Royal Caribbean Cruise Was A Royal Disaster
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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Comments:
This is horrendous! I'd be so mad if this happened to me after I spent thousands of dollars to go on vacation. There wasn't even a pool to swim in! Their response letter is ridiculous, they might as well have not bothered writing it at all.
The worst part of the letter is at the end, they look forward to regaining his faith? That's going to be a bit hard to do since you 'kindly' cannot offer any kind of compensation.
I hope this company gets in some kind of trouble for this. I'm not very knowledgeable in law but if theres tons of unhappy customers maybe there could be a class action lawsuit?
I've never taken a cruise and don't really plan on it. Cruise lines are basically their own country and are all chartered to 3rd world countries so they don't have to follow any sort of laws. You can complain all you want to the Better Business Bureau but there's nothing they can do about it.
Simply, wow. How could whoevers decision it was to book a ship not expect that those hundreds of people wouldn't demand a full refund?
The offer is more a slap in the face then any compensation at all. They can be sure that I will be changing my plans for next summers cruise and RCCL will not be getting a penny from me, until consumerist.com posts a nice response on how the chap got his full 2800 bucks back.
Can anyone suggest a good cruise line other than RC? I've sailed Carnival before (good, not great) and was looking at RC for my Dec. cruise.....until now.
If I were guy, I'd sue. The pool, casino and restaurant are advertised and weren't delivered.
Anyone dumb enough to go on a cruise deserves what they get.
No laws,
no rules,
relying on a crew they don't even know,
held captive,
forced to pay their prices,
wake up when they tell you to,
a tiny room the size of a closet....
why not just fly to an island and do what you want, when you want for the price you want under a government with laws? I don't care how much free shrimp they're willing to shove down your cheap bastards faces, I will never, under any circumstance, go on a cruise.
This is appalling. As a former employee of a luxury retreat center, I find that Rob's experience aboard ship (once he was finally able to get on the ship, natch) is sickening, and the flaccid response by the money-grubbing Royal Caribbean representatives really makes me lose my lunch.
Rob was essentially a captive on a boat that was, in essence, rendered non-functional due to maintenance. Give this man back his money, and then some!
Have RCCL's Public Relations crew lost their collective minds, issuing such a dismissive and snooty response? Yes, cap'n!
Beware Princess Cruise Lines as well (And Holland I guess, if you read the crap-in-the-carpet post, but my experience on Holland was good).
My boss went on a princess cruise lines trip to California with a whole large group of friends, but one of his friends' wife couldn't make it due to a death in the family. His friend couldn't get a refund for her ticket as they claimed it "Too close to departure date", but for sailing alone in his double occupancy cabin he had to pay an ADDITIONAL 20% or so on top of the wife's ticket he couldn't refund. So bring a friend right? Nope, anyone other than the person originally listed for the cruise would be around a 25% charge to change the booking. So sail alone and pay more, bring someone else and pay more, or cancel the trip and loose all the money paid (plus probably some cancellation fee).
I've heard stories like this for about 5 or 10 years now from cruise line passengers, and is why my wife and I will have never booked a cruise. This kind of negative publicity can a far more potent force than any BBB complaints. Of course that depends though on whether people bother shopping around for a cruise.
(have never, not "will have never")
I've actually heard decent things from cruises that sail from Seattle/Vancouver up through Alaska. Those tend to attract a more sober, older crowd who are content sitting on the decks and reading their books.
@GrantGannon: "Can anyone suggest a good cruise line other than RC? "
Holland America. Been twice, both times excellent.
@stanfrombrooklyn: Did that with my extended family and we had a great time. I was in college when I did the Carribbean and I thought it was too full of drunk college students even THEN!
The "downside" of the Alaska cruises is that the casino/dance clubs are fairly empty at night, if that's your thing. But it was a much quieter cruise in which you could actually sleep without drunk people trying to bust into your cabin, lots and lots of family-oriented entertainment (and lots of "adults without kids/kids w/o adults" stuff too), and SOOOOO many interesting things to do and see at port calls.
I would definitely do the Alaska cruise again, even if I went to exactly the same ports. I liked it that much. It was particularly fun traveling with three generations of family ranging in age from elderly grandparents to 5-year-old cousins, but I'd do it alone or with people my age as well.
@stanfrombrooklyn: Done the HMS Westerdam Alaska run (apparently the OLD westerdam as the new Vista class has replaced the one I was on). Vancouver to Cetchican (sp), Junea, and some other port I forget the name of. NICE cruise, but the only damned movie they played in the theatre was Fried Green Tomatoes. Pleh! Otherwise nice ride.
