Benefit cuts

[Merion_Mom]

I swear this is exactly like my dealing with my insurance company over the past 4 days. These companies are set up to only take your money. The computers are all set that way and no human seems to have the ability to make any changes, even if the computer is "wrong". It is super frustrating knowing exactly what a cost should be and having it kicked back in your face repeatedly because people have NO authority to correct problems.

 

Just read it was resolved. Very Happy for you! Can you call up my insurance company? :D

 

My final contact said: I am emailing you the invoice. Don't expect to see any of the stuff we talked about. It will just be one number, the final number that Jared said we would charge you. Just accept it.

 

He had to override the computers and just "enter" the price that he decided I could have.

 

WEIRD!!!!

 

(it is actually a few dollars LESS than what I had computed in the first place. ;) )

[DarthGrady]

Glad it all worked out -- shouldn't have cost you 3 hours though! That's a very very very very very very very very very long wait for a cruise line to get a reservation right. :rolleyes:

 

Unfortunately it seems to happen pretty frequently. My wife takes care of our booking and is constantly having to spar with reps over discounts and pricing issues. We've had easier times dealing with car dealers. It would be so much easier just to make the customer happy instead of fighting over a few bucks that we'll wind up spending on board anyway! :rolleyes:

[Familygoboston]

I'm glad it worked out, but how sad that it got to all that, and still there's no "way" for them to fix it, it's all just a work around:(

 

I had a similar problem recently-- a complete re pricing for correcting a one letter name misspelling THEY made:eek:

They never actually solved it, the BOGOHO came up a day or two later and because it was a better price anyway, they repriced it with the current special and we all just forgot about the "other problem" :rolleyes: Had there not been a BOGOHO, I would probably still be on hold trying to retain my pricing and discounts (that one was 2+ hours)

 

Enjoy your cruise Carol!

[Janet524]

That's basically what I told the guy. I was very nice. He was very nice. He understood my point of view, but said that the computers were now programmed to do this and there was no way around it.

 

Don't you just love it when "the computer won't let me do it." Someone's got to be operating that computer, so someone's got to know how to circumvent "the computer." It's really code for, "We don't give a flying fig, and don't intend to put any effort into satisfying the customer."

[critterchick]

I'm glad it worked out, but how sad that it got to all that, and still there's no "way" for them to fix it, it's all just a work around:(

 

I had a similar problem recently-- a complete re pricing for correcting a one letter name misspelling THEY made:eek:

They never actually solved it, the BOGOHO came up a day or two later and because it was a better price anyway, they repriced it with the current special and we all just forgot about the "other problem" :rolleyes: Had there not been a BOGOHO, I would probably still be on hold trying to retain my pricing and discounts (that one was 2+ hours)

 

Enjoy your cruise Carol!

 

And I had one where my birthday was incorrect on a reservation, although it was correct in my C&A profile. When the rep went to correct it, the booking reprised to several thousand dollars more.:eek: It took Resolutions 20 minutes to get the pricing back, and they had to cobble something together to make it work.

 

Carol, I'm glad you got everything you asked for - what was it, again, besides the shareholder OBC?

[Merion_Mom]

And I had one where my birthday was incorrect on a reservation, although it was correct in my C&A profile. When the rep went to correct it, the booking reprised to several thousand dollars more.:eek: It took Resolutions 20 minutes to get the pricing back, and they had to cobble something together to make it work.

 

Carol, I'm glad you got everything you asked for - what was it, again, besides the shareholder OBC?

 

The correct price for a solo cruiser! So much to ask for! :eek: :cool: :rolleyes:

 

(not shareholder OBC; D+ balcony discount + NCC OBC)

Edited June 10, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[Dave85]

Unfortunately it seems to happen pretty frequently. My wife takes care of our booking and is constantly having to spar with reps over discounts and pricing issues. We've had easier times dealing with car dealers. It would be so much easier just to make the customer happy instead of fighting over a few bucks that we'll wind up spending on board anyway! :rolleyes:

 

 

I hear ya. This is a major reason why, despite being a total travel control freak, I stay with our longtime TA. I'm happy to let her spar with RCI.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Hoopster95]

The correct price for a solo cruiser! So much to ask for! :eek: :cool: :rolleyes:

 

(not shareholder OBC; D+ balcony discount + NCC OBC)

 

Just read through this thread... really happy everything worked out for you. There seems to be enough gouging going on. I wonder how many other cruisre's bookings have gone through, and then "changes" added, and then the owner of the reservation never again checking only to be overcharged? Probably many. Sad... if any of you had this kind of mistrust perception with your lawyer, dentist, realtor, grocery store where you had to fight over a billion mistakes and go through several levels of management to get something right, would you go back?

 

Personally, I've never had a problem on any booking I've ever made. knock on wood :eek:

[Merion_Mom]

Interesting epilogue to this thread and adventure from yesterday.

 

Today I received an automated survey from Royal Caribbean, asking if I was satisfied with my interaction with Crown & Anchor yesterday.

 

I went through a series of "ratings" questions, from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied".

 

Then at the end, there was the *famous* "Any other comments" box.

 

I filled it with the following, which I decided to copy and then paste here. Perhaps I could have polished it up or added or deleted something if I had thought about it, but here it is in all of its top-of-my-head glory:

 

I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome, but it took ALMOST THREE HOURS ON THE PHONE to accomplish. And what was the real problem? Your IT system, as usual, which apparently does not allow real people to make real corrections, once something wrong is programmed into it. And I looked at the same cruise myself last night, and the WRONG information is STILL programmed into the booking system.

 

Just about every company on EARTH has an online presence. Many of those companies sell things on their websites. I have NEVER seen a company that sells things online have a bad or difficult or non-functioning online interface - if they did, they would be OUT of business. Royal Caribbean? Seems totally unconcerned that their IT and website SUCK. There are few times that I use that word. I correct my students from using it. But it fits here.

 

Why can't Royal Caribbean, of all of the corporations on earth, hire people who can devise an online presence that WORKS and WORKS WELL??????

[pcur]

Go MMom, Go MMom, Go MMom!! :D

[marci22]

I filled it with the following, which I decided to copy and then paste here. Perhaps I could have polished it up or added or deleted something if I had thought about it, but here it is in all of its top-of-my-head glory:

 

I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome, but it took ALMOST THREE HOURS ON THE PHONE to accomplish. And what was the real problem? Your IT system, as usual, which apparently does not allow real people to make real corrections, once something wrong is programmed into it. And I looked at the same cruise myself last night, and the WRONG information is STILL programmed into the booking system.

 

Just about every company on EARTH has an online presence. Many of those companies sell things on their websites. I have NEVER seen a company that sells things online have a bad or difficult or non-functioning online interface - if they did, they would be OUT of business. Royal Caribbean? Seems totally unconcerned that their IT and website SUCK. There are few times that I use that word. I correct my students from using it. But it fits here.

 

Why can't Royal Caribbean, of all of the corporations on earth, hire people who can devise an online presence that WORKS and WORKS WELL??????

 

I like it.

 

Good use of caps and punctuation, which are nicely restrained. Cause I would have used all caps and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 10, 2014 by marci22

[kruzerci]

I've heard about the OBC being pro-rated, but not the balcony discount. It's like they have created a department dedicated to annoying their best customers, and they keep coming up with stuff.

 

 

Yeah I experienced it for the first time last week. Somebody in our party booked a solo cabin. With the BOGOHO, the price came out to exactly the same for one person and two people (except the taxes and fees of course).

 

They prorated the balcony discount and OBC. It really ticked me off. After trying to explain that the cruise fare was exactly the same for one or two passengers to multiple C&A agents who could not understand this simple concept, I gave up. It wasn't worth the hassle. She even had an email from Royal Caribbean saying that she was entitled to the full balcony discount, but they would not budge. The OBC isn't a big deal, the balcony discount really left a sour taste in my mouth.

[marci22]

Yeah I experienced it for the first time last week. Somebody in our party booked a solo cabin. With the BOGOHO, the price came out to exactly the same for one person and two people (except the taxes and fees of course).

 

They prorated the balcony discount and OBC. It really ticked me off. After trying to explain that the cruise fare was exactly the same for one or two passengers to multiple C&A agents who could not understand this simple concept, I gave up. It wasn't worth the hassle. She even had an email from Royal Caribbean saying that she was entitled to the full balcony discount, but they would not budge. The OBC isn't a big deal, the balcony discount really left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

It's so weird that they are being so difficult lately. Between the website and the customer service, it's like they want us to stay home.

[brfan]

Interesting epilogue to this thread and adventure from yesterday.

 

Today I received an automated survey from Royal Caribbean, asking if I was satisfied with my interaction with Crown & Anchor yesterday.

 

I went through a series of "ratings" questions, from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied".

 

Then at the end, there was the *famous* "Any other comments" box.

 

I filled it with the following, which I decided to copy and then paste here. Perhaps I could have polished it up or added or deleted something if I had thought about it, but here it is in all of its top-of-my-head glory:

 

I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome, but it took ALMOST THREE HOURS ON THE PHONE to accomplish. And what was the real problem? Your IT system, as usual, which apparently does not allow real people to make real corrections, once something wrong is programmed into it. And I looked at the same cruise myself last night, and the WRONG information is STILL programmed into the booking system.

