Grandeur: Six Sailings Cancelled

[Polarbear Pa]

Just a quick question we are pretty well booked for the year. Would they let us use the 25% discount on a a crusie we already have or must it be a new reservation? I wonder how long the 25% is good for.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It is sad and disappointing but understandable. We were going June 14 and taking my husband's children back to Bermuda where they were born and have never been back. We have a very limited window of time to take a vacation and limited funds, which we saved for a long time to take this cruise. I am trying to be understanding that it takes a long time to coordinate but waiting 1 month to get my money back is disappointing to say the least. We will not be taking a vacation this year. :( Also, I called my TA and was told RCI would refund the money in 3 to 4 weeks. I called RCI just to see if this could be changed and was told that I had to call my TA and "cancel" the cruise before they would even process my refund. My TA also told me we would get a 50% cruise certificate, which I figured was incorrect and was. It is 25. I asked RCI about this and was told, "It is clearly on our web site." I just wanted them to know some TAs may be misinformed! I wouldnt want to be a TA or RCI phone person right now!

 

I feel so sorry for you that you have to cancel your cruise and won't be able to take a vacation this year.

[Krazy Kruizers]

From RCI:

 

 

On Monday, May 27, Grandeur of the Seas experienced a fire in the mooring area in the aft of the ship. Unfortunately, due to the time needed to repair the damage caused by the fire, it is necessary to cancel Grandeur of the Seas’ next six sailings. The ship is expected to return to service with the July 12 sailing. Grandeur of the Seas’ cancelled sailings include:

 

May 31, 2013

June 7, 2013

June 14 2013

June 21, 2013

June 28, 2013

July 5, 2013

 

 

We are deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ upcoming vacation.

 

Royal Caribbean International will provide affected guests with a full refund of their voyage. For their convenience, all monies paid will automatically be processed back to the original form of payment within the next three weeks. Guests who are ready to rebook onto a future sailing, and prefer to reapply the funds prior to the refund process being completed, should do so prior to June 12. For guests or travel agents rebooking by June 12, please contact us at 888-824-0012. Otherwise, they may book at your convenience.

 

Royal Caribbean International will also provide these guests with a future cruise certificate for 25% of the cruise fare paid. This certificate may be used for a future cruise on Royal Caribbean International.

 

Thank you for this updated information.

[jamon]

I believe the first announcement from Royal was that there was a small fire onboard. By looking at the pictures and now that they have cancelled even more cruises, that this was not a small fire.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I do hope now that the initial shock has worn off about the future cruise cancellations, that those who had made plans and had hearts set on vacations will explore other options. I am so sorry for your disappointment, but Sometimes the last minute trips can be the most fun :) There are cruises (but not necessarily on Royal Caribbean) departing from New Jersey, Boston, Charleston, SC, etc....and of course Florida!

[Cindy]

I believe the first announcement from Royal was that there was a small fire onboard. By looking at the pictures and now that they have cancelled even more cruises, that this was not a small fire.

 

 

This was the first announcement from Royal Caribbean:

Grandeur of the Seas experienced a fire on the aft mooring deck this morning which was quickly extinguished. All guests and crew are fully accounted for. The ship is in calm seas, has full power and is making it's way to Freeport, Bahamas for evaluation. We will post more information as it is available.

[atb]

For those who prefer port of Baltimore - Carnival Pride sails out each Sunday. I've never done a Carnival cruise - but - if your vacation dates are limited - that may be an option for you.

 

I feel sorry for all the crew - so many weeks off, what will they be doing?

[cmitch9999]

maybe I missed it but did RC offer any compensation for air travel changes or cancellations?? I know a number of pax drive to the port of Balt but there is a percentage flying in. I seem to recall tha the Carnival Triumph passengers with air travel were given funds for non refundable costs for their transport.

 

sorry for all the excited Grandeur cruisers who are scrambling to make alternate plans as well as have to postpone thei cruise for now.

[dodge9]

Well my happy ice cream moment isnt lasting. My TA just called me back. Apparently, RCIs numbers dont tally with what I paid. Thank goodness I printed out my receipts. They are saying they owe me about $600 less than I paid, stating we paid the same for two rooms, one was an ocean view and one was an inside. Plus, they cant see where we paid for the soda package or my pre-paid gratutities. Since the canceled the reservation, I can no longer see it online. Also, NOW it is going to be 3 to 6 weeks before we get our money back. It only took them a day to take out the payments when we made them yet 3 to 6 weeks to get it back? I hope I am not being unreasonable.

