UK Customer On-Board Credit Issue

[Londoncruiser23]

Hi folks, I wonder if anyone can help or advise on a situation we have.

We went on a cruise with RC last year and had such a good time we ended up booking another cruise on board with the Next Cruise team. They explained to us that as UK customers, we can make any changes or even defer the cruise without losing the on-board credit we received for booking directly. With this in mind we booked the cruise thinking we could amend later if things change.

Well a few weeks later we decided we wanted to push the cruise back a little bit. I rang RC and made the changes and asked if we would keep the on board credit. The answer was yes.

A couple of weeks before the cruise we got an email confirming our on board credit balance. All good we thought!

However when we get on board we have no credit. I query it with guest services and they query it with the onshore team, and they tell us that because we made changes the credit was dropped.

However, when I go to the Next Cruise desk they are still selling the same promotion to UK customers and confirm that if we put a deposit down we can change the cruise, the date and in theory defer for a number of years and still retain the credit!

So back and forth to guest services and phone calls to the onshore team and no one is willing to look into this properly. Its not much money but we feel cheated and feel we were sold the cruise on false promises.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar or have any tips for how to deal with the company? Guest services were literally telling us not to bother them and ring on shore direct. I spent 15 minutes talking to the same guest services person with her saying ‘your on board credit has been removed because you rebooked’ and me saying ‘that’s not what we were sold’ before she finally relented and gave me a number to call. The agent. I spoke to was helpful but finally came back and said they couldn’t add the credit back because the ship has already set sail…even though there was no way to know we didn’t have the credit until we got on board!

It’s just so frustrating. We’ve spent well over £2k on the cruise and they are quibbling over less than £100. We were already to book again but think we’ll be going with someone else next time!

[njkruzer]

Do you have confirmation from after the change with obc? If so, show it to them.  Good luck. 

[Londoncruiser23]

Yes we do, but they don’t want to acknowledge that. They are now telling us the credit was dropped because the cruise we changed to was ‘repriced’, even though the agent at the time told us we’d keep the credit and surely if you

change a booking it by definition it has to be repriced. 

[Saab4444]

7 hours ago, Londoncruiser23 said:

Yes we do, but they don’t want to acknowledge that. They are now telling us the credit was dropped because the cruise we changed to was ‘repriced’, even though the agent at the time told us we’d keep the credit and surely if you

change a booking it by definition it has to be repriced. 

If you have a written confirmation after the change with new price and OBC on it you have all proof you need. This is a legaly binding document issued by Royal.

[swoopy2110]

T&C here:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/next-cruise-booking-terms-and-conditions.pdf

 

It looks like you should retain the credit (I think).

[Billy Baltic]

12 hours ago, Londoncruiser23 said:

However, when I go to the Next Cruise desk they are still selling the same promotion to UK customers and confirm that if we put a deposit down we can change the cruise, the date and in theory defer for a number of years and still retain the credit!

I didn’t think this was available for UK bookings even though Next Cruise. UK and Ireland terms and conditions are very restrictive. 

[cublet]

Hello,

 

This is one of the few instances where we, the UK, are one-up on the US. Sadly when new CS reps are appointed, they are only trained (if at all) on US T&Cs.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

[Londoncruiser23]

thanks guys for all the advice. They have now offered us 20% off a future booking valid for two years. We aren’t sure if we should consider this a victory or not, what do you think? The original onboard credit was £80. In monetary terms it’s a good thing I suppose, but it does mean we have to go with RC again.

[Tree_skier]

10 minutes ago, Londoncruiser23 said:

thanks guys for all the advice. They have now offered us 20% off a future booking valid for two years. We aren’t sure if we should consider this a victory or not, what do you think? The original onboard credit was £80. In monetary terms it’s a good thing I suppose, but it does mean we have to go with RC again.

I would jump on that offer but I plan on booking other cruises.  If you have any thought you may that is a substantially better than what you were asking for.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I'd snatch their arm off.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet