Don't buy a gift certificate from Royal Caribbean

[Videophile]

I'm really sorry for your loss, but thanks for the warning. Even if you eventually get your GC credited (and that's a big IF at this point), there shouldn't be a hassle transferring it. That's just insane.

[denamo]

TIMNANNA,

First I want to give you my deepest condolences. Wishing you a positive outcome with the gift certificate issue.

 

Looking forward to meeting you and your family on board.

[cruisnseas]

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

Here are the terms you were looking for

 

5. Changes to the reservation may be permitted, subject to availability and any other restrictions and any applicable cancellation charges.

 

6. This certificate is nonrefundable, is not replaceable and has no cash value if lost, stolen, altered, photocopied or reproduced in any way.

 

And therein lies the problem. Had you changed the date rather than cancel your January cruise you would have been fine under term number 5 but since you cancelled it falls under 6.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/terms.aspx?

[fishywood]

The OP is not asking for a refund of the gift certificate. The gift certificate was redeemed for the purchase of OBC. Since the cruise was cancelled before final payment date, the OBC (like any pre-paid extras) should be refunded in the original form of payment--in this case another gift certificate.

Edited August 13, 2014 by fishywood

[janetjulie]

Looks like it is possible to get a resolution. See post 18 of this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2032584&highlight=gift+certificates

Need to work your way up the chain.

[papaflamingo]

Do you know me? Do you have any clue as to why I might need to cancel my January cruise and not my August cruise? Not that I need to explain, but the person who died was my mother and she was going to be babysitting my kids for the January cruise. The kids are going on the August cruise with me.

 

In the future, don't jump to conclusions.

 

So sorry for your loss. I lost my mother 3 years ago, only 2 weeks before a cruise, so I know what you are going through. But your comment is a bit unfair. You really aren't canceling a cruise 5 months from now due to a "death in the family," but really due to "no babysitter." Let me say, I am surprised that the gift certificate is not easily transferred to another cruise. But as one person pointed out, you are canceling, and thus asking for a refund which clearly is stated on the gf as not doable. Try calling Royal Caribbean and using the gf to book a cruise down the road. That my easily resolve your problem. We did a similar thing with a Future Booking. Had to cancel the cruise, so I picked a cruise 2 years away and used it as the deposit. If I decide to book a different cruise, I'll just transfer the booking number.

Again, sorry for your loss. But you aren't really canceling due to a death in the family.

[JasonV1]

At the very least, thanks for posting this as I'll remember to avoid cashing in certs until the last minute.

 

I sometimes get prepaid visas from rebates and such and I used the last few to buy myself some OBC. Easy way to completely drain them (Amazon gift cards are my fall back option).

[CRUISEBOY305]

OP, I am so sorry for your loss. I've lost both of my parents and I know it's a horrible feeling.

 

Thank You also, for sharing your experience with the gift cards and hope all gets resolved. Please keep us posted on how Corporate responds to your situation. A gift card really would make a great gift and it would be a shame if it was handled a certain way.

[orville99]

Not sure it's exactly the same, but we redeemed a gift certificate from our daughter for OBC on a recent cruise. We ended up not spending anything onboard, so at the end of the cruise, the full certificate value was still there. I thought it was lost as well, but three days after we got home, the full value showed up as a credit on my CC account. There was nothing on the statement that indicated why the credit was there, other than that it was from Royal Caribbean. Perhaps a credit was issued and not noticed by the OP? Or, perhaps the credit showed up on the statement of whomever gifted the OBC, and they didn't notice it.

Edited August 13, 2014 by orville99

[1992cruiser]

OP, sorry for your loss.

As far as a gift certificate, I will never buy one again for any reason. They have far too many restrictions on them. Bought one as a thank you for someone and it ended up being a hastle for her to use, which makes no sense at all. I paid cash for the gift certificate and it seemed like it was harder to use than finding two lounge chairs in front of the pool at noon.

It should be treated the same way cash is.

[DubbyLee]

Perhaps I did misread..but that would make it more simple:

 

 

 

Absolutely. If cancelling before final payment, or through insurance for a covered reason, the refund would be given in the form payment was made: the OP should receive a new gift certificate for the same amount. Asking for the value of the certificate to be moved directly to another booking is a move with too much potential for error--and if full payment was made, asking for the gift certificate to be applied and a subsequent refund issued is really not reasonable.

