Mess with our family of 4 booking

[Ebarnett8]

I tried to get them to reinstate the original deal but they said too bad. Ends up both of our rooms could've slept 4. I think the vast majority of their balcony rooms (if not all) sleep 4 so there shouldn't be such a steep upcharge to put everyone in one.

[LuCruise]

The connected room option that you select on the first page is only your preference for them to show you available connecting rooms.  The next page of aft/mid/fwd needs to have the connecting symbol with it (as not always 2 connecting available). Pretty sure you can't book connecting rooms for guarantee.

[mjkacmom]

18 minutes ago, Ebarnett8 said:

I tried to get them to reinstate the original deal but they said too bad. Ends up both of our rooms could've slept 4. I think the vast majority of their balcony rooms (if not all) sleep 4 so there shouldn't be such a steep upcharge to put everyone in one.

On what ship do the majority of balcony cabins sleep 4? All of them say “sleep up to 4,” but you need to look at the key symbols. We are a big family and need a 3 and a 4, I always have to book early to get the 4.

[not-enough-cruising]

Take home message - If you need a specific type of cabin arrangements do NOT book gty 

[gerif]

55 minutes ago, Ebarnett8 said:

It's not cheaper- it's twice as much. Makes no sense

So, let me see if I understand. You were ultimately given a cabin that sleeps four for less than it would have cost had you booked a specific cabin in the first place? Please explain the nature of your loss. BTW, a guarantee is just that. You are guaranteed at least a particular cabin category. I have never seen anywhere that booking two guaranteed cabins in any way assures they are anywhere near one another, never mind connecting. Maybe if you booked through a TA, it could have explained things better. 

[123funcruiser]

21 minutes ago, Ebarnett8 said:

I tried to get them to reinstate the original deal but they said too bad. Ends up both of our rooms could've slept 4. I think the vast majority of their balcony rooms (if not all) sleep 4 so there shouldn't be such a steep upcharge to put everyone in one.

 

But in a free market there is no such Thing as "there shouldn´t be a steep upcharge". It´s their call to set the Price and it´s your call to buy at the Price or not. 

 

Aside from that. Not every room that is designed as a room for 4 People can actually be sold for 4 People. There are more berth on a ship than the maximum capacity they can sell. Every ship has a max capacity due to available life boat/raft capacity. 

 

At some Point they might get close and they rather sell every cabin, than sailling with empty cabins while other cabins have 4 in them. So they discourage booking quad Rooms By making them very expensive. Another aspect with the lifeboat equation is muster stations. So while there still might be quad Rooms in one section, they can´t sell them as that because life boat capacity is reached.

 

There´s simply a lot of aspects to take in to account for them, you probably will never be Aware of.

[123funcruiser]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Take home message - If you need a specific type of cabin arrangements do NOT book gty 

 

Bingo !!!

 

Oh and this is not RCI specific, in case OP wants to look into cruising other lines in the future.

[Judyrem]

16 minutes ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

Bingo !!!

 

Oh and this is not RCI specific, in case OP wants to look into cruising other lines in the future.

Agree, I think in the long run and for peace of mind, I will not book a guaranty again.

[The Fun Researcher]

OP, I"m confused.  When they merged you into one balcony cabin did you get to keep the price from when you booked the two (supposedly connected) guarantee cabins?  If so, like others said, you got what you originally wanted which was to have four in your cabin at a much lower price. (half the price according to your original post).  If so, take it and run.

 

...or, when they merged you did you go back to the original high price for four in a cabin?

 

Dan

 

 

[SRF]

7 hours ago, 123funcruiser said:

As per the screenshot above it clearly says "Include connecting Rooms" which for my understanding is just a Preference Setting but not a guarantee at all. It also says based on availability which is another strong indicator of no guarantees given. 

 

Yeap, it just means you will ACCEPT a connecting cabin.  As some people do not want them, due to possibly noise issues.

 

 

[SRF]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

But they had 2 cabins that slept 2, they now have 1 cabin that sleeps 4. They aren’t going to get a cabin that sleeps 4 plus another that sleeps 2.

 

One cabin to sleep 4 was going to cost $2000.  Two guarantee cabins was $1000 total.

 

Now they are in a cabin for 4 for $1000.    So they still saved money.

 

With small kids, they could have just kept the second room, and every one slept in one room.

[SRF]

2 hours ago, Ebarnett8 said:

I tried to get them to reinstate the original deal but they said too bad. Ends up both of our rooms could've slept 4. I think the vast majority of their balcony rooms (if not all) sleep 4 so there shouldn't be such a steep upcharge to put everyone in one.

 

One reason for the higher charge is that capacity is based on lifeboat seats, NOT berths in cabins  So by selling a cabin for 4, they may end up with an empty cabin.

[Illbcruzn4life]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

But they had 2 cabins that slept 2, they now have 1 cabin that sleeps 4. They aren’t going to get a cabin that sleeps 4 plus another that sleeps 2.

