Disgusted with RCL and Rhapsody Cabin changes!

[rubrrick]

It's really sad how things have changed over the last few years. When we first started cruising on RCI eight years ago, it was a different company. We came back from the Jewel on Monday and while we had a nice time, it did not leave us feeling good at all about the money that we spent for the cabin. Too many issues that should have been handled before we even boarded the ship. It made us feel even better about trying Celebrity. We will still cruise with RCI but it won't be the first choice anymore.

 

Now you have me worried. We booked the Jewel.....our favorite ship, for the TA from Harwich to Boston in August. It's expensive....we have my favorite OS. Many friends will be aboard.

 

Then in November, I will have completed my last large remodel, and we are booked on the Brilliance for 3 weeks in an OS......just to let me get away from it all and relax. That brings me to within 7 cruise points for our next freebie, but we have nothing planned with Royal Caribbean to even complete that.

 

We are Elite with Celebrity, and Elite with Princess. We feel welcome with Celebrity, but Princess is still a very cold line to me.

 

I have friends that want us to cruise with them on Regent. I also want to try the floating box.....Norwegians Epic. That could be incredible or a disaster, but I have to try it once more!:rolleyes:

 

Rick

[Cruising89143]

Now you have me worried. We booked the Jewel.....our favorite ship, for the TA from Harwich to Boston in August. It's expensive....we have my favorite OS. Many friends will be aboard.

 

Then in November, I will have completed my last large remodel, and we are booked on the Brilliance for 3 weeks in an OS......just to let me get away from it all and relax. That brings me to within 7 cruise points for our next freebie, but we have nothing planned with Royal Caribbean to even complete that.

 

We are Elite with Celebrity, and Elite with Princess. We feel welcome with Celebrity, but Princess is still a very cold line to me.

 

I have friends that want us to cruise with them on Regent. I also want to try the floating box.....Norwegians Epic. That could be incredible or a disaster, but I have to try it once more!:rolleyes:

 

Rick

 

We were in the RS and when we entered the cabin there was long hair and toe nail clippings in the bathroom that were not cleaned. The two remotes for both the bedroom and sitting room would not work properly. They kept stating low battery so both TV's were useless. No one could repair them. Windows were not cleaned. Someone had spilled a drink on one window and it was splattered covering half of the window, no hot water about 70% of the time, a really bad urine smell that the room steward could not do away with. It was just a lot of small things that add up. I felt sorry for the room steward. He was totally overwhelmed. They have lost their helpers and he had way too many cabins to clean. Every time that I saw him he had a full sweat going.

 

Just another case of cut backs by management. We mostly overlooked everything as the room steward would have been the one to catch hell. The ship itself looked very good and most of the crew was outstanding as always. I'm sure that you will have a great time. :) We would still cruise on the Jewel again but not waste our money on this cabin.

[dz9yvr]

At the end of the day it's all about the money for RCCL. New cruisers spend more money on ships than veteran cruisers that have seen it all and done it all. New cruisers do more shore excursions, buy more drinks and buy more pictures than the returning cruisers. Despite all of the talk about loyality, RCCL really doesn't care if we sail agian.

[mnh]

It's really sad how things have changed over the last few years. When we first started cruising on RCI eight years ago, it was a different company. We came back from the Jewel on Monday and while we had a nice time, it did not leave us feeling good at all about the money that we spent for the cabin. Too many issues that should have been handled before we even boarded the ship. It made us feel even better about trying Celebrity. We will still cruise with RCI but it won't be the first choice anymore.

 

I was one of the lucky few who "lost" my corner aft cabin but thanks to CC I heard about this situation within a day of booking my 2013 Alaska cruise and was able to reclaim the cabin.

 

However I could not agree more about the current corporate attitude....I started cruising only 12 years ago....the majority of my cruises have been on Royal....I have acheived D+, the balcony discount is the main perk for me.....however in the last few years they have made it impossible to combine the D+ discount with any other promotions, so what is the big deal about achieving the D+ status if the main perk to me is null and void?

