Bridetobe88

For those who canceled, is anyone still waiting on their refund? I received about 3/4 of my refund, but am still a couple of hundred dollars short. My TA said to give it another week, which it has been today. Just wondering if I need to be pursing this more forcefully or if it's normal. I was surprised to see the refund I have received come back to my card in multiple random small amounts that have no alignment with the amounts I paid.

How do you all think they will handle the taxes and fees? From what I understand the port taxes and fees are significantly more for Cuba than Caribbean ports. I understand that the 50% off is for the cruise fare only, so will they be refunding the taxes and fees and applying the correct ones to the new itineraries? Or if we choose to go on the new itinerary are we basically paying inflated taxes and fees? This is only my second cruise, so I am new to understanding all this.

43 minutes ago, Kman0010 said:

We are scheduled for the 6/23 RCI Cruise "6 Night Best of Cuba" on the Empress. The shore excurison website is now showing:

 

Day 1: Miami

Day 3: Costa Maya

Day 4: Cozumel

Day 6: Key West

Day 7: Miami

 

Quite a change! No word on credits or refunds. 

On this cruise as well. Really really disappointed in the choice of new ports. Why wouldn't they keep Grand Cayman?! Will definitely be pursuing a full refund if that's an option. It kills me that we're probably going to lose all the money on our non-refundable flights.

 

 

 

1 minute ago, HLNFan said:

I did end up finding a place I think we are going to try.  It is called Eden Rock and it is walking distance from the port (I think it said 0.4 miles?)  https://www.edenrockdive.com/snorkeling.html

Thanks! If you're going before the end of June, please let me know how you like them.

Also looking for suggestions for this. Everything seems to include Stingray City.

On 1/26/2019 at 8:43 PM, rvmike said:

We used Shago Tours and had a great time. The drive is about 1 hr but very scenic. Go early as the place gets crowded. The trail to the falls is easy but gets steep at the very end. We paid 200cuc for two people and that included lunch at the park. Still gave us an hour to shop in town and drop off at the port. Booked on line with a $40.00 deposit

Thanks for this info. I waited too long and the ship tour sold out, so we decided to go with Shago. They were prompt in their response and gave more detail than other companies I reached out to. Hope we enjoy it and all goes smoothly.

1 hour ago, panzafit said:

Ugh!  I called today and they are telling me you can't use 2 separate payments for 1 item.  Of course they cancelled the package I had that I received Black Friday pricing so now not only can I not use the gift cards I have but I have to pay current pricing.  They are sorry, but there's nothing they can do. 

Seriously? That's crazy. It was 4 years ago that I did that, so I guess they changed their policy. That's ridiculous, I'm sorry.

Yep. I did this on our honeymoon cruise with some Amex gift card we got as wedding presents. You have to do it over the phone, but just tell them you'd like to use 2 cards for payment and then tell them the amount for each card.

1 minute ago, JennyB1977 said:

@Bridetobe88 Ask the travel agency to assign you to a new agent.

That's a great idea. Don't know why I didn't think of that!

5 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

If Royal has acknowledged your full final payment, you are probably in good shape now. However, if the travel agent promised some perks, like OBC, you might have to remind the travel agency about that.

I called Royal and they did confirm that they have my final payment. I have in writing that I am supposed to get $50 OBC from the agent, so I will follow up with them about that. Thanks for that advice.

We are going on a cruise to Cuba in June, and I got a great price going through a large online travel company and booking with a travel agent who worked under that company. I had read hit or miss reviews with this company and knew I was going to need stay on top of things myself. Good thing I did. My final payment was due this week, and the TA and I had in writing that the TA would charge my credit card on file for the final payment within a week before it was due. The night before the day it was due, I realized my card had not been charged. I emailed the TA asking if she was going to charge it and received a mailer demon return to sender message. I tried calling her the next morning and her extension was no longer available. I can only assume she is no longer with the company and there is apparently no one looking after my booking now. I called the main line of the travel agent company and spoke to someone and explained what was going on and they processed my final payment. My only concern now is for anything else to slip through the cracks since my booking is with a nonexistent TA. I don't trust the larger company to alert me of anything since they didn't for the final payment. Is there anything else that would usually go through the TA that I need to be aware of and be on top of before my cruise? I still don't regret going through them since the price I got was a good $150 lower than anything I've seen. Hopefully, I won't end up eating those words. Thanks!

1 hour ago, Deseo1578 said:

As my sail is still over 300 aways I cant see any promotions yet.

 

Can you tell me how much is the promo you are currently seeing for internet and beverage package?

 

Tanks 

Yesterday the combo was $64 per day and today it's $57. Yesterday the price difference between just the beverage package and the combo was $14 and now it's down to $10, so that felt like a decent deal. 

Thanks! I'll give Royal a call if we decide to go this direction. There's a good sale today on the Beverage + Voom package.

Does anyone know if you can use the Deluxe Beverage package at Cafe Royal on Empress?

I have a question about the Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom One Device. I am traveling with my husband. We are fine with Voom for just one device. Is it a correct assumption that if we both get the Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom One Device, it would actually be two devices - one for me and for him? If this is the case, how do I purchase one Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom One Device and then just one more Deluxe Beverage Package only? When I put the Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom One Device in my cart it makes me select it for both of us. Maybe I'm totally off base here, but this doesn't seem like a weird thing to want to do.

On 3/16/2019 at 11:17 AM, HOSKI said:

Let us know when you get back.  We have booked the food tour with them for May.

 

You'll actually be going before me, so let me know how it is!

We are definitely going to do one of the free Strawberry walking tours in Havana and are torn between the Historical Centre Tour or the Food Tour. Is there anyone who has done both and which would you recommend? 

