Shame on you Adam Goldstein-CEO RCI

Our flights on 19th April from Scotland were cancelled due to Volcanic Ash resulting in all our plans to holiday in USA and our 25th April cruise on Liberty of the Seas cancelled.

We have never been so disappointed at the way RCI reacted.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

Continental Airlines - Full Refund

American Airlines - No Refund

Sofitel Miami - Full Refund

Royal Caribbean - Dont want to know.

Basically go away and dont bother us.

Dollar Car Rental - Partial Refund

Intercontinental Hotels - Full Refund

Tampa Hotel No Cancellation Charge.

Many of the above were bought as non refundables. Well done to each for changing their policies, except RCI.

The Volanic Ash is is a very unusual occurrence. How companies react can ensure future business or not. RCI failed.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

We asked if we could get a credit of some amount for our 24/25th cruise with RCI. (one off diamond plus). We were prepared to pay extra. Nope.

This reaction was contrary to what had been posted by RCI earlier and seemed to have been reversed.

Nope. Please go away, we are busy with real customers on our fly-cruise packages.

Shame on You Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

Clearly the customer comes last in RCI culture.

Unless of course Mr Goldstein can prove me wrong.!!

Now, lets see where did I put that Princess brouchure!!!!!!!

Here in Spain RCCL is giving refunds and credits. The policy should be uniform in all countries, but it appears that it is not.

In any case, if the airspace is starting to open up today, there may still be a way for you to get to the U.S. in time for the April 25 cruise.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

Sorry, but I have to disagree.

Its awful that your entire holiday has been ruined by this volcanic activity - we are in Spain, hoping to return home soon and I do sympathise. But don't blame Royal Caribbean. You made your choices.

Presumably your insurance excluded this type of occurrence?

I know that from now on, insurance will exclude volcanic activity.

But this does not involve just one night like the hotels!! Its an empty cabin through no fault of the cruiseline and it was there if you wanted it.

On the other hand, RCI may reconsider its decision. Has been known to do that.

Lesson to be learnt for ALL of us - just like taking cruiseline port tours - the cruiselines look after you if you book the whole package through them. Costs a bit more sometimes - but this is like insurance which you have to pay for.

They have not failed - the cabin is yours!!

We are here in Spain and will have to eat all the costs for any delays as have many others. Some are facing huge bills on their credit cards which they are unable to pay!!

You took a gamble on making all your own reservations and not doing it all through the cruiseline in order to save money - it didn't pay off - the gamble failed - not Royal Caribbean's fault.

We are worried sitting here in Spain wondering if we will get home - at least you are home safe and sound.

Sorry, but I am more concerned for those families stranded at ports and the elderly and infirm who are seriously at risk.

However, you may well make the cruise as the airports are now open - good luck with that.

OKAY EVERYONE - SHOOT ME DOWN IN FLAMES, BUT WE ARE HERE IN SPAIN EXPERIENCING THE HUGE PROBLEMS WHICH PEOPLE ARE FACING.

Let me make sure I have this correct.

Your plane flight on the 19th was canceled due to volcanic ash. This caused ALL your plans to have to be canceled as a result. I also see you listed American Airlines as not offering any refund, but your not complaining about them. They are starting to resume flights. There is no reason you couldn't have worked with the airlines and still gotten to your ship on the 25th. I'm sorry your other pre cruise plans had to be canceled. But why, from a business standpoint, should RCI refund your cruise when the ash is clearing up and flights are resuming in time for you to make the scheduled departure?

I am very sorry for your the problems this has caused you and understand the frustration that your flight cancelations have caused. But in my opinion I do not believe, under these specific circumstances, tha RCI owes you anything. Good luck.

Did you pay for the cruise on credit card? Can you claim back from them?

Flights are moving and you've still got 4 days, which is probably RCCL's point too. If you didnt get travel insurance, shame on you.

Let me get this right. You're pissed that RCCL won't refund your money due to an act of god that RCCL had no control over? It's not their fault that your flights were canceled. If you booked your flights through the cruise line, then you might have had a leg to stand on.

Did you even have trip insurance?

