918baker

I called my bank for an update on the dispute. Apparently without my knowledge that CLOSED my dispute on the September transaction and OPENED a dispute without asking me on a VALID transaction with RC in January (shore excursions) :o:o:o:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

So now my bank is disputing the final payment charge asking that it reflect the amount from September. That's great and all but the fraudulent amount isn't attached to my reservation. So they're not going to do jack **** about that one. Bank won't listen to me though.

Still no response from RC from my weekend emails and voicemails from today.

I'm out of words. I just can't. I guess the money is just gone.

Can I ask why you even bother to use a TA? You obviously had the ability to sort out this horrible mess by yourself- why not book online and then all transactions are in your control...

Hindsight is 20/20 :) I had never had any issues with RCCL or any other cruise line before. I thought it would be a less stressful way to plan my birthday trip 😂 whoops.

RCI is becoming the True Carnival Cruise some imagine.

 

Our first RCI cruise was a mess, for some eason our 10 year old daughter was cash only, instead of on family cc. Can you explain how that happens??

 

We are older parents, cruised Disney (3), Carnival (2)' Princess (1)' and RCI (1). We are on Allure.

 

What I have divined about RCI is food is mediocre, website is a mess, internal systems (daughter account) - mess. Food and systems on ALL other cruises vastly superior to RCI. Happy to take kids on mega cruise ship, probably last rci.

 

Next cruise, Princess to Alaska.

 

I have a hard time understanding the slavish allegiance to rci.

Ugh I'm sorry you had a nightmare of a time as well! A cash account for a kid? Crazy. RCI's website is enough to drive someone to drink. I was okay with the food on this cruise. Was it wonderful? No, but I always found something I was happy to eat. The desserts on the other hand... I usually just got ice cream.

This was definitely our final cruise on RCI, it was my 4th RCI. My husband has his eye on a 14 day Japan cruise on Celebrity. Nervous to try them when I know it's the same parent company involved!

Lord knows RCCL has already charged my card for what we spent on board. Yet it takes them 2+ weeks past written confirmation that they're refunding my money to actually refund it.

I had a great time filling out the post cruise survey this evening!

I'll roll the dice here and see if I get my hand slapped...

If you google "original travel agency from home" the entire first page should be the parent TA company. I know I can't name my actual TA, but steer so far away from anyone that is under their umbrella!

We just spent 11 nights on Serenade. My usual schedule was down to the room around 11, stay up until 11:30 or midnight. I had kids in kids club so we'd let them do an hour of the late night party each night. Up about 7 - no alarm needed as Lionesss said, just keep the shades open! Although be aware of your window/balcony location and if you'll be visible from the dock :D :D no need to scare the locals ;)

We had a $1,000.00 refund from RCCL due.It was to go onto a CC that had been reissued. Royal tends to refund in odd amounts. Like $750 & $250. Yes it equaled $1,000.00 but our bank (BOA) did not see it as such and sent it back to Royal!!! I suggest you make friends with someone at your branch and let them fight for you! We did get the refund....1 month later!

 

Best of luck!

Thanks for the info! So interesting that they refund in random amounts. When we canceled and rebooked some excursions when they went on sale they refunded my card per person (such as 4 $79 refunds instead of $316 which was the original charge) Anyone know why they do these things?

I called and left a message for the person in disputes handling the process on my bank's end :)

I'm speechless! [emoji15]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I. Know. I'm just done. We were eyeballing some cruises on board but now there's absolutely no way. We don't have THAT much loyalty stacked into RC. It's just insanity.

Hi y'all! I'm back :D:D

What an incredible cruise. Definitely worth the hassle and not just giving up on it all.

RC sent little treats during the week which cracked me up to no end. We're on a ship full of food. Please do not send more food to my room. Send alcohol. Or massages. :hearteyes: We got 4 little sad vanilla cupcakes on the first day. My kids licked one of them, made a face, and into the garbage they went. Around day 5 or 6 we got a nice fruit bowl, the kids did enjoy the strawberries and other fruits that weren't readily available on the ship. Then on the second formal night we got a little plate of various desserts. :rolleyes: Thoughtful, but pretty silly considering we're leaving on a floating buffet. We did receive $300 of OBC instead of $250, not sure if it was an error or what (it showed up as 2 $100 credits and 2 $50 credits) but I'll happily take it.

Now... for the refund update. RC gave me verbal and written confirmation on 3/1 that they would be refunding the money. It is now 3/18 and there is no credit on my card. I did call my bank after the confirmation and they said that it would be absolutely no issue to put the credit on the new credit card number and that they accounts are linked on the back end of things. I got an email this morning from my bank that they requested a receipt from RC for something that is completely unrelated (a charge from when we purchased our excursions) so lord knows what they're doing. My vacation buzz is going away and I might start to twitch again soon.....

