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Royal changed our room…cost us $$$


Renee600

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We got a letter indicating that RCI would be changing our room due to heath protocols. We had no issue with a change but considering we are a family of 6 - 2 adults and 4 children we expected to be moved as close together as possible. I contacted our travel agent and RCI to remind them of our situation- that we were traveling with children. We had original rooms directly across the hall (one balcony and one inside cabin) as there were no connecting rooms to be had when we booked last year. New rooms assigned were 10th floor, front, right side and 11th floor stern, left side. No where near each other - in fact could not be further apart. Our travel agent was amazing and worked with us and ROYAL for over two hours to find a solution. In the end our only option was to pay for an upgrade or cancel. I’m shocked that this happened. I went for the upgrade and we now have balcony rooms one room apart. I can make another change but would love any advise. I’m a bit disheartened we had to pay or cancel. I feel squeezed.    

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Our stories are very similar. I also have a family of 6 and booked 2 connecting cabins on an upcoming cruise. A couple of months ago, our travel agent informed us our rooms were changed due to Covid protocols and our new rooms were assigned far apart and on different decks. He contacted Royal and was able to get us two rooms with balconies, not connecting but apparently the balcony has a door that can be unlocked so you can travel back and forth between cabins via the outside balcony - at no extra charge. I would contact Royal to see if at very least, they could offer you the amount you paid for this upgrade as onboard credit. Good luck!

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This is where having a travel agent can be a negative. Since you booked it through them, they're the only people RCI will talk with about the reservation (I believe). However, if you were able to deal with Royal yourself, this seems like something you could get out of with a little complaining. Royal aren't usually total d*cks about this stuff and they've been particularly accommodating with COVID stuff, at least in my experience. 

I would call Royal yourself and if they won't discuss it with you maybe talk to someone on the ship about it. They can issue pretty decent-sized future cruise credits if you talk to the right person. 

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That is very frustrating.  I can understand Royal needing to move rooms but they should look at the whole package and if a family has booked two rooms, they shouldn't move you or at least contact you and give you options.  And it's even worse move on them when you have connecting rooms and they break this.  Our upcoming cruise we have 2 connecting balcony rooms with our kids and would be ok if they had to move us to two different connecting rooms but quite angry if they separated us.

OP I would call back and complain.  At the very least they shouldn't charge you more for a move they made you change and you only upgraded to get your rooms closer.  (Or your TA should be taking care of this and fight on your behalf)

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5 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

 (Or your TA should be taking care of this and fight on your behalf)

This OR consider you need a new travel agent.

Problem is OP has not given enough info, what ship, when sailing, what was your original deck?

Last 2 months on all of my cruises,  Decks 2 and 3 are blocked off as possible Quarentine/Isolation cabins.  Decks 7 or 8 Forward seem to be blocked off for incoming crew quarentines.

 

I have had neighbors next door on at least one if not both sides on my last 3 cruises, so i have to think there is more to some of these stories that what we are being told.

Bottom line get a good TA.

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I agree about possibly needing a better travel agent. I am crafting several letters to try to settle this in our favor. In response to the previous comments: We are sailing very soon ( like this month) on the Odyssey. Which was the reason I wanted to settle it quickly. The original rooms were on deck 11 balcony state room and interior state room directly across the hall. Apparently the issue was that there were no rooms remaining in the interior category I was booked into. This was why Royal issued us us a balcony instead, but they were not anywhere near each other. Im just confused why this is an ok practice. I mean the Royal agent (Me my travel agent and royal were on the call at the same time) quite literally stated, this is what we can offer, we can give you a refund or you can sail with for the upgraded cost. WHAT! 

My thought is that since this will be a presidents week cruise they can afford to let my business go and that this is expected to be as full a ship as they can get. 

