Origindisney Posted January 7, 2015 #1 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Booked our 20th June Trip on Anthem of the Seas direct with Royal Caribbean when they first released the bookings last February. Paid £4300 for Superior Room D7 with balcony on Deck 10. Now they are advertising this with the Free All Inclusive Wine/Beer package worth £750. Phoned RCI to see if they can do anything, not a chance was the reply. I would have been quite happy to have accept a couple of hundred dollars on board credit as a gesture, but no they would not budge. The only way is to cancel, loose the £300 deposit and rebook, which will mean rebooking all the Restaurants. Now this week also found that another TA in the UK is offering the same Cruise with Free Gratuities and the All Inclusive Beer/Wine packacge for £4100. Think I am going to cancel and rebook with the other TA and suffer rebooking the Restaurants. Might even book a completley different cruise with another company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkrosesdeb Posted January 7, 2015 #2 Share Posted January 7, 2015 If you booked directly with Royal, you shouldn't lose your deposit this far out. We change our bookings frequently and have never suffered a penalty with Royal but have lost a little with agents. Is it different because you are from UK? I hope you get it worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendychloecruiser Posted January 7, 2015 #3 Share Posted January 7, 2015 If you had used a TA in the states, you could have likely rebooked without any penalties and received all new benefits provided it was prior to final payment. If we in the UK all start (or continue) to do this, current policies would change and we would stop being done in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royalty X Posted January 7, 2015 #4 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Just make sure there is nothing in the T&C's stating that the all-inclusive is for new bookings only. Even if you cancel and rebook, RCI audit their bookings and you could potentially be reverted back to your original pricing and booking (i.e. no all inclusive package). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starry Eyes Posted January 7, 2015 #5 Share Posted January 7, 2015 OH my, those UK rules certainly do frustrate people. Though the rules are published, but nobody likes to see prices drop or perks added for newer bookings. No wonder some UK residents decide to book with US travel agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted January 7, 2015 #6 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Ok, I'll be the bad guy. Why would RCCL owe you money back because the rates dropped after you booked? This happens all the time with every business. If I go to a store and buy a shirt for $50 and then a month later the shirt is on sale for $30 should the store refund me $20? Of course not. When I buy a car early in the model year for $30,000 then at the start of the new model year they discount the unsold "older year cars" by $5,000 should I get a refund of $5000? Of course not. When you book a cruise, you do it knowing full well the price could go down or up. I will admit I don't get why refunds are any different in the UK than the US, but it is what it is. If the cost had gone up would you be expected to pay more? No, you'd be excited you got the best deal. Sorry, not meaning to sound "flaming," but I am a bit surprised that anyone expects a refund that they aren't entitled to as a "gesture of goodwill." It's just the chance we take when we book a cruise, buy a car, buy a plane ticket, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glo Posted January 7, 2015 #7 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Ok, I'll be the bad guy. Why would RCCL owe you money back because the rates dropped after you booked? This happens all the time with every business. If I go to a store and buy a shirt for $50 and then a month later the shirt is on sale for $30 should the store refund me $20? Of course not. When I buy a car early in the model year for $30,000 then at the start of the new model year they discount the unsold "older year cars" by $5,000 should I get a refund of $5000? Of course not. When you book a cruise, you do it knowing full well the price could go down or up. I will admit I don't get why refunds are any different in the UK than the US, but it is what it is. If the cost had gone up would you be expected to pay more? No, you'd be excited you got the best deal. Sorry, not meaning to sound "flaming," but I am a bit surprised that anyone expects a refund that they aren't entitled to as a "gesture of goodwill." It's just the chance we take when we book a cruise, buy a car, buy a plane ticket, etc. I don't know if this is true in the UK, but when we book through a travel agent in the US if the price goes down before final payment we reap the benefits. On a recent cruise to Alaska the price started at about $6000 for cruise & land tour, at final payment cost was about $3200. Thanks to RC reducing the price. Our TA also watches for these reductions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yolanda1 Posted January 7, 2015 #8 Share Posted January 7, 2015 If you booked directly with Royal, you shouldn't lose your deposit this far out. We change our bookings frequently and have never suffered a penalty with Royal but have lost a little with agents. Is it different because you are from UK? I hope you get it worked out. Yes, it is quite different in the UK, and it has pros and cons. If we book in the UK, we lose our deposit if we cancel. Sometimes it is worth doing this to save money. I have in the past cancelled and lost the deposit, immediately rebooked and still saved several hundred £££s. However, we also have greater protection should any unforeseen circumstances arise, which I don't believe is the case for US guests. An example of this was the "ash cloud" disruption a few years back, when UK customers were taken care of as part of their holiday protection, but some other nationalities were stranded without help. It can be difficult to know whether to sacrifice that protection for a lower price sometimes :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonV1 