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Feeling bamboozled by Royal Caribbean


Desinico
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Thanks for that. I didn't know that! Thanks for the heads up....IDK who they are affiliated with. Its similar to if you book with "one of those surplus stores" and they have their own travel agency. If you catch my drift.

 

You're welcome! And....Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. :)

 

If it's the big box affiliated agency I found this in the FAQs.

 

Will my credit card be charged immediately for my reservation?

When confirming a vacation, we will charge your credit card, for the $24.99 Processing Fee and, should you choose to purchase it, for your Travel Protection. The remaining deposit or full payment is charged by the cruise line. It may take several days for them to receive approval before they apply the charges to your credit card.

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What if I have to cancel?

Cancellation policies vary between cruise lines and they do increase as the travel date approaches. You will be provided with specific details during the booking process, and we'll follow up by providing the fees in writing as well. It's your responsibility to be familiar with the penalties. In addition to any fees assessed by the cruise line, we do charge a $100 administrative fee for all cancellations. To protect yourself from penalties for canceling due to medical reasons, we strongly encourage you to purchase our Travel Protection plan.

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From what it says they do charge a $100 cancellation fee. So...even if the TA paid the deposit (which they'll get back)....the most you'd be out is the $24.99 processing fee and $100 Cancellation fee.

 

In the Invoice/paperwork you got from them what does it say about Cancellation? Their terms.....noted in the FAQ above are to be provided to you and should spell it all out.

 

Please keep us posted on what you find out.

Edited by suzyluvs2cruise
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I have dad some VERY bad experience with a TA which represents in name for USAirways/Delta/United/American cruises. It is the same company, which has $100+ cancellation fees and $25 set up fees, for the cruise. Often you are offered many airline miles & other inducements.

 

Stay away, they are nothing more than, the scum of the earth: I am very surprised they have not been, closed down by the US Federal Government.

 

They are as dishonest in the business practices, as many of the timeshare re-sellers, here in Florida. I can't say it loud enough, STAY FAR AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

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Lots of info so far on TAs, travel insurance etc., so I won't offer any more. Add me to the list of people who normally sail in a Superior balcony and are very satisfied. We don't spend much time in the cabin other than to sleep and get ready to go somewhere (insert obligatory honeymoon joke here). There's just too much to see and do on the ship...especially the Oasis class.

 

What I will suggest, although somewhat reluctantly, is that you plan to enjoy your honeymoon in a superior balcony cabin, but periodically check to see if you can upgrade to a junior suite at a reasonable cost. I say reluctantly because this doesn't seem to work as often as it used to, and I wouldn't want to get your hopes too high. The idea is that you can switch cabins any time before final payment is due. If the cost of a JS drops as you get closer to your sailing date, you would only need to pay the difference between your current superior balcony cost and the new JS cost. Alternatively, if the superior balcony cost drops, your TA should be able to get you the lower price, saving you some money, which you could choose to invest in excursions or specialty dining, or maybe a better hotel room the night before the cruise or a limo trip from the airport. There are some restrictions to upgrades and price drops, so check out other threads here to learn more.

 

I would also suggest researching the different ports that you plan to visit. Get excited about visiting the ports or taking excursions. Read cruise reviews that are similar to the cruise that you will take, expecially reviews with lots of pictures. Gambee has a great review of the Oasis, as well as one of the Allure (sister ship that is very similar). This should get you excited for your cruise and may help relieve some of your anger over Royal posting the wrong picture.

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We are sailing on rcc this coming July 2017 for our honeymoon. We booked through a travel agent about a month ago now. Of course we are super excited. I've been researching everything like crazy. To my amazement today I came to find out the discrepancies between the photos they have for our room categories & to say the least I'm kinda p'od. Apparently someone really screwed up with the pictures added to the site for room previews. The room we thought we were getting is infact a picture of a junior suite! The pictures are super misleading and of course I already paid my deposit with the ta. What am I to do? We honestly thought we were getting something really special and turns out, it's a regular room with a balcony they call "superior "😒 Whoppie!

 

Does this mean size really matters?:rolleyes:

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We are sailing on rcc this coming July 2017 for our honeymoon. We booked through a travel agent about a month ago now. Of course we are super excited. I've been researching everything like crazy. To my amazement today I came to find out the discrepancies between the photos they have for our room categories & to say the least I'm kinda p'od. Apparently someone really screwed up with the pictures added to the site for room previews. The room we thought we were getting is infact a picture of a junior suite! The pictures are super misleading and of course I already paid my deposit with the ta. What am I to do? We honestly thought we were getting something really special and turns out, it's a regular room with a balcony they call "superior "😒 Whoppie!

