MaritimeR&R

19 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Still much can change but is this possibly a sign that prices will be up for the next few years? The cruise lines have so many FCC's that still have to be used and looks like they're taking a haircut with the FCC's. 

In fairness, lift and shift should be available for those reservations made before the pandemic started or any of their Cruise with Confidence, etc. was in place.  This one was and to have to pay $2,500. or more to move it seems very unfair.

I booked my Oasis summer cruise with my 10 year old granddaughter for August 2021 back on March 14, 2020 and got a reasonably good deal on a GS. It is somewhat doubtful that this cruise will take place, however if it does, I would have difficulty adhering to wearing a mask. When I booked this cruise, there were no restrictions or change promotions in place. Because of my granddaughter's softball schedule we can only do this grandma/granddaughter cruise in late August. I took a look at August of 2022 and to book the same suite we have now, without the ability to lift and shift it,  it will be $2,500. more.  I am not happy. I feel that RCG should allow those reservations that were created back before any of the restrictions/ cruise with confidence/ etc. should be allowed to lift and shift that reservation.

27 minutes ago, molly361 said:

And it will put off families with young children that won't be able to cruise since there's no vaccine for them yet

At least it would allow for sailings to begin again.  Vaccinations for young children are a long way off and having experienced sailings where children of all ages are not supervised by their parents, I think it unwise to trust that those children will do what is expected of them. Some children will. All? Not likely, and it only takes one.

I believe the best way for RC to return to sailing is for now to only allow those passengers who have been vaccinated to sail. That along with a vaccinated crew will allow for the ship to resume normal operations without all these rules and will allow for a return to the cruise experience we all know and love.

If the cruise lines in general decide that they want their passengers on their early starting-back-up sailings, then for many families, their cruise will not take place. Children will likely not be vaccinated for at least 12 months, especially now that there appears to be an increase in allergic reactions to the Moderna vaccine. In addition,  I live in NY in the Hudson Valley, the surrounding counties along with my own have been out of vaccine since last week and have been told that we will be getting even less this coming week- 225,000 for 20 million people. We are currently in Phase 1a & 1b and appointments for those phases are filled up for the next four months and for six months in other areas.  The allocation and distribution have been a disaster. 

11 minutes ago, molly361 said:

My 90 year old mother is in Westchester and still has no word of when she can get the vaccine

All of us who are waiting to schedule an appointment were told we could register on the state "Am I Eligible" website and we will be "notified" when a vaccine appointment is available.  

Cuomo in NY says 14 weeks to complete phase 1a and 1b and is blaming the Fed. government.  I am in the Hudson Valley and am eligible both by age and medical issues; there are no vaccines available.  At present, my County (which is fairly rural)  has 1/4 of the needed doses to inoculate its 1a and 1b residents (36,000) with their first dose, so it's going to be a long wait. 

99% of the time, I cruise solo and for many years often questioned RCI's math when it came to arriving at my cruise fare. As a result, I asked to speak with a supervisor at the D+/Pinnacle desk and this was what was explained to me back in early 2017. I kept the file for reference:

Base price of the cabin (without any promotional price)
minus C&A balcony (usually prorated based on the promotion or if you are receiving a reduced solo supplement)
minus reduced solo supplement for more than 340 loyalty points
minus any promotional offer

The promotional offer is applied only after other discounts are given and will vary in amount based on the preceeding reductions and the order in which they are applied. 

Supposedly that was the way it was done prior to being able to press a button. Who knows; the explanation may have been just more doublespeak on RCI's part.

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

That's disappointing to hear that prices dont get better.

Many people don't realize that if you utilize the reduced solo supplement at 340 pts or better then your balcony discount is reduced for that sailing as well.

Thanks for the responses.  I was so used to the old program before the tiers and probably only used dollars off when I had them for recent cruises. Since they started giving out 1099g's I cut back my on board gambling. 

I will admit it has been a couple of years since I used a complimentary offer from the Casino.  I remember it used to be that you had to pay the deposit and gratuities upfront, but I just finished booking my complimentary prime cruise and was required (with the exception of the gratuities) to pay for the entire upgraded cruise, taxes, fees, etc.  When did this change?

It would be nice if they would extend the double points through to the end of Feb 2022. 

Just now, A&L_Ont said:

I believe you have them confused with AstraZeneca.

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/astrazeneca-says-its-vaccine-needs-additional-study-1.5206091

 

You may be right, I am old and was listening to my cable news at 3am as I had just awakened. I thought I heard the broadcaster say Pfizer. So, either she was wrong or me.  More than likely, me.  

