HappyCruiserettu

On 7/31/2020 at 12:37 PM, Abercrombie2019 said:

 These balconies have an awkward privacy situation.  The occupants of the "bumped-out" balcony can see directly onto these balconies, and vice-versa.

On 7/31/2020 at 12:37 PM, Abercrombie2019 said:

 

Vice versa? How does that work? (I had a condo in Honolulu which had a balcony on a "bump-out." I could look into their balcony and living room, but they sure couldn't see into mine.)

Booked Symphony for 9/12/20 for two adults and two children (6 and 4 yrs old). Had Kids Sail Free offer. After cancellation, received, this week, FCC for 125% of total Cruise Fare. No fare for kids, but FCC was allocated 1/4 to each guest. So now the kids have FCC, and I want to use the FCC on another sailing with Kids Sail Free. Can I roll the kids FCC into the booking? Why did they get FCC  when they had no Cruise Fare on the original booking? Seems the FCC should have have been divided among the two adults. Anyone have experience in this area? Am I overthinking this?

14 hours ago, cruising deacon said:

I just cancelled 3 more Princess bookings for 2021

I am still waiting for FCC and now I have more FCD in the bank with Princess (because of cancelled bookings)

my gut feeling - NO sailings from USA at least until mid 2021, Princess has no idea how poorly they are treating their loyal Elite 

           passengers from the past (are maybe they do know, but don't care)

they aren't getting any more of my money to hold onto until I am SURE they will be sailing the cruises that I am still booked on.

and right now, I wouldn't trust Princess regarding anything

 

All the cruise lines are doing the same. It's not a Princess thing.

On 7/13/2020 at 10:44 PM, MJSailors said:

raz455

    I have read your posts regarding a Caribbean cruise slated for this December.

 I am not being trying to be rude,but I have to ask, do you really want to be on a cruise ship five months from now considering the state of the health crisis in our country now?

   You mention booking flights to get to the embarkation port,which I assume to be in Florida. Are you comfortable with the thought of flying and being in Florida  which is presently seeing a spike of Covid-19?

    I do realize that we all have different opinions and attitudes regarding travel at this time,but you would not find my DH and I contemplating such a vacation as you are planning. As a matter of fact,we were booked on an early November 2020 repositioning cruise on the Sky Princess from NY to some Caribbean islands with disembarkation in Ft Lauderdale. We cancelled the cruise several weeks ago. The cruise will most likely be cancelled by Princess, but we did not feel comfortable with such a vacation during this pandemic, so,we cancelled well before final payment  and have received our refundable deposit.

    YMMV and  I wish you good luck !  

A lot can happen in five months. We are booked on the Island 14 day Circle Caribbean for 12/20/20. I am hopeful, but I am also considering changing to Panama Canal on the Coral for late April.

On 7/13/2020 at 9:57 PM, raz455 said:

Thank you all for your responses.  I am thinking to book our flights via Princess.  That way I don't have to pay until 45 days prior and, by then, we should know if the cruise is still on . . .yes?  

 

Yes, 45 days is correct. Also, if Princess cancels the cruise, they will also cancel the EZ Air arrangements.

On 7/12/2020 at 11:53 AM, cvpends said:

Flying to Vancouver from the Bay Area is expensive also.  That's why we're flying to LA then taking the repo up to Vancouver.  It isn't much more expensive to take the four day repositioning cruise than to fly up, an we fly down to LA for free with Southwest miles.  When sailing out of Seattle, flights are similarly inexpensive (often $79) or free with points.

I'm looking at doing the Canal trip from FLL, then staying on for the next two. I like the itinerary

 of that 12 day portion with Sitka. Haven't been there yet.

1 hour ago, Renmar said:

Hurtigruten😉.

Thank you. That looks much better.

On 7/8/2020 at 1:02 AM, caribill said:

 

On 7/7/2020 at 6:46 AM, welshrich said:

We've sailed about 35 times on RCI but had our 1st Princess cruise booked for November through the Panama Canal, as I'm not familiar with Princess, if they are going to cancel how far out do they normally do it?

 

On 7/8/2020 at 1:02 AM, caribill said:

 

Princess has been cancelling by blocks of time. First was mid-March when they cancelled 60 days of the schedule. Some of those were ready to leave, or even onboard. So some others had 60 days notice. Currently, everything is cancelled up to Sept 30. Certain cruises in specific areas have been cancelled beyond that point. I would expect another announcement in 4 to 6 weeks that could extend the general cruise stoppage. I'm hoping they will resume in time for my Caribbean Circle on Island Princess, scheduled fro Dec 20. That will be the first, and last, sailing of the Island before it begins the 2021 World Cruise.

On 7/6/2020 at 4:14 PM, AF-1 said:

With the latest data about Europe putting out guidelines for cruises; I don't think there will be any European cruises this year.

Hurtigen (sp?) and Aida have announced plans to resume sailing very soon.

On 7/6/2020 at 7:46 AM, ontheweb said:

It would take a lot of positive news for that to happen. And i think it is safe to say that we are all rooting for that outcome.

Seriously? That's 15 months from now!

On 7/3/2020 at 11:42 PM, HappyCruiserettu said:

FCC is about $6K (cancelled cruise fully paid). Replacement cruise is less than $5K. Deposit is $1,250 for family of five. Looks like the best course of action is to fully pay for 2021 cruise with FCC, then no need for separate deposit. Thanks for the insight.

