Never Again on RCCL! Poor Customer Service!

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Why should anyone have to go through all that effort to finally see the actual price they will have to pay for the cruise? 

To get you used to the day when refundable deposits will no longer be an option, you know, like the rest of the world outside of a very few markets.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

To get you used to the day when refundable deposits will no longer be an option, you know, like the rest of the world outside of a very few markets.

Then again...if someone gets travel insurance with the right coverage...the whole issue becomes irrelevant anyway.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Then again...if someone gets travel insurance with the right coverage...the whole issue becomes irrelevant anyway.

Most folks book refundable for the ease of cancellation - filling an insurance claim and not getting 100% of your money back is probably not irrelevant for most.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

32 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Most folks book refundable for the ease of cancellation - filling an insurance claim and not getting 100% of your money back is probably not irrelevant for most.

Actually...getting 100% of your money back isn't difficult with the right travel insurance...and makes it much easier than navigating through the various cruise line fine print and corresponding online screens that don't always explain the details.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

We don't.

 

Using our TA solves that challenge easily. They get us both the refundable and non-refundable pricing with no additional effort on our part. Easy peasy.

That is great for you. I think the subject was using RCI's website. It is unfortunate that you can't tell us all which awesome TA you use.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

To get you used to the day when refundable deposits will no longer be an option, you know, like the rest of the world outside of a very few markets.

Fortunately, I am not all that fussy about cabin type. So my strategy going forward may be to just not book until after final payment as has gone by. Then I won't have to deal with this issue. Maybe I'll me fortunate enough to catch some price drops and maybe not. Heck, as it is final payment keeps getting moved further and out anyway. Soon it will probably be at the time frame where I normally start looking to book anyway.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

27 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is great for you. I think the subject was using RCI's website. It is unfortunate that you can't tell us all which awesome TA you use.

The largest travel company in the world...they have a cruise specialty travel office a mile from the home.

 

I referenced how cryptic the info is on the RCI website...and just one of many ways to avoid that experience.

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Why should anyone have to go through all that effort to finally see the actual price they will have to pay for the cruise? That is a lot of effort to find out it is more that you want to pay and abort the booking.

 

Agree, but that is the kind of company RC is these days

 

 

Which brings us back to the OP from the OP (Original Point from the Original Poster).

 

I'm not saying the OP deserve special compensation, but this is maybe an area the RCI could improve.

[Ocean Boy]

49 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

 

Which brings us back to the OP from the OP (Original Point from the Original Poster).

 

I'm not saying the OP deserve special compensation, but this is maybe an area the RCI could improve.

I am quite sure that RCI does not want to improve it. It used to be quite easily to see the difference in cruise price between NRF and RF deposits. I think RCI intentionally made it more difficult.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Actually...getting 100% of your money back isn't difficult with the right travel insurance..

I have yet to hear of an insurance plan with which you can get your insurance premium refunded in case of a claim. 

[CruiseWendy]

Moral of the story, make sure you verify before and after deposit if your booking is refundable or not and what the cancellation terms are. I just booked a hotel room and chose the refundable higher price instead of the cheaper non-refundable price. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

21 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I have yet to hear of an insurance plan with which you can get your insurance premium refunded in case of a claim. 

👍

[Tree_skier]

I do that often for business travel. My plans are very fluid so being locked in often does not work out for me.

[MisterBill99]

4 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Then again...if someone gets travel insurance with the right coverage...the whole issue becomes irrelevant anyway.

 

Cancel for any reason coverage isn't always easy to get, I seem to recall that in NY it was not available on many policies. And if you don't think you have non-refundable expenses yet, you don't think you need it. Also found this on a travel insurance site regarding cancel for any reason policies. Note the last piece. 

 

Depending on the policy, only available within 10-21 days of initial trip payment

You MUST insure 100% of your pre-paid, non-refundable trip cost

Cancellation with the travel supplier must occur 48 or 72 hours before departure date, depending on the plan

Benefits may only cover between 50%-75% depending on the policy.

Edited July 14, 2019 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

19 minutes ago, CruiseWendy said:

Moral of the story, make sure you verify before and after deposit if your booking is refundable or not and what the cancellation terms are. I just booked a hotel room and chose the refundable higher price instead of the cheaper non-refundable price. 

 

Right, because hotel sites do an excellent job of showing you the refundable and non-refundable options. RC's website does not.

[CruiseWendy]

11 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Right, because hotel sites do an excellent job of showing you the refundable and non-refundable options. RC's website does not.

Mock Booking on RCCL Website: Shows it pretty clearly.

[MisterBill99]

19 minutes ago, CruiseWendy said:

Mock Booking on RCCL Website: Shows it pretty clearly.

 

 

On the page when you enter your personal information to make a reservation. It does not give you an option of seeing refundable and non-refundable pricing up front, like you see when you search for hotel rooms. Nor does it tell you that the price it's showing you is non-refundable when showing the different cabin options (or until you get to that page, which is after you selected your cabin).

 

Show me where the refundable fare option is on the RCCL site.

 

Also, rather than saying "minimum deposit" under the cancellation policy, it should show the actual deposit amount to make it clear what is at stake.

 

Edited July 14, 2019 by MisterBill99

[CRUISEFAN0001]

53 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I have yet to hear of an insurance plan with which you can get your insurance premium refunded in case of a claim. 

Duh.  Nobody said everything would be free in the end.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

31 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

Depending on the policy, only available within 10-21 days of initial trip payment

You MUST insure 100% of your pre-paid, non-refundable trip cost

That provision only pertinent to the pre-paid health conditions. The policies we get provide for full travel cost refunds (air, hotel, cruise, excursions, etc.). It depends what policy you have and which provider you use - there are a good deal of variances based on what insurance you purchase.

[MisterBill99]

5 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

That provision only pertinent to the pre-paid health conditions. The policies we get provide for full travel cost refunds (air, hotel, cruise, excursions, etc.). It depends what policy you have and which provider you use - there are a good deal of variances based on what insurance you purchase.

 

That has not been my experience with CFAR coverage, it needed to be purchased within a couple of weeks of booking, and as I said earlier, is not available on many policies in New York. But as you said, it varies by policy. Here is an excellent page with info on CFAR policies that clearly states limitations on the policy, purchase date requirements and states where it doesn't apply (NY for two of them).

 

https://tripinsurancestore.com/cancel-for-any-reason-travel-insurance-plans/

Edited July 14, 2019 by MisterBill99

[CRUISEFAN0001]

17 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

That has not been my experience with CFAR coverage, it needed to be purchased within a couple of weeks of booking, and as I said earlier, is not available on many policies in New York. But as you said, it varies by policy. Here is an excellent page with info on CFAR policies that clearly states limitations on the policy, purchase date requirements and states where it doesn't apply (NY for two of them).

You raised a good point...insurance rules & plans can vary by state....some states have very complex rules.

[xxHadleyxx]

On 7/10/2019 at 9:38 PM, gooselover said:

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?

I'm sorry you are out money.  That said, I think *I* would have caught it.  Like you, I am familiar with refundable and nonrefundable deposits on cruises---which means I am aware both exist and I feel it is ON ME to confirm that I am getting the type I want.  I ALWAYS ask for refundable deposit prices if that is what I want, and reconfirm as the actual booking happens that it is a refundable deposit (if that is what I am thinking it is).  Then I look over the documents when the email arrives and specifically check names, DOBs, ship and sail date and that the deposit is listed as refundable so that I can call and remedy the situation within the hour if something is amiss.

Knowing that both deposit types exist it would never occur to me to expect the cruise line to give me one particular kind without my asking for it.

 

Edited July 14, 2019 by xxHadleyxx

[springfire]

It i always important in anything we buy to find out if it is refundable or not.  When dealing with Royal, we always check to see what it says about refunds in writing, we never trust fully with what they tell us 

[Biker19]

52 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

 Nobody said everything would be free in the end.

That’s my point, with a refundable booking you do indeed get 100% of your money back.  

[Ocean Boy]

28 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

 

Knowing that both deposit types exist it would never occur to me to expect the cruise line to give me one particular kind without my asking for it.

 

Knowing that both deposit types exist, why would the cruise line assume which type its customer wants instead of asking?