What happened to RCCL’s exquisite customer service?☹️

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

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

But as far as I can think of, the ONLY group that does that are many (but not all) hotel reservations.  Where some even allow cancelations up to 24 hours in advance.

Rental cars?

Restaurants? ( A few might have a cancellation penalty, but not many)

[baelor]

OP, you are a prime example of the maxim that that God gives the hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.

I know it’s hard to imagine now, but I promise that you will get through this nigh-insurmountable ordeal.

Edited January 28, 2023 by baelor

[molsonschooner]

18 hours ago, time4u2go said:

They have already made final payment.

they made the payment but did they make the payment before final payment date

[mjkacmom]

38 minutes ago, molsonschooner said:

they made the payment but did they make the payment before final payment date

I doubt it, otherwise it’s an easy fix and the OP is a seasoned cruiser and would know this.

[alfaeric]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Rental cars?

Restaurants? ( A few might have a cancellation penalty, but not many)

Fair enough, but for the cheap car rates, they are pay in advance with penalties. 
 

 

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

This is on your booking invoice.  

 

 

 

It always amazes me how many people don't read the, "Nonrefundable Deposit amounts" part. It's also on the very first part of the invoice that has "NRD" = None Refundable Deposit.  

 

I haven't been critical of the OP but, I must say the his/her cry for consideration that this is a once in a life time request may be true.  But, how many other people have this "once in a life time" request.  And how does RCCL or any other cruise line know that this is or will be the only time requested/once in a life time request.  They don't.

 

If people want their money back for many possible reasons, pay for the "Refundable Deposit". 

You don't have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to know that. 

[Moon Orchid]

19 hours ago, firefly333 said:

If you are before final payment I believe it can be moved for $100 pp. 

 

Ask about that.

My daughters cruise, the final payment date is February 1. They called this morning to moved it to different ship/date. The change fee was $100 for the room.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, Moon Orchid said:

My daughters cruise, the final payment date is February 1. They called this morning to moved it to different ship/date. The change fee was $100 for the room.

Someone made a mistake.  The penalty is $100 per person. 

[Ret MP]

4 minutes ago, Moon Orchid said:

My daughters cruise, the final payment date is February 1. They called this morning to moved it to different ship/date. The change fee was $100 for the room.

Yep, our cruise in Jan 2024 is a change, we originally booked Allure and something came up so we changed over to the Harmony and it cost us $100.00 pp.  

[Moon Orchid]

16 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Someone made a mistake.  The penalty is $100 per person. 

In my daughter case, she was able to use her sister next cruise credit to booked a cruise for herself. So she had $200 deposit for the cruise. Now her sister wants to go with her on a different ship/date. Royal add her sister to the reservation and they only paid $100 change fee. So maybe because it changed from 1 person to 2 people ? Sorry I didn't make it clear in my first post 😊

Edited January 28, 2023 by Moon Orchid

[Longford]

21 hours ago, itsnowjoke said:

I’m an RCCL Diamond, and have recently booked a cruise.  As usual, I invited a group of friends.  Funnily, I missed the email that said that they were booking the exact same cruise a week earlier!  

Seems to me it was your lack of attention that caused the problem, not RCCL.  Easy to blame others for our faults.

[Ret MP]

50 minutes ago, Longford said:

Seems to me it was your lack of attention that caused the problem, not RCCL.  Easy to blame others for our faults.

Oops, copied and tasted the wrong thing.  Disregard.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Ret MP

[brillohead]

45 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Oops, copied and tasted the wrong thing.  Disregard.

Was it up to the standards of the new menus, the old menus, or the days of yore when you had to dress up every single night???

[Ret MP]

57 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Was it up to the standards of the new menus, the old menus, or the days of yore when you had to dress up every single night???

The damn menu tasted terrible. 

[itsnowjoke]

Lol.  Tough crowd.  Yes, in many respects the world DOES in fact revolve around me.  Like someone pointed out above, there are levels of customer service that are exceptional that the general public is not aware of.  I am.  RCCL apparently is not.  Sorry if it appeared that I was trying to throw my awesome and amazing bespoken diamond status around. What a joke.  I'm not that guy.  I remember boarding a ship once, and folks were muscling their way through the crowd say they were diamonds, let them through!  Not a good look.

 

I suppose if I wanted to cruise with my "friends" badly enough, I'd just eat the grand. But I don't, so I won't.

 

Also, I NEVER book more than 90 days out, (except for a T/A next spring) so I have been blissfully and ignorantly aware of the change policy.  I just book and pay in full on the spot.

 

 

[Ret MP]

What did he say

[123funcruiser]

Probably not the reaction the OP wanted to hear, but to answer the question in the thread title - Royals excellent customer service is obviously alive and well. 

 

I applaude to their customer service for not giving away to the OP. There´s T&C´s set by the cruiseline and this is fully on the OP and not on Royal. Good for them to stand their ground and not break their own T&C´s for someone like the OP changing their mind for just a change in mood.

 

Good job RCI👍

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

In the OPs defense (and don't get me wrong, I totally side with Royal on the decision to not allow an exception), I think they(OP) have a valid complaint about Royal not getting back in touch with them when they said they would.  

 

Of course, that part is buried in the original post surrounded by the "I'm diamond and I should be allowed to do what I want". 

Edited January 29, 2023 by S.A.M.J.R.

[alfaeric]

3 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

In the OPs defense (and don't get me wrong, I totally side with Royal on the decision to not allow an exception), I think they(OP) have a valid complaint about Royal not getting back in touch with them when they said they would.  

