Royal Caribbean International will offer compensation to 130 passengers of the Seren

[Ocean Boy]

As an aside, OB, how long without power at your house? Parents beach house was a few days and last I knew my Uncle who is in Westerly proper with a neighbor on O2 so should have been on a priority repair list was still without power as of yesterday. Some of the cuz reported it was due back on in her area on Sunday.

 

We only lost it at our house for 2 hrs. on Sunday during the storm. My parents were out from Sunday to Wednesday afternoon. And my office never lost power. However, we had no cable or telephone at my house until Friday morning.

[teamfour]

Can we beat this dead horse any more thoroughly?

[DaytonCruiser]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4592

 

 

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez confirmed that those passengers who missed the ship and opted not to try to board the ship mid-sailing will now be entitled to a future cruise credit equal to the value of the missed sailing, as well as a refund of prepaid expenses (gratuities, shore excursions, restaurant reservations, spa treatments and the like). There will be no cash refunds for the missed cruise or for hotel accommodations required in San Juan -- or even flights back home.

 

In a statement, the line said it is "compensating these passengers because we understand that this was an unusual situation, and we want to provide our guests with another opportunity to sail with Royal Caribbean International in the near future."

[funfamilyfun]

Who should have cautioned? RCCL? How? By calling all 2600 passengers? That's a bit much.

 

quote]

 

 

There are automated systems used to make phone calls. A person doesn't have literelly make the calls. These systems are used in schools, cities, etc.

[honeypie72]

I was wondering if RC had some kind of software that made phone calls. I know when we had a problem with our engine on the MOTS, they called us the night before with a pre-recorded message stating that we'd miss Key west and instead go to Cozumel for a longer stretch.

[lovesublime]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4592

 

 

 

Not good enough. Our one and only RCI cruise was a huge let down and it really turned us off from cruising-on any line for a good number of years. I will never give this lousy excuse for a company another penny. What a cheap a$$ way of doing business.

[futaba951]

Not good enough. Our one and only RCI cruise was a huge let down and it really turned us off from cruising-on any line for a good number of years. I will never give this lousy excuse for a company another penny. What a cheap a$$ way of doing business.

 

 

Duck and cover, baby!! Them's fightin' words on this board.

[kruz gal]

How about another perspective on this... while it's very nice and great customer service to offer compensation, I personally do not think RCCL should have to do this simply to avoid the negative smears and "social media" blasts they are unfairly getting. What if they had not taken off early? What if they had instead gotten stuck in the departure port for a day or so and could not sail due to the storm's location... in that event, RCCL would probably have a shipload of passengers griping about how their cruise was impacted/ruined by not leaving on time, not visiting XX island, etc. I've seen those same complaints before on these boards, about how cruises were negatively impacted by storms and many passengers feel they should be compensated for missing a port. So... does this all mean that the cruiselines should just bear the brunt of whatever storm is out there and get stuck compensating their passengers for acts of Mother Nature?? Whichever course of action they take, they get criticized for it. Not that anyone will have any pity for them (and not suggesting you should) but the cruise lines already experience losses when they don't have a full load of passengers... they count on you to spend $$ in the bars, casinos, excursions, etc. but now it is being suggested that they should pony up and lose MORE money, but the storm is not RCCL's fault. I say, buy travel insurance, pay attention to what's going on weather-wise, plan ahead, and take some personal responsibility rather than just stick your hand out and demand compensation for something that Mother Nature did to you. Honestly, the cruise lines have to make choices for the safety of all... why should they be penalized for that when you made the decision to NOT spend the money on travel insurance?? Also, RCCL has a feature on their website that allows you to request changes or updates to be sent to your cell phone... No, I don't work for a cruise line, but I do work for a resort that gets clobbered with this "compensate me" stuff every time there are weather problems, as if we should be responsible for that.:(

[Messunderstood]

 

Who should have cautioned? RCCL? How? By calling all 2600 passengers? That's a bit much.

 

 

 

Let's see.....

