Cannot believe this - cruise overbooked!!

[The Big Booper]

To review-

 

1. The OP booked a GUARANTEE inside within two weeks of the sail date.

 

2. The company accepted the booking, anticipating based on their booking models that someone would cancel and then the guarantee booking would be given a cabin.

 

3. This didn't happen, not enough cancellations.

 

4. The company then offered a booking on a similar and better ship with $100 OBC (which covers the extra travel costs) and an upgrade from inside to OV.

 

5. The OP came here, blew off some steam, then disappeared and took the offer.

 

6. This site is entertainment for lots of people.

[Big_G]

How should be booking a trip late be a risk the cruiser? I can see maybe anticipating cancellations for people that book multiple cruises months or years in advance for the same weeks only to decide later what cruise they will take.

 

But inside not just final payment, but the 100% penalty for cancellation phase, and still overbooking is a shame and pathetic customer service.

 

RCI could have wait listed them. No promises, no expectations.

 

What penalty?

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

If I were to put myself in the OP's situation, I would of taken the Majesty option, however the OBC was a joke of a gesture. I would of asked for better OBC or better cabin, it doesn't hurt to ask!!!

 

 

***

[critterchick]

I totally agree with this. When I book a cruise, I am picking the ship I WANT. I"m sailing Explorer in Sept - if RCCL called me and told me they were overbooked and I had to switch to Enchantment out of Baltimore - I would say no way :eek: Not because it's a 3 hour ride from my house instead of a 1/2 hour ride to Bayonne, but because I WANT to go on Explorer, not Enchantment :rolleyes: If I wanted Enchantment I would have booked that in the first place. She chose how to spend her vacation $$ - this shouldn't have happened!

 

Except that Monarch and Majesty are virtually identical ships, while Enchantment and Explorer aren't. The only substantive difference is the drive. IMO the OBC offer was a fair amount. If OP is driving a "little" car, then the extra gas is likely not going to cost over $100.Remember that the people displaced from their cabins on Rhapsody for a 7 night cruise were only offered $200, and then in some instances got the cabin next door to the one they wanted. How's THAT for a poke in the eye?

 

I don't fault the cruiselines for overbooking, but I do fault RCI for making the moveover mandatory instead of voluntary, as Princess does. They took the OP's money and then reneged on their end of the contract. If they did it the Princess way, the OP would have declined the move over and they would have contacted somebody else. Only when they ran out of people to call would they increase the offer until they had the passenger load they needed. And whoever accepted the offer would probably be tickled pink at getting the extra OBC and upgrade.

[Aquahound]

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, big bad evil Royal Caribbean

LOL!

 

Wow! Nice smart alec remark :rolleyes: I figured it wouldnt long before one would come back with something to say about that.

 

I am literally LMAO at this thread at this point. It has been settled, the OP is going on Majesty and yet of course the whiners are still doing their thing because big bad evil cruise company ROYALLY screwed someone over in their minds.

 

Like I said, its the Cruise Critic way :rolleyes: You all carry on though LOL

 

Ryano, frankly, I am a little baffled why you are responding this way. :confused: Why are you getting so upset about this?

[molly361]

I guess you guys don't know how to roll with the flow! :rolleyes:

 

just kidding.

 

 

Sure I do:D:):p

[ryano]

Why are you getting so upset about this?

 

Im over it and I apologize to everyone. I just felt I was called out on that one and was not being entitled to my opinion that I personally would not be mad at RCI with this offer or the way they handled it here.

 

Especially if I were within 4 hours or so of all cruise ports in FL. I would love to have this kind of inconvenience going on in my life right now :)

 

A little extra OBC for the difference in gas and parking would have been nice. Hopefully the OP got that.

[Host Anne]

All true but the difference is the airlines are dealing with a large group of full fare flyer's who can cancel at anytime with no (or next to no) penalty

 

Rich ~ Are airlines in Canada operating differently from airlines in the USA (and I'm not being smart...it's an honest question)? I fly several times a month and never pay full fare for a flight. I don't know many people (except for corporate management who can fly anytime they want without concerns for what it cost) who pay full fare and have no (or little) penalty. The average penalty for changing flights is $150 USD plus the difference in fare.

 

I was about to say to Zebra that the airlines start with a low offer and as they become more in need of seats, they offer to be bumped goes up. Obviously with cruises it's going to be a little different because no one wants to give up a cruise (not anyone I know). But the bottom line is that what Zebra paid for is now costing her more than what they are offering for compensation. There's no real monetary value to the upgrade from the inside to oceanview when they have cabins sitting empty and the additional cost for drive (it's more than twice as far for Zebra to drive to Miami) and additional parking costs won't be covered by an OBC, which she has to spend onboard.

 

All in all, for getting bumped, they haven't offered much to make a loyal customer feel appreciated when they've turned your planned trip into something you didn't buy in the first place.

