Sales Event Price Drop not valid for OBC!!

[Venusleo1]

Hi all. I am so very upset right now, like fuming mad! As you can see by my signature I am very Loyal to Royal but I dont think I will ever sail with them again.

 

I had called RCI last Wednesday to ask some questions about a next cruise certificate that I have for me and a friend from when I put a deposit down while I was still on my last cruise. I already had the particular cruise in mind but wanted to wait till today to book just in case my cruise had a sale. I'm not sure if they do these everywhere but I live in FL so every once in a while on Tuesday they will do price drops on certain sailings not all of them and you just kinda have to get lucky. Anyways I had told my customer service rep Barney who was answering my questions about next cruise that we would just call back on Tuesday to book just in case they held a sale. He said it was no problem that even if I saw the price drop on the website I can call and get the difference credited as an OBC.

 

I even asked him twice to confirm. He assured me again that yes if the price droped on Tuesday (today) to just call. So my friend Kris and I are booked in two seperate interior guarantees. Each of us paid $414 plus port fees and taxes and now on their site they are offering PR rooms for $346.00. I called to see if we could be switched into a PR room and get the difference as an OBC. At first they were very happy to oblidge sure no problem great deal ect. until they saw it was listed as a "Deal" in red and told me that the "deals" are only good for people who book today and cant be offered to existing reservations.

 

If thats the case then fine, but that was NOT what I was told by Barney. If he had said that if there are regular price decreases yes you get the difference but it doesnt work for Sales Events I would have not booked with him last Wednesday but would have waited till today which were my original intentions anyways and I told him that specifically. I feel like I was lied to or duped to make the reservation right then and there just so he could get the sale. I am sooo very upset with RCI right now and would cancel my trip if it werent only 3 weeks away (I was informed if I cancel I would loose $207 since its sailing within 30 days).

 

:mad:

[Sue L]

Tuesday Sales events are for new bookings only and there are posts like yours practically every week. Keep checking because if they don't sell their quota it will still be on sale tomorrow.

 

MOST cruise lines don't give drops as liberally as RCCL does.

[cruisinfanatic]

Hi all. I am so very upset right now, like fuming mad! As you can see by my signature I am very Loyal to Royal but I dont think I will ever sail with them again.

 

I had called RCI last Wednesday to ask some questions about a next cruise certificate that I have for me and a friend from when I put a deposit down while I was still on my last cruise. I already had the particular cruise in mind but wanted to wait till today to book just in case my cruise had a sale. I'm not sure if they do these everywhere but I live in FL so every once in a while on Tuesday they will do price drops on certain sailings not all of them and you just kinda have to get lucky. Anyways I had told my customer service rep Barney who was answering my questions about next cruise that we would just call back on Tuesday to book just in case they held a sale. He said it was no problem that even if I saw the price drop on the website I can call and get the difference credited as an OBC.

 

I even asked him twice to confirm. He assured me again that yes if the price droped on Tuesday (today) to just call. So my friend Kris and I are booked in two seperate interior guarantees. Each of us paid $414 plus port fees and taxes and now on their site they are offering PR rooms for $346.00. I called to see if we could be switched into a PR room and get the difference as an OBC. At first they were very happy to oblidge sure no problem great deal ect. until they saw it was listed as a "Deal" in red and told me that the "deals" are only good for people who book today and cant be offered to existing reservations.

 

If thats the case then fine, but that was NOT what I was told by Barney. If he had said that if there are regular price decreases yes you get the difference but it doesnt work for Sales Events I would have not booked with him last Wednesday but would have waited till today which were my original intentions anyways and I told him that specifically. I feel like I was lied to or duped to make the reservation right then and there just so he could get the sale. I am sooo very upset with RCI right now and would cancel my trip if it werent only 3 weeks away (I was informed if I cancel I would loose $207 since its sailing within 30 days).

 

:mad:

Those are the guidelines that we all abide by. I see that most of your posts are on the roll calls. If you had been reading this board, you would have known that Tuesday sale are new bookings only.

Keep watching. They often carry over beyond the Tuesday sale.

