Royal Caribbean and American Airlines are thieves!

[Yorkvillain]

So this is not a rant! It is a fact! 

Noted.

[matj2000]

Why do so many people join this website.

 

Just to complain.

 

Do they really think they will sway people away??

 

Kind of like talking politics...

 

[Ralphinsc]

2 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

 

If you booked through choice air and Royal cancelled the cruise there should have been no change fee for cancelling air.  Even if there was, why didn't you just cancel and re-book on your own.  $1446 refund - $400 fee - $700 new fare = $346 savings.  Problem also could have been avoided if you purchased travel insurance.

 

This right here. Even with two weeks and facing the absolute worst of situations of the line not budging, I still would of found the time to at least do this math problem and figure out it would of been much cheaper to cancel on your own accord and rebook. 

[clean1owner]

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

If none of the options were to your liking, why didn't you just take a full refund?

Every time I read one of these threads I just scratch my head and think why didn't you take the refund and start over. I would never just settle for something. It never seems to benefit the passenger.

[cruisegus]

36 minutes ago, clean1owner said:

 

I actually have to agree here.

the post after says it all, just cancel and get your refund of full amount then start over, there are plenty of other options out there.  Most AI's on land you can't even book until nine months out, unlike cruises that book about 2 years out

[rcclmiami]

2 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I totally agree with this.   It's just unfair, and that they are allowed to continually do it is mind boggling.   While I understand they this happens and it is unfair to a lot of people, it comes with basically zero cost to the cruise line.  I'd like to see them be forced to offer more compensation than just minimal OBC (shoot, pass the associated cost on to the organization that leased the ship).   It's not simply a matter of having the money refunded, its having to start vacation planning all over, often after previous options are no longer available!!  And no, this has never happened to me, its just painfully obvious to me that it is an unfair practice.

 

boricua568, I'm sorry this happened to you.  I wish you had had more time to make a better decision.  But mostly, I'm sorry that so many of the posters here at CC take enjoyment at others pain, as if they're perfect and lead untainted lives.   Its not what you expected when you posted, and I'm sorry they collectively have decided to bully you into thinking your a fool!!

1. Don’t blame the cruise line for filling the ship thru a charter. Cruising is A BUSINESS!!

2. Why did you accept their air if you knew what the price should have been?

 

We have been cruising with Royal for 29 years. Have used their “choice air” ( before AIR2SEA) and have always been happy with the selection and the support before and after each flight.

[hapster85]

... When the changes were being made by Royal Caribbean, we checked flights through the American Airlines website and the airfare on that day for the same flights to/from Miami/PR was $700 (for both of us).

What was the Air2Sea website showing for the MIA-SJU flights at the time of the change? The fares shown on AA, or any other site, would have been irrelevant, since you had already booked flights via Air2Sea. If Air2Sea was showing the significantly cheaper fare, at the time you rebooked, you'd have a valid argument. Otherwise, no.

By the way, even refundable fares booked via Air2Sea incur a cancellation fee, under normal circumstances.

Anyway, I understand your frustration, but it hardly makes them thieves.

[robandana]

Like many post on site like this one, not everyone is looking for information. Sometimes people want to let other know what happened to them and give us a heads up....

 

I know I value reviews when deciding to buy something on many sites and although you can never be sure what exactly happened once you read enough of these post you start to put together a fair idea of how many of these billion dollar corporations really deal with us.

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

5 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I totally agree with this.   It's just unfair, and that they are allowed to continually do it is mind boggling.   While I understand they this happens and it is unfair to a lot of people, it comes with basically zero cost to the cruise line.  I'd like to see them be forced to offer more compensation than just minimal OBC (shoot, pass the associated cost on to the organization that leased the ship).   It's not simply a matter of having the money refunded, its having to start vacation planning all over, often after previous options are no longer available!!  And no, this has never happened to me, its just painfully obvious to me that it is an unfair practice.

 

boricua568, I'm sorry this happened to you.  I wish you had had more time to make a better decision.  But mostly, I'm sorry that so many of the posters here at CC take enjoyment at others pain, as if they're perfect and lead untainted lives.   Its not what you expected when you posted, and I'm sorry they collectively have decided to bully you into thinking your a fool!!

