Time Sensitive Complicated Cancellation Issue--Please Help!

[Katems75]

Hello,

 

We are big group sailing.  Our final deposit is due TODAY, the cruise is May 13 on Harmony.  One of our party has one room, with three adults and one baby--ocean view balcony quad room.  One of the adults (who is the father of the baby) is not sure he can get the time off and so he and the baby may not end up sailing.  We will be calling shortly, but hold times for the group number on the weekend are HOURS long (we have experienced this already).

 

So!  I am hoping in the meantime experienced Royal cruisers will chime in to alert us to all our options and to questions we should ask Royal.

 

--If we outright cancel the adult and baby, will we lose the $500 deposit on those two?

 

--If we leave them on and they no show at the port, will we get ANYthing back money wise?  (The adult is costing only $616 grand total and the 'kids sail free' baby is costing $138 grand total which is just her taxes and fees).

 

--If we outright cancel them today, will Royal then move the remaining two adults to a double room?  Will it cost any extra for the two remaining adults to move to a double?

 

--If there are no remaining ocean view balcony doubles available, will they leave them alone in the quad room or will they force them into a double in a different category?

 

--If we cancel them, and at the last minute they learn they can go, would it be possible to just add them to other rooms in our party that have space (two adults each have their very own double room even though they are just one person so there IS space in some of our rooms).  If we did that, would we have to pay anything to add them, considering the single adults are already paying for double rooms with only one person in them?

 

--If we add them to the existing single adult double rooms, can they then sleep in a different room, or do they HAVE to sleep in the room we technically put them in on paper?

 

I don't know for certain the answers to the above, but my GUESS is that we would lose $500 deposit on the adult and baby BUT if they no showed we would get taxes and port fees back.  So since the grand total of he and the baby is $754, and port fees and taxes for both is a grand total of $276, $754-$276 is $478.  So it looks like we would end up losing $478 if we kept them on the cruise and did a no show, but if we took them off we would lose the $500 deposit which is more than the $478 we would lose by canceling.  AND, then if we tried to add them at the last minute and they were NOT free to just be put in the two single adult double rooms, we would surely end up paying more than if we had just left them on.

 

I feel like it does us absolutely no good to cancel them, whether or not they sail.  Am I correct??  I feel like there will be no money savings to do so, and in fact we will lose about $22 by cancelling because of losing the $500 deposit.

 

Unless I am wrong!!   I don't know for certain the answers to my above questions.  If any of you can untangle this mess and advise the best course of action it would be very much appreciated AND it will help us know the right questions to ask when we get a rep on the line.  And if there is anything we have not thought of please say so!  Booking a different cruise for these two and transferring the booking is NOT an option.

 

THANK YOU!!!

[ARandomTraveler]

Yikes. It sounds like you booked a non-refundable fare, which you shouldn't have done, given there was a possibility that someone might have to cancel.
 

And you also didn't buy insurance, which could have covered you for having to cancel for work reasons (some independent 3rd party insurance has this benefit, and if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, it comes with the card automatically as long as you book part of the trip on it and the trip is at least 5 days long (but less than 60)).

 

With those "shoulda's" out of the way, I think you should leave them on the booking. Canceling them risks having the remaining people's cabin re-priced at todays rates, as well as risks them having to move to a different room.
 

It also risks the 2 who canceled being unable to re-join later if the ship is full (and would also subject them and their cabin mates to the current prices at the time of re-joining). 

Edited February 12, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[whitshel]

Are you sure they are non refundable deposits?  Usually group rates have refundable deposits unless you booked an nrd and moved it into the group. 

[Katems75]

Definitely NRD as we booked that way and then moved it into a group.

 

Also, we apparently seriously screwed up as originally there were two rooms for this party, with four adults and one baby and we cancelled one adult a few weeks ago and moved the baby and other adult to the group of two, but also switched rooms cause we needed a quad.  I didn't realize this would reprice everyone at the price of a few weeks ago vs. September when the original cabins were booked.  😞

 

Very much a newbie here.

[smokeybandit]

I see this asked about too often when one passenger can't get off work.

 

American's are at such a disadvantage with the rest of the western world with getting time off and it's a shame.

[Starry Eyes]

Let’s deal with the easy one first.  I see no reason to cancel the baby today.  The baby sails under KSF.  The same amount (just taxes and fees) will be refunded whether baby is cancelled today or if baby is a no show.  And there is a real chance baby will sail.  Keeping the baby on the reservation means there are at least three on the reservation, so perhaps the party is less likely to be moved to a different cabin.

 

Hopefully a travel agent with more knowledge about cancellation policy for the fourth passenger will post soon.  I’d think I’d be hesitant to cancel a passenger who may yet be able to sail.

[c-leg5]

Is this a private group of multiple cabins for your party booked directly with Royal Caribbean where you get perks, or is it a group booking through a TA? You said you booked NRD then moved into a group? Or did you just “link” a few cabins? It is difficult to understand your definition of group.

