RCCL cancelled cruise--SO MAD

[mayleeman]

12 hours ago, Grandma Petania said:

Does anyone think I need to be worried about that happening?  Is there anything in RCL contract that states how much notice they have to give?  If it gets to be six months before sailing date, should I be able to relax?

RCI has designed this new ploy so that you will buy more drinks and speciality meals once you are aboard in your desperate attempt to alleviate the increased stress their cruise-charter-roulette program caused you.

[Cel_cruise]

Cruisegal - I’m very sorry that this has happened to your group! As the vacation planner for our group - I am very sensitive to the time and effort it takes to set things up to be ‘perfect’.

Recently - our baseball team had been planning for a big tournament trip and unfortunately we were unable to get into our desired tournament. When I presented alternatives - none of which were as ‘perfect’ as the first - I was expecting the worst out of my group, but - I hope that you are as pleasantly surprised as I am and find that your group is willing to make small adaptations to sail with alternatives plans!

You might consider splitting up your rooms to 2 blocks of 6 (give or take) on each side of the ship - then you would have the ability to watch sail away regardless of how the ship is docked.....or on different floors...or with a few gaps between large blocks on the same side.

Most of all - make sure that the Super Bowl will not negatively impact your cruise. Make sure you can get flights or hotels pre-cruise if you keep this departure weekend. (If It were me - I would probably be looking at this as a blessing in disguise - as the pre cruise travel complications seem like they would be significant).

I hope you find a suitable alternative - also - don’t hesitate to get your money back and start over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leisuretraveler223]

13 hours ago, mayleeman said:

RCI has designed this new ploy so that you will buy more drinks and speciality meals once you are aboard in your desperate attempt to alleviate the increased stress their cruise-charter-roulette program caused you.

 

I'm assuming this is all a joke.  Anyone who encounters "stress" around booking a cruise really isn't suited for travel.  Cruising is literally the lightest lift one can make...

[South Shore 41]

Just read another post on this subject.  Symphony and Oasis are supposedly being used as "floating hotels" for the Super Bowl, February 1st and 2nd. The Super Bowl is being played at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens.  J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets (wishful thinking) Sigh.

[Rocketlady]

WE GOT A phone call from RC also for the exact week. We booked it while there Feb 1st of this year. It is because of

the Super Bowl and the particular company wanted to whole ship to charter. It really didn't surprise us.    Because they

said  the first 8 floors were booked by a company. I suppose that company decided to just book it all. 

Money talks and BS walks as they say. 

 

I got the same lousy deal as you $100 each.  on board credit for the next cruise. We are going the week before.

 

My biggest problem was I booked a room the night before ($500) and didn't guarantee it. I never do that why I did this

time I don't know. We try to go through Hotel.com to see if they would just let us stay the week before. Hotel.com said

they called the hotel and was refused. I don't believe Hotel.com at all. The room was cut down to $200. but they wouldn't

give back my money.  A lesson learned here. We booked another room from priceline.com that is much nicer. 

 

It is fun to  be on the ships watching the Super Bowl. They have all kinds of food to eat there. We have been on two

RC cruises during the game but being a new ship I suppose the rich companies get first priority. 

I hadn't gotten our airplane tickets yet so that was something I didn't have to worry about. I don't even know if

we could of gotten any flights or not anyway. the super bowl is in Miami next year so that is why the hotel 

prices are sky high. Traffic will be crazy too.

 

I feel sorry for those that are still working and need to find another date. And going with a group could be

a nightmare too. Good luck.

[SRF]

On 3/14/2019 at 9:07 AM, Hanzo said:

It is extremely shady. It would be like booking a hotel and them calling and saying, oh, hey, there's an convention in town that weekend and your room is no longer available. It may be covered by policy/legal, but it certainly is a crap thing to do.  

 

And this DOES happen.

[SRF]

On 3/15/2019 at 10:25 AM, Wine-O said:

 

In theory, it sounds nice, but in reality, it's a PIA.  We once had 5 balconies next to each other and opened up the partitions.  Well, there goes your privacy with people walking back & forth at all times of the day.  You've got to close the curtains just to get dressed.  Who wants to do that all the time during a cruise.  Never again for us.

 

I never did understand why they put windows in motel rooms, where the "corridor" is right outside the window.

 

When would you have the curtains open????? 😄

 

[mjkacmom]

18 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

And this DOES happen.

It does, and usually you learn about it at check in. They will usually transport you to another hotel.

[cruisegirl1976]

15 hours ago, Rocketlady said:

WE GOT A phone call from RC also for the exact week. We booked it while there Feb 1st of this year. It is because of

the Super Bowl and the particular company wanted to whole ship to charter. It really didn't surprise us.    Because they

said  the first 8 floors were booked by a company. I suppose that company decided to just book it all. 

Money talks and BS walks as they say. 

 

I got the same lousy deal as you $100 each.  on board credit for the next cruise. We are going the week before.

