HELP -- I've been bumped!

[mstelly]

Received a call from RCCL today to advise me that the ship has been chartered. I was booked in a Grand Suite, 7 night Eastern Caribbean aboard the Navigator. She stated that my price and category have been protected, but I must find another Ship. She gave me some alternatives and if I accepted she would give me a $200 stateroom credit.

She stated that I had until June 11 to select another cruise or my reservation would be cancelled and my amounts paid would be refunded.

I have over $400 in NON-REFUNDABLE airlines tickets.

My question is ... Do I have any options?

I booked direct with RCCL on-line.

 

[This message was edited by mstelly on 06-01-04 at 09:35 PM.]

[Nitra]

Pick another ship or cancel and get a refund. If the ship is chartered they can bump you. At least they are giving you a shipboard credit. They are protecting your price etc and giving you the option of what you want to do.

 

Voyager of the Seas!

 

 

 

Voyager 10/04

Rhapsody 10/02 03/02 1/02 11/01

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[babs275]

Sounds pretty straight forward - what other options do you have in mind?

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!

 

[eroller]

No other options I'm afraid. RCI is fully protected to cancel or charter any ship for any reason.

 

You can take the offer that RCI is proposing, or cancel all together and get a full refund.

 

This is different then when RCI oversells a ship a makes offers to remove the oversell. In those cases it is generally last minute and RCI is much more desperate to get volunteers off the sailing. In that circumstance sometimes it's to your advantage to hold out and wait for a sweeter offer as they get more desperate.

 

In your case with the ship being chartered I don't expect any other offers to be forthcoming. Either way you are off the ship and RCI does not feel pressured to offer you anything additional.

 

Sorry this happened to you.

 

Ernie

[dougp26364]

This is unfortunate and one of the major problems with purchasing airline tickets early. I feel you pain because I almost always book my flights as soon as I see a good rate, which is often between 6 to 8 months in advance.

 

You usually still have options with your airfare. Generally, airlines will allow you to change your itenary on nonrefundable tickets but they will charge you a fee plus the difference in the new tickets. In the past that fee has usually been $100 per ticket.

 

Call your airline to see what options you have. If the change fee is $100, at least the shipboard credit they're offering you will cover it. Of course if the new airfare is higher that what you originally booked, you'll get stuck with that cost as well.

 

I'm sorry this happened to you and I'm always worried that it will happen to us as well.

 

Future cruises

Explorer OTS - Easter Caribbean 11/04

Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05

Brilliance OTS - Mediteranian 10/05

 

 

Past cruises

Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03

Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

 

Never regret growing old. Many are denied the privilege

[justcruzin85374]

sorry to hear this, good luck and hope everything turns out OK, keep us updated.

 

***

 

Soveriegn 92 E. Caribbean

Majesty 95 W. Caribbean

Granduer 97 E. Caribbean

Rhapsody 00 Mexico

Vision 02 Alaska

Radiance 03 Panama Canal

Brilliance 3/29/04

 

 

 

Radiance of the Seas/Panama Canal 10/18/2003

Are we there yet?

 

My bags are always packed!

Brilliance 3/29/2004

[Family of 14]

When was your original cruise booked for?

 

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[PhoenixCruiser]

OUCH So very sorry to read that, and we sincerely hope that everything works out for you!!

 

And, I'm just amazed, The Navigator is huge.....wonder who chartered it?

 

Yes, please keep us updated.

 

###

 

Navigator of the Seas 6/26/04

 

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[eroller]

If it is the 1/29/2005 sailing of the NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS the ship has been chartered to Atlantis Events, an all gay charter/vacation organization.

 

Ernie

[DerekDun8]

I know with your airline, that if you can find a cruise 7-10 days earlier, you can fly standby on your already purchased tickets. Double check to make sure. But i have done it before through NWA.

[Alexis]

Hi mstelly,

Can you please post the date of your cruise so that other people can check on theirs?

You only say it is the Navigator.

I know a few people sailing the Navigator this year, and I have been checking it for 2005..

 

12/06/04

THE EMPRESS OF THE SEAS. VISIT OUR ROLL CALL HERE

[TropicalFlyer]

If you are on the January 2005 cruise, I wouldn't worry about rebooking your air tickets immediately. Fare sales happen all the time. Sometimes even with the $100 change fee, a fare drop may save you money!! You can go on expedia and there is an option to put in your origin and destination cities and a fare. When fares drop below your stated airfare, you will get an e-mail you so you can book/rebook your tickets.

 

TropicalFlyer

[Family of 14]

Hey TropicalFlyer _ I am going to post a thread to you asking about Honolulu. Please be looking for it.

 

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

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[flagger]

My question is why change your cruise now. Isn't it possible that Atlantis will not sell-out their entire charter and those berths will be released back to RCCL? I would have no problem going on a cruise with gays and lesbians. Or is RCCL giving you no choice but to be bumped? Can you hold onto your cabin in case it never sells on the charter?

[Chicagomom]

mstelly

 

Check with RCI. When we were bumped, there was an offer of a credit if you had purchased airline tickets. She didn't say if this was only if you had purchased them through RCI and since we hadn't purchased any, I didn't ask. It's worth a phone call.

 

'til Enchantment of the Seas cruise!!!

