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21 minutes ago, Tolkmit said:

 

This is the criteria listed in today's announcement:

• Our Lift & Shift option is perfect for your clients who simply wish to move their existing reservation to next year, while protecting their original cruise fare and promotion. Select a qualifying cruise in 2022 on the same itinerary, sailing length, embarkation port, stateroom category and departing within +/- 2-weeks of the original cruise date. Then, give us a call and we’ll take care of the rest!

Thanks... just got my email from Royal confirming the same.  They say hold time is 8 minutes... we'll see 😄   

36 minutes ago, Love2cruise77 said:

 

Lift and shift, 125% FCC, refund

Someone in another group said L&S wasn't available to them.

Is it the same criteria as before?  I just want to be somewhat prepared before I call and sit on hold 😉

Well, we got our news... Blech... as much as I said I just wanted to know... I'd rather it have been that we were going 😄  

Travelers can once again mark their calendars and set their sights on a summer full of long-awaited cruise vacations. Building on the excitement of its upcoming return to Alaska, Royal Caribbean International has announced that six of its award-winning ships will begin sailing from major U.S. cruise ports in Florida and Texas in July and August. The cruise line’s comeback will kick off on July 2 in Miami, the cruise capital of the world, with Freedom of the Seas* embarking on a special Fourth of July weekend sailing to Perfect Day at CocoCay. By the end of August, 12 Royal Caribbean ships will be cruising once again across The Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska and Europe. 
On the heels of the first cruise in Royal Caribbean’s highly anticipated return to the U.S. will be the debut of the brand-new Odyssey of the Seas* on July 3. The game-changing ship will set sail from Fort Lauderdale on new 6- and 8-night Caribbean cruises, to soon be followed by Allure, Symphony, Independence* and Mariner of the Seas. In the coming weeks, the cruise line will announce its plans to reintroduce its full fleet around the globe by year’s end. The 2021 summer cruises are available to book today.
“This is it. Vacationers can finally plan to take their precious time off this summer and truly get away after what has been a challenging time for everyone. I would like to sincerely thank our guests and travel partners for their incredible patience and understanding during this very difficult period. Thanks in large part to the successful rollout of vaccines, the world of adventure is beginning to open up, and we are all excited to start delivering great vacations to our guests, who have increasingly told us they are getting vaccinated. As of today, 90% of all vacationers booking with Royal Caribbean are either vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated in time for their cruise,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “We also thank Governor Ron DeSantis, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Broward County Mayor Steve Geller, and Chairman of the Canaveral Port Authority board Wayne Justice and board commissioners for their steadfast support of our industry and for providing access to vaccines to the thousands of crew on our ships off the eastern seaboard. This act of understanding and humanity has been deeply appreciated, and we are grateful for their support, which is enabling the health and safety of our guests, crew members and the communities we visit.”
Royal Caribbean’s newly revealed cruise vacations offer a range of itineraries that vary in length and destination, ease and flexibility in booking, and convenient departure ports across the U.S. Whether departing Florida on two of the world’s largest cruise ships, cruising from Texas to discover the best of the western Caribbean or venturing out to cooler temps to explore the wilds of Alaska, there is something for everyone. 
Royal Caribbean’s full summer lineup:
• Freedom of the Seas* – 3- and 4-night Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay sailings from Miami, starting July 2 
• Odyssey of the Seas* – 6- and 8-night Southern and Western Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale, starting July 3
• Serenade of the Seas – 7-night Alaska sailings from Seattle, starting July 19 
• Allure of the Seas – 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries from Port Canaveral, starting Aug. 8
• Ovation of the Seas – 7-night Alaska itineraries from Seattle, starting Aug. 13   
• Symphony of the Seas – 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from Miami, starting Aug. 14
• Independence of the Seas* – 7-night Western Caribbean sailings from Galveston, Texas, starting Aug. 15
• Mariner of the Seas – 3- and 4-night Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay sailings from Port Canaveral, starting Aug. 23
The expanded summer lineup will go beyond the U.S. to include international ports across the Atlantic, like Barcelona and Rome, when Harmony of the Seas returns to Europe. Starting Aug. 15, the Oasis Class ship will set sail on 7-night itineraries to the Western Mediterranean and visit iconic destinations like Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Provence, France. 
The new U.S and Europe cruises extend Royal Caribbean’s previously announced plans to return to sailing, which include Adventure of the Seas departing from The Bahamas on June 12 as well as Anthem of the Seas sailing out of the U.K. and Jewel of the Seas from Cyprus in July. The complete list of Royal Caribbean’s 2021 cruises will be available on www.royalcaribbean.com.
U.S. Health and Safety Measures 
Travelers can plan their cruise adventure with peace of mind knowing that all crew members will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Guests are strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated, if they are eligible. Those who are unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols, which will be announced at a later date. Other measures in place for travelers to cruise with Royal Caribbean include:
• Vacationers sailing to Alaska who are 16 years of age or older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and those 12 or older as of Aug. 1.
• If departing from an international port, guests must meet the travel requirements of their home country and the country of departure. The most up-to-date policies can be found online on each country’s tourism site. 
Royal Caribbean is continuing discussions with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and multiple state, local and port authorities in the U.S. and with various destination communities regarding the various requirements for the upcoming sailings. The current process requires each ship to complete a simulation cruise before receiving approval to resume sailing once again from U.S. ports. The applications for simulation cruises are under review and receiving approvals on a rolling basis. The progress made as a result of the ongoing collaboration with and support from the state, local and federal level continues to set the stage for Royal Caribbean to return to sailing this summer as planned. The cruise line will share updates on measures with guests and travel advisors before their departure dates. 
Cruises outside of those announced today will be cancelled through the end of August. Booked guests and travel partners impacted will be contacted with further details specific to their sailing, including the option to receive a full refund. For added reassurance, all vacationers who have booked by July 31 are covered by the Cruise with Confidence program. Royal Caribbean is grateful for the patience and loyalty of its guests.
Royal Caribbean International is applying the recommendations of its  Healthy Sail Panel of public health and scientific experts to provide a safer and healthier cruise vacation on all of its sailings. Health and safety protocols, regional travel restrictions and clearance to visit ports of call, are subject to change based on ongoing evaluation, public health standards, and government requirements. U.S. cruises and guests: For more information on the latest health and travel alerts, U.S. government travel advisories, please visit www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates or consult travel advisories, warnings or recommendations relating to cruise travel on applicable government websites.

