RCCL bogus new policy, buyers beware!

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, mikna said:

I tried, but they would NOT refund. We tried going through our credit card, but couldn't get the deposit back as it was too long ago. RCCL did offer us credit on a future cruise, but we want no part of RCCL after this. We will go back to using Norwegian for cheap & Silversea for luxury.

You are directing your anger and frustration at royal caribbean but it is Barbados that set the rules.   I have read them online end of September from Barbados site and is exactly why we cancelled our back to back.     The protocols to enter the country for a pre-cruise stay were our main reason to cancel.  

 

Simply transfer the funds you paid to date for your sailing to a sailing out of a US port that is much less restrictive, easy peasy.     

 

If you booked thru air2sea as we did, they will refund you any monies paid to date.   

 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

1 hour ago, mikna said:

OK I could reply with the same facts over & over, I am done with this bickering. I have posted what I want: A warning to those who might be thinking of booking a RCCL cruise. People are free to believe it or not. Informed consumers are a good thing. Cheers!

suggestion. Is it too late to check for a price drop? someone said that the price is dirt cheap. Maybe try getting a decent price drop to augment the cost of the excursions? something like that can make the price of the excursions more palatable. 

regardless, you are one and done, I get it. I feel the same way about Carnival. But that doesnt mean i didnt enjoy my one carnival cruise. Make the best of it is my point. I am so excited to get out of the country and see blue water that I cant stand it. You are also going on a beautiful ship. 

[cured]

19 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Anthem December 12 2021

Thanks 🙂. I posted an apology later in the thread, indicating that I had read the original post again via cache and realized my mistake.

 

I do still think it a very strange coincidence that this thread showed up within the hour of the other one being removed.   But maybe the stars aligned just right.

Edited November 23, 2021 by cured

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, mikna said:

OK I could reply with the same facts over & over, I am done with this bickering. I have posted what I want: A warning to those who might be thinking of booking a RCCL cruise. People are free to believe it or not. Informed consumers are a good thing. Cheers!

Do you have unvaccinated children under 12 sailing with you?     Rules / protocols change if traveling with unvaccinated children too.    

[Merion_Mom]

@mikna

 

It's a shame that you didn't find Cruise Critic before you wanted a place to vent.

 

Here is your Roll Call which would have been very helpful before now, but it's not too late to learn.

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

15 minutes ago, cured said:

Thanks 🙂. I posted an apology later in the thread, indicating that I had read the original post again via cache and realized my mistake.

 

I do still think it a very strange coincidence that this thread showed up within the hour of the other one being removed.   But maybe the stars aligned just right.

There was a full moon a few days ago.  😉 

[Merion_Mom]

9 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Do you have unvaccinated children under 12 sailing with you?     Rules / protocols change if traveling with unvaccinated children too.    

She already said "no".

[Sunshine3601]

26 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

She already said "no".

thank you - having trouble keeping up with the posts as I am still at work. 

[djyellowsub]

Just got off of Harmony of the Seas, eastern Caribbean.  We didn't book any RCI exertions and could get off at all the ports. Only families  with unvaccinated children had to use RCI for exertions. 

[MrMarc]

5 hours ago, mikna said:

We have always had fantastic experiences on cruises, but this is our first Royal Caribbean cruise. We had been looking forward to it, until RCCL started changing their rules, after we booked our cruise with them. I just want to inform other consumers before they book a RCCL cruise.

 

Royal Caribbean has instituted a new, money-grab policy that cruise participants are ONLY allowed off the boat if they book a Royal Caribbean shore excursion. EVERY COUNTRY we are visiting allows us to debark as long as we are vaccinated (we are) & pre-book with an approved local provider. However Royal Caribbean won't let you off the boat to do that; you can only debark for one of their paid shore excursions. Bogus! Furthermore they say it's because the CDC mandates it that way but... they don't. And even if they did, the CDC is a US government agency, and has NO control over a Norwegian (country) ship doing business in Barbados. They won't tell you this up-front of course; they don't want people knowing that they are held captive on that ship unless you pay Royal Caribbean to depart at any of the ports. This is their own self-imposed policy. 

