Offers received from Club Royale (Royal Caribbean)

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, Daghis said:

I must admit, I'm ever so slightly tempted by the 9-night on Vision of the Seas. I've not yet sailed on a Vision-class ship and I've not yet sailed out of Baltimore. There's a high novelty factor of doing that kind of a trip solo. I'd even be able to drive down in the morning so I wouldn't necessarily need to get a pre-cruise hotel. (If I were to miss the cruise, whatever I'd pay would be fully refundable, so although it'd be disappointing, it's at least a somewhat cost-effective option.)

Baltimore is one of the easiest ports.   We have sailed out of Balt. Several times.   Drive down for us is a little over 2 hrs.   Sometimes we drive in same day.  Sometimes we go 1 or 2 days early and stay inner harbor.   Depends on time of year.

We had earned onboard on our Anthem sailing in March 13 pages of cruises to pick from and a nice 12 night sailing on vision was one of them.   The cost to upgrade to a GS was very cheap but I wouldn't be able to get off work.   Sad about that as it was a great itinerary in December.   

Mixed reviews on Vision.  Have never sailed her.  Have sailed grandeur a couple times and suspect they are very similar.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[edrussell]

We booked our prime certificate last night (Wonder on Feb 11) via the online booking request form.  We normally call in speak with a CSR.  Has anyone ever used this method?  It told us we'd get a confirmation up to 48 hours from using the form and then we had 24 hours to pay the taxes/port fees etc.

[RFerrington]

3 hours ago, edrussell said:

We booked our prime certificate last night (Wonder on Feb 11) via the online booking request form.  We normally call in speak with a CSR.  Has anyone ever used this method?  It told us we'd get a confirmation up to 48 hours from using the form and then we had 24 hours to pay the taxes/port fees etc.

Yes.  I did it a few days ago and in 1 way I regret it and in another, I’m very fortunate that I did it.

 

Pro:  Dan wanted to sail on Wonder in August.  If I had not booked using the online tool, chances are good that there would have been no rooms available by the time I got around to calling.  
 

Con:  It works very much like a GTY.  There is no way (online) to choose a cabin so they assign you one, much like a GTY reservation. 
 

It seems that all of the comp level rooms are now gone, so we are stuck with the truly crappy location that we got.  Dan has no interest in upgrading his booking, so it is what it is.  Take it or leave it.

 

They assign you a room, send you a confirmation and then give you 3 days to pay whatever you owe.  We left on a cruise the day after I booked his comp so we were (are) onboard.  We went to NextCruise where the gentleman gave us a phone number to call (via the ships phone) so that we could pay the balance and not lose the booking.

 

I will not use this method again.  I’m glad Dan got the sailing he wanted but I did not care for the process and won’t use it again.

[AlohaLivin]

4 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Yes.  I did it a few days ago and in 1 way I regret it and in another, I’m very fortunate that I did it.

 

Pro:  Dan wanted to sail on Wonder in August.  If I had not booked using the online tool, chances are good that there would have been no rooms available by the time I got around to calling.  
 

Con:  It works very much like a GTY.  There is no way (online) to choose a cabin so they assign you one, much like a GTY reservation. 
 

It seems that all of the comp level rooms are now gone, so we are stuck with the truly crappy location that we got.  Dan has no interest in upgrading his booking, so it is what it is.  Take it or leave it.

 

They assign you a room, send you a confirmation and then give you 3 days to pay whatever you owe.  We left on a cruise the day after I booked his comp so we were (are) onboard.  We went to NextCruise where the gentleman gave us a phone number to call (via the ships phone) so that we could pay the balance and not lose the booking.

 

I will not use this method again.  I’m glad Dan got the sailing he wanted but I did not care for the process and won’t use it again.

‘We wanted to upgrade so I had to call. I called the first date was available on the website and after being on hold for an hour was informed that it has suddenly disappeared, and can no longer be booked. I waited two days and luckily was only on hold 10 minutes. We were able to book Wonder for 3/31/24 for a $444 upgrade (given it what is wonder? I was surprised, but definitely satisfied). I do wish RCL would pull it together a bit sooner 😞  Would be great if you booked the same sailing? When do you go?

