Are Royal Caribbean crooks or are they just incompetent?

[KingHal]

I booked a 2016 cruise in March - suites/concierge for a family of 5, at a cost of say £10,065 (=$15,000). I received confirmations from RCCL accordingly.

 

A couple of days later, I noticed on-line that RCCL had increased the cost of my booking by £3,420 (>$5,000). I spoke to RCCL and was assured it was an error, and that my confirmations at £10,065 were correct. But I subsequently received an amended confirmation at the higher price.

 

Over a month passed, and the error on-line had not been rectified; so I contacted RCCL again - only this time they insisted that the higher figure was correct!

 

To put this in perspective, the $ price when we booked was $14,487 (=£9,570) - and remains at that price today. My booking wasn't a pricing error - it was and is the price!

 

I have contacted RCCL and advised that I wished to cancel, as there was no way I was going to pay £3,420 (>$5,000) more and asked for a refund of the deposit paid.

 

After much stress and inconvenience they have finally confirmed the cruise at the cost of £10,065 booked, but no apology or explanation; and I have completely lost confidence in them. This is the situation we were in on March 20th when we booked. What is there to stop them simply deciding to increase the cost again any time before the cruise? The question is whether they are crooks or incompetent - neither is good.

 

This cruise was intended as a 50th birthday present for my wife - now I just want my money back and to have nothing more to do with RCCL. If I do decide to stick with the cruise (I enjoy the cruise experience and the ships) I want an agent to deal with it - I never want to deal with the wretched company again. I would caution anyone else to use an agent rather than trying to deal with RCCL direct.

[Ourusualbeach]

Unfortunately this has been happening quite a bit lately. The reps here in North America are aware of the issue and will have it corrected. It's a pain but they do it. Perhaps the reps on Guatamala (UK call centre) are not all aware of this issue.

 

Keep your original copy of your guest booking invoice and they will change it back for you. You might just have to be persistent. Always ask for resolutions.

[ATC cruiser]

I know in the U.S. you can transfer your booking to a travel agent. I'm not sure if your able to do that or not, might be worth a try.

[Morecruisesplz]

I'm sorry about your problems booking. As I someone else suggested, I would transfer the booking to a reputable TA now while the price is correct. Make them aware of the problem you had. If you find a TA like I use, you will get back some OBC to spend while on the ship. They will also know who to talk with at RCL if problems occur again.

 

I hope you can enjoy your cruise.

[splash_in_the_water]

wow..that's no good. they need to get their .....stuff together. I'm not sure where they get off raising prices after you book, and then sending you a new booking confirmation with the higher price , not to mention over 5k us $!!!! That's some bull.......stuff right their.

 

Good luck getting it figured out! Post back with your results!

[Clarea]

Always get your booking confirmation in writing. Never depend on the website to say the same ting day to day.

[Merion_Mom]

I booked a 2016 cruise in March - suites/concierge for a family of 5, at a cost of say £10,065 (=$15,000). I received confirmations from RCCL accordingly.

 

A couple of days later, I noticed on-line that RCCL had increased the cost of my booking by £3,420 (>$5,000). I spoke to RCCL and was assured it was an error, and that my confirmations at £10,065 were correct. But I subsequently received an amended confirmation at the higher price.

 

Over a month passed, and the error on-line had not been rectified; so I contacted RCCL again - only this time they insisted that the higher figure was correct!

 

To put this in perspective, the $ price when we booked was $14,487 (=£9,570) - and remains at that price today. My booking wasn't a pricing error - it was and is the price!

 

I have contacted RCCL and advised that I wished to cancel, as there was no way I was going to pay £3,420 (>$5,000) more and asked for a refund of the deposit paid.

 

After much stress and inconvenience they have finally confirmed the cruise at the cost of £10,065 booked, but no apology or explanation; and I have completely lost confidence in them. This is the situation we were in on March 20th when we booked. What is there to stop them simply deciding to increase the cost again any time before the cruise? The question is whether they are crooks or incompetent - neither is good.

