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Frustrating Experience with Corkage Fee

juniperje

By juniperje,
in Royal Caribbean International

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juniperje

juniperje

Posted
Posted

We were on the Independence of the Seas 6 night cruise two weeks ago and had a very frustrating experience in Chops with the manager regarding the corkage fee. We were aware ahead of time that there is no longer a corkage fee on RC and even printed out the policy so as to make sure there would be no issue. We dined at Giovanni's table on the first and third nights and the dinner was very nice and our wine was opened without problem.

 

We attempted to dine at Chops on Thursday 1/15 (Night 5) and was "greeted" by the manager who found the time in his busy schedule (he was just standing there) to tell us that the hostess would have to help us. Minutes later, the hostess seated us. She asked us if she could open our wine and we said "sure". She informed us that there would be a $25 corkage fee. We told her how that the policy on Royal Caribbean had changed. She first seemed perplexed by this possibility. She then disappeared to what we thought was to get the manager. We eventually had to flag our waiter to flag the hostess to come back and tell us yet again that there was a $25 corkage fee, this time stating that the rule had been changed but then changed back. We insisted on seeing the manager, who many minutes later came over and said that we did not read the fine print on the website (i.e. there is no fine print on the website and he has no business being accusatory). He told us that although there is no corkage fee in the dining room, that this policy did not apply to the specialty restaurants. We told him that we had just dined with Giovannis twice and had no issue. He walked over to Giovannis and came back and told him that the manager at Giovannis was new and got it wrong and that the $25 corkage fee applies.

 

At this point, it's been 25 minutes and we are frustrated. We agree that we will go get the policy that we printed out (that supposedly has the fine print we missed). We go to get it and stop off at Guest Services first to express our concern/frustration.

 

Guest Services was very nice. Grace at Guest Services called the refreshment manager for the ship and confirmed that we were correct. She then called Chops and the manager there still refused to honor the no corkage fee and insisted that the restaurant manager of this ship was wrong. Frustrated as we were, Grace told Chops to charge us and that she would refund it on her end. Although this was a nice gesture, it having been almost an hour and our kids were at the camp having dinner and waiting for us to return for the evening activities, we decided to call it a night and have ice cream for dinner.

 

Anyone more experienced with RL (this was only our 4th RC cruise) have any insight or suggestions on what we could have done differently or how to proceed next time?

 

Elissa

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cruisegirl1

cruisegirl1

Posted
Posted

We brought a bottle of our wine to Portofino on Explorer and Chops on Freedom just a few weeks ago with no issue. Seems like you have a frustrating time. If there are restrictions/exceptions to the corkage policy, passengers need to be told. Frankly, I was surprised to see the corkage fee removed.

 

As a Monday morning quarterback - if that happens again, just leave, take the bottle to the cabin, open it, pour a few glasses and walk back in with two glasses of wine.

 

Better luck next time.

 

M

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would have just let them charge me and then dealt with it at guest services after our meal and also letting Miami know about this inexcusable situation after the cruise.

 

Unreal the training and communication issues that they have.

 

Edit. All was good on the Freedom at Christmas. Portofino's, Chop's and the MDR all knew about the new policy.

Edited by Ourusualbeach
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setsail

setsail

Posted
Posted (edited)

Seems the waived CF applies to the 2 bottles you are allowed to bring on, did you consume those the 2 nights at Gio's? Was the bottle you took to chops a 3rd bottle?

 

Anyway, there is conflicting info on the site

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=336&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Beverage&faqId=5442

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&snav=2&faqId=309&faqSubjectId=322&faqSubjectName=Before+You+Purchase&faqType=faq

Edited by setsail
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Not-My-Real-Name

Not-My-Real-Name

Posted
Posted

Inexcusable. Amazing how cruise lines are incapable of disseminating information to their employees.

 

Perhaps this manager is out of touch. Perhaps he should read the FAQ's on their own website.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to contact Royal Caribbean, regardless of whether or not I received a refund.

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nednrom

nednrom

Posted
Posted
We were on the Independence of the Seas 6 night cruise two weeks ago and had a very frustrating experience in Chops with the manager regarding the corkage fee. We were aware ahead of time that there is no longer a corkage fee on RC and even printed out the policy so as to make sure there would be no issue. We dined at Giovanni's table on the first and third nights and the dinner was very nice and our wine was opened without problem.

 

We attempted to dine at Chops on Thursday 1/15 (Night 5) and was "greeted" by the manager who found the time in his busy schedule (he was just standing there) to tell us that the hostess would have to help us. Minutes later, the hostess seated us. She asked us if she could open our wine and we said "sure". She informed us that there would be a $25 corkage fee. We told her how that the policy on Royal Caribbean had changed. She first seemed perplexed by this possibility. She then disappeared to what we thought was to get the manager. We eventually had to flag our waiter to flag the hostess to come back and tell us yet again that there was a $25 corkage fee, this time stating that the rule had been changed but then changed back. We insisted on seeing the manager, who many minutes later came over and said that we did not read the fine print on the website (i.e. there is no fine print on the website and he has no business being accusatory). He told us that although there is no corkage fee in the dining room, that this policy did not apply to the specialty restaurants. We told him that we had just dined with Giovannis twice and had no issue. He walked over to Giovannis and came back and told him that the manager at Giovannis was new and got it wrong and that the $25 corkage fee applies.