 

If this is with a TA you need to call TA. Also your final payment date maybe earlier through a TA than with Royal.

Edited February 12, 2023 by c-leg5

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Katems75 said:

Definitely NRD as we booked that way and then moved it into a group.

 

Also, we apparently seriously screwed up as originally there were two rooms for this party, with four adults and one baby and we cancelled one adult a few weeks ago and moved the baby and other adult to the group of two, but also switched rooms cause we needed a quad.  I didn't realize this would reprice everyone at the price of a few weeks ago vs. September when the original cabins were booked.  😞

 

Very much a newbie here.

I remember that post where you didnt realize moving from 2 to 1 cabin would mean you cancelled 1 cabin. 

 

Sure wish you had a TA to advise you.

 

If you no show the fees and taxes are automatically refunded. 

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

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I see this asked about too often when one passenger can't get off work.

 

American's are at such a disadvantage with the rest of the western world with getting time off and it's a shame.

It's a lot more than just having the available time off.  Depending on the industry, there might be limitations to how many people can be off at once.  Depending on the situation, an already approved time off could be rescinded, under what should be extreme circumstances (death, significant illness, or departure of another employee).  

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, Katems75 said:

Hello,

 

We are big group sailing.  Our final deposit is due TODAY, the cruise is May 13 on Harmony.  One of our party has one room, with three adults and one baby--ocean view balcony quad room.  One of the adults (who is the father of the baby) is not sure he can get the time off and so he and the baby may not end up sailing.  We will be calling shortly, but hold times for the group number on the weekend are HOURS long (we have experienced this already).

 

So!  I am hoping in the meantime experienced Royal cruisers will chime in to alert us to all our options and to questions we should ask Royal.

 

--If we outright cancel the adult and baby, will we lose the $500 deposit on those two?

 

--If we leave them on and they no show at the port, will we get ANYthing back money wise?  (The adult is costing only $616 grand total and the 'kids sail free' baby is costing $138 grand total which is just her taxes and fees).

 

--If we outright cancel them today, will Royal then move the remaining two adults to a double room?  Will it cost any extra for the two remaining adults to move to a double?

 

--If there are no remaining ocean view balcony doubles available, will they leave them alone in the quad room or will they force them into a double in a different category?

 

--If we cancel them, and at the last minute they learn they can go, would it be possible to just add them to other rooms in our party that have space (two adults each have their very own double room even though they are just one person so there IS space in some of our rooms).  If we did that, would we have to pay anything to add them, considering the single adults are already paying for double rooms with only one person in them?

 

--If we add them to the existing single adult double rooms, can they then sleep in a different room, or do they HAVE to sleep in the room we technically put them in on paper?

 

I don't know for certain the answers to the above, but my GUESS is that we would lose $500 deposit on the adult and baby BUT if they no showed we would get taxes and port fees back.  So since the grand total of he and the baby is $754, and port fees and taxes for both is a grand total of $276, $754-$276 is $478.  So it looks like we would end up losing $478 if we kept them on the cruise and did a no show, but if we took them off we would lose the $500 deposit which is more than the $478 we would lose by canceling.  AND, then if we tried to add them at the last minute and they were NOT free to just be put in the two single adult double rooms, we would surely end up paying more than if we had just left them on.

 

I feel like it does us absolutely no good to cancel them, whether or not they sail.  Am I correct??  I feel like there will be no money savings to do so, and in fact we will lose about $22 by cancelling because of losing the $500 deposit.

 

Unless I am wrong!!   I don't know for certain the answers to my above questions.  If any of you can untangle this mess and advise the best course of action it would be very much appreciated AND it will help us know the right questions to ask when we get a rep on the line.  And if there is anything we have not thought of please say so!  Booking a different cruise for these two and transferring the booking is NOT an option.

 

THANK YOU!!!

As mentioned.

 

Cancel the father.  That will keep you in the room for 4 guests and you will not lose anything by cancelling him.  His fare will just be taken off.  Then have the baby be a no show at the pier and you will get the taxes back.

 

You wont be out a thing.

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

If this is with a TA you need to call TA. Also your final payment date maybe earlier through a TA than with Royal.

Its a May 13 sailing.  Royals final payment date is Today...90 days before sailing.

[c-leg5]

6 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Its a May 13 sailing.  Royals final payment date is Today...90 days before sailing.

OK, then I don’t understand the group part, or why they need a special number but you seem to have offered a solution. 

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, c-leg5 said:

OK, then I don’t understand the group part, or why they need a special number but you seem to have offered a solution. 

I am guessing that they have already paid in full as I am pretty sure a TA would not be leaving final until the last day.

 

Any group bookings are done through a different department and cannot be accessed through the regular agents

[smokeybandit]

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

It's a lot more than just having the available time off.  Depending on the industry, there might be limitations to how many people can be off at once.  Depending on the situation, an already approved time off could be rescinded, under what should be extreme circumstances (death, significant illness, or departure of another employee).  

That's also part of the problem.

[c-leg5]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Any group bookings are done through a different department and cannot be accessed through the regular agents

NP, I understand that.

 

I was just intrigued as I have never done a group booking direct - I thought that was only  for private groups where you booked 8 (?) or more cabins, which may have been relevant if the OP had cancelled a cabin, as they were considering. 
 

I have only done group bookings through a TA where it was a refundable deposit as posted earlier, so I was just trying to understand the situation.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, c-leg5 said:

NP, I understand that.

 

I was just intrigued as I have never done a group booking direct - I thought that was only  for private groups where you booked 8 (?) or more cabins, which may have been relevant if the OP had cancelled a cabin, as they were considering. 
 

I have only done group bookings through a TA where it was a refundable deposit as posted earlier, so I was just trying to understand the situation.

Group bookings can be done direct but like you mentioned they needed to have 8 or more rooms when they set it up..

 

I think someone else answered this but only double occupancy cabins are offered at group rates and get booked directly ion the group.  Other categories not offered at group rates (suites) and triples/quads get booked outside of the group and then moved into the group for the group amenities.

[Katems75]

Thank you all, for the comments.  Rooms were originally booked with RC as individual rooms and then moved into a group and I guess that supposedly gave a discount of cruise fare for one person, so like a $1200 discount or something.  Probably not a great perk as perhaps going through a TA would have given us more discounts. Yes, it was more than eight cabins.

 

We had not paid in full yet, but have now.  There was no option to remove baby and father and move the other two adults to a double.  In fact they said if we removed them the dollar amount would remain the same because it would be two people in a quad and they would therefore have to pay more for being two people in a quad.  Baby was free already with KSF, and father was $616. They said that $616 would be divided and applied to the two remaining adults.

 

And yes, I had a similar question a few weeks ago when we wanted to just cancel the mom.  What I did not know and what RC did not explain to me, was that putting the father and baby together with the two other adults would then reprice the two other adults.  Live and learn, I guess.  The original adults were in a room for $2600 and are now in a room for $4300 with father and baby (who again may not sail).  That $4300 remains their cruise cost because there were no other rooms to downgrade them into [the rooms are the same as far as ocean view balcony]...it's just their original only slept two, the new one sleeps four...I also find it really weird they don't have the magical couch that sleeps two in every room no matter what).

 

Again thank you for listening.  If we ever do this again we will do it differently for sure.

 

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Katems75 said:

Thank you all, for the comments.  Rooms were originally booked with RC as individual rooms and then moved into a group and I guess that supposedly gave a discount of cruise fare for one person, so like a $1200 discount or something.  Probably not a great perk as perhaps going through a TA would have given us more discounts. Yes, it was more than eight cabins.

 

We had not paid in full yet, but have now.  There was no option to remove baby and father and move the other two adults to a double.  In fact they said if we removed them the dollar amount would remain the same because it would be two people in a quad and they would therefore have to pay more for being two people in a quad.  Baby was free already with KSF, and father was $616. They said that $616 would be divided and applied to the two remaining adults.

 

And yes, I had a similar question a few weeks ago when we wanted to just cancel the mom.  What I did not know and what RC did not explain to me, was that putting the father and baby together with the two other adults would then reprice the two other adults.  Live and learn, I guess.  The original adults were in a room for $2600 and are now in a room for $4300 with father and baby (who again may not sail).  That $4300 remains their cruise cost because there were no other rooms to downgrade them into [the rooms are the same as far as ocean view balcony]...it's just their original only slept two, the new one sleeps four...I also find it really weird they don't have the magical couch that sleeps two in every room no matter what).

 

Again thank you for listening.  If we ever do this again we will do it differently for sure.

 

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Did you ask about removing the father and keeping the baby?

[Katems75]

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Did you ask about removing the father and keeping the baby?

We repeatedly asked about canceling the father without mentioning the baby and were told his $616 fare would not be returned, but would be spread amongst the other two adults due to it being a pricier room category (pricier simply because it sleeps more people, still same size room and same size balcony).

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Katems75 said:

We repeatedly asked about canceling the father without mentioning the baby and were told his $616 fare would not be returned, but would be spread amongst the other two adults due to it being a pricier room category (pricier simply because it sleeps more people, still same size room and same size balcony).

Sorry to hear that..  You got a rep who was not properly trained or had difficulty understanding your request or communicating how it should be repriced. 

 

Removing the third guest should have seen no change to the other guests pricing and their fare should have simply dropped from the booking.  I just did this last week for a client. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[ARandomTraveler]

How did the other 2 adults react to being charged an additional $1700? That's a big price leap that it doesn't sound like they agreed to. I'd be pretty mad if I was them. 

[poocher]

Our daughter was unable to go on our October cruise.  TA was able to cancel her and apply her deposit to our balance without our room being moved or repriced.