Disappointed with RCI

[Shanafan]

The contributory issue with client-based service delivery organizations is that aid and benefits are dispensed by staff members with unstable and unreliable degrees of competency and proficiency, thus the consumer is at the mercy of individuals who may or may not have said client’s welfare at the vanguard of their desires. Consequently, service dilemmas can and do arise which may influence the consumer to experience discontentment with the product conveyed, resultant in disparagement and deprecation.

 

(How'd I do??)

 

LeeAnne :) :)

 

WOW!! Now THAT is funny! Can you translate that into English? :eek: Are you sure your name is LeeAnne?? :rolleyes: :D

[bUU]

I hope no one is surprised that the children of Cruise Critic are still defecating rather than debating, when faced with perspectives they don't like. Well, at least they're not out on the streets.

They are going for the mass-market clientele and discount cruising these days. Nothing wrong with that at all, just different from how they used to be.

Precisely. One of the best services Cruise Critic provides is helping customers gain a better understanding of what truly reasonable to expect.

[phish]

My DH and I were on the same Grandeur sailing. I'm so sorry you had a less than pleasant experience. I was accused on several occasions of setting my expectations way too high. Fortunately I wasn’t disappointed. Following are my/our opinions. Please know that I’m not discounting anyone else’s experiences or opinions; just stating our experience overall.

 

1. We booked through a TA and received notification of the Grand Cayman/Key West port change before we left home (don't remember if it was one or two weeks before). I also read about it on this board so I checked the RCCL website to verify. One reason we booked this cruise was to visit Grand Cayman so I was originally very disappointed. However, after visiting Key West, I told DH that I'd love to go back and spend a few days! It was, by far, my favorite port of call! We visited St. Thomas on a cruise 15 years ago about two weeks after Hugo hit. It DID NOT look like a tropical paradise. Everything was chewed up and spit out and they were still on emergency generators. I was disappointed. I'm afraid Grand Cayman might have left the same impression if we'd stopped there.

 

2. We had three experiences with the Pursar's Desk (one is listed under #6 below): The first time to get a copy of our SeaPass account (didn't want any unexpected surprises!!); and the second time to buy the little dining room menus. Weird, I know, but I wanted to have them as a memento! I don't recall the employees being overly bubbly, but fortunately they weren't rude. I guess they couldn't get their backs up since we weren't asking anything too difficult! I do know they were always busy with a line several people long.

 

3. We didn't book any excursions through the cruiseline. I did so much research on these boards, we just decided to throw caution to the wind and fly by the seat of our pants. However, we did see Sameer (I think that was his name) at the pier in Cozumel and asked him about Paradise Beach. He said he had never heard of it and that he would be happy to book an excursion to a beach! Of course we didn't want to do that so we smiled and said, "No thanks!" We just got in a taxi and asked for Paradise Beach; we were there in about 15 minutes and had a great day! Then we found out that the excursion he wanted to sell us was the next beach over! Needless to say, I bet he knew where Paradise Beach was, but didn't want to tell us since he couldn't sell an excursion. It made both of us a little angry, but we got over it pretty quickly laying in the sun at Paradise Beach!

 

4. Shopping Talks .... ugh. 15 years ago when we sailed on Song of Norway (our first cruise and at the time we thought we'd died and gone to heaven!) I remember the shopping talks being truly educational and worthy of the time spent listening to them. After the one on Grandeur, I will not go to another one. Maybe I was dozing off (and I DID doze off during the talk!) but DH or I neither one remember them saying anything about a special place to watch the parade. We decided to eat in the dining room instead of going back into port to try and watch a parade in an area overcrowded with locals and cruise ship passengers. I'm not very adventurous so I enjoyed the time on the ship alot more than fighting the crowds.

 

5. Our waiter, Eloy, was terrific. I wish you had experienced the service we had in the dining room every evening. We ate every dinner there (late seating, table 31). He knew all of our names when we entered the dining room Sunday evening, was extremely courteous and answered lot of questions about how food was prepared (I'm an EXTREMELY picky eater!). After our first night in the dining room, our assistant waiter, Taufin, brought a glass of iced tea for me every night for the rest of the cruise without me having to ask. Tony, the head waiter, visited our table several times each evening and we had nice conversations with all three of our dining room service personnel.

