Guaranteed cabin and rci have downgraded us

[Biker19]

23 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

But how many people has this happened to who aren't on CC?

I saw an interesting stat on Spirit airlines yesterday - they bumped 1848 customers in 2018, out of 23+ M. That figure is apparently one of the worst in the industry. My WAG is that RCI bumps (all the way off the ship) much less than 100 a year. Buying people off to move, sorta like the OP, would be higher.

[Starry Eyes]

27 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

 

 

 

We will still enjoy our cruise, but it makes me consider other lines more. For 2021 we are looking exclusively at other companies. Don't bother to say it because I know it can happen on others, but Royal really seems more about the almighty dollar than at least making an effort to make their passengers whole again. They also seem to have the market for screwing their passengers more than others.

 

 

But how many people has this happened to who aren't on CC?

Wow, you do sound frustrated, and it is time to try a different line.  I hope it helps.  I’m not sure any of the other lines I have tried are any less profit motivated or any more likely to make passengers whole in the situation you describe, but best wishes nonetheless.  

 

As to your final question, there must be more as not everyone posts on CC.  Still, unhappy people are motivated to do internet searches and are apt find this forum near the top of their search results for cruise related problems.  It is easy to join CC and post for advice, so CC must get a decent slug of events.  On the other hand, people whose gty booking goings swimmingly have no reason to do the internet search, find CC, and post.

[Starry Eyes]

27 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I saw an interesting stat on Spirit airlines yesterday - they bumped 1848 customers in 2018, out of 23+ M. That figure is apparently one of the worst in the industry. My WAG is that RCI bumps (all the way off the ship) much less than 100 a year. Buying people off to move, sorta like the OP, would be higher.

Would that statistic  be just involuntary bumps off Spirit?  As often as I hear airlines asking for volunteers, I would think there are a lot of voluntary airline bumps by many carriers; hopefully enough people are inclined to volunteer so involuntary bumps are minimized.

 

If we are comparing it to airlines, I’m sure one would get any compensation from an airline for a problem analogous to the OP’s (other than perhaps return of fare difference if applicable).  With an airline, I have reserved nice seats months ahead for my party a long haul flight, then at the last minute the airline has reassigned us to lousy seats without compensation (citing an equipment change, for example).  I have purchased  non refundable flights paying a premium for a nonstop and had the airlines then a week later cancel that nonstop flight, and try to keep my high fare while they substitute connecting flights.

[jomf]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

I would book a cruise now and as long as you aren't near final payment just wait until they issue the FCC. I would definitely keep on them to send it. Also, I don't think I would book a non-refundable deposit in case they don't get the FCC to you soon enough.

 

 

 

We have been informed that because Royal cancelled our cruise for The Indy to be chartered we are NOT getting any FCC!!

how wrong is that?

[Biker19]

42 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Would that statistic  be just involuntary bumps off Spirit?

Yes.

[ReneeFLL]

On 5/24/2019 at 11:43 PM, papaflamingo said:

"When is a guarantee not a guarantee?"

MORE ANSWERS:

When booked on Carnival, Holland America, Celebrity, Princess, Viking, Regent, Seaborne, Silversea, any cruise line

When booked on Delta, American, United, Southwest, any other airline

When booked into Marriott, Hilton, Westin, any hotel

When booked on Hertz, Budget, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, any car rental

Shall I go on?  A guarantee is always subject to the fine print.  Best to read the fine print. 

I think the OP should, at very least, get some future cruise credits to go along with the OBC.  But the fine print is the fine print. Argue and complain, but when the decision is final,  Live with it or don't cruise. 

 

 

I disagree reed with you when you list hotels, airlines and car rentals. It can happen with these companies also, but it really isn't the same. With airlines there are usually other flights leaving the same day or the next. Car rentals? Walk next door the the next agency. Hotels? There are more right around the corner. Cruises? There normally aren't  any comparable cruises available that day or the next and if their vacation is set for an exact time that can be even worse.

 

On 5/24/2019 at 7:25 AM, legaljen1969 said:

Enjoy your cruise.  You will have fun no matter where you sleep.  Like others have said, your cabin is basically a place to sleep and change clothes.   Just have fun. I am sure you will.

 

This isn't true for everyone. Some people spend more time in their cabin than others. Also, having natural light coming in makes a huge difference for us.