 

I get computer generated phone alerts when my daughter's school is closed due to weather (there are 4 high schools, 4 middle schools and about 10 elementary schools in this school system. (not sure how many kids/households this entails but I assume it's a bunch)

 

Our county is about 70% rural and there are not enough outlying emergency sirens to alert people of possible extreme weather/disaster so there is a computer generated call system in place to alert all households (with a phone or cellphone). The last census puts our county at 60,300 people.

 

There is a State prison in our county. IF/when there is an escape :eek: ALL registered households (land line or mobile) are once again called.

 

We are a small Kentucky county BUT given that every household in an entire county can be notified when needed.....2600 people could have easily been notified if such a system was in place with RCCL.

 

My opinion doesn't amount to much BUT....had I and my family been left high and dry without a guarantee to shelter (with a storm bearing down) when I had met all MY requirements for boarding you had better bet that I would be PISSED and considering legal representation.

 

I might just have to give CCL a try after how WELL they stepped up to the plate for the people they had to leave behind whether they were obligated to do anything for them or not. This comes from a person who has ONLY sailed with RCI thus far.

[queenL]

Royal Caribbean International will offer compensation to 130 passengers of the Serenade of the Seas who were stranded in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Aug. 21 after the cruise ship left port early to avoid Hurricane Irene. "We are compensating these passengers because we understand that this was an unusual situation, and we want to provide our guests with another opportunity to sail with Royal Caribbean International in the near future," said spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez.

 

Not a day too soon!

[Rancher Dave]

Let's see.....

 

I get phone alerts when my daughter's school is closed due to weather (there are 4 high schools, 4 middle schools and about 10 elementary schools in this school system. (not sure how many kids/households this entails but I assume it's a bunch)

 

Houston ISD with tens of thousands of folks to be called, multi numbers in most cases, so I would guess in excess of 100K calls only take a few hours. That would be every passenger on every RCCL ship so the technology is definitely there... Only quoted to show the scalability after the school example used here...very good example!!!

[futaba951]

How about another perspective on this... while it's very nice and great customer service to offer compensation, I personally do not think RCCL should have to do this simply to avoid the negative smears and "social media" blasts they are unfairly getting. What if they had not taken off early? What if they had instead gotten stuck in the departure port for a day or so and could not sail due to the storm's location... in that event, RCCL would probably have a shipload of passengers griping about how their cruise was impacted/ruined by not leaving on time, not visiting XX island, etc. I've seen those same complaints before on these boards, about how cruises were negatively impacted by storms and many passengers feel they should be compensated for missing a port. So... does this all mean that the cruiselines should just bear the brunt of whatever storm is out there and get stuck compensating their passengers for acts of Mother Nature?? Whichever course of action they take, they get criticized for it. Not that anyone will have any pity for them (and not suggesting you should) but the cruise lines already experience losses when they don't have a full load of passengers... they count on you to spend $$ in the bars, casinos, excursions, etc. but now it is being suggested that they should pony up and lose MORE money, but the storm is not RCCL's fault. I say, buy travel insurance, pay attention to what's going on weather-wise, plan ahead, and take some personal responsibility rather than just stick your hand out and demand compensation for something that Mother Nature did to you. Honestly, the cruise lines have to make choices for the safety of all... why should they be penalized for that when you made the decision to NOT spend the money on travel insurance?? Also, RCCL has a feature on their website that allows you to request changes or updates to be sent to your cell phone... No, I don't work for a cruise line, but I do work for a resort that gets clobbered with this "compensate me" stuff every time there are weather problems, as if we should be responsible for that.:(

 

The weather is also not the pax fault. Why should the cruise line be able to abscond with their money and not provide the contracted service when they did not fulfill their half of the contract? Sure, the weather forced the port to order them out early, but if the passenger has a ticket that says the ship sails at 8:30pm and they show up at 6:30pm and the ship has already sailed, the pax have done everything right and still got the shaft. It's not the passengers fault either. They should at least get a refund or fcc because services were not rendered even though the pax fulfilled every reasonable expectation as outlined in their contract. No reasonable person would think that the cruise line is in any way entitled to just keep the money. Sometimes businesses just have to eat some expenses because stuff happens like this. It's part of doing business. To somehow try to shift all liability to the customer in this case is morally wrong. Someday when a similar situation hits YOU, you will be outraged. Trust me.

