Royal Caribbean not Helpful to this 1st Time Cruiser

After several weeks of researching cruise companies and ships/itineraries, we finally took the plunge and booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. This would be the first ever cruise for our family, and the process can be a bit intimidating, so it was quite a leap of faith we took. In hindsight, it appears our first mistake was booking online directly on RC’s website. However, if we had talked with a travel agent or representative before booking, we may have priced ourselves out of booking. So, at least this has forced us on the ship!

Here’s the issue. We thought our balcony stateroom would have a pulldown bed in addition to the main bed (two twins together) and sofa bed. We have a teenage son and daughter that don’t want to share a bed (the double sofa bed). I called RC customer service after they assigned the room and they said no rooms are available for us to switch to without upgrading for a significant price difference. Their solution, which we’re stuck with, is to have the kids each take the separated twin beds, and the couple share the double sofa bed. I’m 6’8” 300 lbs, so it’s not the most comfortable solution.

Anyone experience a similar issue, or have an alternate solution? We really thought RC customer service would try to keep the experience positive in hopes of acquiring a loyal repeat customer, but they simply fell flat. Their only concern after our stalemate was to try and upsell us on some excursions. Uh, no thank you.

You should post this over on the Royal board, you will get better help there.

Not sure I understand your comment about talking with a travel agent you would have priced yourselves out of booking. A travel agent would IMO have been your best decision as a first time cruiser and likely none of what you reference would have happened. IMO on line is not the way for inexperienced cruisers to book as there is no human involved to guide you.

Also not sure why RCI would have assigned the room. Unless you purchased a GTY rate, you - not the cruise line - pick the stateroom when you book on line. On line will suggest rooms in a category but the ultimate choice is yours. The websites describe in a key how each room is configured - Pullmans, sofa bed, etc.- and those that are available in each configuration. If available, you would then select the one you want.

Unfortunately different representatives levels of expertise vary and perhaps you have dealt with one less knowledgeable than another. Again, a good reason for a travel agent. But, as you mention, that is hindsight.

The likely reason they are not able to accommodate your preference is that there may not be the specific Pullman / sofa bed combination available in your selected category on your sailing any longer, hence the suggestion to need to upgrade to a different category to do so. (They may not have been when you booked as well).

My advice would be to call back and talk with another representative to see exactly what staterooms are available and in what category that would provide the bed configuration, and if within affordability, pay the higher rate to get it. The two adults on a sofa bed - which is not very comfortable to begin with - and the kids in the twins IMO will not work. Change it while you can.

You should post this over on the Royal board, you will get better help there.

Thank you. I did, and there are quite a few suggestions already. Thanks for the help! Those interested can follow here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2653269

Not sure I understand your comment about talking with a travel agent you would have priced yourselves out of booking. A travel agent would IMO have been your best decision as a first time cruiser and likely none of what you reference would have happened. IMO on line is not the way for inexperienced cruisers to book as there is no human involved to guide you.

 

Also not sure why RCI would have assigned the room. Unless you purchased a GTY rate, you - not the cruise line - pick the stateroom when you book on line. On line will suggest rooms in a category but the ultimate choice is yours. The websites describe in a key how each room is configured - Pullmans, sofa bed, etc.- and those that are available in each configuration. If available, you would then select the one you want.

 

Unfortunately different representatives levels of expertise vary and perhaps you have dealt with one less knowledgeable than another. Again, a good reason for a travel agent. But, as you mention, that is hindsight.

 

The likely reason they are not able to accommodate your preference is that there may not be the specific Pullman / sofa bed combination available in your selected category on your sailing any longer, hence the suggestion to need to upgrade to a different category to do so. (They may not have been when you booked as well).

 

My advice would be to call back and talk with another representative to see exactly what staterooms are available and in what category that would provide the bed configuration, and if within affordability, pay the higher rate to get it. The two adults on a sofa bed - which is not very comfortable to begin with - and the kids in the twins IMO will not work. Change it while you can.

We were trying to keep the cost down, and the price had already jumped up a couple hundred dollars. If an agent had suggested our only option was a higher priced room category, we likely would not have booked. So, like I said, at least we’re destined to cruise now!

