Royal Caribbean Made an Embarrassing Mistake (and People Are Angry)

The cruise line made an unforced error and passengers won't be happy.

Cruise passengers understand that things go wrong, but some folks handle that better than others. 

Sometimes, for example, a cruise ship can change its itinerary well before the ship sails, which might disappoint people who had been excited to make a certain stop.

In other cases, Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Get Free Report or Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) - Get Free Report might have to make a last-minute itinerary change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Both cruise lines have sometimes had to drop a stop at their private islands because rough seas prevent their ships from docking.

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In other cases, a change might affect only a few people. Perhaps you booked an excursion that gets canceled, or your specialty dining meal gets moved due to booking mistakes.

When it's a weather-related issue or some other act-of-God reason that something has changed, the cruise line generally owes passengers nothing. 

A canceled cruise port happens and it's covered in your cruise contract. Passengers get their port fees and taxes refunded, but they're not compensated because they booked the cruise to stop at whatever destination was missed.

Roughly the same thing happens when an excursion gets canceled. You get your money back and you may (or may not) get a deal on booking something else. It gets a little murkier, however, in some cases -- such as when Royal Caribbean famously offered its Deluxe Beverage Package for $18 for select 2020 sailings. (That's a fraction of the actual cost.)

That rate was, of course, a mistake and packages were canceled and refunded. Now, the cruise line has made a similar mistake with a new package that it didn't mean to start selling at all.

Royal Caribbean Does Not Have a VIP Premier Pass

Royal Caribbean briefly shared a new product for sale in the "Cruise Planner" section of its website. The Premier Pass, a VIP package designed to offer two guests "unique cruise experiences," was available for sale on select sailings on March 11.

The pass, which is similar to a product the cruise line offers on its Celebrity Line, was offered for the suspiciously low price of $88.99. (That would have been the total for both people, not each. Prices vary but that's way low.)

Royal Caribbean retracted the offer, canceled the orders of anyone who purchased it, and refunded their money, according to CruiseHive.

“We apologize for any confusion. Recently, there was an error in our online package booking system, which allowed guests to purchase The Premier Pass. Unfortunately, this product is not available for Royal Caribbean International guests," the cruise line told people who had bought the package.. 

"If you purchased the package, a refund will be processed back to the payment type used at the time of purchase. Enjoy your cruise, and we look forward to seeing you onboard.” 

What Did Royal Caribbean Take Away?

People are angry with Royal Caribbean at least partly because this change was different than a mispriced drink package or a canceled port. The cruise line could have honored the Premier Pass and simply not allowed other people to buy it.

"The Premier Pass was advertised as a premium VIP package that included priority boarding, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in the stateroom, an inside access tour, a meal with the ship’s officers, a food and wine pairing, unlimited internet access for two devices, and personal laundry service on board," according to Cruishive.

While that would have been a spectacular deal, none of those items has a major cost for Royal Caribbean. The cruise line could have also canceled the passes and refunded people's money, but then offered them something for free, like the meal with the officers or the inside access tour.