Feeling a bit screwed over by RC, Irma safety/risk issue and no-refund, greed?

[perditax]

My cancellation policy is clearly stated in the trip description, the deposit info and the confirmation. If you were not Ok with the cancellation policy you should not have booked. The 5 % is $1.19 per person. This is not going into my pocket but are fees that are not refundable to my by my bank. It's funny how it's always the vendors fault when people do not READ their contract.

 

 

I'm sure you're under a lot of stress right now. Don't get baited into an argument about your business with people online, and remember that anything you post on CC is permanent--they remove the ability to edit your posts after a short time. Meaning, anything you post in the heat of the moment will be here for years and years.

 

I say this because I'm confident people are going to argue with your explanation.

[Soualiga SXM]

Yes, because it's his cancellation policy, LOL

See how long he thinks that will fly

I'm not keeping 5% for myself. its the bank that charges me 5% and it is not refundable.

[Soualiga SXM]

He's got his cancellation policy nicely wrapped up:

 

Cancellations:

FULL REFUND IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIP ARRIVING LATE OR NOT INTO PORT AT ALL.

FULL REFUND, IF I AS THE CAPTAIN DECIDE THAT WEATHER OR THE SEA CONDITIONS ARE NOT SAFE. RAIN IN THE AM IS COMMON AND NOT GROUNDS FOR CANCELLATION.

FULL REFUND IF YOU CANCEL MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE

NO REFUND IF YOU CANCEL LESS THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE.

ALL REFUNDS ARE LESS 5%.

 

 

 

That's dreadful! It's his decision to cancel, even though the ship cannot dock, and he isn't even anywhere near the island at present!

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

 

 

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

 

 

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

I suppose I should have stayed on the island with no food, no water, electricity, telephone or internet , no police or military protection with looters with guns taking anything they wanted with no regard for your life. at night there was nothing but gunfire and people screaming. What would you have done? I did not cancel, hurricane Irma cancelled for me.

 

 

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

[Soualiga SXM]

I'm sure you're under a lot of stress right now. Don't get baited into an argument about your business with people online, and remember that anything you post on CC is permanent--they remove the ability to edit your posts after a short time. Meaning, anything you post in the heat of the moment will be here for years and years.

 

I say this because I'm confident people are going to argue with your explanation.

Thanks, I only wish people could see what we have gone through and have a heart. Again, The 5 % is not going into my pocket. The bank keeps it. Any one who wishes to dispute the 5% cancellation policy can let me know personally and I will give then the 5%. I'm just happy to be alive and not going to quibble over $1.19 per person even though the cancellation policy is clear.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

He's got his cancellation policy nicely wrapped up:

 

Cancellations:

FULL REFUND IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIP ARRIVING LATE OR NOT INTO PORT AT ALL.

FULL REFUND, IF I AS THE CAPTAIN DECIDE THAT WEATHER OR THE SEA CONDITIONS ARE NOT SAFE. RAIN IN THE AM IS COMMON AND NOT GROUNDS FOR CANCELLATION.

FULL REFUND IF YOU CANCEL MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE

NO REFUND IF YOU CANCEL LESS THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE.

ALL REFUNDS ARE LESS 5%.

 

 

 

That's dreadful! It's his decision to cancel, even though the ship cannot dock, and he isn't even anywhere near the island at present!

 

 

Wow. All nicely covered by his own policy though.

 

 

 

This is wholly absurd!

Wow.

Doesn't this fall under:

"Full refund if ship is late or not coming to port at all"?

 

 

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[Cuizer2]

This is wholly absurd!

Wow.

Doesn't this fall under:

"Full refund if ship is late or not coming to port at all"?

 

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All of this over $1.19. Now I don't have to feel so bad about arguing with my credit card company over $6.35.

[xpcdoojk]

Actually, I take that back. I think it could change, but only if enough people make a highly visible public outcry that affects Royal Caribbean's bottom line. Meaning, someone goes to the news, calls them out on this situation, and they suddenly see a whooooole bunch of cancellations and an extreme drop in bookings. But that's highly unlikely because most people will complain about RC's policies til they're blue the face and then turn around and talk about the 5 cruises they have booked. But, maybe you can be the one to try and get this story out, if you want to try and make the policy change.