 

On 5/24/2019 at 11:25 AM, brillohead said:

 

 

Honestly, there is no point in "warning people of the perils of booking a guarantee" -- something like this happens SO RARELY that it really is a non-issue. 

Things have happened before where a room has been taken out of inventory due to a maintenance issue, with nowhere else to put the people who were booked in that room and so they got bumped.... but it happens SO RARELY that it's not something for people to worry about for every single cruise booked.

Does it suck for the OP?  Absolutely! 
Is it something that happens regularly?  Absolutely NOT.  

 

 

On 5/24/2019 at 11:38 AM, livylotte said:

 

You take a risk with a guarantee cabin but I think that RC are out of order in down grading the OP.  Yes, they can do it - but really they should be trying every which way they can to give the OP the guarantee ocean view they booked and were promised.  I think the compensation is paltry.  Refunding the price difference is NOT compensation.  And then to suggest the OP uses the OBC to pay for an excursion is truly shocking.  So basically the only compensation they are being offered is a free excursion.  That stinks.    

 

OP I am angry for you.  I know you can't do much at this point as you are about to begin your cruise but please follow your complaint up. 

 

 

Wouldn't they legally be required to refund the difference because she paid for an ov and is only getting an inside?  I also think the obc isn't enough for Royal down grading them. Them suggesting to use the obc towards an excursion is pathetic.

 

I really hope the OP is treated better than this.

[brillohead]

44 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Wouldn't they legally be required to refund the difference because she paid for an ov and is only getting an inside?  I also think the obc isn't enough for Royal down grading them. Them suggesting to use the obc towards an excursion is pathetic.

.  
They DID get the difference refunded between what they paid and the lower cost of the inside.  

I also think that the OBC should have been more (like $300pp instead of $300 total).  However, Royal's suggestion for the excursion was to use the OBC for an excursion they had already booked.... meaning, get a cash refund for what they had already paid, and then use the OBC to pay for the excursion instead.  Doing this would give them even more of a cash refund.

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

I disagree reed with you when you list hotels, airlines and car rentals. It can happen with these companies also, but it really isn't the same. With airlines there are usually other flights leaving the same day or the next. Car rentals? Walk next door the the next agency. Hotels? There are more right around the corner. Cruises? There normally aren't  any comparable cruises available that day or the next and if their vacation is set for an exact time that can be even worse.

 

Oh, sure, there are flights that day and the next, but will there be empty seats?especially there is adverse weather or a special event, those flights are also fully booked or over booked...oftentimes with standby lists, too...of course you can add your name to the standby list.  Sometimes the airlines are forced to cancel flights, but I hate that they overbook with nonrefundable reservations.

 

Oh, yes, walk to the next car rental agency. when the first one fails to honor your reservation. They may not have any cars either.  Or the next one, etc.  and when you find an agency with a car, do you think you will get the same price as your original reservation?  Same goes for your hotel example.  Those other hotels may have no vacancy.  And when you find a room it may be an inferior property or location or a much higher price. On your recent post you complain the price differential for aft balcony cabins on different cruises, how would you feel paying the about the price differential for a weeks car rental or hotel stay after struggling find the replacement?

 

 

[little britain]

@Suemorganrose..... where are you... ?

[molly361]

26 minutes ago, little britain said:

@Suemorganrose..... where are you... ?

Cruising

[MamaTene]

Well I have to admit I have gain volumes of knowledge from this post

[Judyrem]

2 minutes ago, MamaTene said:

Well I have to admit I have gain volumes of knowledge from this post

Me too.

[SRF]

Airlines have regulations on what must be done.

 

Most bumped passengers who experience short delays on flights will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from, up to $675.  Passengers experiencing longer delays on flights will receive payments of four times the one-way value of the flight they were bumped from, up to $1,350. 

 

If you are bumped off a flight, but they still get you to your destination within 1 hour of your original arrival, you get nothing.

 

However, the situation for this thread (downgrading) is an exemption and all you get is the difference in fare.

 

Here are the numbers for some airlines:

 

• United just 70 people (out of 74.4 million passengers) between January and September 2018, compared to 2,067 people (out of 70 million passengers) during the same period last year.
• JetBlue, which was down to just 23 people who were involuntarily denied boarding in 2018, from 1,475 last year (or a 98 percent drop);
• Delta, which dropped down to 22 people who were involuntarily denied boarding in 2018, from 679 last year (or a nearly 97 percent drop);
• Hawaiian, which saw its numbers drop to just seven passengers, down from 92 last year (or a 92 percent decline);
• American, which dropped to 1,041 people, compared to 4,517 in 2017 (or a 77 percent decline);
• and, Southwest, which dropped to 2,012 people, down from 6,678 in 2017 (or a 70 percent decrease).

