Was going to give RC another go - but they blew it before we got that far

i am confused. Why is there such a difference between the UK site and the US site for Royal?

I'm the Azores right now and rccl.pt are totaly different to the Swedish rccl.se. A lot more options and better ways to search, it even displays Pullmantur and CDF (are they still in operation?), in Sweden we only have Azamara, Celebrity and Royal.

The UK site has been recently changed and now reflects VB's in the Balcony Category

It's wrong

The UK site has been recently changed and now reflects VB's in the Balcony Category

 

It's wrong

Do the Virtual Balconies on the UK site also have a price that is higher than Oceanview staterooms?

Do the Virtual Balconies on the UK site also have a price that is higher than Oceanview staterooms?

The one 7N Med cruise on Symphony I randomly looked at the price was higher than the lowest oceanview, but there was an oceanview category higher than the VB as well. So it was somewhere in between.

i guess you missed the word "virtual". Royal isnt the only cruise line with "virtual balconies". Does that mean you wont cruise on those lines also?

The one 7N Med cruise on Symphony I randomly looked at the price was higher than the lowest oceanview, but there was an oceanview category higher than the VB as well. So it was somewhere in between.

I'm curious if the only difference between the US and UK site is the mis-categorization of the VB as a balcony, or if the price of the VB is also higher relative to the other categories.

You shouldn't have to look at the price to tell if it's a real balcony or not. I do agree you should read the full description of a cabin before you book it, but I think listing virtual balconies under the balcony category is a bit deceiving. But then again most of Royals "sales" could be considered deceiving.

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Some of you are really aggressive in your replies; don't you think it is off-putting for those who haven't got such thick skin as myself?

If you re-read my original post, it clearly states that I was searching for a Balcony Cabin (not an inside with virtual balcony)

It gave me a price for a Balcony and I selected to continue.

It then gave me a Virtual Balcony for that same price - all real balcony cabins were a lot more expensive.

My point is (and it seems to be the case in the US) is that a virtual balcony should not be listed under a balcony cabin.

It is very misleading and is false advertising.

If that is how far royal have stooped (in the UK) then it concerns me what else they will try.

 

My point is (and it seems to be the case in the US) is that a virtual balcony should not be listed under a balcony cabin.

 

It is very misleading and is false advertising.

 

 

Agree with you that it should be listed under Interior vs Balcony stateroom, in the UK like the US.

It's quite possible this is merely an IT programming error on the UK website, and RCI had no intention of misleading or false advertising.

Some of you are really aggressive in your replies; don't you think it is off-putting for those who haven't got such thick skin as myself?

I don´t quite see really aggresive responses here:confused:

If you re-read my original post, it clearly states that I was searching for a Balcony Cabin (not an inside with virtual balcony)

 

It gave me a price for a Balcony and I selected to continue.

It then gave me a Virtual Balcony for that same price - all real balcony cabins were a lot more expensive.

What cruise and date were you looking at? For the cruises I looked at this was not the case! It gave me the price for the Real Balcony and only when I proceeded the Virtually Balcony showed up at a lower price than stated prior.

My point is (and it seems to be the case in the US) is that a virtual balcony should not be listed under a balcony cabin.

 

It is very misleading and is false advertising.

 

If that is how far royal have stooped (in the UK) then it concerns me what else they will try.

I agree it shouldn´t be under balcony and I´m not sure it is intentional listed there. I don´t see any false advertising as it´s clearly labeled as an inside and not a real balcony, so I don´t see any false advertising there. Even the misleading part is far fetched IMO.

But then again, I guess it´s time for you to move on, as you have decided to rule out RCI anyway, so no more need for you to worry about it.

Then move on...happy sailing

Some of you are really aggressive in your replies; don't you think it is off-putting for those who haven't got such thick skin as myself?

 

If you re-read my original post, it clearly states that I was searching for a Balcony Cabin (not an inside with virtual balcony)

 

It gave me a price for a Balcony and I selected to continue.

 

It then gave me a Virtual Balcony for that same price - all real balcony cabins were a lot more expensive.

