pthjudy

On 6/27/2021 at 6:50 AM, YankeesFan4Life said:

Jersey weather sucks Nov-March. Not uncommon to have a foot of snow dumped on us at any given time. That being said, Newark Airport very rarely closes because they have one of the best ground crews around. Kudos to them!  However, like people said before, don’t think you’re getting outside for a couple days, probably at least til you get down to The Carolinas. Always the casino and plenty of indoor activities. I live 25 minutes from Bayonne and have never and will probably never cruise in the winter from Jersey just because I think it’s a waste to not be able to utilize the whole ship for 3-4 days. Just my two cents…

Lifelong NJ resident and agree about the weather. Three comments though. First we did just book Anthem this winter because I’m not ready to fly again yet and I need to use my OBC from a cancelled cruise. Second there are loads of stuff to do on the ship and the solarium area is warm. And finally, we took a cruise a few years ago in February from LA to Hawaii. Over 2 weeks and we didn’t put bathing suits on even once. No, it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t very warm either. 

On 7/10/2021 at 9:10 PM, lenquixote66 said:

We always buy insurance and unfortunately have used it on too many cruises.

We used to buy because we had elderly parents. Now we buy because we are the elderly parents. 

We are Emerald on Royal and I believe we had some type of discount on an internet package. I also know that the price is often less if purchased online prior to sailing. Do they automatically apply the discount if I purchase before the cruise and if not, is it still cheaper ahead of time? I’m assuming things will be the same as prior COVID cruises in this area. Thanks. 

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK the numbers, but seems to be plenty here on CC - which is probably heavy with long-time Princess guests. 

 

I do wonder if they won't bring this back in some form in the future once back on their feet and making money.  CCL discontinued dividends on stock holdings for the time being and we can expect those to return some day.  IDK when we might have achieved the 21 cruise level - I guess not long from now including 4 in Fall 2022.  

 

I care less about them cutting back due to the Covid financial mess than I do about them executing on promises and having application software that works and delivers as expected.  I care more about hoops that other customers who are not tech-savvy seem to have to go through in order to cruise compared to anecdotes for other cruise lines.  I care about the brand quality and it's perception in the market than another $25 in OBC. 

 

I also understand why there are cutbacks and loss of benefits. What I don’t particularly like is when they try to make it look like the change is for YOUR benefit (fast unlimited internet which you are paying for now rather than getting free generous minutes for years). Many cruise lines need to tighten the purse strings. Taking perks away from loyal cruisers is not going to help them in the long run. 

On 6/26/2021 at 9:54 AM, Sunshine3601 said:

There are still some great prices out there.    Have you looked at any of the sailings out of Tampa?

Or the sailings on Anthem out of Bayonne next March look decent too. 

We just booked out of Bayonne next March. Price very good.

17 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Protocols for Unvaccinated guests on Freedom of the Seas cruises starting July 2. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

Protocols for Unvaccinated Guests Freedom of the Seas

Yes, it’s a class system but for health reasons as well as survival of a whole industry. Unvaccinated people who are doing so for a legitimate reason may choose to cruise or not. Those who are doing so for political reasons may become combative and I fear what may come down. Either way, no one wins. 

23 hours ago, Ombud said:

Princess can ignore it by skipping Florida and sailing Alaska, Washington, California, Hawaii, and Mexico. There is another ocean. 

They can go out of Brooklyn all year round. Royal Caribbean does that out of Bayonne. I can’t wrap my mind around a private company being fined for trying to prevent illness. Someone explain the reasoning. 

17 hours ago, Blauelini said:

No worries, by September at the latest RCCL will have  Covid outbreak on one of their ships due to this policy. Media will pounce,  images of people in biohazard suits escorting people off the ship will be broadcast nationwide. RCCL will change their policy overnight for fear of being being shutdown by the CDC.

My thoughts exactly. The cruise environment has notoriously been a place where germs seem to thrive. From buffets to large groups of relaxed passengers, germs from noro to colds have always been a risk. If there is a COVID outbreak on a cruise ship, it will be covered by the press and once again this weakened industry will take a damaging hit. Vaccinations may not end COVID on a ship, but will lessen it dramatically as it has on land. 

Since we cancelled ourselves we weren’t entitled to a refund. We did get the FCC but never an email saying it was in my account. Keep after them. It’s hard to think discrimination when the over 75 is a large percentage of their cruises. 

55 minutes ago, RosieRoo said:

At least you received your port charges/taxes refunded. They cancelled my March 22 cruise and still have not received the refund. 

If they cancelled, you should get a refund of all you paid. If you want to double check, the best time to call is before 7 AM. The wait is less than 5 minutes.

