lovetotravel06

Searches I found were a bit older. Never cruised Celeb before but am D+ on RCI. Think I read D+ equals "Elite"? 

Will be on Apex or Beyond. Any info, etc greatly appreciated. TIA!

No. I could name a few others they could replace however.  lol

fwiw.....Allure is pretty short staffed too. 80% pax/capacity and still struggling. 

6 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Talk to the Voom person on board. They should help.

They were no help. Going to see if I can get them to knock off some of the bill. 3 devices of Surf and STREAM isn't exactly cheap. Who to complain to first....Diamond Concierge, Guest Services, or maybe Crown and Anchor? Had a cruise 4 or 5 years ago where Surf would barely work let alone stream and the D Concierge made it right so know it's possible. Not sure who they contacted to clear a reduced rate though.

Thanks for all the replies.

For what it's worth (unrelated to the net)...Allure is pretty short staffed even at 80% capacity. 

Been wanting to stream a few things here and there (in between busy times, having a great cruise).  Streaming is awful. Have even went to Schooner (wanting to  catch a couple sporting events) thinking maybe being closer to a router or something might help. Was marginally better but not great. Just curious if anyone had any ideas/experiences or sweet spots!

Thanks much!

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm glad it worked out for you.  It seems a lot of folks have done pretty well with this program. And yes final payment will be 90 days before embarkation.

 

 

Thanks!

Perfect. I think the cruise I've moved to should be more pricey than the one I came from to boot. Making that great deal I had to begin with even better! Who knows, it may even sail by then (Dec 2021)!

Thanks again for the help. 👍

Edit...Booked through Casino

Well, I Lifted and Shifted I guess, lol... First time for me. I never saw any mention of $$ at all. Assume you get the same rate/s as the cruise you moved from?? I got a different (better imo) ship and absolutely zero talk of any money. Sorry if it seems like a dumb question but this is new to me. 

Also, assume final payment is now moved to a much later date or no? 

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Go to cancel on royal site. Click and options come up. One is lift and shift which ends sept 30. 

 

Click, on it, you have to have your booking # ready to put in. It will give you a list of options. You can view them and back out. That way you know what you want. You can do it yourself and then make sure to get new invoice, or call, but it's easy to lift and shift yourself, even if you used a ta. I'd at least look at the dates and figure out what you wanted before you call.

Good deal! I think I can handle that, lol..No TA for me either fwiw...I'm short time right now but will check it out this afternoon. Thanks much!!

Thanks for the replies thus far. Not sure how the Lift and Shift works but I get the idea. I suppose call up casino and they'll help me out. I'd heard of L&S before but it has been so long I kind of forgot about it and never really knew "how it worked" exactly for that matter. Sounds like the way to go!

Should I make a final payment ($200 deposit already) for a mid Dec cruise? I'm relatively certain it won't go but trying to decide if I should still pay it. Was a GREAT deal with casino discounts, loyalty, etc. Under $1000 final payment... So the question is....Pay it and likely get a 125% FCC or a full refund "someday" after it's canceled... or don't pay and let the deposit go? I already have several FCC's already. What does CC say?!  

Thanks in advance!

On 9/1/2019 at 11:57 AM, niksmom630 said:

Navigator is one of my favorite ships. She was our first Voyager class sailing, and I remember being truly WOWED by the Promenade . Haven’t been on her since all the updates

Brings back memories! She was our FIRST sailing period back in 2009. We were truly WOWED as well, lol...Haven't been back since the updates either. Looking forward to it! 1st time we were obviously "pre-gold", whenever we go on her next time we are D Plus now. I'm also "WOWED" by how fast that 10 years and all the cruises have gone by!!! 😲

.

Well, glad (I guess) that I'm not alone apparently. Have tried calling 6 times since posting this (at various times)... no Oregon and no solid "help" from anyone. 

41 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

 

 

 BTW... It is useful to get to know someone that works at the center to get a direct line. However, printing it on Cruisecritic is not a wise idea. 🤪

Would agree there on both counts. I have several names in Oregon but can't ever catch one of them (if I'm lucky enough to somehow get Oregon)! I have 4  different Club Royal phone #'s and thought I'd found THE one but not the case! lol

Thanks for the replies thus far. It appears I'm not alone. I've maybe had one good experience with "out of country reps". Sure most are friendly but when a simple question or comment results in an extended period of silence followed by a boiler plate answer/comment it's pretty annoying. 

