watson61

Same here. My cruise refund took 90 days but I got the cruise planner refunds right away.

My last name begins with “Z” - no wonder my refund took 90 days, lol! I’m just relieved I finally got it.

Mine took 90 days exactly. I was beginning to think I’d never see that money again.

Mine took 90 days. I requested a refund on March 24 for my canceled April 12 cruise, received $250 (my deposit) on May 6 and just got the balance today. I booked this one through an online travel agent which I don’t usually do, but I’m glad I did it this time. They called RC twice to move this along. I tried calling once but the hold time was ridiculous so I hung up.

My refund has been coming very slowly: I requested it on March 24, received two credits on May 6 of $126.72 (taxes/fees) and $117.38. Then yesterday I got $5.90(!!). So that adds up to $250, the deposit I paid last October. Hope I don’t have to wait too long for the rest.

I sent this to my TA this morning: "On March 24, I requested a refund of my April 12 Empress of the Seas cruise, using Royal Caribbean's online form. On May 6, I received partial refunds: $126.72 (apparently the taxes/fees) and $117.38 (no idea what this was for - I had already cancelled my Cruise Planner items and received those refunds). I've been waiting for the balance of around $500 and check my credit card daily. Can you help? I tried calling RC but gave up after being on hold for a very long time. I appreciate any assistance you can provide. Thank you." I received this reply: "Yes the wait times for the cruise line are appox 3 hours. We did receive a email from them over the weekend that refunds were processed incorrectly and they are in the process of correcting that. You should be receiving a refund approx May 31st for the balance. I would expect that it will be later than that but the cruise line did catch that mistake." So I guess the wait continues! I am glad my TA replied so quickly. It's the first time I used this agency and at least they're more responsive than RC has been.

Got the apology email but no refund or further updates. I’ll give them until Friday, then I’ll call. So frustrating.

I got the email also. I was relieved to finally get an acknowledgement that I had requested a refund. I applied on March 24 for my April 12 cruise. I was about to call RC. Hopefully I won’t have to.

Same here. Would love details about this.

Yep - never felt particularly brave for going on a cruise accompanied by my kindle and doing whatever I wanted, whenever. You, on the other hand, are definitely brave. Thank you for your service.

Thanks for posting this. I've done a couple cruises with family, a few with a group but most solo. Thanks to RC's double points, I made Diamond pretty quickly. I like going solo because as others said, you can do what you want when you want. And having that whole (tiny) cabin to myself, lol. One comment you might get is "You're so brave." I've gotten that several times, always from a woman (and let's face it, some women can barely go to the bathroom by themselves - forget about going on a cruise solo). For dinner, I usually do either Windjammer or a specialty restaurant. I find the specialties much less awkward than the MDR alone. I have had traditional dining in the MDR but that's really hit or miss as far as tablemates. I'm going solo on Empress (first time) in April and I signed up for traditional dining so we shall see. One downside to that ship is Chops is the only specialty restaurant. I love going to the Schooner and just sitting at the bar chatting to the bartender and other barflies. Or not - I always have reading material with me so I never feel awkward sitting at a bar alone either on a ship or on land. I think you'll have a great time. Royal usually has a solo lunch early in the cruise and I encourage you to go. I've always had a nice time at those.

I like Princess - I've gone on the Caribbean, Grand, Ruby and Regal (my favorite). I went on the Caribbean with a singles group but had my own cabin. That particular cabin was awful - an oceanview with bunk beds that didn't fold up so I kept bumping my head. Also, like most oceanviews, it was on a lower deck and some godawful noise woke me up most mornings (either the anchor or the pilot boat - I forget what the steward told me). My other Princess cruises were great as a solo. I loved the afternoon tea every day where I met some really nice people. I also met a lot of people by sharing a table in the MDR at breakfast. The Regal was very port intensive (Canada/NE) so I met people on the excursions. Also on the Regal I had two dinners solo at specialty restaurants (Crown Grill and Sabatini's) and those were great experiences. I brought my Kindle to Sabatini's but never looked at it since the couple next to me was so chatty.

I was on Symphony last September. We did Windjammer that first day (not my idea) and it was a total zoo. It got to a point pretty quickly where they wouldn't admit anyone until people left. I had read about that on CC but had never experienced it before. That was the cruise I discovered the RB sandwiches at Park Cafe and fell in love. I'd go there.

I'm one of those who gets a cold on almost every cruise. This thread made me realize that I did not get sick on the two cruises where instead of flying, I took a train (from DC to Baltimore). I just got back from an NCL cruise to Hawaii (the POA one that goes to each island). This time I thought I was safe by taking Emergen-C before and during the cruise but I still got sick. Luckily it was at the end of the cruise but still - the flight home (Honolulu to DC) is bad enough when you're healthy - with a cold, it was torture.

Yep, I learned this lesson the hard way, as others do. I was on a Pacific coast cruise and got in the habit of taking my phone off airplane mode when we were in U.S. ports (Seattle, Astoria, Oregon) but one night I forgot to put it back into airplane mode before we left the port. I was awoken in the middle of the night by a beep telling me I had a text and, realizing immediately what happened, I jumped out of bed and saw the text from AT&T warning me I was in international waters and being charged accordingly. I ended up being charged $80 which stung but after reading about others' experiences, feel I got off lightly. I knew someone who went on an Alaska cruise and got charged $300 in roaming charges.