 

We had to spend and extra $1200.00 to RCCL just for them to let us off the ship at ports. What a money-grab! And if you are an active person, their excursions kind of suck, too, unless you like to pay $90 to ride around in a van lol. They don't offer 1 single scuba excursion, in the Caribbean of all places. Half of the reason we booked this cruise was to scuba at all of these amazing islands, yet now we can't, & the ONLY reason is because RCCL won't let us.

 

This was NOT the policy when we booked; they changed it after the payments came in. If they had been straightforward about it we would never have booked, but I guess they don't want people knowing such things until after they pay RCCL money.

 

I have included a screenshot of one of 3 emails they have sent us stating that we can only debark for paid RCCL shore excursions. I have been on the phone with them multiple times asking about it, and they have confirmed each time that 1) it is the policy & 2) that it is their own self-imposed policy. They have said it's just a coincidence that it means they get paid more of our dollars because of the policy lol. Right. We had to pay them an extra $1200.00.

 

Again, this is NOT the policy in any country we visit; this is RCCL's own policy.

 

Anyway I just want others to know this before they book an RCCL tour since RCCL won't inform you of this until after you book. It's too late for us, but maybe not for others. Buyer beware!

It is amazing how easily I found the protocols for ships embarking from Barbados.  It explains what the policy is, why they have the policy and that for now it is only for December.  The policy was announced on November 11, when all the other December protocols were announced.   I understand you are upset, but throwing a temper tantrum and accusations around like you are will not help the situation.  Based on your post, personally I would believe what RCCL says, not what you say.  But in any event if you had researched any cruise since the restart, you would know that the protocols have been changing quite often, so even of this was a change, it should not be a surprise.  Here is what their website says: 

Going Ashore in Ports of Call

Tours Required to Go Ashore

Due to current requirements of your itinerary, all guests on December sailings from Barbados will need to book a tour if they wish to go ashore in ports of call, regardless of vaccination status. We will continue to update booked guests and the information on this page as we know more about this requirement for future sailings.

At St. Lucia and St. Kitts, vaccinated guests may depart the ship and visit the enclosed port area on their own. If they wish to visit further into the island, they must have booked a Royal Caribbean shore excursion, or participate in a government approved tour. The government approved tours are unaffiliated with Royal Caribbean.

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by MrMarc

[MommaBear55]

2 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

 

Assuming you're vaccinated, these policies don't do anything to keep you safe. You're already protected. Just because somebody came up with a rule doesn't mean its effective.

The countries may feel they are keeping their residents safe, I understand why that would be important to them. 

[crzndeb]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

But if I choose to hire a taxi/guide/tour/day resort somewhere that is not RC, I would still have to pay for it.  So why so much angst about paying RC for an excursion?

Seriously! Some people act like taking a ship excursion is a fate worse than death. People will spend thousands on a cruise, get UDP and DBP, gamble away money like it’s a bottomless pit, but heaven forbid, they might have to take a ship excursion, and pay a little extra money. I have done independent tours and ship tours, and I can’t complain about either one.

[emeraldcity]

Everyone is making a genuine attempt to help the original poster, but the OPs intent is to simply to start an argument. First hint ... it's a new account ... just like the new account yesterday with the same type of approach.

[RobInMN]

6 hours ago, mikna said:

I tried, but they would NOT refund. We tried going through our credit card, but couldn't get the deposit back as it was too long ago. RCCL did offer us credit on a future cruise, but we want no part of RCCL after this. We will go back to using Norwegian for cheap & Silversea for luxury.

Well, you'll have to cross Silversea off your list also as they are owned by Royal Caribbean Group. https://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com/businesses/

[capertillar]

There has been a Pandemic.

Millions have died.

Some countries need to restart tourism, but want to keep their citizens safe.

Royal wants to keep their passengers safe.

