AnnaNicole

I would feel humiliated too at being suspected of a crime.  I am sorry this happened to you.    

There was a case a year or so ago of two young female Instagrammers and an older man smuggling drugs on a cruise ship.  I believe they were busted in Australia.   I wonder if cruise ship drug smuggling is more common than we realize.  

11 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

My first thought too. More often than not, when you hear about "poor customer service", it means "I didn't like this policy, and I should have special treatment because of X".

 

They were refunded all of their money and given a $200 credit. $200 is a lot of money for a company to give for following what's in their own contract. Imagine running a corporation and that is a not a good solution for a customer. Do you just give away $600? Does everyone on the boat get that? Good luck with that.

 

Of course, RC is a bunch of terrible jerks. Go onto where the grass is greener. Where you won't have a future cruise chartered, and if you do, they will give you anything you want for free.

The entity chartering the ship pays for the $200 OBC.  They absorb the costs of displacement of reserved passengers, not RCI.     

I have owned several businesses.   The business/client relationship is mutually beneficial.   If I displaced a client, I would not expect a client to bear the cost in making themselves whole.    Unfortunately,  cruise fares increased from the time of her original booking.  As was stated by the OP, the $200 credit was insufficient to mitigate the resulting higher fare.    That is why she is so upset about the situation.  All she wanted was her original cabin category at the original booking price.   It was unavailable.   RCI offered to downgrade her and she asked for an upgrade.   They should have waitlisted or upgraded her.   She is right to take the refund and go elsewhere.   

When an airline bumps you, they give you an incentive and re-book you on another flight at no cost to you.  If they make changes to your original flight itinerary that affect you, they will re-book you at no cost to you.   They do not charge for the higher fare.   You are price protected.

Nobody called RCI jerks.  Nobody said the customer is always right.   It is not what you do, it is how you handle it.   

4 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

EDIT:I keep forgetting that the OP did get $200 OBC in addition to a refund. So I guess a reasonable effort was made.   Maybe it's slightly good customer service.

IMO, RCI should price protect the existing customer (when they charter the ship) on another ship sailing during the same week.     What good is a $200 OBC if your cruise fare is significantly higher?     

Many people book cruises far out so they can lock in a good fare.   

Many people cannot take vacation at will.   They are locked into certain dates.

Many people cannot afford to pay more than their original fare.

It seems to me, the OP only wanted the upgrade to JS because their original OV Balcony was not available.   RCI offered a downgrade to a Boadwalk balcony.    So - it is ok for RCI to charge the same or more and downgrade the inconvenienced customer, but it is not ok for the inconvenienced customer to ask for a one category upgrade?   Or to be waitlisted on the original OV balcony room.

I understand ships get chartered.    I have been on at least 25 cruises.   Good customer service = customer feels acknowledge, effort is made to restore the customer to their original standing, and both parties feel good about outcome.     Giving a refund is the very bare minimum in these situations.  

If I make advanced reservations for something and that product becomes unavailable (cruise, hotel, rental car, etc), I would not expect to be the person to bear the additional cost when it was through no fault of my own.

I have been upgraded in hotels and on car rentals when my original reserved selection became unavailable.   It is not uncommon in the hospitality industry to accommodate displaced customers by giving upgrades when corporate changes are made and the original reserved product is no longer available.    It is called good will.

Since you are going in October (Hurricane season), I would go with the ABC islands.  Much less risk of hurricanes.   But you are leaving out of San Juan....so....there is that possibility of weather.

I prefer the ABC islands over ST Thomas, et al.

I prefer RCI Freedom over Carnival Fascination.

Is there a fee for name changes?  

I didn't feel like the intention of the OP was to cheat any one out of tips.   It is possible the OP does not want to have a balance on his/her credit card for later payment.    If that is the case, you can always leave the tips on your account and apply cash (instead of credit card) as payment of your shipboard account.

I like tips added to the account because I never liked the whole tip thing at the end of the cruise.   It always felt a little awkward.  

What happens if your cruise is cancelled due to a charter and you have non-refundable airfare and/or hotel (self booked)?  Does travel insurance cover something like that?   Or are you SOL if you cannot find another cruise within the same parameters as your original cruise?

Do cruise lines really charter ships within 6 months of sailing? 

