Frustrating Experience with Corkage Fee

[juniperje]

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.

 

I don't know about water and soda (just wine!) but I know there are many other threads devoted to those topics. We were visiting family in FL before the cruise so we drove our rental car to the port but we took a cab to the airport coming home and it was no problem. It is less than 5 minutes away.

 

Elissa

[twindaddy]

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.

 

I am not clear why the manager was being such a douche...was it personal pride at that point? I mess up at work...often...and it is regularly pointed out to me. I have found a quick apology and making the situation right solves most problems.

 

Disney lets you bring as much booze on board as you want (trust me, I take advantage), TECHNICALLY they have a corkage fee, but I have never been charged it over half a dozen cruises. I asked our assistant server, who we have had for several cruises who opens the wine for me, if she ever charges it, she said not unless the person is a jerk. :rolleyes:

[CntPAcruiser]

I am astonished at how arrogant rudeness in supposed customer service positions persists on Royal. It's not everyone--most of the staff I've encountered really seem to want everything to go well and try to accommodate. But every now and then you hear a story like this one (the Chops manager) and just have to shake your head. Why drive away customers like that?

 

We had our bad experience on the last night of a 5-night cruise on EOS. We'd checked our online account early in the trip, but for some reason waited until that last evening to check it again (and we've learned for the future, that's for sure!). It was then we noticed that instead of being charged for one soda package, they had charged us for a broader, more expensive drinks package as well as the soda package. Their mistake--we had the paper receipt that showed what we purchased, and yet the guest (dis)service guy insisted we "probably just made a mistake," or "it was a misunderstanding." Then he told us he could not just process the refund, but had to have the beverage manager clear it up, and we'd have to check with them the next morning. Right--on disembarkation day? As it was, we got up early with the intention of calling guest services and found a printout of our account with the refund processed correctly. Now, why couldn't he have just told us there would be printout in the morning, like every other cabin, that would confirm the refund?

 

The biggest problem was that he was so arrogant, so sure we were in the wrong, never apologized for their mistake, and basically treated us like criminals for wanting a refund for more than a hundred bucks for a package we neither purchased nor used. Of course, an account of this problem naming the offender was included in our survey comments.

[marci22]

That would have aggravated me. I probably would have gone back to the room and poured the glasses there and brought them back.

[Jimmers]

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

 

That's awesome!!. We had a similar experience a couple cruises back where a restaurant manager was jaw dropping inappropriate and even when he was shown to be clearly wrong, he dug in his heels and became even more obstinate. Royal Caribbean really went overboard (no pun intended:)) to make things right with our group.

[ahecht]

That's awesome!!. We had a similar experience a couple cruises back where a restaurant manager was jaw dropping inappropriate and even when he was shown to be clearly wrong, he dug in his heels and became even more obstinate. Royal Caribbean really went overboard (no pun intended:)) to make things right with our group.

 

So that's two cases in this thread, and I know I've read others as well (such as this one: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1985407). Seems like Royal Caribbean has a problem with restaurant managers letting the power go to their head.

[MichaelCMTX]

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.

 

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

 

I KID YOU NOT, we just yesterday debarked the 8-nighter on IOS. Day 1 we accompanied a Pinnacle-level friend to dinner at Giovanni's. She brought along a bottle of wine GIFTED BY RCL and they tried to assess a corkage fee. Our friend didn't roll over for this one. Spoke to the manager and she explained that the server needed more training on the Corkage Fee policy and they took care of it. Hopefully it means things will improve, maybe it's an IOS issue, but I have my doubts.

[Jimmers]

So that's two cases in this thread, and I know I've read others as well (such as this one: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1985407). Seems like Royal Caribbean has a problem with restaurant managers letting the power go to their head.

 

As someone with a background in management I think it's the rare individual who doesn't sometimes let power go to their head. Been there myself.:D

 

Our experience was rare for us with RCCL and that's what made it so jaw dropping. They did the right thing by us and that made all the difference.

