Kev_lyndsey

30 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

As you booked Bella do you have cabin allocation yet?

 

How close are they?

 

4 in an inside is tight.

 

The best option is to ask/try  for the large OV with permanent bunks much better options for 4 people.

 

Could be your original booking of Bella when they came to allocate all the 4 berth insides had gone(or were at lifeboat capacity being a holiday cruise packed with kids)

 

Might have been better to go fantastica and picked a 4 berth.

 

(There are no real Bella inside cabins you just get allocated from the fantastica ones)

 

We are new to msc and just assumed we would be allocated an internal cabin for 4.  Looking at the booking process again it does state we could be split but honestly didnt see that while booking.  

I have cancelled the upgrade bid now as it still would have us split if we were allocated a double balcony cabin.  

Also still awaiting a response from msc regarding the whole position we are in.  

Only response to remedy was to upgrade over the phone at a silly extra cost.  This was a last minute booking that came up at a good price as we were looking at hotel/pool hols and this came up cheaper.  

Im also not happy with how my daughters autism was just ignored over the phone.  We have cruised with royal caribbean in past and they are quite good at catering for children with these needs.  Even though my daughters condition lets her get by more or less normally 80% of the time i feel for other parents who have more problems than us if the companies policy doesnt even look at accepting their needs.  Anyway rant over.  We will no doubt have a great time and get by with what we have.

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Do you know if it's possible to sleep four in any of the two cabins you are assigned? If yes, they will probably let all of you sleep in one of the cabins and you can use the second cabin for luggage and an extra bathroom.

 

Which ship is it?

Its the msc virtuosa.  Checked the deck plan and i believe the cabins are both doubles.

It might be that things will be fine when we get there but the doubt around it is spoiling the anticipation and build up.

13 hours ago, xcell said:

thanks -- well, at least you have two cabins that (hopefully) are side by side -- I have that for my upcoming cruise because my wife would kill me having all of us in the same room...your might be more understanding  😉

Two cabins for us is not really a positive.  My daughter has a form of autism thats already making her anxious about our family being separated.  After explaining this i got absolutely no response about this from msc over the phone, like no sympathy to the situation or even a response on how to possibly remedy it.   

3 hours ago, xcell said:

I'm a bit confused -- am I right when reading...

 

- you booked this yourself via website  --> maybe it's only on Canadian websites, but I don't have the options to book two cabins at once on the MSC website, I would have to book one room, pay the deposit and then another.   In any case, are you saying you booked an inside room for 4, at the end of the web booking it says one room and then you got another email saying you had two separate rooms?  If that's the case, that's messed up and the rest of my questions are null and voided.

 

- you called in and corrected the problem --> back to one cabin of 4?   From what I am reading, it sounds like you accepted the split earlier on because your wife also received an upgrade bid, after winning your bid?

 

Any ways -- solution one -- stay in your original booking and cancel the bid.  Again, here I am confused because it sounds like you won your bid for one room and then your wife was asked ti bid for hers.  And you assumed if you won for one cabin they would automatically the other cabin (and not sure if you are an avid cruiser on other lines that do the bidding system but that is never the case -- you have to bid for each cabin and if and when you win, unlikely but not impossible, the cabins may not be side by side, even on the same floor, side of ship, etc...)

 

So many assumptions, could you clarify...

 

So yes booked myself via msc website for 2 adults and 2 children in ONE internal cabin.

We were only aware of having been out in 2 cabins when the invoice total changed to nearly double what we paid.  Rang to sort and invoice total amended back to original price although still in 2 cabins.

All problems have arisen out of being split up in 2 cabins.  Would have ideally stayed in one cabin for 4, then option to bid for a balcony cabin for 4 but as we now have 2 cabins this isnt an option. 

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What a mess!  I would be inclined to cancel the whole thing and start over.  MSC's IT is horrible and their booking process on their website is even worse.  If you cancel and rebook, definitely use a TA and let them handle this headache for you.  There is no way I would pay to upgrade 2 cabins that you didn't even want to begin with.  I say again, what a mess!  If the cabin you originally booked says it can accommodate 4 people, the mistake was theirs in putting you in 2 cabins.

