A few months ago, a couple of friends and I took a 7-night cruise on Royal Caribbean. It ended up being a horrible cruise (in our opinion and many other cruisers). Since then, I have attempted to write to the CEO of Royal Caribbean (RCCL), a couple of higher up SVP’s, and finally the Better Business Bureau. To make a long story short… they only gave us $20 credit/person, which was to cover the lunch we had to buy since the ship was severely delayed. I don’t even consider that any type of compensation, since we would have received lunch on the ship had we boarded on time (and not had to buy lunch on land for the $20). RCCL made no other attempt at any compensation at all, even though I shelled out nearly $3000 for the cruise-fare alone. My (somewhat long) email to the executive staff @ RCCL…
I am finally writing this letter / email today to express my displeasure about a cruise I took in February with Royal Caribbean International / RCCL. I expected to hear from Royal Caribbean since I have attempted to contact them, but to this date I have received no correspondence from them.I started planning this cruise early this year, and after a lot of research, I found that many former passengers had written great reviews about Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, sailing out of Galveston, TX. Since I have cruised with Royal Caribbean before (and others), I had expectations that this was going to be a wonderful cruise. Unfortunately I was wrong on this count.
I had booked a Junior Suite for the February 18th sailing on the Rhapsody. We flew into Galveston the day before embarkation to be sure we would have plenty of time to get to the ship for an on-time departure. The evening we arrived in Galveston, we received a call from a Royal Caribbean agent stating that the ship would be late, but had no further information as to how late or why. Because we did not know the new departure time, we got to the port on-time and checked in our luggage and figured we would do some shopping. At that time we were told the ship would most likely not depart until around 11 PM or even midnight (compared to 4 PM!). We were told that the delay was because of some electrical engine problems, but we would later find out from several crew members that this was not the case, and merely an excuse because their “dry-dock” was poorly timed.
After walking around for hours, and having sore feet, we decided it was better to return to the terminal to wait there. Once we got there it was like a zoo. There were literally many hundreds of people everywhere. Everyone was told to sit on folding chairs in certain sections. We were happy to sit on chairs, compared to sitting on the ground, but after sitting there for a couple of more hours without any real updates as to the ship’s status, it became quite a bad start to our vacation. There were absolutely no drinks (not even water) provided for anyone – quite disappointing.
The ship did finally depart a little before midnight, although the experience so far was a real disappointment. One of the highlights of a cruise is being on the deck with everyone during daylight hours to watch as the ships depart. Unfortunately for us it was dark already. As for activities for passengers, there was absolutely nothing for us to do. The pool and hot tubs were closed, the casino never opened, even after heading out to sea… We were basically forced to turn in for the night, not long after sailing. Before turning in, I went to take a shower, and the cabin had no hot water. From what we heard, this was not uncommon that night, but at least we had water, unlike some others who did not.
The next day we figured that everything was going to be better now, having gone through such a bitter start. We then found out that the main eating area for breakfast, lunches, and casual dinners, the Windjammer, was closed and would remain closed for the duration of our cruise, because remodeling for dry-dock had not yet completed. It was not a minor delay either, whereby they might open a day late or so. Instead the entire floor was completely torn up, no fixtures where in place, etc, from what we saw through the windows.
Because the Windjammer was unexpectedly closed, it made meal service very frustrating. They had diverted breakfast and lunch service into the main dining room, which is normally reserved for formal “menu style” breakfast and lunches, and made it into a big buffet. The lines were absolutely horrendous, turning something that is supposed to be relaxing into an unpleasant event every morning and afternoon. Needless to say, we were quite disappointed that Royal Caribbean had turned it into a big buffet, with only a small (repeating daily) menu available during lunch. Once of the reasons many people take a cruise is for the upscale and relaxing sit-down dining, but this option was taken away from us for breakfast and lunch because of poor planning by Royal Caribbean.
