NextCruise & Royal Carribean's poor customer service

[shayco]

#Richard D. Fain #nextcruise I am so disappointed with rccl. Having sailed with rccl 8 times already and looking forward to my 9th cruise I find that rccl will do anything to stop me booking my #nextcruise.  rccl insist that I book my cruise with the TA that I had booked my last cruise with. This is rediculous as I have trusted my deposit of 200 euro with rccl and should be allowed to spend it as I wish. This my 3rd time using the #nextcruise program and I have to be honest I see no benefit at all in it. Initially the attraction was that you got onboard credit but now you have to book your #nextcruise within 60 days ( too restrictive ) you also have to book your #nextcruise within 12 months or you loose your deposit. I had spoken to an rccl representative at a recent holiday fair #hollyrice and she assured me that the #nextcruise deposit would be transfered back to rccl but it still has' nt happened. I see a response coming in now saying I should let the Loyalty Ambassador know and they will sort it. Who is the Loyalty Ambassador ? everytime I ring rccl they say they cant facilitate me. Help me please I am so annoyed. 
I now have to write to rccl and request a transfer despite their representative doing this already. I definitely would not reccomend using the NextCruise program unless you have a specific cruise in mind to book. Do not do an open booking. Sorry to burden you all with this I have enjoyed all my cruises with rccl and have never had reason to complain. However I think you only really get to know how good a company is when you see how they handle complaints. This situation could have been solved with the couple of strokes of a keyboard but no I have to wait another couple of weeks before I know if I can go on an rccl cruise again and to contemplate do I really want to. So there you have it. If I had'nt of given rccl a deposit I could of availed of the many special offers that have been advertised recently but no rccl would nt take my booking. I m sailing with another cruise line next April I ll be interested to know how they compare to rccl. Perhaps I ll let you know. Thanks for your time .....

It was Sun 26th January when I was assured that this would be sorted.

STILL AWAITING TRANSFER OF MY NEXTCRUISE DEPOSIT BACK TO RCCL.....Where's that email address for CEO rccl europe that somebody posted. I know they are a big organisation but it should nt take this long to track down #hollyrice who was suppose to organise the transfer. Local TA has given permission.

 

Seamus

[Ourusualbeach]

Just for your information the # symbol on cruise critic does not do anything.

[BeachChik]

I feel like there are parts missing from the story.

 

Was the deposit paid to a TA or directly to Royal? If it was paid to a TA then Royal (and every other cruise line) will refer you back to the TA.

[CanadaRob]

In general this is good advice from the Royal reps, using a TA even if it is not the same one that you used previously will in general have access to group rates which are often less than the posted/web rates.  By transferring to a TA it could be in your best interest, BUT if you don't wish to transfer this should be a 48hour ish process to transfer back to RCL.  In some instances I've run across TAs that are unwilling or are very slow to 'give up' a booking.  In this instance I would follow up with the TA involved.

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, shayco said:

rccl insist that I book my cruise with the TA that I had booked my last cruise with.

The Next Cruise folks may tell you this but that is not true - you can have the reservation stay with RCI or transfer it to another TA.

[pstone1]

30 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The Next Cruise folks may tell you this but that is not true - you can have the reservation stay with RCI or transfer it to another TA.

 

That is correct!  I recently booked a Next Cruise while on a cruise that had a TA listed.  I made absolutely sure the Next Cruise booking belonged to me and did not automatically go to the TA.

 

In my experience, prior to finalizing a Next Cruise transaction, the Next Cruise Agents require your signature on an agreement that clearly states the rules of the program.

[bonsai3s]

Seamus...Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Perhaps you should try calling again...you may get a different person who is more helpful.

 

[shayco]

Many thanks for all your comments. I ll keep you all posted.

[Hogbay]

next cruise has allways ask if we are using TA on file we say no thanks and go TA shopping when we get home .🙂

[shayco]

Are you able to use your deposit with another TA. I ve been told I cant.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, shayco said:

Are you able to use your deposit with another TA. I ve been told I cant.

If it is assigned to one TA you can’t switch it to another TA without getting the first TA to release the booking. 

[shayco]

Yes it has been released, I am 7 days now waiting for Agency Changes to come back to me and allow me  to book with rccl.

It's very frustrating, I am trying to give rccl money. The call centre people are useless and there are no managers or supervisors to discuss issues with customers. At least when on a ship you get to talk to a manager. Whats annoying me the most is that I love to sail rccl but I think that may change now.

