It appears to me that RCI recent FREE FLIGHTS promotion is a con!

[Andy72]

Firstly can I say I adore RCI and so far never experienced any major problems so far. This will be my 7th RCL cruise in June and I would not cruise with anyone else. However I believe RCI UK customers are being overcharged for flights booked with RCI. Furthermore it appears to me that the recent FREE FLIGHTS promotion is a con!

I booked our forthcoming cruise direct with RCI in March 2011, 2 adults and 1 child for £1932 for 7 nights on Liberty of the Seas in an interior stateroom. I choose to book our own flights as RCI wanted £400 per passenger and £1200 for 2 adults & 1 child from the UK to Barcelona is very expensive! Our flights booked through Expida cost me just £530 a difference of £670 to RCI price!

Since I booked the cruise it has been on sale for about £2532 cruise only for most of the time.

From February to 15th March 2012 RCI have been offering 2 free flights with every new booking from the UK to Europe for this season.

On 14th March I called RCI to request a price for the holiday I had already booked. The price given was £2932 for the cruise with 2 free flights. The £400 difference from £2532 is the flight for my daughter.

I called RCI again on 16th March the day after their free flight offer had ended to request a price for the holiday I had already booked. The price given was £1982 for a cruise only holiday! The difference not taking into account the £400 for my daughters flight was £550 lower than the previous price of £2532 which RCI ware charging for the 2 free flights offer when I called the day before?

As RCI are chartering planes to transfer customers who have booked holidays with the free fights offer I’m keen to try and find out the cost to charter a plane. I’d go as far as saying that I’d be surprised if it’s anywhere near the £400 RCI wanted to charge me for my daughter’s flights. One of my neighbours is a Captain of a UK airline and when he returns from his holiday I’m going to talk to him to get some idea of the charge to charter a plane.

I’m sure we are being ripping us off here!! A call going through to RCI tomorrow.

[suekay]

I'm sure you're right - the free flights offer is a con. They put the prices up to cover the "free" flight then the price comes back down once the free flight promotion is over. But they don't always charter planes - last year we got the "free flights" and were put onto the Jet2 flight to Rome from Manchester

[sidari]

A friend recently had a price from Newcastle to Malaga which i think was for the Adventure of the seas, it was £535 pp for 7 nights inc flights and transfers! i doubt you could do it yourself for that price. So maybe not a con after all.

[nw_man]

Just seen this thread guys, must say I also think its a con.

 

Been keeping my eyes on RCI prices for a while now, they go up remarkably when the ' free flights ' are on.

[gooners1968]

Just booked Navigator for July,£300 cheaper for our 3 person booking than when free flights offer was on

[scrozuk]

I will confess to not being surprised at all with this, a lot of the time, I think you can simply compare the prices pre-offer, or if you can't, phone up saying you want cruise only cos you're already going to be there (yeah it's lying, but hey, they do it to us!)..

 

After a while, I think you do get a good feel how much a cruise should cost, secret is to do the homework and not get suckered in by the 'cheap' deals.

 

The other tactic would be free flights, but not free transfers, and you have to pay for luggage to be checked in.

 

ScrozUK