Since children were not part of the initial test groups (some teenagers were), the CDC has said that vaccinations for them will likely not be available until 2022.  So, wearing a mask and the other safety protocols will probably be required for a long time.

On 11/9/2020 at 10:06 AM, orville99 said:

Simple, it came directly from the mouth of Pfizer's CEO this morning. If you read that article carefully, you will see that the Government promised to purchase ~$2 billion worth of Pfizer's vaccine if (and only if) it was proven effective. Pfizer rejected the government offer of developmen funding and was not a participant in Warp Speed. 

On this morning's news, the validity of the data surrounding the efficacy of Pfizer's vaccine has come into question.  Apparently, the efficacy of the dosages given to each of the test groups varied, with those receiving 1/2 dose first and a full dose second being greater (90%) versus those who received two full doses (only 60% efficacy). In addition, the ages of those in the test groups were not the same  and could be a contributing factor to the published results.  This is being touted as the reason for Pfizer not applying for the emergency release.

Not sure if that is great news for all. There have been rumors that once a vaccine becomes readily available, RC or many of the ports that they visit will require that passengers be inoculated in order to board the ship. Since he three main pharmaceutical companies have not included children in their testing and have stated that a vaccine for children will not be available until the earliest late 2021 but more likely sometime in 2022 and RC has been promoting "kids sail free," it would seem that many of the "safeguards:" social distancing, masks, etc. will have to remain in force for a long time.  Herd immunity takes quite awhile.  

On 11/9/2020 at 8:50 AM, boscobeans said:

50% has always been looked at as effective.

 

This is 90% and that is before the second or booster dose... GREAT NEWS for all.. 

I asked a friend who was texting with Mario Salcedo (since Mario tends to be in on breaking news) if RC was planning on taking volunteers (from the general population) to be passengers. He said, "no."  

With RC I get my wi-fi free; I don't drink; and I cruise solo with a reduced supplement, usually in a JS, but never lower than an ocean view balcony. Why would I want to be locked into paying for two people, drinks, internet, etc.? 

On 11/6/2020 at 5:15 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

I can tell you the 8 day cruises are no5 filling up.  There is virtually no difference in booking patterns between the 6 day and 8 day.

 

Since Royal already has bookings on all these ships it would be easiest for them to jus5 change them all to 7 day cruises.  Offer the 8 day people 1/8 refund and maybe a token OBC and the 6 day people get an extra sea day.  That’s a whole lot more efficient than cancelling a rebooking everyone. 

I can tell you this, RC wasn't generous when I had to lift and shift my Anthem sailings from 2021 to 2022. Instead of allowing me to move my 8 night sailing to a 9 night sailing (there were no 8 nighters out of Bayonne during the "allowed" time frame.), I wound up having to L&S it to an 8 night Odyssey sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, so now I have to add a flight and a hotel to my expenses instead of just simply being able to stay on board (I was booked for the three 11 night cruises in January - the 9 night follows those.)  They would not budge. So, I booked Odyssey and added another 6 night to make it a B2B because, for me,  it's simply not worth flying down to Fort Lauderdale for one cruise I don't think RC will be that generous to give an extra day to everyone booked on a 6 night, esp. when they need revenue.

.

24 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I wonder if that’s actually the case though.  It occurs to me that there is no way to do turnaround the same way they have done it in the past - particularly at the beginning.  Maybe they will cut the 8 days down to 7 and leave the 6 days as-is with the “extra” day as a buffer to complete all the testing, cleaning and social distancing (embarkation and disembarkation) that’s needed.

That will make things difficult for those who do B2B.  We still don't know how those will be handled.

I could be wrong, but I imagine that one other area that will also have to be taken into account will be these CDC requirements for a conditional sailing certificate: contracted/guaranteed non-public transportation, sufficient hotel rooms for quarantine , and hospital rooms.  Because of these requirements and the  number of different cruise lines using the "drive-to" ports, sailings will likely be limited to one cruise per line per week per port so as to allow the cruise port area to absorb the above passengers, if necessary, without overburdening the community. 

I can't begin to imagine how RC will handle the issue of children who roam by themselves and do not follow the  "Safe Sailing" rules. We have all seen or experienced them, those youngsters running through hallways, knocking on doors, pressing every elevator button, throwing food in the Windjammer, etc. and now,  if left to their own devices sans parents, free to be "mask-less"  and too up close and personal. In the past, RC hasn't been great at keeping these children in check. I'm curious as to whether they will enforce their own rules.

Quantum of the Seas will start "cruises to nowhere" out of Singapore in Dec.  with r educed capacity, no ports, testing, etc.  

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/singapore-cruises-to-nowhere-intl-hnk/index.html

Mine says Diamond and I am Pinnacle, so, you're right, who knows!