Unethical if they postpone again

[johnjen]

2 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

If you convert a Deposit prior to final payment, it becomes a FCC. If you use the S&L to move to another cruise, you will still need an additional deposit and can use the FCC towards fare. So Royal has your first cash deposit (FCC) and then another cash deposit. 
 

@Ourusualbeach Is that correct?

We did the S&L, no additional deposit, we just owe an additional $43 and some change in port fees & taxes.

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, irzero said:

Booking a cruise isnt like gambling. What are you talking about?

The regulator in the UK is already looking in to companies asking for payments for holidays they know will be cancelled.

Royal has acted in one of the most dishonest and dirty ways in this whole mess. Taking final payments for cruises that will never happen and to destinations with travel restrictions.

I have to pay over £4000 this month for a cruise that is impossible because of quarantine restrictions no flights and the fact that the destinations are under massive restrictions. If Royal did the right thing I'd get a refund on my flights and other expenses.

They are a disgrace and I'm glad they are losing billions.

Welcome to karma.

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk
 

Why do you feel that they should refund your flights and other expenses?  Also I don't understand the flight comment in particular because you claim that there are no flights. If the airline canceled your flights than you should be able to get a refund through them.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

6 hours ago, little britain said:

@irzero No you do not “have” to pay.
You L&S to the same cruise next year thus protecting your fare and any perks you had with the original booking.  

Or you cancel and get an FCC valid for almost 2 years. 
 

That is not “dishonest and dirty” in my book. That is very clear and upfront. 

 

Not every cruise has a comparable cruise for next year so L&S isn't always an option and not everyone wants an FCC. We have Radiance Vancouver-Tokyo-Singapore Sept 4. Final payment is due at the end of the month. It's highly unlikely the sailing will happen and I'm not holding my breath that RCI will cancel BEFORE final payment. We have a NRD due to booking a GS so we're not able to get a refund. 

[Sea Dog]

9 minutes ago, johnjen said:

We did the S&L, no additional deposit, we just owe an additional $43 and some change in port fees & taxes.

Same here no additional deposit with S&L just additional port fees and taxes which for us was about $87.

[little britain]

1 minute ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Not every cruise has a comparable cruise for next year so L&S isn't always an option and not everyone wants an FCC. We have Radiance Vancouver-Tokyo-Singapore Sept 4. Final payment is due at the end of the month. It's highly unlikely the sailing will happen and I'm not holding my breath that RCI will cancel BEFORE final payment. We have a NRD due to booking a GS so we're not able to get a refund. 

The OP was on Allure - she is scheduled to go every week from Barcelona in 2020 - as Harmony will do every week in 2021. It is a straight swap.  

[johnjen]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

Same here no additional deposit with S&L just additional port fees and taxes which for us was about $87.

This S&L thing is ten times better than the nightmares we've been reading about over FCC!

[xpcdoojk]

11 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

If you convert a Deposit prior to final payment, it becomes a FCC. If you use the S&L to move to another cruise, you will still need an additional deposit and can use the FCC towards fare. So Royal has your first cash deposit (FCC) and then another cash deposit. 
 

@Ourusualbeach Is that correct?

 

Troy this all makes my head hurt.  Hence why I avoid all these threads.  Too complicated for my small brain.  Too many rules and what ifs.

 

My personal bottom line is that I hope RCI cancels our November 1 cruise.  I will not be doing anything until that happens.  If our cruise does happen, I will most likely have to self-quarantine after I got home.  This would be a pain, but I am pretty sure in my job, I would be fine, as would my wife.  So, we are both extremely lucky to have good jobs with great companies.  I would love to book a cruise, I was literally moments away from booking a very expensive cruise to Southern Africa when this entire mess started to become real.  This cruise was for 2022.  I wouldn’t even book a cruise right now for 2022.  I can't imagine booking one for this summer, right now.  I actually can't imagine booking any vacation.  In fact, I am resigned to local things, like going to our lake house this summer instead of real vacations.

 

jc

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

If you convert a Deposit prior to final payment, it becomes a FCC. If you use the S&L to move to another cruise, you will still need an additional deposit and can use the FCC towards fare. So Royal has your first cash deposit (FCC) and then another cash deposit. 
 

@Ourusualbeach Is that correct?

