Canuckle-head

I feel for you and can understand your frustration. But please don't let it sour your cruise as the only ones that will hurt is you. Have a great time, enjoy yourself and when you get home you have plenty of time to decide if you want to cruise with RCCL again.

No worries - we will all enjoy our cruise (I have yet to have a "bad" day on a cruise with any cruise line as any day on a cruise is better than a day in the office). However, we were considering booking a cruise on board for Christmas 2018 - needless to say, that won't be happening.

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UPDATE: Finally, three days before we are scheduled to leave on our cruise, Royal has managed to get back all our reservations they cancelled. Unbelievable that it took so long! At least that's some good news. However, when our travel agent originally asked about compensation for the stress and hassle Royal indicated that they would discuss compensation once they reinstated all the reservations. As that was done today, they offered us our compensation... wait for it... a $50 bottle of wine and strawberries. I am underwhelmed with their generosity.

When Royal cancelled our reservation, we received an email on a Saturday night. They couldn't reconfirm the reservation until Monday - so we spent a couple of very stressful days wondering if our vacation would turn out to be a total disaster. We have spent the last week and a half corresponding with our travel agent on a daily basis to get updates as to what reservations had or had not yet been reinstated.

In my view, a $50 bottle of wine and strawberries hardly amounts to much compensation given that it is at Royal's inflated onboard prices. In any event, my wife and I already have the deluxe drink package so we can have as many $12 glasses of wine as we want or a discount on a bottle of wine. I've told our travel agent to let Royal know that if that's the best they can do, we aren't interested in their compensation as the stress and inconvenience was worth far more. I suspect Royal's actual cost of this compensation is probably around the $20 range.

This experience has pretty much soured us on Royal Caribbean. Undoubtedly we will enjoy our upcoming cruise but it will likely be our last with Royal.

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Royal is still working to resolve all my cancellation issues. My travel agent indicates that she believes Royal is working hard to fix things. We have almost everything that was cancelled back in place but I am still waiting for our iFly reservation and a few MyTime dining reservations to be reinstated. Today my travel agent worked out with Royal all the refunds due to me for a bunch of cancelled items (internet packages, beverage packages, restaurant reservations, etc) totaling approx. $2,400. Apparently those refunds have now been processed today though I must wait to see them posted to my credit card account. Strange that Royal appears to have had no problem charging me again to replace all the items they cancelled but then failed to actually process refunds for all the items they cancelled in the first place. Anyways, I do feel like I am getting very close to having this mess resolved - crossing my fingers I won't be one of the poor souls who has their reservation cancelled for a second time.

Ok! Glad it all worked out for you! My TA told me yesterday they could not give me those prices back. We will see what I can do!

Talk about adding insult to injury! You should be able to get the discounted prices. I have now been charged for all the cancelled reservations (internet, drink packages, specialty restaurants) at the discounted prices that I purchased them, including the Sip & Stream rate.

My current issue now appears to be that none of the reservations that Royal cancelled were refunded to my credit card but yet I have been charged again when they reinstated my reservations. ::sigh:: I've asked my travel agent to look into that tomorrow.

Glad to hear it is looking positive for you. I also see the other poster is going through this mess once again, how awful. I hope you are being compensated in some form for all this stress.

Thanks - The issue of compensation has been raised by my travel agent though I understand that Royal has deferred it until everything is resolved. I'm hopeful that Royal will recognize that what they are putting me and others through is unacceptable and that they will do what is necessary to make this right. I get that mistakes happen (and this was a doozy!) and I hope they will get that it caused my family and others a great deal of unnecessary stress and concern. For now, all I can do is wait and see how this all gets resolved and hope that my faith in their company, though shaken, is ultimately well placed.

thanks for the update! I am glad that it is working out for you!

 

I am curious if everyone else this has happened to over the last several days have their reservations booked with a TA. I am not sure why it would make any difference or if it would be related to the issue, but I think everyone that has mentioned they have been cancelled since buying the Sip & Stream on Thursday have mentioned their TA. I could be wrong!

So far, from what I have read, I agree with you that it seems to stem from cancelling a regular beverage package and switching to a Sip & Stream package. Royal has not told me how it happened. My sailing is for the March 12th Anthem of the Seas, I don't know if others who have experienced problems are on the same sailing or if it is more widespread.

Royal Caribbean cancelled my fully paid reservation for the second time!

My TA received an email late in the evening (Monday) contacted the resolution office which was closing and will still be working Tuesday on getting this MESS all straightened out.

If you cancelled something on your Cruise Planner or are expecting a refund from RCCL, check to see if your reservation is still active.