 

Just about every company on EARTH has an online presence. Many of those companies sell things on their websites. I have NEVER seen a company that sells things online have a bad or difficult or non-functioning online interface - if they did, they would be OUT of business. Royal Caribbean? Seems totally unconcerned that their IT and website SUCK. There are few times that I use that word. I correct my students from using it. But it fits here.

 

Why can't Royal Caribbean, of all of the corporations on earth, hire people who can devise an online presence that WORKS and WORKS WELL??????

 

Great response. I'm glad it worked out for you.

 

I'm wondering why the balcony discount isn't prorated for everyone since the passengers are paying 150% for the room (one at 100% and one at 50%)? Why is it just solos who are paying the same amount as two (minus a tax) being given less? Same with the OBC (especially the one for booking on board or booking later), since isn't the OBC for the cabin? So two people should also have theirs pro-rated because they are also paying 150% for the room.

 

I wonder if the same will apply for the points - will solos still get double or will they get 1.5 points or just one. Will two people in the cabin have the one person who paid 100% get one point and the person who paid 50% get half the points? Probably not.

[tserface]

That seems fair to me. They price the rooms based on double occupancy and then give singles a discount. It seems better to pay the 150% instead of 200% and still get some Diamond discount on top of it rather than pay the 200% and get the full Diamond discount. Seems like a win to me.

 

Maybe they planned the discount based on double occupancy as well?

 

Tom

 

I would assume that since you are paying 150% instead of the 200% single supplement which is a 25% reduction then your balcony discount would be reduced by 25%.

[allentownahoy]

The issue is that with BOGO the cabin costs the same for a solo or a couple so the balcony discount should not be cut.

 

It is only an IT issue because Royal chose to create the IT issue to screw us.

 

I was going to book a cruise on the Liberty out of Bayonne using the BOGO. It took me a long time and much money over the years to acquire the points for Diamond benefits. And suddenly they change the rules. What do they give me for my loyalty to Royal? It is not right to effectively charge more for a solo cabin than if two people sailed in the same cabin by reducing my diamond discount. I also complained to Crown and Anchor to no avail. Not worth my time to fight it further. Either I will grab a last minute deal or take my business elsewhere.

 

So they lost the booking.

[Cruzin-K]

 

The real bad thing about all of these problems is they can be fixed it someone puts the investment into the correct people to fix it. I am sure that the people at the top of Royal know what we think of the site and problems, I just am not sure why they don't fix it. Kind of like my Phillies in baseball.

 

Ha ha. :D

 

To Merion Mom - I'm glad you got the price you were entitled to. Their new anti-solo policies are going to end up costing them customers.

 

I currently have four cruises booked, two on Royal sailing w friends/family and two on Princess sailing solo. Gee, funny how that worked out :rolleyes:

[karena1]

Had the same type of problem others have talked about. My onboard booking OBC was not showing up after I moved my cruise. When they put it on, it totally repriced my cruise, took off the BOGO and the D+ discount. None of that should have happened when all they did was give me the $100 OBC I was supposed to get.

 

So like some have said, resolutions had to manually override the system and cobble the price together to get it back to what was the correct price. Took me about 45 minutes on the phone to get it fixed but at least it is fixed, however they want to put it together.

[The_Big_M]

Interesting epilogue to this thread and adventure from yesterday.

 

Today I received an automated survey from Royal Caribbean, asking if I was satisfied with my interaction with Crown & Anchor yesterday.

 

I went through a series of "ratings" questions, from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied".

 

Then at the end, there was the *famous* "Any other comments" box.

 

I filled it with the following, which I decided to copy and then paste here. Perhaps I could have polished it up or added or deleted something if I had thought about it, but here it is in all of its top-of-my-head glory:

 

I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome, but it took ALMOST THREE HOURS ON THE PHONE to accomplish. And what was the real problem? Your IT system, as usual, which apparently does not allow real people to make real corrections, once something wrong is programmed into it. And I looked at the same cruise myself last night, and the WRONG information is STILL programmed into the booking system.

 

Just about every company on EARTH has an online presence. Many of those companies sell things on their websites. I have NEVER seen a company that sells things online have a bad or difficult or non-functioning online interface - if they did, they would be OUT of business. Royal Caribbean? Seems totally unconcerned that their IT and website SUCK. There are few times that I use that word. I correct my students from using it. But it fits here.

 

Why can't Royal Caribbean, of all of the corporations on earth, hire people who can devise an online presence that WORKS and WORKS WELL??????

 

I applaud that response.

 

It's been at least 5 days now since you cannot even make bookings on their sister line Celebrity's web site. Once you get to the book now button, the page fails with a message that "This should be corrected before being released to Production." Laughable!