Since the first 2 full days of the cruise was going to be at sea, we decided it would be a perfect day to relax at the pool. Yet again, another poorly timed dry-dock issue appeared when we found out the entire pool was closed (day 2) because they were painting it! There was literally yellow caution tape everywhere blocking the pool, while people were expecting to be able to swim and relax. That’s what we had paid for at least. The hot tubs were closed off and on throughout the trip for maintenance (day 3 and a few more times later), and the water was luke-warm until the last night, despite my two complaints to staff members who told me the water temperature was preset, so that was what it should be at (other people were also commenting how cold the water was).
Walking around the deck was an even more upsetting experience. There were rolls of old carpet shoved in corners and even a huge roll of wiring with dangerous rusty nails sticking out of it!
As the week went on, the troubles continued. During one lunch, Royal Caribbean ran out of buns and condiments for hamburgers. Another dinner service was running so late that we almost ran into the second seating. We ended up sitting at our table waiting for close to an hour for our dinner.
One day, after returning from port, we were in the room sitting on the bed, and a Royal Caribbean employee was on a the hand railing right outside of our stateroom. He looked in, politely waved and smiled, and kept on with his painting. This could have been quite embarrassing had I just come out of the shower.
Another day, coming back from port, one of the elevators was being worked on, causing quite a delay to get back to the cabins. This was just one of many problems with elevators. We heard of people getting stuck in them for more than 20 minutes!
I won’t go on with more of the negative details. Instead I would like my complaint resolved. I had contacted Royal Caribbean customer service before (including the purser during the cruise), but never got anywhere. I was also told I would be contacted, which also never occurred.
I spent $2861 just for the cruise fare alone! To make this matter right, I would like some sort of compensation, such as credit for a future comparable cruise (hopefully one that won’t have all these issues).
I am sending a copy of this complaint to the Better Business Bureau.
Secondly, if this issue is not resolved over the next two weeks I will post this experience, along with the photos to the Consumerist web site (www.consumerist.com) for everyone to see. I don’t like to resort to this, but I feel like RCCL is simply ignoring me now that they have my money.
Regards,
Rob
RCCL’s response:
Dear Mr. [redacted],
Thank you for your inquiry through the Internet to our corporate office regarding the above-referenced cruise. Messrs. Fain and Goldstein and Ms. Norsworthy were pleased to hear from you and, after reading your e-mail, have asked that I respond on their behalf. As a Crown and Anchor Society member, we especially value your patronage of Royal Caribbean International and appreciate this opportunity to address your concerns.
We are very pleased that you and your traveling companions joined us onboard the Rhapsody of the Seas. As great measures are taken in all areas of operation to ensure that our guests enjoy the most relaxing and rewarding cruise experience, we were sorry to learn of your displeasure with certain aspects of this sailing. It is never our intention to disappoint our guests in any way and we would like to offer our most sincere apologies for any elements of your time with us that did not fully meet your expectations.
Feedback from our guests is always welcome and we appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience onboard the Rhapsody of the Seas with us. We truly regret any inconvenience you encountered and assure you that the observations outlined in your letter, including those pertaining to pool maintenance, menu choices and service in the dining room, and the roll of wiring left by the pool, have been directed to the appropriate management teams for further review. We are committed to continually improving our product and services and thank you for bringing these important matters to our attention.
Additionally, we regret that you were not informed of the delay in boarding. However, an attempt was made to contact all guests prior to their arrival in Galveston. Nevertheless, we offer our sincere apologies that you were not aware of this delay and the goodwill gesture of a $20.00 onboard credit offered to assist with covering any lunch costs incurred while waiting to board the ship.
While we understand you remain disappointed with this recent cruise and sympathize with the concerns expressed, we must kindly advise that we are unable to honor your request for any compensation. We are sorry for any disappointment you may have with our decision and remain genuinely apologetic for any inconvenience you encountered during your time with us.
Again, Mr. [redacted], thank you for contacting our corporate office. We look forward to regaining your faith in Royal Caribbean International and hope to have the opportunity to welcome all of you back onboard one of our ships again in the future.
