PK34

Hello all!  I'm excited to be bringing my daughter and 5 year old granddaughter on a cruise out of Southampton.  I'm a bit late to the game as we are cruising on May 12th.  I understand that's a busy cruise day for cruising our of Southampton.  We are flying Delta directly from Minneapolis to Heathrow arriving May 10th at 7:15am.  Our return flight is on May 21st at 9:20am. I'm trying to work out where we are staying and how we are transferring in the next few days.

I'm thinking about booking a hotel near Bond Street to have a direct rail route from LHR.  We'll do some touring and then hop on the rail at Waterloo station the morning of the 12th to go to Southampton.  Upon return on the 19th, I was thinking of doing the rail again back to Waterloo station for another hotel stay and touring.

Opinions on this strategy?  Advice for other transfer options?  The only solid plans we have are to see Frozen at Theatre Royal Drury Lane at 5:30pm on the day we get off the ship (May 19th).

Thanks for any advice you have for us!

Count me in!  I wish...it's frigid here!

In addition, I received an email on January 27th to bid on RoyalUp for a cruise that was cancelled months ago???

I usually sail in a full suite.  I booked an offer through Casino Royale and was going to just stick with the Neighborhood balcony I had.  I got a surprise call today and was upgraded to a junior suite :)  I'm wondering if anyone has stayed on Wonder in a junior suite and successfully been able to book dinner at Coastal Kitchen?  Do you just stop by and talk to the concierge upon boarding?

I have a few questions for those of you who have successfully Royal Up'd from Sky to Star Class.  I just found out that my bid for the Ultimate Panoramic Suite on Oasis was accepted.  I was previously in a Crown Loft.  I have sailed Star several times, but have always originally booked Star, this is my first time upgrading through Royal Up.

My Set Sail Pass now shows my new cabin, but no mention of Star Class.  It just has Diamond Plus.  Previously, my Set Sail Pass would indicate Star or Sky.  Should I be concerned that neither my Set Sail Pass or luggage tags have no indication of any suite level?  Also, I had prepaid gratuities added to my Sky class cabin.  Do I need to call to have those reversed since Star Class includes them?

Any recommendations for a transfer to the port from a hotel near Miami airport.  We are 5 adults and 2 in car seats. We’re hoping to not have to bring car seats with us.  I know we can request Uber/Lyft, but it can be hard to find two with car seats as we would not fit in one.  Any recommendations for a private transfer that isn’t incredibly expensive?

Perfect!  Thanks for the clarification!

30 minutes ago, kfnesq said:

I can't speak to the testing portion, but I know that you can upload your cards in the Royal app - when you go to the "check in" link, it will take you to an option to upload your vax cards.

Thanks!  Found it!  
 

anyone else know when I should be able to schedule the 2 year old’s test at the terminal?

I sail in 16 days and have not received an email to upload vaccine cards or schedule an at terminal test for the 2 year old traveling with us.  When should I expect an email to schedule the test for the 2 year old?  And are you required to upload vaccine cards before the cruise?  Or just show them when you get there?  I did get an email asking about our vaccination status which I replied to.  I thought I had read where others uploaded their actual cards.

34 minutes ago, Bob_Houston said:

The TA cruise is 14 nights.  There is one Allure cruise for 9 nights and several for 8 (including the repositioning cruise to Galveston).

 

Are you saying they're honoring the SLS fare for a 14 night cruise on a shorter Allure cruise and providing you a (small) OBC?

 

If so, is this really a good deal?

 

I just did a price comparison for the 8 night Allure Fort Lauderdale to Galveston cruise for a CLS vs. what we were going to pay for a 14 night Allure TA.  On a per night basis, the original 14 night cruise was almost 20% more expensive in a CLS than the new 8 night cruise to Galveston from Florida.  So no price protection would be needed (compared to an August 2020 booking) - the new Allure fare price is lower for the same cabin - especially when booking a shorter cruise.

 

I am doing the 7 night eastern on 10/29/22 followed by the 8 night repo to Galveston on 11/5/22 for a total of 15 nights.  They divided the 14 night TA fare by 14 to get a per night cost and then multiplied that number by 15. 

I promised to report back on my situation.  I was originally in a Star Loft Suite for the westbound TA downgraded to a junior suite.  After not getting anywhere talking with resolutions, I emailed MBayley (twice).  A day after the second email I received a call from the executive escalation team.  I expressed my disappointment and disbelief.  She agreed that it wasn't handled well and would pass on my feelings.

I ended up booking the same suite on the Allure b2b in the same suite I was originally in for the same time as the TA.  I asked if they would price protect the Allure b2b cruises that I swapped for the TA.  I received a call this afternoon with the news that they are honoring my request for price protection.  They are also giving me the same OBC as offered to others displaced.

While I'm disappointed I will not be on the TA, I am satisfied with the offer and looking forward to staying in the Star Loft Suite.

I just received my genie contact for my October 30th Symphony sailing.  The email was from Luciano stating he would be doing my preplanning, but Reyno will be my genie 🙂

Just curious if anyone knows of anyone else downgraded from a Star Class suite to a JS?  Or am I the only one?  I've heard of several Sky Class downgraded, but not other Star.

2 hours ago, Bob_Houston said:

When we were bumped from CLS to JS, we did get one of the JS on the bump with what appears to be a deeper balcony - though until someone can show photos or closeup videos of the ship, unclear how much more space we will get being on the bump.

 

For those bumped from Star Loft to OS or JS - it's unfortunate that Royal decided to remove that suite class along with 17 of the 25 CLS.

