Devastated guests turned away in Brisbane after Royal Caribbean oversold cruise

A letter handed out before boarding a cruise in Brisbane has shocked and devastated holiday-makers.

Devastated passengers on a cruise departing Brisbane have been told there is no cabin on the ship for them after arriving at the port ready for their holiday.

Royal Caribbean confirmed to news.com.au it oversold its Quantum of the Seas eight-night South Pacific cruise, which left from the Queensland capital on Tuesday, after a letter given to unlucky guests at the terminal was shared on social media.

It said: “We regret to inform you we have been unable to allocate a stateroom number to your reservation.

“The time and effort you took to plan your cruise is important to us, and we apologise for the inconvenience. Every aspect of your time with us should be enjoyable, so we have put together some alternate options for you.”

Royal Caribbean oversold its Quantum of the Seas cruise and turned guests away at the terminal on Tuesday. Picture: Reddit

Passengers who had not been given a cabin were given four options.

The first was to remain on standby and “hope that a stateroom will be assigned at the pier before check in closes,” plus $US100 (about $150) of on-board credit.

If no cabin became available, they would get a full refund and a 25 per cent future cruise credit.

Option two was to move to a similar itinerary at the end of January, and option three was to shift to an alternate seven or eight night cruise. Both of those included free upgrades “where available”.

Option four was the choice to cancel and receive a full refund with plus a 25 per cent future cruise credit.

A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told news.com.au the guests affected were later all given a full refund, 100 per cent future cruise credit and a beverage package for the next time they sail, instead of the four options listed on the initial letter.

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Passengers were informed the cruise had been overbooked when they arrived at Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. Picture: Nigel Hallett

In a statement to news.com.au the cruise line apologised for the inconvenience.

“Making our guests’ vacations a reality is what we do, and while disruptions to their plans can occasionally happen, we do our best to minimise those chances,” Royal Caribbean said.

“The demand for the recent November 28 cruise on board Quantum of the Seas went beyond the rooms that were available.

“Unfortunately, efforts to accommodate all those who wished to sail that fell short for a group of our guests, and some were unable to sail as planned.”

The statement continued: “We take these disruptions seriously, and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.

“We have worked with each guest that was affected to rectify the inconvenience this has caused.”

Royal Caribbean did not disclose how many people had been affected.

The shocked guest who shared the letter on Reddit said it was their first ever cruise and when they arrived at the port, they and 13 other couples were given the letter.

They claimed only two of the 13 couples were allowed on the ship and the rest were told no rooms were available.

The passenger took to social media to ask for advice as they said they could not book another cruise “due to leave restrictions”.

“Absolutely devastated and completely ruined my holiday,” they wrote.