Help! 2nd leg of B to B cancelled by RCCL

[M&M cruiseaholics]

Just received a letter from RCCL that the second leg of my Back to Back cruise has been chartered and, as a result, I will need to be 'reaccommodated". They have offered 4 choices of other 5 night cruises that may work for many cruisers that only have the cancelled sailing booked but will not work for me due to the B to B bookings.

 

Normally, I would not have my air tickets this far in advance (8 months) but I do. They have offered up to $200 per person for any airfare changes ONLY if I book one of their 4 choices. I am unable to book any of the 4 choices. If I do not select another cruise, RCCL will NOT reimburse any airfare changes. I checked with the airline to determine what the change fees would be. $200 each ticket plus $50 agency fee per ticket plus the difference in airline fare. In my case, I paid $402 for 2 round trip tickets and it will cost me $898 to make the change. RCCL will only reimburse $400 if I chose another sailing and $0 if I cancel the cruise they cancelled on me.

 

What a rip. I am appalled that RCCL is offering so little and in my case $0 for their cancellation. Oh, and by the way, I get only 8 days to make my decision or I get nothing!!!

 

Does anyone have a suggestions for how I can approach RCCL and ask for additional compensation? Why would they not pay airfare fees if I am unable to book another sailing? If I keep the airfare dates, does anyone have suggestions on what my wife and I can do in Florida for 5 nights that I should be on the ship?

 

My wife and I just turned Diamond. This is not exactly the best way to be treated by RCCL for a loyal customer.

 

My travel agent is going to bat for me, but they said to not get my hopes up.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[micmacmissy]

Wow- that is awful. So sorry that happened to you.

 

They can't move you to the cruise right before the one that isn't cancelled so you can still do a B2b? That doesn't solve your airline issues, but at least you could still do a B2B.

 

I would tally up what the airfare changes are and submit those to RCCL. Do you have travel insurance that might cover it?

[M&M cruiseaholics]

I normally do not purchase insurance this far in advance. It may have helped me in this case - then again it may not have been covered.

 

We may be able to book the earlier cruise but you are right - I still have the air issue of additional $498 out of my pocket (for RCCL's doing).

[BettyCruiser]

Have you considered other cruiselines? It looks like you could disembark Navigator spend one night in Miami and do a 4 night cruise on a Carnival ship and still use the same air.

[Bruin Steve]

In some states, you might want to check if there is a state consumer affairs agency that might assist with these sorts of things as well.

 

Assuming you are on your own, call RCCL and keep asking to get moved up the totem pole to the next level of supervisor.

 

What you want to be armed with is your actual expenses caused by the cancellation. The argument is that you have a valid contract with RCCL and that you relied on it to your detriment--incurring other expenses. They, then, breached the contract and you are entitled to actual damages.

 

I would check to see if Royal has another ship in the area sailing on those same dates...or if there is a Celebrity ship sailing on your dates. See if they will switch you to one of those cruises...and, if it is a different embarkation port, to transport you to the new port. If there is a ship sailing the following day, ask if they will provide you with a hotel for the night and transportation from ship to hotel and back. Those are all reasonable requests--things they should be able to...and should be willing to do.

 

It is all negotiable. They start out with a modest proposal...because they may have 3,000 ticked off passengers to appease. And most will just take the proposal. But, explain how your situation is different. You have back-to-back cruises booked--with THEM. I don't know your situation, but, if they did that to us, we have the added issue of having limited windows in which to cruise due to my wife's school district calendar and cannot just change to a different date (this is what they usually expect--that people have open calendars--one week is as good as another--and that the airlines allow changes in the tickets for a small per person fee)...So, people just say okay--my date is off, we'll just postpone it a month and change the air tickets...and we're back on track.

 

But...be persistent. Tell them exactly what you want...and, if the person you are speaking to says no, move on to someone higher on the food chain. Ask for something reasonable. They are not going to cancel the charter to get you back to your original plan. They are not going to pay you $100,000. But, they will find you other cruises that work (Don't worry if it's on Celebrity--they own that line as well...also Azamara...and your Diamond status on RCCL gets you Elite status on Celebrity--which comes with free internet, free pre-dinner drinks, free laundry and more).

 

Good luck...

[VegasMark]

Have you considered other cruiselines? It looks like you could disembark Navigator spend one night in Miami and do a 4 night cruise on a Carnival ship and still use the same air.

I agree. It might not be your first choice, but it probably costs the same or less than your second cruise, and it would be a different but still great experience.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[39august]

The cruise "contract" pretty much allows the cruise line to do anything they want! This is an awful situation. I hope you get some sort of relief. A similar thread is currently on Celebrity board concerning another back to back when one of the two cruises was cancelled.

[molly361]

What ship and date was cancelled?

[moopetguy]

What ship and date was cancelled?

 

Navigator, Dec 3rd, 2017 out of Miami. I'm also affected by this cancellation as I also had this booked as the second leg of a B2B. But at least I have no airfare booked and paid for. I don't have time to call RCI right now, I will see if they are willing to put my family on the Nov 19th 5-night to preserve the B2B. But this is not one of the 4 offered by RCI as OP indicated.

[Clarea]

What ship and date was cancelled?

Cancellation OBC coming for you?

[molly361]

Cancellation OBC coming for you?

 

Not yet. Still no word on our MJ Feb cruise that I believe is going to be cancelled.

[M&M cruiseaholics]

Thanks all for the great replies.

 

Bruin Steve, you do not have to answer this, but are you a lawyer? Your response is well worded and sounds like one. (In this case, I like it).

 

Sailing Carnival scares me and my wife states absolutely not. And remember, Royal will give me nothing if I do that. They really do not want me to cancel a cruise they cancelled on me. Strange.