[honeybee85]

They did nothing to ensure the safety of those customers who were left behind. By leaving them behind they put them in a position of potential danger and forced them to seek their own accommodation, nit knowing if they could afford to do so, or even if there were suitable accommodation available to them. They abandoned these customers completely.

 

 

 

This time it was a hurricane. Next time, it could be a pending harbor strike stopping you from boarding. The nature of the issue is quite irrelevant as to how those issues are dealt with.

 

 

Are you serious? For a start you could be the next person to experience this. Secondly, just because it doesn't happen to you, doesn't mean you should ignore the fate of those who have experienced significant stress. Do you donate to overseas crisis relief?

 

Quite serious although I am unsure what my charitable habits have to do with this issue. I still believe it is no ones business if the company compensates or at what level they compensate. That is a private matter. All I need to know I knew when Royal didn't contact the guests.

 

Because people who patronize a company want to have a idea of how they will be treated when they ARE one of the ones who are affected. I never quite understood the attitude that "if something doesn't affect me why should I care."

 

I guess I'm just not nosey...?

[honeybee85]

The weather is also not the pax fault. Why should the cruise line be able to abscond with their money and not provide the contracted service when they did not fulfill their half of the contract? Sure, the weather forced the port to order them out early, but if the passenger has a ticket that says the ship sails at 8:30pm and they show up at 6:30pm and the ship has already sailed, the pax have done everything right and still got the shaft. It's not the passengers fault either. They should at least get a refund or fcc because services were not rendered even though the pax fulfilled every reasonable expectation as outlined in their contract. No reasonable person would think that the cruise line is in any way entitled to just keep the money. Sometimes businesses just have to eat some expenses because stuff happens like this. It's part of doing business. To somehow try to shift all liability to the customer in this case is morally wrong. Someday when a similar situation hits YOU, you will be outraged. Trust me.

 

I don't think they were saying the cruise ship should keep the money but rather that the cruise line doesn't owe compensation to the guests. No the guests were not to blame but Royals cruise ticket contract says they are not legally liable either.

[YYC F/A]

I don't think they were saying the cruise ship should keep the money but rather that the cruise line doesn't owe compensation to the guests. No the guests were not to blame but Royals cruise ticket contract says they are not legally liable either.

 

This may be true for the by the book legal sense of the argument not to provide flights or hotels to guests whom missed the departure.

 

This still doesn't justify RCI not refunding people's cruise fare (and pre-purchased onboard services) whom did not make the ship.

 

At the end of the day, most of these guests did arrive in time, and per the guidelines stated in their cruise ticket contract. While Royal may reserve the right to depart early, if the customer has complied with the stipulations set by Royal (and most did), then they should get a refund. In cash.

 

A future cruise credit valid only for a year is not acceptable.

 

As many others have already posted on the CruiseCritic News comments - it's too little, too late.

 

Remember - most of these folks arrived in time per their contract with Royal. They should be refunded their cruise fare even if Royal elects not too pay compensation for hotels/flights etc.

[Cruising89143]

Are they still refusing to pay for anything? This isn't the first time a cruise line has initially decided not to pay then pay. Some might not be happy with the compensation, but they are compensating people.

 

As for who they should have cautioned. That was referring to the couple that were in San Juan and had called.

 

A little to late in my book. RCI should have stepped up to the plate from day one and helped those guests left behind. No excuses for the way that those people were treated. They only decided to do something AFTER the media got a hold of the story. Are they that stupid? Guess so. Goldstein should be out on his keister. It starts at the top.

[honeybee85]

A little to late in my book. RCI should have stepped up to the plate from day one and helped those guests left behind. No excuses for the way that those people were treated. They only decided to do something AFTER the media got a hold of the story. Are they that stupid? Guess so. Goldstein should be out on his keister. It starts at the top.

 

Not true. They had told affected guests and travel agents the next day (8/22) about the compensation. They just left the media out of it.

