Royal Caribbean announced on Wednesday it has simplified when guests can use their future cruise credits (FCCs) by extending the expiration date to April 30th, 2022, regardless of when the sailing suspension occurred..
This change means guests have until April 30th, 2022 to apply your certificate to a Royal Caribbean International cruise that sets sail on or before the same date.
The change is automatic, and there is nothing extra guests have to do to have their FCC extended.
Prior to this announcement, most FCCs were set to expire on December 31, 2020.
Royal Caribbean informed travel agents that the continued cruise shutdown has lasted much longer than anticipated, and as a result, this extension made sense.
"We never imagined the pause in cruising to last as long as it has. At the onset of the pandemic, rebooking deadlines and opt-in dates provided ample time for future vacation planning and cruise credit redemption — however, as time has progressed, the window of opportunity has narrowed."
Last month, Royal Caribbean had extended Future Cruise Credits that were going to expire by the end of 2020. Today's announcement moves everyone ahead again to the end of April 2022.
Emails have been sent to guests who had future cruise credits to inform them of this change.
What can I use a future cruise credit for?
Future cruise credits are vouchers that guests typically get when a cruise is cancelled in lieu of a refund. You can think of them as a kind of gift certificate.
Future cruise credits have become widely available due to the current voluntary cruise shutdown that Royal Caribbean is engaged in, which means while cruises are being cancelled due to the global health crisis, Royal Caribbean is offering guests future cruise credits.
Royal Caribbean allows guests to use their future cruise credits to pay their cruise fare, including the deposit.
It cannot be used towards add-on purchases, like drink packages, shore excursions, port fees or taxes.
