Royal Caribbean ‘unfairly’ charged me over booking for disabled son

Royal Caribbean has reversed fees and restored benefits for a family's cruise after initially charging for carer name changes and cancelling a wheelchair-accessible excursion [1]. The cruise, costing £16,000, was booked for a severely disabled son [1]. The customer booked the July 2024 cruise for himself, his wife, and his son, who has cerebral palsy [1]. Because his son requires round-the-clock care, the booking included three carers whose names could not be confirmed until April [1]. When the customer provided the names, Royal Caribbean informed him he would need to pay a £75 fee for each change and that each carer would lose a $325 (£239) onboard credit included in the original booking [1]. The company also cancelled a pre-booked wheelchair-accessible riverboat excursion for the carers, deeming it non-transferable, and did not offer a way to rebook it [1]. The customer complained, arguing the policies were discriminatory as they stemmed directly from his son's disability [1]. After the case was presented to the company, Royal Caribbean contacted the customer within 20 hours to cancel the name-change fees, reinstate the onboard credits, and rebook the river trip [1]. The company did not provide a comment on the matter [1]. The Guardian's Consumer Champions team, which handled the case, stated the initial behavior was "inexplicable... and outrageous" and noted it potentially violated the Equality Act [1].