Disappointed: Anyone Ever Have This Happen? Sailing Soon & Cabin # Changed by Royal

[gwcruzer]

Big difference between what's legal and whats right.

 

I always book aft cabins (especially the corner afts) and I would be so upset if that happened to me. I am retired and can be more flexible than you, I usually book my cruise by the cabin. No one has ever said that I might be moved because we are only 2 in the cabin. I really hope that you are compensated some way.

[MissGwen]

I'm sure it all depends on how full the ship is and how much of a need there is for rooms that can hold three or four. A friend of mine cruises 4-6 times a year and he's been moved a couple times. He knows it's a gamble when he books a room that can hold more than two.

 

Everybody who's never been moved, count yourselves lucky.

 

OP, I am sorry that you got bumped and I agree that a call when it was happening should have happened. It sounds like Royal is offering you something (being able to cancel without penalty or change saildate) even though it's not your room back. Sadly, they just can't swap your room with the family that "stole" it. If there are three or four of them, they can't squeeze into the double room you booked.

[Promisekeeper]

We booked an Owners Suite on the Oasis for the return from drydock from Rotterdam to Ft. Lauderdale in Oct. 2014. It was a very special occasion and we had never booked an OS before.

We got a call from RCCL as we were changing planes in Atlanta on our way to Amsterdam. Our suite was no longer available and they were moving us to a JS with an extra $500 OBC and a refund in the difference between the JS and the OS. I said no way and call me again when we get to Amsterdam.

Long story short, they called all the passengers booked in other OS and gave the one who surrendered their cabin a free cruise for taking the JS and giving us their OS.

We were told that the suite was unihabitable due to unfinished construction from the drydock. Actually, I learned on board that they gave our suite to the Construction Manager and his family.

We did get some additional compensation but you never know when you travel what surprises await you and what problem solving abilities you are going to have to use! I was upset but have (somewhat) gotten over it because life is too short to be mad for too long. We still cruise RCCL but I check my cabin assignments frequently.

[cruiselvr04]

We try to book afts whenever we can. We had a D 1 in November for 2 and have a E1 booked for next November for 2. RCCL would not let me book a D 1 aft for 2 in May. I tried to book a preferred view on Vision for January on board ship and they said no. I called when I got home and they said yes. ( these are larger ocean views with floor to ceiling Windows)

 

All that said it seems to depend on how and when you book. However we have never had a cabin taken away. I would be very upset and fight it. To me if they let you book it they should honor it or upgrade you big time.

Edited December 8, 2016 by cruiselvr04

[cello56]

I totally agree that RCI gave you the short end of the stick on this. I wonder if RCI is considering making the aft cabins a different category and charging more for them?

 

I know that you are very upset right now. You have every right to be. Think carefully however about your options going forward. You have spent a LOT of money on RCI to get you to your D+ status. Yes, you could tell them to stick it and change brands, but what will this really get you? RCI could care less that they lose a D+ member. They really don't care about losing one specific member. They would rather sell that cabin to a first time cruiser who will buy the drink package and photos, and book excursions.

 

So as my Mother used to say .... "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face!"

[gwcruzer]

If the D1 cabins are open for general bookings you should be allowed to keep that cabin. If RCCL wants 3 people in them, they should hold them until final payment or whatever. This is what Celebrity does with their FV cabins.

[kdnmom]

OP - I totally understand why you're upset and hope that Royal Caribbean comes through with some kind of compensation for you.

 

I'm now worried about my family's upcoming cruise. We booked specific cabins because there was a balcony room for the adults with an interior room directly across the hall for the kids. I went today to look at the rooms and it turns out that both rooms can accommodate 3 guests. We will have 3 kids in the interior room but only 2 in the balcony room. They can't decide to move us out of that balcony room to another one away from the kids, can they???

[Biker19]

Interesting when one very rare thing happens (for unknown reasons) and then everyone is concerned that it might happen to them.

[robtulipe]

OP - I totally understand why you're upset and hope that Royal Caribbean comes through with some kind of compensation for you.

