deep1 Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Shuffling the deck. Fiance's kids lost their paternal grand mother and need to attend the services later this week. That meant a cancellation for this weekend departure on Symphony. with little room to spare. We shifted this weeks booking to early January. Gotta say I'm pretty disappointed that they felt compelled to "try me". I have every invoice, receipt, correspondence etc. First they tried to tell me that we had only paid $249 each for a week long holiday cruise for two balconies on Symphony? That would be nice but the number was a lot lot more... "Oh yes we see". Then they tried to say we only had $118 in FCC's????? We have $2500 in fccs just in one case!. (625 x 4) "Oh yes we see".... " Guys instead "finding" my money only after I need to remind you, how about you find it all before saying something that only serves to agitate me!" Four hours into the call I think we had it pretty well resolved. Today I was notified of a FCC certificate issued for an odd small amount for one in our group from a cancellation about a year ago??? I know what my numbers should be but not sure their numbers are the same. I also wanted to pay down a cruise farther down the road using them and it only offered me option of credit card? How do I find my balances and how do I apply them to future cruises??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingOz Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Sorry for your loss. Royal and FCC's has recently been a challenge, our TA and us had to email Royal on numbers occasions with all the details to prove they are wrong. It was like 1+1=7??? Unfortunitly it is a process. I don't know if this is factual, but it seems the guru's in accounting have developed in the past three months codes on how the FCC's were generated, so based on past cruse or re-applied from a previous cancellation. I know locally in Austrlaia with all the recent cancellations, there a number of people with FCC issues all trying to get what they are owed. We had a simple $1025 FCC end up as four certificates of really odd amounts, like $276.76, $309.49, and so on, finally equalling the $1025.00, go figure. I probably shouldn't say as Royal may read these posts but due to their silly accounting, for one FCC we got $132.67 extra, which is guess pays for all my time and frustration trying to deal with something which on paper looks so simple. We emailed them a spreadsheet with all the details, certificate numbers, etc; and Royal still came up with some silly ways of doing things, such as reducing the initial cost of the new cruise by the FCC amount, so it does not show up straight away. Talk about confusing. Bottom line is they will finally sort it out, but it may take a few back and forth and it is frustrating, but fingers crossed we have all seen the back of cruise cancellations. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Not sure if this came into play on any of your FCC's but there is definitely a weird voodoo that they do do (sorry...couldn't resist) with FCC's. It has to do with cancellation penalties which can kick in if an FCC is cancelled or redeemed for cash. I wish I understood it but I do not. It's referred to as "cash value" as opposed to "face value". I recall @JLMoran discussing it many months back. I experienced it recently with a cash refund cancellation that contained some FCC's where the FCC's did not redeem at face value but rather at cash value due to some cancellation penalties. I think the same thing can occur when cancelling/moving a booking that contains FCC's. Hopefully someone, smarter than me, can help. As I recall, Joe was able to get his penalties reversed but I seem to recall that they warned him that this would be a one-time favor and that the cancellation penalties would apply in the future. Hopefully I am getting that story right... Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qeyton Dude Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Same B. S. different day; We had some FCC issued about two weeks ago from a cruise we had cancelled and the TA went to apply them to a different upcoming cruise, and the "machine" told her they had already applied applied, and can't be used. Of course it doesn't tell her where they were applied. Fun times for all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Should be simple use the same FCC that paid for the one , pay for the new. Now, I do know he did use some but how much from which I don't know. I'm trying to see balances so I can make an educated guess of how they arrived at a given figure. Then I ned to see how to apply what funds I do have towards actually paying for something else that needs paying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Done Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 We have had different experiences. We applied 2 FCCs for a cruise and the unused balance was given to us in new FCC's within 2 weeks time. We applied one those FCCs and expected a new FCC with the remaining balance but that has not happened after 1 month. The FCC "rules" state any unused FCC's are returned at the end the cruise. If that is the case we will end up losing that FCC due to expiration date of the FCC. Is a call to customer service the only way to check on a FCC status? