Disgusted with RCL and Rhapsody Cabin changes!

[desertpilot]

I'm going on my first RCI cruise in August. I can see how upsetting this would be. I don't understand why it's easy for RCI to disregard the original cruiser's cabin reservation, but they treat the new cruiser so special - I mean, the same way they so easily tell the first booker "sorry you're unhappy", why couldn't they have said that to the new booker - "sorry, we made a mistake, your room had already been booked"?

 

Mare, totally agree, and that's why we're so upset. Had I been the "new" booker, I would have still been bummed, but I would have understood the mistake and, had I really wanted that cabin, I would have just rebooked for a later sailing. (Had I wanted to stick with that date, I would have had a small OBC as compensation at least)

 

But I'm sure that RCI realized the horde of cancellations that they would have received, and decided to handle it the wrong way. When you think about the conscious decision they had to make, it's downright low, and deserving of negative press.

[havebagswilltravel]

My upcoming Rhapsody cruise -

I was just called with an offer of my first ever upgrade, from a D1 to a JS - since I'd previously done a paid upgrade from an oceanview to a D1 fantail balcony - on the seventh deck (where the numbers were NOT changed after the refurbishment) I asked where the JS would be - "there were a couple midship and the others were on the fantail"- "Fantail??? - REALLY??" "You have those???"

she read me the numbers - and Guess What!! - That's right - I explained that those were the OLD fantail numbers - and this location renumbering is exactly what has and is causing such a ruckus. She excused herself - and upon returning, indicated the Website had been updated - but NOT the reservation system and those JSs available were on the side - They are going to request an update and a flash email with the information -

(I kept my D1 fantail) -

Nan

[papakaiser]

My upcoming Rhapsody cruise -

I was just called with an offer of my first ever upgrade, from a D1 to a JS - since I'd previously done a paid upgrade from an oceanview to a D1 fantail balcony - on the seventh deck (where the numbers were NOT changed after the refurbishment) I asked where the JS would be - "there were a couple midship and the others were on the fantail"- "Fantail??? - REALLY??" "You have those???"

she read me the numbers - and Guess What!! - That's right - I explained that those were the OLD fantail numbers - and this location renumbering is exactly what has and is causing such a ruckus. She excused herself - and upon returning, indicated the Website had been updated - but NOT the reservation system and those JSs available were on the side - They are going to request an update and a flash email with the information -

(I kept my D1 fantail) -

Nan

WOW !!! The same Revenue Department that botched releasing the new cabin numbers into inventory still don't know that the deck plans have changed ???:eek: Talk about incompetence.

[Bobal]

My upcoming Rhapsody cruise -

I was just called with an offer of my first ever upgrade, from a D1 to a JS - since I'd previously done a paid upgrade from an oceanview to a D1 fantail balcony - on the seventh deck (where the numbers were NOT changed after the refurbishment) I asked where the JS would be - "there were a couple midship and the others were on the fantail"- "Fantail??? - REALLY??" "You have those???"

she read me the numbers - and Guess What!! - That's right - I explained that those were the OLD fantail numbers - and this location renumbering is exactly what has and is causing such a ruckus. She excused herself - and upon returning, indicated the Website had been updated - but NOT the reservation system and those JSs available were on the side - They are going to request an update and a flash email with the information -

(I kept my D1 fantail) -

Nan

 

I've been reading these threads avidly since I have a corner aft booked on the Grandeur for June (which is due to undergo a similar refurb in May). However, from everything I've been reading it seems that only deck 8 is affected by the renumbering of cabins as there is a gap in numbers mid-ship on deck 7 which means the aft cabins are not affected.

 

Incidentally I did email RC asking whether the cabin number would be in the same location and was told they don't have the new deck plans. The ship goes in for refurb in less than a month, they've been taking bookings for ages and they don't have the deck plans :eek:

 

I'm hopeful that I should be OK on deck 7 but have an awful feeling that the same problems may happen with sailings on the Grandeur on deck 8 post refit.