I realize that this happens as well and it's just part of cruising. However what annoys me is when I read these threads it always seems to cost the passenger more money. I could live with changing to a similar itinerary in the same accommodations but why should the passenger have to pay more for that? The OBC that's offered only seems to benefit the cruise line in the long run. I also have to say that Royal Caribbean has the worst compensation than other lines that I travel on.  On the princess board some actually look forward to move over offers because the passenger actually benefits from it in a big way.

[proggieus]

5 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I totally agree with this.   It's just unfair, and that they are allowed to continually do it is mind boggling.   While I understand they this happens and it is unfair to a lot of people, it comes with basically zero cost to the cruise line.  I'd like to see them be forced to offer more compensation than just minimal OBC

Dont sail with them then, you explicitly agree to their cancelation policies when you book the trip.

 

They write the contract, good luck trying top force them to do anything.

 

Considering the industry is growing and the ships are sailing at capacity they have 0 incentive to change anything. 

[ReneeFLL]

10 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

If none of the options were to your liking, why didn't you just take a full refund?

 

Agreed. Also boricua568 why are you blaming America Airlines and why would you expect them to change the price for you? It was Royal that screwed you over by canceling the cruise. Also, that is what travel insurance is for. Don't ever buy it thru the cruise line because it is more expensive.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by ReneeFLL

[Thorben-Hendrik]

10 hours ago, ryano said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic

You are so welcome here! 👍

[Paulxyz2004]

Theft and Robbery… yeah sure. 

If you think they robbed you, I´m sure you´ve called the Police. What did they say? Have they investigated?

BBB did Nothing? Hmmmm, I guess you don´t have much to support your accusation. 

[HBE4]

14 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

boricua568, I'm sorry this happened to you.  I wish you had had more time to make a better decision.  But mostly, I'm sorry that so many of the posters here at CC take enjoyment at others pain, as if they're perfect and lead untainted lives.   Its not what you expected when you posted, and I'm sorry they collectively have decided to bully you into thinking your a fool!!

 

Cruise Critic needs to have a disclaimer pop-up when a new member registers: No complaints or criticizing Royal until your 1 year/1,000 post probation period is over.

[Zach1213]

I travel for a living and practically live on AA planes. They treat me fairly well, so I won't take your advice.

 

I fail to see how this is AA's fault. It's not their fault Royal Caribbean cancelled your cruise, why should they give you a break? If anything, RC should have comped the difference to make it right. But in AA's mind, you're buying a last-minute ticket to the Caribbean during spring break. That's not going to be cheap, nor should it be.

 

Two years with this much bitterness, might I recommend yoga?

Edited February 23, 2019 by Zach1213

[Iamcruzin]

6 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

Agreed. Also boricua568 why are you blaming America Airlines and why would you expect them to change the price for you? It was Royal that screwed you over by canceling the cruise. Also, that is what travel insurance is for. Don't ever buy it thru the cruise line because it is more expensive.

 

 

Would the change in price for the airlines be covered by travel insurance since it was the cruise line who canceled the cruise? I would think the insurance company would say that they are liable.

[HBE4]

11 hours ago, robandana said:

Like many post on site like this one, not everyone is looking for information. Sometimes people want to let other know what happened to them and give us a heads up....

 

I know I value reviews when deciding to buy something on many sites and although you can never be sure what exactly happened once you read enough of these post you start to put together a fair idea of how many of these billion dollar corporations really deal with us.

 

 

 

My thoughts exactly. Part of the reason these forums exist is that they are a social community for people to gather, share information, interact with others and vent.

 

Even if the OP is a Register, Rant and Run poster to never been seen again, it doesn't make the information any less relevant. Not sure why it took them over a year to post but maybe they just found this website. But that should not matter, it's still a valid experience to be shared.

 

I remember checking into the ChoiceAir program years ago and found the domestic air prices to be significantly higher then if I booked on my own. Then I read here on CC that it's really designed for International flights. Not sure if flights to San Juan are considered domestic. But now I know - thanks to the OP - that even with the name change to Air2Sea, the program has not changed much and is still of limited value. Good info.

 

 

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, HBE4 said:

 But now I know - thanks to the OP - that even with the name change to Air2Sea, the program has not changed much and is still of limited value. Good info.