 

At this point, it's been 25 minutes and we are frustrated. We agree that we will go get the policy that we printed out (that supposedly has the fine print we missed). We go to get it and stop off at Guest Services first to express our concern/frustration.

 

Guest Services was very nice. Grace at Guest Services called the refreshment manager for the ship and confirmed that we were correct. She then called Chops and the manager there still refused to honor the no corkage fee and insisted that the restaurant manager of this ship was wrong. Frustrated as we were, Grace told Chops to charge us and that she would refund it on her end. Although this was a nice gesture, it having been almost an hour and our kids were at the camp having dinner and waiting for us to return for the evening activities, we decided to call it a night and have ice cream for dinner.

 

Anyone more experienced with RL (this was only our 4th RC cruise) have any insight or suggestions on what we could have done differently or how to proceed next time?

 

Elissa

 

It's a shame your dinner was ruined. I would have enjoyed my dinner -- made sure he was aware that the policy change if it had been changed is not reflected anywhere and that you will speak with the hotel manager regarding the incident. After dinner, I would have gone to Guest Services and complained very loudly about the rudeness. If it's not reflected and unwritten, they should honor what's written.

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cruisegirl1

cruisegirl1

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Posted

 

Technically you can't have a third bottle as RCCL only allows two bottles per cabin to be brought on board. If they find more than two, they will hold them till the last night (or debarkation morning) of the cruise. Also - there is no record when the staff opens a bottle brought on board.

 

M

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akcruz

akcruz

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Posted (edited)

 

Technically you can't have a third bottle as RCCL only allows two bottles per cabin to be brought on board. If they find more than two, they will hold them till the last night (or debarkation morning) of the cruise. Also - there is no record when the staff opens a bottle brought on board.

 

M

 

It is 2 bottles per cabin. Maybe they had more than one cabin?? How would the staff on the ship know. Or maybe the TA sent them a gift or someone else? Seems like a bit of stretch to me that the third bottle would be the issue.

Edited by akcruz
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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

Posted
Posted

 

 

Not surprising since RCI is notoriously terrible at keeping its website current. Simply a case of not deleting old information.

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critterchick

critterchick

Posted
Posted
Seems the waived CF applies to the 2 bottles you are allowed to bring on, did you consume those the 2 nights at Gio's? Was the bottle you took to chops a 3rd bottle?

 

Technically you can't have a third bottle as RCCL only allows two bottles per cabin to be brought on board. If they find more than two, they will hold them till the last night (or debarkation morning) of the cruise. Also - there is no record when the staff opens a bottle brought on board.

 

M

 

They could have gotten a bottle from their TA or be D+/PC and have amenity wine (up to 3 bottles), have been given a gift, any number of possibilities why they would have more than 2 bottles.

 

Even when there was a corkage fee in effect, we were never charged in the specialty restaurants, whether it was our own wine or amenity wine from C&A. But we've never sailed on Indy.

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juniperje

juniperje

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Yes we had two staterooms so we had four bottles total with us. That wasn't an issue.

 

We wanted to go back but a) we already spent so much time fighting with them that we felt badly about leaving the kids longer than we told them we would and b) we just didn't feel we would enjoy our meal after that, especially with the manager being so rude (we didn't want them to spit in our food!).

 

Elissa

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setsail

setsail

Posted
Posted
Yes we had two staterooms so we had four bottles total with us. That wasn't an issue.

 

We wanted to go back but a) we already spent so much time fighting with them that we felt badly about leaving the kids longer than we told them we would and b) we just didn't feel we would enjoy our meal after that, especially with the manager being so rude (we didn't want them to spit in our food!).

 

Elissa

 

Thanks, I think you did the right thing. I would have made it very clear to the manager that you would report this up the line. They did not try to charge a cancel fee did they?

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bighairtexan

bighairtexan

Posted
Posted

I was embarking for a cruise out of Galveston. The rule allowing us to bring on a bottle of wine had been in place for OVER A MONTH. When I went thru security they insisted my 750 ml bottle of wine had to be checked in at this desk and would be returned to me post cruise. Oddly my travel mate, going thru the same security scanner was passed w/ her bottle.

 

I tried to explain to the security and the woman sitting at this card table that I was ALLOWED to carry on a bottle of wine. "OH NO" they both said, pointing to the sign next to the table that said it would be returned to me. OVER A MONTH after the change in policy. I was furious.

 

I went to check in and the man at the desk asked how I was, and I replied LIVID. I explained to him why and he was BAFFLED as to why there was a table/sign/person collecting. By now there was a line about 10 deep of angry people turning in their wine. THe gentleman from the desk talked to them to no avail. THen he went on the computer and printed out something, took it back to that little table and THEN I had to stand in a long line to get my wine back.