 

I'm now worried about my family's upcoming cruise. We booked specific cabins because there was a balcony room for the adults with an interior room directly across the hall for the kids. I went today to look at the rooms and it turns out that both rooms can accommodate 3 guests. We will have 3 kids in the interior room but only 2 in the balcony room. They can't decide to move us out of that balcony room to another one away from the kids, can they???

 

I suspect not as RCI would then be breaking their own rules and regulations by moving the parents away from the cabin their minor kids are in.

Your two reservations must be linked and since your kids are minors, got that from your other posts, your cabin must be adjacent or across the corridor from the kids' cabin. They would have to move all of you together to a new location to do this. ;)

[njmomof2]

There were many threads going around when Royal began to limit booking certain cabins by occupancy. At peak times, they will not allow cabins with triple/quad occupancy to be booked by only 2 people.

 

However, if OP was able to pull the cabin from general inventory, and then called C&A and they were able to book it for her, then getting moved out 15 or more months later because someone booked a guarantee triple is unbelievable. And then to say basically too bad, so sad, is adding insult to injury.

 

I also say post on the facebook page, call over and over, and express your extreme displeasure with this. Let them upgrade that family to something else and give you your cabin back. Don't give up.

[PCWalton1]

Interesting when one very rare thing happens (for unknown reasons) and then everyone is concerned that it might happen to them.

 

Only reason our concerns flare up is many of us were not aware they would do this. It's a learning experience for some of us.

[reedl]

Two thoughts:

 

1. For the people who are saying that this never happened to them so therefore it disproves that it happens, well we now know that you can be moved.

 

2. For the people worried about being moved, the chances of that happened are quite low.

 

It is all about probability. There is a 1 in something chance that you will be moved.

[Magellan321]

I would be ticked also patrioticgirl! Bad business Royal. I get that they can move us :rolleyes:....but the same thing happened to us with Princess....EXCEPT....they called before changing it and compensated us handsomely for moving us from our prime spot cabin. You booked way in advance for a reason...if they had the cabin in the booking pool for 2 people then it's their issue.

[Candleonwater]

I know I'm in the minority here, but as a Diamond+ cruiser, you knew better. If you didn't, shame on you. Buyer beware. They don't owe you anything, just as they didn't OWE you a phone call. The only thing I'm surprised about is that you haven't gotten them to give you anything to placate you. I've found they're usually quite forthcoming with this. All of that being said. I find errors being made by RCL "staff" quite often. Call 100 times, and you're likely to get 100 different answers. Prove they didn't warn you that you could be moved if they needed the cabin for a 3 person booking.

[Biker19]

Only reason our concerns flare up is many of us were not aware they would do this. It's a learning experience for some of us.

 

If you ever read the cruise contract, just about anything can happen, including bumping you off the cruise entirely. Just because it can happen, doesn't mean one has to go looking for it and worry. The chances of you getting hurt in car accident are higher than most of these one-off examples here on CC, but very few ever worry about getting into a car.

 

Again, interesting info, but certainly nothing to flare a concern.

[nursemom2]

I suspect not as RCI would then be breaking their own rules and regulations by moving the parents away from the cabin their minor kids are in.

Your two reservations must be linked and since your kids are minors, got that from your other posts, your cabin must be adjacent or across the corridor from the kids' cabin. They would have to move all of you together to a new location to do this. ;)

 

 

Oh yes they will.... we had 2 inside cabins booked, one for myself and my husband, and an adjoining cabin for our 2 minor grandchildren... linked-when we arrived at the dock, we had been " upgraded " to balconies on opposite ends of the ship!! Normally we would have been thrilled, but the girls were 2 young to be left alone. I ended up bunking with girls, and hubby ended up with a great cabin all to himself. It didn't ruin our trip... the girls loved the balcony, and we made the best of the distance between us on the LOS... but don't think they won't separate families.... they will.

