Anyone Ever Given "Inconvenience" Crown and Anchor Points?

[Garavar]

Noooooooooooooo. They will never call back. CALL THEM. Put the phone down on hold, on speaker, and go about your business.

 

Really? Wow they were so convincing about giving me a call back.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Let me just insert a possible argument that you could use.

 

I was recently on B2B cruises of the Anthem of the Seas.

 

January 15 & January 25. 10 nights and 12 nights.

 

I don't know if you read about this.

 

Winter Storm Jonas kept us out to sea, "hiding" between Florida and the Bahamas for an extra night.

 

January 15 cruisers got an extra day of cruise.

 

January 25 cruisers lost a day of cruise.

 

The question was asked many times, "How many points will I get?"

 

The very firm answer was: "You always get the cruise points that you paid for."

 

I.E., January 15 cruises got 10 points. (doubled where appropriate) and January 25 cruiser got 12 points. (doubled where appropriate)

 

Call them and tell them that "Anthem passengers were told: You get the cruise points that you paid for. I am paying for 5 nights. I want 5 nights of points."

 

Can't hurt to try.

 

:)

 

I think this is the most compelling argument.

 

I do not see any difference between the Anthem resolution of cruise points and your case.

[Retired LEO]

Noooooooooooooo. They will never call back. CALL THEM. Put the phone down on hold, on speaker, and go about your business.

 

Ahh yes "Don't call us, we'll call you".

[Paulette3028]

Just getting approved to Diamond so my subsequent cruises in JSs is enough for me to salvage this situation. But if they won't I have to cancel a lot of cruises between April and my next GS.

 

We shall see, RC sells out often so I doubt they will care if I cancel 4 cruises, they will find someone else to take my place.

 

You are missing the point though. They are offering OBC, future cruise credit, airfare reimbursement etc to guests. That's all things that comes out of their net profits.

 

Giving someone 1 extra night sailed to their crown and anchor account costs absolutely nothing. It will not effect them 1 bit. So what's the harm if it will make the customer happy? On the contrary doing so would keep them more loyal since it is a "loyalty credit"

 

Please pretend you were the Head of Customer Loyalty and give me a valid reason why giving a customer who booked 5 nights and was moved to 4 nights should not be credited 5 nights. A valid business reason, not a smug hide behind internet forum reason.

 

I have been away from this thread for a few hours and gee what I find upon my return.....and earlier today I gave you an example of how I handled a situation regarding C&A points and I won't repeat the story now.

 

But let me simply ask, who gets hurt if you cancel 4 cruises that you have already booked? Not Royal, because they will as you have already stated, they will find someone to take your place. The worst that could happen, is that you have to sail one more cruise before being given the access to the DL. In principle, I believe Royal should give the status to you because you intended on cruising on a 5 day (suite cabin) and due to them, could not and therefore would enjoy the DL on your next cruise, which is already booked and probably paid for (considering the date).

 

I am sure if you keep using the phrase "giving someone 1 extra night sailed" to their Crown and Anchor account is never going to work in your favor with even those in higher levels of authority. If I were the senior executive you might get if you kept using the phrase "giving someone 1 extra night sailed", I would be digging my heels in and keep saying "No way". The program won't change.

 

What you want is the outcome of your Empress cruise to be the same, reaching Diamond STATUS.

[Garavar]

I have been away from this thread for a few hours and gee what I find upon my return.....and earlier today I gave you an example of how I handled a situation regarding C&A points and I won't repeat the story now.

 

But let me simply ask, who gets hurt if you cancel 4 cruises that you have already booked? Not Royal, because they will as you have already stated, they will find someone to take your place. The worst that could happen, is that you have to sail one more cruise before being given the access to the DL. In principle, I believe Royal should give the status to you because you intended on cruising on a 5 day (suite cabin) and due to them, could not and therefore would enjoy the DL on your next cruise, which is already booked and probably paid for (considering the date).

 

I am sure if you keep using the phrase "giving someone 1 extra night sailed" to their Crown and Anchor account is never going to work in your favor with even those in higher levels of authority. If I were the senior executive you might get if you kept using the phrase "giving someone 1 extra night sailed", I would be digging my heels in and keep saying "No way". The program won't change.

 

What you want is the outcome of your Empress cruise to be the same, reaching Diamond STATUS.

 

I have made both arguments. The 2 points or just the Diamond status and keeping me at 78 points. I was suppose to get a call back but haven't. I am calling them now to try again.

