klove613

If you find out that the travel insurance will not cover your flights, hold off on canceling the airfare.

I am not sure when your cruise is, but I had very expensive flights in late May/early June to Rome and then back from Barcelona. I had already decided not to do the cruise, but was very worried about having a large credit from the airline that I would have to use within a year. It turns out that one leg of the flight was cancelled and I was rebooked on a flight 3 hours later. I was able to cancel for a full refund.

There is going to be a lot of airline changes in the next few months, so hold on and see what happens. 

On the Oasis as well. Having a fabulous time. Hope to see you around!

2 hours ago, bauermj said:

Posted this in the Italy thread:

I tried again to push back my final payment date to 60 days out (instead of due in six days from now for our June 13 cruise out of Rome). I was told that it was only applicable for sailings in May thru June 6th. I was also told that I would need to go through my TA, and that they possibly wouldn't honor it even if Celebrity did extend the dates.

That is disappointing, but hopefully your TA values your business and will work with you.

19 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

How can I find out if it includes Reflection June 5th out of Dublin? Where can I see the "selected sailings"? Thanks,

You have to call Celebrity and check. There was a list of Royal ships and dates, but the Celebrity rep just said selected. 

1 minute ago, Hllb said:

What a great thing for them to do. I was hoping they’d do this. My cruise is in July so doesn’t qualify but I’m hoping they’ll consider the same in a month when my payment is due! I actually emailed them last week asking if that was a possibility but haven’t gotten a response yet.

It is much appreciated and very smart on their part because had I not already booked airfare, I definitely would have canceled. Looking at how many cabins have opened up, I am guessing there are many cancellations right now due to the uncertainty.

Thanks so much for posting! Just called Celebrity and they confirmed that my final payment (due tomorrow) has been extended to March 31st. Great news!

It has been reported on the Royal board by Ourusualbeach (who I believe is a travel agent) that Royal Caribbean has reduced the final payment date to 60 days for European sailings between May 29 and June 11. This has been confirmed by at least one person who reported their final payment date has been pushed out.

My final payment date is tomorrow for the May 30th cruise on Apex leaving Rome and no such luck. I am going to give Celebrity a call and I suggest others in the same situation do the same.

UPDATE - Just called Celebrity and the rep confirmed that my final payment date has been moved to March 31st. She said it will not reflect online and it is only on selected sailings. 

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I've sometimes noticed paper SetSail passes from the website and the app generated SetSail passes don't always carry the same verbiage.  Try looking at the website version versus the app version.  

Yes I printed them from the website and also looked at the app. No "Suite" designation on either, but there is "Sea Class" so hopefully that will be enough. I really enjoyed the suite check-in area!

8 minutes ago, Tulsacoker said:

they will be. also Navigator does not have Royal Suite Classes (Sea, Sky and Star) 

Good point! Thanks! 

42 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

It should say "Sea Class" in the top left corner of boarding pass, right under your name. I'm referencing the RCCL app -- maybe they dropped "suite" and decided to designate their different suite classes instead?

It does say Sea Class, but when we checked in for Navigator in December, the check-in person at the door was looking for the “Suite” designation. Hopefully they are all informed on what to look for.

Thanks!

We are booked in a Junior Suite on Oasis and I noticed that our boarding passes do not designate "Suite". When we sailed on Navigator in December, there was a "Suite" designation on the pass. Just wondering if any recent Oasis Junior suite cruisers have had any issues boarding in the Miami Terminal A Suite area. 

I received the following response from Royal today in regards to the Junior Suite offer survey:

Dear Guest,

Thank you for taking the time to complete the Oasis of the Seas Special Offer survey.

We’ve received your request to be excluded from this offer and will take no further action. Should you have any questions or concerns or have a change of heart, please call us. We’re ready to assist.

We can’t wait to welcome you for an amazing cruise!

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

This is for the March 1 cruise. Hopefully they have all the volunteers they need. 

50 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Well, I obviously do not know what the issue is or when it was discovered, but my point is it could be a recent problem.  And your point is valid...the 2/9 overbooking could be a similar IT glitch to the JS overbooking.  Certainly their IT dept is capable of multiple snafus.  If so, the snafu might be a recent discovery, as the JS issue appears to be.  In any case, the cruiseline is taking responsibility and is seeking volunteers...what is wrong with that?