What about notifying the Coast Guard? I'm pretty sure having unsecured construction debris on deck while under way is a violation.
Royal Caribbean is still one of the best of the cheaper cruise lines. I used to take the Mexico ones a couple times a year, and no real complaints.
A full refund is a bit over the top (cruises are about the ports), but they should be able to do a heck of a lot better than $20. Do you have a high level in the Crown & Anchor Society, or do any of your friends? They'd probably take you much more seriously if the complaint were coming from a frequent cruiser (Diamond, or at the very least Platinum).
Also you might want to weed out the whinier complaints, and stick with the bigger issues. The pool and Windjammer closed, 7 hour delay leaving port, casino closed (unless it was just closed the first day, in which case ditch this complaint), and the invasion of privacy in cabin. These issues are scattered throughout the email, mixed in with the occasional elevator servicing, casual breakfasts and dinners, and bun shortages. Cut the slack and send the shortened email to a different person.
How about redacting the name of the passenger in the last paragraph of Joan Bernheimer's response?
They may have some recourse if they paid with a credit card by disputing the charge.
@stanfrombrooklyn: Maybe he can't sue, but he can make some noise. If the cruise line is smart, they'll see that his story can generate more than $3,000 of negative publicity, and refund his money. In fact, it already has done that much damage; see the first comment on this post.
@reykjavik: This letter isn't about whether the writer validated your aesthetic preferences; it's about the fact that he didn't even remotely get what he paid for. I have no interest in going on a cruise either, but if someone pays $3,000 for a vacation, they deserve far better than this.
I would never take a cruise. I like to think of them as giant floating petri dishes.
@GrantGannon:
Many people on Consumerist are pretty down on cruises, but my wife & I enjoy them. We like the idea of unpacking once and not having to worry about any additional transportation, the (usually) outstanding service, good food, seeing many ports/islands, and the fact that cruises can be a good value.
While there is certainly no excuse for the RCI's treatment in this case, we've been on 4 or so RC cruises and have loved each of them. Our last RC cruise was a 14 day, and we didn't even mind the 5 days at sea.
Again, there's no way I'm going to defend RC's behavior here. I just wouldn't completely rule them out because of this once terrible incident. I'm sure you can find horror stories from passengers on every cruise line. On that note, we did a Princess cruise this past December and were thoroughly disappointed with the ship (even though it was brand new), service, and the food.
Oh, and without even getting into getting why this isn't false advertising (it's not even advertising), any other contract claims are pretty effectively disclaimed in the ticket agreement.
I had a pretty good experience with RC about five years ago, but I will say that I learned to avoid the elevators altogether. There's 14 or so floors on the ship and we were on floor 3. Every trip to the pool required a stop on every single floor, so it was pretty much faster to walk up the stairs.
"Cruise lines are basically their own country and are all chartered to 3rd world countries so they don't have to follow any sort of laws."
Wanted to mention that your statement isn't entirely accurate. While it's true that most cruise lines' ships are registered in other nations, the cruise line itself is almost always subject to the U.S. legal system.
Usually, the ships are registered to foreign ports to avoid fees and taxes. However, the cruise corporation itself has at least minimum contacts with the U.S meet personal jurisdiction requirements. While I don't know where RCI is incorporated or registered, they certainly have minimum contacts with the U.S. given the fact they advertise, cater to, and operate cruise lines out of many U.S. states. And in fact, RCI's corporate office is in Miami (so they meet the Supreme Court's nerve center test, too). You could bring a proper torts or contracts suit against RCI in U.S. Federal Court, and probably in most state courts as well.
And even at sea, maritime law governs. I don't know much about that subject, though. Can't speak to the BBB, but I've never found them to be very effective, anyway
Well I was about to book a cruise from Galveston on Royal Caribbean and I certainly will not be doing it now. RC's response just lost this customer and a $1500 booking. I'll definitely stay away from them after this sorry excuse for a response and sorry excuse for customer service! RC you should be ashamed!
Buffet only should get them back at least half the fare, personally. Thats obscene!
@OTC:
The spool on deck isn't really a safety issue, and besides the USCG doesn't really have jurisdiction as explained further below.
@JustBrag:
As a professional mariner maybe I can clear things up a bit.
