Deceptive Advertising by Royal Carribean

[grapau27]

Don't know if it's the govt. or credit card company that you are referring to. If it's the CC, I've had investigated charges as low as $15 and they open up a case and follow up with me until resolution.

 

I' tell you a funny story. Lat August, we cruised on the Brilliance 12 nite Mediterranean. Saw a charge on my Visa a charge for Sept. 7, 2017 for $20+ incurred at "Nathan's 4NY05, NY. The charge seemed familiar but not at Nathan's nor the date. On the 7th we were in Montenegro and lunch was included.

 

Called Chase CS and asked them to identify the charge or better yet get a copy of the tab. I further explained to them that we did incur a charge for a pizza and sodas in Ravenna while taking a beach tour on Sept. 6th. No they

said, the specific charge is for Nathan's in NYC. Asked them further if the date was accurate. They replied Yes. Ok, I instructed them to investigate.

 

Bottom line, they came back 3 weeks later and told me that the charge was legit and they would pay the merchant. The funny thing was that they could not identify the proper merchant.

 

Since I was missing the charge from Ravenna, I knew that it was a right charge. Told them, that I could not be in 2 places at once and many miles in between, but got nowhere.;p:confused:

It is cc visa orMasterCard.

As long as you spend £1 on the card anything over £100 is covered for loss,misssold etc

[Mikew0805]

I think this is just an agree to disagree thing.

 

I agree with this completely. :D

[spookwife]

The non-refundable contract is a Royal construct to prevent folks from cancelling after receiving a special rate during the booking process. Customer good will is still a thing, even if many people do overrate it. Evidently Royal doesn't give it any weight. That's fine, it's their business to run as they see fit. But it remains my opinion that they should allow passengers to cancel without penalty due to itinerary changes, especially if those changes are being made because of something that is 100% within their control.

 

 

umm what exactly is 100% within their control in this particular instance?!

[Merion_Mom]

The contract is for changes necessitated by things outside of the cruise line's control such as weather. This change was 100% within Royal's control and they should allow people the opportunity to cancel without penalty. People are talking about the OP being mad and making decisions based on that (which I agree doesn't always have a good result), but Royal is losing a potential loyal cruiser for what, $200? While it can be pointed out that both the OP and Royal are being shortsighted in their approach, Royal stands to lose more because there are undoubtedly more like the OP out there.

Actually, it's not.

[sfaaa]

The OP hasn’t responded for a while.

 

Give him time. He's probably burning up the phone line talking to all the top law firms in the country to take his case.

[spookwife]

Having an itinerary change at the last minute is unavoidable, changing the itinerary months prior to the sailing is a different matter entirely. That no one makes anyone choose the option of non-refundable is also irrelevant- from the passenger's point of view what they reserved is no longer what they are getting. If they want to cancel they should be allowed to and get their full deposit back.

 

 

yeah well, my first Royal cruise I booked a suite because at the time, children were not allowed in concierge lounges at any time. it was a primary reason why I spent the money on a suite. a month before our cruise, they changed the policy and yep.. kids ran rampant in the lounge( made a large enough mess that Reyno had to call housekeeping to come in and vacuum up ground up cracker crumbs in the middle of cocktail hour and have 2 tables scrubbed clean.)

 

I didn't get what I I paid for either. are you suggesting that I should have demanded a full refund as soon as that new policy was announced?!

 

thats like saying that a customer can whine about one tiny little aspect that changes.. price on beverage packages. change in gratuities , etc, reversal of itinerary and they should be entitled to a full refund. which is ridiculous.

[nelblu]

Give him time. He's probably burning up the phone line talking to all the top law firms in the country to take his case.

 

Maybe Perry Mason or Matlock are available. Or Maybe that cruise lawyer in Miami.

[sparks1093]

umm what exactly is 100% within their control in this particular instance?!

 

Asked and answered, scroll up.:)

[sparks1093]

yeah well, my first Royal cruise I booked a suite because at the time, children were not allowed in concierge lounges at any time. it was a primary reason why I spent the money on a suite. a month before our cruise, they changed the policy and yep.. kids ran rampant in the lounge( made a large enough mess that Reyno had to call housekeeping to come in and vacuum up ground up cracker crumbs in the middle of cocktail hour and have 2 tables scrubbed clean.)