 

Of course, that part is buried in the original post surrounded by the "I'm diamond and I should be allowed to do what I want". 

Maybe.

 

But what probably happened was the rep said- "let me check and get back with you" or something like that.  And when quickly smacked back down to say no, they didn't want to deal with the OP being angry that they were not allowed to break the rules.

 

Based on what has been posted so far, I certainly would not want to call them back with bad news.  I would much rather take a hit on a customer not being happy with a call back than dealing with an angry customer trying to get super extra special treatment who can't.

 

Remember, being Diamond, they know exactly what rules in the contract they are asking to break.

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

27 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Maybe.

 

But what probably happened was the rep said- "let me check and get back with you" or something like that.  And when quickly smacked back down to say no, they didn't want to deal with the OP being angry that they were not allowed to break the rules.

 

Based on what has been posted so far, I certainly would not want to call them back with bad news.  I would much rather take a hit on a customer not being happy with a call back than dealing with an angry customer trying to get super extra special treatment who can't.

 

Remember, being Diamond, they know exactly what rules in the contract they are asking to break.

Possibly.  Here's the lines from the OP: 

I wrote an online letter to RCCL -using the template on their website- and got the canned response that they will answer my question asap, that was 10 days ago.  I never heard back   I called a customer service rep and she was not empowered to help, and I was told a manager would be in touch.  That was six days ago.

 

I'm a strong believer in customer service returning calls/emails, even if it's an "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do."  Going "radio silence" is NOT an acceptable CS response IMO.  I don't care if the question/request is reasonable or not.  

 

As I said, I have no problem with Royal NOT making an exception, and do think the OP is being entitled by continuing to try (unsuccessfully) to justify why they are "special" and should be allowed to do what they want.  I just think it's poor CS to not respond. 

[Ret MP]

23 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I just think it's poor CS to not respond. 

Very true.  But, there has to be an END POINT, at some point.  Having been a Corporate Director and one that was responsible for customer complaints/comments, I can tell you that there are far too many people out there that are trying to get something for nothing, or no answer is good enough, or or or.......  How much time and money should be spent on those people when there are so many others with valid complaints/comments?  I know that when I'm in line at the Customer/Guest Relations desk on a cruise ship or anywhere else and the employee/crew member is bending over backwards to tell the person NO without saying NO is time spent that I'm still in line waiting to get my Set Sail Card replaced or exchanging the wrong size socks.  

 

I'm an advocate for letting your less than expectations being known.  I completely encourage VALID complaints/comments.  And I expect Customer/Guest Relations personnel be the best of the best.  But, I also know, believe me, I know that there are far too many people that no answer will be acceptable for them.  All they want is blood or something for nothing.  I'd be willing to bet that most, if not all, of these people that do the loudest and least valid complaining leave a long trail of history doing it with just about every business they deal with.  

Edited January 29, 2023 by Ret MP

[not-enough-cruising]

11 minutes ago, itsnowjoke said:

 

Here is the line regarding changes, cancellations, and refunds:

 

"Cancellations or changes to a confirmed reservation are subject to availability and to any penalties that are charged by the cruise line or supplier."

 

Here's an honest question:  In the contract everyone is referring to, is there an actual cancellation fee / penalty, or does RCCL make it up as they go along?

 

The cancellation and fee schedule is prominently displayed on your invoice. This schedule is referred to in the contract. 

[DallasGuy75219]

36 minutes ago, itsnowjoke said:

Many have put RCCL screen shots up regarding The Contract that I've agreed to and apparently signed, but in all honesty, I have never seen this contract nor signed it.  -In decades of cruising, I've dealt with the same travel agency.  When I book and pay in full  -less than 90 days out as previously stated- I get a standard travel agent form showing my itinerary and The Rules.

You have to a agree to Royal's Cruise Ticket Contract to complete check-in.  "Have-to" as in your can't complete online check-in and get a SetSail Pass without agreeing to it.  The Contract is also included in the Guest Vacation Documents that Royal (or maybe your travel agent in your case) emails you 30 days before your cruise *and* in the eDocs available in your booking online at the same time.

[itsnowjoke]

14 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

You have to a agree to Royal's Cruise Ticket Contract to complete check-in.  "Have-to" as in your can't complete online check-in and get a SetSail Pass without agreeing to it.  The Contract is also included in the Guest Vacation Documents that Royal (or maybe your travel agent in your case) emails you 30 days before your cruise *and* in the eDocs available in your booking online at the same time.

 

OK, I'll buy that.  But we are 75 days out.  Check-in is unavailable.  If you are saying that I see the contract 30 days out, I'm 45 days away from getting the info.  Interesting.

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

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Very true.  But, there has to be an END POINT, at some point.  Having been a Corporate Director and one that was responsible for customer complaints/comments, I can tell you that there are far too many people out there that are trying to get something for nothing, or no answer is good enough, or or or.......  How much time and money should be spent on those people when there are so many others with valid complaints/comments?  I know that when I'm in line at the Customer/Guest Relations desk on a cruise ship or anywhere else and the employee/crew member is bending over backwards to tell the person NO without saying NO is time spent that I'm still in line waiting to get my Set Sail Card replaced or exchanging the wrong size socks.  

OP filled out the online form and never got a response back (at least within 10 days)  Granted, we don't know what exactly they wrote, but how much time does a simple "we can not help you" take to respond?  If it takes more than one minute, you need better trained CSRs.