[RFerrington]

14 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

‘We wanted to upgrade so I had to call. I called the first date was available on the website and after being on hold for an hour was informed that it has suddenly disappeared, and can no longer be booked. I waited two days and luckily was only on hold 10 minutes. We were able to book Wonder for 3/31/24 for a $444 upgrade (given it what is wonder? I was surprised, but definitely satisfied). I do wish RCL would pull it together a bit sooner 😞  Would be great if you booked the same sailing? When do you go?

How great to see you online, Lynn !  
 

Dan’s WN booking is for August 20th (8-20-23)  (I think).  I asked him if he was sure he wanted to go to the Caribbean in AUGUST but he said he did…so that’s what we’re doing, I guess.  I may sneak around behind him and check on upgrading.  Just not sure I can do an inside room….but this is his comp so I probably should leave it alone.  Ugh.

 

We will also be on WN 2-2-25 but that’s a LONG way off.

[AlohaLivin]

37 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

How great to see you online, Lynn !  
 

Dan’s WN booking is for August 20th (8-20-23)  (I think).  I asked him if he was sure he wanted to go to the Caribbean in AUGUST but he said he did…so that’s what we’re doing, I guess.  I may sneak around behind him and check on upgrading.  Just not sure I can do an inside room….but this is his comp so I probably should leave it alone.  Ugh.

 

We will also be on WN 2-2-25 but that’s a LONG way off.

It is always good to see you! We have had a daughter’s wedding, etc., so I have been MIA. I know what you mean about the Caribbean in August, we are actually on Grandeur this August to the Caribbean and I don’t know what I was thinking. 😂  I tried an ocean view one time and I couldn’t deal. I know I couldn’t deal with an interior. I thought the upgrade was reasonable. But in retirement, I may have to figure out how to do an interior!!! 

[texasreb]

On 4/22/2023 at 11:26 AM, edrussell said:

We booked our prime certificate last night (Wonder on Feb 11) via the online booking request form.  We normally call in speak with a CSR.  Has anyone ever used this method?  It told us we'd get a confirmation up to 48 hours from using the form and then we had 24 hours to pay the taxes/port fees etc.

I used the online redeem 2 months ago. I put in notes the cabin I wanted. I got it.

[texasreb]

My Prime tier offer is on website. First offer dropped since end of March. Only for $300 off 23Jun105. No thanks. Not looking good on my end. Just played over 2000 points end of March. Sailing again April 30. We shall see soon if offers pick back up..

[RFerrington]

11 hours ago, texasreb said:

I used the online redeem 2 months ago. I put in notes the cabin I wanted. I got it.

Thanks !  Who knew there was even a comments section ?  😂

[RFerrington]

12 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

It is always good to see you! We have had a daughter’s wedding, etc., so I have been MIA. I know what you mean about the Caribbean in August, we are actually on Grandeur this August to the Caribbean and I don’t know what I was thinking. 😂  I tried an ocean view one time and I couldn’t deal. I know I couldn’t deal with an interior. I thought the upgrade was reasonable. But in retirement, I may have to figure out how to do an interior!!! 

Yippee !  I recall that there were weddings bells chiming somewhere…didn’t realize it was so soon !  I know you’re relieved to have that over.

[AlohaLivin]

8 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Yippee !  I recall that there were weddings bells chiming somewhere…didn’t realize it was so soon !  I know you’re relieved to have that over.

I will send you some pics 🙂

[StephPS79]

21 hours ago, texasreb said:

I used the online redeem 2 months ago. I put in notes the cabin I wanted. I got it.

I also never thought about using the notes.  I'll probably still call it in, because I don't have enough patience to wait for them to call me back to see if I got what I wanted lol.

 

Right now the nightmare hold times may be enough to have me fill out the form, but I'm in no hurry to book the tier benefit.  Good idea though to put in the notes!

