Royal Caribbean changed our cabin

[topnole]

The new cabin is much closer to the elevator so better IMO.  This is an insignificant change IMO and I personally wouldn’t think twice if it happened to me.  Why all the suggestions to complain and get money back from Royal? Must we complain about everything nowadays?  Royal is clear in the contract that your cabin can change.  

[BND]

30 minutes ago, topnole said:

The new cabin is much closer to the elevator so better IMO.  This is an insignificant change IMO and I personally wouldn’t think twice if it happened to me.  Why all the suggestions to complain and get money back from Royal? Must we complain about everything nowadays?  Royal is clear in the contract that your cabin can change.  

Maybe because they selected a specific cabin and weren't even notified about it.  I don't go complain to management about anything normally, but for this I would.  We pick the exact cabin and location we want and book way ahead of time for a reason.  

[topnole]

14 minutes ago, BND said:

Maybe because they selected a specific cabin and weren't even notified about it.  I don't go complain to management about anything normally, but for this I would.  We pick the exact cabin and location we want and book way ahead of time for a reason.  

So is it that they were moved or the final cabin location?   No where does it state that what you picked is absolute.  They clearly state they hold the right to move you.  Your acting like picking a room is some type of guarantee.   It’s obvious why they got moved.  The new cabin seems like a reasonable substitute.  Why must everyone complain about everything?   

[BND]

13 minutes ago, topnole said:

So is it that they were moved or the final cabin location?   No where does it state that what you picked is absolute.  They clearly state they hold the right to move you.  Your acting like picking a room is some type of guarantee.   It’s obvious why they got moved.  The new cabin seems like a reasonable substitute.  Why must everyone complain about everything?   

For me, it could be both.  We try to get as close to mid-ship as possible which is why back in the day when free upgrades happened, we opted out because some "upgrades" were to aft cabins.  Everyone who picks their own cabin has their reasons why.  It's not unreasonable to be ask why it happened and why they weren't at least notified.

[topnole]

14 minutes ago, BND said:

For me, it could be both.  We try to get as close to mid-ship as possible which is why back in the day when free upgrades happened, we opted out because some "upgrades" were to aft cabins.  Everyone who picks their own cabin has their reasons why.  It's not unreasonable to be ask why it happened and why they weren't at least notified.

Ok.  But assume they notify you.  That isn’t going to make you anymore happy or upset about the new location.  So is the complaint about notification?   And that is why people are saying they should get compensation for the room change.   Does the contract mention notification?  Were the contract terms violated on this?   Is it such a significant change that it impacts anything.  This isn’t a big deal.  As in zero substantive difference.  
 

I think it is more like ask for money because you have a good excuse to do so.  It’s never ending in modern society.  Everyone has a grievance and must be compensated.  Our an ancestors would be laughing at such things.   

[BND]

4 minutes ago, topnole said:

Ok.  But assume they notify you.  That isn’t going to make you anymore happy or upset about the new location.  So is the complaint about notification?   And that is why people are saying they should get compensation for the room change.   Does the contract mention notification?  Were the contract terms violated on this?   Is it such a significant change that it impacts anything.  This isn’t a big deal.  As in zero substantive difference.  
 

I think it is more like ask for money because you have a good excuse to do so.  It’s never ending in modern society.  Everyone has a grievance and must be compensated.  Our an ancestors would be laughing at such things.   

No, but at least you could make some noise about which cabin they do move you to, especially if you have reasons for certain locations (i.e. seasickness-and yes I take meds, distance from others in your party, etc)   I, personally wouldn't ask for money.  I never ask for compensation nor do I expect it, ever.  You're going beyond what I was actually saying.  What isn't a substantive difference to you might be to someone else.  

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by BND

[vjmatty]

9 minutes ago, topnole said:

Ok.  But assume they notify you.  That isn’t going to make you anymore happy or upset about the new location.  So is the complaint about notification?   And that is why people are saying they should get compensation for the room change.   Does the contract mention notification?  Were the contract terms violated on this?   Is it such a significant change that it impacts anything.  This isn’t a big deal.  As in zero substantive difference.  
 

I think it is more like ask for money because you have a good excuse to do so.  It’s never ending in modern society.  Everyone has a grievance and must be compensated.  Our an ancestors would be laughing at such things.   

