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BEWARE!!


mark.s

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so, our cruise out of Port Canaveral is being cut from 4 to 2 nights. Basically... its an overnight cruise. Rep said if you go... we'll give you FCC for the pro-rated days you missed. We'll pro rate everything . I said.. what if we don't go? He said.. we'll give you FCC for the price you paid for the cruise less taxes, etc towards another cruise. He quoted me the amount I paid, which didn't include my accepted Royal Up bid. I then asked...what about the Royal Up? He said, i need to ask my supervisor. Put me on hold and came back and said, "My supervisor said sorry, but you forfeit that Royal Up cost and there's nothing we can do" I just about came unglued. I demanded to to speak to his supervisor and was on hold for 25 minutes. I just hung up. This company is unreal. I'll have to take this back up in the morning. This cruise would have put me at Diamond Level.I've given this company a lot of my vacation money over the last 16 years. If they don't make this right, I'll never give this company one more cent. Very disappointed in RC. 

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And unfortunately, Royal is probably bombarded with phone calls, emails, etc with the same staff they have on regular days.  This hurricane is straining their resources I'm sure.  I'm sorry you are in this situation-hurricane season when there is really a hurricane must be very difficult.  I cannot imagine since I haven't experienced dealing with hurricanes personally.  I hope everything works out for you with the refund.

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In the end I think you have a case but the program is new this year and this may the the first real test of mass cancellations.

Be patient and don't get overwhelmed or stressed about it, give it some time.  They are swamped at the moment and once the dust settles they'll have time to focus on specifics like this.

Terms and Conditions

Acceptance and Rejection of an Offer

RCI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if an Offer is accepted or not, regardless of stateroom availability.

RCI may review and make a decision about an Offer at any time after the Offer is submitted, up to 24 hours before the cruise departure date.

If RCI accepts the Offer, Guest will receive an email confirming the acceptance of the Offer and the details of the upgraded stateroom booking (the “Upgrade”). RCI will assign the location of the stateroom in its discretion. The Upgrade will have the same number of berths as the original stateroom.

Immediately upon RCI’s acceptance of an Offer, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card and becomes final and non-refundable. Refunds, credits, or changes may be issued only in the following circumstances: 1) RCI cancels the cruise, or 2) RCI cancels the cruise and re-books the guests onto another cruise in a stateroom class that is lower than the upgraded stateroom class. Any refund or credit will be limited to the Upgrade charge and credited back to the Credit Card in the same currency of the original charge; no other charges or fees of any type or nature will be refunded or credited.

If RCI does not accept the Offer, the original booking will continue, and persons associated with the booking will travel in the original stateroom category. RCI will not offer and guests will not receive any compensation, consideration, or other benefit as a result of the Offer not being accepted.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After RCI Accepts the Offer

If RCI has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.

If RCI has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. RCI will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind. Upgrades are non-refundable unless Guest cancels the booking. If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.

Modifying the Booking by RCI

If RCI for whatever reason re-books the Guest or any person associated with the booking to another cruise departing on a date that is different from the original booking date, RCI, in its sole discretion, may transfer any Offer made in relation to the original booking to the new booking, subject to availability of the upgraded stateroom category.

 

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The expert meteorologist can’t even predict this historical storm so try to imagine RCCL trying to make sure vacations are not ruined and safely executed. People are going to bitch no matter what just because you can’t please everyone. If people used a travel agent and purchased the correct travel insurance, there should be no issues taking a cruise in the middle of hurricane season. Don’t wait for RCCL to make a decision if you are not comfortable for your individual situation. I am sure they are doing the best they can with the resources they have. Remember most of the employees are based in Miami area, which is going to be impacted as of today, and needs to secure their family and homes. In short just saying EVERYONE needs to be patient as no one knows what is going to happen. (Off soapbox now)

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30 minutes ago, twangster said:

In the end I think you have a case but the program is new this year and this may the the first real test of mass cancellations.

Be patient and don't get overwhelmed or stressed about it, give it some time.  They are swamped at the moment and once the dust settles they'll have time to focus on specifics like this.

Terms and Conditions

Acceptance and Rejection of an Offer

RCI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if an Offer is accepted or not, regardless of stateroom availability.

RCI may review and make a decision about an Offer at any time after the Offer is submitted, up to 24 hours before the cruise departure date.