 

 

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[Cindy]

I know I'm in the minority here, but as a Diamond+ cruiser, you knew better. If you didn't, shame on you. Buyer beware. They don't owe you anything, just as they didn't OWE you a phone call. The only thing I'm surprised about is that you haven't gotten them to give you anything to placate you. I've found they're usually quite forthcoming with this. All of that being said. I find errors being made by RCL "staff" quite often. Call 100 times, and you're likely to get 100 different answers. Prove they didn't warn you that you could be moved if they needed the cabin for a 3 person booking.

 

 

I completely disagree with you. I'm an experienced cruiser, and my assumption would be if I was allowed to book something then it must be within the established parameters. I also disagree with your assertion that the OP wasn't OWED a phone call, especially after holding the reservation for 18 months. That's just good customer relations and common courtesy.

 

Just because a cruise line CAN do something doesn't mean they should. We all know the contract heavily favors the cruise line. I don't think the contract absolves RCI from communicating or treating customers with respect.

 

 

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[4-me]

I know I'm in the minority here, but as a Diamond+ cruiser, you knew better. If you didn't, shame on you. Buyer beware. They don't owe you anything, just as they didn't OWE you a phone call. The only thing I'm surprised about is that you haven't gotten them to give you anything to placate you. I've found they're usually quite forthcoming with this. All of that being said. I find errors being made by RCL "staff" quite often. Call 100 times, and you're likely to get 100 different answers. Prove they didn't warn you that you could be moved if they needed the cabin for a 3 person booking.

 

wow - quite the nasty post.

[critterchick]

I know I'm in the minority here, but as a Diamond+ cruiser, you knew better. If you didn't, shame on you. Buyer beware. They don't owe you anything, just as they didn't OWE you a phone call. The only thing I'm surprised about is that you haven't gotten them to give you anything to placate you. I've found they're usually quite forthcoming with this. All of that being said. I find errors being made by RCL "staff" quite often. Call 100 times, and you're likely to get 100 different answers. Prove they didn't warn you that you could be moved if they needed the cabin for a 3 person booking.

 

I wouldn't put it so harshly, although I tend to agree with you (other than your first two sentences). OP was upgraded from an E to a D cabin (the cabin interior is larger in the D). I wouldn't consider it an upgrade, but that's the cabin classification. OP was booked in a cabin for 3 and bumped in favor of a party of 3. All within the rights of the contract. OP hadn't checked "do not upgrade," so likely the computer defaulted to that. It's a tough lesson to learn and I would be bitterly disappointed, but I don't think that the fault lies entirely with RCI this time.

 

However, RCI loses me by moving the OP without notification. That's inexcusable in this day and age.

[Jarronwood]

We try to book afts whenever we can. We had a D 1 in November for 2 and have a E1 booked for next November for 2. RCCL would not let me book a D 1 aft for 2 in May. I tried to book a preferred view on Vision for January on board ship and they said no. I called when I got home and they said yes. ( these are larger ocean views with floor to ceiling Windows)

 

All that said it seems to depend on how and when you book. However we have never had a cabin taken away. I would be very upset and fight it. To me if they let you book it they should honor it or upgrade you big time.

 

I booked middle of October for next October 2017 med cruise through the RCCL website and booked the corner aft on Deck 7 on FOS. There are just the two of us. Does it make a difference if its booked in the UK? I would be extremely disappointed if they "upgraded" me to a higher category unless of course it was a suite.

 

About 8 or so years ago I was able to booked a corner aft on Celebrity Summit two week cruise through the Panama Canal. This was booked through a TA. Everything was fine. But that was in the day before these forums were up and running I think.

[Jarronwood]

 

I can't speak regarding the comment made by the poster you have questioned. However, as the original poster, I feel that I that I can say I was "owed" a courtesy phone call to let me know the cabin status. It would have been the respectful thing to do, especially since my original booking for an aft cabin was made 18 months ago. If it had been your reservation that had been altered, would you have been happy about the change and lack of notification?

