Royal Caribbean not Helpful to this 1st Time Cruiser

Copied from “First Time Cruisers” by suggestion:

After several weeks of researching cruise companies and ships/itineraries, we finally took the plunge and booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. This would be the first ever cruise for our family, and the process can be a bit intimidating, so it was quite a leap of faith we took. In hindsight, it appears our first mistake was booking online directly on RC’s website. However, if we had talked with a travel agent or representative before booking, we may have priced ourselves out of booking. So, at least this has forced us on the ship!

Here’s the issue. We thought our balcony stateroom would have a pulldown bed in addition to the main bed (two twins together) and sofa bed. We have a teenage son and daughter that don’t want to share a bed (the double sofa bed). I called RC customer service after they assigned the room and they said no rooms are available for us to switch to without upgrading for a significant price difference. Their solution, which we’re stuck with, is to have the kids each take the separated twin beds, and the couple share the double sofa bed. I’m 6’8” 300 lbs, so it’s not the most comfortable solution.

Anyone experience a similar issue, or have an alternate solution? We really thought RC customer service would try to keep the experience positive in hopes of acquiring a loyal repeat customer, but they simply fell flat. Their only concern after our stalemate was to try and upsell us on some excursions. Uh, no thank you.

Just out of curiosity...what should the solution be?

Yes, you should have called and talked to someone. Especially as a first time cruiser.

Unfortunately, you assumed something, and the assumption was incorrect.

How is this Royal's issue?

Just out of curiosity...what should the solution be?

We thought they might switch us to a cabin with the pull down bed. We had no idea there are so many different configurations and cabin categories.

Keep checking. It could be that another cabin in your category will open up or you may able to upgrade at little cost. Good luck.

Ask your cabin steward for a bunch of extra pillows to put down the centre of the sofabed.

Not really sure why you would expect Royal to fix what unfortunately an oversight on your part. The cabin costs are what they are. Keep watching the prices and if you see the price of the balcony cabin with the Pullman bed drop then just call and upgrade.

Unfortunately there is not a lot you can do in this situation other than making the best of it or paying the money to upgrade. What are the prices of interiors. Could you switch to 2 interior cabins...you might be surprised at the price as compared to one balcony with 4.

Copied from “First Time Cruisers” by suggestion:

 

After several weeks of researching cruise companies and ships/itineraries, we finally took the plunge and booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. This would be the first ever cruise for our family, and the process can be a bit intimidating, so it was quite a leap of faith we took. In hindsight, it appears our first mistake was booking online directly on RC’s website. However, if we had talked with a travel agent or representative before booking, we may have priced ourselves out of booking. So, at least this has forced us on the ship!

 

Here’s the issue. We thought our balcony stateroom would have a pulldown bed in addition to the main bed (two twins together) and sofa bed. We have a teenage son and daughter that don’t want to share a bed (the double sofa bed). I called RC customer service after they assigned the room and they said no rooms are available for us to switch to without upgrading for a significant price difference. Their solution, which we’re stuck with, is to have the kids each take the separated twin beds, and the couple share the double sofa bed. I’m 6’8” 300 lbs, so it’s not the most comfortable solution.

 

Anyone experience a similar issue, or have an alternate solution? We really thought RC customer service would try to keep the experience positive in hopes of acquiring a loyal repeat customer, but they simply fell flat. Their only concern after our stalemate was to try and upsell us on some excursions. Uh, no thank you.

It might not be ideal but what about bringing an airbed with you which you could blow up that one of the kids could sleep on.

I agree with champagne, what do you think would be a fair solution/what do you think Royal should have done? There are no rooms in your cabin category that have the bed layout you want; so there's not really anything Royal can do unless somebody else cancels and you are able to transfer cabins that way. A free upgrade also doesn't seem like it would be fair.

You booked a cabin that sleeps 4 and are in a cabin that sleeps 4, there's no guarantee that the cabin would have three beds, just that it has a bedding configuration that can fit 4 people.

When you booked the cabin, did you check the deck plans? The deck plans should show the bedding situation (sofa bed, pullman, etc) for the cabin so you could see what you were getting before you put down a deposit. If you booked a guarantee room, then you're definitely out of luck because that basically says "I don't care what room I get, as long as it's in our category (a balcony that can sleep 4)"

As I see it, there are only a few options:

Give the kids the twin beds and take the sofa

Upgrade rooms to get the layout you want

Split into a two room booking

Cancel and book on a different ship - eating any loss of deposit if it's after final payment or you booked a non-refundable.

Unfortunately I don't see anything that Royal Caribbean could do differently. It's not that they don't want to help you, it's that the room you want and the room you actually booked aren't the same, and there's no open rooms available with the layout you want.

