My 1st cruise and this seriously had to happen???

[wayne_trisha]

SO, I was on Monarch over the weekend for my first cruise....

 

Food was great!

Ship was great!

Crew was fantastic!

 

What wasn't so great was the very first night I spent on a cruise ship a strange man walked into my room at 3:30 in the morning. He was clearly drunk and walked into the wrong room! How you may ask? Because Royal Caribbean didn't conduct the proper maintenance on the doors and the batteries were dead on the door which gave anyone with any Seapass card access to my room. The things that could have happened to me or my husband or my belongings (because, lo and behold, not all Monarch rooms have safes) are just too scary to think about. And you want to know what I got to make up for the sleepless nights I had to endure after that incident? A $50 credit to my Seapass account!

 

I want to play CSI.

 

A battery powered lock defaults to locked when the batteries die. So the OP comes back to their room at the end of the night and goes to bed leaving the dead bolt unlocked or worse, the dead bolt thrown when the door was open. HMMMMMM.

In walks her mysterious lover she has secretly paid the cruise fare for as her husband passes out from all the rum she bought him throughout the day. Their murderous plan to toss the husband overboard foiled as the cabin steward remembers he needs to leave a chocolate mint on their pillows.

 

Crazy fantasy novel tripe. We all know no one gets chocolates anymore :)

[Spoiledliz]

Ok, #1, I'm not going to go back to quote a previous poster but the batteries were dying, they were not fully dead. I was told an orange light blinked which indicated that the batteries were dying...Was this is my Royal Caribbean contract/policy? I didn't see that in there.

 

And #2, there was NO DEADBOLT. There was a lock that was connected to the electronic mechanism which did not work because the batteries were dying. There was no gold lock at the top to clasp over...Thank you to the other poster for posting a pic of the Majesty door.

 

I can not honestly believe I am sitting here having to defend myself! I did NOTHING wrong and some of you guys are truly unbelievable. If I have to put a chair up to my door to prevent any kind of intrusion into my hotel/cruise room, I think there is a huge problem.

[RetireeWannabee]

Allow me to explain little more.

 

Few years ago I was staying at the Hilton LA Airport Hotel. I went to my room, turned the dead bolt latch and did the usual things one does before going to sleep.

 

Unfortunately I had a medical emergency but I was able to call security or front desk (can't remember) but not able to go up to the door.

 

The security, guest services, police and LA ER showed up some minutes later. The hotel security tried to get in but could not because of the dead bolt, so they kept on talking to me through the door. I couldn't move from my bed and even though I was somewhat coherent, it wasn't going to happen. The hotel security had to kick the door in even though they had a master key. They did it with the help of the 2 police officers. They broke the door frame and got in.

 

It was a good thing they did. I'm here to talk about it today.

 

btw, The LA Hilton CS was wonderful after I got out of the hospital few days later. All my belongings including my expensive camera equipment, my laptops, about $1000 in cash were still in the room when I went back to pick it up before I went home to Florida. They secured the room so even the room service people could not get in and at the end they did not charge me anything, not even the broken door and for the 3 nights the room was on a lock down.

Wow! I'm glad you're ok, and if I'm ever in LA for a quick stop, I might stay there. Good job, Hilton LA Airport!

 

What a scary experience. That they put YOU ahead of all else is exactly how it should have been.

[PH8]

 

As for safes, funny, we had one on Majesty last summer and we were in a lowly interior room. The picture does not show the brass slide lock I thought I remembered at the top of the door though.

You're talking about the MJ....the Op is talking about the MN which does not have safes in cabins on deck 8 and below..

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

The same thing could have happened in most any hotel room anywhere...batteries do go dead in such devices....no one is to blame...except maybe the "energizer" bunny

 

But most hotel doors have a latch near the top of the door that prevents the door from opening more than an inch or so and every cruise ship door I have ever experienced has a dead bolt. You don't need a bungee cord unless you want even more security backup .

 

Note: I am NOT blaming the OP at all. What happened is very frightening. I just can't imagine the horror of waking up with a drunken stranger in my room. :eek:

[andrzej5914]

Wow! I'm glad you're ok, and if I'm ever in LA for a quick stop, I might stay there. Good job, Hilton LA Airport!

 

What a scary experience. That they put YOU ahead of all else is exactly how it should have been.

 

yeah, I still talk about the exemplary customer service from the Hilton management, security, the LA cops and emergency response team. The hospital emergency room did their job and the hospital was outstanding.

 

The funny part (or not, depending how you look at it) of the story was that when they took me away in my pjs, they left my wallet with IDs behind in the room.

 

Due to some administrative mix up, the next shift ER people assumed I was just a homeless guy with no ID, no nothing, just wearing a long pant pjs.