That is completely outrageous! Having had our cruise cancelled once and are still in the process of getting it completely fixed, I sympathize with you. I can't imagine it happening a SECOND time! You don't happen to be on the March 12th sailing of Anthem of the Seas do you? I'm wondering if this problem is ship specific or more general.

So it is now, Tuesday....what has happened with your situation....people are curious.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been advised by my travel agent that my cruise reservation was re-instated. Today, with great anticipation, we finally received our new booking confirmation - same cabin, so we still have the adjoining cabin with our kids thankfully. We have also received our specialty restaurant reservations, internet packages and beverage packages - though according to the invoice they are now charged separately rather than the "sip and stream" bundle (that might be a good thing so that my cruise doesn't get cancelled again!). I have yet to check and ensure that the charges for the drink and internet packages are correct. According to our travel agent, our reservation on the North Star has also been confirmed. We are still awaiting our iFly reservation and dining room reservations. Luckily we had no excursions booked.

I can say that Royal appears to be trying to fix the situation and making progress, so I give them props for that (notwithstanding that I am incredibly unhappy that this problem arose in the first place). I will withhold my final judgment though until I confirm that they have fixed everything. After seeing another post where one poor soul is going through the experience of having their cruise cancelled for a second time, I remain wary...

Have you heard back on your extras? I was told they can not reinstate mine (3 zipline, 2 Internet, 2kids drink packages & the 2 sip & stream) back on to my reservation and that I will have to re-purchase at now prices. I'm upset because everything that I bought was on sale. They will offer me a OB credit but only if I rebuy at current non-sale prices.... so they screwed up, cancelled my reservation and everything with it. Now I have to spend more $$. So who wins? They do.

That's crazy!! I'm so sorry to hear that.

Our travel agent reported to us this afternoon that Royal is trying to get all the dinner reservations etc back - she indicated that this is not a problem apparently just more of an accounting issue they are having. I will not be impressed if they cannot put me back in the position I was before they screwed everything up.

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Glad to hear it Canuckle-head. Remember, trust but verify!! ;)

Following that advice, I just logged and, phew, we now have our cruise reservation back!!!! So relieved! Though we still have no beverage packages, show reservations, dining reservations, etc. Hopefully that will be fixed soon. I have a feeling I'm going to need that drink package the way things have been going!

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OP, any word on this getting fixed for you? I hope that it all works out!

I heard from our travel agent this morning. She has told me that Royal has assured her that our cruise reservation has been reinstated and that they are working to get all our other reservations (dinners, shows, etc) back and that Royal will call her back this afternoon to update her. Our travel agent had told us not to worry that we will be on this cruise.

Royal told her they have had a "glitch" in their system that they are looking into. That's a helluva glitch, cancelling a drink package and ending up cancelling your cruise!

I've received no email from Royal yet but I will log in and see if I have a reservation.

So, at least from what my Travel agent is saying, this is in the process of being fixed. I hope that's the case.

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Similar thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2463194

OMG! That's EXACTLY what I did! That must have been the cause of the cancellation!

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Yes, I unfortunately had this happen to me in 2014 for my Oasis sailing. I authorized my TA to make the final payment using my credit card 3 weeks in advance of the final payment deadline. I'm not sure whose fault it ultimately was. RCI claimed it was their reservation system, and we all know how unreliable their systems are...but I also can't help but wonder if the TA simply forgot to submit my final payment and RCI was letting the TA save face. I didn't know what to expect when working with this TA (first, and last time) so I didn't know when my credit card was going to be charged.

 

It took a few weeks to get sorted out between the TA, RCI's Group Bookings department, and RCI's Resolutions department. I was given a stateroom upgrade (inside to oceanview) and OBC as compensation. Not everything could be recovered as-was in terms of entertainment bookings and such (I had to re-book and re-purchase add-ons myself), but it all worked out in the end with my family being able to secure alternate bookings and otherwise being compensated for costs that had since risen, etc. Things were so broken that they couldn't even recover the original reservation and I received a new booking ID. This ordeal required me to be a much more active and vocal advocate than I thought I should have had to be (it was taking so long that I perceived the need to keep the pressure on).

 

It worked out in the end and we had a great vacation, though. Good luck with your situation and I hope you get compensated appropriately.

Thanks - in my case I know my credit card was charged in full and final payment was made in December, so I have no idea how Royal concluded they should cancel my reservation (but not my kids cabin) - how does this even happen?

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LOTS of it!!!!!:)

Right now I'm hoping the problem can be fixed! Though the stress of this does, in my view, warrant some compensation.

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I hope for your sake you have PRINTED copies of everything. Always keep printed copies for my records until cruise is over. Have needed them in the past. Best wishes for a proper resolution.

Yup - got everything - thanks.