 

Zebra ~ hope you have a great time regardless.

[EVALUATOR]

What penalty?

 

Q: If I have to cancel my cruise, will I get a refund? A: You will get a full refund if you notify us at least 75 days prior to your sailing date (60 days for 3 & 4-night cruises or 90 days for holiday sailings). Consult the chart below to determine cancellation charges applicable later.

 

Note: No refunds will be made if you do not show up for your cruise or if you interrupt or cancel your vacation once it has begun.

 

When calculating the days prior to sailing, the day of sailing should not be considered as one of the days. The day of sailing is considered the first day of the cruise, therefore, the penalty period will commence one day prior to the day of sailing.

 

The cancellation policy applies when reserving with our US Office only. Guests should contact their local Royal Caribbean International Office or Travel Agent for full details of applicable cancellation policies.

 

Effective August 1, 2010, new reservations will fall under the following cancellation schedule:

Cruise Length

Days to Departure

Charges Per Person

1 - 5 Nights

 

 

60+ No charges

59-43 Deposit amount

42-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

6 Nights or longer

 

 

75+ No charges

74-57 Deposit amount

56-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

CruiseTour

 

 

75+ No charges

74-57 Deposit amount

56-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

Holiday Sailings**:

 

1-5 nights

 

 

90+ No charges

89-64 Deposit Amount

63-43 50% of total price (taxes and fees excluded)*

42-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

6 Nights or longer

 

 

90+ No charges

89-64 Deposit Amount

63-43 50% of total price (taxes and fees excluded)*

42-22 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)**

21 or less No refund (excluding taxes and fees)

* Or deposit amount, whichever is greater.

** Holiday sailings are defined as sailings that occur over Christmas and/or New Year's day.

[Big_G]

Q: If I have to cancel my cruise, will I get a refund? A: You will get a full refund if you notify us at least 75 days prior to your sailing date (60 days for 3 & 4-night cruises or 90 days for holiday sailings). Consult the chart below to determine cancellation charges applicable later.

 

Note: No refunds will be made if you do not show up for your cruise or if you interrupt or cancel your vacation once it has begun.

 

When calculating the days prior to sailing, the day of sailing should not be considered as one of the days. The day of sailing is considered the first day of the cruise, therefore, the penalty period will commence one day prior to the day of sailing.

 

The cancellation policy applies when reserving with our US Office only. Guests should contact their local Royal Caribbean International Office or Travel Agent for full details of applicable cancellation policies.

 

Effective August 1, 2010, new reservations will fall under the following cancellation schedule:

Cruise Length

Days to Departure

Charges Per Person

1 - 5 Nights

 

 

60+ No charges

59-43 Deposit amount

42-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

6 Nights or longer

 

 

75+ No charges

74-57 Deposit amount

56-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

CruiseTour

 

 

75+ No charges

74-57 Deposit amount

56-29 50% of total price (taxes & fees excluded)*

28-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

Holiday Sailings**:

 

1-5 nights

 

 

90+ No charges

89-64 Deposit Amount

63-43 50% of total price (taxes and fees excluded)*

42-15 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)*

14 or less No refund except for taxes and fees

 

6 Nights or longer

 

 

90+ No charges

89-64 Deposit Amount

63-43 50% of total price (taxes and fees excluded)*

42-22 75% of total (taxes & fees excluded)**

21 or less No refund (excluding taxes and fees)

* Or deposit amount, whichever is greater.

** Holiday sailings are defined as sailings that occur over Christmas and/or New Year's day.

 

Maybe I misunderstood your comment but she was offered a full refund.

 

1. Cruise on same date but out of Miami on the Majesty for an upgrade to oceanview plus $100 OBC

2. Cruise on Monarch but on another date for upgrade to oceanview plus $100 OBC

3. Full refund.

[Host Anne]

One other thing I meant to mention for those who do not live in Florida. Driving to Port Canaveral and driving to Miami are totally different experiences, mileage aside. While I'm not a fan of I-4 from Tampa to Orlando, the overall drive to Port Canaveral is much easier. When you come across alligator alley and hit Ft. Lauderdale in South Florida, you are in a tremendous amount of traffic from there to the Port of Miami. Not everyone really wants to drive in those kinds of situations if they don't have to. So thinking doubling your drive isn't a big deal, it can be if you don't like serious traffic for the last 45 minutes to an hour of your trip both ways. Just another factor I wanted to throw out there.

[ryano]

There's no real monetary value to the upgrade from the inside to oceanview when they have cabins sitting empty and the additional cost for drive (it's more than twice as far for Zebra to drive to Miami) and additional parking costs won't be covered by an OBC, which she has to spend onboard.

 

All in all, for getting bumped, they haven't offered much to make a loyal customer feel appreciated when they've turned your planned trip into something you didn't buy in the first place.

.

