Erroneous Fees Showed Up On Booking (Beware)

I thought this would be beneficial to post to bring awareness - could be an isolated incident, but need to share:

Background:

My wife, 2 kids and I are scheduled to sail on the Anthem this coming June 9, 2018 to Bermuda. We had initially planned this trip and booked almost 2 years ago for a September 9, 2017 sailing, though moved our reservation out a year when we had bought a house and decided to put the vacation budget toward some updates. The initial booking was for a balcony room, $200 refundable (before they went to the new deposit choice with room pricing).

When sat down to plan time off for the summer, it made more sense to move the cruise up, and we selected the June 9 sailing. February 28, I called RCI directly to change the booking and confirmed the rooms. We selected to choose the non-refundable deposit for the Junior suite we selected, plunked down the $1,000 minimum for the room, and then paid the balance due about a week later. RCI's automated guest relations system spit back the invoice showing our cruise paid in full with a balance due of $0.00

We uploaded all our pictures and checked in online already-just to get ahead of the game as well - so our set-sail passes are ready.

Fast forward to last night...

I get another email from RCI's guest relations that has the cruise invoice attached. This one looks different and has the "Thanks for booking your adventure" heading on it. I assumed it was just sent as another sort of 'thank you' or a plug to get the customer excited about the upcoming cruise.

Looking at it in greater detail this morning, I see a new balance due of around $276, which doesn't make sense to me, so I call customer service.

Long story short, I'm told that I have a balance of $400 for the booking change, even though my deposit before was refundable, and I just applied it to my new reservation. I have invoices showing a zero balance, and now all of a sudden have a PDF showing one balance, and customer service telling me I have another.

Spent a good hour or so of my morning on the phone being told this is legit, and I have to pay it, before I finally get through to someone in resolutions that tells me its erroneous, and they can't see why or when this was added - all a big mystery.

I'll spare you the details of further conversation - but as a heads up - make sure everything matches on your documents. I would have gotten to the pier and probably been in an argument over it, and would have paid it just to solve the issue to get on board.

I requested guest relations send me something in writing stating that my account is in fact paid in full - just in case something like this happens between now and the sail date.

Not sure if this is tied to all the website changes, and if there is a newly automated system they use on their end.

Just be careful!

Interesting, sounds like Royal has found yet another way to create a booking "mistake" without the guest even having to look at their booking!

This type of thing has been reported fairly often in the past 4 years, ever since they added the changes to re-price cruises whenever a change has been made.

For years this has gone on. In some cases a reservation cost will change due to some reason. You would log in one day, and bingo, your costs changed.

You should keep your booking invoice as proof of what your cost should be and be prepared to provide it so they can make the adjustment.

Doesn't make it any easier, but its been happening hit and miss for a while.

For years this has gone on. In some cases a reservation cost will change due to some reason. You would log in one day, and bingo, your costs changed.

 

You should keep your booking invoice as proof of what your cost should be and be prepared to provide it so they can make the adjustment.

 

Doesn't make it any easier, but its been happening hit and miss for a while.

No doubt. I went back and recited all invoices that were sent to me prior and questioned why NOW all of a sudden there was a charge - after a month had gone by. No answer except for "You were made aware of the charges at booking" - yet there was nothing there, even though my reservation from 2 years ago shows a refundable deposit. Hah.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from them - but I would think a high dollar item (vacation) such as this would not come with this kind of baggage (pun intended).

I’ve heard stories like this before, so when I paid my final balance due on my summer cruise (also leaving June 9th), and I got the $0 balance due pop up on my screen, I immediately checked my email to see if they sent a confirmation showing the zero dollar balance. Nope. I also could not longer find the invoice in my account. So I called Royal Caribbean and asked them to send me an invoice that showed my payment and the zero dollar remaining balance, and waited on the phone until they sent it to me.

I’ve read enough stories on here that I no longer trust their IT, and always insist on an invoice when requesting any change, making a payment or asking for a price drop, and I wait on the phone until I get it, to avoid having to call back and getting a rep who claims they don’t know what I’m talking about.

