Wonder of the Seas - Not going to China after all

[SherriZ366]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:20 PM, Steeler Nation At Sea said:

 

Not going east.  Coming back to Port Canaveral in October.

That's what I heard.  That's October of 2022?  We mostly sail out of Port Canaveral.  

[SherriZ366]

On 9/17/2021 at 4:54 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

October 13 is the day they will cancel the 2021 Harmony TA. Need to be ready for that mess😉

John -- is this a joke or is the 2021 HM TA being cancelled.  We are booked for December 5, 2021 so hope they ship is back in the USA.  

[SherriZ366]

Does anyone have a good link to Wonder's deck plans.  On the RCI website, it will not bring up the deck plan image.  

[John&LaLa]

6 minutes ago, SherriZ366 said:

John -- is this a joke or is the 2021 HM TA being cancelled.  We are booked for December 5, 2021 so hope they ship is back in the USA.  

 

As mentioned, there is always a possibility the revenue TA may cancel. I hope not, but I'm sure it will be here in mid November 

[SherriZ366]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

As mentioned, there is always a possibility the revenue TA may cancel. I hope not, but I'm sure it will be here in mid November 

Thanks -- that's reassuring.  Hope the revenue TA still sails.  

[SherriZ366]

I wonder if JSs passengers will be able to have dinner in the Coastal Kitchen with a reservation (Space permitting).  

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

38 minutes ago, SherriZ366 said:

That's what I heard.  That's October of 2022?  We mostly sail out of Port Canaveral.  

 

Yes, Oct. '22 is a westbound TA AFTER a handful of spring cruises out of PC, an eastbound TA and  full Med season.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Steeler Nation At Sea said:

 

Yes, Oct. '22 is a westbound TA AFTER a handful of spring cruises out of PC, an eastbound TA and  full Med season.

 

Spring 22 cruises are Ft Lauderdale 

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Spring 22 cruises are Ft Lauderdale 

Quite right ✅ 

[island lady]

18 hours ago, xxHadleyxx said:

why?  we have an email saing we will be moved onto the Wonder TA and price protected.

 

From the email:

 

• We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like stateroom and your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

 

Lately...not so impressed with RCI's "best".   Will wait and see.  If it works out...fantastic! 🙂   But I am not putting on my rose colored glasses for this.   

 

This is a brand new ship, will be available for fresh booking by Wednesday.  Very popular to book new ships, especially the European cruises and even more so...the TA.  

 

The Wonder has less suites than Allure.  I am in a B2B2B GS on Allure, finishing with the TA.  

 

RCI claims to be transferring all of us 3 weeks AFTER new bookings open.  Can anyone guarantee we will still have a GS available they can switch me to by then?   The D+ rep on the phone told me it may not happen...and has happened like that before.  Told me I could request a refund if not happy with results.  Great.  😞 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by island lady

[island lady]

17 hours ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

Sure. But anyone with a run of the mill stateroom will be fine. I suspect these placeholder 6-day Caribbean Allure cruises most of us see are a way to hold a room for us on Wonder. I would only expect issues for those in rooms that don’t exist on Wonder, which isn’t really that many rooms. I do feel for those folks, however. Very stressful few weeks. 

 

That could be...but...why is my RCI account showing first Med cruise on Allure 10/16 as "Voyage Cancelled" but the next leg Med cruise 10/23 is showing flipping me to the Carib from a 7 night to a 6 night?  The following leg is the TA 10/30...showing "Voyage Cancelled".  Why show the 1st and 3rd leg as cancelled, but not the second?  

[island lady]

17 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

There is a TA headed to Pt Canaveral for Winter 2022. I would guess she sticks around till spring 2023 at the least

 

I hope I am still on it!  Will be following closely until they transfer us.  

[Snakeinmyboots]

30 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

From the email:

 

• We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like 

Lately...not so impressed with RCI's "best".   Will wait and see.  If it works out...fantastic! 🙂   But I am not putting on my rose colored glasses for this.   

 

This is a brand new ship, will be available for fresh booking by Wednesday.  Very popular to book new ships, especially the European cruises and even more so...the TA.  

 

The Wonder has less suites than Allure.  I am in a B2B2B GS on Allure, finishing with the TA.  

 

RCI claims to be transferring all of us 3 weeks AFTER new bookings open.  Can anyone guarantee we will still have a GS available they can switch me to by then?   The D+ rep on the phone told me it may not happen...and has happened like that before.  Told me I could request a refund if not happy with results.  Great.  😞 

 

 

 

 

I’ve seen a few make the comment that RCL may attempt to sell suites prior to the transfer of existing paid guests.  If this happens, and I lose my reservation, I will raise holy hell.  This isn’t a force majeure event, RCCL made this decision free and clear.  It’s bad enough to swap into a ship with half the suite availability, but to then go out and actively sell those rooms before you’ve taken care of existing customers?  No.

