$500 fee to change cruise / No more Cruise with Confidence?

[Jimbo]

5 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

.  Things are now getting back to normal, and the program is over.  Best bet is to call, and see if they would work with this, but all programs have an end date.

Not sure the People in Denmark would agree. They went back to "Normal" months ago  like we are doing here now but now things are not so good there.

[Ocean Boy]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

So if that is the case, under the CWC I guess we could again move our Europe Cruise to September 2023 since our cruise date is September 22, 2022

 

Could we do that without any added fee? Is that correct? Would it still be price protected or how does that work when you use CWC?

Lift and shift afforded price protection but I don't think CWC does. CWC provides an FCC to be used within a year and,  I think, no penalties.

[bonsai3s]

5 hours ago, Jimbo said:

So if that is the case, under the CWC I guess we could again move our Europe Cruise to September 2023 since our cruise date is September 22, 2022

 

Could we do that without any added fee? Is that correct? Would it still be price protected or how does that work when you use CWC?

Jimbo,

Yes, based on what RCCL told us, you are inside that window and can cancel using CWC. Then book the Sept 2023 cruise. (We just got lucky and got a nice RCCL rep.)

 

No added fees or penalties, but...

* It is not price protected. The cruise that RCCL moved for us was $75 more. It was ok with us since we know price can still drop (or go up) in the next 12 months.

[Beach Happy]

On 2/15/2022 at 12:11 PM, boilachicken said:

About 2 years ago, my wife and I booked a cruise out of Europe on the Harmony of the Seas for this past October. Ultimately that cruise was cancelled and we moved everything to a new cruise. They were not offering a similar ship or itinerary, and we ended up on a different itinerary on Vision of the Seas, not quite the class ship we originally had.

 

Long story short, my wife noticed the other day that our original itinerary was back and now available on the Wonder of the Seas... YES PLEASE!!! So she called back Royal and asked to have the bookings transferred to the newly added listing.

 

She was informed that there would be a $500 for transfer or cancellation as, and I quote, "They are no longer under Cruise with Confidence"..

 

So I guess this is where I'm confused. We booked our existing cruise while under cruise with confidence, but apparently according to their website even though we booked under it, they are only honoring sail dates to 9/2022 (ours is the first week of 10/2022).

 

Has anyone experienced this? Is there any recourse? We simply want to take our original itinerary and preferably on a new ship with all the features our previous booking had prior to cancellation. Not the one with few attractions and currently being used as a quarantine spot.

 

I tried changing to Wonder from Symphony, Sam itinerary a day later. Told me $100 pp fee. Ridiculous!! Said that I am a diamond member blah blah blah they didn’t care’ Customer service on RCCL is dead!

[boilachicken]

1 hour ago, Beach Happy said:

I tried changing to Wonder from Symphony, Sam itinerary a day later. Told me $100 pp fee. Ridiculous!! Said that I am a diamond member blah blah blah they didn’t care’ Customer service on RCCL is dead!

Call the Crown and Anchor line and not customer service. Someone suggested it and I tried. They did it for me with no hassle. 

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, Beach Happy said:

I tried changing to Wonder from Symphony, Sam itinerary a day later. Told me $100 pp fee. Ridiculous!! Said that I am a diamond member blah blah blah they didn’t care’ Customer service on RCCL is dead!

Change fees are in the contract you agreed to.

[deliver42]

It makes no difference if you are diamond, as I am, or a first timer. The rules for changing are the same. This has nothing to do with customer service, it's about policy.

[nelblu]

16 hours ago, Beach Happy said:

I tried changing to Wonder from Symphony, Sam itinerary a day later. Told me $100 pp fee. Ridiculous!! Said that I am a diamond member blah blah blah they didn’t care’ Customer service on RCCL is dead!

RCL customer service is really awful.  Not only can you barely understand them, but they must be using VOIP connection as they sound so bad and have to repeat over and over.  Many times, it seems that they have a script taht they follow and don't deviate.  One time I called to apply the Casino credit and 3 times the agent said that he/she needs to confer with the team.  Finally, after 15-20 minutes I was told to get in touch with the casino people even though I called the number on the certificate.

