glendon3281 Posted April 14, 2005 #1 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I'm attempting to book a category "Z", inside cabin guarantee, for the July 19th sailing of the Enchantment and am havng pricing issues. If you look under the "HOT DEALS" section of RC's website, it's listed as $599pp (plus $27.15 for taxes/fees) for the "Lowest available price for stateroom". When you attempt to book the cheapest cabin (category "Z') online, the price jumps to $649/pp (plus $27.15 for taxes/fees). I spoke to RC's C/S and was told the $599pp price is no longer available that I'd have to pay $649pp. I said the website reads "'Lowest AVAILABLE price". If it's NOT available, THAT price SHOULD be removed. They said that I can't go by the prices on the website, I have to go by what's in the MAIN computer. I realize it's only $50/pp BUT I feel if THAT's what the website ADVERTISES as the lowest price...THAT'S the price I SHOULD be able to book the cabins at. I was referred to the C/S rep's Supervisor, who referred me to the "Resolution Dept." who referred me to the Legal Dept?? Also, I am a Diamond C & A member, go on a couple cruises a year and take advantage of the guarantee prices when I can find them. I spoke to C & A rep who was also NO help. Am I wrong to think they should honor their website prices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromler Posted April 14, 2005 #2 Share Posted April 14, 2005 To Be Honest the Hot Deals Webpage does state at the bottom: Terms & Conditions: Prices are per person based on double occupancy. Offer cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions; offer applicable to new bookings only. Offer limited to selected sailings and subject to capacity controls. Royal Caribbean International® reserves the right to increase its prices without prior notice. Additional cruise dates and pricing are available. Government taxes and fees are additional. Certain restrictions apply. All prices are quoted in U.S. Dollars and are applicable to U.S. residents only. But to keep a loyal customer happy, I would probally be ticked off too, but they did disclose their rules.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2VaCruzers Posted April 14, 2005 #3 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I would think they'd have to...especially since they've got them advertised as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setcarp Posted April 14, 2005 #4 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Sometimes you have to click on "see more dates" or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar27 Posted April 14, 2005 #5 Share Posted April 14, 2005 You get the same problem with Expedia sometimes. You will try to book a flight for a certain price and it comes up with "that flight is not longer available at the price quoted. The new price is...." Gotta love disclaimers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emcemt Posted April 14, 2005 #6 Share Posted April 14, 2005 DA old bait and switch................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glendon3281 Posted April 14, 2005 Author #7 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I realize RC CAN increase it's price at ANY time. On other occasions, I've checked prices in the morning, they've changed by lunch and I could've kicked myself for NOT booking when the lower price appeared BUT in THIS case, the price STILL appears! Also, there are NO other sail dates TO pick from as another poster suggested. This is the only 5-day sailing the Enchantment is making with this itinerary after coming out of drydock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisin' Posted April 14, 2005 #8 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Also, there are NO other sail dates TO pick from as another poster suggested. This is the only 5-day sailing the Enchantment is making with this itinerary after coming out of drydock. I would gladly pay the extra $50 just to keep from getting myself so worked up and hostile. Life's too short. Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinfanatic Posted April 14, 2005 #9 Share Posted April 14, 2005 says $649 now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbie0253 Posted April 14, 2005 #10 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I too get so frustrated with RCCL sometimes. We once tried to book a happy hour special. My TA opens at 9:00. I called RCCL at 8:50 and asked them to put a 10 minute hold on the cabin so I could call my TA. The refused and the cabin was gone 10 minutes later. They still had cabin in the PR cat. but would not sell them at that price. RCCL's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I feel like all they want to do is get your money and forget about anything else. I really feel like they could care less about loyalty. Luckily the cruises are nothing like their phone centers :) Bobbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milhouse Posted April 14, 2005 #11 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I too have tried to book a cruise at an advertised price only to find it no longer available. I realize there could be a delay in updating the website so I don't necessarily get myself worked up over it. But it still is kind of a PITA to go through the effort and finding there aren't any more available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted April 14, 2005 #12 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Why would you say that RCI doesn't do a thing for its loyal return customers???? Why they give you a couple of watered down drinks at the welcome back party don't they?? And why can't they change prices without notice, it's there ships aren't they?? Some people are alway looking for a hand-out. They really want you to say, "That's