 

Your offer will likely be like ours - you'll pay the lower of your original fare or the current fare for the new cabin - and because the fares are 2-3X from last year's fare, it likely means you'll pay the same for the OS/JS as you were going to pay for the SLS.  What they should do is charge you the lower of the current fare of the new cabin OR the fare for that cabin on the Allure when you booked your reservation.  What they're doing means you're likely paying (much) more than others in your new cabin class - who also made their reservations last year.

 

They should still be providing you Star Class.  We had Star class in an AQ 2 bedroom on the Allure a few weeks ago - and it was absolutely fantastic.  With the genie and all of the Star amenities, you should be able to avoid what will likely be an overcrowded suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen when they add up to 28 JS to Sky/Star class.

 

Your offer likely also includes $300 of onboard credit - which they appear to be doing for 7 night and 14 night cruise.

 

Getting moved from SLS to OS and keeping Star Class, isn't too bad.  While the OS aren't as large as SLS, they are still spacious cabins.

 

But getting moved from SLS to JS is extremely unfair.  Even with Star Class, you're going to be in a cabin that's less than 1/2 the size of an SLS and a balcony that's likely no more than 1/4 of the size.  We've looked carefully at the JS - compared to SLS, CLS, OS and GS - it has very little countertop space - a tiny round coffee table and a relatively small desk (not sure it's deep enough for a full-size laptop). 

 

Even with Star Class for a JS, if you end up paying the current JS fare and get Star Class, offering $300 per cabin as compensation for the much smaller cabin doesn't come close to making you whole.

 

Unlike cancellations due to COVID - this situation is entirely within Royal Caribbean's control - they decided to swap Wonder for Allure, they decided not to move some of the more expensive full suite reservations down to JS, and they decided to make this offer (that in the case of downgrades to JS don't come close to being reasonable).

 

Call the Resolutions phone number and complain to them about this.  If you have a TA - have them do it.  While the Resolutions department can't do anything about it - because the Revenue department is responsible for this mess, at least they'll log more full suite customer complaints, and maybe that will get the Revenue department to wake up and do more to fix this.

 

We still have a few weeks to see improvement before we lose our ability to get a 100% refund...

I’m the one that got bumped from a SLS to a JS. I got absolutely no where with the resolutions department today. I have sent an email to mbayley. I’ll post back what happens. I’m not holding my breath!  Still shocked and appalled at my huge downgrade🥲

I've been hot under the collar since receiving my Wonder assignment.  I needed to take some time away from the boards and talk to my husband about what will be acceptable.  We were in a Star Loft Suite for the westbound TA and were downgraded to a JS.  I understand there are less Star Class suites on Wonder, but to move a Star Class customer to a junior suite is beyond unacceptable!  I'm on hold right now and will report back to let you know if they accept what we are proposing.  We sail Star Class frequently and are still in shock that Royal thought this would be an acceptable swap!

8 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Yeah saw your post right before mine. Are you going to cancel or stick?

I need to call and talk to them. I’m appalled that they did this. I would expect Sky class at the bare minimum with substantial OBC. Unfortunately, I think I’m out of luck. Pretty disappointed with Royal right now. 

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Possible but not likely. More likely that all Star Class guests were re-accommodated in Sky Class first.  LOL Guess not.

I was star class relocated to sea class 🥲

Went From a star loft start class cabin to a Junior suite. That is not going to fly!

We are going to be cruising with a group of 7 or 8 including a 1 year old and a 2 year old.  First question, is there anything that the babies can do at the Thrill Park?  And second, would they count towards cabana capacity if there isn't anything they can do?  I'm leaning towards one of the other cabanas that fits 8 people, but wanted to know if these would be an option or not.

So excited to follow along and check out the daily compasses. We are on the next eastern on March 1. Interestingly our itinerary is St Maarten, San Juan and then Labadee. I don’t want to wish your cruise to go fast, but I sure would like March to get here😄. Happy sailing!!

54 minutes ago, twangster said:

There are some subtle differences between decks for the same suite type.  Suggest you search YouTube for Ovation and suite number to see the different layouts.  

Thank you!  I did do some searching.  The only 2 grand loft suites that were left were 10724 and 8724.  I'm currently in 8724 because I think the room/balcony appear to be slightly larger.  However, if one of the corner rooms opens up I will hop on it 🙂

I'm also wondering which location would be better for sightseeing when cruising around New Zealand.

15 minutes ago, M-H-B said:

I leave in 14 days on Ovation and have Deck 9 and very aft. Will have a look around for you if I can remember. 🙂 

From looking at deck plans, it seems that all the action is on higher decks so for taking the stairs, 10 would seem better.

Thanks!  I'm in a suite facing aft.  The balcony is definitely bigger on deck 8.  But I also like the idea of being closer to the action!

I am booking an aft cabin on Ovation.  I have a choice between deck 8 or 10?  I have never been on a Quantum class and am curious which deck would be preferable.  TIA!

I am doing an itinerary very similar to this in Feb '21 on the Ovation.  Can't wait to follow along with your trip!  I'm curious what you did for flights.  I am 40 days out from flights being open for booking.  Did you book with Air2Sea?  On your own?  How far ahead did you book?

Thanks!  Amy

We are so excited to be adding a grandbaby to our family this late July/ early August!!  However, this does interfere with our cruise plans!!  Does anyone have experience with deferring and/or canceling a nonrefundable fare?  My daughter’s preference would be to go on the the cruise, however she will either still

be pregnant or have just delivered.