Royal Upcharging on paid in full cruise?

[RedJessi]

I booked and paid in full for a cruise for myself, my husband and our daughter for her upcoming 11th birthday - this was all done on June 22 of 2023 and the cruise is scheduled for November 17, 2023.  At the time, the website stated that check in would not be available until Oct 3, 2023. So, October 3, I log in and start to put in our info. Oddly, though it doesn't have names for my husband and daughter in the system (despite the fact that my husband has a C&A#) it does have incorrect ages for them both. I think, weird but correct the ages. (For information sake, it made my husband about 5 years older and made my daughter about 25 years older). I am now being told that because their names were not on the booking and the cruise fare has changed, that I need to pay an additional fee of $91p. Does this seem like BS to anyone else? 

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, RedJessi said:

I booked and paid in full for a cruise for myself, my husband and our daughter for her upcoming 11th birthday - this was all done on June 22 of 2023 and the cruise is scheduled for November 17, 2023.  At the time, the website stated that check in would not be available until Oct 3, 2023. So, October 3, I log in and start to put in our info. Oddly, though it doesn't have names for my husband and daughter in the system (despite the fact that my husband has a C&A#) it does have incorrect ages for them both. I think, weird but correct the ages. (For information sake, it made my husband about 5 years older and made my daughter about 25 years older). I am now being told that because their names were not on the booking and the cruise fare has changed, that I need to pay an additional fee of $91p. Does this seem like BS to anyone else? 

 

Doesn't your booking invoice show all the correct information for your husband and daughter?  That should be your proof that it is a system glitch.

[HicksRA]

Sounds like about 3 hours on the phone to me. 
Good luck!

 

(I know.. The next post will be “That’s why you need to use a travel agent.)

Edited October 6, 2023 by HicksRA

[Georgia_Peaches]

Trying to understand why their names weren't on the original booking.  Do you have a copy of your original booking that shows their names?  Did you book direct or via a TA?

 

Edit to say I wouldn't call it an upcharge.  Sounds like a system error.  An upcharge would imply that it was done by design and would happen to everyone as they checked in.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[RedJessi]

3 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Doesn't your booking invoice show all the correct information for your husband and daughter?  That should be your proof that it is a system glitch.

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3. So, I logged in Oct 3 to get it done and lo and behold I get an error message that the updated info changed my balance and I need to call. Since I work 2 jobs and have a 10 year old, today was the first day I had any time free to call and it's been....unpleasant thus far. I feel like I am not trying to be difficult, but I don't understand why I am being penalized for their technology not being operational? They just keep saying that the cruise fare has gone up since I booked and I'm like....but I paid IN FULL the day I booked. Why would the system allow that? 

Feels very scammy and making me regret trying to come back to RC as our worst cruise to date was with RC (caveat, even a bad cruise is better than a normal day at work, but still).

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Sounds like about 3 hours on the phone to me. 
Good luck!

 

(I know.. The next post will be “That’s why you need to use a travel agent.)

Glitches such as these do make a compelling argument for using a TA...I hate to think of the OP having to spend 3 hours with multiple agents trying to get this sorted.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

They just keep saying that the cruise fare has gone up since I booked and I'm like....but I paid IN FULL the day I booked. Why would the system allow that? 

Escalate this ASAP.  You should not have to pay the additional PP fee.

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3. So, I logged in Oct 3 to get it done and lo and behold I get an error message that the updated info changed my balance and I need to call. Since I work 2 jobs and have a 10 year old, today was the first day I had any time free to call and it's been....unpleasant thus far. I feel like I am not trying to be difficult, but I don't understand why I am being penalized for their technology not being operational? They just keep saying that the cruise fare has gone up since I booked and I'm like....but I paid IN FULL the day I booked. Why would the system allow that? 

Feels very scammy and making me regret trying to come back to RC as our worst cruise to date was with RC (caveat, even a bad cruise is better than a normal day at work, but still).

 

Their names should have been on the booking from the beginning.  If they couldn't be put on the booking online when you booked it, a call should have been made then.  Not sure you have a leg to stand on with this as you didn't address it when it happened.  I would try to see if resolutions can help you.

