Shame on you Adam Goldstein-CEO RCI

[Tripper10]

Sometimes your car breaks down. If you did the correct things to take care of it, and its out of warranty you have to pay. Whos fault is it? Things happen.

[trailercruiser]

Customer service doesn't mean giving people something they didn't pay for. If they did that, the customers that paid extra for insurance and flight arrangements through Royal would have a very valid complaint.

ahhh,but they paid for a cruise they are not getting.;)

[mommamd]

Princess is NO BETTER, passengers unable to reach Chile due to the earthquake did not get refunds on their South America cruise, even if they pruchased air through Princess.

[mommamd]

Insurance purchased through Access America prior to 4/15/10 includes the volcano disaster.

[anotherdude]

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

 

You SAY there are no flights to North America till May 9th BUT if you have seats prebooked you will not get bumped for someone else whose flight was canceled....if your flight is cancelled you must go to the back of the line and wait untill there is an open seat to book...those folks will most likely have to wait for a week or two to get out but since you say you have tickets and a flight booked you will get here...so what is the issue?????

[SomeBeach]

Sorry SomeBeach. My post wasnt directed at you. I agreed that the hotel prices went up then I guess i went on a rant.

 

So many people were affected by this situation in so many ways. I can tell you countless stories. People who couldn't get to see parents or family members before they passed away and missed funerals. Brides who missed weddings. I feel bad for anyone who is out money for a missed vacation, or who had to shell out extra for extended stays but so many people had it far worse. So many people stepped up to the plate and pitched in to lend a hand and that was gratifying.

 

Thanks bmazzo.

I would guess the stress levels for anyone involved in this has gone just about through the roof. So many folks wanting answers, wanting to get home, wanting to get to their vacay, along with the many thousands that worked the other side of this. With no precedent set for such a wide spread halt to aviation combined with the unknown of a planes ability to fly through the ash, well, its just made for a horrendous week.

[Scotland01]

I want to thank you for the sensible supportive comments on our lost trip. We lived in Raleigh for 2 years and were visiting one of our closest friends there before the cruise on Liberty. The days after were to have been spent in Sarasota. The trip had been planned for over 1 year and a couple we had met on our last cruise who live in Florida were joining us on the Liberty. My husband wrote the original thread and I can no longer read some of the comments! Of course we had travel insurance and we are not looking for something for nothing.Just some credit towards our next cruise Thanks again Margaret in cold but sunny SCOLAND

[anotherdude]

You SAY there are no flights to North America till May 9th BUT if you have seats prebooked you will not get bumped for someone else whose flight was canceled....if your flight is cancelled you must go to the back of the line and wait untill there is an open seat to book...those folks will most likely have to wait for a week or two to get out but since you say you have tickets and a flight booked you will get here...so what is the issue?????

 

OOPs..I just realized your flight was the 19th...I knew your cruise was the 25 th so I thought your flight was later so yes you did miss your flight....but as to my original thought....booked pax are not being bumped for those who had tix for canceled flights....my wife got extremely lucky..flew from SFO to Munich the day before flights were stopped and will fly home this weekend on her booked flight while many will be still waiting form past days cancelled flights...

[BMT]

I read on Adam's blog that those who booked flights through RCCL, will have the flights refunded and a cruise credit given.

 

Wonder if this also applies to the UK though.

[taylor58700]

I do believe there is a way around everything. There's got to be a way here too. Just got to look harder. That's all.

[whyrlygig]

Travel insurance. NEVER leave home without it! ;)

[BMT]

Problem is that here in the UK we don't know whether the Insurance Companies will pay out on this particula occasion.

[Albert Ross]

I read on Adam's blog that those who booked flights through RCCL, will have the flights refunded and a cruise credit given.

 

Wonder if this also applies to the UK though.

 

Yes it applies in the UK

 

Those guests traveling on cruises who are unable to travel to the ship due to airport closures, and who purchased air arrangements through Royal Caribbean, will be provided a refund of their air fare and a 100 percent Future Cruise Certificate in the amount of the cruise fare paid

[MAZANDSTEVE]

We are in Scotland and last year booked a package with flights etc from RCI and the flights they gave us were to Orlando via Dallas!!!!!! So the price was expensive and then we had to pay more to go via Gatwick and direct!!! We didnt know the route until about a few weeks after booked. We have booked again for next year on FOS but once more they offered us flights of unknown routes for over £700 each person!! When I posted this problem on the cruise air threads many critisised me for presuming I would have direct flights etc etc etc and saying that was one of the problems with cruiseair!!!! Now many are saying you should book cruise air!!!!!

 

I feel your pain! Travelling from Scotland the air fares are huge and it is a big holiday and costs thousands. Would be gutted to lose it. Saying that I hope you get offered something, friends of ours have been able to rebook onto Oasis for Sept (it was there honemoon) and Im not sure they booked it all with RCI.

 

 

Most the advice on here was to book your own flights its cheaper and you get better times etc and many have done this. And you are right others are now saying you shouldnt have.

A note on the flights they give you, if you do not like the date or if its an indirect flight and you dont want that, ask them to change it, they did for us and we got a straight through flight, it cost a little amount more but worth it.

