Had medical emergency being charged $941 pp

[RedIguana]

21 hours ago, nelblu said:

What happens when a Pax has a medical emergency and has to be airlifted what penalties are incurred.  My only experience is some years ago, we had an emergency with my daughter going to hospital.  The next port of all was San Juan.  With Royal assistance we had a smooth exit.  Royal and any other federal entity did not charge us for anything.

I am assuming in your case departed from somewhere in the US and disembarked in San Juan. Puerto Rico just happens to be exempt from the PVSA until such time as a US flagged ship resumes passenger operations between the US and Puerto Rico, assuming after 2003. It is possible in your case you were not charged for anything as you actually did not violate any laws.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, shellunderwater said:

I don't think the OP is upset at the charge as much as not having documentation so they can file with the insurance.

I think that is correct. The documentation. We had a problem with an airline. I needed proof that a flight was canceled for insurance. They had handed us a paper with that on it at the gate but took it from us when they handed out hotel vouchers. I had a prepaid hotel booked at the destination and needed documentation that the flight was delayed to claim one night. The airline had a webpage and email address to get documentation but no matter how many email and calls I made they never sent the documentation. In hindsight I should have taken a photo of the what they gave me at the gate. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Charles4515

[Ret MP]

6 hours ago, kirtihk said:

One would wonder what the "Government" considers going to heaven in the port of call.  Is it still "unlawful" ("Who dare you to depart outside of the ship!")?

LOL, that's for sure!

 

Although I don't disagree with the premise of the regulation, I do disagree with the lack of flexibility with it or the hoops one must jump through to resolve any issues with it and the lack, it seems like, of competent assistance from RCCL.

[ltp579]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:31 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

I agree there should be some receipt or paperwork, but in the end the fee is valid.  
A dispute may facilitate getting documentation; I’ll agree on that count. 

How can you possibly know that the fee is valid if there is no documentation for what the fee is? We're just assuming this is what the fee is for. There is no bill, no receipt, no record of any kind. That is more than enough information for a challenge. And it's absolutely not fraud. I've challenged charges for far less. Let the credit card company do the work for you. It's very simple: contact the credit card company, tell them that you don't recognize this charge, tell them you've contacted the cruise line multiple times and no one can tell you what the charge is for, and give them any records of the times you've contacted the cruise company. They'll take over getting a resolution for you and remove the charge from your card until it's resolved, one way or the other. 

[not-enough-cruising]

31 minutes ago, ltp579 said:

How can you possibly know that the fee is valid if there is no documentation for what the fee is? We're just assuming this is what the fee is for. There is no bill, no receipt, no record of any kind. That is more than enough information for a challenge. And it's absolutely not fraud. I've challenged charges for far less. Let the credit card company do the work for you. It's very simple: contact the credit card company, tell them that you don't recognize this charge, tell them you've contacted the cruise line multiple times and no one can tell you what the charge is for, and give them any records of the times you've contacted the cruise company. They'll take over getting a resolution for you and remove the charge from your card until it's resolved, one way or the other. 

It is in your Cruz contract.

If you leave the ship early, the cruise line is assessed a fine and the fine just passed on to the passenger

[Ret MP]

27 minutes ago, ltp579 said:

How can you possibly know that the fee is valid if there is no documentation for what the fee is? We're just assuming this is what the fee is for. There is no bill, no receipt, no record of any kind. That is more than enough information for a challenge. And it's absolutely not fraud. I've challenged charges for far less. Let the credit card company do the work for you. It's very simple: contact the credit card company, tell them that you don't recognize this charge, tell them you've contacted the cruise line multiple times and no one can tell you what the charge is for, and give them any records of the times you've contacted the cruise company. They'll take over getting a resolution for you and remove the charge from your card until it's resolved, one way or the other. 

I've been on both sides of this issue more times than I hate to think of.  While being the General Manager of the parking facilities at FLL and Port Everglades, I was responsible for responding to all credit card disputes.  I am very happy and proud of the fact that I never lost an appeal to a credit card dispute.  I've also disputed many of my own charges with my credit card companies.  Again, I've never lost a dispute.  So, the moral to my story is, that if you have all your ducks lined up in a row, and have documentation or proof of lack of documentation, you can't go wrong.  Stick to the facts, never make unsubstantiated claims/accusations, and be polite whether in writing or on the phone.  

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It is in your Cruz contract.

