emergency meetings, so the regular redeployment person said he would check with the supervisors about an alternative in my case and get back to me on Monday.

That is a bummer... We were on the Feb 16th cruise. We looked up available cabins on the Jan 26th cruise and found one on the back of the ship on Deck 7. Not quite as good as the one we had for Feb 16th, but we can live with it and the $200 OBC.

If RCL does not call you early on Monday, you call them. If the person who answers can not come up with a satisfactory work-around, ask to talk to a supervisor and continue escalating until you are satisfied.

BTW, I do like your concept to taking four 10-11 night cruises B2B. The most B2B we have taken is two for a total of 22 nights. Maybe in a future year will go like you do....

Is it not possible to compare cruises side by side on the website anymore?

Or am I missing how to select & compare cruises?

Thank you

Easy, do not log onto the RCL web site and then open several different browser tabs. Go to the RCL web site on each of the tabs with a different cruise on each one. Then just click on the different tabs to compare.