Error in Deluxe Beverage package pricing?

[iWillSailAway]

They are perhaps still assessing the exact cost of this mistake to see if it’s worthwhile just to honor the price and absorb the cost. 

[orlandok]

10 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

I HAVE CONTACTED CBS NEWS IN NEW YORK ABOUT A POSSIBLE BREAKING NEWS STORY. 

 

Biker- if I'm charged today and don't recieve a refund for say a week. I'm gonna contest charge cause refund did not go thru yet. And i won't have to pay and get a credit. The charge i use is for cruises only. I don't need or want a $900 credit

 

Former Chase employee here. Check with your card company for their exact policy but typically if you get a refund for a purchase after the statement close date but before you pay the statement it will apply the refund to what you owe. So if this is the only thing you bought and the refund goes in before your due date you will owe nothing. 

 

If for some reason the refund takes more time than that and you have to pay the bill you can probably ask your bank to send you a check for your credit after the refund posts. 

[LuCruise]

20 minutes ago, iWillSailAway said:

They are perhaps still assessing the exact cost of this mistake to see if it’s worthwhile just to honor the price and absorb the cost. 

Or maybe if they cancel (which unfortunately seems most likely), they are figuring out how they are going to assign those that already had the drink package, their last booked price?  We didn't have any package, and have never gotten the deluxe, but we jumped on it for our two 2020 cruises.  But we are not at a loss when they cancel it.  (And Royal is ahead with us as we spent $600 that we wouldn't have spent otherwise).  Feel bad for those that had a "good" locked in price prior to the $18 offer.  What happens to them?  

 

As others have stated, I can see the error occurring, but I'm amazed that they didn't correct it, or shut down the website when they realized.  The damage wouldn't have been that bad, and then they could have easily swallowed the cost of those that bought it at $18  but prevented the 1000s more bookings....and now in this bad PR mess.

Edited July 2, 2019 by LuCruise

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

1 hour ago, Petcetera said:

My thought is just sit back and relax, I see people getting all upset and jumping ship and being mean and rude and nothing official has come from Royal. By official I mean an email or phone call or a public statement. People are getting all upset by responses from agents on social media who really know only a tad bit more than we do. They have probably been given a script to say until the higher ups get out of meetings discussing what they need to do.

 

I am still showing the package on my account and until I see it removed or get something official I am not going to get all worked up. And really won't get worked up if they don't honor it. When I purchased it I was pretty sure it was a glitch but thought let's give it a try and see if it sticks. 

 

I agree with your assessment. The first agent responded that they would honor the mix-up SOP. The second one rescinding the offer was middle manager who did a knee-jerk reaction. Right now the upper level management is deciding whether the cost vs. PR backlash is worth the hassle.

 

Either way I'm cool. I get value at $18 and I get value $50. All I know is I'm on a cruise, damn it!

 

[Sizzlechest]

"I don't get it. I heard about the $18 price so bought it then I contacted Royal Caribbean by phone, email, and social media and told them about it, then I called them back 3 different times to make sure it was a mistake. For some unknown reason, it got cancelled."

[marci22]

28 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

Biker- if I'm charged today and don't recieve a refund for say a week. I'm gonna contest charge cause refund did not go thru yet. And i won't have to pay and get a credit. The charge i use is for cruises only. I don't need or want a $900 credit

You can just call and ask them to send you a check for the money. As long as the refund happens before your next closing date you shouldn't have to pay anything. 

[bouhunter]

28 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

I HAVE CONTACTED CBS NEWS IN NEW YORK ABOUT A POSSIBLE BREAKING NEWS STORY. 

 

 

I'm sure they'll be all over it - breaking news that some cruise customers might not get the cheap drinks they dreamed of.

[The Sunset Glow]

30 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Or maybe if they cancel (which unfortunately seems most likely), they are figuring out how they are going to assign those that already had the drink package, their last booked price?  We didn't have any package, and have never gotten the deluxe, but we jumped on it for our two 2020 cruises.  But we are not at a loss when they cancel it.  (And Royal is ahead with us as we spent $600 that we wouldn't have spent otherwise).  Feel bad for those that had a "good" locked in price prior to the $18 offer.  What happens to them?  

 

As others have stated, I can see the error occurring, but I'm amazed that they didn't correct it, or shut down the website when they realized.  The damage wouldn't have been that bad, and then they could have easily swallowed the cost of those that bought it at $18  but prevented the 1000s more bookings....and now in this bad PR mess.

 

I totally agree with you. They waited way to long to fix it and created a huge mess. If they cancel mine I won't be buying any packages at all. I'll take my 2 allowed bottles on board, drink the diamond drinks and enjoy my free D+ bottle of wine. No way we're buying 2 deluxe packages for a 14 night cruise at the current price of $66.50 CDN per person per day - that's $1862 + gratuity.

Edited July 2, 2019 by The Sunset Glow

[Virtopia]

Could only get through the first 15 pages of this thread.

 

I booked the drink package at the $23 CDN/day pricing. I'm not even sure if I'm going on the sailing but wanted to secure the package in case. I got the confirmation shortly after booking it.

 

I've had 2 such instances happen to me with 2 different outcomes.

 

On one of my Adventure sailings, JS cabins didn't have single supplement pricing. A ton of people on the roll call upgraded to JS cabins and the error was never corrected, so it was a great sailing.

