Allure OTS: 3 year old child denied boarding due to Influenza.

[puppycanducruise]

Sorry this happened to you.

I hope you get reimbursement.

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

While I don't totally agree with the policy, I understand Royal's stance on it.  If RC says "if one member of your party is denied boarding, then all members of the traveling party can get refunds", what's to stop people from showing up, saying "I'm sick" and getting their refund? 

 

On the other hand, I agree with PP that the policy can be written so that if a member of the traveling party is 21 or younger (whatever the minimum age to cruise solo), then if one is denied boarding, all are denied boarding and entitled to refunds.

 

Also to prevent people from "faking" sickness, if they say they've had a fever, why not have them screened by medical staff?  Surely they could have some rapid flu tests on hand. 

[20165]

9 hours ago, motopolitico said:

I feel like a moron because I stupidly told the truth about my kid’s fever. RCLhas offered a future cruise credit for my 3 year old child and nobody else in our cabin. This is beyond ridiculous. Did they really expect that we would leave our sick three-year-old alone in South Florida for a week? Neither I nor my travel agent can get anybody at RCI to even talk. It’s been nonstop buck-passing. First the folks at the port told me to call RCCL customer service. Then they told me they wouldn’t discuss it with me, only my TA. Then when my TA called and conferenced me in, they told her they wouldn’t know what happened until the ship came back. These idiots couldn’t even keep their story straight about how / where / when we could get our luggage. Everyone keeps lying and passing the buck.
 

I’m tired of the lies and the buck-passing from RCI. Does anyone have any tips for bringing things to a resolution so I can know exactly how much I’ve been screwed over for? 
 

If we had lied, Allure could have been generating headlines costing RCCL millions. Why shaft us and refuse to even communicate?

 

Does anyone know of a way to contact them other than the customer disservice phone number?

This is exactly our fear when we cruise in June.  We do have the insurance, but if they are getting the run around now, think about how bad it will be in a couple months if this thing really start spreading and more people are denied boarding. 

 

[Milwaukee Eight]

8 hours ago, motopolitico said:

This happened last Sunday for 7 day “Western Caribbean” Mexico cruise. I took to forum tonight  after endless RCCL stonewalling. 

Thanks. Sorry this happened. 
 

What was the resolution for your luggage?

[Starry Eyes]

So, you took the sick child’s to port that morning to be denied boarding.  Did you take the child to a doctor later that day?  Can you get that doctor (urgent care, if you were traveling) to help with trip insurance paperwork?  Or did wait to seek care for the child?

[motopolitico]

2 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Thanks. Sorry this happened. 
 

What was the resolution for your luggage?

They refused to taxi our luggage to our hastily arranged hotel. We had to make our way back to the cruise terminal the following day. Had we believed the first, second, and third RCI staff who told us where and how to get our luggage, we’d have been out of luck. RCI passed the buck to Port Security. Port Security told us they weren’t in charge of luggage. Finally one of the port staff took my phone number and gave me hers. The whole thing was handled as though it had never happened before in the history of RCCL.

[Ken at the beach]

33 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

what's to stop people from showing up, saying "I'm sick" and getting their refund? 

Just saying you are sick gets you referred to secondary screening where things like your temperature and blood oximetry are measured. 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[Mapleleafforever]

Lesson learned to everyone if this is the way Royal is handling this.....kids get sick all the time....pump them with a little tylenol and at the cruise terminal tell them everyone is fine. The way kids recuperate they'll be ok in a day or 2. Kids also run mild fevers when teething so can also say teeth are coming in. 

[motopolitico]

7 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

So, you took the sick child’s to port that morning to be denied boarding.  Did you take the child to a doctor later that day?  Can you get that doctor (urgent care, if you were traveling) to help with trip insurance paperwork?  Or did wait to seek care for the child?

We did manage to hit a Minute Clinic on embarkation day. The nurse practitioner there prescribed Tamiflu, which we administered right away. I naively believed that since this was merely a seasonal flu and none of us had been anywhere near East Asia, perhaps they’d let us board. 