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Hello!  I am new to this site, but I have been on the phone now (more than 3 hours) with my travel agent and Royal with a very similar issue.  I booked connecting rooms for a sailing in 2 weeks (me, husband and 3 young children).  They were booked in 2019 and lifted and shifted till now.  I was never notified that my rooms changed, but as I checked in online, I noticed that our room assignments are no-where near each other. I would not have booked this trip without connecting rooms.  This is a family vacation, and I would like to be with my family.  Royal is saying there is nothing they can do for me for this sailing as it is covid protocols.  Honestly, this is outrageous to me.  With a ship that isn't even at capacity, how could they break up a family with booked connecting rooms and not give too hoots about it.  This is my first time cruising with RC, and honestly, between this and the canceling of the Kennedy Space Center excursion, it might be my last (if we even go through with it).  I am considering cancelling all together.  What a HUGE disappointment!

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I've had a similar issue with a change in cabins for my Feb. 27 cruise. We were also moved from a 12th floor oceanview balcony room to a 14th floor oceanview large balcony room due to social distancing protocols. No problem as we had friends sailing on the 12th floor but we do not necessarily need to be next to them. So in the end we get an extra 30 sq. ft. on the balcony. With times being as wild as they have been the past few years, I'd be more than happy if the story ended there.

However, two days later we were "upgraded" through RoyalUp to the same exact large balcony room on the 14th floor. Our credit card was charged and I immediately called Royal Caribbean to find out what the issue was. After spending over 4.5 hours on the phone throughout the day, I was finally connecting with a member of the Resolutions Team who told me that there was nothing he could do and I needed to email RoyalUp (since they do not have a phone number to contact). So I have emailed RoyalUp and it has been 4 days without a response. Has anyone had an issue like this in the past or have any advice on handling this? I would be fine with my bid being accepted for an actual upgrade (Ultra Spacious Oceanview Balcony) or just getting my money back since I was never upgraded.

And just to clarify, it has been confirmed by Royal Caribbean that my original room was moved due to social distancing protocols and not because of a RoyalUp upgrade. Any advice would be much appreciated.

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I have read accounts similar to yours regarding upgrades that turned out not to be upgrades at all.  My advice (too late for you, unfortunately) is to never bid on an upgrade that is in the same category that you are already in.  IOW, if you are in a balcony cabin of any kind, only bid on JS or higher.  What you consider an upgrade and what RU considers an upgrade are likely to be in conflict. I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction but I fear that there is nothing to be done at this point.  Hope you have a wonderful cruise wherever you end up.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is happening to our family on Oasis, sail date March 20th, 2022. We booked adjoining rooms and were bumped to two rooms not near each other. After three hours on the phone they offered us side by side balcony rooms but I was nervous with our toddler I do not want a balcony, especially if that is the only way to the other room. We ended up paying for an upgrade to a spacious suite but just one room. We are devastated and it took over 5 hours on the phone. I was crying, my toddler was crying in the background. I wish I could say this has been the only headache with Royal but it is just the latest. We just want to get this vacation over with so I never have to deal with Royal Caribbean again.

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I had a similar situation on our Christmas cruise.  My TA worked for almost a month on it, but was able to get our original rooms at the original price.

Melissa Adams,  my TA was awesome on this one! I don't know what strings she pulled but I know she got her BDM  and her agency's head office involved 

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This is old advice but I'll repeat it here anyway......

When dealing with an issue where I made my reservations through the website myself, rather than with a TA...I expect to spend quite a bit of time on hold while the agent checks with their 'colleague' or supervisor. So I schedule my call accordingly...and use speakerphone. 

But the best advice I have (which, by the way, I learned on these forums...thanks, guys!) is to always call back and speak to another agent when I don't get the answer I want. It is time-consuming and can be frustrating but usually I end up satisfied with the result. Good luck...and I hope you can get the result you want!

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22 minutes ago, BrianB said:

This is old advice but I'll repeat it here anyway......

