Credit given for norovirus isolation?

[Daghis]

I sailed on Symphony of the Seas in March, and, unfortunately, I did get some sort of gastroenteritis (the nurse at the medical center didn't call it norovirus, but the she did say that the symptoms did align; she just wasn't permitted to diagnose it as norovirus). Once I realized I was getting sick, I took myself down to the medical center, turned myself in, so to speak, and accepted the isolation. I knew it was the right thing to do for other passengers onboard, and I knew that Royal Caribbean's policy was fair in terms of in-room benefits (free room service and PPV movies) and that they'd likely give me a future cruise credit for the time while I was isolated.

 

I ended up being stuck in the cabin for the last two days of the cruise, and I received a letter telling me that I'd get credit for 2/7 of the cruise fare. That certainly seemed reasonable.

 

I hadn't heard anything from Royal Caribbean, so I called in to inquire about the credit. The representative with whom I spoke said that it's normally issued after 30 days (it's been almost double that), but he'd be happy to take care of while I was on the phone. I was surprised to find how low the amount was. It turned out that I booked this cruise during a BOGO60 promotion, and my name happened to be in the second guest position, so they based the credit on how much the second guest's price was.

 

We had booked a junior suite. According to my booking confirmation, the per-person fare (before discounts) was $3,809. The total for the two of us, after the BOGO60 and C&A balcony suite discount, was $4,560. They way they see it, though, my husband paid $3,306 and I only paid $1,254. Thus, the amount they're crediting me is based on the $1,254, which is about $359.

 

By their math, if it had been my husband who had gotten sick instead, they'd give him a credit of about $945. So, really, my isolation was only worth 38% of what his would've been, just by chance of position on the reservation?

 

This really doesn't make sense to me.

[Clarea]

Makes sense to me when you consider this is Royal's creative math.

 

Really, they should have based the refund on the average price per person.

 

[reallyitsmema]

10 minutes ago, Daghis said:

I sailed on Symphony of the Seas in March, and, unfortunately, I did get some sort of gastroenteritis (the nurse at the medical center didn't call it norovirus, but the she did say that the symptoms did align; she just wasn't permitted to diagnose it as norovirus). Once I realized I was getting sick, I took myself down to the medical center, turned myself in, so to speak, and accepted the isolation. I knew it was the right thing to do for other passengers onboard, and I knew that Royal Caribbean's policy was fair in terms of in-room benefits (free room service and PPV movies) and that they'd likely give me a future cruise credit for the time while I was isolated.

 

I ended up being stuck in the cabin for the last two days of the cruise, and I received a letter telling me that I'd get credit for 2/7 of the cruise fare. That certainly seemed reasonable.

 

I hadn't heard anything from Royal Caribbean, so I called in to inquire about the credit. The representative with whom I spoke said that it's normally issued after 30 days (it's been almost double that), but he'd be happy to take care of while I was on the phone. I was surprised to find how low the amount was. It turned out that I booked this cruise during a BOGO60 promotion, and my name happened to be in the second guest position, so they based the credit on how much the second guest's price was.

 

We had booked a junior suite. According to my booking confirmation, the per-person fare (before discounts) was $3,809. The total for the two of us, after the BOGO60 and C&A balcony suite discount, was $4,560. They way they see it, though, my husband paid $3,306 and I only paid $1,254. Thus, the amount they're crediting me is based on the $1,254, which is about $359.

 

By their math, if it had been my husband who had gotten sick instead, they'd give him a credit of about $945. So, really, my isolation was only worth 38% of what his would've been, just by chance of position on the reservation?

 

This really doesn't make sense to me.

 

Our FCC's were calculated the same way for our January cruise that we were both quarantined.  It is based on what each person paid, not the average.

[Daghis]

4 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Our FCC's were calculated the same way for our January cruise that we were both quarantined.  It is based on what each person paid, not the average.

 

I told my husband after my call with Royal Caribbean that if I get sick on a future cruise and if I'm the second guest, I'm going to make sure he gets sick, too, to make sure the compensation is fair. 🙄

[ILCTCRUISER]

If it's worth it to you, I'd challenge this.  My wife was "quarantined" for one day and I'm confident to say that it  was calculated as Bob suggested it should be calculated:  in our case, 1/14 of the total fare for a 7-day cruise.

 

She got sick after eating chocolate-covered strawberries delivered to our stateroom.  Almost immediately. She went to medical center, told them that she thought she got sick eating the strawberries, and they declared it norovirus.  She felt absolutely fine following the initial bout of nausea, but wanted to play it safe due to an excursion in Victoria we had booked.  

[reallyitsmema]

10 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

If it's worth it to you, I'd challenge this.  My wife was "quarantined" for one day and I'm confident to say that it  was calculated as Bob suggested it should be calculated:  in our case, 1/14 of the total fare for a 7-day cruise.

 

She got sick after eating chocolate-covered strawberries delivered to our stateroom.  Almost immediately. She went to medical center, told them that she thought she got sick eating the strawberries, and they declared it norovirus.  She felt absolutely fine following the initial bout of nausea, but wanted to play it safe due to an excursion in Victoria we had booked.  

 

Was her fare actually different than yours though?  I just looked at our other bookings and one was booked through a 30% off sale, instead of a BOGO60, so both our fares are the same.  Another is through a BOGO60 sale and also has FCC applied to it which were issued based on a BOGO60 fare, so those fares are dramatically different.

[Merion_Mom]

A similar thing happened to me.  I called, and calmly complained about the incredible unfairness, and they grudgingly increased my FCC.  Of course, the wording of the capitulation was along the lines of "this is not standard, and we're only doing this as a special favor for you."

