Anthem of the Seas Feb 6th - Rebates, Discounts, and Refund Q&A

[DJChick]

We called today and Guest Services told us that the 50% certificates went out late this afternoon for the people that had an e-mail address on file. We do have our e-mail address on file but we did not receive the e-mail with the certificate. Unless the Rccl server will send out the e-mails overnight. We did get our parking refunded today back to the credit card we used when we paid for the parking the day we boarded.

[Acontador]

Hey I am new here and was wondering if anyone could help me.

I was onboard the anthem that was was stuck in the storm and had to return to port. I just had 175 euro taken from my account from the anthem of the seas. I've no idea what this could have been for and I was expecting Royal Carribbean to be refunding me not charging me further. As you can tell I am new to this as this was my first cruise. Has anybody else had similiar issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Clarea]

Hey I am new here and was wondering if anyone could help me.

I was onboard the anthem that was was stuck in the storm and had to return to port. I just had 175 euro taken from my account from the anthem of the seas. I've no idea what this could have been for and I was expecting Royal Carribbean to be refunding me not charging me further. As you can tell I am new to this as this was my first cruise. Has anybody else had similiar issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would call Royal ASAP and ask them to explain the charge.

[faymuiheng]

These charges could be a number of things...

 

-all beverage packages were pro-rated

 

-duty free liquor and shop purchases were not refunded

 

-specialty restaurants.....

 

etc....

 

 

Hey I am new here and was wondering if anyone could help me.

I was onboard the anthem that was was stuck in the storm and had to return to port. I just had 175 euro taken from my account from the anthem of the seas. I've no idea what this could have been for and I was expecting Royal Carribbean to be refunding me not charging me further. As you can tell I am new to this as this was my first cruise. Has anybody else had similiar issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated

[linkerbink]

I am going to assume we do not get any C&A cruise points for this cruise because of the refund. If anyone knows different please let us all know. ;)

 

We DID get our points. In fact, I got 14 points because I was booked as a single. They were posted a few days ago.

[linkerbink]

One thing about the refund...I had booked the cruise with a certain credit card. Long after final payment that card was compromised and I received a new one with a new number. I called Royal to have the refund issued to the new card, but they said they couldn't do it that way. They had to try to issue it to the OLD card and when that failed they would send me a check! Seems a rather odd way of doing it when all they had to do was enter my new card number. Oh, well....as long as the refund comes I guess it doesn't matter how. Just seems a little odd.... The only reason I could think of for doing it this way was to prevent someone else from calling in and having my refund posted to THEIR credit card. Seems remote, but I guess it's possible.

Edited February 24, 2016 by linkerbink

[kilpa482]

One thing about the refund...I had booked the cruise with a certain credit card. Long after final payment that card was compromised and I received a new one with a new number. I called Royal to have the refund issued to the new card, but they said they couldn't do it that way. They had to try to issue it to the OLD card and when that failed they would send me a check! Seems a rather odd way of doing it when all they had to do was enter my new card number. Oh, well....as long as the refund comes I guess it doesn't matter how. Just seems a little odd.... The only reason I could think of for doing it this way was to prevent someone else from calling in and having my refund posted to THEIR credit card. Seems remote, but I guess it's possible.

 

I had this issue on a previous cruise, the deposit was on the old number, and the rest was on the new number, the deposit ended up being refunded to the new card, it just took an extra week for chase to move it over, my understanding is the bank still keeps the records so they know where it needs to go.

[Big_G]

I had this issue on a previous cruise, the deposit was on the old number, and the rest was on the new number, the deposit ended up being refunded to the new card, it just took an extra week for chase to move it over, my understanding is the bank still keeps the records so they know where it needs to go.

 

We had the same happen. Refund was made to the new account number after the original card number was compromised.

[Newbcruiser1]

On the credit card refund topic - anyone know what happens if you activate a new card - same number, new expiry date, before the refund comes through? I assume given that the card number is the same, it would still go through okay? (And yes, I realize I could just call my bank and ask! :) )

[DaveC4321]

Has anyone seen [all or part of] a refund yet? I have a $47 credit on my card but nothing else.

