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Notified of change to our cruise


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We have just received an email telling us the upcoming cruise 32 days !!! From Barcelona to dubia there will be a few areas which need to be closed music hall throughly duration of cruise and eye will be closed last 5 days and no longer showing mamma Mia as a result we have been offered on board credit for inconvenience a bit disappointed and wondered if anyone else has ever had this before and did they question this with travel agent I think obc not enough for inconvenience as it only states what I have written however does say other areas will require closure etc so slightly worried it might be worse than we think! New ship and booked it for this reason??? Anyone any ideas?

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I assume you're on the Quantum re-positioning cruise to China? These changes were rumored to be coming down the pipeline before she made it to China.

 

I've had itinerary changes but not closures to public spaces.  

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Subjecting passengers to 11 sea days in a construction zone vs a short dry dock is great for the new profit at all costs objective! I wonder how many of the already over loaded crew members will be pulled from customer service to refit? Recommend 4905 pax light up social media!

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We also are going on Quantum 29th May  Dubai to Singapore 14 nights, we were notified at weekend of the same works continuing on our cruise...7 days after paying off our balance. Seems like they held back notifying people till they paid the cash, they must have planned this months ago. OBC should be per head not per cabin ( we will all miss out on the same amount of  " wow factor" no matter what we paid for our cabins.  We have sent a e-mail of complaint to customer services UK. Now waiting for a response 

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I completely agree. That was obviously planned. As you say, these kinds of renovations had to have been known well in advance of the final payment date. To wait until everyone had made their final payment and then offer some pathetic OBC to compensate is very underhanded. One more example of slipping RC standards and customer service.

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Hi kensbird   will let you know if I get any word. I dont think you were over reacting... like you we booked in the good faith we were getting all the experiences they promised us. If they couldnt provide it they should have said before final payment so at least we would have to option to cancel it or transfer to another cruise.Hope you get a result !   .

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello kensbird.

Sorry for not replying earlier but after 14 days waiting for a reply to our e-mail and still not got a reply from RCCl, we phoned customer relations 01932 834 119 we spoke to two very nice customer relations advisers , they were so apologetic and sympathetic  to our complaints....but have been instructed it was either accept £500 or cancel the cruise and get your money back, RCCL did not even have the decency to inform us of this by e-mail. We dont blame the guys at the end of the phone but RCCl in general .What a terrible way to treat their customers with such disregard and lack of communication. We have now asked for a written confirmation of this and answers to our queries about Johnnie Rockets being closed. The North Star inoperable for the first 5 days and the music hall being closed for the duration of the cruise and the Casino closed for the first week. Thank you Royal Caribbean for just spoiling my retirement celebration.

Hope you get better luck kensbird 

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This appears to be classic bait and switch. And it's unacceptable.

Bait and switch implies they knew all long what they were offering was not the case.  I believe this was a case of changing priorities/needs/requirements.  

 

If you gave RC sales truth serum, they'd probably tell you back when the cruise went on sale they didn't have everything 100% nailed down but the reality of cruise sales is they can't wait for everything to be 100% certain because they have to fill the ships.  

 

I don't think they enjoy changing the options onboard and they absolutely want happy customers.  I'd bet the staff will do everything they can to make up for it onboard too.

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Matt-- I think they knew, or in those weasly lawyer words, "should have known", that there would be these rather significant limitations to the product the customers bought before the final payment date. RCI has offered on board credit and I do agree that the crew on board will do their best to make up for the outages and changes. I just think the notification could and should have been made earlier.

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Matt-- I think they knew, or in those weasly lawyer words, "should have known", that there would be these rather significant limitations to the product the customers bought before the final payment date. RCI has offered on board credit and I do agree that the crew on board will do their best to make up for the outages and changes. I just think the notification could and should have been made earlier.

I agree with Matt that they want happy customers, and I bet sales didn't know about the work to be done. This sounds like a bad case(and not just in this instance) of the left hand not speaking to the right hand. With that said I also believe MANAGEMENT absolutely had to know 45+ days out that there was to be construction of this scale.

What Royal needs to get back to is proper communication and an ease of access on info for the sales side. While things like this are rare, they still need to leave the customer in a position that you knew about the problem before making the decision to go all in.

I think it goes without saying that emergency maintenance falls in the acts of god category, but this thread is not such an instance.

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My situation is similar but not as bad...when I booked freedom for next Feb they didn't announce that rocky and the rollers had a big cruise event going on and that you couldn't attend unless you booked through AAA.. it also would of cost us 1400 more...even though only 750 people only attends this event it would of been nice to know..when I mentioned this to royal after calling to see how this event would affect my cruise the Rep said I should of known because this cruise is every year.. I can't keep track of every event and I'm pretty new at cruising..I don't think it would be hard to put a notice on that cruise considering it's obviously they knew because like the Rep said "it's every year they do this"

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Got the long awaited e-mail from Rccl this morning(see below), Took best part of 3 weeks to say no!! It was not the monetary compensation that was the issue, it is the way RCCl are treating there customers with total disregard but they cant see that. End of the day still going on the cruise and going to make the most of it !! It will be my last on a Royal Caribbean ship

 

 

Thank you for your recent letter, Michael Bayley and the senior leadership team have taken note of your comments and asked me to respond on their behalf.

We apologise for all the inconveniences that the enhancements on the Quantum of the Seas may be causing. These enhancements are being made to prepare for her arrival in China. Due to the extent of the work in certain areas or venues need to be closed while these improvements are taking place.

"Mamma Mia" will not be in production during the sailing in order to prepare for our new show "Sequins and Feathers"; however; the theatre will be open and providing a variety of world-class guest entertainers Emperors of Soul, Westcoast and Masters of the House, as well as our own singers and dancers.

Music Hall will need to be closed for the duration of the sailing. The live entertainment which is usually presented in the Music Hall will be relocated to other venues in the ship.

The NorthStar will be closed for the first five days of the voyage but then will open for regular operation and enjoyment of our guests.

Johnny Rockets will be closed for some improvements, but you will still be able to enjoy hamburgers, hot-dogs and fries at the Windjammer Marketplace or the poolside grill.

Royal Caribbean International policies and procedures are constantly evolving. At the time of advertising, all details about the price, promotion, ship, venues, and entertainment were correct.

As per terms and conditions (found in our brochure), occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct error in the brochure and other details both before, and after bookings have been confirmed. There may be a requirement to carry out maintenance/building works on the cruise. Where the words are likely to seriously impair the cruise, we will notify guests as soon as possible. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes, we must reserve the right to do so.

A compensation  has been offered to all guests, unfortunately, we cannot offer any compensation beyond what has already been offered.

Thank you for your comprehension.

Regards,

Gabby M.
Guest Support Unit
Royal Caribbean International & Azamara Club Cruises UK & Ireland Guest & Trade Services Building 3 The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0NY

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Seems like alot of this is happening with Royal Caribbean.

 

I don't know how they think they can keep up when these things bring such negative and bad press. My first year crusing with them, there was no bad news really. People vented about some bad food and minor things. But for the past year, almsot all the news and changes have been negative. Usually higher prices, and less service and options.

 

I know they have to please their shareholders. BUT, if you lose all your customers, your shareholders will have nothing so they need to find a balance here.

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I too am amazed at the level of negative comments and the apparent indifference to them. I have attemted 3x to get an answer to feedback from our recent Serenade voyage to no avail. It's like sending smoke signals in a wind storm! We have found the competition does care! Another Emerald cruiser lost before Diamond! #fasttracktobecomingjustanothercruiseline

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