 

[mstelly]

It is the January 29, 2005 Navigator Cruise

[eroller]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by flagger:

My question is why change your cruise now. Isn't it possible that Atlantis will not sell-out their entire charter and those berths will be released back to RCCL? I would have no problem going on a cruise with gays and lesbians. Or is RCCL giving you no choice but to be bumped? Can you hold onto your cabin in case it never sells on the charter?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

 

When Atlantis charters the entire ship, they do just that. It's not an allotment of berths, but the entire ship and nothing is released back to RCI. At this point, Atlantis has already paid for each berth to RCI, and it's up to Atlantis to market and sell all the berths, not RCI (they have already been paid as if the ship were sailing full). Of course Atlantis will not have a problem as just about everything they do is a total sell-out, with prices that are quite inflated over the norm as well. They do bring on their own entertainment and activities staff which is expensive (name-line headliners for entertainment).

 

Anyone can book a cruise through Atlantis Events. Just go to www.atlantisevents.com They are a charter company and not a travel agent, but you can use any travel agent to book an Atlantis event.

 

Of course whether you want to book a cruise with 3000+ gay men and women is another story. I am a gay man and having done an all gay charter, they are not that appealing to me. I still prefer the regular cruises which usually offer a nice mix of passengers from all walks of life... both gay and straight (plus the regular cruises are a lot cheaper!).

 

Ernie

[happysinglemom]

Wow - I never thought about the possibility of this happening. That is awful My airfare is over $800 and I would be fit to be tied if that happened to me. I understand that they have the right to charter the ship out from under you, but I don't understand how they can cause you to lose hundreds of dollars in airfare. Just doesn't seem fair.

 

 

As far as the gay cruising - I can certainly understand anyone wanting to change the cruise. I am straight, so why on earth would I want go on a gay cruise?

 

Adventure of the Seas will be our maiden cruise!

[flagger]

eroller thank you for your explanation.

[Globaliser]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by happysinglemom:

Wow - I never thought about the possibility of this happening. That is awful My airfare is over $800 and I would be fit to be tied if that happened to me. I understand that they have the right to charter the ship out from under you, but I don't understand how they can cause you to lose hundreds of dollars in airfare. Just doesn't seem fair.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I agree. There was quite a spirited discussion in this thread on the HAL board about a cancelled cruise for a ship's drydock.

[Family of 14]

Just for fun, I decided to take a look at what I could do if my Mariner cruise in July were cancelled. Because we already have airline to Orlando and arrive on a Friday night, we could take any Saturday or Sunday cruise.

The only choices I had were Disney (too expensive) or the Carnival Glory . The Glory did have interesting port stops and good prices (lower than RCCL), but Carnival! I hope my cruise goes as scheduled.

 

If your cruise was canceled, would the insurance you purchased cover your air or excursions already booked?

 

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</MARQUEE>

 

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[yarlenna]

Family, Carnival may not be as bad as you think. IMHO at this point, Carnival has BETTER food. The general staterooms are really quite nice. Glory has lots of balconies. The only real drawback for me with Carnival was the ineptitude of some of the service personel. I have done 6 Carnival and 5 RCI cruises. If I had to pick cruise tomorrow, Carnival would win for me.

 

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[eroller]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by yarlenna:

Family, Carnival may not be as bad as you think. IMHO at this point, Carnival has BETTER food. The general staterooms are really quite nice. Glory has lots of balconies. The only real drawback for me with Carnival was the ineptitude of some of the service personel. I have done 6 Carnival and 5 RCI cruises. If I had to pick cruise tomorrow, Carnival would win for me.

 

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

 

I agree. I love both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I've sailed on RCI probably five times, and I think 10 with Carnival.

 

Royal Caribbean has the more beautiful and innovative ships, but I think Carnival has the better food, service, and variety.

 

I really like the Spirit Class ships of Carnival. They remind me a lot of the Radiance Class, but with more lounges and bars. They are about the same size as well.

 

My favorite ships in the 7-day Caribbean market hands down are the Voyager Class. It's hard to top them for impressiveness and amenities except maybe for QM2.

 

Ernie

[Family of 14]

Don't get me wrong. I have been a defender of Carnival as well. One of my favorite cruises was with Carnival. We thought the food, service and staterooms(Cat. 8B) were very nice. And you can't beat their prices very often. If we were to get a great deal on a newer Carnival ship today, we might book it. However, once I found the newer ships of RCCL, it will be hard to go to anything else.

My problem with Carnival for the July trip would be with my family, especially my parents! It was hard enough to get them on a RCCL ship the first time on the Vision. They are HAL people. I was able to get them to go on a Celebrity. Talking them into a Voyager class was hard as it is more known as a big mega, party ship. I think the giant mall convinced my mother to convince my Dad to try it.

The one drawback we had with Carnival were SOME (not all) people who were less than stellar. Lots of party, hearty going on the week we went and such rudeness...much more than any other ship we have been on. I just couldn't see my parents getting on a Carnival ship...that's all.

 

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

or HERE!

 

</MARQUEE>

 

Disney Wonder 3/2000 ~ Disney Magic 9/2000 ~ RCI Vision 2/2001 ~ Carnival Victory 12/2001 ~ Celebrity Millennium 3/2003 ~ RCI Adventure OTS 9/2003 ~ RCI Mariner OTS 7/18/2004 ~ RCI Serenade OTS 9/26/2004

[Techgirl]

I wonder if cruise insurance would cover the cost of the airline tickets? Has anybody had this happened and filed with their cruise insurance. We are booked for an early December sailing of the Jewel and have already purchased our airline tickets (for four) and booked two rooms through Priceline. But we also purchase cruise insurance which I expect would pay if we were forced (through no fault of our own) to change the dates of the cruise.

 

Any ideas?

 

Susan

Jewel of the Seas 12/04

Celebrity Millenium 11/03

Norwegian Sea 12/02

Norwegian Sea 8/99