 

My biggest problem was I booked a room the night before ($500) and didn't guarantee it. I never do that why I did this

time I don't know. We try to go through Hotel.com to see if they would just let us stay the week before. Hotel.com said

they called the hotel and was refused. I don't believe Hotel.com at all. The room was cut down to $200. but they wouldn't

give back my money.  A lesson learned here. We booked another room from priceline.com that is much nicer. 

 

It is fun to  be on the ships watching the Super Bowl. They have all kinds of food to eat there. We have been on two

RC cruises during the game but being a new ship I suppose the rich companies get first priority. 

I hadn't gotten our airplane tickets yet so that was something I didn't have to worry about. I don't even know if

we could of gotten any flights or not anyway. the super bowl is in Miami next year so that is why the hotel 

prices are sky high. Traffic will be crazy too.

 

I feel sorry for those that are still working and need to find another date. And going with a group could be

a nightmare too. Good luck.

We were also booked on the Oasis for the Super Bowl Cruise.. luckily we were able to switch to the Allure that is sailing out of FLL the same day.... and we also had our hotel booked already.. which we are keeping even though it is in Miami.. but we have never been to  South Beach, so we are keeping it.. I am just happy to be going on another cruise 🙂

[Hanzo]

2 hours ago, SRF said:

 

And this DOES happen.

I am not sure I can write it any clearer, I am not saying this things don't happen, they do. That doesn't make it less shitty. Being bumped after you have reserved anything so more money can be made in any industry should be met with backlash, not "oh well, it's in the rules so I am fine with it". There is a difference in legal and ethical.

[Paulette3028]

3 hours ago, Hanzo said:

I am not sure I can write it any clearer, I am not saying this things don't happen, they do. That doesn't make it less shitty. Being bumped after you have reserved anything so more money can be made in any industry should be met with backlash, not "oh well, it's in the rules so I am fine with it". There is a difference in legal and ethical.

But the truth is it is IN the contract that Royal can make changes.  They did what they legally had to do to cover themselves and by entering into a contract with them, you are accepting that....ethics aside.  It isn't like they committed murder, that is an ethical/moral  issue.

 

Before you say something like 'Oh you have never had a booked cruise cancelled on you....so let us know if you feel the same when it happens to you'.....we have had a cruise cancelled on us by Royal, because it was converted into a charter (had nothing to do with Super Bowl or any other big event), and we took advantage of what they offered us and enjoyed the sailing we went on.   As I like to look at it, 'no one died', from the inconvenience.  My philosophy is "Life is short, enjoy every day you have because you don't know when it will be your last".

[JoeFan]

Can you get creative with different category rooms to get a group of 12 rooms?

If you rebook does RCI honor the price paid for the cabin?

Edited March 20, 2019 by JoeFan

[Paulette3028]

6 minutes ago, JoeFan said:

If you rebook does RCI honor the price paid for the cabin?

I can only speak from our personal experience when we had a cruise cancelled and turned into a charter...they offered price protection on a limited group of cruises....yet as it turned out the cruise we chose from their options was less expensive for the same cabin category. 

[SRF]

20 hours ago, Hanzo said:

I am not sure I can write it any clearer, I am not saying this things don't happen, they do. That doesn't make it less shitty. Being bumped after you have reserved anything so more money can be made in any industry should be met with backlash, not "oh well, it's in the rules so I am fine with it". There is a difference in legal and ethical.

 

It is not always to make more money.  

[Paulette3028]

41 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

It is not always to make more money.  

DH and I were not happy when our cruise was cancelled and turned into a charter and we had to choose another option for our vacation.  It does have a financial impact on the bottom line, with the OBC's handed out to cruisers for their inconvenience (you can say it is 'paper money' all you want), and some people just cancel and may not return at all.   

 

The reason Royal or any cruise line does it, is because they can 'make more money'.....what other reason would there be?  There has to be a financial upside to doing it or it would not be done.  

 

To me, life is short -- make the best of it and MOVE ON.

[Hanzo]

58 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

It is not always to make more money.  

It shouldn't need to be said, but there's obviously a huge difference in dry dock for maintenance/upgrade/repairs and just taking more money whilst disappointing all the people that already booked.

[JoeFan]

2 minutes ago, Hanzo said:

It shouldn't need to be said, but there's obviously a huge difference in dry dock for maintenance/upgrade/repairs and just taking more money whilst disappointing all the people that already booked.

 

If they do this too often then they will lose credibility that a booked cruise will sail.  

 

Lose the customers trust and they shop elsewhere. 

[Hanzo]

13 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

DH and I were not happy when our cruise was cancelled and turned into a charter and we had to choose another option for our vacation.  It does have a financial impact on the bottom line, with the OBC's handed out to cruisers for their inconvenience (you can say it is 'paper money' all you want), and some people just cancel and may not return at all.   

 

The reason Royal or any cruise line does it, is because they can 'make more money'.....what other reason would there be?  There has to be a financial upside to doing it or it would not be done.  

 

To me, life is short -- make the best of it and MOVE ON.

To be clear, not everyone has that level of flexibility with scheduling, especially when organizing and traveling with a group, this is why people book so far in advance. It's great you don't care about the cruise line cancelling, but scoffing at people that see this as a major inconvenience and essentially telling them to just get over it isn't helpful to anyone.

