Rhapsody of the Seas no longer docking in Barcelona - Tarragona instead

[ladysail2]

7 hours ago, FLACRUISER99 said:

Most US to Europe flights are over-nite an usually arrive very early in the morning.

That's right!  They usually arrive around 7am local time.

[fredflint]

Looking online it is close to a 2 hour ride plus need to add time for loading and unloading the carryon luggage.

 

Looking at private car hire it is about 30-40 USD PP I might look into that just for the simplicity but 2021 is a long ways off so will just keep an  eye on how well it goes.

 

 

[Sirlancelot]

Just got the news that Rhapsody starts/ends in Tarragona and hour + south of Barcelona in 2020 for the April and the Nov TA sailings. Has this happened before on Royal. They are chintzy - free shuttle from Tarragona at the end of the 4/18  sailing goes all the way to the city center so if you want only to get to BCN airport (which is inbetween the ports) you have to make your own way.

 

Any thoughts on Xfers from Tarragona to BCN? 

Cheers. 

[Sirlancelot]

PS - there was no information on the April 18 2020 Rhapsody that now docks at Tarragona on May 2 2020 as to WHEN these shuttles even start running. There is no link to handy on line information telling us anything about what kind of transfer arrangements can even be purchased and starting at what time (Tarrango docks 4 am vs 6 Am Barcelona the canceled port as noted in earlier posts). So, this is really crappy information coming from Royal. And it isn't over a year away. It is in April 2020 and today is October 8 2019. Shame.

[awestover89]

On 10/8/2019 at 10:38 AM, Sirlancelot said:

PS - there was no information on the April 18 2020 Rhapsody that now docks at Tarragona on May 2 2020 as to WHEN these shuttles even start running. There is no link to handy on line information telling us anything about what kind of transfer arrangements can even be purchased and starting at what time (Tarrango docks 4 am vs 6 Am Barcelona the canceled port as noted in earlier posts). So, this is really crappy information coming from Royal. And it isn't over a year away. It is in April 2020 and today is October 8 2019. Shame.

 

Yeah, I'm really surprised. I've tried to reach out for more info but haven't gotten anywhere. On the travel agent site they have a notice up for the 4 impacted Jewel of the Seas sailings, but nothing posted about the three Rhapsody sailings. For the May 2nd sailing (the one I'm actually on) they've removed Barcelona from the Shore Excursions page but haven't put in anything yet for Tarragona, despite the email saying excursions and transfers would be available for purchase via the cruise planner.

[Sirlancelot]

10/10 update: For the 4/18/20 rhapsody ending in tarragona May 2 - the buses to the airport cost $30 PP but there is no indication w hen the buses start. Ship gets in at 4 am. Terrible Royal service. 

[awestover89]

9 minutes ago, Sirlancelot said:

10/10 update: For the 4/18/20 rhapsody ending in tarragona May 2 - the buses to the airport cost $30 PP but there is no indication w hen the buses start. Ship gets in at 4 am. Terrible Royal service. 

Do you know if there will still be the free shuttles to the WTC pier? I'm assuming that $30 pp is technically just the paid airport transfer

[Sirlancelot]

the email said free to the barcelona city pier but a charge to the airport. the airport is between the Barca. pier and Tarragona Pier so if you have to go to the airport you don't want the free shuttle all the way into the city so you have to pay!

[3monkeys4me]

On 10/3/2019 at 8:37 PM, awestover89 said:

 

Allure is also doing cruises out of Barcelona, but doesn't look to be affected yet (if anybody on the Allure has received an email indicating that there's a change, that would be good to know)

 

 

 

We are on Allure but not until October 2020.  I haven't received or heard of any changes for our sailing (or any of the others).

[goldfish65]

We are on the April 2020 T/A too, a change in logistics yes but confident we can manage and perhaps a good experience will result

[FLACRUISER99]

On 10/10/2019 at 1:23 PM, 3monkeys4me said:

 

We are on Allure but not until October 2020.  I haven't received or heard of any changes for our sailing (or any of the others).

Read post #12 Allure cannot dock in Tarragona

[MichellePerth]

I'm on an affected cruise. I was thinking of cancelling.  Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this change is sufficient to receive no penalty for changing sailing?  Or even better would be to move the deposit to another existing booking.  Any thoughts? 

[Biker19]

Just now, MichellePerth said:

Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this change is sufficient to receive no penalty for changing sailing? 

CC posters' opinion doesn't count, what RCI allows is what matters.

[MichellePerth]

6 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

CC posters' opinion doesn't count, what RCI allows is what matters.

Counts with me as it may come with advice on how to maximise my outcome. 💐😁

 

[Clarea]

20 minutes ago, MichellePerth said:

I'm on an affected cruise. I was thinking of cancelling.  Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this change is sufficient to receive no penalty for changing sailing?  Or even better would be to move the deposit to another existing booking.  Any thoughts? 

