Thoughts on this...........?

[target-panic]

Hi!

Let me start off by saying, I'm very happy with, and very loyal to Royal.  Diamond member, almost never a complainer..........

 

On our recent Eastern Caribbean cruise on Allure,  Coco Cay was cancelled due to weather.  Ship was instead routed to Labadee.

We have not been to Coco Cay since the upgrades were done, so we were excited.  I booked a Chill Island Cabana very early at what I thought was an excellent price.

When the announcement was first made, I just kind of shrugged it off, and I actually said that I felt bad for all of the families with children that were going to miss out on the water park etc.... I said, "We'll just make the best of it."  A day or maybe even two later, I thought maybe I'd just check with the Excursions Desk to see if they were offering Cabanas to those that had already purchased them for the rerouted Coco Cay stop.  I greeted the man at the desk with a smile, because I assumed that he had probably already been bombarded by other cruisers with children trying to make other plans to entertain them.  The man was very dismissive of me right from his first glance up from his computer screen.  I explained my situation, and my question, and he immediately went back to his computer.  He then very bluntly said..."Yes we have multiple Cabana options still available on Labadee, however we'll not honor the price you've previously paid."  I asked him the prices, and he quoted me a range about twice what we had paid, from $850.00 to $1050.00.  I politely declined, and was on my way.  When we did arrive at Labadee it was actually a very hot, nice sunny day.  As we walked around the Island, I noticed that several of the Cabanas, had not sold, and remained unoccupied for the day.  Could there have been a better system in this situation?  I'm not really angry, but I did mention the situation on my survey.  It just appeared that Royal marked the Cabanas up to maximum price expecting a run on them after Coco Cay was cancelled, and because that didn't happen, they made nothing on some.....We would have gladly taken one at the price we had previously paid even if shore excursions had contacted us the morning of our arrival.  Maybe I just don't understand the logistics of the situation............ Anyway, we had an amazing trip, and we cant wait to book again!

[HicksRA]

I agree. It would have been proper for them to offer a similar cabana as you had booked at CC for no additional charges. 

[Ourusualbeach]

There are far more cabanas at CocoCay than there are at Labadee.  How do you decide who gets them if you are going to offer a straight trade. 

[cruiseguy1016]

8 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There are far more cabanas at CocoCay than there are at Labadee.  How do you decide who gets them if you are going to offer a straight trade. 

 

First come, first served. After that, you just say "sorry, they've all be sold"

[awestover89]

21 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

First come, first served. After that, you just say "sorry, they've all be sold"

 

First come first served of when you booked the Coco Cay cabana? First come first served of going to the shore excursion desk?

 

Personally I feel that given the logistics, the way they handled it was the appropriate way (although from the OP's description the Shore Ex worker should have been more courteous). Refund the CocoCay Cabanas since they were no longer possible, and sell Labadee Cabanas at the current going rate for people who want to purchase them.

[bonsai3s]

The man at the Shore Excursion desk sounded like he may have been having a bad day.

OP, you sound like a nice guy...and should've been treated accordingly.

I would've asked for a supervisor and asked again if they would sell the cabanas in Labadee.

Sounds like wasted opportunities for Royal....1. Didn't treat the customer right.  2. Didn't make money.

(OP, hope you mentioned this on your survey.)

[nolimits]

I was at Coco Kay  off Mariner and Navigator was also there,I looked over at the over the water Cabanas and I only saw 2 being used  granted I was only in that area for about an Hour. The weather was perfect . They where listed for just under 2000$ on planner. I wonder if all 12 would of been sold at 1000. I’m sure RCI has there math .

[twangster]

It sounds like over water cabanas were available at Labadee for that price point.  Is that what you had booked at CocoCay?

[papaflamingo]

14 hours ago, awestover89 said:

 

First come first served of when you booked the Coco Cay cabana? First come first served of going to the shore excursion desk?

 

Personally I feel that given the logistics, the way they handled it was the appropriate way (although from the OP's description the Shore Ex worker should have been more courteous). Refund the CocoCay Cabanas since they were no longer possible, and sell Labadee Cabanas at the current going rate for people who want to purchase them.

The most logical way would be first come first served based on when you booked the cabana. And like cabana for like cabana.  The offer should have been made for a straight swap to like cabana or a refund.  After that, open sales.  

Royal Caribbean has become absurdly money oriented.  I have always defended their first obligation to be profitable.  But they have gone to extreme in my opinion. 

[Ocean Boy]

When you look at how MSC handled the situation with their ship being turned away from ports in the Caribbean last week and then how RCI handles passenger inconveniences it makes you think about which type of company you want to give your business to. This situation should have been handled just as @papaflamingo suggested.

[Bradison]

20 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

The most logical way would be first come first served based on when you booked the cabana. And like cabana for like cabana.  The offer should have been made for a straight swap to like cabana or a refund.  After that, open sales.  

Royal Caribbean has become absurdly money oriented.  I have always defended their first obligation to be profitable.  But they have gone to extreme in my opinion. 

 

As a service oriented business I think customer experience should be right there with being profitable.  Many companies sacrifice profit in a small way to enhance or improve the experience of their customers.  Think Chick-Fila.  They give away food and hold special events all the time. 

If RCI makes customer experience their number 1 priority and make it the principle tenet of their corporate culture then the profits will follow and brand loyalty will increase without the use of gimmicks like Diamond lounges.

The OP's experience is just another anecdotal example of a lost opportunity by RCI to do the right thing and make their customer feel like they care about his experience and satisfaction. 

[twangster]

Labadee has 6 over water cabanas, 6 waterfront cabanas and 10 regular cabanas.  (There are additional cabanas that require guests be in a full suite.)