 

Hmmm, phone call or email?  You’d want a phone call rather than an email (though you feel the offer a week out is ridiculous). As a person who would consider the offer, I’d much rather receive an email.  A phone call might come at an inopportune time, might make my decision feel rushed, and might result in miscommunications.  With an email, DH and I can talk it over, I can check our schedules carefully, the offer is already in writing, there is no sense of pressure with somebody on the phone.  Email is far more efficient for the cruiseline, so they are much more likely to find the right volunteers...in this case, the ones that a thrilled to take the offer...who’d love to leave a day sooner on a newer ship (even if they must get new reservations as soon as they board).  Maybe somebody who has an event come up after the cruise and the extra day will be a blessing.  I want the volunteers to be happy to take the offer, and mass email is far more likely to find that rare bird than phone calls

 

The offer for the JS overbooking  seemed weak to me, too, especially as they offered refund for the second passenger (who’s rate is already typically discounted at time of booking).  Still, at least one solo CC poster (no second passenger) seems to have been treated reasonably well, so perhaps others will be as well.  

 

 

We will just have to agree to disagree on the taking responsibility portion. The issue is on their end, so they should IMHO be making the offer much more compelling. For the single cruiser, that was a good deal, but for the majority of us, not so much. If there are no upgrades available (which is the route they should take for the inconvenience), then they should be offering a minimum 50% refund of the TOTAL fare, the OBC, and maybe a FCC of some kind. 

As far as the email vs. phone. There are people that do not check their email on a daily basis. I know that is hard to believe for many of us, but I know them. Since the poster is a week out from his cruise, I believe there should be a greater sense of urgency on the matter. They could have sent an email and did a phone call. I thought the email survey was fine for those of us who had a bit more time to process the information and consider it.

12 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Again, ridiculous seems like too strong of word, though I understand that such an offer might might work for you. Consider that a cabin or cabins might have had to be taken out of service this week due to a plumbing or other unforeseen mechanical/ service issue.  Perhaps no earlier notice could have been given. 

 

The cruiseline is simply asking for volunteers with flexible schedules and is offering compensation for them to move to a comparable (or better) cruise at a lower price.  Admittedly, anyone accepting the offer would have to deal with rearranging dining, show and shore arrangements during the last week, so again, only flexible and/or lightly scheduled souls should consider the offer...those do exist.  More notice would be nicer, but as flexible Floridians, a week is quite possible for us...especially if the ship is better and the port is the same or closer.

I might be willing to give the benefit of the doubt that this was an unforeseen service issue if it weren't for the Junior Suite snafu. Also, when we are talking about a cruise a week away, I do not think an emailed survey is the best course of action. That warrants a phone call IMHO. I am very disappointed in Royal. People can disagree, but I don't think they are helping themselves with these weak compensation offers for what is admitted their fault (in the Junior Suite situation).

3 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Well, that goes to show have opinions vary.  Having sailed Oasis multiple times, I’d consider switching to the newer Symphony, especially with a partial refund.  We drive to port, so adjusting the schedule by a day wouldn’t be big deal.  I totally understand why you might reject the offer, but it is not ridiculous that I might strongly consider it.

If I was driving, I would totally switch, but I do think it is ridiculous that Royal is just now notifying passengers for a cruise leaving in a week.

On 2/1/2020 at 2:50 AM, blueeyescruiser said:

I’m booked in an inside stateroom on the Oasis February 9th sailing and I just got an email that my category is overbooked. They are also only offering second passenger refund but on a different sailing on a different ship! 
“If you have flexible travel plans, and you’re interested in moving to a like-for like stateroom on Symphony of the Seasdeparting February 8th , click on the link below to let us know. As a goodwill gesture, we’ll provide a full refund on the cruise fare for the second passenger in your stateroom.”

 

Wow! I am so surprised that they are just contacting you about a cruise on the 9th. Talk about waiting until the last possible time to notify people. Something is very screwed up with the Oasis bookings.