 

[edrussell]

We still haven't heard back.  We put in the booking request late on Friday night (around 10:00pm).  If we don't hear by tomorrow my wife will give them a call.

 

 

[edrussell]

Paperwork finally arrived today, originally assigned room 7139, my wife gave them a call and changed the room to 11277 (Feb 11 wonder OTS sailing).  I think she was quoted a little over 200 each to upgrade to an Oceanview.  She left it as is.  We will likely give Royal Up a try when the time comes.  With that said an interior is fine for us as we spend little time in our room.  So the online process seemed to work fine and saved us some time.  When all was said and done we did technically get to pick our room, but that came after our booking on the sailing was in place.  We would use this method again, especially now that we know we can ask via special requests for specific floors etc.

 

My wife also received an offer yesterday for a comp sailing (double occupancy), so her offers appear to be back to normal.

Edited April 25, 2023 by edrussell

[NRWPA]

I had no problem booking online. I wrote in the special requests box what deck I wanted (only one cabin was available on that deck) and got it. I received verification the same day of my request including the cabin I wanted. Much faster than the phone calls 

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

Today I finally got my TIER offer, looks like usEuropeans had to wait a few days extra but never mind 🙂 
I am wondering if I can just email Club Royale and have my annual cruise applied to an already booked (and paid for) cruise that I have in Nov this year? Would it be possible to get a refund minus port fees and taxes and still keep the same bookingnumber or do I need to cancel this cruise and book it as a new casino tier cruise?

[Daghis]

This seems to be a good place for general Club Royale commentary, at least better than a new thread just for this.

 

I got a letter from the IRS saying that I failed to report three W-2G forms totalling $11,133 from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd in 2021. The problem is that I didn't win any jackpots anywhere in 2021. In fact, I didn't do much gambling at all that year.

 

I'm on the phone with Club Royale "Resolutions". They confirmed that they have a record of me winning a whopping $454 on the one cruise I went on that year. They have not yet found a reason why they've told the IRS otherwise.

[texasreb]

23 minutes ago, Daghis said:

This seems to be a good place for general Club Royale commentary, at least better than a new thread just for this.

 

I got a letter from the IRS saying that I failed to report three W-2G forms totalling $11,133 from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd in 2021. The problem is that I didn't win any jackpots anywhere in 2021. In fact, I didn't do much gambling at all that year.

 

I'm on the phone with Club Royale "Resolutions". They confirmed that they have a record of me winning a whopping $454 on the one cruise I went on that year. They have not yet found a reason why they've told the IRS otherwise.

Very interesting. Just a computer error I am sure. However I had a Lois Lerner shake down back 2010 or 11. It was over W2-Gs. Local agent said all OK. But file had been transferred to Lois Lerner office. So he could not make the decision. 2-3 years later I was speaking with my Congressman's office. "Oh we see you had a Lois Lerner audit." I was informed they had a list of those audited. Hope you get a proper resolution. Just think 87,000 armed IRS agents ? What the heck ?

On another note. The offers on ship and in Club Royale have been really lame lately. $200 off, $300 off. Even after 2000-3000 point trips.

[Daghis]

Just now, texasreb said:

Very interesting. Just a computer error I am sure.

I'm not as quick to brush it off like that, especially since the weight of the IRS is in the picture.

 

As a software engineer, I cannot offer a straightforward error that could either change someone else's SSN (to mine) or otherwise changes the year of the winnings to a different value. I figure it has to be human error, and if this is a case, the actual human error is that there wasn't an automated process to preserve data accuracy in the first place.

 

These may very well be my W-2Gs, but they would be from pre-2021. I had a buttload of W-2Gs, including some from Royal Caribbean, in 2020. My guess is that someone entered these three W-2Gs from a 2020 cruise into some IRS-reporting application and mistyped 2021.

 

I did send a redacted copy of the letter I got from the IRS to someone @rccl.com. I look forward to hearing what they report back.

[texasreb]

7 minutes ago, Daghis said:

I'm not as quick to brush it off like that, especially since the weight of the IRS is in the picture.