 

I did not realize that part of the adventure until the 2nd morning in the hospital and everything was straightened out but there was some confusion until I woke up from my nightmare. Still, I got the same, outstanding medical care that the hospital was able to provide.

 

At that time I did not have anybody in my life but I always had great friends here in Sarasota and my sis in Chicago. They were freaking out because I was on a way home from Asia when this happened and I didn't show up at the Tampa airport. For few days nobody knew what the hell was going on.

 

I learned my lesson that day. When you travel alone, have at least couple of back up plans with the family and or friends.

[lais]

Check this out

http://www.thehomesecuritysuperstore.com/super-door-stop-wedge-alarm-p=513

 

These are travel alarms. They are wedges that fit under a door and will alert you if there is an intrusion.

Lots of good stuff on this site and recommended by our own San Diego Police Dept.

I have been intruded on via guns and I am now very cautious. I wouldn't have slept the entire trip either. I totally understand where the OP is comming from and it isn't an issue to be taken lightly. Royal should not have taken this lightly.

[lais]

Ok, #1, I'm not going to go back to quote a previous poster but the batteries were dying, they were not fully dead. I was told an orange light blinked which indicated that the batteries were dying...Was this is my Royal Caribbean contract/policy? I didn't see that in there.

 

And #2, there was NO DEADBOLT. There was a lock that was connected to the electronic mechanism which did not work because the batteries were dying. There was no gold lock at the top to clasp over...Thank you to the other poster for posting a pic of the Majesty door.

 

I can not honestly believe I am sitting here having to defend myself! I did NOTHING wrong and some of you guys are truly unbelievable. If I have to put a chair up to my door to prevent any kind of intrusion into my hotel/cruise room, I think there is a huge problem.

Again...........................

http://www.thehomesecuritysuperstore.com/super-door-stop-wedge-alarm-p=513

[chadbeck]

6 pages of how to use a dead bolt on a cruise ship. To funny!

[John Henry on CC]

My husband and I were at a hotel once where this happened. This man walked into our room because they gave him our room key. We weren't in our underwear wathcing tv though:eek:

Oh my goodness!

 

What compensation did the hotel give you?

[SonomaMist]

What wasn't so great was the very first night I spent on a cruise ship a strange man walked into my room at 3:30 in the morning. He was clearly drunk and walked into the wrong room! How you may ask? Because Royal Caribbean didn't conduct the proper maintenance on the doors and the batteries were dead on the door which gave anyone with any Seapass card access to my room. The things that could have happened to me or my husband or my belongings (because, lo and behold, not all Monarch rooms have safes) are just too scary to think about. And you want to know what I got to make up for the sleepless nights I had to endure after that incident? A $50 credit to my Seapass account!

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean is 100% at fault. Just because you didn't use your dead bolt and just because batteries do fail, this doesn't mean RC gets a free pass. They have ultimate liability for this gross invasion of your privacy. You have every right to be upset that your security -- and your sense of security -- was compromised.

 

I'd write the company. Seriously.

PS: I'm an insurance liability underwriter.

[wayne_trisha]

Ok, #1, I'm not going to go back to quote a previous poster but the batteries were dying, they were not fully dead. I was told an orange light blinked which indicated that the batteries were dying...Was this is my Royal Caribbean contract/policy? I didn't see that in there.

 

And #2, there was NO DEADBOLT. There was a lock that was connected to the electronic mechanism which did not work because the batteries were dying. There was no gold lock at the top to clasp over...Thank you to the other poster for posting a pic of the Majesty door.

 

I can not honestly believe I am sitting here having to defend myself! I did NOTHING wrong and some of you guys are truly unbelievable. If I have to put a chair up to my door to prevent any kind of intrusion into my hotel/cruise room, I think there is a huge problem.

 

I was just kidding. My CSI stuff was supposed to be funny. I have been on the Monarch twice and we had a deadbolt each time. If I was awoken by some drunk in the middle of the night I would have beat the F out of him/her if they came at me or my wife.

 

This is not normal and you should have had a deadbolt on your door.

[wayne_trisha]

Royal Caribbean is 100% at fault. Just because you didn't use your dead bolt and just because batteries do fail, this doesn't mean RC gets a free pass. They have ultimate liability for this gross invasion of your privacy. I'd write the company.

 

When the batteries die, the lock goes into fail mode and can not be unlocked with an electronic card. You would need a key.

[andrzej5914]

6 pages of how to use a dead bolt on a cruise ship. To funny!

 

;) yes it is.... it seems like some people just don't get out too much

[crcossel]

Ok this was really funny.

 

I feel really bad for the OP but I don't understand what else they want out of RCCL? They fixed the problem and gave a credit right?

