treated badly by royal caribbean

[little britain]

This is the revised Navigator TA sailing. This topic was flogged to death in several threads when the changes were happening.

The itinerary changed and guests were given the opportunity to cancel with 100% refund.   Admittedly for Brits a cruise going to Le Havre and Zebrugge is not going to be very exciting, but it did still end up in Miami.  

Then on board at muster the itinerary changed again! The ship sailed 2/3 full I believe.

The OP cancelled and got a full refund.  Insurance should cover the other items.  Many many posts on social media, but RCI have repeatedly said they will not be giving any increased compensation.

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by little britain

[Fosters1951]

Just to clarify the comments about possible weather issues. I was on a Transatlantic cruise at the exact same time, on a different cruise line. We also had itinerary changes, as did a lot of other ships, including very large ones, due to a severe storm that was building in the north Atlantic. Our captain kept us well informed of what was happening and why he took the actions he did. 

Out of what was originally to be 3 ports of call, we only stopped at 2- 1 original and another totally different stop. Both these stops we had previously visited, and of the 2 we missed we had never visited 1 - Complaints - NO.

Trans-Atlantic cruises can be a lottery, as a few years previously, we had transatlantic out of Southampton changed due to another major storm - we were offered compensation - nice but not required nor expected. 

Did all these changes affect our enjoyment of the cruises - no.

It can be disappointing to miss port, but to use the quote - 'Such is Life'. We always look at the positives and that safety comes first - we arrived at our destination safe.

[GUT2407]

Just imagine the carry on had they sailed straight into a storm they had plenty of notice about...

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

Agree with most other posters I'm afraid. Port changes are in RC's T&Cs, and, while they were pretty different from the intended and not ideal, there were only two or three of them (I assume) so I'm not sure why you'd then choose not to take the cruise at all (even more so with your additional outlays).

 

And getting a full refund from RC for the cruise element is surely as good as or better than you could ever fairly expect from them.

[Bloodgem]

10 hours 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!!!

You are the one who does not understand.  You want everyone to feel sorry for you because RC and your insurance company won't give you what you want.  Others, including me, have been in your situation but our insurance included our out of pocket expenses.  By the way, if you reread my post, I never mentioned illness. I wrote "we make sure we have the right insurance to cover all possibilities" .  

As for me "quoting my problems" you were the one that started this thread. If you don't like the comments you are getting then you should not have started the the thread. 

[papaflamingo]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Just imagine the carry on had they sailed straight into a storm they had plenty of notice about...

Exactly!  Remember when Anthem  left New Jersey into a major storm and all the damage and upset people? Royal Caribbean caught endless "flak" for leaving port under the known conditions (rightfully so).  I have to guess that Royal Caribbean is a bit "gun shy" after that experience as to sailing into known bad weather so they're going to be proactive and cancel or reroute around it.  And  I can't even imagine WANTING to sail through bad weather anyway.  Done that a few times.  Prefer not to. 

 

[OBX-Cruisers]

23 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

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.

The title of this thread appears to blame RCI for bad treatment when the facts indicate that RCI actually did more than required because of a change in itinerary due to weather conditions in the Atlantic.  The fact remains that the cruise was NOT cancelled, thus the decision to take full compensation FOR THE CRUISE eliminated that responsibility by the insurer.

For the remainder of the items considered a loss by the OP, hotels booked on a No Refund basis are a gamble, flights are a different story but would not have been a loss if the decision had been to take the modified cruise.

As mentioned by others, what would the OP have been posting if RCI had sailed through the storm and his disabled relative was injured because of a fall on a heaving, rolling ship??

I posit that the title of the thread is unfair to RCI in this case.

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

5 hours ago, little britain said:

This is the revised Navigator TA sailing.

Did the departure/arrival dates change or just the intervening ports? 

[CapeGal]

12 hours ago, HOSKI said:

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. 

Do you have the name of this company?

[little britain]

3 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Did the departure/arrival dates change or just the intervening ports? 

