Need some help, not sure best route for cancellation

[spabsie]

So here is the problem. We are going on a family cruise on Allure on 12/1/2013 [as in less than 50 days away and in the 50% loss of fare]

 

We have 5 staterooms, each one is a balcony with two people in it except for my room, which is 3 of us [including our 12 month old in the pack n play]

 

One member of our group has simply decided this trip sounds awful and even though it is free to her, she would rather not go. Her airfare is paid, hotel, etc, but nothing can convince her to go now that she has decided she doesn't want to. She originally said yes, but now is a no go.

 

What is the best way to handle this? If we pull her out of her room then her roommate's rate jumps to a single rate with supplement and the amenities our travel agent gave each room would be affected [prepaid gratuities, free meal and 100$ on board credit]. Since her rate would jump to a single and she would lose all the perks wouldn't it be more expensive to cancel the one person? Should we just have her no show?

 

Thoughts?

 

The second half of this is the one person who wants out is influencing the remaining person in the room to back out too. If that happens then we would lose 50% of each person. There is another couple who would want the spots to help us defray the amount lost but according to the site one original member needs to stay in the room to keep that reservation number. So.... lets say both of them drop [sorry even typing that is frustrating me because this is so upsetting]. Can we add the new couple into the room and have one of them take over Spot #2 in the room and add in a Spot #3. THEN have our remaining original person in the room just no show? That way we would only be out one persons fare.

 

I'm happy to elaborate on any questions, I know I probably mangled my thoughts on how to make the best of this situation. Could really use some help dealing with this as they are breaking the news to the person paying for all of this tomorrow and I am trying to help as much as I can to lessen the money lost.

 

Help!

 

Thanks :)

[bpphoto]

So here is the problem. We are going on a family cruise on Allure on 12/1/2013 [as in less than 50 days away and in the 50% loss of fare]

 

We have 5 staterooms, each one is a balcony with two people in it except for my room, which is 3 of us [including our 12 month old in the pack n play]

 

One member of our group has simply decided this trip sounds awful and even though it is free to her, she would rather not go. Her airfare is paid, hotel, etc, but nothing can convince her to go now that she has decided she doesn't want to. She originally said yes, but now is a no go.

 

What is the best way to handle this? If we pull her out of her room then her roommate's rate jumps to a single rate with supplement and the amenities our travel agent gave each room would be affected [prepaid gratuities, free meal and 100$ on board credit]. Since her rate would jump to a single and she would lose all the perks wouldn't it be more expensive to cancel the one person? Should we just have her no show?

 

Thoughts?

 

The second half of this is the one person who wants out is influencing the remaining person in the room to back out too. If that happens then we would lose 50% of each person. There is another couple who would want the spots to help us defray the amount lost but according to the site one original member needs to stay in the room to keep that reservation number. So.... lets say both of them drop [sorry even typing that is frustrating me because this is so upsetting]. Can we add the new couple into the room and have one of them take over Spot #2 in the room and add in a Spot #3. THEN have our remaining original person in the room just no show? That way we would only be out one persons fare.

 

I'm happy to elaborate on any questions, I know I probably mangled my thoughts on how to make the best of this situation. Could really use some help dealing with this as they are breaking the news to the person paying for all of this tomorrow and I am trying to help as much as I can to lessen the money lost.

 

Help!

 

Thanks :)

 

I can't believe how some people are sooo ungrateful!:mad: And not to mention she wants to pass the thoughtfulness to her cabin mate....UGH!!!:eek:

 

Sorry I don't have any fast answers for you but hope all works out in the end....(I would go in her spot in a heartbeat and I'm sure many others would too!!!) :D

[spabsie]

yep, tell me about it. My hubby says he thinks I am angrier on behalf of cruising than I am about her cancelling being financially crappy for the family member paying for the trip. its true! Cruising is awesome damnit!

 

a third thought would be could we move our infant into that room somehow for booking sake? then move her back to our room once on board? we are only three rooms apart so i guess there is a chance we would all have the same steward.

