In a panic, missed final payment

[Jt4428]

Honestly, these stupid frivolous lawsuits are the reason why most lawyers are very wealthy and the costs on everything go up so much.

[ladysail2]

6 hours ago, tomahawk246 said:

Lots of things going on, my sister died couple weeks ago. I just bought a new summer home and doing a lot of work on that. I was also planning a 90th birthday party for my aunt. I never received a reminder from Royal Caribbean for my September cruise. I also have a Cruise scheduled for October and I received a reminder for the final payment on my October cruise yesterday. Which ended up being a reminder that I missed the final payment on my September cruise. I guess ***** happens and life goes on. I am happy with the end results.

I’m sorry for the loss of your sister, it’s never easy. Life can get very hectic and one has to prioritize and sometimes due dates get forgotten.  I’m also happy that plans are now back on track. Enjoy your cruise.

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Honestly I don't. There are dozens of ways to set reminders for anything and everything.

When life throws major curve balls I can see how it's easy to see reminders and think, "oh I need to do that" and because you're in the middle of a life storm, days can pass before you get back to a place to do it, likely having missed a deadline.  Having had some of those times of life I do what I can to stay ahead of the game with multiple reminders but won't ever say it couldn't also happen to me.  As I get older those curve balls come from all directions!

[ladysail2]

5 hours ago, simon.hed said:

I have no real desire to wade into this, but I did receive this 100 or so days out. I am in the '3 different reminders' group on this and had them set closer to final payment date.

 

Glad the OP got it worked out.

 

I can say honestly that I’ve never received a reminder for FP. I wonder how Royal decides who gets them?  Guess I’m not one of the lucky ones, LOL.

[Tin can]

I don't know whether its because we book in the UK but our experience missing final payment couldn't have been more different.

 

We booked a cruise that we couldn't ultimately go on, we don't get refundable deposits here so rather than spend an hour on the phone cancelling I just left it unpaid assuming the booking would naturally expire and be cancelled.

 

Instead we had reminder emails and eventually a very polite call from Miami (bearing in mind we are UK based) to see if we had forgotten to pay and could they assist.

 

We are only Diamond so we are nothing special in the booking stakes so maybe its different terms over here meaning that they can't just cancel the cruise. 

 

 

[ladysail2]

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

If only wishing made it so.  The problem is, it really doesn't matter what you want.  You agreed to PIF 90 days ahead of time.  Check your contract.  Pretty sure it doesn't say anything about "we'll definitely email you."  

 

It really doesn't matter how Royal pays their vendors.  That's up to the agreement between the two companies.  The agreement between you and Royal says you'll pay 90 days ahead of time. 

 

FWIW, if you didn't know, your utilities at your house will cut you off for non-payment, whether you received an invoice from them or not.  

My Hero! 

[ladysail2]

3 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

How about you do this... don't pay when your final payment is due.  Say you never got the email.  Go to board, and when they say your cruise was cancelled for lack of payment, tell them you're going to pay them 90 days after the cruise is over.  When they say you can't do that, let them know you fall under the British consumer protection. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

I’d love to know how that works out too. Test the waters, so to speak. 

[Tree_skier]

I have two reminders on my phone calendar.  One week before and one the day of.  I also get an email from my TA.  I have no excuse to miss final payment no matter what is going on in my life.

[Ashland]

35 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have two reminders on my phone calendar.  One week before and one the day of.  I also get an email from my TA.  I have no excuse to miss final payment no matter what is going on in my life.

I also mark it on my calendar but I also always get reminders from RCI. Got one on June 23rd for my FP due July 7th. I was waiting for some RCI gift certificates to be applied which took a week. My FCC's applied with a phone call.

[deliver42]

I keep each cruise in its own envelope by date, with the date and final payment amount in the upper left corner of the envelope. Never missed one yet with over 25 cruises.

[ngrund]

16 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I also mark it on my calendar but I also always get reminders from RCI. Got one on June 23rd for my FP due July 7th. I was waiting for some RCI gift certificates to be applied which took a week. My FCC's applied with a phone call.

since you mentioned gift certificates-were they the discounted ones from AARP?

 

If so have you ever had an issue applying several to one cruise/in one e-mail?

 

I have a cruise tour for next year that is over $5K and I don't want to buy 10 certificates to then find out they won't get applied.

[Ashland]

4 minutes ago, ngrund said:

since you mentioned gift certificates-were they the discounted ones from AARP?

 

If so have you ever had an issue applying several to one cruise/in one e-mail?

 

I have a cruise tour for next year that is over $5K and I don't want to buy 10 certificates to then find out they won't get applied.

Sorry I can't help with these but as long as you have the info needed (below) buy one and try. These aren't AARP ones I use. My family purchases gift certificates on line with RCI. They all know this is our preferred gift. Now we're easy to buy for.

 

I apply them online (the only way to apply) at RoyalCaribbeanCertificates.com. Using my sailing info and the certificate serial number and certificate authorization code is easy. I have applied as many as 7 at a time (doing them each individually) towards final payment. There is no limit.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I keep a spreadsheet for cruises, with a column for total cost and one for balance due, along with the date. But my usual method for any kind of reminder is to tell Alexa.  She never misses a reminder, and between the verbal reminder, email, and text, there is no way I can miss it. 

