No Refund for excursion...

[trihawks1]

My DD and her friends just left Oasis this morning...my DH and I were suppose to go as well, but I broke my left leg and left arm and had to cancel our cabin. Overall the adult kids had a great week, except for Nassau. Unfortunately they had booked the Blue Lagoon excursion thru the ship. When they got off the ship around 7:30 it was raining and actually pretty cool. All 3 decided to cancel the excursion due to the weather. They went back on the ship to the excursion desk. They were told no refund even for weather because their policy is you must cancel 24 hrs in advance. Lol they weren't even on the ship until Saturday at noon and the excursion was Sunday at 8:00 am.

 

Most of the time we book our excursions thru private tours and not the ship. In the past, we have cancelled under 24 hrs due to me having vertigo issues, or high winds, or rain and no issues for a refund. This is the first time we haven't received a refund...going forward we will continue to book online with private tours if possible and not lose money to RCCL....really sad when a private tour will give you a refund with no issues but not RCCL. So since we lost out on $228 we will never book another excursion thru the ship. We are going to try and call C&A to see if they can help. Very disappointed in the staff at the excursion desk as well as RCCL in general.

[LisaAtlCruiser]

They are pretty clear regarding the cancellation policy. Not sure why you are upset.

[Retired LEO]

What's the issue? The excursion went on as scheduled and they chose not to go.

[BeachChik]

If the company had canceled due to weather I'm sure money would have been refunded. But the fact that the excursion wasn't canceled and they made the choice not to go for whatever reason, I don't know why you would expect a refund.

 

I don't know any private ones that will allow you to cancel day of just because you don't like the weather.

 

Policies exist for a reason. If everyone was allowed to cancel day of how much money would be lost for the tour operators. People would book just to hold a spot they might want.

 

I find it a little crazy that you expect a refund quite honestly.

[spookwife]

the policy is quite clear. since THEY( the ship) did not cancel the excursion, you are SoL.

 

especially since they decided at the last minute. had they canceled the obligatory 24 hours out, if there was a waitlist for the excursion it could have been offered to someone else and Royal would possibly have been more willing to refund.

Edited December 19, 2015 by spookwife

[akcruz]

If the company had canceled due to weather I'm sure money would have been refunded. But the fact that the excursion wasn't canceled and they made the choice not to go for whatever reason, I don't know why you would expect a refund.

 

I don't know any private ones that will allow you to cancel day of just because you don't like the weather.

 

Policies exist for a reason. If everyone was allowed to cancel day of how much money would be lost for the tour operators. People would book just to hold a spot they might want.

 

I find it a little crazy that you expect a refund quite honestly.

 

I think this post says it all.

 

The excursion went on even in the rain and since it was last minute they couldn't fill those empty spots so they were charged. If it was bad enough weather wise the excursion would have been cancelled.

 

I am pretty sure if they had tried to cancel the day before, even though it wasn't a full 24 hours they would have gotten the refund, last minute though nope

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Unfortunately it has been my experience they go ahead with these excursions when in fact they really shouldn't. We have been on 2 snorkeling excursions that should have never been allowed to happen. One was in Mexico the water was so rough from a storm you could not see a thing not to mention the rocking of the boat causing people to puke all over the boat and in the water we were trying to snorkle in. It was absolutely disgusting. The other one was also snorkeling the water at the second site was so rough the guides had to go out and rescue those that went out. Unfortunately I think it is up to the operator to cancel in case of these types of issues. They would have been better off going then asking for a refund. I am curious though everytime we go independently they also have a 24 hour cancellation policy, do you book at the pier?

[cincicruisers]

RC has been upfront for a long time that excursions had to be cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.

 

Pretty clear cut.

[knittinggirl]

We had the same thing happen w/ Princess. We booked it, and had a very rough tender ride in the morning, so we wrote "cancel due to rough sea bad tender" on our tickets and dropped them in the slot. Princess didn't have people manning the desk unless they thought they could sell you a ticket. But we didn't get our money back. We were prepared for this outcome. I had one private tour we cancelled, and didn't get our money back. It was in the policy, and I knew that going in. Excursion was also dirt cheap!

 

There are legitimate reasons to cancel. We had to cancel a shore excursion because I came down with Norovirus. Also, a couple of cruises, they cancelled all boat excursions due to rough water. Sometimes, if they have a waiting list, they'll refund a shore excursion. But I'd ask first, then cancel. I'm just grumpy enough, not to want them to make double off one excursion ticket.

 

Once we decided to change shore excursions, and the desk opened up after the 24 hour deadline, so we visited the Concierge Lounge and got the Concierge to handle it, the Concierge lounge was open before the 24 hour cancellation deadline.

Edited December 19, 2015 by knittinggirl

[A&L_Ont]

If you weren't happy with Royals response, you definitely won't be happy with the response is you'll get on Cruise Critic. Your three friends decided not to go on the day of because of the weather. As others have stated if they were to cancel with a refund they would've had to of do it 24 hours in advance.