Yes Southampton to Miami was the route: originally via Boston and overnight in New York....

changed to Le Havre and Zebrugge (because of the weather) then straight across to Miami which caused a lot of cancellations ( understandably from those wanting overnight in NY); but at muster it was changed to Gran Canaria and Coco Key ( which was missed due to weather!)  prt Canaveral then Miami 

Edited January 1, 2019 by little britain

[Cindy]

20 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 your attitude and comments are childish and petty. You made the choice to cancel for a very generous 100% refund and jumped at the opportunity without considering other financial ramifications. Now you want RCI to reimburse you because you don’t like the end results of YOUR decisions. Life doesn’t work that way. Accept personal responsibility and move on. 

[clean1owner]

20 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 !!!

 

 

How does a disabled brother make it any different?

 

Other than looking for the sympathy vote.

[Loonbeam]

Let's stick to facts, relevant then otherwise, to make sure we have got everything right.

 

Relevant:

 

1>  For what appears to be weather related conditions, RCCL revised the itinerary, but the start and end point did not change (nor did dates it seems)

2>  RCCL offered a full refund due to the changes, which the OP accepted and the refund was issued in a reasonable if not timely manner.  If they chose to sail the revised itinerary, compensation may have been available.

3>  The OP apparently pre-paid certain non-refundable additional expenses (hotels, etc), which were not covered by insurance purchased (if any was, not sure on that).

 

Not Relevant to the matter at hand:

 

4>  One passenger was disabled.  While this is certainly not something to be taken lightly, it only applies when ships or cabins are changed, to make sure the appropriate cabin type is available on the new ship if an accessible cabin is needed.

5>  It was a special trip.   Also, not to be taken lightly, but it can be argued any trip is special for a lot of the people on board, and thus not something RCCL can consider in terms of decision making.

 

I think I have everything, so with that in mind...

 

For this type of itinerary change, RCCL has no obligation to provide refunds after final payment or any compensation, as outlined in the CoC.  If the starting or ending ports or dates had been changed, that would be a different matter and RCCL would typically be expected to assist with hotel or transportation costs.  RCCL chose to allow people to cancel without penalty, which was more than they had to.

 

For any cruise, any hotel or airfare purchased outside the cruise line (i.e. not part of a package), it is ALWAYS the passengers responsibility to insure or otherwise cover those costs.  At no point will RCCL ever assume responsibility for that EXCEPT as noted above when start or end ports are changed, and even then its a fixed amount, so people don't start suddenly booking suites at the Miami Intercontinental for example.  If you do not have travel insurance for any pre-paid expenses, you are self insured.

 

Travel insurance may not even apply when a cruise is voluntarily cancelled and refunded by the passenger.  Specific policies should be checked. 

 

 

Based on that..

 

The only way I can read this is that the OP either wasn't aware of how things actually work or chose not to carry the needed insurance (i.e. self-insured) and now that an itinerary disruption has happened is now trying to use this board/social media to try to convince RCCL to make an exception to policy.  As sympathetic as I may be, RCCL should deny any additional requests for compensation, in the interest of maintaining a consistent policy (note, I did not say fair, the policies in place firmly are in the lines favor - but we agree to them when we sail, fair or not).

 

 

[HBE4]

13 hours ago, little britain said:

Yes Southampton to Miami was the route: originally via Boston and overnight in New York....

changed to Le Havre and Zebrugge (because of the weather) then straight across to Miami which caused a lot of cancellations ( understandably from those wanting overnight in NY); but at muster it was changed to Gran Canaria and Coco Key ( which was missed due to weather!)  prt Canaveral then Miami 

 

So if the OP had taken the cruise, then the hotel in Miami and flight back to England would have remained intact.  

 

They chose to cancel due to the port changes.

 

I can understand why the insurance would not reimburse them for the hotel & flight.  I'm not sure why they think Royal would compensate them for hotel & flight. The ship did get to Miami after all.

[SRF]

As was posted in another thread, "Some people have a hard time distinguishing between poor customer service and not getting what they want."

 

 

[deepcman]

 

 

[little britain]

6 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

So if the OP had taken the cruise, then the hotel in Miami and flight back to England would have remained intact.  

 

They chose to cancel due to the port changes.