 

Not only would RCCL permanently lose me as a customer, within 24 hours I would have an email out to every corporate executive at RCCL, every major travel blog, and every major news organization.  Whether any of it works or not, wouldn’t matter to me.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Snakeinmyboots

[Pratique]

38 minutes ago, Snakeinmyboots said:

I’ve seen a few make the comment that RCL may attempt to sell suites prior to the transfer of existing paid guests.  If this happens, and I lose my reservation, I will raise holy hell.  This isn’t a force majeure event, RCCL made this decision free and clear.  It’s bad enough to swap into a ship with half the suite availability, but to then go out and actively sell those rooms before you’ve taken care of existing customers?  No.

 

Not only would RCCL permanently lose me as a customer, within 24 hours I would have an email out to every corporate executive at RCCL, every major travel blog, and every major news organization.  Whether any of it works or not, wouldn’t matter to me.

If this happens I will be unhappy but I am not going to waste a lot of energy on it. I will just take the refund and look elsewhere. Even if they don't pre-sell the suites, there are still lots in suites who will get screwed, so the odds are already not in my favor. And even with price protection the question will remain whether the new cabin (whatever it is) is worth the price they are charging. I'm hoping for the best but fully expecting that I will be asking for a refund when they drop us down out of Sky Class.

 

Truth be told we were perfectly happy to be on Allure and I'm ambivalent about switching to Wonder. I was on Harmony and Symphony when there were new and yes it is nice to be on something new but it was not such a difference that it really mattered. I wish they had just left things as they were and put Wonder on a new slate of sailings instead of rearranging things.

[CalTexCruiser]

52 minutes ago, Snakeinmyboots said:

I’ve seen a few make the comment that RCL may attempt to sell suites prior to the transfer of existing paid guests.  If this happens, and I lose my reservation, I will raise holy hell.  This isn’t a force majeure event, RCCL made this decision free and clear.  It’s bad enough to swap into a ship with half the suite availability, but to then go out and actively sell those rooms before you’ve taken care of existing customers?  No.

 

Not only would RCCL permanently lose me as a customer, within 24 hours I would have an email out to every corporate executive at RCCL, every major travel blog, and every major news organization.  Whether any of it works or not, wouldn’t matter to me.

 

It would be really anti-consumer for them to sell the suites first before transferring the existing customers, especially as I recall most if not all suites above GS on the Allure were fully booked.  

 

I guess they may try to do this to raise more revenue, since the new bookings may be at higher rates than what we paid on the current bookings.  We'll see.  

 

This will be my first time on RC and I'll definitely avoid them in the future if I lose my Star Class suite because they decided to sell first and then leave the scraps for the existing bookings.

[Pratique]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

From the email:

 

• We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like stateroom and your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

 

Lately...not so impressed with RCI's "best".   Will wait and see.  If it works out...fantastic! 🙂   But I am not putting on my rose colored glasses for this.   

 

This is a brand new ship, will be available for fresh booking by Wednesday.  Very popular to book new ships, especially the European cruises and even more so...the TA.  

 

The Wonder has less suites than Allure.  I am in a B2B2B GS on Allure, finishing with the TA.  

 

RCI claims to be transferring all of us 3 weeks AFTER new bookings open.  Can anyone guarantee we will still have a GS available they can switch me to by then?   The D+ rep on the phone told me it may not happen...and has happened like that before.  Told me I could request a refund if not happy with results.  Great.  😞 

 

 

 

 

All the happy talk in that email about still being able to enjoy our vacations rubs me the wrong way. It's like they are saying we should be grateful for whatever they offer even if that is a refund.

[pyrateslife4me84]

5 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

It would be really anti-consumer for them to sell the suites first before transferring the existing customers, especially as I recall most if not all suites above GS on the Allure were fully booked.  

 

I guess they may try to do this to raise more revenue, since the new bookings may be at higher rates than what we paid on the current bookings.  We'll see.  

 

This will be my first time on RC and I'll definitely avoid them in the future if I lose my Star Class suite because they decided to sell first and then leave the scraps for the existing bookings.

I struggle to believe they would purposefully do this. If that was their intention, why delay sales of the Europe sailings by a week? They could have put everything on sale 9/15. My presumption (but, who knows?) is that this week was used to set aside rooms for those who booked on Allure. I simply cannot see them choosing to force large swaths who already paid to cancel. Royal needs the funds already spent. 
 

For those in categories that had sold out on Allure and for which there are fewer rooms available on Wonder, obviously there will be issues. 

[Pratique]

8 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

It would be really anti-consumer for them to sell the suites first before transferring the existing customers, especially as I recall most if not all suites above GS on the Allure were fully booked.  

 

I guess they may try to do this to raise more revenue, since the new bookings may be at higher rates than what we paid on the current bookings.  We'll see.  

 

This will be my first time on RC and I'll definitely avoid them in the future if I lose my Star Class suite because they decided to sell first and then leave the scraps for the existing bookings.

They are rolling the dice on the guests who are willing to pay a premium. And then putting those guests in a junior suite or lower? Not a good strategy.

[Pratique]

Just now, pyrateslife4me84 said:

I struggle to believe they would purposefully do this. If that was their intention, why delay sales of the Europe sailings by a week? They could have put everything on sale 9/15. My presumption (but, who knows?) is that this week was used to set aside rooms for those who booked on Allure. I simply cannot see them choosing to force large swaths who already paid to cancel. Royal needs the funds already spent. 
 