If you leave the ship early, the cruise line is assessed a fine and the fine just passed on to the passenger

I don't think that that is the issue here.  I believe that RCCL has added a charge without any documented explanation or proof of what it is for.  Usually, if we, all of us, notice an unidentified charge on our credit card, we just make a call to the business and have them explain it and then follow up with the documentation.  How are we/the OP to know that CBP actually did charge RCCL for the issue?  Did RCCL just assume that they are going to be billed for the incident?  And possibly many other questions.

 

Also, a dispute puts the payment on hold until the dispute is settled, giving the aggrieved party time to get the information/documentation needed and for the credit card company to do the same.  If the dispute is granted, great.  If it is not granted, the charging party will be charged all interest and principal, not so great.  As stated, it's possible that RCCL may ban someone, if the dispute is granted, from ever cruising on RCCL again.  That's a chance that must be weighed.  

 

Personally, I'm not sure RCCL has much of a leg to stand on.  The fine is a fine on the cruise line, not the passenger.  RCCL is making an ATTEMPT to recoup the cost of the fine.  I think that that is why there is a possibility that barment is a last resort if disputed and granted.  They know they have no other recourse because they can't legally demand that you pay a fine that wasn't levied on you, it was levied on the cruise line. 

 

That's all my non-lawyerly opinion.  Opinions are like -----, we all have one.

[Charles4515]

17 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

  Stick to the facts, never make unsubstantiated claims/accusations, and be polite whether in writing or on the phone.  

Very good advice. Many people embellish their claims or go on rants. That will sink their them. 

[HappyTexan44]

 

It shouldn't have come to this.   I can understand Royal not wanting to eat the cost.  But, first they should try to get a waiver, and if they can't get a waiver then provide documentation of the charge.   That should all have been automatic.  This isn't the first time someone had to leave the ship for a medical emergency.  Lazy, lazy, lazy.    

 

I will be having a cash account when we are on board.  It seems that the open wallet that the credit card on file is basically, is just too tempting to Royal.  

 

[not-enough-cruising]

14 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I don't think that that is the issue here.  I believe that RCCL has added a charge without any documented explanation or proof of what it is for.  Usually, if we, all of us, notice an unidentified charge on our credit card, we just make a call to the business and have them explain it and then follow up with the documentation.  How are we/the OP to know that CBP actually did charge RCCL for the issue?  Did RCCL just assume that they are going to be billed for the incident?  And possibly many other questions.

 

Also, a dispute puts the payment on hold until the dispute is settled, giving the aggrieved party time to get the information/documentation needed and for the credit card company to do the same.  If the dispute is granted, great.  If it is not granted, the charging party will be charged all interest and principal, not so great.  As stated, it's possible that RCCL may ban someone, if the dispute is granted, from ever cruising on RCCL again.  That's a chance that must be weighed.  

 

Personally, I'm not sure RCCL has much of a leg to stand on.  The fine is a fine on the cruise line, not the passenger.  RCCL is making an ATTEMPT to recoup the cost of the fine.  I think that that is why there is a possibility that barment is a last resort if disputed and granted.  They know they have no other recourse because they can't legally demand that you pay a fine that wasn't levied on you, it was levied on the cruise line. 

 

That's all my non-lawyerly opinion.  Opinions are like -----, we all have one.

Understood and agree however, line 9 in the conditions of carriage states passenger agrees to pay all fines levied against the cruise line  from governmental agencies for non completion of voyage. 
 

Granted, Royal is delinquent in delivering a “receipt” but the charge is valid. 
 

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Understood and agree however, line 9 in the conditions of carriage states passenger agrees to pay all fines levied against the cruise line  from governmental agencies for non completion of voyage. 
 

Granted, Royal is delinquent in delivering a “receipt” but the charge is valid. 
 

I'm not disputing (no pun intended) what Royal says.  However, the charge is not valid, if disputed until the credit card company says it is valid.  

[not-enough-cruising]

1 minute ago, Ret MP said:

I'm not disputing (no pun intended) what Royal says.  However, the charge is not valid, if disputed until the credit card company says it is valid.  

Agreed

 

I guess the point I’m trying to make is to all those that feel this is a made up money grab. The fee is indeed “lawful”.

As with many thing “Royal C/S” based, it certainly could be handled better. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by not-enough-cruising

[ltp579]

42 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It is in your Cruz contract.