[nellydean]

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.

 

Maybe when the volcano's big sister katla erupts and the wind blows it over the whole of the usa there will be a bit more sympathy

 

This natural disaster has caused far more disruption than 9/11 ever did and has cost the (mainly) European airline industries, and consumers, billions of pounds. Me and my family were caught up in it, we took two and a half days to get home from Italy, but we regard ourselves as lucky, because there are still passengers waiting to return more than a week later.

 

If the poster had only booked a cruise I could understand, but if RCI took their money for the airfare they became responsible for getting them back, and sympathy and help should have been top of the list.

 

It is a strange irony that Celebrity Eclipse is bringing home thousands from Spain, free of charge, in a move that no doubt will do more to boost future bookings than any amount of advertising could have hoped for.

[madforcruising]

If the poster had only booked a cruise I could understand, but if RCI took their money for the airfare they became responsible for getting them back, and sympathy and help should have been top of the list.

 

The OP of this thread did book a cruise only with RCI.

[nellydean]

The OP of this thread did book a cruise only with RCI.

 

OK, but another poster in another thread reported booking flights as well bt said the response from rci was the same

[madforcruising]

If I had any Royal caribbean stock I would dump it, this company will fail soon if it carries on like this, especially in Europe.

 

 

 

 

Doesn´t really look like the stock is doing bad these days;):rolleyes:

[madforcruising]

OK, but another poster in another thread reported booking flights as well bt said the response from rci was the same

 

It´s all over RCI´s website, US, UK, etc. that people on air/sea packages will get refunds. I would put more trust into an official statement of a business than posts from individuals that are (understandably) stressed out because of a lost vacation. Let´s wait until all has settled and claims made and taken care off before blaming anywone.

[BILL-WI]

This natural disaster has caused far more disruption than 9/11 ever did and has cost the (mainly) European airline industries, and consumers, billions of pounds. Me and my family were caught up in it, we took two and a half days to get home from Italy, but we regard ourselves as lucky, because there are still passengers waiting to return more than a week later.

 

 

Really? Tell that to the over 3,000 family's that lost family members. I know the natural disaster is frustrating, but logic still needs to prevail....

 

BILL

[madforcruising]

This natural disaster has caused far more disruption than 9/11 ever did

 

I´ve read this in the press as well, but have a hard time to believe it. Of course I can´t prove either way.

 

Anyway it´s questionable how this mess was really caused by a natural disaster or simply by overreacting officials. The whole grounding was never based on hard based fact, but just on computer simulations of possible ash spreading above Europe. It took them several days to get planes into the air to measure the actual ash concentration in the air and none of the test flights showed some real risk. I´m all for safety, but base your decisions on facts not simulations.

[Paul65]

Really? Tell that to the over 3,000 family's that lost family members. I know the natural disaster is frustrating, but logic still needs to prevail....

 

BILL

 

If logic prevailed, you would realize that people are talking about disruption to the travel industry. Nobody was trying to minimize the loss of life involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

[RetireeWannabee]

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.

exactly! They cannot put someone in YOUR CABIN!

[bmazzo]

Maybe when the volcano's big sister katla erupts and the wind blows it over the whole of the usa there will be a bit more sympathy

 

This natural disaster has caused far more disruption than 9/11 ever did and has cost the (mainly) European airline industries, and consumers, billions of pounds. Me and my family were caught up in it, we took two and a half days to get home from Italy, but we regard ourselves as lucky, because there are still passengers waiting to return more than a week later.

 

If the poster had only booked a cruise I could understand, but if RCI took their money for the airfare they became responsible for getting them back, and sympathy and help should have been top of the list.

 

It is a strange irony that Celebrity Eclipse is bringing home thousands from Spain, free of charge, in a move that no doubt will do more to boost future bookings than any amount of advertising could have hoped for.

 

 

Celebrity Eclipse cancelled a non revenue, travel industry, promotional cruise that most of the passengers couldn't get to anyway and was able to pitch in. The airlines (and in some cases cruiselines) are responsible to get you to your final destination "as soon as possible." Is this case some folks were affected more than a week. Airlines and cruiselines are not responsible for out of pocket expenses incurred by this. There is no moral obligation whatsoever and if history repeats istelf, most people will forget this in a few weeks. I also wouldn't be so sure about measuring the cost of this the 911 attacks. The negative financial effects to the airline industry and local economies was enormous. People are not afraid to fly today as they were then and 3,800 people didn't lose their lives from this volcano either.

[bmazzo]

I´ve read this in the press as well, but have a hard time to believe it. Of course I can´t prove either way.

 

Anyway it´s questionable how this mess was really caused by a natural disaster or simply by overreacting officials. The whole grounding was never based on hard based fact, but just on computer simulations of possible ash spreading above Europe. It took them several days to get planes into the air to measure the actual ash concentration in the air and none of the test flights showed some real risk. I´m all for safety, but base your decisions on facts not simulations.

 

 

It took them several days because they didn't want one our planes going down with a few hundred people on it. That would have cost far more. Safety is safety. The reason flying is so safe is because we are so precautous.