Sharla

I don't know about the Cruise Planner specifically, but I do know about cruise fares so I'd bet it's the same basic model.

When they say BOGO60 or any specific sale, it's a sale off the price at that time. But then when the sale comes out the cruise fare goes up, making the sale itself not as good as what you had originally (in some cases, other cases better). So yeah, it's still 60% off second guest, but the price increased.

KSF is another example- Kids are free but the price for the first two are higher now than before this sale.  

49 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

One thing Royal could do is make it alot easier to choose a refundable option on their booking screen...they charge WAY more for it...but I bet 90% of people who aren't familiar with Royal or with cruising don't know or even see that option....i mentioned on another post I visit the Royal site and this site almost every day and I cant see or find how to get pricing for the refundable cruise option.....hence I don't book anything on the Royal site for cruising!

Another plug for using a travel agent.

It's hard to tell without knowing the dates or anything, but you are correct that it does say 4 guests. However you should have been able to put in all names before payment- at least that's how it works on the travel agent site. 

I would suggest calling Royal Caribbean's guest services. Looks like you're in the UK, so I would start there, not call the US number. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/resources/contact-us?country=GBR

Hi, I am sorry this happened to you- it's possible you misread the confirmation or the screenshot. It can be hard to read sometimes. Did you put down money already or did you just place a hold?

You can try contacting Royal Caribbean guest services- but I'm not sure what will happen. They might ask for your screenshots. 

You can post them here and we can look but we have no pull with them.

Jen- did Royal Caribbean cancel your cruise? Or did you cancel before they did? That makes a difference.

Also- we don't work for Royal Caribbean this is an independent blog. 

Hi Jen,

When you booked it did you book as a non-refundable deposit? If so then you can only get FCC back. Royal Caribbean has been pretty fair with their Cruise with Confidence plan- no change fees and letting people move their cruises a year out for the same price. 

I never want to eat traditional dining again, I choose MyTime so I can do specialty dining or pizza or Windjammer. 

As someone who likes to stay on the ship if at all possible I never want to get off the ship in Nassau or Cozumel again if I can help it!

I visit the spa on every cruise, and a couples massage is fun, though other posters are correct, you're not getting great bonding time, there's no talking you're just in the same room. That being said we do enjoy this type of thing, it's just fun.

And agreed, no bamboo, especially not your first massage! 

Here's hoping!

7 minutes ago, PaulRC said:

@Sharla  Just in case you did not know when I click on your e-mail address in your tag line it opens a new e-mail, as is should, but puts someone else's email address in the "to" field.  It adds "michelle@..." 

Interesting! Thanks. I believe it has been fixed.

You can replace her, that's no problem. There is a deadline- it's more than 24 hours before sailing, the exact time frame varies a bit- it depends on when Royal Caribbean sends the manifest to the government. But like 3 days before sailing is likely fine, it will take a lot of work to do a name change after that. It can be done, just takes work!

As to the beverage packages/excursions- you'll lose them for her, once her name drops off her purchases will be cancelled and you'll have to redo them. It's a different system so there's just no replacing on that part to my knowledge. 

If the person you replace her with is over 21 and you two have already purchased, not sure. Technically everyone over 21 must purchase but if you've already done it I don't know.

@Baked Alaskayes a person in a suite can be replaced too. One guest must remain the same.

Contact Allianz or your travel agent. Allianz has been extremely fair even though they don't have to be (travel insurance is non-refundable normally).

12 minutes ago, PaulRC said:

Do you have a direct line or do I have to use e-mail?

Either one- [email protected] or 706-742-5358

17 minutes ago, PaulRC said:

@Sharla  If I am just in the thinking about it phase and have questions so I can give "my Boss", My wife..   who might just deny the whole thing is it still ok to call you, or any TA or is this just maybe wasting your time?

Good question! We get paid when the cruise sails (or is cancelled but paid in full). However it's not a waste of time to quote, book, or anything and change it. It's all part of the services we provide. MEI-Travel is not the only agency out there and we get that, but we do personalized service and I don't ever pressure you to book if you're not ready.
 

So ask us to quote or anything, that's not a problem at all! 

Hi Paul- Full disclosure here- I am a Travel Agent. 

