tdcackler

Yup, my Dad used to tell me, "when something seems too good to be true, it probably is". 
I may be out of a cheap drinks package, but RCL is going to have a huge PR problem on their hands. In the long run they will pay far more than I would have saved. Enjoy......

They are Royal Caribbean. They can do whatever they want.

They are Royal Caribbean. They can do whatever they want.

I made Royal an offer they couldn't refuse.  

Technically, my next sailing is in 5 days on Carnival out of New Orleans. In a remarkable stroke of luck, it seems that this ship is also going into dry dock, but they've already redone most of her rooms so, from what we've been led to believe by several sources, we'll actually have a fairly recently renovated cabin!

Technically, my next sailing is in 5 days on Carnival out of New Orleans. In a remarkable stroke of luck, it seems that this ship is also going into dry dock, but they've already redone most of her rooms so, from what we've been led to believe by several sources, we'll actually have a fairly recently renovated cabin!

I second the Cafe Promenade....we found coffee there at all hours.

My wife and I literally only drink coffee and water, no matter where we are.  We are also early risers.

On embarkation day, we carried the ceramic coffee cups around with us.  The next morning, we saw paper coffee cups in the Cafe Promenade, but they were kind of flimsy.  We bought travel coffee cups on board.  On the Mariner, they were $12.99 each with 20% off the second one.

It was nice to get topside to watch the sun rise with an insulated, covered coffee cup.



 

Nothing, it was tongue-in-cheek by tdcackler who's had 2 of his last cruises canceled, so he's teasing about being cursed and this is his next sailing.

Thanks @Matt - I hope so as well. But, I still wouldn't book the 2/2/20 sailing on the Liberty. 🙂

Drat, now i have to cancel it.  At least it is refundable...

I'm still mulling over the reduction in FCC because I used a travel agent.  If booked direct you would get 50% FCC.  Because I used a TA I only get 37% FCC.  
Granted it's only a $98 difference but it's the whole sleazy way it's being calculated base on some secret figure I can't determine because I used a TA.
A user on CC claims he booked a non-suite cabin through Club Royale for only taxes and fees yet he is getting more than double my FCC.  Easiest return on gambling he has ever seen and he gets his taxes and fees back.  
The cancelation is easy enough to get over, ship happens.  It's the way they treat you through the process that illustrates how poorly they think of you.  

Gee, Thanks!

Please keep us updated on any cruises you book so the rest of us can avoid those.  I hope you have cruise insurance to help you with the changes.

@Matt - You and I both know that kids are NEVER free. 😉
 

My invoice reads:
Cruise Fare $776
Taxes and fees $104.82
Total cruise cost $880.82
I received a $290 FCC to use against another cruise.  My calculator makes that a 37% FCC, not the 50% FCC they put in the letter.  
Apparently they are saying that on top of the $104.96 of published taxes and fees, there are $196 in hidden taxes and fees.  Therefore my actual cruise fare is $580 resulting in a 50% FCC of $290.  Who knew about secret taxes and fees?
I booked this as a B2B.  The 2/24 sailing followed by the 3/1 sailing.  I have no choice but to rebook my airfare and hotel to make the 3/1 cruise now on short notice.   
Cost to change flight was $223.96 which they won't cover because it's Southwest because Southwest doesn't charge change fees.  They charge the difference in airfare but Royal won't cover that, it's not a "change fee".  However to sail on the 3/1 cruise I have no choice but to pay $223.96 to make that cruise now.   Cost to rebook my hotel room on short notice resulted in a $67 increase.  
Total out of pocket $290.96.  
If I book another cruise I'll recover that using the 37% FCC and break even.
If I don't book another cruise, I'm out $290.96.
I'm not really in the mood to promote Royal Caribbean at the moment so I won't be live blogging or scoping on the 3/1 cruise, assuming they don't cancel that one too, extending my losses even further.  

If you booked through a travel agent, give him / her these details and let him / her do the follow up. Will most likely get even better results than emailing them directly, especially if the agent is any kind of big dog with Royal.

Another reason to collect crew member's names and position.  Great employees should be praised and recognized.  Employees who fall short should also be reported.  Either they go through more training or the company should find someone more competent.  I am sure RCL will follow up and find out who failed in this instance.   

The reality is there is not enough consumer protection in the travel industry.  A lot of weight is put onto the consumer to purchase their own insurance policy and even that is poorly regulated.  Often the policy wordings are written in a way that the general public cannot interpret.  Travel agents are selling travel insurance policies they themselves are not able to interpret and rely on E&O insurance to cover the few cases against them.   

Pretty much. Add on to that the fact that they offered only to cover $200 in change fees for airfare, many people are going to lose a lot. I'm asking them to reimburse all of my flight costs because it is under the $200 per person (we got a GREAT sale on Spirit) and we won't fly to any of our next few vacations - including a cruise out of Galveston next February.

If it were me, and I know that I'm not in charge, but I'd do the following for those scheduled:
 Full Refund (of course). 25% off a future cruise. 50% of this cruise fare as a credit towards a future cruise OR stateroom credit. Full refund of all non-refundable flights, hotels, cars, etc. And, to pay for it, I'd make every manager's bonus contingent upon completing every dry dock on time. You schedule it too close, you lose your money. Is that fair? Probably not, but neither is asking your customer to eat hundreds, potentially thousands of dollars in travel costs related to your decisions.

@Matt - You and I both know that kids are NEVER free. 😉
 

@Matt - You and I both know that kids are NEVER free. 😉
 

So, they cancelled our 2/24 sailing on the Navigator. Sigh. This is the second time we've booked with RCI and both times they've cancelled our cruise. What, is my money not good enough? 😄

Sorry - if I don't laugh, I'll cry. Now I'm trying to figure out if we just go to Florida for a week or do we scrap it all and reschedule or pick another line? Sigh. I really do want to give RC a try, but why do they have to make it so stinking hard?!
At this rate, I may as well cancel our cruise next February just to get ahead of the curve and spare the other passengers the trouble. 😄
 

The only time someone is upset their kids were free 🤣

Too soon, @Matt, too soon. 🙂

Too soon, @Matt, too soon. 🙂