When dealing with an issue where I made my reservations through the website myself, rather than with a TA...I expect to spend quite a bit of time on hold while the agent checks with their 'colleague' or supervisor. So I schedule my call accordingly...and use speakerphone. 

But the best advice I have (which, by the way, I learned on these forums...thanks, guys!) is to always call back and speak to another agent when I don't get the answer I want. It is time-consuming and can be frustrating but usually I end up satisfied with the result. Good luck...and I hope you can get the result you want!

Had to do this to get my drinks package for my July 2022 sailing they had discounted drinks on select European 2022 sailings. Took 3 goes before I found someone that knew the codes to get this deal. The other two even denied such a deal existed. 😂 If you don't get anywhere try again. 

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  • 3 months later...

I just had one of two cabins changed by RC.  I booked in November for July Alaska cruise.  We booked connecting balcony rooms as a family of 6 traveling for a birthday celebration.  28 days before we sail, RC moved on of our cabins forward to a room directly across from the elevator.  When I called and spent over an hour on the phone with the resolution desk, they kept apologizing but in the end I was told I could accept the change or cancel the cruise.  There are no other rooms available.  Oh and they offered to upgrade me to a suite for $12,600.00.  Horrible!  I will try and call again for another agent, but I'm sure they all know my name by now since I talked to 4 people today. 

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  • 1 month later...

[email protected]'m so angry I booked a family vacation on RC and booked two room across from each other (one ocean balcony and one City park balcony)  i logged on and my rooms were changed i called and Royal Caribbean says they were always booked that way and i spent hours looking for rooms across from each other.......now to get my original room back they are saying will cost me an additional $1000  and i somehow deleted the origanal PDF on booking or it never came  all i received was the confirmation of payment for my downpayment on both rooms....i am so frustrated this was out first family vacation in 4 years and we were moved 3 decks apart...........

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11 hours ago, ABagleyRN said:

[email protected]'m so angry I booked a family vacation on RC and booked two room across from each other (one ocean balcony and one City park balcony)  i logged on and my rooms were changed i called and Royal Caribbean says they were always booked that way and i spent hours looking for rooms across from each other.......now to get my original room back they are saying will cost me an additional $1000  and i somehow deleted the origanal PDF on booking or it never came  all i received was the confirmation of payment for my downpayment on both rooms....i am so frustrated this was out first family vacation in 4 years and we were moved 3 decks apart...........

I would edit and remove your email if I were you.  These are public discussion groups.

try doing a search of your email by using the search button and entering your reservation #.  You might find the original confirmation.

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On 8/21/2022 at 5:13 PM, smokeybandit said:

Always check your invoice as soon as you book to make  sure everything is correct

This! And I would add make sure if you are booking direct with Royal that you wait for the invoice to some through while still on the phone with them! 

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On 2/4/2022 at 8:16 AM, jeffmw said:

This is where having a travel agent can be a negative. Since you booked it through them, they're the only people RCI will talk with about the reservation (I believe). However, if you were able to deal with Royal yourself, this seems like something you could get out of with a little complaining. Royal aren't usually total d*cks about this stuff and they've been particularly accommodating with COVID stuff, at least in my experience. 

I would call Royal yourself and if they won't discuss it with you maybe talk to someone on the ship about it. They can issue pretty decent-sized future cruise credits if you talk to the right person. 

Disagree. This happens a lot and I as the travel agent have always had it fixed without extra cost to the client. 

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55 minutes ago, Sharla said:

Disagree. This happens a lot and I as the travel agent have always had it fixed without extra cost to the client. 

I think if you have a good TA then it's awesome, but I think a bad TA is a hinderance. We booked a B2B on Allure for December when it was originally announced they would be going out of Galveston (so 2019 ish). I used a TA that was a friend of mine. When COVID hit and the delays came, she got an email telling her that I could either change sailings, cancel for a full refund, or get an FCC. She sent me a note telling me this and said "There's no rush though, you've got time to decide." What she did not send me was the original email that she got from RC.