 

Give it a try, all RC can do is say no.  You might try some social media posting first, they seem to be sensitive to that,

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, MichellePerth said:

Counts with me as it may come with advice on how to maximise my outcome. 💐😁

 

I just don't want you to be set up for disappointment; everyone here may tell you that you should get to cancel or transfer the booking and even ask for some OBC, but RCI may stick with their denial.

[awestover89]

20 minutes ago, MichellePerth said:

I'm on an affected cruise. I was thinking of cancelling.  Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this change is sufficient to receive no penalty for changing sailing?  Or even better would be to move the deposit to another existing booking.  Any thoughts? 

 

I'm assuming you have a non-refundable deposit or are booked under no-cancellations booking rules?

 

Royal hasn't given any indication that this will qualify for any sort of refund option or waiver, and honest opinion I wouldn't expect it to. It's the closest possible port and they are offering free transportation between the original port and the new port. To me there's no real impact on the sailing other than the hour transfer required.

 

Usually to offer refunds or change waivers the cruise has to have a major change, like being shortened by a few days, losing multiple ports, etc. 

[MichellePerth]

19 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

I'm assuming you have a non-refundable deposit or are booked under no-cancellations booking rules?

 

Royal hasn't given any indication that this will qualify for any sort of refund option or waiver, and honest opinion I wouldn't expect it to. It's the closest possible port and they are offering free transportation between the original port and the new port. To me there's no real impact on the sailing other than the hour transfer required.

 

Usually to offer refunds or change waivers the cruise has to have a major change, like being shortened by a few days, losing multiple ports, etc. 

I'm pretty sure it's non refundable, but thought I'd see if I can somehow preserve the value of the deposit.  I'll try royal ar some stage, but hoping someone will have positive experience with this type I'd scenario.  There's no benefit to rushing as it's over a year away and the ship could be sold or fall apart in the interim.  😜

[k2125girl]

We were booked on the Indy out of the UK in 2020 and that was cancelled - so we rebooked on the Jewel for 2020 and now this has happened to us.  Very disappointed with this change of port - I am also wondering what our options are to cancel as this is the 2nd issue we've had with our 2020 sailing.

[MichellePerth]

4 hours ago, k2125girl said:

We were booked on the Indy out of the UK in 2020 and that was cancelled - so we rebooked on the Jewel for 2020 and now this has happened to us.  Very disappointed with this change of port - I am also wondering what our options are to cancel as this is the 2nd issue we've had with our 2020 sailing.

Sorry, are they doing this to jewel as well? I'm  on a b2b on jewel 26 April and 3 may,.  Are these affected?  Thanks 

[awestover89]

39 minutes ago, MichellePerth said:

Sorry, are they doing this to jewel as well? I'm  on a b2b on jewel 26 April and 3 may,.  Are these affected?  Thanks 

 

Jewel has 6 affected sailings but they're all in the fall (August to October) at least as of the last info I received

[MichellePerth]

21 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

Jewel has 6 affected sailings but they're all in the fall (August to October) at least as of the last info I received

 

21 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

Jewel has 6 affected sailings but they're all in the fall (August to October) at least as of the last info I received

Thanks.  While I would not like to embark or disembark in tarragona, I’d be really happy to have a turnaround day there.  I didn’t even know that the place existed until this came up.  I want to go there now!  (But not dragging my luggage to and fro.)

[Biker19]

On 10/18/2019 at 5:04 AM, MichellePerth said:

While I would not like to embark or disembark in Tarragona,

Apparently the port and RCI would like you to:

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23957-port-of-tarragona-launches-new-cruise-campaign.html

 

The Port of Tarragona has launched a new video campaign, Nothing Moves Without You, to show the cruise industry how much it is missed, according to a port statement.

 

"The absence of the cruise sector has made the Port of Tarragona’s heart grow fonder, and the video aims to convey the current feeling of emptiness when looking at the sea from Tarragona without the vitality and activity of the cruise ships and passengers that the city regularly welcomes," the port said, in a statement. "The video illustrates and reinforces the region’s tremendous appeal and offers the tourism sector a chance to learn more about Tarragona, a city that has positioned itself on the international cruise map and in the itineraries of major cruise lines."

 

 

Of note, work continues on the construction of the new Balears pier, a new facility for cruise ships. The new pier will allow up to four cruise ships to dock in the port at the same time, and is scheduled to be operational around May 2021. The pier represents an investment of 27 million euros, a place to work under optimum conditions, and a path towards future growth for the Port.

[Jared2]

I wonder if Royal is still only going to offer buses from the terminal to the city center for disembarking passengers. That would be insane and very customer-unfriendly since the airport is much closer to Tarragona than the Barcelona city center is.