Is this what RCI customer service is Like? Should I just cancel my Cruises?

First Timer here ... and quite an unhappy one at the moment :mad:. I hate internet posting, but this has forced my hand.

I have only been on 2 cruises before, not with Royal Caribbean.

I suddenly got the cruise urge and currently have 4 bookings with RCI for my wife and I over the next 18 months ... that's a longer story. Basically started with an Anniversary cruise next year on Allure and things escalated :)

While 3 of the 4 are fully paid for, being Sydney based, I could not help but put a deposit down on the Ovation Cruise for New Years next year.

Last night I called the support number to try and get the $100 OBC added to the Ovation cruise for the promotion code 'GAMECHANGER' I didn't receive the code for this in time to make the booking, as I booked on the first day this cruise was available.

Well the call centre guy, obviously offshore and not seeming to care at all, was really very rude and so I asked to speak to his manager. The manager was more helpful but couldn't guarantee the addition of the $100 OBC, but said they would escalate. I was more that happy with that.

This morning was the clincher, I have now woken up to an new email from RCI which shows an adjusted fare from $5,367 to $5,767 .. with no OBC added. :mad:

This is the first time I have had to dealt with RCI Customer Service and my impressions are not good. I can be fickle and when I make up my mind I tend to act. I am more than happy to cancel the $10K + I have invested with RCI and never look back.

Any thoughts on if this is likely to be resolved or should I just take my money and go back to non-cruising vacations?

As I said $100 OBC vs $10K spend is all it will take for me to get adequately pissed off and go elsewhere

Anytime promotions get added or change and customers want the new deal then the entire cruise will be repriced. There is no way around that. They should not have gone ahead with giving you the extra $100 OBC and charging you more.

If you want to take advantage of a promotion that was not offered when you booked, they cancel the original cruise and rebook it since most promotions say for new bookings only. Unfortunately sometimes the fare is higher, so most of the time it is not worth it. I would try resolutions to see if they might be able to help. Good luck, I hope you get some adjustment.

Sorry, I just noticed you were not in the US. I have heard RCI is not as friendly or helpful, the call center is in Guatamala? I believe.

Thanks,

I probably should have made it clear. It most definitely was an existing offer, but they didnt publish the code for a while after the start date. So it was either buy the cruise early or wait and watch the price go up.

Some other CCs had posted about this on the Australian/NZ forum and they mentioned that they got the OBC added post purchase due this problem. Which is the reason I called in the first place, but a few days later.

cheers

As a general rule, if you book in Australia (either with a TA or RCI) you cannot make any change to your booking eg adding promotions or getting price drops. If you cancel you will lose a lot in deposits which will not be refunded.

This is why we book with a U.S. based TA.

Also, that code was sent out before Ovation's Australia cruises were available to book (I received it days before) so not sure what has happened there if you only received it afterwards. You might want it raise that with them and see if it helps your case.

First Timer here ... and quite an unhappy one at the moment :mad:. I hate internet posting, but this has forced my hand.

 

I have only been on 2 cruises before, not with Royal Caribbean.

 

I suddenly got the cruise urge and currently have 4 bookings with RCI for my wife and I over the next 18 months ... that's a longer story. Basically started with an Anniversary cruise next year on Allure and things escalated :)

 

While 3 of the 4 are fully paid for, being Sydney based, I could not help but put a deposit down on the Ovation Cruise for New Years next year.

 

Last night I called the support number to try and get the $100 OBC added to the Ovation cruise for the promotion code 'GAMECHANGER' I didn't receive the code for this in time to make the booking, as I booked on the first day this cruise was available.

 

Well the call centre guy, obviously offshore and not seeming to care at all, was really very rude and so I asked to speak to his manager. The manager was more helpful but couldn't guarantee the addition of the $100 OBC, but said they would escalate. I was more that happy with that.

 

This morning was the clincher, I have now woken up to an new email from RCI which shows an adjusted fare from $5,367 to $5,767 .. with no OBC added. :mad:

 

This is the first time I have had to dealt with RCI Customer Service and my impressions are not good. I can be fickle and when I make up my mind I tend to act. I am more than happy to cancel the $10K + I have invested with RCI and never look back.

Any thoughts on if this is likely to be resolved or should I just take my money and go back to non-cruising vacations?

 

As I said $100 OBC vs $10K spend is all it will take for me to get adequately pissed off and go elsewhere

If that´s how you feel you should go ahead and cancel your Cruises.

Once you have made up your mind about something and are more than happy to do it - just do it.

You´ll get a lot of blah blah on here about how you shouldn´t let this spoil your Cruises and once onboard all will be fine. I say don´t give up your principles.

If that´s how you feel you should go ahead and cancel your Cruises.

Once you have made up your mind about something and are more than happy to do it - just do it.

