Royal Eliminates Neighborhood Balcony Perks

[MoniMommy]

44 minutes ago, MightyMike said:

 

I agree the excuse was lame. However, their justification was even lamer.

 

I reached a supervisor (Kevin) and when I asked how they could justify taking it away, he said it was because the package was a "complimentary perk." Since we didn't pay anything for it, they could take it away at will. He tied himself in knots trying to explain which aspects of the cruise experience were paid for and which aspects were not. By the time I gave up on him he claimed they could take away all food and entertainment for no reason because those are complimentary too. Good luck trying that!

During this whole discussion every has been referring to perks. However, I do not believe that is the correct term. The term is inventive. A perk is priority boarding or free drinks on the diamond lounge. An inventive is something given to intice you to book. I agree that a perk can be removed but not an incentive. It would be like if royal offered $100 obc during a sale as an incentive, then stated we are removing that "perk" and replacing it with two free speciality lunches.

[royzer76]

Why have I never even heard of this 'Dine, Drink, Discover' ... is it a US only offer/perk???

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, royzer76 said:

Why have I never even heard of this 'Dine, Drink, Discover'

It was not widely marketed and you didn't spend enough time on CC.

[royzer76]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It was not widely marketed and you didn't spend enough time on CC.

Thanks.

I do have an upcoming cruise on Allure of the Seas ... neighbourhood balcony guarantee ... not yet assigned ... as a UK customer is this something that I should have heard about?  I have not received any emails about this perk being withdrawn or changed.  

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, royzer76 said:

as a UK customer is this something that I should have heard about?

Yes, but good communications is not an RCI thing. 

[SeaHunt]

37 minutes ago, royzer76 said:

Why have I never even heard of this 'Dine, Drink, Discover' ... is it a US only offer/perk???

 

AFAIK not US only but came automatically with the room - I bet there were lots of cruisers who didn't even know they had the perks until they got into the room and found the info 

 

Maybe you haven't been informed of the change because your room hasn't been assigned yet? I can see them assigning your room one minute then informing you the perk is being discontinued in the next LOL.

 

Program began in November 2016, too bad they are discontinuing it:

The new EAT • DRINK • PLAY complimentary amenities offer guests in Central Park balcony staterooms

• Complimentary lunch for two at Giovanni's Table.
• Complimentary bottle of red wine in your stateroom.
• Private casino gaming lessons from an onboard expert.

The new EAT • DRINK • PLAY complimentary amenities offer guests in Boardwalk balcony staterooms

• Complimentary meal for four at Johnny Rockets.
• Complimentary Royal Refreshment soda package for two guests.
• Exclusive rock climbing wall experience for the entire family.

Edited September 27, 2019 by SeaHunt
added info

[royzer76]

49 minutes ago, SeaHunt said:

 

AFAIK not US only but came automatically with the room - I bet there were lots of cruisers who didn't even know they had the perks until they got into the room and found the info 

 

Maybe you haven't been informed of the change because your room hasn't been assigned yet? I can see them assigning your room one minute then informing you the perk is being discontinued in the next LOL.

 

Program began in November 2016, too bad they are discontinuing it:

The new EAT • DRINK • PLAY complimentary amenities offer guests in Central Park balcony staterooms

• Complimentary lunch for two at Giovanni's Table.
• Complimentary bottle of red wine in your stateroom.
• Private casino gaming lessons from an onboard expert.

The new EAT • DRINK • PLAY complimentary amenities offer guests in Boardwalk balcony staterooms

• Complimentary meal for four at Johnny Rockets.
• Complimentary Royal Refreshment soda package for two guests.
• Exclusive rock climbing wall experience for the entire family.

Thanks for the info.

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, royzer76 said:

Why have I never even heard of this 'Dine, Drink, Discover' ... is it a US only offer/perk???

 

It was a perk for anyone who booked a neighborhood balcony.

[yzfmik]

On 9/23/2019 at 3:41 PM, nelblu said:

Here's a reply from my e-mail to Bayley:

 

Harmony Of The Seas / 12-Apr-2020 / 5922843,5916137,5913318, 5909685 / 1-39809742678 

Sep 23 at 1:38 PM

PrintRaw message

Javier Perdomo <ex-co@rccl.com>

To: Me

Hello Me,

 

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of Royal Caribbean International. On behalf of Mr. Bayley, President & CEO, I am pleased to respond to your email.

 

It is disheartening to know that we’ve disappointed you in regards to our DINE • DRINK • DISCOVER program. I can assure you that this was never our intention. After careful review, we have decided to allow our guests to decide if they would like to keep their dining program for their boardwalk stateroom, or if they would rather keep the Onboard Credit offer that can be used for any onboard purchase. Unfortunately, moving forward, this program will be cancelled for future sailings.

 

Please visit the following link to let us know your preference by October 4th, 2019.

 

https://dinedrinkdiscoverguestsurvey.questionpro.com/

 

Me, thank you for taking the time to contact us with your feedback. We look forward to seeing you onboard Harmony of the Seas in April of 2020!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Javier Perdomo

Royal Guest Experience Management

Executive Team

 

 

Funny, it mentions the Boardwalk cabins, but not my CP booked cabins.

Has anyone that selected the $50 OBC seen it on their Cruise Planner?  I responded to the email and selected the OBC over 3 weeks ago and figured after the deadline to choose the OBC would show up.

[Merion_Mom]

6 minutes ago, yzfmik said:

Has anyone that selected the $50 OBC seen it on their Cruise Planner?  I responded to the email and selected the OBC over 3 weeks ago and figured after the deadline to choose the OBC would show up.

