CSAU

Not just the long wait for getting the money back, they cannot even provide a CONFIRMATION that the trip has been cancelled.  I had to make several calls for a "supervisor" from Guatemala to finally "manually" wrote me an e-mail. 

All these foreign workers CSR are trying their best to help but RC intentionally not give them any authority to problem solve so these big corporate decision makers can hide behind the doors while the low-pay employees get yelled by the angry customers! 🙄

Just want to bring this thread alive again. 

I do not understand WHY RC refuses to issue an e-mail confirmation when the trip is cancelled. They are able to issue an invoice right away when the payment is made, no?  

People obviously have raised this issue since the start of Covid-19 (judging by this thread) yet they still haven't figured out how to overcome this more than a year after.  

I have talked to this "Supervisor" (24015) in Guatemala and he committed to send me some kind of cancellation confirmation prior to the sailing date.  Well the sail has almost ended and I have not received anything after waiting for over 2-week, this is unacceptable!!

How can I dispute the charge with my credit card company without any type of "proof"?  Will you return a designer bag (say LV, Chanel or Hermes) back to the store without getting a return invoice (digital or paper form) from them??

We have decided to cancel our trip to Florida including the cruise due to the new travel advisory which will most likely void any travel insurance policy. 

It was a hard decision but the risks are just too great without any medical coverage. 

34 minutes ago, tafawke said:

Before I ring to check - does anyone know what this new travel advisory, warning against non-essential travel means for current/existing policies - I have the COVID and the Cancellation policies... (I only bought the cancellation policy today - a few hours before the new advisory came into effect so might need to check on validity of that one too... )

I believe it will be voided, unfortunately. 

We haven't purchased the insurance but don't want to leave it to speculation. I know we won't be covered under company travel insurance, credit card travel insurance due to travel advisory and just can't risk relying on one ambitious Covid insurance policy now. 

Where can I buy those take home tests (preferably online)?  

We have a 16-year-old and we want to test him on Friday (when school winter break starts) to give us enough time to cancel car rental/hotel prior to our departure on Monday (will still do the formal 24-hour prior test on Sunday).  

I would also like to take whole bunch with us and to self test after getting off the cruise since we still have few days on land in Florida prior to return (to get quarantine process started early if need be). 

We are trying the short cruise and will visit 2 ports - the other is Private Island which I am not concerned.  We want to be extra cautious to avoid the worst case scenario having to quarantine for 14-day away from home (need to get back to work and school). 

What would you suggest besides staying on the ship, don't want to take taxi or dine in locally since masks are not mandated to minimize exposure. Does that leave the only option of walking to the Junkanoo Beach from the port?  Or perhaps join the tour offered by the Cruise company? 

TIA!

On 12/9/2021 at 11:31 AM, melbrook said:

My husband is getting nervous about our Jan.19th sail...his fear is an outbreak on the ship and being trapped at sea.  I think that happened in 2020 because it was new and no one knew how to handle it.  Now 2 years later I assume the ports all have a plan if a ship arrives with an outbreak - there must be a protocol of what to do with everyone?  From what I read about the recent NCL in New Orleans they had people in hotel rooms etc.  

 

Does anyone know the actual steps if a ship had a major outbreak - can you "worst case scenario" it for me?  Worst case not being either of us seriously ill of course.  😉  I really don't want to cancel and I think we can take extra steps to feel safe and as protected as we do here at home.  For example I see pictures of crowded dance floors and no masks - I don't think we are there yet in our comfort zone.  Those are choices we can make.  I also respect he is nervous so I am hoping some intell may help ease his mind.  We'll both have 3 shots by sail date so we aren't really worried about getting sick - more about getting trapped in Florida.  

We got ourself a balcony exactly for the worst case scenario - I figured getting quarantined in the cabin with 3 meals delivered, laundry washed + wifi is really not THAT bad (from mom's perspective lol). 

For sure we will get the Covid insurance.

TBH it's probably safer on the ship Covid wise than anywhere else in US  - where can you ensure the crowd is fully vaccinated and tested with ample space between each other (capacity has reduced to less than half I heard).

In terms of land quarantine, again it's covered under insurance but if one is really eager to come back (to Canada), one can always drive and/or have a brave family member pick you up at the border. 

I heard the scientists need about 2-week to know more about the Omicron variant and it has already been a week, we will have enough time to decide whether to cancel or not depends on the outcome. 

Is everyone getting this insurance way ahead of sailing date or few days before the trip?  With so many uncertainties including the new variance, I am debating whether to get it now or 2-week from now. 