 

My take on the OP's post is that they were assigned 2 quads. YMMV

 

from the OP's post:

 

Different decks, opposite sides of the ship. I call in, trying to figure out a solution, they end up "making an exception" in putting us all in one room since the 2 rooms that we had could both accommodate the 4 of us.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Sorry, I think this one is on the OP for not reading carefully and not doing research.  I agree the screen shot posted earlier says "INCLUDES" connecting cabins, not "MUST BE" connecting cabins.  Those are two different meanings.   Blaming Royal for this is ridiculous.  Another example of people not taking responsibility for their actions/choices.  If you're not savvy enough to look out for things like this, work through a travel agent.  Then you explain exactly what you want. Want to do it on your own?  Go ahead, but make sure you understand what you're agreeing to. 

[lovescats5]

And yet again, something is booked without completely understanding all the associated pro's and con's of the booking.  I have found that if you want a certain type of cabin you just suck it up and pay for it or take what is given.  And to agree with another poster, it is not just RCI that does these types of things.  Just go to the other boards for NCL or Celebrity and there are people posting there with the same dissatisfaction as the RCI postings.  I guess I could complain that we were given an upbid chance to go from our Grand Loft Suite to the Royal Loft for our Thanksgiving cruise and they looked at our $2400 bid and laughed.  Shame on them for not knowing we deserved that upgrade.

[taglovestocruise]

3 hours ago, Ebarnett8 said:

I tried to get them to reinstate the original deal but they said too bad. Ends up both of our rooms could've slept 4. I think the vast majority of their balcony rooms (if not all) sleep 4 so there shouldn't be such a steep upcharge to put everyone in one.

Lots and lots of balcony cabins only hold two. 

[mjkacmom]

35 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

My take on the OP's post is that they were assigned 2 quads. YMMV

 

from the OP's post:

 

Different decks, opposite sides of the ship. I call in, trying to figure out a solution, they end up "making an exception" in putting us all in one room since the 2 rooms that we had could both accommodate the 4 of us.

My take is that the OP thought both cabins accommodated four. Why would RCL put two people in a guarantee that slept four, twice, and when the OP complained they weren’t connecting, put the four of them in one of those cabins and took away the other? I’m guessing they actually only slept two, so RCL put them in yet another cabin that held four so they could be together.

[HBE4]

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I just went on and did a mock booking and was surprised that it still allows you to do this.  When you select 2 cabins it then asks you if you want connecting.  You then follow through the rest of the booking and it allows you to select guarantee.  It even went so far on one booking to tell me that there were no guarantee cabins available.  I was able to select a category and it took me to the booking stage with no mention of the cabins not being guaranteed as connecting.  Any reasonable person would assume that they had just booked connecting guarantees.

 

Most people seem to be missing that point.  And more importantly, that the 2 cabins connect to each other and not some stranger cabins.

 

Going off on a tangent, when are GTY rooms assigned?  I did it once, 10-11 years ago,  and it memory serves me correctly, it was a week before the cruise that we received out cabin assignments.

 

Ironically, it was a connecting cabin even though we did not require one.

 

[The Fun Researcher]

I do understand that this is misleading by RCCL, the way the booking process allows you to choose "Include Connecting Rooms" before continuing to final payment, which can lead to the assumption that actually are booking connecting guarantee balcony rooms.

 

The issue I have is that the OP is now back to what they originally wanted before booking two guarantee rooms.  Now they have an assigned room that fits all four of them at half the cost.  REALLY hard to complain about that IMO.

Dan

[cruisequeen4ever]

Basically, you just got Royal Caribbean an extra several thousand dollars by giving up the second stateroom because now they can resell it even though you already paid for it! Screwy for sure. 

 

To end on the bright side, at least you got what you originally wanted, a stateroom for your whole family and at the lower price! Go and have fun and try not to think about the loss.

[mayleeman]

"I got confused so I want lots of compensation!"

[taglovestocruise]

6 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

I do understand that this is misleading by RCCL, the way the booking process allows you to choose "Include Connecting Rooms" before continuing to final payment, which can lead to the assumption that actually are booking connecting guarantee balcony rooms.

 

The issue I have is that the OP is now back to what they originally wanted before booking two guarantee rooms.  Now they have an assigned room that fits all four of them at half the cost.  REALLY hard to complain about that IMO.

Dan

A balcony for $250.00 pp, that is hard to complain about.  Even if they booked a kids sail free promo that is still $500.00 pp. not bad for a balcony.  Assuming it is a 7 night cruise. 

[HBE4]

15 hours ago, Ebarnett8 said:

What do you guys think? I'm trying to stay level-headed about all of this but can't help but I feel like I made a mistake in letting them take a room back with nothing in return..

 

I think you made out pretty good.  You got a room for four for half the price that you would have paid had you booked it that way originally.  That's a win no matter how you look at it.

 

I do understand your disappointment. The extra space & shower would have been nice if it was right next door. But had you kept the other room, would you really trudge to the other side of the ship and go up/down a few decks just to take a shower or as storage?  Depending on the ship, the walk there could be longer than the actual shower.

 

[Ebarnett8]

I wish it was that good. We paid about $3k, was under pressure to book because my family was booking, etc...

[S.A.M.J.R.]

12 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 Any reasonable person would assume that they had just booked connecting guarantees.

But you know what happens when you assume, right?  Especially when you're talking spending thousands of dollars, do you really want to assume anything?  The wording the screen shot you posted is pretty clear.