 

Thanks

[cheezwiz]

Paulette3028,

You make an excellent point about the phrasing.

[Paulette3028]

Paulette3028,

You make an excellent point about the phrasing.

 

I have been in sales and marketing for almost 40 years....how you phrase something to someone and the tonality you use is much more powerful than most people think.

 

When anyone is speaking with a customer service department, and especially if that department is handling problems, those reps are overworked and feeling totally overwhelmed and almost incapable of satisfying the complaining customers. Then if callers start to take out there own frustration on the rep, the rep just uses the 'talking points' and doesn't really try to logically work through the problem.

 

Add to that the reps are not paid big bucks.

[mo&fran]

WE were on the noro cruise a couple of years ago on Explorer. The cruise was to be a 10 day cruise, but the ship returned t port early for a complete cleaning. WE were given 10 extra points for the cruise, and no, we were not in a suite.

[akcruz]

Please don't take this the wrong way as I do feel you are getting shorted in the deal, but just trying to answer one of your questions.

 

You keep asking what does it cost to give you Diamond status early, what about your free drinks in the lounge every night, increased Internet discount as well as other increased "coupon" values, much higher balcony discount on your next booked cruise (if booked before the cruise you would turn Diamond on) and I am sure a few more small thing like these. Yes it really doesn't add up to a lot but it does cost them. People are already complaining about crowding so I can see them holding their ground on this one. If it was a different level it may not have been such an issue, and I am pretty sure you would feel the same if it was a different level you were getting shorted on.

[Paulette3028]

Please don't take this the wrong way as I do feel you are getting shorted in the deal, but just trying to answer one of your questions.

 

You keep asking what does it cost to give you Diamond status early, what about your free drinks in the lounge every night, increased Internet discount as well as other increased "coupon" values, much higher balcony discount on your next booked cruise (if booked before the cruise you would turn Diamond on) and I am sure a few more small thing like these. Yes it really doesn't add up to a lot but it does cost them. People are already complaining about crowding so I can see them holding their ground on this one. If it was a different level it may not have been such an issue, and I am pretty sure you would feel the same if it was a different level you were getting shorted on.

 

The points you bring up are all valid in that there is an intrinsic financial amount allocated to achieving Diamond status. The cruise line has already calculated that when determining how many nights a cruiser needs to have to reach the Diamond level. The most specific item is the balcony discount -- which is $225. In the case of the OP, he has already paid for a future cruise that he is was hoping to achieve Diamond after completing the Empress sailing; therefore enabling him to enjoy the onboard perks -- but a specific amount of money ($225) Royal actually doesn't have to absorb. The drinks, finger food and even the internet discount are unpredictable costs -- some cruisers use very little of them overall.

 

I guess we will hear from the OP how this all worked out.

[rance]

I'm with OP on this one...good luck.

 

Retired Leo...u need to chill out a bit :)

[John&LaLa]

Thanks, I will try, don't have much hope though, will probably end up having to upgrade from JS to GS on next sailing if they say no. Or canceling all the JSs out of spite.

 

Had the sail dates all lined up perfectly to reach eat tier but oh well.

 

Prior to the recent Rhapsody cancellation, I had all my cruises lined up to earn different Crystal Blocks. Now I get something like 3 Oasis. It is what it is.

[curcurt]

Let me just insert a possible argument that you could use.

 

I was recently on B2B cruises of the Anthem of the Seas.

 

January 15 & January 25. 10 nights and 12 nights.

 

I don't know if you read about this.

 

Winter Storm Jonas kept us out to sea, "hiding" between Florida and the Bahamas for an extra night.

 

January 15 cruisers got an extra day of cruise.

 

January 25 cruisers lost a day of cruise.

 

The question was asked many times, "How many points will I get?"

 

The very firm answer was: "You always get the cruise points that you paid for."

 

I.E., January 15 cruises got 10 points. (doubled where appropriate) and January 25 cruiser got 12 points. (doubled where appropriate)

 

Call them and tell them that "Anthem passengers were told: You get the cruise points that you paid for. I am paying for 5 nights. I want 5 nights of points."

 

Can't hurt to try.

 

:)

 

I agree if OP paid for 5 nights with double points to be earned in a suite, than this is what they should get. RC had no problem taking OP's money.

[John&LaLa]

I hope they are able to help you out. The only time I got bonus points (which I believe applies to everyone who deals with this situation) is when my 10 night cruise was shortened to 9 nights due to a medical emergency delaying the start of my sailing. So, I guess I can't even call them bonus - we just earned our full points even though we sailed 1 night less.