Here's how I resolved this. I called Royal's Customer Service number and spoke to Mike. He was extremely helpful. He made my booking for Symphony for Sep 18, 2021. He created an Option, to be kept open until Aug 15. FCC is supposed to be posted by July 31. He said the option could be extended if FCC is delayed. This reservation is for a couple with three children under six years of age. It is for a Jr Suite, w/capacity of 5. Total paid for cancelled Sep 12, 2020 cruise was $5,900. The total price for 2021 cruise (same ship/category/time/itinerary) is just under $4,200. Bottom line, no money due now; cruise will be fully paid w/FCC.

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes, the FCC can be used as the deposit as long as the FCC is large enough to cover the entire deposit. 

FCC is about $6K (cancelled cruise fully paid). Replacement cruise is less than $5K. Deposit is $1,250 for family of five. Looks like the best course of action is to fully pay for 2021 cruise with FCC, then no need for separate deposit. Thanks for the insight.

Have FCC for cancelled Sep sailing on Symphony OTS. Want to book similar trip for next year. Can FCC be applied to the deposit? Some lines  (e.g. Princess) don't allow this. I know about Lift and Shift, but the price is much better for same Jr Suite.

18 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Aren't there also less flights? That would make the flights that remain more crowded than that 80% reduction would seem to lead to.

I suggest you see Post #123 from PrincessLuver.

9 hours ago, caribill said:

"only persons staying in the same cabin and/or persons from the same household or same travelling unit" means that other family group has to be part of the same traveling unit. In other words, not another family group you met on the ship.

I'm sorry. You are right. My mistake. I somehow missed the "only."

On 6/28/2020 at 5:08 PM, dog said:

Air Canada & Westjet made announcemen, as well. Didn’t last long to go back & stuff those rows of 3. 

But I keep hearing that dai/ly airline passenger count is down at least 80%.

On 6/26/2020 at 1:25 PM, ReidRGetALife said:

The airlines all require masks to be worn. And EVERYBODY knows with a mask on you're 100% protected!! No virus can get through THAT thing! Right. It's like putting up a chain link fence to keep out mosquitoes.

Do I detect sarcasm?

On 5/23/2020 at 7:05 PM, rkacruiser said:

Where do I sign up for such a cruise?

 

Interesting, there has been on other Message Boards discussions about this possibility.  If enough potential cruisers want such, it might just happen.  Business models for many industries are going to be changing as a result of this virus.

Remember, Cunard once had a very well-known slogan, "Getting there is half the fun."

4 minutes ago, caribill said:

Also:

"It is also recommended that only persons staying in the same cabin and/or persons from the same household or same travelling unit dine at the same table."

 

Looks like most dining room tables will need to be tables for two with "A distance of 1.5 metres (or otherwise as per national/local health authority requirements of the home port or the port of call) between chairs of different tables should be maintained."

It says they should eat together. It doesn't say they can't share with another family group.

24 minutes ago, caribill said:

Some of the fun parts:

 

a) "Passengers in high risk groups including people over 65years of age or people of any age with underlying medical conditions(chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory diseases and immunocompromised individuals) should be advised to visit a doctor for pre-travel medical consultation to assess if they are fit to travel."  -- That should cover a great majority of passengers.

 

b) "Activities and services on board cruise ships could be organized according to age group, so that older individuals are separated from other age groups."

Notice that it says "should be," and remember that this is just a proposal at this time. And, as far as separating the 65 and over, the rest can just go to the kid's camp. There are only a relative few on Princess.

4 hours ago, cricketts said:

 

I'm hoping to be on the forward areas of Baja and Caribe decks for viewing the Northern Lights!

4 hours ago, cricketts said:

 

I'm hoping to be on the forward areas of Baja and Caribe decks for viewing the Northern Lights!

Just make sure the ship is northbound. Otherwise, try the aft.

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Her inaugural voyage will 114 days to from Barcelona to Cape Adare, Antartica.  There will be one port of call in Lagos Nigeria to pick up the former crown prince.  He will be dividing his wealth with all those fortunate enough to be on this inaugural sailing.  Also, the drink package will be selling for $18 a day.

$18/day sounds good. Does that include gratuities?

6 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Not on the Great Lakes. They do not take paying passengers. The only way you can get on there is by fundraising auctions/lotteries. I guess if you also know the owner of the vessel that would work. 
 

I have thought about buying tickets but Lisa just rolls her eyes at me. 
 

Just don't book an the Edmund Fitzgerald. On a more serious note, check out Victory Cruises. They do the Great Lakes. And Viking is shooting for 2022 to fo American river cruises and the great Lakes.

1 minute ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

Good advice. 

"Good advice costs nothing, and it's worth the price." - Alan Sherman

 

No offense, BND. I echo your advice. It just reminded me of the song.

1 hour ago, irishgal432 said:

Cancel your 2021 cruise if it isn’t a better deal than the 2020 one and then lift and shift your 2020 cruise to 2021. You can then apply the fcc from that cancellation to the shifted cruise. 

Good advice. 

"Good advice costs nothing, and it's worth the price." - Alan Sherman