What would you do?

[mevelandry]

Hi!

We are cancelling our December 2020 trip. Plane tickets have been refunded. Hotel is being refunded. We haven‘t cancelled our cruise yet but we are definitely not going.

I was told by a RCCL agent that I had until July 31 to change my dates without fees. UPDATE: I talked to another agent who contradicts that information and said it's 100$/pp to make changes.

But I don’t really see a huge difference between changing my dates and doing « Lift and Shift »?

I know that RCCL cancelling would give us a bonus credit but I am not sure I want to wait any longer and risk losing our deposit because we did not make changes when we had the opportunity.

What would you do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[starvenger]

If you think you want to do a cruise in Dec 2021 then lift and shift. Otherwise just cancel it outright.

 

[mevelandry]

If you think you want to do a cruise in Dec 2021 then lift and shift. Otherwise just cancel it outright.

That makes sense. Now I just need my « crew » to approve.

 

[cutigerlady]

We L&S'ed our Dec 2020 cruise and saved thousands over just re-booking. We went from the Independence of the Seas to the Symphony (for us it wasn't a big deal to switch departure ports). It sort of depends if there is another cruise that meets the L&S criteria that is more expensive. I know that they have gotten stricter about what you can move to from when it was first offered.

What helped us is that I had booked connecting balcony rooms and those appear to have an up-charge in 2021. I'm glad my kids are now old enough that I am ok with rooms next to each other over connecting, because I won't be paying the extra $ for the connecting door!

Remember that if you L&S, you also can have the price adjusted if the price of your cruise goes down, which has helped me as well.

 

[mevelandry]

We L&S'ed our Dec 2020 cruise and saved thousands over just re-booking. We went from the Independence of the Seas to the Symphony (for us it wasn't a big deal to switch departure ports). It sort of depends if there is another cruise that meets the L&S criteria that is more expensive. I know that they have gotten stricter about what you can move to from when it was first offered.

What helped us is that I had booked connecting balcony rooms and those appear to have an up-charge in 2021. I'm glad my kids are now old enough that I am ok with rooms next to each other over connecting, because I won't be paying the extra $ for the connecting door!

Remember that if you L&S, you also can have the price adjusted if the price of your cruise goes down, which has helped me as well.

You did?
They litterally just told me I could not change itineraries, cruise port or cruise length.

It's like none of them agrees with that the conditions are. I'm so confused!

 

[gumbypee]

You did?
They litterally just told me I could not change itineraries, cruise port or cruise length.

It's like none of them agrees with that the conditions are. I'm so confused!

I Lift and shifted and lknow my itinerary changed but my port and length stayed the same. They simply didn't offer same exact cruise a year later. Try calling again to keep getting a different person?

I agree, lift and shift and if that doesn't work I would just cancel

 

[Frozen2014]

You did?
They litterally just told me I could not change itineraries, cruise port or cruise length.

It's like none of them agrees with that the conditions are. I'm so confused!

What is your cruise and when? The general rule is you can book 1 year plus/minus 4 weeks, same number of days, same itinerary type (e.g.eastern Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean, but ports don't have to be the same).

We had an exception where we went from an 8 night to 7 night, bit that's because it is holiday cruise to holiday cruise. Saved a lot by lifting and sifting vs booking fresh next year (even with losing a day).

There is an online link on Royal's site that you can punch in your cruise and it will show you your options for lifting and sifting.

 

[mevelandry]

What is your cruise and when? The general rule is you can book 1 year plus/minus 4 weeks, same number of days, same itinerary type (e.g.eastern Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean, but ports don't have to be the same).

We had an exception where we went from an 8 night to 7 night, bit that's because it is holiday cruise to holiday cruise. Saved a lot by lifting and sifting vs booking fresh next year (even with losing a day).

There is an online link on Royal's site that you can punch in your cruise and it will show you your options for lifting and sifting.

It is a 3 nights cruise from PC to the Bahamas. We wanted to replace it with a 4 or 5 nights.

I thought they would accept more money but apparently they do not want it. LOL

Do you have that link? I‘d love to try it.

 

[Frozen2014]

It is a 3 nights cruise from PC to the Bahamas. We wanted to replace it with a 4 or 5 nights.

I thought they would accept more money but apparently they do not want it. LOL

Do you have that link? I‘d love to try it.

That's the thing with Lift and Sift...it's protecting your price. If you are ok paying more, then just cancel and book the 4 or 5 night. For Dec, you should get any non-refundable deposit as FCC you can put towards next years. (Or if refundable, then all would be returned)

The link is on Royal's Cruise with Confidence page ("online form"). It is https://cancellation.royalcaribbean...359.363626615.1596070645-870858016.1545066786
Just select the Lift and Sift from this page and follow. (But don't submit unless you want to Lift and Sift)

 

[mevelandry]

That's the thing with Lift and Sift...it's protecting your price. If you are ok paying more, then just cancel and book the 4 or 5 night. For Dec, you should get any non-refundable deposit as FCC you can put towards next years. (Or if refundable, then all would be returned)

The link is on Royal's Cruise with Confidence page ("online form"). It is https://cancellation.royalcaribbean...359.363626615.1596070645-870858016.1545066786
Just select the Lift and Sift from this page and follow. (But don't submit unless you want to Lift and Sift)

I’m not okay with losing 300$ by cancelling... (I booked non-refundable and they told me I would lose my deposit).

UPDATE: I decided to try the « Cruise with Confidence« program. It looks like I’ll get a full refund including the deposit??? (To be continued...) Thank you for the link.

 

[mevelandry]

Has anyone cancelled with Cruise with Confidence? Did you get a refund for your drink package and excursions or did they give you a cruise credit?

 

[Frozen2014]

I’m not okay with losing 300$ by cancelling... (I booked non-refundable and they told me I would lose my deposit).

UPDATE: I decided to try the « Cruise with Confidence« program. It looks like I’ll get a full refund including the deposit??? (To be continued...) Thank you for the link.

I would double check with Royal but I thought that your deposit becomes Future Cruise Credit (even if not final payment) and any additional paid fees are returned as a refund....except it's possible that your cruise is too far to apply. Maybe someone on here can confirm. We cancelled our Aug cruise and got FCC (hadn't done final payment) and rest as waiting for a refund as we paid more than the minimum..., but at that time, it specified "cruises up to...". But reading the site now, it sounds like if you cancel prior to Sept 30th.

And yes, if you cancel, they will refund any cruise planner items. It may take a bit of time though so be patient.

 

[mevelandry]

Another question: When you cancelled and received a FCC certificate. Did it come under the name of the main guest?

I would double check with Royal but I thought that your deposit becomes Future Cruise Credit (even if not final payment) and any additional paid fees are returned as a refund....except it's possible that your cruise is too far to apply. Maybe someone on here can confirm. We cancelled our Aug cruise and got FCC (hadn't done final payment) and rest as waiting for a refund as we paid more than the minimum..., but at that time, it specified "cruises up to...". But reading the site now, it sounds like if you cancel prior to Sept 30th.

And yes, if you cancel, they will refund any cruise planner items. It may take a bit of time though so be patient.

The website says: "any cruise that set sails from now through April 30, 2022." Ours was December 2020.

Thank you for all the infos.

 

[Frozen2014]

Another question: When you cancelled and received a FCC certificate. Did it come under the name of the main guest?


The website says: "any cruise that set sails from now through April 30, 2022." Ours was December 2020.

Thank you for all the infos.

For the FCC, they take the total cruise amount (less taxes & fees, less gratuities) and then split it evenly among the Guests. Then that is the amount that each person has for a future cruise. Or if you just paid deposit, then the deposit split evenly among the guest.