Royal thieves

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 29

Review summary

I booked a Christmas Cruise for my family and in-laws and this is my first time on a Royal Caribbean (been on about 12 cruises previously). I do not normally write reviews or take the time, but I have to based on my experience. Royal Caribbean has a system designed to take you for every penny they can. It started when we went to book the airfare. They quoted me a price and when I called back three days late;r it doubled. When I was quoted the price for the beverage package, the next day when I booked it, the price went up $100 per person. The thing is that in order to speak with someone on pricing or anything else, you have to provide a reservation number (booking number) and through that they track your activity. This held true for about six other couples we spoke with on the boat. To top it off. They nickel and dime you on everything and don't expect to get your money back if you "pre-pay." I was told that in order to reserve the specialty restaurants, I had to pre-pay on my credit card to hold the reservations. I was also told that for some reason if we needed to cancel it while on the boat, I would be reimbursed. My two young children were ill during the last two days and I had to cancel three of the six people for a specialty restaurant reservation. I was told not to worry and that I was being reimbursed. However, when I went on my television to see, I was only re-imbursed for one of the three. I spent two hours on the phone while on my cruise fighting with guest services and their reply was I'm mistaken. They were adamant that I only pre-paid for four and to check my records when I got home. We ended the call with just that. I would check my records; credit card statement and the emails confirming my reservation when I returned. I was correct and called their "Royal Guest Experience" Department for what I was told would be a simple fix. It was not and I spent another hour fighting to get my money back after they provided me three different reasons why I was incorrect. I emailed them their own email confirmation after I had to fight to get an email address and only then (after waiting on hold an additional 30 minutes) I was I told I will be getting a refund. It is all part of a system because had I not checked and re-checked and argued, they would have kept my $100. Oh and on the last day, I received a notice that I didn't return a pool towel and that I can keep the towel as a souvenir. Only that they were charging my $25 for the towel; a towel I never had. I spent 30 minutes of my time walking to three different areas of the ship (because they had no phone number) to confirm that the records were incorrect and I returned my towels each day. Royal thieves... Cruising has certainly changed from years prior and Royal Caribbean have mastered the art of maximize their revenue; on you the consumer. Don't trust them and if you still decide to cruise with them, book things the first time you call (they track your calls and activity; raising the prices on you when they have you committing) and definitely do not pre-pay anything. Even the drink packages. They offered better deals when the ship was at sea. Awful experience...

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

Falmouth, Jamaica

Cozumel, Mexico

Disembarkation

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