Dumped by RCCL

[nanner10]

same thing happened to us, we did rebook on the Voyager for the increased amount & they did allow us to transfer a savings certificate. THEN when they published the Panama Canal trip on the same start date, I called them and asked if I could transfer the OBC to that trip and the answer was NOPE. we lost the OBC, which was ok, but I did fight & won to be able to transfer the savings certificate. so we are back on the Rhapsody and doing a life long wished for trip through the PC.

 

Best of luck to all the displaced cruisers

 

I am so glad that you will be able to go on a cruise that you have been coveting. Good for you! Have a blast!!

Nancy

[nanner10]

Nancy

 

Sometimes it helps to vent and your attitude to move on is wonderful. Best wishes for all your future cruises.........I'm sure you will make the most of them.

 

Some of the responses here are so off the wall and in left field.........I just can't interpret them:rolleyes:

 

Thanks isujim. Hey, in the end we are just so fortunate to be going at all, so, it is all good!! Happy sailings to you!

[PaulS]

I think that RCL's offer to me was fair. It was just stressful waiting for the official word on what was going to happen and then having to hassle with the airline about changing our reservations.

 

You tend to look at situations differently when you are affected. As a stockholder, I think it is great that they are making enough money on a 6 day charter to cancel a 12 day cruise. As someone who was booked on that cancelled cruise, I was not so sure it was a good idea!

 

It looks like everything worked out well for us and we are still looking forward to our cruise. I hope others who were booked can work something out so their vacations are not ruined.

[nanner10]

You tend to look at situations differently when you are affected. As a stockholder, I think it is great that they are making enough money on a 6 day charter to cancel a 12 day cruise. As someone who was booked on that cancelled cruise, I was not so sure it was a good idea

 

I probably do look at it differently, not being a stockholder. My thought, though, was that the majority of the sailings are not charters. So unless RCCL is going to change that they will need to rely on having a whole lot of us little fishes to fill up their ships.

 

Providing good customer service requires treating your customers well. Otherwise they will go elsewhere. There are a lot of other ways people can spend their hard earned money. If going on a cruise becomes such a hassle that it reaches the tipping point where people start to say to themselves "maybe I should take the money and put in a pool and Tiki bar at home" that can't be good for the bottom line either.

 

RCCL seems a litttle schizophrenic to me, sometimes I do feel like they are two companies. One company does such a great job making us feel valued while we are on a cruise, but, the other company's customer service off the ship (including at disembarkation) well, that can be a whole other story!

 

If RCCL makes a practice of canceling cruise reservations people will begin to loose confidence in them. I know I will probably be a little more tenative about future cruise reservations after this experience.

 

Instead of feeling that RCCL and I shook hands and sealed our agreement when I book a cruise, I may feel more like RCCL has their fingers crossed behind their backs and is saying to themselves " if I find a better deal, you are sooo history!"

 

Right now I love cruising and I so want to continue loving RCCL. I just want to know that I can trust them!

[nanner10]

Instead of feeling that RCCL and I shook hands and sealed our agreement when I book a cruise, I may feel more like RCCL has their fingers crossed behind their backs and is saying to themselves " if I find a better deal, you are sooo history!"

 

I was thinking about my post after I sent it and wondering if some of my rationalizations are flawed.

 

Until final payment is made I can back out to the deal too. Does RCCL have more of an obligation to stand by the agreement than I do? Is it logical to say that it hurts their reputation more than mine if they cancel? Or is it to their advantage to be flexible, otherwise everyone will wait until the last second to book so they won't get stuck with something they can't go on. Any thoughts?

[superjerryw]

I was thinking about my post after I sent it and wondering if some of my rationalizations are flawed.

 

Until final payment is made I can back out to the deal too. Does RCCL have more of an obligation to stand by the agreement than I do? Is it logical to say that it hurts their reputation more than mine if they cancel? Or is it to their advantage to be flexible, otherwise everyone will wait until the last second to book so they won't get stuck with something they can't go on. Any thoughts?

 

RCI may not have a legal obligation to stand by the agreement but cancelling cruises on a continual basis because they can make a few more bucks in the short term will cost them in the long term. There are many people that book far in advance because they can only travel at a certain time because that's when their kids are out of school or that's when they can take off from work, etc. These people cannot easily rearrange their travel plans. When people plan their vacation they expect it to take place. If you continually ruin their plans you are going to lose them as customers. Actually, they will lose their repuation and lose most of their other customers as well. No one is going to book a vacation of any type if they think there's a good chance the vendor will bail on them.

[superjerryw]

In 2004, our southern carib cruise with Celebrity was 30 days out from our sailing when we were notified the ship had been chartered out from underneath our feet. We were given 2 options 1) Full refund or 2) move to another week.

