Upcoming Cruise Question

[mrizer7773]

Good morning everyone!

Family of four has a cruise coming in October that was originally scheduled for last October. Unfortunately due to my daughter starting college in the fall, she will not be able to join us. We have a Crown Loft booked and I am curious as to the ramifications of her not showing. My final payment is due this coming Monday and I'm torn as to what to do, reschedule, cancel, go forward with just the 3 of us.

 

I'm assuming I will have to pay the full amount of the 4 of us to keep our current rates intact. Does anyone have any insight or experience in this area?

 

Thank you! 

 

- Michael 

[soremekun]

All you have to do is change her name to my name and all will be well.  I don't mind the couch.

[mrizer7773]

Hahaha! @soremekun that is an option! You a snorer?!

[brillohead]

Does your other child have a friend who would want to come?  If so, just change the name.

[mrizer7773]

@brillohead we thought about changing the name, however wasn't sure with the Covid issues, vaccination guidelines, and all the things involved with taking a minor outside the country without their parents, it would be worth all the trouble.

[brillohead]

I've taken someone else's kid a couple different times (pre-COVID, obviously) and as long as you have the proper paperwork (passport and notarized letter of permission) it's really no big deal.  Honestly, both times they never even noticed that the kid didn't have my same last name or look anything like me --they scanned her passport and took her picture as if she were my own child, and never asked for any other paperwork (I did have a notarized letter from her mother, just in case).

I'm assuming that your cruise was a "Lift and Shift" so I'm not sure if you'd be able to cancel your daughter as a passenger and get a FCC for her deposit amount without triggering a reprice of your cruise.  I'm also assuming you don't have a travel agent to answer that question... maybe @Ourusualbeach could offer some suggestions?

[Ourusualbeach]

45 minutes ago, mrizer7773 said:

Good morning everyone!

Family of four has a cruise coming in October that was originally scheduled for last October. Unfortunately due to my daughter starting college in the fall, she will not be able to join us. We have a Crown Loft booked and I am curious as to the ramifications of her not showing. My final payment is due this coming Monday and I'm torn as to what to do, reschedule, cancel, go forward with just the 3 of us.

 

I'm assuming I will have to pay the full amount of the 4 of us to keep our current rates intact. Does anyone have any insight or experience in this area?

 

Thank you! 

 

- Michael 

You can cancel her off the reservation until you are at the 100% penalty phase which is 30 days prior to sailing and get a full refund for the 4th guest.  your reservation will not be repriced.

 

There are different rules for cancelling third and fourth guests.

 

Edited...If this was a lift and shift you cannot make any change to occupancy.  Just pay it and have your daughter be a no show and get the port fees and taxes refunded.  If it was not a lift and shift then the first part of my answer applies

Edited July 17, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[truffles2]

20 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You can cancel her off the reservation until you are at the 100% penalty phase which is 30 days prior to sailing and get a full refund for the 4th guest.  your reservation will not be repriced.

 

There are different rules for cancelling third and fourth guests.

 

Edited...If this was a lift and shift you cannot make any change to occupancy.  Just pay it and have your daughter be a no show and get the port fees and taxes refunded.  If it was not a lift and shift then the first part of my answer applies

To Ourusual.beach:

I would just like to say thank you for being such a valuable member of these forums.  You give freely of your time to answer the many questions that cruisers encounter and your answers are always so helpful.  Just wanted you to know that at least one cruiser has noticed.

[mrizer7773]

30 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You can cancel her off the reservation until you are at the 100% penalty phase which is 30 days prior to sailing and get a full refund for the 4th guest.  your reservation will not be repriced.

 

There are different rules for cancelling third and fourth guests.

 

Edited...If this was a lift and shift you cannot make any change to occupancy.  Just pay it and have your daughter be a no show and get the port fees and taxes refunded.  If it was not a lift and shift then the first part of my answer applies

Thank you immensely!  Greatly appreciate the information. 

 

Is there a specific way of knowing if I definitely did a "lift and shift"?  I'm assuming that is what happened since my original cruise was canceled and my deposit was moved to this one...

 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, mrizer7773 said:

Thank you immensely!  Greatly appreciate the information. 

 

Is there a specific way of knowing if I definitely did a "lift and shift"?  I'm assuming that is what happened since my original cruise was canceled and my deposit was moved to this one...

 

If all that was moved was the deposit, then it is doubtful that it was a Lift and Shift. If I remember correctly, those were for fully paid cruises cancelled by RCL (at least all of the ones we L&S'd were that status.)

[nelblu]

Don't know how old your daughters are, but if not vaccinated you can claim, depending on the protocols, that your family cannot sail and possibly get refunded.

[Ourusualbeach]

12 minutes ago, mrizer7773 said:

Thank you immensely!  Greatly appreciate the information. 