 

Call C&A and ask when you should expect to see the OBC in your Cruise Planner.

 

800-526-9723

[Illbcruzn4life]

I thought I read somewhere that the date was October 11th.

[katiel53]

6 hours ago, yzfmik said:

Has anyone that selected the $50 OBC seen it on their Cruise Planner?  I responded to the email and selected the OBC over 3 weeks ago and figured after the deadline to choose the OBC would show up.

Today I had to talk to my agent because I needed to pay our final payment.  I also asked her about the "perks" of the Boardwalk balcony.  I explained I never received a confirmation on the 3 cruises we have booked and I did reply to all of them and I wanted to be sure my wishes were being met.

 

For my next cruise, I decided that we were ok with the OBC as we have the deluxe beverage package and also the UDP.  For our cruise in 2021, we wanted the soda package as my granddaughter is in the cabin with me and my son and daughter-in-law are in the next cabin and neither of them are drinkers.

 

The agent put me on hold and after about 20 minutes came back and told me that RCCL S advised that my 2021 was going to get the credit and not the package and that it was too late to make any changes.  I had sent the request on 9/26 which was when I received the official notice.

 

I was more than a bit  upset, so I decided to call resolutions.  I asked for a supervisor and explained why etc.  To make a long story short, Mario came back and told me that none of the requests either way have been processed and even the supervisors can't tell me anything.  I explained that things were supposed to be posted by 10/11 and he advised nothing has even started. He suggested I wait another week to see what is done on my account.

 

So, now I am waiting to see if next week things show up as agreed.  If I don't get a credit for my 2021, to me, that means we are getting the soda package.  If there is a credit, I guess I will have to move up the ladder.

 

I just feel if Royal Caribbean makes an offer as an incentive to book a particular cabin, it should be grandfathered.  I know that's what's supposed to happen and if they decided I would get the soda package on both cruises, I am fine.  That's what I booked, and that's what I agreed to.  Making us wait longer is not only annoying, but I'm sure difficult for the reps at Royal Caribbean.

[yzfmik]

Thank you for the info, I wasn’t sure the date they said you’d get the credit by and I can’t find the email.  Guess we’re all in the same boat on this.

[Maplemoose]

Yes, October 11th was the date quoted in the email. What are the odds we see it today/tomorrow? (depending on our time zone). 

[Illbcruzn4life]

4 hours ago, yzfmik said:

Thank you for the info, I wasn’t sure the date they said you’d get the credit by and I can’t find the email.  Guess we’re all in the same boat on this.

 

I know I can't find my email since I never received one saying the program was discontinued or a confirmation that I sent in my choice. Good thing RCI provides a great cruise because their shore side people sure don't come close as far as customer service.

[little britain]

On 9/27/2019 at 6:10 PM, royzer76 said:

Why have I never even heard of this 'Dine, Drink, Discover' ... is it a US only offer/perk???

No, it is/was a global perk.  

 

It was called Eat, Drink Play but they spent too much money rebranding it to Dine, Drink, Discover that they had to withdraw it ....lol...🤷‍♀️

[CRUISEFAN0001]

3 hours ago, little britain said:

No, it is/was a global perk.  

 

It was called Eat, Drink Play but they spent too much money rebranding it to Dine, Drink, Discover that they had to withdraw it ....lol...🤷‍♀️

The whole Neighborhood Promo was originally intended as a one-hit-wonder marketing idea that lasted far longer than most folks imagined - because it was successful in getting inside balcony cabins booked at a time when Oasis class ships were still reasonably new to the fleet. 

 

Now that several years have passed...they probably felt that incentive was no longer required...as the Oasis class ships usually get booked solid in almost all cabin classes.

[Maplemoose]

ok, it is Oct. 11 and I am looking at my cruise planner. Trouble is I see nothing about my account, only things they are selling and things I can't book yet. Where should I be looking?

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, Maplemoose said:

ok, it is Oct. 11 and I am looking at my cruise planner. Trouble is I see nothing about my account, only things they are selling and things I can't book yet. Where should I be looking?

 

Exit the Cruise Planner to see the small amount of info that ROyal has on the website about your booking.

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, Maplemoose said:

Where should I be looking?

What are you looking for?

[rhuntington3]

When they post the OBC, it will be shown in the yellow highlighted area:

 

This is from my Allure 2020 TA but I already had this OBC.

 

 

[Maplemoose]

OK, that means it did not get posted yet then. Thanks. The funny part is that as I was in the middle of this I received an email from RCCL and I figured it was regarding the OBC. I opened it and it was a pdf. of my CVR. Naturally there was no mention of OBC!. I have no idea what prompted the sending!  I am getting used to this now from RCCL.

[rhuntington3]

My sailing on on Allure for 10/25/2020 that I booked back in May 2019, I just got an updated invoice that now shows a $50 OBC.   The following sailing I booked through a TA so that updated invoice might not come directly to me however, no updated OBC on that sailing, yet.  Could be they are going through the reservation numbers sequentially.

[rhuntington3]

And the $50.00 OBC just showed up on my 11/1/2020 Allure sailing.  Nice!

[legaljen1969]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 9:03 AM, Sherri914 said:

 

I don't find the neighborhood balconies to be unattractive without the perks.  I've stayed in OV balconies -- I just like the neighborhood balconies better.    I loved the far aft BW balcony on Oasis -- it offered a wake and aquatheater view that I quite enjoyed.    I booked the CP balcony this time even before knowing of the perks being offered with it.   My issue is with them giving something as part of the booking, then taking it away without sufficient compensation for the loss.    

 

I enjoy the wake and aquatheater views as well.