Reply here, when and where your relocation cabin category ended up on Wonder of the Seas?

[Jimbo]

33 minutes ago, Funkytown83 said:

Pulled the plug! 

 

I called Club Royale today and cancelled our transfered Wonder cruise. Originally we had a crown Loft suite on Allure´s TA in April plus two b2b cruises booked. We got the short end of the stick and got downgraded to a JS. It was in good location on the hump and they offered 300,- $ plus keeping the suite privileges. But that doesn´t ad up in the end. Especially if I think about being on Wonder in a JS while the people next door probably had a JS on Allure booked and now are staying in the same room for half our cruise fare 🤮 So I checked all other cruises Royal is offering in April/May. We still had some FCC to burn... And I found something we are very happy with. We booked Allure again! End April Allure does 8night eastern and southern carib cruises. The cruises are "new" and suites are readily available! And the best thing is, that suites are moderate priced! So we got our crown loft for 16 nights after all and are satisfied with it! 😌 I wish everyone who got their equal transition to Wonder "wonderful" cruises anyway! Cheers!   

Sounds like a good deal to me, more ports, 2 extra nights and you don't have to fly all the way to Europe. Win, all around.

Might consider giving up m y Owner's Suite to just sail from US and not having to fly to and from Rome.

[Funkytown83]

42 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like a good deal to me, more ports, 2 extra nights and you don't have to fly all the way to Europe. Win, all around.

Might consider giving up m y Owner's Suite to just sail from US and not having to fly to and from Rome.

Actually I am from Germany so we have to take another long flight home instead of the TA 😅 But still happy! 

[Travelw]

Been following along, we found out by accident, no email or other info from Royal, that our Mediterranean trip was changed to a Caribbean trip on Allure.  Contacted our TA, she called Royal and was told the Med cruise was canceled and they just moved us to Caribbean.  She is working on the issue but they do not want to honor our original pricing for the Med, even though we booked in March of 2021.

[Travelw]

TA just called, spoke to her rep at Royal and we have same cabins on Wonder and they are honoring the price.

[Desert Cruizers]

50 minutes ago, Travelw said:

Been following along, we found out by accident, no email or other info from Royal, that our Mediterranean trip was changed to a Caribbean trip on Allure.  Contacted our TA, she called Royal and was told the Med cruise was canceled and they just moved us to Caribbean.  She is working on the issue but they do not want to honor our original pricing for the Med, even though we booked in March of 2021.

I had the same thing happen for our upcoming Allure sailing to BCN with the Med when it changed to the Wonder. They put the Caribbean up in place of the Med and showed the TA cancelled. It has since in the last 3 days, changed back to the TA w/ Med. We got the same cabin for the TA but got moved on the Med. My TA called and had them change the Med Room # & put us more mid ship , now just waiting on invoices. 

[Bob_Houston]

It appears that if you have a TA - only the TA gets notification of cruise changes - they don't contact the customers directly.  This happened to our Allure-Wonder cruise and also with our previously cancelled/rescheduled cruises.  This is a bad business practice - they should also be contacting the affected customers.

 

I was able to reach someone in Royal's Guest Experience group.  The response was "take it or leave it" - they won't be making any exceptions to the offers.  I responded that this is a problem with hundreds of impacted full suite customers - and that they really need to re-evaluate the offer for everyone or risk a lot of very unhappy customers by October 20 - many of whom will reconsider booking with Royal in the future.

 

I agree with Funktown83's assessment above.  Since the Wonder JS fare is probably higher than the CLS fare we booked over a year ago, we're being asked to pay $5100 more to stay in a JS - that would likely be costing $3500 for someone who booked at JS last summer.  And for that additional $5100, all Royal is offering is Sky Class and a $300 onboard credit (for a 14 night cruise).  There's no way those additional benefits are worth $5100!  And it's not fair that we're being asked to paying our original CLS far, more than what others are paying for GS and JS on the same cruise.

 

Anyone in the same situation - you are not alone.  There are probably more than 600 reservations in the same situation.  Contact your TA and Royal directly and complain about this.  There's still a few weeks before the October 20 refund deadline - time to get Royal to come up with a better resolution.

 

We'd like to go on the Wonder cruise - and believe we can make the JS work for what we want to do during the cruise - but we're not going to pay more than 2X more than everyone for a JS (who reserved last summer).

[Biker19]

10 minutes ago, Bob_Houston said:

This is a bad business practice - they should also be contacting the affected customers.