 

Now....the funny part was the discussion of a deadbolt. HAHAHAHA.

[NorbertsNiece]

I'm recalling raising 3 children.... and never being able to lock the bathroom door behind me .... never having the privacy desperately needed....

 

99% off topic.

[madforcruising]

I don´t want to get into the argument about technical terms and how to call those devices.

The one thing I want to point out though, the nob you turn from the inside (under the door handle), has nothing to do with the electronic operated door handle.

However this (let´s call it dead bolt, just to make it easy) dead bolt can be opened with a key from outside. If you have a look at the doors on cruise ships (and I´m talking about cruise ships here not Hotel rooms), have a keyhole on the outside, right where the "dead bolt" sits on the inside. So any crew holding this key can enter your cabin even with the "dead bolt" closed.

[madforcruising]

OK, I searched for a pic and here is one, though I admit it´s not very sharp, as the entire pic was focused on something different.

 

[madforcruising]

Has anyone actually had or heard of a robbery in ones cabin? In all my years of cruising I have never heard about someone braking into cabins and burglarizing them. I have heard about people loosing something on the ship and it never shows up at the lost and found but that is way different then having your cabin burglarized.

 

For all those that are around CC for some time - anybody remembers the classic story about money missing from the desk during the night time? I think Garfield was accused;):D:D

[madforcruising]

OP, I'm sorry this happened on your first cruise! Please don't let that deter you from cruising in the future!

 

What could have happened is that the drunk guy lost his seapass and had to get a new one made but gave the desk the wrong cabin number. Ideally, they would have checked his ID and name before issuing a new one but I've seen it at hotels where they just issue a new key. Maybe "batteries are dead" was their genric excuse to cover a mistake?

 

Unfortunately, this theory makes the most sense to me.

 

jc

 

To me too!:)

 

 

Once in a Hotel in NYC I was given a room number and keycard upon check-in, well making my way to the room and opening the door, this room was obviously in use. I didn´t see someone in there, but very well someone could have been in the bathroom. I didn´t even set foot in there, but turned around to go back to the front desk.

 

Sh ahmm I mean Stuff happens, I agree the situation was no way the OP´s fault, though could have been avoided by using the "dead bolt". The cruiseline on the other side addressed the situation, corredted it and gave an OBC for the inconvenience. Sounds sufficient to me.

[PattyG12]

For all those that are around CC for some time - anybody remembers the classic story about money missing from the desk during the night time? I think Garfield was accused;):D:D

 

Yep, and I also remember the guy that left "several hundreds" in his safe and swears his room steward took one of them each day ... Sorry, off topic. This is why I put magnets on my door so it doesn't look just like everyones door.

[Ocean Boy]

and so you propose daily battery changes so we can all pay more in cruise fares? nah, ain't nothing that important in my room. I'll take teh bargain fare and the chance of a dead battery. It is acceptable risk to me.

 

Nope. I don't care about daily battery checks. I just want the door to stay locked when I leave it that way.

[mommabean]

I have a stupid technical question. If the battery was dead, how does that make any SeaPass card work? :confused:

 

Is it that the door didn't lock at all? Otherwise, wouldn't it still take a power source to recognize a card (any card), then release the lock?

 

I wondered about this, too. We recently had a battery die in our own room on a ship. It was the battery to the safe of all things. That meant we could NOT open the safe door. Maintenance had to be called, they had to take apart the safe door and replace the battery. We then reset the code and it worked again...for us only I hope.

 

Gina

[Ocean Boy]

dead bolt - a lock that is totally separate from any keyed(electronic or not) lock and can only be locked when one is inside the stateroom, hotel room, apartment, house, etc... and once locked it can't not be opened from the outside unless somebody kicks the door in.....

 

The procedure requires a manual interaction of the person in the room. You need to turn the knob. If it does not work, call guest services and have it fixed.

 

Well, I pretty much have to start agreeing with you. Except, on some doors on ships that I have been on there is a keyed lock on the outside of the door that can be used to retract the dead bolt. I guess that so if security does have to get into the cabin with the dead bolt activated they have a way to get in without breaking down the door.

[Aquahound]

Ok, #1, I'm not going to go back to quote a previous poster but the batteries were dying, they were not fully dead. I was told an orange light blinked which indicated that the batteries were dying...Was this is my Royal Caribbean contract/policy? I didn't see that in there.

 

Oh, relax. The technicalities are being discussed. I, for one, still don't understand how a dying battery would change the programming to allow any SeaPass card to open the door. Like someone else mentioned, I think they couldn't explain it, and gave you a battery excuse.

 

I think you are embellishing the situation by making it a "what if." I'm sorry this happened to you, but the fact is, nothing happened. No one was robbed. No one was beaten. Let's keep it what it was, not a "what if."