Problems with E-gift and Customer Service

[brookebm]

Hi everyone,

 

After browsing this site for quite a while without posting, I've just got to give everyone some insight into the experience that I've been having because it just might deter you from ever purchasing an e-gift card from RC.

 

I booked our first cruise for my husband and I in April as a delayed honeymoon. We sail in March and my final payment was due Dec 28. I put off the payment until close to the due date because I knew I would be receiving gift cards toward the cruise for Christmas.

 

We received 3 generous gift cards and I redeemed them on Dec 24 allowing a 4 day window for them to be applied (it says to allow 2). 2 were supposed to go toward cruise fare, and one was redeemed as an onboard credit. 3 Days go by and nothing has come off of my final balance. I've now called customer service 4 times over the span of 2 weeks and spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with different representatives to find out how $750 just vanished into thin air. Here's what I've been told and how this has been handled:

 

- First rep:

The department that handles gift cards is not working today, call back tomorrow (day of final payment) and we will look into it for you.

 

-Next day, second rep:

Just pay the final balance (over $500) and when the gift cards go through we will refund you the amount that you overpaid. I told him this was fine but wanted to know what the problem was with the gift cards and if they were actually going to ever show up. He said there was no record of any gift card ever being redeemed toward my reservation and tells me to just pay the $500, and redeem the cards online. Since redeeming them online didn't work the first time, I asked if someone could just redeem them over the phone. Nope, you must redeem them online, but just make sure to make your final payment first. He finally (after telling me 3 times he could not do this) puts me on hold to ask permission to redeem my gift cards for me, comes back and tries to redeem them and says "sorry miss, it looks like they've already been redeemed". At this point I felt like I was really struggling to remain polite and calm and I explained to him that I DID redeem them, and yet the money never showed up as a payment, that's the whole point of my call. Then he tells me (now, this is a good one) to just redeem them onboard and they will set up the refund then! Even though it is written everywhere on their website that you MUST redeem them at least 14 days prior to sailing. Good thing I didn't listen to that piece of advice. I read the message off of the front of the gift card, and he had no response. Finally he gets a supervisor involved, takes the gift card numbers and tells me his supervisor is looking into it but it will take 48 hours so I will have to pay the remaining balance for my reservation not to be cancelled and in 3 days I will see it refunded back to my card after they apply the gift cards. That's fine, I pay the balance and wait 3 days. No refund, no additional payments showing up in my reservation.

 

-3 days later, third rep:

One $250 gift card has been applied to my reservation as an onboard credit. The other two are completely missing, they never tracked them down, and they were unable to apply them. I told her I didn't really care if they were able to find them or not, I have the gift card numbers and proof of payment, so any way they have to do it, they owe me $500. She talks to resolutions and agrees to issue me a $500 refund to my credit card.

 

-7 days later, no refund, fourth rep:

Doesn't know why the third rep told me I had a $250 onboard credit, there is actually no onboard credit in my account, and not one gift card was ever successfully applied. Two were still completely missing, and one was found, but is now "on hold" for some reason. She sees a note in my reservation that this is now in the hands of accounting, and to give it until the end of the week before you expect any refund. I asked her "what about the onboard credit" and she said "I really don't know. Just wait until Friday and call back if its still not showing up in your reservation".

 

That last call was last night. I then went on to the Royal Caribbean Facebook page to look at their visitor posts and see if I'm crazy or if their customer service is known for being this terrible. And guess what, 3 other people posted about the exact same problem. Redeemed their gift cards and the money vanished into cyber space never to be seen again. Nobody knows how to help them.

 

I am sure that this cruise is going to be beautiful, and an amazing experience either way, but I've got to be honest, this customer service team has me VERY uneasy. Every time I call I get someone who seems like they have no idea what they are talking about, so I tried their email and got no response.

 

So, the moral of the story is: If you were thinking about giving someone a royal caribbean gift card, just give them some cash and a beautiful card. It's honestly not worth the frustration!

[CookieDiva]

A bit concerned here. Our kids ordered us $250 worth of some kind of RCI credit for our upcoming cruise in April. Should be receiving it in the mail. Said that it could go to our final payment or OBC. Have been reading about these horror stories with RCI gift cards. Hoping for the best for you AND us!

[CookieDiva]

Just received the gift certificate in the mail today. Will contact out TA first to see if she can help us with it.

[brookebm]

Good luck! Hopefully you have better luck than I!

[CookieDiva]

Good luck! Hopefully you have better luck than I!

 

 

Thanks! I'll let you know how it goes. Please keep us up to date on what goes on with your situation.

[molly361]

The gift certificates need to be redeemed BEFORE you board. Here is the link for redeeming them.

 

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/

[brookebm]

The gift certificates need to be redeemed BEFORE you board. Here is the link for redeeming them.

 

 

https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/

 

Yes, I know. I don't board for another 2 months. I tried to redeem them using that link and after doing so the money just disappeared.

[Clarea]

Yes, I know. I don't board for another 2 months. I tried to redeem them using that link and after doing so the money just disappeared.

