Poor service no interest in building ongoing relationships

[LadeeBug100]

To the op. You are not the only person to cancel in a knee- jerk reaction. My husband and I did the same thing on a cruise last year due to a family matter. However; they were able to reinstate our reservation with the same cabin and also add our granddaughter to the reservation. If I remember correctly it was about 4 or 5 days in between. We are in the US.

Maybe it is different in Australia.

 

I sincerely hope you can get this straightened out and go on your cruise.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Forums mobile app

[Lilyrosemum]

Ok, so, it's a long story, but I'm going to try and keep it simple so you can follow.

My partner and I were booked to go on Rhapsody of the Seas on 8 November departing Sydney for 7 days.

We had paid in full.

Last Friday afternoon, 26 September, we had some very bad news that my partners father was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer. As a knee jerk reaction, my partner immediately said, "we can't go on that cruise". Worried that he might be needed.

Later that evening, after he had calmed down, he said to me "we can go, call up and reinstate our booking and explain what happened".

I tried to call them but it was after 5pm and the phones were not attended.

Tried again Saturday, same thing, so sent a message via their website. Didn't hear anything.

Sunday, found another number that I got through on. Told them what happened

and that we still wanted to go on the cruise, but was told, too bad. Your booking is cancelled and out of the system. You will have to rebook and pay again.

I have send many emails and made many phone calls and have been told that they are keeping $800 and will refund the balance of our money, being $945 but we wouldn't receive that for two billing cycles of our credit card.

I practically begged them to let us keep our booking, and even though, our room is still available, they just insist on keeping our money and just hard luck.

This would have been our first cruise with Royal Caribbean, and we were hoping the first of many. We travel 2 to 3 times overseas every year, and have never done a cruise. This has put us off.

We were really looking forward to this week away, just before our busy period at our work.

Does anyone have any advice.

Feeling very unhappy with the lack of care from this company.

 

If what you are telling us is true, then what I would do is book another vacation or another cruise with another line. It will make you feel better and your partner may need some time away to help deal with the stress and sadness of an ailing

parent.

 

As for Royal Caribbean, I would like to think that since you had paid in full and the cabin was still available they would have reinstated you in a compassionate manner. But unfortunately, as much as Corporations want us to believe they are "people too", they are far from it.

 

I will not chastise you or your partner for making your decision as others have done here as I have not walked in your shoes. You would probably not be happy with Royal Caribbean at this time, so I would book with another cruise line or another type of vacation. Best of luck to the both of you.

[griffy116]

We had a situation arise a few years back with my son-in-law having to cancel. At cruise is the last one we took without cruise insurance. While RCCI was under no obligation to refund his money (we were within 2 weeks of the cruise), they did refund most. He was suddenly deployed and when the explanation was given, they graciously helped us out. We still ended up losing some money, but they didn't have to refund anything at that point. Cruising is not like air travel or a land vacation with a hotel. The prices change every day and they go strictly by the days in the contract and the percentage of money you can recover. We had a travel agent that called Royal on our behalf. I don't know if that had anything to do with the resolution or not. I can understand your frustration and dissatisfaction. Just try to keep in mind that the rules for a cruise line aren't the same as other travel. I hope that a call to the Resolutions department can help you. I know that when you get news like you received, you aren't thinking it through because a cruise is the last thing on your priorities. Hope it turns out well for you.

[Merion_Mom]

Have you contacted the Resolutions Department?

 

This is typical corporate behavior for ANY company. The "front-line" people can only do so much.

 

Yours is an unusual situation, and regular customer service staff are not empowered to make changes that are out of the ordinary. Only the Resolutions Department can do that.

 

NOT calling and requesting to speak to the Resolutions Department is a huge mistake.

[Cruzin-K]

I'm really sorry you're having such a bad experience. While I understand that cruise lines have their policies, granting exceptions, especially when it won't cost them a thing would go a long way to boost their business.

 

Imagine if instead of all the negative posts about Royal Caribbean doing stuff that is anti-customer, we saw post after post about how Royal treated someone well in a difficult circumstance, or went the extra mile for a customer. It would attract more customers instead of chasing them away.

