Avoid bookings with Royal Caribbean

[richgboyer]

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

[The sea calls my name]

You information is not correct. RCCL was not even sailing In April 2020 or April 2021 and your cruise was Nov 2020, so You have conflicting dates. We had our April 2020 Transatlantic cancelled and used a FCC to reschedule it for April 2022. I would speak to someone else.

[Canadianmama3]

1 hour ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

Your story doesn’t even make sense.  You booked in Nov 2020 but your FCC had to be used on a sailing before April 2020? 

[MrMarc]

So because you had a bad experience, no one should ever book a cruise with that company?  I see posts and reviews like this all the time, and it amazes me.  Luckily RCCL is large enough that something like this will not matter.   But when people do this to small businesses, it can be really harmful.   I wish people would be more understanding when mistakes happen, especially in a case like this where it sounds like there was some kind of communication error since the dates don't really make sense.  Before you post horrible comments or bad reviews for a business, especially a small one, please calm down and think about it.  Is your bad experience so bad that you want to hurt that business?

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

This post is bogus. This cruise would have qualified for a 100% refund of all monies paid.

[SherriZ366]

1 hour ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  

[dswallow]

1 hour ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

 

The Future Cruise Credit has a simple expiration date for the latest sailing date it's good for, as well as a date you have to use it and apply it to a sailing before.

Unlike the Lift & Shift option, using a Future Cruise Credit doesn't have to be against the same type of cruise or the same port, or time of year, or length. 

While perhaps you failed to notice it, the offers to get a Future Cruise Credit or to use Lift & Shift, or to get a refund, all stated any limitations on the use of future cruise credits requiring it be applied to a sailing by a certain date or for a sailing that departs by a certain date.

I myself was to be on Allure of the Seas in November on the Barcelona-to-Miami Transatlantic, as well as on Allure for the prior 7-night cruise in Barcelona. Though I did make the decision before final payment and before the official cancellation by Royal Caribbean so I only had the Cruise with Confidence Future Cruise Credit offer to fall back on, and be able to get back 100% of my deposits and use it towards other sailings.

[zekekelso]

1 hour ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.

Oh believe me, that’s no where near the worst customer experiences people have had with RCI 🙂

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

You were able to get cash refund when they cancelled your cruise but sounds like you opted for the 125% fcc instead.   

FCC need to book by 4.30.22 and sail by 9.30.22

I'm sure the fcc rules were available when you opted for the fcc instead of cash refund.

 

[broadwaybaby123]

Complete bogus, your dates are wrong.  No cruise lines were even sailing at that time.

[bjlaac]

I don't know anything about this couples cruise and dates but we had a very similar experience on NCL.  In October of 2019 DW and I were on a 12 night cruise out of NY.  Because of some last minute price drops and guarantees, we wound up receiving a FCC of $1,100 or so, with the stipulation it be used on a sailing by November 1, 2020. 

 

Shortly after completing the sailing in 2019, we booked another NCL cruise for October 2020.  Well we all know what happened next with covid as nothing sailed after March of 2020 and it was impossible to use that FCC.  We tried talking to NCL directly as well as through our travel agent, to no avail.  NCL would not extend the use of that credit and insisted it be used on a sailing that sailed before 11/1/20 when no ships were sailing, the ultimate catch 22!

 

We sit back and laugh about it but we were the equivalent of Diamond members at NCL and really felt that was no way to treat long time customers of their product.  It was a crazy time but sometimes the short term decisions these cruise lines make hurt them in the long run.  That's why we are currently booked on RCL ships in the immediate future.

[djefferis]

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

Now again, I will ask - WHY do people think “if I post a bad customer experience with RCL service (or any other brand for that matter) on a brand specific forum/FB group - will people rally behind me, abandon or boycott the brand and something positive come my way?

 

As to the OP story - it’s pretty simple I think when you ignore the year typos. They booked a TA in 2020 - obviously didn’t go. They WANT RCL to give them 125% FCC towards a TA - but next TA their way isn’t until past 2022 - so no go as FCC expires before then.

 

So they expect to be treated “special” by RCL by either bending the rules everyone else had to follow or by holding a special TA cruise just to accommodate them. Sorry - neither will happen. 
 

As it appears OP is outside of the US and in the Euro side - then yes, there will be more limited options and potentially not as many cruises priced in line with a TA - and fares ma have different rules on refund/FCC (don’t know - I’m not subject to them so don’t follow those rules). 
 

Bottom line however - understand WHAT you are signing when you pay your money for something and if it doesn’t go for some reason - what your refund options are. And understand WHO you are signing it with - RCL is not a charity - it’s a for profit business with shareholders - they DON’T care if they make you mad - never set out to please the world - only serve as many people as profitably and as often as possible - if the make a few mad along the way, so be it…they try to accommodate as best possible but they never said “satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back”.