If RCI accepts the Offer, Guest will receive an email confirming the acceptance of the Offer and the details of the upgraded stateroom booking (the “Upgrade”). RCI will assign the location of the stateroom in its discretion. The Upgrade will have the same number of berths as the original stateroom.

Immediately upon RCI’s acceptance of an Offer, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card and becomes final and non-refundable. Refunds, credits, or changes may be issued only in the following circumstances: 1) RCI cancels the cruise, or 2) RCI cancels the cruise and re-books the guests onto another cruise in a stateroom class that is lower than the upgraded stateroom class. Any refund or credit will be limited to the Upgrade charge and credited back to the Credit Card in the same currency of the original charge; no other charges or fees of any type or nature will be refunded or credited.

If RCI does not accept the Offer, the original booking will continue, and persons associated with the booking will travel in the original stateroom category. RCI will not offer and guests will not receive any compensation, consideration, or other benefit as a result of the Offer not being accepted.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After RCI Accepts the Offer

If RCI has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.

If RCI has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. RCI will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind. Upgrades are non-refundable unless Guest cancels the booking. If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.

Modifying the Booking by RCI

If RCI for whatever reason re-books the Guest or any person associated with the booking to another cruise departing on a date that is different from the original booking date, RCI, in its sole discretion, may transfer any Offer made in relation to the original booking to the new booking, subject to availability of the upgraded stateroom category.

 

Typically I get and understand the "details" but I think there needs to be an exception to the rule here.  If they are offering the FCC for the sailing then it needs to cover everything with the sailing.  I think keeping their money is bad business when mother nature is the reason for this situation.  If the OP was cancelling just because then I would 100% side with RC.

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3 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

Typically I get and understand the "details" but I think there needs to be an exception to the rule here.  If they are offering the FCC for the sailing then it needs to cover everything with the sailing.  I think keeping their money is bad business when mother nature is the reason for this situation.  If the OP was cancelling just because then I would 100% side with RC.

I agree with you and will be very surprised if they don’t make it right. I’m sure they are just overwhelmed at the moment. 

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2 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

 I think keeping their money is bad business when mother nature is the reason for this situation.  If the OP was cancelling just because then I would 100% side with RC.

I think the amount of money they are going to make from keeping the Royal Up money isn't worth all the bad publicity. In the grand scheme of things, considering how much money RC makes yearly, how much can it really be? Maybe they don't want to set a precedent? There are exceptions to every rule though.

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I will just say after Hurricane Harvey came through 2 years ago and flooded us with 50 inches of rain in two days.  Royal didn't let us know if the cruise was a go or no until the day before.  Yes a day before.  Lucky for us it is just a 40 minute drive and we had no damage.  I couldn't image the stress level for those trying to fly in when airports had been closed for days.

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16 minutes ago, function12 said:

I will just say after Hurricane Harvey came through 2 years ago and flooded us with 50 inches of rain in two days.  Royal didn't let us know if the cruise was a go or no until the day before.  Yes a day before.  Lucky for us it is just a 40 minute drive and we had no damage.  I couldn't image the stress level for those trying to fly in when airports had been closed for days.

I remember that mayhem. I think Royal learned a few lessons there and hopefully are handling things differently now. 

I recall that they were expecting cruisers to be prepared to cruise in the midst of Harvey, basically requiring them to come INTO the hurricane hazard area or risk losing their cruise investment. It was not cool.   Hopefully they learned something from Harvey.

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We need to remember as well that RCI has its headquarters in Miami, so people working there are probably concerned not only with others people's vacations, but about the safety of their families and homes.  I understand the stress this is causing but try to remember that many people have worries beyond their vacation and trust that RCI will find a solution, even if not immediately.

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1 minute ago, RatedPG said:

I thought you won't even be charged until you win the bid.  So, did the original poster win the bid and Royal Up wouldn't refund them even after they canceled their cruise?  

I believe that's the issue.

Frankly, I don't think the T&C for RoyalUp were written with a situation like this in mind.

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

I too am cancelling my cruise and taking the FCC, but elected to do RoyalUp.  For the time being, I've got bigger, hurricane sized, problems than this to deal with. 

Stay safe @Matt. Thinking of you and all the others living in Florida who are impacted by this. 

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

In the end I think you have a case but the program is new this year and this may the the first real test of mass cancellations.

Be patient and don't get overwhelmed or stressed about it, give it some time.  They are swamped at the moment and once the dust settles they'll have time to focus on specifics like this.