[travelin_nat]

I've been reading these threads avidly since I have a corner aft booked on the Grandeur for June (which is due to undergo a similar refurb in May). However, from everything I've been reading it seems that only deck 8 is affected by the renumbering of cabins as there is a gap in numbers mid-ship on deck 7 which means the aft cabins are not affected.

 

Incidentally I did email RC asking whether the cabin number would be in the same location and was told they don't have the new deck plans. The ship goes in for refurb in less than a month, they've been taking bookings for ages and they don't have the deck plans :eek:

 

I'm hopeful that I should be OK on deck 7 but have an awful feeling that the same problems may happen with sailings on the Grandeur on deck 8 post refit.

 

Bobal - I just checked and they have the new deck plans available on the website. I would verify now so you can get ahead of any potential problem!

[travelin_nat]

Just noticed on a roll call that the upgrade fairy gave an upgrade to 8588 for the 4/30 sailing. Do you suppose that means RCI did the right thing and moved the original occupant to the corner aft? Is the complaining working?

[desertpilot]

Just noticed on a roll call that the upgrade fairy gave an upgrade to 8588 for the 4/30 sailing. Do you suppose that means RCI did the right thing and moved the original occupant to the corner aft? Is the complaining working?

 

Hmm, I'm not sure if I understand the thought process there. 8588 used to be one of the corner afts but now it's just a normal starboard JS. Are you thinking that maybe someone on deck 8 canceled upon being asked to move and that the upgrade fairy hit somebody coming from an ocean view or a normal balcony room?

[travelin_nat]

What I was thinking is that the new corner aft had not been booked so they moved the party that was originally booked in 8588 to the corner aft, leaving 8588 unoccupied. Person who got a call was moved from an inside to 8588 for $100. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!

[Bobal]

Bobal - I just checked and they have the new deck plans available on the website. I would verify now so you can get ahead of any potential problem!

 

Thanks, but unfortunately the deck plans they are showing as post-refurb as exactly the same as pre-refurb so have not yet been updated.

[desertpilot]

What I was thinking is that the new corner aft had not been booked so they moved the party that was originally booked in 8588 to the corner aft, leaving 8588 unoccupied. Person who got a call was moved from an inside to 8588 for $100. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!

 

Ah I see...so somehow the corner aft would have had to have been vacated.

 

It's an interesting thought, guess we'll have to see if we see more activity like this.

[travelin_nat]

Ah I see...so somehow the corner aft would have had to have been vacated.

 

It's an interesting thought, guess we'll have to see if we see more activity like this.

 

Yeah - I hope I'm right. But I remembered that they did move people back to their corner aft if it had not already been booked. So time will tell if this was that situation, or they have started to make things right. We have someone on our cruise who was booted, and I don't think they've gotten their coveted cabin back yet. Still crossing my fingers for all of you!

[havebagswilltravel]

Interesting thought - but I can't believe that corner aft sat there empty all this time (since they published the new plans) - I've looked frequently to see how many JSs were left (for April 30 sailing) and I'd surely have noticed THAT location available - or ANY fantail - plus I've put them in the search function on the website occasionally. SO, while interesting, I'm sure the new/current corner aft has been booked since the beginning of this fiasco.

btw I received a call offering me an upgrade to JS around noon today -

When I called back, I realized they were not seeing the NEW deck plan -

since they offered me fantails 8588 and four others which used to be fantails. Please see my post above (at 2PM). (Great catch for Samwa who got the upgrade to side JS from an interior) - as for me, I kept my D1 fantail on the 7th deck - Appreciative of the offer - but can you imagine - it means ALL this time reservations have never had the updated deck plan -

(Critterchick alerted them to the anomaly on March 4th) - when we talked today, the C&A D+ rep went away for discussion and they're going to request an updated plan and that a "flash"? email be sent out.