ok, book me in the Royal Suite instead". Some people.................:D (Tongue firmly planted in cheek) Stretch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtchg Posted April 14, 2005 #13 Share Posted April 14, 2005 ,,,the classy thing is to honor it, I agree. I am doing a pre-cruise stay for two nites in Boston at the RitzCarlton. No, I'm not wealthy. True, the rooms at this ultra luxury place average about 480 dollars a night. ..But Expedia had one room category listed as 48 dollars a night. In Boston, it's tough to rent a crate over a vent for that. They had inadvertantly dropped the last digit. I booked and paid for two nites (a whole 111 dollars including taxes.) I emailed customer service and they confirmed they WOULD honor that price. They corrected it soon after. I know Expedia gets some criticism, but they came through here. If only RCI would have the same philosophy. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weechloe Posted April 14, 2005 #14 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I too am very disappointed in the customer service. We found an aft cabin available on the May 8th sailing on the Explorer. I realize that my travel agent has complete control of my booking since booked by her. Her office was closed and I asked that a hold be put on until the next day. They wanted a deposit even though we had already booked and paid for the entire cruise. We just wanted to change rooms. After an hour and a half debating with two different people at RCI they finally put it on hold until the next day. This is our fourth cruise since November and all have been with RCI. If they want repeat customers they better offer better customer care.:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueinphilly Posted April 14, 2005 #15 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I was going to book that same cruise the other day. I had gotten to the part where you put the credit card info in (at this moment it was actually giving me the $599 price). I got a phone call and got distracted. When back to the site maybe 30 minutes later and had to refresh the page and the price had changed to $769. I called and the guy told me that the price can change at any moment when they fill a certain # of cabins. No way was I paying $160 more per person. So I didn't book it. I really want the 7 nighter on 7/24 because I've been to Halifax 2x in the past 5 years. But no way am I paying $1120 for the lowest inside cabin. I'm going to wait until the 70 day out mark approaches and hope that alot of people don't make final payment and the price goes down some. Otherwise I'll not be cruising this summer. I'd love to do the NE/Canada cruise that princess has (5 ports) but it's only in Sept and October and I can't go then :-( I can't wait till me son graduates high school and I can cruise SOLO in the fall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueinphilly Posted April 14, 2005 #16 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Here's another example (not cruise related) where a mistake on the website isn't for naught. I ordered a customer computer from Hewlett Packard on March 30. The estimated ship date give was April 8. On April 11, I was getting ready to inquire as to where my computer was when I noticed an email from HP. They had a mistake on their website and my correct ship date should have been May13. I could cancel my order. Or I could get any ready to ship computer for 10% off or wait for my original computer and get 10% off. They could have said tough crap and lost some business and pissed people off. But ON THEIR OWN, they initiated the compensation. yeah, I'm disappointed that my new lightning fast computer won't be here for another month, but I'm not complaining. That's customer service and why I've bought 4 HP computers in the past 10 years. And somehow they keep getting faster and cheaper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erie Dave Posted April 14, 2005 #17 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Prices do change with commodity changes. Gas changes daily, lumber, watch the stocks, airline prices, why not cruise prices. The site isn't updated as often as it should be, maybe, but prices do change pretty irregularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrp96 Posted April 14, 2005 #18 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I agree with previous posters that RCCI's customer service leaves much to be desired. My last cruise I booked over the phone through them (it was too late to book over the internet to get airfares as well as it was only a month until the cruise). I was told they would have no problems booking my airfare and I would get my documents by the end of the week. I didn't get my documents by the end of the week so I called and they told me they hadn't booked the airfare yet but it would be done that week. Again, they didn't show up and I called, and received the same story. I kept calling and I kept getting the same story. Tuesday before I left on Saturday they finally admitted they forgot to book my airplane ticket, they told me I would have an e-mail within 24 hours with my itinerary and would have to pick up my documents at the pier. 24 hours came and still no email. I called again, one agent said I had no right to be upset over this, and passed me onto someone else. The person kept telling me I shouldn't worry that I could pick my documents up at the pier - she wasn't understanding that I had no way to get to the pier because I still didn't have airplane tickets (or know what flight or even airline I was on). I finally got my tickets at 9pm Friday night and had to be at the airport the next morning at 4am. The cruise itself was great and I'm going back on RCCI for another cruise, but I used a TA to book the cruise this time. It's not worth it to me to have to deal with RCCI customer service again. (They got me on the way home too. I missed my flight and their rep at the airport told me he was too busy working on something for someone else to be able to help me). Wrona 3 RCCI cruises completed, 4th on booked for next spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisin' Posted April 14, 2005 #19 Share Posted April 14, 2005 ..But Expedia had one room category listed as 48 dollars a night. In Boston, it's tough to rent a crate over a vent for that. They had inadvertantly dropped the last digit. Maybe it's just me, but I would feel guilty about taking advantage of what was an obvious mistake. Sigh. Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtchg Posted April 15, 2005 #20 Share Posted April 15, 2005 ...I booked the rooms at the price they listed. I then inquired to make sure it was "kosher". Without admitting a mistake (I just assume they made one, considering the normal prices), an email back from Expedia service confirmed that I had booked a room at the Ritz, for 2 nites at a prepaid price of 111 dollars. I printed out the confirmation. I should feel guilty about that??? Interesting... Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted April 15, 2005 #21 Share Posted April 15, 2005 ...I booked the rooms at the price they listed. I then inquired to make sure it was "kosher". Without admitting a mistake (I just assume they made one, considering the normal prices), an email back from Expedia service confirmed that I had booked a room at the Ritz, for 2 nites at a prepaid price of 111 dollars. I printed out the confirmation. I should feel guilty about that??? Interesting... Mitch Mitch, you shouldn't feel a bit of guilt. It's their mistake and THEY did the right thing by honoring it. A couple of months ago at the grocery store I saw a pack of really nice rib eye steaks, 1 1/4" thick for $ .29. It appeared they just charged me for the weight of the foam tray they were packed in. Best $.15 steak I every had and no guilty feelings. Sometimes life just throws you a bone. Stretch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisin' Posted April 15, 2005 #22 Share Posted April 15, 2005 ... I should feel guilty about that??? Interesting... Mitch I didn't say you should feel guilty. I said I would feel guilty. Big difference. Someone once said that if we didn't have differences of opinion, we wouldn't have horse races. Similarly, if we didn't have differences in morals and ethics, we wouldn't have crime, cheating, lying, and adultery. Maybe it is just me, but I sleep extremely well at night.:) Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madforcruising Posted April 15, 2005 #23 Share Posted April 15, 2005 I'm attempting to book a category "Z", inside cabin guarantee, for the July 19th sailing of the Enchantment and am havng pricing issues. If you look under the "HOT DEALS" section of RC's website, it's listed as $599pp (plus $27.15 for taxes/fees) for the "Lowest available price for stateroom". When you attempt to book the cheapest cabin (category "Z') online, the price jumps to $649/pp (plus $27.15 for taxes/fees). I spoke to RC's C/S and was told the $599pp price is no longer available that I'd have to pay $649pp. I said the website reads "'Lowest AVAILABLE price". If it's NOT available, THAT price SHOULD be removed. They said that I can't go by the prices on the website, I have to go by what's in the MAIN computer. I realize it's only $50/pp BUT I feel if THAT's what the website ADVERTISES as the lowest price...THAT'S the price I SHOULD be able to book the cabins at. I was referred to the C/S rep's Supervisor, who referred me to the "Resolution Dept." who referred me to the Legal Dept?? Also, I am a Diamond C & A member, go on a couple cruises a year and take advantage of the guarantee prices when I can find them. I spoke to C & A rep who was also NO help. Am I wrong to think they should honor their website prices? Honestly speaking I think (note JMHO) they shouldn´t have to honor the price on their website. Of course it would be a nice touch if they would but I see no reason for it. The advertised prices on the website are just this an advertisement. These parts of the website are not updated as often as the online booking sydtem is. The online booking system is the one that has the exact price. It would be the same if you read an advertisement at your local TA, or in your newspaper. When trying to book this advertised offer it may be gone already and I doubt you would think about being able to book at that rate as it could be as old as the newspaper it is in. Websites are not always updated in real time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CustomCruzr Posted April 15, 2005 #24 Share Posted April 15, 2005 The world is full of those who take advantage of others mistakes. That is not nearly as sad as the fact that more and more of them are thinking that it is right to do so. Shame, shame, shame....:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcruisin Posted April 15, 2005 #25 Share Posted April 15, 2005 I think that it would only be right and fair for them to honor the price posted. If you went into a store and picked up a pair of jeans that are clearly priced $29.99, would you be willing to pay $35.99 at the register because they had not had time to change the price tag? Maybe RCCL should update these areas more often. I believe this is just an excuse. I hate when a company (any) quotes prices to "lure" you in and then tries to stick it to you when you have your foot in the door. What is so hard about posting correct prices? IMHO timely updates on a website is no excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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