 

In reality, I guess they owe me nothing, if you go by the cruise contract. However, I guess I don't have to offer my loyalty anymore, either. They obviously have no concern for my continued patronage. I have been loyal to Royal as proven by my Diamond Plus status. Perhaps that needs to change.

 

I am quite aghast at reading this thread. Isnt RCCL part of the Azamara umbrella or vice versa? When I booked my last cruise on Azamara about 2 years ago now for March 2016 sailing I had to get my daily fix from the relevant forum. When something wasnt right and a customer posted their thoughts or disappointments or anything about their upcoming cruise Azamara sorted it. They had a dedicated person who scoured the Azamara forum and who gave advice and contact numbers on who to address their grievance to. It was sorted. Alternatively she would find out herself from the powers that be and report.

 

For instance, we booked for a 12 night cruise from Singapore to Singapore for an April sailing. 8 months from departure I read on the forum that the cruise had been cancelled as the ship was going into dry dock for those 12 days for a refit. I couldn't believe it. We had booked 6 months previously and at the time of booking were able to secure a very good rate and within our budget. To cut a very long story short, my TA had no knowledge of it being cancelled despite me saying it had. She even supposedly telephone Azamara and rang me back to say it wasn't cancelled. In all of this time, the forum was going crazy with the cancellation. The cruise was no longer showing on any website and my TA said it was because it was full.

 

I then decided I would ring Azamara direct and guess what, yes it was cancelled. Sorry I digress please bear with me.

 

Azamara compensated us so well for the cancelled cruise. They didn't have to. I am a lawyer I know contract law, they could have just returned our deposit. But no, they said we could choose any and I mean any cruise from the 2016 or 2017 brochure and they would honour the original price we booked for the previous cruise provided it was in the same category. PLUS they gave us $500 OBC.

 

Now that is what I call loyalty.

[patrioticgirl]

We booked an Owners Suite on the Oasis for the return from drydock from Rotterdam to Ft. Lauderdale in Oct. 2014. It was a very special occasion and we had never booked an OS before.

We got a call from RCCL as we were changing planes in Atlanta on our way to Amsterdam. Our suite was no longer available and they were moving us to a JS with an extra $500 OBC and a refund in the difference between the JS and the OS. I said no way and call me again when we get to Amsterdam.

Long story short, they called all the passengers booked in other OS and gave the one who surrendered their cabin a free cruise for taking the JS and giving us their OS.

We were told that the suite was unihabitable due to unfinished construction from the drydock. Actually, I learned on board that they gave our suite to the Construction Manager and his family.

We did get some additional compensation but you never know when you travel what surprises await you and what problem solving abilities you are going to have to use! I was upset but have (somewhat) gotten over it because life is too short to be mad for too long. We still cruise RCCL but I check my cabin assignments frequently.

I honestly believe that someone connected to RCI decided on a whim to cruise during this sailing and wanted the cabin. I have a good friend who was a first officer on Celebrity so I know these things do happen.

[squadron]

I don't think you were moved because of an upgrade.

 

I'm surprised you were able to book the 3-person stateroom with only two guests in the first place. RC has usually restricted these staterooms so that booking with only two guests is not possible. I really don't think there's anything you can do at this point.

 

There are also some cabins that can't be booked by solos - same sort of rule.

[critterchick]

I booked middle of October for next October 2017 med cruise through the RCCL website and booked the corner aft on Deck 7 on FOS. There are just the two of us. Does it make a difference if its booked in the UK? I would be extremely disappointed if they "upgraded" me to a higher category unless of course it was a suite.

 

About 8 or so years ago I was able to booked a corner aft on Celebrity Summit two week cruise through the Panama Canal. This was booked through a TA. Everything was fine. But that was in the day before these forums were up and running I think.

 

Not knowing what the UK version of the RCI contract is, I don't know what the risk of an involuntary upgrade is. But, as noted by another poster, you should do what you can on your side to minimize the risk of an upgrade by marking your profile.