 

Our ancestors would be too busy being blown away by what a modern cruise ship has and looks like to notice a minor financial request.

[topnole]

23 minutes ago, BND said:

No, but at least you could make some noise about which cabin they do move you to, especially if you have reasons for certain locations (i.e. seasickness-and yes I take meds, distance from others in your party, etc)   I, personally wouldn't ask for money.  I never ask for compensation nor do I expect it, ever.  You're going beyond what I was actually saying.  What isn't a substantive difference to you might be to someone else.  

 

Doesn’t matter.  A cabin is never guaranteed.  If perfect center on deck 2 is needed or sea sickness is an issue on a 1000 foot ship, you probably shouldn’t cruise because there are no guarantees when picking a cabin.  The difference between forward center vs center is extremely negligible on a ship like this.  Particularly on a lower deck.  
 

I agree on distance from friends, but any friends on deck 2 would be getting moved too.  
 

Sure, there are times when getting moved could be a big negative compared to what was picked.  This doesn’t seem like one of them.  But within a few posts the comments begin that they deserve compensation.  A bit ridiculous IMO.  Are there reasons in this case they could be really upset beyond just the simple fact they got moved?   Of course.  But they didn’t express them and yet still people call for compensation.  Again, just a sad statement on our grievance culture.  

Edited July 1, 2022 by topnole

[topnole]

18 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

Our ancestors would be too busy being blown away by what a modern cruise ship has and looks like to notice a minor financial request.

Exactly.  And then they would here about the complaining that a cabin got moved 100 foot down and one deck up and laugh.  

[rudeney]

Maybe what RCCL needs to do is follow the method many resorts use: Instead of picking a specific room, they could ask you what you want, like aft/mid/forward, upper deck, near elevators or not, connecting or not, near any other cabins attached to the booking, etc.  Then, if you want a specific room, allow it to be entered into the comments.  That way, no one gets disappointed when they have to rearrange things.  You'd only be disappointed if you didn't get all of your requests honored, but this happens all the time at resorts and people still have great vacations.  I think the expectation that a person has reserved a specific cabin and then gets moved is what creates the real problems like this.  I'm not saying that @ceo418 is wrong to complain (I would) just that if the expectations were different, RCCL would not have to deal with this problem. 

[ceo418]

1 hour ago, topnole said:

Doesn’t matter.  A cabin is never guaranteed.  If perfect center on deck 2 is needed or sea sickness is an issue on a 1000 foot ship, you probably shouldn’t cruise because there are no guarantees when picking a cabin.  The difference between forward center vs center is extremely negligible on a ship like this.  Particularly on a lower deck.  
 

I agree on distance from friends, but any friends on deck 2 would be getting moved too.  
 

Sure, there are times when getting moved could be a big negative compared to what was picked.  This doesn’t seem like one of them.  But within a few posts the comments begin that they deserve compensation.  A bit ridiculous IMO.  Are there reasons in this case they could be really upset beyond just the simple fact they got moved?   Of course.  But they didn’t express them and yet still people call for compensation.  Again, just a sad statement on our grievance culture.  

Since this is only my second cruise, and my first on Royal Caribbean, I have never had the experience of having a cabin changed. I expected that when I picked the cabin I did, that's where we would be staying. (Otherwise, what would be the point of letting people pick their cabin at all?) I've always heard it recommended that mid-ship and lower decks are better for people prone to motion sickness, so that is why we picked an Ocean View on the second deck. I'm not thrilled about being so close to the elevators, but we'll make the best of it during the cruise. I was not happy that RC could not at least have sent an e-mail to let me know, and just left it for me to find while I was browsing the app. They gave me an explanation when I asked through social media messages, so they could have just as easily warned me about it through e-mail. 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, ceo418 said:

They gave me an explanation when I asked through social media messages, so they could have just as easily warned me about it through e-mail. 

Since you have no experience with RCI, realize that expecting that will only end in disappointment. 

[flamingos]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Maybe because they selected a specific cabin and weren't even notified about it. 

 

That's the issue for me.  I would check the spam folder, just to be sure there was no notification, but finding out by looking at your app? That's not good customer service.

 

As to the OP's question, the new cabin looks equivalent and is still low enough and central enough to ease any seasickness issues.

