Freedom of the Seas, May 3, 2015 Not available for booking?

[hattack]

Maxwell should have treated Dave Koz to lunch before he (Maxwell) attached his name to this venture.:eek:

[hattack]

Not a smart move to put RCI in that cancellation announcement.(throw them under the bus)...the industry is small and the cruiselines pride themselves in establishing long term relationships with organizers of successful music charters

[brillohead]

From the Maxwell FB page:

 

The “Maxwell + The 7 Seas” cruise, previously scheduled for May 3-10, 2015, has unfortunately been canceled due to unforeseen events and circumstances between the cruise line and promoter.

 

“I’m so sorry that the 7 Seas cruise has been cancelled. I’ve been planning it for months, but the experience I had in mind for the fans just wasn’t turning out as I had envisioned." -- Maxwell

 

Please contact BTWatsea.com for details. Phone: (602) 244-8444

[LetsGetWet!]

Not a smart move to put RCI in that cancellation announcement.(throw them under the bus)...the industry is small and the cruiselines pride themselves in establishing long term relationships with organizers of successful music charters

True, but at this point BTW has made so many dumb moves (and dishonest moves) that I think the odds of any cruise line being willing to do business with them or their principals ever again is already slim and none anyway.

[SherriZ366]

Wow... I hope RCI has plans in place to handle embarkation and the ensuing pandemonium on May 3rd. Since the charter was cancelled in November, but the promoter is still telling customers as late as January 28th that its still on - it seems there will be quite a few people showing up who expect to have a cabin that they paid HUGE bucks for, only to find upon arrival that they don't have a cabin at all, because the promoter took their money despite the charter being cancelled. Unfortunately, I think embarkation will be a disaster for everyone, whether booked on the charter or via cabins direct from RCI. I just hope it doesn't turn into a riot. :(

Glad they cancelled our May 3, 2015 reservation and rebooked us on May 17. All taken care of and we would have had to change anyway due to my nephew's wedding (without the OBC).

[SherriZ366]

I really, really hope it won't come to that. Final payments on this thing are due on March 15th - I'm sure that there will be answers by then.

Are you sure it is March 15? Our final payment for the 5-17-2015 cruise is due May 3, 2015.

[SherriZ366]

And this just in... If you look at the official Maxwell at Sea event page, they put up a post that it's canceled.

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1423822307879800/

 

Copypasta:

 

MAXWELLatsea.com

5 mins · Phoenix, AZ

The "Maxwell + The 7 Seas" cruise, previously scheduled for May 3-10, 2015, has unfortunately been canceled due to unforeseen events and circumstances between the cruise line and promoter.

Maxwell, "I'm so sorry that the 7 seas cruise has been canceled. I've been planning it for months, but the experience I had in mind for the fans just wasn't turning out as i had envisioned."

Please contact BTWatsea.com for details.

Folks sailing on this cruise should watch for more JSs and above becoming available. Maybe at great rates. As has been speculated on this thread, they may have been reserved for performers. Edited February 4, 2015 by SherriZ366

[SherriZ366]

Yeah, I just saw that too.

 

I had also noticed this morning that the BTW FB page didn't have the cruise listed in their events.

 

It's irritating how they are trying to dump the blame on RCI too: "unforeseen events and circumstances between the cruise line and promoter." Now folks are upset with RCI! :mad:

The "unforseen events" are the BTW folks not paying RCI. Think that might have been a major issue for RCI that the public would understand.

[LadyMage]

Wow, the deception just seems to continue - on again, off again! Glad you pasted the text of the announcement, because now they've simply removed the entire Facebook page! Your link just goes to a "content not available" error message now.

 

I did one better. I screencapped it. I screencapped EVERYTHING I could. Every time someone inquired them about the status and the promoter deleted it, I grabbed a screencap if I could manage; every time they got called out about the cancellation status, etc. Whatever I could find across all the promoter's pages about this, I screencapped.

Edited February 4, 2015 by LadyMage

[LadyMage]

Are you sure it is March 15? Our final payment for the 5-17-2015 cruise is due May 3, 2015.