 

I think the OP's situation is similar. He paid for 5 and his cruise is being shortened.

 

What happened with the three Anthem cruises that got altered?

[SparklyNails]

I was on the Anthem cruise cut short by the storm/noro at the end of February, cruise cut to 10 nights, still got 12 nights worth of points added. Just another recent example you can use!

[John&LaLa]

I was on the Anthem cruise cut short by the storm/noro at the end of February, cruise cut to 10 nights, still got 12 nights worth of points added. Just another recent example you can use!

 

Forgot about the Noro one, that makes 4 altered Anthems this past few months

[ecormier]

Our Anthem cruise Feb 6th was shortened and we were told by guest relations that no points would be given as our cruise fare was being refunded. However, we did receive the points! Royal went above and beyond expectations with the compensation they provided. Sometimes things work out to passengers' benefit.

 

Cheers, Betty

[TM38Rob]

Points are awarded AFTER you sail. People who have paid in full and had to cancel their cruise after final payment deadlines get no refunds and are awarded 0 cruise points since they did not sail.

 

Since this Royal's fault, at least you get your funds applied to another cruise.

 

Know it stinks you don't get to enjoy a JS, or the extra points that come with it. But when they changed from Cruise Credits (based on number of cruises) to Cruise Points (based on number of nights), it took me more than 10 cruises to get to Diamond as they made the change at the start of the cruise that made me Platinum, cruise number 5.

Edited March 20, 2016 by TM38Rob

[goodycruising]

As far as the points go, I feel personally that they should make some sort of deal. Swap out some OBC for the status or something, just for this situation only, and really how much of a precedent is it setting? If they just said due to all your bookings and your unique situation they would in this one case do a special offer for you.

 

The first consultant on the phone would not have the authority and I would be asking for resolutions or something that has some authority. The first contact seems to have a clear and defined sheet of instructions, and many questions seem to have a NO typed beside them which can't be deviated from.

 

We asked to speak to a supervisor on one situation, the person came back and said that the answer was no, and instead of pushing to actually be given the respect of speaking to a supervisor we gave up, and I went through and cancelled several cruises. Some of them we lost some money on, but did they give a damn? Nope. Did I feel happier. You can bet I did! I felt fantastic that I had not one cruise left in the "my cruises" reservations section.

 

For a couple of years we have always had at least one or two bookings to look forward to, but we did one more cruise recently, and once again we have none booked. It doesn't make me sad at all currently. We shall see how things go maybe next year.

 

We did a 5 night JS once to get to diamond, and we have to plan a long way out as well, so I am very on board with your excitement at planning to get your loyalty REWARD. It is not maybe that exciting to some people, but we can understand your planning and looking forward to getting what you paid for.

 

I have the feeling that cruising in suites and being loyal is worth less and less when you have a request these days. Just my experience and opinion. Maybe too many people have asked too much over the years and RCI are pushing back. A better push back to me would be to stop people that buy a GTY from being able to change their allocation, and certainly not 3 times. Little things like that would seem better than point blank "no consideration will be given" to loyal high spending guests.

 

Good luck with your phone calls, and I agree, don't wait for a call back. :(

[Paulxyz2004]

As far as the points go, I feel personally that they should make some sort of deal. Swap out some OBC for the status or something, just for this situation only, and really how much of a precedent is it setting? If they just said due to all your bookings and your unique situation they would in this one case do a special offer for you.

 

The first consultant on the phone would not have the authority and I would be asking for resolutions or something that has some authority. The first contact seems to have a clear and defined sheet of instructions, and many questions seem to have a NO typed beside them which can't be deviated from.

 

We asked to speak to a supervisor on one situation, the person came back and said that the answer was no, and instead of pushing to actually be given the respect of speaking to a supervisor we gave up, and I went through and cancelled several cruises. Some of them we lost some money on, but did they give a damn? Nope. Did I feel happier. You can bet I did! I felt fantastic that I had not one cruise left in the "my cruises" reservations section.

 

For a couple of years we have always had at least one or two bookings to look forward to, but we did one more cruise recently, and once again we have none booked. It doesn't make me sad at all currently. We shall see how things go maybe next year.

 

We did a 5 night JS once to get to diamond, and we have to plan a long way out as well, so I am very on board with your excitement at planning to get your loyalty REWARD. It is not maybe that exciting to some people, but we can understand your planning and looking forward to getting what you paid for.