[ceo418]

6 minutes ago, flamingos said:

 

That's the issue for me.  I would check the spam folder, just to be sure there was no notification, but finding out by looking at your app? That's not good customer service.

 

As to the OP's question, the new cabin looks equivalent and is still low enough and central enough to ease any seasickness issues.

That's good to hear, thank you! We are looking forward to the cruise itself.

[topnole]

1 hour ago, ceo418 said:

That's good to hear, thank you! We are looking forward to the cruise itself.

For most people, being near the elevator is a big plus.  Never had any noise issues due to being near the elevator.   I’m guessing you will appreciate not having the extra 100 foot walk from the stairs/elevator to your cabin each time.  

[topnole]

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

Maybe what RCCL needs to do is follow the method many resorts use: Instead of picking a specific room, they could ask you what you want, like aft/mid/forward, upper deck, near elevators or not, connecting or not, near any other cabins attached to the booking, etc.  Then, if you want a specific room, allow it to be entered into the comments.  That way, no one gets disappointed when they have to rearrange things.  You'd only be disappointed if you didn't get all of your requests honored, but this happens all the time at resorts and people still have great vacations.  I think the expectation that a person has reserved a specific cabin and then gets moved is what creates the real problems like this.  I'm not saying that @ceo418 is wrong to complain (I would) just that if the expectations were different, RCCL would not have to deal with this problem. 

They should do like southwest air used to do.  First come first serve at the port.  SW could unload and board a plane in 15 minutes or less in the old days.  This gave time for one more flight segment per day meaning more revenue for the same fixed cost.  This allowed them a huge advantage over the old guard airlines that took an hour + to turn around a plane.
 

Royal could really speed up turn around day this way and get more people in the casino faster.  

 

Of course I’m very much joking.  

[iuki]

This is my last post on this subject.  I wasn’t advocating that the OP get compensated because she didn’t get what she wanted.  I just felt that she should be made whole.  If at the time she booked the cruise she could have saved $200 by booking a GTY room, but didn’t choose to save $200 in order to get the room she really wanted, then she should either be refunded the $200 or get OBC for $200.  That’s not being greedy.  Being greedy would be asking for more than the $200.  Yes, it’s nice that she did get $100 OBC, hopefully that made her whole.  And with comments that maybe she shouldn’t cruise because she gets seasick sounds patronizing.  People can get medication for seasickness, but I totally understand her wanting to prevent seasickness as much as possible.  Yes, there’s always the fine print that allows the cruise line to change situations, but it would be more accepting if people were notified as to why the necessity for the change.  And it doesn’t help when people are condescending when someone is upset or disappointed in something that occurs unexpectedly.

[vjmatty]

12 hours ago, iuki said:

This is my last post on this subject.  I wasn’t advocating that the OP get compensated because she didn’t get what she wanted.  I just felt that she should be made whole.  If at the time she booked the cruise she could have saved $200 by booking a GTY room, but didn’t choose to save $200 in order to get the room she really wanted, then she should either be refunded the $200 or get OBC for $200.  That’s not being greedy.  Being greedy would be asking for more than the $200.  Yes, it’s nice that she did get $100 OBC, hopefully that made her whole.  And with comments that maybe she shouldn’t cruise because she gets seasick sounds patronizing.  People can get medication for seasickness, but I totally understand her wanting to prevent seasickness as much as possible.  Yes, there’s always the fine print that allows the cruise line to change situations, but it would be more accepting if people were notified as to why the necessity for the change.  And it doesn’t help when people are condescending when someone is upset or disappointed in something that occurs unexpectedly.

Yeah we’re a tough crowd here sometimes. I don’t think anyone would disagree that people should be notified of cabin changes. That’s a given. However, reimbursement for the price difference between a guarantee and specific cabin, like in your case a hypothetical $200, might not be so easy to calculate. Prices fluctuate a lot over the duration of a booking, and guarantee categories often sell out early. 

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

15 hours ago, topnole said:

They should do like southwest air used to do.  First come first serve at the port.  SW could unload and board a plane in 15 minutes or less in the old days.  This gave time for one more flight segment per day meaning more revenue for the same fixed cost.  This allowed them a huge advantage over the old guard airlines that took an hour + to turn around a plane.
 

