Look Out if applying FCC

[SRF]

Royal is playing more games.  If you booked with FCC and also had to pay a bit extra, CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT.

 

We were booked on the March 6 12 night on Grandeur.  It was obviously going to be canceled due to CDC limitations. But Royal did not cancel it before final payment.

 

We had 125% FCC from another canceled cruise (AGAIN they waited until after final payment to cancel).  So I figured I would go ahead and apply the FCC to the March 6 cruise, and pay a bit extra (shifted from GS to OS from the shift from April cruise, as no GS).

 

So, imagine my surprise when I hit the limit on my credit card.  So I checked my account online and found that Royal had charged THE WHOLE CRUISE AMOUNT.  They had NOT applied the FCC at all.

 

So we ended up cancelling the cruise.  And I will say that Royal did process the refund quickly.  But it still cost me $156 in interest as the refunds did not post before the statement closing.

 

All this on a cruise that they did not cancel until a month after final payment, even though the CDC requirements were published over a month before final payment.

 

I made Diamond on my last cruise, just before COVID hit.  But right now, I do not see myself cruising on Royal for the stuff they have been pulling.  Maybe the other lines have done the same, but I have not experienced it.

 

Now I just have to get my FCC refunded into cash before FCI declares Chapt 11 and cancels FCCs as debt.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, SRF said:

But right now, I do not see myself cruising on Royal for the stuff they have been pulling. 

You have been here long enough to know that this is not that unusual for RCI, even before the pandemic.

[SRF]

Now it seems that they are specifically trying to grab cash, even for a month.

 

Especially starting by not cancelling a 12 night cruise when the CDC requirements would not allow the cruise to sail.

[sellwingri]

Curious where your 12 day cruise is sailing.  Maybe I’m not aware but I thought all 12 cruises were out of the US where the CDC has no right to stop sailings unless there’s a US port.

Edited February 14, 2021 by sellwingri

[Ourusualbeach]

20 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

Curious where your 12 day cruise is sailing.  Maybe I’m not aware but I thought all 12 cruises were out of the US where the CDC has no right to stop sailings unless there’s a US port.

Royal has stopped the sale of cruises longer than 7 nights that touch a US port but has not cancelled them.

[sellwingri]

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royal has stopped the sale of cruises longer than 7 nights that touch a US port but has not cancelled them.

Yes, I’m aware of this. I was referring to the post by SRF.

 

[Sunshine3601]

23 hours ago, SRF said:

Royal is playing more games.  If you booked with FCC and also had to pay a bit extra, CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT.

 

We were booked on the March 6 12 night on Grandeur.  It was obviously going to be canceled due to CDC limitations. But Royal did not cancel it before final payment.

 

We had 125% FCC from another canceled cruise (AGAIN they waited until after final payment to cancel).  So I figured I would go ahead and apply the FCC to the March 6 cruise, and pay a bit extra (shifted from GS to OS from the shift from April cruise, as no GS).

 

So, imagine my surprise when I hit the limit on my credit card.  So I checked my account online and found that Royal had charged THE WHOLE CRUISE AMOUNT.  They had NOT applied the FCC at all.

 

So we ended up cancelling the cruise.  And I will say that Royal did process the refund quickly.  But it still cost me $156 in interest as the refunds did not post before the statement closing.

 

All this on a cruise that they did not cancel until a month after final payment, even though the CDC requirements were published over a month before final payment.

 

I made Diamond on my last cruise, just before COVID hit.  But right now, I do not see myself cruising on Royal for the stuff they have been pulling.  Maybe the other lines have done the same, but I have not experienced it.

 

Now I just have to get my FCC refunded into cash before FCI declares Chapt 11 and cancels FCCs as debt.

Maybe the better option would have been for you to do a lift n shift instead of paying for the cruise with your fcc and/or cc.  

[twangster]

Any time FCC is involved you need to watch them with a keen eye and keep detailed notes.

 

I recently applied a $100 FCC to a new booking.  I made sure to get an invoice before the FCC was applied.  A few days later I called and got a new invoice.  My new invoice with the $100 FCC applied dropped by $59.  There was a line item listing my $100 FCC but they only applied $59 of it.  A phone call fixed it and I asked for a new copy of the invoice, now my 3rd version just days after making the booking.  

 

In my case it was a whopping $41 difference but that is my $41.   Every time I do anything even change cabins I obtain a new invoice.  They are placed in a folder with a suffix like "-1" or "-2" so I have an audit trail.  

 

The point is this could have been avoided by not trusting they would apply the FCC.  You should have followed up and verified the FCC was applied when you asked them to apply it.    

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Any time FCC is involved you need to watch them with a keen eye and keep detailed notes.

 

I recently applied a $100 FCC to a new booking.  I made sure to get an invoice before the FCC was applied.  A few days later I called and got a new invoice.  My new invoice with the $100 FCC applied dropped by $59.  There was a line item listing my $100 FCC but they only applied $59 of it.  A phone call fixed it and I asked for a new copy of the invoice, now my 3rd version just days after making the booking.  

 

In my case it was a whopping $41 difference but that is my $41.   Every time I do anything even change cabins I obtain a new invoice.  They are placed in a folder with a suffix like "-1" or "-2" so I have an audit trail.  

 

The point is this could have been avoided by not trusting they would apply the FCC.  You should have followed up and verified the FCC was applied when you asked them to apply it.    

Moral of the story....Take the cash.  I can't believe all of the bookkeeping that has to be done with something that should be so simple. Does 1+1 still = 2 or is Royal Caribbean using what my parents called "New Math"?

[RFerrington]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Any time FCC is involved you need to watch them with a keen eye and keep detailed notes.

 

I recently applied a $100 FCC to a new booking.  I made sure to get an invoice before the FCC was applied.  A few days later I called and got a new invoice.  My new invoice with the $100 FCC applied dropped by $59.  There was a line item listing my $100 FCC but they only applied $59 of it.  A phone call fixed it and I asked for a new copy of the invoice, now my 3rd version just days after making the booking.  

 

In my case it was a whopping $41 difference but that is my $41.   Every time I do anything even change cabins I obtain a new invoice.  They are placed in a folder with a suffix like "-1" or "-2" so I have an audit trail.  

 

The point is this could have been avoided by not trusting they would apply the FCC.  You should have followed up and verified the FCC was applied when you asked them to apply it.    

Agree 100%. 

 

I go a step further...and refuse to hang up with the agent until I get a copy of the new confirmation and check it carefully.  On the last 2 bookings that I have made, " the system" added the travel protection to the booking even though I had JUST told them that I didn't need/want it.  In both instances, I caught it before I got off the phone with the Agent (both times it was the casino) and the Agents were both completely unaware that the insurance had been added.  So you just have to due extra diligence to make sure that you are getting what you asked for.

[twangster]

36 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Moral of the story....Take the cash.  I can't believe all of the bookkeeping that has to be done with something that should be so simple. Does 1+1 still = 2 or is Royal Caribbean using what my parents called "New Math"?

 

Some of us are stuck with FCC for a number of reasons but I generally concur.  When available, take the refund.  When you have FCC keep detailed notes and verify the math.

[ipeeinthepool]

I guess I'm a little confused.  Did you allow RCL to automatically chare your CC?  If so, that's something I would always avoid.  I always have a discussion with my TA before final payment and the TA tells me exactly how much the charge will be.  If the OP adopts this approach, it would avoid similar problems in the future.