EgNyTeR

8 minutes ago, pcur said:

Have you checked the expiration date recently?  Go and start a booking for any cruise, and at the bottom of the first page you will see where you enter your FCC info.  I did this today to check for a friend with one expiring in April.  It had been extended to 12/31/22.

Oh wow! Thanks for this! I just checked as you mentioned and it currently indicates the following:

"Valid through April 25, 2023 or 12 months from the original sail date (whichever is longer) and can be used for any open sailings at the the time of booking."

Does that mean I need to "book" by April 25, 2023 or "sail" by that date?

Just now, Longhorn Cruiser said:

Travel agents were advised today that Royal Caribbean has removed the "book/redeem by" deadline, and FCCs can now be redeemed anytime up until the expiration date listed on the certificate.

My expiration currently says May 31, 2022. 

Hello fellow cruise critics,

I need some advice and guidance as I've been searching everywhere for an answer to this question but can't find it anywhere here or other forums. I currently have a total of 4x FCC totalling $2744. They are set to expire by May 31, 2022 for cruising by December 31, 2022. At present time we don't believe we can cruise prior to 2023. I understand that if I don't book by May 31, 2022 I'll loose my FCCs. I won't be able to book any cruises for sailings past December 31, 2022 either.

1. I think I'm able to book 2022 sailings now and cancel upwards of 48hrs before sailing date correct? If I do this, would RCL issue new FCCs for me and extend the expiration dates possibly to 2023 timeframe?

2. What other ways or options do I have to extend my FCC expirations so that I can properly use my FCCs in 2023 instead of this year?

I think it's a shame that RCL has imposed expirations on FCCs. This is realistically my money and they are holding it hostage on their terms.

Any help and insight would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you ahead of time!

On 9/18/2019 at 11:29 AM, princeton123211 said:

Know you were asking about EWR and LGA, but it is worth noting that Cathay Pacific offers a service direct from Vancouver to JFK on a large 777. This is "fifth freedom" anomaly flight the airline has as you normally need to fly to or from Hong Kong to use Cathay. The onboard product, service, and meals are vastly superior to what domestic US or Canadian carriers offer and it is of course nonstop. The flight is highly regarded and well reviewed-- especially among parents traveling with kids (special kids meals and inflight entertainment are provided which you don't get on a domestic US flight).  

 

JFK wouldn't be the end of the world for the first leg if you were headed into Manhattan, but you would most likely want to fly from EWR back home coming from Cape Liberty since you are right there. You should avoid LGA completely, especially if you would need to take layover and use EWR if you choose not to utilize the Cathay service. 

YES I know about the Cathy Pacific non-stop from YVR to JFK as I've taken that a few times already. I think Cathy just announced that they are removing that flight for the foreseeable future as it's not profitable. --My wife doesn't like the idea of red-eye flights with the kids either. Pricing wise unless there's a sale, I don't think I'll be saving much money on that route.

Thank you everyone for your responses as it's greatly appreciated! --YES I totally agree that non-stop flights will work in my favor for sure and probably will end up taking Air Canada from YVR to EWG. --Make the trek to Time Square once we arrive and when we are ready to cruise will need to make the trek back into NJ. 

I just figured that if YVR to LGA would make sense but many of you said that the traffic isn't all that better anyways. Plus if I did it this way I currently do not see any non-stop flights from YVR to LGA which is a bummer. Overall it would probably cost me much more time with transfers and still need to get into Time Sqaure from LGA. --I don't see this saving much time or money at all.

Hello everyone I'm going to be cruising out of New Jersey with RCL on Anthem of the Seas in late March. We are travelling as a family of 4 with 2 young kids aged 4 and 7. We plan to stay in Manhattan by Time Square for about 3-4 days before heading over to NJ to catch the cruise. We are flying in from Vancouver BC (YVR) and was wondering if it would be best that we simply fly straight into EWR? Or. . . . do YVR to LGA  and EWR to YVR for the flight back? Obviously there's pros and cons to each way but travelling with 2 young kids can potentially pose even more challenges. Was wondering what everyone's thoughts are. . .

• YVR to EWR has non-stop flights via Air Canada (ideal flights with kids as no stops required) same with EWR to YVR. Only downside is when arriving at EWR we need to make our way somehow to Time Square where our hotel will likely be for the first few days then we have to head back to NJ cruise port.

• YVR to LGA would be closer to Time Square. After a few days in NYC we head over to NJ cruise port. After the cruise we fly from EWR to YVR non-stop via Air Canada back home. Right now I don't think there are any flights from YVR to LGA that are non-stop.

Any advice and recommendations would be great! --Thank you in in advance 🙂

4 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

Latest on Twitter: I'm so sorry for any miscommunication. We've made sure we're all on the same page so there's no confusion moving forward. Unfortunately, we won't be honoring that price, but we'll be offering 30% off to all sailings impacted by the glitch. -Candy

I'm assuming that it's 30% off Deluxe Drink Packages for all sailings and NOT actually 30% off the price of my existing sailing??? Talk about confusion and horrible  Social Media replies. --They should really limit who has access to social media accounts and confirm prior to sending out replies.

Welp. . . we all know the saying, when it's too good to be true then it probably ain't true. --With that said, I'm sitting around and just hoping that next email being sent is NOT from RCL stating they are cancelling my $18 drink package! There's always hope until the hammer is dropped and confirmation is provided. I'm not on the cruise yet but I'm having fun already!!! lol

I've noticed that RCL generally only shows the NRFD (non-refundable deposit) price on their website these days. I came across this article from another website that explains how we can find the RFD (refundable deposit) price. I'm somewhat intrigue and was wondering why RCL would even bother with two separate prices? Correct me if I'm wrong but if I'm booking a cruise way far out like say over a year, wouldn't it be best I simply book using the RFD (refundable pricing)? Pay the extra premium to lock in you cruise pricing assuming you've found a wicked deal and lock in your cruise stateroom. As the days come closer to the cruise date, can't we simply call up RCL and request to have the RFD premium removed and simply pay the NRFD price? I assume that by that time closer to the cruise date, most people would know if they can travel or not. 

I figure using this method will protect me from rare cases where I'm unable to go for whatever reason and still get 100% of my deposit back. Should I confirm and decide I'm proceeding with the cruise then I switch the booking to the NFRD to save some money. ---Unless I'm smoking something here and somehow we are not allowed to do that????

I do know that if I book the NRFD pricing I technically can cancel my sailing but that I'm subject to $100 per guest fee and the remaining deposit amount can be used to book a future cruise within 1yr. 

Can someone please help clarify this?