RCCL increased the amount payable by me for my existing bookings!

[tingyyy]

Hello all,

 

So on my last cruise with RCCL in Oct '15 i made an onboard booking for a 10-day South Pacific cruise coming up in Feb '17. The confirmation invoice issued to me on board showed the cost per person (after the application of various discounts which i won't detail here) as SGD$ 1730.32, which adds up to SGD$3460.64 for two people. After deducting the deposit of SGD$204.00 paid on board, this left a balance of SGD $3256.64 outstanding.

 

I was also told by the future cruise staff who processed my booking that the above fare includes gratuities. True enough, my confirmation invoice shows an 'on board service charge' as one of the components of the above fare. This, along with the usual taxes, fees and port expenses

 

On more than one occasion after the previous cruise, i have logged onto my cruise planner account to confirm the balance due and this had always been shown as S$3,256.04.

 

Fast forward to today. I log in again and find out that my 'package total' has now mysteriously risen to S$4,646.64, with an outstanding balance of S$4,442.64. The breakdown shows an increased cruise fare per person, with gratuities and port expenses being added on top of the fare. I also notice that there was a payment reminder dated 21 Sep' 16 stating that payment of S$1,400 was due, and another payment reminder dated 21 Nov' 16 (??) stating that another payment of S$1,400 is due. Then, i see at the bottom of the page that full payment is due on 26 Nov '16.

 

Now i am unbelievably angry at the increase in cost and will be calling RCCL for an explanation. This will only be my 3rd cruise with RCCL so there may be something(s?) i am not aware of so before i come across to RCCL as an idiot, i would like to check with you good people here :

 

1. Does RCCL have any payment rule that requires 'staggered' payment of outstanding balances? My understanding has always been that once my deposit has been paid, i can make payment of the outstanding balance any time i want to as long as it is before the full payment due date.

 

2. Can someone explain the amounts of 2 x S$1400 due on seemingly random dates prior to full payment date? Are they merely suggestions or does RCCL get to raise my cruise fare if payment is not made by these dates? This is the only explanation i can think of for the inexplicable increase in fare. I have looked through the terms & conditions given to me and can find nothing addressing this.

 

Sorry for the long story and thanks very much in advance!

[SpainAlien]

On my Baltic cruise about 4 months before sailing the online screens suddenly showed an increase like yours does. I assumed it was a computer glitch, called RCCI and sure enough it was a mistake which they quickly rectified. I'm sure it will be fine and with a quick phone call you will get it sorted out. Good luck

 

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[Norwich Cruiser]

Will give them a call and report back it's the pre paid gratuities they have charged the extra to allow for the new charge.

[swoopy2110]

It's a glitch that happens far too often for comfort

 

Give them a ring and they'll sort it

[tingyyy]

thanks all for the replies. it's somewhat comforting to know others have experienced it too but, really, this shouldn't be happening at all to anyone!

 

it's after office hours here now, will ring RCCL Singapore tomorrow.

[Superspeechie]

Ah yes the old rci computer glitches! Same thing happened to me last year but the increase was $10000! One phone call and it was all sorted with a very big apology from them. Was a bit stressful though.

 

 

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[deliver42]

It seems like a lot of cruise lines have IT problems of one kind or another. That's not an excuse for misinformation they constantly give.I don't know of any of the major lines going bankrupt, so why don't they get it fixed? Because they don't care. It's your inconvenience, not theirs.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Rang crown and anchor yesterday and was told a computer glitche but as suspected they had increased my gratuities that I had pre paid it would be sorted in a few hours and I would get a confirmation email.

Still waiting.

I will let you know when it is sorted.

[Biker19]

Rang crown and anchor yesterday and was told a computer glitche but as suspected they had increased my gratuities that I had pre paid it would be sorted in a few hours and I would get a confirmation email.

Still waiting.

I will let you know when it is sorted.

 

While the gratuities did go up from 12.95 to 13.50 per day in March this year, with you booking in Oct 2015, you should have the previous rate locked in (since it was part of the booking).

[kelzow]

Their website doesnt even post correct sale amounts when you click on them.. Had a 25% off and a KSF plus another $50 off, and all would not calculate when i went to book. even when i called, they had a hard time finding the sales. They dont always show up.

 

Im sure they loose a lot of people shopping with their glitches. :eek:

[FLACRUISER99]

Has anyone ever reported a computer glitch that lowered their fare?:rolleyes:

[Biker19]

Has anyone ever reported a computer glitch that lowered their fare?:rolleyes:

 

No, but there have been really low fares listed that were an "error" which sometimes were honored.

[Big_G]

If you call RCI first regarding these glitches, usually it saves you the time it takes to write out a rant on Cruise Critic. Just my honest opinion. ;)

[Biker19]

If you call RCI first regarding these glitches, usually it saves you the time it takes to write out a rant on Cruise Critic.

 

Except, one might not know it's a glitch without coming here first.

[Big_G]

Except, one might not know it's a glitch without coming here first.

 

Absolutely but one would think that would be a question instead of a rant. :D

[luvscruising2007]

Except, one might not know it's a glitch without coming here first.

 

Whether it is a glitch or not, you would still have to call RC to get it straightened out. They do not legitimately raise prices once you have booked.

No one on CC can fix this. After you call RC and there is no correction is when you can rant on CC and knowledgable posters can give advice.