 

(And pardon my lack of knowledge--but what advantage is there to buying a gift certificate to be used as payment of the cruise fare [as opposed to buying OBC which would be completely refundable if cancelled] unless there is a discount on the purchase [such as a big box store selling two $50 gift cards to a local restaurant for $79, for example])???

 

I bought RCI gift certificates from my grand kids school so they get fund raising credit. I also bought the insurance in case I need to cancel.

[rjrice1]

So very sorry for your loss. Thoughts and prayers heading your way.

Please keep us updated..

[tonit964]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my mom 15 months ago.

 

I don't get it, the money was paid to Royal already, what difference does it make which cruise you use it for??

 

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

While we haven't cruised Royal since they left the west coast, we are thinking about booking for next summer because we miss them.

 

We will tell family not to bother with a gift certificate as they normally do something along those lines.

[TIMNANNA]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

[Folk Singer]

A warning - Don't buy or gift a gift certificate for Royal Caribbean because once they are redeemed, you can not transfer that credit from one cruise to another, even if you have to cancel the reservation.

 

I just lost the value that I applied to one of my cruises that I had to cancel due to a death in the family and they would not transfer that to my other existing reservation. It does not list this in the terms of the gift certificate. The supervisor said it says it when it is redeemed, but could not show me anything where it says that.

 

sorry that it happened. hope you had Trip insurance.

[Clarea]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

Thanks for letting us know of the positive outcome, and I'm glad it worked out for you.:)

[molly361]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

 

Great news- It seems like using his email is the best and quickest way to get results from RCL.

[dacsmom]

Thanks for posting the outcome, I am glad it worked out well for you.

[sr4mjc]

So sorry for your loss. I lost my mother 3 years ago, only 2 weeks before a cruise, so I know what you are going through. But your comment is a bit unfair. You really aren't canceling a cruise 5 months from now due to a "death in the family," but really due to "no babysitter." Let me say, I am surprised that the gift certificate is not easily transferred to another cruise. But as one person pointed out, you are canceling, and thus asking for a refund which clearly is stated on the gf as not doable. Try calling Royal Caribbean and using the gf to book a cruise down the road. That my easily resolve your problem. We did a similar thing with a Future Booking. Had to cancel the cruise, so I picked a cruise 2 years away and used it as the deposit. If I decide to book a different cruise, I'll just transfer the booking number.

Again, sorry for your loss. But you aren't really canceling due to a death in the family.

 

Thank you for someone understanding what I meant. While the death is awful, the reason for cancellation 5 months in the future is not death in the family. If this were a claim for travel insurance, it would not be covered except for something more immediate, need to attend funeral, take care of services etc. The choice to cancel due to not having babysitting 5 months from now doesn't fall into the same category.

 

That being said, while I know the terms and conditions would dictate that the GC is now void, but I am glad they transferred it to another sailing. I think it stinks if someone paid cash for it and it go to waste.

Edited August 14, 2014 by sr4mjc

[CRUISEBOY305]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

 

That's good to hear. Thanks for letting us know, glad everything worked out.

[Cindy]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

 

I'm so glad you were able to get this resolved! Have a great, and I'm sure much needed cruise!

 

Even though they took care of it, I still think the policy kind of stinks. Why wouldn't it be transferrable if you're five months out from actually using it?

[rjrice1]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

So glad to hear you got the OBC back.. It was yours and you should of never had to fight like hell to get it back.

Miss ya (OAS)

Cathy

[reallyitsmema]

Glad you were able to get things worked out. Enjoy your cruise.

[jmf123]

We will tell family not to bother with a gift certificate as they normally do something along those lines.

 

tonit964, just wanted to mention that your family can purchase OBC very easily by calling Gifts & Gear at (800) 722-5443. It's item #651 and can be bought in any increment. Should you have any remaining at the end of your cruise, it is fully refundable. And the purchaser can obtain a receipt via email for the purchase. :)

 

TIMNANNA, thanks for letting us know of the positive outcome, enjoy your cruise!

[Folk Singer]

After emailing Mr Goldstein, a woman called from his office today and transferred the OBC to my cruise next week. She said it was not policy, but that they were doing it because of the special circumstances.

 

Thank you RCCL for taking care of this.

 

 

Sometimes you have to contact the higher ups to get service. Big thank you to RCCL for doing this. :)