[havebagswilltravel]

More on the above - maybe the original occupant of that location IS the one who got it back - at the beginning - which may be why we've never heard from anyone here, about that one on this sailing - Honolulu to Vancouver - April 30. The ones I was offered today have all been available since I began looking way back. Sorry for any fuzzy thinking - overexcited by my first upgrade offer (and turning it down!!) Nan

[travelin_nat]

Who knows what happened. I just found it curious that they were offered 8588. I guess I'm holding on to hope that Royal will do the right thing and fix this whole mess.

 

I get that new cruisers are more profitable for them, but sooner or later that well is going to dry up, and you're left with a bunch of people you have treated poorly. What seems to be saving them right now is the actual cruise experience. If that starts to go the way of customer service, they are in big trouble....

[novicecruiser1]

Maybe it's because it's late in the Alaska cruise season, but I find it interesting that the 8/31 sailing out of Seattle is still showing aft cabins available on deck 8. Or could it be that someone has lost their aft cabin unknowingly and it's now available for anyone else to book? Just wondering.....

[desertpilot]

Maybe it's because it's late in the Alaska cruise season, but I find it interesting that the 8/31 sailing out of Seattle is still showing aft cabins available on deck 8. Or could it be that someone has lost their aft cabin unknowingly and it's now available for anyone else to book? Just wondering.....

 

If it's for a 2012 sailing, I'd just about bet somebody got unknowingly punted out of one or more of those. It's too bad I don't have a list of the folks; if I did, I'd call them myself just to save them what I've gone through :(

[Bigcat47]

Chris--You have been terrific with all of your information. We feel EXACTLY the same way. Its a VACATION...we should not have been through this much stress over this issue. Obviously we mean nothing to RCCL. I am waiting to see what happens with BBB response which I am sure will be more of the same. I also hope that I get a letter from "Executive Customer Service". I have to take this cruise due to others going with us. But will not book with RCCL again. We had plans to cruise to Europe with them...but now we will go back to other lines where our business has been appreciated.

[Bigcat47]

Wow...That so unbelievable that even the company can't keep the changes straight!!! Really bad bad management!!

[rubrrick]

Anyone cruising on the 5/11 sailing that got moved from an aft "suite"?

 

Surely, after this sailing, RCCL should have everything straightened out!

 

If they can't do something for everyone....after the first Alaska sailing, as my BIl said to me today.....and he is a computer wiz, retired from the American Government.......doing computer work.......that the Royal Caribbean web site is one of the worst web sites that he has experienced.

 

His grandson could come in and fix so many things that are wrong with the site.............and one of them could be cabins!

 

Someone needs to let Royal Caribbean know how bad their site is!!

 

Rick

[marci22]

Someone needs to let Royal Caribbean know how bad their site is!!

 

Rick

 

We've all been complaining about it since the last big change. I even complained about it on a survey, and on the phone. They just don't care.

[fred20155]

RCI really screwed this one up. What I don't understand is, they knew this refit was coming, and that the room numbers would be changed.

 

OK, let's assume for awhile that the reservation system was making assignments based on the old room numbers. This is indeed what actually happened.

 

At some point RCI realizes this error, so I don't see why they couldn't have automatically adjusted the room numbers so they went to the new room number system, which would mean all the reservations up to this point in time kept their physical room locations. Then, the system would start making reservations from that point in time with the new numbering system, and there would be no conflicts, and everyone would be happy.

 

Whoever does their reservation system software really screwed up, in my opinion, and this should have been a simple thing to do.

 

Instead, it appears they didn't adjust the room numbers of the original reservations, and that led of course to those reservations being shifted to physical locations different than what they were originally.

 

I still don't understand why they didn't think this through properly and simply do what I said in the first paragraph, there would have been no conflicts, and everyone would be happy as everyone would have gotten the physical location they thought they were getting. Once the change was made properly, anyone getting reservations immediately with the new numbering system would have been shown only the rooms that never had any reservation made against those physical locations, despite the fact the original reservations were made under the old numbering system.

[havebagswilltravel]

RCI really screwed this one up. What I don't understand is, they knew this refit was coming, and that the room numbers would be changed.