 

You´ll get a lot of blah blah on here about how you shouldn´t let this spoil your Cruises and once onboard all will be fine. I say don´t give up your principles.

I agree. You already have a predetermined idea of the cruise line so best vacation elsewhere.

Honestly, if you're willing to give up multiple cruises over $100 in OBC, then you are probably best off doing exactly that. I can't imagine that's the only frustration you will have in managing those bookings.:rolleyes:

Come on, Newby_Cruiser is just expressing bad feelings for what sounds like pretty bad customer service. We have all had it at some point but it is especially bad when it is your FIRST impression of a new line. I can't imagine any of us who would willingly give up $100 not matter what we paid for our cruise. $100 bucks is $100 bucks and I would welcome it! I don't understand why we "Loyal to Royals" feel like we have to make excuses for everything they do. I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction, Newby_cruiser, and that you will end up loving Royal the way we do. I can definitely suggest that you call several times because we all know you will get a different answer every time you call. Welcome to Royal and hang in there if you can. I believe you will really enjoy the ship and the trip if you can work it out.

Come on, Newby_Cruiser is just expressing bad feelings for what sounds like pretty bad customer service. We have all had it at some point but it is especially bad when it is your FIRST impression of a new line. I can't imagine any of us who would willingly give up $100 not matter what we paid for our cruise. $100 bucks is $100 bucks and I would welcome it! I don't understand why we "Loyal to Royals" feel like we have to make excuses for everything they do. I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction, Newby_cruiser, and that you will end up loving Royal the way we do. I can definitely suggest that you call several times because we all know you will get a different answer every time you call. Welcome to Royal and hang in there if you can. I believe you will really enjoy the ship and the trip if you can work it out.

I can´t see anyone making excuses:confused:

I know the feeling all too well. We have not been on Royal Caribbean since Jan 09 because of a " misunderstanding". We finally decided to try the Oasis this August. Meanwhile, we have cruised five times on other lines and were able to experience what they have to offer. The service on board has always been fantastic but poor customer service off the ship ended up costing RCCL those five cruises (x 2) plus possible future cruises. They really do need to work on that aspect of the organization.

As many others have said, I find the quality of service onboard completely fine, but their call centre people and online stuff is laughable. However, it's never ended up costing me in real terms (except in a phone bill and time) and have also eventually had an amazing holiday.

Customer service and website are deplorable pre cruise. Only had one bad cruise at the Millennium. No complaints on the other 10 cruises once on board. Newby, you will have a lot invested in these cruises, if you can't deal with the service you've received so far and are unsure about later, I would cancel. No amount of faceless strangers on here telling you it's great once you get on board will make a difference.

We have a cruise upcoming in November that was booked back in May of 2014. We felt like we got a great deal on a GS. Then, we cruised again in August 204 and when we returned we found out we were Diamond.

We have been pretty unconcerned with C & A status since we always book a GS or better.

A TA at the agency where we book saw the change in our status and told me she was going to call to get Diamond Benefits added ($225 discount instead of the $125 Emerald bonus). I told her in no uncertain terms not to touch the booking. I knew they would reprice it and the price had gone up about $3000 since we booked. She had no idea that would happen, so I had her boss explain it to her.

If it had been repriced due to a TA error and RCCL or the agency did not make it right we would have canceled and gone on another cruise line.

Don't mess with a booking unless you know in advance what the outcome will be or you will be burned on RCCL. We haven't had that problem on other lines, but through CC have read some real horror stories about RCCL.

I think that what has happened has turned you against the line so much so that you will spend your time nit picking everything on the cruises you have booked and will be miserable. If they do not fix it right away, then I would cancel and spend my money elsewhere.

Debj14, as a rule, that discount should NOT have changed your booking. It is the normal Diamond discount and they apply it once your cruise is booked. HOWEVER, I understand your caution since this whole thread is about what CAN happen. As I said before, I have called back 3 or 4 times with the same issue and gotten 4 different answers. I do suggest that as a new diamond you call C&A diamond desk and ask them directly. You really should be entitled to that discount from now on. Good luck and congrats on the new level! Deb

It's been reported on CC in the last several months that if you apply a C&A discount to a booking that didn't have it previously, or if you bump up a level and want to apply the newer discount, they will reprice the cruise.

A TA at the agency where we book saw the change in our status and told me she was going to call to get Diamond Benefits added ($225 discount instead of the $125 Emerald bonus). I told her in no uncertain terms not to touch the booking. I knew they would reprice it and the price had gone up about $3000 since we booked. She had no idea that would happen, so I had her boss explain it to her.

It's been reported on CC in the last several months that if you apply a C&A discount to a booking that didn't have it previously, or if you bump up a level and want to apply the newer discount, they will reprice the cruise.

This is absolutely right, they will reprice the cruise based on the current cost.

I have had a higher C&A discount applied in the past and luckily benefited from it but the cruise was repriced first.

