Switching to a different ship in the same week

[chiguypaul]

Taking forever to get through to customer service so thought I would ask here. Please only answer if you are familiar with RCL's recently changed policies. 

 

I am taking the Navigator on April 6th. It's a four night cruise. There's a seven night Oasis that runs that same week. I would like to switch to the other ship. The rate on the 7 night is now lower than mine, but I don't care about that. I'm fine with my current fair, but would like to get more night for the same amount I'm paying. With RCL's new changes, anyone know if I would be able to switch with or without some type of change fee.

 

Thanks

[pcur]

The policy says you will be issued a Future Cruise Credit if you cancel a cruise sailing on your current date.  I can tell you from my recent experience in the last 6 (normal) months that it can take a while for the Future Cruise Credit to arrive, and with the current situation with people cancelling, you might have a problem getting it in time.

 

What you will have to do is pay for the new cruise in full, and the FCC can be applied to your credit card when it's issued.  So, you have to float the money for BOTH cruises until the credit comes through.

[chiguypaul]

Just now, pcur said:

The policy says you will be issued a Future Cruise Credit if you cancel a cruise sailing on your current date.  I can tell you from my recent experience in the last 6 (normal) months that it can take a while for the Future Cruise Credit to arrive, and with the current situation with people cancelling, you might have a problem getting it in time.

 

What you will have to do is pay for the new cruise in full, and the FCC can be applied to your credit card when it's issued.  So, you have to float the money for BOTH cruises until the credit comes through.

 

Interesting. I already have a cruise booked in December. Would I be able to apply that credit to my final payment in December?

[molly361]

Like the above poster said you will have to wait for your FCC it's not just a matter of switching from one cruise to another

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, pcur said:

The policy says you will be issued a Future Cruise Credit if you cancel a cruise sailing on your current date.  I can tell you from my recent experience in the last 6 (normal) months that it can take a while for the Future Cruise Credit to arrive, and with the current situation with people cancelling, you might have a problem getting it in time.

 

What you will have to do is pay for the new cruise in full, and the FCC can be applied to your credit card when it's issued.  So, you have to float the money for BOTH cruises until the credit comes through.

Can you apply a FCC for a fully paid for cruise?

[pcur]

2 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

 

Interesting. I already have a cruise booked in December. Would I be able to apply that credit to my final payment in December?

Absolutely.  That's what I did with a FCC, too, but the cruise was so close to the original one that I was on the new cruise before I got the credit to my card.

 

This is RCCL's definition of a "refund".  VEEEEEERY fuzzy math, but at least you get what you want in the end.

Edited March 7, 2020 by pcur

[Sunshine3601]

A good friend cancelled her march cruise yesterday and she was told to expect to receive fcc in april.  The rep told her they are telling everyone 30 days to process and email to you but could receive sooner.

They are refunding to her credit card taxes/port fees and prepaid tips.

She had purchased rcl trip insurance and the rep told her she thinks that will be refunded too.  That didnt make sense and she doubts they will the $39pp insurance.

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Can you apply a FCC for a fully paid for cruise?

You have been in the past

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

A good friend cancelled her march cruise yesterday and she was told to expect to receive fcc in april.  The rep told her they are telling everyone 30 days to process and email to you but could receive sooner.

They are refunding to her credit card taxes/port fees and prepaid tips.

She had purchased rcl trip insurance and the rep told her she thinks that will be refunded too.  That didnt make sense and she doubts they will the $39pp insurance.

The insurance will not be refunded.  That was very clear in the FAQ's.  Surprised the rep got that wrong

[chiguypaul]

From the FAQ I read on Royal site regarding the new policy I can switch to a different ship without any change fees.

[molly361]

31 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You have been in the past

Thanks  That seems weird to me that they would let you do that

[chiguypaul]

My question is a little bit different than what the responses are. I’m not talking about canceling and booking later I’m talking about simply switching between one ship and another ship immediately.

[mjkacmom]

25 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

My question is a little bit different than what the responses are. I’m not talking about canceling and booking later I’m talking about simply switching between one ship and another ship immediately.

 

25 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

My question is a little bit different than what the responses are. I’m not talking about canceling and booking later I’m talking about simply switching between one ship and another ship immediately.

You can’t switch, what you do is cancel and rebook. There is no switching.

[pcur]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You have been in the past

I had an FCC applied to one of my cruises a month ago for a cruise I canceled in December or January.

[pcur]

38 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

My question is a little bit different than what the responses are. I’m not talking about canceling and booking later I’m talking about simply switching between one ship and another ship immediately.

That is what we are referring to:  you are cancelling the first cruise under more lenient cancellation policy. RCCL issues you a FCC to use on a future cruise. Then, you book a NEW cruise, and pay it in full because you are leaving in April.  Then, next month you get the FCC, and you have it applied to your new cruise.  I had to call my travel agent while I was on the ship to have it done before the cruise was over.  This is the same as cancel/rebook.

 

The problem is, if you TRANSFER the booking confirmation number to a new cruise, they will probably charge you a change fee per person.  So, with the new cancellation policy it's better to cancel and book the new one you want.

 

If you think you will not get the FCC in time to use it as a refund on the new cruise, then it's good to use on another one before the expiration date of the FCC.

Edited March 7, 2020 by pcur

[chiguypaul]

58 minutes ago, pcur said:

That is what we are referring to:  you are cancelling the first cruise under more lenient cancellation policy. RCCL issues you a FCC to use on a future cruise. Then, you book a NEW cruise, and pay it in full because you are leaving in April.  Then, next month you get the FCC, and you have it applied to your new cruise.  I had to call my travel agent while I was on the ship to have it done before the cruise was over.  This is the same as cancel/rebook.

 

The problem is, if you TRANSFER the booking confirmation number to a new cruise, they will probably charge you a change fee per person.  So, with the new cancellation policy it's better to cancel and book the new one you want.

 

If you think you will not get the FCC in time to use it as a refund on the new cruise, then it's good to use on another one before the expiration date of the FCC.

I appreciate everyone’s input. I like the idea of the cancel and have the future onboard credit. The challenge for me with my cruise in April is that my mom is traveling separate than  my family and we all want to switch to a different ship in April. My family is sailing again in December so we could use the cruise credit. If   If my mother were issued the credit it would basically go unused because she  Probably won’t use it. It may not work out to do the above options. 

[chiguypaul]

Well I talk to Royal and I will confirm the following. Some of which is above. Again, this situation is trying to change from the Navigator leaving on 4/6 to the Oasis leaving on 4/5.

 

* I could cancel and get a future cruise credit.

* I can use that cruise credit on an existing reservation that still has a balance.

* The FCC can only be used for the people on the reservation. 

 

And when I tried to transfer, and not even expecting to get a credit back for the lower priced ship, not looking for a credit for the price difference, they wouldn't let me transfer. I get that's the policy, but while they're allowing all this flexibility for other situations, this would be nice too. I get it from their end.