 

 

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Yeah, lets get the pitchforks and the torches out and burn Miami to the ground....

 

Kind of like St Louis tonight....

 

JC

[John&LaLa]

Yeah, lets get the pitchforks and the torches out and burn Miami to the ground....

 

Kind of like St Louis tonight....

 

JC

Did the Cardinals lose?

 

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[richstowe]

I'm sure you're under a lot of stress right now. Don't get baited into an argument about your business with people online, and remember that anything you post on CC is permanent--they remove the ability to edit your posts after a short time. Meaning, anything you post in the heat of the moment will be here for years and years.

 

I say this because I'm confident people are going to argue with your explanation.

Excellent points . I toured with Diedericks SXM St Maarten Island Tours .

Excellent tour . Very reasonably priced and highly informative . I do agree he is doing himself no favors getting into a petty argument with petty people .

[ColoradoGurl]

Thanks, I only wish people could see what we have gone through and have a heart. Again, The 5 % is not going into my pocket. The bank keeps it. Any one who wishes to dispute the 5% cancellation policy can let me know personally and I will give then the 5%. I'm just happy to be alive and not going to quibble over $1.19 per person even though the cancellation policy is clear.

 

 

I think that explanation makes sense and once people realize that is the reason for the 5% charge, they will not be upset about it. Don't get worked up over people bashing you for it, I didn't see anything wrong with the charge even before you posted the explanation, but I can see why some had an issue with it. Perhaps consider changing the wording in your policy to include "...5% fee that is not refundable by my bank" or something like that. Perhaps even include a notation next to your pricing that says 5% will be non refundable due to bank rules (but rest assured this only amounts to $1.19 per person).

 

If people get angry about it and bash your business like they did here, simply reply that you're sorry for having to keep that portion of their deposit, but it is a fee charged to you by the bank. As a business owner, I wouldn't engage in personal arguments, as, like another poster pointed out, it can damage your reputation by Royal Caribbean cruisers for years.

 

Under the circumstances I'm sure people will be understanding, but going forward I'd try to keep your frustration out of your replies, for the sake of keeping your business in "good word of mouth" status.

 

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Edited September 16, 2017 by ColoradoGurl

[Ourusualbeach]

I think that explanation makes sense and once people realize that is the reason for the 5% charge, they will not be upset about it. Don't get worked up over people bashing you for it, I didn't see anything wrong with the charge even before you posted the explanation, but I can see why some had an issue with it. Perhaps consider changing the wording in your policy to include "...5% fee that is not refundable by my bank" or something like that. Perhaps even include a notation next to your pricing that says 5% will be non refundable due to bank rules (but rest assured this only amounts to $1.19 per person).

 

If people get angry about it and bash your business like they did here, simply reply that you're sorry for having to keep that portion of their deposit, but it is a fee charged to you by the bank. As a business owner, I wouldn't engage in personal arguments, as, like another poster pointed out, it can damage your reputation by Royal Caribbean cruisers for years.

 

Under the circumstances I'm sure people will be understanding, but going forward I'd try to keep your frustration out of your replies, for the sake of keeping your business in "good word of mouth" status.

 

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^^^Agreed. I'd go one step further and eliminate the reference to 5% and just state that it's a full refund less $1.19pp for non refundable bank fees.

[ColoradoGurl]

^^^Agreed. I'd go one step further and eliminate the reference to 5% and just state that it's a full refund less $1.19pp for non refundable bank fees.

 

 

Good idea. $1.19 sounds a lot less significant than mentioning 5%

 

 

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[caribill]

Here's a letter from Captain Bob, a private tour operator in St Maarten. To those that have been skewering Royal Caribbean, what are your thoughts on his refund policy?

 

We are hoping to be back in business by the middle of December 2017 as long as the cruise ships start coming back but that all depends on how quickly the island rebuilds infrastructure.

