JetsFanCruiser

RCCL cruiser here sailing on NCL in Haven to try it out. I think I just learned that the restaurant reservation process is a bit different....silly me...

I'm sailing Escape on 8/19 and I have the specialty restaurant package. However, I did not make reservations and it seems like I'm unable to at this time. Either all the reservations are taken or they are closed for booking.

Will I be able to get anything on board? Will the concierge be able to help? Not a big deal....I can eat in the main dining room but wanted to experience Cagney's, LaCucina, and Maderno.

Sorry if this has been asked.....I did a search and couldn't find anything.

Thanks

Just back from Oasis in Star Class. Genie handled everything. Reservations in specialty restaurants were made the week before when I emailed him and I even made changes during the cruise. On the first day we reviewed the seating chart for each entertainment venue and we chose the area where we wanted to sit. We met the genie 5 minutes before each show at our reserved seats, front row except for the water show cause we didn't want to get wet.

They really do take care of everything. Our itinerary was changed and he rebooked all our excursions. Very much worth it. We were the very first passengers on the ship and right to our stateroom. Bags waiting for us, then right to Giovanni for peaceful lunch.

Booked again for next year and will not prebook anything as genie will handle everything.

Why did you book a vacation with 3500 strangers if you wanted a quiet family break? :rolleyes:

Did you read a different post? Where did the OP say they wanted a quiet family break? THEY WANT A QUIET CHRISTMAS DINNER AT CHOPS....please try to read the posts.

This is crazy. For those of you writing "no big deal...happens all the time just go with the flow....RCCL can do whatever they want it's in the contract..." I'd love to see it happen to you and your reaction. If RCCL changes something, they need to notify the customer of the change....period.....who cares what the reason is????....they have email addresses and the ability to do it...anything short of notification is totally unacceptable. If any land based business (restaurant, Movies, Broadway show) did this they would be out of business very quickly. And nothing is "Free" on RCCL....shows are paid for through the cruise fare.

I'm a big fan of RCCL but stuff like this is so easy to control and do the right thing.....

Mine worked fine and we will bring them again in May. I put them in my checked luggage.

I'm in star class in August with my wife and 2 boys, ages 12 and 7. They love the flow rider but are beginners. We would be more inclined to use it if there was a designated time for star class. It's not that we wouldn't use it with a designated line, but I must admit id feel a little awkward using the star class line multiple times.

Stop defending a stupid policy.

 

The priority hours should be outside of 'normal guest' hours. I think that is how it was originally intended.

Sorry but this policy is no more stupid than allowing experienced flow riders to ride for 3, 4, 5 minutes at a time during normal flow riding hours cause they don't fall as much as beginners. Last year on Indy there was no time limit and there were several experienced riders monopolizing the flow rider. Is that a stupid policy?

I did it...no issues....

and don't worry too much about whether the CC community would do it......Everyone is different.....Just ask yourself if the benefits outweigh the risks...

I was on Indy in August. I brought on a 12 pack of iced tea and a 12 pack of water, plus a bunch of snacks. no issues.

Just off Indy in August. Had a fantastic trip. The ship is in great shape and the crew does a great job keeping her clean...there was some construction going on at the sports court area but it did not affect our trip at all.

One piece of advice....If going to Grand Cayman, try to catch an early tender back to the ship as the line grew quite long as boarding time got closer. It took us an hour to get through as there was only one person checking ID at the first gate to get on the pier to the tender, although I think it was more Grand Cayman security that was at fault rather than RCCL.

The dining room staff was a bit short, but the individuals that are there make up for it with a lot of hustle. Our waiter was moving non-stop through dinner and really put a ton of effort into making sure his guests were taken care of.

Saw a great impersonator from NJ in the theatre one night....I think he made me cry.

Quite honestly I don't understand the negative reviews that this ship gets....

Funny :confused: I actually find it disgusting.

 

You and I sure do have a difference in our senses of humor. I don't find criminal behavior to be funny (Yes, I said criminal. Stealing is stealing).

Ummm....I don't think the OP was saying they agreed it was funny but merely pointing out the motive for the theft.........

Maybe I'm the only one but this wouldn't bother me in the least...

Since apparently there are people who have not read about (or experienced) what took place on this voyage, let me mention a couple of the biggest issues we faced.

