Final payment due in 7 days

[DandDM]

11 hours ago, redsox1584 said:

I have a Southern Caribbean cruise booked for September on Freedom of the Seas and the final payment is due in 7 days. I am debating whether to cancel now and take the FCC for our deposit amount or make the final payment. There is nothing for me to lift and shift to as there are no Southern Caribbean cruises for my window next year, they won’t let me change to an Eastern or Western.
What are the chances this cruise actually happens? I’m concerned about being able to fly to San Juan and the islands not letting ships in. I booked this cruise specifically because I wanted to see the ABC islands.

I’m not sure if I should make the final payment and then hope Royal cancels and get the 125% cruise credit. 

It took three calls to my big box TA, but was able to l&s sept 20 and 27 Freedom cruises to 2021 on symphony. I don’t know what was specially said to the royal folks by the TA to make it happen, but I let them know I was cancelling it I couldn’t shift, and the first symphony cruise had a stop in San Juan. Maybe I got very lucky...

[redsox1584]

11 minutes ago, DandDM said:

It took three calls to my big box TA, but was able to l&s sept 20 and 27 Freedom cruises to 2021 on symphony. I don’t know what was specially said to the royal folks by the TA to make it happen, but I let them know I was cancelling it I couldn’t shift, and the first symphony cruise had a stop in San Juan. Maybe I got very lucky...

I was looking at Symphony in September of 2021 as well...I might try calling my big box TA again!  

[redsox1584]

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You can also move your deposit to any other sailing but you would pay the current rates. 

Is there a limit to how many times I could move a deposit?  I was looking at my same itinerary for March or April 2021 but not sure how things will be by then. Could I move my deposit a second time?

[Ourusualbeach]

Deleted

Edited June 1, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, redsox1584 said:

Is there a limit to how many times I could move a deposit?  I was looking at my same itinerary for March or April 2021 but not sure how things will be by then. Could I move my deposit a second time?

Currently you can only move deposits without penalty until August 1. 

[Jimbo]

17 minutes ago, redsox1584 said:

Is there a limit to how many times I could move a deposit?  I was looking at my same itinerary for March or April 2021 but not sure how things will be by then. Could I move my deposit a second time?

 

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Currently you can only move deposits without penalty until August 1. 

Not what he asked.......

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

Not what he asked.......

Well then go ahead and answer the question for him.   I answered with what is known at this time. 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Jimbo]

5 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Well then go ahead and answer the question for him.   I answered with what is known at this time. 

I don't know the answer........he asked can he move a NRD deposit twice with no $100 change fee..............I guess he thought you may have run across this with one of your clients since you book cruises for people We know you can move it once with no change fee.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Jimbo

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I don't know the answer........he asked can he move a NRD deposit twice with no $100 change fee..............I guess he thought you may have run across this with one of your clients since you book cruises for people We know you can move it once with no change fee.

If you read his full question you would have seen that he asked if he could move it Now to a cruise in March or April and then change as it got closer to then if he could move it a second time.

 

That’s  why I replied that the ability to move it only extends currently until Aug 1.  No way to know what the policy will be then.

 

There was more to his question than just a simple answer to can you move it more than once.

    

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you read his full question you would have seen that he asked if he could move it Now to a cruise in March or April and then change as it got closer to then if he could move it a second time.

 

That’s  why I replied that the ability to move it only extends currently until Aug 1.  No way to know what the policy will be then.

 

There was more to his question than just a simple answer to can you move it more than once.

    

Oh I see now, I stand corrected.............has any of your clients requested to move a NRD twice though

[Ourusualbeach]

No but there is nothing stating that it can’t be done.  The only thing that is excluded is lifting and shifting twice.

 

The other thing that can be done that is not affected by the August 1 date is that the cruise is simply cancelled and a FCC is issued for the deposit. 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[redsox1584]

Thank you for all of the info...certainly a lot to consider!

[splashsmom]

23 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Currently you can only move deposits without penalty until August 1. 

Thank you for providing the comment about moving NRDs without penalty until August 1. 

 

Do you have any idea what would happen to the deposit amount if it was moved more than once?  That is, if I move a non-refundable deposit before August 1, I understand that I can do it without penalty.  What if I choose to move it a second time before August 1, will a change fee be applied?  Or, instead, what if I move it a second time after August 1, would the change fee only be $100/person, or would they do a look-back and charge $200/person?

 

Thank you in advance for whatever light you can shed.  And I really appreciate the information you provide to so many of us.  As you previously pointed out, my Royal Vacation Planner may have misinformed me about FCCs; my RVP had no answer for the above questions.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, splashsmom said:

Thank you for providing the comment about moving NRDs without penalty until August 1. 

 

Do you have any idea what would happen to the deposit amount if it was moved more than once?  That is, if I move a non-refundable deposit before August 1, I understand that I can do it without penalty.  What if I choose to move it a second time before August 1, will a change fee be applied?  Or, instead, what if I move it a second time after August 1, would the change fee only be $100/person, or would they do a look-back and charge $200/person?

 

Thank you in advance for whatever light you can shed.  And I really appreciate the information you provide to so many of us.  As you previously pointed out, my Royal Vacation Planner may have misinformed me about FCCs; my RVP had no answer for the above questions.

There is nothing in the FAQ’s that specifically state a reservation cannot be moved More than once before Aug.1.

 

After Aug 1 it would be easier to cancel under the CWC and get a  FCC for the full deposit as opposed to moving it and paying the $100pp fee

[splashsmom]

10 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There is nothing in the FAQ’s that specifically state a reservation cannot be moved More than once before Aug.1.

