Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 #1 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proggieus Posted January 23, 2019 #2 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #3 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 23, 2019 #4 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 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 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ONECRUISER Posted January 23, 2019 #5 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebucks Posted January 23, 2019 #6 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggtjr Posted January 23, 2019 #8 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Hence, "Americans with Disabilities Act"--ADA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgestang Posted January 23, 2019 #10 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSocial Posted January 23, 2019 #11 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HicksRA Posted January 23, 2019 #12 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacher42 Posted January 23, 2019 #13 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradison Posted January 23, 2019 #14 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #15 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 23, 2019 #16 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted January 23, 2019 #17 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted January 23, 2019 #18 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #19 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starry Eyes Posted January 23, 2019 #20 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSocial Posted January 23, 2019 #21 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 23, 2019 #22 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny990 Posted January 23, 2019 Author #23 Share Posted January 23, 2019 The email was from the Travel Agent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starry Eyes Posted January 23, 2019 #24 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted January 23, 2019 #25 Share Posted January 23, 2019 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.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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