Royal won't take my money for five staterooms on Spring Break!!!

[Big_G]

While taking time to escalate this issues upwards, your cabins may disappear. So I would suggest to book as Royal wants them make the switches onboard.

 

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Best advice so far.

[Mcdonaldbam]

Can you do the following?

 

6240 is a two person room

[lbjen]

It's really not the major inconvenience you think it is to switch once you are on board. I know that it must be frustrating when you have been able to book this way before, but I can't imagine they plan on bending the rules for you anytime soon. Book it as they're asking and then forget about it. Plus, the cabins that now have adults booked into them rather than only minors now have that 2 bottles of wine allowance ;)

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

It looks like the problem is that the children A are not in rooms adjacent to parents A. So, have parents B book themselves and and the 3 boys, parent C book themselves and 3 girls, and parent A reimburse B&C for the fares of their children. Once onboard go to GS to have the onboard charges switched to the appropriate credit cards.

 

Oddly enough that isn't the problem.... I know it makes no sense. The problem is that the first two kids in each triple both don't have parents adjacent. They actually don't care about the third.

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

Can you do the following?

 

 

Yes!!! unfortunately that config is not available on this sailing. Our specific staterooms obvious can't work because they are hard configured as doubles or triples. 6240 is a double.

In my opinion the fact that this config is ok shows how poor of an impact analysis they performed on implementing this policy. Clearly there is no substantial difference but one is allowed and the other isn't.

 

To be clear, in the past we have had both types of configurations. Last year we even had one kids triple on the end of the group.

Edited September 12, 2017 by TryingtogivemoneytoRCI

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

While taking time to escalate this issues upwards, your cabins may disappear. So I would suggest to book as Royal wants them make the switches onboard.

 

 

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I have them on hold until Friday. Usually the only give 24 hours I thought but maybe because of IRMA they are extending.

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

It's really not the major inconvenience you think it is to switch once you are on board. I know that it must be frustrating when you have been able to book this way before, but I can't imagine they plan on bending the rules for you anytime soon. Book it as they're asking and then forget about it. Plus, the cabins that now have adults booked into them rather than only minors now have that 2 bottles of wine allowance ;)

 

 

This is where I am confused. Somebody said you can switch once onboard officially, seapass and all, but the cruise line said they absolutely will not do that. I am not sure if they are saying they just don't do it, or in my case they won't because it's still against the policy that is preventing me from booking in this way in the first place.

Nice point about wine!! That is a silver lining.

[geomancer]

If Royal was ok with just making our own room assignments then why would they prohibit us from booking this way?

 

This is actually a very easy question to answer. It all comes down to liability. In case "something" happens during the cruise, they can stand back and shrug their shoulders and not be legally responsible because "officially" they didn't allow it to happen.

[mjkacmom]

I know NCL changed their policy, we are a family of 7, and they wouldn't allow us to book a connecting room without one of us in it (and the oldest children were 19 and 20). In the past, it was allowed, I just assumed it was because of the free beverage package.

[Cel_cruise]

This is where I am confused. Somebody said you can switch once onboard officially, seapass and all, but the cruise line said they absolutely will not do that. I am not sure if they are saying they just don't do it, or in my case they won't because it's still against the policy that is preventing me from booking in this way in the first place.

 

Nice point about wine!! That is a silver lining.

 

 

 

I think that if there is one thing we know, it's that shore-side and ship-side are not always aligned.

 

The ability to request extra keys is not going away. And every minor can still be attached to their parents credit card regardless.

 

If it wasn't the same week as one of the most disruptive events EVER in the tourism industry, I might tell you to try one more time - but given everything going on at Royal this week - it's hard to recommend to you anything other than to book the cruise as Royal allows (put parents in the room to get the drinks) and then switch later.

 

One other consideration - if you have to put adults and kids mixed together, this might also help with flexibility if only 1 adult wants the drink package. If by chance they opt to 'experiment' again and make all adults have the same package in the room, you would not have to get it for both if you didn't want too! Another potential silver lining!

