Canadians Beware of Royal Caribbean's 24hr Hold Policy

[The Sunset Glow]

Thank-you KJ Smith, I do hope it resolves itself.

I will not come back on this Forum until I know what the final verdict is, but I will let you know what happens in the end (if these Forums stay open??).

This is a month's worth of rent for my son at University, all because I was just trying to give him a break from all of his hard work during his reading week...not good. I have learned a very hard lesson.

I really hope it stops it from happening to someone else.

 

Pickering, I'm sorry this happened to you - it should not have. You should talk to the resolutions department at RCI and ask them to pull the voice recording of the original conversation you had when you asked to have the rooms put on hold. All phone calls are recorded and you can use this to prove your case.

 

From what you are saying this sounds like it's RCI's fault. This should not cost you a penny and RCI should compensate you for every last cent this has cost you. And IMO they should even offer you a good will gesture of a little OBC towards your next cruise (if you take an RCI cruise after this:cool:) for all the trouble they've caused you.

 

 

From a similar experience they can fix this so don't give up. We are Canadians with a US credit card that we use for on-board purchases so that we avoid the currency exchange charges.While on our last cruise we had an issue with them charging us in the wrong currency for our on board expenses. Even though at embarkation we indicated that we wanted to be charged in US $$ they took the seapass amount owing in US $$, exchanged it to CDN $$ using their on board exchange rate and then charged the converted CDN amount to our US CC who then exchanged it back to US $$ - talk about confusing and costing us a lot of extra money!

 

We went to Guest Services when we saw this the morning of debarkation and they said they woud fix it but they didn't. When we rceived out CC statement it was still mixed up so we called resolutions at RCI and they refunded us every cent they owed us for the mix up.

 

Hope things work out to your satisfaction. Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Baxter]

I admit I have been away from RCCL for a number of years. I booked two cabins last night and was thrilled to learn I had the option of paying in Canadian funds or US funds. It was definitely in my advantage to pay in Canadian -- between the exchange and the 2.5% charge by the credit card company I probably saved in the ballpark of $200.

[goodycruising]

It was definitely in my advantage to pay in Canadian -- between the exchange and the 2.5% charge by the credit card company I probably saved in the ballpark of $200.

 

Did you still get charged the 2.5%though? That is what can catch people out. When you pay in the one currency, say for you in CAD, then the credit card company may still charged you the 2.5% fee for paying to an overseas company.

[pickering4]

Hello All

Just wanted to share the conclusion to the saga of the 24hr cancellation charges.

 

Just to clarify...I discovered my credit card charges 2.5% on the initial USD purchase and then charges another 2.5% on the refunds plus a 1% difference in the exchange rates = a whopping 6% service charge.

 

RCCL did not respond to the final email that I sent to their customer complaint department, so I had my bank dispute the charge and I DID get my service charge money refunded.

 

Another life lesson learned the hard way...hope no one else ever has to go through this. DO NOT hold a booking for a cruise based on RCCL 24hr cancellation policy unless you are ok with them refunding the money instead of cancelling the original transaction. Otherwise you may end up with a outrageous service charge on your credit card to deal with.

Thanks for everyone's input..happy traveling. :)

[The Sunset Glow]

Glad you got it sorted out.:D

[CruiseMore1]

Glad you got your money back! Thank you for coming back to let us know. Happy cruising!

[Host Jacquelyn]

Thanks for letting us know the outcome! Another suggestion: book in Canadian dollars to avoid the fees.

[workingonlytocruise]

I assume my last posting didn't post because of all the issues cc has had. Therefore, I'll post again.

 

If you are putting a 24 hour hold and the cruise isn't within a week or two, you do not have to give your credit card number - you can put on a 24 hour hold. Don't let their sales reps tell you different. They are only being typical sales rep and want your sale in their pocket. Say no when they ask for it.

 

If they refuse to take your hold, call again and get someone who will.