Baffled by this RCI policy, seems they punish you for booking early

[Seacruise]

I just went through the same thing on my TA and it was escalated up to the Manager of Promotions and Resolutions and the answer is so sad too bad. Cancel with a 25% penalty and re-book. Oh and loose my shipboard credit.

 

This TA has not sold out for years going E/B and will not this year and the manager even admitted this. They have had my TA on sale for 2 weeks and sold one Balcony cabin in that time. So does this sound like the sale is working. They have a sure thing for "extra" income here but turned it down.

 

Never have understood RCI's back-end but the front end product is good.

 

I understand the rules but sometimes when cruise lines want to maximize their earnings they can't.

 

Phil

[grand isle joe]

....I think they are in the business to sell stuff and make money....at least enough to cover costs and make a little profit....:confused:

[CruisingMachine]

My husband and I, and 2 other couples booked a 14 night transatlantic cruise almost a month ago. We all booked inside guarantee cabins at a rate of $599 before taxes. Great rate, but then we thought about how long a cruise it was (we've never sailed more than 7 days before) and decided we wanted to upgrade to balcony. They were offering a cat. D1, D2, and D3 for $949 before taxes, so it was going to cost us to upgrade, but we figured, it was worth it! We could pick our cabins and have balconies. Perfect!!!

 

BUT, when we called our travel agent, they said it was for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. Why does RCI do this??? We are diamond level, paying customers who have sailed with them repeatedly and because we are already booked they won't offer us the same deal they would offer someone else??? I don't get it!!! We are willing to PAY to upgrade, we're not asking for anything for free!!!

 

We were told we could pay to upgrade, but since we are not a new booking, it would cost us $1459 pp before taxes to get the same cabin they are offering NEW BOOKINGS for $949. WHAT??? This seems like a terrible way to treat your loyal cruisers, Royal Caribbean. I certainly hope they reconsider and change this ridiculous policy.

 

Has anyone else had this experience or do you have any advice as to what recourse we can take?

 

Not sure what really happened but RC policy is "existing bookings can be converted to a Sales Event promotion IF the guest is upgrading to a higher category at the prevailing (higher) Sales Event cruise fare. "

That sounds like what you were trying to do. If so, there should have been no problem. Your TA should have been able to do it with a single phone call. I'm not sure you are getting the whole story.

 

Secondly, contrary to what some have said here, MOST discounts DO apply to current reservations. Senior, military, residency, fire/police, almost always apply to current rez's. Royal Sales Events and WOW Sales are the usual suspects that don't apply to current rez's, and even Royal Sales Events can be applied to current rez's under the scenario I described above.

[ctcruiser1721]

Escalate it up to the resolutions dept.

 

You must escalate this. It is quite unfortunate but the reps that answer the phone simply aren't paid to think... If they were, they might realize that you are offering to give them more money! It seems like there has been some issue with almost every cruise I take that needs to get elevated. It is a lot of work but you can usually find someone in a position to help if you are persistent and know about catching bees ;)

[Gil T. Azell]

Good luck. Even going through Resolutions I doubt you will get anywhere as it clearly stated new bookings only. They do this all the time so its really nothing new and while they are very slack in enforcing some of their policies on board, I highly doubt they will budge on this one.

 

The only thing you can really do is stay in your inside cabin or take your business somewhere else :) Not trying to be rude or anything.

 

If you call Resolutions, please come back and let us know the outcome.

 

You are not correct. Royal's policy is that any guest currently booked is able to upgrade if paying more money even for sales event pricing.

 

Not sure what really happened but RC policy is "existing bookings can be converted to a Sales Event promotion IF the guest is upgrading to a higher category at the prevailing (higher) Sales Event cruise fare. "

 

That sounds like what you were trying to do. If so, there should have been no problem. Your TA should have been able to do it with a single phone call. I'm not sure you are getting the whole story.