Bayley also posted to his facebook... 

2 hours ago, ARCruisinNana said:

Maybe we’ll heat something by the end of the day....

Bayley just announced on his Facebook that we're not going 😞  

15 minutes ago, ARCruisinNana said:

I’m booked on Liberty July 4.  Today is 30 days out and can’t check in.  I don’t expect we will cruise, but they need to tell us something, or give us Independence. LOL

So are we Nana... and Independence in more ways than one 😉   Or I'd take some Freedom to make other plans 😉  

so funny thing when I go to obsessively look at Cruise Planner, the front screen shows this:

but next page shows this:

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Hate reading all this clippings on the web from who knows where from.............would like to see up-to date info on the Royal Caribean website itself.

 

I don't even like reading Bayley's twitter BS...with yippee on it. Seems fake !

exactly...and all we get are assumptions from these "news sites".  One I saw this morning had a chart similar to the above but said Indy was doing test cruises out of Everglades, but in their narrative said Galveston.  

Bayley's FB is focusing on crew stories...which are great and all..as a good crew is a great thing to have, but c'mon!

3 minutes ago, ssb said:

Facts : 

 

CDC approves Independence sailings from Galveston . 

 

Independence relocated and presently ported in Galveston . 
 

Waiting on announcement of sailings dates from Royal . 

Another fact: 

Those of us with July cruises out of Galveston still don't have an update 🙂

1 minute ago, Vera/Lee said:

I don't understand why this says "Independence from Port Everglades". 

Yeah, I think it was a typo in the chart, it just further proves that no one knows what's going on 😉

Saw this in my news feed this morning

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/CDC-approved-more-cruise-ships-for-sailings

1 hour ago, mlleach said:

No.  You can no longer book Allure or Symphony.  They can't have a revenue sailing without the test cruise. Now we know the dates of the test.

they could... they're just choosing not to due to the vaccine requirements.