Thank you for comments, we know there are others worse off than ourselves, but we do have insurance but whether they will pay up, we dont know.

The American Airlines flight was internal to USA and they would not link it to my international Continental flights. Fair enough.

The best we had hoped for was to pay a charge to RCI for rebooking another cruise.

We did not expect a full refund on a cabin which will be resold.

There are no airline seats available to USA from Scotland until 9th May as priority is being given to those stranded. Rightly so. Hopefully flights begin tomorrow but who knows and you get home.

We have taken many fly/cruise and cruise only packages with RCI, but all have a London England bias so we do our own flights to save time from Scotland. We had visits before and after the cruise in Florida and North Carolina.

The high handed way RCI have handled this problem beggars belief. No sympathy, just go away. After several hours on the phone thats the last thing you need.

Perhaps the Corporate Officers in Miami should get out a lot more.

Best of Luck

Scotland01

If you think Princess or any other cruiseline would react differently, you are mistaken. Look on the other boards and you'll find many similar posts to yours. RCI's policy is an industry standard.

Our flights on 19th April from Scotland were cancelled due to Volcanic Ash resulting in all our plans to holiday in USA and our 25th April cruise on Liberty of the Seas cancelled.

 

We have never been so disappointed at the way RCI reacted.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

 

Continental Airlines - Full Refund

American Airlines - No Refund

Sofitel Miami - Full Refund

Royal Caribbean - Dont want to know.

Basically go away and dont bother us.

Dollar Car Rental - Partial Refund

Intercontinental Hotels - Full Refund

Tampa Hotel No Cancellation Charge.

 

Many of the above were bought as non refundables. Well done to each for changing their policies, except RCI.

 

The Volanic Ash is is a very unusual occurrence. How companies react can ensure future business or not. RCI failed.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

 

We asked if we could get a credit of some amount for our 24/25th cruise with RCI. (one off diamond plus). We were prepared to pay extra. Nope.

 

This reaction was contrary to what had been posted by RCI earlier and seemed to have been reversed.

 

Nope. Please go away, we are busy with real customers on our fly-cruise packages.

 

Shame on You Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

Clearly the customer comes last in RCI culture.

Unless of course Mr Goldstein can prove me wrong.!!

 

Now, lets see where did I put that Princess brouchure!!!!!!!

Suggest you do look at that Princess brochure as they have treated us well following the cancellation of our holiday, however I would very much advise you to buy the complete package from them so as to take advantage of the laws and regulations that protect packages in such difficult circumstances.

Everybody agrees this is nobody's fault. But everybody also agrees that if anybody is to bear the brunt of the expenses, it shouldn't be the consumer.

Yesterday the Spanish government issued an ultimatum to airlines who were not following the EU Airline Passenger Rights laws. The law clearly states that no additional compensation is to be paid, but in-transit passengers who choose to be rerouted must be provided with hotel, meals, telephone, etc. The airlines are trying to say that the law was not written for these incidents not the fault of the airline. But that's funny, the law does clearly state that in incidents not the fault of the airline, the only thing not provided to the passenger is additional financial compensation, as is indeed provided when it is the airline's fault.

Cruise lines are saying that it's not their fault either so that it's your problem to get to the ship. But some of these cruiselines saying this don't sell an air/sea program in certain European countries, or discourage you from using it even it they did sell it.

Then there are the insurers. Those covering the event are now more than likely going to exclude similar coverage in future policies.

Customer goodwill and brand protection is extremely important for a cruiseline or airline. It would be an extremely nice gesture for cruiselines to give you a future cruise credit or rebook your cruise in cases in which they assert you are not entitled to a refund.

In the long run, the cruiselines will put their yield management teams to work and will fill the cabins anyway, and the airlines have already said that they are going to request financial bail-out and subsidies.

In the case of the airlines not following the EU laws, I would hope that the granting of any financial bail-out would be conditioned upon the airlines rectifying and complying with the laws written to protect consumers.

And in the case of cruiselines, I do think they should protect their customer base and brand loyalty and do the right thing in this case, even if it is not legally required.