 

No, no - that was the payment date for the now-defunct Maxwell charter.

 

 

To note, I have saved a LOT!!! of screencaps from the BTW pages. A LOT. They won't be able to weasel out of much.

[SherriZ366]

No, no - that was the payment date for the now-defunct Maxwell charter.

 

 

To note, I have saved a LOT!!! of screencaps from the BTW pages. A LOT. They won't be able to weasel out of much.

I meant that our final payment 3-3-2015 - was for MAY 17 -cruise - sorry for the typo. I was surprised that a payment for the a cruise two weeks later came before the May 3 cruise. Or was that a Maxwell final payment?

[LadyMage]

I meant that our final payment 3-3-2015 - was for MAY 17 -cruise - sorry for the typo. I was surprised that a payment for the a cruise two weeks later came before the May 3 cruise. Or was that a Maxwell final payment?

 

That was a Maxwell payment.

[SherriZ366]

That was a Maxwell payment.

That makes sense.

[Lovenharmony]

Every since I found out a few weeks ago about the cancellation of the charter here, I had a feeling that this entire cruise would be cancelled :mad: I know it would've been chaos if they went through with the cruise and it wasn't a full charter and people were paying much less for cabins than the customers for the Maxwell & The 7 Seas experience.

 

I'm glad that they cancelled it, and I definitely will be getting my money back since I paid extra for travel insurance just in case something like this would happen.

 

And they better give me back my money promptly as well!

[hattack]

Hopefully the refunding process,( directly from the Maxwell group,) will be very quick.....be sure to read the very small print of your travel insurance policy to be clear of what is and is not covered and check with your credit card company (in case you have to pursue that route)....if you used a travel agent for your booking, they may also prove to be a useful advocate...also check with your State's Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection

 

The rule of thumb that if you have had a negative experience you will tell 20 people will be multiplied 100,000 X by social media in this case...right now, it's just a cancellation of your vacation.....a slow refunding process is not in anyone's (including the major sponsors) best interest and would become a public relations nightmare

 

A quick refund and a personalized gesture on the part of Maxwell ( since it is a small number of his fans impacted) would be lagniappe

[LadyMage]

True, but at this point BTW has made so many dumb moves (and dishonest moves) that I think the odds of any cruise line being willing to do business with them or their principals ever again is already slim and none anyway.

 

Agreed. I went on their website to look up their festivals, and all the links on btwconcerts.com redirect to the cruise cancellation page. San Diego, Las Vegas, AZ - all redirect to the cancellation.

 

However, if you google "BTW concerts complaints", you'll also find a Ripoff Report entry from a prior vendor of BTW Concerts. Short version: rubber check.

 

For the ticket holders of that event who are reading this thread and working on getting refunds directly from BTW - please request a wire transfer if possible. Anything electronic. If they bounced a check once, they are likely to do it again.

Edited February 4, 2015 by LadyMage

[Chyna3032]

I hope the people who had booked this cruise can get their refunds in an expedtious manner. If they do,then maybe some can join us on the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage...We're going to have a great time!

[Chyna3032]

You're not going to believe this. I have a friend that was going on the Maxwell at Sea cruise and she was told when she contacted the the promoter that they would not be giving refunds only credits to future events that BTW is having. She is livid as she should be!!!!

[TifffanyD]

You're not going to believe this. I have a friend that was going on the Maxwell at Sea cruise and she was told when she contacted the the promoter that they would not be giving refunds only credits to future events that BTW is having. She is livid as she should be!!!!

 

No way! They are going to have a lawsuit on their hands if they try thay

[LetsGetWet!]

You're not going to believe this. I have a friend that was going on the Maxwell at Sea cruise and she was told when she contacted the the promoter that they would not be giving refunds only credits to future events that BTW is having. She is livid as she should be!!!!