There's a reason RCI pays the TAs to not deal with you.

[Bob_Houston]

Usually the TAs can handle reservation issues - but this situation is very unusual - having a high percentage of the full suite reservations downgraded to Junior Suite - across 6 months of sailings.  Individual TAs won't be able to impact a policy implemented across a class of displaced reservations.  And Royal is not going to make any exceptions to their policy.

 

Our TA reached out to Royal first - and was unable to make any progress. 

 

So I then reached out to Royal myself - and ended up talking with the same supervisor who explained the situation is outside of their control - another group is responsible for the decisions - and that group doesn't intend to make any changes.  Either "take it or leave it".

 

And "leave it" will generate more short-term revenue for Royal - because they'll re-sell the JS at a much higher price...  But at the cost of alienating customers cancelling their cruises.

 

At least until the October 20 refund deadline, all of us impacted should try working with the TAs and if that doesn't work, contact Royal directly.  If enough people raise concerns about how this is handled - then maybe Royal will reconsider their offers.

 

Otherwise a lot of the affected customers will cancel their Wonder cruise - and could decide to do business elsewhere for future cruises.

 

[Miggsoo3]

Sailing Date: July 10, 2022

Date you were moved: September 29, 2021

Allure Cabin Category: Suite Guarantee

Wonder Cabin Category: Suite Guarantee

 

Are you happy or disappointed about your relocated cabin?  Happy but still concerned  since this a lift and shift cruise need to wait for the final invoice showing the $0 balance currently my cruise planner is showing an $11K balance.

[RG306]

5 minutes ago, Miggsoo3 said:

 

Sailing Date: July 10, 2022

Date you were moved: September 29, 2021

Allure Cabin Category: Suite Guarantee

Wonder Cabin Category: Suite Guarantee

 

Are you happy or disappointed about your relocated cabin?  Happy but still concerned  since this a lift and shift cruise need to wait for the final invoice showing the $0 balance currently my cruise planner is showing an $11K balance.

My cruise planner took a couple days to update, it's now a zero balance. I still haven't received an updated invoice. 

[scooby1]

On the topic of the TA and the customer being notified. We booked via a TA and we were notified directly by RCCL of the cancellation and that we would be moved, so it does happen. 

 

Our TA only called yesterday to notify us of the change and its completion over to Wonder but we had already checked our account and noted the change. We are now just awaiting the updated invoice to reflect the change of ship with a zero change in cost.

 

You can only please some of the people some of the time; but in this instance it seems the highest paying passengers are suffering the most, which isn't ideal but overall for most the change is positive. It will be great to get on a new ship and fingers crossed by the time of the cruises next year some restrictions will also be lifted a little more fingers crossed. 

[GlenG]

10 hours ago, Bob_Houston said:

It appears that if you have a TA - only the TA gets notification of cruise changes - they don't contact the customers directly.  This happened to our Allure-Wonder cruise and also with our previously cancelled/rescheduled cruises.  This is a bad business practice - they should also be contacting the affected customers.

 

I was able to reach someone in Royal's Guest Experience group.  The response was "take it or leave it" - they won't be making any exceptions to the offers.  I responded that this is a problem with hundreds of impacted full suite customers - and that they really need to re-evaluate the offer for everyone or risk a lot of very unhappy customers by October 20 - many of whom will reconsider booking with Royal in the future.

 

I agree with Funktown83's assessment above.  Since the Wonder JS fare is probably higher than the CLS fare we booked over a year ago, we're being asked to pay $5100 more to stay in a JS - that would likely be costing $3500 for someone who booked at JS last summer.  And for that additional $5100, all Royal is offering is Sky Class and a $300 onboard credit (for a 14 night cruise).  There's no way those additional benefits are worth $5100!  And it's not fair that we're being asked to paying our original CLS far, more than what others are paying for GS and JS on the same cruise.

 

Anyone in the same situation - you are not alone.  There are probably more than 600 reservations in the same situation.  Contact your TA and Royal directly and complain about this.  There's still a few weeks before the October 20 refund deadline - time to get Royal to come up with a better resolution.

 

We'd like to go on the Wonder cruise - and believe we can make the JS work for what we want to do during the cruise - but we're not going to pay more than 2X more than everyone for a JS (who reserved last summer).