Keep checking. It could be that another cabin in your category will open up or you may able to upgrade at little cost. Good luck.

Oh, ok. Thanks for the suggestion.

We thought they might switch us to a cabin with the pull down bed. We had no idea there are so many different configurations and cabin categories.

And they would, gladly, if there was one available. You even said in your post that there are no rooms with the pull down bed available in your category.

Personally, my attitude would be to tell the teens they have to share the sofa bed because that's what's available, but that's just the attitude my family grew up with. You make do with what you have. It's just four nights; suck it up buttercup :cool::cool:

For future reference, however, it definitely seems like you would be well served with a good travel agent, or at least paying very very close attention to the deck plans. This isn't unique to Royal Caribbean, all the cruise lines will have the same issue. There are several categories of rooms, and only a set number with a specific bed configuration. Some will have two pullmans, some one pullman and a couch, some just a couch.

For future reference when you look at the ships deck plan there are little symbols which indicate what additional features are in each cabin Like sofa beds, additional pull down beds,connecting cabins etc.

It might not be ideal but what about bringing an airbed with you which you could blow up that one of the kids could sleep on.

Excellent idea on the air bed...thanks!

Keep checking. It could be that another cabin in your category will open up or you may able to upgrade at little cost. Good luck.

Yes, this exactly! Also, look up "Going, going gone sale, Royal Caribbean PDF" the link shows sales prices for specific ships/dates, maybe yours will be on it & making the upgrade a little close in price. Can someone confirm that they could do this or is it for "new bookings only"?

Yes, this exactly! Also, look up "Going, going gone sale, Royal Caribbean PDF" the link shows sales prices for specific ships/dates, maybe yours will be on it & making the upgrade a little close in price. Can someone confirm that they could do this or is it for "new bookings only"?

New bookings only, and GGS is always (or at least nearly always) for cruises that are within final payment, so no cancelling and rebooking.

I agree with champagne, what do you think would be a fair solution/what do you think Royal should have done? There are no rooms in your cabin category that have the bed layout you want; so there's not really anything Royal can do unless somebody else cancels and you are able to transfer cabins that way. A free upgrade also doesn't seem like it would be fair.

 

You booked a cabin that sleeps 4 and are in a cabin that sleeps 4, there's no guarantee that the cabin would have three beds, just that it has a bedding configuration that can fit 4 people.

 

When you booked the cabin, did you check the deck plans? The deck plans should show the bedding situation (sofa bed, pullman, etc) for the cabin so you could see what you were getting before you put down a deposit. If you booked a guarantee room, then you're definitely out of luck because that basically says "I don't care what room I get, as long as it's in our category (a balcony that can sleep 4)"

 

As I see it, there are only a few options:

 

 

Give the kids the twin beds and take the sofa

Upgrade rooms to get the layout you want

Split into a two room booking

Cancel and book on a different ship - eating any loss of deposit if it's after final payment or you booked a non-refundable.

 

Unfortunately I don't see anything that Royal Caribbean could do differently. It's not that they don't want to help you, it's that the room you want and the room you actually booked aren't the same, and there's no open rooms available with the layout you want.

Yes, we let them choose the cabin for us. In our heads we thought we were getting three beds; a big bed for the couple, sofa bed for one teen, Pullman for 2nd teen. Some of the wording just slipped by us since we’re not experienced with cruises.

We’re definitely gonna roll with the flow. All of these are great suggestions within minutes of the post.

Excellent idea on the air bed...thanks!

Yes, we let them choose the cabin for us. In our heads we thought we were getting three beds; a big bed for the couple, sofa bed for one teen, Pullman for 2nd teen. Some of the wording just slipped by us since we’re not experienced with cruises.

 

We’re definitely gonna roll with the flow. All of these are great suggestions within minutes of the post.

Definitely understandable. I think sometimes some of us forget what it was like to be new to cruising :D

I know I just had a round and round conversation with a friend trying to explain what guarantee rooms are. They were convinced that guarantee rooms were better because you were guaranteed a room, and the regular cabins meant you could be downgraded since it wasn't a "guarantee"

Things that make perfect sense to a seasoned cruiser can be way out of left field to somebody new. But soon enough you'll be addicted and be a super seasoned cruiser :cool:

And they would, gladly, if there was one available. You even said in your post that there are no rooms with the pull down bed available in your category.