 

1. The biggest problem by far was the lack of service and attitude of the staff. In any business things go wrong. How you deal with them is what makes the difference in a service oriented business. When the embarkation problems in Rotterdam and then Southampton occurred, there were NO RCI to be seen anywhere. When lines occurred for events during the cruise, it was the same and finally when we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale and the situation was even worse, the staff was still in "hiding". Any attempt to discuss the problems with "Guest NON-relations" was met with defensive replies.

 

2. Construction in progress - RCI did not allow sufficient time in dry dock to complete their renovations. So not only were there several venues closed (which added to the overcrowding), but there jackhammers being used, the smell of paint in many parts of the ship. Personally we experienced an even more blatant example as they decided to shampoo our carpet while the cruise was still in progress. All of this occurred without any notification to the passengers or even to their travel agents (as I am one).

 

Of course there were more, but I truly do not want to rehash them here as there were also lots of things that I liked about the ship. You can read them in my "live" thread. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2114373

 

That was not the purpose of my original question.

 

What I was asking is whether you believe the 20% credit toward a future cruise was an appropriate response. What would you do if your company did not perform as you hoped it would and your customers did not receive the benefits from your product that you hope they would.

 

Here is what Ellie suggested:

 

1. First acknowledge your mistakes. Don't try to whitewash them and blame the problems on everyone else.

 

2. Offer compensation for what took place. Remember the size of the company we are talking about, the amount they spend on advertising and the goodwill that could be created.

 

3. Offer a discount on a future cruise.

 

What do you think? Is that too much to expect?

I think it is too much to expect. Company's just do not provide money back unless there are serious flaws in the delivery of their product/service, none of which appear to have happened on this cruise. Long lines, mis-communication and non-communication, and construction would not lead to the offer of compensation. It's just not serious enough.

As far as the cost associated with compensating passengers....let's say they offered each passenger $250 in compensation as a result of the problems....That's about $1.5 million in expense to the company...hardly pennies even to RCCL.....

I believe that the future cruise discount is appropriate.

Sorry - I know this is going to sound very harsh (go ahead flamers), but you need a dose of reality.

 

 

 

Ok, first of all, sorry for your partner's father.

But any "Knee-Jerk Reaction" always has to be "slept on", meaning wait til next day. (trying to keep it simple so you can follow);)

 

 

 

Here's the first hole in your story; the RCI phones are manned until 11:00 pm 7 days a week. Unless you are talking about a TA in which case you should be blaming your TA instead of RCI.

 

 

 

Consider your costs TUITION and move on. As soon as you cancel, the cabin goes right back out there. It was probably rebooked within the day. Sending emails, , calling and whining, isn't going to talk them into cancelling someone else's cabin so you can have it back.

 

 

 

 

 

Try taking a hard look in the mirror and stop looking to blame others for your BAD DECIDIONS. Be honest with yourself - you made a BAD DECISION and it cost you $800.

 

RCI is a great Cruise Line, and Cruising is the best vacation in the world, and what you did is 100% your fault.

This deserves the D of the Day award.....

I know its not mandatory but it is something that could be mandatory in the future. I like the idea we have the option to have one or the sea pass card but I won't want this to be a mandatory thing to cruising on RC.

I'm not trying to be rude but why are you bitching about something that may or may not happen in the future?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I enjoyed reading the contrast between the two cruise lines. It has been years since I cruised RCCL.

 

After reading about the experience regarding your son, my first thought was, why was a 10 year old left unsupervised on a mega cruise ship? There are so many things that can go wrong in that situation. IMO that was the root cause of the problem, and then when the 10 year old did what 10 year olds do when they are left unsupervised, you displaced the blame to the cruise ship staff. I just don't get that.

 

For any of us that have had our cruise experiences interrupted by unsupervised kids running up and down the halls screaming, I read your post and have to wonder what you were thinking to make that decision. The safety of your children and respect for fellow passengers should be paramount. I just don't think 10 year olds should be allowed free run of the ship while the parents are gone to supper with friends.

Sorry but disagree....it depends on the 10 year old...some are able to be independant, and some aren't...it's up to the individual parent to decide...there is not one rule for all sets of children....

This is just silly on RCCLs part....common sense must prevail in these situations...a doctor signing something that they are "fit to travel" in the first few weeks of pregnancy????....My wife didn't even see a doctor until about week 12 during her pregnancy....There is very little chance that a doctor will be able to even assess a "high risk pregnancy" that early....