Looks like another good reason to avoid SouthWest. 😄

 

[papaflamingo]

On 5/29/2019 at 2:33 PM, ReneeFLL said:

 

I disagree reed with you when you list hotels, airlines and car rentals. It can happen with these companies also, but it really isn't the same. With airlines there are usually other flights leaving the same day or the next. Car rentals? Walk next door the the next agency. Hotels? There are more right around the corner. Cruises? There normally aren't  any comparable cruises available that day or the next and if their vacation is set for an exact time that can be even worse.

 

The point is that it isn't just cruise lines that do this.  Sadly it's within their rights.  So are lots of other unhappy possibilities, missed ports come to mind.  It's part of cruising, happens very rarely.  But when it does, and you exhaust every possible option, you really come down to 2 choices, take the cruise or don't.  And if you decide to take it, you have 2 choices, hate the cruise or enjoy the cruise.  That's all.  My comment was simply that lots of companies have situations like this.  That's it.  You said " there are usually other flights leaving the same day or the next."   True.  But what if a cancellation of your flight causes you to miss that transatlantic cruise you looked forward to so long?  Or you get to the hotel and you get "walked" to a Motel 6 from that super deluxe resort you  promised your kids?  Come on.  Get real here.  It's not just cruise lines, it's many companies.  That was my only point.

[Suemorganrose]

Thank you for all your replies.

I'm currently in the windjammer eating my final breakfast before leaving the ship. 

Although the rocky lead up, we have thoroughly enjoyed the trip.when we arrived, we spoke to guest services who replied by telling us we could go back to see them later that day or the following morning to see if there had been no shows so that we could be upgraded but after taking our things to our inside cabin we decided to just settle in and unpack rather than spend our first evening with trips to guest services.

Thank you to those that offered the advice of cashing out the obc in the casino, we did this and so have some physical money back as compensation which is something.

What we have learnt from this experience is that we will not be booking a guarenteed cabin again, we will pay the extra for more security of room allocation. 

 

[FionaMG]

58 minutes ago, Suemorganrose said:

Thank you for all your replies

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how you got on. I'm so glad you enjoyed your cruise. That's the most important thing. Safe journey back home. 

[kevink]

I've been holding off commenting until we found out how this got resolved. Well, now we know, the OP ended up getting screwed over.  This story reinforces why I never use a travel agent; in a case like this where the TA should have proactively taken care of the issue and fought for a better resolution (getting the guarantee honored or better compensation), it sounds like the TA was completely useless.

 

I feel for the OP.  This story is a black eye for RCCL, it reflects very poorly on them IMHO.  And I'm D+ and a big RCCL cheerleader.

 

Moral of the story: never book a guarantee cabin, because RCCL can't be trusted to honor it.

 

-- Kevin

 

 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Suemorganrose thanks for the update.

Glad you (mostly) enjoyed your cruise.

Hope the next one is better.

[Biker19]

7 minutes ago, kevink said:

 

Moral of the story: never book a guarantee cabin, because RCCL can't be trusted to honor it.

 

As mentioned several times in this thread, having a GTY booking has little to do with you potentially being bumped. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

9 minutes ago, kevink said:

because RCCL can't be trusted

👍👍👍

[MrMarc]

17 minutes ago, kevink said:

I've been holding off commenting until we found out how this got resolved. Well, now we know, the OP ended up getting screwed over.  This story reinforces why I never use a travel agent; in a case like this where the TA should have proactively taken care of the issue and fought for a better resolution (getting the guarantee honored or better compensation), it sounds like the TA was completely useless.

 

I feel for the OP.  This story is a black eye for RCCL, it reflects very poorly on them IMHO.  And I'm D+ and a big RCCL cheerleader.

 

Moral of the story: never book a guarantee cabin, because RCCL can't be trusted to honor it.