 

Does it seem sort of unfair that if the cruise line cancels 30 days out they are off the hook if they give you a refund but if you cancel 30 days out you will forfeit a significant portion of the money that you paid.

[cruisePRN]

When RCL cancelled me for my sept 07 sailing I booked in january the Voyager as i posted already. I did book NCL to Hawaii for the Sept 07 week that I already secured off from work, so the point that RCL will loose some business is valid. I had a week off and wanted to go somewhere and took my money to a competitor. I have never sailed with NCL and their freestyle and there is the possability i will love it so much I will continue to sail with NCL and say ADO to RCL.

[superjerryw]

When RCL cancelled me for my sept 07 sailing I booked in january the Voyager as i posted already. I did book NCL to Hawaii for the Sept 07 week that I already secured off from work, so the point that RCL will loose some business is valid. I had a week off and wanted to go somewhere and took my money to a competitor. I have never sailed with NCL and their freestyle and there is the possability i will love it so much I will continue to sail with NCL and say ADO to RCL.

 

You'll find that the two lines are similar. We sailed on the Norwegian Dawn a few months ago and we enjoyed the freestyle dining. It was nice eating in a different place each night at whatever time we wanted to eat. We also found the production shows on the Dawn superior to anything on RCI. As far as the cabins, the bathroom in our cabin was better than the bathrooms on RCI. As for the living space in the cabin, the nod there goes to RCI as the Dawn cabin was rather cramped and poorly furnished.

[familyof4cruising]

Rosie O'Donnell books on NCl and charters 2 or 3 cruises a year. This year she picked one of the most busiest weeks of the year President's Week. That is a big week for families with school aged children to travel. I was originally booked on NCL for next weeks President's week , but I am nervous that Rosie will make it an annual trip that week. I booked a RCCL cruise for that week- and after reading this thread it makes me angry that it could happen anywhere. I book my airfare a year in advance, and I feel that it is unacceptable without compensation ( new booking for same price and airfare fee changes) , to do that to a loyal passenger ot anyone.

[geoherb]

I saw the headline on the front page of Cruise Critic: "Last-Minute Charter Boots RCI Passenger" (link here.

 

It shocked me to read that the cruise date wasn't until June. I know the people booked on this cruise are going through a lot to change their vacation plans, but it's not exactly a "last-minute" change.

 

There are stories on this link at the bottom of the article that are truly "last-minute" horror stories: six weeks or less from sailing date. Plus I remember reading a couple of years ago about the Carnival passengers sailing from Baltimore that were involuntarily bumped at the last minute.

[familyof4cruising]

I saw the headline on the front page of Cruise Critic: "Last-Minute Charter Boots RCI Passenger" (link here.

 

It shocked me to read that the cruise date wasn't until June. I know the people booked on this cruise are going through a lot to change their vacation plans, but it's not exactly a "last-minute" change.

 

There are stories on this link at the bottom of the article that are truly "last-minute" horror stories: six weeks or less from sailing date. Plus I remember reading a couple of years ago about the Carnival passengers sailing from Baltimore that were involuntarily bumped at the last minute.

 

Six weeks six months either way it is wrong BUT

 

Guests booked on the affected sailing will be contacted by the line or their travel agent with the option to cancel for a full refund, or switch to any other Legend of the Seas 12- or 13-night Italy and Croatia cruise between May 19, 2007 and November 18, 2007, in like accommodations (subject to availability). Guests who rebook another Legend cruise will also be offered onboard credit -- $400 per cabin for suites, $200 per cabin for standard staterooms. Guests who booked air independently will be reimbursed up to $200 per person for change fees.

 

At least they were offered something!

[crazy 4 cruising]

I am so glad that you will be able to go on a cruise that you have been coveting. Good for you! Have a blast!!

Nancy

 

Thanks Nancy. Yep on my 1999 Alaskan cruise we were talking to 1 of the Asst CD & he was the one that told us about relocation cruises and going through the PC & I thought--that's what I want to do when I retire, well.... here i go.:D

[AFT_LOVER]

that RCI chartered a European cruise to some biggie for their staff to eet the new company they took over. So on a cruiseship was a great way to have their hotel follow them from door to door, but folks were cancelled a few months prior & just got their money back, Nothing else, no OBC, not $200 PP for air changes as this charter event is. So move your cruise to another one that same week or a new week & get the money! Or just take the refund.

[zqvol]

Can I vent for a few minutes??

 

Well, it is offical, RCCL has cancelled the 12 night Legend 6/24/07 Italy and Croatia cruise for a 6 day charter and a 6 day "special" cruise to fill the 12 day gap.

 

After a month of getting the run around that the sailing was "Closed for Inventory Management (which) means that the Revenue department has closed the sailing due to making changes to either itinerary, pricing, staterooms etc "

 

NOT!!!! Obviously they were negotiating this deal!

 

In my honest opinion:

I gotta say right now I am feeling like RCCL respects me as an individual customer about as much as a used tissue.

 

Yup, I know that they can do this anytime they want and they do, but, when it happens to you it really feels like #*?@. I guess we should be happy that a offered us $100pp OBC for the inconvenience of rescheduling to another sailing (which is not a good date for us and will require a good deal of scrambling around to work out the personal details), however, unfortunately it really doesn't feel like much for what this cancellation means to us. We would much rather have had the sailing date stay the same.

 

But, what can you do? Nothing. So for now, I am trying to follow my own mantra: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and roll with the punches" and move on.

 

Okay, I am done!

It happens on all of the lines. It happened to us two years in a row on Sea Dream so it is not just the mass market lines. The only way we found out was here on cruise critic.

[Merion_Mom]

I saw the headline on the front page of Cruise Critic: "Last-Minute Charter Boots RCI Passenger" (link here.

 

It shocked me to read that the cruise date wasn't until June. I know the people booked on this cruise are going through a lot to change their vacation plans, but it's not exactly a "last-minute" change.

 

There are stories on this link at the bottom of the article that are truly "last-minute" horror stories: six weeks or less from sailing date. Plus I remember reading a couple of years ago about the Carnival passengers sailing from Baltimore that were involuntarily bumped at the last minute.

HEY! You guys are all quoted in this "article"!

 

And NANNER10, the article says that passengers in standard cabins are being offered TWO hundred in OBC.

 

It may be time for a phone call back to RCCL........................

 

:)

[nanner10]

Nothing else, no OBC, not $200 PP for air changes as this charter event is.

 

Just to clarify: The OBC offered is $100.00PP and we are thankful to have it. I think they are offering to pay any penalty fees for anyone who has to change their flights, but, since that does not effect me I can't be sure. I don't want to give out any incorrect information if I can help it.

Nancy

[dege]

H2OH, this sounds like dingobait to me!

[nanner10]

HEY! You guys are all quoted in this "article"!

 

And NANNER10, the article says that passengers in standard cabins are being offered TWO hundred in OBC.

 

It may be time for a phone call back to RCCL........................

 

:)

Thanks Merion_Mom, I will check that out!!

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks Merion_Mom, I will check that out!!

Oh, now I see that you wrote "$100 PER PERSON", so that IS $200 per cabin!

 

Time to go brush up on my reading comprehension! ;)

[nanner10]

I saw the headline on the front page of Cruise Critic: "Last-Minute Charter Boots RCI Passenger" It shocked me to read that the cruise date wasn't until June.

 

I certainly am aware that in our case (the June sailing) it could have been much, much worse, but, I did not write the article on the front page of cruise critic! In this thread that I did post I was just expressing how I felt and letting others know that this can happen (and how it evolved) so they will be aware of the posibility.

 

Hopefully (but probably not likely) RCI will review their policies if this issue is made more public so more people won't have this frustrating experience.

[Mississippian]

If you were a stockholder, you would WANT RCI to book a charter....fill it and move some profit to the corporate bottom line.

 

As a regular customer, you would WANT RCI to book a charter...fill and move some profit to the corporate bottom line...maintain onboard standards.

I personally think six months is mighty short notice to cancel a cruise. If I were a stockholder, I would not want my company to get a reputation of cancelling cruises at the drop of a hat, as I feel it might hurt future bookings. At the very least, I would want customers affected to be compensated (bribed) adequately.

[seamour]

Sounds pretty lame to me since it's only about 6 months until you sail. I wonder how many people booked this cruise and already purchased their own airfare and are now entangled in an airfare mess. I can understand when they do this more than one year in advance, but 6 months out seems like too short of a time frame.

 

that's what I was thinking, what if someone had already purchased airfare !

[seamour]

Be happy they offered you the OBC. I was scheduled on the Jewel 12 ngt Boston to FL next year. (Granted, this is much further in the future) They cancelled that cruise and never even told me. I found out by going on the website and couldn't find my reservation. I was offered nothing....Of course, I didn't ask either.

 

Paul that is terrible !

[seamour]

Thanks Nancy. Yep on my 1999 Alaskan cruise we were talking to 1 of the Asst CD & he was the one that told us about relocation cruises and going through the PC & I thought--that's what I want to do when I retire, well.... here i go.:D

 

Brenda, have a great time on your dream cruise, I am glad it worked out his way for you ! I think a sailing through PC would be AWESOME !