Platinum balcony discount denied because . . .

[Cindy]

I'm sad to hear they're doing that now. I was able to apply an increased balcony discount on two cruises without a penalty -- once when I moved from Platinum to Emerald, and then again when I moved up to Diamond. AllI had to do was call and they did it without question.

 

I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I'm a L-O-N-G way from D+!:eek:

[dolfansam]

I'm sad to hear they're doing that now. I was able to apply an increased balcony discount on two cruises without a penalty -- once when I moved from Platinum to Emerald, and then again when I moved up to Diamond. AllI had to do was call and they did it without question.

 

 

 

I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I'm a L-O-N-G way from D+!:eek:

 

 

That is funny because I booked Quantum the day bookings came open. I was Platinum at the time and got the $100 discount, but already had a cruise booked that would put me in Emerald. They told me to call back when I got off that cruise and they would adjust the discount to reflect my new status. Funny thing is now I may achieve Diamond before then, but I already cancelled the cruise because they changed the itinerary and was not willing to spend that much for San Juan and two days in Labadee.

 

 

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[Ladysilver]

When we got home from our last cruise in May, we turned Platinum. Soon after that I noticed the price of our 12-6-15 Liberty cruise went down $100, but not our 12-14-14 Navigator cruise. I called RC and was told the Liberty cruise went down because we turned Platinum but the Navigator cruise had a cruise certificate discount so it was not elligible for the Platinum discount also. :)

[KeywestK]

OP: Call the Resolutions Dept. You should be getting the benefits of your current C&A level. I would fight this.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[knittinggirl]

OP: Call the Resolutions Dept. You should be getting the benefits of your current C&A level. I would fight this.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

We were sitting right there when the TA called resolutions, and they still wouldn't give us the $25 Balcony discount we deserve because we went from Diamond to Diamond Plus. They keep saying the OBC is correct. But reservations made since we went Diamond Plus show our Diamond Plus Balcony discount. Reservations made before we went Diamond Plus show Diamond Balcony discount.

 

Just checked our every reservation we made before turning diamond plus. We even had a price drop on one, but they didn't update our diamond balcony discount. They tell us the "Balcony Discount is Correct."

 

With all the money we've paid Royal over the years, it's pretty sad they begrudge us $25.

Edited June 28, 2014 by knittinggirl

[goodml]

We were sitting right there when the TA called resolutions, and they still wouldn't give us the $25 Balcony discount we deserve because we went from Diamond to Diamond Plus. They keep saying the OBC is correct. But reservations made since we went Diamond Plus show our Diamond Plus Balcony discount. Reservations made before we went Diamond Plus show Diamond Balcony discount.

 

Just checked our every reservation we made before turning diamond plus. We even had a price drop on one, but they didn't update our diamond balcony discount. They tell us the "Balcony Discount is Correct."

 

With all the money we've paid Royal over the years, it's pretty sad they begrudge us $25.

 

With all the money you've spent at Royal over the years don't sweat about $25 and I mean that in the nicest possible way:). Sometimes I think we get so caught up in all the great info we find here at CC that we cause ourselves stress over things that in the grand scheme of things really don't make much of a difference. I'm guilty of it myself. Policy changes happen, customer service everywhere has moments of greatness and moments of absolute misery. In the end you'll still have that same great RCCL experience without that extra $25. Drink a bit more in the diamond lounge:D

Edited June 28, 2014 by goodml

[cruisebabe50]

Call and speak to another rep.

[island284]

OP: Call the Resolutions Dept. You should be getting the benefits of your current C&A level. I would fight this.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

It looks like two of us are now disputing the outcome of this situation on the thread. Being the original poster, yes, I/we will be calling Resolutions to get this remedied. My friend had several cruises reserved in the future, became D+ after the fact and in the past three months received the new D+ balcony discount. If RC did it for them in the same situation they should do it for us too.

 

I won't get to this until Monday but will report back with the outcome.

[readytolose]

I believe they now reprice the cruise if you sneeze.:rolleyes:

 

 

Sitting at work wishing I was on vacation and this post just made my day! Good thing no one was heading back to my office because I literally laughed out loud!