 

But heres the thing. The OP disappeared after venting here and taking the Majesty offer afterall. :) We have no idea how much more they were compensated or if they were compensated any more than the original offer at all. All we know is they are now going on the Majesty so something had to have happened to change the OPs mind so it must not be as big of an inconvenience as they made it out to be afterall.

 

Maybe they were compensated further to make up the extra 20.00 in parking and 50.00 or so in gas.

 

They might have talked RCI into a Suite! :D Who knows?

 

The only further difference is Key West vs a sea day. If they dont want to do Key West, i say stay on the ship and enjoy the facilities virtually empty! :) It really is not that much of a difference in trips other than she gets a little "fresher" ship, a Compass deli, Johnny Rockets and an extra port.

 

Its not like they were being asked to sail a totally different route on a much older ship or anything. it really is really close to what they bought in the first place. Even a little better at least in my eyes :)

[EVALUATOR]

Maybe I misunderstood your comment but she was offered a full refund.

 

I understand the op was offered a full refund. That would be the minimum expected.

 

Overbooking 6 months or more out is one thing. But to say it is ok for the cruise to overbook a reservation inside of 100% penalty phase in case someone cancelled to CYA and keep the ship full is not fair.

 

The OP could have been wait listed. Then if someone cancelled, the cancelling party loses their cruise fare, RCI keeps it and then resells the room to a person on the wait list.

 

Booking or selling guarantees close to sailing is not bad. Some people upgrade, so a guarantee inside might be a SOV, but it would be a room. Not an empty promise.

 

What is next in RCI's customer service BS. When someone shows up for a Freedom cruise, tell them too bad, were full, come back tomorrow and we will put you Monarch. Here is a Micky D's coupon for $10 for tonight's dinner.

 

Or worse. Deny boarding at "Captain's discretion" with no refund to eliminate the overbooking. Suddenly the whacky tobaccy in a hair spray can that had overbooking implications, well...

[richstowe]

Rich ~ Are airlines in Canada operating differently from airlines in the USA (and I'm not being smart...it's an honest question)? I fly several times a month and never pay full fare for a flight. I don't know many people (except for corporate management who can fly anytime they want without concerns for what it cost) who pay full fare and have no (or little) penalty. The average penalty for changing flights is $150 USD plus the difference in fare.

 

 

Zebra ~ hope you have a great time regardless.

As you pointed out, change fees vary. Depending on the route there may be a significant group who would have a small ($50 or less) change fee.

This group cancels at the last minute very often and may make multiple reservations .

 

Even if the fee is $150 ,that's small change compared to canceling a cruise. I realize all this is muddied by cruise trip cancellation insurance.

 

My point was that cancellations hurt airlines much worse then cruise lines and therefore overbooking is more expected from them.

It is still not nice but somewhat more acceptable.

 

Also agree with your wishes to Zebra.

[ARMYWIFE0212]

I personally don't see what the big issue is. They rewarded your loyalty by giving you other options!! Good ones in fact. And upgrade AND OBC? That's great! And like others have said, if you want more compensation, ask for it. They're throwing you their first offer. Counter their offer with adding a couple hundred more $ for OBC to make up the gas $.

[ACruiserinFL]

I'm in Central FL and I'm totally going to book last minute cruises in the future and hope they upgrade me ;) After we take the kids on the Oasis next month, I don't care what ship I'm on in the future. Still better than being at work!

[johneeo]

Ryano, frankly, I am a little baffled why you are responding this way. :confused: Why are you getting so upset about this?

 

This is how the RCI cheerleaders respond when the RCI customer service gives someone a raw deal and then someone has the audacity to point it out.

[Eng23]

Sorry, no extra day at sea on the Monarch. I saill the Monarch a lot, would much prefer the Majesty. However, it seems that the OP lives in the same area as I do. So basically, the ship is chosen because of demographics. Monarch goes to CocoCay, and Majesty goes to Key West in place of CocoCay. Both have exact same schedules except for that.

The Monarch 4 night cruise has a sea day instead of going to Key West as the Majesty does.

[richstowe]

Im over it and I apologize to everyone. I just felt I was called out on that one and was not being entitled to my opinion that I personally would not be mad at RCI with this offer or the way they handled it here.

 

Especially if I were within 4 hours or so of all cruise ports in FL. I would love to have this kind of inconvenience going on in my life right now :)

 

A little extra OBC for the difference in gas and parking would have been nice. Hopefully the OP got that.

All good. Fine post.

 

But heres the thing. The OP disappeared after venting here and taking the Majesty offer afterall. :) We have no idea how much more they were compensated or if they were compensated any more than the original offer at all. All we know is they are now going on the Majesty so something had to have happened to change the OPs mind so it must not be as big of an inconvenience as they made it out to be afterall.

 

Maybe they were compensated further to make up the extra 20.00 in parking and 50.00 or so in gas.