 

My point is (and it seems to be the case in the US) is that a virtual balcony should not be listed under a balcony cabin.

 

It is very misleading and is false advertising.

 

If that is how far royal have stooped (in the UK) then it concerns me what else they will try.

I actually see no problem with it being listed in the balcony section myself, but do think the price shown as the base balcony cost should not include that.

Not something I would ever book but just wondered if it's listed as a balcony do they give the C and A balcony discount:D

Julie

Not something I would ever book but just wondered if it's listed as a balcony do they give the C and A balcony discount:D

 

Julie

Excellent point Julie.:)

Not something I would ever book but just wondered if it's listed as a balcony do they give the C and A balcony discount:D

 

Julie

Yes they do, it´s a virtual one;p;p;p

I don´t quite see really aggresive responses here.

Maybe not aggressive, but definitely snarky.

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I agree there have been some snarky responses. I could imagine someone being caught out by this (not everyone might understand what a 'virtual' balcony means).

Perhaps it is another example of the poor IT department and lack of quality control for the websites.

I just did a mock booking on the U.K. website. The virtual balcony did not show up under balconies for the week that I booked. So maybe the OP experienced a glitch. I did notice that the most expensive balcony was a guaranteed balcony. I always thought those where the least expensive. Possibly another glitch?

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I just did a mock booking on the U.K. website. The virtual balcony did not show up under balconies for the week that I booked. So maybe the OP experienced a glitch. I did notice that the most expensive balcony was a guaranteed balcony. I always thought those where the least expensive. Possibly another glitch?

I've seen this happen before on the US website for a suite guarantee. It's a rare occurrence.

I just did a mock booking on the U.K. website. The virtual balcony did not show up under balconies for the week that I booked. So maybe the OP experienced a glitch. I did notice that the most expensive balcony was a guaranteed balcony. I always thought those where the least expensive. Possibly another glitch?

 

 

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Just checked again. I'm getting varying results by ship!

For Symphony i'm getting VB as a 'balcony'. For Navigator I get VB as 'Interior'

Usual consistencies of the RCI Website

Am currently booking an RCI cruise with an interior room. I have stayed in balcony rooms but getting a good deal on interior rooms on this cruise. The virtual balcony is very clearly listed in the interior room group so there was no confusion for me. I was curious and I think it looks kind of cool. It was only $10 more than the lowest interior. Just my 2 cents worth.

Fine if you never want to go on royal, but what exactly are you upset about? Did you click on balcony and get a virtual, or just click and inside and see a virtual balcony? I went through mock bookings on several sailings, and the only place I can find virtual balconies in on inside.

 

If you found one in a balcony section, maybe it was a glitch.

 

If you are just complaining that they have virtual balconies, then to me choice is a good thing.

 

If you are complaining that the prices are high, what do you expect on the newest, biggest ship in the world?

I just did the same thing and found exactly as you have. 3 different ships at different times and the virtual balconies are listed as insides.

I think "virtual" has come to mean something close to "almost." I decided this when I saw that catheter commercial that claimed to be "virtually" painless. If it's painless, it's painless--how can something be "virtually" painless (especially a catheter of all things).

I agree there have been some snarky responses. I could imagine someone being caught out by this (not everyone might understand what a 'virtual' balcony means).

 

Perhaps it is another example of the poor IT department and lack of quality control for the websites.

We liked ours. We knew all about them when we booked a last minute Navi out of Galveston. You do get the noises, when we were in port you could hear the Stevedores yelling at one another and clanging etc. I fell asleep to it waiting for Muster drill. Later we got the same views as if we had a starboard balcony along with the noises.

 

I would book it again over a regular interior or even a Promenade.

 

Of course I knew it wasn't a real balcony, that's what Virtual means.

Thank you for showing a picture, we have a Virtual Balcony booked on Harmony is a couple weeks and we are excited to see/have it. Nice to know it has sound etc. We have had a regular balcony once and we never sat out there except before bed or upon waking so I think its a cool feature.

You can also turn off the sound if you wish, even turn off the "balcony"