I find it conflicting and contradictory that Celebrity is sending the Eclipse from England to Spain to "rescue" people stranded in Spain who can't get to Britain, but at the same time the RCCL brands are alienating their passenger base by not providing refunds or future cruise certificates.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

If you think Princess or any other cruiseline would react differently, you are mistaken. Look on the other boards and you'll find many similar posts to yours. RCI's policy is an industry standard.

Hi

Not quite true , for example some are making exceptions to their policy after people complained i.e Cunard -

"As a one-off exception to our Booking Conditions, Cunard will offer a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the fare booked to those guests who have specifically been unable to fly to the United Kingdom and are therefore unable to embark the ship due to the recent air travel disruptions. This offer is based on the assumption that these accommmodations will be allocated to new bookings from our Wait List. We regret the disruption to our guests' travel plans and hope that through the FCC we will be able to welcome them on board Cunard Line in the near future".

Maybe RCI will also change their tune!!:)

I hope your insurance covers this.

You should still keep trying you may be able to find a flight.

My thoughts are the person you spoke with was being bombarded from all sides and did not handle your call as professionally as they should have. They were taking care of the package customers as a priority. My suggestion would be to call back in a few days and ask to speak with a supervisor.

We missed our cruise at Christmas because of the flight cancellations due to the snow storm.

As it was a DIY package we did not get any credit from RCI we had to claim on our insurance. You cannot lay the blame at RCI's door.

We have an annual policy with Fortis and they paid out our claim in full in 8 days (incl Xmas shutdown). Fortis are also covering cancellation due to the volcanic dust (we fly in less than 4 weeks)

It's like anything you get what you pay for. We always package our own cruises because it is cheaper. Comprehensive travel insurance costs but it is a must.

Hopefully your insurers will pay up but for future trips I can more than recommend the Fortis policy.

It is dissapointing to miss a holiday but the fact that RCL didn't offer us a credit / refund and we claimed on our insurance has not stopped us from booking our two future cruises with them.

David and Heather

So sorry your wedding / cruise etc has been cancelled. Hope you can get things re-arranged. BTW you sailed on the OV2 with us last Feb !

Why are you assuming they will resell your cabin? Homeland Security asks for the manifest 3 days ahead. Have you cancelled? If not, you're still on the manifest. You're assuming lots of people can drop what they are doing to jump on a cruise ship for a week. The cruise line will be losing all the $$ you would be spending on board. You want them to refund? Perhaps they will give a credit towards a future cruise.

Our flights on 19th April from Scotland were cancelled due to Volcanic Ash resulting in all our plans to holiday in USA and our 25th April cruise on Liberty of the Seas cancelled.

 

We have never been so disappointed at the way RCI reacted.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

 

Continental Airlines - Full Refund

American Airlines - No Refund

Sofitel Miami - Full Refund

Royal Caribbean - Dont want to know.

Basically go away and dont bother us.

Dollar Car Rental - Partial Refund

Intercontinental Hotels - Full Refund

Tampa Hotel No Cancellation Charge.

 

Many of the above were bought as non refundables. Well done to each for changing their policies, except RCI.

 

The Volanic Ash is is a very unusual occurrence. How companies react can ensure future business or not. RCI failed.

Shame on you Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

 

We asked if we could get a credit of some amount for our 24/25th cruise with RCI. (one off diamond plus). We were prepared to pay extra. Nope.

 

This reaction was contrary to what had been posted by RCI earlier and seemed to have been reversed.

 

Nope. Please go away, we are busy with real customers on our fly-cruise packages.

 

Shame on You Mr Goldstein CEO RCI.

Clearly the customer comes last in RCI culture.

Unless of course Mr Goldstein can prove me wrong.!!

 

Now, lets see where did I put that Princess brouchure!!!!!!!

The American Airlines flight was internal to USA and they would not link it to my international Continental flights. Fair enough.

Why is it fair enough for AA to not link it to your international travel and not refund, but it´s unfair from RCI to do the same thing?:confused:

Good luck with the Princess brochure. I just had a look at the Princess website and they simply handle it with the sentence "Please be advised that all cancellations will be subject to normal cancellation policies"

I do sympathize with your plight, but an act of God is not the fault of RCCL.

