Really annoyed by Royal Caribbean's lack of customer service

[rs45thompson]

8 hours ago, Vacationlover2 said:

The royal up email and all follow up emails said royal Caribbean. No indication that it is a different company and it shouldn't matter. I shouldn't have to understand their rules and know to cancel a bid when they themselves gave me the cabin.

 

I'm just trying to go on a cruise, not learn the ins and outs of royals business.  

 

It's a simple fix. Refund the money. If the other cabin is still available, move me back.  Sadly, customer service has become a joke at many places lately and looking at some responses, it seems that many are willing to just allow it to continue.

I understand your frustration.  Anyone would be upset to be charged $80 for a lower stateroom.  With that being said if you are in customer service you should be aware of the problems or dangers of entering into a "contract" or "agreement" without understanding what you are agreeing to.  To say you don't have to understand the rules of something you are attempting to do is just not smart business.  

 

Email mbayley@rccl.com and air your grievances and they may give you some sort of compensation.  It's worth a try.  

 

Next time learn the rules and read the fine print before entering into an agreement, you will be much happier and have less stress.  

[rs45thompson]

25 minutes ago, Pratique said:

 

In the original post, the OP indicated that the cabin was initially changed for social distancing, not at the OP's request. Am I understanding correctly? Then the bid was accepted a month and a half later. Granted, there was a lot of time for the OP to retract the bid, but this still seems like an exceptional circumstance to me because the first cabin change was involuntary. What if the bid had been accepted the day after the initial change? I know this is a what-if. I'm just looking at this from the perspective that the initial move wasn't triggered by the OP.

 

Even if Royal decided to do nothing in terms of the cabin or the refund, at least a half-hearted "sorry how about a free specialty meal for your troubles?" Or something just to appease the customer. Telling the customer to go away is pretty lousy. IMHO.

 

Edit to add: again, I'm just looking at this from a customer service recovery perspective. I sometimes absorb costs that are caused by client delay just to keep them happy, even though it's not my fault. It is a cost of doing business and it pays off in the long run.

Honestly, that part doesn't make sense to me unless I am misunderstanding.  The op booked an Oceanview gty, so didn't have a room assigned when they received the letter about the cabin being changed for social distancing.  Then after that letter she was assigned to the spacious overview balcony.  

[wampuscat7]

2 minutes ago, Pratique said:

In the original post, the OP indicated that the cabin was initially changed for social distancing, not at the OP's request. Am I understanding correctly? Then the bid was accepted a month and a half later. Granted, there was a lot of time for the OP to retract the bid, but this still seems like an exceptional circumstance to me because the first cabin change was involuntary. What if the bid had been accepted the day after the initial change? I know this is a what-if. I'm just looking at this from the perspective that the initial move wasn't triggered by the OP.

Yes, OP said the cabin was changed initially for social distancing, but to me that doesn't matter. OP left the balcony bid in place. Plenty of cruisers, myself included, would still prefer a balcony over a spacious oceanview and would bid for one. It's reasonable for Royal (or it's Royal Up affiliate) to assume OP still wanted the balcony if the bid wasn't canceled. 

 

Perhaps Royal could improve by reminding people when they are moved that they should revisit their bids. 

[RoyalC]

6 minutes ago, wampuscat7 said:

Yes, OP said the cabin was changed initially for social distancing, but to me that doesn't matter. OP left the balcony bid in place. Plenty of cruisers, myself included, would still prefer a balcony over a spacious oceanview and would bid for one. It's reasonable for Royal (or it's Royal Up affiliate) to assume OP still wanted the balcony if the bid wasn't canceled. 

 

Perhaps Royal could improve by reminding people when they are moved that they should revisit their bids. 

Read the OP's post and revise.

[Vacationlover2]

6 minutes ago, wampuscat7 said:

Yes, OP said the cabin was changed initially for social distancing, but to me that doesn't matter. OP left the balcony bid in place. Plenty of cruisers, myself included, would still prefer a balcony over a spacious oceanview and would bid for one. It's reasonable for Royal (or it's Royal Up affiliate) to assume OP still wanted the balcony if the bid wasn't canceled. 

 

Perhaps Royal could improve by reminding people when they are moved that they should revisit their bids. 

 

Maybe I wasn't clear. The cabin I was assigned after I got that letter was a spacious ocean view balcony cabin. So I already had about balcony so I don't know why they would think my bid should remain in place. I didn't know that that was something I had to cancel because I figured Royal knew what they were doing. I am also confused about why I got that letter stating that they were changing my cabins due to social distancing when I never had a cabin a sign to me in my paperwork, and less it was assigned to me and just not put in my paperwork yet. The whole story is so unique and bizarre you would think that they could take a second and just maybe figure something out. But it is what it is right.