[marci22]

We were sitting right there when the TA called resolutions, and they still wouldn't give us the $25 Balcony discount we deserve because we went from Diamond to Diamond Plus. They keep saying the OBC is correct. But reservations made since we went Diamond Plus show our Diamond Plus Balcony discount. Reservations made before we went Diamond Plus show Diamond Balcony discount.

 

Just checked our every reservation we made before turning diamond plus. We even had a price drop on one, but they didn't update our diamond balcony discount. They tell us the "Balcony Discount is Correct"

 

The reason they keep saying, "the Balcony Discount is Correct" is because it is correct as of the date you purchased it. If you purchased it today, your balcony discount would be more, but they would reprice the cruise as of this date.

 

I do not think they are going to allow people to change this, even if you go to resolutions.

[thegima]

If next cruises are not for a while wait for the prices to drop and cancel/rebook.

 

They have a point though, if you booked a cruise under certain circumstances it shouldn't be altered in the future because of something new. Kind of like the WOW sales, you pretty much can't touch them once they're booked or you lose everything.

 

What I've noticed with RC is they like to keep things very fluid. For example, if you luck out by doing "X" this year, that likely won't happen next year. Although something similar may happen in a different way which yields about the same result.

 

I'm pretty sure folks who don't frequent these forums or use a knowledgeable TA end up paying full price, get minimum discounts, and overall miss out on a lot of things that are shared here. Funny thing is they probably still have a great vacation even though it may have cost several hundred dollars more. ;)

[pspercy]

[quote=island284;43222043

 

C&A told me that because my reservation was made BEFORE I was Platinum I was NOT eligible for the discount. Huh????

 

?

 

I was told the same last week.

Edited June 28, 2014 by pspercy

[akcruz]

But if you can't apply the discount because the price has gone up...why would you wait to book and pay the higher price? :confused:

 

If I was to wait until I hit the next level, my choices of cruise would probably be much different. I would pick on the choices available to me at that time and what I felt was a good price. RCI really wants those advance bookings, but this is just another way for them to push people away. For me when I hit Diamond, that will probably be it for me. Do not see making it to D+ so will not matter to me much longer.

[packedandready]

We have 4 cruises booked. We SHOULD be diamond for the last 2. We booked 2 while onboard and 2 over the phone a few weeks later. The 3 different reps I dealt with all told me I could add the diamond discount when we reached that level. None told me I'd have to re-price the cruise. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

[knittinggirl]

With all the money you've spent at Royal over the years don't sweat about $25 and I mean that in the nicest possible way:). Sometimes I think we get so caught up in all the great info we find here at CC that we cause ourselves stress over things that in the grand scheme of things really don't make much of a difference. I'm guilty of it myself. Policy changes happen, customer service everywhere has moments of greatness and moments of absolute misery. In the end you'll still have that same great RCCL experience without that extra $25. Drink a bit more in the diamond lounge:D

You got a point. We're not much for alcohol, but we do enjoy the cappuccino machine! We always have fun, it's all the money grubbing before hand that we don't care for. Also, the concierge can help us when they overcharge us because they can't seem to get the new coupon codes to work.

The reason they keep saying, "the Balcony Discount is Correct" is because it is correct as of the date you purchased it. If you purchased it today, your balcony discount would be more, but they would reprice the cruise as of this date.

 

I do not think they are going to allow people to change this, even if you go to resolutions.

 

 

Actually, they did reprice us with a price drop, and still stiffed us the difference between Diamond and Diamond Plus Balcony discount. And it's still over a year out, so it's not because we're in the last 6 months.

 

We have 4 cruises booked. We SHOULD be diamond for the last 2. We booked 2 while onboard and 2 over the phone a few weeks later. The 3 different reps I dealt with all told me I could add the diamond discount when we reached that level. None told me I'd have to re-price the cruise. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

They told us the same before we went Diamond Plus, but after we're Diamond Plus, they started telling us "your balcony discount is correct" nonsense. So it may be a new policy.

