Canadians Beware of Royal Caribbean's 24hr Hold Policy

[pickering4]

I just wanted to share my recent experience with Royal Caribbean and their 24hr hold policy. I will be stuck with hundreds of dollars in service charges because they actually process and then "refund" the payment they hold for you, instead of cancelling the transaction. Because it is in US funds, you will pay a service fee on your Canadian Visa which you will not get back with a refund (mine is 2.5%, which works out to over $200 on a $8000 cruise package).

I wanted to hold the cruise for 24hrs because there was only one set of side by side rooms available for my kids and my husband and I. I was told that they would need the full payment upfront but I had 24hrs to cancel the payment. I called back within 8hrs of the original booking once I determined that I could not make the cruise work for us. They told me they would refund my payment. I told them I did not want a refund and I then went through 3-4 different Royal Caribbean booking agents and customer resolution personnel (over a 3 day period), begging them not to refund the payment but instead to "not process" the original transaction (it is held for 3 days by your credit card company, so this is easily doable). All they have to do is not confirm and process the payment and it will automatically drop off the Visa.

Instead, they processed the payment and I will pay over $200 for the privilege of using their fantastic 24hr hold policy. BEWARE.

I will never book with Royal Caribbean, this is just poor customer service.

[cruisenfever]

Is this a specific policy for Canadian Residents?

 

I've done courtesy holds of up to 7 days on a specific cruise and have never been charged. Sounds like they actually booked the cruise instead of putting it on a courtesy hold.

Edited January 15, 2014 by cruisenfever

[LucasLounger1]

I'm Canadian. When we were deciding on our first RCI cruise we made about 5 courtesy holds (which expired) before booking. Was never charged a cent.

Edited January 15, 2014 by LucasLounger1

[PattyG12]

I can't imagine how it's so different for Canada then it is for the rest of the world.

[mapleleafvoyage]

I'm Canadian. When we were deciding on our first RCI cruise we made about 5 courtesy holds (which expired) before booking. Was never charged a cent.

 

I agree! I have done many 24hr courtesy holds, here and Celebrity before choosing the final decision... I didn't even have to put my credit card # down anywhere... its a "courtesy" :D

Edited January 15, 2014 by mapleleafvoyage

[robtulipe]

I'm Canadian. When we were deciding on our first RCI cruise we made about 5 courtesy holds (which expired) before booking. Was never charged a cent.

Yes, that is the way it should have happened with the OP.

I would contact your credit card company and file a charge dispute.

For our last cruise which was booked in USD Celebrity didn't give us the senior discount fare they were suppose to get so we were over changed by quite a bit. I contacted our TA immediately upon receiving the email invoice and X agreed it was their mistake and said they would credit the difference. I indicated that this would cost us extra in CAD with the difference in charge and refund exchange and that I was going to dispute the charge our credit card company. Since we were still going on that cruise X resolve the matter by giving us an OBC for the exchange difference as by then I had checked our account online and had both the charge and refund amounts in CAD to calculate what that had cost us.

In the past the same credit card had simply credit us the exchange difference when it was a vendor mistake that cause this. This time they said I had to dispute it in writing so they could charged the difference back to vendor but X's OBC offer resolved the matter to our satisfaction. Unfortunately the OP isn't going on that cruise so IMO this isn't a viable option.

Edited January 15, 2014 by robtulipe

[FLACRUISER99]

I just wanted to share my recent experience with Royal Caribbean and their 24hr hold policy. I will be stuck with hundreds of dollars in service charges because they actually process and then "refund" the payment they hold for you, instead of cancelling the transaction. Because it is in US funds, you will pay a service fee on your Canadian Visa which you will not get back with a refund (mine is 2.5%, which works out to over $200 on a $8000 cruise package).

I wanted to hold the cruise for 24hrs because there was only one set of side by side rooms available for my kids and my husband and I. I was told that they would need the full payment upfront but I had 24hrs to cancel the payment. I called back within 8hrs of the original booking once I determined that I could not make the cruise work for us. They told me they would refund my payment. I told them I did not want a refund and I then went through 3-4 different Royal Caribbean booking agents and customer resolution personnel (over a 3 day period), begging them not to refund the payment but instead to "not process" the original transaction (it is held for 3 days by your credit card company, so this is easily doable). All they have to do is not confirm and process the payment and it will automatically drop off the Visa.