[Pratique]

I concur, this was an exceptional circumstance that merited a second look by customer service. It is reasonable to expect the cruise line to know what it is doing, or at least be able to explain it to the customer in a friendly and helpful way.

[bajathree]

It's apparent that since you just won a Royal-up you are sailing within the next 5 days. With all thats going on right now you cabin issue is the last thing I would be concerning about...and in all honesty....Royal has their hands full with people cancelling and rescheduling that this is probably of little concern to them. This may not be what you want to hear but it's reality right now. 

That being said I was recently booked in a JS....I received a Royal-up to bid on a higher category and has bids on several suites including a crown loft suite. Shortly after I placed my bids I saw that the price of an owners suite and crown loft suite fell to the price of my JS. So I called Royal and they upgraded me at no cost to a crown loft suite. It was then MY responsibility to go and cancel or alter my Royal-up bids knowing that why would I keep a bid in place on a cabin I just received for no additional cost.....essentially I already won my Roy-up at NO COST. You are owner of your own Royal-up bids and they are your responsibility ...not someone else's to control or cancel. 

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, bajathree said:

It's apparent that since you just won a Royal-up you are sailing within the next 5 days. With all thats going on right now you cabin issue is the last thing I would be concerning about...and in all honesty....Royal has their hands full with people cancelling and rescheduling that this is probably of little concern to them. This may not be what you want to hear but it's reality right now. 

That being said I was recently booked in a JS....I received a Royal-up to bid on a higher category and has bids on several suites including a crown loft suite. Shortly after I placed my bids I saw that the price of an owners suite and crown loft suite fell to the price of my JS. So I called Royal and they upgraded me at no cost to a crown loft suite. It was then MY responsibility to go and cancel or alter my Royal-up bids knowing that why would I keep a bid in place on a cabin I just received for no additional cost.....essentially I already won my Roy-up at NO COST. You are owner of your own Royal-up bids and they are your responsibility ...not someone else's to control or cancel. 

The difference here is that you triggered the cabin change voluntarily, not the cruise line. It's not like they automatically moved you to the CLS and then you thought, aha!, I need to cancel my bid now.

[bajathree]

2 minutes ago, Pratique said:

The difference here is that you triggered the cabin change voluntarily, not the cruise line. It's not like they automatically moved you to the CLS and then you thought, aha!, I need to cancel my bid now.

The OP was aware they received the upgrade/or switch to a balcony cabin.

Edited December 30, 2021 by bajathree

[Vacationlover2]

1 hour ago, xtremegk said:

 

My cruise is in 16 days. I'm hoping they cancel so I can get a full refund.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Vacationlover2

[rs45thompson]

6 minutes ago, Pratique said:

The difference here is that you triggered the cabin change voluntarily, not the cruise line. It's not like they automatically moved you to the CLS and then you thought, aha!, I need to cancel my bid now.

I have to disagree.  When you book a guarantee you don't know where you will end up.  The only thing you know is that an Oceanview is the lowest you will receive, but that is it.  Technically they could have put her in a suite.  A guarantee is a gamble.  Knowing this you should know that when your cabin is assigned you need to adjust accordingly.  

Edited December 30, 2021 by rs45thompson

[Pratique]

Just now, rs45thompson said:

I have to disagree.  When you book a guarantee you don't know where you will end up.  The only thing you know is that an Oceanview is the lowest you will receive, but that is it.  Technically they could have put her in a suite.  A guarantee is a gamble.

Then they shouldn't downgrade on a pending bid. Maybe this is expecting too much? It's counterintuitive for them to downgrade on a RoyalUp bid. No?

 

Last summer I bought box seat tickets to an Angels game including parking passes. Thereafter I received an upgrade to a suite which included parking at no extra cost. Major League Baseball was smart enough to refund my prepaid parking passes automatically. I didn't have to lift a finger. We are living in a world where such things are both possible and somewhat expected. Royal should not have downgraded without customer approval. But I guess this is expecting too much.

[rs45thompson]

Just now, Pratique said:

Then they shouldn't downgrade on a pending bid. Maybe this is expecting too much? It's counterintuitive for them to downgrade on a RoyalUp bid. No?

 

Last summer I bought box seat tickets to an Angels game including parking passes. Thereafter I received an upgrade to a suite which included parking at no extra cost. Major League Baseball was smart enough to refund my prepaid parking passes automatically. I didn't have to lift a finger. We are living in a world where such things are both possible and somewhat expected. Royal should not have downgraded without customer approval. But I guess this is expecting too much.

