Lift & Shift Cancellation Penalties

[Msett89]

Hello all. I was booked on the Radiance of the Seas for June 2021. We received the email about all our options including requesting a full refund up until June 30th 2021. I waited until April and ultimately decided to lift & shift to June 2022. My original reservation was booked under the refundable deposit option FYI.

 

Now fast forward to today and the dates I booked for 2022 will no longer work for me. I called to just cancel the reservation but now they say I am subject to cancellation penalties. I told them it doesn't make sense since I moved the reservation to 2022 and I could have requested a full refund regardless up until June 30th. They said it's because I did the lift & shift within the final payment window but I again said per their email/policy I could have requested a full refund up until 6/30. They are escalating it and will call me back but it didn't sound promising. Who can I contact? This seems like a ridiculous way to penalize a loyal RCCL cruiser. 

[molly361]

If you shifted after final payment date cancellation penalties that were in effect when you shifted will apply.  This is from their FAQ  I shifted a May 2021 cruise to May 2022 because the price was really great.  I know if I cancel that I will lose around 50% as that was the penalty phase I was in when they cancelled the cruise.  I could have opted for a refund 

 

37. If my client’s reservation had passed the Final Payment due date when they opted to Lift & Shift, how are applicable cancellation penalties treated? If the original sailing was subject to cancellation charges (as determined on the day the booking is moved), the cancellation charges incurred based on the prior cancellation schedule will follow the booking to the new sailing. Assuming that your client sails as planned, there is no impact. However, if the guest subsequently cancels his or her booking on the later sailing, the cancellation charges to be assessed will be the cancellation charges incurred: (i) under the original booking’s cancellation schedule; or (ii) under the cancellation schedule for the later sailing, whichever is greater.

Edited May 31, 2021 by molly361

[Ashland]

Even if the OP booked a refundable on the original booking.....doesn't that follow to the L/S?

[molly361]

3 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Even if the OP booked a refundable on the original booking.....doesn't that follow to the L/S?

Not if they shifted after final payment date which is the case in most of the cancelled cruises.  Once final payment date passes it doesn't matter if you booked refundable or non refundable.  That only matters when cancelling or changing before final payment date

[Hoppy2cruise]

2 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Even if the OP booked a refundable on the original booking.....doesn't that follow to the L/S?

As I understand it, after final payment due date, a refundable deposit fare has the same penalties as a non-refundable deposit fare booking.  Since the L&S occurred after final payment due date, the new cruise penalties do apply.

[Ashland]

2 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Not if they shifted after final payment date which is the case in most of the cancelled cruises.  Once final payment date passes it doesn't matter if you booked refundable or non refundable.  That only matters when cancelling or changing before final payment date

Thanks...Was just hoping there was a work around for the OP....I guess at this point the best choice they have is to just pay the $100pp and move the booking to another one of their choice.

Thanks for clearing that up.

[CruisingHogFan]

3 hours ago, Msett89 said:

Hello all. I was booked on the Radiance of the Seas for June 2021. We received the email about all our options including requesting a full refund up until June 30th 2021. I waited until April and ultimately decided to lift & shift to June 2022. My original reservation was booked under the refundable deposit option FYI.

 

Now fast forward to today and the dates I booked for 2022 will no longer work for me. I called to just cancel the reservation but now they say I am subject to cancellation penalties. I told them it doesn't make sense since I moved the reservation to 2022 and I could have requested a full refund regardless up until June 30th. They said it's because I did the lift & shift within the final payment window but I again said per their email/policy I could have requested a full refund up until 6/30. They are escalating it and will call me back but it didn't sound promising. Who can I contact? This seems like a ridiculous way to penalize a loyal RCCL cruiser. 

As others have stated if you were past final payment date the cancellation penalties moved to the new booking. We have a cruise from June 2020 that We have L&S twice that is this way. 

[Msett89]

Wow thanks everyone for the info. They didn't tell me that at the time I did the lift & shift and nor is it in the email they sent me. Doesn't seem be fair though when I could have canceled for a full refund up until June 30th 2021. The cruise was canceled for goodness sakes. Ugh.

[CruisingHogFan]

23 minutes ago, Msett89 said:

Wow thanks everyone for the info. They didn't tell me that at the time I did the lift & shift and nor is it in the email they sent me. Doesn't seem be fair though when I could have canceled for a full refund up until June 30th 2021. The cruise was canceled for goodness sakes. Ugh.

Did you receive a new invoice showing cancellation penalties? I received one immediately when I did each lift and shift that has my cancellation penalty amounts.