 

6. The airline changed our flight time out of New Orleans from 1:01 p.m. to 10:57 a.m.!! We were so afraid we weren't going to make the flight! DH went to the Pursar's desk on Thursday evening, told them about the situation, and without hesitation they gave him white tags so we could be with the first group off the ship. We made the flight!

 

On Thursday morning (our second "at sea" day of the cruise) I went up to the pool to find a chair. I had the same experience you did. That is one thing that upset me. Almost no one was actually sitting in a chair. They were all just full of towels! I went up to Deck 10, found a couple of women laying on towels ON THE DECK (no chair), and asked if I could throw my towel down and join them. We had a great conversation and I got a little more sun!

 

Other than the couple of "dislikes" I mentioned above, we had a great overall experience on this sailing. People are different (especially when there are 2,500 people all within close proximity to each other!). What bothers one isn't an issue for another. I was just glad to be on vacation (it had been 2 1/2 years since I'd taken a week off work) and enjoyed seven uninterrupted days with DH.

 

I wish you could have had the same experience.

 

Lee Ann

 

PS – Oh, and there was that intermittent “sewer” smell on the ship (just in case someone accuses me of being “Ms. Merry Sunshine”!!).

[MrPete]

when faced with perspectives they don't like.

 

Who can tell if "they" don't like the perspective? Most claim they pass right over it, so the words end up being wasted.

[xpcdoojk]

I hope no one is surprised that the children of Cruise Critic are still defecating rather than debating, when faced with perspectives they don't like. Well, at least they're not out on the streets.QUOTE]

 

Could someone tell me exactly what he is talking about? I don't remember seeing anyone on this thread going to the bathroom, and I do see a lot of debate. I am needing some clarification, and this was just one sentence.:confused:

 

jc

[caxxandra]

I'm so sorry your cruise did not turn out as wished!

 

 

But I'm doing the bird dance here, putting my head down inot the sand and pretending I did not read this for may own sake.

 

It's my first cruise!

 

And when it comes to readning these boards and get influance.... No good sometimes.

*lol*

The first time I found this board I read about the NCL, who I was thinking of cruising with.

Read the real story of someone who got scared, mutulated, left behind, almost set on fire and so on. That made me panic and quickly get a booking with RCCL instead...

 

After hanging around these boards I've learned that everyone have a diffrent taste , opinion and income....

 

 

 

I wish you the best on your next cruise!

 

And I'm looking forward to mine soooo much!

 

Best regards

Sandra

[stretch]

I hope no one is surprised that the children of Cruise Critic are still defecating rather than debating, when faced with perspectives they don't like. Well, at least they're not out on the streets.Precisely. One of the best services Cruise Critic provides is helping customers gain a better understanding of what truly reasonable to expect.

 

Could anyone pleassse translate the above dribble into a some form of statement that is understandable??? Or is it that he wants to debate poopy diapers??? Looks like it's true, the Bic is back in town!

Your buddy!

Stretch

[Shar27]

I'm so sorry your cruise did not turn out as wished!

 

 

But I'm doing the bird dance here, putting my head down inot the sand and pretending I did not read this for may own sake.

 

It's my first cruise!

 

 

Sandra, I just got back from my first cruise this past Sunday on the Radiance. I too refused to take too much stock in what people were saying on these boards and wanted to just go and enjoy my cruise in my way.

 

I had a fabulous time. I do not feel my expectations were too high and therefore was not let down in any way. Yes...there were chair hogs, but I think you will find that in any resort around any pool. Otherwise the shows were great, the food was great sometimes and fine other times, the people were very nice all the time.:D

 

Enjoy yourself. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

 

Sharonna

[skiiergirl]

The way I see it, anyone with experience on RC or questions about that line can post here. It's an open forum. We should be able to hear both positive and negatives in order to make an informed and educated choice about our next cruising experience. ;)

 