 

As a software engineer, I cannot offer a straightforward error that could either change someone else's SSN (to mine) or otherwise changes the year of the winnings to a different value. I figure it has to be human error, and if this is a case, the actual human error is that there wasn't an automated process to preserve data accuracy in the first place.

 

These may very well be my W-2Gs, but they would be from pre-2021. I had a buttload of W-2Gs, including some from Royal Caribbean, in 2020. My guess is that someone entered these three W-2Gs from a 2020 cruise into some IRS-reporting application and mistyped 2021.

 

I did send a redacted copy of the letter I got from the IRS to someone @rccl.com. I look forward to hearing what they report back.

It would be nice if you actually got someone to admit to an error. Stay on it. back to my Lois Lerner. They would even lose the certified letters !

[Daghis]

6 minutes ago, texasreb said:

It would be nice if you actually got someone to admit to an error. Stay on it. back to my Lois Lerner. They would even lose the certified letters !

I can say that I've had a couple "You owe us taxes!!" letter for amounts in the low 5-digits of tax liability. Each time, I wrote very detailed, step-by-step instructions for how I computed my values based on their forms and instructions. And, each time, I'd get a letter back from the IRS saying "Oh, yeah. You're right. Matter closed."

 

This time, though, the IRS has faulty information. Even if I can't get Royal Caribbean to admit the mistake to me, upon writing back to the IRS claiming that Royal Caribbean fraudulently submitted those forms, I would have to imagine that Royal Caribbean might be forced to claim the error directly to the IRS in the end anyway since they don't have paperwork backing up these purported winnings.

 

Although I'm not thrilled with the idea "Maybe it's just happening to me," but it seems more likely that it may affect others as well given the human nature of the error I suspect it to be.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Daghis

[RFerrington]

Ugh, Marc @Daghis.  I can't imagine a worse Agency with which to be in this situation.  I understand your concern.  I DO hope that you can get it resolved quickly.  The IRS has a long (and often, faulty) memory.  Best of luck

[texasreb]

4 minutes ago, Daghis said:

I can say that I've had a couple "You owe us taxes!!" letter for amounts in the low 5-digits of tax liability. Each time, I wrote very detailed, step-by-step instructions for how I computed my values based on their forms and instructions. And, each time, I'd get a letter back from the IRS saying "Oh, yeah. You're right. Matter closed."

 

This time, though, the IRS has faulty information. Even if I can't get Royal Caribbean to admit the mistake to me, upon writing back to the IRS claiming that Royal Caribbean fraudulently submitted those forms, I would have to imagine that Royal Caribbean might be forced to claim the error directly to the IRS in the end anyway since they don't have paperwork backing up these purported winnings.

 

Although I'm not thrilled with the idea "Maybe it's just happening to me," but it seems more likely that it may affect others as well given the human nature of the error I suspect it to be.

The same with me until Lois Lerner time. They were CROOKS.

[Daghis]

7 minutes ago, texasreb said:

The same with me until Lois Lerner time. They were CROOKS.

It sounds like your experience is part of what defines the negative reputation of the IRS overall. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that.

 

I'm not sure about the "87,000 armed IRS agents". I think someone conflated the ability to hire 87,000 IRS employees over the next 7-8 years (through 2031) with specifically hiring Special Agents (the ones authorized to be armed). It seems that they only actually hope to hire 300-350 Special Agents for the entire fiscal year, some of whom are backfilling 150-175 retirement/attrition departures.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Daghis

[Daghis]

So, the answer is that they took my three jackpot winnings that I had in February 2020 and duplicated them with 2021 dates and submitted them to the IRS. They have issued three "Corrected" W-2G forms to me that correctly show the dates of winning having been in February 2020, so I hope that will appease the IRS.

 

I am, of course, somewhat concerned that if this happened to me, how many others are going to be similarly affected? I would fear that anyone who got a taxable jackpot in the brief period in 2020 when cruises were going pre-pandemic, maybe they, too, will have this issue. 😟

Edited May 11, 2023 by Daghis