I booked a NE/Canada cruise on Anthem over a month ago and almost every balcony category still shows as a guarantee (I am not talking about XB, I am talking about E & F categories).  Only one or two balcony categories have cabins available for selection.    This is either through the "Pick your own" or "We pick for you."   Of course, the price (of the guarantee) is higher on the Pick you own - even though it PYO only shows guarantee availability.   LOL.     It is weird.   

I am undecided about whether the drink package is worth it for me.

I have a glass of wine with dinner and one before bed (helps me fall asleep) every night.    I have a bottled water and two cappucinos in the morning, one diet coke at lunch, and I drink 3 or 4 bottled waters throughout the day.

I have had th beverage packages on other cruises as an added perk.   But I am not sure if I will do it on my upcoming cruise as it is $450 for nine days.  That's a lot of money.  I think I can do better on my own - coffee card and 3 night dining package with wine discount.  I can buy water in port and avoid soda.

37 minutes ago, 40yearcruiser said:

The policy we bought does not cover medical expenses but will cover medical evacuation by helicopter, plane, or ambulance worldwide. It also offers assistance in planning the evacuation and also covers transportation for those traveling with you. It pays after any medical insurance, so is basically catastrophic coverage. Thankfully we haven't had to use it so no personal experience with it yet, but have been on ships four times when there have been helicopter evacuations of passengers or crew and know those must have cost a fortune. Also on one transatlantic our ship diverted to Bermuda where it anchored offshore and a medical evacuation boat came out to pick up a passenger and his family. Scary stuff! Our policy is with MASA, website masaglobal.com  and we have the Medical Transport Solutions lifetime policy. It's pricey but if we ever need it overseas I'm sure it will pay for itself. Like all insurance, you hope to never need it.

Thanks for the info   🙂

54 minutes ago, Cel_cruise said:

 

Yes - but Royal charges $11-$17 each day to use the ships WiFi.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Download the app prior to departure for free wifi

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-is-the-new-royal-caribbean-app

I called my carrier, T-Mobile.   They said I could call or text from the ship for free if I use the ship's wifi.   They said to turn off cellular data and to use the phone in airplane mode to assure no charges.     I inquired about iPhone to iPhone.

I get free calling and texting in all of North America.  Ports aren't an issue.   

3 hours ago, 40yearcruiser said:

Just from the discussion here it is obvious that there are a number of different insurance options available. Some time ago we purchased a policy for medical evacuation that covers us anywhere in the world (even for ambulance cost at home) for the rest of our life. Fortunately we haven't had to use it yet. 

Is your policy just for medivac?  Does it cover medical expenses?  Is it primary over your health insurance plan?

Where did you purchase your policy?

TIA

thanks for the info  🙂

15 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Likely a temporary thing and a maybe a glitch. XB GTY should be at a price lower than all categories.

Thanks for the reply.

The XB GTY I ended up booking with my TA had a higher rate because it had RCI and TA OBC attached to it.   There were many different promotions to choose from.  I chose the best overall deal on the XB.

When I look at RCI cruiseplanner it shows GTY.   (No category XB or balcony GTY)  

Is there a possibility for being assigned an Obstructed view balcony?   My confirmation shows Oceanview Balcony Guarantee.  

I love Ocean City, NJ.   You could stay there and visit Atlantic City, as it is only a short drive away.  

How about Philadelphia?   So much to do and lots of great food.  

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yes, you can purchase as many as you like and take them anywhere on the ship.

 

Hello to Ian.

On Anthem of the Seas:

If I purchase the 3 night dining package, it includes 40% off bottled wine.   

On Day 2, I go to a specialty restaurant for dinner -  I can order 2 bottles of wine, drink one glass at dinner, then leave dining room with opened bottle and unopened bottle?  

That would be great for nightcaps on the balcony.  

Or - I can also purchase the two bottles, have them store the bottles, and then use them in the MDR or Solarium dining room?  I just let the waiter know I have them stored?

I have cruised many times.   I usually select my own cabin, however, I am finding on RCI Anthem of the Seas 8/28/19 NE/Canada sailing - only guarantees are being offered across almost all of the balcony categories on RCI website and TA websites.   It does not give you the option to select your stateroom (on Pick your own cabin) only the option to select GTY.

Why are mostly all of the balconies GTYs on this particular sailing?   Even when selecting a particular category?    Ex:  you can book a  D4 GTY.  D7 GTY.  E1 or E2 Obstructed GTY. etc, but not a stateroom.

If you book a general XB category - it says "Oceanview Balcony Guarantee."   Does that mean the balcony will not be an obstructed balcony?