Sometimes common sense must be used......companies can't follow a script for every situation that comes up......

I was in 1340 on Freedom 2 weeks ago...I think it's the best with prime location...right off the elevator and on the hump....

Just to clarify, you are not talking about actually ordering off the menu, just getting your food at the WJ and sitting in Chops, correct?

No...you can bring food in from the WJ if you like, but until about 9:30 am or so, they will serve you breakfast in Portofino (not sure about Chops cause I didn't go in there). The menu may be the same as the dining room menu, but specifically you can get eggs to order, omelettes, pancakes, French Toast, etc. This is not the food in the Windjammer...it is cooked to order....The food overall is much better....

The last time I was on Freedom (last Dec) Portofinos was opened for suite guests for breakfast. No reservation needed. We just presented out gold card on the first day and they knew us after that. The food was made-to-order in the Portofinos kitchen, and it was great. I thought it was much better than the MDR.

 

I can't remember what they did for lunch for the suite guests... I think we were either out-and-about or had room service.

Just off Freedom Sunday and this is the same...used Portofino every day for breakfast..

No offense but I don't think you have been reading either :)

 

It's perfectly clear she doesn't intend to take the 2 year old climbing, at least to me. The point is that area - around a large waterfall - is no place to take a 2 year old climbing or not. Mature, perfectly healthy and fit *adults* get hurt all the time on excursions like that, climbing or not. As a parent, she can decide if she wants to forge ahead anyway but that doesn't mean RCI has to be party to that decision and blaming them for choosing not to is ridiculous.

 

Look, I wager a pretty huge percentage of everyone here has at one time or another raised a 2 year old. The grandparents among us, more than once perhaps. It's a wonderful, life-affirming thing to have kids, but with it comes the simple fact that, especially while they are young, there are just certain things you aren't going to be able to do, and taking them to a giant natural waterfall that plunges in to a deep pool surrounded by slippery rocks is one of them.

Sorry but it's pretty clear that there are several individuals that think the OP wants to bring the 2 year old into the actual falls....

All excursions paid up front for me on last 4 cruises on RCCL...since 2008...

We currently have a couple of cabins booked for May 2015 on Freedom. I've already called in and got the BOGOHO price drop (saved about $700). Have a few more questions since I'm trying to get the cheapest out of pocket cost for this cruise.

 

Currently have 2 adults and 1 child booked in D1 1700; 2 adults booked in K directly across the hall.

 

I see that if I had my DD booked in the room across the hall(K) her fare would be $100 less. But I'm worried that if I move her off our reservation we might lose 1700 since we would only have 2 people in that cabin. Could that happen?

 

Also, I have enough RCL Visa points to get a free companion fare. I thought I could just wait until the price of the OV went higher to cash that in. I've read of people doing that to get a credit in another cabin category. However, I've also heard that RCL will re-price my current cabin at the same time possibly increasing my fare and making the companion fare deal less attractive. Could others share their experience with redeeming for companion fares?

 

Thank you

The reason to wait for an increase in the companion fare would be if you upgraded to a cabin above oceanview. Then you receive the value of the companion fare for an oceanview cabin up to $1,500....If you are staying with an OV cabin, then you waould want the fare to decrease below the $1,500 threshold so that you don;t have to pay anything extra.....

PIA? Maybe but it's not like you canceled for a bogus reason or medical emergency. At some point in time we all have to or will have to reschedule a vacation. Disappointing yes, the end of the world no. You will have a better idea now than you did of how things work when you reschedule. Sorry with all the other issues in the world right now being upset about this to me seems petty. There are people where I'm at dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes no homes loss if life. That's something to be upset over.

Ummm...this is a cruise message board...while I do have sympathy for the people that lose homes with disasters, I don't think about them when I'm viewing the RCCL cruise message board...Focus....

I don't believe the OP called anything the end of the world...just let him/her vent and help where you can.....

I realize this wasn't asked, but just to add, since you would be prepaying for the excursion, should you decide to cancel, as long as it is three days prior to sailing the charge will be credited directly back to your credit card.

 

Cancellations past the three day window can be made up to 24 hours in advance of the tour and will be credited to your SeaPass account as an OBC or applied to a different excursion if desired.

Cancellation of shore excursions is an area that RCCL is very poor.....I cancelled 2 excursions about 2 months ago, and after several phone calls, have still not received a refund...Just be careful.....