We will always offer the same price Royal Caribbean does, with a few exceptions (and those exceptions are special contracted group rates that are lower than you could get booking direct). The benefit to booking with us is that you have an advocate in your corner to help you plan your trip. This means: 

- You have someone to continue to look for and apply discounts should any be released (which is very often with RCCL), so that you do not have to spend time doing the same, or potentially missing a better offer. 

- You have someone to help you navigate the Cruise Planner program.

- You have someone to help you make your dining reservations if you'd like. 

- You have an expert in all things cruising and travel to help you plan the best vacation you can. 

- You have someone you can come to directly to ask questions to instead of spending time looking around on the internet for your answers. 

- You have someone to turn to should something go wrong while you are traveling. This has been key for 2020/ early 2021 bookings. 

And the best part is, we provide all of this for FREE to you. You get our concierge level service at no extra charge. The difference when you book with me is the difference between information and expertise. Anyone can look up information on the internet. When booking your trip with me you know you have an expert in your corner that can help tailor your trip to your desires and make sure you see everything you want to do!

Also- you're paying for our services anyway- what we are paid comes out of the cruise line's pocket. So it's factored in whether you use a TA or not. 

There are no automatic repricing tools that I've found- you just have to check them manually or use a TA. Sometimes the price-alert websites are way off, but if I get a price alert I check it. 

Remember it's 45-60 BUSINESS days, not just regular days. So that might make a difference.

I've seen signs posted outside Guest Services for meets. 

17 hours ago, bretts173 said:

This may only be in Australia then.

This is from my cruise facebook group. I have similar somewhere I will find as I booked direct but this was from a TA.

 

This is interesting- I don't think that's the case in the US, because if your cruise is not paid in full and then the cruise line cancels, the TA does not get paid. They might have different rules over there but we don't get paid here (via commission protection from the cruise line) if not paid in full. So I'm surprised a TA says not to pay it!
If you're in the US you should definitely PIF if you don't want it to auto-cancel.

If Royal Caribbean themselves cancel the cruise, you can get your non-refundable money back. But if you cancel now then you'll get Future Cruise Credit, not a refund. 

Welcome, Drew! The Royal Genie is fantastic! They'll be in touch with you not too long before your cruise to see how they can help, but they are also there to help along the way. If you want anything special for your anniversary, I'm sure they can make that happen, and I am also sure they have ideas on what kind of things will work. 

1 hour ago, MuttMutt said:

Yep, not that I didn't expect it.  Now the question is how do I get the excursions rolled into the 125% credit...

Already canceled the rooms for the trip down to the port.  

Another email will be sent out with the Cruise Planner 125% opt in link.

15 hours ago, FionaMG said:

No Sharla, please no.  Not unless it is genuinely an option and not imposed on everyone.

The problem with all-inclusive is that it includes drinks, which is fine for most people, who will mostly get their money's but totally not alright for the small minority of us who don't drink more than a soda or a beer per day. I did the math on the Celebrity all-inclusive, based on their estimated per-day "value" of the package and it worked out we would be paying close to 60 dollars each for that one soda or beer!  Guess we won't be sailing Celebrity any time soon unless they come up with an opt-out option.

 

I can see both sides of it. It's kind of like baggage fees or resort fees that aren't added in but you have to pay. Gratuities should be included IMO, as should soda. Celebrity is a higher end product than Royal Caribbean, so it makes a lot of sense for them to have that model. I'm sure a lot of Royal guests would actually like it. 

On 11/25/2020 at 6:28 PM, Neesa said:

@Baked AlaskaI second this. The way things were finally refunded was a crazy mess, no ryme or reason. @Sharlahas my back when it comes to fares but i don't feel at ease on my own with RCCL cruise planner purchases. I truly agree whole heartedly with YOU!

 

I wish I could check out everyone's cruise planner purchases and fares too! Or, maybe Royal Caribbean could switch to an all-inclusive option like Celebrity has. I wonder if that's in the cards? Some people wouldn't like it for sure. 

I enable WiFi calling often onboard, and have made plenty of calls to shore via Wifi. 

Just so you know sometimes VOOM is better than other times. But it works most of the time just fine for this.