37 minutes ago, sushitex said:

Here’s recent news: 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/ab/agents/variation-a/news/6165/  
 

it answers as to why Independence went to the Port of Galveston yesterday. Maybe the rumors of it replacing the Liberty, which  is scheduled for dry dock in July, are true, or, it’s just doing test cruises out of Galveston. Even more speculation! 

Lots and lots of speculation 😄  You know what would fix that... actual information.  Now if we could get that, it'd be great!!

Two more announced... 

Just now, Jimbo said:

Just because they vaccine crew on one ship, doesn't mean that vacinated crew member stays on that ship.

Yeah, I thought about that...I guess training isn't necessarily ship specific.  Just seemed odd (and I wanted my ship to get to Galveston so I was all excited for Liberty's staff getting vaccinated a while ago.)

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

They are just sailing ships all over the place now with no known reason, I wouldn't assume anything at this point until we all get another one of those famous updates..................

Random thought... if Liberty really is going to drydock (and I know it won't necessarily be a long one) but why'd they staff the ship and get them vaccinated now... unless they plan on immediately starting the second she gets back from dry dock.  

Has there been any official cancellation of the July 3 & 11 Indy cruises?  I swear I saw someone say there hadn't even though they're not on Royal's website anymore (not that that means ANYTHING)

2 minutes ago, ssb said:

With Explorer and Liberty still off eastern US coast and Liberty going to Cadiz and Independence now in Galveston, it would appear Independence will be first Royal ship to sail  out of Galveston . 

Would love some actual recent confirmation of any this from Royal 🙂  but, I won't hold my breath for too long.

1 minute ago, Bleueyes44 said:

I hope it's a test cruise, as we're booked out of Miami  on July 11th.  Been checking every morning to see if there is any news yet but nothing but silence from RC.  This gives me a lite hope if its a test cruise.

Yeah, I don't know how the test cruises work... If they can be done from a different location, etc...

Just now, imola said:

As stated we will be fine if they just move us over to the Independence.   Same sailing date, cabin status (or better), etc.  Don't care about itinerary.  I just want to know.  

I'd hope they'd keep the same itinerary... I do have things still reserved from last year's cruise.   🙂

This website has dragable deck plans so you can kind of see what you'll overlook.  

I have one scheduled July 4 out of Galveston and didn't get a survey.

15 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Ways things are handled by Royal Caribbean, I wouldn't lay any money on it.

I have been operating on the No News Is Good News for a while about our July 4 out of Galveston, but that's starting to not work as well the closer we get...

2 hours ago, BSocial said:

yes she is.  But the “Blog” we can’t quote reported in a front page blog on April 5, on the 4 ships for Cadiz dry dock.  That article specifically stated July for Liberty. 
 

here is another article (doesn’t state specific dates for Liberty)

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24705-royal-caribbean-s-harmony-arrives-in-cadiz-as-part-of-quadruple-company-drydocking.html

 

So she may be double booked forJuly.   Only Royal knows for sure if they need to cancel July dates for Liberty.   
 

 

I was reading articles out of order again... I thought the one delaying the dry docks was after that one, but I see it was before.

I just need a ship for me in Galveston on July 4. 😂

25 minutes ago, BSocial said:

Liberty scheduled for dry dock in Cadiz in July per a Blog story last month (might not see test cruise and revenue cruise for her until after dry dock).    
 

Explorer - they should bring her in now 🙏🏻
 

 

Liberty is scheduled to sail out of Galveston in July.

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That's an automated thing RCI IT sends - ignore it.

I would have already ignored it, except the agent, supervisor, and analyst (whatever that is) that the supervisor had to verify it with said it definitely applied and there was no way around it.

Thanks to you both!  It seemed kind of screwy but after 3.5 hours on the phone I was done arguing and just going to try again another day.

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you cancel the cruise under the CWC policy (that covers all cruise booked before August 1 2020) then all cancellation penalties are waived and you would get a FCC for 100% of what you have paid. It doesn’t matter if it’s been moved, shifted or new, it’s all covered under the CWC.

So as long as it's booked before then, even if I decide to change my mind 10 months from now, it's still under CWC?  I guess I thought I had to cancel within a certain timeframe for that, too.  (Shorter than the 48 hours) That makes me feel better, everyone I'd talked to kept saying, well, that's what your insurance is for.  Which wasn't the point.