For those in categories that had sold out on Allure and for which there are fewer rooms available on Wonder, obviously there will be issues. 

It took them four and a half months to issue me a future cruise credit. I don't have confidence that they will be efficient in making the cabin reassignments.

[RFerrington]

34 minutes ago, Pratique said:

All the happy talk in that email about still being able to enjoy our vacations rubs me the wrong way. It's like they are saying we should be grateful for whatever they offer even if that is a refund.

The only part they left out was how this change is going to “enhance your experience “.  They use that one most of the time…

[Funkytown83]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

From the email:

 

• We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like stateroom and your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.

 

Lately...not so impressed with RCI's "best".   Will wait and see.  If it works out...fantastic! 🙂   But I am not putting on my rose colored glasses for this.   

 

This is a brand new ship, will be available for fresh booking by Wednesday.  Very popular to book new ships, especially the European cruises and even more so...the TA.  

 

The Wonder has less suites than Allure.  I am in a B2B2B GS on Allure, finishing with the TA.  

 

RCI claims to be transferring all of us 3 weeks AFTER new bookings open.  Can anyone guarantee we will still have a GS available they can switch me to by then?   The D+ rep on the phone told me it may not happen...and has happened like that before.  Told me I could request a refund if not happy with results.  Great.  😞 

 

 

 

 

We had the exact same thing booked, b2b2b finishing with the TA on Allure. First GS, then OS, then CL. I don’t really expect to get a Loft as well on the TA, since there are only so few… But if they downgrade us from Loft to Junior Suite we definitely cash in and walk for good! (We are D+) Realistic I am hoping for GS. Doesn’t really matter if they start selling before reassignment or not, a lot of people will get the short end of the stick… It is going to be our honeymoon and it should have been special, so that stings double… 🤨 We’ll wait and see 🤷‍♂️ 

[Teeara]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:54 PM, mac_tlc said:

Very interesting layout. All the Grand Suites are on deck 17, Owners Suite, a few Crown Lofts, Ultimate Family Suite, Royal Suite on deck 18. 

 

SL & CK on deck 17, but facing aft. 

 

A quick look at the prices tells me it may be a while before I see deck 17/18.

 

We booked the Brilliance TA in Nov 2022 as opposed to Allure -- partially due to the price but also due to the fact that the Allure was going to Galveston. Didn't want to have to fly back to our house in Orlando. Now, Wonder is going to end 45 minutes from it !!! Oh well, 

 

mac_tlc

You can always change to the Wonder TA  ;o)

[Wilde_37]

Waiting anxiously to find out what happens when Wonder gets to Europe.  I'm on B2B with TA and then 7 nights in Med.  I received two emails - firstly, TA is now going 4 days early - that means April 20.  Presumably it is still 12 nights and gets to Barcelona on 4th May instead of 8th May.  But the 2nd email has me confused... It says that my 7 night med cruise will be transferred to Wonder and will still be leaving on the same date!  If it is still going on the same date, i.e. 8th May, what is the ship doing between 4th and 8th?  Are they going to shove in a 4 night cruise and if so, what about those on B2B, we are forced to pay to stay in a hotel for 4 nights?  And if it is not going on the same date (as per the email) then every cruise for the summer in hte Med will be out by 4 nights.  I already have to rebook flights from Ireland to Florida to arrive 4 days earlier.  I hope they pay for my flight rebooking!

Edited September 20, 2021 by Wilde_37

[pyrateslife4me84]

4 minutes ago, Wilde_37 said:

Waiting anxiously to find out what happens when Wonder gets to Europe.  I'm on B2B with TA and then 7 nights in Med.  I received two emails - firstly, TA is now going 4 days early - that means April 20.  Presumably it is still 12 nights and gets to Barcelona on 4th May instead of 8th May.  But the 2nd email has me confused... It says that my 7 night med cruise will be transferred to Wonder and will still be leaving on the same date!  If it is still going on the same date, i.e. 8th May, what is the ship doing between 4th and 8th?  Are they going to shove in a 4 night cruise and if so, what about those on B2B, we are forced to pay to stay in a hotel for 4 nights?  And if it is not going on the same date (as per the email) then every cruise for the summer in hte Med will be out by 4 nights.  I already have to rebook flights from Ireland to Florida to arrive 4 days earlier.  I hope they pay for my flight rebooking!

They obviously won’t have the Med cruises shift all summer long (and they’ve said as much). So the TA will either be 4 nights longer or there will be something filling those 4 days. Bright side: Barcelona is a great place to spend several nights!

[Wilde_37]

9 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

They obviously won’t have the Med cruises shift all summer long (and they’ve said as much). So the TA will either be 4 nights longer or there will be something filling those 4 days. Bright side: Barcelona is a great place to spend several nights!

Is it too much to wish that the TA would be 18 nights!  Barcelona is lovely but I don't want to have to pay for a hotel for 4 nights.