 

RCI is already showing that they don't give a rat's patootie about long-time loyal customers. Apparently they don't care too much for new ones either :mad:

[OSUZorba]

Well, no thanks for all the critical remarks. Smart @#$@ comments don't help me.

I am a seasoned traveller, my partner and I travel 2-3 overseas every single year.

If possible we always fly Singapore Airlines and the reason is that they are so focused on customer service and really exceed in this area.

I have had an instance with them, where we were taking our daughter with us last year. We had multiple flights and on one of the return flights, I accidentally had my daughter booked on another flight. I didn't realise until over month later. I called Singapore Airlines and they fixed it within 5 minutes. No charge. Which, under the "rules" they could have charged rebooking fees etc. But no, they could see the error I had made and could not do enough. That's why they are one of the top airlines and businesses and now they build long term relationships with their passengers and not just burning people when they can, knowing there are millions of other people in the world to line up and take your place.

Rules are rules, but rules for money grabbing another.

And for your information, the cabin was still available because they rebooked it my name, after telling me it was out of the system and I have paper work to prove.

I will not be going on the cruise as I am not paying them another cent. Unless they allow me to on the initial booking, which, they tell me is not happening.

 

I am not sure how it really is in the rest of the world, but US corporations do not seem very concerned with retention of customers or employees nowadays. I've been in or around the travel business my whole career and it is always a "how little can we do, and still keep the planes full." You can see this a lot in airline loyalty programs that become worth less every year. And the non-stop fees airlines add on. Companies also, generally, don't care much about retaining experienced, good employees, which really hurts customer service.

 

You can see in this thread how well corporations have conditioned American's to defend their lack of customer service, as well.

 

I would try the retention department, or you may be able to find a cheaper last minute fare on the same cruise if you keep your eye out.

 

BTW: I hope your partner's father gets well. As far as the rude comments, I completely understand the knee jerk reaction, when you get news like that you can feel very helpless, so cancelling the cruise probably allowed his partner to feel some amount of control in a horrible situation.

[2004corvette]

do try RCL Guest Relations....have heard of many favorable outcomes with their involvement.....certainly not a guarantee but they can surely make wrongs right.

 

sorry i do not have their International or Australian phone number.....here is a US contact #(800) 256-6649.

 

good luck and once all is straightened out cheers to a great cruise... :)

[soxin2000]

Sorry - I know this is going to sound very harsh (go ahead flamers), but you need a dose of reality.

 

 

 

Ok, first of all, sorry for your partner's father.

But any "Knee-Jerk Reaction" always has to be "slept on", meaning wait til next day. (trying to keep it simple so you can follow);)

 

 

 

Here's the first hole in your story; the RCI phones are manned until 11:00 pm 7 days a week. Unless you are talking about a TA in which case you should be blaming your TA instead of RCI.

 

 

 

Consider your costs TUITION and move on. As soon as you cancel, the cabin goes right back out there. It was probably rebooked within the day. Sending emails, , calling and whining, isn't going to talk them into cancelling someone else's cabin so you can have it back.

 

 

 

 

 

Try taking a hard look in the mirror and stop looking to blame others for your BAD DECIDIONS. Be honest with yourself - you made a BAD DECISION and it cost you $800.

 

RCI is a great Cruise Line, and Cruising is the best vacation in the world, and what you did is 100% your fault.

 

Wow! Maybe you should have kept this post to yourself. What a cold, cold response. Didn't your mother tell you if you can't say something nice say nothing at all?

 

I hope things work out for you Coco64. And as previous posters (excluding Dhaden, of course)have said, keep trying. And I hope things work out well for your partners dad.

 

Christine

Edited October 1, 2014 by soxin2000
spelling

[ksawyercruiser]

Sending good thoughts and prayers. Please ignore any negativity from other posters. You're going through a very difficult time. I hope it works out for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[xxHadleyxx]

OP, I am very sorry to read about the situation with your partner's father--it sounds stressful and heartbreaking for you all.

 

 

I also agree that it is frustrating that there is no way to contact RCI at night and on the weekends for many of us who live outside the US and havebookings made from the RCI agents or websites in these countries (and to those in the US inssiting that we can just call, we have even called the US numbers from Germany, both normal and C&A and they cannot and will not touch a reservation we make in Germany when we call them, no matter what. We must wait for the German office to be open).