 

This cruise was intended as a 50th birthday present for my wife - now I just want my money back and to have nothing more to do with RCCL. If I do decide to stick with the cruise (I enjoy the cruise experience and the ships) I want an agent to deal with it - I never want to deal with the wretched company again. I would caution anyone else to use an agent rather than trying to deal with RCCL direct.

 

I'm sorry about your problems booking. As I someone else suggested, I would transfer the booking to a reputable TA now while the price is correct. Make them aware of the problem you had. If you find a TA like I use, you will get back some OBC to spend while on the ship. They will also know who to talk with at RCL if problems occur again.

 

I hope you can enjoy your cruise.

 

KingHal, you have 60 days from the date of booking to transfer to a travel agent.

[Elizanessie]

KingHal, you have 60 days from the date of booking to transfer to a travel agent.

 

Guests only have 48 hours in the UK to transfer to a TA.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Elizanessie

[Merion_Mom]

Guests only have 48 hours in the UK to transfer to a TA.

 

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Barnaby100]

Most people in the UK don't use travel agents really. It is very much an older generation thing or for people who don't have credit cards or need to pay by instalments. I dont know anyone whose uses a travel agent except my parents who have a cruise agent but they still book lots themselves.

 

I have had massive issues with the phone booking in the UK. In fact I have sent a complaint in this week. Promised additional OBC if I booked immediately that didn't arrive and now they are back tracking on. Overcharged £75 deposit- took 3 calls and 2 emails to get it refunded (wasnt ever refunded was added as OBC). 'Lied' to about being wait listed for a different room. Told that lower decks were better cabins than higher. Told facts about certain cabin types that were simply not true.

 

We booked Cunard last week which reminded me how unacceptably poor RCI booking are.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Barnaby100

[Sparky74]

I booked a 2016 cruise in March - suites/concierge for a family of 5, at a cost of say £10,065 (=$15,000). I received confirmations from RCCL accordingly.

 

A couple of days later, I noticed on-line that RCCL had increased the cost of my booking by £3,420 (>$5,000). I spoke to RCCL and was assured it was an error, and that my confirmations at £10,065 were correct. But I subsequently received an amended confirmation at the higher price...

 

I had a similar thing happen with my booking. (I'm an Australian.) it took several phone calls and I spent absolutely ages on hold but I eventually got it sorted. :)

 

Sorry you've been put through something similar. :(

[Jackamama]

This seems to be a regular problem for UK customers of RCI. I think it went downhill when they closed the UK call centre and relocated to Guatemala.

 

I had lots of problems with the pricing on my recent booking, and nobody seemed to know what they were doing at the call centre. I'm now on invoice number 16 after various communications and errors, and lots of different prices.

 

Very frustrating having to contact them all the time. It's sorted now, but I honestly wouldn't go through it all again.

[Paulxyz2004]

Most people in the UK don't use travel agents really. It is very much an older generation thing or for people who don't have credit cards or need to pay by instalments. I dont know anyone whose uses a travel agent except my parents who have a cruise agent but they still book lots themselves.

 

I have had massive issues with the phone booking in the UK. In fact I have sent a complaint in this week. Promised additional OBC if I booked immediately that didn't arrive and now they are back tracking on. Overcharged £75 deposit- took 3 calls and 2 emails to get it refunded (wasnt ever refunded was added as OBC). 'Lied' to about being wait listed for a different room. Told that lower decks were better cabins than higher. Told facts about certain cabin types that were simply not true.

 

We booked Cunard last week which reminded me how unacceptably poor RCI booking are.

 

I must be missing some reason for not booking with a TA.

I have a credit Card, I´m capable of handling my own arangements like flights, Transfers, shore excursions, Hotels, Cruises...... however I do use a TA to book my Cruises.

 

My TA is available 24/7 via Website and email. My TA takes care of any Problems that might arise and deals with the cruiseline. I´ve even contacted him with a quick email from the ship when some OBC was missing and he resolved it quickly.

 

On top of all of this I get my Cruises for less than what I would get them for when booking directly.