Sincerely,
Joan Bernheimer
Sr. Executive Representative
Even if you think some of the complaints are minor, these aren’t:
• closed casino
• closed pool
• closed dining area, buffet only
• cold showers
• tepid hot-tubs
RCCL shouldn’t have even put this ship out to see with passengers on it. Or, they could’ve informed the passengers that many of the expected amenities would be unavailable and given customers a chance to cancel. The $20 on-board credit is a pittance, adding injury to the insult of the copy and pasted customer service letter full of empty apologies.
Rob should write Messrs. Fain and Goldstein and Ms. Norsworthy and let them know the person responding on their behalf is a poor representative if they actually care at all about customer service.
Personally, we have little interest in getting on one of these floating prisons but if we did we would certainly hope we would be able to enjoy the full compliment of floating prison services and accommodations.
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RE: Refund. If you were *promised* things (ie, “take a dip in our sparkling pool”, “enjoy the excitement of our casino”) that you did not receive, then you have a claim. Contact the Attorney General’s office in A)your state of residence B)Texas, since the cruise originated there C)the state where the company is headquartered in the US. AGs have departments for consumer complaints, and I find that companies sit up and take notice when they get a letter from the AG. Be *specific* about the exact amount of time that each promised amenity was unavailable.
In my early days of food service consulting I worked with a number of cruise lines and maritime outfitters. RCCL was at that time known by the employees of various lines as the “KMart of the Caribbean”, with low prices and service to match. We worked with Royal Hawaiian, Windjammer, Holland America, V Ships and more. Some seemed quality operations, but the moderately priced ships were the most interesting.
Some of the stories brought back by the management we worked with included infighting between several American maritime labor unions (to the point of setting fire to the laundry rooms, putting eye drops into the food of the other union members), government regulations (The Jones Act) which impeded effective management and delayed comfortably set deadlines, and what was presented to us as organized crime. (Chefs being told to accept rotten produce from preferred sources if they “knew what was good for them”, drug stashes planted in the cabins of those who stubbornly refused to deal with specific suppliers, management coups with people from scary places intervening.)
One newly renovated liner for Tahiti still didn’t have the kitchen installed – or the air conditioning. The kitchen and service crew worked around the clock bolting down equipment when they weren’t cooking. They got sick, and since they were making the food and the onboard temperature reached 120F, so did nearly everyone else on board. This same liner sustained a gaping hole just above the water line from some obstacle, but already well behind financial predictions due to red tape and perhaps mismanagement, was sent to continue the voyage, scaring the daylights out of those passengers who stayed on board.
My impression at that time was that
a) running a cruise line is an entirely expensive proposition, and there is no such thing as a 100% guaranteed safe and satisfying cruise on an ship running under an American flag. Good cruises cost a lot.
b) The best cruises are run by the northern European conglomerates, which are all interconnected (Holland American, Norwegian, etc), partially because they use the best outfitters and have access to their own excellent shipyards. They pay their people up to three or four times more than the American lines. Greek lines also have a fairly good reputation. Reports from Russian returnees were just scary.
c) There was and probably persists a great deal of cronyism and corruption in the American lines. Also not a small number of perpetually soused chefs. This may be international. (What else is there to do on the floating prison?)
d) Ships flying South American flags or flags from odd duchies somewhere in East Africa are doing so to avoid the rigorous inspection of the more traditional seagoing countries and are therefore riskier. Probably better to be avoided.
e) As in everything else, Americans have become addicted to frequent bargains rather than unique special experiences. By paying 1/3 the price three times, you are probably increasing your risk of a miserable or at least less satisfying experience twenty fold. Quality costs money. Just the insurance the corporations pay is astronomical. We Americans are a nation of cheapskates. The cruise companies, however, are at fault for indulging our demands and not simply drawing the line and saying: We can’t do what you need at the price you are willing to pay. You should probably cheap cruises with the same survival instinct that would prompt you to avoid cheap sushi.
The complaints here definiteley show some sad service by the company and their response should be cause to fire the people in charge, but on the whole it’s inconvenience and lousy service rather than gross incompetence. The liner did the right thing by keeping areas closed that could not be managed effectively. There’s probably no cause to sue, but I sure would not think of a Royal Caribbean cruise. Of couse, it really was a profound desire. Life is too shot and, frankly, too precious.
Wow, what a poor decision on RC’s part. The last RC cruise I was on was great, and it was a Vision Class ship, like the Rhapsody. They’re beautiful boats, but your cruise should never have happened. I mean, if I’ve got a guest at my house, I’m not putting them to sleep on a couch in the middle of re-upholstering.
My son and I just cruised on a day cruise to the Bahamas and LOVED it. This was with a small cheapy cruise line, so I’m sure the bigger names must be good as well.
We were very dissapointed to see when we boarded that the pool was also empty (like the pictures above) and roped off with caution tape. My son loves swimming and was looking forward to the pool. Oh well, we thought. Then, when out to sea, the caution tape was removed and the pool was filled! This is a standard practice, and if you are experienced at pool-keeping, will understand. View the post at [www.cruise-addicts.com] for more information on this practice. I think inclusion of photos of the closed pool would discredit the letter as a phony.
Check out Centsible.net’s advice on writing effective complaint letters. There are a few other points I would’ve suggested.
For those that have not cruised before, a cruise is great value and a lot of fun. And I’ll bet that pool was functional once the ship was out to sea a bit further!
If you think THAT’S bad, consider how they treat their employees. My son worked on one of these “floating prisons”(a term I think quite apt).
They hire people from all over the world and mix them up on the various ships. These folks do not have a common language, thus no chance to organize and strike against the hideous working conditions some of them face. Then, these big gross hulks dump their garbage into the sea they rely upon. I have been on one cruise when my son was entertaining. Morally it would be hard for me to give money to these people who register in foreign ports so they don’t have to pay U.S. tax or adhere to U.S. labor and environmental laws.
There are other ways to see the world.
Here was my letter to Royal Carribean.
“Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that although I have never been on a cruise, My wife and I will be booking one in the next 6 to 12 months and after reading this, [consumerist.com] , I can assure you, it will not be on a Royal Carribean cruise line.
have a nice life.”
sent it to the only 2 emails I could find. lsierracaro@rccl.com, crownandanchor@rccl.com
Good luck.
Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean (lines incorporated in the U.S.) belong to the Cruise Lines International Assn (CLIA). These ships are not lawless or petri dishes at all (those misperceptions only show you know nothing about the topic). They regularly inspected by both the Coast Guard and CDC quarterly. They are subject to U.S. laws when it any incident involves a Us.S. citizen the FBI has full jurisdiction no matter where in the world the ship may be.
Now to the point – yes, a much better compensation than $20 for lunch should have been given, but I also agree one should ditch the small complaints. One elevator not 8 not working is not an issue. The casino being closed 1 night is not an issue. Even rugs and wire sitting on the deck is just nitpicking.
If there were no pools at all, and if the hot tubs were truly not functioning well, and that is why you cruise, then you have a complaint. And the main compliant is the windjammer being closed and the late departure.
You will NEVER get your full fare back, after all they transported, housed and fed you for 7 days. But I am in the cruise business, and I don’t understand why RCI doesn’t just quietly slip you a nice credit on a future cruise. They got away with giving most people a $20 credit, but now they have lost you as a customer for good. Just dumb.
By the way – things like this can happen on any cruise line. I like Holland America a lot, but it could happen there.
Personally, I think it is better to have your travel agent try to fight this battle for you, and be prepared to accept a realistic settlement, noot your money back.
Sorry for not editing my prior post before uploading. First thing in the morning.
Regarding the disease-ridden comment. I just want to point out that cruises still have the highest satisfaction ranking of any travel alternative. It is almost always the people who have never been on a cruise who say the worst things about them – while people who HAVE been on cruises almost always say “if I only known it was like this, I had no idea how great this is.” OK, allow me to ask the obvious question. Assuming you have a completely open mind, to whom would you give the benefit of the doubt? Quite presumptuous, don’t you think, to warn others to stay away from something they have never even tried?
In any case – regarding disease, here are the facts: 6,300 passengers on cruise ships became ill with gastrointestinal illness in 2006. For those unaware, Norovirus (or the Norwalk Virus) is a gastrointestinal ailment that is the second most common virus in the United States and is found not just on cruise ships. It is also called many other names including, “stomach flu.” The cruise industry is the only facet of the hospitality industry required by the CDC to provide detailed statistics on the number of cases of gastrointestinal illness. That is why you read so much about “Norovirus” on cruise ships and nowhere else despite the fact that it is very common everywhere.
Now think; if over 12 million passengers will cruise this year, even if as many as 6,000 become ill with a gastrointestinal illness that puts your chances of getting sick at .05% of all cruisers (one in 2000).
So – that tosses out both your “disease-ridden” and “unregulated” comments in one swoop.
One is not “stuck on a boat” for their vacation. One is settled in on a travelling hotel that takes you to different destinations while you sleep. Most cruises include far more days in port than they do at sea. The average European cruise includes 10 days in port and 2 days at sea. Many cruises are in port every single day of the cruise.
I just finished just a cruise on Windstar, in 7 days we sailed from Barcelona to Tuscany. Generally we used the ship as a hotel and woke up fresh with a new destination every day. That seems like a really great way to see Europe to me when the alternative is trying to sleep sitting up on a train or bus, or spending half your vacation looking for hotels, taxis and train depots.
I just get so tired of the same narrow-minded fools regurgitating the same misconceptions they picked up someplace about a topic of which they obviously know nothing.
The truth is cruise lines sail their ships at over 100% capacity on almost every sailing (they only count the beds on the floors as 100%) despite the fact the capacity of staterooms has tripled in the last 10 years. That is how successful this industry is, and most of it is repeat cruisers. As I said, you don’t know until you try one.
@madktdisease:
LOL
Laschofield: Closing the pool while in dock is indeed a common practice, however, our pool was open while in ports, and while departing ports. That being said, our pools did close very frequently during out cruise. One time in the kiddy pool it was an accident and was closed due to a “Fecal Accident” but the other times there was no explanation given. I’m sure to clean them out. However, I didn’t use the pools because they had bits of trash floating in them, and oil on the surface. Public pools are quite disgusting.
Cruisemates: I was just on a cruise where people were getting the norovirus and while, yes, it is a common virus, when you’re in close quarters and it spreads very quickly, it tends to ruin your vacation. I think people need to know what goes on on cruise ships instead of people wasting their money. If they want to experience it, they will experience it, but at the same time they need to know the stuff that could possibly go wrong.
I wanted to comment on the royal carribean cruise issue.I have been on two and they were good, but what they have done to this man and the other people on that cruise is unnaceptable, and first of all the ship should not have even been in service if it cannot give the customers everything it normally is, and not operating in this way,as if it was being worked on and remodled thats rediculous,it should have been docked until all was fixed or working. I will think again before going on my third with them until they refund these people, they need to refund this man and any others that went through that. The responce to the man was a joke,that proved to the public what they are really made of, and if thats what they want to continue to be,than good luck with that.I hope you get your money back.or a credit.
bobbie
I think that Rob has a need to be upset. I understand where he is coming from they should not have sent that ship out to sea with that many problems. RCCL should have sent another ship to replace that one or should have called and told them the truth as to why it was running late and give the option to cancil their trip and with a full refund for their unfit manner for the ship not being ready. As to RCCL response letter, That was totally uncalled for. No one wants to hear your appoligies we want results. RCCL needs to give the man his money back the full refund and give him another cruise for free of his choice.. Who do they have running their customer service office. They need to loose their jobs considering how many people cruise RCCL and how many people are platinum members to their crown and anchor club. These people are the ones they need to keep happy considering that it is because of us people that keep giving good reviews and compliments about their ships. That is up till now. That is all I have to say on the matter. Good luck Rob on trying to resolve it. We are right there with you.
My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon Cruise on Royal Caribbean International. We had missed our departure due to an address given to us by RC. We had to fly and catch up with the cruise ship at the next port of call. When we asked RC for help to get us to the cruise they did not help us at all, they said they are not responsible even though they gave us this address which took us to a residental part of the city, no where near any cruise port. We are very upset by RCI and will not be going on another RCI cruise.
