Royal Eliminates Neighborhood Balcony Perks

[mayleeman]

Who the heck knows whether neighbors on a cruise have a soda cup?

[MoniMommy]

8 minutes ago, bgcruiser said:

 I asked why can't you "grandfather in" already booked guest? Supervisor said because they had to make a cut off somewhere. They didn't want to cause other cruise guest who had booked the same cabin category without the perk to be disappointed if their neighbors had a Soda Cup but they didn't. 🤔.

 

That's the silliest thing I ever heard. First of all I don't really care is another cruiser has a soda cup and I don't.  I would assume that cruiser purchased the soda package or brought that cup from home. I would never look on enviously at someone's soda cup. Really? Is that the best excuse they can contrive?

Edited September 20, 2019 by MoniMommy

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Who the heck knows whether neighbors on a cruise have a soda cup?

 

Or if the neighbors may have paid for the cups outright.  Just more corporate BS.

[crusinpeg]

6 minutes ago, MoniMommy said:

That's the silliest thing I ever heard. First of all I don't really care is another cruiser has a soda cup and I don't.  I would assume that cruiser purchased the soda package or brought that cup from home. I would never look on enviously at someone's soda cup. Really? Is that the best excuse they can contrive?

I agree.....dumbest excuse ever!!!

[Glide_Path]

44 minutes ago, bgcruiser said:

why can't you "grandfather in" already booked guest? Supervisor said because they had to make a cut off somewhere.

I see talking out of both ends is alive and well.  Consistent policy making, like how they did that with the ESA.... wait a minute.

[ChickonRules]

I am very upset about the perk being removed. The only reason my family and I chose the Boardwalk stateroom was to take advantage of the perk they offered. I just tried to call Royal Caribbean right now and the guy on the phone was useless. He just kept repeating saying that "unfortunately, blah blah blah". I stated why I chose to book the Boardwalk stateroom, my loyalty to Royal Caribbean, how someone was able to get an additional $50 OBC, and how Royal Caribbean is just taking everything away and making us spend more on board. He did not even sound sympathetic so I just hung up because it was a useless call.

[crusinpeg]

9 minutes ago, Glide_Path said:

I see talking out of both ends is alive and well.  Consistent policy making, like how they did that with the ESA.... wait a minute.

ESA?

[tinkertwo]

Is it mbayley@rccl.com ?  

[MightyMike]

14 minutes ago, ChickonRules said:

I am very upset about the perk being removed. The only reason my family and I chose the Boardwalk stateroom was to take advantage of the perk they offered. I just tried to call Royal Caribbean right now and the guy on the phone was useless. He just kept repeating saying that "unfortunately, blah blah blah". I stated why I chose to book the Boardwalk stateroom, my loyalty to Royal Caribbean, how someone was able to get an additional $50 OBC, and how Royal Caribbean is just taking everything away and making us spend more on board. He did not even sound sympathetic so I just hung up because it was a useless call.

 

Same here. Very similar call for me. But we still need to keep up the calls and keep up the pressure.

 

The call center employees can't be enjoying this. They know the position the company is asking them to defend is indefensible. They know that if the roles were reversed, they would be fighting for a fair resolution too. 

 

This would be my first time sailing Royal Caribbean. Maybe I'm naive, but I'm still optimistic they will eventually recognize their arrogance and do the right thing.

[bgcruiser]

ChickonRules, did you ask to speak with a supervisor? I would call back again and speak to a supervisor this time. I called twice. The first call resulted in an OBC of $50 in my cruise planner. I called back a second time and was told an additional $50 would show in about a week

I wanted to know why I didn't get the full $100 the first supervisor indicated I would receive. I was told by the second supervisor, the initial OBC is for my complaint and given to me by the first supervisor I spoke with. The additional $50 OBC is what everyone who had booked with the now removed perk is going to receive. I am expecting to see $100 OBC, we shall see.

[Clarea]

28 minutes ago, tinkertwo said:

Is it mbayley@rccl.com ?  

 

That's the top executive of the Royal Caribbean brand.

[tinkertwo]

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

That's the top executive of the Royal Caribbean brand.

Thanks, I just wanted to be sure the .com part was correct.  I sent a email off yesterday and now I'm second guessing myself.

[MightyMike]

40 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

That's the top executive of the Royal Caribbean brand.

Thanks. Here is the note I sent:

 

 

 

I want to apologize for my interruption of the executive office but feel the need to reach out.