 

I didn't get what I I paid for either. are you suggesting that I should have demanded a full refund as soon as that new policy was announced?!

 

thats like saying that a customer can whine about one tiny little aspect that changes.. price on beverage packages. change in gratuities , etc, reversal of itinerary and they should be entitled to a full refund. which is ridiculous.

 

An itinerary change announced well in advance of a cruise is more than a little thing. And I'm not saying that anyone is "entitled" to anything, I'm saying it would be a good thing for Royal to offer.

 

I guess Carnival has to be better at Royal for something.:')

[wolfcathorse]

they knew enough in advance that my Nov sailing on Empress was never scheduled to go to CocoCay, but Bimini instead.

[nelblu]

An itinerary change announced well in advance of a cruise is more than a little thing. And I'm not saying that anyone is "entitled" to anything, I'm saying it would be a good thing for Royal to offer.

 

I guess Carnival has to be better at Royal for something.:')

 

Don't know Carnival's policy, but what would they do. For heaven's sake it's not the entire itinerary, but one lousy port. Maybe, instead of getting pissed, he should have asked for some OBCs, nicely.

[sparks1093]

Don't know Carnival's policy, but what would they do. For heaven's sake it's not the entire itinerary, but one lousy port. Maybe, instead of getting pissed, he should have asked for some OBCs, nicely.

 

It's one lousy port for you and I, but the OP isn't you or I and everyone looks at things differently. When Carnival made such a change they gave everyone on the affected sailing the opportunity to cancel with full refund, even for those who booked a non-refundable deposit. (And FWIW Carnival took away Port Canaveral and replaced it with Princess Cays on certain sailings.)

[nelblu]

It's one lousy port for you and I, but the OP isn't you or I and everyone looks at things differently. When Carnival made such a change they gave everyone on the affected sailing the opportunity to cancel with full refund, even for those who booked a non-refundable deposit. (And FWIW Carnival took away Port Canaveral and replaced it with Princess Cays on certain sailings.)

 

It's still one lousy port and good for Carnival.

[RocketMan275]

Isn't Non-Refundable an option at the time of booking, that someone chooses? Am I missing something? No one makes a person take that option.

 

 

Well, actually some are forced to take that option, those that book GS or above.

[Domino D]

Well, actually some are forced to take that option, those that book GS or above.

 

Interesting. Not sure I follow. I've booked suites that showed both refundable and non-refundable fares. I didn't know there were categories without an option.

[mk-ultra]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd consider having Miami substituted for Coco Cay an upgrade. Coco Cay, like Labadee or Costa Maya, is one of those crappy captive ports that has nothing going on other than being a money maker for the cruise line. I'd be very happy swapping a day in Miami for skipping Coco Cay. In any case, yes -- RCI can swap out ports. Read your contract.

[RCThanksgiving2018]

I’m a new cruiser and sympathetic to the OP. It does make me rethink cruising as a vacation option given how often I read about these type of issues, how RC handled last year’s hurricane season compared to other lines, their horrible IT and general disorganization when it comes to booking dining and entertainment.

 

Completely my personal opinion, but I think the younger and next generation of cruisers won’t be beholden to any one cruise line. We certainly aren’t beholden to any one corporation for the duration of our careers like my parent’s generation and that approach spreads to other aspects of our life. You require us to sign an unfair contract and we will move on. Customer service matters.

[Mikew0805]

Don't know Carnival's policy, but what would they do. For heaven's sake it's not the entire itinerary, but one lousy port. Maybe, instead of getting pissed, he should have asked for some OBCs, nicely.

 

What would they do? Well it is a policy, so they would allow the passenger, even with a non refundable deposit... cancel and get a refund. It's the right thing to do.

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/port-cancellation-policy.aspx

 

 

This is not the same cruise that the OP purchased. It is not like a weather event, or port safety issue arose at sailing time. This is well in advance, and due to planning caused by RCI. What any line should do is allow those that would have had no interest in going on this cruise as it is now... cancel. RCI will have the ability to re-sell the cabins.