 

Why did it happen?. Male manager with subordinates present makes bad decision. FEMALE group leader challenges him. Male manager knows he made a bad decision but feels he must now save face in front of subordinates and digs in heels. And it escalated from there. I'm sure in the end he regretted going down that road but the male ego being what it is, he couldn't help himself:) Maybe RCCL needs more women restaurant managers. Come to think of it, do they even have any?

[71Corvette]

If it were me I'd have given up on this after a few minutes and simply taken it up with guest services afterwards. I was shocked when I read that you got up, left the restaurant and then went to your cabin to get the paperwork so you could prove your case. Just not worth the hassle to me. I would have either paid the $25 (and brought it to guest services later) or simply bought a few glasses of wine off the menu.

 

Just my $0.02

Edited January 27, 2015 by 71Corvette

[bighairtexan]

I have to say that I've cruised on the Nav several times since they wrongly confiscated my wine, and I've never had a repeat of that situation. At the time, the new policy had been in affect for at least 6-8 weeks so I wonder what was going on during the cruises prior to mine. But for me standing in the line to get my wine back, and for the OP and others to have to spend valuable vacation time standing in Guest services lines to rectify RCI'S ERROR is a ROYAL pain.

I had the issue w/ the free coffee and every time I passed Guest Services the line was fairly long. Not the way I wanted to spend my time so I just took a pass and paid for the coffee. I wonder how many others do the same. hmmmmmmm

[tomtravel]

I am going on Liberty OS in a few days--can anyone provide the e-mail regarding the new policy. I always thought you can bring wine onboard for consumption in your room--but if you take to any restuarant the fee will be charged even if you open yourself. I have always brought an wine opener.

 

Thanks for helping the new guy!

[LMaxwell]

I am going on Liberty OS in a few days--can anyone provide the e-mail regarding the new policy. I always thought you can bring wine onboard for consumption in your room--but if you take to any restuarant the fee will be charged even if you open yourself. I have always brought an wine opener.

 

Thanks for helping the new guy!

In the past you could bring a glass anywhere, just not the unopened bottle. So not just in room consumption.

 

But here is current policy stating no corkage fee

 

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

[Royalpair]

We bring those bottles with the fancy gold screw caps :-). No one has to help us open those! But we do bring those to drink on the balcony, which we will be doing on our hump balcony on Quantum in a few weeks!

[Georgeny]

We bring those bottles with the fancy gold screw caps :-). No one has to help us open those! But we do bring those to drink on the balcony, which we will be doing on our hump balcony on Quantum in a few weeks!

 

Regarding corkage fees although not on RCL but something that friends just related concerning NCL.

 

They recently sailed 12 night Breakaway from Manhattan. They came back swearing to never sail NCL again ( I stopped years ago over dining and nickel and dining ) for numerous reasons but said it started downhill right at the pier over, " corkage fees. " I admit I was confused as to why they were dealing with corkage fees on the pier. Being old school corkage fees were a fee imposed ( rarely actually ) when you brought a bottle not purchased on board to public venue and asked for it to be served. Apparently NCL has changed that to being a corkage fee even when serving yourself in cabin. $15 for 750ml , $30 for larger. Having bottles in their carry ons they were directed to a table to pay corkage or have it confiscated to be returned attend of cruise. Two of the bottles were screw top. One of the party paid the fee the other had it confiscated and returned last night.

 

Yet another NICKLE and DIME cruise line BS. So sad to see lines become what they are becoming, a non-service, service industry.

 

George in NY

[Cuizer2]

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

 

Wow, talk about stubborn.

[geoherb]

It's amazing how a little thing involving wine can sour a cruise experience. In our case, it was on Celebrity. Security took our two bottles of wine at embarkation with the promise that we'd receive them in our cabin later that day after they X-rayed our checked luggage to make sure we did not have more than the one bottle per adult. It took until the end of the second day before we received our bottles--after asking at guest relations three times for them. We haven't sailed on Celebrity since.