I did call RC this morning before 7. The agent sent me an email confirming the FCC. Why I never received that email when the money was put into my account is confusing, but if I hadn’t called I’d still be waiting. 

3 hours ago, barbeyg said:

 

One of our FCCs went to an email address I didn't even remember giving RCL.  Another person mentioned that theirs went to their son's junk mail folder.  We did receive all of ours on 4/30.  I suggest checking more than one email, and your junk folder too.  Hope you get it soon.  🙂  I know how frustrating the waiting is.

I did check all emails and junk but not there. I tried calling this afternoon but wait was too long. I plan to call tomorrow morning when it’s less busy and insist on documentation. Who knows what will happen to cruising going forward and keeping track of what we have is important. 

20 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Account?  Did you get or looked for proof.

I actually never thought of proof. Without that email I have none. However when I gave my booking number, the amount of FCC I had on the account and my husband had, were correct to the dollar. I have to assume it is there on my account ie I need to trust!

7 minutes ago, denamo said:

Good to know your FCC was on your account.  Read travel agent poster here on CC who mentioned sometimes it's easier to give the original booking number for your FCC than using the FCC when rebooking. 

 

I called Royal to find out about FCC as well.  It wasn't available at the time. Agent double checked my email to see if all was correct.  He mentioned there were two places the email could be and checked both.  I actually received my FCC email the next day.  🙂

 

Have not received our taxes to our credit card yet. 

And we received the cc credit several weeks ago. With no set procedure it behoves us to check ourselves. (And often)

Update: I just called RC and after a very brief wait was told the FCC was on my account. So much for the email! 

We cancelled our April 12 TA cruise many, many weeks ago. Our CC was credited with the fees and taxes quickly. I have not received an email or letter about the FCC we are scheduled to get. Has anyone in a similar situation received this credit? How were you notified? Is it too soon for me to be concerned?

9 minutes ago, hannibal54 said:

We had a 3-28 cruise canceled by Royal. Last week I got an e-mail showing our FCC information.

Then we should get our email shortly. Thank you. 

We cancelled our 4/12 repositioning cruise before Royal did. We received the taxes and fees posted to our credit card weeks ago. I believe we should be receiving an email about our FCC.  Has anyone received that email? I don’t want to deal with making a phone call. Been there, done that.  We got our miles and fees back from our United flight which is still an active flight. Any advice is much appreciated. 

2 hours ago, karena1 said:

Still don't agree with it.  With the suits filed against doctors from people that sue over anything, what doctor is going to sign this?  My husband is perfectly healthy and I think it stinks that he is being discriminated against because of his age.  

When a person needs minor surgery like cataract surgery, a doctor’s note is required. I don’t see how taking a cruise would be more of a risk than going under anesthesia. My complaint is not allowing passengers over 70 to get a refund instead of OBC due to this policy change. And I certainly don’t like transferring the credits to someone else. 

Question answered. Thank you. 

I just noticed the taxes, fees, etc. for the cruise I cancelled were posted to my credit card. I assume the rest of the refund will be in OBC. I’d like to see if that money is in my account without having to be on hold for a long time and taking the opportunity of a more important phone call away from someone else. Is there a way to see it online? Has anyone had the fees etc. returned AND learned the OBC too was applied? How did you find out?  I don’t want to forget about it, but making a call seems daunting. 

We were on Adventure a few times when it was new and then again a few years ago. I loved it then and later. The ice show is terrific and food and service very good. I wouldn’t hesitate. 

10 hours ago, paula2051 said:

Hypertension has also been added to the list of underlying conditions.  So if you take bp meds and are over 70, you can not cruise.  If the policy doesn't change, I will have to resort to land tours.  I'll wave to you from shore!  🙂 

I am in my 70’s and have been on BP medication for 10 years. All of my friends and family in this age bracket are on these drugs as well. We all cruise often. If this restriction was ever put into play, a huge segment of the cruising population would be lost. I doubt highly if any cruise line would implement this. 

25 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

We're in the RCI section of CC, one kinda assumes we're limiting the discussion to their fleet.

I know this is Royal Caribbean, but it is still Cruise Critic and this type of documentation could filter to other cruise lines. And RC does have a large amount of older passengers. May not be the majority but I’ll stand by the large number statement. 

29 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That might be a bit off - very unlikely to be so on shorter sailings, it certainly wasn't true on 3/1 Anthem sailing.

I will give you shorter sailings. And I’ll also give you Royal Caribbean because it is very family oriented. But lines such as Oceania probably have an average age above 70. I just envision a prudent doctor being very conflicted as to verifying a patient’s seaworthiness.