 

I have never sailed Royal Caribbean before. I made two reservations on Oasis of the Seas based upon the recommendation of an influential travel agent. He highly recommends your Boardwalk View balconies in part because of some of the extra amenities they come with--soda packages, a family lunch for 4, and a family rock-climbing session.

 

Those items were included with my reservation at the time I put down my deposits for both cruises, but yesterday I received a note that they would be taken away. I was offered $50 in credits as compensation, but replacing the soda package alone would cost about $150. If our roles were reversed, I believe it would be obvious that this is purely a takeaway.

 

Your call center seems to be well-trained in deflecting the real issue and taking the company line. One in particular (Kevin, id 14611) got quite rude when challenged on the fairness of this change. I could tell I would make no progress through standard channels, which is why I am sending this note.

 

Will you lose me as a customer over this? Maybe. I'm not going to do anything rash or stupid. I'm working with my travel agent on other options. I won't change anything until I have something better lined up. But am I the kind of person who would abandon a company solely on the principle of fairness? Yes, I probably am. We will find out for sure once final payments are due.

 

I've sailed on other cruise lines. I know cruise passengers can be notorious for demanding things they are not entitled to. Cruise passengers can get furious when mechanical problems cancel a port or weather changes itineraries. But let's be honest--this is an issue entirely within the control of Royal Caribbean. It is a promise broken. Truth be told, it seems arrogant to me.

 

I would like to offer Royal Caribbean the opportunity to fix this.

[KristiJ]

1 hour ago, MightyMike said:

 

Same here. Very similar call for me. But we still need to keep up the calls and keep up the pressure.

 

The call center employees can't be enjoying this. They know the position the company is asking them to defend is indefensible. They know that if the roles were reversed, they would be fighting for a fair resolution too. 

 

This would be my first time sailing Royal Caribbean. Maybe I'm naive, but I'm still optimistic they will eventually recognize their arrogance and do the right thing.

I agree that the more phone calls and pressure we put on them will force RCCL to do something.  We booked 3 BW rooms over a year and a half ago for March 2020 and the perks were a huge part of that decision. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by KristiJ

[Tree_skier]

So thanks to everyones reports of getting more I called and explained to the CSR that the offer of $50 OBC was not acceptable and that they would need to do better.  After repeated back and forth with the CSR that $50 wasn't enough and that I knew folks (thanks CC) that have received more I finally convinced him to talk to a supervisor.  He returned back on the line within a minute and offered me an additional $50 OBC for a total of $100.  He said the additional $50 would appear in the cruise planner immediately and the $50 that was originally offered is being handled by the backend people and that it would show up later.  He didn't indicate how much later.

 

So thanks to CC I'm $50 richer. I was hoping that the $50 would convince my wife all the time I waste on Cruise Critic was paying off.  She agreed... she says that my time is now apparently worth 3/10th of cent.  🤗

[DrewFoundLander]

1 hour ago, tinkertwo said:

Is it mbayley@rccl.com ?  

 

If you are displeased with the situation you can; I've done all 3.

 

Email Michael Bailey

mbayley@rccl.com

 

Tweet your disappointment and DM

@RoyalCaribbean

 

Post on their Facebook and send via message

https://www.facebook.com/royalcaribbean/

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by DrewFoundLander

[FloridaNative8]

I just received the following from our TA regarding this: 

 

This week we announced our decision to discontinue the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER program, a collection of perks exclusive to Boardwalk Balcony and Central Park Balcony staterooms on Oasis Class ships. Along with this, we included the compensation we are offering to those impacted guests. Based on the recent sentiments and valuable feedback shared on this topic, we recognize we didn’t get this one quite right.

While some guests were pleased with the choice to convert the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities into an Onboard Credit to use at their discretion, others saw value in the tangible amenities included at the time of purchase. It is for this reason that we are now enabling impacted guests to choose the best option for their vacation experience. Choices include:

• $50 per stateroom Onboard Credit

          OR

• Original DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities determined by the category booked

This is eligible only to those guests booked before September 18^th, 2019 on sailings departing on-or-after January 1^st, 2020. Both you and your impacted clients will receive an email with an enclosed questionnaire allowing your client to select their compensation preference. We ask that you please encourage your clients to submit their preference by October 4^th, 2019. 

As always, nothing is of more value to us than our partnership with our travel partners and our guests' experiences. We greatly appreciate you every step of the way!

 

I'm happy to see this!