 

I doubt I wil every reach Pinacle, so I no longer feel "Loyal to Royal". I love their ships and crew, but the corporate office is ruining the brand.

 

I will still cruise on Royal depending upon the ship and price....I currently have 3 cruises booked.....Rhapsody, Carnival Magic, and Crown Princess.

[critterchick]

It seems like they do not realize how they have impacted you. They state that they intended to preserve the original location, but couldn't do it for some guests. Were the corner afts on Deck 8 the ones that were renumbered? Seems like someone didn't think there was a difference between corner afts and center afts.

 

Someone higher up needs to understand the issue. Their apathy bothers me.

 

All Deck 8 cabins aft of the Centrum we re-numbered. I'm not sure about the portside forward of the Centrum- there was one cabin added just behind the bridge.

 

I was one of the lucky few who "lost" my corner aft cabin but thanks to CC I heard about this situation within a day of booking my 2013 Alaska cruise and was able to reclaim the cabin.

 

However I could not agree more about the current corporate attitude....I started cruising only 12 years ago....the majority of my cruises have been on Royal....I have acheived D+, the balcony discount is the main perk for me.....however in the last few years they have made it impossible to combine the D+ discount with any other promotions, so what is the big deal about achieving the D+ status if the main perk to me is null and void?

 

I doubt I wil every reach Pinacle, so I no longer feel "Loyal to Royal". I love their ships and crew, but the corporate office is ruining the brand.

 

I will still cruise on Royal depending upon the ship and price....I currently have 3 cruises booked.....Rhapsody, Carnival Magic, and Crown Princess.

 

Oh, and speaking if combining benefits, we have a cruise coming up on the Star Princess out of Seattle. We have $100 from the future cruise credit, $100 military OBC, $100 shareholder OBC, group credit and TA credit for a total of $460. And the minisuite we booked was $900pp less than Rhapsody. As much as I adore Rhapsody, I couldn't pass up that deal. Just saying'...

[Zeikah]

I can see this happening if they sold you a guarantee (although I'm surprised at a downgrade :eek: ), but you had a booked cabin and they displaced you for being oversold? How did they do that?

 

It wasn't a guarantee! It also wasn't just me this happened too, we spoke to 3 other couples that had the same problem. I even had the baggage tags with the correct aft balcony on them. It was at check in when we were were given the downgraded cabin. They said it would be sorted onboard of course it wasn't. The reason the we heard that a group of VIP's booking late wanted 6 balconyies next to each other.

To top it off we told them that our baggage was going to the wrong cabin they said don't worry it will be delivered to the new cabin it will be OK. When it wasn't delivered at sailing time we went to the aft balcony to look there. Sure enough it was sitting in the passage way outside our booked cabin. We also had to get new shore tour vouchers as they were in the wrong room.

Your'e in Hong Kong away from home booked on a cruise already on the ship what else can you do apart from take the wrong cabin.

 

I actually feel sorry for the people that booked an ocean veiw as was downgraded to an inside. They were crown and anchor members as there was a voucher book for them in my cabin. At least we still had a window.

[sail2sea]

If I had carefully researched and booked an aft corner balcony for an Alaska cruise only have it taken away from me for nothing more than the most ridiculous reason, I would not be sure I would ever return.

 

Royal seems have adopted the most abominable attitude toward their most loyal customers. Who else would book a cruise 18 month in advance in a coveted cabin only known to those in the know?

[sail2sea]

It wasn't a guarantee! It also wasn't just me this happened too, we spoke to 3 other couples that had the same problem. I even had the baggage tags with the correct aft balcony on them. It was at check in when we were were given the downgraded cabin. They said it would be sorted onboard of course it wasn't. The reason the we heard that a group of VIP's booking late wanted 6 balconyies next to each other.

To top it off we told them that our baggage was going to the wrong cabin they said don't worry it will be delivered to the new cabin it will be OK. When it wasn't delivered at sailing time we went to the aft balcony to look there. Sure enough it was sitting in the passage way outside our booked cabin. We also had to get new shore tour vouchers as they were in the wrong room.