[ILCTCRUISER]

10 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Was her fare actually different than yours though?  I just looked at our other bookings and one was booked through a 30% off sale, instead of a BOGO60, so both our fares are the same.  Another is through a BOGO60 sale and also has FCC applied to it which were issued based on a BOGO60 fare, so those fares are dramatically different.

 

I no longer have paperwork, but in the world of RCL marketing, does one ever book a cruise for which fares are NOT quoted as part of one of its so-called "sales?"  I do, though, recall checking the FCC that was offered at that time (following the cruise).

[sparks1093]

I would definitely escalate the issue past the first line CSR. I kind of see where Royal is coming from but don't agree that it's the right way to look at it.

[ONECRUISER]

11 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Our FCC's were calculated the same way for our January cruise that we were both quarantined.  It is based on what each person paid, not the average.

Agree, its based on what u paid not from total. But as also said nothings same same on Royal when comes to $$$

[Iamcruzin]

12 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

Makes sense to me when you consider this is Royal's creative math.

 

Really, they should have based the refund on the average price per person.

 

Totally agree.  It seems Royal likes to burn the candle at both ends with whatever end burns brightest for them.

[klfrodo]

13 hours ago, Daghis said:

I sailed on Symphony of the Seas in March, and, unfortunately, I did get some sort of gastroenteritis (the nurse at the medical center didn't call it norovirus, but the she did say that the symptoms did align; she just wasn't permitted to diagnose it as norovirus). Once I realized I was getting sick, I took myself down to the medical center, turned myself in, so to speak, and accepted the isolation. I knew it was the right thing to do for other passengers onboard, and I knew that Royal Caribbean's policy was fair in terms of in-room benefits (free room service and PPV movies) and that they'd likely give me a future cruise credit for the time while I was isolated.

 

I ended up being stuck in the cabin for the last two days of the cruise, and I received a letter telling me that I'd get credit for 2/7 of the cruise fare. That certainly seemed reasonable.

 

I hadn't heard anything from Royal Caribbean, so I called in to inquire about the credit. The representative with whom I spoke said that it's normally issued after 30 days (it's been almost double that), but he'd be happy to take care of while I was on the phone. I was surprised to find how low the amount was. It turned out that I booked this cruise during a BOGO60 promotion, and my name happened to be in the second guest position, so they based the credit on how much the second guest's price was.

 

We had booked a junior suite. According to my booking confirmation, the per-person fare (before discounts) was $3,809. The total for the two of us, after the BOGO60 and C&A balcony suite discount, was $4,560. They way they see it, though, my husband paid $3,306 and I only paid $1,254. Thus, the amount they're crediting me is based on the $1,254, which is about $359.

 

By their math, if it had been my husband who had gotten sick instead, they'd give him a credit of about $945. So, really, my isolation was only worth 38% of what his would've been, just by chance of position on the reservation?

 

This really doesn't make sense to me.

 Did you file a claim with you travel insurance for Trip Interruption benefit?

[Daghis]

1 minute ago, klfrodo said:

 Did you file a claim with you travel insurance for Trip Interruption benefit?

By the definition of "trip interruption", as I understand it, this doesn't qualify. Specifically, the definition of the state of the trip is determined by the state of the lodging. Since my cabin was fine and remained available to me during the trip, I don't have a claim with them.

 

(The same logic can be applied to whether a cruise misses one or more ports. Even if a week-long cruise doesn't sail to any ports at all, there is no trip interruption claim available.)

[Daghis]

I did raise my concern about the calculation, specifically relating it essentially to random chance as to who got sick and also explaining that I was traveling with my husband, so effectively we paid equally for this cruise, but the representative with whom I spoke (who may or may not have been in the US) didn't seem to care or was otherwise specifically following their script.

 

I'll give a call in to D+ C&A later today to see what they say about this. (They had referred me to post-cruise support since the credit hadn't been issued, but perhaps they can provide some advice/guidance now.)

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, Daghis said:

I did raise my concern about the calculation, specifically relating it essentially to random chance as to who got sick and also explaining that I was traveling with my husband, so effectively we paid equally for this cruise, but the representative with whom I spoke (who may or may not have been in the US) didn't seem to care or was otherwise specifically following their script.

 

I'll give a call in to D+ C&A later today to see what they say about this. (They had referred me to post-cruise support since the credit hadn't been issued, but perhaps they can provide some advice/guidance now.)

 

Did you get a letter saying a FCC would be issued?  We each received a letter in our cabin and there was a phone number to call if we hadn't received our FCC within a month.  We didn't receive the FCC, so I called and the rep was able to calculate the credits right then.  She had access to the quarantine log and could verify number of days quarantined.  I forget what the department was, but it was one I have never called before and all the telephone prompts were ones I have never heard in prior calls.

[klfrodo]

7 minutes ago, Daghis said:

By the definition of "trip interruption", as I understand it, this doesn't qualify. Specifically, the definition of the state of the trip is determined by the state of the lodging. Since my cabin was fine and remained available to me during the trip, I don't have a claim with them.

 

(The same logic can be applied to whether a cruise misses one or more ports. Even if a week-long cruise doesn't sail to any ports at all, there is no trip interruption claim available.)

However, you were confined to the cabin in a "Quarantine" situation.

Some policies specifically state that being Quarantined meets the definition of Trip Interruption.

[Daghis]

Yes, I did get the letter. I didn't have it with me when I decided to call in, so I didn't have the phone number to which I should have called, but C&A was able to refer me to someone in post-cruise support who was able to issue the FCC. The representative did pull up the ship logs and find the appropriate information.

[Daghis]

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

However, you were confined to the cabin in a "Quarantine" situation.

Some policies specifically state that being Quarantined meets the definition of Trip Interruption.

 

Thanks for mentioning this! I had not interpreted that as being quarantined during the cruise, but I see what you're saying. I do see that this is included in my travel insurance policy, so I will also check with the policy provider.