 

I can't speak for others, just myself -- but I have been disappointed at land hotels based on the pictures they have put up on their website and the actual room that I have had at a hotel and I did not use a travel agent to book it, just the hotel website.

 

You have your travel agent to blame for not making it perfectly clear the size of the cabin and what accommodations were in it. Are you upset that perhaps there isn't a small sofa AND a comfy chair to sit it....or what? If you thought you were getting a 'large bathroom with a shower' only to find out that that accommodation only starts at JS cabin option, that is different.....but it all falls to the travel agent to make sure that you know what you are getting, not a picture that may not be a perfect representation.

 

You will enjoy the OV balcony cabin a great deal, we cruise in that cabin option often. Personally, unless the travel agent, misinformed you there really isn't much that you can do unless you cancel....and your travel agent may have cancellation fees that you will be stuck with based on how the travel agent you have used appears to operate.

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So we paid a small deposit to them (24$for 2 ppl)and the ta paid the 500$ deposit to rcc. We have to pay the ta back plus the additional monies by march. We're not sailing till July. So they said if we cxl we have to pay them their 500$ they paid to rcc because it was used with a company card to hold our cruise.

 

 

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The cruiseline DOES allow her to cancel penalty-free. It is her travel agent that has the cancellation penalty. She is being bamboozled by her travel agent, not the cruiseline

 

I agree with you (disclaimer: I am a TA). For starters, RCI explicitly forbids TAs from using their own credit cards to pay for cruises (other than their own, of course). Some TAs pay the deposits on group space, but those are fully refundable (and it's very rare that they would put that much skin in the game).

 

IMO the JS is a far nicer cabin than a superior oceanview, but it usually costs a great deal more. Since you haven't cruised before, I recommend that you stick with the cabin you have - our honeymoon was on Empress of the Seas (then the Nordic Empress) in a room that must have been about 125 square feet. We were on our honeymoon. It was fine.:D You'll be fine and can save the JS for your 5th, 10th or whatever anniversary. Happy cruising!

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I've never been on any cruise ship, let alone rcc were first time cruisers. So we don't know what to expect. But I expect the same options. But we shall see what happens. Nothing but problems with this ta from the beginning. If we cxl, we're out 500$. No refund [emoji24], which was told to us from the start. So we might be stuck like chuck.

 

 

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You should not be out the $500 deposit because you are not in final payment. Deposits are refundable up to final payment. The TA may have a cancellation fee, but I doubt it is $500. I would pursue it and hope you get the refund and then I would change TAs or book direct with Royal Caribbean. Congrats on your upcoming wedding

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Just want to note that these room photos have been wrong -- not just wrong but hilariously wrong -- for quite a while now. I noticed an Oasis Class JS photo posted on the RCI website as a "superior ocean view" over a year ago, if not closer to two years. Completely unacceptable. I knew better, but a first time cruiser would not.

 

The descriptions are also unreliable sometimes. Slightly more excusable since it was a brand new class of ship, but they were advertising a couch in the E balconies on the Q class for over 6 months after the ship entered service without a couch in the E balconies. We were pissed and complained to our TA, who complained to RCI, and they basically did not care and offered us $25 OBC. Right, thanks... They did eventually fix the description. This is way more egregious though since it's an actual photo!

 

 

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Edited by Dave85
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I can't speak for others, just myself -- but I have been disappointed at land hotels based on the pictures they have put up on their website and the actual room that I have had at a hotel and I did not use a travel agent to book it, just the hotel website.

 

Hi Paulette - a good way to see actual pictures taken by travelers is to look up the hotel on TripAdvisor.com. Click on Photos, then only look at "Traveler Photos." Then you get to see real pictures taken by real people.

 

I always look at pictures of the beds to see if the mattresses look comfortable and then read the reviews to see if anyone mentions that the bed was comfortable (can't take a chance on some things!).

 

People also take pictures of the bathrooms, carpet, etc. Then we can see how clean a place is before booking.

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Hi Paulette - a good way to see actual pictures taken by travelers is to look up the hotel on TripAdvisor.com. Click on Photos, then only look at "Traveler Photos." Then you get to see real pictures taken by real people.

