Serenade Itinerary change

[K8T]

I’ve just heard via TikTok would you believe, that the Serenade is going around Africa (as expected, so no surprise), but that guests on the World cruise are going to vote on options, of which there are two!!

 

We are on the Istanbul to Venice segment, which in both options will be changed, in the case of Option 1, cancelled completely!

 

Despite this, I have had nothing from RCCL whatsoever informing me of the possible change, even though we’ve paid in full, flights and hotels booked prior and after.  My TA didn’t know anything about it either until I explained the situation, the cruise is still

showing to book. 
 

The whole thing of guests choosing, not being informed and I’ve even seen people’s cruises being cancelled having only just got on, seems unreal, I know that cruise lines have a right to change things, we’re not novice cruisers, but what the hell os going on? 
 

Are RCCL normally so dismissive of

their customers? Just a heads up would be good and not to find out on social media! 

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, K8T said:

Are RCCL normally so dismissive of

their customers?

Yes. 

[Jimbo]

4 minutes ago, K8T said:

I’ve just heard via TikTok would you believe, that the Serenade is going around Africa (as expected, so no surprise), but that guests on the World cruise are going to vote on options, of which there are two!!

 

We are on the Istanbul to Venice segment, which in both options will be changed, in the case of Option 1, cancelled completely!

 

Despite this, I have had nothing from RCCL whatsoever informing me of the possible change, even though we’ve paid in full, flights and hotels booked prior and after.  My TA didn’t know anything about it either until I explained the situation, the cruise is still

showing to book. 
 

The whole thing of guests choosing, not being informed and I’ve even seen people’s cruises being cancelled having only just got on, seems unreal, I know that cruise lines have a right to change things, we’re not novice cruisers, but what the hell os going on? 
 

Are RCCL normally so dismissive of

their customers? Just a heads up would be good and not to find out on social media! 

News Flash............Your June 7th cruise was canceled by Royal a few Days ago. Others have all ready been notified by email.

[K8T]

19 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

News Flash............Your June 7th cruise was canceled by Royal a few Days ago. Others have all ready been notified by email.

Really!  I thought it might just sit there until the vote.  No one told me, or my travel agent!   It’s still showing to book and ‘live’ in her system. 
 

I’m disgusted if that is the case, where did you get that information from please? 

Edited February 19 by K8T

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, K8T said:

I’m disgusted if that is the case. 

It is not uncommon for RCI to keep having a known redeployment itinerary on sale. It takes a while for RCI IT to catch up to the reality of the situation. 

[Tree_skier]

43 minutes ago, K8T said:

he whole thing of guests choosing, not being informed and I’ve even seen people’s cruises being cancelled having only just got on, seems unreal

And a Tik tok video is where you are getting your getting your information. LOL

 

 

[crzndeb]

48 minutes ago, K8T said:

I’ve just heard via TikTok would you believe, that the Serenade is going around Africa (as expected, so no surprise), but that guests on the World cruise are going to vote on options, of which there are two!!

There’s been a lot of talk already about it on the World Cruise thread, from those on the ship.

Edited February 19 by crzndeb

[K8T]

10 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

And a Tik tok video is where you are getting your getting your information. LOL

 

 

Unfortunately yes, the Captains meeting in the theatre was streamed live by some cruisers on board, are you being rude for a reason?  Is that a problem for you? 

Edited February 19 by K8T

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, K8T said:

I’ve just heard via TikTok would you believe, that the Serenade is going around Africa (as expected, so no surprise), but that guests on the World cruise are going to vote on options, of which there are two!!

 

We are on the Istanbul to Venice segment, which in both options will be changed, in the case of Option 1, cancelled completely!

 

Despite this, I have had nothing from RCCL whatsoever informing me of the possible change, even though we’ve paid in full, flights and hotels booked prior and after.  My TA didn’t know anything about it either until I explained the situation, the cruise is still

showing to book. 
 

The whole thing of guests choosing, not being informed and I’ve even seen people’s cruises being cancelled having only just got on, seems unreal, I know that cruise lines have a right to change things, we’re not novice cruisers, but what the hell os going on? 
 

Are RCCL normally so dismissive of

their customers? Just a heads up would be good and not to find out on social media! 

There is a thead about the world cruise which has the 2 options, the 25% or 50% obc, and some letters other have gotten. If you are booked, I'd read thru some starting with the end...and read back to friday.

 

The ship cannot go thru the suez canal, they are shooting at ships there, so it's going around africa. The vote is feb 27 I believe. 

 

I would read back to the meeting held last friday afternoon at 3 pm.

 

 

 

Edited February 19 by firefly333

[kitkat343]

2 hours ago, K8T said:

I’ve just heard via TikTok would you believe, that the Serenade is going around Africa (as expected, so no surprise), but that guests on the World cruise are going to vote on options, of which there are two!!