As you mentioned, ships are often registered in foreign countries to save on taxes as well as if it is a US ship it needs a US crew which is more expensive, and the ship must meet the laws of the nation it is registered or "flagged" in. While the US has more stringent rules, there are some countries that only require the minimum. As a requirement for calling in a US port, the CG does do safety inspections on foreign ships (particularly cruise ships) to assure that they conform to the international treaties that specify the minimum about lifeboats and fire fighting equipment and whatnot. Anything beyond the scope of the international treaty is the responsibility of the registered country. The countries that these ships are normally registered in often have lax rules to begin with or do not have the manpower to enforce their laws on all the ships that are registered in their country, these are what are often referred to as the "Flags of Convenience."
As an aside, one way companies often get around the "flag" versus where the company is actually located is that they own a bunch of individual companies which coincidentally only own one ship each. This limits the parent companies' liability if there is a wreck or oil spill or something else really costly.
Personally it sounds like the ship could have used a few more days in the yard (unexpected things do come up) and it may have been a choice of sailing on a ship that wasn't quite ready or canceling the cruise. Neither choice would have made their customers happy but they are in the business of making money so its not surprising that they would opt for the choice that would make them money even if it ticked off their customers.
Sorry this is so long, just had a lot to say. ~Will
@justbrag:
"I'm sure you can find horror stories from passengers on every cruise line."
Not trying to start a flame war, but it's not just the horror story that is the issue. Yes, those do happen frequently. It's the lack of doing what's right for the customer, and downplaying and dismissal of what are valid complaints/issues with service. When the company will not stand behind its own product/experience, it's just not right...and they don't deserve our business.
thats BS! you should be offered at least 1/3 of your money back. This is bordering on fraud since in their brochures, they offer you a great time on the ship and some of those amenities were not available to you. The biggest things are the food and swimming pool problems. For the record, after reading this, i will NOT be booking any of my future cruises on RC. There is a reason why theyre one of the cheaper cruise lines...poor customer satisfaction! They obviously dont understand that customer relations is THE most important aspect of doing business.
Take a crap in a box and mail it to them - tell them that's what you think of their "compensation". It's total BS. I've had friends who worked on cruise ships (a couple of them positions which would deal with customer issues like this) and they certainly can and will issue compensation greater than $20. FIGHT FOR IT!
I smell a chargeback in the future......or the person should file a chargeback with their credit card company. For $3k, I expect to be treated like the king of England.
Just for another opinion, I took a RC cruise 3 or 4 years ago and had no problems. It was very pleasant.
I was signed on by an entertainer 2 spring breaks ago onto the Radiance of the Seas. It was a great time and I would probably go through them again.
If I were on that ship though I'd have been extremely pissed off. The dining was some of the best food I've had and I spent way too much time in the casino. I met a great couple in the dining and they ended up being a highlight of my week in the Caribbean.
I would cut the email down to the main points as mentioned above and resend it or if you have a friend in the Crown and Anchor Society send it in, if you have any. If you get another poor response from them I hope you charged everything on a credit card (which I think you probably did since they link your account to a card) then do as mentioned above and dispute the charge.
RCC Here's another 3000 dollars you can say goodbye too!
I'll keep in mind to remove RCC off a list of prospective cruise lines, thanks.
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 give Rob props for including this as the last line of his message. Obviously, RCCL doesn't have a certain website on its RSS feeds...yet!
I've never been on a cruise, nor do I ever plan to go on one, but this story brings up some interesting questions. What if there had been rats running around in the ship's dining room? What if there had been viscous mold growing on the walls of Rob's room? What if there had been another case of food poisoning, as seems to happen fairly often? And what if Rob had taken his still camera (or even his video camera) and documented the whole thing? Would RCCL still refuse to give the guy a refund? What is the level of risk -- and, frankly, media attention -- that they're willing to accept before they correct a problem that they obviously brought on due to their own laziness, negligence, and/or incompetence?
$20 for lunch isn't good enough, folks. Rob, I've never had to do one myself, but that chargeback seems like a damn good idea. And RCCL, you should be ashamed of yourself. You promised to provide a certain level of service to your customers AND YOU FAILED. It's as simple as that.
Make it right.
Oh yeah, a chargeback is SO in order. You may not win it but there's no harm in trying. Take everything you posted here and send that to the CC company when you file the chargeback.
It doesn't cost you anything but it makes them take notice!
Find a good attorney versed in tort an maritime law. Thats always my response, "GET A LAWYER." I'm not saying this to be pro-litigious or anything, I'm just thinking that an attorney will help guide/take you through the process. Galvaston should be filled with attorneys who deal with claims against cruise lines.