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

4 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I keep a spreadsheet for cruises, with a column for total cost and one for balance due, along with the date. But my usual method for any kind of reminder is to tell Alexa.  She never misses a reminder, and between the verbal reminder, email, and text, there is no way I can miss it. 

Never say never... a power outage in your area?  🤪

[ZoeyVictoria]

So far, so good.  I have never missed a monthly vitamin D capsule, changing an a/c filter, or checking in for a cruise. And my grocery lists are always complete. The only person we really miss whike on cruises is Alexa 😂

[ngrund]

42 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Sorry I can't help with these but as long as you have the info needed (below) buy one and try. These aren't AARP ones I use. My family purchases gift certificates on line with RCI. They all know this is our preferred gift. Now we're easy to buy for.

 

I apply them online (the only way to apply) at RoyalCaribbeanCertificates.com. Using my sailing info and the certificate serial number and certificate authorization code is easy. I have applied as many as 7 at a time (doing them each individually) towards final payment. There is no limit.

Thanks anyway-the ones from AARP are discounted 10% and are different than those purchased from RCL.

 

They have to be e-mailed to a specific e-mail address to be applied.

[karena1]

I keep a spreadsheet of all my cruises and my clients (basically family/friends).  I check it every, single day to see what is due next.  Then make sure everyone is aware final is coming up.  I live by that spreadsheet since I have 21 cruises booked just for us alone!

 

[Jerseygirl1416]

5 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Interesting, just checked and never received a reminder for my Oct cruise which payment is due 7/9 but I paid it end of June, but still after 2 weeks before it was due.  Maybe I would have received it, maybe not, I am in the remind myself every way possible camp.  I did just check though and don't have email opted-out.

My final payment date is 7/10 and I’m not paid in full and haven’t received an email reminder. I’ve got my own reminders to pay 7/9. 

[ShillyShally]

4 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

My final payment date is 7/10 and I’m not paid in full and haven’t received an email reminder. I’ve got my own reminders to pay 7/9. 

Yep, I don’t recall ever receiving one but also wouldn’t ever rely on it, e-mail doesn’t seem as reliable anymore for timeliness! 

[BecciBoo]

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Never say never... a power outage in your area?  🤪

My backup is in the Cloud...not a chance of that.  We have a server as well, between those two and both our computers, no way to lose it.  But my mind is the tool I put my trust in.  Like I said, I always know when the date is for the next upcoming.  Sept. is already paid, Voyager for  the first 2024 final is Dec. 11th.  Don't remember what Sept. 24th ICON is but I will around Jan. 1st.

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

2 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

My backup is in the Cloud...not a chance of that.  We have a server as well, between those two and both our computers, no way to lose it.  But my mind is the tool I put my trust in.  Like I said, I always know when the date is for the next upcoming.  Sept. is already paid, Voyager for  the first 2024 final is Dec. 11th.  Don't remember what Sept. 24th ICON is but I will around Jan. 1st.

It was more of a joke, but all the electronic reminders don't help if there's a power outage. 😉  

[Pandamonia]

16 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

 

Being British would you have to sue them in Miami or do you have special laws that allow you to sue them in your home country? It was my understanding all suits against RC would have to be filed in Miami.  You'd probably spend more on legal fees than your refund is worth.

 

There is a Royal Caribbean UK. There are also credit card chargebacks. So i could sue the credit card as jointly liable and they would 100% refund me and take the money back from Royal anyway as they are more powerful than Royal. 

 

And no id win all my costs back in small claims on top and i wouldnt need a lawyer id do it myself. like i always do and i win 100% of the time

 

In fact it would be so much hassle to be summoned to small claims court that they would just pay up even if i was wrong. 

 

In fact there is almost no way Royal could keep my deposit unless I literally said I just didn't want to go and refused to pay the final payment or totally ignored them for weeks after due date. 

 

This is why Royal sends multiple reminders and i think i even got a call once chasing payment. Cancelling the booking is their last resort here but it seems in the US they love it because they can just keep your money and blame you. 

 

Predatory business practices seem very much tolerated in the US

 

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Pandamonia

[Bloodgem]

On 7/5/2023 at 9:02 AM, Pandamonia said:

 

You can feel what you want but companies which want paying 2-4 months before delivering the service on a random date are responsible for sending you the invoice and the reminder. 

ABTA disagrees with you.

https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/frequently-asked-questions/i-forgot-pay-final-balance-when-it-was-due-can

[BecciBoo]

11 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

It was more of a joke, but all the electronic reminders don't help if there's a power outage. 😉  

But that doesn't affect the Cloud which is an offsite storage source.  My hubs is a tech/consultant, that is why we are so redundant. 

[BecciBoo]

17 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

So far, so good.  I have never missed a monthly vitamin D capsule, changing an a/c filter, or checking in for a cruise. And my grocery lists are always complete. The only person we really miss while on cruises is Alexa 😂

We are heavy Alexa users, even our lights are controlled by Alexa...but with switch backup, my hubs is all about redundancy.  But he is highly techy, so we have every device known to man LOL  And if people are scared by that, if you use an iphone or Samsung phone, you are being tracked, watched and recorded in some cases, so using Alexa is no more of a threat than carrying around a phone, who doesn't.