When part of a party cancels

[Petroplex]

Howdy, folks. I am trying to crowdsource an answer. I acknowledge that the correct procedure is to call customer service, but my experience with Royal Caribbean's shore-side customer service has been uninspiring. Since I cannot count on a phone agent to give me the right answer, and since their website is perhaps not the best, I am hoping someone here can point me in the right direction. I sail Royal because I enjoy the onboard experience very much, but I have learned not to rely on anything on land.

 

We are sailing in a few months on the Liberty of the Seas in the 4 bedroom Villa Suite. The "we" in this case is 4 families with a total of 10 people. We have three separate reservations since that is the max that can fit on a single reservation, but all 10 of us are in one cabin. There are also 4 additional people in 2 other cabins in this cruise with whom we shall eat and drink, but they aren't actually part of our travelling party. We have fully paid for the reservation, although final payment is not due for a couple of months yet.

 

So, one of the other adults in our cabin has an issue at work which may mean his vacation gets cancelled. Happily, this isn't a financial problem- we have cruise insurance through a third party, and it would cover this particular circumstance. If he doesn't go, it is highly unlikely his family goes. That means that instead of 10 people in the cabin, we would have 4.

 

Here is the problem: I would still like to go. The cabin requires a minimum of 8 people to book (with a max of 14), and we would be below that. The first two listed passengers in the cabin are my wife and I, and the fares we paid are disproportionately higher than the fares the other 8 people paid. It is entirely conceivable my buddy is able to cruise. It is possible he cancels before final payment date, and it is possible he cancels after that. I still want to sail-- there are 4 other people to think about, and that is when I have vacation. Having paid this much, it would be profoundly unfortunate for Royal to decide to downgrade me to a smaller cabin. So what happens to the remaining four people in the cabin if 6 of them wind up cancelling? I appreciate your insights.

[Biker19]

It probably depends on how close to sailing you cancel, whether they move you or not.

[Joebucks]

I sincerely doubt they would downgrade you for something you paid for as long as they got their money. The 8 person limit is probably more of a booking requirement. 

[taglovestocruise]

Have the 6 cancel after final payment since they have insurance to cover it. Royal would refund the taxes and port charges of the 6 who cancel.  Royal would still be getting full price as if there were 10 in the cabin.  The longer you wait the less likely a cabin change would occur.  Even with cancel for any reason insurance there may be only a 75% refund. 

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

I sincerely doubt they would downgrade you for something you paid for as long as they got their money. The 8 person limit is probably more of a booking requirement. 

Maybe, but has happened when 2 passengers were in either a 3 or 4 passenger cabin, they can change your cabin to a 2. Think a couple was assigned to a Accessible once also had to move. Now a no-show can't ever see that happening

[brillohead]

Does anyone in the other cabins want to join you in the villa???

[lazydayz]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

Does anyone in the other cabins want to join you in the villa???

 

My thought exactly. Have the other cruisers move in. 

[klfrodo]

4 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Have the 6 cancel after final payment since they have insurance to cover it.

. 

 

That's a dangerous game to play.

The 3rd party insurance company most likely will come back and say that the party cancelling either knew or should have known that they needed to cancel prior to final payment date, thus possibly avoiding a claim. You know the burden of proof is going to be on the insured.

Also, not all insurance policies cover job related issues as a covered reason. Even then, if it is a covered reason, the insurance company will require a letter from an officer of the company explaining that yes, the employee did have approved scheduled time off and Yes, we are requiring employee to reschedule.

[BSocial]

14 hours ago, Petroplex said:

 

... The first two listed passengers in the cabin are my wife and I, and the fares we paid are disproportionately higher than the fares the other 8 people paid. ...

 

 

Good point. If your suite companions choose to cancel, Insurance company will pay based on the the cruise confirmation breakdown by passenger.  Are you saying you and wife (passengers 1 and 2) actually paid the higher fares?  Or is that on paper only, and the other family actually paid an equitable amount (split total cost by person, not by fare breakdown).   

 

If the latter, they won’t be reimbursed by Insurance for more than the amount of the cruise confirmation price per guest if they file a claim.   Something for them to think about if they wait until after final payment date. 

Edited January 23, 2019 by BSocial
Spacing

[Petroplex]

16 minutes ago, BSocial said:

 

Good point. If your suite companions choose to cancel, Insurance company will pay based on the the cruise confirmation breakdown by passenger.  Are you saying you and wife (passengers 1 and 2) actually paid the higher fares?  Or is that on paper only, and the other family actually paid an equitable amount (split total cost by person, not by fare breakdown).   