 

So why should I book directly, pay more and on top of that as you describe have to fight for my own if some Problem arises:confused:

 

Is it just because it´s hip and modern to book yourself and not use a TA?:confused:

 

 

ETA: BTW I´ve never ever had Problems like described by the OP and others, though I think I´d never even know if they were there or not, as my TA most likely would have sorted them out before I even got Aware of them.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Paulxyz2004

[Jackamama]

I must be missing some reason for not booking with a TA.

I have a credit Card, I´m capable of handling my own arangements like flights, Transfers, shore excursions, Hotels, Cruises...... however I do use a TA to book my Cruises.

 

My TA is available 24/7 via Website and email. My TA takes care of any Problems that might arise and deals with the cruiseline. I´ve even contacted him with a quick email from the ship when some OBC was missing and he resolved it quickly.

 

On top of all of this I get my Cruises for less than what I would get them for when booking directly.

 

So why should I book directly, pay more and on top of that as you describe have to fight for my own if some Problem arises:confused:

 

Is it just because it´s hip and modern to book yourself and not use a TA?:confused:

 

 

There seems to be a big difference in the function of Travel Agents, and reasons for using them, depending on where you live.

 

In the UK, there isn't much of a benefit to booking through a travel agent, and they tend to be very large companies, like Thomsons Virgin etc, who are shops in shopping centres, who work shop hours and are not the 27/7 kind of small business set up offering personal service and incentives that you describe.

 

If you book with a travel agent, you also forfeit the right to deal directly with the holiday company, and in my experience that's important.

 

It's just a matter of where you are and what you prefer, I think.

[BekkaW]

There seems to be a big difference in the function of Travel Agents, and reasons for using them, depending on where you live.

 

In the UK, there isn't much of a benefit to booking through a travel agent, and they tend to be very large companies, like Thomsons Virgin etc, who are shops in shopping centres, who work shop hours and are not the 27/7 kind of small business set up offering personal service and incentives that you describe.

 

If you book with a travel agent, you also forfeit the right to deal directly with the holiday company, and in my experience that's important.

 

It's just a matter of where you are and what you prefer, I think.

 

Agreed - US consumers get a much better deal out of their travel agents including discounts and special offers such as OBC, spa credits or specialty restaurants. This is not common in Australia (and I think also the UK) so it makes more sense to book yourself. We switched to using a US agent.

[Paulxyz2004]

There seems to be a big difference in the function of Travel Agents, and reasons for using them, depending on where you live.

 

In the UK, there isn't much of a benefit to booking through a travel agent, and they tend to be very large companies, like Thomsons Virgin etc, who are shops in shopping centres, who work shop hours and are not the 27/7 kind of small business set up offering personal service and incentives that you describe.

 

If you book with a travel agent, you also forfeit the right to deal directly with the holiday company, and in my experience that's important.

 

It's just a matter of where you are and what you prefer, I think.

 

Agreed - US consumers get a much better deal out of their travel agents including discounts and special offers such as OBC, spa credits or specialty restaurants. This is not common in Australia (and I think also the UK) so it makes more sense to book yourself. We switched to using a US agent.

 

Of course it´s a personal decision and everybody has to make the decision for themselves.

 

I just don´t quite understand why People go through the in this thread described hassle of booking directly and at the same time stating how old fashioned TA´s are.

 

I´m not from the US or Canada and I´m not living there either. My TA is not located in some Shopping Center and it´s not a small Business either. They Claim themselves ( I have no proof if it´s true) as one of the biggest cruise agencies. It´s all online with them, you can´t call them or walk up to them (which would unpractical from another continent anyway;)). But I drop them an e and get a Response pretty quickly.

I know the cruiseline won´t deal with me directly, but to me that´s nothing I Need - that´s what my TA is for. I let him go through the hoops with the cruiseline and deal with CS and on hold times.

 

Personally I see no incentive in paying more for having to fight for my own, but to each their own and there´s nothing wrong with your decision to pay more for less Service.

[Jeannie333333]

Agreed - US consumers get a much better deal out of their travel agents including discounts and special offers such as OBC, spa credits or specialty restaurants. This is not common in Australia (and I think also the UK) so it makes more sense to book yourself. We switched to using a US agent.