OP - You alone have to make the decision and it does sound like you have. I agree with others here though, service at RCI call center is not great but once on the ship I have experienced very few issues. Would you have to forfeit your deposit if you cancelled? Have you any update for us if you have spoken to them again? I do hope it works out so that you can enjoy all the cruises you have booked.

I am talking about the Diamond discount. That is never included in any of the promos. It is a perk of being diamond or diamond plus and has always been added after booking. I have always had to call the diamond desk to have it applied after I booked. If this has changed, I better make sure I do it the right way now. Thanks for the heads up. Our next cruise is on Celebrity so I haven't experienced this change yet personally. I always learn more here than I do from Royal's customer service. Thanks again.

I've never seen a promotion where the code wasn't available at the start of the promotion. Does this happen often?

As a general rule, if you book in Australia (either with a TA or RCI) you cannot make any change to your booking eg adding promotions or getting price drops. If you cancel you will lose a lot in deposits which will not be refunded.

 

This is why we book with a U.S. based TA.

 

Also, that code was sent out before Ovation's Australia cruises were available to book (I received it days before) so not sure what has happened there if you only received it afterwards. You might want it raise that with them and see if it helps your case.

Strangely I've never experienced any negative issues dealing with the call centre from Australia but I do ensure that I've done my homework prior to the call as most of the customer service reps have never been anywhere near a cruise ship!

Recently I called to book a cruise for some friends who were interested in one I had recently booked. The CSR went out of his way to have them booked close to us then mentioned that they ere entitled to $200 on board credit.

I joked that yes I was doing all the work & they got the OBC but I had missed out on the new promotion because I'd booked the previous week.

He did a dummy booking to make sure the price hadn't increased since my booking then said I can cancel your booking then re-book you into the same cabin so you too receive the OBC BUT you will have to pay another deposit and wait a few days for the original deposit to be refunded back into your credit card.

I gave him to go ahead to do this so ended up with a new booking number for the same cabin with $200 OBC. The refund appeared in my credit card 3 days later.

By the way I had called the call centre prior to this enquiring about having the OBC added to my booking just 1 day after I booked but that CSR said sorry can't be done as the offer was for new bookings only so I didn't pursue it at the time so it just goes to show that like all CSR for all companies some are more focused on customer service than others.

The second CSR gave me his name & told me whenever I call them to ask for him . If he wasn't available to leave my name & number & he would call me back. He did agree that some junior members of their team were not as familiar with what was possible but he had been working there for over 2 years & was now a senior CSR - obviously I have his name stored away for future reference.

On Celebrity they're just as fickle.

Their sales agent promised our TA $300 OBC, and she never got the receipt. The very next day, the agent denied saying anything.

The TA finally managed to get $100 OBC from another agent, but not the $300.

I was aware of the repricing policy. It's been a few years since you could get them to adjust a price drop by just entering the change. Now they have to recreate the booking. Too bad they don't recreate their website from scratch the way they do their bookings.

They adjusted the price on our Freedom cruise when the price dropped before final payment and we kept our onboard credit but I know if you want to do a different promotion you would have to rebook. We usually just book another cruise and change the dates because we cruise usually twice a year and we always have a couple on hold but I have also heard you might not be able to do that any longer either?

I am talking about the Diamond discount. That is never included in any of the promos. It is a perk of being diamond or diamond plus and has always been added after booking. I have always had to call the diamond desk to have it applied after I booked. If this has changed, I better make sure I do it the right way now. Thanks for the heads up. Our next cruise is on Celebrity so I haven't experienced this change yet personally. I always learn more here than I do from Royal's customer service. Thanks again.

With the new TA booking engine the C & A number is put in when the booking is made now that they have a better look up feature. Our Emerald Discount was applied to the booking from the beginning. Or, if you book yourself online you add the C & A number, resident state, 55 or older etc, when you are in the booking process to get all the appropriate discounts. There is no longer any need to call C & A to have the discount applied unless the number was not applied to the original booking.

The problem was that 3 months after we booked that cruise we turned Diamond. They would have given us the Diamond discount, but they will reprice the booking at whatever the current price is. I read about this on CC and called the C & A desk to confirm that indeed that is the case.

Prices rose quite quickly on the sailing and all the GS cabins were sold out. We would have been royally screwed, since the price for a GS climbed by $3000 before completely selling out. The C & A rep told me that we would get the current waitlist price if we asked to switch from the Emerald Balcony discount to the Diamond Balcony discount. If we got the higher discount they would not honor the heavily discounted price we got when we booked the cruise the day they opened it for booking.

So, be careful what you ask for and make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Thanks just when I think I know all the rules...they change them on me. Like I said I learn way more here than thru RCCL.

Look at it this way. If you buy something at the store on Saturday and it goes on sale Sunday can you go back to the store and get the credit?:rolleyes: