AnneMarriott Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) No problems with the system this morning (apart from the usual dearth of the cheaper stalls circle tickets). In and out within 20 minutes, complete with order confirmation email. Let's hope this is a promise of smooth booking times to come. Edited to add "a" before promise. EDIT: I've pulled all the posts on booking experiences together to make a new thread. Alison Edited March 31, 2015 by alison 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I too got the seats I wanted in the main house - but found that the Insight events were not on sale! It stated that they would be on sale from 10am. I posted a message on the ROH site and they have apologised for the mistake. Not a lot of consolation for those who were trying to get tickets, they are very difficult to get at the best of times (well actually almost impossible). There did seem to be a large number of seats already taken when I logged on at 8am, not sure how many were retained until 10am when phone bookings started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I only booked 4 tickets and after a dodgy start when someone else beat me to a seat by a split second, things were okay, now await the casting for Woolf Works to find out who I've actually booked to see, and of course to swap or book fror more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I only booked 4 tickets and after a dodgy start when someone else beat me to a seat by a split second, things were okay, now await the casting for Woolf Works to find out who I've actually booked to see, and of course to swap or book fror more! Do you have any reason to expect that there'll be more than one cast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Do you have any reason to expect that there'll be more than one cast? One would hope so, given three performances scheduled on successive evenings. Personally, I hope RB management have put their collective foot down and insisted that McG has a *fully rehearsed* second cast AND covers (I don't want to see cancellations of the whole piece as we had with Two Tractors). 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Managed to get my ticket at 8am for the RBS annual, but the RBS tickets were pretty much all gone anyway so they must be sold to the parents first as there was not meant to be any Friends booking for those tickets. Can understand that only fair to the students. Happily I managed to get reasonably good ticket just a pity my train ticket won't be so cheap it being a Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Managed to get my ticket at 8am for the RBS annual, but the RBS tickets were pretty much all gone anyway so they must be sold to the parents first as there was not meant to be any Friends booking for those tickets. Can understand that only fair to the students. Happily I managed to get reasonably good ticket just a pity my train ticket won't be so cheap it being a Sunday! Friends of The Royal Ballet School have a priority ballot for tickets (max 2 tickets for main stage and 2 tickets in total for Linbury). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Quick and easy booking this morning at 8am. Actually managed to get a couple of stalls circle standing for one of the Afternoon of a Faun mixed bills, after a brief tussle with someone else trying to book the same tickets as me. Also got confirmation of order within minutes. Very impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Got two tickets in the Amphi for the 29th May triple bill! The first seats I had chosen were snatched when I put them into the "basket" but the second time I managed to finish the whole manoeuvre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) Yes, I had no difficulty booking my one ticket, for the 30th (I plan to exchange a couple of previously purchased tickets for tickets for Woolf Works) . I was surprised to see how few tickets were left for this performance. Edited March 31, 2015 by aileen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Friends of The Royal Ballet School have a priority ballot for tickets (max 2 tickets for main stage and 2 tickets in total for Linbury). In addition to this, I believe they can also get 2 extra Linbury tickets at public booking (but no extra main stage tickets). I and a lady I was assisting had no technical problems today, but it's annoying to have to delete the donation, particularly when you are rushing - it really should be opt-in rather than opt-out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Really quite shocked, but not that surprised, to see how few tickets there were left for the "In the Night" bill. I guess that's what happens when you only schedule 4 performances. I pity those who can't log on until they get to work. I was having to book so far back in the amphi for one performance that I decided I might as well go for a standing ticket. Also, surprised to see any indications of any lower-house standing: I guess getting in to hedge my bets on Whelan/Watson lost me any chance of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I and a lady I was assisting had no technical problems today, but it's annoying to have to delete the donation, particularly when you are rushing - it really should be opt-in rather than opt-out. Quite. Plus the fact that it's further down the page where you may miss it doesn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) I had no difficulty - short of my own equipment. Booking on your phone with large, aged fingers is not easy - and getting rid of that pesky donation even worse. Got all I wanted short of the second Watson/Whelan. Hoping that - as in the past - there may be a magical appearance of more spaces there in the not too distant future. Fingers crossed and eyes peeled. Edited March 31, 2015 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I too got the seats I wanted in the main house - but found that the Insight events were not on sale! It stated that they would be on sale from 10am. I posted a message on the ROH site and they have apologised for the mistake. Not a lot of consolation for those who were trying to get tickets, they are very difficult to get at the best of times (well actually almost impossible). There did seem to be a large number of seats already taken when I logged on at 8am, not sure how many were retained until 10am when phone bookings started. There do seem to be a few insight tickets popping up, presumably as people adjust their baskets. I just (9:38 a.m. UK time) saw 4 tickets appear for the RB on Tour Insight event. Yaffa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Happily I managed to get reasonably good ticket just a pity my train ticket won't be so cheap it being a Sunday! You can actually get a train down in good time for a noon start? Wonders will never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 As I suggested they might - new tickets came up for the Watson/Whelan programme ... I managed to grab one for the second performance I wanted. I'm sure there will be more. Worth keeping eyes peeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I thought that when they changed online booking to 8am but left telephone until 10am the box office would hold some tickets back. I went online at 8am to try and get tickets for the RBS annual matinee I found, other than amphitheatre, all the remaining tickets were either side boxes or standing. Vertigo rules out the amphitheatre I'm afraid. I then rang the box office at 10am, was placed in a queue until 10.32, and was then told that only amphitheatre were left, but on my screen some balcony boxes were still selectable, so it seems that the internet has a better choice than telephone. I thought that strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 So, I guess we need to work out what's been happening here. There is an allocation for phone booking, understandably, but I'm wondering whether they held back some of the online seats until 10 am for those who wouldn't be able to manage an 8 am start? I imagine that anything not taken up on phone booking will be released sooner or later, but I don't know when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodlandGladeFairy Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) I had a pleasant booking experience on the ROH website at 8am, booked 3 tickets (going with my sister & mum) for the 1st June for Afternoon of a Faun/In The Night/Song of the Earth, orchestral stalls seats as well, so very happy. Edited March 31, 2015 by WoodlandGladeFairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Having not been successful with the main stage performance of the RBS on July 12th I don't suppose anyone can tell me which of their Linbury performances are more upper school orientated. If it is fairly evenly mixed each evening then that's okay but last year I think the lower school and upper school were featured on different evenings. Having just been to a senior school performance last week at RBS would be particularly keen to see this upper school group again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Wed, Thurs, Sat (eve) - mainly Upper Fri, Sat (mat) - mainly Lower 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Thanks billboyd that's really very helpful x 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 So, I guess we need to work out what's been happening here. There is an allocation for phone booking, understandably, but I'm wondering whether they held back some of the online seats until 10 am for those who wouldn't be able to manage an 8 am start? I imagine that anything not taken up on phone booking will be released sooner or later, but I don't know when. I assume that any seat from the phone/in person allocation that hasn't found a taker is then put online (as happens with the day tickets), it should logically be when there is no longer anyone in the queue (either phone or in person) but I have no idea how to assess when that would be (usually about 10.30 for the day allocations). I wish I'd thought about it yesterday as it is probably why a few Watson/Whelan tickets appeared after 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Quite. Plus the fact that it's further down the page where you may miss it doesn't help. I'm not a legal expert, but I'd guess that the requirement to uncheck a box to avoid the 3 pound donation is also against the new (2014) Consumer Contracts Regulations. According to: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations: Pre-ticked boxes The Consumer Contracts Regulations make it clear that a trader won’t be able to charge a consumer for an item where it was selected for the consumer as part of that purchasing process, rather than the consumer actively choosing to add it to their basket. For example, retailers are not allowed to charge for an extended warranty if it was added into your basket as a result of a pre-ticked box.If a company does charge you in this way, you are entitled to your money back. I've written to ROH requesting that they change the way they handle their donation request. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'm not a legal expert, but I'd guess that the requirement to uncheck a box to avoid the 3 pound donation is also against the new (2014) Consumer Contracts Regulations. According to: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations: Pre-ticked boxes The Consumer Contracts Regulations make it clear that a trader won’t be able to charge a consumer for an item where it was selected for the consumer as part of that purchasing process, rather than the consumer actively choosing to add it to their basket. For example, retailers are not allowed to charge for an extended warranty if it was added into your basket as a result of a pre-ticked box.If a company does charge you in this way, you are entitled to your money back. I've written to ROH requesting that they change the way they handle their donation request. Which is why ROH will refund if asked (the requirement of the regulations). I disagree with the pre-selected option too, but I'm pretty sure giving a lecture on the law to ROH isn't the way to get them to change the practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Which is why ROH will refund if asked (the requirement of the regulations). I disagree with the pre-selected option too, but I'm pretty sure giving a lecture on the law to ROH isn't the way to get them to change the practice. Sure, no lecture intended - my email to ROH (which I was going to write anyway) was mainly to say that whether or not the new law applies, I hope they will change the way that they handle the online donation so that it is more in line with their "usual sensitivity to customers' concerns." I do think they might not be aware of the new law and/or how annoying people find this box. Yaffa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Sure, no lecture intended - my email to ROH (which I was going to write anyway) was mainly to say that whether or not the new law applies, I hope they will change the way that they handle the online donation so that it is more in line with their "usual sensitivity to customers' concerns." I do think they might not be aware of the new law and/or how annoying people find this box. Yaffa Good oh! As a suggestion, though, probably best not to refer to the law as "new" as it's almost two years old and has been in effect for 10 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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