 

After Aug 1 it would be easier to cancel under the CWC and get a  FCC for the full deposit as opposed to moving it and paying the $100pp fee

Thank you!

[MisterBill99]

Ugh, just heard from my TA and apparently they switched me to an NRD fare when they lowered my price a couple of months ago. I was not on a non-refundable deposit fare previously and they did not warn me before making the change. Not at all happy. Now I'm not sure what to do.

The only good news is that if the do the L&S I do keep the free gratuities. But if my daughter ends up deciding that they do not want to go next year, I would be out $500 unless this TA does something to fix their error.

 

Or I wait for them to cancel the sailing (which I still think is very likely for New Jersey in September) and then I get the money back.

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

Ugh, just heard from my TA and apparently they switched me to an NRD fare when they lowered my price a couple of months ago. I was not on a non-refundable deposit fare previously and they did not warn me before making the change. Not at all happy. Now I'm not sure what to do.

The only good news is that if the do the L&S I do keep the free gratuities. But if my daughter ends up deciding that they do not want to go next year, I would be out $500 unless this TA does something to fix their error.

 

Or I wait for them to cancel the sailing (which I still think is very likely for New Jersey in September) and then I get the money back.

Sorry to hear. Did you ask the TA to reprice?

[MisterBill99]

2 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Sorry to hear. Did you ask the TA to reprice?

 

I had, but at a different rate that was still refundable.  I was told that rate (TA Friends & Family) was only for new bookings but was switched to a slightly higher rate. She never asked if I cared that it was NRD. I had said that I was OK losing some OBC in my initial note but did not say I was OK going to NRD.

 

BTW it turns out that TA F&F rate is not eligible for L&S. Someone else on my roll call is in that situation.

Edited June 2, 2020 by MisterBill99

[Milwaukee Eight]

Just now, MisterBill99 said:

 

I had, but at a different rate that was still refundable.  I was told that rate (TA Friends & Family) was only for new bookings but was switched to a slightly higher rate,. She never asked if I cared that it was NRD.

 

BTW it turns out that TA F&F rate is not eligible for L&S. Someone else on my roll call is in that situation.

I think it’s good info to share that when repricing a Refundable Deposit , make sure all parties know you don’t want a NRD. 

[MisterBill99]

4 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I think it’s good info to share that when repricing a Refundable Deposit , make sure all parties know you don’t want a NRD. 

 

Given that the rate I was asking to be switched to was refundable, I didn't think that was relevant info. The TA (actually a customer service person at TA) should have asked before moving me to an NRD given that I was not already in one. I think this is not the place for this discussion.

Edited June 2, 2020 by MisterBill99

[Milwaukee Eight]

8 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Given that the rate I was asking to be switched to was refundable, I didn't think that was relevant info. The TA (actually a customer service person at TA) should have asked before moving me to an NRD given that I was not already in one. I think this is not the place for this discussion.

I agree. We only book Suites so a refundable deposit is not an option. 

[redsox1584]

Thought I would just provide an update to my situation. I was just on the phone with my large online travel agent and I was able to move my deposit no problem to another cruise in 2021. I did not do the lift and shift, I moved my deposit and will pay the current rates on the cruise. 
 

I was on hold for quite some time as the travel agent had to call Royal but they moved my deposit no problem and the new cruise is already in my Cruise Planner. I spent a total of 2 hours and 14 minutes on the phone. 
 

Also they explained that the new cruise would covered under the Cruise with Confidence policy just in case I wanted to change/cancel. 

Edited June 5, 2020 by redsox1584

[MisterBill99]

So my final payment was due today.  I decided to do the Lift & Shift one reservation and cancel the second one since my son-in-law was not interested in cruising with a baby. I will get the FCC in my wife and daughter's names. I will have to ask Royal to change my daughter's FCC to me, which hopefully they will do because of her situation.

 

I could have paid in full for the second reservation but I did not want to take the chance (however slight) of the cruise not getting cancelled and ending up with more FCC than I wanted. This way, the worst I am at risk of losing is $250, since the second FCC will be in my wife's name and I will apply it to the 2021 cruise once it's moved and we change the second person in the cabin to her.

 

I got the TA to waive the $100 cancellation fee, so at least I didn't have to pay that.

 

 

[jp2746]

On 5/31/2020 at 5:21 PM, DandDM said:

It took three calls to my big box TA, but was able to l&s sept 20 and 27 Freedom cruises to 2021 on symphony. I don’t know what was specially said to the royal folks by the TA to make it happen, but I let them know I was cancelling it I couldn’t shift, and the first symphony cruise had a stop in San Juan. Maybe I got very lucky...

How long ago did you do this?  I called the second or third day after the lift and shift started.  They turned me down trying to shift my August 9 Southern Caribbean to an August Western Caribbean.  They said that there is no comparable cruise to lift and shift to so I am out of luck.  Luckily we have Southwest points so our airfare that was booked with points is completely refundable.  We have flights and hotels set up just in case.  But I highly doubt that this cruise will happen.  I have really just let go of the idea that we will be able to cruise this summer.  :(

 

[DandDM]

15 hours ago, jp2746 said:

How long ago did you do this?  I called the second or third day after the lift and shift started.  They turned me down trying to shift my August 9 Southern Caribbean to an August Western Caribbean.  They said that there is no comparable cruise to lift and shift to so I am out of luck.  Luckily we have Southwest points so our airfare that was booked with points is completely refundable.  We have flights and hotels set up just in case.  But I highly doubt that this cruise will happen.  I have really just let go of the idea that we will be able to cruise this summer.  😞

 

It was on May 13.