These people are the worst I have ever dealt with

[Un Happy]

I have just had an experience with this lot and wanted to vent my thoughts. What an appalling outfit this lot are:

 

I made a booking over the phone with Royal Caribbean directly. When we got the details of the booking through, there was no mention of the food and drinks packages I'd agreed to. Six (6) weeks, 4 calls, 8 emails and still no response, I finally got to speak to someone who said there was no mention of the packages in our booking phone call. I asked to listen to the recording and they refused. Essentially, they sell you a package over the phone, quote you a cost, then excludes items and you have no recourse. Unbelievably, the manager I eventually spoke to asked if I wanted to add the drinks and food packages in to the booking at double the price they originally were! I said I would cancel the booking and he said there is a queue of people on a waiting list so it didn't matter.

So, I am cancelling a £15,000 cruise on the back of an appalling customer service experience - looking at the other reviews it doesn't look like the care less.

This is by far and away, the worst of the worse of companies and I beg any reader to avoid at all cost.

[Matt]

Welcome to the message boards.

Sorry to hear what you ran into, but if you reconsider, the primary issue you ran into stems from the first sentence you wrote 

36 minutes ago, Un Happy said:

I made a booking over the phone with Royal Caribbean directly.

Booking a cruise with the cruise line directly is actually a mistake because of miscommunication and lack of service.  

Instead, you'd want to use a good travel agent.

[wordell1]

59 minutes ago, Un Happy said:

This is by far and away, the worst of the worse of companies and I beg any reader to avoid at all cost.

Considering this is a fan site, I'm guessing that it won't happen.  Had you joined this site before booking you could have done some research on how cruises work.  They are definitely unique in several ways vs land vacations.  

I now use a TA, but still often book myself through Next Cruise (on board) or the company website.  I have never had a discussion or been offered any packages as part of my booking process.  Those are always offered later on the cruise planner.  I do see that you are in the UK (you used the pound sign) so things may be different there.

Hopefully, you will reconsider as cruises really are a great vacation once you understand the ins and outs.

 

[tjcruisers]

As mentioned above, there are benefits to using a TA. In a more general note, I would never order anything over the phone for this exact reason (ok, maybe a pizza) unless I already had an established relationship. I either do it in person where I get an immediate receipt or via the web where I can screen shots

[twangster]

If you have booked a Star Class suite then it will include the drink and food packages even if your booking invoice doesn't explicitly say this.  

Some UK based cruises include beverage packages.  

Without knowing more about your ship, sail date and type of cabin booked it's hard to know.

Even if you book the drink or dining package later these don't appear on your cruise invoice but appear separate in receipts specific to these purchases.  

[jp1]

Everything I've booked for my March '23 cruise from the actual cruise to the drink packages to the excursions has been over the phone directly through RC (multiple phone calls).

Each time a booked I immediately received an emailed confirmation clearly stating what I purchased and how much I paid.  As mentioned above, each excursion and drink package was on a separate receipt.

[Dan Curtis]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Welcome to the message boards.

Sorry to hear what you ran into, but if you reconsider, the primary issue you ran into stems from the first sentence you wrote 

Booking a cruise with the cruise line directly is actually a mistake because of miscommunication and lack of service.  

Instead, you'd want to use a good travel agent.

I guess I have been lucky or had good agents, we have did 20 cruises, 21 in the books and called Royal directly every cruise with very minor issues, we even do a three way call  at times to book the same time as our out of state friends. Hope I didn't jinx my self with our next booking. I know most on here use an agent. 

[Jolly Ogre]

Wow!!...I have never booked directly. I have always used a TA. You know what?? I have never had a problem and on most occasions have saved money, time and headaches. Go figure??

[DonR]

I have always booked directly, I have done it online, over the phone, and at Nextcruise. 

I have always had confirmation of my transactions within a few minutes and if there were any discrepancies I called at that time to make sure everything was SAT. 

When I work with RC over the phone I always make sure I can access my email and look at my confirmations before I end the call. Some of the things look weird on the confirmations so I have them walk me through it. Kids sail free always looks weird on the receipts as does our drink packages on cruise planner.  

There have been occasional errors, and each time I could trace them to my own mistakes. Rebooking trips canceled during the shutdown was multiple levels of headaches and I made sure to watch each line item. 

My cruises have always been overall to my satisfaction and enjoyment. even when there were itinerary shifts and port cancelations. 

Some will say "I shouldn't have to put that much work into a vacation" to which I respond by referring  you to the Travel agents referenced above who will happily do every bit of the foot work I have described for you.  They might even save you some money or be able to throw in some extra perks. 

I simply like to do it myself at my own pace. 

[Ditchdoc]

I always tell myself ... its on the Internet so it must be true.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Not sure @Un Happywill return to this site but I wish he or she would so we can all get a better understanding of what type of booking it was!  I’m curious but will most likely never find out

[Traveling Mike]

People like @Un Happy are just here to complain and nothing we can say or do will make them feel better.  Sounds like the type of person that should always use a travel agent because they will not do their own research.  There are others like me that spend hours and hours on my research before I book.  I have spent the last 1 1/2 months trying to find a July cruise I will be happy with.  Any new people reading this... Do lots of research and ask questions here OR get a really good travel agent. 

 

[ScottD]

Thats why I do it all online... I can click and unclick, read and read again, and add and subtract whatever I want before I hit that "make payment" button. 