 

I always look at pictures of the beds to see if the mattresses look comfortable and then read the reviews to see if anyone mentions that the bed was comfortable (can't take a chance on some things!).

 

People also take pictures of the bathrooms, carpet, etc. Then we can see how clean a place is before booking.

 

YouTube videos can be helpful as well, but you must watch that the class of ship matches as well as the cabin category.

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Hi Paulette - a good way to see actual pictures taken by travelers is to look up the hotel on TripAdvisor.com. Click on Photos, then only look at "Traveler Photos." Then you get to see real pictures taken by real people.

 

I always look at pictures of the beds to see if the mattresses look comfortable and then read the reviews to see if anyone mentions that the bed was comfortable (can't take a chance on some things!).

 

People also take pictures of the bathrooms, carpet, etc. Then we can see how clean a place is before booking.

 

My actual point for my original comment about being disappointed in the pictures hotels put up, was that, it isn't limited to cruise line IT departments. I know there are plenty of places to find traveler photos. A written description can give me enough of a picture without getting myself 'tied up in knots over the room/cabin configuration'.

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Ummm....No you didn't....several people asked if you had gotten ANY invoice from your TA after booking....and if so, what the terms were..THAT you have not answered at all...

 

 

Umm....yes I did.. I just said I spoke to them and have in writing. It's not 500$ it's 125, as someone has said before that it probably will be the case if I m close to the due date. I was unclear on how that worked and have an invoice in writing. No need to jump me about it . Wow . Ride. I didn't know I had to go further into detail. I said it was 125$ I'd be out in my previous post.

 

 

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Umm....yes I did.. I just said I spoke to them and have in writing. It's not 500$ it's 125, as someone has said before that it probably will be the case if I m close to the due date. I was unclear on how that worked and have an invoice in writing. No need to jump me about it . Wow . Ride. I didn't know I had to go further into detail. I said it was 125$ I'd be out in my previous post.

 

 

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What people are asking you about is your booking invoice, when you book a cruise, you should receive an invoice that details your cruise fare, any discounts applied, taxes, insurance, fees, deposits paid, due dates, etc. This also list your cabin type and cabin number.

 

This booking invoice is really important to have because it is what you agreed upon at the time of booking. No one is jumping on you, many asked if you got anything because it will prove what you agreed to in the beginning.

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I've never been on any cruise ship, let alone rcc were first time cruisers. So we don't know what to expect. But I expect the same options. But we shall see what happens. Nothing but problems with this ta from the beginning. If we cxl, we're out 500$. No refund [emoji24], which was told to us from the start. So we might be stuck like chuck.

 

 

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Umm....yes I did.. I just said I spoke to them and have in writing. It's not 500$ it's 125, as someone has said before that it probably will be the case if I m close to the due date. I was unclear on how that worked and have an invoice in writing. No need to jump me about it . Wow . Ride. I didn't know I had to go further into detail. I said it was 125$ I'd be out in my previous post.

 

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In one of your posts yesterday (see above) you said you'd be out $500 if you cancelled. Several posters tried to help you by asking questions about the invoice you got from the TA, terms etc. but you didn't answer any of the questions asked.

 

Today you come back saying "no need to jump on you" and that you didn't need to go further into detail. That you'd already answered.

 

Not clear why you didn't answer the questions that were asked yesterday by many of us in an attempt to help you when you said you'd be charged $500 by the TA to cancel. We're happy you were only charged $125 but don't think it's fair for you to jump on those who have tried to help you.

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Desinico, yo check it, put all of that in your rearview.

As has been said previous the cabin you have is a decent cabin. You will enjoy the hell out of it because you will be in vacation/honeymoon/cruise mode. And on the real, there are less-than idea cabins you could have booked. For a first timer you dun good.

 

My wife and I took our first cruise three years ago. We hadn't taken a real vacation before that cruise and we'd been married twenty years (our honeymoon after jumpin' the broom: going back to our apartment. No pot or window if you are pick up what I'm putting down)! We are now planning a Mediterranean cruise for our 25th in 2018.

 

Yeah, I can dig it. You don't want to feel like you got taken. But the most important thing at this point is that you have a fun and relaxing time. None of this minutiae of the "how" will matter in twenty years. The "why" will be tremendously more.

 

 

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