 

I called yesterday and the staff member couldn't say anything about it, except that she could give me prices and book. But they close at 5 p.m. Tough if you plan holidays outside work.

 

I know they get the bulk of their business through TAs, but not being able to take bookings/give prices for over 5 days is ridiculous in this age, and have such an error is embarassing. Yet the failure continues. They need all the negative feedback like the above to draw their attention to it.

[Familygoboston]

It's so weird that they are being so difficult lately. Between the website and the customer service, it's like they want us to stay home.

 

They may want us to stay home, but instead they have the unintended consequence of having me spend my money elsewhere with their competitors;)

 

BTW- my software engineer husband would tell you that error message Celebrity has is for a beta version of the software, an internal message designed for in house evaluators and management to see, never customers!!!:eek:

[kruzerci]

The issue is that with BOGO the cabin costs the same for a solo or a couple so the balcony discount should not be cut.

 

 

 

It is only an IT issue because Royal chose to create the IT issue to screw us.

 

 

 

I was going to book a cruise on the Liberty out of Bayonne using the BOGO. It took me a long time and much money over the years to acquire the points for Diamond benefits. And suddenly they change the rules. What do they give me for my loyalty to Royal? It is not right to effectively charge more for a solo cabin than if two people sailed in the same cabin by reducing my diamond discount.

 

 

Exactly.

[leaveitallbehind]

I was ultimately satisfied with the outcome, but it took ALMOST THREE HOURS ON THE PHONE to accomplish. And what was the real problem? Your IT system, as usual, which apparently does not allow real people to make real corrections, once something wrong is programmed into it. And I looked at the same cruise myself last night, and the WRONG information is STILL programmed into the booking system.

 

Just about every company on EARTH has an online presence. Many of those companies sell things on their websites. I have NEVER seen a company that sells things online have a bad or difficult or non-functioning online interface - if they did, they would be OUT of business. Royal Caribbean? Seems totally unconcerned that their IT and website SUCK. There are few times that I use that word. I correct my students from using it. But it fits here.

 

Why can't Royal Caribbean, of all of the corporations on earth, hire people who can devise an online presence that WORKS and WORKS WELL??????

 

So tell us how you REALLY feel!! :D Great response - your former students are cheering right now!

 

Glad it all (ultimately) worked out for you. Now just enjoy your cruise!

Edited June 11, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[BonTexasNY]

Carol, I applaud you. You have a way with words. I wish you could do all my letter writing for me. Glad after 3 hours it finally worked out for you.

 

This is a bit off topic but one time I saw a price drop on a previously booked cruise. I called RCI to get the difference deducted since this was before final payment. I got a rep who listened to what I wanted, put me on hold, came back and said she couldn't give me the credit because while I WAS ON HOLD the rate had gone back up! She KNEW what the rate was when I called before putting me on HOLD. I talked until I was blue in the face. Had no effect. I even took a screen shot of the lower price. Spoke to Resolutions who gave me a 25% puny credit of what I should have gotten. Has this happened to anyone else?? Don't they record phone conversations for quality control? If so, they would have KNOWN why I was calling when I did.

 

If it makes any difference, which it shouldn't, my status was lowly gold at the time.

[marci22]

 

This is a bit off topic but one time I saw a price drop on a previously booked cruise. I called RCI to get the difference deducted since this was before final payment. I got a rep who listened to what I wanted, put me on hold, came back and said she couldn't give me the credit because while I WAS ON HOLD the rate had gone back up! She KNEW what the rate was when I called before putting me on HOLD. I talked until I was blue in the face. Had no effect. I even took a screen shot of the lower price. Spoke to Resolutions who gave me a 25% puny credit of what I should have gotten. Has this happened to anyone else?? Don't they record phone conversations for quality control? If so, they would have KNOWN why I was calling when I did.

 

If it makes any difference, which it shouldn't, my status was lowly gold at the time.

 

Next time put the cabin on hold to retain the pricing. I've done that before when my TA was not available until the next day. The pricing went higher but I still had a hold on the old price and they gave it to me.

[dbub]

Another slightly off-topic question based on curiosity alone as the amounts are small, but I could pursue the matter if others have had a different response ...

 

I booked a cruise >6 months from departure and received the D+ C&A Balcony Discount as expected. Recently repriced (at a significant savings) when the BOGOHO rates became available for this cruise. My booking number did not change nor did the invoiced booking date change; yet the C&A Balcony Discount dropped by $25 because, according to Royal Caribbean, my new "BOGOHO" rate was applied as the cruise was now <6 months from departure.

 

Anyone come across this discount change when cruise prices were adjusted after the 6-month departure time had passed?