Deb...I agree with you wholeheartedly. I was not saying that we shouldn't have positives and negatives. What I was saying is that Stretch should not criticize those that can see both positives and negatives. All he appears to be doing is showing the negatives. I have agreed with him many times on these boards that quality has gone down. But he wants to say that "RCI loyalists" are out there and not telling the truth about the quality of the cruise. That is what I was disagreeing with him on. I agree that these boards are for us to all share our thoughts and opinions. I just don't think we have to "bash" each other. But if "bashing" him gets him to quit "bashing" "the RCI loyalists" then so be it. My intent is not to "bash" or "flame" it is just to say that we all have thoughts and opinions and there are positives to every cruise. If he has no intent on sailing RC and he has such negative feelings, he needs to leave "the RCI loyalists" be. We did a b2b over T-giving. We went from the absolute best dining room staff we have ever had (Jewel) to the absolute worst we have ever had (Mariner) the next week. It was just the opposite for cabin steward. We went from the absolute worst cabin steward we have ever had (Jewel) to maybe not the absolute best but very, very close (Mariner) the next week. Food quality isn't what it used to be but prices aren't what they used to be. Would I pay more for better food? Yes. I have said that numerous times. But the average cruiser wouldn't so I don't see prices going up to increase food quality. I just feel there are positives out there to be shared along with the negatives we do share and just because we choose to share the positives too we should be NOT labeled and criticized.

[skiiergirl]

I think a great deal of this has to do with luck and timing. Our first trip on the Radiance to the caribbean was terrific in just about every aspect. A short time later we sailed the Radiance again to Alaska and the service was pretty average to poor with the exception of Portofino's. The service we had on the Adventure was the best to date, the Jewel was sketchy. The blanket statement that they have gone down hill just doesn't fit.

I think a much more accurate description is inconsistant. Unfortunately, one day can be great, the next one poor. I think RCI needs some better middle management to make the services on board much more consistant and regular.

This cruise line is not marketed as 5 star, it is a main stream, blue collar, bread and butter cruise line. If you know that going in, you get what you expect. They do need to work on uniform service though.

 

Well said.

[xpcdoojk]

I forgot to mention that I agree with Erie Dave, and Stretch O, your font is growing out of proportion.... :p

 

 

jc

[dc-snoopy]

Oops...sorry...double post...read the edited one below

[dc-snoopy]

And in my limited way, I must be an RCI loyalist with my head buried in the sand and been blindly lead by others to believe that the service I've received is illusory and nowhere near as good as my imagination paints it to be. I've never travelled on any other cruise line, so I can't possibly be expected to know what really good quality and service are.

 

stretch, that's bunk. I travel RCI because I enjoy the experience. Obviously your mileage *DOES* vary. I have only been on 2 cruises and I've enjoyed it. I like the more active lifestyle. From what I've read about some of the other higher end cruiselines, they value good food over activities. I like the rock climbin wall and the larger gym. I like the shipshape program. The food level is fine for me (above average). Since I keep active enough that I neither gain nor lose weight on a cruise, I really am not looking for higher quality food that will cause me to eat more or worse eat more unhealthy. Although I cherish fine dining, I find that it encourages me to overindulge which is neither good for my high cholesterol or weight (and I don't need to extend my 20 lbs overweight to more, thank you). The service I have received from my stateroom attendants and wait staff has been exemplary. I've had problems with room service and purser's desk staff and each time, a discussion with the appropriate managers has come with appropriate apologies and compensations. I've been treated to smiling and helpful crew members wherever I've been on the ships. I've never had a complaint that wasn't addressed and redressed. I know, I've been fortunate, but until it becomes unacceptable I'll just continue to enjoy the experience. When I find that the service and quality for my personal experience dips below what I find acceptable, then I'll look for another cruise line.

 

I know my experiences are not the same as everyone's (on my last cruise with dc-diva's wedding, several people had some rather unpleasant problems), but DW and I have lead a charmed cruising existence to date. My evaluations are not merely to be RCI-loyal, but to evaluate the service and quality I've received to date which are very good. And I've watched cruisers around me receive not so good service and quality, but as I haven't been there when they dealt with it or with the people who they dealt with, I can't say how it was handled. I merely give the benefit of my experiences compared with other vacation services/quality I've experienced.

 

-A happy dog in his happy daydreams that RCI is good...

[FinelyCruising]

....a philosophy that is a thousand times better than nit-picking.

