Booked Next Cruise While Onboard

[Babygirl08]

I'll make it easy.

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and that change would be outside 30 days)
  

:mad:

 

Fair or foul?

[ColoradoGurl]

Fair. Especially if you booked a non-refundable fare. A lot of people book those and then complain about the hassle or price to change. I have the same response for all of them. You should have booked a refundable fare.

 

 

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[molly361]

Fair

[Rockfordcruiser]

Booking on board not worth the vacation time lost with new policies implemented IMO.

[taglovestocruise]

I'll make it easy.

 

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and
  

What do you mean by not open to book. We booked the OCT. 2018 transatlantic on Symphony about 6 months ago.. As of today Sep. 2019 is open for booking

[Ashland]

Fair. Especially if you booked a non-refundable fare. A lot of people book those and then complain about the hassle or price to change. I have the same response for all of them. You should have booked a refundable fare.

 

 

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Agree completely....For the small price difference (at least to me) I wouldn't even consider the non-refundable pricing option.... and I never cancel my bookings and very rarely change them.

[MikeBTN]

I'll make it easy.

 

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and
  

What do you mean by not open to book. We booked the OCT. 2018 transatlantic on Symphony about 6 months ago.. As of today Sep. 2019 is open for booking

 

Agreed - Symphony is open for booking unless you're looking to sail in a couple of years. Call again until you get an answer you like, or after a couple of calls ask for a supervisor.

[Ourusualbeach]

For whatever cruise yesterday you booked on board an equivilant date on Symphony would be available. If you were looking to push the booking out beyond the current itineraries then yes the fee would apply.

[Babygirl08]

I'll make it easy.

 

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and
  

What do you mean by not open to book. We booked the OCT. 2018 transatlantic on Symphony about 6 months ago.. As of today Sep. 2019 is open for booking

 

Looking to book August 2019. No go on their website.

[jamesr3939]

I don't see much benefit to booking with NC. I did one in November and I got a better deal from my TA when I got home. Not wasting time with NC I got better things to do when I'm on vacation.

 

Turn the space into another bar it will be better used.

[MikeBTN]

 

Looking to book August 2019. No go on their website.

 

Nothing is available to book in August 2019 yet - May 2019 is the latest. So yes, they are fair in charging you the change fee as you would be outside the 30 day window they gave you and you agreed to.

 

However, feel free to cancel and book your Symphony sailing when they release those dates.

[ravensbad]

I'll make it easy.

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and that change would be outside 30 days)
  

:mad:

 

Fair or foul?

 

This is the first I've heard of a 30-day penalty free cancellation window for a non-refundable deposit... I think it is very likely that either you got told wrong information or you misunderstood what you were told. Cruises for August of 2019 are not available to book, and won't be until March or April of next year unless Symphony is in a unique situation I'm not aware of. This means your only two options are to cancel this cruise and book it at a later date or keep this cruise and change it to Symphony of August 2019 when those itineraries are released, which both result in you losing $100 per person.

[LMaxwell]

You are wanting to make a change when future itineraries are posted outside, so I call fair on RCI part. I don't like the new policies and do my best to avoid them, so while I don't like it I still have to call this one as fair.

[seabeew]

This is the first I've heard of a 30-day penalty free cancellation window for a non-refundable deposit... I think it is very likely that either you got told wrong information or you misunderstood what you were told. Cruises for August of 2019 are not available to book, and won't be until March or April of next year unless Symphony is in a unique situation I'm not aware of. This means your only two options are to cancel this cruise and book it at a later date or keep this cruise and change it to Symphony of August 2019 when those itineraries are released, which both result in you losing $100 per person.

 

 

 

Onboard bookings currently offer a 30 day period to change a non-refundable booking without penalty.

 

 

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[Davebhoy]

Might be misreading this - you say you have a 30 day 'free' cancellation window, so if its free to cancel now, do that, and make a new booking on Symphony when it opens ?

[seabeew]

I think you're just free to change the sailing and date.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

I think you're just free to change the sailing and date.

 

 

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Yes, free to make changes. They even have you sign a paper acknowledging all the rules of the fare.

 

FWIW, the difference between refundable and non refundable was around $400 for us. Seemed like a no brainer when you then add the additional $100 OBC

 

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[skiiergirl]

I'll make it easy.

• Booked onboard
  
• 30 days to cancel without penalty
  
• Returned from cruise and talked to family and friends who want to sail Symphony instead of the ship we booked
  
• Called Royal to change and they want to charge $100 because Symphony does not open to book until January (and that change would be outside 30 days)
  

:mad:

 

Fair or foul?

 

 

Looking to book August 2019. No go on their website.

 

Fair. The 30 days allows changes to bookings within those 30 days. You can't book book dates that are not yet open. The date you are looking for probably won't open for 180 days. So, as much as I despise the new booking policy, I believe they are treating you fairly based on the new policy.

[dacsmom]

Definitely fair. It was your family who wanted to change the ship and date. Can you take the cruise you booked also and just add the Symphony when the dates are released. That would be a win for everyone.

[CTLeeA]

I don't get this. You have 30 days to cancel w/o penalty. You cancelled within 30 days. Why do you need to give them a reason? Just say you changed your mind...

[Babygirl08]

I don't get this. You have 30 days to cancel w/o penalty. You cancelled within 30 days. Why do you need to give them a reason? Just say you changed your mind...

 

I think it's 30 days to change to another booking without penalty.

 

Full disclosure, I did not book this cruise. I was asking for a friend so I don't know all the particulars. They just thought it was odd that they want to keep a booking and it's not their fault the Symphony booking isn't open.

 

In talking to them, I can tell you they are going to eat $400 on this booking and go to NCL next year instead.

 

Based on my experience with both the RCCL website and customer service, I can see the need for a $100 change fee. The certainly want to discourage anyone from doing anything that requires assistance. For gods sake the poor hamster that runs the website would have to work overtime to accommodate these changes.

[orville99]

Just got off of Oasis, and booked onboard for next July. We needed to make an adjustment to a December cruise, and since the Next Cruise desk couldn't do that for us we booked the refundable deposit version. Once we got home and were able to make the December adjustment we wanted, the C&A rep changed our July cruise from refundable to non-refundable. The price dropped by almost $400, and the Onboard Booking Bonus went from $76 to $100.

 

FWIW, the rules on the non-refundable option (quoting directly from the paperwork we were given on Saturday) are that you have 30 days to "make a change to the ship or date" without penalty. After 30 days any change will incur a $100/PP service fee, but in either case the booking remains non-refundable. If you cancel a non-refundable cruise, RCL will only offer a Future Cruise Credit (expires in 12 months from the date it is issued) for an amount equal to the non-refundable deposit less a $100/PP service fee.

[ravensbad]

I think it's 30 days to change to another booking without penalty.

 

Full disclosure, I did not book this cruise. I was asking for a friend so I don't know all the particulars. They just thought it was odd that they want to keep a booking and it's not their fault the Symphony booking isn't open.

 

In talking to them, I can tell you they are going to eat $400 on this booking and go to NCL next year instead.

 

Based on my experience with both the RCCL website and customer service, I can see the need for a $100 change fee. The certainly want to discourage anyone from doing anything that requires assistance. For gods sake the poor hamster that runs the website would have to work overtime to accommodate these changes.

 

I can understand their frustration but they should be frustrated with themselves for not reading or understanding the policies that they were agreeing to. You can't just create "dummy" bookings anymore onboard and change them later without penalty when new cruises come out. If you want to do that you have to book the refundable option. Carnival has a non-refundable option and it works the same way, except it's $50 pp instead of $100. Also, how much was their deposit? If the deposit was more than $100 per person, even if they cancel they can't just "eat" the $400 in fees and go to NCL, the money is still tied up in a future cruise credit on Royal.

[Babygirl08]

Just got off of Oasis, and booked onboard for next July. We needed to make an adjustment to a December cruise, and since the Next Cruise desk couldn't do that for us we booked the refundable deposit version. Once we got home and were able to make the December adjustment we wanted, the C&A rep changed our July cruise from refundable to non-refundable. The price dropped by almost $400, and the Onboard Booking Bonus went from $76 to $100.

 

FWIW, the rules on the non-refundable option (quoting directly from the paperwork we were given on Saturday) are that you have 30 days to "make a change to the ship or date" without penalty. After 30 days any change will incur a $100/PP service fee, but in either case the booking remains non-refundable. If you cancel a non-refundable cruise, RCL will only offer a Future Cruise Credit (expires in 12 months from the date it is issued) for an amount equal to the non-refundable deposit less a $100/PP service fee.

 

Your "FWIW" was helpful. I'm not sure they understand this. Based on how you laid this out, if they changed today, they would only have 12 months to book another. So, if they really want to book Symphony for August 2019, they should sit on their current reservation (which is for August 2018) until the last possible minute? Of course, then final payments are made, etc. Of course, I don't know what their deposit was so I don't know what is non-refundable.

 

I'm confused. I think I'll let them deal with it!

[ravensbad]

Your "FWIW" was helpful. I'm not sure they understand this. Based on how you laid this out, if they changed today, they would only have 12 months to book another. So, if they really want to book Symphony for August 2019, they should sit on their current reservation (which is for August 2018) until the last possible minute? Of course, then final payments are made, etc. Of course, I don't know what their deposit was so I don't know what is non-refundable.

 

I'm confused. I think I'll let them deal with it!

 

August 2019 cruises should be available for booking in March/April 2018, but they're going to lose that $400 no matter when they change/cancel so it doesn't benefit them to cancel or make the change until they are ready. Alternatively they could find a different cruise that is available for booking now that they'd like to go on and make the change within the 30 days, then they don't lose anything.