Baffled by this RCI policy, seems they punish you for booking early

[Oneluckywoman]

My husband and I, and 2 other couples booked a 14 night transatlantic cruise almost a month ago. We all booked inside guarantee cabins at a rate of $599 before taxes. Great rate, but then we thought about how long a cruise it was (we've never sailed more than 7 days before) and decided we wanted to upgrade to balcony. They were offering a cat. D1, D2, and D3 for $949 before taxes, so it was going to cost us to upgrade, but we figured, it was worth it! We could pick our cabins and have balconies. Perfect!!!

 

BUT, when we called our travel agent, they said it was for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. Why does RCI do this??? We are diamond level, paying customers who have sailed with them repeatedly and because we are already booked they won't offer us the same deal they would offer someone else??? I don't get it!!! We are willing to PAY to upgrade, we're not asking for anything for free!!!

 

We were told we could pay to upgrade, but since we are not a new booking, it would cost us $1459 pp before taxes to get the same cabin they are offering NEW BOOKINGS for $949. WHAT??? This seems like a terrible way to treat your loyal cruisers, Royal Caribbean. I certainly hope they reconsider and change this ridiculous policy.

 

Has anyone else had this experience or do you have any advice as to what recourse we can take?

[Paulxyz2004]

My husband and I, and 2 other couples booked a 14 night transatlantic cruise almost a month ago. We all booked inside guarantee cabins at a rate of $599 before taxes. Great rate, but then we thought about how long a cruise it was (we've never sailed more than 7 days before) and decided we wanted to upgrade to balcony. They were offering a cat. D1, D2, and D3 for $949 before taxes, so it was going to cost us to upgrade, but we figured, it was worth it! We could pick our cabins and have balconies. Perfect!!!

 

BUT, when we called our travel agent, they said it was for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. Why does RCI do this??? We are diamond level, paying customers who have sailed with them repeatedly and because we are already booked they won't offer us the same deal they would offer someone else??? I don't get it!!! We are willing to PAY to upgrade, we're not asking for anything for free!!!

 

We were told we could pay to upgrade, but since we are not a new booking, it would cost us $1459 pp before taxes to get the same cabin they are offering NEW BOOKINGS for $949. WHAT??? This seems like a terrible way to treat your loyal cruisers, Royal Caribbean. I certainly hope they reconsider and change this ridiculous policy.

 

Has anyone else had this experience or do you have any advice as to what recourse we can take?

 

Well the recourse you can take is stay with your inside cabin or fork out the money.

It´s nothing new that certain offers are restricted to certain conditions like new bookings. I could say the same if there were a senior, military, law enforcement, residency discount that I´m not eligible for.

I tend to look at it from a business point of view and don´t think it´s ridiculous at all.

[bajathree]

Escalate it up to the resolutions dept.

[dz9yvr]

Did your TA actually call RCCL or did they just read the brochure? Have your TA call RCCL again and request a 3-way conversation with RCCL. If this doesn't solve the problem have them send this to the resolutions department.

[Starry Eyes]

well, I'd call again. Maybe you will get the same "new bookings only" answer...if so I would ask to speak with resolutions. They may well stick with the same answer, as is their right since it is "new bookings only", but sometimes, if you are lucky and if you are spending more money (not the same or less), they will relent and let you upgrade. It may be worth another try, but remember to be very pleasant and to be grateful if they let you...

 

edit, I just noticed you have a travel agent, so you will have to work through the agent...hopefully you have a good agent who will make the calls on your behalf.

[ryano]

Good luck. Even going through Resolutions I doubt you will get anywhere as it clearly stated new bookings only. They do this all the time so its really nothing new and while they are very slack in enforcing some of their policies on board, I highly doubt they will budge on this one.

 

The only thing you can really do is stay in your inside cabin or take your business somewhere else :) Not trying to be rude or anything.

 

If you call Resolutions, please come back and let us know the outcome.

[seaofwonder]

If it's not listed as a Tuesday sale or on the sale part of their website, then this is just the standard line they have added to ALL bookings now. We had this same thing happen, escalated it up to resolutions, threatened to move our business (we cruise 3x a year) elsewhere and voila! we had the paid upgrade.

 

If you really want it you have to fight. TAs generally won't, so you need to get on a three way call. As a diamond it might actually be better to start with Crown & Anchor. They were the ones who got it done for us.

 

I actually think it's pretty sneaky that they've added in this "new bookings only" to every single price they have. It's making it REALLY hard to upgrade.

[baggal]

If you're before final payment - cancel your inside and rebook the balcony. Probably you're after final payment (the price for a 14 day balcony is unbelievable!) - I would call again.

[cruisenfever]

The Liberty TA is one of the featured itineraries on the President's Day Sale.

 

From the RCI website this is right on the top of the page.....

"For a limited time only, take advantage of these great savings during our Presidents' Day Sales Event from Friday, Feb. 17, through Tuesday, Feb. 21. Act fast. Your next vacation is just a click away".

[Kamloops50]

I've run into this as well . If you are within the final payment date you can't upgrade without cancelling ( taking a penalty) to get the special.

[Oneluckywoman]

If it's not listed as a Tuesday sale or on the sale part of their website, then this is just the standard line they have added to ALL bookings now. We had this same thing happen, escalated it up to resolutions, threatened to move our business (we cruise 3x a year) elsewhere and voila! we had the paid upgrade.

 

If you really want it you have to fight. TAs generally won't, so you need to get on a three way call. As a diamond it might actually be better to start with Crown & Anchor. They were the ones who got it done for us.

 

I actually think it's pretty sneaky that they've added in this "new bookings only" to every single price they have. It's making it REALLY hard to upgrade.

My point EXACTLY! Why are they making it so difficult? They do list it as a "deal" when you click on the categories, and next week, when this "sale" ends, they'll have a resident special or some other "sale" that will only apply to new bookings!! GRRRR

Even my TA said he didn't understand this ridiculous policy! I'm happy to report he did call for me, and had to speak to 4 different departments, (started with C&A, and ended with resolutions). Thankfully, they did allow us to pay for the upgrade, and 2 of us are now in balcony cabins at the "deal" rate. I really appreciate the extra time and effort he spent, but it just seems so wrong that they make it so hard!

The other couple wants to upgrade to oceanview, which is also a higher rate than they paid, but they booked with a different TA and were told by her that we got the upgrade because we are diamond. I'm sending him the suggestions from all of you on this thread, and we'll see if he can have some success as well. I'll report back.

Thanks to all of you!

[cruisenfever]

My point EXACTLY! Why are they making it so difficult? They do list it as a "deal" when you click on the categories, and next week, when this "sale" ends, they'll have a resident special or some other "sale" that will only apply to new bookings!! GRRRR

 

Thanks to all of you!

The Liberty TA is part of the Special President's Day Sale that began on 2/17 and runs through 2/21. It is featured on the RCI Home Page.

[Oneluckywoman]

The Liberty TA is part of the Special President's Day Sale that began on 2/17 and runs through 2/21. It is featured on the RCI Home Page.

 

Yes, thank you, I got that. I know that it is part of a sale.

My whole point in this thread is that IMHO, it is not a good customer relations policy to offer a price for new bookings only, when the price is MORE than what the customer paid originally.

I can understand that if, after final payment, the price in the same category drops to a lower price, that they will not refund the difference. I also know that in the past, a HIGHER category has dropped to what I paid for a lower category, and RCI has upgraded me to the higher category for free! Which I think is great and I appreciate that they do that.

I do not understand why, after final payment, their policy is to not allow those who have already booked and paid to upgrade to a higher category when they are paying MORE to upgrade. That seems to me to be an undesirable customer relations policy.

I am happy that my TA went to bat for us and got us the upgrade. It sounds like others have not been so lucky. It sounds like it's hit or miss. I just wanted to state my opinion here, and hope that someone from RCL will read and consider it.

Cruise critic is a wonderful forum for ordinary people who like to cruise to share valuable information with each other to enhance their cruising experiences from start to finish. I appreciate the opportunity, and all of the people who share their knowledge here! Thanks!

[jjb415]

The Liberty TA is one of the featured itineraries on the President's Day Sale.

 

From the RCI website this is right on the top of the page.....

 

"For a limited time only, take advantage of these great savings during our Presidents' Day Sales Event from Friday, Feb. 17, through Tuesday, Feb. 21. Act fast. Your next vacation is just a click away".

 

The Liberty TA is part of the Special President's Day Sale that began on 2/17 and runs through 2/21. It is featured on the RCI Home Page.

 

Do these fall under the new booking only restrictions?

[cruisenfever]

Do these fall under the new booking only restrictions?

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the Home Page nor on the page where the 31 specific cruises are featured (it's probably in the fine print that is not made public). From what the OP has reported back, they were able to go from an OV to a balcony cabin after their TA spoke to several different departments.

[Artemis908]

Same thing happened when I tried to add the Romance package to my booking. It was for new bookings only and the price of my cabin had increased by about $200 so it wasn't worth it to cancel and rebook. I spoke to two different customer reps about it and was told they couldn't do anything about it.

[Oneluckywoman]

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the Home Page nor on the page where the 31 specific cruises are featured. From what the OP has reported back, they were able to go from an OV to a balcony cabin after their TA spoke to several different departments.

 

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the RCI website UNTIL you click on the category, and it gives you your final price. Underneath the final price, it says "view pricing details" or something to that effect. When you click on that, it breaks down the pricing, and underneath that it reads..."new bookings only." It's quite obscure and I had to talk to a rep at RCI to find that.

