Next round of cancellations?

[Milwaukee Eight]

12 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

That is the case for us as well. We are in Nov. L&S would mean we have to delay our vacation another year which we simply do not want to do. We would have to live with the 125% FCC and be stuck in an interior room most likely on the dates we could cruise. It would be horrible to be forced from a Balcony to an Interior because they priced the cabins so high because of the 125% FCC.

Why do you figure you will be stuck in a inside?  Are balconies sold out?

[bigrednole]

5 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Why do you figure you will be stuck in a inside?  Are balconies sold out?

Prices. We cannot cruise whenever we feel. We are stuck with very specific dates due to high school schedules. That is basically Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Summer. That coincides to some of the highest prices. Right now at 125% cruise credit when we would be able to cruise next, it would still be an additional $500-$1,000 out of pocket.

[soremekun]

20 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Prices. We cannot cruise whenever we feel. We are stuck with very specific dates due to high school schedules. That is basically Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Summer. That coincides to some of the highest prices. Right now at 125% cruise credit when we would be able to cruise next, it would still be an additional $500-$1,000 out of pocket.

I'm stuck on a school schedule as well: February break , April break, the month of July, and December break.

[Milwaukee Eight]

41 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Prices. We cannot cruise whenever we feel. We are stuck with very specific dates due to high school schedules. That is basically Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Summer. That coincides to some of the highest prices. Right now at 125% cruise credit when we would be able to cruise next, it would still be an additional $500-$1,000 out of pocket.

But you can L&S price cabin/protected. Am I missing something?

 

Thanks

[bigrednole]

2 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

But you can L&S price cabin/protected. Am I missing something?

 

Thanks

Only valid to August 1 to do it. Then, it would delay vacation a year. Yes L&S may work for some, but not everyone. If I could L&S to the dates I could sail next, I would be interested. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

21 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Only valid to August 1 to do it. Then, it would delay vacation a year. Yes L&S may work for some, but not everyone. If I could L&S to the dates I could sail next, I would be interested. 

Royal is not likely to cancel your cruise prior to final payment. We have a cruise scheduled for Oct 25 but out of Barcelona. We will probably take the FCC for deposit and apply to one of two cruises we L&S to 2021/2022. 
 

You wait until August 1 and many of the cabins you desire might be unavailable. 

The unknown is what ships will sail when and with what capacity?

 

Good luck

M8

Edited June 16, 2020 by Milwaukee Eight

[bigrednole]

If I have a cruise for 3 people in a balcony room for $2400 now, the FCC would be $3,000. When I can cruise again the same cabin is now $3,600. It should not be left to me to figure out where the $600 is coming from or it would be unpleasant taking things off my room charge account to make up for it.

[Milwaukee Eight]

11 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

If I have a cruise for 3 people in a balcony room for $2400 now, the FCC would be $3,000. When I can cruise again the same cabin is now $3,600. It should not be left to me to figure out where the $600 is coming from or it would be unpleasant taking things off my room charge account to make up for it.

Understood. 
 

I can assure Royal is not going to Compensate the $600 difference. And if you wait until they cancel (assuming it doesn’t sail), you’re even less likely to get the cabin you want and prices typically go up as time progresses. Who knows what capacity the ships will sail. 
 

M8

Edited June 16, 2020 by Milwaukee Eight

[NancyIL]

1 hour ago, bigrednole said:

Only valid to August 1 to do it. Then, it would delay vacation a year. Yes L&S may work for some, but not everyone. If I could L&S to the dates I could sail next, I would be interested. 

 

If it were me - I'd Lift & Shift the cruise to next year, then plan something else for vacation this year that doesn't involve cruising. Oh yeah - that's what we are doing!

Edited June 16, 2020 by NancyIL

[mayleeman]

@bigrednole Ditto what @Milwaukee Eight and @NancyIL have said.

 

One perspective is to view any cchoice as a weighing of best case vs worst case scenarios. Under that approach, it seems that the best case if you L&S now is that your original cruise is cancelled but you need not care because you expect to be cruising price-protected in 2021, plus you have plenty of time left to plan an alternate vacation for this year. The worst case if you lift and shift is that your original cruise goes as planned, but without you, but again you need not care because you expect to be cruising price-protected in 2021, plus, again, you have plenty of time left to plan an alternate vacation for this year.

 

The worst case of waiting is that you make no alternate plans, your cruise ends up being cancelled, and you have no L&S opportunity due to other people making choices to book next year sooner than you did. So, you are stuck either with a refund (for which you will wait a long time) or an FCC trying to book a higher-priced cruise in a high-demand vacation period next year.

 

Now, the real kicker that motivated my own L&S for November is that any cruises as early as late summer or fall, even if they sail, will be huge question marks for crew, pax, and the line. Major experiments that can turn out horribly if whatever precautions are imposed are insufficient. Think illness and quarantine as the ultimate risk, but discomfort in masks and inconvenience in logistics even if no outbreaks occur. By next year, cruiselines are likely to have figured out the wrinkles.

 

Why be part of an experiment if you can eliminate uncertainty? (Another uncertainty could crop up if there is a major second wave, too....)

 

Just a thought--like I said, going through this process (and finding out my same cabin was available a year later!) made my L&S for November easy. 

 

My other booking, in Feb, is protected by a still-valid (purchased in Dec 2019, before pandemic) "Cancel for Any Reason" travel insurance policy, so we have not moved it. We would lose the CFAR, and other health and family issues make it worth it to have that fallback if needed.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Edited June 16, 2020 by mayleeman

[Milwaukee Eight]

6 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

My other booking, in Feb, is protected by a still-valid (purchased in Dec 2019, before pandemic) "Cancel for Any Reason" travel insurance policy,

Does you policy cover this declared pandemic?  

[mayleeman]

4 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Does you policy cover this declared pandemic?  

You pay extra for CFAR. The base policy excludes coverage for a number of reasons, including pandemic. No exclusion in the "any reason" section for a pandemic. I understand policies purchased after a pandemic was declared (Jan 21st?) do not have CFAR available, or they at least do not cover cancellations caused by it.

 

If we shifted to a different date, as I understand it the insurance coverage would shift to what they currently offer. We would not have the blanket CFAR then.

 

 

[Ken at the beach]

22 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

You pay extra for CFAR. The base policy excludes coverage for a number of reasons, including pandemic. No exclusion in the "any reason" section for a pandemic. I understand policies purchased after a pandemic was declared (Jan 21st?) do not have CFAR available, or they at least do not cover cancellations caused by it.

 

If we shifted to a different date, as I understand it the insurance coverage would shift to what they currently offer. We would not have the blanket CFAR then.

 

 

Coverage for CFAR for trip cancellation is kind of worthless at this point as Royals CWC policy allows you to cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior to departure and get a 100% FCC.  Royals CFAR Only provides a 75% FCC

[mayleeman]

44 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Coverage for CFAR for trip cancellation is kind of worthless at this point as Royals CWC policy allows you to cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior to departure and get a 100% FCC.  Royals CFAR Only provides a 75% FCC

 

3rd party insurance. Still only 75% refund. But if we have to cancel for the reasons we are concerned, FCC would be useless.