PS,

I'd think twice about a PR cabin. Just had one and it was not to our liking. Was actually smaller than an inside with less storage. Not much of any view either unless you are in the center 4 sections of the 8 on each level.

[Venusleo1]

If that is the policy then fine, im okay with it. I'm upset that the CSR told me that I could call for the price decrease when I was specifically telling him I was planning on waiting to see if there were any sales on Tuesday. He should have know that sales events did not qualify for the credit and should have been forthright with me about it. Hey yeah you're right you should wait till Tuesday cause those deals are for new reservations only. Instead he LIED and told me it would be fine just to book with him then and not to worry about. That's what's got my goat.

[Sue L]

If that is the policy then fine, im okay with it. I'm upset that the CSR told me that I could call for the price decrease when I was specifically telling him I was planning on waiting to see if there were any sales on Tuesday. He should have know that sales events did not qualify for the credit and should have been forthright with me about it. Hey yeah you're right you should wait till Tuesday cause those deals are for new reservations only. Instead he LIED and told me it would be fine just to book with him then and not to worry about. That's what's got my goat.

 

 

there are plenty of drops on Tuesdays that are NOT part of the sale event and probably didn 't know what you were talking about.

[akcruz]

If that is the policy then fine, im okay with it. I'm upset that the CSR told me that I could call for the price decrease when I was specifically telling him I was planning on waiting to see if there were any sales on Tuesday. He should have know that sales events did not qualify for the credit and should have been forthright with me about it. Hey yeah you're right you should wait till Tuesday cause those deals are for new reservations only. Instead he LIED and told me it would be fine just to book with him then and not to worry about. That's what's got my goat.

 

In this case you have every right to be upset. Unfortunately those are the rules and info you got from the CSR was wrong.

 

On the bright side, I do have to agree with one of the prior posters, depending on the ship the Promenades are smaller than the insides. Enjoy the cabin you have!

[heffa72]

I think the issue here and what the OP is upset about is that she received inconsistent information from the rep. The rep could (and perhaps should) have said "Keep in mind, some Tuesday sales are eligible and others are not." I'm sure he was not doing it intentionally, but rather screwed up in not fully disclosing all the exceptions. After all he has nothing to gain by booking you (they don't work off commission right)?

 

Anyway, I understand your frustration. Its just a crappy situation. But hopefully, as others mentioned, the rates will be just as low tomorrow? Here's hoping!!

 

My cruise (leaving on the 28th) has a sales event price right now...I'm wondering (now that I've read this thread) if tomorrow the price will still be as sweet as it is today.

[BecciBoo]

I feel like I was lied to or duped to make the reservation right then and there just so he could get the sale.

:mad:

 

However, I believe Barney did not get credit for a sale as Next Cruises are already a sale with booking number credited to the onboard ambassador or your own TA if you used one for the cruise you booked on. That couldn't have been an incentive for this misunderstanding. All that information is right on your Next Cruise voucher, I have read ours many times. If your cat goes down in fare in the coming weeks, you most certainly will get credited though. So keep your fingers crossed.

[Venusleo1]

So I shot of a bunch of e-mails to RCCL, that was before I posted my thread here. I went to the site that lists all the executives and then I was just guessing their e-mail addresses by placing their first initial next to their full last name @rccl.com and I just recieved a phone call from a very nice woman who works in the executive offices. She said that Adam Goldstein had heard my cruise critic message (I think she misunderstood, probably meant my e-mail where I had stated that I was a CC member and was going to post my story) and they wanted to fix the problem since I had recieved incorrect information from one of their employees and they do not accept that. She said that I can not make an informed decision if I recieve incorrect information and she appologised. Me and my friend are now in Promenade cabins but they did not give us the $ decrease as OBCs. Hey at least they met us in the middle. I'm good with that.

[cruisinfanatic]

So I shot of a bunch of e-mails to RCCL, that was before I posted my thread here. I went to the site that lists all the executives and then I was just guessing their e-mail addresses by placing their first initial next to their full last name @rccl.com and I just recieved a phone call from a very nice woman who works in the executive offices. She said that Adam Goldstein had heard my cruise critic message (I think she misunderstood, probably meant my e-mail where I had stated that I was a CC member and was going to post my story) and they wanted to fix the problem since I had recieved incorrect information from one of their employees and they do not accept that. She said that I can not make an informed decision if I recieve incorrect information and she appologised. Me and my friend are now in Promenade cabins but they did not give us the $ decrease as OBCs. Hey at least they met us in the middle. I'm good with that.

they gave you the PR cabin, but no OBC or money back?