[Mapleleafforever]

7 hours ago, motopolitico said:

I thought they would have as a bare minimum some form of compensation for at least one adult member of the party to remain with and care for the three year old. That was too compassionate for them.

I thought that when they verbally told us that we’d all be refunded, that representation would make it to writing. That would have been too truthful for them.

I thought that once they knew we had all decided not to board, that they would give us a straight answer about when / where/ how to pick up our luggage. That would have been too competent of them.

I thought that they would give us a straight answer about when the terminal closed. Also too competent. 

I thought that when I called customer service, I would be treated as a valued customer instead of lied to repeatedly. Far, far too much to expect, apparently?

Can you help me understand which of my expectations were unreasonable?

None of your requests sound unreasonable. 

[Starry Eyes]

11 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Lesson learned to everyone if this is the way Royal is handling this.....kids get sick all the time....pump them with a little tylenol and at the cruise terminal tell them everyone is fine. The way kids recuperate they'll be ok in a day or 2. Kids also run mild fevers when teething so can also say teeth are coming in. 

Horrible advice on this specific case.  This child had influenza, a highly contagious disease that does not belong on a cruiseship.  Furthermore, people, including small children, can develop complications from influenza; should such complications occur, you do NOT want to be on a cruiseship...you want to be on shore near full medical care.  

 

If a baby is teething, that is a different matter, of course.

 

 

[Mapleleafforever]

1 minute ago, Starry Eyes said:

Horrible advice on this specific case.  This child had influenza, a highly contagious disease that does not belong on a cruiseship.  Furthermore, people, including small children, can develop complications from influenza; should such complications occur, you do NOT want to be on a cruiseship...you want to be on shore near full medical care.  

 

If a baby is teething, that is a different matter, of course.

 

 

Lots of things don't belong on a Cruiseship yet they get on anyway. Kids get sick all the time, especially kids in the petri dish of daycare.....helps build their immune systems. If Royal doesn't start issuing full refunds to all in the party this is what's going to happen mark my words. It's much easier for the cruise line to issue a refund than it is to fight with an insurance company. 

 

 

[mjkacmom]

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Well done for being honest.

This is flu season and after the Diamond Princess problems everyone is paranoid.

A quick blood test needs to be available ASAP for coronavirus to avoid cases like yours and to calm everyone who is worried about losing their cruise,money or worse.

But that test doesn’t exist.

[mjkacmom]

6 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Lots of things don't belong on a Cruiseship yet they get on anyway. Kids get sick all the time, especially kids in the petri dish of daycare.....helps build their immune systems. If Royal doesn't start issuing full refunds to all in the party this is what's going to happen mark my words. It's much easier for the cruise line to issue a refund than it is to fight with an insurance company. 

 

 

The OP has insurance, this is a valid reason for not going on the cruise, the OP will be reimbursed by the insurance company.

[Roger88]

This is what I am talking about. Traveling with kids can be very unpredicted. I mean, they can be sick and you wont know about it or they get sick and then the entire tour is ruined. I would recommend cruises with kids or at take kids to a doctor just to be sure that there wont be any problems during the cruise 

[Mapleleafforever]

9 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The OP has insurance, this is a valid reason for not going on the cruise, the OP will be reimbursed by the insurance company.

Can't file a claim until Royal has issued something stating why they denied boarding....which they have yet to do. All they've done so far is issue an FCC for the 3 year old......unacceptable. Full refunds are in order.

[WI-Cruiser]

I think royal did the right thing by denying boarding.

 

HOWEVER, the policy should be that if the affected person is a minor then the minor's parents/guardians should receive full refund, or at least be provided paperwork indicating they were denied boarding as well so they can claim against insurance.

 

Standard procedures also should be in place on how the denied passengers can get their baggage returned - while it may not happen on every cruise I'm sure it is not uncommon for someone to be denied boarding.

 

Cases like the OP's just encourage people to lie about feeling ill - never a good idea and especially in today's environment.

