Differing OBC offers

[LogicallyLazy]

So, this is kind of a rant/ getting opinions if I’m being unreasonable

 

So before this, I will preface that I do not use a TA as most TAs in my region seem to just be simple middle man with exactly the same pricing as RC’s website. Also, I like to have control in regards to be booking so this isn’t about if having a TA or not would have been better. 

 

To start off, I was planning on booking a new sailing in the coming year. Went onto RC’s website, found a sailing that was to my liking and proceeded to book the sailing. For context it’s a 4night cruise. 

 

So after imputing my CAS number, I saw that I was getting $100 OBC (as I was booking a suite). Went through the entire process of filling everything out and was going through the payment page when I kept encountering an error that the transaction could not go through. (It was not the card’s issue, since I managed to do it later on with the same card). 

 

Tried the booking on multiple devices on multiple browsers but still had the same issue, which led me to believe it was an issue with the website itself. 

 

Just to preface that I’ve book directly through RC multiple times in the past with no issue. 

 

So anyway, I went to their Help chat to let them know as well as check if it was something that had a workaround. The RC rep mentioned that they’ll highlight the issue and to complete the booking over the phone. 

 

So taking their advice, I called into their hotline and made the booking. Everything seemed to be going good. They mentioned the price for the room which matched what I saw online. I also mentioned the $100 OBC offer I was seeing online to which they said they could add in without worries. They also put me on hold at the end while they added this into the booking. 

 

After the entire process, there was a slight delay of around 30mins before I received the email confirmation with my guest contract. In the past, when I’ve gotten OBC, it was also listed in my contract, so I was a little worried that I saw nothing about in in the contract. Cruise planner also showed no mentions of OBC. 

 

Thinking maybe there was an error, I called in again to enquire about this. The specialist mentioned that they do see the OBC credited and it would just take some time for it to appear in the cruise planner. I was all happy and patient, until they mentioned that it was a $50 credit. Confused, I said that on the website it was showing $100 and the previous specialist I talked to never mentioned it was anything less than that. 

 

All I got as a response was that since the cruise is less than 5 nights, it’s only $50. Perplexed, but thinking maybe it was a mistake on my part, I ended the call. 

 

Just to see if it was a mistake on my end, I went back to the website, chose the same booking with the same room category and I saw that it was stated $100 OBC there again for the sailing. 

 

Thinking maybe they’d overlooked something, I took a few screenshots on the offer I was supposed to receive on their website as well as what I was credited which was already showing in the cruise planner and emailed their contact for my regions office asking if they could honour what was being shown on their website. 

 

Half a day later, and I received a reply saying that offers are subject to change and that online offers cannot be honoured as it wasn’t booked online. To add salt to the wound, the person who sent this email was also the same person on the web chat that told me to book it through the phone since the payment couldn’t go through online. 

 

Naturally, I was already a little bit frustrated.  And replied with the chat transcript that showed they were the ones who told me to book through the phone and just surprised that they were not honouring what was clearly listed on their website considering that I would have booked online had their website not have an issue. 

 

Received another email from a different specialists who again just said that it was $50 for a 4 night cruise. At this point, I was full on angry. Being someone who works in the service line, I know that we have to honour whatever offers even if it was an error on our part. So naturally, I did send another email expressing my displeasure at how they were handling this. 

 

Also as of this post (4 days after the initial email) the $100 is still showing on their website. 

 

I know $50 isn’t a huge sum. I’m more angry at the fact that they are having false information on their website until now, and that none of them seem even the least bit apologetic considering I was simply following their recommendations and reassurances. 

 

Am I being unreasonable in expecting them to honour their offer?

[twangster]

These are the type of issues that a TA deals with often.  Yes it is frustrating. 

As your own TA you get to do what TA's do all the time - sit on hold trying to get Royal to fix something.  

[LogicallyLazy]

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’ll gladly be on the phone or contact RC any day. But it doesn’t seem like they are gonna budge on it. Whatever the case, I’m going to keep trying. Just wondering if you think I’m being difficult by expecting them to honour what’s shown on their website

[D Alt]

take those screenshots of the OBC offer and try messaging them on Twitter.  See if they can help you get the correct amount. 

[TeRriii]

If they won't honor your $100 OBC, for the last attempt you may send email to RC CEO.

The email address is mbayley@rccl.com

I got my airplane ticket reimbursement after send an email to him. 

I tried send email (three times) to regular channel before, no real respond, just automated one.

[LogicallyLazy]

Thanks all. I’ll go through the proper channels first. Hopefully I don’t have to involve too many people 

[ChessE4]

2 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Thanks all. I’ll go through the proper channels first. Hopefully I don’t have to involve too many people 

It is also possible the online offer is incorrect, which is why the CC transaction didn't go through.  It could be that $50 is the correct amount for a short cruise, even online.  But if that is the case, Royal should be able to fix the glitch.

[LogicallyLazy]

23 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

It is also possible the online offer is incorrect, which is why the CC transaction didn't go through.  It could be that $50 is the correct amount for a short cruise, even online.  But if that is the case, Royal should be able to fix the glitch.

Yes, that’s one of the things that is frustrating me. Cause if a company like RC can’t remove a simple misleading line on their website, how many people are going to go in thinking that they’ll be getting what is stated. 
 

But also, as someone who works in retail, if we have a change in offer and we accidentally left something where the customer can see, be it the old offer, we generally have to honor it as we know it’s our own fault

[Southern Waters]

I had a similar issue for my upcoming cruise.  I booked WiFi for one device during BF sales for $13.99/day.  It showed that I could buy it for an additional device for $11.99/day.  About 2 months later, my roommate decided she wanted to get it.  This offer was still showing on my purchase history page, but when I clicked on it,  the offer was for $19.99/day.  I called RCL customer service and the agent had me send him a screen shot that also showed the current date and time.  He called me back the next morning and told me that his manager did an override in order to give us that $11.99 price because it was clearly offered and RCL honored it.