Terms and Conditions

Acceptance and Rejection of an Offer

RCI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if an Offer is accepted or not, regardless of stateroom availability.

RCI may review and make a decision about an Offer at any time after the Offer is submitted, up to 24 hours before the cruise departure date.

If RCI accepts the Offer, Guest will receive an email confirming the acceptance of the Offer and the details of the upgraded stateroom booking (the “Upgrade”). RCI will assign the location of the stateroom in its discretion. The Upgrade will have the same number of berths as the original stateroom.

Immediately upon RCI’s acceptance of an Offer, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card and becomes final and non-refundable. Refunds, credits, or changes may be issued only in the following circumstances: 1) RCI cancels the cruise, or 2) RCI cancels the cruise and re-books the guests onto another cruise in a stateroom class that is lower than the upgraded stateroom class. Any refund or credit will be limited to the Upgrade charge and credited back to the Credit Card in the same currency of the original charge; no other charges or fees of any type or nature will be refunded or credited.

If RCI does not accept the Offer, the original booking will continue, and persons associated with the booking will travel in the original stateroom category. RCI will not offer and guests will not receive any compensation, consideration, or other benefit as a result of the Offer not being accepted.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After RCI Accepts the Offer

If RCI has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.

If RCI has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. RCI will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind. Upgrades are non-refundable unless Guest cancels the booking. If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.

Modifying the Booking by RCI

If RCI for whatever reason re-books the Guest or any person associated with the booking to another cruise departing on a date that is different from the original booking date, RCI, in its sole discretion, may transfer any Offer made in relation to the original booking to the new booking, subject to availability of the upgraded stateroom category.

Look at next to last paragraph... If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.   So it looks like a FUL REFUND of the upgrade is in order...

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1 hour ago, VinceC said:

Look at next to last paragraph... If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.   So it looks like a FUL REFUND of the upgrade is in order...

Looking at next to the last paragraph I see this...

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After RCI Accepts the Offer

If RCI has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.

If RCI has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. RCI will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind. Upgrades are non-refundable unless Guest cancels the booking. If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.

It says NO refund!!!

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2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I remember that mayhem. I think Royal learned a few lessons there and hopefully are handling things differently now. 

I recall that they were expecting cruisers to be prepared to cruise in the midst of Harvey, basically requiring them to come INTO the hurricane hazard area or risk losing their cruise investment. It was not cool.   Hopefully they learned something from Harvey.

Are you serious!? Super happy we got travel insurance. Hope they aren’t doing that this time to people.

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5 hours ago, twangster said:

In the end I think you have a case but the program is new this year and this may the the first real test of mass cancellations.

Be patient and don't get overwhelmed or stressed about it, give it some time.  They are swamped at the moment and once the dust settles they'll have time to focus on specifics like this.

Terms and Conditions

Acceptance and Rejection of an Offer

RCI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if an Offer is accepted or not, regardless of stateroom availability.

RCI may review and make a decision about an Offer at any time after the Offer is submitted, up to 24 hours before the cruise departure date.

If RCI accepts the Offer, Guest will receive an email confirming the acceptance of the Offer and the details of the upgraded stateroom booking (the “Upgrade”). RCI will assign the location of the stateroom in its discretion. The Upgrade will have the same number of berths as the original stateroom.

Immediately upon RCI’s acceptance of an Offer, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card and becomes final and non-refundable. Refunds, credits, or changes may be issued only in the following circumstances: 1) RCI cancels the cruise, or 2) RCI cancels the cruise and re-books the guests onto another cruise in a stateroom class that is lower than the upgraded stateroom class. Any refund or credit will be limited to the Upgrade charge and credited back to the Credit Card in the same currency of the original charge; no other charges or fees of any type or nature will be refunded or credited.

If RCI does not accept the Offer, the original booking will continue, and persons associated with the booking will travel in the original stateroom category. RCI will not offer and guests will not receive any compensation, consideration, or other benefit as a result of the Offer not being accepted.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After RCI Accepts the Offer

If RCI has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.

If RCI has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. RCI will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind. Upgrades are non-refundable unless Guest cancels the booking. If Guest cancels the booking, Guest’s cruise fare will be refunded in accordance with RCI’s standard cancellation policy, and Guest will receive a refund for the Total Amount of the Upgrade.