Originally booked on the bella cabin internal guarantee.  Therefore over the phone they said they split the booking in two for health and safety!  

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Both very good points. However, OP only booked one room so only one deposit at risk. Depending on the amount, I still might be inclined to cancel and start over assuming they are still ahead of final payment. Perhaps OP can escalate up the chain for more satisfactory results. 

Have tried to escalate it over the phone but told to email, which i have and awaiting response. 

5 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

The OP is in the UK and deposits are not refundable there.  And we don’t know how soon the cruise is.  EM

Yes in the uk and final payment was made before all this too.  The cuise is on the virtuasa departing 26th august.

3 hours ago, xcell said:

OP did you book the cabin via website or through TA?

Booked via msc website.

Also may i add that i priced cancelling and starting again and the cabin i originally booked was way more than what i paid.  Really took the shine off this now.  Im going to be negatively biased when the cruise comes round which i dont want as like to judge everything for itself but the way they even responded to my needs around my daughter really has got my back up.

First time booking with msc.  Brief history of booking and a couple of problems.  Originally booked an internal cabin for my family of 4.  Me my wife, kids aged 11 and 7.  Fast forward to allocation of cabins and we were given 2 separate cabins rather than 1.  Then we got a new invoice trying to charge us double the price that we originally booked.  A phone call later and all sorted.  Although two cabins better than one for us we are not keen on splitting the family up as my daughter suffers from a form of autism and is anxious travelling and splitting family up may not be good for her.  Therefore eagerly awaiting the email regarding upgrading to a balcony we jumped on it when i received it.  Made a bid and left it at that.  Then we had issues regarding the online check in.  Had to do it on 2 separate accounts as it seems that although i was the lead passenger my wife had been given lead passenger status too because  of the separate cabin.  Sorted that and then wife receives another upgrade email.  I assumed that the upgrade offer bid i made would be for our full family of four.  Apparently not after phoning msc.  They are expecting us to upgrade the other cabin too and pay again.  I explained my original booking was for a family of four with young children so should only need to make an upgrade bid once as it was one booking but no.  They wont budge and im left very bitter about it all.  They explain as we have 2 cabins we need to upgrade both and will still be separated.  Really unsure how to proceed as the complaints procedure is all via email and although ive started the process im not overly confident of any resolution. 

Any advice would be great.  As i said first booking with msc and may well be the last. 

2 hours ago, Phils01 said:

There’s a current deal going around for us UK People and I managed to my drinks package for £43.18 pppn on my 11 night - that’s only about 3.5 cocktails a day to break even - happy days 😁😁

Im got this deal for my cruise on oasis that i board on sunday.  Im a bit concerned as it hasnt came up on my order list on my online account and im still getting drinks package offers emailed to me.  The refunds on the original "full" priced packages are visible just not my new order even though the pqyment been taken on my credit card. 

Sorted this yesterday over the phone.  Boarding oasis in 3 weeks so this deal is a lot better than the £74 a day deal i had previously.

3 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

You can purchase costumes or make your own.

 

Some ships have kids activities such as trick or treating for candy.

We plan on taking the kids costumes to get involved in things.  

Im sailing on oasis in october.  They are having a halloween night i believe while we are on board.  We are a family travelling from the UK so not really into halloween as much as the people from the USA so dont know what to expect.  We want the kids to get involved and celebrate it USA style so would be Great full on some pointers of halloween etiquette and what might be happening on board.  

Ill be leaving the uk in a few weeks to board the oasis on 23rd october.   Ive never used the casino onboard a cruise.  Im interested in playing the sit and go poker.  Would love to know the way this works onboard, as in buy in and also how to pay.  

Also ill be travelling with kids.  In the uk our cruise falls on our kids school hols.  Is this the case in the usa too?

Enjoying this thread and loving the real time updates on a cruise itinerary we are going on in a few weeks, so thank you for taking the time to do this. 

Some people here really not showing much compassion.  A great advert for the cruising industry!  I have never cruised before and as i have a young family and the costs of cruising isnt exactly cheap, this opportunity was really appreciated and as you can guess very much welcomed in these times.   