 

 

 

 

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[GuavaTechAngels]

I don't see what the big deal is. On our last family reunion we booked:

 

Mom A + Daughter A

============||===

Dad A + Son A

================

Mom B + Son B

============||===

Dad B + Son B

 

After we got on the ship, we just told them we were going to move to:

 

Mom & Dad A

=============||==

Sons A & B

================

Daughters A & B

============||===

Mom & Dad B

 

Customer service even offered to open up all 3 balcony partitions between us. Just make sure you have a connecting room so you have access to the kids. You definitely can switch on board. Harmony of the Seas, Thanksgiving 2016 sailing.

 

This was just one set of movings, relevant to your situation. We had 32 total in our group. Another advantage to doing it this way, you get to bring on two bottles of wine for every cabin (the adult).

 

You're lucky to find 5 cabins in a row in a location on the ship that you want, hold onto it! Just book it the way they want, bring your wine, switch when you get onboard, open the balcony partitions, and enjoy your huge 5x balcony!

Edited September 12, 2017 by GuavaTechAngels

[jubjubjulie]

Was on Allure of the Seas Aug 20 sailing. My sister booked herself with her daughter and Husband with her son. They were not in connecting rooms but beside each other. Once on board, guest services switched their rooms - Kids in one and parents in other and gave them extra key cards so they can open each others cabin. Shouldn't be a problem

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

I don't see what the big deal is. On our last family reunion we booked:

 

Mom A + Daughter A

============||===

Dad A + Son A

================

Mom B + Son B

============||===

Dad B + Son B

 

After we got on the ship, we just told them we were going to move to:

 

Mom & Dad A

=============||==

Sons A & B

================

Daughters A & B

============||===

Mom & Dad B

 

Customer service even offered to open up all 3 balcony partitions between us. Just make sure you have a connecting room so you have access to the kids. You definitely can switch on board. Harmony of the Seas, Thanksgiving 2016 sailing.

 

This was just one set of movings, relevant to your situation. We had 32 total in our group. Another advantage to doing it this way, you get to bring on two bottles of wine for every cabin (the adult).

 

You're lucky to find 5 cabins in a row in a location on the ship that you want, hold onto it! Just book it the way they want, bring your wine, switch when you get onboard, open the balcony partitions, and enjoy your huge 5x balcony!

 

 

They would have let you book that way if you or your TA called also.... website / agent portal requires adult in room or connecting (not just adjacent) room but they allow this no problem when you call. but now they won't allow exactly like this. We sailed in April 2017 and they let us do it also. If you want to do this now you have to lie. You would have to put the siblings in the rooms next to the parents and then 'switch' on board. And their keys don't switch. This is exactly my issue. They told me I can't switch once on board because the config, similar to what you did, is no longer allowed.

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

If you call for exception they will do it as long as they are adjacent. For us they will also. But, now the new policy on the exception is they won't if the 1st and 2nd minor passengers parent aren't in an adjacent room and there is no adult in the minor room, this is the part that is new.

To be more clear, recently you could book adjacent rooms without adults if one of the minors parents were adjacent. Now, both 1st and 2nd minors parents must be adjacent (but not the third for some reason). They referred to it as 'the unrelated minor guest policy' and it's very new. Seems crazy especially if you had one child and they wanted to bring a friend. Maybe it's to prevent a pile of high school spring breakers coming with only one or two parents as chaperones?? Unfortunately the policy appears to be causing collateral damage.

[GuavaTechAngels]

If you want to do this now you have to lie. You would have to put the siblings in the rooms next to the parents and then 'switch' on board. And their keys don't switch. This is exactly my issue. They told me I can't switch once on board because the config, similar to what you did, is no longer allowed.

 

That's a bit overly dramatic.

 

Sorry, no disrespect to you but it seems almost like it's a matter of pride that you're trying to prove RCI is out to commit some heinous wrong upon your family.