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I’ve heard stories like this before, so when I paid my final balance due on my summer cruise (also leaving June 9th), and I got the $0 balance due pop up on my screen, I immediately checked my email to see if they sent a confirmation showing the zero dollar balance. Nope. I also could not longer find the invoice in my account. So I called Royal Caribbean and asked them to send me an invoice that showed my payment and the zero dollar remaining balance, and waited on the phone until they sent it to me.

 

I’ve read enough stories on here that I no longer trust their IT, and always insist on an invoice when requesting any change, making a payment or asking for a price drop, and I wait on the phone until I get it, to avoid having to call back and getting a rep who claims they don’t know what I’m talking about.

 

 

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I too wait on the phone with the rep until the confirmation appears in my email and then I print it before saying goodbye to the rep. I take all of my printed confirmations with me when we go to sail and then destroy when we return home. I have only needed them 2 times over the years so to me was worth the time, cost of paper and ink to have proof.

Thanks for the heads up!

I just checked my bookings and my May Allure cruise is showing a $200 balance due. This was paid in full and I do have a confirmation showing zero balance. This charge just showed up this past week.

The rep said this was the change fee because I changed my sail date back in November. The booking I changed from was a refundable deposit. Finally was able to get it straightened out, but I wonder what would have happened if I would not have checked the reservation since I have all docs printed out.

This is why I use a TA. I let her deal with this type of "stuff."

Thanks for the heads up!

I just checked my bookings and my May Allure cruise is showing a $200 balance due. This was paid in full and I do have a confirmation showing zero balance. This charge just showed up this past week.

The rep said this was the change fee because I changed my sail date back in November. The booking I changed from was a refundable deposit. Finally was able to get it straightened out, but I wonder what would have happened if I would not have checked the reservation since I have all docs printed out.

That was my fear.

I requested the resolutions department send me an email stating that my cruise balance was in fact, zero and there should be no deviation from this amount unless I were to add an excursion, upgrade a room, or something initiated by me, and only me.

They obliged and did, in fact, send something to me that I will take with me to the pier.

We had a whole "fake" cruise snuck in on us that we didn't book...I know it is bogus because it shows the cruise leaving Jan 1, 2019 and returning Jan 2, 2019...that means it is an 18 hour cruise.

I won't call Royal until our Apr TA is completed...I don't want them touching anything until we bag this cruise.

Royal has issues in their IT department that just seem to hang on...they got bugs somewhere.

Cheers:)

I thought this would be beneficial to post to bring awareness - could be an isolated incident, but need to share:

 

 

 

Background:

 

My wife, 2 kids and I are scheduled to sail on the Anthem this coming June 9, 2018 to Bermuda. We had initially planned this trip and booked almost 2 years ago for a September 9, 2017 sailing, though moved our reservation out a year when we had bought a house and decided to put the vacation budget toward some updates. The initial booking was for a balcony room, $200 refundable (before they went to the new deposit choice with room pricing).

 

 

 

When sat down to plan time off for the summer, it made more sense to move the cruise up, and we selected the June 9 sailing. February 28, I called RCI directly to change the booking and confirmed the rooms. We selected to choose the non-refundable deposit for the Junior suite we selected, plunked down the $1,000 minimum for the room, and then paid the balance due about a week later. RCI's automated guest relations system spit back the invoice showing our cruise paid in full with a balance due of $0.00

 

 

 

We uploaded all our pictures and checked in online already-just to get ahead of the game as well - so our set-sail passes are ready.

 

 

 

Fast forward to last night...

 

 

 

I get another email from RCI's guest relations that has the cruise invoice attached. This one looks different and has the "Thanks for booking your adventure" heading on it. I assumed it was just sent as another sort of 'thank you' or a plug to get the customer excited about the upcoming cruise.

 

Looking at it in greater detail this morning, I see a new balance due of around $276, which doesn't make sense to me, so I call customer service.

 

Long story short, I'm told that I have a balance of $400 for the booking change, even though my deposit before was refundable, and I just applied it to my new reservation. I have invoices showing a zero balance, and now all of a sudden have a PDF showing one balance, and customer service telling me I have another.