The problem is she requested the change when she entered the bid.  In order to keep her room the way it was she had to cancel the bid or request for the change.  

[Pratique]

Just now, rs45thompson said:

The problem is she requested the change when she entered the bid.  In order to keep her room the way it was she had to cancel the bid or request for the change.  

Yes you are technically correct. And don't we love losing out on technicalities. My issue is that customer service did not seem receptive to the unique circumstances of this case. Even if they owe the OP nothing, they could have done a better job here instead of saying too bad, so sad. I get the Royal cheerleaders don't like hearing this. It's a big ugly business. Love it, hate it, indifferent, whatever. There is definitely room for improvement, potentially a lesson to be learned for Royal to improve things so this doesn't happen so easily and a warning for anyone using the bid system, it can be unyielding if you aren't paying attention.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

17 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Yes you are technically correct. And don't we love losing out on technicalities. My issue is that customer service did not seem receptive to the unique circumstances of this case. Even if they owe the OP nothing, they could have done a better job here instead of saying too bad, so sad. I get the Royal cheerleaders don't like hearing this. It's a big ugly business. Love it, hate it, indifferent, whatever. There is definitely room for improvement, potentially a lesson to be learned for Royal to improve things so this doesn't happen so easily and a warning for anyone using the bid system, it can be unyielding if you aren't paying attention.

I'm not a "Royal cheerleader".  I do believe MOST people who say a company (any company) is at fault for something is generally wrong.  Not saying company's don't screw up, they absolutely do.  I just don't think this is one of those situations.  

 

This was a "perfect storm"...

A) Guarantee cabin booked

B) Royal Up bid placed

C) Moved for Covid spacing, but could be treated just as part of the "guarantee" perk.

D) Royal Up bid accepted to a level higher than what was originally booked, but lower than moved for spacing.

 

OP, ask yourself this... if you never got the letter saying you had been moved to the spacious OVB, would you have been happy with the Royal Up balcony?  If so, then just go and enjoy the cruise.

 

I understand calling customer service and requesting the SOVB back.  But "no" should have been an acceptable answer.  You can always try calling again. 

[rs45thompson]

2 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Yes you are technically correct. And don't we love losing out on technicalities. My issue is that customer service did not seem receptive to the unique circumstances of this case. Even if they owe the OP nothing, they could have done a better job here instead of saying too bad, so sad. I get the Royal cheerleaders don't like hearing this. It's a big ugly business. Love it, hate it, indifferent, whatever. There is definitely room for improvement, potentially a lesson to be learned for Royal to improve things so this doesn't happen so easily and a warning for anyone using the bid system, it can be unyielding if you aren't paying attention.

I agree that Royal even though not obligated could have tried to help the op by at least giving her $80 in obc to show good will and keep a customer.  

 

I didn't like that the op felt like they didn't need to take any responsibility for their plight.  I work in a high school and it seems like that attitude is becoming prevalent.  It is everyones fault but mine, but that is another discussion for another day.  

 

[Pratique]

12 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

I agree that Royal even though not obligated could have tried to help the op by at least giving her $80 in obc to show good will and keep a customer.  

 

I didn't like that the op felt like they didn't need to take any responsibility for their plight.  I work in a high school and it seems like that attitude is becoming prevalent.  It is everyones fault but mine, but that is another discussion for another day.  

 

This has been going on for a long time. I saw it in the Disney parks 25 years ago. My wife was working as a greeter in front of Universe of Energy on a day when the ride was down. She was approached by a family claiming to have traveled overseas just to see this attraction, and they were angry that it was closed and demanding refunds on their tickets. There are far more egregious examples of entitlement than anything I read in the original post. Again, IMHO, this was an exceptional case that could have been recovered better than it wasn't.

[sushitex]

Ooops, it appears to me that OP looked in the gift  horse's mouth (the chance to bid in the Royal Up) and it bit her! Yikes.

 

We have recently had two experiences in which Royal moved us from one room to a better one, one was involuntarily, and the other, as a way to make amends for events that happened during our cruise that had nothing to do with the room itself. Both were free upgrades, and both happened while already in the original rooms. 

 

In the first case, we were in an oceanview cabin. We liked the location of the room because it was on the third deck, almost around the corner from the main dining room. The issue causing us to get moved was that the tv set wasn't working properly and the maintenance people decided that they needed to open up the wall to check the wiring. So, without so much as an hour's notice, we were told that we were being moved up several decks...to a balcony! The only hassle was packing up in a bit of a hurry, but luckily for us, most of our clothes were still in packing cubes, yay! The bonus was that this was the second leg of a B2B2B, and guest services decided that we could stay in the balcony room for the third leg, gratis.