[cruisenfever]

It doesn't say anything about new bookings only on the RCI website UNTIL you click on the category, and it gives you your final price. Underneath the final price, it says "view pricing details" or something to that effect. When you click on that, it breaks down the pricing, and underneath that it reads..."new bookings only." It's quite obscure and I had to talk to a rep at RCI to find that.

Be nice if they put it out in the open where folks could see it before going through the motions of booking a cabin.

 

Glad you got your balcony cabin for your TA.:) It is an awesome trip and you should have an incredible time.

[Starry Eyes]

just how close are these friends who want the upgrade? If they are really great friends, you could consider trying to swap names on the bookings (if RCL allows) so one of your diamond members is a second person on their booking and one of their non diamond is the second person on yours. Then their TA could doesn't have the diamond excuse...also they'd get the diamond discount if they went all the way to balcony. it would be kind of a hassle involving two travel agents...only something I'd offer to try to do for a great friend or close family member.

[cyclenut]

This is a very common policy that I have run across with many different companies. Cable and DirecTV are notorious for this. Special package only for new subscribers. You see it with hotels too. These are sometimes called "loss leaders" or the like. They are designed to capture new business. If they were forced to open this deal up to everyone, then there would not be a return on investment for the marketing cost.

 

That said, I have been successful in getting some of these deals made available to me as an existing customer (not tried with RCI). Basically, you have to cancel. Sometimes they will let you cancel but often they will realize the stupidity and instead of letting you cancel, they'll just move you into the "new customer" program and flag it as "customer retention".

 

For the record, I don't think it is a stupid policy at all. These companies have to find some way to attract new cruisers to keep the ships full and the price down for all of us. That sometimes means offering cheaper fares during their "sale". If they allowed everyone to rebook at the lower fare, they'd lose money on the deal. Your higher fare is helping fund the lower fare. It doesn't sound fair, but it is the risk/gamble we take when we book in advance. Those who wait take a risk/gamble that the cabin they want will be available.

[setsail]

Arn't all sale promos for new bookings only?? All I have seen are(or you can't combine with anything),just wondering.

[MCC retired]

OP's TA did a great job here.:)

A good TA can have "connections" when the rules have to be bent a little

for their clients. :rolleyes:

[Oneluckywoman]

This is a very common policy that I have run across with many different companies. Cable and DirecTV are notorious for this. Special package only for new subscribers. You see it with hotels too. These are sometimes called "loss leaders" or the like. They are designed to capture new business. If they were forced to open this deal up to everyone, then there would not be a return on investment for the marketing cost.

 

That said, I have been successful in getting some of these deals made available to me as an existing customer (not tried with RCI). Basically, you have to cancel. Sometimes they will let you cancel but often they will realize the stupidity and instead of letting you cancel, they'll just move you into the "new customer" program and flag it as "customer retention".

 

For the record, I don't think it is a stupid policy at all. These companies have to find some way to attract new cruisers to keep the ships full and the price down for all of us. That sometimes means offering cheaper fares during their "sale". If they allowed everyone to rebook at the lower fare, they'd lose money on the deal. Your higher fare is helping fund the lower fare. It doesn't sound fair, but it is the risk/gamble we take when we book in advance. Those who wait take a risk/gamble that the cabin they want will be available.

In response to what I highlighted in green, did you read my posts? I did not want to rebook at a lower fare, I wanted an upgrade at a cost to me of over $450! :) Big difference! Why do they not want my money????

[cruisinfanatic]

[/color]

 

In response to what I highlighted in green, did you read my posts? I did not want to rebook at a lower fare, I wanted an upgrade at a cost to me of over $450! :) Big difference! Why do they not want my money????

looks like this rate is a happy hr promo which would mean it's for new bookings.

keep watching it

[bajathree]

My point EXACTLY! Why are they making it so difficult? They do list it as a "deal" when you click on the categories, and next week, when this "sale" ends, they'll have a resident special or some other "sale" that will only apply to new bookings!! GRRRR [/color]

Even my TA said he didn't understand this ridiculous policy! I'm happy to report he did call for me, and had to speak to 4 different departments, (started with C&A, and ended with resolutions). Thankfully, they did allow us to pay for the upgrade, and 2 of us are now in balcony cabins at the "deal" rate. I really appreciate thee extra time and effort he spent, but it just seems so wrong that they make it so hard!

The other couple wants to upgrade to oceanview, which is also a higher rate than they paid, but they booked with a different TA and were told by her that we got the upgrade because we are diamond. I'm sending him the suggestions from all of you on this thread, and we'll see if he can have some success as well. I'll report back. [Thanks to all of you!

 

Told ya you needed to escalate it to the resolutions dept;)...ENJOY:)