First Carnival had the infamous Poop Cruise and a string of other disasters. Now it’s another cruise line’s turn: this week, Royal Caribbean is in the news for seemingly abandoning an American passenger with a broken hip and his wife in Turkey, and for ending an Alaska cruise early because of a problem with the ship’s motor. [More]
royal caribbean
Survey: Carnival Poop Cruise Has Scuttled Public Perception Of Entire Cruise Industry
By 6.7.13
The bad times continue for Carnival Cruise lines, following a number of ugly high-profile profile incidents on their ships — most notably the “Poop Cruise” aboard the stranded Carnival Triumph, consumer sentiment about Carnival and the entire cruise industry is sinking. [More]
Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Catches Fire, Toilets Continue To Work
By 5.28.13
If you had been considering a cruise vacation because nothing has gone terribly wrong on any major ships in at least a couple of weeks, maybe you should reconsider. Passengers on their third day of a Royal Caribbean cruise were dragged out of bed in the wee hours of the morning and told to put their life vests on because of a fire on board. [More]
Royal Caribbean Passenger Says Crew Wouldn’t Let Her Leave Her Cabin After Daughter Fell Overboard
By 4.17.13
Last September, a 21-year-old woman on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship fell overboard and lost her life. In a recently filed lawsuit, the woman’s mother says she was kept under guard in her cabin for days after the incident and that she was not allowed to leave her room or contact her other children. [More]
Royal Caribbean Ship Returns To Port Because Floating Around With 108 Sick People On Board Is Not A Vacation
By 3.8.13
Two of this winter’s ickiest stories — crappy cruises and the norovirus — converged today when the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas returned to in Florida today after at least 108 people on board were hit by the bug. [More]
Carnival Cruise Line Now Charging Fee For Good Steak
By 10.6.10
There once was a time where the price of a ticket on a cruise ship included on-board food. Eventually, cruise operators began adding specialty restaurants, where passengers paid more for foods not on the menu in the main restaurant. And then in 2008 we brought you the story about Royal Caribbean charging passengers a $14.95 surcharge for an “organic” NY strip steak that may not have been organic after all. Now comes a report that Carnival Cruise Line thinks its best steak and lobster dishes merit an $18 fee. [More]
Royal Caribbean Still Docking In Haiti After Earthquake
By 1.19.10
Here’s a conundrum. Royal Caribbean has private beaches in Haiti only 60 miles from the devastation. The current plan is to use the ships that are docking there to provide shipments of rice, dried beans, powdered milk, water, canned goods and other supplies. They will also be depositing tourists at beaches the NY Daily News describes as, “leased from the government and protected by 12-foot fences and armed guards.” [More]
Royal Caribbean: Give Us $800 Or Find Another Ship
By 7.5.09
Royal Caribbean told Mary Hoefs at check-in that her family wouldn’t be allowed to board unless they paid $800 on the spot, even though Mary had paid for the cruise in full four months earlier. Royal Caribbean later refunded $400, but why did they choose to kick off Mary’s cruise with extortion? The answer, inside…
Royal Caribbean Scuttles Crown & Anchor Society
By 4.5.09
Royal Caribbean is gutting the Crown & Anchor society that lavishes loyal cruisers with perks like discounts, priority boarding, and a concierge lounge stocked with complimentary cocktails. The free booze will now be available only to cruisers who have sailed more than 25 times with Royal Caribbean. Many loyal passengers who don’t spend their lives on Royal Caribbean ships are understandably pissed.
Royal Caribbean Caught Infiltrating Review Sites With Viral Marketing Team
By 3.8.09
Meet the “Royal Caribbean Champions,” a group of fifty prolific posters to popular online communities that Royal Caribbean rewards with special access and free cruises in exchange for their frequent and positive commentary. The Champions were outed by their creators, the Customer Insight Group, which boasted on their company blog that the potent group is “regularly leveraged for ongoing marketing initiates. Members of the popular reviewing site Cruise Critic, one of the main targets of the program, are understandably pissed.
Royal Caribbean To Levy Late-Night Room Service Charge
By 1.10.09
Royal Caribbean’s odd “steak fee” proved to be such a success that the bleed-’em-dry cruise line has decided to add yet another extraneous charge to their “all-inclusive” service: a late night room service fee! Gone are the days of waking up from a seasick-induced nightmare at 3 a.m. to the comforting thought of, “well at least I can order a cheeseburger.” Now, seasickness cures ordered between midnight and 5 a.m. cost $3.95.
Royal Caribbean Levies $14.95 Steak Surcharge
By 10.4.08
Do you like flying? Well then you’re going to love cruising with Royal Caribbean! The cruise line recently announced plans to charge customers who order steak in the main dining room a $14.95 surcharge.
Banned For Life From Royal Caribbean For Complaining Too Loudly On The Internet
By 5.20.08
Brenda and Gerald Moran are what you might call “regulars” on Royal Caribbean — or they were — until they were banned for life after they complained too loudly on a cruise website. For the past 3 years, they took two cruises a year with Royal Caribbean, but according to the cruise line, they complained about almost all of them. Finally, after stirring up too much controversy on a popular cruise site, the company banned the Morans for life.
Royal Caribbean Tells Family To Abandon Ship
By 4.27.08
There are few things in life more decadent and luxurious than a cruise vacation. Unless of course, you are on a Royal Caribbean cruise and your child gets a cold, and then a paranoid crew kicks you and your family off the ship at night in your pajamas at a foreign port where you then have to spend thousands dollars for passports and tickets to get home. It sounds like a nightmare but that’s exactly what happened to this Florida family according to WFTV. Read the details of their misadventure, inside…
Royal Caribbean And Celebrity Cruise Lines To Refund Sketchy Fuel Surcharges
By 3.11.08
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines will refund fuel surcharges to customers who booked their cruises before November 16th, says the Orlando Business Journal. Passengers who have not yet sailed will receive their refund in the form of onboard credit.
The Future Of Cruising: Botox And Data Mining
By 7.1.07
Cruise lines are sullying their heritage as the height of cultured travel by working overtime to squeeze every last penny out of passengers. Though gluttons are still sated by free meals, cruises now regularly charge for sodas, “special venue dining,” and other amenities that were once free. A recent industry convention in Miami revealed that these charges are just the tip of the iceberg.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Was A Royal Disaster
By 6.28.07
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…