Edited December 19, 2015 by A&L_Ont

[swoopy2110]

Really don't know what more you were expecting. Their policy is clear.

[Cruzin RN]

We usually wait until the last minute to book..yeah, sometimes they are sold out, but we like to ck out the weather/seas before deciding, especially in the winter.

[SamFritz]

I have been refunded twice for excursions that we actually DID go on. At 7 Mile beach, an exceptionally high tide made the beach nearly in usable (it was only about ten feet from the sea wall to the water.) I took pictures and showed them to the excursion desk. The gave us a full refund. In Cozumel we went on a fishing excursion that as supposed to be 4 hours long. After about an hour of fishing the Coast Guard stopped us for a routine inspection. We were unable to fish during the two hour inspection. Again, I took pictures and was given a refund.

 

Having said that, most excursions do say "rain or shine". I wouldn't ask for a refund when those conditions are clearly spelled out.

 

 

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[kalliekae]

If the company had canceled due to weather I'm sure money would have been refunded. But the fact that the excursion wasn't canceled and they made the choice not to go for whatever reason, I don't know why you would expect a refund.

 

I don't know any private ones that will allow you to cancel day of just because you don't like the weather.

 

Policies exist for a reason. If everyone was allowed to cancel day of how much money would be lost for the tour operators. People would book just to hold a spot they might want.

 

I find it a little crazy that you expect a refund quite honestly.

 

Totally agree. I was unable to make the excursion in Labadee that we had booked, but dh went. We didn't seek a refund because I was the one who was unable to go. We did receive a refund on the Cozumel excursion with no problem because we cancelled 3 days in advance. They are very specific about the cancellation policy. I don't think your kids deserved a refund because they were the ones who chose not to go.

[denatravels]

I had a much different experience that I didn't expect, but decided to go ahead with the excursion. Booked on board for a snorkel excursion in Bermuda but was concerned about being able to get on and off the boat with my bummed knee-- the shore excursions manager walked me from the meeting point to the operator's boat, with the promise of "if it looks like you cannot manage the ladder or they cannot help you up if needed, you can get a full refund". I totally appreciated this, but went anyway. I expect a refund if THEY cancel, but I wouldn't think they would refund a no-show.

[LuCruise]

That really sucks. We' e also signed up for Blue Lagoon and it's not cheap. Good lesson girl the rest of us to watch weather ahead of time for these places and cancel if weather is iffy

 

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Edited December 20, 2015 by LuCruise

[Big Beer Gut]

Is everyone being a little too hard on the OP? I agree if you cancel within 24 hrs you are not entitled to a refund. If I understand the OP correctly, they decided not to go at 7:30 because of the weather and 30 min later RCL or the tour operator cancelled due to weather. If you can't cancel within 24 hrs then perhaps RCL shouldn't due anything with the tour tickets. If the person at the desk would have just sent them away then they would have got a refund when the entire tour was cancelled. In this case RCL cancelled those reservations and then 30 min later cancelled the excursion. The OP's party didn't get any refunds but everyone else on the tour did. I doubt that the tour operator got paid for those 2 or 3 people, so RCL kept the money. Really doesn't seem fair to me.

[Langley Cruisers]

Is everyone being a little too hard on the OP? I agree if you cancel within 24 hrs you are not entitled to a refund. If I understand the OP correctly, they decided not to go at 7:30 because of the weather and 30 min later RCL or the tour operator cancelled due to weather.

 

OP never said that.

 

We are going to try and call C&A to see if they can help. Very disappointed in the staff at the excursion desk as well as RCCL in general.

 

Well, good luck with that. Forgive me, but I'm not sure why you should receive a refund and other passengers do not. As well, this is not your fight because you weren't even on the cruise.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Langley Cruisers

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Is everyone being a little too hard on the OP? I agree if you cancel within 24 hrs you are not entitled to a refund. If I understand the OP correctly, they decided not to go at 7:30 because of the weather and 30 min later RCL or the tour operator cancelled due to weather. If you can't cancel within 24 hrs then perhaps RCL shouldn't due anything with the tour tickets. If the person at the desk would have just sent them away then they would have got a refund when the entire tour was cancelled. In this case RCL cancelled those reservations and then 30 min later cancelled the excursion. The OP's party didn't get any refunds but everyone else on the tour did. I doubt that the tour operator got paid for those 2 or 3 people, so RCL kept the money. Really doesn't seem fair to me.

 

Agree with Langley Cruisers that the OP NEVER stated that the ship or operator cancelled the excursion.

 

In fact, RETNAVY1996's post seems to indicate that they in fact were on the excursion and had no issues other than slightly chilly in their opinion temperatures.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

If I understand the OP correctly, they decided not to go at 7:30 because of the weather and 30 min later RCL or the tour operator cancelled due to weather.

I don't think you do. Nowhere in the OP does it say the Operator cancelled the excursion. Go back and reread.