You could also get that info with a search on A2S here on CC. This thread will be gone in a day and lost like all the other threads that mention this info. So, the only value is for the occasional CC reader who happens to be surfing at the time of such a post.

 

CC, where rants are mostly for entertainment value, since most info can be found - granted, searching is hard sometimes, but there are very few topics/issues not already covered in some previous thread.

[HBE4]

14 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

I travel for a living and practically live on AA planes. They treat me fairly well, so I won't take your advice.

 

I fail to see how this is AA's fault. It's not their fault Royal Caribbean cancelled your cruise, why should they give you a break?

 

They shouldn't.

 

But Royal pointed the finger of blame to AA so that's where the OP's ire is directed to.

[HBE4]

16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

CC, where rants are mostly for entertainment value, since most info can be found

 

Well, yeah, there is that. lol. 

 

Don't want to scare the entertainment away.😀

[Paulxyz2004]

So the OP booked a European cruise for two. Cruise got cancelled. Alternatives were offered, but they didn´t work because a minor child was in School, so they rescheduled to a cruise out of PR again for two…..

 

I´m Pretty sure RCI A2S had not only waived the Change fee, but also any cancellation fee of Airfare. I don´t read it as RCI blaming AA, they were just stating that´s what AA charges them. It´s not unusual to find the same flight for 350pp or 700pp. Different fare buckets even in the same class on the same flight can vary By much more than that. Most likely the fare buckets A2S had in stock were more expensive than the lowest one the OP was Looking for online. Nobody to blame there other than the OP for not cancelling the A2S part and book the flights on their own. Sometimes A2S is a good deal, other times not so much. That´s not Theft or robbery.

[Paulxyz2004]

48 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

CC, where rants are mostly for entertainment value, 

 

Totally agree!!! Though they are not mostly for Entertainment value, their only value is Entertainment. 

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, Paulxyz2004 said:

So the OP booked a European cruise for two. Cruise got cancelled. Alternatives were offered, but they didn´t work because a minor child was in School, so they rescheduled to a cruise out of PR again for two…..

 

I´m Pretty sure RCI A2S had not only waived the Change fee, but also any cancellation fee of Airfare. I don´t read it as RCI blaming AA, they were just stating that´s what AA charges them. It´s not unusual to find the same flight for 350pp or 700pp. Different fare buckets even in the same class on the same flight can vary By much more than that. Most likely the fare buckets A2S had in stock were more expensive than the lowest one the OP was Looking for online. Nobody to blame there other than the OP for not cancelling the A2S part and book the flights on their own. Sometimes A2S is a good deal, other times not so much. That´s not Theft or robbery.

 

Good point, well said.  

 

Should I ever find myself in a situation such as this, depending on the compensation and alternatives, I'd probably do as other said: cancel, get my full refund and start over.

 

Minor point: The OP did say in their first post that RCI blamed AA for the high fare. But that's just an aside.

 

[El Abuelo]

18 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I totally agree with this.   It's just unfair, and that they are allowed to continually do it is mind boggling.   While I understand they this happens and it is unfair to a lot of people, it comes with basically zero cost to the cruise line.  I'd like to see them be forced to offer more compensation than just minimal OBC (shoot, pass the associated cost on to the organization that leased the ship).   It's not simply a matter of having the money refunded, its having to start vacation planning all over, often after previous options are no longer available!!  And no, this has never happened to me, its just painfully obvious to me that it is an unfair practice.

 

boricua568, I'm sorry this happened to you.  I wish you had had more time to make a better decision.  But mostly, I'm sorry that so many of the posters here at CC take enjoyment at others pain, as if they're perfect and lead untainted lives.   Its not what you expected when you posted, and I'm sorry they collectively have decided to bully you into thinking your a fool!!

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. The cruise line has a “customer unfriendly” bullying business practice, and the poster made a poor choice.   The $200 pp change fee sounds unusual when the cruise company imposed the changes, but I suspect we’ll never know all the details. 

 

We probably never  heard from or about the other cancelled passengers on the same cruise because they dealt with it. 

 

I am surprised the forum allows this kind of language in a thread title. Certainly, if the poster was looking for compassion, or just a bit of empathy, they chose some unusual language.