 

Honestly, AFAIK, I've never heard of any policy on any RCI ship that doesn't allow you to switch cabins once you go onboard.

 

On our cruise, we switched people in 8 cabins total, no issues, super friendly staff, offered to open up the balcony partitions, extra Sea Pass card, the whole shebang.

 

And, remember...RCI employs thousands of people. ONE rep telling you that you can switch rooms doesn't mean that that's RCI's policy. Call back and ask a different rep. That's what I always do. Or, ask for a supervisor. Ask where you can read the policy online and make them provide that to you.

 

Instead of harping about this ONE rep trying to "wrong" you with her/his information, call back and see what another one says. If the next one still says, "no switching rooms onboard the ship" then ask to see the policy in writing.

 

Good luck!

Edited September 12, 2017 by GuavaTechAngels

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

That's a bit overly dramatic.

 

Sorry, no disrespect to you but it seems almost like it's a matter of pride that you're trying to prove RCI is out to commit some heinous wrong upon your family.

 

Honestly, AFAIK, I've never heard of any policy on any RCI ship that doesn't allow you to switch cabins once you go onboard.

 

On our cruise, we switched people in 8 cabins total, no issues, super friendly staff, offered to open up the balcony partitions, extra Sea Pass card, the whole shebang.

 

And, RCI employs thousands of people. ONE rep telling you that you can switch rooms doesn't mean that that's RCI's policy. Call back and ask a different rep. That's what I always do. Or, ask for a supervisor.

 

Instead of harping about this ONE rep trying to "wrong" you with her/his information, call back and see what another one says.

 

You are absolutely right that I am overly upset about this and obsessed, and yes it is a matter of pride. I know I could just secretly switch the kids around and probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. Maybe even on board they will not care about this policy and officially switch the kids. Everyone has their quirks and this one is mine. I get it. I'm overreacting. Honestly I am way better than most in letting things go and just going with the flow usually but this one admittedly is absolutely stuck in my crawl. I am going overboard on this but at least I have good self awareness to see it!

I don't think it's a heinous act on my family at all, I think it's a poorly thought out policy (likely with very good intentions) that will affect many unnecessarily and they will eventually realize and correct. They didn't say they wouldn't move people on board, they said they wouldn't move people in the way we wanted because of this new unrelated minor policy that was very recently put into place. I thought, like you, surely we can move them later, etc. but six different people with two escalations came to the same conclusion that we could not occupy the staterooms the way we planned.

 

Everyone says, oh we moved people and it was no big deal. Right! Exactly! My argument is for (not against) all of you who have done this in the past, just like us, with no problem!! Try it now! If the first two minors in a room aren't both adjacent to a parent, it's not allowed. This is new. It used to be just one minor had to have a parent adjacent. This is not a huge deal if there are only two families of four or if the boat has double triple double triple.... or something where this can work out.

So... yes I'm obsessed :D and anyone who had this situation easily resolved in the past..... know that it may not be allowed in the future and this is exactly my point.

[wolfcathorse]

could the real issue by that you're booking during Spring Break? Since many have complained about unruly kids during their Spring Break cruise, could RCI be more vigilant about where kids are in relation to their parents? This could be a new policy if Spring Break 2017 had a lot of incidences of wild kids and parents not parenting.

[Cel_cruise]

So - if Family A booked the first 2 staterooms and declared the other minors not in their family as their guests - are you saying that would not be allowed?

 

I think if you really can't get over it, that you should try booking as 3 individual families instead of a block, so that you agree to be responsible for the kids in the room adjacent to you (as if you were their guardian for the trip.)

 

 

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[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

So - if Family A booked the first 2 staterooms and declared the other minors not in their family as their guests - are you saying that would not be allowed?

 

I think if you really can't get over it, that you should try booking as 3 individual families instead of a block, so that you agree to be responsible for the kids in the room adjacent to you (as if you were their guardian for the trip.)