 

I can understand why the insurance would not reimburse them for the hotel & flight.  I'm not sure why they think Royal would compensate them for hotel & flight. The ship did get to Miami after all.

Yes the ship arrived in Miami (the right port) on the scheduled day!!!

 

This was the cruise after The One Where It Went To Vigo.... the ship had had a slight incident with a stabiliser and there was some hysteria onboard and in the UK press about the ship being unseaworthy.  This is still ongoing via several social media sites with some people trying to get more compensation, going to TV consumer programmes etc..but with little success.   

I suspect that the OP may have been swayed by this too.

Strangely the ship sailed the Atlantic with no mishaps and no subsequent cruises have had any issues with stabilisers.....

 

LB - who was on The One Where It Went To Vigo.

[clean1owner]

I'm rethinking my earlier post. Maybe RCCL is treating my mother, who is in a wheelchair, badly because they charged her full price for her balcony cabin on our upcoming Adventure cruise. 

Perhaps I should start a new thread demanding that Royal give her a balcony for the price of a guarantee inside cabin, just because she is in a wheelchair. And if they don't comply, claim they are cruel and inhumane, maybe even claim age discrimination.

 

What do you think?

[Thorben-Hendrik]

On 12/31/2018 at 8:16 PM, 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!!!

Sue them!

As a European they owe you 150% of the cruise fare for compensation if you booked from a European POS.

Use your European consumer rights - get a lawyer! 👍

[xxHadleyxx]

I think Royal went well above and beyond not only their legal obligation, but even the "right thing to do" when they offered and provided cancellation with full refunds for a long cruise based on the need to change two ports due to severe weather---given that the short notice meant they could not sell those cabins to  anyone else.

 

Quite honestly, I would not consider it poor customer service had they simply informed all passengers of the port changes and not offered any cancellation refund or compensation beyond the difference in port fees.  Anyone with a lick of sense knows that ships sometimes have to change iteneraries to avoid unsafe conditions and that is just part of sailing.

 

I also think it is pretty terrible to "use" a disabled family member for sympathy plays and bring their condition into things when it is not relevant.  I feel it very much takes away from that person'S dignity as a human being.

[Bloodgem]

6 hours ago, clean1owner said:

I'm rethinking my earlier post. Maybe RCCL is treating my mother, who is in a wheelchair, badly because they charged her full price for her balcony cabin on our upcoming Adventure cruise. 

Perhaps I should start a new thread demanding that Royal give her a balcony for the price of a guarantee inside cabin, just because she is in a wheelchair. And if they don't comply, claim they are cruel and inhumane, maybe even claim age discrimination.

 

What do you think?

I will back your thread and would be interested to hear how you get on.

My son is confined to a wheelchair and due to, one of, his medical conditions has to bring his own liquid food. Yet RCCL still insist on charging him full price for any cabin we book.   

[GUT2407]

3 minutes ago, Bloodgem said:

I will back your thread and would be interested to hear how you get on.

My son is confined to a wheelchair and due to, one of, his medical conditions has to bring his own liquid food. Yet RCCL still insist on charging him full price for any cabin we book.   

as they would if he was a baby.

 

[kernow]

3 hours ago, xxHadleyxx said:

 

 

Quite honestly, I would not consider it poor customer service had they simply informed all passengers of the port changes and not offered any cancellation refund or compensation beyond the difference in port fees.  Anyone with a lick of sense knows that ships sometimes have to change iteneraries to avoid unsafe conditions and that is just part of sailing.

 

 

I agree with you. This is exactly what happened to us on Jewel of the Seas which also left from Rome for a TA on 5th Nov and had 3 of our 4 ports completely changed due to the same storm. 

Even if we had been given an option to cancel we wouldn't have done so, and we still managed to have a lovely trip with the changed ports.

 

Julie

[mugtech]

4 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

As a European they owe you 150% of the cruise fare for compensation if you booked from a European POS.

👍

What does POS stand for in Europe?  Probably not the same as in the USA.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

3 minutes ago, mugtech said:

What does POS stand for in Europe?  Probably not the same as in the USA.

Point of sale