Denied Boarding at Port, with PITIFUL Compensation

[GimmeOcean]

21 minutes ago, John4934 said:

I understand but I assumed the 1 800 was U.S. based and the other number was for Australia. 

1800 is the toll-free prefix for Australia. Google confirms that number is the correct one for Royal Caribbean, too.

 

[cruisin from florida]

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is so true. How many things in life do you pay for in full 90 days before receiving the services or goods purchased and are then left to the mercy of the company that received those funds?

If they want to monetize no-shows (e.g., the onboard spending - they're keeping the cruise fare anyway) they could create some kind of stand-by system for local travelers. That said, it seems that in this case they didn't overbook... they needed the cabins to isolate sick crew and potentially sick passengers.

[Dewaldcruiser]

What is unfortunate for Royal is they went off script from previous overbooked/unavailable cabins.  In the past. they have come up with a decent package and asked for volunteers.  Had they done that there would have been little to no bad publicity.  As it is now, they have some serious PR issues.

[Porcupine123]

-Left at the port: Royal Caribbean passengers denied boarding due to overbooked cruise (msn.com)

 

Left Passengers at the Pier

[Scottdalfonso]

This has been posted about in a few threads already... they ended up giving them free cruise credits, but took a bit

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Dewaldcruiser said:

What is unfortunate for Royal is they went off script from previous overbooked/unavailable cabins.  In the past. they have come up with a decent package and asked for volunteers.  Had they done that there would have been little to no bad publicity.  As it is now, they have some serious PR issues.

As this isn't the usual being a last minute CV issue they were not able to follow usual Script. PR issue, nah this is minor. Besides as stated earlier Royal was never been consistent with Compensation

Edited November 30, 2023 by ONECRUISER

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is so true. How many things in life do you pay for in full 90 days before receiving the services or goods purchased and are then left to the mercy of the company that received those funds?

 

It happens with flights, but usually they try first to take volunteers. It is somewhat interesting to me that they don't try to do that with cruises, see who might volunteer for a bump rather than force them.

[KmomChicago]

1 hour ago, cruisin from florida said:

If they want to monetize no-shows (e.g., the onboard spending - they're keeping the cruise fare anyway) they could create some kind of stand-by system for local travelers. That said, it seems that in this case they didn't overbook... they needed the cabins to isolate sick crew and potentially sick passengers.

 

But really that is still a form of overbooking - i.e. taking rooms out of service for unforeseen circumstances is still overbooking for the actual inventory available for occupancy. 

 

This practice leaves absolutely no room for contingencies and calls into question why they can fail to fulfill the contract, but passengers can't (i.e. full forfeiture of the fare in case of failure to fulfill the contract). 

 

Covid has been around long enough now to build this into the inventory management system.

 

Ironically, it's possible that ten cabins perhaps would have liked to cancel at the last minute for whatever reason - but would not have been allowed to due to the contract. It's not like they asked for volunteers.

Edited November 30, 2023 by KmomChicago

[SUgwoz]

1 minute ago, KmomChicago said:

 

It happens with flights, but usually they try first to take volunteers. It is somewhat interesting to me that they don't try to do that with cruises, see who might volunteer for a bump rather than force them.

Their has been instances of where they send letters weeks/months ahead for cruises they know is overbooked.

 

Flights is a different situation, you get bumped from a flight likely you can find another flight a couple hours later or next day.  Someone bumped from a cruise can't just hop on another ship.

[KmomChicago]

Just now, SUgwoz said:

Their has been instances of where they send letters weeks/months ahead for cruises they know is overbooked.

 

Flights is a different situation, you get bumped from a flight likely you can find another flight a couple hours later or next day.  Someone bumped from a cruise can't just hop on another ship.

 

I agree, and even so it can be a nightmare for the passenger moved even just a few hours off their original schedule. What happened on this cruise is just terrible. 

