Royal customer service epic fail

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, ryano said:

I find it rather funny that there are at least 5 other posts mentioning travel insurance yet you choose to call me out on it.   I very much see entitlement here.  If you cant, oh well.     My post implies NOTHING more than the fact that this is yet another reminder to ME  as to why I buy travel insurance.  I can afford to lose the money or I wouldnt be going on a cruise.  I purchase travel insurance more for reasons like medical coverage.  Covering last minute instances like this that may pop up is just an added bonus in that Im not basically setting fire to 2-3 grand.    Good day  🙂  

You answered your own question as to why your post stood out. You have a good day too.

[sparks1093]

22 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

If I couldn't afford to lose the money I would not be spending it on a cruise but on the necessities of life. 

I see that a lot and I don't really understand the thinking. Yes, I can afford to lose the money, but why should I if it is reasonable to insure against the loss? I insure mostly for the catastrophic expenses such as medevac and medical but it's nice to know that if I do have to cancel that i can get my money back to spend on another cruise once the dust settles. (And I'm not posting this to try to change your mind but to offer a counter-point for others to consider who haven't made up their mind yet.)

[Paulette3028]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There aren’t any security issues as you can change a name on the reservation up to 24 hours in advance of the sailing.  It’s just policy.

In the post 911 era that we live in....I thought that ship manifests had to be submitted to 'some national security dept' several days before sailing (for some security check) and if so that would make name changes up to 24 hours in advance impossible.

[Clarea]

22 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 ...  I'd be curious if there is a legitimate reason for this policy (coast guard rules, etc.).   ...

 

To stop cruise bookings from showing up on eBay.

[awestover89]

14 minutes ago, BNBR said:

There is nothing obnoxious or entitled about thinking you should be able to swap names on your cabin.  Just because this has been policy for some time doesn't make it right.  I'd be curious if there is a legitimate reason for this policy (coast guard rules, etc.).  To me it's not an unreasonable request.  I wouldn't blame their customer service department, but I do think the policy comes off as senseless.

 

The official reason behind the policy is to prevent people from buying a cruise when the price is cheap and then reselling it later for a profit.

 

But even if there was no legitimate reason behind the policy, it's still a policy that people booking cruises should be aware of. It's the same as airline tickets being non-refundable after 24 hours. I think it's a terrible policy and I wish the airlines would be more flexible in waiving the change fee, but at the same time when I book an airline ticket I know that that's the policy and I don't expect to get any special treatment (although I do still call and try my luck, I'm about 50/50 with getting airlines to waive the change fee)

 

As for insurance, I do personally get it for most of my vacations. The fact is everybody has "insurance", it's just a question of if you self-insure (are ready to lose the cost of the vacation if something happens) or insure through a company. For me, personally, the math works out. My husband and I have insured 7 cruises, at about $150 per insurance policy, so just over $1,000 total. We've had to file one claim, which resulted in just over $3,000 returned that we would have otherwise lost. I could insure my next 14 cruises without any incidents before I'd be back to breaking even 

[ryano]

11 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I see that a lot and I don't really understand the thinking. Yes, I can afford to lose the money, but why should I if it is reasonable to insure against the loss? I insure mostly for the catastrophic expenses such as medevac and medical but it's nice to know that if I do have to cancel that i can get my money back to spend on another cruise once the dust settles. (And I'm not posting this to try to change your mind but to offer a counter-point for others to consider who haven't made up their mind yet.)

Thank you, for eloquently putting into words, my thoughts exactly. I was having trouble coming up with a reply that quickly.  Were bad at math for this thinking though dont you know?  😉     Maybe BNBR and Ocean Boy have more money than God and can afford a $50,000 medivac flight.   I cant.     I often wonder why people with this type thinking insure their home if they own said home mortgage free.   ALL Insurance is worthless, until you actually need it. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by ryano

[Ourusualbeach]

27 minutes ago, BNBR said:

There is nothing obnoxious or entitled about thinking you should be able to swap names on your cabin.  Just because this has been policy for some time doesn't make it right.  I'd be curious if there is a legitimate reason for this policy (coast guard rules, etc.).  To me it's not an unreasonable request.  I wouldn't blame their customer service department, but I do think the policy comes off as senseless.