[Jersey Cruisers]

I just posted the following to Facebook:

 

<<<My husband and I were on the infamous Feb 6, cruise on Anthem of the Seas. We had also paid for a booking for our daughter and boyfriend. We've been on seven of their cruises and have another one booked for August. Even though this cruise was a disappointing and somewhat scary cruise, we felt that the crew did a great job, and that RCCL's compensation was fair. However, that opinion changed yesterday when I received the 50% off voucher for a future cruise. The numbers didn't add up, so I called RCCL guest relations. To my utter surprise, they were NOT including "tax, fees, and port expenses." Those charges were $281.28, so my voucher was reduced by about $140.00. To make matters worse, my reimbursement for the cruise is also being reduced by those $281.28 in charges, so the voucher and the reimbursement is reduced by a total of about $420.00. The gentleman I spoke to in Guest Relations told me Port Fees, etc were not being reimbursed because "...we did not stop in those ports." Talk about your circular logic. THAT'S WHY WE ARE GETTING COMPENSATED - BECAUSE WE HAD TO TURN AROUND AND THUS MISSED THOSE PORTS!. I have given RCCL the benefit of the doubt in all aspects of this cruise. However, even they seem to be hinting at a tad of negligence on their part: In the email that contained thee voucher, they apologized stating that,

"Ultimately, it is our responsibility to evaluate and avoid these types of weather occurrences, and what happened during your sailing has showed that we need to do better." Come on Royal Caribbean, don't nickel and dime us on this. It goes beyond how much we are getting back. It's about how you treat your customers.>>>

 

 

I just got the following response: "We're sorry for your disappointment. We understand, and appreciate your honest feedback."

 

I'm so very glad to see that they're not using empty, useless platitudes in their responses.

[linkerbink]

I had this issue on a previous cruise, the deposit was on the old number, and the rest was on the new number, the deposit ended up being refunded to the new card, it just took an extra week for chase to move it over, my understanding is the bank still keeps the records so they know where it needs to go.

 

Thanks....that's good to know! Mine was a Chase card as well.

[Biker19]

To my utter surprise, they were NOT including "tax, fees, and port expenses." Those charges were $281.28, so my voucher was reduced by about $140.00. To make matters worse, my reimbursement for the cruise is also being reduced by those $281.28 in charges, so the voucher and the reimbursement is reduced by a total of about $420.00. The gentleman I spoke to in Guest Relations told me Port Fees, etc were not being reimbursed because "...we did not stop in those ports."

 

I think everyone who has experienced a problem and has had an FCC issued has said that fees and taxes are never in the equation - it's always based on the cruise fare alone. The part about not being refunded just sounds wrong - I would call back and talk to a supervisor - everyone gets their port fees back when you miss a port.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Biker19

[ryba]

My husband's niece, who also sailed with us, had a great idea for compensation. RCCL should make everyone on 02/06 Anthem as honorary Diamond members! It would cost them nothing to do.

[faymuiheng]

OOOHHH....I'd be all over that....:)

 

My husband's niece, who also sailed with us, had a great idea for compensation. RCCL should make everyone on 02/06 Anthem as honorary Diamond members! It would cost them nothing to do.

[ryba]

OOOHHH....I'd be all over that....:)

 

Some people on board seemed only concerned over how much $$$ they were going to get. I told his niece that she had the best idea EVER with the C&A status. All of us sailed under very "special" circumstances. RCCL should do something extra since "ultimately, it is our responsibility to evaluate and avoid these types of weather occurrences".

Edited February 25, 2016 by ryba

[linkerbink]

I just received an email with my 50% voucher about an hour ago. Called my sister and BIL who were on the same cruise and theirs haven't come through yet. She had purchased the soda package on board and that has already be refunded (prorated) to her credit card. I put all three fares on my credit card but haven't seen that credited yet.

[linkerbink]

My husband's niece, who also sailed with us, had a great idea for compensation. RCCL should make everyone on 02/06 Anthem as honorary Diamond members! It would cost them nothing to do.