 

If you have a reservation booked, I will be making refunds less 5% as per our cancellation policy weekly as the weeks pass until ship start coming back again so look for your refund at the end of the week of your reservation.

 

As I understand his wording, he will not be able to provide his contracted service until the middle of December, so if you have a booking with him before then, you will get 95% of your money back.

 

It should be 100% back if he cannot honor your booking.

[Cuizer2]

Yeah, lets get the pitchforks and the torches out and burn Miami to the ground....

 

Kind of like St Louis tonight....

 

JC

 

With all the water that is there I don't think it will burn too well.

[Cuizer2]

Did the Cardinals lose?

 

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No, the Cardinals don't play until Sunday against the Colts.

[Cuizer2]

As I understand his wording, he will not be able to provide his contracted service until the middle of December, so if you have a booking with him before then, you will get 95% of your money back.

 

It should be 100% back if he cannot honor your booking.

 

It should be that the people get to enjoy the cruise they originally paid for and stop at St. Maarten and take the tour that they paid for, but that is not going to happen.

[John&LaLa]

No, the Cardinals don't play until Sunday against the Colts.

Great, two teams that packed up and ran from their fans.

 

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[John&LaLa]

It should be that the people get to enjoy the cruise they originally paid for and stop at St. Maarten and take the tour that they paid for, but that is not going to happen.

Do you think the ships should just go the promised island, anchor offshore but not get off. [emoji12]

 

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[jgallagh1944]

How pathetic and petty can people get over a couple of dollars on a service charge? We had our cruise shortened and returned home to Orlando to be greeted a few days later by hurricane Irma as well as a micro-burst tornado which took out several large oak trees on our property. We're blessed we had no injuries and no structural damage to the house. No power, cable, etc for several days, but we survived. If you itemize how much your loss for the service charges in question will be, I'll send you a check to cover your losses if that helps you sleep better at night.

 

 

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[MikeBTN]

The highlighted portion of the email that you quoted means that the tour operator will give refunds every week, to whoever is booked that week and won't be getting their tour.

 

The refunds will continue on a weekly basis because the tour operator doesn't know how long his tour will be out of service. So if your tour is this week, you are in the refund group this week. If your tour is next week, you get refunded next week and so on.

 

 

 

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You convienently left out the fact that he's keeping 5% of the fare "per the cancellation policy". Can you imagine if Royal Carribean did that? It might crash the Cruise Critic servers lol

[cruisinfanatic]

As I understand his wording, he will not be able to provide his contracted service until the middle of December, so if you have a booking with him before then, you will get 95% of your money back.

 

It should be 100% back if he cannot honor your booking.

He has already explained why he withholds 5%. I, as well as others have no problem with it. The bank gets the 5% for the transaction fee, not the vendor. And it's only 5% of the deposit, $1.19

[Merion_Mom]

You convienently left out the fact that he's keeping 5% of the fare "per the cancellation policy". Can you imagine if Royal Carribean did that? It might crash the Cruise Critic servers lol

And you conveniently left out the part that this is a small business owner, whose entire life has been upended, and who will be stuck paying that fee.

 

Who should pay that bank fee? The guy whose country has just been devastated by a category 5 hurricane, or the pampered cruiser who can afford to cruise?

[LMaxwell]

My cancellation policy is clearly stated in the trip description, the deposit info and the confirmation. If you were not Ok with the cancellation policy you should not have booked. The 5 % is $1.19 per person. This is not going into my pocket but are fees that are not refundable to my by my bank. It's funny how it's always the vendors fault when people do not READ their contract.

 

Get a new bank . When I have refunded customers no bank ever kept a fee and I've never had a transaction fee over 3 percent

[Big_G]

Couple of the many sand piles along A1A.

 

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[Merion_Mom]

Get a new bank . When I have refunded customers no bank ever kept a fee and I've never had a transaction fee over 3 percent

I had the same experience in New Zealand, and it was a lot more than $1.19. I did not question that he was charged the fee by his bank. Not everything operates like U.S. institutions.