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3.

Do you remember entering their names when you did the original booking?  Do you still have your confirmation e-mail showing the TBA?

[swoopy2110]

Call.

[swoopy2110]

6 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3. 

 

Did you originally input the names as TBA ?

October 3rd would be the date you can 'check in' from. The dates on the original reservation still needed to be corrected though.

[RedJessi]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Glitches such as these do make a good case for using a TA...I hate to think of the OP having to spend 3 hours with multiple agents trying to get this sorted.

 
I've honestly never used a TA for a cruise - I have worked a few times with TAs to book vacations at Walt Disney World and felt that I actually got less accomplished, less attention to detail and less benefits than just booking myself. And maybe that's the issue - that I was hoping RC would be like DCL. We took 3 DCL cruises in 2022 and they were so easy to book, check in, and enjoy that I thought all cruise lines were similar. Our experience with Princess was not great either and I think I had it in my head that Princess is a line that has been struggling with its technology for awhile. Maybe I need to adjust my expectations for all cruise lines. Still, frustrating and disappointing.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, reallyitsmema said:

Their names should have been on the booking from the beginning.  If they couldn't be put on the booking online when you booked it, a call should have been made then. 

Excellent point.  I've never been able to complete an on line booking without adding the names of the party.  Hopefully the OP has a confirmation with the names showing.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, RedJessi said:

Still, frustrating and disappointing.

Please keep us updated on the result.  I encourage you to escalate this situation.

[RedJessi]

1 minute ago, swoopy2110 said:

 

Did you originally input the names as TBA ?

October 3rd would be the date you can 'check in' from. The dates on the original reservation still needed to be corrected though.

 I did not enter the names as TBA, no. I tried to put in their data - because my husband has a different C&A# than I do. When I noted that TBA was on the booking, I did call - for 2 reasons. 1. The TBA,TBA names on the booking and 2. to link my and my husband's C&A#s and see if we could be booked in at his higher tier. They were able to link our accounts but stated that I had to wait until check in the enter passenger data. 

 

on the phone now

[swoopy2110]

1 minute ago, RedJessi said:

 I did not enter the names as TBA, no. I tried to put in their data - because my husband has a different C&A# than I do. When I noted that TBA was on the booking, I did call - for 2 reasons. 1. The TBA,TBA names on the booking and 2. to link my and my husband's C&A#s and see if we could be booked in at his higher tier. They were able to link our accounts but stated that I had to wait until check in the enter passenger data. 

 

on the phone now

 

 

OOO that's not right. They should have fixed the names when you called.

Hope you get a resolution.

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, RedJessi said:

 I did not enter the names as TBA, no. I tried to put in their data - because my husband has a different C&A# than I do. When I noted that TBA was on the booking, I did call - for 2 reasons. 1. The TBA,TBA names on the booking and 2. to link my and my husband's C&A#s and see if we could be booked in at his higher tier. They were able to link our accounts but stated that I had to wait until check in the enter passenger data. 

 

on the phone now

 

That information is not correct.  Everyone has their own C&A number and by linking yours to his, you should get his status.  All names should have been on the booking to start with.  Ask for the resolutions department, they are the ones that can fix this if it is their error.

[Arzeena]

24 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3. So, I logged in Oct 3 to get it done and lo and behold I get an error message that the updated info changed my balance and I need to call. Since I work 2 jobs and have a 10 year old, today was the first day I had any time free to call and it's been....unpleasant thus far. I feel like I am not trying to be difficult, but I don't understand why I am being penalized for their technology not being operational? They just keep saying that the cruise fare has gone up since I booked and I'm like....but I paid IN FULL the day I booked. Why would the system allow that? 

Feels very scammy and making me regret trying to come back to RC as our worst cruise to date was with RC (caveat, even a bad cruise is better than a normal day at work, but still).

No scam here.