 

Typically in the event of a canceled sailing... the taxes are automatically refunded and not part of the refund amount. Also the soda package and pre paid gratuities will be refunded automatically and not part of the refund amount... so back out the taxes, soda package and pre paid gratuities and see if the refund amount jives then. Also be sure your TA ensure the refund department processes the refund properly and most likely it will happen before the three to six weeks, but with Royal Caribbean the process has to be done correctly by an agent and often it is not and you have to stay on top of them. If you paid by credit card you could pay for another vacation and depending where you are in your credit card cycle the refund and the charge should hit about the same time with your billing if you plan another vacation. Best of luck. It is tough. Everyone knows it was unexpected and happy there were no injuries, but it is very frustrating to have the vacation you were looking forward to for so long canceled as well.

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

My heart goes out to all those impacted by these cancellations ... We were scheduled to be on the Carnival Dream the week after it got stranded in St Maarten ... Getting that cancelation notice just 24hrs before were scheduled to leave for the port was heartbreaking and stressful ... Coming into the office that entire next week was really awful!

[mtstranscribe]

Typically in the event of a canceled sailing... the taxes are automatically refunded and not part of the refund amount. Also the soda package and pre paid gratuities will be refunded automatically and not part of the refund amount... so back out the taxes, soda package and pre paid gratuities and see if the refund amount jives then. Also be sure your TA ensure the refund department processes the refund properly and most likely it will happen before the three to six weeks, but with Royal Caribbean the process has to be done correctly by an agent and often it is not and you have to stay on top of them. If you paid by credit card you could pay for another vacation and depending where you are in your credit card cycle the refund and the charge should hit about the same time with your billing if you plan another vacation. Best of luck. It is tough. Everyone knows it was unexpected and happy there were no injuries, but it is very frustrating to have the vacation you were looking forward to for so long canceled as well.

 

Thats what I told the TA and they were missing the soda package, gratuities, etc. She was so confused and is sending it to the accounting department. They are supposed to call me today. I hope they work it out. We just decided to go next year. We wanted the kids to see Bermuda because they were born there and not just take a different cruise. We also decided that the ones going out of Bayonne or NY were just a bit too far and would rather wait. Im a planning nut, so the one good thing out of this is that I will get to plan all over again! If we do get our money back soon, we decided to take a road trip and just be grateful for our time together! I hope everyone who wanted to cruise can find one in this short time period or find some other place to go. I work at home and work very long hours. I need some away time! :o

[KelJ]

We were booked on Grandeur for her July 5 sailing from Baltimore to the Bahamas. This was our 15th cruise on RCI. We sailed six times as a couple, with our first cruise being our honeymoon in 1983 on the Song of America. My dear mother (who left this world in 2009) had given us our honeymoon as a wedding gift, and she also paid for and allowed us to take our two sweet offspring on their first cruise in 2014. This year we had booked a cruise on Grandeur of the Seas to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, and our son's girlfriend's 22nd birthday. What a HUGE bummer to find out today that our anniversary cruise this July had been canceled by RCI. SO MUCH planning had gone into booking this trip; coordinating vacation times away from work, special dates in our lives, etc. We understand unforeseen events but this is just so sad for us. :( I have been trying all night since I got the email to rebook a RCI cruise for the five of us to span the time of our 30th anniversary and our son's GF's birthday to no avail. This is a HUGE disappointment. We understand unforeseen events but .... such a shame!! So sad tonight for this big let down. :( Also, no refund for three weeks, and a three to eight week wait for our 25% coupon for future cruises?! BOOOO HISSSSS RCI after our continued loyalty for the last 30 years. :(

 

I was booked on the July 5th cruise as well. Between 9:00 p.m. last night and 1:00 p.m. today, and after several minutes (probably more like hours) on hold and after speaking to several agents in several different departments, I am happy to say that we have rebooked on Grandeur's July 19th sailing.

 

We were able to get our three cabins, two of which are a higher category than previously booked. We were able to keep our onboard credits from having booked on a previous cruise. We were able to reapply our savings certificates in a greater amount due to the cabin upgrade on two of the cabins. We were able to get our diamond balcony discount ($225, not the $200 that is given for booking less than six months out). I was able to transfer my RCCL Visa OBC. And I redid my bring-a-friend referrals for two of our passengers. We directly applied our 25 percent cruise discount, and we are actually being refunded $110.