[mjkacmom]

15 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

This is what I am talking about. Traveling with kids can be very unpredicted. I mean, they can be sick and you wont know about it or they get sick and then the entire tour is ruined. I would recommend cruises with kids or at take kids to a doctor just to be sure that there wont be any problems during the cruise 

If you take a child to the doctor with no symptoms you will get charged for the visit, but no tests will be done. What would be the point? Most childhood illnesses are viruses with no tests.

[mjkacmom]

9 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Can't file a claim until Royal has issued something stating why they denied boarding....which they have yet to do. All they've done so far is issue an FCC for the 3 year old......unacceptable. Full refunds are in order.

But I assume they will? Insurance is responsible for reimbursement.

[Starry Eyes]

26 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Lots of things don't belong on a Cruiseship yet they get on anyway. Kids get sick all the time, especially kids in the petri dish of daycare.....helps build their immune systems. If Royal doesn't start issuing full refunds to all in the party this is what's going to happen mark my words. It's much easier for the cruise line to issue a refund than it is to fight with an insurance company. 

 

 

Travel insurance is supposed to coverage such unfortunate incidents.  The cruiselines push the insurance.  The travel agents push the insurance.  Read CC and you will see plenty of other threads with issues covered ( or should be covered) by travel insurance. 

[Mapleleafforever]

1 minute ago, WI-Cruiser said:

I think royal did the right thing by denying boarding.

 

HOWEVER, the policy should be that if the affected person is a minor then the minor's parents/guardians should receive full refund, or at least be provided paperwork indicating they were denied boarding as well so they can claim against insurance.

 

Standard procedures also should be in place on how the denied passengers can get their baggage returned - while it may not happen on every cruise I'm sure it is not uncommon for someone to be denied boarding.

 

Cases like the OP's just encourage people to lie about feeling ill - never a good idea and especially in today's environment.

YES!! That's the point I was trying to make. The way Royal is handling things now will encourage people to lie!! 

[Mapleleafforever]

Just now, Starry Eyes said:

Travel insurance is supposed to coverage such unfortunate incidents.  The cruiselines push the insurance.  The travel agents push the insurance.  Read CC and you will see plenty of other threads with issues covered ( or should be covered) by travel insurance. 

No one is debating the merits of travel insurance.....Royal has to issue something in order to put a claim in is what we're saying. So far Royal hasn't done it (as far as we know). 

[TNcruising02]

I am sorry about what happened.  That must have been very stressful.  If one person in a cabin is denied boarding at the terminal, then I think the entire cabin should get a FCC.  That's ridiculous for just a child to get the credit.  Everyone in the party has been exposed and is a risk.

[Starry Eyes]

4 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

YES!! That's the point I was trying to make. The way Royal is handling things now will encourage people to lie!! 

Wake up...Lies have been happening for years and years.  On every cruiseline.  People still want to go even though they know they ( or a family member) is contagious, so they lie.  This family knew they had a contagious disease in the family and they wanted to board the ship.  Evidently, they did not know influenza was a no-no for boarding.  That lack of knowledge resulted in some of the issues. Had they known, they would have contacted their travel insurance company for instructions rather than going to port (everyone would have been better off, especially the sick kid).  They certainly would not have checked their luggage but would have kept it at their sides even if they had been told by insurance company to go to port ( doubtful).  They would have the cancellation paperwork from the cruiseline and could have a refund in process with their insurance company.

 

They still need to be guided by their TA and insurance co thru this process.  It is a shame the child became ill.  As the parent is posting, I trust the child has/is recovering well without complications; that, in the end, is the most important thing.

[Starry Eyes]

9 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

I am sorry about what happened.  That must have been very stressful.  If one person in a cabin is denied boarding at the terminal, then I think the entire cabin should get a FCC.  That's ridiculous for just a child to get the credit.  Everyone in the party has been exposed and is a risk.

The family is better off, I think, with a no-strings attached refund from their travel insurance company than with FCC’s ...I believe those have time limits and linked to specific passengers. With a refund they can book anything anytime.