I took this ship in December 2006 and had a great time. It wasw about 7 hours late arriving in Galveston. I am grateful I made my plane. RCI seems to get overwhelmed when anything out of the ordinary happens. I would be as unhappy as Rob had the construction been going on during my trip. And the response from RCI is unacceptable. My experience with RCI is that it is better just not to need them to do anything for you they are not already doing. I take cruises to relax. I have walked my feet off in many cities of the world, but I go on cruises to relax. Really I don’t care too much about the ports of call. I like to not have to decide, sometimes, where to stay, where to eat, what kind of entertainment to look for. I swam with the dolphins in Cozumel, but do not want to spend the night in Cozumel. I love seeing places, and many times will drive and stay or fly and stay. But when my mind needs a rest, I take a cruise. Try it! You might like it!
Our August 2007 cruise aboard Adventure of the Seas
Our cabin’s outside veranda, where the bullhead and the deck meet, had 10′ rust scar. Why should I notify maintenance, the cabin attendant is in my room at least twice a day, once to make funny towel marionettes; whoopee! Never scrapped and painted.
Outside veranda had chipped deck furniture, e.g. paint removed to bare metal. Why should I notify maintenance, the cabin attendant is in my room at least twice a day, once to make funny towel marionettes; whoopee!
The glass sliding door to the outside veranda had a damaged or failed rubber gasket (maybe a design defect). Why should I notify maintenance, the cabin attendant is in my room at least twice a day, once to make funny towel marionettes; whoopee!
A light bulb in the room was inoperative upon first arrival. Why should I notify maintenance, as the cabin attendant just cleaned the room after the previous occupants departed?
Paste on plastic “wall” hooks affixed to the ceiling in various locations; for what reason.
Upon arrival, the bathroom floor was filthy with spots on edge molding. We notified cabin attendant who returned and then properly cleaned the room. But, why must I notify the cabin attendant, as the cabin attendant just cleaned the room after the previous occupants departed?
Bathroom door hinges creaked. Why should I notify maintenance, the cabin attendant is in my room at least twice a day, once to make funny towel marionettes; whoopee!
Closet door hinges creaked. Why should I notify maintenance, the cabin attendant is in my room at least twice a day, once to make funny towel marionettes; whoopee!
We went to the Crown and Anchor party. The musical combo played so loud that I could not have a conversation with anyone. Why do bands think it is important to blast their music?
We went to the 12th deck bar one evening before evening. The guitar player was superb. But, when he finished his stint the “canned” music was activated. It was too loud. The waitress responded to my request to lower the volume (as no one could carry a normal level conversation) with its controlled by the bridge. This is patently a lie. When I asked that the bridge be contacted to lower the volume, she said she did couldn’t.
So they scrub the pools. Nice, but they never clean the accumulation of slimy sea algae beneath the wooden treads. This is just another sign as to the lack of quality in most facets of the ship’s operation.
No more sit-down “served” lunch as it is an all you can eat self-service buffet in the Windjammer. So for thousands of dollars, I must serve myself.
Some lunch time delicacies:
• Franks – no comment
• Hamburgers – NHL hockey pucks
• Quiche – dried tasteless cardboard
• Roast beef from the slicing station – tough and try
• Smoked loin of pork – tasty, but dry slabs
• Eggplant parmesan – limp and squishy
• Beef stew – tangy and OK
• Pork medallions – tough and chewy to strengthen one’s jaw muscles
• Salads – ok, can’t really kill lettuce
Breakfast is either sit-down in dining room or Windjammer
My choice was sit-down.
• Breakfast pastries – ok
• Bacon undercooked and greasy
• Egg omelet – overcooked and dry
• Juices – no grapefruit or mango juoice
• Coffee – winy
Dinner
• Steak tough and chewy
• Group salads (served in a big bowl atop a stand in the middle of the table) awash in salad dressing
• Incorrect items (e.g.: not ordered) substituted for ordered items at least twice per dinner.