[ewenix]

It seems like a lot of cruise lines have IT problems of one kind or another. That's not an excuse for misinformation they constantly give.I don't know of any of the major lines going bankrupt, so why don't they get it fixed? Because they don't care. It's your inconvenience, not theirs.

 

It's not because they don't care. It costs them money to have people answering the phones and fixing these things all the time. I don't have any personal insight into the RCL IT department, but my experience is that any large company is dealing with multiple interconnected systems. Problems like this come up daily caused by everything from typos to poorly mapped data transfers.

 

Understand that I'm not apologizing for them and I truly believe they could do a much better job. Why the aren't doing that is likely a combination of leadership quality, technological hurdles, and project cost.

[CVU]

Print out your paid final payment document to take with you on the ship. We Always do in case there are any IT error mix ups when we get to Check In for our cruise.

We have the paper proof in our hands then for OBC and anything booked and for Final Payment made.

 

Trying to do these things from the front desk can take time.

[TigerLady]

Hello all,

 

So on my last cruise with RCCL in Oct '15 i made an onboard booking for a 10-day South Pacific cruise coming up in Feb '17. The confirmation invoice issued to me on board showed the cost per person (after the application of various discounts which i won't detail here) as SGD$ 1730.32, which adds up to SGD$3460.64 for two people. After deducting the deposit of SGD$204.00 paid on board, this left a balance of SGD $3256.64 outstanding.

 

I was also told by the future cruise staff who processed my booking that the above fare includes gratuities. True enough, my confirmation invoice shows an 'on board service charge' as one of the components of the above fare. This, along with the usual taxes, fees and port expenses

 

On more than one occasion after the previous cruise, i have logged onto my cruise planner account to confirm the balance due and this had always been shown as S$3,256.04.

 

Fast forward to today. I log in again and find out that my 'package total' has now mysteriously risen to S$4,646.64, with an outstanding balance of S$4,442.64. The breakdown shows an increased cruise fare per person, with gratuities and port expenses being added on top of the fare. I also notice that there was a payment reminder dated 21 Sep' 16 stating that payment of S$1,400 was due, and another payment reminder dated 21 Nov' 16 (??) stating that another payment of S$1,400 is due. Then, i see at the bottom of the page that full payment is due on 26 Nov '16.

 

Now i am unbelievably angry at the increase in cost and will be calling RCCL for an explanation. This will only be my 3rd cruise with RCCL so there may be something(s?) i am not aware of so before i come across to RCCL as an idiot, i would like to check with you good people here :

 

1. Does RCCL have any payment rule that requires 'staggered' payment of outstanding balances? My understanding has always been that once my deposit has been paid, i can make payment of the outstanding balance any time i want to as long as it is before the full payment due date.

 

2. Can someone explain the amounts of 2 x S$1400 due on seemingly random dates prior to full payment date? Are they merely suggestions or does RCCL get to raise my cruise fare if payment is not made by these dates? This is the only explanation i can think of for the inexplicable increase in fare. I have looked through the terms & conditions given to me and can find nothing addressing this.

 

Sorry for the long story and thanks very much in advance!

 

There is an error on their part somewhere.. Call them immediately and get them to fix it.. I would be livid myself....

[Desert Cruizers]

I read this all the time when booking directly with the cruise line then accessing your booking. I hope for everyone they figure out what is causing this and fix it. I book through our local TA so don't encounter this, however should I book directly with the cruise line, I will be watching closely for this happening. Question for those who have gone through this, does it make any difference if you go to your booking without logging in vs logging into your acct.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Desert Cruizers

[Biker19]

Question for those who have gone through this, does it make any difference if you go to your booking without logging in vs logging into your acct.

 

I don't think so. When it happened to me it was simply going into the account that trigger the reprice.

[Desert Cruizers]

Amazing, I receive a current printout of our invoice each time I call our TA to call in a payment, and would be upset if I saw these increases each time I go into our booking. Our TA actually calls the cruise line to authorize them to charge a payment so should I book directly with the cruise lines, I would call in a payment vs doing it online. One should not have to worry about charges going on their acct each time they access their booking.

[Big_G]

I read this all the time when booking directly with the cruise line then accessing your booking. I hope for everyone they figure out what is causing this and fix it. I book through our local TA so don't encounter this, however should I book directly with the cruise line, I will be watching closely for this happening. Question for those who have gone through this, does it make any difference if you go to your booking without logging in vs logging into your acct.

 

I don't think you can look at your booking without logging in can you? When it happened to us, they took care of it right away and said that it some times happens when you access your booking through the 'My Cruise' option. That said, it was a long time ago, they've since redesigned their site, and I have used the 'My Cruises' option as of late without any issues.

[TC1957]

Whether it is a glitch or not, you would still have to call RC to get it straightened out. They do not legitimately raise prices once you have booked.

No one on CC can fix this. After you call RC and there is no correction is when you can rant on CC and knowledgable posters can give advice.

 

Are you sure?

 

Besides...there is a chance that something like what happened to the OP has happened to someone on CC. If nobody is available to address the problem with RCI, posting here until someone IS available might lead to a "short cut" and save frustration.

[Desert Cruizers]

When you go to RCCL click on the Heading, Already Booked, Select Online check In, then put in your last Name, Booking # Date of sail and Ship and it should take you to your Online check in Page. This saves you logging in.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Desert Cruizers