Refund for cruise cancellations before 1/31/22

[read2learn]

13 hours ago, sailing sue said:

This is so very frustrating! My cruise is Jan 24th and I emailed my TA that I want to cancel because of the new mask protocol. She told me she spoke with a Royal agent who told her that I cannot get a full refund because I am booked on a non refundable deposit reservation and I used a FCC toward my payment. I told my TA do not cancel my booking because I am not going to accept the FCC. Any ideas of what to do next to get my refund?

I called RC before I knew my cruise was cencelled and explained that I could not cruise due to new mask protocols. She checked and said I qualified for a refund due to protocol changes. But I had to cancel thru TA. Ask (or demand)  your TA call RC if they don't know the rules. Just keep stating your reason is due to mask protocol. Good luck1

[Ourusualbeach]

14 hours ago, sailing sue said:

This is so very frustrating! My cruise is Jan 24th and I emailed my TA that I want to cancel because of the new mask protocol. She told me she spoke with a Royal agent who told her that I cannot get a full refund because I am booked on a non refundable deposit reservation and I used a FCC toward my payment. I told my TA do not cancel my booking because I am not going to accept the FCC. Any ideas of what to do next to get my refund?

You can get back everything tat you paid is cash as a refund.  The FCC will depend on why the FCC was issued.

 

If the FCC was originally issued as part of a global suspension (Royal cancelled) then it can be refunded (less the 25% premium that they paid you).

 

If the FCC was issued because of a NRD or under CWC (you cancelled) then the original FCC will be reinstated and not refunded.

 

Whether you booked under a refundable or non refundable deposit does not matter.

[pcur]

16 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That’s after CWC expires and they go back to pre pandemic rules. 

Correct.  Plus, they keep floating the end dates forward for CWC.  I expect another change any day now.  

[Painter4me]

On 1/6/2022 at 4:51 PM, HicksRA said:

I’d hold off cancelling a week or so and see if they extend the date. They probably will. 

I’m doing the same. Let us know if you got a full REFUND. thanks

[sailing sue]

I wanted to let everyone know that I just heard back from my TA and I will be receiving a full refund on my Jan cruise. Persistence pays off! Thank you everyone for your comments which I used to get the refund.

[ChrisNY2]

My TA called Royal and got me a full refund too for my January 22 cruise. (Sadly, I used one of those Travel Agents with their own $100 cancellation fee..won't do that again!)

[Jim40]

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, With the increase in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, our public health guidance continues to evolve, and we want to let you know what to expect as we prepare to welcome you onboard. All of our crew members are fully vaccinated, receive booster shots when eligible, and all are tested frequently following current CDC guidelines. All your fellow guests 12 and older are fully vaccinated and tested before boarding. And the small number of children sailing who are 11 and under get a second test at the terminal and are increasingly vaccinated. Typically, your onboard cruise community vaccination rate is in the 95% range. As a result of Omicron, which we have seen is much more transmissible with much milder symptoms for those fully vaccinated, we have further strengthened onboard health protocols, such as the requirement to wear a mask indoors at all times unless eating or drinking, and temporarily not allowing smoking in the casino. Even with such a high onboard community vaccination rate and enhanced protocols in place, there is a possibility of positive cases arising during your sailing, just as there is an inherent risk of COVID-19 anywhere people congregate or gather. Our protocols anticipate this possibility and we implement them as needed to protect the health and safety of everyone. Our commitment is guest and crew safety. If someone tests positive, we’ll move them to a location closer to our medical facility to receive care and begin their isolation. Our Medical team and Guest Services will have regular contact with them and will provide options on how to complete isolation once shoreside, as well as information about your safe travel home. Additionally, guests will receive a prorated refund of cruise fare for any days missed while recovering onboard. For more details about this process, please review our dedicated FAQ here. We also work with local governments in all the ports of your itinerary, who are informed of the ship’s public health status before arrival and together, we decide if we can debark in their country. When we make these decisions, we consider the number of COVID positive cases onboard, and also the number of cases in the destination community along with factors such as the community vaccination status. Should we need to cancel a port of call, we will always do our best to find an alternate destination as a priority or work through a resolution for our new sea day. You should also note that some onboard activities, such as ice skating, rock climbing, laser tag, production shows, Adventure Ocean, etc., could be impacted during your sailing as we adjust our plans to ensure that the health of both our guests and crew remain our priority. For our full protocols, please click here. As always, health and safety protocols are subject to change. If you have questions about these protocols, please reference our FAQs for details. For sailings departing through January 31st, 2022, if you prefer not to sail as a result of this information or would like to reschedule your cruise, please reach out to your travel partner or contact us directly at 1 (866) 562-7625 if you’re in the U.S., or at 954-628-9290 for our international guests. To avoid waiting on the phone to cancel click here, and we will get the process started for you. Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you onboard soon! Sincerely,

[njg234908]

Does anyone know when they will announce the mask protocol for February sailings? I'm booked to sail mid February but no email from RC yet and the website still says sailings up until end of January.