 

Or just bump everyone up one level....we are already Diamond so that wouldn't help us.:D

[Jersey Cruisers]

I think everyone who has experienced a problem and has had an FCC issued has said that fees and taxes are never in the equation - it's always based on the cruise fare alone. The part about not being refunded just sounds wrong - I would call back and talk to a supervisor - everyone gets their port fees back when you miss a port.

 

Trust me - I've spoken to a supervisor, and they are not backing down. As I said in my post, I was initially satisfied with the compensation they seemed to be offering. Along with the minor perks they gave (free internet pkg, free online movies, and a total refund of the $140 parking fee at Cape Liberty) it seemed reasonable. In fact I found myself defending the Captain from folks that wanted to "string him up." But this port fee, tax, etc stuff has gotten me really riled up. It's not even the financial aspect of it. It's the gall of reducing our refunds and vouchers because we never got to the ports we had paid them to sail us to. Several years back, I was on a RCCL cruise that had to skip a Grand Cayman docking due to storm damage at the port. We got a refund based on that. I guess in the case of Anthem, the bean-counters just decided it wasn't worth the cost to them

[Biker19]

Trust me - I've spoken to a supervisor, and they are not backing down.

 

Wait and see what others say about their refunds here in the next week or so and if yours is different than theirs call back, again.

[ryba]

Or just bump everyone up one level....we are already Diamond so that wouldn't help us.:D

 

Lucky ducks!

 

All I'm saying is the compensation they are offering is standard. None of us had a "standard" deviation from our cruise... we all had incredible circumstances to deal with. If RCCL wants to keep their customers, they should be extending something special. There are people who unfortunately will never want to take a cruise again.

Edited February 26, 2016 by ryba

[maaaaattt]

FYI... my refund was processed today and the amount returned to my credit card was the exact amount I paid for the cruise (taxes and fees included).

 

They also refunded my drink package prorate from my pre purchase through the website as well as some onboard credit that was owed to me. It was three separate transactions but was refunded in their whole amounts.

[bedazzler]

Still awaiting hearing ANYTHING from Royal about refunds for this - in regards to cruise fare, FCC or airfare fees. I have sent an email to mbayley@rccl.com, but it looks like I need to send it to the guest relations email - I will do that now.

 

I'm also EXTREMELY displeased to see that they are capping the airfare change fees at $150 per passenger. I paid over $2000 for both of us to fly home ONLY because the stateroom video AND guest relations said that they would only be covering flight CHANGES and not full rebookings. The American Airlines rep I spoke to also said it would be cheaper to purchase a new flight than it was to reschedule the existing one, but I was told by 2 sources that they would be covering change fees IN FULL as long as it was rebooked, not a new flight.

 

I will fight tooth and nail to get my airline fees back. I wouldn't have gone the expensive route if I had been told that we would only be compensated $150 per passenger. I spent ~$3,000 for the whole cruise, and there's no way I will accept spending more than half of that on airfare. This is ridiculous.

[bedazzler]

I stand corrected - I got my refund applied to my credit card today. I received the full amount in 1 go (minus my deposit).

 

I was also not refunded my specialty dining which I should've been as we were unable to make it to 2/3 restaurants that were pre-purchased (and one of them was the pricy chef's table). We paid for Wonderland, Jamie's and Chef's Table and only made it to Wonderland (though not during our originally scheduled reservation). We did also eat at Jamie's but for lunch instead of the paid-for dinner and we used our OBC for it.

 

Still 0 word about the FCC or the airfare reimbursement. Nothing in my email. Not even in the spam. I know they have my email address on file.

[Clarea]

I stand corrected - I got my refund applied to my credit card today. I received the full amount in 1 go (minus my deposit).

 

I was also not refunded my specialty dining which I should've been as we were unable to make it to 2/3 restaurants that were pre-purchased (and one of them was the pricy chef's table). We paid for Wonderland, Jamie's and Chef's Table and only made it to Wonderland (though not during our originally scheduled reservation). We did also eat at Jamie's but for lunch instead of the paid-for dinner and we used our OBC for it.

 

Still 0 word about the FCC or the airfare reimbursement. Nothing in my email. Not even in the spam. I know they have my email address on file.

Thanks for the feedback. I did read a report from another poster sayiing they had received the total refund of cruise fare & taxes in one credit, so it looks like the refunds have started.