RKHOOKER

Just took up another offer from P & O for $500 for 2 people with $100 of casino cash for a 12 night cruise on Explorer from Singapore to Perth in March 2025. 
One great thing about P & O is their fantastic itineraries.

For us if a ship has a great itinerary we’ll jump on it.
 

2 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

I heard it was a tax issue. Less tax is paid from collected gratuities than from cruisefare.  Also raising cruisefare Royal loses to competition unless all lines agree to do so.

 

Also people working in MTD will earn less than in Traditional.

Not sure about that. In Australia all gratuities must be included in the advertised cruise fare.  This is the law. The rest of the world should follow suit. It it put an end to the gratuities debate. Service over & above what is expected will still be tipped by those who wish to do so.

24 hour decent food options.

Poolside BBQ’s.

Trap shooting off the stern.

I’ve done unlimited dining on my last 5 RC cruises & I’ve always enquired with the food & beverage manager as to how many people actually book it. The answer is always the same “not many” how many? Less than 50 people. Therefore, it’s never sold out, hence it’s a marketing ploy. Once again smoke & mirrors from RC.

I always knew Royal can do many things with the press of a button, but, in the past they have always refused to or found excuses why things can’t be done. Maybe times are changing & Royal have decided not to stuff around their clients. Time will tell…

The sandwich with the Kummelweck sauce is absolutely divine. However, if the beef is tough, gristly & chewy it’s god dam awful! 

We did B2B Barcelona to Rome & Rome to Athens in July on Rhapsody. RCI gave us new sea pass cards on the last night to allow us to be able to get back on the ship after spending the day in the Vatican. We caught an early train to San Pietro Station & then caught the 3:15PM train back to Civitavecchia & jumped the two shuttle buses back to the ship. Very cheap less than 18 Euros per person return for train & bus. It seems daunting to catch the RCI free shuttle bus to just outside the port & then jump on another dedicated shuttle bus to Civitavecchia Station & then the train, but, it is very easy & cost effective. From walking off the ship to getting off the train at San Pietro Station it took about 1 hour & 10 minutes.

We took up a 5 night offer for December on board Adventure for $200 for two people & $50 OBC… happy days!!!!!

I’ve just booked a cruise to Tasmania in December. Also, just booked my cruise control valet parking & car wash at White Bay. Happy days!

It appears that P & O are a little behind the times. I called them up & their current policy is masks inside in all public areas unless eating or drinking & you must provide evidence of at least a negative RA test before boarding. Strange as Victoria have declared the pandemic over & from October 14 in all of Australia there is no more mandatory self isolation. I just hope they remove all the Covid requirements before my December cruise.

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You do realize that the outward facing email addresses for the execs are routed to an off shore call center where call center personnel use canned, pre-approved responses to questions and complaints. Mr. Bayley would never look at the thousands of emails sent to that email address daily. 

Bayley won’t respond but Makenna Harris will on his behalf. Still Makenna will use the usual diplomatic responses, especially  - privacy laws stop me from discussing the matter with you.

Yeah… MSC’s Yacht Club seems like great value for money. I’ll be booking my next cruise there.

Maybe the sale will eventually happen on the 4th July😂

Let us know how you go with your refund. Cheers 🍻 

RC couldn’t find my final payment. After 10 emails & 12 phone calls they admit they have the funds in their bank account, but, can’t allocate it to my cruise. It has been allocated to another cruise that I’m not part of where my FCC’s have been allocated without my approval in a group booking by a TA. *****! I’m sailing in less than 2 weeks. RC are a joke! My upcoming B2B cruises will be my last with RC as they are just too difficult to deal with. If they ever sort out my missing FCC’s, I may be forced to do one last cruise to use them if I can’t get a refund.

IMHO it’s only worth it at $20 USD a night extra.  Remember you’ve already paid for all your food on the cruise, in a way that’s unlimited.

The drinks package for a couple is dearer than the per night cruise cost.  Incredible!

On 5/6/2022 at 1:25 AM, BazingAu said:

Multiple people have told you that your TA is holding your FCC hostage (likely due to refunding of commissions), yet you keep shifting the blame to RC. Even other TAs who work with RC have responded to your post, but you're still thinking RC is colluding with the TA to scam you. TAKE IT UP WITH YOUR TA. Maybe report the TA to the licensing board? Write a negative review about the TA on TripAdvisor, Yelp, or whatever is applicable in Australia? Not sure what else you want the rest of the board to do here if you don't even agree with the basic premise that you're blaming the wrong person/entity.

When RC won’t tell me what cruise, ship, departure port & date my FCC’s are applied to, I think RC’s silence guarantees they’re involved & may well be responsible.

NSW Fair Trading is currently investigating… 

Update… apparently the FCC sent to me by RC was sent in error & is not valid.

The plot thickens!!!  

RC are an absolute JOKE!

On 4/29/2022 at 11:37 AM, rudeney said:

All the prices are insane - DBP, UDP, even the GDP!

Seems to me Royal is cashed up, hence, they’re not after some cheap cash flow.

9 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

No scam. You ended your direct relationship with RCI when you involved the TA.

Not so according to Australian law.  As I initially paid RC & they issued FCC meaning they have my money & owe me money, hence, the direct relationship remains in place.  However, according to Bayley’s office RC does has separate exclusive contractual agreements with TA regarding group bookings which they can not discuss with the cruise paying customers. i.e book 16 cabins & receive a free cruise or get the Owners Suite for the cost of one night…

So you think a TA booking me on a group cruise that I have no knowledge of using my FCC’s to secure two (2) cabins which enables the TA to obtain a bonus from RC is not a scam.  Well tell me what you call it. 

When RC cancel a cruise that you’ve booked (not part of a group booking) with a TA, after 45 days RC can move your FCC’s where you so wish as your contract with the TA is effectively over, but, not when your booking is part of a group booking on a cancelled cruise.  RC are locked out of the group booking.

Update…

RC finally issued me with one (1) new Cruise With Confidence Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the value of my original two (2) FCC’s. It’s a real shame that you have to go legal to get such a simple issue resolved.

Guess what… After phoning RC to get the FCC applied to my 18th July 22 cruise, I’m told by the RC representative the FCC expires on the 11th July 2022 & can’t be applied to my cruise.  I told him the details on my FCC from RC have the expiry date as 11th July 2023.  He tells me when he puts the FCC number in the computer the expiry date comes up as 2022 not 2023.  A short time later he advised me that he’ll have to escalate the matter & it will take between 3-5 days to resolve.  I told him that’s exactly what RC told me seven months ago!!!!! 

Unbelievable!  What the hell is going on with RC?

I’ve spent over 6 months trying to find my FCC’s.  I’ve now got the government departments investigating.

At $110 AUD per person per night over 14 nights it’s a no for us.  Even the UDP is over $52 AUD per person per night, so, another no.

On 4/16/2022 at 2:37 AM, SG65CB said:

It looks like you do have two ways to resolve this. You won't like either solution, but how much more time do you want to spend on this? Pick the one that is least bad:

 

1 - pay the TA $100 and they give you your FCC.

 

2 - transfer your July 2022 cruise to the TA and they apply the FCC. 

 

Both options achieve what you want to achieve, which is to get your FCC applied to your July 2022 cruise. I understand the last thing you want to do is reward the TA, but it seems like you will save yourself a huge amount of time and aggravation and legal expenses and after all that maybe still not achieve your desired result. 

 

I’ve gone this far.  The TA wants $100 for each FCC.  So I’ll see where Fair Trading takes this.  Maybe the scam will be uncovered by Fair Trading & the MSM get involved & report on it.  Time will tell.