 

Personally, my attitude would be to tell the teens they have to share the sofa bed because that's what's available, but that's just the attitude my family grew up with. You make do with what you have. It's just four nights; suck it up buttercup :cool::cool:

 

For future reference, however, it definitely seems like you would be well served with a good travel agent, or at least paying very very close attention to the deck plans. This isn't unique to Royal Caribbean, all the cruise lines will have the same issue. There are several categories of rooms, and only a set number with a specific bed configuration. Some will have two pullmans, some one pullman and a couch, some just a couch.

That’s right, suck it up buttercup!

We didn’t realize it’s considered an upgrade or different category regarding the bed configuration. Thought it was more of a “request” for a Pullman (if you didn’t get one), like asking for a rollaway at a hotel. Lesson learned.

Suggest you ask for a rollaway - space will be tight but that should help give the kids individual beds.

I just booked my 5th RCCL cruise, and it was the first time I booked it online directly with the RCCL. I had no problem looking at the small signs on the deck plan that explained what kind of a bed situation was happening in the room I was about to choose. Actually, I found RCCL's deck plans to be a lot more clear than Princess', because they had a legend/description of all the signs displayed right under the deck plan, while Princess site doesn't.

P.S. By the way, on Regal Princess I found a single sofa bed to be more comfortable than their regular single beds. They are called "twin" but they really aren't and it's beside the point. It was just so much better than a regular bed.

That’s right, suck it up buttercup!

 

We didn’t realize it’s considered an upgrade or different category regarding the bed configuration. Thought it was more of a “request” for a Pullman (if you didn’t get one), like asking for a rollaway at a hotel. Lesson learned.

Yes, we let them choose the cabin for us. In our heads we thought we were getting three beds; a big bed for the couple, sofa bed for one teen, Pullman for 2nd teen. Some of the wording just slipped by us since we’re not experienced with cruises.

 

We’re definitely gonna roll with the flow. All of these are great suggestions within minutes of the post.

I am very impressed by your attitude. We often see people complaining and whining .... seldom see delightful people like you. I wish we were cruising at the same time as you so that we could buy you a drink. Hope you have a fantastic cruise.

Copied from “First Time Cruisers” by suggestion:

 

After several weeks of researching cruise companies and ships/itineraries, we finally took the plunge and booked a 4 night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. This would be the first ever cruise for our family, and the process can be a bit intimidating, so it was quite a leap of faith we took. In hindsight, it appears our first mistake was booking online directly on RC’s website. However, if we had talked with a travel agent or representative before booking, we may have priced ourselves out of booking. So, at least this has forced us on the ship!

 

Here’s the issue. We thought our balcony stateroom would have a pulldown bed in addition to the main bed (two twins together) and sofa bed. We have a teenage son and daughter that don’t want to share a bed (the double sofa bed). I called RC customer service after they assigned the room and they said no rooms are available for us to switch to without upgrading for a significant price difference. Their solution, which we’re stuck with, is to have the kids each take the separated twin beds, and the couple share the double sofa bed. I’m 6’8” 300 lbs, so it’s not the most comfortable solution.

 

Anyone experience a similar issue, or have an alternate solution? We really thought RC customer service would try to keep the experience positive in hopes of acquiring a loyal repeat customer, but they simply fell flat. Their only concern after our stalemate was to try and upsell us on some excursions. Uh, no thank you.

Can't you just cancel and start over? When is the cruise?

That’s right, suck it up buttercup!

 

We didn’t realize it’s considered an upgrade or different category regarding the bed configuration. Thought it was more of a “request” for a Pullman (if you didn’t get one), like asking for a rollaway at a hotel. Lesson learned.

The upgrade wouldn't be for the Pullman. Room categories are a bit confusing, but they can be related to deck number, ship location (mid, forward, aft), number of people who can fit in a room, size of room, etc. So for example, you could be on a ship with D1, D2, D3, D4, E1, E2, E3, etc. balconies.

Let's say you are booked in a D6. There may be some D6 rooms that have a Pullman, but they are all currently sold. There's a D2 balcony with a Pullman you can upgrade to, but that is a more expensive cabin (maybe it has a slightly larger balcony, or is closer to mid-ship, etc)

With a guarantee room, you may be able to request to be put back into the pool of people awaiting a room assignment. I've never booked a guarantee so I'm not certain how that works, but I've seen it referenced on here. People request to be put back into the unallocated room group and hope for a better room assignment than they got at first.

People request to be put back into the unallocated room group and hope for a better room assignment than they got at first.

And more often than not they are assigned the exact same room.

Going back into the pool really doesn’t have any advantages for those that booked in a North America as you can request to change to any cabin available in the exact same category.

Can't you just cancel and start over? When is the cruise?

What would be the benefit of that. They would still have to pay the higher price for the cabin with the Pullman.