I don't consider that a good deal.

[cynt]

$414 or $346 is still an excellent SINGLE occupant rate for 4 nights. I just checked the website and they have SINGLE occupancy oceanviews for $429. WOW!!

 

I'm glad it worked out for you. Happy cruising!!!

[Venusleo1]

Cynt, yeah its a good price but it would have been better, and SeaUs yeah they moved our room but no money back. I'm going to check the site tomorrow to see if the prices are the same and if so I will call again.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Cynt, yeah its a good price but it would have been better, and SeaUs yeah they moved our room but no money back. I'm going to check the site tomorrow to see if the prices are the same and if so I will call again.

 

when I was booked on the Navigator in December they ran a Tuesday deal but the price stayed the same until Saturday but the same restrictions stayed in affect until Saturday when the price finally went up.

 

I hope you have better luck.:)

 

Bill

[RoyalCruiser2007]

I've done 14 cruises with Royal Caribbean in the last 2.5 years. I have 6 more booked. I've noticed on the last few cruises that the individuals from C&A and CVP know less and less each time about how to handle price drops or book single occupancy cabins. It's gotten to the point that I need to argue with the individual and tell them what they need to do to get the price I found. They keep telling me that it doesn't exist until I insist again and again that they follow my simple directions (contact X and get X and then insert X into the computer). I'm extremely nice on the phone but what used to be a 3 minute phone call has now become a 45 minute phone call (such as today's price drop call). I'm really not surprised to hear that "Barney" gave you wrong information. Glad the Miami offices handled it properly.

[steponboard]

there are plenty of drops on Tuesdays that are NOT part of the sale event and probably didn 't know what you were talking about.

Why would you defend RCL before a customer who clearly stated the issue and it sounds like RCL was totally wrong. We all know RCL doesn't know what they're talking about when you call. If you call four times you get four different answers.

[uksimonusa]

Why would you defend RCL before a customer who clearly stated the issue and it sounds like RCL was totally wrong. We all know RCL doesn't know what they're talking about when you call. If you call four times you get four different answers.

 

I think that is what SueL was saying, that RCI did not know what the customer was talking about

[Mark_K]

I've done 14 cruises with Royal Caribbean in the last 2.5 years. I have 6 more booked. I've noticed on the last few cruises that the individuals from C&A and CVP know less and less each time about how to handle price drops or book single occupancy cabins. It's gotten to the point that I need to argue with the individual and tell them what they need to do to get the price I found. They keep telling me that it doesn't exist until I insist again and again that they follow my simple directions (contact X and get X and then insert X into the computer). I'm extremely nice on the phone but what used to be a 3 minute phone call has now become a 45 minute phone call (such as today's price drop call). I'm really not surprised to hear that "Barney" gave you wrong information. Glad the Miami offices handled it properly.

Sounds like it's time to get a travel agent to handle the details for you.

[Sue L]

I think that is what SueL was saying, that RCI did not know what the customer was talking about

 

Thank you , that is exactly what I was saying.

[steponboard]

I thought the OP was crystal clear and knew he was asking about price reductions. Many people seem to side with RCL no matter what even when they clearly give wrong information.

[TBSCruiser]

I thought the OP was crystal clear and knew he was asking about price reductions. Many people seem to side with RCL no matter what even when they clearly give wrong information.

 

 

 

The OP was incorrect in this case and was given the CORRECT info by the posters on this thread. Everyone was stating the policy and this one is very clear which is why people were siding with them.

[Venusleo1]

Prices went back up today. So the interior guarantee that I originally booked is still at $414 (it never went on sale) and the Promenade is back up to $790 frpm $336 (Sales event price) or something like that. I'm going to try to stop being upset about it and just start getting excited to set sail in 3 weeks.