All i can say is if this does happen i hope to meet lovely people like becciboo and im not put off for life by some of the other bitter individuals that have commented on this thread.  Maybe the thought of people who normally struggle to afford this experience sharing the ship with them is the real concern.

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

OP 'jumped at the chance' to change the date, then they got Covid and couldn'tboard. Bad luck

If you must know we took the other dates as they were in the school holidays and meant not taking my kids out of school.  

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

You donate a large sum of money to the casino and in turn they provide some  "complimentary" cruises.

So basically a casino whale is offered a complementary cruise?  Fair enough, hardly the same as winning a competition is it.  

46 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, very true.  I lost several casino comps last year.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a casino comp? Seem very popular

14 minutes ago, ententecordiale said:

Are they other 4 days cruises available? Even if they agreed in principle, can it be done?

 

I doubt they'd agree to trade for a 7 day one, but you could then maybe agree to pay the difference. I was hoping to win a free cruise too working for the NHS, I didn't, but can totally understand how gutted your whole family is right now. 

 

Hope you get somewhere.

Unlucky on not winning, i believe they was around 20000 entries so we were very lucky.

We were originally on a 4 night in july but was offered a 8 night cruise in august due to the ships capacity being oversold.  Although they are no 4 night cruises, RCI have already moved the goalposts regarding this and in my understanding a compromise needs to be made on what is offered if anything is.  The irony is no doubt if we took the 4 night one in july we would have not had a positive pcr, but who knows.

7 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sorry to hear you are going thru this but I would definitely call royal back as you can get different answers from different reps on the phone. 

If you don't hear anything favorable from them then I would take it to the resolution dept.   

I hope you and your family remain feeling well. 

Take care.

I have phoned a couple of numbers and spoke to a few different agents.  I think the problem is here in the uk we have no uk call centre and im always taking to the central american call centre.  Although they seem very helpful, they dont seem to understand the competition and the uk guidelines and restrictions.

As for resolutions, all im told is to email royal caribbean uk.  Not expecting a quick reply from this.

Oh and by the way, my family are not the only family who won this competition and are in the same position as us. 

5 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Just so you know I really did:

May i thank you again.  I really thought you just fired off an email. But to take the time to do it the old fashioned way is such a nice gesture.  Many, many thanks again!

4 hours ago, RFerrington said:

@Kev_lyndsey, can I assume that whoever tested positive was also fully vaccinated ?

 

So sorry to hear of this disappointment.  I know it's disheartening.

Yes it was me that was positive and im fully vaccinated.  I really think ive had it asymptomatically within last month or 2 and its not cleared my system.  Will probably test positive for a couple more months.  

Ive took lateral flow tests regularly and all negative.  First pcr test ive done.  

All my family are still negative too so doubt its in my system and infectious now but obviously cruise line have to treat it as current.

5 hours ago, ryano said:

Yet another positive test horror story  😞   So sorry. Just imagine actually being a paying customer and getting the same answer though.   We are being told IF i turn up positive before my cruise, because of my unique situation, Im out of luck.  I lose it all.       Im trying to avoid people at all costs for the next 32 days but I still have to work.  

I really hope you have better luck than my family.  All we have done the last few months is take the kids to school and go to work.  We have been so careful but obviously not enough it seems.  Just do all you can and you will be fine.  Odds in your favour.  Enjoy your cruise for me, wouldnt wish this on anyone.

5 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

I have just written a letter to Richard Fain and Vicki Freed, whom I have met personally, along with Michael Bayley and Jim Berra.  Hoping someone in their offices will forward it along to them or someone who can possibly help.  It only took a minute!  If some of us take the time, it could make a difference for Kev_Lyndsey.  At least I tried.

 

Thank you for all that you do as a health care worker, hope you and your family recover quickly and are contacted by RCI soon.

May i thank you so much for taking the time to do this.  It really has made me feel a bit better knowing that someone i dont even know can be so kind.  Although i dont work in health care myself as it was my wife that won the cruise your support means so much.  We are totally fine just house bound isolating at the moment. 

Thanks for all the kind replies regarding our situation.  I will try to respond to some posts people have made as some brought up valid points and i would like to respond directly on here.  Bear with me will work through them now.