 

I am quite aghast at reading this thread. Isnt RCCL part of the Azamara umbrella or vice versa? When I booked my last cruise on Azamara about 2 years ago now for March 2016 sailing I had to get my daily fix from the relevant forum. When something wasnt right and a customer posted their thoughts or disappointments or anything about their upcoming cruise Azamara sorted it. They had a dedicated person who scoured the Azamara forum and who gave advice and contact numbers on who to address their grievance to. It was sorted. Alternatively she would find out herself from the powers that be and report.

 

For instance, we booked for a 12 night cruise from Singapore to Singapore for an April sailing. 8 months from departure I read on the forum that the cruise had been cancelled as the ship was going into dry dock for those 12 days for a refit. I couldn't believe it. We had booked 6 months previously and at the time of booking were able to secure a very good rate and within our budget. To cut a very long story short, my TA had no knowledge of it being cancelled despite me saying it had. She even supposedly telephone Azamara and rang me back to say it wasn't cancelled. In all of this time, the forum was going crazy with the cancellation. The cruise was no longer showing on any website and my TA said it was because it was full.

 

I then decided I would ring Azamara direct and guess what, yes it was cancelled. Sorry I digress please bear with me.

 

Azamara compensated us so well for the cancelled cruise. They didn't have to. I am a lawyer I know contract law, they could have just returned our deposit. But no, they said we could choose any and I mean any cruise from the 2016 or 2017 brochure and they would honour the original price we booked for the previous cruise provided it was in the same category. PLUS they gave us $500 OBC.

 

Now that is what I call loyalty.

 

That's also what I call apples and oranges. We were on the last cruise prior to the Quest drydock to which you are referring and our cruise was cut short by 3 days about three weeks before the cruise. I'm certain that Azamara knew in advance, based on Journey's drydock not having been completed, that our cruise or the one after the drydock would be shortened, but perhaps they couldn't secure the space until then. In any event, they took care of us - $1000 OBC, a pro-rata refund for the three missed days, a great rate at the Pan Pacific Singapore for those who didn't want to change air arrangements. As I recall, they also offered up to $500pp in airline compensation as well. Or one could cancel for a full refund plus the airline compensation. And we got 45% off one future booking as well as 25% off any additional ones.

 

Now, there were still plenty of people who were furious, just showing that you can't please everybody. We lost Ho Chi Minh City as a port, and had to dock at the remote terminal in Hong Kong so they could load drydock supplies and of course work began during our cruise, although the inconvenience was minimal. I had words with one officer after he condescendingly commented that "experienced cruisers don't book the last cruise before a drydock." They had moved the schedule from September to April long after booking, so I couldn't let that one go.

 

But that was a last minute change to the cruise (and in your case, a complete cancellation, although well in advance). This is a cabin change that OP may (or may not) have been able to avert by checking the "do not upgrade" box on her profile. And she was always at risk for losing the cabin because of its occupancy. RCI absolutely should have notified her that she had been upgraded, but I don't think that means compensation is necessarily in order. Most people would be happy with an E-to-D upgrade because most of the E cabins are along the port or starboard side and are noticeably smaller.

 

IMO RCI has enough data to know that aft cabins are prized. That they don't have them in a separate category (and charge more) baffles me.

Edited December 8, 2016 by critterchick

[WpgCruise]

I honestly believe that someone connected to RCI decided on a whim to cruise during this sailing and wanted the cabin. I have a good friend who was a first officer on Celebrity so I know these things do happen.

 

I honestly believe the O.P. was moved because the cabin fits 3 and the O.P. is booked as a double

 

Given the late booking it easily could have been by an active military service person on leave, who wants some badly needed vacation time with their spouse and child, or it could be a family with a child who is terminal, and the cruise was arranged through the Make a Wish Foundation. We don't know who or why the cabin was reassigned to, and for the purposes of this discussion speculation is all we have.

 

It is too bad the O.P. is disappointed, I would be also if it happened to me.

 

The lesson learned is to read and understand the terms and conditions of the contract, mitigate the risk as much as possible, and if placed in this situation negotiate with a positive attitude understanding RCL has the hammer