Your'e in Hong Kong away from home booked on a cruise already on the ship what else can you do apart from take the wrong cabin.

 

I actually feel sorry for the people that booked an ocean veiw as was downgraded to an inside. They were crown and anchor members as there was a voucher book for them in my cabin. At least we still had a window.

 

I hope they at least refunded you the difference between a balcony and an ocean view in addition to the OBC's etc! VIP's last minute booking can trump another customer out of their cabin?

 

Such cavalier attitude toward customers is unheard of.

[Pushka]

So, are you saying that people paid for one cabin type, but were downgraded at the Port? Surely I have that wrong. :confused:

[Zeikah]

So, are you saying that people paid for one cabin type, but were downgraded at the Port? Surely I have that wrong. :confused:

 

That is 100% correct.

 

Yes they did also refund the fare difference but because I booked so early and got a good rate the difference was wasn't worth much at all.

[Zeikah]

I wish that I knew about this website when it happened. I only discovered it this year.

[marci22]

I actually feel sorry for the people that booked an ocean veiw as was downgraded to an inside. They were crown and anchor members as there was a voucher book for them in my cabin. At least we still had a window.

 

wow.

[Pushka]

That is 100% correct.

 

Yes they did also refund the fare difference but because I booked so early and got a good rate the difference was wasn't worth much at all.

 

That is simply disgusting. I wonder how our Australian consumer laws sit with that. Did you book thru an Aussie T?

[Cindy]

This situation is appalling to me. If I had a coveted booking on the Rhapsody and this happened, it would probably be my last RCI cruise.:( We're not "Loyal Royals," but we enjoy the ships and service very much. We book very early because I do a lot of research and know exactly what I want for a cabin location. I just can't understand Royal Caribbean's stance on this matter, but it does REEK of poor customer service and a total disregard for long time customers. Unfortunately, customer service is largely a lost art these days.:mad:

We have two cruises booked with lines that are new to us...Holland America and Celebrity. Both cruises were chosen for itinerary first, but the final decisions came down to the availability of what to us is the "perfect" cabin. My reaction to being displaced on either of those cruises would be the same as the Rhapsody folks...it would probably be my last cruise with that line. Hopefully we won't have to cross that bridge, and we'll spend 11 wonderful nights on HAL in our aft-wrap suite, and then check out Aqua Class and Blu to see what that's all about!:D

When I started looking for cruises for the itineraries we wanted I quickly realized I would probably need to look at other lines. I found there's a lot of interesting stuff out there now that I won't be tied to a school calendar for travel!:) I love Royal Caribbean, but trying different things keeps it fresh, and presents me with the opportunity for countless hours of research!;)

[Bigcat47]

We would take this to the media...but are now worried that we may be kicked off cruise all together. We are traveling with 3 other families and have planned this vacation together taking time off work, scheduling airfare and it would be a HUGE imposition and cost to have them all cancel or change the cruise. So we have to go. We just wanted our Aft room back. We have read some articles about RC telling some customers that they are no longer welcome due to their "Complaining". So...we have decided that for now...we may have to lay low so that we do not impact our traveling companions.

[CruisingMouse]

We would take this to the media...but are now worried that we may be kicked off cruise all together. We are traveling with 3 other families and have planned this vacation together taking time off work, scheduling airfare and it would be a HUGE imposition and cost to have them all cancel or change the cruise. So we have to go. We just wanted our Aft room back. We have read some articles about RC telling some customers that they are no longer welcome due to their "Complaining". So...we have decided that for now...we may have to lay low so that we do not impact our traveling companions.

 

REALLY I have never heard of this, I would love to read that link. It seems this is happening more and more with RCCL I am not dedicated to them but this cabin business will sure play a in my thoughts for any future bookings with them.

 

I would be making such a stink about this no way I would be sitting quiet till I returned home as that would just give RCCL that this switch was acceptable to you.