Sent an email to the exc CS rep to see if she had an update on things. Will call my bank again on Monday.

For now, I'm going to look through all of the pictures on our disc (birthday gift was the photo package. Yay for moms!) and enjoy my last few days off work.

We just got off Serenade on Friday and left more for our cabin steward than we ever have before! Incredible service. I had a generous pre-planned tip set aside for him. Our wait staff in the MDR were abysmal, the worst service we've ever had. So their pre-planned tip money was rolled into John's as well. And then my husband added an extra $40 at the last minute because we were so grateful for his service.

We had 4 people (2 adults, 2 kids ages 5 and 8) in our oceanview room (aka tiny) and he kept the room as tidy as humanly possible. We kept our wine tucked away in a drawer for lack of room and he would make sure the bottle was on ice well before dinner each night. He taught my kids how to fold towel animals, gave them riddles each morning to solve and tell him later. He rushed laundry for us when one of my kids had a bloody nose and stained his shirt. It goes on and on. John made our 11 days on the Serenade absolute perfection. He earned every single cent. I would absolutely follow him where ever he goes :D We hunted down his supervisor to tell her so.

You can definitely rent a car! We're doing the same but with port everglades this month :) we're headed over to see a spring training game! We got a very very reasonably priced car by going through Costco :)

I would consider that a good price! We have the same price for 11 days next week :)

I am so happy to read that this has been resolved! If you hadn't contacted everyone, I am sure you wouldn't have ever seen that money again. Good for you!

I think we have all learned a very valuable lesson at your expense, as soon as you see an error, get it taken care of right then, don't wait for someone else to supposedly handle it for you.

 

Have a fantastic cruise!

Kathy

YES. Do not trust your TA to handle it for you. I was on top of my TA from September 15th onwards and was fed a crap ton of BS and lies that I had no reason not to believe. Get involved immediately and take care of it yourself. Don't be a fool like me! :)

I think I remember you used that TA because if a referral from someone. I hope they know what happened to you. I hope this turns out to be the best cruise ever.

I know your family will be happy to have you de stressed!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Oh yes, they're well informed :') they're DONE with my daily updates. and obviously done with the TA as well!

I'm determined for this to be the best vacation ever. It's definitely a once in a lifetime trip for us and I can't wait to enjoy it! Once we return I'll post an epic review (definitely NO live for me! Unplugging for 11 days) and find a way to let y'all know the Parent TA company and TA :)

If you buy the package (either all prints/all digital, or both) as long as one person from the cabin that purchased the package is in the picture then you'll get the picture :)

Such as: mom, dad, and 2 kids in one cabin. They purchase a photo package. 1 kid is in a picture with friends from another cabin, that picture will be included in the package. The picture will also be available for those in the other cabin to purchase.

918baker I'm so happy you finally got a resolution. I don't think it's any mistake that they finally credited you when your bank got involved. Enjoy your cruise, you definitely deserve it!

 

Even though you have no idea what actually occurred and no one's talking, you do know for sure that when you needed her most your TA decided to just stop returning your calls. She got a commission but you did all the heavy lifting. That alone deserves a bad review.

I'll be reviewing everywhere. Still can't believe they're giving her the commission after all of that. I firmly believe that if I hadn't have jumped in and contacted Bayley's office that nothing would have been resolved. Even then, if I hadn't harassed the crap out of my bank to dispute the charge we would still be waiting and waiting.

Now it comes down to the fact that she's just a crap TA.

Thankfully it's over. I'll get my bitterness out of my system and enjoy the hell out of my once in a lifetime trip :)

Very happy to hear this is resolved for you. Getting your money back + $250 is honestly a pretty good outcome. There were times in the past few weeks that this resolution was looking quite unlikely. It sounds like RCCL, the TA and corporate TA company are circling the wagons and protecting themselves from any future trouble from you. With all of them not admitting what actually happened, they clearly want you to go away. I think it is 99% chance that you had a dirty TA, but you will never know for sure unless one of them is willing to share what happened. You may want to consider just letting this go when you get back from vacation. Without any proof from RCCL or the parent TA company that the TA messed up, you might have trouble getting any future positive resolution. I would still give poor social media feedback toward the travel agents, but you will not have any written proof to file something like a fraud claim against the TA.

 

Have a great trip. Eat too much food, drink too much wine and put all of this behind you for a week. I wish you the best.

Yes, after we return and I scorch the internet that will be the end of it. For the best, just annoyed that my TA is getting away with it! :mad:

Don't mean to sound like a broken record, but if they are refunding to the original form of payment, and that's the card you closed, definitely call your bank so they accept the funds and apply them to your new number! Or - is it your bank that is crediting you due to the dispute you filed (and RCCL just won't contest?)

 

Either way - hope the $$ appears expeditiously and have a great cruise!! I think I'd be in the spa on a massage table with part of that $250 after all of this.....