Overall food is more show than substance.
Passageways within the cabin deck areas often had old laundry, ice bucket rolling carts and vacuum cleaners abandoned for hours. I guess there’s no room in the cabin attendant pantries.
Oftentimes, folks would leave a glass/cup with liquid atop the trash receptacle in the elevator lobbies. Shame on the uncaring individuals! But, the glass/cup most often rested atop the trash receptacle for hours before it was removed. I guess RCCL does not want the staff to be visible to the paying customers.
Elevator call buttons in elevator lobbies sticky from use. Seems to me, the buttons are never cleaned.
There is a slotted board imbedded in the decks outside the sliding doors. Likewise these slotted boards are on outside staircases. There must be a design defect as the screws in boards are backing out and have become a tripping hazard. But, maintenance does not care as none were repaired in the one week.
Day of week carpeting in elevators sometime replaced and sometimes not updated. Not a big dealing of itself but it does speak to the overall lack of quality assurance?
Lingering large (24″ x 12″) carpet stain in an elevator lobby, first day, never cleaned. No not a wet spot from spilled liquid.
They made a big deal the first day in the Windjammer by distributing hand-wipesâ„¢ to stress cleanliness, but only once.
On previous cruises, the cabin attendant always placed the life jackets on the bed as a reminder of the first day life boat drill. No more! I guess it takes too much time, so the attendant does not bother.
On previous cruises, the cabin attendants always left the doors wedged open for all cabins until the occupants’ first arrival. No more! I guess it takes too much time, so the attendants do not bother.
On previous cruises, the cabin attendants always provided a tour of the cabin and its accoutrements. But the cabin attendant was no where to be found, so it was a self learning exercise. I guess it takes too much time, so the attendant does not bother.
The head of “hotel operations” had no time for me for a casual chat (on the last evening), regarding just my observation (not phrased as a complaint) about some of the Windjammer food but rather he dumped me onto the food and beverage manager who thought I should be eating something else. Swell! The RCCL staff is great at passing the buck, it ain’t my job or it ain’t my fault is the RCCL motto.
Late returnees to the ship from ashore visits occurred in every port. This is absolutely the height of rudeness to all others who can abide by the time widows established and published. The captain delayed departure in every port.
RCCL excels at moving folks through the boarding formalities onto the ship, extracting money throughout the “cruise” and then moving luggage and folks onto the pier so the next “guests” can be boarded.
Cruise lines, not just RCCL, and church carnivals are designed to separate you from your money. I know where the church carnival money goes, I cannot fathom where RCCL spends its money.
By the way we have cruised before. In the last ten years, I have seen a diminution in the quality of services as well as the amenities offered.
Basically, no more cruises, especially with Royal Caribbean (RCCL)
Let me provide some background.
I just completed construction of a mega-million dollar data center with thousands of servers and hundreds of network devices, not to mention many other components.
My motto is “zero defects”, and it is not my money.
To accept otherwise is accept mediocrity; and the potential for costly disruptive failures in the days, months and years ahead.
My money is earned through hard work and the demand I place on others, I place upon myself first and foremost.
A senior chief petty officer (a tin bender) who was our assistant company commander in officer candidate school left us all with a credo: “pay attention to detail, because if you don’t, you may kill or injure someone”. The one time, I didn’t pay attention to detail, one of my radiomen was injured; enough said. To this day, I remember the incident and more importantly his name
So why should I accept, and settle, as has been suggested for less than perfect accommodations, when it is my money. In point of fact, I am not complacent even if it is my firm’s money paying for my accommodations, as they often do.
Have we all been lulled into an atmosphere of accepting mediocrity?
Are we so wealthy, we can throw away money without question on poor service?
Have we become so inured to lackluster services? RCCL and other cruise lines, certainly have glitzy ads and commercials, but where is the substance?
Do we think the world is a “d” average, maybe so?
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What ab Let me provide some background.
I just completed construction of a mega-million dollar data center with thousands of servers and hundreds of network devices, not to mention many other components.
My motto is “zero defects, and it is not my money.