 

[SeaHunt]

19 minutes ago, KristiJ said:

I agree that the more phone calls and pressure we put on them will force RCCL to do something.   

 

I agree - keep in mind that they caved when they mistakenly offered the drink package for $18 per day, said they wouldn't honor it, and then changed their mind due to pressure 

 

Good luck to everyone fighting for their perk! IMO if they want to change it, grandfather the already booked passengers and advise any new bookings it will not include it....

 

Edited to add while I was typing based on the post above it looks like it's been fixed! Happy for everyone involved INCLUDING RCI who did the right thing! 

Edited September 20, 2019 by SeaHunt

[Deseo1578]

1 minute ago, FloridaNative8 said:

I just received the following from our TA regarding this: 

 

This week we announced our decision to discontinue the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER program, a collection of perks exclusive to Boardwalk Balcony and Central Park Balcony staterooms on Oasis Class ships. Along with this, we included the compensation we are offering to those impacted guests. Based on the recent sentiments and valuable feedback shared on this topic, we recognize we didn’t get this one quite right.

While some guests were pleased with the choice to convert the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities into an Onboard Credit to use at their discretion, others saw value in the tangible amenities included at the time of purchase. It is for this reason that we are now enabling impacted guests to choose the best option for their vacation experience. Choices include:

• $50 per stateroom Onboard Credit

          OR

• Original DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities determined by the category booked

This is eligible only to those guests booked before September 18^th, 2019 on sailings departing on-or-after January 1^st, 2020. Both you and your impacted clients will receive an email with an enclosed questionnaire allowing your client to select their compensation preference. We ask that you please encourage your clients to submit their preference by October 4^th, 2019. 

As always, nothing is of more value to us than our partnership with our travel partners and our guests' experiences. We greatly appreciate you every step of the way!

 

I'm happy to see this!

 

lol so the people that got the 50 already added because they call, can now get the 2 things. 

 

[MightyMike]

3 minutes ago, Deseo1578 said:

lol so the people that got the 50 already added because they call, can now get the 2 things. 

 

No. I would expect all credits obtained over this issue to be removed for those choosing to return to the original plan.

[Deseo1578]

Just now, MightyMike said:

 

No. I would expect all credits obtained over this issue to be removed for those choosing to return to the original plan.

I Really doubt it, they would definitely not get the other credit, but really doubt they have a record of everyone they added the onboard credit on. 

[MightyMike]

2 minutes ago, Deseo1578 said:

I Really doubt it, they would definitely not get the other credit, but really doubt they have a record of everyone they added the onboard credit on. 

 

We will find out soon enough! I received both credits and plan to revert back to the original agreement. I'm betting that they will remove both like they should.

[sjb317]

I am happy with this. I think Royal has done the right thing.  The original decision does make me wonder about their executives who made it but at least they recognized they “didn’t get it right”. 😂

 

Sherri🙂

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 minutes ago, Deseo1578 said:

I Really doubt it, they would definitely not get the other credit, but really doubt they have a record of everyone they added the onboard credit on. 

Can you imagine their IT keeping accurate track of that. . . . but maybe. 

[Merion_Mom]

17 minutes ago, FloridaNative8 said:

I just received the following from our TA regarding this: 

 

This week we announced our decision to discontinue the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER program, a collection of perks exclusive to Boardwalk Balcony and Central Park Balcony staterooms on Oasis Class ships. Along with this, we included the compensation we are offering to those impacted guests. Based on the recent sentiments and valuable feedback shared on this topic, we recognize we didn’t get this one quite right.

While some guests were pleased with the choice to convert the DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities into an Onboard Credit to use at their discretion, others saw value in the tangible amenities included at the time of purchase. It is for this reason that we are now enabling impacted guests to choose the best option for their vacation experience. Choices include:

• $50 per stateroom Onboard Credit

          OR

• Original DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER amenities determined by the category booked

This is eligible only to those guests booked before September 18^th, 2019 on sailings departing on-or-after January 1^st, 2020. Both you and your impacted clients will receive an email with an enclosed questionnaire allowing your client to select their compensation preference. We ask that you please encourage your clients to submit their preference by October 4^th, 2019. 

As always, nothing is of more value to us than our partnership with our travel partners and our guests' experiences. We greatly appreciate you every step of the way!

 

I'm happy to see this!

 

 

 

Thanks for posting, Jenn.

 

I must say, I am impressed.  Better late than never.  🙂