Instead, they processed the payment and I will pay over $200 for the privilege of using their fantastic 24hr hold policy. BEWARE.

I will never book with Royal Caribbean, this is just poor customer service.

How did they get your credit card number?

[robtulipe]

How did they get your credit card number?

It appears the OP gave it to RC believing it was needed to do the courtesy hold but what the agent actually did was to make a firm booking with a charge to the OP's credit card thus requiring a refund when the OP decided not to do that cruise.

[Esmerelda]

Some of our closest friends are in Canada. I've never heard of this before. Somehow it sounds like there's more to this booking?

[Toddcan]

Canadian here.. I've done courtesy holds before with no charge. It's a "courtesy" hold.

 

I suspect there was a miscommunication with the booking agent, and they paid in full for some reason... there is more to this story that what has been posted.

[Mapleleafforever]

I have also had many a 24 hour holds on and not only was I never charged but I was never even asked to provide a credit card.

[Langley Cruisers]

I wanted to hold the cruise for 24hrs because there was only one set of side by side rooms available for my kids and my husband and I. I was told that they would need the full payment upfront but I had 24hrs to cancel the payment....

 

They have a 24 hour courtesy hold; they do not require a payment or deposit of any kind just to hold it for 24 hours. We have done this countless times with no problem or penalty - not sure what OP is saying is so different. If this is legit, I'd like to hear more of the story.

 

EDITED to add: OP, instead of complaining so loudly and bitterly, why don't you ask us what you can do? There are several avenues of recourse here, including your through credit card and the RCI resolutions department.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Langley Cruisers

[macruisefan]

Sounds to me like the OP was actually using a Visa DEBIT card. Holds are non-existent on Debit cards. So if you try and make a "hold", it's processed as a withdrawal. Refunding it would eventually put the money back into the account but the foreign transaction fee would obviously still be in place. If it weren't someone could use this practice to actually MAKE money by doing the correct conversions.

 

Reason # 7,936,212 why DEBIT cards are the WORST financial tool ever.

[critterchick]

Sounds to me like the OP was actually using a Visa DEBIT card. Holds are non-existent on Debit cards. So if you try and make a "hold", it's processed as a withdrawal. Refunding it would eventually put the money back into the account but the foreign transaction fee would obviously still be in place. If it weren't someone could use this practice to actually MAKE money by doing the correct conversions.

 

Reason # 7,936,212 why DEBIT cards are the WORST financial tool ever.

 

OP shouldn't have had to produce a card at all for a courtesy hold. The customer service rep never should have taken any financial information for a 24-hour hold.

 

OP, thanks for posting your experience and never mind those who criticize you for being an angry newbie here. I recommend that, since your efforts to convince RCI not to post the charge failed, you contact your credit card issuer directly and dispute the charge. That way they will investigate with RCI and, if the issue is resolved in your favor, the charge should drop off your account with no transaction fee.

Edited January 15, 2014 by critterchick

[setsail]

24 hr holds require

 

Name

Gender

Phone #

e-mail

 

That's all

[melbur]

There is some major miscommunication there . . you can use the 24hr courtesy hold without payment, and the Cdn TA I use can get a courtesy hold for 7 days without a payment.

[leaveitallbehind]

Hopefully the OP will come back and respond.

[soccercrazy]

Canadian and avid US shopper and traveler.

 

The issue of the $200 extra is the difference in CAD-USD exchange rate and back again USD-CAD. You will never get the same amount back in exchange rates unless both USD & CAD dollars are at par -which the were awhile ago.

This is not unique to RCL, it will occur any time you purchase something in USD and then get a refund and convert back to CAD.

Currently our CAD exchange is sitting at approx. $1.12 so it costs $1.12CAD for $1.00USD but when converting back after refund the exchange rate is $1.06 so therefore not getting back $0.06 on every dollar refunded from USD to CAD.