When you change your TBA to a name, that person's fare is calculated at current rates. It has happened to us on an Explorer sailing some years back.
We were booked with a TA. When the TBA was "named", that fare was way more than passenger #1's fare. TA worked with resolutions, but resolutions said those were the rules ( reg. pricing with current rates when the TBA is changed to a name). This was some years back when the Explorer was sailing out of Bayonne. I am not aware how it is done these days, but am relating my experience with TBA.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Arzeena

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, Arzeena said:

No scam here.

When you change your TBA to a name, that person's fare is calculated at current rates. It has happened to us on an Explorer sailing some years back.
We were booked with a TA.

Not a scam...but why should the names default to TBA in the system?  If this has happened to you, and likely others, then isn't it a glitch in the system?

[firefly333]

23 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Up until now, all the system has shown is my name and guests TBA, TBA. When I tried to add their names to the booking, it said that it wouldn't be available until October 3. So, I logged in Oct 3 to get it done and lo and behold I get an error message that the updated info changed my balance and I need to call. Since I work 2 jobs and have a 10 year old, today was the first day I had any time free to call and it's been....unpleasant thus far. I feel like I am not trying to be difficult, but I don't understand why I am being penalized for their technology not being operational? They just keep saying that the cruise fare has gone up since I booked and I'm like....but I paid IN FULL the day I booked. Why would the system allow that? 

Feels very scammy and making me regret trying to come back to RC as our worst cruise to date was with RC (caveat, even a bad cruise is better than a normal day at work, but still).

So tba tba on their names and that didnt set off alarm bells on the original booking. I would have called asap but that's me. Not sammy if you let it go. Cant blame someone else. 

 

Good luck fixing it now. Ask to have it escalated. Maybe wrote mbayley@rccl.com and explain to him you are a  newbie and TBA tba on names didnt set off alarm bells, you didnt know.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

So tba tba on their names and that didnt set off alarm bells on the original booking. I would have called asap but that's me.

OP indicated in past 15 that she did call when she noticed the names listed as TBA.

[RedJessi]

7 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

That information is not correct.  Everyone has their own C&A number and by linking yours to his, you should get his status.  All names should have been on the booking to start with.  Ask for the resolutions department, they are the ones that can fix this if it is their error.

Just under an hour on the phone with resolutions and they "waived the fare", so that's good. Still feels underhanded overall, like they were hoping I'd just cough up the extra cash and it's definitely not the best impression. Our cruise on Oasis was such a poor experience that we left the line. I was hoping to see improvements over that experience - and I am still hoping that our onboard experience is better. Just not a rocking great start thus far.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just now, RedJessi said:

Just under an hour on the phone with resolutions and they "waived the fare", so that's good. Still feels underhanded overall, like they were hoping I'd just cough up the extra cash and it's definitely not the best impression. Our cruise on Oasis was such a poor experience that we left the line. I was hoping to see improvements over that experience - and I am still hoping that our onboard experience is better. Just not a rocking great start thus far.

Glad you got it fixed.  Did you happen to ask why it defaulted to TBA?  Apparently, this has happened to others as well.

[RedJessi]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

So tba tba on their names and that didnt set off alarm bells on the original booking. I would have called asap but that's me. Not sammy if you let it go. Cant blame someone else. 

 

Good luck fixing it now. Ask to have it escalated. Maybe wrote mbayley@rccl.com and explain to him you are a  newbie and TBA tba on names didnt set off alarm bells, you didnt know.

 I did call. I was told I had to wait until Oct 3 to check in. They were able to link my account and my husband's account on that phone call but stated they couldn't do anything about the booking due to system upgrades being performed IIRC (it was several months ago).

[RedJessi]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Glad you got it fixed.  Did you happen to ask why it defaulted to TBA?  Apparently, this has happened to others as well.

 They continued to imply it was my fault throughout. Even when I stated I had called when I made the booking and was told I had to wait and that their system didn't allow for me to edit the booking until check in, they just keep stating "yes, but since you didn't put in their names and the fare changed, you have a balance due". 

Eh, whatever the company line, I am not being charged the extra $, so thats good. Just leave a bad taste. Regardless, I am sure my kiddo will have a good time. Going to contact the other family traveling with us though and give them a heads up because I'm pretty sure theirs also had TBA, TBA on their booking.