 

 

[locksley10]

Same exact thing happend to me.

Booked next cruise onboard assuming It would be directley with Royal.

When I went to alter reservation at home it was held by the T/A that I had booked the cruise that I was on when I booked next cruise.

Very stupid policiy

Giant hassle moving it back to Royal.

It did finally happen.

[tinkertwo]

I have never found the Next Cruise agents to be helpful at all.  The few times I have tried to speak with them they acted like they were doing me a favor by just letting me sit down.  I had one agent roll their eyes at me for asking a simple question, apparently it was to simple to get a direct answer.  We don't bother talking with them now, nothing they can offer would entice me back to them.  JMO.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[chipsahoy2]

1 hour ago, locksley10 said:

Same exact thing happend to me.

Booked next cruise onboard assuming It would be directley with Royal.

When I went to alter reservation at home it was held by the T/A that I had booked the cruise that I was on when I booked next cruise.

Very stupid policiy

Giant hassle moving it back to Royal.

It did finally happen.

I'm new to RCCL. What is the benefit of moving the booking from the TA to Royal?

[twangster]

On 2/12/2020 at 2:43 AM, shayco said:

I find that rccl will do anything to stop me booking my #nextcruise.

 

While I have had my own issues with NextCruise I'm not sure this hyperbole will help you get assistance from Royal.  How are they do anything to stop you from booking?

 

Royal doesn't insist your NextCruise booking goes to your existing agency.  The default process is for a new booking at NextCruise to be assigned to your prior agency that booked your current sailing.  It is the default because most guests want it that way.  You are free to have NextCruise not assign a new booking to any agency, you just have to ask.  

 

I'm also confused with the repeated reference to transferring your deposit.  Deposits don't move between agencies or Royal.  A cruise booking is assigned to Royal direct or to a travel agency.  The booking is assigned or transferred, not the deposit.  

 

Perhaps the confusing verbiage is making it difficult for Royal to understand what you are seeking.  

 

At any rate, NextCruise is a department within the Crown and Anchor Society.  Perhaps reaching out to the Crown and Anchor Society and more plainly stating your request will help you achieve your goal, whatever that may be.

[Snit13]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

 

While I have had my own issues with NextCruise I'm not sure this hyperbole will help you get assistance from Royal.  How are they do anything to stop you from booking?

 

Royal doesn't insist your NextCruise booking goes to your existing agency.  The default process is for a new booking at NextCruise to be assigned to your prior agency that booked your current sailing.  It is the default because most guests want it that way.  You are free to have NextCruise not assign a new booking to any agency, you just have to ask.  

 

I'm also confused with the repeated reference to transferring your deposit.  Deposits don't move between agencies or Royal.  A cruise booking is assigned to Royal direct or to a travel agency.  The booking is assigned or transferred, not the deposit.  

 

Perhaps the confusing verbiage is making it difficult for Royal to understand what you are seeking.  

 

At any rate, NextCruise is a department within the Crown and Anchor Society.  Perhaps reaching out to the Crown and Anchor Society and more plainly stating your request will help you achieve your goal, whatever that may be.

Crown & Anchor Society is not as it used to be.  Each time I have called recently the employee who answered was not in USA and was extremely difficult to hear and understand.  For many years C&A calls were always answered by call center in Oregon and service was excellent.  I always call Miami when I have a question.

 

Hope you get your situation settled to your satisfaction.  I have booked many cruises over the years while on ship with Next Cruise and never had an issue.  I always went over paperwork with agent to make certain I understood what I was agreeing to and signing.

[SRF]

On 2/11/2020 at 7:07 PM, Hogbay said:

next cruise has allways ask if we are using TA on file we say no thanks and go TA shopping when we get home .🙂

 

This has been my experience.

 

They have told me the TA that is listed, and ask if I want to use the same one, a different one, or none (I DO use the same one) .

[Hogbay]

On 2/14/2020 at 7:37 AM, chipsahoy2 said:

I'm new to RCCL. What is the benefit of moving the booking from the TA to Royal?

Only if you have major issues with your TA ,We always book through next cruise ,lower deposit, more cabin choice and then see if any TA can do anything better ,if it's say aft corner they won't touch it cause they might loose it for a maybe $25 difference. When it's with Royal you call direct and if you don't like that answer just keep calling 😉