My DD and her friends just left Oasis this morning...my DH and I were suppose to go as well, but I broke my left leg and left arm and had to cancel our cabin. Overall the adult kids had a great week, except for Nassau. Unfortunately they had booked the Blue Lagoon excursion thru the ship. When they got off the ship around 7:30 it was raining and actually pretty cool. All 3 decided to cancel the excursion due to the weather. They went back on the ship to the excursion desk. They were told no refund even for weather because their policy is you must cancel 24 hrs in advance. Lol they weren't even on the ship until Saturday at noon and the excursion was Sunday at 8:00 am.

 

Most of the time we book our excursions thru private tours and not the ship. In the past, we have cancelled under 24 hrs due to me having vertigo issues, or high winds, or rain and no issues for a refund. This is the first time we haven't received a refund...going forward we will continue to book online with private tours if possible and not lose money to RCCL....really sad when a private tour will give you a refund with no issues but not RCCL. So since we lost out on $228 we will never book another excursion thru the ship. We are going to try and call C&A to see if they can help. Very disappointed in the staff at the excursion desk as well as RCCL in general.

 

OP, if you book airfare and decide not to get on the plane because there are storms in the area, would you expect a refund? The tour went as scheduled. You DD and friends decided not to go. Why would you EXPECT a refund? I don't see the harm in asking, but when told "no", that's what it is.

[SuiteTraveler]

I think that RCCL is a bit Draconian about this policy. We once decided not to go on an excursion (snorkeling) due to intense lightening in the area. Maybe it's just me, but I have always understood being in water during lightening is a bad idea. I was not so concerned about the boat part as I was about the actual snorkeling in water with air to ground lightening all over the place. Anyway, the boat went and halfway there apparently many onboard threw a fit and demanded to be returned to the dock because they also felt it was too dangerous. But RCCL refused to refund any of our money as they held that it was the passengers "fault" the boat returned without doing the excursion.

 

Contrast that to my experience on NCL - we went to a beach where we were supposed to drive small power boats for a while, then go snorkeling and come back and enjoy the beach club and have lunch. The group was divided into 2 groups because they only had a small number of the small power boats working and the rest of us went and had lunch. The first group was extremely late getting back. So the guide then told us we would just drive the boats straight out, snorkel and turn around and come back. However, it was now less than 1 hour before All Aboard. The time to get to the snorkel site was 45 minutes, plus we would not have time to do much with the little boats - which is the part we were most excited about. The guide told us he would phone NCL and have them hold the ship. We and several others thought he was crazy. So we got on one of the buses to the ship (they were running about every hour) and got back to the ship about 15 minutes before All Aboard. Some in our group asked onboard if they were going to hold the ship for others on the excursion and were told no. We were all quite relieved we made the decision to come back on time. As it turned out, they did hold the ship and the others got back an hour late. I called the concierge and told her what happened and she complained to the excursion desk and the excursion desk refunded half the money we spent on the excursion.

[QueenofKrakatoa]

The C&A desk can't refund your shore excursion, they really only handle pre cruise planning. You will have to contact guest relations.

[iheartbda]

Is everyone being a little too hard on the OP? I agree if you cancel within 24 hrs you are not entitled to a refund. If I understand the OP correctly, they decided not to go at 7:30 because of the weather and 30 min later RCL or the tour operator cancelled due to weather. If you can't cancel within 24 hrs then perhaps RCL shouldn't due anything with the tour tickets. If the person at the desk would have just sent them away then they would have got a refund when the entire tour was cancelled. In this case RCL cancelled those reservations and then 30 min later cancelled the excursion. The OP's party didn't get any refunds but everyone else on the tour did. I doubt that the tour operator got paid for those 2 or 3 people, so RCL kept the money. Really doesn't seem fair to me.

 

Good heavens, WHERE did you get all that about tour tickets, cancelling, some getting refunds, others not, Royal keeping money. Did I miss a post along the way?

[123funcruiser]

Rain and cold temps are definitely not a reason to cancel an excursion and it´s specifically spelled out in the T&C´s.

 

Actually I think RCI is quite good with their cancellation policy of SHore excursions allowing any cancellations up to 24 hours ahead of the excursion.

 

I also appreciate they don´t give a refund in the case of the OP, as it would be lost Money for them and we all would have to make up for cases like this.

 

 

Big Beer Gut, where did you get your Story from? :confused:

You should maybe drink less beer before posting.:rolleyes:

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Rain and cold temps are definitely not a reason to cancel an excursion and it´s specifically spelled out in the T&C´s.

 

Actually I think RCI is quite good with their cancellation policy of SHore excursions allowing any cancellations up to 24 hours ahead of the excursion.

 

I also appreciate they don´t give a refund in the case of the OP, as it would be lost Money for them and we all would have to make up for cases like this.

 

 

Big Beer Gut, where did you get your Story from? :confused:

You should maybe drink less beer before posting.:rolleyes:

 

RCI is definitely very generous with the 24-hour cancellation policy.

 

Disney's is three days in advance of the excursion.