The policy requiring that one of the original guests names is in place to prevent the reselling of cabins on the aftermarket.  People could book a bunch of cheap cruises and then wait for prices to go up.  I am in no way suggesting that the OP is nothing but honest but I could see some making up all kinds of excuses and even forging Dr’s notes etc. if they thought they could get away with it.  

 

I know exceptions have have been made in the past however more and more I see Royal having a black and white response to their policies.   I can only guess that it is because more and more people are asking for exceptions particularly as they’ve seen many success stories posted here and on other social media platforms.  

Edited May 22, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[BNBR]

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

To stop cruise bookings from showing up on eBay.

 

See, that makes sense.  Thank you. 

[ryano]

9 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

In the post 911 era that we live in....I thought that ship manifests had to be submitted to 'some national security dept' several days before sailing (for some security check) and if so that would make name changes up to 24 hours in advance impossible.

 

The final manifest has to be submitted 90 minutes (may be 60 minutes) before departure I think.  They do allow name changes up until 24 hours before the ship leaves the dock.  

Edited May 22, 2019 by ryano

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, ryano said:

Thank you, for eloquently putting into words, my thoughts exactly. I was having trouble coming up with a reply.  Were bad at math for this thinking though dont you know?  😉     Maybe BNBR and Ocean Boy have more money than God and can afford a $50,000 medivac flight.   I cant.     I often wonder why people with this type thinking insure their home if they own said home mortgage free.   ALL Insurance is worthless, until you actually need it. 

Nobody was talking about medical insurance.  Two entirely different things.  

[awestover89]

7 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

In the post 911 era that we live in....I thought that ship manifests had to be submitted to 'some national security dept' several days before sailing (for some security check) and if so that would make name changes up to 24 hours in advance impossible.

 

I think the final manifest is due like 90 minutes before sailing. Technically the final manifest won't be ready until the cruise line closes the gangway on departure day, in the case of people missing the boat or being no shows.

Royal (and most other cruise lines, if not all) have a policy that one name must be the same as the original booking, but you can change the names of the other passengers in the cabin as much as you want up to 24 hours prior to sailing.

[awestover89]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

Nobody was talking about medical insurance.  Two entirely different things.  

 

Many third party vacation insurance policies cover both medical and trip delay/cancellation

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, awestover89 said:

 

Many third party vacation insurance policies cover both medical and trip delay/cancellation

Yes but they are available separately as well.  Many of my clients, including myself only get the medical portion.  

[BNBR]

6 minutes ago, ryano said:

Thank you, for eloquently putting into words, my thoughts exactly. I was having trouble coming up with a reply that quickly.  Were bad at math for this thinking though dont you know?  😉     Maybe BNBR and Ocean Boy have more money than God and can afford a $50,000 medivac flight.   I cant.     I often wonder why people with this type thinking insure their home if they own said home mortgage free.   ALL Insurance is worthless, until you actually need it. 

 

See what you did here? We are talking about cancelation insurance and you changed the conversation to medevac to try and make your point.  Of course I have medevac and home insurance. A NEW $50k bill for medical is catastrophic. Replacing a house is catastrophic. Being disappointed I missed a cruise with no financial repercussion (opposite since you get fees, excursions, and taxes back), not catastrophic. 

[BNBR]

5 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

Many third party vacation insurance policies cover both medical and trip delay/cancellation

 

Of course they do, and you pay for it accordingly. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by BNBR

[ryano]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Nobody was talking about medical insurance.  Two entirely different things.  

 

Every single travel insurance policy Ive ever bought includes medical coverage along with the trip cancellation.  The medical coverage is the PRIMARY reason I purchase travel insurance.  Trip cancellation is just an added bonus of the policy to me.  It has nothing to do with being bad at math or not being able to afford losing 2-3 grand as implied by two posts on this thread.

[Ourusualbeach]

16 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

In the post 911 era that we live in....I thought that ship manifests had to be submitted to 'some national security dept' several days before sailing (for some security check) and if so that would make name changes up to 24 hours in advance impossible.

