Is this legal

[Caon74]

Was on the anthem of the seas last week and whilst on board they ran an offer on next years cruises where second person was half price with free tips and the deposit you paid onboard came off your account that night.The balance is too be paid by May next year.Now I'm home 2 days and I've gotten an email from them looking for £450 extra as a deposit.I don't have that money now and one of the reasons I booked was because the rep told me if I ever change my mind and cancel it would cost me nothing.Now if I pay up and cancel it will cost me £450.Surely they won't cancel my booking if I don't pay ASAP.I haven't even had a chance too look at alternative destinations.

[marci22]

Not sure how it works by you, but in N America, if you pay the deposit (while on a cruise) and get an obc that is equal to that, you can cancel later and you just don't get any money back.

 

You shouldn't have to pay any additional money towards your deposit. I would speak to someone on the phone but in the meantime I would not send them any more money.

 

Sometimes their system is glitchy and they will say you owe more deposit even though you booked on a special offer.

Edited July 20, 2015 by marci22

[Caon74]

Thank you for your quick response.That is actually what I was told onboard.I will ring tomorrow and hopefully it is just a glitch!

[peteukmcr]

Was on the anthem of the seas last week and whilst on board they ran an offer on next years cruises where second person was half price with free tips and the deposit you paid onboard came off your account that night.The balance is too be paid by May next year.Now I'm home 2 days and I've gotten an email from them looking for £450 extra as a deposit.I don't have that money now and one of the reasons I booked was because the rep told me if I ever change my mind and cancel it would cost me nothing.Now if I pay up and cancel it will cost me £450.Surely they won't cancel my booking if I don't pay ASAP.I haven't even had a chance too look at alternative destinations.

Unfortunately it sounds like they sold you a cruise using the U.S. Conditions, but that doesn't always extend to UK and ROI customers. We've been on sailings where they offer reduced deposits, but this only applies to US guests and it's still cost us £150 pp. How many passengers is your booking for?

[Caon74]

Our booking is for 3 so they are looking for £450.We booked the anthem in June last year when it was first launched and where told there would be no promotions or offers in the future as it was a new ship and would sell out fast.A month later they offered Free drinks,Free tips and free parking.Rang the TA and was told the only way I could advail of the offer was to cancel and lose my £800 deposit and re-book but I probably wouldn't get the same interconnecting rooms.Dont want to get rode again.Nearly everyone we spoke too had the free packages.You just feel robbed!

[ColoradoGurl]

I've read other threads where they've booked with a reduced deposit deal and then gotten emails asking for the remaining balance a few days later. I seem to recall that the reason was their computer systems don't recognize the deals and automatically look for a $250/person deposit and will read it as an error if it sees something less. However, it's just a glitch in the system and can be ignored as the real people (aka not the computer system) are able to tell it was a reduced deposit special. I'm not sure if I've ever read anyone having this issue from an on board booking though, and either way I would call to check just to make sure.

[Caon74]

Thank you coloradogurl.

[Tunkhannock]

However, it's just a glitch in the system and can be ignored as the real people (aka not the computer system) are able to tell it was a reduced deposit special.

 

When we booked in January during the "No deposit due until July" BOGO special, I noticed that our TA "paid" our deposit. When I asked about, they explained to me that it was only so the RCI system wouldn't glitch out and flag our account as "overdue" on the deposit.

[bigeck]

Thank you coloradogurl.

 

We boked the Harmony Ta with free drinks package and grats last April. We received the booking invoice that was £500 more. With the promotion it has taken until now to get the proper one.

Did you get a reservation number and an email stating what you paid??

I would give them a call or transfer you booking to a TA and let them deal with it

[sky0000547]

Don't forget to ring RCI UK on the freephone number 0800 0182020 rather than their 0844 number.

[irial77]

As a European customer I've become very careful of booking onboard, as they sell you the cruises under US booking rules which may or may not apply once the booking is transferred over to (in our case) the Norwegian office.

 

I still book cruises onboard but make the booking early on to the cruise so I can go through the documents while still onboard. That way the NextCruise staff also have enough time to call the Norwegian office if there are any questions as to the rules.