[shrtswt2thpt]

Why can't you move your mom into that cabin?

[spabsie]

you mean move our infant? she is the only traveler who is a "third" person in a room. I worry if we move her for the sake of the booking, would the steward be mad she is in our room during the cruise? Plus how much would we lose if we did the move?

[crookedhalo]

Actually you really don't need to do anything...just let this person be a no show, won't be a single supplement, as the 2nd person is already paid for (assuming the person paying is okay with that), would receive a refund of the port fees & taxes (gratuity I'm not 100% sure about).

 

To get the other person to stay, make a fuss about how great it will be for them to have an entire cabin to themselves, might be enough to get them to stay aboard.

 

Hope this resolves itself pleasantly :o

[cruisinfanatic]

So here is the problem. We are going on a family cruise on Allure on 12/1/2013 [as in less than 50 days away and in the 50% loss of fare]

 

We have 5 staterooms, each one is a balcony with two people in it except for my room, which is 3 of us [including our 12 month old in the pack n play]

 

One member of our group has simply decided this trip sounds awful and even though it is free to her, she would rather not go. Her airfare is paid, hotel, etc, but nothing can convince her to go now that she has decided she doesn't want to. She originally said yes, but now is a no go.

 

What is the best way to handle this? If we pull her out of her room then her roommate's rate jumps to a single rate with supplement and the amenities our travel agent gave each room would be affected [prepaid gratuities, free meal and 100$ on board credit]. Since her rate would jump to a single and she would lose all the perks wouldn't it be more expensive to cancel the one person? Should we just have her no show?

 

Thoughts?

 

The second half of this is the one person who wants out is influencing the remaining person in the room to back out too. If that happens then we would lose 50% of each person. There is another couple who would want the spots to help us defray the amount lost but according to the site one original member needs to stay in the room to keep that reservation number. So.... lets say both of them drop [sorry even typing that is frustrating me because this is so upsetting]. Can we add the new couple into the room and have one of them take over Spot #2 in the room and add in a Spot #3. THEN have our remaining original person in the room just no show? That way we would only be out one persons fare.

 

I'm happy to elaborate on any questions, I know I probably mangled my thoughts on how to make the best of this situation. Could really use some help dealing with this as they are breaking the news to the person paying for all of this tomorrow and I am trying to help as much as I can to lessen the money lost.

 

Help!

 

Thanks :)

You need to call to get the right answer. They'll tell you exactly what your options are.

The single supplement for that cruise is 150% which may factor into what the final outcome will be. You could also find a replacement for the person who is bailing

[createcolorfun]

i just went through this last week with my husband and cancelling. Look at the post.... "Another cancelled question ASAP"

Put one adult from one cabin to the other one. I had called RCCL and what will happen is the single person cabin price will be the same, but if you take the third person, you will get the money back

Also, i'm not sure on this one, but if you put the child from the third into the other room, you might have to get documentation for to let the child be with the other room, as it's not their child.

Hope this isn't too confusing...

My husband can't go.... but when someone did what they did to you is just inconsiderate.

[Yenom]

i just went through this last week with my husband and cancelling. Look at the post.... "Another cancelled question ASAP"

Put one adult from one cabin to the other one. I had called RCCL and what will happen is the single person cabin price will be the same, but if you take the third person, you will get the money back

Also, i'm not sure on this one, but if you put the child from the third into the other room, you might have to get documentation for to let the child be with the other room, as it's not their child.

Hope this isn't too confusing...

My husband can't go.... but when someone did what they did to you is just inconsiderate.

 

Maybe move you or your husband to the other room (not the child). I've read that it is easy to get keys to rooms once on board. Officially, you or your husband can be in the other room, but you can get an extra key to your room. Onboard extra charges are to the Seapass and not the room, so no worries about commingling charges with the other traveler.