 

 

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After spending another 2 hours with Royal on the phone today I was again told no go. I did bring up this scenario you mentioned and they said that we could do 1 kid like this but not 2. They said the majority of the kids must be related to the adjoining room even with letters of guardianship or whatever. So, if anyone is planning on bringing 1 kid and 2 friends... you will have to lie to them if you want them all three in the same room.

 

Also, the person today at Royal said this wasn't a new policy. That is surprising because that is not what I was told yesterday (twice) and also evidenced by the fact we have done it in the past several times. Also, the person today said that all three kids must be related to the adjoining room - which has the mix really messed up, and was totally different from what I was told yesterday. But... in support of the fact that this is not a new policy, I found a few threads in the past that have my exact same issue. In one case, their was no possible solution, even telling lies, and the cruise vacation was cancelled by Royal somewhere close to the departure date. I guess it was a grandmother taking her granddaughter and friends on a trip. I didn't see any that shared the positive or negative outcome of telling lies about occupancy so I assume that those all went ok, but will look again, I really didn't dig in that deep.

[TryingtogivemoneytoRCI]

This is actually a very easy question to answer. It all comes down to liability. In case "something" happens during the cruise, they can stand back and shrug their shoulders and not be legally responsible because "officially" they didn't allow it to happen.

 

I think you are right. It's probably a condition of their insurance policy and/or risk management model. When I asked if we could just occupy the rooms any way we want, they said 'we can't advise you to do that'. They didn't say, 'we advise you to not do that'. Small difference, but it seemed to me that was their way of saying, 'I can't tell you to just switch rooms, but... just switch rooms!' Either way, still chaps my rear that we have to play these Mickey Mouse games when spending hard earned money on a vacation and probably legally open ourselves up to some sort of penalty or fine or something... who knows.

[GuavaTechAngels]

Either way, still chaps my rear that we have to play these Mickey Mouse games when spending hard earned money on a vacation and probably legally open ourselves up to some sort of penalty or fine or something... who knows.

 

Seriously, get over it. Just put everyone in their rooms the way you want when you board, tell them you want Sea Passes, open the balcony partitions, etc, they'll do it. But, officially, they're just covering their butts for liability like you said. You're stressing yourself out for nothing.

 

It's like you're picking fights over semantics with the phone reps at this point. GIve those poor reps a break, they could never afford to spend $20K on a cruise like you're bragging about.

 

Get off the phones and go pour yourself a glass of wine, or two. Sounds like you need a whole bottle! haha JK ;)

[Canadianmama3]

Seriously, get over it. Just put everyone in their rooms the way you want when you board, tell them you want Sea Passes, open the balcony partitions, etc, they'll do it. But, officially, they're just covering their butts for liability like you said. You're stressing yourself out for nothing.

 

It's like you're picking fights over semantics with the phone reps at this point. GIve those poor reps a break, they could never afford to spend $20K on a cruise like you're bragging about.

 

Get off the phones and go pour yourself a glass of wine, or two. Sounds like you need a whole bottle! haha JK ;)

 

 

 

Agreed!! OP you just need to get over it. You are being over dramatic. The more you go on the more you make yourself sound like a spoiled entitled brat.

 

 

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[rum & monkey]

If you insist and are using a travel agent put them to work and find a block available that will accommodate what you want. First cabin parents A. Next cabin 1st & 2nd child AB 3rd child C. Next cabin parents B. Next cabin 1st & 2nd child BC 3rd child A. Next cabin parents C. All 1st & 2nd children are next to their parents.

 

 

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[Ashland]

I'll just say this again...regardless of what you've been told over the phone...Guest services...once onboard... can easily make the cabin occupancy changes for you and "issue new SeaPass cards"...If they can do it on Harmony (for us) even with the new chip cards...they can certainly do this for you onboard.

 

Calm down and book your cabins before you loose the option of having them all side by side.

[jamesr3939]

BOTTOM LINE: Their ship, their rules. However, sometime it's easier to beg forgiveness than ask for permission.