You should be stoked that you weren't on the big red boat when it was arrested in the Caribbean. Can you imagine being on a crappy boat then having to find your way back home because the boat you were on was arrested at port? That might be worse.
Isn't RCC the line that plays that song about doing heroin in their ads? I know they took the explicit parts of the song out, but now I'm pretty sure that it wasn't to sanitize the song for public consumption. My theory is they were probably consuming the "liquor and drugs" lyrics over at corporate.
$20 in credit? They'll never see my business.
I've been on a cruise every year for for the past three years and have been lucky.
I think that the cruise industry needs to be held accountable for things like this.
Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And a flesh machine
He's gonna do another strip tease
Hey man, where'd you get that lotion?
I've been hurting since I bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah, something called love
Well, that's like hypnotising chickens
Well, I'm just a modern guy
Of course, I've had it in the ear before
'Cause of a lust for life
'Cause of a lust for life
I'm worth a million in prizes
With my torture film
Drive a G.T.O.
Wear a uniform
All on government loan
I'm worth a million in prizes
Yeah, I'm through with sleeping on the sidewalk
No more beating my brains
No more beating my brains
With the liquor and drugs
With the liquor and drugs
Well, I'm just a modern guy
Of course, I've had it in my ear before
'Cause, of a lust for life (lust for life)
'Cause of a lust for life (lust for life, oooo)
I've got a lust for life (oooh)
Got a lust for life (oooh)
Oh, a lust for life (oooh)
Oh, a lust for life (oooh)
A lust for life (oooh)
I got a lust for life (oooh)
Got a lust for life
Well, I'm just a modern guy
Of course, I've had it in my ear before
'Cause I've a lust for life
'Cause I've a lust for life.
Well, here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And a flesh machine
I know he's gonna do another strip tease
Hey man, where'd ya get that lotion?
Your skin starts itching once you buy the gimmick
About something called love
Oh Love, love, love
Well, that's like hypnotising chickens.
Well, I'm just a modern guy
Of course, I've had it in the ear before
And I've a lust for life (lust for life)
'Cause I've a lust for life (lust for life)
Got a lust for life
Yeah, a lust for life
I got a lust for life
Oh, a lust for life
Got a lust for life
Yeah a lust for life
I got a lust for life
Lust for life [repeat and fade]
Boy, this really makes me want to go on a cruise. You?
I live in the Cayman Islands and see 10-30 ships in port a week. After seeing the crap that tourists deal with (and bring) on a daily basis, I can assure you that I will most likely never go on a cruise again. The once luxurious cruise industry is steadily declining in value, standards and reputation.
But, this is takes the cake.
Some traveler's insurance packages would have covered this, but I am sure it would have raised the price by at least 25%.
Forget e-mail. You at least have to write a good old-fashioned pencil-and-paper letter.
It would have been more precious if she had added "Don't spend it all in one place!" after she offered the $20 shipboard credit (yeah like you are ever going on another RCI cruise again)!
They can count my vacation dollars as going somewhere else, too. I was looking forward to doing a cruise this summer, but now they can, um, kiss me where I sit.
For those asking for recommendations, I HIGHLY recommend Norwegian cruise lines. The service is fantastic, the ships are georgeous, and the best part they have freestyle dining, meaning you can eat where you want, when you want, and with whoever you want. It's niiiiiice...
"RCCL shouldn't have even put this ship out to see"
To see what? (Sorry, couldn't help myself)
@GreatMoose: Oddly enough, I had an experience eerily similar to this one on Norwegian about 5 years ago. In this case, oddly enough, the ship I was on was on its way INTO drydock, not out of it.
the complaint letter needs to be more focussed and shorter.
we were on this ship for our honeymoon (my first cruise). no complaints. i'm not a huge cruise person, but i tend to disagree with the "floating prison" analogy. It's not that bad (except when there's terrible stuff like this happen)
It's more expensive, their boats are smaller, and their itenararies are more limited, but we had a great time aboard the Orient Line's Marco Polo for a Black Sea cruise.
"floating prisons" indeed.
I cannot think of a worse idea for a vacation than a freakin' cruise.
@homerjay: I was about to agree with GreatMoose on how much I like NCL. Their "freestyle cruising" was great. For me, the main perk was no set dinner time, but there are other things about it that they advertise as well.
Is it possible just to ask when the ship is going to be in/out of dry-dock when you book a cruise? Will they give that information out to consumers?
When you write them, you can let them know that they just lost two customers who are going to cancel their cruise out of Tampa next month.