Using the S&L you are not converting anything.  Everything stays on the booking exactly as it is

[xpcdoojk]

6 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

 If the airline canceled your flights than you should be able to get a refund through them.

 

I had two sets of flights cancelled back in March.  Several thousands of dollars worth.  American Airlines has not offered me a refund.  Just a note to contact them to reschedule flights in the future.  This is for business travel. 

 

The business meetings cancelled will, hopefully, happen next year, and then I will utilize those.  Who knows if AA will be honoring this, after they declare bankruptcy (not saying they will, in fact, I don’t think they will).  

 

JC

[johnjen]

6 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Using the S&L you are not converting anything.  Everything stays on the booking exactly as it is

True, with the exception of the pre-booked excursions, and amenities that were tied to the original cruise. We are getting all of those refunded (It will take 45 days though, no big deal). Oddly enough though, the pre-paid gratuities shift over with the new cruise booking. That's great, because I'm thinking maybe by next year, gratuities might go up a bit, but we're locked in. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by johnjen

[not-enough-cruising]

5 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

I had two sets of flights cancelled back in March.  Several thousands of dollars worth.  American Airlines has not offered me a refund.  Just a note to contact them to reschedule flights in the future.  This is for business travel. 

 

The business meetings cancelled will, hopefully, happen next year, and then I will utilize those.  Who knows if AA will be honoring this, after they declare bankruptcy (not saying they will, in fact, I don’t think they will).  

 

JC

Contact AA, they are required to give a refund IF you ask. 

[not-enough-cruising]

14 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Not every cruise has a comparable cruise for next year so L&S isn't always an option and not everyone wants an FCC. We have Radiance Vancouver-Tokyo-Singapore Sept 4. Final payment is due at the end of the month. It's highly unlikely the sailing will happen and I'm not holding my breath that RCI will cancel BEFORE final payment. We have a NRD due to booking a GS so we're not able to get a refund. 

You will get your refund when (if) they cancel. 

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, xpcdoojk said:

 

I had two sets of flights cancelled back in March.  Several thousands of dollars worth.  American Airlines has not offered me a refund.  Just a note to contact them to reschedule flights in the future.  This is for business travel. 

 

The business meetings cancelled will, hopefully, happen next year, and then I will utilize those.  Who knows if AA will be honoring this, after they declare bankruptcy (not saying they will, in fact, I don’t think they will).  

 

JC

My mistake. I have been reading and hearing so much about canceled flights that I thought all of airlines were refunding for canceled flights.  I have JetBlue flights for Florida first week of June. If they change the flight 3 hours or more they refund your money. If you cancel within 24 hour you get a credit to be used until 2022.

[barbeyg]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You will get your refund when (if) they cancel. 

 

We had flights booked with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.  Both have refunded us our $ after both moved our flights by more than 5 hours (American) and more than 3 hours (Alaska).  When I called, I politely told them up front that I knew about their policy of refunding if flights were changed by more than 1 hour (you can find it on their website, if you search).  American had us fill out a form online, but approved it within 4 days, and we received our funds in less than a week after that.  Alaska was very accommodating, no need to fill out a refund request online and the funds were returned within 3 days.  All flights were nonrefundable.  I think the trick was letting them know I was aware of the policies.

[nelblu]

I have a cruise booked for April 4, 2021 and can I apply the FCC value to this previously booked cruise.

[not-enough-cruising]

4 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

 

We had flights booked with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.  Both have refunded us our $ after both moved our flights by more than 5 hours (American) and more than 3 hours (Alaska).  When I called, I politely told them up front that I knew about their policy of refunding if flights were changed by more than 1 hour (you can find it on their website, if you search).  American had us fill out a form online, but approved it within 4 days, and we received our funds in less than a week after that.  Alaska was very accommodating, no need to fill out a refund request online and the funds were returned within 3 days.  All flights were nonrefundable.  I think the trick was letting them know I was aware of the policies.

Absolutely, if you call these places as a well informed consumer you are ahead of the game. Airlines will very rarely inform you of all your options, especially ones that do not benefit them. 

[xpcdoojk]

At the time I cancelled the flights talking to someone at AA was impossible due to the chaos going on.  Of course, one difference is I cancelled because the purpose for the trips being cancelled was on my end and not their cancelling or switching flights.