Filling an airline seat is a lot different and easier than filling a double occupancy cruise cabin.

Sorry, but I have to disagree.

 

Its awful that your entire holiday has been ruined by this volcanic activity - we are in Spain, hoping to return home soon and I do sympathise. But don't blame Royal Caribbean. You made your choices.

 

Presumably your insurance excluded this type of occurrence?

 

I know that from now on, insurance will exclude volcanic activity.

 

But this does not involve just one night like the hotels!! Its an empty cabin through no fault of the cruiseline and it was there if you wanted it.

 

On the other hand, RCI may reconsider its decision. Has been known to do that.

 

Lesson to be learnt for ALL of us - just like taking cruiseline port tours - the cruiselines look after you if you book the whole package through them. Costs a bit more sometimes - but this is like insurance which you have to pay for.

 

They have not failed - the cabin is yours!!

 

We are here in Spain and will have to eat all the costs for any delays as have many others. Some are facing huge bills on their credit cards which they are unable to pay!!

 

You took a gamble on making all your own reservations and not doing it all through the cruiseline in order to save money - it didn't pay off - the gamble failed - not Royal Caribbean's fault.

 

We are worried sitting here in Spain wondering if we will get home - at least you are home safe and sound.

Sorry, but I am more concerned for those families stranded at ports and the elderly and infirm who are seriously at risk.

 

However, you may well make the cruise as the airports are now open - good luck with that.

 

OKAY EVERYONE - SHOOT ME DOWN IN FLAMES, BUT WE ARE HERE IN SPAIN EXPERIENCING THE HUGE PROBLEMS WHICH PEOPLE ARE FACING.

You know, I can't really say that RCI is wrong as policy is policy. However, people who can't show the slightest bit of sympathy really get to me. I have people who miss appointments without calling or call at the last minute. I don't send them a bill for that time. That office time was theirs. They COULD have had it. It is time that I can never get back. Maybe it was a traffic jam. Maybe it was snow. Maybe they over slept. Maybe they just plain forgot. I just take the hit and lost income. I am not saying that this is what RCI should do but a little symapthy goes a long way.

You made the comment that you are sitting in Spain wondering if you will get home. People could be just as unsympathetic to you and tell you to stop being so dramatic. Of course you are going to get home. The only question is WHEN. Yeah, the credit card bills are mounting up. Would it be better to be up in the air flying through the ash, hear the engines on your plane stall out and look out the window as the ground gets closer? How about YOU get things in perspective?

Nothing like a little sympathy and understanding, huh?;)

Some of you people make laugh or no it actually is making me sad...... since YOU are not in this boat PERSONALLY it doesn't matter it is alright for the line to quote policy even though it is possibly doubtful it would hold up in a court tó the full extent.

No don't get me wrong - I am not implying a full refund or even a refund at all but if lines were clever they would consider giving those affected cruisers a credit towards a new cruise or allow them to resheduale to a later date. Remeber happy customers will come again and spend even more. Peed off ones won't and believe it THEY will VOICE a very loud opinion which might cost a lot more in potential business.

Bear in mind they are already making exceptions to clients who book THEIR packages while in some countries the don't even OFFER such an option - like in Belgium.....

I may be sticking my neck out here but I would wager that there will be legal consequenes in some countries.

Some of you people make laugh or no it actually is making me sad...... since YOU are not in this boat PERSONALLY it doesn't matter it is alright for the line to quote policy even though it is possibly doubtful it would hold up in a court tó the full extent.

 

No don't get me wrong - I am not implying a full refund or even a refund at all but if lines were clever they would consider giving those affected cruisers a credit towards a new cruise or allow them to resheduale to a later date. Remeber happy customers will come again and spend even more. Peed off ones won't and believe it THEY will VOICE a very loud opinion which might cost a lot more in potential business.

 

Bear in mind they are already making exceptions to clients who book THEIR packages while in some countries the don't even OFFER such an option - like in Belgium.....

 

I may be sticking my neck out here but I would wager that there will be legal consequenes in some countries.