If you leave the ship early, the cruise line is assessed a fine and the fine just passed on to the passenger

That's fine if that's what the charge is. The OP said the problem is that she can't get any documentation from RCCL about what the charge is that would allow her to follow up. RCCL can't charge your credit card without explanation of the charge. The credit card company can do this research for you and will probably get better results given the difficulties she's run into. This isn't a huge deal and is a service most credit cards provide. Contact them, tell them you don't recognize the charge, and you haven't been able to get a receipt when you've contacted RCCL. The CC company will come back to you in a few days to a week either with a receipt documenting the charge or a credit to the card if it was charged in error. It's frankly good practice to contact the credit card company with questions about charges you don't recognize, they tend to appreciate the questions because it helps keep their fraud costs down, they help you get the information you need or want if you're having problems, and if it is a valid charge and you just didn't recognize it then it's not a big deal. It seems like there's a lot of fearmongering around calling your credit card company about a charge and there really shouldn't be.

[Floridado2020]

No response yet from Royal , sadly . Multiple emails and calls have been attempted . If we don’t hear back from next week I will then email the ceo as well . 

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Floridado2020 said:

No response yet from Royal , sadly . Multiple emails and calls have been attempted . If we don’t hear back from next week I will then email the ceo as well . 

Don't wait any longer, had you sent an e mail last Sunday like I suggested this entire issue would have been resolved by now.

[smokeybandit]

6 minutes ago, Floridado2020 said:

No response yet from Royal , sadly . Multiple emails and calls have been attempted . If we don’t hear back from next week I will then email the ceo as well . 

Don't wait a week. Do it today.

[Floridado2020]

9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Don't wait a week. Do it today.

We just sent the email out to the CEO this afternoon. Hoping we can at least get a proper itemized receipt or some other resolution . Thank you everyone !

[Floridado2020]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Don't wait any longer, had you sent an e mail last Sunday like I suggested this entire issue would have been resolved by now.

Thank you , you are right . We were hoping all the people we spoke to on the phone would have responded by now like they said they would but no luck . We did go ahead and sent the email today to the CEO 

[Merion_Mom]

3 hours ago, Floridado2020 said:

Thank you , you are right . We were hoping all the people we spoke to on the phone would have responded by now like they said they would but no luck . We did go ahead and sent the email today to the CEO 

I just want to be sure that you used the correct email address.

 

mbayley@rccl.com

[Floridado2020]

15 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

I just want to be sure that you used the correct email address.

 

mbayley@rccl.com

Thank you

i just received a reply from Mr bayleys assistant . It just says the ship told us about the charge ,here is a copy of your receipt . But is the same receipt we already have that does not list what the charge is for . Also he did not answer my question about the status of the medical exemption request . This is so frustrating !!! 

if we can’t get any proper receipt we may just have to file a claim with the insurance and attach his email communication as proof of what the charge is .

thanks 

[Floridado2020]

2 minutes ago, Floridado2020 said:

Thank you

i just received a reply from Mr bayleys assistant . It just says the ship told us about the charge ,here is a copy of your receipt . But is the same receipt we already have that does not list what the charge is for . Also he did not answer my question about the status of the medical exemption request . This is so frustrating !!! 

if we can’t get any proper receipt we may just have to file a claim with the insurance and attach his email communication as proof of what the charge is .

thanks 

[Another_Critic]

PVSA, not Jones.

 

Maybe they should read up on which act applies before responding  🙄

[BirdTravels]

On 9/17/2023 at 9:03 PM, dunedinmaiden said:

If you cannot resolve this directly with Royal (which is the first step), you could dispute the charge with your credit card company.  I would think the hospital letter would help prove their case.  Good luck!

There is nothing to dispute. A dispute says that the vendor engaged in a criminal act and fraudulently charged your credit card. It says that you will cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation of a criminal act. In this case, the charge was valid and a US government penalty for early disembarkation. By filing a dispute, you would be committing fraud. 

[BirdTravels]

17 minutes ago, Floridado2020 said:

Thank you

i just received a reply from Mr bayleys assistant . It just says the ship told us about the charge ,here is a copy of your receipt . But is the same receipt we already have that does not list what the charge is for . Also he did not answer my question about the status of the medical exemption request . This is so frustrating !!! 

if we can’t get any proper receipt we may just have to file a claim with the insurance and attach his email communication as proof of what the charge is .

thanks 

By default, they are saying the you need to pay the penalty. No exemption. Pretty clear. And while your parents may not understand the PVSA, it is a well know, common penalty imposed by the US Government. 

[BirdTravels]

On 9/21/2023 at 10:17 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

Understood and agree however, line 9 in the conditions of carriage states passenger agrees to pay all fines levied against the cruise line  from governmental agencies for non completion of voyage. 
 

Granted, Royal is delinquent in delivering a “receipt” but the charge is valid. 
 

 

 

The OP got a receipt. They just don’t like the receipt. So they got it again and still don’t like it.