To accept otherwise is accept mediocrity; and the potential for costly disruptive failures in the days, months and years ahead.
My money is earned through hard work and the demand I place on others, I place upon myself first and foremost.
A senior chief petty officer (a tin bender) who was our assistant company commander in officer candidate school left us all with a credo: “pay attention to detail, because if you don’t, you may kill or injure someone”. The one time, I didn’t pay attention to detail, one of my radiomen was injured; enough said. To this day, I remember the incident and more importantly his name
So why should I accept, and settle, as has been suggested for less than perfect accommodations, when it is my money. In point of fact, I am not complacent even if it is my firm’s money paying for my accommodations, as they often do.
Have we all been lulled into an atmosphere of accepting mediocrity?
Are we so wealthy, we can throw away money without question on poor service?
Have we become so inured to lackluster services? RCCL, and other cruise lines, certainly have glitzy ads and commercials, but where is the substance?
Do we think the world is a “d” average, maybe so?
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What about the clutter in the passageways? What if there was a true need to abandon ship? How would passengers, perhaps in darkness, overcome the bulwark of detritus left in the passageways?
Has a disaster occurred happened on a cruise ship? The reader is left to answer the question.
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By the way to reinforce my point; one evening at the mid ship shuffle board court, (deck 4, port side) I leaned against the rail and panicked. I thought the rail was giving way and I was going over the side into the Caribbean at night.
In point of fact, the dogs/nuts were not tightened sufficiently to prevent the railing from giving way to seaward. Loosely tightened? Yes. But correctly tightened? No. How do I know this? I then checked the other lifeboat stations and found all but the one I leaned against to be totally secure. Again a lack of attention by the ship’s crew to common safety practices.
The next time RCCL loses someone over the side at sea, don’t come looking for me.
If you need more details, just ask, and I shall reply.
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My husband and I too just finished a cruise with Royal Caribbean, we bought duty free and a package was delivered to our stateroom the night before disembarkation, we did not open it as we believed what was in there was what we purchased and paid for and as you are not allowed to carry liquids on the aircraft, put it into our main luggage. On arriving home and opening the package some of the alcohol was missing, we have contacted crown&anchor by e-mail three times now with no response except a return e-mail acknowledging our e-mail and telling us not to make any more enquiries or it will delay the response. How long does it take to remedy a simple situation. I will never cruise with them again, they are a money grabbing mob.
Avoid Royal Caribbean if you expect any service recovery after a bad cruise. RCCL is not a bad cruise line, at least in our first 14 cruises with them. But our 15th cruise was a disaster: On arrival, our bathroom was flooded and our cabin attendant had no clue as to his responsibilities (soiled robes, no ameninies for our “diamond†status, no pool towels, no ice, and finally he hid the appraisal form at the end of the cruise, thinking that if we found it he would not get good marks!).
The casino charges 3% even before you make your first bet. Any experienced player recognizes that the casino has a huge % advantage in normal play…. adding 3% to that is absured (NCL, for instance, has no such charge). For four prior cruises, we were seated at a table for four in the dining room, despite our requests for a 6 or 8 person table. We did not complain… but on this cruise, we did ask for a larger table and the head waiter was not helpful.. in fact borderline annoying. The clincher was that the other two guests scheduled for our table never arrived… so we ate alone for seven nights.
When I returned home, I sent a careful letter of dissatisfaction to the executive section of customer service at RCCL. I received three phone calls from a very slick and sophisticated customer service rep… one of their best I am sure. She told me that, after 14 cruises with them (no complaints), compensation to us was two restrictive certificates in the amount of $52.00 each.. $104.00 total! I could not believe after spending tens of thousans of dollars with RCCL their response as service recovery for one really bad cruise was $104.00!!!!
I challenged that as not being a proportional response, common in the industry, and the customer service rep blew me off… well, what she really said was that she would buy me a bottle of wine on my next rccl cruise.
Goodbye, RCCL…. every bit of good that you did on our many cruises with you has been destroyed by a lack of service recovery… NCL is going to benefit from your decision…just booked two cruises with them.