treated badly by royal caribbean

[willow1uk]

hi guys

we were looking forward to our cruise from southampton to usa and down to miami on 5th november, then on 3rd november RC changed the itinerary to europe and on to miami. we booked almost 1 year before and were devastated. we were offered compensation if did the cruise but nothing but our money back if we cancelled. it took RC 6 weeks to send us a cheque with no compensation. our insurers wouldnt help and we had paid for hotel in miami, flights,hotel in southampton and parking - all lost!!!!! RC kept apologising but dont compensate at all. we had over £1500 of extras lost. they were no help. we ever regretted booking them and although cruised with them before wont do it again. they have a customer charter but broke every 1. we emailed a complaint with no reply and to get my money back was on the phone to miami many times, they find it hard to phone you!!!

[Clarea]

They seem to be more responsive to social media.

[Paulxyz2004]

OK, happy sailing on other lines and happy New Year.

[swoopy2110]

I too would've been unhappy with the change but their contract says they can change ports as and when. That doesn't make good customer service however. They also did say the change was down partly to weather with a number of other ships also getting changed at the same time.

 

Try and email mbayley@rccl.com

[mugtech]

Changes seem to be quite normal on repositioning cruises.  I have had a TA and a TP cancelled in the last two years, the only two I had scheduled with RCI.

[sparks1093]

The only reason I can think of that justifies your travel insurer from not providing coverage is if you didn't include those amounts in the policy coverage. It is regrettable but at least you were allowed to cancel without penalty. Last minute itinerary changes definitely suck.

[Cindy]

I think all the Trans-Atlantics in that timeframe were rerouted due to extreme weather conditions in the North Atlantic. Since the itinerary change was for passenger safety and comfort, you shouldn’t expect Royal Caribbean to do any more for you than they have already done, which is offer a full refund of your cruise fare.

 

Any other reimbursement you get (hotel, air, etc.) will have to come from your travel insurance if you insured those components AND your reason for cancelling is allowable. Every policy is different, so you will have to look at the coverages and exclusions in your particular policy. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Cindy

[neverbeenhere]

You could have taken the cruise? 

[proggieus]

just so you know,

 

not getting what you want is not the same as being treated badly-

 

I will never understand how somebody can make travel plans for a year or more ahead of time and then be SHOCKED when something doesn't go exactly as planned.

 

[skiiergirl]

7 hours ago, willow1uk said:

hi guys

we were looking forward to our cruise from southampton to usa and down to miami on 5th november, then on 3rd november RC changed the itinerary to europe and on to miami. we booked almost 1 year before and were devastated. we were offered compensation if did the cruise but nothing but our money back if we cancelled. it took RC 6 weeks to send us a cheque with no compensation. our insurers wouldnt help and we had paid for hotel in miami, flights,hotel in southampton and parking - all lost!!!!! RC kept apologising but dont compensate at all. we had over £1500 of extras lost. they were no help. we ever regretted booking them and although cruised with them before wont do it again. they have a customer charter but broke every 1. we emailed a complaint with no reply and to get my money back was on the phone to miami many times, they find it hard to phone you!!!

I am so very sorry that you cancelled your trip.  However, I don't see how RC "treated you badly".  You were given the option to take the trip with the changed itinerary and compensation....or cancel the trip with a full refund.  You chose to cancel with the refund.  They did not have to give you that option.  Per "the fine print" they could have changed the itinerary and not offered the refund or any compensation...so actually they were generous to you.  The itinerary change was for safety reasons.  You cannot expect them to cover the costs of expenses that were not in their control.  If you prepaid the parking and/or hotel...that was an option you chose.  We never prepay for hotels even though the prepay price is generally cheaper.  We always pay the higher rate in order to have a "last minute" (day) cancellation option.  I don't think the insurance company is required to reimburse you as it was your choice to cancel and accept the refund as opposed to completing the cruise with the modified itinerary.  I agree it should not have taken 6 weeks for the refund to be processed but that is just slow customer service....not "bad treatment".  

Edited December 31, 2018 by skiiergirl

[willow1uk]

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

[Brit-Cruiser]

39 minutes ago, willow1uk said:

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

I think the point being made, is that the cruise went ahead with a changed itinerary, it wasn't cancelled. Not taking the cruise was your decision. 

I did this cruise in 2016 & the sea was pretty rough at times, that was without a storm factored into the crossing. I wouldn't have coped with much rougher seas.

They changed the itinerary for the safety of the ship and those on board. 

Had the cruise been cancelled, then your insurance would have covered it. Making a choice not to go isn't covered unfortunately. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Brit-Cruiser

[Bloodgem]

32 minutes ago, willow1uk said:

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

I think you need to grow up. My son is disabled and we always book refundable accommodation in Southampton and make sure we have the right insurance to cover all possibilities.  You chose not to book refundable accommodation and you chose not to buy insurance that would cover your out of pocket expenses if your cruise was cancelled. 

You of all people should understand how difficult it is to book a cruise especially if you need a disabled cabin.

[willow1uk]

7 minutes ago, Bloodgem said:

I think you need to grow up. My son is disabled and we always book refundable accommodation in Southampton and make sure we have the right insurance to cover all possibilities.  You chose not to book refundable accommodation and you chose not to buy insurance that would cover your out of pocket expenses if your cruise was cancelled. 