 

Is there a specific way of knowing if I definitely did a "lift and shift"?  I'm assuming that is what happened since my original cruise was canceled and my deposit was moved to this one...

 

Hey, just recognized your name from our past cruise.

 

Was the price that you paid originally protected or did your cruise get re priced when you moved it?

[Ourusualbeach]

10 minutes ago, orville99 said:

If all that was moved was the deposit, then it is doubtful that it was a Lift and Shift. If I remember correctly, those were for fully paid cruises cancelled by RCL (at least all of the ones we L&S'd were that status.)

Lots were lifted and shifted with deposits only

[mrizer7773]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Hey, just recognized your name from our past cruise.

 

Was the price that you paid originally protected or did your cruise get re priced when you moved it?

Yes sir!  Hope all is well!

I apologize, I'm not 100% sure what exactly was done for us.  I was contacted by a "Royal Caribbean Certified Vacation Planner" who did all the changes.  He was extremely helpful at the time and actually switched us from 2 balcony cabins to the crown loft for less money than we were originally going to be paying.  After the initial switch last September, I've reached out multiple times however can not get a response.  I'm assuming that this may have been a re-price if my cabins and pricing changed?

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, mrizer7773 said:

Yes sir!  Hope all is well!

I apologize, I'm not 100% sure what exactly was done for us.  I was contacted by a "Royal Caribbean Certified Vacation Planner" who did all the changes.  He was extremely helpful at the time and actually switched us from 2 balcony cabins to the crown loft for less money than we were originally going to be paying.  After the initial switch last September, I've reached out multiple times however can not get a response.  I'm assuming that this may have been a re-price if my cabins and pricing changed?

All doing well here.  Sarah going into third year out of 6 at university.

 

Since you received a lower price it sounds like a move and not a lift and shift which is a good thing

[Jimbo]

Might have to mention your ship, sailing date and the price you are paying on your confirmation to see if we think it was a L&S or just a repricing to the new cruise date you picked.

Have to see how much the price has changed or not to figure out what the cruise planner did for you?

[mrizer7773]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

All doing well here.  Sarah going into third year out of 6 at university.

 

Since you received a lower price it sounds like a move and not a lift and shift which is a good thing

Emily starts Loyola in the fall!  I'm not ready. 😞

Should I just reach out to Royal then on Monday and ask?  I was concerned that somehow not having the full 4 people would somehow void the reservation or the suite.  In my mind, seeing some of the pricing, I'd be better off paying for the 4 and just not telling them she isn't showing.

[Jimbo]

48 minutes ago, truffles2 said:

To Ourusual.beach:

I would just like to say thank you for being such a valuable member of these forums.  You give freely of your time to answer the many questions that cruisers encounter and your answers are always so helpful.  Just wanted you to know that at least one cruiser has noticed.

Free advertising, time is well spent.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Jimbo

[Ourusualbeach]

26 minutes ago, mrizer7773 said:

Emily starts Loyola in the fall!  I'm not ready. 😞

Should I just reach out to Royal then on Monday and ask?  I was concerned that somehow not having the full 4 people would somehow void the reservation or the suite.  In my mind, seeing some of the pricing, I'd be better off paying for the 4 and just not telling them she isn't showing.

We weren't ready either..still not in some ways.

 

I would definitely reach out to Royal

[brillohead]

38 minutes ago, mrizer7773 said:

Yes sir!  Hope all is well!

I apologize, I'm not 100% sure what exactly was done for us.  I was contacted by a "Royal Caribbean Certified Vacation Planner" who did all the changes.  He was extremely helpful at the time and actually switched us from 2 balcony cabins to the crown loft for less money than we were originally going to be paying.  After the initial switch last September, I've reached out multiple times however can not get a response.  I'm assuming that this may have been a re-price if my cabins and pricing changed?

Definitely sounds like it wasn't a L&S, then... in which case, you can cancel your daughter and get even more money back!  YAY!

[CaroleC]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

If all that was moved was the deposit, then it is doubtful that it was a Lift and Shift. If I remember correctly, those were for fully paid cruises cancelled by RCL (at least all of the ones we L&S'd were that status.)

I did a L&S last year to this October on which I’d only paid the deposit. I paid the final balance a couple of weeks ago.

[mrizer7773]

Out of curiosity, is there a minimum occupancy for Crown Loft suites?

[sandebeach]

11 hours ago, mrizer7773 said:

Out of curiosity, is there a minimum occupancy for Crown Loft suites?

I am booked in a CL Suite with just myself and my husband. 

[Big_G]

11 hours ago, mrizer7773 said:

Out of curiosity, is there a minimum occupancy for Crown Loft suites?

 

No. It's our go to suite and it's just the wife and I.