Help! Do we pay final balance or lose our deposit?

[geocruiser]

I rang Royal Caribbean today asking what would happen if there is a change of itinerary and was told that if we did not wish to accept the revised itinerary they would more than likely offer us a full refund in the form of credit for another RCI cruise. That said, there are plenty of other cruise lines offering Baltic cruises at really low prices at present and will no doubt continue to do so for late bookings avoiding the need for payment far in advance. Royal even agreed to reduce the cost of our cruise as a price match because it had dropped drastically since we first booked, something that RCI in UK never normally do, so we have accepted that and know that we can still have the same balcony cabin we originally chose.

 

We will wait until the last minute now before making a decision on whether or not to pay the revised final balance. We really want to go on this cruise and have already done all our homework on each port of call so hopefully we will still get to see St Petersburg ................ but we shall also be watching the news avidly during the next week!! :)

 

Just keep in mind that RCCL can change ports at any time. Even if you are on the ship.

[novicetraveller]

We are in a quandary! It was reported today that US troops have moved into Estonia, Poland and Latvia and, in addition, travel sanctions have been mentioned yet again in connection with the problems in Ukraine.

 

The balance on our Baltic cruise is due to be paid within the next week or we lose our stateroom and our deposit. Ordinarily we would not hesitate as we were looking forward to visiting Scandinavia and Russia, but if we pay the balance now and then RCI decide to pull St Petersburg from the itinerary we would be really upset as that is the highlight of the whole cruise. So, our problem is do we not pay the final balance and lose our deposit and visit the Baltic another time in the future or do we take a chance? We certainly would not want to pay all that money for two extra sea days instead of St P and we can easily visit the other ports of call ourselves from UK so we wouldn't want substituted ports either. Tallinn in Estonia, where US troops have been sent, is one of our ports of call too.

 

Can anyone help us, any suggestions to help us decide? Help please!! :confused::confused:

 

I would suggest going on this cruise and then visit St Petersburg at a later date. I am sure that RCCL will either substitute the port with another one, or at the very least refund you the port fees. 2 days at sea? It could be worse...

[Essexlass2]

I would suggest going on this cruise and then visit St Petersburg at a later date. I am sure that RCCL will either substitute the port with another one, or at the very least refund you the port fees. 2 days at sea? It could be worse...

 

But surely you, living in London as you do, can appreciate that we can drive to Scandinavia and European ports quite easily, particularly being near the east coast with ferries going across daily. The whole point of the cruise is (a) we get to visit Russia and (b) its cheaper to do Scandinavia from a cruise. I think you have missed the point! :eek:

[bobbisailsolo]

I have a friend who won't touch RCI now that they are basing a ship in China with their human rights record.

 

 

 

It's a difficult personal conscience decision I guess.

 

 

You can't judge other countries by our standards. My son lives in china. It's a hundred times safer there than here in the states. What works for us, may not work for them, and vice versa. There is much propaganda on both sides. I'm not saying it's perfect there, I'm saying it's far from perfect here!

 

 

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[novicetraveller]

But surely you, living in London as you do, can appreciate that we can drive to Scandinavia and European ports quite easily, particularly being near the east coast with ferries going across daily. The whole point of the cruise is (a) we get to visit Russia and (b) its cheaper to do Scandinavia from a cruise. I think you have missed the point! :eek:

 

I understand the issue you have, but I was presenting an alternative solution, which appears to be no good for you, which is fair enough.

[iluvbkk]

Our cruise in BOTS leaves Harwich in 2.5 weeks so we have been watching the news carefully. Our final deposit was paid just several days before it blew up over there and we've heard nothing as to changed in itineraries. I'm concerned that tensions are running high and we may not be that welcome in SPB or Tallinn but unless RCI changes it's plans, we will be going.

 

 

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[Liz]

I had similar concerns last year before my Baltics cruise. I had purchased insurance from TravelInsured and called them because I did not have "cancel for any reason" coverage. They suggested I purchase an additional medical rider, which would cover evacuation for political reasons. I questioned this recommendation so I called back and spoke to a different agent, who told me the same thing. I did purchase the coverage for about $25. I don't know how insurance works in other countries or with other companies, but it might be worth a phone call and a few extra dollars.

 

Liz

[seaofwonder]

It's not like our troops are mobilizing and arming for a war. A handful of troops are going there as part of NATO. It's some posturing to show that we support those countries and so those NATO countries feel supported.

 

Our final payment is due in a few weeks as well for the exact same cruise. Originally I didn't really care about Russia, but as I read more history books, I have become really fascinated by their history. So I would be really crushed if SPB was cancelled. I do like hearing that they would likely offer a full refund :)

 

 

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[cruisnseas]

You can't judge other countries by our standards. My son lives in china. It's a hundred times safer there than here in the states. What works for us, may not work for them, and vice versa. There is much propaganda on both sides. I'm not saying it's perfect there, I'm saying it's far from perfect here!

 

 

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Yea, you really can judge other countries on a single standard in *some* situations...like human rights. While it may be "safer" there, it is at the expense of some very basic rights that any country that is playing at the level China is playing should be providing to their people.

[Royal Caribbean International]

We are in a quandary! It was reported today that US troops have moved into Estonia, Poland and Latvia and, in addition, travel sanctions have been mentioned yet again in connection with the problems in Ukraine.

 

The balance on our Baltic cruise is due to be paid within the next week or we lose our stateroom and our deposit. Ordinarily we would not hesitate as we were looking forward to visiting Scandinavia and Russia, but if we pay the balance now and then RCI decide to pull St Petersburg from the itinerary we would be really upset as that is the highlight of the whole cruise. So, our problem is do we not pay the final balance and lose our deposit and visit the Baltic another time in the future or do we take a chance? We certainly would not want to pay all that money for two extra sea days instead of St P and we can easily visit the other ports of call ourselves from UK so we wouldn't want substituted ports either. Tallinn in Estonia, where US troops have been sent, is one of our ports of call too.

 

Can anyone help us, any suggestions to help us decide? Help please!! :confused::confused:

 

Hi there,

 

We certainly understand your concern. The safety of our guests and staff is always a top priority and hope you understand that should political unrest impact any port of call we visit we have the right to alert the itinerary. Currently, we have not opted to cancel this port of call.

 

Hope this helps.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Hi there,

 

We certainly understand your concern. The safety of our guests and staff is always a top priority and hope you understand that should political unrest impact any port of call we visit we have the right to alert the itinerary. Currently, we have not opted to cancel this port of call.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for posting directly.

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi there,

 

We certainly understand your concern. The safety of our guests and staff is always a top priority and hope you understand that should political unrest impact any port of call we visit we have the right to alert the itinerary. Currently, we have not opted to cancel this port of call.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I cannot express how amazing it is that you have responded in 'person'.

Am delighted to be sailing with you and blogging on Legend in just a few weeks.....

[Essexlass2]

Hi there,

 

We certainly understand your concern. The safety of our guests and staff is always a top priority and hope you understand that should political unrest impact any port of call we visit we have the right to alert the itinerary. Currently, we have not opted to cancel this port of call.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for posting directly, much appreciated and we can appreciate that your top priority is for the safety of your guests and staff as well as, of course, that of a very expensive cruise liner. We will probably pay the final balance now and hope upon hope that the itinerary does not need to be changed.