I´m not so sure it´s such a bad business decision to act just in line with the policies. Yep unhappy customers will walk away and voice their disappointment, however this is not just an RCI thing and with other lines handling it the same way the RCI people will head to Princess, the Princess folks to Carnival, Carinval to HAL, HAL to RCI, ..... you get the drift, it will even out in the end as it´s the same oll over anyway.

I´m with you that there will be some legal actions and only time willl tell who suceeds in those. It might be the guest or it might be the cruiseline. I´m sure if the cruiseline thinks they will be at a loss they´ll try to avoid a judge, doesn´t look like this right now, but of course it could change.

It´s an unfortunate situation for all and I´m sorry for those that lose their vacations. It could hit all of us, but we have to stand up for our own decisions and we can´t count on someone else showing good will to us when it was our choice to book cruise only and don´t cover our $$$ with insurance (and read the fine print to know what situations are covered).

BTW I could easily be affected by this as well, if this just had happened a few weeks later, or if this situation keeps going for some more weeks.

We missed our cruise at Christmas because of the flight cancellations due to the snow storm.

As it was a DIY package we did not get any credit from RCI we had to claim on our insurance. You cannot lay the blame at RCI's door.

We have an annual policy with Fortis and they paid out our claim in full in 8 days (incl Xmas shutdown). Fortis are also covering cancellation due to the volcanic dust (we fly in less than 4 weeks)

It's like anything you get what you pay for. We always package our own cruises because it is cheaper. Comprehensive travel insurance costs but it is a must.

Hopefully your insurers will pay up but for future trips I can more than recommend the Fortis policy.

It is dissapointing to miss a holiday but the fact that RCL didn't offer us a credit / refund and we claimed on our insurance has not stopped us from booking our two future cruises with them.

 

David and Heather

So sorry your wedding / cruise etc has been cancelled. Hope you can get things re-arranged. BTW you sailed on the OV2 with us last Feb !

What a great cruise that was, no delays or will it / wont it fly worries

We managed to get a flight out to our Christmas / New year cruise on OV1 but it was a close run thing with Manchester airport just re-opening in time for our flight, the previous week was very stressful for us.

We have re-organised our cruise and wedding, Grand Princess departing Southampton on 7th August, Southampton is a pain to get to but not taking any more risks with flights for the time being.

Thank you for comments, we know there are others worse off than ourselves, but we do have insurance but whether they will pay up, we dont know.

 

The American Airlines flight was internal to USA and they would not link it to my international Continental flights. Fair enough.

The best we had hoped for was to pay a charge to RCI for rebooking another cruise.

We did not expect a full refund on a cabin which will be resold.

 

There are no airline seats available to USA from Scotland until 9th May as priority is being given to those stranded. Rightly so. Hopefully flights begin tomorrow but who knows and you get home.

 

We have taken many fly/cruise and cruise only packages with RCI, but all have a London England bias so we do our own flights to save time from Scotland. We had visits before and after the cruise in Florida and North Carolina.

 

The high handed way RCI have handled this problem beggars belief. No sympathy, just go away. After several hours on the phone thats the last thing you need.

 

Perhaps the Corporate Officers in Miami should get out a lot more.

 

Best of Luck

 

Scotland01

Trying to find a flight for our kids to fly out here this week as they missed their flights over the weekend, and see that there are still seats with Amercan from London to Miami via Boston for tomorrow (21st) - know that it isn't the ideal connection but at least you would be able to make the cruise - just a thought.

Trying to find a flight for our kids to fly out here this week as they missed their flights over the weekend, and see that there are still seats with Amercan from London to Miami via Boston for tomorrow (21st) - know that it isn't the ideal connection but at least you would be able to make the cruise - just a thought.

Sorry, I meant flight available on American via Boston to Miami on the 22nd.

I have people who miss appointments without calling or call at the last minute. I don't send them a bill for that time. That office time was theirs. They COULD have had it. It is time that I can never get back.

My husband forgot a doctor appointment last month ... I didn't even realize he forgot the appointment. I received a bill yesterday titled "No Show" for $50.00 ....

My husband forgot a doctor appointment last month ... I didn't even realize he forgot the appointment. I received a bill yesterday titled "No Show" for $50.00 ....

Fine. That just is not the way that I choose to run my practice.