 

If the latter, they won’t be reimbursed by Insurance for more than the amount of the cruise confirmation price per guest if they file a claim.   Something for them to think about if they wait until after final payment date. 

On paper, my wife and I paid a few thousand and they paid a few hundred. Internally, we settled the bill so that each party paid the same. However, that would be exceedingly difficult to prove to the satisfaction of the insurer. 

As for adding the other parties to the stateroom, we have children. They do not. They have also already paid for other cabins. It is, all told, not an amazing option. Ugh. I wish I could trust that simply calling Royal would get me an accurate answer without screwing up my existing reservation.

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, Petroplex said:

On paper, my wife and I paid a few thousand and they paid a few hundred. Internally, we settled the bill so that each party paid the same. However, that would be exceedingly difficult to prove to the satisfaction of the insurer. 

As for adding the other parties to the stateroom, we have children. They do not. They have also already paid for other cabins. It is, all told, not an amazing option. Ugh. I wish I could trust that simply calling Royal would get me an accurate answer without screwing up my existing reservation.

 

If you cancel the other guests before final payment and Royal refunds their money then there is a high probability that you will lose the cabin.

 

Even calling Royal you will most likely get different answers from different people.

 

If you really want that cabin and can absorb the cost then have the people be a no show and get their port fees and taxes refunded.

 

As mentioned insurance will only pay out on the actual fare booked and if they try to claim insurance after final payment they may run into the insurance company not paying at all as they had a duty to mitigate their losses by informing the insurance company in a timely manner.

 

You are between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

 

One  other point.  Name changes can be done up to 24 hours in advance.  If the other guests don’t cancel then it gives you time to try to find someone to take their place 

Edited January 23, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[BSocial]

35 minutes ago, Petroplex said:

On paper, my wife and I paid a few thousand and they paid a few hundred. Internally, we settled the bill so that each party paid the same. However, that would be exceedingly difficult to prove to the satisfaction of the insurer. 
 

 

Yes, this is a sticky situation.  I’ve only had to file a claim to cancel a cruise once.  The Insurance company required the cruise confirmation to verify my claim.  

 

Now that I think about it, if they choose to cancel prior to final payment date (you said cruise already paid off, but not final due yet, correct?) Royal should only reimburse them the amounts on the guest confirmation, also.  (Less any non-refundable deposit if applicable, etc).

 

Your friends may be asking you to reimburse them the rest of the money they paid, in either cancelation situation.  

 

@Ourusualbeach, would Royal reprice that suite for only the 4 remaining passengers  (in the event they get to keep the suite) ? 

Edited January 23, 2019 by BSocial
Added comment

[Petroplex]

42 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 

One  other point.  Name changes can be done up to 24 hours in advance.  If the other guests don’t cancel then it gives you time to try to find someone to take their place 

How sure are you that we could simply change names 24 hours in advance? That might provide a rather elegant way out of this mess, as I trust there is some other family with children who would enjoy a cruise with a balcony so big that it has a dining table, hot tub, and bar.

[Ourusualbeach]

22 minutes ago, Petroplex said:

How sure are you that we could simply change names 24 hours in advance? That might provide a rather elegant way out of this mess, as I trust there is some other family with children who would enjoy a cruise with a balcony so big that it has a dining table, hot tub, and bar.

While it does state in their website that name changes can be done up to 24 hours in advance I would be more comfortable doing any changes 72 hours in advance. 

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/electronic-cruise-documents

 

 

Royal Caribbean provides complimentary electronic cruise documents (eDocs) for all guests. You also have the option to request printed cruise documents for $35 per document. Contact us if you require these documents to be reissued. Please note, however, that a reissue fee may apply. Names may be changed up to 24 hours prior to sailing provided one of the original names remains on the reservations.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[Ourusualbeach]

Just to add to the above.  One name from the initial reservation must remain on the booking.

[brillohead]

On 1/23/2019 at 7:44 AM, Petroplex said:

As for adding the other parties to the stateroom, we have children. They do not. They have also already paid for other cabins. It is, all told, not an amazing option. Ugh. I wish I could trust that simply calling Royal would get me an accurate answer without screwing up my existing reservation.

Even though they paid in full, if it's before final payment, they can move that reservation over to your room, if you want.