Edited June 29, 2014 by knittinggirl

[marci22]

[quote name='knittinggirl']Actually, they did reprice us with a price drop, and still stiffed us the difference between Diamond and Diamond Plus Balcony discount. And it's still over a year out, so it's not because we're in the last 6 months.[/QUOTE]

When they reprice you for a price drop, you keep the same booking number. You would have to cancel and rebook to get the current, correct discount.

If you did this, I don't see how they could deny you your current discount eligibility.

You could lose various obc depending on how you intially booked. Edited June 29, 2014 by marci22

[knittinggirl]

[quote name='marci22']When they reprice you for a price drop, you keep the same booking number. You would have to cancel and rebook to get the current, correct discount.

If you did this, I don't see how they could deny you your current discount eligibility.

You could lose various obc depending on how you intially booked.[/QUOTE]

We tried canceling once and were told we'd lose $100 per person next cruise booking. Fortunately, we could change our itinerary without canceling.


They desperate to pay off those new ships. I hate hearing about new shop builds, because there are going to be cutbacks. Saw it with Oasis.

Sent from my KFJWA using Tapatalk HD Edited June 29, 2014 by knittinggirl

[marci22]

[quote name='knittinggirl']We tried canceling once and were told we'd lose $100 per person next cruise booking. Fortunately, we could change our itinerary without canceling.

They desperate to pay off those new ships. I hate hearing about new shop builds, because there are going to be cutbacks. Saw it with Oasis.[/QUOTE]

That's annoying. In the past, I have cancelled a next cruise (after booking a sail date) and they have refunded me everything. I wonder if they are going to also be more vigilant about taking the deposit now, if a next cruise is cancelled after being made into a booking.

[knittinggirl]

[quote name='marci22']That's annoying. In the past, I have cancelled a next cruise (after booking a sail date) and they have refunded me everything. I wonder if they are going to also be more vigilant about taking the deposit now, if a next cruise is cancelled after being made into a booking.[/quote]
We were happy they warned us first. We had booked a B2B, and ran out of future bookings, so we had to convert one of our current bookings so we could have a B2B2B. Personally, we're not sure if we'll take out any more future bookings for a while, since we have three already booked for 2015 and three for 2016.

[Desert Cruizers]

I encountered a similiar problem, we left for our NZ cruise after I had booked our Sept 2015 SOS cruise. We made Diamond during that trip yet to get the Diamond discount, they would have had to reprice our JS which now none are available and we would end up paying more for the room even with the D discount. So we left it the way it is.

[molly361]

I wonder if all these re-pricing issues started when they started the "new system", I think that was back in October 2013:confused:

[Ourusualbeach]

[quote name='molly361']I wonder if all these re-pricing issues started when they started the "new system", I think that was back in October 2013:confused:[/QUOTE]

It was with the new system, just can't remember the date.

[Clarea]

[quote name='molly361']I wonder if all these re-pricing issues started when they started the "new system", I think that was back in October 2013:confused:[/quote]
Yes, and I suspect it was an intentional modification to the pricing system, to prevent most all CSRs from overriding the computer price.

[knittinggirl]

[quote name='clarea']Yes, and I suspect it was an intentional modification to the pricing system, to prevent most all CSRs from overriding the computer price.[/quote]
We had a problem with OBC from an open booking, and they had to send it to resolutions, because they KNEW we were entitled to it.

Just wondering, if anyone was able to keep their OBC if they made a booking onboard, then changed it to something else.

[bobinfl]

[quote name='molly361']I wonder if all these re-pricing issues started when they started the "new system", I think that was back in October 2013:confused:[/QUOTE]

Yes. It started with the implementation of the new reservations system. Prior to that, the rep would apply the C&A discount manually. It would appear as a separate line item usually with the Fees and Taxes item on your payments tab for the booked cruise. Now the reservation system automatically subtracts the appropriate balcony discount from the prevailing rate for the primary person making the booking.

If you call after a booking has been made and request a C&A discount , they plug it into the reservation system. It will apply the discount and couple it with the prevailing rate for the cabin booked. This could be more or less than the original booked price. The rep cannot override this amount. It must then be referred to Resolutions where they may or may not change the pricing in your favor.

Been there, done that. No fun.