spinny444

That's an interesting idea to take the upgrade on one room, and request suite perks for the second! It wouldn't be the end of the world to put the in-laws in their own room (), so long as they have the same perks!

You're 100% correct about Costco here. I'm rethinking using Costco as a result of this; I'd hope this wouldn't have happened with a full service (if that exists) travel agent. And in terms of the credit card route - that's great advice that I'll explore.

Thanks for this!

Bitter indeed. And to top it all off, the cruise was meant to be our 20th wedding anniversary present! C'est la vie!

The 7 guests were split between two reservations. The email I shared was for one of the two reservations. They put the second reservation into another Balcony room; but ironically only offered an upgrade for one of the two reservations.

@cruisellama - Thankfully just the deposit at this point. Although we do have airfare from US to Barcelona booked...

@wordell1- Great point! We've been using Costco Travel. They're definitely low touch and failed us on this one, although it's odd that RCL emailed us directly about changing upgrading but not about the actual stateroom change! Either way, hard to pass up Costco's ~10% discount via the Costco card.

Thanks @twangster. Appreciate your experience! I just called RCL and they advised me that they can't refund the cruise since the October 20th deadline has passed. They don't seem to believe me that I never received the initial notice, nor have they provided me the updated price yet. It's really quite odd and frustrating, but I understand that there are a lot of moving parts on their end. Just wish they had a more customer-focused experience off the ship. Either way, live and learn I guess!

Is this happening to anyone else on RCL cruises? We were booked on Allure of the Seas out of Barcelona for June 2022 in a 2-bedroom Grande Suite, with seven guests. We received the following email this past weekend from RCL customer support (see below). Apparently the ship has been changed to Wonder of the Seas and soon thereafter, RCL unilaterally downgraded us to a Balcony room without a price change or prior notice. But they have the gall to offer us "the first opportunity to be upgraded" to a 1-Bedroom Grande Suite (which ironically can't accommodate our group size)! Has anyone experienced this before with RCL? We have cruised multiple times with RCL in the past, and are currently booked on four cruises over the next 18 months. From those who have dealt with similar issues, any thoughts on how we should respond? Hi Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXX, Thank you for your patience and loyalty during the many changes that have occurred in this process of Returning to Service. We appreciate your understanding of the re-accommodation of your originally booked suite. Due to a smaller number of available suites onboard Wonder of the Seas, we were unable to accommodate all guests in a like-for-like room category. When these changes occurred, we offered all affected guests an option to cancel their sailing, with a deadline of October 20, 2021. Since then, we’ve re-reviewed our inventory and found an option to upgrade your current accommodation. You were originally booked in a 2-bedroom Grand Suite on Allure of the Seas, stateroom 9244. Due to limited availability, you were re-accommodated into a Balcony Stateroom, room 7166. As a result of a recent cancellation, we now have an available 1- bedroom Grand Suite, stateroom 1778. Before we release this room into inventory, we wanted to offer you the first opportunity to be upgraded. If you select this option, the least expensive of the two rates, original or new category, will be protected. Please keep in mind, it may be higher than your current re-priced rate for the Balcony room. Please reply to this email at your earliest convenience if this is an option you are interested in. We currently have this suite on hold until tomorrow, Friday, November 5, 2021, at 5 PM EST. At which point the suite will be released. Once this room is released into inventory, if you decide to upgrade later, the difference in price will be based on prevailing rates, and no previous rates will be honored. We thank you again for your understanding and look forward to welcoming you onboard Wonder of the Seas next year. Best regards, Damion Kaisley Executive Office Royal Guest Experience