 

They might have talked RCI into a Suite! :D Who knows?

 

The only further difference is Key West vs a sea day. If they dont want to do Key West, i say stay on the ship and enjoy the facilities virtually empty! :) It really is not that much of a difference in trips other than she gets a little "fresher" ship, a Compass deli, Johnny Rockets and an extra port.

 

Its not like they were being asked to sail a totally different route on a much older ship or anything. it really is really close to what they bought in the first place. Even a little better at least in my eyes :)

And then this? Yes your entitled to your opinion but it seems if the offer is acceptable to you but not to others,then they are

"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, big bad evil Royal Caribbean LOL! " Quite rude.

[truffles2]

 

Where can you get one of those vomiting emoticons???

 

I have one. Where can I send it?

[Big_G]

I understand the op was offered a full refund. That would be the minimum expected.

 

Overbooking 6 months or more out is one thing. But to say it is ok for the cruise to overbook a reservation inside of 100% penalty phase in case someone cancelled to CYA and keep the ship full is not fair.

 

The OP could have been wait listed. Then if someone cancelled, the cancelling party loses their cruise fare, RCI keeps it and then resells the room to a person on the wait list.

 

Booking or selling guarantees close to sailing is not bad. Some people upgrade, so a guarantee inside might be a SOV, but it would be a room. Not an empty promise.

 

 

What is next in RCI's customer service BS. When someone shows up for a Freedom cruise, tell them too bad, were full, come back tomorrow and we will put you Monarch. Here is a Micky D's coupon for $10 for tonight's dinner.

 

Or worse. Deny boarding at "Captain's discretion" with no refund to eliminate the overbooking. Suddenly the whacky tobaccy in a hair spray can that had overbooking implications, well...

 

Got it. I misunderstood. My only problem with OP was her Emerald comment. No one should be bumped.

[PH8]

One other thing I meant to mention for those who do not live in Florida. Driving to Port Canaveral and driving to Miami are totally different experiences, mileage aside. While I'm not a fan of I-4 from Tampa to Orlando, the overall drive to Port Canaveral is much easier. When you come across alligator alley and hit Ft. Lauderdale in South Florida, you are in a tremendous amount of traffic from there to the Port of Miami. Not everyone really wants to drive in those kinds of situations if they don't have to. So thinking doubling your drive isn't a big deal, it can be if you don't like serious traffic for the last 45 minutes to an hour of your trip both ways. Just another factor I wanted to throw out there.

Agree 1000%........the traffic down there is horrible.....

 

 

A little extra OBC for the difference in gas and parking would have been nice. Hopefully the OP got that.

 

Im willing to bet it costs more than $100 to go out of Miami..............between extra parking fees............Miami is $20 a day....PC is $15 but does have off site lots as low as $6-7 a day.......Miami doesnt,as far as I know.......

 

Plus the extra gas........from here it is 260 miles round trip to PC.......while it is 600 miles round trip to Miami.......I would use up most of that $100 right there.

 

Not to mention the tolls(I know,one does not have to take the turnpike,but to avoid traffic,we do)

 

The OP is not coming out ahead at all for her inconvenience..

[richstowe]

Got it. I misunderstood. My only problem with OP was her Emerald comment. No one should be bumped.

Agreed . If OP meant the comment with a sense of entitlement, she was wrong to do so.

If it was said that from a business sense it is a mistake to anger your most valuable customers, then I understand.

She may have been commenting from a "If I were them ..." point of view.

 

Who knows. Can we give her the benefit of the doubt? ;)

[Diva Onboard]

Hello Truffles2 -

 

It's been a long time since I saw you on these boards. I'm formerly ebielik and changed my screen name to diva onboard.

 

I couldn't help but notice that you were on the Eclipse this past April. My sister Collette and I (she was with me on the Hawaii cruise too) will be on the Eclipse this August for the Scandinavia/Russia itinerary.

 

Tell me, how did you like the Eclipse?

 

Hope all is well with you. Good to see you're still sailing.

 

Elaine Bielik

[ryano]

The OP is not coming out ahead at all for her inconvenience..

 

I never said she was coming out ahead.:)

 

Its 300 miles more round trip for the OP give or take and she says she drives a "little car". Lets just say little car gets at worst 25 MPG (most little cars get at least that) so she needs 12 extra gallons of gas at what? +/- 3.50 a gallon down there right now?

 

Thats 42.00 in extra gas and 20.00 extra for parking in Miami assuming they were going to park at the port in PC.

 

The offer is fair and would even be sweeter with a little more OBC to further compensate her "troubles"....That is ALL I was trying to say :)

 

It doesnt matter anyway. She is now going on the Majesty so all this bickering back and forth is for nothing really. She apparently got what she wanted and feels compensated enough to take the other cruise.

 

I hope they have a wonderful time on Majesty.