Absolutely understand and sympathize with your situation. Glad to hear you're thinking positively about the JS now as previously you said it would not work for you. My question - IF (very BIG if) Royal honored the price of the Allure JS for you plus the $300 OBC for the inconvenience, but no suite perks, would this solution be acceptable to you?

[RKHOOKER]

I just noticed in Australia, how after the BIG SALE ending at 5PM Sydney time 30th September (& double C & A points) that the Wonder of the Seas Mediterranean prices have now been slashed by 30%… cheaper than the original Allure pricing.  So much for the BIG SALE!!!!!  Strangely though, Odyssey pricing has remained the same???

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, GlenG said:

Absolutely understand and sympathize with your situation. Glad to hear you're thinking positively about the JS now as previously you said it would not work for you. My question - IF (very BIG if) Royal honored the price of the Allure JS for you plus the $300 OBC for the inconvenience, but no suite perks, would this solution be acceptable to you?

I still think that would not be acceptable to the poster. He would still want at least Sky Class perks added to the above.

Edited September 30, 2021 by Jimbo

[Bob_Houston]

2 hours ago, GlenG said:

Absolutely understand and sympathize with your situation. Glad to hear you're thinking positively about the JS now as previously you said it would not work for you. My question - IF (very BIG if) Royal honored the price of the Allure JS for you plus the $300 OBC for the inconvenience, but no suite perks, would this solution be acceptable to you?

If they would reduce the price to what we would have paid if we'd reserved JS at the time we made our CLS reservation, along with Sky Class plus $300, we would more seriously consider going.  Though I suspect the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen are going to be overcrowded if all 28 displaced full suite cabins accept their offers and go on our cruise.

 

We booked the CLS because it had a table, which we planned to use for activities during the cruise (and many sea days).  The JS has enough floor space to accommodate - and if Royal can't provide us a table, we're exploring options for a folding table we could bring in our luggage (assuming we can sit on the couch, the easy chairs or the chairs from the balcony.

 

If we had fare parity with other JS customers - that's an offer that would make more sense to those affected by the displacement.  I still believe they should do more than provide amenity parity with the original cabin though, because moving to a cabin 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the original is a big let down - and it would justify doing MORE than just the basic to compensate for this - especially if they want to keep these customers for future bookings. 

At this point though, it appears unlikely we'll see any improvement - unless more of the 600+ customers impacted also start complaining through their TAs or directly to Royal.

[CruisingMax1981]

16 minutes ago, Bob_Houston said:

If they would reduce the price to what we would have paid if we'd reserved JS at the time we made our CLS reservation, along with Sky Class plus $300, we would more seriously consider going.  Though I suspect the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen are going to be overcrowded if all 28 displaced full suite cabins accept their offers and go on our cruise.

 

We booked the CLS because it had a table, which we planned to use for activities during the cruise (and many sea days).  The JS has enough floor space to accommodate - and if Royal can't provide us a table, we're exploring options for a folding table we could bring in our luggage (assuming we can sit on the couch, the easy chairs or the chairs from the balcony.

 

If we had fare parity with other JS customers - that's an offer that would make more sense to those affected by the displacement.  I still believe they should do more than provide amenity parity with the original cabin though, because moving to a cabin 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the original is a big let down - and it would justify doing MORE than just the basic to compensate for this - especially if they want to keep these customers for future bookings. 

At this point though, it appears unlikely we'll see any improvement - unless more of the 600+ customers impacted also start complaining through their TAs or directly to Royal.

I have been following this thread for a few days now, and I have to say this:

So basically what you're saying is that you think that you should pay the same as someone who originally booked the JS on the allure but have the benefits of someone in a star class suite, because you had the capital to book a CLS in the first place? I do empathise with your disappointment, but I do think that you're being a little unreasonable. You've still got an amazing offer. RC could have just cancelled all the sailings and basically said "Sorry guys, sailings are off, but you can rebook at 3x the price on the Wonder" - They STILL would have sold out the suites in several days.

You talk about 600+ customers who have been disappointed, to be honest if everyone had been knocked down, it would run into the thousands of people who would be complaining. I am sure that RC did a risk assessment and shockingly discovered that 600 is less than 2000+.

You're still getting full suite access, you're still getting $300 and you're still playing LESS than someone who booked a JS on the Wonder. It's not what you originally booked, but you're still getting a good value offer.

And let's be honest. You're going to take the offer anyway.