Turns out "time to decide" was ten days, which she never once mentioned. 

When I got back to her a couple of weeks later and told her that we just wanted to cancel, she couldn't do it. She told me that RC told her they had the right to change my itinerary whenever they wanted, that she fought hard to make the change, etc.

The only reason I ever found out that there was actually a cut off date was because someone on the CC board got the letter from RC (they didn't use a TA) and they posted it. It was right there, plain as day, time limit to respond.

That TA caused me to have $4000 and three years wrapped up in RC. I don't use a TA anymore now, I'm too worried about something like that happening again.

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2 hours ago, Bowen said:

I think if you have a good TA then it's awesome, but I think a bad TA is a hinderance. We booked a B2B on Allure for December when it was originally announced they would be going out of Galveston (so 2019 ish). I used a TA that was a friend of mine. When COVID hit and the delays came, she got an email telling her that I could either change sailings, cancel for a full refund, or get an FCC. She sent me a note telling me this and said "There's no rush though, you've got time to decide." What she did not send me was the original email that she got from RC.

Turns out "time to decide" was ten days, which she never once mentioned. 

When I got back to her a couple of weeks later and told her that we just wanted to cancel, she couldn't do it. She told me that RC told her they had the right to change my itinerary whenever they wanted, that she fought hard to make the change, etc.

The only reason I ever found out that there was actually a cut off date was because someone on the CC board got the letter from RC (they didn't use a TA) and they posted it. It was right there, plain as day, time limit to respond.

That TA caused me to have $4000 and three years wrapped up in RC. I don't use a TA anymore now, I'm too worried about something like that happening again.

You need a better TA. You're not wrong for feeling wronged here. 

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4 hours ago, Bowen said:

I think if you have a good TA then it's awesome, but I think a bad TA is a hinderance. We booked a B2B on Allure for December when it was originally announced they would be going out of Galveston (so 2019 ish). I used a TA that was a friend of mine. When COVID hit and the delays came, she got an email telling her that I could either change sailings, cancel for a full refund, or get an FCC. She sent me a note telling me this and said "There's no rush though, you've got time to decide." What she did not send me was the original email that she got from RC.

Turns out "time to decide" was ten days, which she never once mentioned. 

When I got back to her a couple of weeks later and told her that we just wanted to cancel, she couldn't do it. She told me that RC told her they had the right to change my itinerary whenever they wanted, that she fought hard to make the change, etc.

The only reason I ever found out that there was actually a cut off date was because someone on the CC board got the letter from RC (they didn't use a TA) and they posted it. It was right there, plain as day, time limit to respond.

That TA caused me to have $4000 and three years wrapped up in RC. I don't use a TA anymore now, I'm too worried about something like that happening again.

Personally I feel all communication that gets emailed to the TA should also be sent to the customer.  
I don't rely on my husband to read my mail and relay messages to me from mail, telephone or otherwise.  I like to see things firsthand.  No one should be my filter since I might find something more important than they do, or interpret it differently, see the deadline etc.  Sorry that happened to you.

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1 hour ago, Pattycruise said:

Personally I feel all communication that gets emailed to the TA should also be sent to the customer.  
I don't rely on my husband to read my mail and relay messages to me from mail, telephone or otherwise.  I like to see things firsthand.  No one should be my filter since I might find something more important than they do, or interpret it differently, see the deadline etc.  Sorry that happened to you.

I agree, RC should email to the customer as well.

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On 8/26/2022 at 3:17 PM, Pattycruise said:

Personally I feel all communication that gets emailed to the TA should also be sent to the customer.  
I don't rely on my husband to read my mail and relay messages to me from mail, telephone or otherwise.  I like to see things firsthand.  No one should be my filter since I might find something more important than they do, or interpret it differently, see the deadline etc.  Sorry that happened to you.

I most cases now it is. I do forward important info because I'd rather you get it twice than not at all.

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