[SUgwoz]

Just now, KmomChicago said:

 

But really that is still a form of overbooking - i.e. taking rooms out of service for unforeseen circumstances is still overbooking for the actual inventory available for occupancy. 

 

This practice leaves absolutely no room for contingencies and calls into question why they can fail to fulfill the contract, but passengers can't (i.e. full forfeiture of the fare in case of failure to fulfill the contract). 

 

Covid has been around long enough now to build this into the inventory management system.

So should they purposely leave 5-10% of the cabins empty every cruise for a situation that can happen less 1% of the time.

 

Less cabins available, means less supply for demand.  Higher prices.

[The Fun Researcher]

44 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

As this isn't the usual being a last minute CV issue they were not able to follow usual Script. PR issue, nah this is minor. Besides as stated earlier Royal was never been consistent with Compensation

You say this as if it's fact.  It's too convenient to push the "easy button"... "It was a covid issue"  How many cruises do we think sail now with a low number of illness or covid cases afterward?  Very few. This covid excuse is nothing other than pure speculation.

 

Where has Royal stated this was a covid issue?  Or maintenance issue?  If I missed an announcement by Royal please forgive me.

 

What we do have proof of the actual document provided by Royal to the poor cruisers they left stranded at the cruise pier with very poor options to compensate.

[cruisin from florida]

16 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Ironically, it's possible that ten cabins perhaps would have liked to cancel at the last minute for whatever reason - but would not have been allowed to due to the contract. It's not like they asked for volunteers.

Exactly!!!! 

[Starry Eyes]

15 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

Their has been instances of where they send letters weeks/months ahead for cruises they know is overbooked.

 

Flights is a different situation, you get bumped from a flight likely you can find another flight a couple hours later or next day.  Someone bumped from a cruise can't just hop on another ship.

For cruises the rescheduling offer may be further out, but that does not mean it cannot be done.  Some of us are quite flexible.  For example, DH and I are retired and are scheduled to cruise Sunday on Wonder.  We drive 90 miles from home to port.  If perchance Royal Caribbean texted (or sent an app notification) on Saturday or even Sunday morning that there was an overbooking situation and they would compensate volunteers, we would probably text back that, yes, we would be willing to consider rescheduling for the right compensation…even last minute.

[cruisin from florida]

I'm doing a girls' cruise next week. I'd happily rebook for another date for a good offer. My guess is that something unexpected (insert theory here) happened at the very last minute, and in addition to whatever havoc the initial issue was causing, they had to deal with not enough cabins literally as folks were arriving. Given the usual poor communication between the ship and land-based staff, this is what they came up with in a hurry. I can't imagine how long it takes Royal IT to generate a standard email to passengers, much less deal with something like this.

[KmomChicago]

30 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

So should they purposely leave 5-10% of the cabins empty every cruise for a situation that can happen less 1% of the time.

 

Less cabins available, means less supply for demand.  Higher prices.

 

No I did not say to leave 5-10% of cabins empty, which would in this case be about 100-200 cabins which is ridiculous obviously.

 

There was a shortage of 11 cabins on this cruise, with 2094 cabins total. This means They were short 1/2 of 1% and no, I don't think leaving 1/2 of 1% of cabins unbooked is a terrible idea, actually.  If something goes terribly wrong with a room - i.e. plumbing disaster or really bad temperature control problem or horrible noise issue or something, having a few empty rooms per sailing could be helpful.  "Sorry ma'am about your balcony cabin being directly under the pool and hearing all those deck chairs at night. We could move you to an interior in the center of the ship which is quieter than a tomb if you prefer."

 

And illness is not all that uncommon.  And then perhaps there really is possible overbooking so you have those overflow cabins if needed to avoid this PR disaster.

 

 

[lovesthebeach2]

47 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

But really that is still a form of overbooking - i.e. taking rooms out of service for unforeseen circumstances is still overbooking for the actual inventory available for occupancy. 

 

This practice leaves absolutely no room for contingencies and calls into question why they can fail to fulfill the contract, but passengers can't (i.e. full forfeiture of the fare in case of failure to fulfill the contract). 

 

Covid has been around long enough now to build this into the inventory management system.

 

Ironically, it's possible that ten cabins perhaps would have liked to cancel at the last minute for whatever reason - but would not have been allowed to due to the contract. It's not like they asked for volunteers.

I think the excuse that they need rooms for potential sick cruisers is BS. On our Odyssey TA last month, some cruisers DID get Covid and stayed in their original cabins. They weren’t moved to a special area as was done in 2021 after cruises resumed. So that doesn’t make sense to me. 

[Another_Critic]

3 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I think the excuse that they need rooms for potential sick cruisers is BS. On our Odyssey TA last month, some cruisers DID get Covid and stayed in their original cabins. They weren’t moved to a special area as was done in 2021 after cruises resumed. So that doesn’t make sense to me. 

It was [supposedly] for sick crew, not passengers.

[cruisin from florida]

They have cut back on service/staff since the pandemic. I wonder what happened to the excess crew quarters... Hopefully they are using it for enhancements of some kind for the crew.

[Ocean Boy]

16 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

It was [supposedly] for sick crew, not passengers.

Sick crew who could also be isolated in their cabins.

 

Covid and supply chain issues have just about used up their time as the excuses for just about everything that goes wrong on a cruise ship.

[doghog]

9 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sick crew who could also be isolated in their cabins.

 

Covid and supply chain issues have just about used up their time as the excuses for just about everything that goes wrong on a cruise ship.

Or any where else in our everyday lives! 

[KmomChicago]

18 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sick crew who could also be isolated in their cabins.

 

Covid and supply chain issues have just about used up their time as the excuses for just about everything that goes wrong on a cruise ship.

 

To some extent yes.  Things will continue to go wrong related to these, but I now find myself using the term contingency a lot here in this conversation.  Risk plans for any business at any time should include contingency plans.  Covid and supply chain (and many other kinds of issues) will occasionally cause disruptions that cannot be prevented. When that happens, what is the backup plan? 

[richstowe]

57 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

 My guess is that something unexpected (insert theory here) happened at the very last minute, and in addition to whatever havoc the initial issue was causing, they had to deal with not enough cabins literally as folks were arriving. Given the usual poor communication between the ship and land-based staff, this is what they came up with in a hurry. I can't imagine how long it takes Royal IT to generate a standard email to passengers, much less deal with something like this.

And even if all that's true it's still unacceptable whether or not they were in a hurry . Screwing over passengers because there is a last minute snafu speaks to an uncaring corporate ethos where basic customer care is forgotten.

[Seville2Cabo]

59 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

 

No I did not say to leave 5-10% of cabins empty, which would in this case be about 100-200 cabins which is ridiculous obviously.

 

There was a shortage of 11 cabins on this cruise, with 2094 cabins total. This means They were short 1/2 of 1% and no, I don't think leaving 1/2 of 1% of cabins unbooked is a terrible idea, actually.  If something goes terribly wrong with a room - i.e. plumbing disaster or really bad temperature control problem or horrible noise issue or something, having a few empty rooms per sailing could be helpful.  "Sorry ma'am about your balcony cabin being directly under the pool and hearing all those deck chairs at night. We could move you to an interior in the center of the ship which is quieter than a tomb if you prefer."

 

And illness is not all that uncommon.  And then perhaps there really is possible overbooking so you have those overflow cabins if needed to avoid this PR disaster.

 

 

Assuming Royal is selling all the cabins.  Leaving 11 cabins empty on every ship , every sailing is about $15 million a year.  

[The Fun Researcher]

One Royal exec to another...

 

"Hey Bob, you see that folks on social media are blaming that Quantum boarding issue on Covid?  Christmas must be early this year.  Let's let them run with that!  Better than trying to explain what really happened!"

 

...and yes, I'm speculating about that conversation.  🤣🤣😅

Edited November 30, 2023 by The Fun Researcher