Posted January 7, 2015 #9 Share Posted January 7, 2015 This is why you should use a TA in the states, as you could rebook (if the sale is not for new bookings only) or possibly re-rate the cruise with the current promos so long as the final payment date has not passed. You would give up your EU protections, which is something you should consider. Those promos often come attached to higher cabin prices, so it is unreasonable to expect you to keep your existing rate and get the perk. You may still come out ahead by accepting the perk, but you must consider the current cabin price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddcan Posted January 7, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I've just learned something by reading this thread. I didn't know that the UK has certain protections for the traveller that we don't get here in NA. So it is a decision - cost vs benefits/protection. I've always just thought those in the UK were getting ripped off - but this doesn't appear to be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare nbsjcruiser Posted January 7, 2015 #11 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Booked our 20th June Trip on Anthem of the Seas direct with Royal Caribbean when they first released the bookings last February. Paid £4300 for Superior Room D7 with balcony on Deck 10. Now they are advertising this with the Free All Inclusive Wine/Beer package worth £750. Phoned RCI to see if they can do anything, not a chance was the reply. I would have been quite happy to have accept a couple of hundred dollars on board credit as a gesture, but no they would not budge. The only way is to cancel, loose the £300 deposit and rebook, which will mean rebooking all the Restaurants. Now this week also found that another TA in the UK is offering the same Cruise with Free Gratuities and the All Inclusive Beer/Wine packacge for £4100. Think I am going to cancel and rebook with the other TA and suffer rebooking the Restaurants. Might even book a completley different cruise with another company. I think I'd be booking in the US from now on if I was you given that you lose the deposit in the UK when you cancel. Edited January 7, 2015 by nbsjcruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Paul Posted January 7, 2015 #12 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I often book my cruises a year or so out. I am sure that the price falls after I book. It is important to me that I can select the very stateroom that I want. Things like unobstructed views, proximity to the concierge lounge and elevators (I am disabled) and other factors are important to me. Once booked I don't tend to watch the price for my stateroom category. Perhaps you could hold off booking until closer to sailing if rock bottom price is important to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted January 7, 2015 #13 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Ok, I'll be the bad guy. Why would RCCL owe you money back because the rates dropped after you booked? This happens all the time with every business. If I go to a store and buy a shirt for $50 and then a month later the shirt is on sale for $30 should the store refund me $20? Of course not. When I buy a car early in the model year for $30,000 then at the start of the new model year they discount the unsold "older year cars" by $5,000 should I get a refund of $5000? Of course not. When you book a cruise, you do it knowing full well the price could go down or up. I will admit I don't get why refunds are any different in the UK than the US, but it is what it is. If the cost had gone up would you be expected to pay more? No, you'd be excited you got the best deal. Sorry, not meaning to sound "flaming," but I am a bit surprised that anyone expects a refund that they aren't entitled to as a "gesture of goodwill." It's just the chance we take when we book a cruise, buy a car, buy a plane ticket, etc. Why? Because the product has not been purchased! Using your analogy of a store bought purchase, in this case, the purchase would be considered a "Lay-a-way". My thoughts anyway. But having said this, there are rules in play and the OP has a choice to make. Edited January 7, 2015 by Goodtime Cruizin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yolanda1 Posted January 7, 2015 #14 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I've just learned something by reading this thread. I didn't know that the UK has certain protections for the traveller that we don't get here in NA. So it is a decision - cost vs benefits/protection. I've always just thought those in the UK were getting ripped off - but this doesn't appear to be the case. Yes, I think it does often look like we are getting ripped off, and sometimes we probably are :D I don't think we really appreciated all the extra protection we have here until we saw all those poor families lying on airport floors during the ash cloud incident. It's like any insurance policy though. It only seems worth the extra if you need it. If you don't need to use it, you feel ripped off! :D . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted January 7, 2015 #15 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I only wish they had cruise deals here with it all included...... Sounds like a pain to rebook, but your still saving and getting a deal at the end....I wouldn't complain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA_CA_GAL Posted January 7, 2015 #16 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I don't know if this is true in the UK, but when we book through a travel agent in the US if the price goes down before final payment we reap the benefits. On a recent cruise to Alaska the price started at about $6000 for cruise & land tour, at final payment cost was about $3200. Thanks to RC reducing the price. Our TA also watches for these reductions. Yep. Same here, on our last cruise (Allure) I kept looking at the prices prior to the cruise, and saw that our prices were now $600 less per person (4 of us). Amazingly, I called RCI and in less than 5 minutes they reduced our costs by the $600 per person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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