 

We are on the Istanbul to Venice segment, which in both options will be changed, in the case of Option 1, cancelled completely!

 

Despite this, I have had nothing from RCCL whatsoever informing me of the possible change, even though we’ve paid in full, flights and hotels booked prior and after.  My TA didn’t know anything about it either until I explained the situation, the cruise is still

showing to book. 
 

The whole thing of guests choosing, not being informed and I’ve even seen people’s cruises being cancelled having only just got on, seems unreal, I know that cruise lines have a right to change things, we’re not novice cruisers, but what the hell os going on? 
 

Are RCCL normally so dismissive of

their customers? Just a heads up would be good and not to find out on social media! 

RCCL absolutely had to cancel the original itinerary for safety.  They absolutely should have notified all of their customers of this necessary change.  Have you checked your spam filter?  Did they notify your travel agent instead of you?    If they didn't attempt to notify you that is a significant issue, but if you booked through a travel agent they might have notified them instead of you directly.

Edited February 19 by kitkat343

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, K8T said:

Really!  I thought it might just sit there until the vote.  No one told me, or my travel agent!   It’s still showing to book and ‘live’ in her system. 
 

I’m disgusted if that is the case, where did you get that information from please? 

I received the notification for my clients who are on those affected voyages. 

[marquisite]

I am booked on several B2B sailings including the cancelled May 27th one and my email about the cancellation said:

"Additionally, as we are still working through our itineraries with our Ultimate World Cruise guests, we’ll have more information for our June 7th, 2024 sailing in the coming weeks."

 

The two options given to cruisers onboard, I understand only one of the options (Immersive Africa, aka scenic route) would result in total cancellation of the June 7th cruise. The other option (Africa & Greece) would retain the Istanbul departure on the same date, but with an itinerary change to include Egypt. Reading between the lines, if Africa & Greece itinerary wins then I presume you won't be cancelled.

 

EDIT:

But what I don't understand is why RCI hasn't given any indication of whether affected cruisers will have the option to do all or part of Africa based on their original booking. Assuming Immersive Africa wins, the overnight in Cape Town would line up with the originally planned overnight in Greece where one sailing was to end and the next one would have started. What RCI should do in my opinion (but no indication that they will) is offer to those booked on Dubai to Athens to sail Dubai to Cape Town. For those booked on Athens to Istanbul to Ravenna (B2B), RCI should invite them to sail Cape Town to Ravenna. But for guests originally booked to embark or depart at Istanbul (i.e. not B2B) it becomes more complicated as it looks like two cancelled sailings will merge into one extra long sailing.

Edited February 19 by marquisite

[Jimbo]

Could be that Royal Caribbean doesn't have a facility there or want to fly down personnel or have them   in place in Cape Town to off load  passengers  or board new passengers in Cape Town.

Edited February 19 by Jimbo

[marquisite]

That may be true. 

 

Having said that, of the proposed two itineraries shown to those onboard (see post by suzyluvs2cruise), Immersive Africa has the overnight stop in Cape Town coloured in blue, the same as Dubai and Ravenna. As Dubai and Ravenna are ports where one sailing ends and the next begins, this leads me to believe Cape Town will be offered as a start and end point for individual sailings ... if Immersive Africa itinerary is voted in. 

 

 

Edited February 19 by marquisite

[K8T]

Thank you everyone, interesting thoughts.  
 

just to clarify, I totally understand the reason for ‘going round’, but it’s the not hearing anything from RCCL that upsets me. 
 

Yes, we are paid in full, no I have had no emails, spam folder or otherwise, yes I have spoken to my TA, she has had nothing either!   In fact she didn’t even know of the Options or vote, although like us all, was expecting the diversion.   Maybe because we’re in the U.K., but it’s still extremely poor practice on RCCL’s part  

 

I’ll look at the other thread, thanks. 
 

 

[K8T]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I received the notification for my clients who are on those affected voyages. 

Are you U.K. or US?   Nothing here at all in the U.K.  in fact it was me who informed my agent of the process now going ahead - she’s obviously not on TikTk! 😂

[firefly333]

18 minutes ago, K8T said:

Are you U.K. or US?   Nothing here at all in the U.K.  in fact it was me who informed my agent of the process now going ahead - she’s obviously not on TikTk! 😂

Canadian, but has US clients. Hes telling you that agents were notified. It's your TA who missed the notification. if you booked with a TA then the notification went to your TA. They are the one who should be looking into it. 

[K8T]

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Canadian, but has US clients. Hes telling you that agents were notified. It's your TA who missed the notification. if you booked with a TA then the notification went to your TA. They are the one who should be looking into it. 