[Norwich Cruiser]

August 2021 from Allure staterooms  9323 and 9325 to August 2022 Wonder staterooms 10311 and 10313

Edited September 30, 2021 by Norwich Cruiser
Wrong date

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

August 2021 from Allure staterooms  9323 and 9325 to August 2023 Wonder staterooms 10311 and 10313

You meant 2022 right?

[Snakeinmyboots]

16 minutes ago, CruisingMax1981 said:

I have been following this thread for a few days now, and I have to say this:

So basically what you're saying is that you think that you should pay the same as someone who originally booked the JS on the allure but have the benefits of someone in a star class suite, because you had the capital to book a CLS in the first place? I do empathise with your disappointment, but I do think that you're being a little unreasonable. You've still got an amazing offer. RC could have just cancelled all the sailings and basically said "Sorry guys, sailings are off, but you can rebook at 3x the price on the Wonder" - They STILL would have sold out the suites in several days.

You talk about 600+ customers who have been disappointed, to be honest if everyone had been knocked down, it would run into the thousands of people who would be complaining. I am sure that RC did a risk assessment and shockingly discovered that 600 is less than 2000+.

You're still getting full suite access, you're still getting $300 and you're still playing LESS than someone who booked a JS on the Wonder. It's not what you originally booked, but you're still getting a good value offer.

And let's be honest. You're going to take the offer anyway.

Pretty easy to sit on the sidelines and say this.  A little harder when you dropped $6k to $20k on a room only to have the other party reneg.

 

I’m in a similar position to Bob and am appalled at RCCL’s offer to full suite customers.  I don’t want a JS, that’s why I paid for a a more expensive suite.  If I wanted a JS, I would have bought a JS.  The added space in the room is a big deal to me.  Star/Sky has value, but it’s pretty easy to define that value, and it’s nowhere near the price differential.  It’s the room AND the service that I bought, not one or the other.  And a $300 OBC is NOTHING compared to monies already spent.

 

We have contractual rights here, as I said before, there wasn’t a force majeure event, this was a business decision by RCCL.  You can’t bait and switch out of like value.

[Norwich Cruiser]

August 2021 from Allure staterooms  9323 and 9325 to August 2022 Wonder staterooms 10311 and 10313

[Norwich Cruiser]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

You meant 2022 right?

Whoops 2022 sorry senior moment 

[Biker19]

7 minutes ago, Snakeinmyboots said:

You can’t bait and switch out of like value.

RCI has a history of this and unless/until there's enough pressure (social media these days), they will not change their ways. In the case of the Allure->Wonder switch, they can't accommodate everyone  so a refund and moving on is likely the best way forward.

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, Snakeinmyboots said:

Pretty easy to sit on the sidelines and say this.  A little harder when you dropped $6k to $20k on a room only to have the other party reneg.

 

I’m in a similar position to Bob and am appalled at RCCL’s offer to full suite customers.  I don’t want a JS, that’s why I paid for a a more expensive suite.  If I wanted a JS, I would have bought a JS.  The added space in the room is a big deal to me.  Star/Sky has value, but it’s pretty easy to define that value, and it’s nowhere near the price differential.  It’s the room AND the service that I bought, not one or the other.  And a $300 OBC is NOTHING compared to monies already spent.

 

We have contractual rights here, as I said before, there wasn’t a force majeure event, this was a business decision by RCCL.  You can’t bait and switch out of like value.

I think Royal could have done a little better, by bumping you down to at the lowest a GS, but I guess if Royal did that they would still be some CLS people not happy with that and that would have also got a bunch of people with GS bumped down to JS's upset.

So there would have been double the people upset, guess they decided to do it this way to affect the least amount of people.

Plus they know the people booking CLS's are Loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser's and will come back to Royal again eventually. 🙂

[Snakeinmyboots]

16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

RCI has a history of this and unless/until there's enough pressure (social media these days), they will not change their ways. In the case of the Allure->Wonder switch, they can't accommodate everyone  so a refund and moving on is likely the best way forward.

A full refund is “like value”, but they aren’t offering that for those of us with FCC’s.  They’re offering refunds only on additional monies paid.  That’s not “like value” when cruise prices have had such rapid inflation over the past year, the FCC has materially depreciated.  That’s the difference between RCCL’s past actions and what they’re specifically doing here.

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, Snakeinmyboots said:

A full refund is “like value”, but they aren’t offering that for those of us with FCC’s.  They’re offering refunds only on additional monies paid.

Call back as somewhat recently all FCCs are supposed to be treated as cash and refunded as such.