 

When the exchange rate is high for us Canadians sometimes it's best to use TA and then you are billed in Canadian Dollars. Having said that there are always exceptions and deals to be had for the deal hunter regardless of the exchange rate.

[springaussie]

I have heard of Australians getting a quote on a cruise then not booking because it is too expensive.

Then a month later that cruise is on sale new bookings only. Because they had a quote on that cruise which the TA put a name to the quote they could not get the New Booking Only sale price.

[Shar27]

If it is past final payment, you can still do a courtesy hold online without putting down a credit card, BUT, you cannot put a courtesy hold on a cabin if you are talking to Royal Caribban directly.

 

It sounds as if they OP called Royal directly because they were looking for specific attached cabins. I'm sure the person they spoke to put pressure on them to make a payment to hold the cabins as they wouldn't last forever.

 

I'm not sure it they should have made the OP pay the whole thing, but they definately will make you pay the deposit with 24 hours to pay the rest.

 

Been there, done that.:rolleyes:

[boulders]

Many Canadians have USD credit cards so that they're not hit by fees to do the conversion. Also, they way the Canadian dollar has been going the past couple of weeks, the OP is likely to come out ahead on the currency exchange, even with the fees.

[Ourusualbeach]

I can't imagine how it's so different for Canada then it is for the rest of the world.

 

It's not. I've done many 24 hr courtesy holds and NEVER had to provide any payment info. I'm thinking the OP was confused and booked the cruise instead of doing the hold.

[Merion_Mom]

I just wanted to share my recent experience with Royal Caribbean and their 24hr hold policy. I will be stuck with hundreds of dollars in service charges because they actually process and then "refund" the payment they hold for you, instead of cancelling the transaction. Because it is in US funds, you will pay a service fee on your Canadian Visa which you will not get back with a refund (mine is 2.5%, which works out to over $200 on a $8000 cruise package).

I wanted to hold the cruise for 24hrs because there was only one set of side by side rooms available for my kids and my husband and I. I was told that they would need the full payment upfront but I had 24hrs to cancel the payment. I called back within 8hrs of the original booking once I determined that I could not make the cruise work for us. They told me they would refund my payment. I told them I did not want a refund and I then went through 3-4 different Royal Caribbean booking agents and customer resolution personnel (over a 3 day period), begging them not to refund the payment but instead to "not process" the original transaction (it is held for 3 days by your credit card company, so this is easily doable). All they have to do is not confirm and process the payment and it will automatically drop off the Visa.

Instead, they processed the payment and I will pay over $200 for the privilege of using their fantastic 24hr hold policy. BEWARE.

I will never book with Royal Caribbean, this is just poor customer service.

 

If it is past final payment, you can still do a courtesy hold online without putting down a credit card, BUT, you cannot put a courtesy hold on a cabin if you are talking to Royal Caribban directly.

 

It sounds as if they OP called Royal directly because they were looking for specific attached cabins. I'm sure the person they spoke to put pressure on them to make a payment to hold the cabins as they wouldn't last forever.

 

I'm not sure it they should have made the OP pay the whole thing, but they definately will make you pay the deposit with 24 hours to pay the rest.

 

Been there, done that.:rolleyes:

 

I fervently hope that pickering returns here and lets us know if Shar is correct.

 

And if pickering was trying to book within 75 days of the sailing date, then she WOULD be asked for the whole payment, not just a deposit.

 

The fact that "we" know that there is a cost-free courtesy hold available, if you are using the website, does not mean that someone who has never cruised Royal Caribbean knows that.

[The Sunset Glow]

I agree! I have done many 24hr courtesy holds, here and Celebrity before choosing the final decision... I didn't even have to put my credit card # down anywhere... its a "courtesy" :D

 

Same here.

 

Not only that but if we purchase through the RCI website we are charged in CAD $$ not U.S $$..

 

Sounds like it was an actual booking, not a courtesy hold.

[Bamer5]

I am Canadian also... I booked a cruise for January 25 th, 2014 directly with RC.. All transactions were done in Canadian dollars on my visa... I bought the drink packages for hubby and myself also, but changed my drink package ( now that we can ) and got my visa refunded in Canadian dollars..No exchange rate to deal with...