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If you go online is the cabin showing as available? I would book it and have them refund you tomorrow just to be sure!

 

Did you book connecting cabins or just adjoining? Are your kids old enough to be alone if you're upgraded to another cabin?

I haven't had a chance yet to look if the cabin is available - it was a sold out sailing.

Kids are 16,14 and 12 - so would prefer the comfort of having a connecting stateroom.

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This happened to us back in November 2015. My travel agent was very limited in what the 'travel agent' channel could do. I personally contacted Vicki Freed, VP of Sales and Marketing.....and someone from her department contacted me.....it took them days to resolve it.

 

Vicki Freed's email address is:vfreed@rccl.com.

 

I would send an email NOW to Vicki Freed and copy your travel agent. Put every detail you have including RESERVATION number, complete names, cabin number, including the fact that you have another cabin booked for your kids that was NOT cancelled. The fear you have is REAL about the reassignment of your cabin to another booking (because as you say, they take reservations all the time).

 

Send the email NOW. Alert them to the fact that your fear is that someone will book the cabin you HAD ON YOUR RESERVATION. They can take the cabin out of inventory, while they fix the rest.

 

All the other items like reservations, they will be able to fix as well.

 

Good luck.

Thanks for the tip - I will try sending her an email - it can't hurt to have lots of people trying to work on my problem.

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The upgrade may be a possibility. I had somewhat the same situation last month. I booked adjoining balcony rooms all confirmed with paperwork in hand. The next day I went into my reservation and notice that one of rooms had been changed to another deck.

 

I was freaking out and pissed all at the same time. I called Royal and pleaded my case. The rep was very receptive and indicated that he didn't know what happened but the adjoining room was already taken. So he indicated that a upgrade was very likely but they had to go through my TA.

 

So I contacted her and she flipped out just the same and contact Royal. After a bunch of haggling and saying no to some of their alternate ideas they realized what they had done. They had inadvertently booked 3 rooms for us and gave me the wrong confirmation #.

 

So I still had our original booking but if it wasn't, Royal was leaning to upgrade. And for all the troubles I ended up getting free grats. I don't know if it was the TA or RC that gave it to us but we don't care!

 

Good luck and I'm sure it will work out to your benefit!

Thanks - your experience gives me hope that Royal will fix this.

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That is terrible I hope you get it sorted and some compensation too.

We just got off the vision in Dubai where we booked and paid for afternoon tea at Burj Al Arab on cruise planner several months before. On the first day we had a note in the cabin saying tour was cancelled. We rushed down to shore excursions as this was the main reason we booked as we had done this cruise twice previously but not Burn Al Arab.

The first girl more or less said tough because only 2 couples had booked so it was cancelled and money put onto my onboard account. I spoke to the manager who said they hadn't sold this tour for months so we said why did you not email us so we could book it direct.

She contacted Burj Al arab and booked the sky bar as our reservation was for just a lounge.

We had to get a taxi there and back and paid a lot more but we were happy because the sky bar in Burj Al Arab was fantastic.

 

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Glad to hear it worked out for you - I'm hoping that I am similarly satisfied at the end of this ordeal!

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No, but boy would I be fried~ Good Luck. Let us know how it turns out. And of course it happened on a weekend!

Thanks - I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow - fingers crossed. Hopefully Royal will fix this mess!

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So late Saturday evening I received an email from Royal Caribbean advising me that because my cruise reservation has been canceled the items in my cruise planner have been cancelled, and goes on to list my show reservations, dining reservations, ifly and Northstar reservations - all cancelled! The problem is, we never cancelled our cruise reservation! This is for my family's Spring Break cruise next month. We fully paid for the cruise back in December.

Needless to say my wife and I are distraught. We couldn't get hold of our travel agent or Royal Caribbean last night. This morning we contacted our travel agent, who has been very helpful and explained that somehow Royal Caribbean messed up and cancelled our reservation. They are working with Royal to fix the problem. Apparently, though, we can't receive any confirmation from Royal Caribbean until their Revenue Department opens on Monday.

I've also been in contact with Royal Caribbean who assured me they are trying to resolve the issue but, essentially, it will have to wait until Monday. Odd that Royal can cancel a cruise late Saturday night but can't fix their mistake until Monday when their Revenue Department is open. Perhaps their Cancellation Department and Revenue Department should work the same hours.

My concern is that while I wait until Monday, Royal could sell our cabin in the meantime for what is already a sold out cruise (because of course they do take bookings over the weekend). Strange thing is that they didn't cancel our cruise reservation for the adjoining cabin where our kids are staying. God only knows how we will get our show reservations, dining reservations etc back on track if we are able to get our cabin back. A total disaster!

Has anyone ever had anything like this happen to them?!?

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