We let them choose the room, again for the lower price. It was also about $200 cheaper that route. Obviously we realize the implications of that now.

Thank you for the input! We’ve had some great suggestions within minutes of posting this article.

After several weeks of researching cruise companies and ships/itineraries, we finally took the plunge and booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. This would be the first ever cruise for our family, and the process can be a bit intimidating, so it was quite a leap of faith we took. In hindsight, it appears our first mistake was booking online directly on RC’s website. However, if we had talked with a travel agent or representative before booking, we may have priced ourselves out of booking. So, at least this has forced us on the ship!

 

Here’s the issue. We thought our balcony stateroom would have a pulldown bed in addition to the main bed (two twins together) and sofa bed. We have a teenage son and daughter that don’t want to share a bed (the double sofa bed). I called RC customer service after they assigned the room and they said no rooms are available for us to switch to without upgrading for a significant price difference. Their solution, which we’re stuck with, is to have the kids each take the separated twin beds, and the couple share the double sofa bed. I’m 6’8” 300 lbs, so it’s not the most comfortable solution.

 

Anyone experience a similar issue, or have an alternate solution? We really thought RC customer service would try to keep the experience positive in hopes of acquiring a loyal repeat customer, but they simply fell flat. Their only concern after our stalemate was to try and upsell us on some excursions. Uh, no thank you.

The 2 females could sleep in 1 bed and the 2 males could sleep on the couch - or visa versa.

DON

You said RCI assigned the room? Did you book a guarantee? In your circumstance, it would have been better to pick the exact room you needed.

We were trying to keep the cost down, and the price had already jumped up a couple hundred dollars. If an agent had suggested our only option was a higher priced room category, we likely would not have booked. So, like I said, at least we’re destined to cruise now!

 

We let them choose the room, again for the lower price. It was also about $200 cheaper that route. Obviously we realize the implications of that now.

 

Thank you for the input! We’ve had some great suggestions within minutes of posting this article.

Unfortunately, the higher priced stateroom may be the correct one to properly accommodate you. Trying to save with the lower price is what has you in the stateroom you are in now, which as stated IMO is not the best suited.

I hope you can get this corrected to your satisfaction with the correct bed configuration - even if it costs more. I think in the long run it will be worth it. The sofa beds are just not comfortable for two adults. A Murphy bed and a sofa bed, or two Murphy beds with the standard singles/king is the better way to go.

Lesson learned. ALWAYS have the DECK PLANS in front of you when booking...either online, or by phone. You need to know exactly what you're booking. The deck plans clearly show what sort of bedding is in each cabin. That is one thing RCI does right...

Great news: We called back and this time around Royal Caribbean was able to switch the room to the bed configuration we originally thought we were getting! Either something opened up, or this 2nd representative was more in tune with the scenario. She definitely was more concerned with making our first cruise a successful one, and was very welcoming.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice and suggestions. We hope this post will help other 1st time cruisers as well. Special thanks to Royal Caribbean for coming through in the end!

Glad it all worked out for you. Enjoy your first cruise. We cruise EOS 2'x when she first came out. She's stil one of my favorites.

In many cases you can transfer your current booking to a travel agency. I'd explain the problem to the agency in advance and ask if they can troubleshoot if you transfer to them.

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Another solution would of been two separate cabins - each with twins only. Adjoined if you can get them, but we have found that across the hall works too. It always start out as one parent one child per room, but it ends up as both teenagers in the same room.

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Excellent! Glad it all worked out.

Another solution would of been two separate cabins - each with twins only. Adjoined if you can get them, but we have found that across the hall works too. It always start out as one parent one child per room, but it ends up as both teenagers in the same room.

 

 

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Yes, I don’t think the OP realizes the one bathroom problem at dinner time. When our kids were little my son and I would go to the gym to get ready.

Great news: We called back and this time around Royal Caribbean was able to switch the room to the bed configuration we originally thought we were getting! Either something opened up, or this 2nd representative was more in tune with the scenario. She definitely was more concerned with making our first cruise a successful one, and was very welcoming.

It's true, sometimes just calling back and getting a different customer service rep is the answer. I'm glad it worked out for you. Persistence is the key!