 

BTW - I have to admit there was a time that I would have taken a lot to try and get me to cruise (no one ever offered to pay for me though). It was the idea of being stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean for a week. However, after about 5 years of my friends practically begging me to go, I finally went on one (I had to get my own room, so I knew that I had a place to be by myself if necessary). BEST TIME EVER! I wish someone would have influenced me to go sooner. Especially on a ship like Allure. I'm guessing your dropping out person has no idea of what they are missing. Over the years, I've even paid for friends (or heavily supplemented) to be able to go on the cruises I wanted to go on. From that perspective, I would be extremely upset if the backed out and cost me money. Most likely, we would no longer be friends. I am empathetic to your situation and hope you end up having a great time on your cruise.

[Starry Eyes]

If you think only one will cancel, I'd leave baby and one parent in their original room, and put the other parent (on paper) into the newly vacant slot. That way baby is clearly with at least one parent at muster station and in the unlikely event of a true emergency. And on board, everybody sleeps where they wish. You can always give your steward some extra tip money if you feel it is appropriate. Guest services will help get key cards (either they will officially move the other parent into the correct cabin or if not, they will give an extra key card for that cabin.

 

If both are going to cancel, I guess just suck it up and get the 50% refund and taxes before the penalty gets even worse. Edit: I noticed you have another interested couple. In that case, your plan to add them to the problem room likely would work; I have never needed to try that.

[matj2000]

Never try to make plans with multiple families or many people.

Never try to convince people to go on cruise.

Keep it simple next time...

[cruisenuts4life]

this happened to us couple years ago with my brother in law and his wife.Their trip was paid for (help from family) .They cancelled the whole trip and airfare was lost and deposit from cruise.They just decided not to go for no reason .Then last year my sister in law wanted to go with us so I added them and was making arrangement for them to get married on the beach in St. Thomas ,which is not easy .Needless to say they decided not to go so cancelled and them decided to go again and then at last minute cancelled again.Believe me I will not ask them again.

[griffy116]

We had the same thing happen with our family. They bailed and it left my grandson in a cabin alone. I still had time to cancel and put him back as a 3rd passenger in one of our cabins, but we had been planning this for over a year and they bailed pretty late. I asked my Grandson if he had a friend that would be allowed to go on a FREE cruise. In addition to the headache they caused me, I had paid for travel insurance for the 3 of them. I got the money back on the one cabin, put a friend of my Grandson in with him but lost every dime on the cruise insurance for the three of them. That's the last cruise I booked with them. Put someone else in that spot is one solution, but not the baby. Put your name in that cabin. It's easy to get the cabin keys switched on board. Find someone who would love the trip and go anyway...and be sure to post LOTS of photos of the wonderful time missed by this thoughtless person. All mine were posted on my FB page with BEST CRUISE EVER over them!

[Ocean Boy]

You need to call to get the right answer. They'll tell you exactly what your options are.

The single supplement for that cruise is 150% which may factor into what the final outcome will be. You could also find a replacement for the person who is bailing

 

If they are presently in the 50% cancellation loss period and the single suppliment is 150% won't they, more or less, come out to about the same expenses minus a set of port fees and gratuities?

[cruisinfanatic]

If they are presently in the 50% cancellation loss period and the single suppliment is 150% won't they, more or less, come out to about the same expenses minus a set of port fees and gratuities?

That would be my hope if I were the OP, but they'll never know until they call

[stevea36]

So here is the problem. We are going on a family cruise on Allure on 12/1/2013 [as in less than 50 days away and in the 50% loss of fare]

 

We have 5 staterooms, each one is a balcony with two people in it except for my room, which is 3 of us [including our 12 month old in the pack n play]

 

One member of our group has simply decided this trip sounds awful and even though it is free to her, she would rather not go. Her airfare is paid, hotel, etc, but nothing can convince her to go now that she has decided she doesn't want to. She originally said yes, but now is a no go.

