Royal Caribbean are not winning me over

[cruisenfever]

(RCI do not appear to want to talk to me directly because I booked through a TA). I am sure everything will be all-right-on-the-night, but would just like a bit more certainty (and maybe get my days leave back).

Please be aware that it is not that RCI doesn't want to talk to you, it's a matter of they can't talk to you about your booking because you have used a TA and that TA actually owns your booking. The TA is the agent in which you booked with and therefore must be your spokesperson.

 

I'm sure everything will work out for you. Enjoy your cruise.

[Starry Eyes]

...

Here in Europe, if RCCL changes your air schedule the way they are doing, causing a passenger to require an additional day plus hotel, or losing an additional day minus hotel, etc., that type of change under EU and British law entitles the passenger to a full refund plus compensation if the passenger does not accept the change, or if the passenger does accept the change, the "operator" (RCCL) must pay compensation or reimburse those added expenses incurred by the passenger.

Now I know you Americans across the pond don't agree with this system and are ready to jump in with things like "RCCL can't control the airlines", ...

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

So we now know the OP's flight has changes from between 13:00 and 18:55, less than six hours difference...Does that violate EU laws? The choice to book a hotel the night before appears to be the OP's own choice based upon their own 3 hour ground transit and personal preference (dog care, relaxing dinner, etc); maybe a good relaxing choice, but not one necessitated by air travel arrangements...Same with the airport lounge. Does a six hour change announced, say 4 weeks prior to departure, require a travel provider to compensate a passenger? Just curious.

 

OP, If I were in your shoes, I would be frustrated, too. Better, perhaps, not to know the flight times in far advance rather than have frequent changes. Like you, I suspect I would like the longer layover better...while killing hours in an airport lounge is no great treat, a short layover is so much riskier. I hope it all works out for the best. I must still suspect the issue in between airline schedules of the short flight.

[Phillies14]

You have a right to be upset. This is NOT an airline problem. Flights within the United States do change schedules all the time.

 

Long-haul flights, such as flights between Europe and Dubai, DO NOT change schedules so frequently in such a way that the cruise line cannot get your air arrangements set once and for all.

 

This sounds like the RCCL Europe wholesale air department just looking for the best bargain to suit itself.

 

Get on the phone with RCCL and demand to speak with an air supervisor. Tell the supervisor that you are very unhappy and you want the schedule set one way or another.

 

Remember, the rules here in Europe are different from what they have in the United States. An air change by the "operator" (RCCL, according to the EU Package Travel Directive) that requires you to either take an extra day and book a hotel, or now lose an extra day with no need for hotel, is considered a "significant change in itinerary". This means that, by law, you are entitled to cancel with full refund of all charges plus additional compensation.

 

While I am not suggesting that you cancel, you should clearly remind RCCL of the laws to which they are subject and tell them you are not happy. In Europe, the law prevents the "operator" from tossing passengers around as if they were UPS parcels, although apparently they are allowed to do this in the United States.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

AGAIN!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Lyann]

Thanks for all the comments. Just to clarify some of the queries. The transfer flights are between Dublin and Heathrow. We have booked a package with RCI that originates and returns to Dublin airport.

 

The transfer flights are just simple scheduled daily flights but they have chopped and changed the flight that they have been putting us on. We were originally on a VS (Virgin) flight, then we got switched to various BD (British Midland) flights ranging in time between 13:00 (previous) and 18:55 (most recent) ... and several times in between.

 

My actual concern is that they have allowed less than 2 hours at Heathrow to transfer. If I have to collect baggage, transfer terminal and check-in for the Heathrow->Dubai flight then that is nowhere near long enough. Hopefully they will check me in the whole way through in Dublin. The TA is contacting them on Monaday (RCI do not appear to want to talk to me directly because I booked through a TA). I am sure everything will be all-right-on-the-night, but would just like a bit more certainty (and maybe get my days leave back).

 

Have you managed to get anything sorted yet or are you leaving it as it is?

 

Ann

[GaNavy]

OP, you didn't tell us when you're leaving. I hope you'll have enough time to get everything straightened out, and that you'll have a great cruise.

 

Regardless of who's responsible for this situation - RCI or the airline - I will say that the last few times I've flown within the USA, my schedule has been changed several times by the airline (Delta & US Airways). The changes weren't as significant as OP's - only 10 or 20 minutes difference - but they were there - my schedule was changed 5 times on one flight in the 3 months between booking and travel.

 

So it could be either party that's causing the problem - which of course has no bearing on OP's rights under the EU law.

 

Good luck!

[KenAndJulie]

TA finally got back to me last night. She phoned RCI and they basically said it was nothing to do with them it was to do with their (RCI's) flights department ... that old chestnut (should they not say 'stop me if you have heard this before')! So she contacted RCI's flights department and was told that there is no guarantee that the flights will not change again.

 

So I guess I have no choice but to hang on to the hotel, kennels, extra day of leave .. however they have to issue the tickets soon and as soon as I get them I will be taking that as a binding contract and will sort out what I have to. As I started by saying in this thread, RCI are not winning me over, their pre-cruise service has been very second-rate.

 

On the plus side only 3 weeks to go :)

[KittyCat1Million]

Since you have not cruised RC before you probably have not visited this page enough to realize that RC can do no wrong.

When you make any sort of complaint against RC here, expect to be insulated, threatened, and labeled a "troll".

 

Some people will actually spend hours reading all your past posts and analyze, breaking them down word for word, looking for inconsistencies or something that incriminates yourself.

A word to the wise, just get in line....

 

Ain't that the truth.

[KittyCat1Million]

I fail to see how anything that you have said relates or responds to the OP's concern:(

 

It relates. Certainly more than some of the misinformation given by some of the posters here.