 

If they made that promise - based on the lines at customer service the last evening of my last cruise of people trying to get the daily service fee removed - RCL would never sail again. Makes me wonder if there is just not something in a select group of cruisers to NEVER be happy and always be demanding some type of refund and a little more.

Sorry - not my mindset and I’ll never get it - sharing feedback of poor service in a focused way is one thing, as are venting about disappointment - but walking around shouting your story demanding more and different treatment than the other 3998 people on a sailing received just gets old. You weren’t the only one effected - just the only 1 calling for strangers to stop booking RCL.

[PhillyFan33579]

12 hours ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing with cancellations involving COVID!

Your dates make no sense. Even if your story made sense, I still would continue to cruise on RCI. 

[nelblu]

13 hours ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we t need to pay for the em ntire cruise again.  

 

We recommend that you book with any other cruise line other than Royal Caribbean.  Based on this experience Royal Caribbtean cares more about screwing its customers than providing a realistic approach to dealing wo sith cancellations involving COVID!

If you feel that you have been wronged, take them to small claims court or get in touch with you state better business dept.

[loman]

Ok , what ever you say . I liked RCCL before but after reading your post i wont sail them anymore.

 

[Magicat]

35 minutes ago, loman said:

Ok , what ever you say . I liked RCCL before but after reading your post i wont sail them anymore.

 

Nor any less. 😎

[CRUISEFAN0001]

15 hours ago, richgboyer said:

My wife and I had one of the worst customer experiences with Royal Caribbean.  We booked a transatlantic cruise in November 2020 with Royal Caribbean traveling from Barcelona Spain to Florida.  Our cruise was cancelled due to COVID and we were offered a Future Cruise Credit to apply in the future.  The only similar transatlantic cruise was offered in October 2022.  Royal Caribbean wouldn't honor our Future Cruise Credit as future cruises needed to sail before April 30, 2020.  No exceptions would be given as we would lose the value of our Future Cruise Credit and we would need to pay for the entire cruise again.  

Your dates actually don't make sense.  RCI honored FCC for an extended year.  While the exact same cruise may not have been available as a rebook candidate...it's also hard to believe that a very similar transatlantic cruise was not an option.

Edited August 14, 2021 by CRUISEFAN0001

[mmourges]

Perhaps I read this wrong but there is a TA on Harmony, leaving from Barcelona and going to Fla that leaves I believe on Oct 31st of 2021. There are still many rooms available. Maybe this cruise will suit your schedule.

[Biker19]

43 minutes ago, mmourges said:

Maybe this cruise will suit your schedule.

If you don’t mind booking a sailing with high chance of being canceled. @Thorben-Hendrikwould surely book it. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

8 hours ago, djefferis said:

They WANT RCL to give them 125% FCC towards a TA - but next TA their way isn’t until past 2022 - so no go as FCC expires before then.

isn't Harmony sailing out on Oct 31, 2021 on TA from Barcelona to Florida?

At least, I hope it does, since I am planning on sailing on Harmony 2 weeks after it arrives in FL.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Oceansaway17]

Well OP now that you have been flamed just a bit, please come back with a corrected story!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree your dates do not make sense and was perhaps a typo.

 

If you got FCC for 2020 to use in 2021, you could have selected from many many cruises.

I have a hunch your anger is about no TA in 2021 and you were hoping for 2022 and the dates would not work.

 

Many of us have had to change plans and ships in order to use our FCC.  So please either update us on the rest of the story, or use your FCC in some way on one the many wonderful ships in the fleet.

 

[libbismom]

9 hours ago, djefferis said:

Bottom line however - understand WHAT you are signing when you pay your money for something and if it doesn’t go for some reason - what your refund options are.

Good post. Our September cruise to Bermuda was recently cancelled. We could have opted for 125% FCC, expiring Sept 2022, or a refund.
 

The 125% was tempting, and we do have a cruise booked for next April. But I’ve read too many posts about difficulty with using FCCs, especially if you end up cancelling the cruise you applied them to. We opted to take the refund as a sure thing (eventually 😂) and not have to stress about the conditions of the FCC. 
 

And I agree that they mis-typed the years. Many of us have been confused on dates, etc in the past year. 😀

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

isn't Harmony sailing out on Oct 31, 2021 on TA from Barcelona to Florida?

Yes, though whether she's carrying paying passengers is not certain.

[alfaeric]

Just out of curiosity, is there an alternate cruise line where this would never happen?

 

seems like there are people constantly changing cruise lines for almost the exact same reason. 
 

But if there is a real alternative, I’m sure there are thousands game to try it. 

[twangster]

Looks like they saw the 125% FCC offer and jumped without reading all the conditions.  

 

Smart play would have been the refund option but I understand the appeal of 125% FCC.