 

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

16 minutes ago, nelblu said:

RCL customer service is really awful.  Not only can you barely understand them, but they must be using VOIP connection as they sound so bad and have to repeat over and over.  Many times, it seems that they have a script taht they follow and don't deviate.  One time I called to apply the Casino credit and 3 times the agent said that he/she needs to confer with the team.  Finally, after 15-20 minutes I was told to get in touch with the casino people even though I called the number on the certificate.

 

The cruise certificate lists the number to the regular representatives.  You have to call the Casino number in order to talk anything outside basic booking issues.

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

RCL customer service is really awful.  Not only can you barely understand them, but they must be using VOIP connection as they sound so bad and have to repeat over and over.  Many times, it seems that they have a script taht they follow and don't deviate.  One time I called to apply the Casino credit and 3 times the agent said that he/she needs to confer with the team.  Finally, after 15-20 minutes I was told to get in touch with the casino people even though I called the number on the certificate.

 

I've had to deal with CS several times over the last year and I have to say that they have been great.

[Momto3girlsintheCarolinas]

I changed from Oasis to Symphony for May 2022 (different weeks in May) about 2 weeks ago with no change fee.  It seems hinky they are charging you one.  When I changed from Explorer to Oasis, we had a change fee and I had them take it off and they did. RCI customer service is AWFUL.  The default seems to be "Say 'no' and charge the customer more." 

[Ocean Boy]

15 minutes ago, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

I changed from Oasis to Symphony for May 2022 (different weeks in May) about 2 weeks ago with no change fee.  It seems hinky they are charging you one.  When I changed from Explorer to Oasis, we had a change fee and I had them take it off and they did. RCI customer service is AWFUL.  The default seems to be "Say 'no' and charge the customer more." 

Did you have refundable or non refundable deposits? There is no fee with refundable deposits.

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

I changed from Oasis to Symphony for May 2022 (different weeks in May) about 2 weeks ago with no change fee.  It seems hinky they are charging you one.  When I changed from Explorer to Oasis, we had a change fee and I had them take it off and they did. RCI customer service is AWFUL.  The default seems to be "Say 'no' and charge the customer more." 

Curious, why you say they are awful when you got everything you wanted?

 

I find it is best to call during normal business hours instead of evenings or weekends when calls are routed to reps in another part of the world.

 

I do believe they use a VOIP system to work from home.

 

[Maryscooking]

On 2/16/2022 at 10:28 AM, Starry Eyes said:

Royal Caribbean has also become more flexible during the pandemic.  While the OP is unhappy that CWC does not cover his October 2022 cruise, it has covered many cruises.

I am glad United’s policies work well for you, and you seem happy buying “no change fee” plane tickets.  Refundable is different…do refundable tickets sell at a higher cost or not?  I have caught fabulous deals on nonrefundable hotels; maybe you don’t search for those due to family circumstances.  I do not welcome the nonrefundable deposits nor will I enjoy the return of change fees as CWC ends…I just did not find it surprising.  

 

Well I am not really so sure why you are interested in my opinions but no, the no change fee airfare doesn't bother me at all. Because I know I'll be flying again on the vacation that I'm needing to reschedule. I would be fine if Royal would do the same, without issuing penalities. I'm not sure what "fabulous deals" on hotels that you speak of, but I have largely found that the pricing isn't that different, and I always look at a wide variety of hotel options (you don't have to search for nonrefundable pricing separately; both options will show up when you are booking).

 

Honestly, you do you. For me, the good thing to come out of Royal adding these change penalities is that the increased cost pushed me to look outside my normal cruiseline travel bubble and find many other appealing options with companies that don't want to charge us extra for having careers that demand flexibility. I'm giving Royal another try on the Wonder over Thanksgiving but the other three trips we have booked in the next 12 months are not with them. Note: For this Wonder cruise, I bought very good "cancel for any reason" comprehensive coverage, highly rated travel insurance covering the cruise, the pre-cruise hotel, and our flights, for $500 LESS than the added cost of Royal's "refundable deposit" option!

[Computer Nerd]

On 2/15/2022 at 12:39 PM, boilachicken said:

100% this. We don’t want to cancel or go get our money back. We just want back on the itinerary we originally had before they removed it. 

Then pay the $500 and sail on the Wonder. Royal has already said they won't change it for free so decide if the Wonder is worth $500 more or not.