No, you’re not getting it, my agent hadn’t been notified!   They knew the cruise was likely to be redirected, as we all did, but they hadn’t heard anything as of yesterday.  
 

They are one of the largest specialists in the U.K. and none of their staff, either the main bookings or the tailor made bookings that we are dealing with, have had any notification from RCCL whatsoever, in fact all aspects of the cruise are still showing ‘live’ and bookable in their system, which probably is IT catching up. 
 

What I’m saying is they didn’t even know that the ‘options’ idea had been put forward, or there would be a vote - nothing.  They are contacting RCCL today, as I will too.
  

[Twenty2020]

7 hours ago, K8T said:

Really!  I thought it might just sit there until the vote.  No one told me, or my travel agent!   It’s still showing to book and ‘live’ in her system. 
 

I’m disgusted if that is the case, where did you get that information from please? 

 

It's been pretty clear for a couple months now that world events (war) were going to take the Suez passage off the table. 

[K8T]

1 hour ago, Twenty2020 said:

 

It's been pretty clear for a couple months now that world events (war) were going to take the Suez passage off the table. 

State the obvious!  Read the thread and you will see everyone was completely aware what would happen, that’s not the issue and not a surprise to anyone. The fact they took so long to make that decision is a surprise maybe, nothing was going to change that political situation.  
 

It’s the fact RCCL have not communicated the alternatives or even made U.K. TAs aware of the options that’s the issue.  Someone else posted their TA didn’t know either until they were informed by the client.  Pretty shoddy, but seems the consensus is this is how RCCL operate.
 

 

[kernow]

Sadly it is how RCL operate in the UK. Over the years I've had major changes/cancellations of cruises which I've read about on here which UK TA or even RCL UK office have no idea about. All have turned out to be correct and the news seems to reach those in the UK offices a week or so later

I've complained even sending emails to Miami but nothing changes so I've learned to live with it. I sometimes think the Miami office sees us in the UK as second class customers.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, K8T said:

Are you U.K. or US?   Nothing here at all in the U.K.  in fact it was me who informed my agent of the process now going ahead - she’s obviously not on TikTk! 😂

North America.

 

Whether your agent receives e nails directly will depend bonus how they are set up in the system.  Theses e mail notifications go out to tje agency owner and not to the agent directly.  It is then up to the agency owner to sent the notifications to the agent.

 

Ive been in that position as an agent and it's frustrating but Royal has sent them.

[kernow]

18 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

North America.

 

Whether your agent receives e nails directly will depend bonus how they are set up in the system.  Theses e mail notifications go out to tje agency owner and not to the agent directly.  It is then up to the agency owner to sent the notifications to the agent.

 

Ive been in that position as an agent and it's frustrating but Royal has sent them.

Are you saying that you know that notifications get sent to the UK agents and the UK office at the same time as those in North America?

I have spoken to the owner of the agency I often use and he has had no idea of cruises that have been cancelled. The last time this happened to me was in 2022 when Radiance was pulled from Australia. He actually said to me he didn't think it was correct until I sent him a copy of the cancellation letter that others had posted on here. It took him about 3 days to get confirmation.

[K8T]

24 minutes ago, kernow said:

Are you saying that you know that notifications get sent to the UK agents and the UK office at the same time as those in North America?

I have spoken to the owner of the agency I often use and he has had no idea of cruises that have been cancelled. The last time this happened to me was in 2022 when Radiance was pulled from Australia. He actually said to me he didn't think it was correct until I sent him a copy of the cancellation letter that others had posted on here. It took him about 3 days to get confirmation.

I find it hard to believe that the ‘owners’ get notification and not agents.  This cruise agency is a big one in the U.K. with, agents on site.   
 

I rang RCCL, their agent, who obviously was at home - (dog barking, chiming clock in the background) didn’t know the situation either, told me it’s not been ‘cancelled’. I insisted that to my knowledge it will be changed, worst scenario cancelled (based on the options).   I spent nearly 20 minutes holding for her to speak to a supervisor, who said there would be no information until 27th, when they will be in touch.  
 

I of course knew this, based on my TikTok information and posts on here 🙄 😂    But there wasn’t even a mention that itinerary from Istanbul would change, or even possibly be cancelled.  
 

A courtesy email outlining the basics and ‘you will be contacted on 27th’ would be better than hearing about it on Social media and not informing agents, but maybe I’m expecting too much from them.  

 

just ver poor customer service. 
 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

The meeting onboard was held Friday while in Hawaii time zone.     

 

Maybe your agency owner did not check their emails over the weekend to share with their agents.   

Not sure, just a guess.

 

There are a lot of moving pieces and unknown at this time if they will re-market sailings for the new itinerary.    

 

I suggest you stay posted on CC for updates.