No way! They are going to have a lawsuit on their hands if they try thay

Just speculation, I have no inside information... But my guess is they have no liquid funds to provide refunds with. They paid north of a half a million dollars to RCI as the first deposit for the cruise. It appears they missed the next payment, which looks to be just above $1.5 million, and that's why RCI terminated their charter. But they had to provide RCI with an irrevocable letter of credit for the full amount of the charter at contract signing, and I would imagine that RCI has drawn against that letter of credit, so the bank which provided it is also after them. They may have botched this up so bad that the alternatives are to offer credits against future events, or just declare total bankruptcy and liquidate.

[LadyMage]

You're not going to believe this. I have a friend that was going on the Maxwell at Sea cruise and she was told when she contacted the the promoter that they would not be giving refunds only credits to future events that BTW is having. She is livid as she should be!!!!

 

WHAT.

 

Then again, my friend also told me that when she called, she was told, "We didn't have the money!" Oh hell to the NO. You screw up, you pay for it, bottom damn line.

 

Just speculation, I have no inside information... But my guess is they have no liquid funds to provide refunds with. They paid north of a half a million dollars to RCI as the first deposit for the cruise. It appears they missed the next payment, which looks to be just above $1.5 million, and that's why RCI terminated their charter. But they had to provide RCI with an irrevocable letter of credit for the full amount of the charter at contract signing, and I would imagine that RCI has drawn against that letter of credit, so the bank which provided it is also after them. They may have botched this up so bad that the alternatives are to offer credits against future events, or just declare total bankruptcy and liquidate.

 

I agree. However, they're still liable. And unless I'm wrong, they should've been keeping the client payments in a separate account, a la escrow, in the event that this should happen.

 

I bet you this money was all spent to put Cancun on.

 

And frankly, I can't be bothered to care about what they do or don't have. They played fast and loose with money that wasn't theirs, and lost. They really should've thought of all of this when they priced their original charter to nearly double the competition.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think this has been deliberate. It's just...too many red flags.

 

They are an LLC partnership. I may be wrong on this too, but these don't have anywhere near the level of legal protection as a C-corp. Tax-wise, there's flowthrough to the partners, but if it's a single-member LLC, then the person who owns it is pretty much done.

[SherriZ366]

Hopefully the refunding process,( directly from the Maxwell group,) will be very quick.....be sure to read the very small print of your travel insurance policy to be clear of what is and is not covered and check with your credit card company (in case you have to pursue that route)....if you used a travel agent for your booking, they may also prove to be a useful advocate...also check with your State's Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection

 

The rule of thumb that if you have had a negative experience you will tell 20 people will be multiplied 100,000 X by social media in this case...right now, it's just a cancellation of your vacation.....a slow refunding process is not in anyone's (including the major sponsors) best interest and would become a public relations nightmare

 

A quick refund and a personalized gesture on the part of Maxwell ( since it is a small number of his fans impacted) would be lagniappe

Hope people's travel insurance will pay as it looks like BTW is not giving money back -- see posts after yours.

[hattack]

I wonder if the CEO of Smooth Jazz Global Radio (a major sponsor connected to both the cruise & other BTWconcert events) could play a role in resolving the refund situation (leverage)

[LadyMage]

I wonder if the CEO of Smooth Jazz Global Radio (a major sponsor connected to both the cruise & other BTWconcert events) could play a role in resolving the refund situation (leverage)

 

Doubtful. SJ.com Global Radio was likely just a media sponsor; I'd imagine their role was limited to advertising... Still, doesn't hurt.

 

I don't know if Payne Pest Management was a sponsor too, because I know Payne had sponsored prior BTW events before.

 

BTW's festivalFB pages are all down and the websites for the AZ, Las Vegas, and San Diego fests all redirect to the cancellation page. Cancun is the only one that's up... For now.

[GSLeader13]

I just received a call from Wendy at BTW. She said I can get a credit for another BTW event (HELL NO!), file a claim with Travel Guard or dispute the claim with my credit card company. I told her I just want my money back. I also told her I would like to receive a letter stating that the cruise was cancelled so I can file a claim. I asked her when the charter was cancelled, she told that BTW found out when Maxwell cancelled; which is a lie. Royal Caribbean cancelled the charter in November.