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 I have no idea how to apply any FCC to anything. I go to make payment and option not offered? Only Card... No Idea how to even see what FCC balances I supposedly do have to work with... I have 5 cert numbers of at least 9 I should have but nowhere or no way to see what the amounts are on them or how to spend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 5 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Not sure if this came into play on any of your FCC's but there is definitely a weird voodoo that they do do (sorry...couldn't resist) with FCC's. It has to do with cancellation penalties which can kick in if an FCC is cancelled or redeemed for cash. I wish I understood it but I do not. It's referred to as "cash value" as opposed to "face value". I recall Joe Moran discussing it many months back. I experienced it recently with a cash refund cancellation that contained some FCC's where the FCC's did not redeem at face value but rather at cash value due to some cancellation penalties. I think the same thing can occur when cancelling/moving a booking that contains FCC's. Hopefully someone, smarter than me, can help. As I recall, Joe was able to get his penalties reversed but I seem to recall that they warned him that this would be a one-time favor and that the cancellation penalties would apply in the future. Hopefully I am getting that story right... No cash out or refund here. Straight change of dates for similar but far less expensive cruise... They applied FCC from some place but no clue which FCC's they used. The new ones are supposedly being expedited but he told me like 20 different small amounts that matched nothing we had actually paid. I have FCCs all over the dog gone place and would like to spend some of them on spring cruises we have booked. No idea how to do that. We only have 5 of at least 9 certificate numbers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 I searched and wasted hours finding "redeem cruise fcc". at the "Manage your cruise page" / Royals IT was on the blink for more hours... First wouldn't let me pick a ship. Then wouldn't take reservation number. Finally it let me get all entered and then it said it failed "try again later". repeat the wouldn't take the ship info. Then finally got it "submitted"... Now I get "We got your request and will respond within 24-48 hours"????????? Does nothing go as expected with them? I will have to have a "chewing out" call in the morning for something I spotted in my newest invoice... FCC's applied: 625+625+ 450= $1320 ?????? That on my calculators and on pen and paper all say it should come up $1700!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Done Posted November 19, 2021 Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 10 hours ago, deep1 said: I searched and wasted hours finding "redeem cruise fcc". at the "Manage your cruise page" / Royals IT was on the blink for more hours... First wouldn't let me pick a ship. Then wouldn't take reservation number. Finally it let me get all entered and then it said it failed "try again later". repeat the wouldn't take the ship info. Then finally got it "submitted"... Now I get "We got your request and will respond within 24-48 hours"????????? Does nothing go as expected with them? I will have to have a "chewing out" call in the morning for something I spotted in my newest invoice... FCC's applied: 625+625+ 450= $1320 ?????? That on my calculators and on pen and paper all say it should come up $1700!!!!!!!! I thought I had been short changed by RCCL until I realized FCCs are only applied to the cruise fare itself and not taxes, port fees or gratuities. BTW - this is documented in the FCCs Terms and Conditions that I should have read more carefully. That could be an answer to your mystery. As far difficulty getting the page to work I too have had that issue as well I found if I logged off from my RCCL account, then shut down the browser (I use FireFox) waited a minute or so then tried again I had success. The issue I have seen multiple times is no ships available in the Ships Name drop down selection box. There was also a new line item on our invoice after FCCs were applied - TBZ5 - Global Suspension FCC with a cruise fare discount amount subtracted. I haven't done the math but I *think* it is the 25% bump given when RCCL suspended our cruise(s) in 2020 and 2021. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 Yu would think they would put some kind of mark next to my name... "DO NOT TRY HIM". That $400 difference is flat out theft as far as I'm concerned. They are bending over backwards as I type this fixing and apologizing... Then fixing my other applications of FCC is so much fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 55 minutes ago, rcrabb said: I thought I had been short changed by RCCL until I realized FCCs are only applied to the cruise fare itself and not taxes, port fees or gratuities. BTW - this is documented in the FCCs Terms and Conditions that I should have read more carefully. That could be an answer to your mystery. As far difficulty getting the page to work I too have had that issue as well I found if I logged off from my RCCL account, then shut down the browser (I use FireFox) waited a minute or so then tried again I had success. The issue I have seen multiple times is no ships available in the Ships Name drop down selection box. There was also a new line item on our invoice after FCCs were applied - TBZ5 - Global Suspension FCC with a cruise fare discount amount subtracted. I haven't done the math but I *think* it is the 25% bump given when RCCL suspended our cruise(s) in 2020 and 2021. Thats not in play here. I paid the other fees on card... They took the "bump" instead of it helping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 Almost done... Hanging on one FCC issued to Fiance' daughter who was minor at time of issue. They are demanding she give permission for me to apply my own money to her booking!!!! Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 Ok they woke her up after bugging my Fiance' at work... They didn't pay what was supposed to be paid. Instead wanting to issue another certificate to be issued around sail date???? That being issued in her name so I still can't use? 5 hours into this today and it gets worse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2021 About came unglued and after 5 hours spinning my wheels. Finally got to a supervisor . Less than 10 minutes to redo everything and do it right this time. Finally every bookin I have paid in full and no more FCC floating around... WAAAYTOOO, melmar02, teddy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted November 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2021 They just tried me again, telling me I owed hundreds more (which was taken care of earlier) and I squashed it within minutes... Almost a laughable drive bye last ditch effort... I fired them a fist full of paid in full receipts and they backed right off. We're still good but they need to stop with the games. My entire day was consumed with this. 11 hours worth! I will likely never have the first clue how they do their voodoo pricing. But when I see clearly wrong things or ones that don't add up, then I don't back off. I don't think its malicious attempted theft. Rather training not being complete. This last one was a delay in communication between departments Earlier problems today stemmed from really inadequate training... Cruises are supposed to be fun but some become work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted December 4, 2021 Report Share Posted December 4, 2021 On 11/18/2021 at 12:05 PM, WAAAYTOOO said: I recall @JLMoran discussing it many months back. I experienced it recently with a cash refund cancellation that contained some FCC's where the FCC's did not redeem at face value but rather at cash value due to some cancellation penalties. I think the same thing can occur when cancelling/moving a booking that contains FCC's. Hopefully someone, smarter than me, can help. As I recall, Joe was able to get his penalties reversed but I seem to recall that they warned him that this would be a one-time favor and that the cancellation penalties would apply in the future. Hopefully I am getting that story right... Just saw this mention and figured I'd take a minute to clarify the specifics. In my case, I wasn't canceling a cruise that had been paid for with FCC, it was just a normal paid-up cruise that I used Lift & Shift to change from 2020 to 2021, after the line had canceled the 2020 sailing. But then I decided to cancel that moved sailing for a full refund (not FCC) when it was clear the pandemic madness wasn't ending any time soon; I had zero confidence that sailing wouldn't also eventually be canceled (which did happen), and I decided I'd rather have the money back. But because the original sailing was canceled after after final payment and I was now canceling the moved booking myself, I was initially told I'd have to pay a cancellation penalty based on the original sailing's L&S date. I pushed back on that, because my TA had been advised when I did L&S that no cancellation penalty would be applied should I decide to cancel the moved cruise myself. It was early enough in the days of L&S that they granted it to me. Neesa and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reneohi Posted January 28, 2022 Report Share Posted January 28, 2022 Discrepancy to my disadvantage is the game RCL is playing. I booked a sailing for March 2021 which got cancelled and RCL replaced it with a cruise for April 2022. About 8 months before the 2022 cruise RCL cancelled that sailing. I wasn’t notified and instead of my usual lift & shift I got the 125% FCC. Taxes were refunded and each of us received a FCC for $840. I searched for a cruise to replace the cancelled sailing and find one for May 2022. I book it and apply my FCC. One day after booking RCL decided to cancel that sailing also. Having my mind set on cruising in spring of 2022 I find another sailing that fits my schedule. I went ahead and reserved a sailing for April 2022. Before I finalized it I needed the FCC from the cancelled sailing. I was told it would take 2 weeks to get that reissued, it took 2 months and multiple calls. But when they applied the credit to my booking it wasn’t $840 anymore. Only $664 were applied. The price of the cruise didn’t change but the future cruise credit applied went from $840 to $664. Frustrating! The travel agency I work for stopped altogether booking new cruises with RCL because of the horrible customer service. Once I am on a ship things are great as expected. The long wait to talk to an RCL supervisor is very time consuming and not worth the commission a travel consultant makes. Please RCL, stop making everything so complicated if you want cruising to return to nearly normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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