 

What is the best way to handle this? If we pull her out of her room then her roommate's rate jumps to a single rate with supplement and the amenities our travel agent gave each room would be affected [prepaid gratuities, free meal and 100$ on board credit]. Since her rate would jump to a single and she would lose all the perks wouldn't it be more expensive to cancel the one person? Should we just have her no show?

 

Thoughts?

 

The second half of this is the one person who wants out is influencing the remaining person in the room to back out too. If that happens then we would lose 50% of each person. There is another couple who would want the spots to help us defray the amount lost but according to the site one original member needs to stay in the room to keep that reservation number. So.... lets say both of them drop [sorry even typing that is frustrating me because this is so upsetting]. Can we add the new couple into the room and have one of them take over Spot #2 in the room and add in a Spot #3. THEN have our remaining original person in the room just no show? That way we would only be out one persons fare.

 

I'm happy to elaborate on any questions, I know I probably mangled my thoughts on how to make the best of this situation. Could really use some help dealing with this as they are breaking the news to the person paying for all of this tomorrow and I am trying to help as much as I can to lessen the money lost.

 

Help!

 

Thanks :)

 

Simply call your TA and let them handle it. They will figure out the best, most economical way for you to handle this as it directly affects their commission !!

 

(and future business from you and your group).

 

Steve

[Merion_Mom]

Actually you really don't need to do anything...just let this person be a no show, won't be a single supplement, as the 2nd person is already paid for (assuming the person paying is okay with that), would receive a refund of the port fees & taxes (gratuity I'm not 100% sure about).

 

To get the other person to stay, make a fuss about how great it will be for them to have an entire cabin to themselves, might be enough to get them to stay aboard.

 

Hope this resolves itself pleasantly :o

 

I agree with this advice. :)

[Starry Eyes]

Actually you really don't need to do anything...just let this person be a no show, won't be a single supplement, as the 2nd person is already paid for (assuming the person paying is okay with that), would receive a refund of the port fees & taxes (gratuity I'm not 100% sure about).

 

To get the other person to stay, make a fuss about how great it will be for them to have an entire cabin to themselves, might be enough to get them to stay aboard.

 

Hope this resolves itself pleasantly :o

I also hope it resolves pleasantly.

While they do not have to do anything, but it may be cheaper if they do something.

 

Let's say the fare was $800 for the first two passengers in each room and $500 for the third passenger (before taxes). Some the total for eleven passengers is $8500 plus port and taxes. If one is a no show, they only get port and taxes back. If they move somebody (on paper) into the now vacant slot, the fare for the ten remaining passengers will probably be $8000 plus port and taxes, as there may not be a penalty for cancelling a "third" passenger so far out. To me, the savings would be the trouble.

 

I suspect if the group of ten were booking today without the 11th soul, they likely would book as five cabins of two each, with the understanding that they'd arrange on board with 1 solo cabin, one triple cabin and 3 double cabins. To bad about the airfare loss, but there is no reason to also lose out on the cruise fare, too. Cutting the losses might help minimize any future resentment.

[spabsie]

Thank you guys so much for the help!

so we called Royal this morning and they said...

 

drop the person who doesnt want to go, move my hubby into that room. There would be no fare change for that room. THEN myself and the baby are in our room and the fare for #1 and #2 doesnt change. The baby's original #3fare is not subject to the same cancellation penalties that fares #1 and #2 are. So we would actually get back our entire #3 person fare minus the TA's change fees.

 

So, it would lessen the blow. We won't get a full refund on the adult who is dropping out, but we would more or less get a whole refund on our child's fare.

 

Now we just have to convince the other person not to drop out too.

 

They said when I get to the pier I can probably get the sea pass changed.

 

What do you all think? Best route to go?

[megs1954]

Not sure you would need to change the sea pass. Simply use the child's card to enter the cabin and use your own for purchases. Cancel the person who doesn't want to cruise and invite the other to stay in a cabin alone.