 

That said, I also agree that you have no right to expect RCI to reinstate your reservation after you cancelled in a knee jerk reaction. It would be awesome if they did and then you could be grateful to them for so doing. But to be angry that they did not go above and beyond for you is unreasonable.

 

In our family, we have had one time when RCI DID go above and beyond and gave my in laws all but $500 of their cruise fare to spend on any other cruise within a year when my in laws had to cancel last minute and had not bought insurance (it was, literally, the one and only time they had ever not bought it, being a last minute purchase, and then mother in law ended up in the hospital the day they were supposed to fly. They always buy it now).

 

 

Perhaps our good outcome (and those of others posted) came partly from our attitude: when we called to cancel we were apologetic for cancelling last minute, asked if there might be a little something they could do but said we fully understood that RCI did not have to do a thing for us, etc. and we were truly grateful that they made such a generous offer to my in laws and wrote a sincere letter of thanks as well as thanking them on the phone at the time.

 

At no point did we EVER convey (or have) the expectation that RCI SHOULD bend the rules for us, or get angry or threaten to take our business elsewhere if they did not.

 

As much as I feel for you in the situation with your family member, I think it is GOOD business policy to sometimes be flexible for customers who will really appreciate it and see that it is an over and above gesture while at the same time NOT giving in to pressure or demands to do so from customers who see having rules changed to suit them as requirements for good service (otherwise, why even bother to have policies at all?)

[Able Seaman H]

Given the short timescale between cancelling and re-booking any company with an ounce of moral fortitude would re-instate the booking.

 

Never mind what may or may not have happened with regard to re-selling the cabin concentrate on fact.

 

The OP is in Australia (there are other countries than America) where extended customer service hours aren't available.

 

The OP stated that the cabin was still available when she called.

 

Retaining money for a cancelled cruise is one thing and yes, given they were going to lose money anyway there was no rush to push the cancel button. But hey, not everyone is perfect and society needs to support those less able to deal with situations. Let's face it Royal Caribbean survives on revenue from the lower levels of society who wander round aimlessly in the windjammer looking for their next plate of food. Don't bite the hand that feeds you Royal Caribbean.

 

I am hoping that when you contact the resolutions team in Miami common sense will prevail and the decision upturned.

 

If not then book with another cruise line. There are many other excellent, even better cruise lines. If the do insist on keeping your money make it your business to tell all your friends and have them book with alternative cruise lines. Even contact your local media, Australian media is very approachable and likes a good human interest story. I guarantee you in normal society away from the Royal Carribean fan boys & girls on here 95% of the viewers will be on your side. It's only on here that people say "that's what cancellation insurance is for."

 

That's what a corporate conscience is for.

 

Henry :)

[Able Seaman H]

Apologies for a couple of typos in my last post. Couldn't edit them on the iPad and by the time I got to my MacBook the 20 minute cruise critic imposed window for editing had passed !

 

Just to add:

 

There was a similar thread on here recently covering an Australian news channel and a cruise line who refused to refund. Find it and contact that channel. They will run you as a follow up story.

 

Also given Royal Caribbean won't have actually refunded you any money yet, (they typically state it takes 2 billing cycles for money to show on your card) can they refuse to reinstate the booking as they still hold all your money ?

 

Henry :)

Edited October 1, 2014 by Able Seaman H

[temple1]

I am so sorry you are having all this stress on top of your partner's family illness. I must admit way back just before our 2nd cruise, I did something similarly rash, fortunately for me, I had a clearer head much sooner and I was calling in the US.

 

I'm an early morning person but not always very alert early in the morning. I was looking at our reservation and misread the info. I panicked and called RCL and cancelled the cruise and had it rescheduled on another ship and day. :eek:

 

Five minutes after I hung up the phone and my 2nd cup of coffee, my head cleared and ..... OMG!!!! I've SCREWED UP! I immediately called back and fortunately for me, was able to correct my mistake. :o

 

I hope you will find a supervisor who can assist in reinstating your cruise. It sounds like you will need some relaxation time over the next few months.