 

Secondly, contrary to what some have said here, MOST discounts DO apply to current reservations. Senior, military, residency, fire/police, almost always apply to current rez's. Royal Sales Events and WOW Sales are the usual suspects that don't apply to current rez's, and even Royal Sales Events can be applied to current rez's under the scenario I described above.

 

You are correct. My guess is the TA didn't know Royal's policy and gave the easy answer as they didn't want to be bothered to make a phone call. There was no need for the TA to need to involve resolutions and all they had to do was make the change. I suspect the TA made a bigger deal of it so their customer would think they went above and beyond.:rolleyes:

[CruisingMachine]

My guess is the TA didn't know Royal's policy and gave the easy answer as they didn't want to be bothered to make a phone call. There was no need for the TA to need to involve resolutions and all they had to do was make the change. I suspect the TA made a bigger deal of it so their customer would think they went above and beyond.:rolleyes:

 

*DING! DING* I think we have a winner! :D

[bajathree]

You must escalate this. It is quite unfortunate but the reps that answer the phone simply aren't paid to think... If they were, they might realize that you are offering to give them more money! It seems like there has been some issue with almost every cruise I take that needs to get elevated. It is a lot of work but you can usually find someone in a position to help if you are persistent and know about catching bees ;)

 

It's not that they don't think.....the reps that answer the phones simply don't have the authority for something like this....their systems will only allow them to do just so much. The resolutions dept has much more authority;)

[alexkrn46]

We have luck with the Diamond desk going to the resolutions desk,but it should not be so much work!

[Sunny_Skipper]

I know this is off topic but reading through the posts has left me wondering something.

 

I know TA stands for travel agent but does it also stand for something else?

 

What confused me was the comment about the Liberty TA was listed in the sale, or something to that affect. So, Liberty Travel Agent didn't make sense.

 

And to the OP who started this thread I am happy that you got your upgrade but I am disappointed that you and your TA had to jump through hoops to get it done.

 

Best,

Sunny

[ryano]

I know this is off topic but reading through the posts has left me wondering something.

 

I know TA stands for travel agent but does it also stand for something else?

 

What confused me was the comment about the Liberty TA was listed in

 

Transatlantic :)

[Oneluckywoman]

Not sure what really happened but RC policy is "existing bookings can be converted to a Sales Event promotion IF the guest is upgrading to a higher category at the prevailing (higher) Sales Event cruise fare. "

 

That sounds like what you were trying to do. If so, there should have been no problem. Your TA should have been able to do it with a single phone call. I'm not sure you are getting the whole story.

 

Secondly, contrary to what some have said here, MOST discounts DO apply to current reservations. Senior, military, residency, fire/police, almost always apply to current rez's. Royal Sales Events and WOW Sales are the usual suspects that don't apply to current rez's, and even Royal Sales Events can be applied to current rez's under the scenario I described above.

 

Thank you for the above information....do tell though, where would one find that quote that you mentioned that is RCI's policy? I would love to be able to find that in writing somewhere so that I could have a better "leg" to stand on, so to speak. Is it on their website somewhere?

[Oneluckywoman]

It's not that they don't think.....the reps that answer the phones simply don't have the authority for something like this....their systems will only allow them to do just so much. The resolutions dept has much more authority;)

 

A good TA is worth their weight in gold. But, the point is, (and I WISH Royal Caribbean would HEAR this) that we shouldn't HAVE to jump through the hoops. And neither should the TA's. If it is their policy, and it is stated somewhere, then we should be able to do it without feeling like we are asking for the moon.

I am happy I have the upgrade! And I will send my friend to this thread so that they can decide if they want to ask their travel agent again, armed with a bit more information this time. :)

[jjb415]

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the Home Page nor on the page where the 31 specific cruises are featured (it's probably in the fine print that is not made public). From what the OP has reported back, they were able to go from an OV to a balcony cabin after their TA spoke to several different departments.

 

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the RCI website UNTIL you click on the category, and it gives you your final price. Underneath the final price, it says "view pricing details" or something to that effect. When you click on that, it breaks down the pricing, and underneath that it reads..."new bookings only." It's quite obscure and I had to talk to a rep at RCI to find that.