Did I mention their was a Pandemic and millions died?

Getting to go on a cruise will never now happen for many who have lost their families, their jobs....

Its all about perspective I guess.

 

[sean of the seas]

11 hours ago, little britain said:

P&O cruises also sail from Barbados.

This is their guidance this week…… interesting to note which ports you can and cannot get off by yourself at. Just sayin.

I am on Grandeur for 7n in March: currently EVERY port has to be a ship’s excursion including St Vincent and St Lucia.

 

Thanks for posting this LB, it's the same information that the Marella Discovery that is also sailing out of Barbados this week is advising guests.   So even though it's in plain black and white some people still claim it's the individual Island policies and not a decision made by RCCL to restrict guests to ships tours on the Islands.

 

[Biker19]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

 Did you read the Barbados health site? 

To be fair to the OP, when they booked (months ago) those rules were likely not like that.

[BecciBoo]

19 hours ago, PolytheneGirl said:

 

I guess its partly about research and managing expectations. 

Bingo!  We never had any trouble on our Sept. cruise and don't expect it on the next one either. I am an ACD researcher.  not at all worried.

[SRF]

18 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

This type of passenger behavior is not uncommon across the cruise industry. Other lines have had issues with large number of passengers showing up to check-in without the requisite paperwork and registrations to travel to countries like Bermuda.

 

Not only cruise, but airline passengers.

 

We were in Hawaii recently, when leaving, there were a LARGE number of people sitting just before the arrival screening, doing their online registration to enter the state.

 

And yes, the airlines sent out MANY emails on the protocols.

[SRF]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

To be fair to the OP, when they booked (months ago) those rules were likely not like that.

 

But that is life these days.

 

Things change.  Sometimes to the better, sometimes the other way.

 

3 days before our recent trip to Hawaii, they changed their rules, and my GF did not need to get tested to go.  GOOD CHANGE.

 

Amazing the number of people commenting that on X or Y trip, the rules were this.  NOT paying attention to the fact that Grandeur is sailing from Barbados and that Barbados has the bubble tour requirement for ALL ports of call if the ship is coming back to Barbados.

 

Their country, their rules.

 

We are booked on Grandeur in April, but repo from Barbados to Galveston.  So different rules.

[goldfish65]

In my business too, customers want the same experience as they had before Covid. They have the same high expectations as before. Usually there are many reasons why things are being done the way they are now, it would be a chore to try and go into all the factors and explain it to them, and likely that wouldn't change how they feel.  They feel entitled to have things the way they want them to be, period. 

[kirtihk]

20 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Sorry, ROYAL didn’t change anything. Individual  island policies are changing all the time. 
If one can’t accept that reality then they should ask for their money back. 

What a stunning world we live in these days - no one (so proclaimed called leader of any country) has courage and desire to take a responsibility!

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

But that is life these days.

 

Things change.  Sometimes to the better, sometimes the other way.

 

3 days before our recent trip to Hawaii, they changed their rules, and my GF did not need to get tested to go.  GOOD CHANGE.

 

Amazing the number of people commenting that on X or Y trip, the rules were this.  NOT paying attention to the fact that Grandeur is sailing from Barbados and that Barbados has the bubble tour requirement for ALL ports of call if the ship is coming back to Barbados.

 

Their country, their rules.

 

We are booked on Grandeur in April, but repo from Barbados to Galveston.  So different rules.

Yes, sure...  It's like in casino - you put efforts to play and in the end thought you won, but they tell you - don't you know today we play by different rules, so you actually lost...

[kirtihk]

16 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

The countries may feel they are keeping their residents safe, I understand why that would be important to them. 

The key word is "feel".  However, who cares what one feels.

[cured]

5 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

The key word is "feel".  However, who cares what one feels.

The individual governments care about how their citizens feel. They certainly don't care how you, as an individual, feel about the rules they implemented for the safety of their people. They may care just a smidgen about the collective feelings of the cruise ship passengers because they generate income. But not more that about their people.