 

-- Kevin

 

 

 

 

Because this happened to 1 person the company can't be trusted?  Based on that standard, no company is trustworthy.  I agree it should not happen, and my guess is that there was a problem in the reservation file.  They refunded the cost difference (appx $125)  plus an additional $300.  based on the cost difference in the cabins, I would guess that this is a substantial percentage of the cruise fare.  Of course, they could always do more, but I don't think they totally missed the boat(sorry) on this one.  Perfection as a standard is simply unattainable. 

[Starry Eyes]

On 5/31/2019 at 2:07 AM, Suemorganrose said:

Thank you for all your replies.

I'm currently in the windjammer eating my final breakfast before leaving the ship. 

Although the rocky lead up, we have thoroughly enjoyed the trip.when we arrived, we spoke to guest services who replied by telling us we could go back to see them later that day or the following morning to see if there had been no shows so that we could be upgraded but after taking our things to our inside cabin we decided to just settle in and unpack rather than spend our first evening with trips to guest services.

Thank you to those that offered the advice of cashing out the obc in the casino, we did this and so have some physical money back as compensation which is something.

What we have learnt from this experience is that we will not be booking a guarenteed cabin again, we will pay the extra for more security of room allocation. 

 

Thank you for telling us the outcome.  I am glad you enjoyed your first cruise.  I am a bit surprised you did not bother to re-check with guest services at least once in the evening for a possible upgrade, but if settling in felt better, so be it.  Glad you you worked out the OBC well.  Please know what happened to you is a rare event and is unlikely to recur should you or a friend book a gty cabin again.  All the best on your future holidays.

[cdunnintx]

On 5/31/2019 at 1:07 AM, Suemorganrose said:

we have thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you for the update. 

[KrusinKajun]

On 5/29/2019 at 11:10 AM, ReneeFLL said:

 

I would book a cruise now and as long as you aren't near final payment just wait until they issue the FCC. I would definitely keep on them to send it. Also, I don't think I would book a non-refundable deposit in case they don't get the FCC to you soon enough.

 

 

I think they should work in the passengers favor for all the planning that is done, etc and then they have to turn around and do it all over again. Our time is also valuable. I also think they should pay all out of pocket airline fees. I know it's a business and they are there to make money, but would it really kill them to correct a wrong that they have created?

 

They should at the very least make the customer whole again. For example, I was on 2 of the cancelled Indy cruises next year. I had a really nice aft cabin for the b2b cruise where we didn't have to change cabins. The options they were offering wouldn't work for us so we chose a Brilliance b2b the same month as the original Indy. The aft cabins (sunset view) on the Brilliance are a different category (4B) than the Indy (5D). Now I'm having to pay more for an aft because the category is different. 😡  I think they should price match my aft balcony cabins regardless of the category. It's not like I'm going from a balcony to a jr suite!

 

We also have to change cabins because the same one isn't available on both cruises. I can understand this because someone has already booked it. I have been checking at least 3 times a day and sometimes up to 5 times to see if someone cancels so we can be in the same room. If I can't get the same room on both I'm going to call C & A to see if they will contact the other people to see if they will swap rooms if they don't have an attachment to that particular room. It would only be swapping rooms for the one next to it.

 

We will still enjoy our cruise, but it makes me consider other lines more. For 2021 we are looking exclusively at other companies. Don't bother to say it because I know it can happen on others, but Royal really seems more about the almighty dollar than at least making an effort to make their passengers whole again. They also seem to have the market for screwing their passengers more than others.

 

 

But how many people has this happened to who aren't on CC?

It happened to us yesterday...booked a Jr. Suite gty...they assured me by phone over the past few months that I would certainly, without a doubt, be assigned a JS or higher.  Well, yesterday, 2 days before sailing, they tell us they do not have anything available other than an obstructed OV cabin!!   We will also lose double cruise points, a balcony, a view, & SPACE!  We’ve never been in a cabin this tiny(118sf) & not sure my husband’s claustrophobia will allow it.  We’re Diamond & got there quickly from sailing in suites & love the extra space.  Will decide today if we will go or not!  1st & last time booking a GTY!  $750 OBC is only offer, no refund for cabin downgrade difference.  We’re not happy cruisers at this moment! 

[Iamcruzin]

The NRD or booking Gty rates look great until something like this happens. If I can’t afford the category without a special rate I just book the one I can afford at a higher price. I would rather be in an interior than booking a suite and being down graded to a obstructed view. My guess is they are filling these guarantee rooms with Royal up bidders. Can’t believe this happened twice.