 

OK, let's assume for awhile that the reservation system was making assignments based on the old room numbers. This is indeed what actually happened.

 

At some point RCI realizes this error, so I don't see why they couldn't have automatically adjusted the room numbers so they went to the new room number system, which would mean all the reservations up to this point in time kept their physical room locations. Then, the system would start making reservations from that point in time with the new numbering system, and there would be no conflicts, and everyone would be happy.

 

Whoever does their reservation system software really screwed up, in my opinion, and this should have been a simple thing to do.

 

Instead, it appears they didn't adjust the room numbers of the original reservations, and that led of course to those reservations being shifted to physical locations different than what they were originally.

 

I still don't understand why they didn't think this through properly and simply do what I said in the first paragraph, there would have been no conflicts, and everyone would be happy as everyone would have gotten the physical location they thought they were getting. Once the change was made properly, anyone getting reservations immediately with the new numbering system would have been shown only the rooms that never had any reservation made against those physical locations, despite the fact the original reservations were made under the old numbering system.

 

Oh yes - that sounds as if it would have been a good way to do it - but NOooo - it's only their second time with this situation (Splendor), not enough experience with the procedure yet - and witness the fact that as of yesterday afternoon, April 16th - C&A reservations people were looking at the WRONG deck plans - I was speechless when I realized it - as she described fantails available and gave me the numbers of the old ones - After two months and all this ruckus, noone ever thought to send update to reservations - I don't know about regular CVPs but at C&A they didn't even know this was going on!!!! And yet, with all the calls and pleas for restoration, some must have - maybe they could have had a meeting and shared the information. Nan

[CarpeCerevisi]

RCI really screwed this one up. What I don't understand is, they knew this refit was coming, and that the room numbers would be changed.

 

OK, let's assume for awhile that the reservation system was making assignments based on the old room numbers. This is indeed what actually happened.

 

At some point RCI realizes this error, so I don't see why they couldn't have automatically adjusted the room numbers so they went to the new room number system, which would mean all the reservations up to this point in time kept their physical room locations. Then, the system would start making reservations from that point in time with the new numbering system, and there would be no conflicts, and everyone would be happy.

 

Whoever does their reservation system software really screwed up, in my opinion, and this should have been a simple thing to do.

 

Instead, it appears they didn't adjust the room numbers of the original reservations, and that led of course to those reservations being shifted to physical locations different than what they were originally.

 

I still don't understand why they didn't think this through properly and simply do what I said in the first paragraph, there would have been no conflicts, and everyone would be happy as everyone would have gotten the physical location they thought they were getting. Once the change was made properly, anyone getting reservations immediately with the new numbering system would have been shown only the rooms that never had any reservation made against those physical locations, despite the fact the original reservations were made under the old numbering system.

 

Ah, but there's the rub. It would have taken A) logical thinking and B) actual work! It was far easier for them to do nothing, and you have to admit, there were no double bookings of room numbers, just locations. To state it simply, RCCL screwed their customers to make their lives easier and because less work for them generally means less cost for them don't expect them to handle things any differently with other ships.

[Bigcat47]

What really is at the core of this mess is how management has chosen to handle this--which is not at all. We are weary of the effort we have put into this "Vacation of a Lifetime". While this is something you might expect from a lesser cruise line..we never expected it with RCL. Especiallly the miserly amount of $200 OB Credit. Really at this point, I am not sure what else to do but accept it and never ever book with RCL again. Whats sad is that we are just one family out of millions so what do we matter to them...NOTHING!

[MysteryMe]

the miserly amount of $200 OB Credit. Really at this point, I am not sure what else to do but accept it and never ever book with RCL again.

 

We lost our corner aft on the 5/18 sailing. We completely agree that Royal Caribbean really screwed this up and doesn't seem interested in the least about correcting their error to "make this right" for those who originally had the aft cabins. We're beyond disappointed and if we didn't have other family members traveling with us on this cruise, we'd have cancelled. We really don't want the $200 OB Credit, we want our original location back and an apology. Is that asking too much, RCCL????