 

The second case wasn't such a pretty story.  While cruising on a different Royal ship, hubby experienced several issues onboard, including being  skipped in line by the head waiters (serving other customers) in the Windjammer more than once,  and not properly receiving the casino certificate he had earned on the cruise (Club Royale told him it wasn't valid, oddly enough.) There were other issues as well, and hubby eventually voiced his concerns to Guest Services. A day later, the guest services manager met with us and to make amends, offered to move us to either a balcony or junior suite cabin. Of course, we chose the junior suite. He also issued a FCC (don't know if it will actually benefit us, being we sail mostly on casino comped and discounted cruises.) 

 

Moving up to that junior suite did make us feel better. Yes, we didn't earn double points as one normally would, but it was a free upgrade. Can't have everything...

 

So I have to say that Royal did try to make it right, on two different ships, for us. In fact, the guest services manager went above and beyond by calling Club Royale to try to get the invalid certificate issue fixed (didn't happen until we sailed on yet another Royal ship, lol.) Hubby also received a free whole lobster dinner in the MDR at the end of the cruise, as well as  a fruit basket, and several other Royal officers visited us or called us. Wow...our faith in Royal Caribbean has been restored (mostly.)

Edited December 30, 2021 by sushitex

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Then they shouldn't downgrade on a pending bid. Maybe this is expecting too much? It's counterintuitive for them to downgrade on a RoyalUp bid. No?

 

Last summer I bought box seat tickets to an Angels game including parking passes. Thereafter I received an upgrade to a suite which included parking at no extra cost. Major League Baseball was smart enough to refund my prepaid parking passes automatically. I didn't have to lift a finger. We are living in a world where such things are both possible and somewhat expected. Royal should not have downgraded without customer approval. But I guess this is expecting too much.

But there is many CC Members on here have said they prefer what some would consider downgrades. Family's(w/KIds) wanting OV instead of Balcony, another did not want an Assigned Ocean View Balcony liking Boardwalk instead. And there has been couple that wanted certain Cabin and only some upgrades otherwise want keep old Cabin. Me, prefer my Corner/Aft Ocean View Balcony always get over almost any Suite

Edited December 30, 2021 by ONECRUISER

[Pratique]

10 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

But there is many CC Members on here have said they prefer what some would consider downgrades. Family's(w/KIds) wanting OV instead of Balcony, another did not want an Assigned Ocean View Balcony liking Boardwalk instead. And there has been couple that wanted certain Cabin and only some upgrades otherwise want keep old Cabin. Me, prefer my Corner/Aft Ocean View Balcony always get over almost any Suite

It's bid "up" in category, right? Not bid up in preference.

[ONECRUISER]

1 minute ago, Pratique said:

It's bid "up" in category, right? Not bid up in preference.

True, just quoting as some on CC have said... 

Edited December 30, 2021 by ONECRUISER

[sushitex]

44 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

I agree that Royal even though not obligated could have tried to help the op by at least giving her $80 in obc to show good will and keep a customer.  

 

I didn't like that the op felt like they didn't need to take any responsibility for their plight.  I work in a high school and it seems like that attitude is becoming prevalent.  It is everyones fault but mine, but that is another discussion for another day.  

 

 

Didn't she already receive $100 in OBC when she was moved for social distancing reasons? 

[Vacationlover2]

3 hours ago, Pratique said:

The difference here is that you triggered the cabin change voluntarily, not the cruise line. It's not like they automatically moved you to the CLS and then you thought, aha!, I need to cancel my bid now.

 

1 hour ago, sushitex said:

 

Didn't she already receive $100 in OBC when she was moved for social distancing reasons? 

I have yet to see the $100.  It's mentioned in an email but I don't see it in my cruise docs.

[Starry Eyes]

3 hours ago, Vacationlover2 said:

My cruise is in 16 days. I'm hoping they cancel so I can get a full refund.

If you do not want to go, you could say you are unhappy with the “covid protocols” and ask for a refund.  Rumor has it that that works if you use that phrase firmly and perhaps repeatly as you ask for a refund.

[Vacationlover2]

25 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

If you do not want to go, you could say you are unhappy with the “covid protocols” and ask for a refund.  Rumor has it that that works if you use that phrase firmly and perhaps repeatly as you ask for a refund.

Oh thank you!!!  I will call tomorrow and try.  You are very helpful!!!