[Paulette3028]

I'm really sorry you're having such a bad experience. While I understand that cruise lines have their policies, granting exceptions, especially when it won't cost them a thing would go a long way to boost their business.

 

Imagine if instead of all the negative posts about Royal Caribbean doing stuff that is anti-customer, we saw post after post about how Royal treated someone well in a difficult circumstance, or went the extra mile for a customer. It would attract more customers instead of chasing them away.

 

RCI is already showing that they don't give a rat's patootie about long-time loyal customers. Apparently they don't care too much for new ones either :mad:

 

In my 15 cruises I have been lucky (I guess) not to have faced a major problem -- only small ones that could be handled satisfactorily with Royal. Since CC probably has less than 5% of cruisers participating on here....I will bet that their are many problems that satisfactorily get resolved that no one hears about.

 

When I read a post a negative post on CC, I wonder initially what details are missing...since we are only getting one side of the issue (not accusing posters of intentionally lying, just forgetting some small detail, which may not seem as important as it is). It is my belief, that their are 3 sides to every situation....and on CC we are hearing only 1. To elaborate their is the cruisers view, then the corporate view and then if you softly push to a resolutions department you MIGHT get someone who has the authority/ability to make exceptions for a better resolution -- although perhaps not exactly what the customer wanted. In the end, I do believe, customers are not always right, yet they want corporations to always bend to what the customer wants -- it just doesn't work that way.

[Cruzin-K]

You're correct that the customer is not always right, and if the OP had just canceled and not tried to cancel the cancelation the next business day, I'd be the first in line to say too bad about losing money, and that's what insurance is for. However, the OP still wants to take this same cruise, and would be spending money on board, and might have come on here gushing about how RCI helped them out when a family emergency came up. Could have been great PR for Royal and it wouldn't have cost them anything really. I hope this cruise sails with empty cabins.

[JetsFanCruiser]

Sorry - I know this is going to sound very harsh (go ahead flamers), but you need a dose of reality.

 

 

 

Ok, first of all, sorry for your partner's father.

But any "Knee-Jerk Reaction" always has to be "slept on", meaning wait til next day. (trying to keep it simple so you can follow);)

 

 

 

Here's the first hole in your story; the RCI phones are manned until 11:00 pm 7 days a week. Unless you are talking about a TA in which case you should be blaming your TA instead of RCI.

 

 

 

Consider your costs TUITION and move on. As soon as you cancel, the cabin goes right back out there. It was probably rebooked within the day. Sending emails, , calling and whining, isn't going to talk them into cancelling someone else's cabin so you can have it back.

 

 

 

 

 

Try taking a hard look in the mirror and stop looking to blame others for your BAD DECIDIONS. Be honest with yourself - you made a BAD DECISION and it cost you $800.

 

RCI is a great Cruise Line, and Cruising is the best vacation in the world, and what you did is 100% your fault.

 

This deserves the D of the Day award.....

[Cruzin-K]

I'm going to second the suggestion to post your issue on Royal Caribbean's Facebook page. Maybe include a link to this thread.

[Big_G]

Wow, tough crowd. :confused:

[njmomof2]

While I am sympathetic to the OP's plight we all have to stop and think at what point is a decision made? How long after the decision can we rescind and the company makes good? How nice or understanding does a company have to be without moving into the murky waters of the insurance/no insurance issue?

 

Understanding the issue of not being able to reach customer service after 5 PM and not at all on the weekends, the cruise was, indeed, cancelled. And while it would certainly be nice if they were to reinstate the OP, especially since she was unable to reach them until after the weekend, at what point does the general public go from "wow, that's really nice of them" to "wow, why did I buy insurance if the cruise line is going to make good on everyone's cancellation/change/mistake?"

 

We all talk about insurance. Some say buy all the time, others self insure. In this instance, if OP had insurance, then hearing that FIL was ill (and I'm sincerely sorry to hear this), they could have cancelled and would have been covered (most likely, since I do not know all of the ins and outs of foreign insurance policies). Then if DH had thought about his decision, and they wanted to go, they would have been made whole and could have rebooked.

 

However, that is not the case here. The cancellation was made, DH thought it over and decided they should go and they tried to reinstate. There is no obligation to do so, Nice to do, but no obligation.

