Never Again on RCCL! Poor Customer Service!

[gooselover]

I booked a cruise for October 20, 2019 on Allure of the Seas last October.  It was a surprise for my son and his family.  I booked the cruise, and got the cruise documentation.  However, in January 2019, my son started a new job, so I needed to cancel this cruise.  Imagine my SURPRISE when I was told by RCL this was a nonrefundable deposit!  NOT ONE TIME did the representative who took my booking say anything about it being nonrefundable.  I would NEVER book a nonrefundable to begin with and we have been on numerous cruises!  However, when I tried to cancel, the supervisor said, look at the cruise documents - sure enough, it said nonrefundable.  KEEP IN MIND that you don't get your cruise documents until AFTER you have booked and paid deposit!  I have tried talking to RCL and nothing...they say if I want to change my cruise date, it will be $100 PER PERSON to do so - that  is$600!  I asked them to please pull the recording of this booking back in January to prove to them that the rep never told me nonrefundable.  Of course, they didn't care!

[Clarea]

I do know that RC really wants to do away with refundable deposits.  They make it very difficult to even find refundable deposit prices on their website.  However, they should have explained the non-refundable deposit to you as part of the booking process.

[island284]

Unfortunately the offered pricing seems to always be the non refundable pricing unless you stipulate you want the refundable pricing. 

[gooselover]

But the rep should have CLEARLY stated it was nonrefundable!  I would have gladly paid a little more to have it refundable.

 

[molly361]

Try disputing the charge with your credit card company

[gooselover]

Oh believe me I did try disputing with my credit card company.  Deposit was $2000 for the 6 of us.  I lost the dispute

[ssb]

Dispute to force them to provide recording . 

Most likely they are right . 

Edited July 10, 2019 by ssb

[gooselover]

My credit card company said they cannot force them to provide the recording.  Believe me, I have tried!  Credit Card company is Capital One

 

[island lady]

When I book with Next Cruise on board, they make me sign a paper that states non-refundable.  Was this missed with your booking?  

[swoopy2110]

Cancel and make a claim on your insurance

[proggieus]

33 minutes ago, gooselover said:

I booked a cruise for October 20, 2019 on Allure of the Seas last October.  It was a surprise for my son and his family.  I booked the cruise, and got the cruise documentation.  However, in January 2019, my son started a new job, so I needed to cancel this cruise.  Imagine my SURPRISE when I was told by RCL this was a nonrefundable deposit!  NOT ONE TIME did the representative who took my booking say anything about it being nonrefundable.  I would NEVER book a nonrefundable to begin with and we have been on numerous cruises!  However, when I tried to cancel, the supervisor said, look at the cruise documents - sure enough, it said nonrefundable.  KEEP IN MIND that you don't get your cruise documents until AFTER you have booked and paid deposit!  I have tried talking to RCL and nothing...they say if I want to change my cruise date, it will be $100 PER PERSON to do so - that  is$600!  I asked them to please pull the recording of this booking back in January to prove to them that the rep never told me nonrefundable.  Of course, they didn't care!

how exactly is your failure to understand the terms you are agreeing to abide by poor customer service on RCCLs part?

 

 

[gooselover]

They never had me sign anything that said nonrefundable.  I have been on many cruises and I never book nonrefundable - NEVER!

[katiel53]

I am NOT saying this happened in your case, but I have seen where most people want the cheapest price for the cruise they are choosing and end up getting the non-refundable deposit as that is usually a lower price.  I believe that many don't listen to anything much other than the price.

 

My thought is that had you looked at the invoice the day you booked the cruise, and yes, I do know you see if after the booking is completed, I think you may have had some recourse about changing to the refundable deposit.  Not looking at it until you want to cancel though, is unfortunately, on you.  

 

I don't know what the original conversation stated, but I do know that when I get the invoice I check it from top to bottom just in case there are any mistakes or question.  It seems to me you have exhausted your resources and even though you don't wish to sail on Royal Caribbean again, you will end up losing the entire deposit because of not rebooking.  

 

I'm sorry you're going through this, but this is one of the he said she said problems.

[gooselover]

Proggieus, nothing said in the terms of the booking nor did the rep say ANYTHING about it being nonrefundable.  I am very saavy about booking a cruise due to our business.  Nothing was said PERIOD about it being nonrefundable.