19 minutes ago, brillohead said:

That was complete conjecture on the part of the person making that statement.  There is nothing in this thread or in Royal's history that indicates this would happen.  Read your email again -- where does it say that if you don't respond, you're just screwed?  Oh, that's right, it doesn't.  Someone just made that part up.


 

My entire point was that Royal WOULD not do that. I am well aware that there is nothing to indicate that Royal would do as the other poster stated and move people to lesser rooms with no compensation. You are arguing with the wrong person here. 

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have clients on one of these sailings and just reporting what the reps that I deal with told me.  Every JS is not double booked.

Good to know. Thanks for the info!

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

What on earth are you talking about?  

They are offering a cash refund AND some additional OBC.... did you even read this thread?

Since I started the thread I certainly did read it. Did you? I was responding to a poster who said that if you did not respond to Royal's survey that you would be reassigned and receive nothing. 

As far as the cash refund goes, that would only put some of us equal with what booking a balcony would have cost to begin with. 

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

No one is affected yet.  This is simply an offer that went out to everyone booked in a JS.  They are only looking for a few takers. 

We don't really know how many takers they are looking for. We do know that a poster was told by Royal that two different groups were assigned the same JS. I think there are around 86 Junior Suites on Oasis. What if they are all double booked? I certainly hope this is not the case, but we simply don't know. 

I hope that I will get more info about the situation on Monday. 

15 minutes ago, Southern latitudes said:

I am on the March 1 sailing in a GS.  I got a Royal Up email in early January offering the opportunity to bid on several options: CLS, SLS, Aqu 1 and 2 bedroom, OS, 2 bedroom GS and UPS.  At that time, the suite category was showing as sold out, although there were several options available the day before I got the email, including a JS GTY.  Will be interesting to see how this all shakes out-wonder if it will impact the Royal Up process. 

 

Were any of you in the JS category offered an opportunity for a Royal Up bid, either before this email or after?

My daughter received a Royal Up email on Jan 19, which I thought was weird since she is a young adult and never books anything.

According to jmh2006, there are two groups booked into their JS. I wonder how many Junior Suites are affected.

33 minutes ago, emmy said:

 

"By submitting this information, you're confirming that you're interested in changing your Junior Suite to a standard balcony stateroom. Once you hit submit, all changes are final."

Yes, that part is very concerning. We are celebrating my daughter's birthday onboard, so I would prefer to keep my stateroom. If they were offering half off the entire cruise, then I would consider it.

21 minutes ago, jmh2006 said:

I also received this email for the February 16th sailing 😟.  Additionally, the email I received did not have the “link” on it.  Spent at least 30 minutes on phone with a supervisor.  Here is what I was told.

-  They discovered the problem today when they ran the manifests.  It only affects JR Suites.

-  I booked my cruise on February 12, 2019 and the person who also has my suite booked before me.

-  Only people who respond to the survey will get the offer.  In other words if you do nothing you will probably have your room reassigned and get nothing in return.  

-  There is a special group working on the room reassignments based on the survey responses so I could not get a new room tonight.

-  You will get the same C&A points you were originally going to get in the Jr. Suite plus refund of 2nd passenger’s fare and $300 OBC.

 

So, I had the email resent with the link and filled out the survey.  I am just praying that it will all be resolved and I will have a room since DH and I are traveling with 2 other couples who have Ocean View Balconies.  

Thank you for the additional information. I find it hard to believe that people will be reassigned from Junior Suites that they paid for to less expensive Balconies and receive nothing in exchange. That just makes no sense and could turn into a PR disaster. I know you are just reporting what you were told, but it sounds like a scare tactic. 

I will definitely contact them on Monday. Thanks again!

2 minutes ago, FireEMT978 said:

And, you would lose the double points. If, that matters.

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I believe RC assured them they would get the points associated with the original stateroom.

Yes, they confirmed that we would receive the C&A points for the original stateroom.

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

If they really wanted you to change, they would give you the balcony for no more than half whatever the minimum price offered on that cruise, plus OBC.  I think the offer is very weak.

I agree! At first I was considering it, but then I looked at my invoice and realized that it wasn't a good offer. Especially given that I selected my cabin and it sounds like we might have no choice on the replacement cabin.