RKHOOKER

Just took up another offer from P & O for $500 for 2 people with $100 of casino cash for a 12 night cruise on Explorer from Singapore to Perth in March 2025. One great thing about P & O is their fantastic itineraries. For us if a ship has a great itinerary we’ll jump on it.

Not sure about that. In Australia all gratuities must be included in the advertised cruise fare. This is the law. The rest of the world should follow suit. It it put an end to the gratuities debate. Service over & above what is expected will still be tipped by those who wish to do so.

24 hour decent food options. Poolside BBQ’s. Trap shooting off the stern.

I’ve done unlimited dining on my last 5 RC cruises & I’ve always enquired with the food & beverage manager as to how many people actually book it. The answer is always the same “not many” how many? Less than 50 people. Therefore, it’s never sold out, hence it’s a marketing ploy. Once again smoke & mirrors from RC.

I always knew Royal can do many things with the press of a button, but, in the past they have always refused to or found excuses why things can’t be done. Maybe times are changing & Royal have decided not to stuff around their clients. Time will tell…

The sandwich with the Kummelweck sauce is absolutely divine. However, if the beef is tough, gristly & chewy it’s god dam awful!

We did B2B Barcelona to Rome & Rome to Athens in July on Rhapsody. RCI gave us new sea pass cards on the last night to allow us to be able to get back on the ship after spending the day in the Vatican. We caught an early train to San Pietro Station & then caught the 3:15PM train back to Civitavecchia & jumped the two shuttle buses back to the ship. Very cheap less than 18 Euros per person return for train & bus. It seems daunting to catch the RCI free shuttle bus to just outside the port & then jump on another dedicated shuttle bus to Civitavecchia Station & then the train, but, it is very easy & cost effective. From walking off the ship to getting off the train at San Pietro Station it took about 1 hour & 10 minutes.

We took up a 5 night offer for December on board Adventure for $200 for two people & $50 OBC… happy days!!!!!

I’ve just booked a cruise to Tasmania in December. Also, just booked my cruise control valet parking & car wash at White Bay. Happy days!

It appears that P & O are a little behind the times. I called them up & their current policy is masks inside in all public areas unless eating or drinking & you must provide evidence of at least a negative RA test before boarding. Strange as Victoria have declared the pandemic over & from October 14 in all of Australia there is no more mandatory self isolation. I just hope they remove all the Covid requirements before my December cruise.

Bayley won’t respond but Makenna Harris will on his behalf. Still Makenna will use the usual diplomatic responses, especially - privacy laws stop me from discussing the matter with you.

Yeah… MSC’s Yacht Club seems like great value for money. I’ll be booking my next cruise there.

Maybe the sale will eventually happen on the 4th July😂

Let us know how you go with your refund. Cheers 🍻

RC couldn’t find my final payment. After 10 emails & 12 phone calls they admit they have the funds in their bank account, but, can’t allocate it to my cruise. It has been allocated to another cruise that I’m not part of where my FCC’s have been allocated without my approval in a group booking by a TA. *****! I’m sailing in less than 2 weeks. RC are a joke! My upcoming B2B cruises will be my last with RC as they are just too difficult to deal with. If they ever sort out my missing FCC’s, I may be forced to do one last cruise to use them if I can’t get a refund.

IMHO it’s only worth it at $20 USD a night extra. Remember you’ve already paid for all your food on the cruise, in a way that’s unlimited.

The drinks package for a couple is dearer than the per night cruise cost. Incredible!

When RC won’t tell me what cruise, ship, departure port & date my FCC’s are applied to, I think RC’s silence guarantees they’re involved & may well be responsible. NSW Fair Trading is currently investigating…

Update… apparently the FCC sent to me by RC was sent in error & is not valid. The plot thickens!!! RC are an absolute JOKE!

Seems to me Royal is cashed up, hence, they’re not after some cheap cash flow.

