“Pay an additional $800 or you can’t board the ship”

by Christopher Elliott on June 24, 2009

Timing is everything when you pull a bait-and-switch. Most of them happen just before or after the purchase – an “oops-the-price-isn’t-available” or a “sorry-did-we-forget-to-mention-a-fee” stunt. But for Mary Hoefs’ Royal Caribbean cruise, she didn’t find out until she tried to board.

Here’s what happened she tried to embark on the Liberty of the Seas with her family recently:

While checking in, our son and his family from Texas were pulled out of line and taken to another room. There they were told: “Pay an additional $800, or you can’t board the ship.”

They were in a state of panic, and two little grandsons were in tears because they could not get on the ship. Not really understanding the reason, we had to come up with the extra cash for them to board. (Had we not had the money, what would have happened?)

The cruise was paid in full by us, at the time of booking. They had all this information far enough in advance that should there have been a problem, had plenty of time to let us or our travel consultant know so that it could have been taken care of before the date we were to set sail. Under no circumstance should this have been thrown in our face while standing in line to board the ship!

We feel that the full $800 should be refunded by Royal Caribbean. They only refunded $400, and sent that to the travel agent, with no reason or apology to us as to why our family from Texas was singled out like this.

Sounds dreadful, doesn’t it? I figured there must be another side to this story, so I asked RCCL. Here’s its response.

Our records indicate that this booking was not created in-house, rather, through a travel agent. During the booking process, the guests from Texas were booked as being residents of West Virginia – with a promotional discount that was being provided to residents of West Virginia at that time. When the guests were unable to provide government issued ID that showed they were residents of West Virginia, the discount had to be removed, thus, the additional charges.

In other words, Hoefs’ family had used a discount that can only be used by West Virginia residents. When they couldn’t prove they lived in West Virginia, they had to pay a fare difference.

I shared this information with Hoefs.

I paid for the two from West Virginia $1,787, which was the “special rate.” The family from Texas, I paid $3,275. And from here in Arizona, the price was $3,275. So the Texas family did NOT have a special rate. Regardless, I booked and paid in full on December 16th, 2008, the cruise was not until March 14th 2009. If there was a discrepancy, they had plenty of time to notify me before rather then wait till we were standing in line to board the ship. If they did not feel they were in the wrong, then why did they return half of the $800?

Hoefs is correct. She didn’t create the confusing pricing system that led to this problem. RCCL had ample time to check the IDs of the travelers. And yes, the $400 refund doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Lesson learned? If you’re booking a cruise through a travel agent, make sure you qualify for any discounts, and can prove it. At a time like this, cruise lines are trying to collect every extra penny from their passengers — even if they have to do it at the dock.

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Tagged as: bait-and-switch, cruise, Royal Caribbean

  • Bill

    First of all, it is disturbing that they offer discounts to residents of one state and not another.

    I suspect the “use a professional travel agent” crowd will be strangely quiet on this one.

    My point is, you can have problems no matter what you do. It is very unfortunate that they had to ante up an extra $800.

  • mike

    I use (and trust) a travel agent for cruises. She has gone above and beyond for me in the past, and I’m sure she will again, if needed.

    If this is a case of the travel agent booking a fare for which a passenger isn’t entitled, I’d go after the agent. Assuming it’s not a solo operator, a polite letter explaining the circumstances, and (most importantly) suggesting that the responsible agent be appropriately reprimanded, sent to the owner or manager of the agency, would be advised.

    As for Mary Hoefs’ suggestion that there was plenty of time for RCCL to let them know about the “discrepancy”, that’s quite an interesting one. It is not the cruise line’s responsibility to let each person who books a discounted fare, whether it’s military, resident, senior, or public safety, know in advance that they will need to provide documentation. Here, they rely on their agents to make clear to customers the requirements for the fare, including the documentation they need to bring. That she received half of the increase in the fare back isn’t an admission of wrong-doing. It was RCCL offering a fairly large token of appreciation and understanding.

  • http://cigarcruises.net Clay

    This sort of thing happens more often than one would think. My guess, either there was a Texas promo and the wrong code was entered, or the agent knowingly offered the lower price to close the deal.

    As a Cruise only travel agent I always look for promotions for my clients and am careful to have them verified by the cruiselines. Royal does their due diligence by telling the agents that the passengers must show proper ID or they will be charged the regular fare.

    Regional fares for some states are commonplace as are senior rates, military discounts, even union discounts. The old adage is true, “measure twice, cut once”

  • Bob

    This is why I stay away from cruises. It’s an endless stream of bad stories. I love a memorable vacation with stories of interation with the locals and new experiences. I don’t need memories of abuse by the tourist industry that is taking your money. With all the great options available for vacations, why risk your precious vacationj time with such a terrible industry?

  • DCTA

    Very interesting. Did the TA book this on line (in Sabre, Apollo, or Cruisematch)? If so, it is easy to make a mistake – sometimes you’ll highlight a specific Sstate as the residence and then it “slips” to another State. I have seen this happen. No excuse just a remineder to be careful. If the TA actually did make the error, the TA, I supect RCL expected the TA to split the difference on the loss and pay up $400 him/herself. But waht if the TA booked this directly with RCL onthe phone? Can we find out whether this was the case? If an RCL Res. Agent made this error…..the TA nor the client should be held responsible.

    Second thought – presumably, these people all pre-registered on RCL’s website weeks prior to the actual cruise – shouldn’t the discrepancy in rsidency have been picked up at this point?

  • DCTA

    Per the comment on pricing being different depending upon residency – any vendor has the right to market his/her product as he wishes. RCL, like most cruise lines that offer residency specials, carefully watch where their sales are coming from – if they need a boost from a particular state, they publish a residency discount. No big deal – they also offer Military discounts.

  • Wrona

    Did the Hoefs not look at their documents? There would’ve been language inside the documents specifically stating they were booked under a special fare code and to make sure they qualified for it because they could be required to provide proof at the pier. If they got documents by mail, there would’ve been a large sticker on the front as well.

    I know because on my RCCL cruise two weeks ago I was booked under a residency discount – the sticker was on the front and the language was conspicuously placed within the first few pages of the documents.

    Since they booked through a travel agent, I would place the fault with the travel agent for not making sure that they qualified for the fare that the travel agent booked for them. AND for not checking the documents if they went to the travel agent first.

  • Ann, CTC

    What I find disturbing (once again) is that Chris apparently did not contact the agent involved. There are 3 parties involved in this fiasco, not just 2. If the agent made a mistake and applied the WV discount to the TX family, then they need to own up. And yes, we make mistakes. We’re not perfect. But here the agent has not been given a voice, leading to comments like Bill’s.

  • Nina S

    I feel sorry for the family. That said, when an agent books a cruise using a discount we are warned that proof is required at the pier or the difference will be charged upon boarding. Also documents have a sticker as well. If RCCL made the error they owe the family the additional $400 plus an additional discount to the family towards another cruise. To anyone this happens to unjustly call or email your agent immediately, don’t wait to you get home. A good agent should have the problem rectified before the client disembarks from the cruise.

  • Leonard

    This is just another reason not to sail on RCCL, with them charging for room service late night, and charging for steak at diner in the main dining room, and who knows what else. Your cruise on RCCL will surely cost you much more than planned.

  • Susan

    I am finished with cruises, based soley on what I read in Tripso. I don’t have a lot of extra money, certainly not enough to deal with the horror stories told here.

    It sounds like the family paid full fare and the travel agent booked them at the discount and pocketed the difference. Travel agents are no better than the cruise lines or airlines.

  • SirWired

    Chris,

    You really seem to coddle travel agents here, why?… if the agent booked the cruise, it is the agents responsibility to make sure passengers are booked under the correct fare class. This isn’t RCCL’s fault. If RCCL themselves were at fault, you’d be crawling all over them, but because they used an agent, your advice is: “make sure you qualify for any discounts, and can prove it”. Isn’t that the AGENT’s job? Your advice should be: “If your agent messes up this badly, get your money back from them. It isn’t the cruise line’s fault.” The agent can either argue w/ RCCL, file a claim with their errors and ommissions insurance (if they bothered to purchase it) or cover it out of pocket, but it should not be the travelers problem.

    After hearing from RCCL, why didn’t you go after the OP’s agent, trying to get their money back through that route? You go after airlines, cruise lines, car rental agencies, hotels, online agents, and tour operators, but almost never agents, even if the problem is the agent’s fault.

  • Lyngengr

    Geez, did RCCL have a gun to their head while they had a hand on their wallet?

    The most simple solution would have been to pay the extorted charge on a credit card, take the cruise, and then dispute the charge after the cruise. Another good reason to make final payments for any transportation expenses as close to the actual travel date, so unexpected charges can be disputed. Chris, as you know, this really gets the travel provider’s attention.

  • Vacationagent

    We’re missing some information here. Chris should certainly have spoken to the agent involved – who could probably cleared up the remaining questions. My guess is that all the passengers were on promotional rates of some kind – the grandmother knows the dollar amounts she paid but probably is not aware of any pricing strategies used. Without the missing information, it is not possible to determine fault.

    Regarding the OP’s comment about the inequality of regional discounts: If the cruise line wishes to drive business from a particular area, they might offer reduced rates from that area as an inducement. They might pair those regional discounts with a ramp-up in advertising to that area. I would recommend the OP stick to what he knows – and that isn’t cruise line marketing.

  • John M

    I don’t see where RCCL did anything wrong. Since we haven’t heard the agent’s side we don’t know if the agent made a mistake or intentionally sold the wrong rate or if the Hoef’s indicated that everyone lived in West Virginia in order get the discount. Without that information, I don’t see how one can draw a conclusion about who is at fault.

    If the agent was given the correct information as to where people resided, then the agent would be at fault, regardless of whether it was intentional or accidental. The agent should bear the cost of fixing the error at that point.

    If the family told the agent that everyone resided in West Virginia, then the agent is not to blame.

    Without that missing piece of the story, we won’t know who bears the burden.

  • LeeAnne

    This is an incomplete story…which I find very frustrating. It ended with basically a he-said-she-said – RCI says they were booked with a resident discount, the passenger says they weren’t. What’s the truth? The article doesn’t reveal it.

    I agree that the travel agent should have been brought into the story, but to give Chris the benefit of the doubt, it’s entirely possible the TA wouldn’t comment, or was inaccessible. Regardless, the article is incomplete – the truth is never revealed.

    And as such, no lessens CAN be learned, and no conclusions reached, because we still don’t know why RCI says they were booked under a resident discount, and the passenger says they weren’t.

    Chris, please finish the story.

  • http://Tripso Albert Bruton

    Yes, read your documents regarding any trip.
    Once I bought a cruise from Genoa to Singapore on Costa. I was told by my agent that “as long as you take, one day, tours purchased from Costa in any port you don’t need visas”. I found this to be true on other cruises in many ports.
    One of the many stops on the itinerary was 3 different ports in India.
    When I got to Genoa Italy, (from Vancouver Canada), and tried to board the ship I was told “if you don’t have a visa for India we can’t let you on board”.
    It took a lot of negotiating and signing documents saying that I won’t get off the ship in India before I was allowed to get on this cruise. It follows that I was VERY UPSET with my agent.

  • DCTA

    This from RCL”

    “Our records indicate that this booking was not created in-house, rather, through a travel agent.”

    Well, waht Travel Agent? An on-line booking engine, perhaps? The customer states that it was paid in full at time of booking – this is unusual except for last minute or on-line bookings. Hmmmm……

    I’d like to know more Chris…..

  • http://n/a Tony Azpeitia

    Chris..another great story…. It sure generated a lot of comments and excellent points. If we’re playing the blame game, then RCCL is not at fault, the “agent” is. I, as with many, would like to know what type of “agent” was involved. I became an agent, because I experienced for a variety of reasons, travel problems many of which I recognized and accessed as preventable. One of those was agents who made errors and / or did not know what they were doing. Regarding Susan’s comment about travel agents, my clients would challenge you in a heartbeat based on the level of service they receive. Regarding Leonard’s comment about RCCL steak charge. It would help to know that the steak charge is for an optional specialty restaurant’s premium steak, not the standard dining room steak. Now back to the issue. Because of the many errors that I have seen, I double-check all pricing because I have had this exact experience. In my case, I discovered it in a few days after booking a cruise and it was immediately corrected. These are human problems which occur all around us daily. Our challenge is to find the true professional with integrity to help us turn our travel dreams into precious memories.

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  • cruise

    RC handled it poorly, regardless of whether or not they had the discount.
    They should have been explained the situation, be allowed to board, then determine what happens. Way to ruin a family’s trip and get bad press for $400, RC.

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  • Dennis

    Sounds like he said she said.
    First of all when the cruise documents come in be the actual paper tickets or
    e-documents, they are clearly marked as a promotional fare.
    Second of all, the travel agent either made a mistake or pulled a fast one.
    Third, the travel could have acted in good faith and probably was going to put one guest from West Virginia with one guest from Texas to get both cabins the lower rate. This is done all the time. Sound like the agent may have forgotten to do this.
    If that’s the case the agent needs to come up with some money for their client.
    I have made this mistake and my guest would know as I pay the piper.
    Royal Caribbean did do the right thing in turning away the Hoef’s.
    To have Royal board the guest and fix this problem later just doesn’t work.
    They would have to set up another department just to handle this sort of problem. Fares would have to go up or like always taxes to cover additional cost.
    The current system has been working fine for many years. The public, not all but most, only seems to see one way, their way. With comments like, Royal should pay, or it’s poor customer service, let the guest take the cruise and bill them later or the best is put it on your charge and dispute it later. This one in particular doesn’t work in the customers favor anymore. To many bad people with ill intensions have crushed that idea. The guest will have to jump through hoops to prove that the vacation they took was sold with fraud in mind.
    Moral of the story, Read! Read! Read! what you get and verify your price. Smart travel agents will have the guest sign for what they are getting so both parties agreed to the terms.

  • The Good Doctor

    I’m wondering what the travel agent’s culpability is – did she knowingly offer the WV discount to the entire traveling party in order to clinch the sale? Did she recommend that the party split the West Virginians among the different cabins to spread the discount? All we’ve heard from are the poor “victims,” but to paraphrase Paul Harvey, we’re waiting to hear “the rest of the story.”

  • Mary Hoefs

    After reading all the comments concerning our trip and the $800.00 issue, I want to make one more comment on this.
    At the booking time, we paid in full just as we have always done in the past on other cruises.
    Each family member had a passport, so there was no one trying to “slide” in under another name or state. One family from West Virginia, one from Texas, and one from Arizona. And the family from Texas did NOT say they were from WV.
    They are very “proud Texans!” Would never claim WV as their home!
    On our documents there was nothing indicating a discount. for the Texas group.
    We’ve had a lot of questions; like , had we not been there and had the money to pay this amount, would they have not let them board? What would have happened to the money already paid out? Would they have had to try to change their air tickets and head for home? It has been four months now, and still is a nightmare in my mind. NEVER will I use RCCL again! And I do not tell my friends to use them. It was the first and the last for us! It was our 15th cruise, and the first for our whole family. But from here on, we will go back to our old standby. Another beautiful, large floating city where we are treated with respect, and they appear happy to have our business. RCCL has yet to acknowledge to us there was a mistake made. They have yet to say “we are sorry.”
    This is all I have to add to this, and I hope and pray that no one else has to go through the same.

  • http://link Alex36

    While addressing her district, she said tearfully that nobody should have to put up with the behind-the-back comments she took. ,

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