 

CocoCay has somewhere over 80 cabanas but in vastly different categories and areas. 

 

How would you map Chill island cabanas to Labadee?  How would you map Thrill waterpark cabanas to Labadee?  How would you map South Beach cabanas to Labadee?  How would you map Coco Beach Club cabanas to Labadee?  How would you map Floating cabanas to Labadee?

 

The cabana product is completely different between the two destinations.   The safest thing to do is to refund all cabana purchases otherwise you have many guests paying for a CocoCay cabana with completely different features and price points compared to what they end up with plus you have alienated guests who don't get one.

 

The same argument applies to beach beds.  Different product between the two destinations at wildly different price points.  The zipline experience is different.  The Jet Ski excursion is different.  

 

The only logical and fair thing to do is refund all CocoCay purchases.

 

[NavyCruiser]

For us poor peasants... What are Cabanas...? 😎

[2chiefs]

8 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

For us poor peasants... What are Cabanas...? 😎

 

8 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

For us poor peasants... What are Cabanas...? 😎

Overpriced "houses" to protect you from the sun while you are out in the sun enjoying the sun.

I don't get it... I'd rather be on the ship sitting at the pool for no charge. Or simply on the beach for some sun, also no charge.

T

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by 2chiefs

[robtulipe]

We have always been able to get natural shade, like under a palm or tree on our stops at  Labadee.

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by robtulipe

[Ocean Boy]

52 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

 

Overpriced "houses" to protect you from the sun while you are out in the sun enjoying the sun.

I don't get it... I'd rather be on the ship sitting at the pool for no charge. Or simply on the beach for some sun, also no charge.

T

 

...or in the shade under a palm tree.... also free.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The only logical and fair thing to do is refund all CocoCay purchases.

 

All of what you said may be very true. But it isn"t hard to go down the list of first booked and say this is what we have at Labadee. Do you want one or a refund? The customer gets the choice. If they don't like the deal they just say no and get their money back. If this affected me I would be satisfied with the option. Maybe I'd be a little disappointed to not have a cabana. Maybe I would take one and not feel that I got what I originally paid for but at least it would have been my choice. 

 

I wouldn't be surprised that with the supply of cabanas being so much lower than at CC that RCI probably jacked the price up quite nicely anticipating the demand.

[mrpayroll]

What if it was raining all day at Coco Cay and you couldn't even use the cabana ? Would you expect them to offer you a cabana on Labadee in place ? Other than the attitude of the desk clerk, I don't see anything wrong with the way it was handled. You paid for a Coco Cay cabana, didn't get to use it and got your money refunded. 

[twangster]

36 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

RCI probably jacked the price up quite nicely anticipating the demand.

 

Supply and demand rules just about everything in the travel sector.  From airlines seats to hotel rooms to cabanas at a private destinations.

 

I'm thoroughly shocked at what people have been willing to shell out for 6 to 8 hours under a cabana at CocoCay.  Me?  Never would I pay those crazy rates.  However when set a price they sold out so they raised the prices and they sold so they raised the prices and they still sold out.  People are free to spend money as they see fit, it's their money.

 

If someone spent $2k on a floating cabana then got stuck with a simple overwater cabana at Labadee they'd be furious.  It's a completely different product.   There would be posts screaming bait & switch.  

 

The only logical thing to do was refund everyone. 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by twangster

[kag19]

We were on the same cruise and had a very similar response from the clerk at the Excursion Desk.  Our party went up to the desk to switch our cabanas to Labadee and started off explaining to him that we had two cabanas originally booked at Cococay and his response was "not anymore".  He was very rude and extremely unhelpful.  He then quoted us one price which we booked but then the excursion desk called back and said they were going to charge us $250 more than we paid.  Our group ended up having to go to the Loyalty desk to get everything sorted out.  Our group was disappointed that we couldn't go to Cococay but completely understood it was for safety reasons but even more disappointing was the way the excursion desk handled the situation.

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, kag19 said:

We were on the same cruise and had a very similar response from the clerk at the Excursion Desk.  Our party went up to the desk to switch our cabanas to Labadee and started off explaining to him that we had two cabanas originally booked at Cococay and his response was "not anymore".  He was very rude and extremely unhelpful.  He then quoted us one price which we booked but then the excursion desk called back and said they were going to charge us $250 more than we paid.  Our group ended up having to go to the Loyalty desk to get everything sorted out.  Our group was disappointed that we couldn't go to Cococay but completely understood it was for safety reasons but even more disappointing was the way the excursion desk handled the situation.

 

Sounds like he needs to go.  Either go home at end of contract and come back refreshed or don't come back at all.  

 

That is the kind of attitude that I find worthy to call out on the post cruise survey.

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

For us poor peasants... What are Cabanas...? 😎

An over priced home base for you towels and other belonging while you swim or sit at a bar.

[johnjen]

Wait, is it really $850-$1000 for a cabana for one day?

[kag19]

27 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Sounds like he needs to go.  Either go home at end of contract and come back refreshed or don't come back at all.  

 

That is the kind of attitude that I find worthy to call out on the post cruise survey.

He most definitely got a mention on the survey from the people in our group.  The situation could have been handled much better and was rectified as soon as the Loyalty desk got involved.  We ended up having a "Perfect Day" in Labadee. 😀  The rest of the staff on Allure couldn't have been more amazing!  It was an excellent week!

[kag19]

11 minutes ago, johnjen said:

Wait, is it really $850-$1000 for a cabana for one day?

 

No, ours were $549 each for the day in Labadee.  One was split by 4 people and the other was split by 8 so the cost really wasn't much.  We were able to originally book the Chill Island cabanas for $499 each but wasn't meant to be.  I would definitely not ever pay $800 or more for a cabana.