Not so according to Australian law. As I initially paid RC & they issued FCC meaning they have my money & owe me money, hence, the direct relationship remains in place. However, according to Bayley’s office RC does has separate exclusive contractual agreements with TA regarding group bookings which they can not discuss with the cruise paying customers. i.e book 16 cabins & receive a free cruise or get the Owners Suite for the cost of one night… So you think a TA booking me on a group cruise that I have no knowledge of using my FCC’s to secure two (2) cabins which enables the TA to obtain a bonus from RC is not a scam. Well tell me what you call it. When RC cancel a cruise that you’ve booked (not part of a group booking) with a TA, after 45 days RC can move your FCC’s where you so wish as your contract with the TA is effectively over, but, not when your booking is part of a group booking on a cancelled cruise. RC are locked out of the group booking.

Update… RC finally issued me with one (1) new Cruise With Confidence Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the value of my original two (2) FCC’s. It’s a real shame that you have to go legal to get such a simple issue resolved. Guess what… After phoning RC to get the FCC applied to my 18th July 22 cruise, I’m told by the RC representative the FCC expires on the 11th July 2022 & can’t be applied to my cruise. I told him the details on my FCC from RC have the expiry date as 11th July 2023. He tells me when he puts the FCC number in the computer the expiry date comes up as 2022 not 2023. A short time later he advised me that he’ll have to escalate the matter & it will take between 3-5 days to resolve. I told him that’s exactly what RC told me seven months ago!!!!! Unbelievable! What the hell is going on with RC?

I’ve spent over 6 months trying to find my FCC’s. I’ve now got the government departments investigating.

At $110 AUD per person per night over 14 nights it’s a no for us. Even the UDP is over $52 AUD per person per night, so, another no.

Summary:- Oct 2019 - Booked B2B Med Cruises directly with RC. May 2020 - RC cancel Med cruises & issue FCC’s. Dec 2020 - My Friend organises a 60th birthday cruise for March 2022. I use my FCC’s to reserve 2 cabins. I give the FCC’s to my friends TA whom is organising the group booking. Sept 2021 - RC cancels March 2022 cruise. Oct 2021 - I contact TA & request to FCC’s to be transferred to my July 2022 cruises. The TA claims unless I transfer the July 2022 cruises to her she can’t apply the FCC’s to them. Hence, I request her to remove my FCC’s from the booking. She advises, It’ll cost me $100 per FCC to do so. I contact RC & they advise that because the group booking was cancelled by RC they’ll be able to access the booking to transfer the FCC’s after 45 days. Dec 2021 - RC advise the group booking is locked & they can’t access my FCC’s, it may take them 2 weeks to gain access. Jan 2022 - RC advise they are looking for a solution it may take another couple of weeks. Feb 2022 - RC advise they are escalating the problem. March 2022 - RC advise they are manually going to override the computer system & apply the FCC’s to my July 2022 cruise. April 2022 - RC advise contractually they can’t access the group booking. They emailed the TA & advised her to release the FCC’s. At the same time I emailed the TA requesting the release of FCC’s. I also emailed Michael Bayley & detailed what is going on & the scam that is unfolding. Makenna Harris responded & claimed to be working on a resolution. MH then advised that as the cruise is a group booking, legally RC have no way in transferring my FCC’s. I reminded MH that RC has my cash & not the TA. The FCC’s are owned by me & my wife & not the TA. Legally RC has a contract with me & my wife. The group booking was cancelled by RC back in September 2021 & the planned cruise date was the 18th March 2022. So as of todays date the cruise doesn’t exist it never happened. So where are my FCC’s! I then contacted NSW Fair Trading & they advised me to get the following information so action can be taken:- 1. What is the group booking Reservation ID 2. What is the name of the ship 3. What is the sail date 4. What is the departure port 5. What cabins have been booked Well… the silence is deafening from MH & RC. Does anybody see the scam unfolding here? I do! Who knows how to resolve this problem?