[Ourusualbeach]

23 minutes ago, njg234908 said:

Does anyone know when they will announce the mask protocol for February sailings? I'm booked to sail mid February but no email from RC yet and the website still says sailings up until end of January.

Based on previous announcements it could be this week.  I suspect that they will only announce the first 2 weeks of February at this point

[jonj]

On 1/14/2022 at 7:52 PM, ChrisNY2 said:

My TA called Royal and got me a full refund too for my January 22 cruise. (Sadly, I used one of those Travel Agents with their own $100 cancellation fee..won't do that again!)

It is annoying but remember they do not get paid commission if you cancel so any work they did was for free. Some agencies are charging this due to the overwhelming amount of cancellations both by people traveling and by the cruise lines. 

[Morecruisesplz]

On 1/6/2022 at 2:47 PM, read2learn said:

I sent a request to TA to cancel my Jan 29th cruise. I requested a refund and this is the reply I received. Is this correct? I thought it was available thru 1/31. I also stated that I was cancelling due to the mask protocal change.

The refund option is for sailings through 1/17/2022, your sailing only qualifies for the FCC.

 

+

 

 

Thanks!

                                       

Give it a couple days. We canceled a Feb cruise upon return from a Christmas cruise. The TA first said FCC only then a few days later wrote that Royal was offering the choice of a refund. Can take a while though 

[read2learn]

I was able to request refund as they canceled the cruise. I expect refund to take awhile with all of the changes. 

[sailing sue]

Does anyone have an idea of how long it will take to get a refund? Also, I booked the Royal bus from the airport to the pier and back to the airport. I cancelled this as well. I have not received the refund and it has been just over a week. Should I expect to receive that refund on its own or will it be bundled into my cruise refund? Thanks

[Ourusualbeach]

21 hours ago, jonj said:

It is annoying but remember they do not get paid commission if you cancel so any work they did was for free. Some agencies are charging this due to the overwhelming amount of cancellations both by people traveling and by the cruise lines. 

As long as the booking is paid in full prior to cancellation the travel agents commission is protected.  Any TA that charges an additional fee over and above is being very unethical IMO.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, sailing sue said:

Does anyone have an idea of how long it will take to get a refund? Also, I booked the Royal bus from the airport to the pier and back to the airport. I cancelled this as well. I have not received the refund and it has been just over a week. Should I expect to receive that refund on its own or will it be bundled into my cruise refund? Thanks

30 days is the standard answer.

[jonj]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

As long as the booking is paid in full prior to cancellation the travel agents commission is protected.  Any TA that charges an additional fee over and above is being very unethical IMO.

Not if the guest cancels the reservation for a full refund. If RCCL cancels and it was paid in full, yes. 

[Ourusualbeach]

On 1/14/2022 at 7:52 PM, ChrisNY2 said:

My TA called Royal and got me a full refund too for my January 22 cruise. (Sadly, I used one of those Travel Agents with their own $100 cancellation fee..won't do that again!)

Go back to your TA and demand that they not charge you this fee as they are still receiving full commission for this booking.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, jonj said:

Not if the guest cancels the reservation for a full refund. If RCCL cancels and it was paid in full, yes. 

NO.  The commission is protected even if the guest cancels.

[jonj]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

NO.  The commission is protected even if the guest cancels.

Interesting, thank you. I know Disney is not, I guess Royal is different. 

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, jonj said:

Interesting, thank you. I know Disney is not, I guess Royal is different. 

Royal is and so is Celebrity and NCL.  Those are the 3 cruise lines that I have dealt with.

 

 

[sailing sue]

I just received an email from Royal - Our records indicate you cancelled your reservation and you were booked under the Non-Refundable Promotion. This entitles you to a Future Cruise Certificate.

I was told by my travel agent that I would be getting a full refund! Any ideas what is going on and what I should do? Thank you.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, sailing sue said:

Any ideas what is going on and what I should do?

Could be an RCI IT issue (default email language sent to all)- confirm with TA. 

[sailing sue]

Thank you, Biker! Proves the communication process at Royal does not always work smoothly. I will follow up and smooth over the bumps, and fingers crossed, get the FCC issue solved in my favor.