[Isaboo]

We would take this to the media...but are now worried that we may be kicked off cruise all together. We are traveling with 3 other families and have planned this vacation together taking time off work, scheduling airfare and it would be a HUGE imposition and cost to have them all cancel or change the cruise. So we have to go. We just wanted our Aft room back. We have read some articles about RC telling some customers that they are no longer welcome due to their "Complaining". So...we have decided that for now...we may have to lay low so that we do not impact our traveling companions.

 

 

That is all sorts of wrong! It makes my blood boil. :mad:

[papakaiser]

It wasn't a guarantee! It also wasn't just me this happened too, we spoke to 3 other couples that had the same problem. I even had the baggage tags with the correct aft balcony on them. It was at check in when we were were given the downgraded cabin. They said it would be sorted onboard of course it wasn't. The reason the we heard that a group of VIP's booking late wanted 6 balconyies next to each other.

To top it off we told them that our baggage was going to the wrong cabin they said don't worry it will be delivered to the new cabin it will be OK. When it wasn't delivered at sailing time we went to the aft balcony to look there. Sure enough it was sitting in the passage way outside our booked cabin. We also had to get new shore tour vouchers as they were in the wrong room.

Your'e in Hong Kong away from home booked on a cruise already on the ship what else can you do apart from take the wrong cabin.

 

I actually feel sorry for the people that booked an ocean veiw as was downgraded to an inside. They were crown and anchor members as there was a voucher book for them in my cabin. At least we still had a window.

As angry as I was when I was booted from my corner aft cabin on Rhapsody, what happened here would really send me over the edge.

 

I know several were able to get there cabins back on Rhapsody, but several were not. RCI's stance that, "very few" that were affected is the biggest insult of all.

 

I recognize several names here from the other two threads I have participated in on this subject. I still have not heard anything from Adam Goldstein's office on the 2 emails I sent during the last week of February. I also posted to Facebook, and Adam's Blog, with no response. Since I firmly believe that the same people screen Richard Fein's messages, I see little reason to attempt to send anything there.

 

After two months of fighting this, I have started sending messages to media outlets to see if anything can be accomplished there. The USA Today suggestion is one I hadn't thought of. I will also send a complaint to the Florida Attorney General, but would suggest others doing the same also contact their own state's attorney general, as they may get a better response there.

[marci22]

"If you're having trouble with a business - any business - and you've reached a dead end, maybe I can help. Send me an an email (or call him at 202-370-7934) and I'll look into it for you."

 

http://www.elliott.org/about/

 

http://onyoursi.de/wiki/cruise-line/royal-caribbean/

 

From his RC overview: "It is difficult to generalize about the kind of customer service you should expect. Much of it is good. Some of it is very bad."

 

http://www.elliott.org/help/how-to-fix-your-trip/

[ccc321]

I don't know where your from, but some of the news chanels in NY have special segmants where they very publicly help conssumers who have been wronged, by all different types of companies, find resolution. There is usually a link on their website. Your story/complaint may or may not be chosen, but it wouldn't hurt to try. And if it is chosen, I sure Royal would respond quickly with results that are more than satisfying.

 

Good luck in whatever you do.

[rubrrick]

We would take this to the media...but are now worried that we may be kicked off cruise all together. We are traveling with 3 other families and have planned this vacation together taking time off work, scheduling airfare and it would be a HUGE imposition and cost to have them all cancel or change the cruise. So we have to go. We just wanted our Aft room back. We have read some articles about RC telling some customers that they are no longer welcome due to their "Complaining". So...we have decided that for now...we may have to lay low so that we do not impact our traveling companions.

 

 

i know about a few that Royal Caribbean has kindly asked to never set foot on one of their ships again, and believe me, it takes a lot for Royal Caribbean to say that.

 

The first was a couple, but the woman ran the show. She was the one with the black light, that would find problems in their cabin and demand better quarters, at least a 50% cruise certificate for their next cruise, was loud, crude, and always bragging that she was a reserve police person from (blank) city, and was always writing on CC, (she is still here doing this to another line, under a different CC name).