Royal could really speed up turn around day this way and get more people in the casino faster.  

 

Of course I’m very much joking.  

Mythbusters did an episode testing the "best" way to board an aircraft.   While the "free for all" was the fastest, it was also the least satisfactory to the passengers.  Look it up.  

 

Southwest's boarding process also hinges on all the seats being the same.  Don't think that would work for cruise ship cabins. 

[topnole]

37 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Mythbusters did an episode testing the "best" way to board an aircraft.   While the "free for all" was the fastest, it was also the least satisfactory to the passengers.  Look it up.  

 

Southwest's boarding process also hinges on all the seats being the same.  Don't think that would work for cruise ship cabins. 

I did say I was joking btw.   
 

SW seems to work well and many love it. In fact they are now one of the biggest carriers in the US.  When all the companies constantly lost money, they were profitable year after year.  Even after 911 when many of the others almost went bankrupt.  Seems reality doesn’t match up with one small myth busters sample.  Lots of people prefer SW over the others.  

Edited July 2, 2022 by topnole

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

16 minutes ago, topnole said:

I did say I was joking btw.   
 

SW seems to work well and many love it. In fact they are now one of the biggest carriers in the US.  When all the companies constantly lost money, they were profitable year after year.  Even after 911 when many of the others almost went bankrupt.  Seems reality doesn’t match up with one small myth busters sample.  Lots of people prefer SW over the others.  

Honestly, I missed the joking line.  

 

Mythbusters was just testing the boarding process.  SW also has fans because of cost and what cities they service.  It's not just boarding.  

[flamingos]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

  SW also has fans because of cost and what cities they service.  It's not just boarding.  

 

And loyalty benefits.  They have a devoted following.  

[rudeney]

14 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Mythbusters did an episode testing the "best" way to board an aircraft.   While the "free for all" was the fastest, it was also the least satisfactory to the passengers.  Look it up.  

 

Southwest's boarding process also hinges on all the seats being the same.  Don't think that would work for cruise ship cabins. 

 

I used to hate Southwest.  I had some bad experiences with them where flights were overbook by more than double, and flights that landed in my departure city, but no one was getting off (e.g. continuing on to New Orleans for Mardi Gras) so no seats - and no help with hotels, other airline flights, etc.  That was 30+ years go and they have addressed those problems.  Now, I fly them almost exclusively.  I like the two free checked bags and not having to play games to choose a seat, except by making sure to check in as early as possible.  

 

I used to fly Delta exclusively.  Back in the good old days I was a Million Miler and would get comped to first class and all sort of perks.  Then they changed the program and all that went away.  They now nickel and dime us to death.  And every flight I take, I have baggage issues and they do NOTHIGN to fix them.  I'll stick to Southwest.

 

 

[mpk]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:35 AM, rudeney said:

Maybe what RCCL needs to do is follow the method many resorts use: Instead of picking a specific room, they could ask you what you want, like aft/mid/forward, upper deck, near elevators or not, connecting or not, near any other cabins attached to the booking, etc.  Then, if you want a specific room, allow it to be entered into the comments.  That way, no one gets disappointed when they have to rearrange things.  You'd only be disappointed if you didn't get all of your requests honored, but this happens all the time at resorts and people still have great vacations.  I think the expectation that a person has reserved a specific cabin and then gets moved is what creates the real problems like this.  I'm not saying that @ceo418 is wrong to complain (I would) just that if the expectations were different, RCCL would not have to deal with this problem. 

 

Personally, I'd hate it if the cruiselines went in this direction.  It would be a move in the wrong direction 🙂

 

The current practice works because it doesn't happen "that often".  If they changed to broad categories only, it'd be a license for them to move people around willy nilly all the time.

[rudeney]

26 minutes ago, mpk said:

 

Personally, I'd hate it if the cruiselines went in this direction.  It would be a move in the wrong direction 🙂

 

The current practice works because it doesn't happen "that often".  If they changed to broad categories only, it'd be a license for them to move people around willy nilly all the time.

 

Yeah, I would not like it, either, if there was nothing but GYT bookings. I do like picking my stateroom, but I can understand how this causes issues when they need to rearrange things.  We book suites and while I do like to pick my stateroom, I'd probably not be disappointed in any suite they put me in.