HELP! Booked under wrong state;they want to charge me more

[jeast]

Deidretourse, it sounds like there are valid reasons why these resident fares are accepted when the address is different.

 

Unfortunately, I can also see how the cruise lines could suffer from allowing refunds on the sail day because someone booked incorrectly. Those rooms where the fare was refunded because of user error in booking would now go out empty and unpaid for when they could have been booked by someone else through no fault of the cruiseline, just people who were too much in a hurry to verify their own information and fare rate.

 

I wouldn't offer a refund either. It's an unfortunate situation for those who make an error, but I think people pay for mistakes. That's life.

 

Also, I wonder how many people 'accidentally' book those sale fares in the hopes that they will not be checked. After all, their brother's uncle's cousin's roommates friend got away with it.

 

I'm very glad the OP chose to go on the cruise.

[thelion]

Deidretourse, it sounds like there are valid reasons why these resident fares are accepted when the address is different.

 

Unfortunately, I can also see how the cruise lines could suffer from allowing refunds on the sail day because someone booked incorrectly. Those rooms where the fare was refunded because of user error in booking would now go out empty and unpaid for when they could have been booked by someone else through no fault of the cruiseline, just people who were too much in a hurry to verify their own information and fare rate.

 

I wouldn't offer a refund either. It's an unfortunate situation for those who make an error, but I think people pay for mistakes. That's life.

 

Also, I wonder how many people 'accidentally' book those sale fares in the hopes that they will not be checked. After all, their brother's uncle's cousin's roommates friend got away with it.

 

I'm very glad the OP chose to go on the cruise.

 

Actually, they would not be refunded. RCI would hold the money paid in penalty (minus taxes).

[natezero]

Ok, working as a programmer, there's a problem here. As others have pointed out, while their home address may be in one state, they may be a resident of another. Rules that restrict accurate data are much worse than dealing with user error. Personal responsibility has to come into play. You try to make something foolproof and someone will come up with a better fool. Fact of life, especially in programming.

 

You are wrong.

 

Many people on here, especially snow birds et al have two addresses and the current address where stuff is to be mailed might not be the address that qualifies for the discount. So the system is not set to reject the rate just because the zips don't match.

 

Customer Service 101.

 

Points taken, I honestly had not thought about this. Perhaps a dialog box asking if you are sure you want to do this booking with two different addresses would be helpful. This would be very easy to put in place and probably save a lot of people trouble.

 

Sorry, I forgot. We live in a society where no one has any personal responsibility.

 

Very helpful... I can't imagine what this thread would be without all your wonderful input.

[daze6399]

I think the point here was that the OP should not have been capable of making the mistake. There is no reason that you should be able to book under a different state when you have to put in your home address with a zip code. Computer programming 101 if-then statement.... if GA is not equal to whatever zip code she put in then she can not make the reservation. Problem solved. You would think everyone on here was perfect the way people get blasted for posting.

 

Nate is right, but as other posters have mentioned the program could be written to make a confimation screen something like "you have chosen a state that does not match your home address is this correct"

 

But yes the OP did make a mistake, and no RCI shouldn't have to eat that mistake but does the OP really need to be flamed because they made a mistake? I would have asked the same question. It's not about not taking responsibility. Besides RCI admitted to knowing about the mistake and not saying anything to the OP.

 

daze

[buckanear]

I read in another section of this forum where a TA booked a senior rate for a couple in their 30s and told the folks dont worry about it. They had a problem boarding.

 

Unless we're talking about the same couple, situations like this have been mentioned here a couple of times. There was a couple, about a year ago, who were on here squawking that they had to pay, I believe $800, because they were booked on a senior rate. They swore up and down that they were clueless about getting the rate and no one would tell them why their discount (their travel agent said it was a 1st time cruiser discount) wasn't valid. Lie! A few weeks after that thread died down, I was at a legal advice forum and there they were, seeking legal advise for their situation with key details changed. Turns out, their ta told them not to worry about it, they would never figure it out.

[SpeedGeek]

[quote name='natezero']Points taken, I honestly had not thought about this. Perhaps a dialog box asking if you are sure you want to do this booking with two different addresses would be helpful. This would be very easy to put in place and probably save a lot of people trouble.[/quote]

I can definitely agree with that.