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I already booked my massage for the morning of our first full day 😃😃 highway robbery prices but whatever, it's worth it!!

I called and confirmed with my bank that they'll be able to put a refund from my old card number onto my current card number. They said it would be no problem especially because I have the open dispute.

I have no idea who is crediting the charge, possibly my bank but likely RCCL since I have a credit memo from them :)

I am so happy to read this morning that this has been finally resolved and you got $250 OBC instead of 4 cupcakes. Just a question though, Where can you get $250 interest in 5 months on $1400? I want to put all my money in this account so I can afford 2 cruises a year instead of 1.

Oops, I meant if it had sat in my credit card and I was paying THEM interest 😃😃

918Baker - let us know when that credit clears! If I was on your cruise I would offer to donate our 2 bottles of wine to you - you deserve all the wine you can drink!

 

So tell us - did RCI call you with a resolution?? Or did you have to call them?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You're so kind! I'm just going to smuggle all that I can smuggle in our carry ons, we'll have at least two backpacks so I'm thinking I can get 4 bottles if hubs and I split up at security ;p

I called RCCL promptly at 4pm EST like I do evvvveryday when I get off work. No answer so I left a voicemail, fairly usual. Usually I get a phone call back within 15 minutes. I picked my kids up from school, talked with their teachers for a bit, and then realized it's 4:45 EST and no phone call back. Rushed the kids to the car so I could call again before RCCL closed for the day and THEN I got ahold of someone. Surprising as it was the end of day, I think they usually stop answering their phones at 4:30 EST :')

Parent TA company had called me mid-morning and said that it would be resolved that day and that they would call me again when it was resolved... no phone call back. But I do have a credit memo and written confirmation of the OBC now from RCCL.

Who knows if it will hit my credit card before we leave town. I'm refusing to pay for dial up internet on the boat so I won't know for sure until we get back if it's not pending on Monday.

I sent a long email to Mr. Bayley last night. Not happy about the "resolution" of them forking back over MY money and then grudgingly agreeing to honor the $250 OBC that I truly believed had been mine since September 15th. Plus 4 cupcakes. If I had to keep the $1,400 charge on my credit card for 5.5 months the interest alone would have been more than $250 (and $10 or whatever 4 cupcakes are worth). I know I won't hear back from him or his staff, but I had to make it known that this was insanity.

What if you would have given up weeks ago.......no refund? Just take it on the chin!... ????????

Yes, exactly what would have happened. Unfortunately for all involved, I'm very very persistent. I might be a very busy working mom but I still have time to email and call people every single day until they fix things :D

Go thermonuclear when you get home on a TA who turn her back on you and lied for months. Sadly you don't have proof of what she actually did but you know she lied thru her teeth!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Oh yes. Will be waiting until we return and then I will release blowtorches to the internet. I'm so upset that I can't pursue any of this in court. Maybe The People's Court on tv.... :'):confused:

We have resolution!!

I have NO idea what happened with my TA re: charging her card. I don't think that's how anything works, but who knows. I'm getting my money back! I have no idea if a credit card dispute has work THAT quickly either. Or maybe RCCL got sick of elliot.org emailing them.

I pushed RCCL very hard for actual answers and got zip nothing. They say it was a "mistake" but won't agree that it was a "glitch" on their part but also say there is no "evidence" of fraud on my TA's part. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place as far as proceeding legally. So I think this is the end of the road on that and I'm angry and annoyed about it. No idea how we can come out of this with no answers and no one willing to figure it out.

At first I was getting an exact refund from RCCL but it's been a 5.5 month debacle. RCCL offered cupcakes :'):'):') There is no way for them to know that I'm an award winning pastry chef. Not even my kids will eat those cupcakes. I pushed some more and they finally grumbled that since my TA had offered the $250 OBC that is not on my reservation that they would honor that. So at least part of our on board bill will be taken care of, 11 days is a long time ;p I'm not happy with the situation but I am thankful to be getting a refund at all.

Leaving for Florida on Saturday! Packing is almost done. I just printed off adorable "what we did today" travel journal sheets for my kids to write/color on at dinner each night. Now debating how many bottles of wine we dare to try to carry on board with us ;):confused:

Is this your original TA who responded to you or the one who talked to you from the parent TA!

Original TA!!

And I just got another message. $%& has hit the fan. She's calling RCCL to charge her personal card so RCCL will have their money and I'll get my money back 😂😂😂 yeah that's SO not the end of this story.

Seven days until we sail. Counting today we have 5 business days to sort this out. Still hopeful as ever :)

My TA responded?!? She said she's working with someone else at RCCL but not my contact. Interesting. I told her who I was in contact with, and then I forwarded our emails to the lady I've been speaking to for the past TWO FRIGGEN WEEKS. Possible that there are communication logs attached to my reservation? I have no idea. Sent the information over anyway :) still think my TA is being shady.