1 hour ago, DogLover said:

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. The OP states the red eye "departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am." I interprete the flight arrives Sunday morning. 

 

To each his or her own. The OP asked for opinions ... I'd rather enjoy a bit more time in FL.

 

Btw, was just in your neck of the woods last week. My son lives in Boynton, works for Law Enforcement as a K9 Officer in the area, his fiancee works as a Prosecutor for Broward County. We enjoyed a great evening at Cooper's Hawk in Palm Beach Gardens.

The red eye arrives Saturday morning, not Sunday morning. I would be getting more time before the cruise with the red eye, not less.

Thanks for the input everyone! 

34 minutes ago, TruckerDave said:

Unless flying first class with lie flat seats than a red eye is out of the question. 

But this is really not that big of a deal. Its only 90 min earlier and while you don't say when or from where in TX you are starting there is a chance it might change again.   You are seriously over thinking this.  If it changed form 7:30am to 3pm then that's an issue...but 90 min earlier is just a bonus as you will be in FL earlier.

I live in Denver, actually - just updated my profile location. I appreciate your response, but I wasn't asking whether or not I am overthinking it. I enjoy planning and only get to go on one big trip per year, so I will happily continue to "overthink" things! I do see everyone's perspective about the pros of the 6am, which is why I'm still strongly considering keeping my flight. Just thought it was worth hearing from others who have taken red-eyes, as I have only taken one before in my life.

We are cruising out of Port of Miami on a Sunday, and originally booked a Saturday morning flight to Fort Lauderdale that left at 7:30 am and arrived at 1:30 pm. We have a wonderful (splurge!) hotel booked in South Beach for Saturday night. The airline changed our flight itinerary and we are now flying out at 6 am Saturday and arriving at Fort Lauderdale at noon. To make the 6 am flight, we'll have to get up at 3 am. I'm a little frustrated because the original flight was late enough that we would be able to function and early enough that we would have the afternoon to enjoy in Miami. There's a big difference between getting up at 3 am vs 4:30 am! We don't go to bed until close to midnight usually, and especially with the excitement, of our trip probably won't sleep much, so I know we'll be dead tired. Our airline will allow us to change our flight at no cost due to the itinerary change, and I am toying with the idea of switching to the red-eye to Miami. It departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am. I know we are going to be exhausted either way, so part of me is thinking well maybe it's better to be exhausted by a gorgeous pool or beach. The pros for the 6 am are that we may get a little bit more sleep if we can snag a few hours before leaving for the airport and a couple on the plane. The cons are that if we don't, the little bit of afternoon we'll have may be spent exhausted and not enjoying our gorgeous hotel. The pros for the red eye are that we get to spend the whole day in Miami. The cons are that we will be dead tired and can't check in until 4pm, so any napping would have to take place by the pool or on the beach. What would you guys do? For the record, I am usually able to sleep on planes and my husband sometimes can if he's tired enough. 

We are cruising out of Port of Miami on a Sunday, and originally booked a Saturday morning flight to Fort Lauderdale that left at 7:30 am and arrived at 1:30 pm. We have a wonderful (splurge!) hotel booked in South Beach for Saturday night. The airline changed our flight itinerary and we are now flying out at 6 am Saturday and arriving at Fort Lauderdale at noon. To make the 6 am flight, we'll have to get up at 3 am. I'm a little frustrated because the original flight was late enough that we would be able to function and early enough that we would have the afternoon to enjoy in Miami. There's a big difference between getting up at 3 am vs 4:30 am! We don't go to bed until close to midnight usually, and especially with the excitement, of our trip probably won't sleep much, so I know we'll be dead tired. Our airline will allow us to change our flight at no cost due to the itinerary change, and I am toying with the idea of switching to the red-eye to Miami. It departs midnight on Saturday and arrives in Miami at 5:50 am. I know we are going to be exhausted either way, so part of me is thinking well maybe it's better to be exhausted by a gorgeous pool or beach. The pros for the 6 am are that we may get a little bit more sleep if we can snag a few hours before leaving for the airport and a couple on the plane. The cons are that if we don't, the little bit of afternoon we'll have may be spent exhausted and not enjoying our gorgeous hotel. The pros for the red eye are that we get to spend the whole day in Miami. The cons are that we will be dead tired and can't check in until 4pm, so any napping would have to take place by the pool or on the beach. What would you guys do? For the record, I am usually able to sleep on planes and my husband sometimes can if he's tired enough. 

I just found out Frontier changed our 2:30 pm departure to 12:50 pm. We're flying out of Fort Lauderdale and we are getting into the Miami port at 7:00 a.m. Our only option without paying more than double the original price is to fly out of Miami the next morning, which I'd rather not do unless needed due to the cost of booking a hotel. Do you all think we will be ok with the new flight time? It's my understanding that it's about an hour drive from Miami to FLL. Best laid plans go awry! Thanks!

Has anyone done an excursion to El Nicho from Cienfuegos? If so, did you enjoy it and what company did you use? I am trying to decide whether to go through the Royal Caribbean or a private tour. 

E-cig vapor is not just "water vapor." It contains many chemicals, including high levels of toxic metals, and we don't yet know the effects of that. I do not wish to be exposed to that, and don't think it should be permitted in public spaces.

Booked on a Dec. 14 sailing on a balcony cabin and only had $75 OBC. Called the travel agent and paid $50 more for the current balcony cabin price and got the $200 credit. Even with paying an extra $50 we come out ahead with $75 more OBC! Really happy about that as I thought the originaly $75 was kind of measly.