 

I agree. The main reason I book direct with RCI is a) the ability to make a change / amendment is very easy and done immediately b) Uk TA's charge around 3% for paying with a credit card - which adds up to a large amount on the average cruise c) I have never been about to get any OBC or any benefit from using a TA, in fact, early on with our cruise experiences, I wanted to make a mini change to my booking and the TA charged me £75 & told me RCI charged the change fee - which I found out subsequently was not the case. :mad:

 

I am likely to use a US TA in the future as a) the loss of the £150 ($230) per person deposit if forced to cancel for unforeseen circumstances really hurts b) I get a bit miffed when there is a price drop which I cannot claim.

 

I am Loyal to Royal but I find their booking system - and more importantly their UK website to be utter rubbish and something they should focus on correcting. I doesn't look good for such a large company to have such a rubbish website which they have been apologising for for years - but never rectify! odd ... :(

 

:):)

Edited May 2, 2015 by Jeannie333333

[Barnaby100]

I must be missing some reason for not booking with a TA.

I have a credit Card, I´m capable of handling my own arangements like flights, Transfers, shore excursions, Hotels, Cruises...... however I do use a TA to book my Cruises.

 

My TA is available 24/7 via Website and email. My TA takes care of any Problems that might arise and deals with the cruiseline. I´ve even contacted him with a quick email from the ship when some OBC was missing and he resolved it quickly.

 

On top of all of this I get my Cruises for less than what I would get them for when booking directly.

 

So why should I book directly, pay more and on top of that as you describe have to fight for my own if some Problem arises:confused:

 

Is it just because it´s hip and modern to book yourself and not use a TA?:confused:

 

 

ETA: BTW I´ve never ever had Problems like described by the OP and others, though I think I´d never even know if they were there or not, as my TA most likely would have sorted them out before I even got Aware of them.

 

That isnt what travel agents do in the UK. You book with them- they are large companies-usually they sell their own holidays as well as competitors- often web based- if not based in supermarkets or sometimes (but less and less) high streets. Office hours in the shops or 9-8 on a call line only. You would never have the same person just the random office or call centre person. There are a few independent travel agents but really diminishing- they wouldnt be 24/7.

 

Occasionally they may be cheaper (late reductions on a cruise maybe) but often

they are more expensive for most holidays than booking it yourself.

 

I dont know anyone who has a personal named travel agent- in the 1970s and 80s but they are rare now. We live in a town with 75,000 residents and I cant think of a travel agent except Virgin in a supermarket and 2 thomas cook in town (but 1 may have closed) and 1 thomson. There is one business agency.. Google suggests there are 6 but 2 seems to be on line companies specialising in far east. The co-operative used to have more travel agents but they have wider business issues.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Barnaby100

[Paulxyz2004]

That isnt what travel agents do in the UK. You book with them- they are large companies-usually they sell their own holidays as well as competitors- often web based- if not based in supermarkets or sometimes (but less and less) high streets. Office hours in the shops or 9-8 on a call line only. You would never have the same person just the random office or call centre person. There are a few independent travel agents but really diminishing- they wouldnt be 24/7.

 

Occasionally they may be cheaper (late reductions on a cruise maybe) but often

they are more expensive for most holidays than booking it yourself.

 

I dont know anyone who has a personal named travel agent- in the 1970s and 80s but they are rare now. We live in a town with 75,000 residents and I cant think of a travel agent except Virgin in a supermarket and 2 thomas cook in town (but 1 may have closed) and 1 thomson. There is one business agency.. Google suggests there are 6 but 2 seems to be on line companies specialising in far east. The co-operative used to have more travel agents but they have wider business issues.

 

Who's Talking about local TA's or UK TA's?:confused:

 

This is the online age and you can book with TA's all over the world at your Fingertipp. I have no personal TA, I have Never Met my TA, my Town is the Same size as yours and I have no idea about TA's in Town.

