Hang your head in shame RC

[Thorny990]

Hi there

I thought I would just let everyone know who they are dealing with in RC

I booked a cruise for our children and my wife 3 cabins in total sailing in June on the Allure

I requested an accessible cabin for my wife as she is disabled and to my horror I was told that unless I was an American Citizen I would have to pay an extra $600

This is totally unacceptable Royal Caribbean and you should be ashamed of yourself

This is Discrimination towards other guests that are not American Citizens

How can a company like RC be allowed to get away with such a deplorable act in 2019

Paul

[proggieus]

the cruise lines have to follow different rules when selling to people in different countries.

 

more then likely the us rate you saw did not include gratuities or taxes and fees while the pricing you were given did-

 

hence the increased cost.

[Thorny990]

Hi Proggieus

Thanks for the reply but it did not have anything to do with gratuities or taxes and fees

It was pure and simple because we are not American Citizens

Thanks Paul

[Ourusualbeach]

Could it possibly been due to there being no accessible cabins available in the category that the other 2 cabins were in.  In that case you would have to pay more.  Different categories, different prices...nothing to do with it being an accessible cabin.

 

OP please provide some more details to help us better understand.  cabin numbers booked would help.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[ONECRUISER]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Could it possibly been due to there being no accessible cabins available in the category that the other 2 cabins were in.  In that case you would have to pay more.  Different categories, different prices...nothing to do with it being an accessible cabin.

 

OP please provide some more details to help us better understand.  cabin numbers booked would help.

Is my guess

[Joebucks]

16 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Could it possibly been due to there being no accessible cabins available in the category that the other 2 cabins were in.  In that case you would have to pay more.  Different categories, different prices...nothing to do with it being an accessible cabin.

 

OP please provide some more details to help us better understand.  cabin numbers booked would help.

 

Chances are this is right. I would be there is some provision in the ADA that cruise lines must provide accommodations to those with needs. The way it works out here, they probably don't have any accommodations for that price, and aren't required by law.

[Thorny990]

Hi All

Thank you so much for responding but I can honestly say that the only reason that RCI want to charge me an extra $600 is because I am not an American Citizen

The email I received clearly states that RCI will only protect the fare of an accessible cabin due to the ADA Law and in their policy it only applies to US Citizens which is unacceptable in this day and age

we should all be treated the same no matter what your Nationality is

[ggtjr]

Hence, "Americans with Disabilities Act"--ADA

[Thorny990]

I know what it stands for but how can that be right in 2019 treating a none American Disabled person different to a disabled American person

That would not be allowed to happen in the UK

[dodgestang]

4 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Hi All

Thank you so much for responding but I can honestly say that the only reason that RCI want to charge me an extra $600 is because I am not an American Citizen

The email I received clearly states that RCI will only protect the fare of an accessible cabin due to the ADA Law and in their policy it only applies to US Citizens which is unacceptable in this day and age

we should all be treated the same no matter what your Nationality is

Lobby your government to make laws to protect your needs the same way American Citizens lobbied their own government to put protections in place.  Every governing body responds to the needs of the people they govern.  We do not have a single world government.  A good example is the EU put in place many privacy protections and things like the ability to have any mentions of you deleted from Google because that is what they felt was important to their constituents.  Something that cost Google quite a bit to implement that isn't available to US consumers.

[BSocial]

15 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Hi All

Thank you so much for responding but I can honestly say that the only reason that RCI want to charge me an extra $600 is because I am not an American Citizen

The email I received clearly states that RCI will only protect the fare of an accessible cabin due to the ADA Law and in their policy it only applies to US Citizens which is unacceptable in this day and age

we should all be treated the same no matter what your Nationality is

 

OP, 

Can you clarify what is meant by “protect the fare” for an accessible cabin?  

Were you working with a Travel agent, or booking directly on Royal Caribbean website.  Did you see a posted price for Accessible cabin, and they would not honor it?  

Edited:  you live in UK?  Was the fare posted on UK or US website?

 

Thanks!  And good luck to you!

Edited January 23, 2019 by BSocial

[HicksRA]

As a retired investigator, I learned a long time ago that you have to hear all the facts and both sides of the story to know what really happened. 

There has to be a lot more to this story than RCCL just arbitrarily deciding to charge more to a non US citizen. 

[Teacher42]

26 minutes ago, Teacher42 said:

Dear Thor,  Anything you post will be used against you. Beware!

Dear Thor,   BS means BE  SMART ! Many on these boards are unsympathetic when it comes to attacks on their beloved RCCL. Why ? I have no idea. You have a legitimate gripe. Godspeed!

[Bradison]

I am sincerely trying not to be rude here but I do not understand how fairness enters into situations like this.  RCI could charge you $6000 more or $60 or $6 and you, as part of the free market, can say "no thanks, let me check xyz cruise line".  I know that it can be disappointing but your biggest leverage over any business entity is choice.  If your choice is limited and they take advantage then that could be considered "unfair" by some or a market failure by others. 

[Thorny990]

Hi All

I totally understand all your comments regarding this issue and I thank you for reading them and passing on your comments.

I booked the cruise via a travel agent and when I asked about an accessible cabin for my wife I received an email saying originally that it was the same price as a normal cabin

I asked the agent to reserve the accessible cabin but later that day I got another email saying that because I was not a US Citizen RCI could not offer me that cabin for the same rate as a normal cabin

If there is more to this story than simply wanting to charge a none US  disabled Citizen more money for an accessible cabin I wish RCI would tell me

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Hi All

I totally understand all your comments regarding this issue and I thank you for reading them and passing on your comments.