You of all people should understand how difficult it is to book a cruise especially if you need a disabled cabin.

hello there, its not a case of illness is it, i think you have very little understanding of poeple and dont quote your problems please. this was a special trip and the insurers didnt cover change of itinerary at lkast minute. we travelled with cunard in storms last year with no change. some empathy from you!!!

[dcgrumpy]

You chose not to go and you chose to book nonrefundable "extras". That's hardly their fault. 

 

What were the changes to the itinerary?

[mjkacmom]

34 minutes ago, willow1uk said:

hello there, its not a case of illness is it, i think you have very little understanding of poeple and dont quote your problems please. this was a special trip and the insurers didnt cover change of itinerary at lkast minute. we travelled with cunard in storms last year with no change. some empathy from you!!!

I don’t think you are going to get any empathy from anyone with your attitude. People have been trying to explain to you why those expenses are your problem, not the cruiseline. You chose not to take the cruise, you are actually very fortunate to get a full refund of the cruise, cruiselines are legally allowed to change itineraries at any time, for any reason, and not offer refunds.

[Sotermarler]

What was the itinerary changed from and changed to?

[blackshirt]

Changed itinerary or not, I would have gone on the cruise. Why did you decide to cancel?

[S.A.M.J.R.]

2 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

Changed itinerary or not, I would have gone on the cruise. Why did you decide to cancel?

I'm trying to understand this also.  If I read the OP correct, they were going to sail from Southampton to the US East Coast, and end in Miami.   The change would have them sail from Southampton to Europe then end in Miami.  

 

So aside from missing some US ports that they were probably looking forward to, I don't understand why the need to cancel.  The flights to Southampton and from Miami could presumably still be used along with the hotel in Miami (or did the dates change?).

 

I have absolutely NO idea what difference have a disabled travelling companion makes.

 

OP, sorry, if they offered you compensation to take the cruise or a full refund, and you chose the refund, why is RCI treating you bad?  

[HOSKI]

Just for future reference there is now insurance you can get that includes change of ports of call.  Also, you can include your before and after expenses and plans in your insurance quote.  If you get this type of insurance you could have still taken the cruise then gotten some money from the insurance company to ease the pain of change of ports.

 

Many people cruise and/or travel for special occasions so that isn't going to factor into Royal's response. 

[ONECRUISER]

7 hours ago, willow1uk said:

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

Unfortunately changing or missing Ports and even canceled cruises is common. It is also listed in small print that can happen. Out of 60+ cruises bet had 2 dozen changes including at least one changed port and 2 canceled cruises...

Edited January 1, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[emdia43]

Post your complaint about this on their Facebook page.That usually gets their attention and alerts others to the possibility that this could happen to them. 

[Balsam12]

3 minutes ago, emdia43 said:

Post your complaint about this on their Facebook page.That usually gets their attention and alerts others to the possibility that this could happen to them. 

 

It will also alert the wider community to the fact you're a whinger, and don't actually understand how the system works.

 

RCI are going to do absolutely zero more for the OP. They have already done far more than they legally had to by giving the offer of compensation (although the OP has not clarified just what "compensation" was being offered) if they went ahead with the changed itinerary, or a full refund if they decided to cancel. There was no obligation for RCI to offer either of these options.

 

Our OP still hasn't explained just WHY they couldn't just take the cruise with the new itinerary plus "compensation"? I would guess the compensation would have been in the form of either OBC or discount?

 

I don't see anything logical in not doing the cruise if it started and ended in the same ports and on the same dates as the original itinerary. Maybe not the ports you wanted, but as you have already noted, there was no time to arrange a different vacation, and you would not have wasted 1500 pounds... and guess what... you would probably have still had a very enjoyable cruise.

 

Now if the starting or finishing ports, or the dates were changed, that's a different story altogether, however I seriously doubt any of those would be changed, as it would then affect other cruises for that ship.

 

 

 

[goncruzn]

9 hours ago, willow1uk said:

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

I think that the other posters are trying to convey to you that if you make a voluntary choice to not sail, and receive your full cruise fare back, there's really not much else the cruise should do.  If they had cancelled the cruise, then yes, there should be more compensation, but from your post, it seems as if they were still offering a transatlantic cruise, starting from and ending at the same ports, assumably on the original dates.

 

I know it is disappointing when you've planned a vacation for so long only to have changes made at the last minute, but sometimes you have to go with the flow especially when it is due to weather issues as the North Atlantic can be rough and the fact that the cruise line makes a change based on safety, is what would be most important to me.  Yes, ships sail in rough seas, but I am sure there are times when the weather is such that changes in direction need to be made.  It's the same as traveling the Caribbean during hurricane season.  You never know when one will pop up and when it does, you have to be prepared for changes and sometimes cancellations.  I've experienced changes in itinerary before because of hurricanes and it gives me an excuse to book yet another vacation for another time.  I am sorry you were not able to recoup the money for your hotels and flights.  That, I know, is very frustrating.  Wishing you the best of luck with future cruise planning.

[mugtech]

So we have no answer to why the OP could not sail the revised itinerary, especially since it started and ended in the original ports.  Time to speculate.  Perhaps OP could not visit the Europe ports because there are outstanding arrest warrants waiting for him.  Or he could be one of those ardent Brexit people who don't want to have anything to do with Europe, including paying port fees.