[Mikew0805]

I’m a new cruiser and sympathetic to the OP. It does make me rethink cruising as a vacation option given how often I read about these type of issues, how RC handled last year’s hurricane season compared to other lines, their horrible IT and general disorganization when it comes to booking dining and entertainment.

 

Completely my personal opinion, but I think the younger and next generation of cruisers won’t be beholden to any one cruise line. We certainly aren’t beholden to any one corporation for the duration of our careers like my parent’s generation and that approach spreads to other aspects of our life. You require us to sign an unfair contract and we will move on. Customer service matters.

 

I think you are right about the next generation. It would be a good thing.

[Mikew0805]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd consider having Miami substituted for Coco Cay an upgrade. Coco Cay, like Labadee or Costa Maya, is one of those crappy captive ports that has nothing going on other than being a money maker for the cruise line. I'd be very happy swapping a day in Miami for skipping Coco Cay. In any case, yes -- RCI can swap out ports. Read your contract.

 

I have not spent $0.01 on Coco Cay. What are you talking about? If I went to Miami, I would have to spend much more money to get off the ship. :confused:

[mpdog42]

I’m a new cruiser and sympathetic to the OP. It does make me rethink cruising as a vacation option given how often I read about these type of issues, how RC handled last year’s hurricane season compared to other lines, their horrible IT and general disorganization when it comes to booking dining and entertainment.

 

Completely my personal opinion, but I think the younger and next generation of cruisers won’t be beholden to any one cruise line. We certainly aren’t beholden to any one corporation for the duration of our careers like my parent’s generation and that approach spreads to other aspects of our life. You require us to sign an unfair contract and we will move on. Customer service matters.

 

This is one of the best posts I have seen written about Cruising in my time on CC.I think the poster is 100% spot on regarding Cruise Contracts...although the poster left out ..Whole groups take cruises and Cruise lines say nothing to the other passengers who only find out when they get on!!!

 

Mike

[lbjen]

I’ll tell you why Royal doesn’t ‘do the right thing’ in these situations, this guy has walked away from $800 and they have a cabin they can sell to someone else for another $800 or more!

[mk-ultra]

I have not spent $0.01 on Coco Cay. What are you talking about? If I went to Miami, I would have to spend much more money to get off the ship. :confused:

 

You don't have to spend even $0.01 to get off at any port. You can get off the ship in Miami, and if you don't decide to spend a cent there, you can spend the entire day however you want before you board again for your next stop at no cost. My point is that Miami has a lot more going for it as a port-of-call than a crappy cruise line owned "island."

Edited August 13, 2018 by mk-ultra

[rcclmiami]

Why are construction delays 100% within their control? It would appear that Royal did make a good faith effort to avoid these changes.

 

You're claiming that Royal should allow anyone on any cruise scheduled to stop at any port affected by an any itinerary change at anytime even into the future, to get their non-refundable deposit back. It's not just OP. It's anyone who would be affected and it would set a precedent for all future cruises. I can understand why Royal would think that's too much good will to give away.

 

I really do sympathize with OP. However, once OP got Royal's legal department (did he threaten a lawsuit?), this was transposed from a 'good will' issue to a legal issue and the lawyers will insist upon following the letter of the contract.

I suppose you and your wife would love to wear steel toed shoes, a hard hat, ear plugs and safety glasses and go to coco cay. I would rather wear sandals...

[Mikew0805]

You don't have to spend even $0.01 to get off at any port. You can get off the ship in Miami, and if you don't decide to spend a cent there, you can spend the entire day however you want before you board again for your next stop at no cost. My point is that Miami has a lot more going for it as a port-of-call than a crappy cruise line owned "island."

 

Please explain how I can get off the ship in Miami, and not spend money? Do you think they offer transportation to beaches or out of the port area for free?

 

Miami only has "more going for it," if you are a person that wants to be in a crowded city, and what all is offered in that city. If you are one that wants to go to a clean beach, and relax in the peace and quiet, then I guess Miami would be the crappy choice.