Who Would You Call?

[Cruisin Around]

Hi Everyone!

I'm turning to my friends on this board to help me out because I am EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED! Let me start by saying that I am a loyal Royal/Celebrity cruiser and I'm helping to organize a fairly large group of people (14 in all) for our October cruise. I did a lot of research and even found several other cruises that were FAR less money, BUT we knew what we can expect from Royal Caribbean and figured it was best to stick with what we are pretty sure of instead of jumping to another line. Before I booked I called RC to see if a certain OB credit certificate that I had from 2007 would be combinable with our stock credit. I was originally told a few months ago that it would be because we fell in a grace period and were given it before the new non-combinable rules came into effect. Of course, when my travel agent called, they told her something different. I called back and was again told that the agent could apply it and must have misunderstood. Round two- she calls and they say no. I call back, someone else says no. I call back again, they say yes, and I ask if the agent can specifically talk to the person that I'm talking to right now and he says no because he's not allowed to speak to travel agents. WHAT??? My agent said she never heard that either. Each person at RC that I talk to also says that they are the one that is correct and everyone else doesn't understand. That's not even my only problem. I called RC yesterday to make sure that I could use my Visa reward certificates for OBC and they tell me 100% absolutely (after I was on hold for over 15 minutes) I can use them with anything but a free cruise certificate. Today, my travel agent says she called and they told her I can't use them because I paid my deposit with a Discover Card. WHAT? Are you kidding me? Another issue- a friend of a friend offered me a RC gift card that they wouldn't use. I asked my agent if I could use an RC gift card if I was going through a travel agency. She called RC and they told her I couldn't use it if I was using ANY other promotion. I told her that was insanity because this is just dollar for dollar- like cash. She called back- someone else told her yes I can, it's just like cash.

 

I am so frustrated and upset. I don't want to badmouth anyone, I just want someone that knows what is going on. Is there anyone at RC that you trust that has knowledge of the inner-workings of things there? I'm not trying to get things that I don't have coming to us. I'm not trying to be unfair, I'd just like to know what is the right answer. One person at RC tells me not to let someone else there tell me that I can't combine because the dates should allow me to, another says no. It's been back and forth and I've wasted HOURS on this already. I work full time and have a home, family and almost two year old. I can't keep calling and emailing. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm complaining, but I'm frustrated. There's so many policies and no one seems to know what they are supposed to do.

 

Any suggestions or great people at RC that you've dealt with would be great. My travel agent is getting frustrated too and I'm tired of waiting. I want to get an answer. My agent has been making calls the sames that I have and when we compare notes, all of our answers are different.

 

I don't want to be disappointed that we're cruising with RC, but they are sure making it hard to respect them right now.

[klfhngr]

My cousin Guido lives in PA, I can give him a call......

[Cruisin Around]

Thanks for making me smile through this, but no sense in resorting to any violence! LOL Seriously, I feel so lucky to be going on a cruise, but this part is just making me miserable. How can they run a business this way?

[ginger2000]

If you finally get the answer you are looking for....ALWAYS ask for it in writing - confirm via e-mail! Good Luck!

[Cruisin Around]

Ha! I did ask if they could send me some kind of confirmation and they said they really couldn't do that for me! I'm seriously not trying to be cheap, just get what I have coming. If I wanted to be cheap, I could have went on NCL and paid $99 for my 2 year old instead of a third person rate of hundreds more.

 

Has anyone else had similar experiences and what were your outcomes? Has anyone else used gift cards through a travel agent or combined OBC like stock and visa rewards? Can you really not use your visa rewards if you book with Discover? I use my RCI Visa & Discover equally all the time!

[martinchem]

It's great when cruiselines have promotions like earlybird, military, senior, past cruiser, future cruise certificate, entertainment book, shareholder, etc... if they let them all be combinable, the cruises would be free, be realistic, get your best deal...and enjoy your vacation!

[setsail]

I hope you wrote down all the names and dates.

 

Next I would call back and at the start ask for a super and state that you have called several times and are booking for a group.

 

If the super is no help then polighty say I need to talk to someone who CAN solve my problem, is your boss handy or what do you suggest I do to solve this problem?

[SCUBADOO414]

I feel bad for you and your situation... I know it all too well because I called RC at one point to ask about their smoking policy and got many different answers to the same question! It's very frustrating.

[kaylorcc]

Thanks for making me smile through this, but no sense in resorting to any violence! LOL Seriously, I feel so lucky to be going on a cruise, but this part is just making me miserable. How can they run a business this way?

 

 

The RCI call lines are fairly notorious for giving out conflicting information.. it happens with a lot of national customer service call centers, actually. A lot of times it's just people like you and me in front of a computer terminal with a database that they frantically search through as you're asking them the question. There isn't a ton of specialized knowledge required, in a lot of cases.

 

True story-- once I had reason to believe that one of my credit cards had been stolen. I went on Citi Cards' web site to find the right number to call to report the problem. I called, got somebody from a call center in India, who proceeded to give me a generic response as to who I should notify, etc. I happened to glance at my computer screen as he was giving me his monologue, and realized that he was reciting directly from the web page. I was literally following along on the web page as he spoke. It was disheartening, to say the least.

 

Have you tried making an email inquiry? I made an inquiry about some missing cruise credits on RCI's website and their response was prompt and resolved the issue. It also solves the problem of not being able to get something specifically in writing. Sorry that you've found it so difficult.. it shouldn't be that hard to get a straight answer.

[Cruisin Around]

I am in no way going to let this ruin my cruise, but when I feel that I'm being taken advantage of, I'm not going to roll over and be quiet. I'm sorry- but especially when it's stock holder's credits. I know that is the new policy, but it wasn't the policy when I purchased it a while ago. I didn't buy it a week ago for $6, we paid plenty more. I also accept that policies can change, but when I'm told once, go ahead and book with us, we'll combine it, (and yes, I have his name and it hasn't seemed to help me one bit) and then you have my money and the story changed. AND IT CHANGES EVERY TIME YOU CALL. And what do they care if I'm using a visa & discover card? I've always sung the praises of RC to everyone- family, coworkers-and several have taken RC cruises after we've gone and raved about them. I may have to change my tune after this experience.

 

When you are being taken advantage of and treated unfairly, I wouldn't tell anyone to just let it be. Someone has to stand up sometime.

[Gonzo70]

I believe that you can deal directly with Shareholder Benefits even when you have a travel agent. I would book the cruise with my OB Credit certificate and then separately I would e-mail documentation of my stock ownership to Shareholder Benefits and ask that the Shareholder OBC be applied.

 

As for the Credit Card certificates I know of no stipulation that you have to use the card for the deposit in order to apply points for that cruise. I did not use my card to pay for the deposit on my last cruise and was able to apply $100 of OBC towards it. I again would just book the cruise and then send in my award certificates to be applied.

[kyriecat]

Can your TA set up a 3-way phone call so that both her and you can talk to the RC representative? Perhaps the problem is the way she is wording her questions? It sounds like something isn't right.

 

I know you can use your Visa points for OBC even if you pay your deposit with a Discover card (not sure why you would because you don't get double points w/ Discover, but that's not really any of my business). My parents paid for their deposit with Discover. I cashed in some Visa points to give them OBC. I put their cruise information on the cert and mailed it directly to the Crown & Anchor address that is on the certificate. The amount was applied - no problem. I called a few weeks before their cruise to make sure. I've always sent the certs for OBC directly to C&A - never through a TA, even when I had one.

[gxchan]

Cruisin Around,

 

I feel so badly for you and completely understand why you are frustrated, who wouldn't be? C&A does give conflicting info sometimes. I'm finding it difficult to believe your TA doesn't know people at RCI. Every TA I've worked with whether it is business or leisure travel has had connections with the various hotels, airlines or cruise lines, that is their business.

 

This is sneaky but I would suggest once you get someone at RCI on the phone who says you can get the OBC or use the gift card I would ask them to hold on a sec. Then I would conference in my TA and have the RCI person reconfirm that I was due the obc or use of the gift card. Your TA should then work it out with RCI in a separate call using this info.

 

Good luck.

[kyriecat]

I believe that you can deal directly with Shareholder Benefits even when you have a travel agent. I would book the cruise with my OB Credit certificate and then separately I would e-mail documentation of my stock ownership to Shareholder Benefits and ask that the Shareholder OBC be applied.

That's what I have always done. The only problem I have had is they wouldn't send a confirmation directly to me that the OBC was applied. They sent it to my TA who forwarded it to me.

[octagonmike]

GHOSTBUSTERS ??

 

[Cruisin Around]

Again, you are the best people to turn to when in need. I will gladly do all the leg work, but after I spoke to the first man at RCI and he told me that if I booked through an agent all he could do for me is answer "very general questions"- (and he actually gave me examples like "What is the weather like in Bermuda?" or "How many people will the ship I'm going on hold"- all things that I could find myself) I was afraid to do anything without going through my agent. The travel agent doesn't seem to mind so I'm going to see what I can get done myself.

Thanks and I'll keep you updated!

[cruisinfanatic]

Your visa points for on board credit have nothing to do with any promotions and especially what card you used for the deposit. Your TA has nothing to do with this as you should call and redeem for a certificate on your own. Then send it in. That's it. NO TA involvement.

Same for your stock credit. Email the info as has been described on this board a million times.

NO TA involvement.

[luvscruising2007]

If you are using a TA, RCL will not talk to you about your booking. Many on these boards have suggested to other posters to set up a 3 way call with your TA, RCL and you. The call should be with the resolution department.

Good luck!

[temple1]

The first person you spoke with at RCI was correct = once you turn your reservation over to the travel agent they are the only ones the cruise lines will deal with. Your travel agent should know that.

 

As far as the VISA points - call B of A directly and have them send you the reward certificate. Complete details about the rewards is available on the Royal Caribbean website. As far as I know it should not make a difference - Once the deposit is processed and cleared the bank - I don't think the agents can actually see what kind of card was used. But the Points person at B of A has always been very helpful for me.

 

I think much of your problem is trying to get specific requests dealt with through the general call center - when there are other departments you can contact who can help.

 

Your TA should know that they are the ones who should be handling your requests and coordinating your cruise.

 

Good Luck, I don't think anyone is trying to take advantage of you - although it is very frustrating - just learning which department handles which request.