 

NOT a good way to start a cruise. And I agree w/ the OP, NOT the makings of a pleasant special dinner. There's enough frustration over things that are out of control (weather, oil spill etc). Something like this was 100% avoidable.

 

But how did it happen? I can't imagine someone said "I'm going to take this OLD SIGN and this card table, and confiscate wine." Someone gave a directive. Left hand, meet right hand!

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Kdiamond55

Kdiamond55

Posted
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That is crazy that there is this much confusion on different boats or even the same boat and different restaurants.

 

Where is it on the website? I'd say better than printing something out direct them right to the official website, then there is no argument.

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Jimmers

Jimmers

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Posted

The question that comes to mind is how long was this manager shaking down customers before he was called on it. A second question would be did RCCL shut him down or are they just looking the other way until customers like yourself make a stink about it.

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spookwife

spookwife

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Posted
I was embarking for a cruise out of Galveston. The rule allowing us to bring on a bottle of wine had been in place for OVER A MONTH. When I went thru security they insisted my 750 ml bottle of wine had to be checked in at this desk and would be returned to me post cruise. Oddly my travel mate, going thru the same security scanner was passed w/ her bottle.

 

I

 

weird. a week ago yesterday we embarked at Galveston and saw no such table. Just don't ask me about handing over our luggage. the response is not suitable for a family message board. coming BACK yesterday, however, they had 2 or 3 tables set up to take your money on all booze and cigs imported into Texas.

 

in sympathy to the OP, the manager at Chops on Nav apparently peeved off several D+ and Pinnacles WRT the BOGO dinner special on your card yet they had zero issues at any of the others, Including Sabor. must be a Chops thing....:rolleyes:

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TBone2K

TBone2K

Posted
Posted

Jimmers has a point. RC need to review these kinds of incidents. This is the second time in recent memory that I have read a story here on CC about a manager being unaware of a policy change and refusing to let it go, even after being told they were wrong by their manager.

 

I always tell staff to just make the customer happy instead of causing a scene. In your case, even if the customer is wrong, the $25 is not worth the annoyance. It's not like they lose money by giving the service for free.

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Coochuck

Coochuck

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Posted

No problem a few weeks ago on the Quantum with bringing a good bottle of wine into Chops and not being charged for opening our bottle. The waiter did not know about the Diamond Benefit of getting one specialty Coffee free when you buy one and insisted on charging us. We got back to our room...looked at our Diamond Benefit and we were correct. We then went to Guest Services and they took care of correcting the charge. I think if something is wrong, charge wise, just pay it, then go to Guest Services. Bottom line is that "when your right, your RIGHT', and right always wins....at least I hope so.

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juniperje

juniperje

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That's crazy about bringing the wine on board.

 

We did contact RCCL upon coming home and we didn't get a response, which I why I posted on here.

 

Funny enough we got a response just now from them. Here is part of it:

 

"I appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience on the Independence of the Seas. Please accept my apology for not responding sooner.

 

I am troubled by your experience in Chops Grille. Our staff should have been more caring and attentive to your concern with the wine corkage fee. We have confirmed that as of October 9, 2014, Royal Caribbean no longer charges for opening a guest’s personal wine or champagne in any shipboard restaurant, dining venue or bar during the cruise. I can assure you this behavior will not be tolerated; we have forwarded your concerns to our operational teams for further internal review. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

 

I am eager to restore your confidence in Royal Caribbean and show we are dedicated to providing excellent service. We would like to offer you an Onboard Credit in the amount of $ 100.00 for your stateroom, for use on a future sailing with Royal Caribbean International."

 

So not only did they offer a future credit (which is not enough to lure us back, but still), but they apologized. At least we got that and we know that we were in the right.

 

Elissa

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hockeymom21

hockeymom21

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How was your trip? We have friends sailing on the Adventure 3/8. I have a couple questions. They haven't cruised before and it's been a long time since we have been on Rccl. Can they bring on water and soda? They have 3 of their kids in an adjoining room. Also, how did you get from airport to ship? Thank you.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
Technically you can't have a third bottle as RCCL only allows two bottles per cabin to be brought on board. If they find more than two, they will hold them till the last night (or debarkation morning) of the cruise. Also - there is no record when the staff opens a bottle brought on board.

 

M

Sure you can. We get bottles as gifts all the time and bring on our allotment as well.

 

As for this Chops manager he should be demoted to a non guest facing position.

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BDL

BDL

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Posted

Same thing happened to us in October on Freedom. The waitress insisted there was a corkage fee. One member of our party went back to their cabin to get a copy of the email we received before sailing announcing no more fee. Even when we brought that she had to go 'find a manager'.

 

We weren't charged but it really left a bad impression and an unnecessary delay in our reservation. Bad customer service.

 

When we mentioned it to the concierge the next night he told us everyone was told about the change! Apologized profusely and sent us a bottle of wine in our suite the next day which was very nice. We enjoyed it on the balcony.

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