[Chef Sandy]

We were on the same sailing and I agree that service has declined over the past few years. Our last cruise was Celebrity Millenium two years ago and there is no comparison. Our last RCCL cruise was on Rhapsody of the Seas in 1997 and I see a big change in service since then. A few examples:

 

A tablemate asked for a second entree one night and the waiter frowned and said he'd see if there was any left (we had 1st seating)

 

Waiter and Asst waiter looked very overworked, rarely smiled or did any chatting

 

The dirty dishes and glasses sat for long perionds of time around the pool and in the solarium

 

Our cabin looked a bit worn, my closet door swung open with the motion of the ship and was never repaired

 

The chair hogging was out of control and not once did anyone from RCCl do anything (ok that's not a change but they supposedly have a policy now)

 

As far as the itinerary change- I expected it from reading these boards and my TA sent an e-mail to notify us before we left. I enjoyed the food for the most part and we had excellent service from our bar waiter who made up for the lackluster waiters. The shows were excellent. I didn't have dealings with the shopping guide, excursion desk or pursar so I can't comment on those.

I get the impression that they are trying to keep fares low to keep the ships full but are cutting corners wherever possible to keep profits up. I hope Celebrity doesn't follow suit because I will likely be going back to X next time

[bUU]

I agree that these boards are for us to all share our thoughts and opinions. I just don't think we have to "bash" each other.

That seems to be the only way some people know how to express themselves, when faced with perspectives they cannot maturely handle being expressed in their presence.

 

But if "bashing" him gets him to quit "bashing" "the RCI loyalists" then so be it.

I suppose it is worth a shot, since nothing else seems to work with respect to the immaturity that infests online forums. I suppose I can see, and resonate, with your perspective that there is nothing really to lose, since the pollution is so rampant. Good luck with that. I'll gladly help out any way I can.

 

My intent is ... just to say that we all have thoughts and opinions and there are positives to every cruise.

Here's why I believe your idea won't work: It relies on the people who exhibit childish behaviors actually agreeing with what you've said here. You're correct, of course, but those folks won't acknowledge the ethic of community respect. They'll claim that they get to decide (read: rationalize) when it is "appropriate" to engage in puerile behavior, as if it ever could be.

 

just because we choose to share the positives too we should be NOT labeled and criticized.

Again, I wish you luck with that. I think you'll realize the folly of what you're suggesting when you start drawing the parallels between the folks exhibiting the online behavior you're alluding to and your efforts to "reason" with your underaged children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

[Shanafan]

Bicker---what did you ever end up doing about the "Trail Mix?" I remember you started a thread wondering if they sold it on board or where you could get some. When do you plan to do a review of the Serenade?

[Seapup]

It is safe to say that many RCI employees have stated to passengers there are staffing cutbacks and moral is low. However, if prices keep going up and service is low, people will start to go back to land based resorts.

 

I am going on my first cruise to Bermuda in late August. I have five star taste but I am keeping a few things in perspective...

1. I have a balcony room to make the experience better...
   
2. I know the food is not going to be Mortons of Chicago, but more like Olive Garden or something. For two people on a five day cruise the cost is $2000, three meals a day would not allow for "great" food. This is not a Crystal ship...
   
3. Staff cover 1000 plus passengers. I will tip on my way in to get their attention and expect O.K. service. If I get better service it will be a treat and they will be a good tip at the end as well.
   
4. We are in Bermuda port for two days. My husband and I will scuba dive, snorkel, and visit the local places. I have spec'd out costs of taxis and food so there are no surprises...
   
5. Granduer is an older ship, I expect to see some wear. As for size of rooms, we have a sailboat. We travel a lot during the summer on it. If I can live in those close quarters I will be ok with the ship. Its not the Ritz but I am not paying for the Ritz either...
   