[FionaMG]

It always makes me kind of sad when I someone create a user name like un happy or disappointed because it means they are so blinded by their emotions that their sole purpose is to complain about the one situation that prompted them to sign up and post. They completely miss the fact that they are joining a community where, in the future, they could obtain useful information and enjoy the conviviality of sharing experiences with other posters.

[TeRriii]

You should research more before shell out $15,000 worth of holiday. Many only post 1 time, making complaint, ranting then leaving.

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

44 minutes ago, TeRriii said:

You should research more before shell out $15,000 worth of holiday.

^^This^^

[Jolly Ogre]

1 hour ago, TeRriii said:

You should research more before shell out $15,000 worth of holiday. Many only post 1 time, making complaint, ranting then leaving.

 

I do my research before I shell out $500.00

[tjcruisers]

2 hours ago, TeRriii said:

You should research more before shell out $15,000 worth of holiday. Many only post 1 time, making complaint, ranting then leaving.

 

 

 

Yep. Been on this site for maybe 8 months, been quite a few number of one a dones making accounts with somewhat outrageous claims. Not really sure what they booked for £15,000 (guess that would be around 18000 USD), but we just booked 3 balconies on various Oasis class ships this morning (Wonder and Symphony) and were less than 1/2 that.

[Ampurp85]

5 hours ago, tjcruisers said:

 

 

Yep. Been on this site for maybe 8 months, been quite a few number of one a dones making accounts with somewhat outrageous claims. Not really sure what they booked for £15,000 (guess that would be around 18000 USD), but we just booked 3 balconies on various Oasis class ships this morning (Wonder and Symphony) and were less than 1/2 that.

A star class suite could be almost double that. I want to assume that's what they booked, which is why they were trying to get answers in regard to included drinks and dining packages. 

[CruiseManUK]

Just to reply as a fellow U.K. cruiser, travel agents here are nothing like in the US. They don’t know our names, they won’t check to see if cruises are cheaper, they won’t give us any gifts, they won’t inform us of any special offers, they won’t even get us a good deal, they won’t know about the ships and they’ll book you connecting flights with 20 hour connections. All they care about is taking their commission and moving onto the next sucker which is why many U.K. cruisers will book holidays directly as it actually gives us more power.

But saying that - we therefore have to do all the research ourselves so we would know what is and isn’t included. I used the telephone team once and also had an issue with them but I escalated it to HQ via email and they were fantastic in resolving it. I tend to now only book nextcruise or via the website cutting out the telephone team. I have using MEI Travel on my to do list given that they will book cruises for those based in the U.K. 

[Mike.s]

Not all UK travel agents are hopeless, I've used a few and finally settled on one who does know my name, has sorted issues for me and spent hours on the phone on my behalf. Granted the first "specialist" cruise agent I used was awful and I'll never use again, the second was OK but the local one I have settled on is fantastic. Yes they can't reprice cruises for me, but that's due to Royal Caribbean in the UK, not the travel agent.

I still book directly occassionally but for anything that requires cruise, hotel and flights it's travel agents every time

[Matt]

On 1/6/2023 at 5:28 PM, CruiseManUK said:

Just to reply as a fellow U.K. cruiser, travel agents here are nothing like in the US.

One thing to consider is MEI Travel are allowed to book folks from the UK because of their relationship with this site

[Un Happy]

All. Just to clarify. Firstly I didn't shell out 15k. I shelled out £200 deposit and spend 6 weeks asking RC to confirm the details of the booking. Only on the last day before the full sum was due did I cancel because of the companies behaviour. 

You have all seemed to have missed the point in terms of the booking. I get the argument about using an agent and a lesson has been learned. But this doesn't deal with the fact that RC:

Told me that the drinks and food packages was added to the booking but then denied this.

Told me that they had listened to my call and the agent never mentioned the packages.....

....then when speaking to a supervisor, be told need it was company policy to ask clients about the packages. He added that the agent asked me if I wanted them and I said no. (Even though previously RC said the packages were not mentioned)

Told me I could listen to the recorded call. Then denied me this right.

Wanted to charge me full price of the packages on January 2 because the original offer of 50% off ended on December 31, even though I had been asking since November 15 to discuss this with them.

Told me when I called to cancel the booking that this was fine, they "had people lining up to book this cruise"...yes, that is literally what they said!

I think the point I was making and reviewing about RC has been completely overlooked in favour of laying the blame on me for making a direct phone call booking. I accept this was my mistake but I would personally focus on the issue of using a company who has misrepresented themselves and misold a product wasn't the type of company I wanted to cruise with which is why I cancelled...the money wasn't the issue, using such a company was the issue - I lost trust in them which is hard to resolve and certainly makes it impossible to hand over 15k!

Since booked a business class trip to Mauritius on the A380 for the same costs so it's all good in the end.

For reference the trip was on the Rhapsody of the Seas to the Caribbean in an Owner's Suite and flying business class. 

I wish you all well, thanks for taking the time, enjoy your trips

[Matt]

3 hours ago, Un Happy said:

I think the point I was making and reviewing about RC has been completely overlooked in favour of laying the blame on me for making a direct phone call booking

I'd be the first to admit that Royal has its issues and communicating important info is not their strong suit when it comes to various details.

However...

When it comes to travel in general, there is a certain amount of onus on the traveler to do their homework. This is true of cruises and land trips.  After all, you're spending thousands of dollars/pounds on a trip, so it behooves you to check and double check things before committing.

I think everyone's intent in this thread is to share what you could have done differently so you don't give up on cruising and try it again, but this time, armed with a better approach!

I wish you well and hope you get to experience a cruise!