I booked the cruise via a travel agent and when I asked about an accessible cabin for my wife I received an email saying originally that it was the same price as a normal cabin

I asked the agent to reserve the accessible cabin but later that day I got another email saying that because I was not a US Citizen RCI could not offer me that cabin for the same rate as a normal cabin

If there is more to this story than simply wanting to charge a none US  disabled Citizen more money for an accessible cabin I wish RCI would tell me

It sounds like your TA screwed up and is trying to blame Royal for misquoting you a price.

 

 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Thorny990 said:

Hi All

Thank you so much for responding but I can honestly say that the only reason that RCI want to charge me an extra $600 is because I am not an American Citizen

The email I received clearly states that RCI will only protect the fare of an accessible cabin due to the ADA Law and in their policy it only applies to US Citizens which is unacceptable in this day and age

we should all be treated the same no matter what your Nationality is

 

1 hour ago, Thorny990 said:

I know what it stands for but how can that be right in 2019 treating a none American Disabled person different to a disabled American person

That would not be allowed to happen in the UK

You are quite correct that different charges for citizens of different countries would not be allowed either in the UK or in the US.  What you are not correct about is that a cruise ship cabin or hotel room sold in the US would have the price protection for a room upgrade if the desired room category is not available that is written in the US' ADA.  From what I see of the UK's Equality Act, there is no price guarantee, so a cruise ship cabin sold in the UK does not have this protection, regardless of whether the person purchasing the cabin is a UK citizen or a US citizen.  It all depends on where the service is provided (i.e. where the cabin is sold).  If I, as a US citizen, were to book through the RCI UK website, and wanted an accessible cabin in a category that was sold out, I would not receive the price guarantee any more than you did.

 

As for your comment that your TA said RCI stated they could not sell the accessible cabin at the same price because you weren't a US citizen, I think you need to discuss this with the TA.  I can just about guarantee that RCI did not say they would not sell an accessible cabin of the same category for the same price as a non-accessible cabin.  What they did say was that there are no accessible cabins of the same category available, and so you would have to pay more for the next available category of accessible cabin.  If you booked in the US that would not be so, but booking in the UK it is so.

[The_Big_M]

So you booked from a UK agent.

 

Don't know why the UK agent then brought a US booking condition into it, except maybe to throw a red herring. It's irrelevant to your booking. It's like someone telling a US customer that they would get a drinks package or parking if it was a UK booking - irrelevant to them.

[Thorny990]

Thanks for all of your replies I have emailed  RCI Head Office but I have the email on my phone that clearly states the reason they can not offer me the accessible room without the extra charge  is because I am not a US Citizen it has nothing to do with it not been the same category as that would be acceptable

[Starry Eyes]

13 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Hi All

I totally understand all your comments regarding this issue and I thank you for reading them and passing on your comments.

I booked the cruise via a travel agent and when I asked about an accessible cabin for my wife I received an email saying originally that it was the same price as a normal cabin

I asked the agent to reserve the accessible cabin but later that day I got another email saying that because I was not a US Citizen RCI could not offer me that cabin for the same rate as a normal cabin

If there is more to this story than simply wanting to charge a none US  disabled Citizen more money for an accessible cabin I wish RCI would tell me

Ah, so it is your travel agent, not RCI, citing your nationality.   Please understand that there are many, many cabin categories, so most likely the available accessible cabin is in a different category than the available “regular” cabins the agent is booking for your family.  Maybe when you first asked, there was an accessible cabin the the other category or the agent just glibly guessed there might be.  Now that you are are actually booking, perhaps the agent is covering himself with double talk. 

[BSocial]

1 minute ago, Thorny990 said:

Thanks for all of your replies I have emailed  RCI Head Office but I have the email on my phone that clearly states the reason they can not offer me the accessible room without the extra charge  is because I am not a US Citizen it has nothing to do with it not been the same category as that would be acceptable

 

Thank you for answering all our questions.  Good luck!!

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Thanks for all of your replies I have emailed  RCI Head Office but I have the email on my phone that clearly states the reason they can not offer me the accessible room without the extra charge  is because I am not a US Citizen it has nothing to do with it not been the same category as that would be acceptable

 

Was the e mail from Royal or from the travel agent.

 

ususlly when you book through a travel agent Royal will not talk or e mail the client.  Everything is done through the travel agent.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[Thorny990]

The email was from the Travel Agent

[Starry Eyes]

18 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

Thanks for all of your replies I have emailed  RCI Head Office but I have the email on my phone that clearly states the reason they can not offer me the accessible room without the extra charge  is because I am not a US Citizen it has nothing to do with it not been the same category as that would be acceptable

Didn’t that email come from your travel agent?    Well, travel agents are human, too.  They make mistakes, even in emails.  And some of them fib, even in email.  Even in emails you keep on your phone.  Think about it.  One of the two very likely may be at play here rather than a bad cruise line policy.  I say this as a person with a disabled family member.  Sometimes his category is not the same as mine and pricing can be very different.  We are both US citizens.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Starry Eyes

[Ourusualbeach]

12 minutes ago, Thorny990 said:

The email was from the Travel Agent

 

You need to seriously consider that it was the TA that screwed up and not necessarily Royal

 

i think the agent either misquoted you or misinformed you and is now trying to make up an excuse to cover their butt..