 

Another time, Liberty of the Seas  out of Galveston was priced around $400 for balcony and suite cabins. Myself and a bunch of friends booked but got an email a week later that the sailing pricing was incorrect. They cancelled our booking but provided us with a $50 OBC.

 

I'm fine if they cancel it - it was an honest error - but it would be nice to get some type of compensation for it, even if it's the OBC.

[Casino Comp Chick]

2 hours ago, Wendy&Grumpy said:

 

Oh bless your heart!

 

Price for my son on our next cruise (where it's absolutely NOT cheaper to purchase a second cabin for him alone, btw).

 

 

Last I knew, he's part of "everyone". 

 

Yup, facts are facts.

 

And into the ignore bin you go. 🙂 

 

 

Oh dear......

Sounds like you need a new TA.

 

 

Bye Felicia!

[suesnake2002]

Rccl is already compensating, i got a bunch of emails today from price alerts. All of my booked cruises are going up in price. Lol

[molole]

Yes, I think a little bit of OBC would be nice.  For us it really doesn't matter because even at $18/pppd it was still a toss up.  

 

When I told hubby he was like we can never drink $18 of alcohol.  But then he doesn't realize how cruise drinks are priced.  

[suesnake2002]

Well it's happened, all 5 of my cruises are missing from crown and anchor. And it say i have 0 upcoming cruises. Even the ones i did not purchase bev pkg for

[Clarea]

Just now, suesnake2002 said:

Well it's happened, all 5 of my cruises are missing from crown and anchor. And it say i have 0 upcoming cruises. Even the ones i did not purchase bev pkg for

 

Try going to your profile and entering your C&A number (or other field) again, logging out, and logging back in.

[CruiseKeeper]

2 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

Well it's happened, all 5 of my cruises are missing from crown and anchor. And it say i have 0 upcoming cruises. Even the ones i did not purchase bev pkg for

 

Had similar.  Found my C&A number was missing.  I put it back in and Voila! All good.  

 

[Milwaukee Eight]

3 hours ago, PMGS247 said:

This whole thing has definitely opened my eyes to the less than 100% accuracy of their site.  Beverage package faux paux aside, having taken 4 Princess cruises and this being my first time on RCI - this stock market cruise planner is just crazy town.  This whole incident has opened my eyes to the fact that I need to be very careful with that planner, watch it often, and maintain my own log of what's a good deal and what's not.  What I mean by that is I don't trust their "25% off", "20% off", logos anymore.  It's different...but it's fine....I'll reserve judgment on RCI until it's all said and done after disembarkation and I have a full picture, but this is an interesting start....I certainly have an eyebrow raised as I go forward.

The 20/25% off and buy one get one 50% sales are almost always off existing onboard prices which are typically much higher. 

[suesnake2002]

Panic over, cruises disappeared, phone died....but all is good after a little down time and charge cruises are showing back. With bev pkg. 

[karena1]

31 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

The 20/25% off and buy one get one 50% sales are almost always off existing onboard prices which are typically much higher. 

you are correct.  That is why unless prices online go down to at least 30% off, I am better off buying on the ship with my Diamond Plus Discount.

[Wtr_Logged_Isiot]

28 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

The 20/25% off and buy one get one 50% sales are almost always off existing onboard prices which are typically much higher. 

 

My last RCI cruise which was admittedly 2 years ago, I noticed that they charge a transaction/processing fee which pretty much negated the 20% they offered pre cruise so it wasnt really a deal because that fee doesnt show up when you just buy on board for regular price. 

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, Wtr_Logged_Isiot said:

 

My last RCI cruise which was admittedly 2 years ago, I noticed that they charge a transaction/processing fee which pretty much negated the 20% they offered pre cruise so it wasnt really a deal because that fee doesnt show up when you just buy on board for regular price. 

 

The added fee is the 18% gratuity which is also added on onboard purchases.

 

[Billy Baltic]

In preparation for the worst .... I’ve seen an email address on cc previously for complaints. Can someone please post it again.  

 

I hope everyone impacted is vocal and makes a complaint. 

[Baseball fan]

18 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

 

Exactly.. you can always cancel it later.

That’s what I did.  I don’t drink much alcohol (diamond lounge is enough for me).  But I drink specialty coffee, soda, bottled water and fresh OJ.  I like the refreshment package....

[awestover89]

So I wouldn't read too much into it, but their line on Social Media has changed again; they're now just saying people who booked the package should expect an email with more information in 3-4 hours. TBH that's the kind of wording they should have been using all along, rather than saying we will honor it/we won't honor it they should have just said "information will be coming" or something else equally vague.

 

People would still be upset, but better vague than blatantly backtracking

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

In preparation for the worst .... I’ve seen an email address on cc previously for complaints. Can someone please post it again.  

 

I hope everyone impacted is vocal and makes a complaint. 

 

mbayley@rccl.com

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, Baseball fan said:

That’s what I did.  I don’t drink much alcohol (diamond lounge is enough for me).  But I drink specialty coffee, soda, bottled water and fresh OJ.  I like the refreshment package....

 

We like the refreshment package too but when the deluxe package is offered at the usual sale price of the refreshment package, it is a no brainer to get the deluxe package.