 

Still I have a TA that Gives me all the Service mentioned and it's available to everybody regardless of Location.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Paulxyz2004

[squadron]

This seems to be a regular problem for UK customers of RCI. I think it went downhill when they closed the UK call centre and relocated to Guatemala.

 

I had lots of problems with the pricing on my recent booking, and nobody seemed to know what they were doing at the call centre. I'm now on invoice number 16 after various communications and errors, and lots of different prices.

 

Very frustrating having to contact them all the time. It's sorted now, but I honestly wouldn't go through it all again.

 

English as a second language creates problems whether with cruises, your computer or service centres for just about anything.

[Barnaby100]

Who's Talking about local TA's or UK TA's?:confused:

 

This is the online age and you can book with TA's all over the world at your Fingertipp. I have no personal TA, I have Never Met my TA, my Town is the Same size as yours and I have no idea about TA's in Town.

 

Still I have a TA that Gives me all the Service mentioned and it's available to everybody regardless of Location.

 

The point is that there isn't a culture of using agents in the Uk. I could use a TA half way round the world- although the time difference would be a pain. To pay a USA travel agent we would pay a currency conversion on the credit card. Any benefit would have to outweigh that.

 

I was once 'contacted' by RCI who wanted to move my booking to the UK (at 4 x the price) or cancel it when I used an overseas RCI website to make a booking. In the end they relented and I used an overseas travel agent (which they knew and eventually supported) but I wouldn't do it again. It was 4x more expensive to book with RCI in the Uk (and less cabin types wet available) than in the country of origin for the cruise.

[KingHal]

Just to be clear - this wasn't a telephone quote which they sought to increase. It was a confirmed documented booking where I had their confirmation in writing. They just unilaterally issued a revised confirmation increasing the price for no reason. They have now reconfirmed the original confirmation but they could easily increase it again for no reason. At present I still want to sail on this cruise but the allure (sic) of the cruise has waned substantially.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just to be clear - this wasn't a telephone quote which they sought to increase. It was a confirmed documented booking where I had their confirmation in writing. They just unilaterally issued a revised confirmation increasing the price for no reason. They have now reconfirmed the original confirmation but they could easily increase it again for no reason. At present I still want to sail on this cruise but the allure (sic) of the cruise has waned substantially.

 

This is a known and well documented website glitch that happens all too often. The C&A staff here in the US know about this and can fix it. Since you are in the UK and your calls go to the Guatamala call center they are most likely not as aware of this issue and this led to your difficulties. Totally unacceptable that this is still continuing.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[xpcdoojk]

I must be missing some reason for not booking with a TA.

I have a credit Card, I´m capable of handling my own arangements like flights, Transfers, shore excursions, Hotels, Cruises...... however I do use a TA to book my Cruises.

 

My TA is available 24/7 via Website and email. My TA takes care of any Problems that might arise and deals with the cruiseline. I´ve even contacted him with a quick email from the ship when some OBC was missing and he resolved it quickly.

 

On top of all of this I get my Cruises for less than what I would get them for when booking directly.

 

So why should I book directly, pay more and on top of that as you describe have to fight for my own if some Problem arises:confused:

 

Is it just because it´s hip and modern to book yourself and not use a TA?:confused:

 

 

ETA: BTW I´ve never ever had Problems like described by the OP and others, though I think I´d never even know if they were there or not, as my TA most likely would have sorted them out before I even got Aware of them.

 

Yep, I agree completely. I rarely use a TA for anything but I always get a better deal from my TA or extra OBC at a minimum over booking it myself online. Plus if I have problems they get to deal with holding over the phone. So, why wouldn't I always use a TA for a cruise. It is a no-brainer for me.:cool:

 

jc

[MaryL31]

This is not the same situation as yours, but they clearly haven't a clue what they are doing. I have 2 rooms for a May 21st sailing. Final payment was March 7th and sea passes are printed. I was checking my bank accounts, and noticed a large refund from RCI on my RCI Visa card. Checked our reservations, and sure enough, they refunded the fare for one person. Then it says we owe them the same amount of money. Also, our address was changed on all 4 reservations. When we called, they were unable to explain what happened, but it is all straightened out now. Go figure...