 

So, OP should try to reach resolutions. Maybe someone there can help. But if not, then it's an important lesson for all. Sometimes, when bad things happen, we need to stop, take a breath, sleep on it, and then make the decision. If OP had waited over the weekend to cancel, chances are that their cancellation costs would have been the same (unless they had moved into a further tier of cancellation costs) and/or they would have decided to go and this entire thread would not exist.

 

We can all debate these issues like adults and hope that the OP can get help from a different department. Certainly if it happens, it gives hope to others that make such a decision in the future. But in the end, this is a business and they have the right to run it as they see fit. And saying that they should have compassion, or that someone should go to the media, so they can bash the line, is just not fair.

[xxHadleyxx]

While I am sympathetic to the OP's plight we all have to stop and think at what point is a decision made? How long after the decision can we rescind and the company makes good? How nice or understanding does a company have to be without moving into the murky waters of the insurance/no insurance issue?

 

Understanding the issue of not being able to reach customer service after 5 PM and not at all on the weekends, the cruise was, indeed, cancelled. And while it would certainly be nice if they were to reinstate the OP, especially since she was unable to reach them until after the weekend, at what point does the general public go from "wow, that's really nice of them" to "wow, why did I buy insurance if the cruise line is going to make good on everyone's cancellation/change/mistake?"

 

We all talk about insurance. Some say buy all the time, others self insure. In this instance, if OP had insurance, then hearing that FIL was ill (and I'm sincerely sorry to hear this), they could have cancelled and would have been covered (most likely, since I do not know all of the ins and outs of foreign insurance policies). Then if DH had thought about his decision, and they wanted to go, they would have been made whole and could have rebooked.

 

However, that is not the case here. The cancellation was made, DH thought it over and decided they should go and they tried to reinstate. There is no obligation to do so, Nice to do, but no obligation.

 

So, OP should try to reach resolutions. Maybe someone there can help. But if not, then it's an important lesson for all. Sometimes, when bad things happen, we need to stop, take a breath, sleep on it, and then make the decision. If OP had waited over the weekend to cancel, chances are that their cancellation costs would have been the same (unless they had moved into a further tier of cancellation costs) and/or they would have decided to go and this entire thread would not exist.

 

We can all debate these issues like adults and hope that the OP can get help from a different department. Certainly if it happens, it gives hope to others that make such a decision in the future. But in the end, this is a business and they have the right to run it as they see fit. And saying that they should have compassion, or that someone should go to the media, so they can bash the line, is just not fair.

 

Best post on the thread :)

Edited October 1, 2014 by NHDisneylover

[BamaGuy44]

This deserves the D of the Day award.....

 

No doubt. Lots of unnecessary bashing based on some faulty assumptions.

 

My 2 cents: It seems in recent years cruise lines are really taking a hard line on refunding money or making concessions when it comes to cancellations. Their stance seems to be travel insurance is the way to mitigate these risks, and they don't have a lot of sympathy for people who choose not to buy it. Not saying it's right or wrong but that's how it is.

 

It would have been a nice gesture for them to help OP out, but saying failure to do so represents "poor service" or a lack of compassion is not true IMO.

 

Hopefully OP will get in touch with resolutions and they will give some leeway as a good will gesture.

[katiel53]

Sorry - I know this is going to sound very harsh (go ahead flamers), but you need a dose of reality.

 

 

 

Ok, first of all, sorry for your partner's father.

But any "Knee-Jerk Reaction" always has to be "slept on", meaning wait til next day. (trying to keep it simple so you can follow);)

 

 

 

Here's the first hole in your story; the RCI phones are manned until 11:00 pm 7 days a week. Unless you are talking about a TA in which case you should be blaming your TA instead of RCI.

 

 

 

Consider your costs TUITION and move on. As soon as you cancel, the cabin goes right back out there. It was probably rebooked within the day. Sending emails, , calling and whining, isn't going to talk them into cancelling someone else's cabin so you can have it back.

 

 

 

 

 

Try taking a hard look in the mirror and stop looking to blame others for your BAD DECIDIONS. Be honest with yourself - you made a BAD DECISION and it cost you $800.