2 minutes ago, Travel R said:

Unfortunately, reading the Terms and Conditions of this giveaway it is limited to a specific ship and sailing dates:

 

8.  Prizes shall consist of a 4-night Ocean Getaways cruise for up to two adults and two children sharing a stateroom (chosen by Promoter at its sole discretion) onboard one of the first two ‘Anthem of the Seas’ cruises from Southampton this summer, departing on July 7, 2021 and July 11, 2021.

 

and further includes a second paragraph that states that if you cannot make the date you have agreed to sail, they are not responsible for compensating you for a later cruise:

 

16. Once the date of the trip is communicated, it is irremovable, and if the winner is not available to travel on the selected dates, they will lose the corresponding prize.

 

Going by the rules, RCI is under no obligation to provide you with a future alternative cruise. When you accepted the prize, you also accepted the terms and conditions that go along with it.

 

However, as you Brit's say, this is "bad form."  If it was someone like me that is not on the front lines during this pandemic, I would be SOL; and chalk it up as another consequence of this pandemic, which we are all getting used to. 

 

IMHO, as a healthcare worker, one would hope that RCI would make some type of concessions and provide you and your family with a similar cruise at a future date. From a company perspective, I would think it would be the right PR move for them to offer you "something." I can see the headlines "Health Care Worker That Won Free Cruise That Got COVID Refused A Makeup Cruise By Cruise Line."

 

It is small consolation, but I (and most others) appreciate thank your wife and all the other health care workers out there for their service.

Very good valid points that i have read over in the t and c's.  

As for clause 8, they already changed our cruise to august 7th.  As to limit numbers on the july ones.

That brings us to clause 16.  We were available to cruise but their and the government guidelines prevented us from cruising.  Fair enough if we were late qnd missed the boat.  

This leads me to claus 23

23.       In the event that, for reasons beyond their reasonable control, Promoter is unable to award the Prize as described in these Terms and Conditions, Promoter reserves the right to award a prize of a similar nature and an equivalent value, or at its sole discretion, the cash value of the Prize. Promoter also reserves the right to award a prize of a similar nature and an equivalent value, or at its sole discretion, the cash value of the Prize if in its reasonable discretion it is appropriate to do so.

Either way im taking this further as the whole situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  The competition was all over the press and internet and provided no end of good publicity for the company.  To think it celebrated people in the emergency services and then just brushed off is downright disgusting.

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Sorry this happened to you. Sad to say but there is  going to be more and more stories just like this for paying customers.

 

Definetly unsettled times at this time for taking a cruise vacation now.

Yes but my gripe is how we are treated differently to paying customers.  

So all good for rescheduling if paying but not if the cruise was won.  Especially as this comp was aimed at people that more or less everyone  would regard as deserving of it through these times.

Well not having a good week.  Sat at home isolating after a positive covid pre cruise pcr test when full family should currently be sailing around the uk on the anthem of the seas.  

We were very fortunate in that my wife who works for the nhs won one of the 999 services free staterooms.  Originally to sail in july before restrictions in the uk eased but RC offered a later date to limit the numbers on the first sailings.  We jumped at this, with 2 kids, 5 and 9, this sailing in middle of school holidays was perfect.  

Well long story short, pre cruise pcr flagged one of us as positive.  An absolute kick in the teeth as we have lived like hermits the last couple of months.  No doubt caught at our workplace.  So kids absolutely in bits,  literally just about to travel 250miles to southampton and all off.  

Phoned royal caribbean and told we had 180 to reschedule.  Little bit of relief as this eased the grief of the situation.  Put on hold, guy came back to tell us because this was a complementary cruise we couldnt rebook and have lost out completely.  Another kick in the stomach! 

Really not happy.  Yes we won a cruise but then proceeded to spend nearly a £1000 on drinks packages and room upgrades. Although they are refunded why are we treated differently than a paying customer.  End of the day we won a prize in these strange days and its not being honoured through no fault of our own.  

Just want to vent a bit on here.  Seems the 999 emergency services free stateroom competition in the uk was well received, provided great publicity for royal caribbean.  But a minority of us, and theres more i tell you have been left high and dry!