6. LAST BUT NOT LEAST...If someone puts a towel on a chair, and are no where to been seen, I am throwing it off and sitting down. PERIOD!:D
   

[Cruishappy@aol.com]

This is ever so true --- I am also very disappointed with RCI -- it has truly gone down on many of the amenities that at one time were outstanding --- as a Diamond Member I have seen the many changes - and many many cutbacks - including the cleanliness of the ship -- at one time - every time you turned around there was always someone cleaning -- wiping - and performing general housekeeping duties --- on our last cruise they were almost invisible --- the food did not come up to the standards of previous cruises -- the service did not come up to the standards of RCI - it was very disappointing --- since our last cruise we gave HAL a try and have been more than pleased --- the crew - the food - the accommodations - just about everything was wonderfull -- I would strongly reccommend to you --- that before you make a decision not to cruise --- that you try HAL - truly a 4-5- star cruise ship --- at this time we have accummulated points on RCI and are planning to utilize them on another cruise on the Jewel - hopefully we will see a change for the better --- we really miss the good old days

[Catnip]

Cruisehappy,

I, too, miss the "good ol days" on RCCL. I have been cruising with them since 1982 and am a Diamond member, also. Many, many changes over the past 5 years or so. I have noticed all that you mention......and that's too bad.

I am trying my first HAL cruise next week!!

[nrdsb4]

This is ever so true --- I am also very disappointed with RCI -- it has truly gone down on many of the amenities that at one time were outstanding --- as a Diamond Member I have seen the many changes - and many many cutbacks - including the cleanliness of the ship -- at one time - every time you turned around there was always someone cleaning -- wiping - and performing general housekeeping duties --- on our last cruise they were almost invisible --- the food did not come up to the standards of previous cruises -- the service did not come up to the standards of RCI - it was very disappointing --- since our last cruise we gave HAL a try and have been more than pleased --- the crew - the food - the accommodations - just about everything was wonderfull -- I would strongly reccommend to you --- that before you make a decision not to cruise --- that you try HAL - truly a 4-5- star cruise ship --- at this time we have accummulated points on RCI and are planning to utilize them on another cruise on the Jewel - hopefully we will see a change for the better --- we really miss the good old days

 

I don't have your cruising experience, so I can't talk about the "good old days." I have cruised Disney, Carnival, HAL, and RCI (2). In my opinion (and I realize it's only one opinion), I saw VERY little difference between any of them. On our HAL cruise, we booked a suite and were literally blown away by the size of it; really, it was huge. We had great service. However, the ship, though fairly new, looked dated to me and the food was NOT good. RCI, beautiful ships with some really fun ameneties, but food no better than HAL. In fact, I've never had what I would consider to be great food on a cruise, but it's always been adequate. So what seems like a decline in the cruising experience to others is in my experience the NORM. All of the cruise lines I've traveled are considered "mainstream" cruise lines, so I guess that explains it.

 

The point I'm making is that if you have been dissatisfied by the RCI experience, I would not have really high hopes of having a substantially improved experience on any of the other "mainstream" cruise lines. Certainly some of these lines do some things better than others, but on the other hand, they are not so great in some areas as others are. I think to get the experience of the old days, one has to be willing to pay substantially more and cruise one of the luxury lines.

 

That said, I've never cruised Princess, Celebrity, or Crystal, which are probably considered higher up on the scale of the mass market cruises...

[Andipanda1]

I hope no one is surprised that the children of Cruise Critic are still defecating rather than debating, when faced with perspectives they don't like.

 

Well, that was just gross. :confused: And totally unnecessary.

 

As for the subject at hand, my RCI experiences have, overall, been good, but frankly, as ships get bigger and bigger, there are going to be changes in service to accomodate the volume, and that's why we've tended to do the smaller ships in the line. I remember our first sailing on a 3 day NCL cruise to the Bahamas in 1995, when we embarked, we were shown to our stateroom by our cabin steward. It was very impressive; formal night was indeed formal, and we were truly pampered. We also paid more for this sailing (we had an outside cabin) than we do for cruises on the same itinerary now. On a ship with about 1,000 pax, adequately staffed, little niceties like that can happen. On an ultra-Voyager with over 4,000 pax, and reduced staff, there's no way it can happen. And passengers who book these ships should keep that in mind. However, there is no excuse for bad service or rude ship personnel.

[hstrybuf]

I agree. Really bicker, did you ever stop to think that others might find your style just as offensive? Don't smack me! Just think about it.

[xpcdoojk]

Not a possibility!:D :p ;)

 

jc

[FinelyCruising]

Sure was an edgy thing to say.