I generally am looking to book, find out best discounts, use of certs, offers, etc. Some of the Oregon folks are great at trying to help and know everything without me even having to question them. I've had cabin changes (on upgrades) work out and be cheaper, etc. Comments like "well, let me see if we could do this with that" and make it work out is just really nice. Have had someone tell me there was no way I could get an upgrade and keep the same cabin on a B2B recently and the next rep (oregon) not only made it happen but found a way to knock off a nice amount of $ to boot. 

Sorry to sound like I'm whining but in my experience the difference in "help" is extraordinary. That and I'm coming off of about 5 straight reps who know less than I do! 🙂 

AND, good to hear Oregon apparently isn't closing!! 

No offense to the other call center but I have SO much better "luck" and help with Oregon. I guess I need to up my game so I can get a # and extension to someone who really knows what's going on and goes the extra mile to help out?! I don't know! It's frustrating to know within the first 10-15 seconds of a call it's going to be a waste of time 90% of the time.

TIA for any info...I'm a lowly Prime member fwiw and D+ not that that it matters (or does it?!)

7 hours ago, island lady said:

I use my passport card and sea pass card.  The port Authority indeed wants to see a photo ID.   BC does not have photo.  

 

We have witnessed many that were pulled out of line in Cozumel when they only had their sea pass card.  Cozumel is very strict about the photo ID.  

Is this something new or what? Have been to Coz MANY times on RCL and have never been asked for anything other than our seapass card. No big deal, just something I've personally never seen (strict photo ID). 

TIA

It's a mixed bag but I had way more bad calls than good ones. All in all, I probably spent days worth of time getting everything arranged, including on hold, getting transferred, and disconnected and having to call again! Their departments are very segmented and no one talks to each other or works together so that makes it more complicated. I wouldn't necessarily say that adding a T/A helps. I did but then found that RCI didn't want to talk to me anymore and often the answer became "you have to call your T/A" so in my opinion, that made it worse.

THIS! That's what I've been running into. Finally a few more replies that agree with me and my experiences of late! I was beginning to think maybe it was "just me"! lol

Probably right on the TA, likely end up worse off. I've always done things on my own and didn't/don't want to go that way anyway. Does show my level of frustration though right!?

Mostly booked our 24 Royal cruises direct and had only one problem with a phone rep mistake. It was rectified later through Resolutions. Never had a long wait or a rude rep.

Same here! Not sure of exact count but almost D+ (with very few suites btw).. Not sure what the heck is going on now (for me anyway)..Really odd how my experience with reps on the phone has went drastically down hill but seeing most people are just fine. I may try one or two more calls but that's going to be it. Will go to a TA or another line. That's how bad my experiences have been of late..

I just called about drink packages and they took care of business in about 4 minutes. I guess I had an easy request (taking advantage of 25 percent off drink package with wife only getting Refreshment with 25 percent off as well).

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

Good for you. I'm sure they did. My SO (not the planner or "payer", etc who is totally hands off) has been getting emails 3 days straight for 30% off (plus bogo) on our upcoming cruise... lol

That said; I'm flabbergasted of late and may do something I never thought I would (or should) have to do..Go with a TA and forget it. Annoys me to no end as I've been THE planner for all of our vacations for 30 years plus.

When I call, I am polite and concise and use my manners. Have never had an issue with the phone reps.

Same here. Have had excellent interactions for years. No more.

Sounds like I'm not completely alone. Surprised there weren't more replies however. I thought it was just bad luck but after many different times now that's not it. Something has changed and not for the better in my opinion.

I have take 33 cruises on five different cruise lines and I am D+ with Royal Caribbean. I use a TA. It doesn't cost any more than not using a TA and I don't have to deal with the cruise lines myself. That has come in handy a few times.

You know what? I think you're onto something! (I'm D with D+ only a couple cruises away fwiw). Probably should have mentioned that as it's not as if I don't know a few things.

I've traveled extensively since the 80's (do I dare admit, "early 80's"? lol) Have always done things on my own with the exception of a very few EARLY vacations.

Haven't been a big cruiser at all, but a traveler? You bet! I'm just amazed at the (in my dealings with Royal) how fast things have went downhill (imo)..I used to be amazed at the support and help! I almost feel like I had more "clout" or competent help when I was GOLD! Maybe that'a how it works? Not sure.

Thanks for reading my rant ... :)

I almost feel like it's hitting lotto! "Occasionally" I get someone great. Those times are WAY few and far between. Much worse the last several months or so.