[Retired LEO]

Did you receive an invoice when you first booked? If so, the cancellation schedule is on the invoice which states If cancelled prior to final payment due date there is no charge (except for Non-Refundable Deposit amounts)                                                            

[swoopy2110]

1 minute ago, gooselover said:

They never had me sign anything that said nonrefundable.  I have been on many cruises and I never book nonrefundable - NEVER!

 

At the same time, why should you assume that the deposit was refundable ? How do they know you wanted non-refundable unless you told them ?

[ShillyShally]

7 minutes ago, katiel53 said:

I am NOT saying this happened in your case, but I have seen where most people want the cheapest price for the cruise they are choosing and end up getting the non-refundable deposit as that is usually a lower price.  I believe that many don't listen to anything much other than the price.

 

My thought is that had you looked at the invoice the day you booked the cruise, and yes, I do know you see if after the booking is completed, I think you may have had some recourse about changing to the refundable deposit.  Not looking at it until you want to cancel though, is unfortunately, on you.  

 

I don't know what the original conversation stated, but I do know that when I get the invoice I check it from top to bottom just in case there are any mistakes or question.  It seems to me you have exhausted your resources and even though you don't wish to sail on Royal Caribbean again, you will end up losing the entire deposit because of not rebooking.  

 

I'm sorry you're going through this, but this is one of the he said she said problems.

I agree, this is unfortunate for the OP but you should always check travel docs (plane, train, cruise, etc) as soon as you get them for accuracy and any information you may not expect as you typically always have 24 hours to cancel without penalty.

[bouhunter]

I think all the phone rep's quote now is non-refundable, and they should be more up front about it.  You have to ask for refundable deposit/pricing since they came out with non-refundable deposits. 

[fscool]

I am not sure if RCL does this when you book direct or maybe it is just TA's but in all of the cruises I have booked I basically start with a "hold" on a room.  That gives me a couple of days to figure out what I want to do.  On the Guest Booking Offer document that I get it tells me whether the booking will be NO REF DEP or REF DEP.  Only after I see that document and decide on my plans do I lock it in.  

 

Do the RCL agents not do the same thing?

 

 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

This all makes one wonder how much people actually read within the documentation they are provided. If there was a non-refunded rate/reservation...the confirmation documentation would disclose it.

 

Blaming someone else...in this case Royal...for not reading things is far too easy and far to common in thread posts these days.

[CruisingHusker]

With the amount of your deposit,  did you book a suite? The deposits on grand suites and up are always non-refundable. 

[gooselover]

Let me be more specific here.  We DO NOT get our cruise documentation until AFTER we book the cruise and pay the deposit.  I am VERY familiar with refundable and nonrefundable.  We are experienced cruisers!  There was NOTHING that stated t his was a NONREFUNDABLE deposit - the rep never mentioned it at all!  After I booked the cruise and paid the deposit, I got the cruise documentation.  It all looked NORMAL!  There was the usual about how much the deposit would be refunded on this date and this date etc.  However, hidden in TINY PRINT was a disclosure that said this was a nonrefundable deposit.  I doubt that ANY of you would have caught this as everything looked perfectly normal!  And YES, I did look over the cruise documentation.  Nothing looked out of place.  It was when I was trying to cancel it, that the supervisor had me look at a particular section.  I highly doubt that any of us would have seen it, let alone even thought for a second that this was a nonrefundable deposit.  The rep should have TOLD ME, or made me aware, or even reiterated this was a nonrefundable deposit, but he did not.  RCL refuses to pull the recording.  Wonder why?

[gooselover]

No we did not book a suite...it was for 4 adults and 2 kids in Balcony cabins

 

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

This all makes one wonder how much people actually read within the documentation they are provided. If there was a non-refunded rate/reservation...the confirmation documentation would disclose it.

 

Blaming someone else...in this case Royal...for not reading things is far too easy and far to common in thread posts these days.

I wonder what RCI's response would have been if the OP had called back right after getting the booking confirmation and asked for the change to refundable. If they would have allowed it then I agree with you. But if they stuck to their guns when the rep never disclosed the fact then I'd be very upset.

[Ocean Boy]

25 minutes ago, swoopy2110 said:

 

At the same time, why should you assume that the deposit was refundable ? How do they know you wanted non-refundable unless you told them ?

If someone had not cruised in the recent past why would they even give a thought to the deposit not being refundable. Non-refundable deposits are a fairly new invention for RCI.