 

 

 

Spent a good hour or so of my morning on the phone being told this is legit, and I have to pay it, before I finally get through to someone in resolutions that tells me its erroneous, and they can't see why or when this was added - all a big mystery.

 

 

 

I'll spare you the details of further conversation - but as a heads up - make sure everything matches on your documents. I would have gotten to the pier and probably been in an argument over it, and would have paid it just to solve the issue to get on board.

 

I requested guest relations send me something in writing stating that my account is in fact paid in full - just in case something like this happens between now and the sail date.

 

 

Not sure if this is tied to all the website changes, and if there is a newly automated system they use on their end.

 

 

 

Just be careful!

We are on the same sailing, also in a JS!!! Guess what we had the same issue with a different booking. We originally booked for thanksgiving week 2017 on Oasis. I changed jobs and didn’t have PTO Avalible for it so we moved it to 2018.

We have had the same charge put in our account 4 times over the last 2 months. Our travel agent has gone round and round with Royal. Then, they pulled her commission because “the original cruise was not paid in full”.

We are waiting on a response from upper management on this junk.

Look forward to having an awesome cruise with you!!!

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We are on the same sailing, also in a JS!!! Guess what we had the same issue with a different booking. We originally booked for thanksgiving week 2017 on Oasis. I changed jobs and didn’t have PTO Avalible for it so we moved it to 2018.

We have had the same charge put in our account 4 times over the last 2 months. Our travel agent has gone round and round with Royal. Then, they pulled her commission because “the original cruise was not paid in full”.

We are waiting on a response from upper management on this junk.

Look forward to having an awesome cruise with you!!!

 

 

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Awesome! I'll have to remember to print out a roll call name tag or something and say hello to you on the ship!

We're all looking forward to it, and my 4 year old son asks me if he can watch more videos of the cruise ship every day.

First family cruise, so it'll be an adjustment, but a great time for sure.

Not going to let an IT hiccup 2 1/2 months out ruin the fun.

Glad to see they carried over the bugs to the new website. I had a cruise repriced for an additional $1000 because I changed a dining time through the website.

Glad to see they carried over the bugs to the new website. I had a cruise repriced for an additional $1000 because I changed a dining time through the website.

Seems to be par for the course.

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Awesome! I'll have to remember to print out a roll call name tag or something and say hello to you on the ship!

 

We're all looking forward to it, and my 4 year old son asks me if he can watch more videos of the cruise ship every day.

 

First family cruise, so it'll be an adjustment, but a great time for sure.

 

 

 

Not going to let an IT hiccup 2 1/2 months out ruin the fun.

Yep the IT issues are not going to slow us down either. It is a couple cruise this time. We are leaving the 15 for her travel softball. We board on my birthday so it will be fun. Make sure to post In The roll call if you have not already.

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We had a whole "fake" cruise snuck in on us that we didn't book...I know it is bogus because it shows the cruise leaving Jan 1' date=' 2019 and returning Jan 2, 2019...that means it is an 18 hour cruise.

 

I won't call Royal until our Apr TA is completed...I don't want them touching anything until we bag this cruise.

 

Royal has issues in their IT department that just seem to hang on...they got bugs somewhere.

 

Cheers:)[/quote']

 

Did you by chance purchase a Decide Later/Open Booking many years ago that you may not have used? I was also surprised to see the one-day cruise. But lhaving kept all of the Future Cruise Certificates purchased over the years, was able to reconcile the reservation numbers to cruises already taken and found that I had an extra one.

Did you by chance purchase a Decide Later/Open Booking many years ago that you may not have used? I was also surprised to see the one-day cruise. But lhaving kept all of the Future Cruise Certificates purchased over the years, was able to reconcile the reservation numbers to cruises already taken and found that I had an extra one.

Yes! That may be exactly it. We do have an unused Next Cruise from years ago that still has the Friends & Family certificates to go along with it. We unfortunately have yet to find friends that want to go along on the same cruise and enjoy the OBC. The last one that we used that had the extra certificates, the friends cancelled before the sailing. They went and bought a second home in Florida. :rolleyes:

Thanks for figuring it out! (possibly) :D