Commissioner William Doyle’s May 30, 2013, UPDATE: Royal Caribbean International (RCI) Officials Detail Guest Compensation Program and Provide Vessel Status Update

As indicated in my May 29, 2013 posting related to the shipboard fire on the P/V GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS, I sent a letter to RCI’s President and CEO, Mr. Adam Goldstein. Mr. Goldstein designated Eleni P. Kalisch, Vice President, Government Relations, as our point of contact. Today, RCI responded to the requests in my letter. Notably, RCI has established a dedicated hotline for guests with issues related to these canceled sailings. In the U.S., RCI guests who have a related canceled sailing may call 1 (888) 824 0012, and outside the U.S., guests may call 1 (408) 916 9000.

As noted, RCI answered my earlier letter to Mr. Goldstein. In response, RCI stated the following:

• Guests onboard the May 24, 2013 sailing of GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS are being provided
  • a full refund of the cruise fare paid (including taxes and fees)
  • a future cruise certificate for 100 percent of the value paid for the canceled cruise
  • Pre-paid gratuities and shore excursions are also being refunded
  • Royal Caribbean International has also made arrangements at company expense to return the guests to Baltimore and, for guests needing to travel beyond Baltimore, Royal Caribbean is paying for any airfare change fees and increased fares for them to change their flight dates
• Guests booked on the May 31, 2013 sailing of GRANDEUR OF THE SEA are also receiving
  • full refunds of the cruise fare paid (including taxes and fees)
  • a future cruise certificate for 50 percent of the value paid for the canceled cruise
  • Pre-paid gratuities and shore excursions are also being refunded
• For any sailings that may be canceled beyond May 31, the future cruise certificate will be for 25 percent of the value paid for the canceled cruise. Royal Caribbean International will also pay for any airfare change fees.

Furthermore, RCI has canceled the following cruises that were to sail after May 31, 2013:

• June 7, 2013
• June 14 2013
• June 21, 2013
• June 28, 2013
• July 5, 2013

In terms of returning to service, RCI notified my office that the company currently anticipates the GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS will be out of service until July 12, 2013.

Lastly, please note that the company has also posted information on its website, and the following link will lead you to the RCI company page with the update: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentPage.do?pagename=important_updates