4 hours ago, DHP1 said:

From Manulife (Costco) website :-

 

Important information about cruise travel: If you have not received the vaccine, this policy does not provide any coverage for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and related complications on a cruise or at any destination included in your cruise itinerary.

 

https://www.manulife-insurance.ca/costco/travel-insurance/travelling-canadians.html?MKT=H76&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5vbrnsuf9AIVEiM4Ch2ARQLcEAAYASAAEgKa6fD_BwE

 

 

To be eligible for Emergency Medical coverage, you must, as of the date you apply for coverage and the effective date:

• Be a resident of Canada and covered under a government health insurance plan for the entire duration of your trip.
• Be at least thirty (30) days of age;  “WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?” 

You need to be at least 1-month old (so the policy doesn't cover newborn) 

We are planning to get the Manulife Travel Insurance via Costco, it's less than $100 for a family of 3 which is a fair deal for our  peace of mind. You can easily get the quote via the website.  

13 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Thank you, Hattie, for the link.

 

@CSAU Having read your review, I think people would have found it more helpful if you had explained what had happened with your being given a two-person cabin when your booking was for three, what you were told on board, etc.  It’s incredibly unusual for something like that to happen.  Especially for that reason, I still think the RCI forum is a good place for you to bring this up. 

 

I hope your future cruises are happier. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I am glad they finally posted my review after 6-day.   I didn't realize Kat does not work for CruiseCruitic and thanks for pointing that out.  I agree it's an unusual experience as we have never heard let alone experience it ever since we started cruising 15-year ago.  It further adds insult to injury when they refused to escalate my concern to someone with authority despite admitting their mistakes. 

1. Was your review a "one note" review consisting of JUST your bad experience? No.

2. Did you cover ALL aspects of your cruise good & bad in detail? Yes.

3. Was it JUST a short one paragraph review about your bad experience? No. 

I've seen people wrote less than my review got published.  I talked about the poor customer service on the ship, how they messed up and gave the 3 of us a stateroom with 2 beds and my family ended up being separated to 2 rooms, talked about how few washrooms in the public areas got flooded, talked about how we love the dining room attendant are he is the only reason the ship get more than 1 star, also talked about how the Whitney Houston memoir show is a must see though the stage is tiny, also rated the teen's program as poor.  If I didn't touch ALL points mentioned in your "guideline", it should not be the reason my review cannot be published.  It's a review after all, not an essay pending to be marked by my professor for crying out loud! 

Yes I have received the initial confirmation for my review submission.  They told me it can take up to 3-day to post the review but it has been 5-day.  I feel quite frustrated because I am battling with Royal Caribbean's customer service centre at the same time and they made me wait for almost 3-week now with no solution either. 

Has anyone experienced this?  We had a bad recent experience with Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Sea so I wanted to share what happened with the follow cruisers.  I wrote the review 2-day ago but it has not been posted.  The general turn around time is few hours with other review sites (Google, Tripadvisor etc.)  I wonder whether the negative reviews are being censored and filtered to create biased rating for the cruise lines? 

We got the beach day pass which is about $25 more than the Digs pass.  I think the Aquaventure pass is way overpriced, considering we will spend a full day before on RC's water park on their private island.  

I am hoping it's a nice beach with some fishes for snorkelling. 

We got the "Atlantis Beach Day Pass" (excluding the waterpark) and I agree the info on the paper is not clear and glad you posted the question.  I was hoping the cruise company (RC) will offer something similar for better return/change policy but unfortunately they don't. The tickets are not refundable at all which I find unreasonable. 

Awesome thanks so much!!!

Also....if Port Canaveral hotel rates are really high and you won't have a chance to explore our area....there are a bunch of really nice hotels just outside of the Orlando airport on Semaron Blvd. You could stay there and still shuttle over with Cortrans in the morning.

What a great idea and thanks so much!! I think that's exactly what we will do - stay at the hotel close to the airport and figure out the transportation the next day since we will be arriving late.

Thanks 20pp each way from the airport sounds good to me. We will be there mid-Dec (high season) arriving at night, a family of 3. Should I reserve it ahead of time or can I get the shuttle bus tickets right at the airport?

I guess we will then Uber to the cruise port. Is that what most people do these days?

After cruise we will rent a car and stay in Orlando for few days. I remember some rental car companies have shuttle buses at the cruise port but it can be a bit chaotic. Do most people also Uber to rental car companies (from Port Canaveral) these days?

Thanks again!

Is there a shuttle bus? Uber? I've been told it's about 45 minutes away but renting a car for only 1 day seems a lot of work.

Your advise is very much appreciated! :)