uksimonusa

Just home from our 1st NCL cruise on Escape, had dinner in Le Bistro and Teppenyaki, both were excellent, a big improvement from our RCL dining experiences

Was just on Sint Maarten/St Martin last week, went to Orient twice, no problems going through Marigot, the protests are all in the French Quarter and Sandy Ground.

15 hours ago, ace2542 said:

You have to have a PCR 3 days prior to boarding no exceptions apparently. And we can't do that.

You have to have the PCR WITHIN 3 days of boarding, not exactly 3 days prior. Make an appointment with the nearest Walgreens for an IDNOW PCR/NAAT test, results normally within 2 hours

12 hours ago, MikeMSD said:

Does anyone know if the Walgreens Rapid Diagnostic ID NOW tests count as PCR? The RT-PCR has a warning saying that results may not be available before travel. ID NOW lists a 24 hour turnaround time. I can’t find any local pharmacies offering Antigen testing.

We used the ID NOW test as a PCR for travel to Sint Maarten, it is actually a NAAT test which they say follows the same testing principle as the PCR.

22 hours ago, parachutes63 said:

Great Britain and Ireland are not part of the EU. They will make there own decisions. 

That should read Great Britain and Northern Ireland are not part of the EU, Ireland is part of the EU

Port fees are always an estimate, if you paid more than the actual fees on the day of the cruise, they will refund as OBC, if you paid less than the actual you win.

It can be used on a future booking, even if the booking already exists, what it can't be used on is the same ship and sail date as it was issued for, this stops people cancelling under the Corona Conditions and then re booking the same cruise as the price has come down

On 4/1/2020 at 6:27 PM, ARandomTraveler said:

I guess I’m the odd one out here, but I see nothing wrong with this fee being charged. It’s part of the contract when you booked the cruise with the travel agent. You say that you wouldn’t have been charged this fee if you had booked directly, but there must have been some reason you chose to use the travel agent instead. Maybe they gave you a perk of some sort? Well, that perk came with an obligation on your part, which was to pay a fee in the event that you backed out, which you did.

 

I understand that these are unprecedented times, but that doesn’t mean businesses have to waive their policies just because the majority of people chose to take the risk of signing a contract that put them at risk of losing their money and yet chose not to buy the proper travel insurance to protect it. And if you couldn’t buy insurance for some reason (you live in New York or whatever), your option was not to book the trip, or to book directly with royal Caribbean, or pay more money for the refundable option etc.

 

Ideally, the only “people” who should be losing money right now is insurance companies, but, surprise surprise, most people didn’t buy it and now want to complain that life isn’t fair because they wanted to save money.

When the cruise line have waived their policy on not paying commissions for canceled cruises, the TA should waive their policy on cancellation fees, they are double dipping, and the fact that RCI is paying the commission again when an FCC is used they are Triple Dipping. Very bad Practice

So anyone have any idea when the Guilty Plea with the Deal will be entered?

There have been previous reports of the Dyson Air Wrap not working on board, probably due to the way the electric supply is configured, it's different to how it is on land

10 hours ago, Texas Flood said:

It was over $700 difference.

How much is the penalty for canceling, if it's less than $700, book again and then cancel the first booking, also you siad you were told there are no upgrades, that essentially may be true, but if there are better cabins available at a lesser price than you already paid you should be able to change cabins

3 hours ago, crazyank said:

Nope,  only country of citizenship is relevant

The country of Birth is very relevant is the person still holds citizenship of that Country

The tarp is also easier to remove to allow damaged bits to be cut out and removed from the ship

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

On a semi related subject, those who use DL to fly to cruise, after 10/1/2020, you will need an enhanced DL to travel by air domestically.

NO you wont, you will need a Real ID DL, very different from an enhanced dl that is only issued by, I think, 4 states

Yes you are fine

2 hours ago, Ontario cruise duo said:

I've emailed my PCC and she suggested I call the 1-800 number, the same one that you gave me.  

The gentleman I spoke to said "NO" I could not do this, but I do appreciate your assistance in this matter.  

Sometimes I do wonder if I try calling in a couple of days and get a different person if I will get a different answer, as it seems to be a call centre, who are all learning and do not have the answers at the ready.  Can I put you on a quick hold while I ask someone...?  Sure!🥴

What did he say no too, buying the OBC or getting money from the Casino? A lot of call centre workers have never been on a cruise and if the question is not in their script have no idea of the answer, it may have changed since July, but I doubt it

8 hours ago, Ontario cruise duo said:

Have you actually done this yourself and withdrew money at the casino with no charge. If so, may I ask when you last did so.  I want to have money available for our use off the ship without having to carry too much on us personally while starting our trip.  Not sure if banks still use travellers cheques (checks), but I will also look into this as well.

Yes, all the time, the last being July this year, just have to make sure your on board account is set up as a cash account

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

If someone wants to add OBC to their account, it is much easier to call Royal at 800-722-5443 and just charge it. 

 

 

And then have a cash account onboard and you can withdraw money from the casino with no charge

54 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Feel for your situation, saved over $5000 in reductions last 5yrs myself. One Cruise alone received 6 reductions... Booking in UK don't you get travel protections we in US don't? Any those change after UK leave's EU? Then Booking threw US Agent instead do you still get these protection's?

No you don't get the booking protection in the US that you do in the UK, When Thomas Cook went bust last month RCI was one of the first to stand up and say that all bookings would be honored, even when they themselves hadn't been paid, why? Because the knew TC was ABTA and ATOL protected and they would get their money, albeit may after the ship had sailed, no such protection in the US.

Thanks everybody, this is the first time out of PC since they stopped the D+ line, so looks like good compensation from Royal for that. Now just hope our travelling companions have it on their set sail pass as well

Can anyone explain Expedited arrival in PC, what is is and how it works

TIA

12 hours ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

I’m to be on the Mariner Friday, free from the casino. If they cancel it, do I get to choose another weekend for free?  

 

You'll probably go out on Friday but may not return until Tuesday or Wednesday, when the depth of PC has been checked and the port made safe, so an extra day or two for free, PLUS with Coco Cay closed looks like a lot of time on the ship 😅

5 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Exactly with Disney not too far!  What you may want to do is spend a few nights on International Drive at Disney or off site and then get an Uber to the port. Renting a one way car rental is cumbersome and can come with extra charges to drop it off.

 

I was quoted $200 to do a one way in Arizona so I can only imagine the cost. So we returned the car  and then took  a car service from Sedona to  the Phoenix Airport for $70 with tip!  Totally worth it. 

 

Also you would have to find gas around the port to fill up the car and then find the car rental return and then a shuttle to the port.  Even if it costed more than the car rental I would much rather take Uber to the hotel in Disney and Uber to the port!

 

You can leave Disney around 9:00 AM and be at the port by 10:30 AM and hopefully checkin will open by then and be onboard at 11:00 AM.

 

Honestly this is how I would do it!

One way car rental from MCO to PC is very cheap, there are no extra one way charges, an Uber from Disney to the port will run you around $125.

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Uber X might be hard to get in that part of the state. Sometimes you'll get someone in a Nissan Altima and Uber just says they'll discount the rate for you. They don't care that you have luggage. In my experience.

Uber x and Uber XL are in abundance in this part of the state.

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