 

Thanks to you both, I still have trouble working with the 'new' process of booking on the Royal Caribbean site.

[suekay]

Exactly the same thing happened to us on a RCCL 14 night cruise. After final payment date, balconies cabins dropped to within our budget and we wanted to pay to upgrade from our outside cabin. The "pay for" upgrade was refused, so we were stuck in our outside cabin and RCCL lost our proffered $300+ . We had the last laugh though - the concierge arranged a free upgrade only 3 days into our cruise saying "Royal Caribbean want to keep you happy"

 

They did:)

[cruiselvr04]

Wish I had seen this posting Friday. I called to upgrade with the sale and my TA said no way because it said for new bookings only. I did upgrade (and at at lower then cost then it had been last week) but it cost me at least $100 more then it would have with the sale. Looks like this may be my last booking with that TA. If I could have talked to RCCL directly I MAY have been able to get the upgrade at the price a new booking got. (and I am Diamond too so even with the balcony discount I paid $240 more.) Over all I am happy but feel a little cheated now.

[edeneyes]

I am booked on an April 2012 Transatlantic. I tried to upgrade by paying additional

cost at sale price and was told no by RCCL travel rep and then by Crown and Anchor rep, unless I wanted to pay 2x's the current sale price. I am a long term RCCL customer and Diamomd Member. Doesn't make sense to me.

[Oneluckywoman]

I am booked on an April 2012 Transatlantic. I tried to upgrade by paying additional

cost at sale price and was told no by RCCL travel rep and then by Crown and Anchor rep, unless I wanted to pay 2x's the current sale price. I am a long term RCCL customer and Diamomd Member. Doesn't make sense to me.

I truly hope that someone from RCCL is reading this. That is why I started this thread....changes need to be made. I'm still waiting to hear from the one poster who quoted their policy...I can't find it anywhere. All I can say is, keep trying, be persistent, and be very nice. If you keep trying, you'll get the right rep who will help you. The squeaky wheel does get the grease!

[Maraprince]

As long as the passenger is paying to upgrade what is the problem? I could see if you expected to get a free upgrade, but you are paying to do the upgrade in the first place and it 3 cabins in all!

 

This will cause bad vibes especially when a passenger is at the diamond level and could have moved their business to another line instead of being "loyal" to RCCL. Yet, when free upgrade are given out by RCCL they start at the highest level and then work their way down the list. Something just isn't right with this new policy. They have had the use of your money all those months, and months. Clearly, the sailing wasn't sold out if they were still offering it. The cheaper cabins are a lot easier to sell at the last minute than the more expensive ones.

 

MARAPRINCE

[MadManOfBethesda]

I am booked on an April 2012 Transatlantic. I tried to upgrade by paying additional

cost at sale price and was told no by RCCL travel rep and then by Crown and Anchor rep, unless I wanted to pay 2x's the current sale price. I am a long term RCCL customer and Diamomd Member. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

This has been an interesting thread to read because I, too, am booked on an April 2012 transatlantic and I was able to upgrade this weekend, although it wasn't completely straightforward.

 

I called Saturday morning and asked the sales rep if I could upgrade from my OV cabin to a grand suite by paying the difference between what I had paid for my cabin and the current sale price for a grand suite. She indicated that I could do it, but then she had problems trying to attach some kind of sale code to my booking, so she connected me to the resolutions department to finish the booking. Unfortunately, even the resolutions specialist was unable to complete the booking and she advised that someone in a different department (the name of which I don't remember) would need to override the problem, but that that department only worked M-F. She told me that I would receive an e-mailed invoice Monday morning and at that time I could call in and pay the difference. (I was a bit concerned because we are already past final payment, but she assured me that it wouldn't be a problem.

