Today my cruise (Odyssey of the Seas, April 2022) switched from Cruise Planner to My Royal Cruise. Upon logging in, beyond noticing the change, I saw Unlimited Dining priced at 162.99. I had just bought it on the 14th at $174 so I thought, “oh, that’s great, I will make the switch.” I canceled my original purchase and proceeded to purchase the new one only to discover that they were now adding 18% gratuity on top of the advertised price. When I bought at 174 it was included in the price. The Unlimited Dining FAQ still says it should be included. Regardless, this now made Unlimited Dining over $192. Customer service gave me answers ranging from claiming it’s always been this way (even though I had an 8 day old transaction showing otherwise) to basically saying, “it is what it is.” Beyond this I’ve now played around with My Royal Cruise a bit and it also adds tax to cabana reservations on Coco Cay. I wouldn’t have thought anything of this had I not reserved a cabana earlier this month that did not have tax on it. I checked my credit card charge to make sure.
So why did I bring this here? One, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t crazy and ask those who have purchased the Unlimited Dining if their experience reflects what I experienced with my 174 booking (that I now wish I had left alone.) Two, I wanted to give the heads up on this to anyone else.
I’ve learned a lesson to get all the way to checkout with something to verify full price before canceling something else.
PS I have seen the complaints about customer service before, but let me tell you, the first person I spoke to was genuinely the worst call center rep experience I think I’ve ever had.