 Names may be changed up to 24 hours prior to sailing provided one of the original names remains on the reservations.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/electronic-cruise-documents

[sxphil]

7 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

Many third party vacation insurance policies cover both medical and trip delay/cancellation

 

This is essential for UK Cruises as we get "Free" Medical cover in the UK

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, ryano said:

 

Every single travel insurance policy Ive ever bought includes medical coverage along with the trip cancellation.  The medical coverage is the PRIMARY reason I purchase travel insurance.  Trip cancellation is just an added bonus of the policy to me.  It has nothing to do with being bad at math or not being able to afford losing 2-3 grand as implied by two posts on this thread.

Shop around.  The price for medical only will be substantially cheaper in many case.

 

for example I can get medical for about family of 4 on an annual policy for under $200.  Cancellation and interruption insurance runs about 10 to 15% of the vacation cost.

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Shop around.  The price for medical only will be substantially cheaper in many case.

 

for example I can get medical for about family of 4 on an annual policy for under $200.  Cancellation and interruption insurance runs about 10 to 15% of the vacation cost.

I don't cruise often enough for one of the annual plans and buying the comprehensive plan isn't that much more than buying medical/medevac coverage and sometimes the comprehensive plan comes in for less. Everyone's needs are different which is why different packages are available, it isn't a one size fits all proposition. But to return to the original point since I can insure the trip portion for comparative pennies I do so, even though I can technically afford to lose the money already spent because as I said it's nice to know that after having something catastrophic happen I have the means to take another cruise. (And FWIW I usually spend around 7% of the trip cost for comprehensive insurance.)

Edited May 22, 2019 by sparks1093

[dodgestang]

28 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

To stop cruise bookings from showing up on eBay.

Exactly right.   People would buy up all the most desirable cabins on there most desirable sailings and sell them at a mark up if you could just change all the people on the reservation Willy Nilly ..... it’s a the old ticket scalper model,

 

im sorry they didn’t opt to pay for travel insurance, next time they will.

[The_Big_M]

17 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

See what you did here? We are talking about cancelation insurance and you changed the conversation to medevac to try and make your point.  Of course I have medevac and home insurance. A NEW $50k bill for medical is catastrophic. Replacing a house is catastrophic. Being disappointed I missed a cruise with no financial repercussion (opposite since you get fees, excursions, and taxes back), not catastrophic. 

 

Perhaps you were, but another we were talking about fully inclusive travel insurance, including medical.

 

Here all travel insurance includes a medical component, and that is the main reason people get it. There is no medical only insurance without cancellation. The cancellation cost is negligible so what's the point of excluding it just to save - literally - a few bucks??

[Ocean Boy]

44 minutes ago, ryano said:

Thank you, for eloquently putting into words, my thoughts exactly. I was having trouble coming up with a reply that quickly.  Were bad at math for this thinking though dont you know?  😉     Maybe BNBR and Ocean Boy have more money than God and can afford a $50,000 medivac flight.   I cant.     I often wonder why people with this type thinking insure their home if they own said home mortgage free.   ALL Insurance is worthless, until you actually need it. 

If you can't figure out the difference between taking the risk on the value of a cruise and taking the risk on the value of a home I can just shrug my shoulders I guess. And the subject of this thread did seem to be missing a cruise not medevac.

 

Hmmm, nope, I am pretty sure God has me beat in the bank book department.

[BNBR]

13 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Perhaps you were, but another we were talking about fully inclusive travel insurance, including medical.

 

Here all travel insurance includes a medical component, and that is the main reason people get it. There is no medical only insurance without cancellation. The cancellation cost is negligible so what's the point of excluding it just to save - literally - a few bucks??

 

I'm not in Australia, I have no idea what your insurance is like.  For us, you can cover your entire family with medevac, unlimited trips, for $79/year.   Which is much cheaper than comprehensive on just a single trip.

 

Insurance is complicated.  There is no right answer.  It largely depends on what your current health insurance covers (travel/international, etc.), and even some credit cards provide travel medical and comprehensive.  My issue is all the passive aggressive humble bragging that comes up every time someone misses a cruise - as if buying cancellation insurance is a no brainer.  And every time you get the comments like "Just call your travel insurance company" when the poster knows that the OP most likely doesn't have travel insurance.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

side question:

I just buy the insurance offered by the cruise line. Should I purchase it elsewhere?