When Is An Inaugural Cruise, Not An Inaugural Cruise?

When Is An Inaugural Cruise, Not An Inaugural Cruise?

When it’s a Royal Caribbean Inaugural cruise…………………

Picture the scene, if you will,   you receive an e mail, you receive a text, a brochure arrives – or perhaps all 3! They all shout about your chance to be one of the first passengers  to experience the fantastic facilities on board their new ship – book now so you don’t miss out! This cruise will sell out quickly.

You rush to the phone and contact one of us here at cruise.co.uk – we get you booked on this once in a lifetime cruise – because don’t forget – it’s the ships inaugural cruise, and there can only be one of those. Job done. You sit back and congratulate yourself looking forward to this opportunity.

Imagine your surprise when 8 weeks before your ” inaugural ” cruise – you receive e mails and  texts telling you that there is a new inaugural cruise on this ship – 3 days before you are due to sail on her. Book it quickly as it is sure to sell out.

I can not imagine that the powers that be at Royal Caribbean didn’t just have a meeting on that day and decide that they had 3 days spare and they were going to fill it with an inaugural cruise. They must of known this for some time.

Is this any way to treat their passengers? Do they care?

What about the customers that want to cancel the original sailing and re book on the new one – it will be treated as a cancellation we are told and subject to the terms and conditions of the cruise line – not very friendly.

Is there any compensation – that will be a big fat no.

Yes, you can add on the earlier cruise, making it an  8 night cruise, but what if you don’t have the holidays, and they aren’t offering it cheap – one of my customer received the e mail advising them about the new cruise and their options – the e mail did say from £199pp – low and behold when I called through, to keep the same cabin grade it was £349 per person and to add insult to injury there was no drinks package or free gratuities that had been offered when they had booked.

Have been effected by this?

Even if you haven’t – how does it make you feel?

Yes, it’s business and Royal Caribbean need to make profits – but at what cost?