Happens to me quite often.

[woehwdy]

Hi everyone,

 

After browsing this site for quite a while without posting, I've just got to give everyone some insight into the experience that I've been having because it just might deter you from ever purchasing an e-gift card from RC.

 

I booked our first cruise for my husband and I in April as a delayed honeymoon. We sail in March and my final payment was due Dec 28. I put off the payment until close to the due date because I knew I would be receiving gift cards toward the cruise for Christmas.

 

We received 3 generous gift cards and I redeemed them on Dec 24 allowing a 4 day window for them to be applied (it says to allow 2). 2 were supposed to go toward cruise fare, and one was redeemed as an onboard credit. 3 Days go by and nothing has come off of my final balance. I've now called customer service 4 times over the span of 2 weeks and spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with different representatives to find out how $750 just vanished into thin air. Here's what I've been told and how this has been handled:

 

- First rep:

The department that handles gift cards is not working today, call back tomorrow (day of final payment) and we will look into it for you.

 

-Next day, second rep:

Just pay the final balance (over $500) and when the gift cards go through we will refund you the amount that you overpaid. I told him this was fine but wanted to know what the problem was with the gift cards and if they were actually going to ever show up. He said there was no record of any gift card ever being redeemed toward my reservation and tells me to just pay the $500, and redeem the cards online. Since redeeming them online didn't work the first time, I asked if someone could just redeem them over the phone. Nope, you must redeem them online, but just make sure to make your final payment first. He finally (after telling me 3 times he could not do this) puts me on hold to ask permission to redeem my gift cards for me, comes back and tries to redeem them and says "sorry miss, it looks like they've already been redeemed". At this point I felt like I was really struggling to remain polite and calm and I explained to him that I DID redeem them, and yet the money never showed up as a payment, that's the whole point of my call. Then he tells me (now, this is a good one) to just redeem them onboard and they will set up the refund then! Even though it is written everywhere on their website that you MUST redeem them at least 14 days prior to sailing. Good thing I didn't listen to that piece of advice. I read the message off of the front of the gift card, and he had no response. Finally he gets a supervisor involved, takes the gift card numbers and tells me his supervisor is looking into it but it will take 48 hours so I will have to pay the remaining balance for my reservation not to be cancelled and in 3 days I will see it refunded back to my card after they apply the gift cards. That's fine, I pay the balance and wait 3 days. No refund, no additional payments showing up in my reservation.

 

-3 days later, third rep:

One $250 gift card has been applied to my reservation as an onboard credit. The other two are completely missing, they never tracked them down, and they were unable to apply them. I told her I didn't really care if they were able to find them or not, I have the gift card numbers and proof of payment, so any way they have to do it, they owe me $500. She talks to resolutions and agrees to issue me a $500 refund to my credit card.

 

-7 days later, no refund, fourth rep:

Doesn't know why the third rep told me I had a $250 onboard credit, there is actually no onboard credit in my account, and not one gift card was ever successfully applied. Two were still completely missing, and one was found, but is now "on hold" for some reason. She sees a note in my reservation that this is now in the hands of accounting, and to give it until the end of the week before you expect any refund. I asked her "what about the onboard credit" and she said "I really don't know. Just wait until Friday and call back if its still not showing up in your reservation".

 

That last call was last night. I then went on to the Royal Caribbean Facebook page to look at their visitor posts and see if I'm crazy or if their customer service is known for being this terrible. And guess what, 3 other people posted about the exact same problem. Redeemed their gift cards and the money vanished into cyber space never to be seen again. Nobody knows how to help them.

 

I am sure that this cruise is going to be beautiful, and an amazing experience either way, but I've got to be honest, this customer service team has me VERY uneasy. Every time I call I get someone who seems like they have no idea what they are talking about, so I tried their email and got no response.

 

So, the moral of the story is: If you were thinking about giving someone a royal caribbean gift card, just give them some cash and a beautiful card. It's honestly not worth the frustration!

Question for you, did you book direct with RCCL and if so call 800-526-9723 which is Crown and Anchor they will be able to help you find out about the gift certl.

[brookebm]

Question for you, did you book direct with RCCL and if so call 800-526-9723 which is Crown and Anchor they will be able to help you find out about the gift certl.

 

Yes I did book directly with them. Thanks for that contact number. I will try them next!

[cincicruisers]

I called RC because my credit card offered a 250 gift card as a option for reward points. I called RC to make sure I could use the gift card for payment of my cruise or as an onboard credit. I called 3 times and each time I got a different answer. I ended up not getting the gift card because I didn't want to go thru something you have experienced. I hope you get a resolution to your issues.

[retiredgram]

Just received the gift certificate in the mail today. Will contact out TA first to see if she can help us with it.

 

Our TA is checking on ours. I redeemed it myself by calling number on certificate. That was on 12/29 and OBC is not showing yet according to our TA.. She was told it would appear 10 days before our sailing. She is going to contact them again next week.

