Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We decided to pay $1,950 to have Royal ********* organize our ceremony so I would have a less stressful wedding by not having to plan everything myself. Unfortunately, almost everything went wrong with our wedding events as Royal ********* did not follow the details listed in the contract. Royal ********* uses a company called The Wedding Experience organize their weddings and then you get an on-board coordinator ***** once you are on the ship.First, *** messed up our specialty dinner and didn't know we were supposed to have dinner at Chops on 8/27/23. Our wedding cake was also supposed to be served there and it was not there. The restaurant manager put her on the phone and she told us we weren't' supposed to be there until the night of our wedding, but she was the one who didn't read the contract.On 8/31, our chocolate covered strawberries came to our room with the champagne. Our contract specifically says to deliver our champagne to our ceremony so we can have a toast. *** again acted like we had the details wrong. She asked me to show her my contract. I went to her office and showed her on her copy of the contract where it stated to have the champagne delivered to our wedding. She said she didn't read the bolded notes.When *** read our traditional vows, we were not told to exchange our rings so we did it on our own before the end of the ceremony. It was awkward. Overall, this was such a disorganized wedding and I would have only paid maybe a couple hundred dollars for this shotty wedding.On 9/15, we were given a small offer which we declined. We are hoping to either get a refund, partial refund, or perhaps a free cruise. Although I'm not sure I want to cruise with Royal again. And to make matters worse, no one will respond now. Royal Caribbean tells us to call Royal Weddings at the Wedding Experience and their Director, ***, has been ignoring us for 3 weeks. Our initial contact ****** will also no longer respond so we are unable to escalate our concerns.

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  Hello, I attached the initial wedding package that we selected as long as the final arrangements (Updated FCL file). Thank you!

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  contract agreement received

• Initial Complaint

  12/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Thank you for taking the time to respond to my ******** message post. My fianc and I are *************, and we love the Royal ********* brand. However, you should know that the third-party contractor representing your company is abhorrent in every way. Even before things went south, their lack of communication should have been reason enough for us to cancel our wedding trip, but we had dreamed of a cruise/destination wedding, so we stuck with this plan. If only we could turn back time. This message will be long and tedious, but thank you to whoever reads it. I also have email correspondence, should you desire to read it. Our event was scheduled on Liberty of the Seas on December 18, 2022.The first contact with The Wedding Experience (hereinafter referred to as Contractor) was on June 27, 2022, to book the Intimately Yours package. On July 11, we were notified by the Contractor that our event was put on hold for us and that since we were bringing our own Pastor and photographer, we could hold the wedding ceremony ourselves on ******** and the reception on board later that evening. This is per an email signed by ******* and ******. After our guest list grew to 25, we made several attempts to contact ******* to confirm that we would still be able to have the ceremony on ******** on our own and the reception on board later that evening with 25 guests. ******* finally returned Darins email, and she confirmed that we could have the wedding on our own on Coco Cay and hold the reception on board later that evening at the package cost and pay an additional fee per guest over the amount allowed in the Intimately Yours package. ***** was also told during this email conversation that we would receive an invoice from the Contractor by July 15. Between August 1 and August 15, we made several attempts to speak with ****** after receiving an email to get in touch with him but never heard back. The next correspondence we had with the Contractor was on October 11,

  Business response

  01/06/2023

  Royal Weddings has various packages to choose from that are all inclusive, meaning the package takes care of the ceremony and all the items that come with that, music, officiant, coordinator, location, etc.  The couple only needs to bring their friends and family and we provide the rest. There are many reasons for this, legalities, coordination, logistics, etc.  With regards to this couple, here are the facts. 
  The July 11th correspondence which the bride refers to, we are including email exchange stating that yes, they were booked for the Intimately Yours Package on Cococay.  This package includes (from our brochure);
  PAC K AG E P R I C I NG
  Up to 10 Guests: $1,950
  Children 12 and under are not included in the count of 10. Private venue based on guest count and availability. Photos not included in the package price. Additional fees apply for Legal Weddings.
  
  INTIMATELY YOURS PACKAGE
  From your choice of venue to a honeymoon dinner for two at a specialty restaurant, this package includes everything you need for an intimate romantic celebration. Say I do during a ceremony with just the two of you, or invite up to 10 guests. Plus, enjoy a bottle of Mot & *******, mimosas breakfast-in-bed,chocolate-covered strawberries and ************** L U D E S
  Non-Denominational Wedding Officiant
  Pre-Cruise Wedding Planner
  Onboard Wedding Coordinator
  Bottle of Mot & ******* Champagne
  Pre-recorded Musical Accompaniment
  2-tier Wedding Cake
  Dinner for Couple at a Specialty Restaurant
  Chocolate-Covered Strawberries for Couple
  Mimosa Breakfast-in-Bed for Couple
  Stateroom Dcor for Couple
  Keepsake Wedding Certificate
  Private Wedding Venue
  
  Here is the email exchange booking that package:
  From:******
  Sent:Monday, July 11, 2022 11:51 AM
  To:*************************; ******* <********************************************>;******************************* <***************************************************************************;
  Subject: RE:******/Church-12-18-2022-Liberty-Coco Cay-Intimately yours
  Good morning,
  I am happy to let you know that your wedding has been put on hold for the above mentioned.
  -              Sailing date: 12-16-2022
  -              Wedding date: 12-18-2022
  -              Ship: Liberty of the seas
  -              Package: Intimately yours
  -              Port of wedding: Coco Cay beach
  
   We will contact you at the end of August to book it for you.  In the meantime, please let us know if you have any questions.
  