 

I am disappointed about the cancellation but happy with the alternative. Now it's time to change my countdown clock.

[Water783]

In answer to an earlier post -- no I did not think we should get our refund faster than others because of loyalty. I just meant it as a general comment for all of us who had put several thousand dollars down on a dream vacation we had been looking forward to for a year. I understand that it was an event which was unplanned; it's just that if you cancel a cruise online they normally automatically refund your money that day. No, I was not asking for preferential treatment for my own family!

[ggo85]

I would like to see RCCL explain why it takes weeks to refund people's money. (Note that I am not sailing on the Grandeur so I have no personal interest in this). I have to think the reason is: (1) time value of money in that they have millions of dollars for 2-3 weeks and/or (2) they hope that, in the interim time, people will choose to rebook rather than ask for a refund.

 

If those are the reasons, it's a shame. It's disappointing enough for people to have their vacations canceled. Not everyone wants to or can rebook on RCCL. Some may want to put that money into a different vacation and need that money back to make those payments. RCCL should refund the money in a week -- that would be fair. Just MHO.

[RSLeesburg]

I believe someone else stated that the these refunds are done by the same people who take the reservations, and they are being slammed at the moment with the Quantum going on sale, summer season, and now almost 6,000 cancelled reservations to refund, all of which are getting additional credits, and some of which want to rebook, and some of which want the refund, and some are through TA's. It is not as easy as you would think. When you call to cancel a reservation, and they refund your money, you are one transaction - but now you have thousands of people trying to get their money, credit and rebook just from the Grandeur - add that to the already busy workload for everyone booking cruises or modifying cruises for this summer. And its not like you can just staff up people at a moments notice.

[Aplmac]

From RCI:

Grandeur of the Seas’ cancelled sailings include:

 

May 31, 2013

June 7, 2013

June 14 2013

June 21, 2013

June 28, 2013

July 5, 2013

I thought as much. :)

 

.

[Gingee]

Thank you all for the kind words. We thought about trying for New York or Bayonne, and decided just to wait until next year (we are driving). Im peeved about the refund process but I know things like this happen. It is just hard not to pout! :( I need to be thankful I wasnt on the ship when it caught fire!

 

 

 

I understand your frustration. How about a driving vacation in the U.S?. Maybe cheaper so can save some of your refund? You are in Tennesse. How about the surrounding states? Maybe a week at a resort?

[mtstranscribe]

I understand your frustration. How about a driving vacation in the U.S?. Maybe cheaper so can save some of your refund? You are in Tennesse. How about the surrounding states? Maybe a week at a resort?

 

That is exactly what we decided to do. I have started getting some of my money back but I am going to have to call today to ask them some questions. It is coming back in spurts, i.e., $250, 300, 5.25 (what the heck?). So far five refunds have popped in and only two are in amounts I made payments in so this is going to be fun to keep track of. They have refunded about $1000 of a $4000 amount. However, I am just going to be greatful I am getting it back much earlier than I expected. It was enough to pay for a lovely room on Mackinac Island, so I am looking forward to a lovely few days there! We will try Bermuda next year! Good luck to everyone else as well and here is to hoping you find a wonderful alternative to our sailings.:p

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

That is exactly what we decided to do. I have started getting some of my money back but I am going to have to call today to ask them some questions. It is coming back in spurts, i.e., $250, 300, 5.25 (what the heck?). So far five refunds have popped in and only two are in amounts I made payments in so this is going to be fun to keep track of. They have refunded about $1000 of a $4000 amount. However, I am just going to be greatful I am getting it back much earlier than I expected. It was enough to pay for a lovely room on Mackinac Island, so I am looking forward to a lovely few days there! We will try Bermuda next year! Good luck to everyone else as well and here is to hoping you find a wonderful alternative to our sailings.:p

 

Have a great time!!

 

I don't know why, but they do refund in chunks like that, happened to me earlier this year, in the same exact fashion. Once it's all back, it should equal the total amount. But, watch it closely, of course. You never know.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Yes, this. Said it better than I was thinking. I have a friend on the July 12 cruise. Missed a discount by theeese much. But he'll be happy to sail.

 

Maybe. Hopefully the sailing will take place without issue.