 

I guess, I could call and beg and maybe they will refund, but I am doubtful in my situation.  

 

JC

[barbeyg]

7 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Absolutely, if you call these places as a well informed consumer you are ahead of the game. Airlines will very rarely inform you of all your options, especially ones that do not benefit them. 

 

Ain't that the truth!  🙂

[Iamcruzin]

10 minutes ago, irzero said:

If royal did the right thing and cancelled then my insurance would cover the other losses. By not cancelling they are putting me in a situation where I have to pay almost 4 grand to go on a trip that might not happen on a ship that might not even get refurbished.

There is talk of cruises starting in august and it's possible half of my b2b could be cancelled and half still goes ahead with flights that are booked and paid for and unable to be moved... imagine that for a nightmare scenario...

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk
 

Oh Boy, Good Luck with that.

[cured]

8 hours ago, irzero said:

Booking a cruise isnt like gambling. What are you talking about?

The regulator in the UK is already looking in to companies asking for payments for holidays they know will be cancelled.

Royal has acted in one of the most dishonest and dirty ways in this whole mess. Taking final payments for cruises that will never happen and to destinations with travel restrictions.

I have to pay over £4000 this month for a cruise that is impossible because of quarantine restrictions no flights and the fact that the destinations are under massive restrictions. If Royal did the right thing I'd get a refund on my flights and other expenses.

They are a disgrace and I'm glad they are losing billions.

Welcome to karma.

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk
 

An ancient principle every consumer who is buying now should follow:

Caveat Emptor

 

🙂 That is a bummer. Hope you figure out a suitable alternative.  There was a great suggestion to downgrade to the cheapest cabin to minimize financial impact. I didn't even think of that. I will have to file that suggestion away in case I am in the same situation at another time.  You learn so much from these boards!

Edited May 13, 2020 by cured

[cured]

1 hour ago, johnjen said:

We did the S&L, no additional deposit, we just owe an additional $43 and some change in port fees & taxes.

Us too, our deposit moved with us. And the port fees and taxes were actually less so that was credited to the price of the cruise.

[Iamcruzin]

2 minutes ago, cured said:

An ancient principle every consumer should follow:

Caveat Emptor

 

I don't think that this applies here as the the trip was planned before Covid-19. My son had to lift and shift his AirBnB accommodations in June to another time in August or loose his money because of Covid. This trip was planned a year ago.  Now anyone who is playing the FCC game and lifting and shifting by purchasing cruises that they know won't sail  then I say "Caveat Emptor", because if the line goes belly up then they will have gambled and lost.

[johnjen]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

I don't think that this applies here as the the trip was planned before Covid-19. My son had to lift and shift his AirBnB accommodations in June to another time in August or loose his money because of Covid. This trip was planned a year ago.  Now anyone who is playing the FCC game and lifting and shifting by purchasing cruises that they know won't sail  then I say "Caveat Emptor", because if the line goes belly up then they will have gambled and lost.

We booked our Baltic for next month (now S&L'd) cruise last June on the med cruise.

[cured]

7 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I don't think that this applies here as the the trip was planned before Covid-19. My son had to lift and shift his AirBnB accommodations in June to another time in August or loose his money because of Covid. This trip was planned a year ago.  Now anyone who is playing the FCC game and lifting and shifting by purchasing cruises that they know won't sail  then I say "Caveat Emptor", because if the line goes belly up then they will have gambled and lost.

You are correct for the OP. 😉

 

I was referring to the OP saying that Royal was still selling cruises they know won't sail. Anyone buying a cruise right now for the next few months, especially within the CDC no sail ban, that is on them.  Unless you are living in the back country with no access to tv or news, everyone should have enough knowledge to at least question what the chances are that a ship will sail.

 

As for my Lift and Shift I did earlier this week, I absolutely know and am comfortable gambling my small deposit to price protect an iffy cruise next summer.  I priced out insurance that included belly up protection  (Nationwide Luxury Cruise) and it was actually more than the deposit. So, I would be out the money either way.  

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by cured

[livylotte]

2 minutes ago, johnjen said:

We booked our Baltic for next month (now S&L'd) cruise last June on the med cruise.

 

Have you been able to S&L a Baltic cruse to a Med Cruise?