  IMPORTANT: You should know that you will have a wedding ceremony on CocoCay, *******. That place only allows a symbolic ceremonies
  Kind Regards,
  ******
  
  As stated above, the Intimately Yours Package is only for 11 people.  ***** requested 20.  On August 1st, we let ***** know that if they had over 20 guests they would need to book the Destination I Do package because the Intimately Yours only accommodates 11 (we also have this communication in writing).  Immediately after the email, ***** called and emailed us asking to speak with us directly to review what he needs as it would be easier to ask and explain what their wedding needs were (we also have a copy of this communication in writing).  ******* called ***** and they explained they would be having their own ceremony beforehand (no mention of CocoCay) and would only be needing a reception back onboard the ship.  ******* advised them that we do not normally do this, but she would request with Royal *********.  Royal ********* Okayed the reception request based only on the fact that the couple would only be doing a reception onboard and getting married beforehand on one of the islands on their own.  We want to reiterate here that we do not normally do this as our packages are full service packages.  In August we allowed the couple to book a reception only back onboard for up to 20 people with food and beverage. 
  The bride did call us in November.  Based on this the bride was correct that we were late to communicate, but because this was not a standard wedding, there were not as many details to finalize; only the location onboard, he amount of guests and the food selection.  However,we did mention that we would contact her in October and so for that we apologize. 
  The bride called stating that she was getting married on CocoCay and having a reception back onboard.  At this point, the couple had never mentioned in all our communications that they would be holding their own ceremony on CocoCay (which is Royal ********** private island) and is NOT allowed.  Furthermore, any couple bringing their own photographer has a buyout fee of $999 per Royal ********** guidelines.  Our Wedding Consultant (*****)stated that that was not the package that they had bought, they had only bought a reception onboard.  If they wanted to get married at ******** (again, Royal ********** private island), they would have to purchase a wedding package.  The couple had booked the reception only package planning on using her own officiant and photographer.  Naturally the bride was not happy with this as the couple was trying to save themselves the $2000 on the wedding package.  The bride was then rude to our consultant who had not been involved in the early communication.  The consultant stated that she would need to discuss everything with her Supervisor, ********************  This was when the bride stated that ***** was rude and demanded an apology from her.  We went back and reviewed the call with the Royal Weddings Supervisor and with our contacts at Royal ********* and found nothing unsatisfactory with the exchange.  We reviewed email exchanges with all members of staff, as well as our Royal ********* contact, and kept them appraised every step of the way. 
  Bottom line is that the couple thought they could go around our packages and hold the wedding on the private island themselves.  We had already approved them to receive a Reception Only Package and we let them know they could not hold wedding on CocoCay.  (Also note; the groom is a travel agent and the couple knew that Royal ********* provides an Officiant and coordinator in the packages, and that you can add a photographer, however, he chose to bring these vendors himself, going against our policies and jeopardizing the integrity of the event.) 
  We also have the string of emails that we can provide if needed to show that we were constantly trying to work with the couple, to be as transparent as possible, that Royal ********* was involved and aware every step of the way.  It was a better fit for them to not use our services as they constantly pushed back against any policies we had, and exceptions were constantly being given all in vain.  We advised the couple if they wanted to get married somewhere else, they could still have the reception onboard.  The couple were only supposed to have 20 people per the original reception only package. A few days later they then wanted to have 25 people at the reception which would require a different location onboard the ship and more staffing.  After much more back and forth, with the couple still not being satisfied with our pricing and staffing options, we let the couple know they could cancel for a full refund (again another exception we do not normally provide).  The couple then decided they would have the wedding on their own in ****** with a reception onboard and then turned around and canceled everything at the end of November.  The exchange with this couple was the span of only a few days and we have many email exchanges that can be provided.
  Once the couple canceled and received a full refund, the bride then went onto our ******** page and posted on one of our happy couples personal posts (from a different cruise line altogether) and started ranting.  We blocked this post as that is not the forum in which she should have gone.  She could have posted a review or posted a straight post, however it is not ok to tarnish someone elses happy post and another cruise line unrelated to this situation.  We do not apologize for taking her post down. 
  It is of upmost importance to us that all of our weddings exceed expectations. Our packages are designed with our couples needs for their special day being top of mind. There are certain couples in which a cruise ship wedding is not the right fit.  Especially when every step of the way they are looking to make changes to the package, logistics,locations, etc., and that is ok.  *********** when couples trust in the process, they are happy beyond belief and we have many happy posts and testimonials to prove that. 
  This is why we dont make exceptions to our packages.

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