[NewSalt]

The term "corkage fee" is somewhat misleading. You are not being charged for opening the bottle; it is a fee to make up for the lost revenue the ship experiences when you do not buy their wine. When there is a fee, bringing a screw-top bottle or opening it yourself does not eliminate the fee.

 

Cruise lines put so much emphasis on customer service that I'm always taken aback when I hear of the occasional bad experience. (I'm referring to outright rudeness and arrogance, not mistakes or ignorance, which can happen.). We've always heard how important mentions in the guest satisfaction surveys are; I wonder if serious complaints like these have any repercussions.

[marci22]

It's not just the wine, it's the whole experience of having to deal with someone who does not know the rules, and doesn't care to learn them. We pay too much to have to deal with an employee who is having a bad day. Having to return to guest services repeatedly only compounds the problem.

[Vyhanek]

I think with Royal eliminating the CF, the only logical next step is that they will prohibit all alcohol being brought on board like NCL does. There is no need to charge corkage when all alcohol brought on is prohibited and confiscated.

 

I think this is where they are headed with this. Otherwise, why would they be eliminating corkage? That makes no sense that they would eliminate a revenue source. That's not what cruise lines do. They look at their competitors and see what things work to GENERATE more money.

 

The first step is eliminating the CF. The next step is prohibiting all outside alcohol.

[ahecht]

I think with Royal eliminating the CF, the only logical next step is that they will prohibit all alcohol being brought on board like NCL does. There is no need to charge corkage when all alcohol brought on is prohibited and confiscated.

 

I think this is where they are headed with this. Otherwise, why would they be eliminating corkage? That makes no sense that they would eliminate a revenue source. That's not what cruise lines do. They look at their competitors and see what things work to GENERATE more money.

 

The first step is eliminating the CF. The next step is prohibiting all outside alcohol.

 

Until 2013 that was the policy - you couldn't bring any alcohol onboard. They instituted the corkage fee as part of the rule change allowing the two bottles of wine. If they wanted to roll back the wine policy they'd just do it, not just roll back the fee.

 

Eliminating the fee makes sense since it was rarely enforced, got messy when bottles of wine from Gifts and Gear were involved, and was easily avoided by pouring your wine into glasses in your cabin.

[cruisegirl1]

It's amazing how a little thing involving wine can sour a cruise experience. In our case, it was on Celebrity. Security took our two bottles of wine at embarkation with the promise that we'd receive them in our cabin later that day after they X-rayed our checked luggage to make sure we did not have more than the one bottle per adult. It took until the end of the second day before we received our bottles--after asking at guest relations three times for them. We haven't sailed on Celebrity since.

 

Wow - Luckily that has not been our experience on Celebrity. How in the world can they cross reference all the pieces of luggage with a listing from those who carry on.

 

We generally carry one and pack the other with NO issues, ever! Was this a while ago?

 

Thanks. M

[cruisegirl1]

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.

 

Yes you , and others are correct - if RCCL provided the bottles ( selected amenity, gifts from TA, ship staff, others,) were included, it would be more than 3. But, all those bottles are RCCL provided ( free or paid). I took the comment about a third bottle to be a third bottle brought on board by the passenger.

 

 

M

Edited January 27, 2015 by cruisegirl1

[tomtravel]

In the past you could bring a glass anywhere, just not the unopened bottle. So not just in room consumption.

 

But here is current policy stating no corkage fee

 

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

 

Thank you very much -I printed the page from RCI webpage-hope i do not have situation at dinners that others before me have endured.

 

My first impression of RCI depends on this cruise! Thanks.

[tomtravel]

The term "corkage fee" is somewhat misleading. You are not being charged for opening the bottle; it is a fee to make up for the lost revenue the ship experiences when you do not buy their wine. When there is a fee, bringing a screw-top bottle or opening it yourself does not eliminate the fee.

 

 

Thank you for such a clear cut explanation of this "Fee". I have been on NCL and paid the $15- Carnival lets you bring on 2-750 for your room free. If you bring that bottle to dinner $15 is added.

 

Your explanation cleared it up---two of my best bottles-----before they change the policy!:rolleyes: