Aussie couple's 'holiday ruined' as they're bumped from cruise just before departure
The passenger said he arrived at the dock with his wife but they were turned away.
A frustrated cruise passenger says his "holiday has been ruined" after he and his wife were "bumped" from the trip they'd paid for because it'd been overbooked by cruise company Royal Caribbean.
The disappointed guest said they arrived at the dock on Tuesday to board the Quantum of the Seas eight-night South Pacific cruise from Brisbane but were "denied entry" and told there was no cabin available for them.
In a letter to affected guests, the cruise company apologised for the blunder, explaining "we have been unable to allocate a stateroom number to your reservation".
"The time and effort you took to plan your cruise is important to us, and we apologise for the inconvenience. Every aspect of your time with us should be enjoyable, so we have put together some alternate options for you," it continued before offering four options for the passengers.
Cruise passengers refused entry, offered other options
The first was to remain on standby and "hope that a stateroom will be assigned at the pier before check-in closes," plus $US100 (about $150) of on-board credit as a "gesture of goodwill". If no cabin became available, they would get a full refund and a 25 per cent future cruise credit.
Guests also have the option to "move to a similar itinerary" in January "with no additional charge", or an alternate 7 or 8-night cruise. Finally, passengers could choose to be refunded in full and receive a 25 per cent future credit, which this frustrated passenger evidently chose.
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Hoping for advice, the frustrated passenger detailed the holiday horror story on Reddit saying the 25 per cent future cruise credit "is not nearly enough compensation" and wondered how he could take it further.
Royal Caribbean confirms booking blunder
Royal Caribbean confirmed it had oversold its cruise in a statement to news.com.au. Yahoo News Australia contacted the company for further comment.
"The demand for the recent November 28 cruise on board Quantum of the Seas went beyond the rooms that were available," it said in a statement. "Unfortunately, efforts to accommodate all those who wished to sail that fell short for a group of our guests, and some were unable to sail as planned."
It's not clear how many passengers were affected.
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