[Paulette3028]

1 minute ago, Hanzo said:

It shouldn't need to be said, but there's obviously a huge difference in dry dock for maintenance/upgrade/repairs and just taking more money whilst disappointing all the people that already booked.

 

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

It is not always to make more money.  

 

To Hanzo:  your reply makes little sense to me, as you were commenting on SRF's "It is not always to make mor money".

 

Ships go into dry dock on a schedule, unless unfortunately an major problem occurs which can't wait until the next dry dock.  But turning a scheduled cruise into a charter, IS a financial decision....and one the cruise line can and does make.

[Hanzo]

1 minute ago, Paulette3028 said:

 

 

To Hanzo:  your reply makes little sense to me, as you were commenting on SRF's "It is not always to make mor money".

 

Ships go into dry dock on a schedule, unless unfortunately an major problem occurs which can't wait until the next dry dock.  But turning a scheduled cruise into a charter, IS a financial decision....and one the cruise line can and does make.

Good lord, I don't think I can spell this out any clearer.

Yes, I understand the cruise line will do what is in their financial interest.

Yes, I understand these things do happen.

Yes, I understand it is legal and it is covered in the cruise contract.

Yes, I understand dry docks are scheduled, outside of emergencies.

 

All that being said, cancelling a cruise that someone already reserved so the cruise line can make more/easier money sucks, and it is a shitty thing to do. Nothing you can say is going to change my opinion so let's just agree to disagree.

[Paulette3028]

9 minutes ago, Hanzo said:

Good lord, I don't think I can spell this out any clearer.

Yes, I understand the cruise line will do what is in their financial interest.

Yes, I understand these things do happen.

Yes, I understand it is legal and it is covered in the cruise contract.

Yes, I understand dry docks are scheduled, outside of emergencies.

 

All that being said, cancelling a cruise that someone already reserved so the cruise line can make more/easier money sucks, and it is a shitty thing to do. Nothing you can say is going to change my opinion so let's just agree to disagree.

The opinion that it is a shitty thing to do.....is true....but that won't stop it from happening.  There are countless corporations that do things customers don't like, because it is good for the bottom line.....people at times boycott those corporations.....it doesn't stop it from happening and won't.

 

In my view....if life throws you a lemon, you have two choices suck on the lemon and have a sour face....or make lemonade out of it.....I choose the latter.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Paulette3028

[SRF]

6 hours ago, Paulette3028 said:

DH and I were not happy when our cruise was cancelled and turned into a charter and we had to choose another option for our vacation.  It does have a financial impact on the bottom line, with the OBC's handed out to cruisers for their inconvenience (you can say it is 'paper money' all you want), and some people just cancel and may not return at all.   

 

The reason Royal or any cruise line does it, is because they can 'make more money'.....what other reason would there be?  There has to be a financial upside to doing it or it would not be done.  

 

To me, life is short -- make the best of it and MOVE ON.

 

I was not talking specifically about the cruise charters, but hotels and such.

 

But sometimes there are other factors than pure money that can cause it to happen.  It could be to support a big customer, who has a meeting that got larger.

 

If it were purely money, you could bid on the rooms up to check in time. 😄

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, SRF said:

 

It is not always to make more money.  

If you are referring to drydock those are planned out and sailings aren’t offered during that period. Can’t be an emergency maintenance since OP booked 2 years out so this is clearly to make money. No shame in that but taking advantage of guests who have committed and paid a deposit is bad format no matter how high and mighty the business is at the time. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[Paulette3028]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

I was not talking specifically about the cruise charters, but hotels and such.

 

But sometimes there are other factors than pure money that can cause it to happen.  It could be to support a big customer, who has a meeting that got larger.

 

If it were purely money, you could bid on the rooms up to check in time. 😄

 

 

Your point that I have highlighted in color above.....directly shows it is FOR MONEY....the hotel fears that the 'big customer would go elsewhere' and they will do what needs to be done to make sure they don't lose that revenue, now and in the future.

 

I have been involved in franchise organizations that as they grew larger outgrew the hotels that they held their quarterly meetings in.  It happens all the time....but a hotel will do the most it can to retain those clients --- they revenue stream is outrageous.  

 

But this did start as a cancelled cruise that was turned into a charter....so we have diverted....sorry.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Paulette3028

[leisuretraveler223]

8 hours ago, Hanzo said:

All that being said, cancelling a cruise that someone already reserved so the cruise line can make more/easier money sucks, and it is a shitty thing to do. Nothing you can say is going to change my opinion so let's just agree to disagree.

 

LOL! Don't ever try and survive in the business world.  And entitled customers garner ZERO sympathy.  "I want my refundable booking so I can cancel right before final payment with no consequence!  But, if you DARE cancel on ME well before final payment, you will incur my irrational wrath FOREVER!!!"

 

Do people even get that cruising BARELY qualifies as "travel".  It's a creation so devoid of culture, adventure and variability, it's barely a step up from watching Golden Girls reruns on your sofa.  The fact that people complain like this only underscores that fact.