Royal Caribbean offers free cruises to guests after huge error

Cruise passengers travelling on Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas have been offered a partial or full refund after the cruise line made a grave error with bookings.

A number of passengers travelling on the cruise, which departed from Florida on August 25, were emailed and told they would receive significant refunds if they'd be willing to switch rooms.

it's being widely reported that Royal Caribbean had overbooked rooms with balconies, forcing the cruise to put out a desperate plea for guests with balconies to downgrade their rooms.

Cruise expert Aimee, who posts on TikTok as cruising_aimee, revealed the cruise company was offering a 'pretty sweet deal' as a result of the overbooking.

According to the TikToker, passengers who booked a balcony were offered half of what they paid for the cruise as a refund, in exchange for switching to an ocean view room, while those willing to switch to an interior room are being offered a full refund.

It certainly does seem like a pretty sweet deal indeed, meaning you'd get your entire holiday for free just by giving up a balcony.

Aimee asked her followers what they would do if they were offered the refund, adding: "They've only offered this to some people, I guess those who have balcony rooms.

"I think I'm a little spoiled, it would be hard for me to give up a balcony. Maybe if they did that and gave another free cruise, which they have done before."

And she's right, Royal Caribbean have offered a number of different compensation packages to guests as a result of overbooked cruises in the past.

Back in June, the Adventure of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise was overbooked and guests were offered two different options.

One option was to transfer their cruise to another date the same month or in July and receive a 50 percent refund from their original cruise fare and $300 onboard credit. Meanwhile, the other option was to cancel their cruise and receive a full refund, plus 100 percent future cruise credit, meaning they'd get all their money back plus a free cruise.

While overbooking on cruises can occasionally result in issues like these, its actually fairly common practice for cruises to overbook, as it allows companies to offset expected cancellations.

Many travellers book what's referred to as 'guaranteed cabin' bookings where they don't select a specific stateroom. This means the fare is cheaper but you may end up downgraded, while those who book specific cabins will not be asked to change their booking.

LADbible has reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.