Shirleywhirley

Invoice when booked on board actually states 'Onboard Booking' and 'If booked in the UK' - well, how can that hold true if you're onboard other than being in waters around the UK? If that IS true, then you should be able to drink alcohol onboard from the age of 18 on sailings from the UK - that's our UK legal limit! It should state 'If booked by UK citizens, then UK Ts&Cs will apply), at the least?

Sucks, doesn't it. Personally, I see it as a legal matter because their invoice does not properly state cancellation penalties, but what is very interesting was the conversation with the Future Cruises booking officer onboard earlier this month. We told her of our problem and she was amazed - couldn't understand why we were not allowed to transfer the deposit elsewhere and had never heard of this extra charge.

Thank you so much, that would be really helpful! The US won't speak to us as we're from the UK and need this peculiar 'unlocking' so we can 'transfer markets' thing. What does THAT mean? Do we become US citizens or something??! Tried to speak to a manager in the UK and they wouldn't come to the phone, just relayed a message. All emails are ignored, how rude, so I'm worried that even if we did a cancel, no-one would acknowledge and we suddenly get the Final Payment bill through! Would have to write and send recorded delivery, I guess. I am considering writing to the CEO - take it to the top, I say.

Hi, it is 24th July for 7 days, followed by the return sailing to Vancouver.

We haven't lost our original deposit yet as we are still within our cancellation policy period. We just want to transfer to another sailing and give them the opportunity to take our money on excursions, drink and stuff on board!

Houston, we have a problem... We booked a back-to-back Alaskan cruise whilst onboard a previous trip. We paid a deposit on the first week. Unfortunately, due to my husband's work commitments, we can no longer sail this July. We rang CS in the UK and advised that the deposit would be lost (we accept that). Also advised, if we wanted to transfer this deposit to another cruise, there would be a charge of £75 per person. On a cruise earlier this month, we asked the bookings officer about this and she advised this extra charge was nonsense - Royal will just transfer the £450 deposit onto another booking. We rang the US CS team - they can't speak to us unless we 'ring the UK and ask them to "unlock" your account so we can "transfer markets" ', which means nothing to us as a passenger. Range the UK CS team - they can't and won't unlock anything and insist upon this extra charge being levied if we transfer onto another booking. This is despite the fact that it will be our 7th cruise with them, there seems zero loyalty. Key issues is, that the UK team keep banging on about our Ts&Cs that we "signed up to". Our only invoice for the Alaskan cruise stated that if we "BOOKED IN THE UK", then the UK Ts&Cs would apply. Well, actually, we did not book in the UK. We booked whilst onboard, therefore internationally, or at the very least, whilst Royal were operating under US contractuals. There is nothing on the invoice to state that the deposit will be lost if cruise is cancelled, or will be subjected to extra charges if changes (ie, another booking) is made. The UK team are very stroppy on the phone and refuse to answer our emails. They are good at the stuck record technique of reading a script for answers. The operator actually suggested that we have no evidence, such as a recording, of the conversation with the Future Cruises office on board therefore it didn't exist. Clearly our fault, we hadn't packed our recording devices in the suitcases. We are getting dangerously close now to the cut-off time to cancel without forfeiting a huge sum of money. No-one, and that is in the UK or the US, seems to want to play fair on this. In fact, they operate as two totally separate companies. Can anyone suggest where we can take this. All we want to do, is transfer the deposit paid onto another cruise, without being stung for £75 x 3 passengers. It would be nice to think that Royal treats its passengers in the UK on the same level as those in the US. Beware of purchasing future cruises on board - or get it in writing as to exactly WHICH Ts&Cs you are bound to.

Does anyone know the departure time from Barcelona for the 7 nt Western Med cruise please? If anyone can advise on distance from Barcelona airport to port, that too would be very helpful. Cheers!