 

RCI is a great Cruise Line, and Cruising is the best vacation in the world, and what you did is 100% your fault.

 

 

I think this is the most cruel, hard-hearted response I have ever seen on here. Had you read what the OP posted, you would realize this is a cruise from Australia and that might have given a clue to look at where the OP is. Do you know when RCI is open in Australia? Telling the OP something he/she already knows is pointless and shouting it at the OP makes no sense.

 

I hope nothing like this doesn't ever happen to you and that people would treat you in the same manner.

 

Coco,

I do hope you can get things worked out in your favor. I do know that you are not asking for the norm, but hopefully, someone at RCI has compassion and can do what you want done. I hope your partner's father's health improve.

[Paulette3028]

While I am sympathetic to the OP's plight we all have to stop and think at what point is a decision made? How long after the decision can we rescind and the company makes good? How nice or understanding does a company have to be without moving into the murky waters of the insurance/no insurance issue?

 

Understanding the issue of not being able to reach customer service after 5 PM and not at all on the weekends, the cruise was, indeed, cancelled. And while it would certainly be nice if they were to reinstate the OP, especially since she was unable to reach them until after the weekend, at what point does the general public go from "wow, that's really nice of them" to "wow, why did I buy insurance if the cruise line is going to make good on everyone's cancellation/change/mistake?"

 

We all talk about insurance. Some say buy all the time, others self insure. In this instance, if OP had insurance, then hearing that FIL was ill (and I'm sincerely sorry to hear this), they could have cancelled and would have been covered (most likely, since I do not know all of the ins and outs of foreign insurance policies). Then if DH had thought about his decision, and they wanted to go, they would have been made whole and could have rebooked.

 

However, that is not the case here. The cancellation was made, DH thought it over and decided they should go and they tried to reinstate. There is no obligation to do so, Nice to do, but no obligation.

 

So, OP should try to reach resolutions. Maybe someone there can help. But if not, then it's an important lesson for all. Sometimes, when bad things happen, we need to stop, take a breath, sleep on it, and then make the decision. If OP had waited over the weekend to cancel, chances are that their cancellation costs would have been the same (unless they had moved into a further tier of cancellation costs) and/or they would have decided to go and this entire thread would not exist.

 

We can all debate these issues like adults and hope that the OP can get help from a different department. Certainly if it happens, it gives hope to others that make such a decision in the future. But in the end, this is a business and they have the right to run it as they see fit. And saying that they should have compassion, or that someone should go to the media, so they can bash the line, is just not fair.

 

Yes.....but the OP will never agree. Lots of us, may agree with you and you have put it very nicely here....but the OP, only wants what they want -- for someone else to 'undo what they did'. The cruise line is not obligated to do it. Our society thinks that 'for every situation they don't like -- they should run to Facebook' to badmouth the company.

 

Several months ago I had a seriously ill family member and an upcoming cruise booked. We always take insurance out for the unforeseen emergency situation that could arise. We looked into what we needed to do, IF we needed to cancel, knowing full well that we would be re-imbursed via insurance. We knew what we would have to do up to the last minute should we need to cancel our cruise, at the last minute -- not six weeks prior.

 

These people wanted to cancel their cruise about 6 weeks from sail date and when they changed their mind, expect it to be 'reinstated' because they want it done. It doesn't matter that the cabin was still available.

[Able Seaman H]

I find it amazing that you guys can defend Royal Caribbean when they still have all the money. If the OP had the money back in her pocket and then decided actually I've changed my mind possibly we'd be having a different conversation but at the time of her phone call Royal Caribbean still had the full fare in their bank account and will have for some time. I believe the standard quote from Royal Caribbean is that it takes 2 monthly billing cycles to see money back on your card when they refund.

 

I'm not actually sure what Royal Caribbean are trying to do is legal given they still have the money.

 

Either way I know what Adam Goldstein's response would be. "Don't be so stupid, get them back on the cruise and stop making Royal Caribbean look like a bunch of cheap loan sharks."

 

Henry :)

[Ocean_Waves]

I have an idea, why doesn't everyone here that agrees with his situation, post on their facebook page with this link. Asking them for kindness, that a rash decision was made during an upsetting period by receiving very upsetting news?