 

I have the feeling that cruising in suites and being loyal is worth less and less when you have a request these days. Just my experience and opinion. Maybe too many people have asked too much over the years and RCI are pushing back. A better push back to me would be to stop people that buy a GTY from being able to change their allocation, and certainly not 3 times. Little things like that would seem better than point blank "no consideration will be given" to loyal high spending guests.

 

Good luck with your phone calls, and I agree, don't wait for a call back. :(

 

I am all for sticking to the rule book. If you don´t stick to it, then it´s time to throw it out the window.

 

I do think that People have asked for too much over the years and Keep asking for more and more and more.

 

Part of the Problem are the businesses themselves in having built some serious brand loyalty within their customer base. When People feel this strong about Building up Points it´s all good for the Business and they´ve done everything right. However they need to make it rather clear that loyalty perks do not mean a free for all.

 

I do understand how People feel and I appreciate every perk I receive, but perks and Points are not my reason to sail. I sail with RCI because of product not C&A.

 

Now apart from the sticking to the rulebook there certainly will always be situations where some discretion Needs to be taken to amend a decision in the sense of some Service recovery.

 

The Problem here is, there is literally no discretion anymore These days. Every decision, positive or negative will Show up online almost immediately. Now one could think especially the positives are good for the Business, but they are not. People will demand the same excemption for themselves and the one good decision turn into tens or hundreds bad examples from People not being granted the same.

 

You are aksing ho much of a precedent this is Setting. Well look at this thread. The OP is looking for this: "Anyone ever given "Inconvenience" Crown and Anchor Points?"

 

In other words the OP is looking if they have already set a precedent and he is looking for other peoples stories to strengthen his Point towards the cruiseline.

 

You can bet the OP will post his success or non-success here and more People in the future will find the Outcome in this By doing a search and Keep Holding it against the cruiseline.

 

So I disagree that they would not set a precedent.

 

They (RCI in this case, but I´m speaking here more generaly than RCI vs. the case of the OP here) can´t win this. They have to decide what hurts them the most in the Long run.

Losing some bookings from the OP might be less hurtful for them than Setting a precedent and having it all over the Internet.

If not for the Internet and People really keeping such Things confidential the Outcome could be different.

[Jeannie333333]

Would you go to an ATM machine, request $100, find that you can only take out $80 and then go to the bank and demand that they give you the $20 that the ATM didn't provide you for free?

 

Nice analogy .....

[LMaxwell]

Nice analogy .....

 

Not even close to an accurate analogy, but people seem to like it...

[Biker19]

So I disagree that they would not set a precedent.

 

They (RCI in this case, but I´m speaking here more generaly than RCI vs. the case of the OP here) can´t win this. They have to decide what hurts them the most in the Long run.

Losing some bookings from the OP might be less hurtful for them than Setting a precedent and having it all over the Internet.

If not for the Internet and People really keeping such Things confidential the Outcome could be different.

 

^ we finally have the winner for the thread. Think of all the sailings that get cancelled - all those people would ask for the same consideration - I would have made level x if RCI didn't cancel my cruise.:rolleyes:

[cheezwiz]

^ we finally have the winner for the thread. Think of all the sailings that get cancelled - all those people would ask for the same consideration - I would have made level x if RCI didn't cancel my cruise.:rolleyes:

 

Yes, I think this is pretty likely. Everything is public now. Even so, I find their paltry offer of consideration to the customers pretty irksome. I'm really sorry for those affected by this.

[goodycruising]

I am all for sticking to the rule book. If you don't stick to it, then it's time to throw it out the window.

 

I do think that People have asked for too much over the years and Keep asking for more and more and more.........

 

.......Losing some bookings from the OP might be less hurtful for them than Setting a precedent and having it all over the Internet.

If not for the Internet and People really keeping such Things confidential the Outcome could be different.

 

Yes, true. We have learnt a few things on here that you would not have even thought were worth asking. On the other hand we have learnt things that we were supposed to be part of what we paid for, and we haven't received them.

 

It would be good for them to have a world wide policy for everything, and once they have sold a product if there could be consistency in giving people what they have paid for.

 

And getting back to the OP, they paid for 5 nights, simple! If this is really a big annoyance, depending on the costs involved, I can guarantee that cancelling a bunch of cruises can be a really positive feeling. One that I have had no regrets over. I don't regret giving them one more try either, but I do regret that my experience was not up to the previous standards I had received, and hoped to get when paying for a suite.