Modifying the Booking by RCI

If RCI for whatever reason re-books the Guest or any person associated with the booking to another cruise departing on a date that is different from the original booking date, RCI, in its sole discretion, may transfer any Offer made in relation to the original booking to the new booking, subject to availability of the upgraded stateroom category.

 

I cannot believe a company the size of RCCL would use terms and conditions like this.   It says you don't get a refund but you do get a refund.

 

I THINK they are trying to say that once they accept the offer you cannot cancel or modify the offer (ie decide not to upgrade) and get a refund, but if you cancel the entire booking, you can.

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17 hours ago, mark.s said:

so, our cruise out of Port Canaveral is being cut from 4 to 2 nights. Basically... its an overnight cruise. Rep said if you go... we'll give you FCC for the pro-rated days you missed. We'll pro rate everything . I said.. what if we don't go? He said.. we'll give you FCC for the price you paid for the cruise less taxes, etc towards another cruise. 

You're out a lot of money just in taxes, if a few more calls doesn't get better results, you're probably better off going for the 2 nights and relaxing a bit. You might end up with a better offer in the end than a future cruise credit for the 2 missed days.

A friends cruise was diverted a few years ago and they received 50% off their cruise fare as an OBC which they didn't need to spend it all and could 'cash out' the balance.

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4 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

We need to remember as well that RCI has its headquarters in Miami, so people working there are probably concerned not only with others people's vacations, but about the safety of their families and homes.  I understand the stress this is causing but try to remember that many people have worries beyond their vacation and trust that RCI will find a solution, even if not immediately.

I agree- anyone who is staring at an impending hurricane has huge worries swirling around in their heads. I went through this 2 years ago because my former job required that I stay put when Harvey was barreling towards our part of Texas. Hubby,  our dogs, and I sheltered in a FEMA dome, and we were fortunate in that our fence was the only sustained damage , as well as losing all our perishables and no internet for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, nearby towns (and even parts of Houston) were flooded or outright, demolished.

Also, due to another extremely stressful event (husband suffering a heart attack) we once had to cancel a scheduled  comped cruise ( with Carnival. ) We ended up recovering our son’s cruise fare ( he was scheduled to go with us) because we had paid with a credit card that covered trip cancellations. We hadn’t bothered to use travel insurance, but now, we do. 

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8 minutes ago, twangster said:

 If the guest cancels, like on a normal sunny day.  

If Royal cancels that paragraph applies.  

Which unfortunately seems to be the problem, Royal's offer is (assuming I read original post correctly) FCC for days missed or you can cancel and receive a FCC minus taxes. So, if they aren't willing to refund taxes, I suspect Royal Up would be forfeited as well. BUT. Royal Up is part of the cruise fare, but probably a separate line item that the RCL call center agent didn't know what to do with? This hurts my head -- good reason for Travel Insurance even if it's with a credit card. Also good reason for an agent, let someone else fight your battles. ?

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4 hours ago, twangster said:

I think people will find Royal does the right thing.  They always have for me.  In the end things always work out.  

100%. I've heard too many stories of them being overly generous with refunds. I suspect this is just a stressful time for all. Once the storm settles (pun?) everything will work out in the end. I feel terrible people are going through this, I know I'd be stressed out too.

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5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I recall that they were expecting cruisers to be prepared to cruise in the midst of Harvey, basically requiring them to come INTO the hurricane hazard area or risk losing their cruise investment. It was not cool.   Hopefully they learned something from Harvey.

I think that's why they made the call they did on my sailing.  Of course people are still complaining and there are folks from overseas who were already here when they made the announcement and have to find a hotel to ride out the storm until the new sail date.  I think they did the best they could.  Personally I would have benefited more from a complete cancellation, but Royal felt they made the best decision they could.

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4 hours ago, twangster said:

 If the guest cancels, like on a normal sunny day.  

If Royal cancels that paragraph applies.  

Both talk about the guest canceling.  Neither talks about Royal canceling.  I think this is another case where wrong information is being given out and they will refund the accepted bid.  I wonder if it is taken into account for percentage FCCs.

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  8 hours ago, YOLO said:

Looking at next to the last paragraph I see this...

It says NO refund!!!

But the next sentences contradicts that.  Very unclear.  They need better lawyers.

 

 

But it also says in accordance with RCL policy.  I believe the policy states that under certain days amount of days from cruise there is no refund, this is probably in that window for no refund.  Got to love confusing language in terms and conditions

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