 

I have had this problem before, but wanted it dealt with before we got on cruise. One cruise, I spent several days at guest services trying to find out what happened to OBC. This time I will let our TA deal with them.

[brookebm]

Just as an update for anyone who is interested or may be having this same problem:

 

Today I got a response from the email I sent to customer service last week. They assured me that the $250 onboard credit is now showing, but is showing up under my husbands name, and sent me a copy of the invoice. He also said that they have ordered a $500 refund but it usually takes several days to process.

 

It seems that the best way to handle this is to just keep on them, through whatever means you can reach them, and eventually you will encounter someone helpful.

 

I'll just keep waiting for the refund...

Edited January 9, 2016 by brookebm

[seannyice81]

The department that handles their gift cards has created a bit of a mess.

 

Here is the case I have:

 

For Christmas, I purchase my mom an e-gift card so she has some on board credit for her retirement cruise. The cruise (a gift as it is) was paid off already months ago.

 

She receives the email with the e-card Xmas eve and submits it online to be put on her account.

 

Several days go by... No indication that it has been applied. She calls customer service and the rep has no idea why it hasn't shown up. The rep supposedly puts an "expedite order" on the card.

 

Mom sees that the card has been redeemed.

 

A couple days ago, our travel agent contacts us. Apparently Royal applied the card to the actual cruise itself which has been paid off since November. Our TA was alerted to an over-payment. I'm now going through the process with Crown and Anchor to get this settled. Whether she gets it as OBC or I get it refunded, she will have something placed on her account due sailing. What a mess. :rolleyes:

 

Thats the gist of it.

 

I wish that RCI could use the gift card system Carnival has, as that has worked flawlessly for me every single time. Plus it would be cool to actually give somebody a card.

Edited January 9, 2016 by seannyice81

[retiredgram]

The department that handles their gift cards has created a bit of a mess.

.........

 

I wish that RCI could use the gift card system Carnival has, as that has worked flawlessly for me every single time. Plus it would be cool to actually give somebody a card.

 

I prefer the cards also. Much easier. Are you listening RC.

[brookebm]

I agree that they really need to come up with a better system. I just have a hard time understanding why it is so difficult for them to come up with a working gift card system when it doesn't seem to be an issue for nearly any other business, big or small. And even if they make it right in the end (I'm sure they will eventually), you really can never fully make up for this type of experience. It shouldn't take 2 weeks for anyone to fight for money that is already theirs. Very surprising!

[RIP27]

I hope every thing works out and you and your husband have a wonderful delayed honeymoon!

[TravelinGert]

We have used 3 different types of RC gift cards on our cruises. We've never had any trouble getting them applied. They didn't even make us mail them in the first time. Just took the numbers over the phone. From what I understand that was because those were directly from RC, so all the numbers and the names matched what was in their system.

 

This last time we used gift certificates received from points we accumulated on a bill. I think the branding of the certificates was "Maritz" but I may mis-remember the exact name. They had an address to mail them to at Royal printed on the back. We mailed them regular mail but plus a tracking number and signature required. I think maybe it cost an extra dollar or some small amount like that? We were able to track when it arrived. It was the day before a holiday, so I waited a couple of weeks and called. They sent me a statement via email showing the credit.

 

It actually sounds to me like maybe they went astray in the mail or something like that. Since you have the numbers and proof of purchase, I would just politely ask whether they want fax or email of the proof in order to credit your account.

 

Good luck and congrats on your wedding and honeymoon!

Edited January 10, 2016 by TravelinGert

[cruisecraze96]

After reading this I am glad I did not purchase any. I usually purchase e gift cards each month prior to a cruise when I go on carnival and then go to guest service once onboard and apply them to my account. I have never had a problem and it helps cover most charges occurred during the cruise. I didn't do it this time just because I have not been on Royal and never researched them so didn't do it. Glad now that I did not, would hate to have issues like this.

[brookebm]

 

It actually sounds to me like maybe they went astray in the mail or something like that. Since you have the numbers and proof of purchase, I would just politely ask whether they want fax or email of the proof in order to credit your account.

 

Good luck and congrats on your wedding and honeymoon!

 

I actually just redeemed them online and was not asked to mail them. They were directly through RC. When I log into my reservation they are finally showing up 2 weeks later...but I still haven't gotten the refund they assured me was on its way.

 

And thank you, I am still very excited!

[molly361]

I have not had a problem redeeming them online. I hope I did not jinx myself now as I got a couple of them for Christmas:D:D

[brookebm]

OK, so I have finally received my refund (to the wrong card, but seriously at this point I don't even care). But maybe you guys can help me out with this...

 

I received an email from customer service stating that I do have an onboard credit but that their system "lists this credit on a confirmation different from your invoice which I have emailed to you". They sent me a copy of an "amenity confirmation" which shows a $250 onboard credit under only my husband's name, but with the correct reservation ID. This morning I called the automated number to request an updated confirmation and the invoice emailed to me shows no onboard credit.

 

Is this normal? I'd like to sort it out now if it seems like something that is going to land me at customer service during my trip.