 

If the request to Royal for additional compensation does not work, does anyone have any other suggestions of what to do in South Florida for 5 nights?

[newxmascruiser]

does anyone have any other suggestions of what to do in South Florida for 5 nights?

 

 

Head to the Keys - We did 5 nights last year, not enough and am desperate to go back!!

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks all for the great replies.

 

Bruin Steve, you do not have to answer this, but are you a lawyer? Your response is well worded and sounds like one. (In this case, I like it).

 

Sailing Carnival scares me and my wife states absolutely not. And remember, Royal will give me nothing if I do that. They really do not want me to cancel a cruise they cancelled on me. Strange.

 

If the request to Royal for additional compensation does not work, does anyone have any other suggestions of what to do in South Florida for 5 nights?

 

Well...a recently retired lawyer. I retired early (in my 50s) after over three decades as a transactional real estate lawyer--mostly for very large corporations. Now I seem to just relax and plan vacations!

 

As to the wording of the cruise contract allowing them to "do whatever they want": It does...but, it is also possible to challenge it (several legal theories I won't get into here). Reality is, though, in this case, few customers want to spend the money needed for legal representation to challenge it in court...and the cruise lines know this...But, OTOH, the cruise lines really don't want it challenged either...So, they are willing to reasonable negotiate...If you do it professionally and reasonably--why it helps to have a good travel agent working on your behalf (some are better than others at this) or a state consumer agency.

 

Also, the representatives you reach by just calling the 800 number really have little power to negotiate. You need to reach someone who can.

 

Yeah, I come from a part of the legal world where one learns that everything is negotiable...

 

As to switching to a Carnival cruise, we've done four of them...but my wife refuses to go if I ever even dare book one again. The real test was several years ago when we did exactly what some people are recommending here: We went on the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas on a 7-night Caribbean cruise followed by an 8-night Carnival cruise on Carnival Liberty. Both ships were fairly new at the time. We had fairly comparable balcony cabins on each. Taking those two back-to-back, it was hard not to compare the two...and the Carnival cruise fell woefully short virtually across the board--food, service, entertainment, etc. Compared to RCCL, dining room service on Carnival was horrendous...We did things like count the number of passengers our RCCL wait staff had to serve during the meal and how many the Carnival waiters had to serve...about 2 to 1--no wonder the Carnival service was so lacking! We counted the number of actual miked singers in production shows and number of costume changes...We compared all sorts of things--especially those we could place an objective value on. Made the comparison easy.

 

Again, I would look at other cruise lines...First to Celebrity--because it is RCCL-owned and they can arrange that easily. And, to me, Celebrity is actually my preferred line...The space-per passenger ratios are outstanding (better than RCCL...and almost twice Carnival). If outside the RCCL family, I'd look at Princess or HAL before considering Carnival...JMHO...

[Clarea]

... If the request to Royal for additional compensation does not work, does anyone have any other suggestions of what to do in South Florida for 5 nights?

Rent a car and go visit Disney, Universal, etc.

[Hoopster95]

Hmmm.... can you extend your vacation by one day? Were either of these two offered to you?

 

• Empress for 5 nights out of Miami with an overnighter in Havana..
  
• Freedom for 6 nights departure on Dec 3 out of Port Everglades.
  

In my humble opinion both are better than the 5 night NOS itinerary and you'd be ahead.... as long as you can extend by one day. Best wishes to you :)

[AmyJA]

Loooove Key West!

[makiramarlena]

the big issue is the airfare, since the OP already procured airfare and apparently didn't buy it through RCL. It's going to take a bit of negotiation for them to agree to pay for your airfare or airline change fees. It's pretty normal when the buyer purchases the airfare separate from the cruise. The lawyer's right, best bet is to go higher than the person who answered the phones, have a specific accounting of how much you're out due to Royal's actions, and be reasonable.

[newxmascruiser]

Loooove Key West!

 

Yessssssss

[finz2u]

Definitely Key West. Rent a car and make your way down the keys. There's tons of little bars and restaurants and beaches. There is the dolphin research center in Marathon. It's between 4-5 hours to make the drive. Do some research and I'll bet you won't regret missing your second cruise.

[LisaAtlCruiser]

I am changing my original response as I realize you answered my questions in your first post! I too have booked air pretty far out on some trips - so I definitely feel your pain...

Edited March 24, 2017 by LisaAtlCruiser
changed what I wanted to say.

[molly361]

Another vote for a visit to the Keys then

[BettyCruiser]

The only cruise option I could find without changing air is the Carnival sailing.

 

Does Royal Caribbean realize you are on the previous cruise? I would think it would be reasonable for them to cover changing your flight home and just do the 9 day cruise.

 

If it were me and they refused that I would also cancel the 9 day and look for options on other cruise lines that fit within the airfare and fill in with hotel time to avoid the high change fees.

 

Sure would be nice if they wouldn't charter a cruise after air is available. Most of the cruises that have been canceled for me were long before airfare was available, so airfare compensation was a non-issue.

 

I hope your TA can negotiate a good resolution for you.

[M&M cruiseaholics]

Thanks for all of the replies. We went to Disney last year so that is out. The Keys sound very good. I will look into it.

 

To sum, I paid $402 for 2 RT tickets Baltimore to Miami. The price of 2 tickets is now $798. If I make any changes, I will pay $500 in fees and $396 for the difference in today's price.

 

Might I say that it should be illegal for airlines to gouge (sp?) the public this way. The airline stands to be paid $1,200 for two tickets that cost $402 to begin with!!!

 

However, if Royal did not cancel my cruise to begin with, we would not be having this conversation.

 

Very sad.

[ecormier]

Try contacting Elliot.org. They are advocates for travel and other issues. They have contact info for executives for many companies. They may be able to assist.