 

Lo and behold, when I woke up this morning I checked my e-mail and I had my invoice. But the story gets even better from here. When I called in a few minutes ago to make the payment, the sales rep said that she noticed that I hadn't received my C&A suite savings of $200 for being platinum status. (Since I went from 0 status to Platinum in just one cruise last year, I was unfamiliar with this benefit.) She contacted C&A, had the $200 applied, and I paid the difference. This day is just getting better and better. :D

 

Long story short (I know, too late), it appears from the thread that:

 

1)some RCL agents are definitely better than others;

 

2) it most definitely is possible to upgrade a current booking at Presidents Day sale prices (even if after final payment); and,

 

3) if you run into an agent that tells you no, call back and speak to someone else.

[Seacruise]

I have tried to get an upgrade as a result of this sale on my TA on AOS and the Manager said no way no how.

 

Just curious which TA you are on if you don't mind saying?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

[Hoopster95]

I believe it would be a good excercise for those with complaints about this "new" booking policy to work in a call center for a any big company. If word got out that previously booked and paid for cruisers can get refunds based on "new offers", I suspect you can only imagine the chaos that would ensue with every prebooked passenger calling back in for upgrades, refunds, obc's, etc.... You could also say goodbye to RCCL profit margin as millions would be lost. Remember that this is just not a RCCL, cruising company, or only a travel industry issue.... as the previous poster has explained, this is also very true in the telecommunications industry, cable, etc.

 

Check out how good RCCL really is with customer service in comparison to some of the garbage read on these boards on other cruise lines... look at the current Enchantment of the Seas thread and see what RCCL has done for every passenger on that ship today and then truly ask yourself after you do the math for at least 2000 passengers what the exact cost of that is for RCCL.

[MadManOfBethesda]

I believe it would be a good excercise for those with complaints about this "new" booking policy to work in a call center for a any big company. If word got out that previously booked and paid for cruisers can get refunds based on "new offers", I suspect you can only imagine the chaos that would ensue with every prebooked passenger calling back in for upgrades, refunds, obc's, etc.... You could also say goodbye to RCCL profit margin as millions would be lost. Remember that this is just not a RCCL, cruising company, or only a travel industry issue.... as the previous poster has explained, this is also very true in the telecommunications industry, cable, etc.

 

Have you even read any of the posts on this thread???

 

The issue is not about getting refunds during a sale, which I agree would not make financial sense for any company. It's not even about being given free upgrades.

 

The issue being discussed is paying for upgrades at the same prices being offered to new customers. There is no downside for a company to do this. And it is why RCL does in fact allow this. Apparently, some RCL call center agents just don't want to take the extra step to get this done. Fortunately, I ran into some really competent employees who even took the initiative to save me $200 I didn't even know that I had coming to me.

 

Every company has their good and bad employees. Some do the minimum to get by and others do whatever it takes to get the job done. This is apparently what is happening with this sale this weekend.

 

Try to keep up.

[MadManOfBethesda]

I have tried to get an upgrade as a result of this sale on my TA on AOS and the Manager said no way no how.

 

Just curious which TA you are on if you don't mind saying?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

 

I am on Grandeur.

[Seacruise]

I am on Grandeur.

I would like to Thank you for the info.

 

Just off the phone with my Travel Agent and he pushed and sure enough I just paid for my upgrade to a D1.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

[Seacruise]

I believe it would be a good excercise for those with complaints about this "new" booking policy to work in a call center for a any big company. If word got out that previously booked and paid for cruisers can get refunds based on "new offers", I suspect you can only imagine the chaos that would ensue with every prebooked passenger calling back in for upgrades, refunds, obc's, etc.... You could also say goodbye to RCCL profit margin as millions would be lost. Remember that this is just not a RCCL, cruising company, or only a travel industry issue.... as the previous poster has explained, this is also very true in the telecommunications industry, cable, etc.

 

Check out how good RCCL really is with customer service in comparison to some of the garbage read on these boards on other cruise lines... look at the current Enchantment of the Seas thread and see what RCCL has done for every passenger on that ship today and then truly ask yourself after you do the math for at least 2000 passengers what the exact cost of that is for RCCL.

 

Hey Claudio,

 

You need another cruise, just book another TA on AOS.

 

Phil