 

After years of this going on, Royal Caribbean wrote a letter, letting them know that they had cruised with them for the last time.

 

Well, she got the local TV station involved, showed them all of the memorabilia she had and how could they be so low as to never allow them back aboard.

 

Some of us wonder why it took Royal Caribbean so long to kick them off, permanently.

 

I also know of one other, who had cruised many times with Royal Caribbean, and began to feel that when they were aboard, he was the king, and if things did not go his way, he would constantly berate all crewmembers, using vulgar language, and was warned, on more than one occasion, that if his actions continued, they would no longer be allowed to cruise on Royal Caribbean. You can guess what happened, as they no longer are cruising on Royal.

 

So, having a concern about complaining about something that Royal Caribbean is in the wrong about, and as critterchick so nicely wrote a suggested letter for Royal Caribbean to use, to get everything back to the way it "should" be.........well, complain away!:mad:

 

Someone in the company needs to take some action, and make it right for those that booked first. Period!

 

Rick

[FLHugh]

At the end of the day it's all about the money for RCCL. New cruisers spend more money on ships than veteran cruisers that have seen it all and done it all. New cruisers do more shore excursions, buy more drinks and buy more pictures than the returning cruisers. Despite all of the talk about loyality, RCCL really doesn't care if we sail agian.

 

Yup! Convert those D's and D+'s to Golds. Run the veterans off and book newbees.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

The more I read about this the more I feel for the people who are effected with cabin changes......especially the ones who don't even know it ...yet!

I can't imagine getting to the pier to find out that you no longer have the cabin you selected. :eek:

 

***

[SoCalTraveler]

If you get to the pier and you have been downgraded, you should, in addition to complaining on the ship, make the best of a bad situation. This is no different that natural disasters (weather, etc.), flight delays, and the like. Letting RC's insensitivity ruin your vacation is foolish.

 

That does not mean letting it be. When you are back home, and have the luxury of time, you can fight with RCI, up to and including small claims court. Used a travel agent? Make him or her part of the solution or part of the problem. Whoever had theior hand in providing your trip needs to deal with the failure to supply what was promised.

 

Some years ago we booked a trip to Israel. When we got to JFK, we were told we had been moved to a different tour, with an entirely different itinerary. In a few places, hotels were downgraded. (This happened because a large convention was in Israel and the space was needed.) We went on the new tour, called the people we intended to meet up with and rearranged, and had a great time. Back home, we disputed the credit card charges and fought with the TA (who was incompetent), Amex, who was the tour organizer, and the airline. We ultimately received a very substantial payment. My guess is RCI will offer a substantial discount on a future cruise. If that is unsatisfactory, keep fighting for a cash payment.

[Cruising89143]

This situation is appalling to me. If I had a coveted booking on the Rhapsody and this happened, it would probably be my last RCI cruise.:( We're not "Loyal Royals," but we enjoy the ships and service very much. We book very early because I do a lot of research and know exactly what I want for a cabin location. I just can't understand Royal Caribbean's stance on this matter, but it does REEK of poor customer service and a total disregard for long time customers. Unfortunately, customer service is largely a lost art these days.:mad:

 

We have two cruises booked with lines that are new to us...Holland America and Celebrity. Both cruises were chosen for itinerary first, but the final decisions came down to the availability of what to us is the "perfect" cabin. My reaction to being displaced on either of those cruises would be the same as the Rhapsody folks...it would probably be my last cruise with that line. Hopefully we won't have to cross that bridge, and we'll spend 11 wonderful nights on HAL in our aft-wrap suite, and then check out Aqua Class and Blu to see what that's all about!:D

 

 

When I started looking for cruises for the itineraries we wanted I quickly realized I would probably need to look at other lines. I found there's a lot of interesting stuff out there now that I won't be tied to a school calendar for travel!:) I love Royal Caribbean, but trying different things keeps it fresh, and presents me with the opportunity for countless hours of research!;)

 

 

Cindy, we have had those corner aft suites on HAL. They are outstanding. I know that they were reconfigured since we have cruised a few years ago but they are nice. :)