 

I agree that it's never good to convince someone to cruise. It rarely works out. Expectations differ. YOMD

[Starry Eyes]

Thank you guys so much for the help!

so we called Royal this morning and they said...

drop the person who doesnt want to go, move my hubby into that room. There would be no fare change for that room. THEN myself and the baby are in our room and the fare for #1 and #2 doesnt change. The baby's original #3fare is not subject to the same cancellation penalties that fares #1 and #2 are. So we would actually get back our entire #3 person fare minus the TA's change fees.

So, it would lessen the blow. We won't get a full refund on the adult who is dropping out, but we would more or less get a whole refund on our child's fare.

Now we just have to convince the other person not to drop out too.

They said when I get to the pier I can probably get the sea pass changed.

 

What do you all think? Best route to go?

If you do not think the other person will cancel, then I think that is the way to go. Except I would not try to change your DH's sea pass card on the pier. Instead, I'd check suggest just checking into your reserved rooms on the pier. Then once on board, go to guest service and chat with them. They may just move your DH into your cabin and give him a new sea pass. Or if not, they will at least give you an extra key card for your room; DH can carry that one (and/or baby's) to enter your room.

 

I hope another person does not drop out.

[Sherlock43031]

Never try to make plans with multiple families or many people.

Never try to convince people to go on cruise.

Keep it simple next time...

 

this.. I would expect the person that canceled should pick-up whatever additional money it cost you. I wonder how old is this person and why did she really cancel?

 

remember no good deed ever goes unpunished..

[Ocean Boy]

Never try to make plans with multiple families or many people.

Never try to convince people to go on cruise.

Keep it simple next time...

 

This time I do agree with you.

[cruisnseas]

Let's do an example to help show you your options.

 

Let's say each person paid $999pp + $100 in taxes. Total room cost? $2198. Of the $999, we'll say it breaks down to roughly $824 as the "base" and $175 as the non-commissionable amount (as a passenger, you'll rarely see this but your TA will).

 

So, the 50% penalty would only be on the $824 per person. If one cancels, the single supplement kicks in.

 

Right now, you've paid $2198 for two people. With the single supplement the total cost would be $1648 for the base (single supplement is 200%) + 175 for non-commissionable (no single supp on this) + $100 for taxes (no single supp). That means the total room cost would be $1923 resulting in a refund of $275 if only one person sails.

 

If you wait until within 14 days of the cruise OR the second person simply no-shows, the numbers change.

 

In that case, Royal will not charge a single supp, because they will 100% penalty. Penalty applies to both the base and the non-commisionable fare so in that case the penalty would be $999 and the remaining person's fare would be $999 + 100 in taxes meaning only $100 would be refunded.

 

So by not canceling them now, you are losing out on the refund of the non-commisionable amount.

 

Now, if you move someone from the 3 pax room in to replace the cx guest, you avoid any single supp, avoid penalty and avoid paying a 3rd pax fair in that cabin. Prior to 7 days before the cruise there is no penalty on a 3rd pax, so that is full savings. But you are right the issue of grats comes into play since you may not have the same steward.

 

As for replacing them with another couple, I wouldn't even try it - you risk really messing with stuff and ending up owing far more than you risk losing in penalty.

 

And yes, before you ask, I did work for them for a long time in a department that dealt with this sort of stuff a lot.

[spabsie]

Okay so the final situation has been resolved. Our child is going to switch rooms because switching my hubby would have cancelled all of his reservations and excursions including our cabana and we were advised we may not be able to recapture them all. they also said that when we get to the pier, to move our child back into our room. that way we can set up babysitting and everything with her.

 

ps, the person who cancelled is not offering anything in return to the person paying for the whole cruise.

 

Thank you guys for all of the help.

 

ps the lady also told me that a lot of times parents will book rooms with one parent and one kid in each room and then shift things around [which she was saying in reference to how used to this situation they are] and she said what people dont realize is they dont have to do that. That the cruise line knows this and are happy to book kids in one room next to a room with parents in it, but since people want to follow the rules and book it broken up, they fix it at the pier.