[caribbean sailor]

Elvis' birthday is January 8th. This was announced on or close to his death date. I know that was in August, don't remember exact date.

 

Does Royal offer Future Cruise Credits for missing ports due to a hurricane? My cruise last year missed 3 ports due to Hurricane Paula and we were given 25% off future cruise. That was on a Carnival ship. According to their contract they didn't have to do anything, but they have a good Public Relations Dept. and they know how to keep their customers happy and coming back.

 

I did enjoy my cruise on AOS out of San Juan back in 2007. I loved the ship. The promenade is wonderful and those Promenade rooms are great. But, I don't know if I can cruise with a company that would just leave people on an island without having a room set up for them with a hurricane approaching. Just my opinion though.

 

 

I like your opinion. Royal Caribbean was wrong.You said it all.:eek: :(

[mommabean]

Not true. They had told affected guests and travel agents the next day (8/22) about the compensation. They just left the media out of it.

 

The person we met on the ship told us about the 30% future cruise credit he had coming. He heard about it from his travel agent.

 

Gina

[Ocean Boy]

Quite serious although I am unsure what my charitable habits have to do with this issue. I still believe it is no ones business if the company compensates or at what level they compensate. That is a private matter. All I need to know I knew when Royal didn't contact the guests.

 

 

 

I guess I'm just not nosey...?

 

If you think that being concerned about how a company acts and treats its customers in the type of situation that we have been talking about all has to do with being nosey then so be it. Feel free to go on with your life concerning yourself with you. I'm not even quite sure why you are reading and posting to this thread since it obviously has nothing to do with you.

[Cuizer2]

How about another perspective on this... while it's very nice and great customer service to offer compensation, I personally do not think RCCL should have to do this simply to avoid the negative smears and "social media" blasts they are unfairly getting. What if they had not taken off early? What if they had instead gotten stuck in the departure port for a day or so and could not sail due to the storm's location... in that event, RCCL would probably have a shipload of passengers griping about how their cruise was impacted/ruined by not leaving on time, not visiting XX island, etc. I've seen those same complaints before on these boards, about how cruises were negatively impacted by storms and many passengers feel they should be compensated for missing a port. So... does this all mean that the cruiselines should just bear the brunt of whatever storm is out there and get stuck compensating their passengers for acts of Mother Nature?? Whichever course of action they take, they get criticized for it. Not that anyone will have any pity for them (and not suggesting you should) but the cruise lines already experience losses when they don't have a full load of passengers... they count on you to spend $$ in the bars, casinos, excursions, etc. but now it is being suggested that they should pony up and lose MORE money, but the storm is not RCCL's fault. I say, buy travel insurance, pay attention to what's going on weather-wise, plan ahead, and take some personal responsibility rather than just stick your hand out and demand compensation for something that Mother Nature did to you. Honestly, the cruise lines have to make choices for the safety of all... why should they be penalized for that when you made the decision to NOT spend the money on travel insurance?? Also, RCCL has a feature on their website that allows you to request changes or updates to be sent to your cell phone... No, I don't work for a cruise line, but I do work for a resort that gets clobbered with this "compensate me" stuff every time there are weather problems, as if we should be responsible for that.:(

 

What if Royal Caribbean had treated their passengers as well as Carnival did? Then everybody would be happy and this thread would not exist.

[Cuizer2]

I don't think they were saying the cruise ship should keep the money but rather that the cruise line doesn't owe compensation to the guests. No the guests were not to blame but Royals cruise ticket contract says they are not legally liable either.

 

So does Carnival's, yet Carnival stepped up and did the right thing.

[yj2cute]

If you think that being concerned about how a company acts and treats its customers in the type of situation that we have been talking about all has to do with being nosey then so be it. Feel free to go on with your life concerning yourself with you. I'm not even quite sure why you are reading and posting to this thread since it obviously has nothing to do with you.

 

Completely agree!

 

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

[Pushka]

I was wondering if RC had some kind of software that made phone calls..

 

In Australia we get an automated text message if there is a bushfire in our area.

 

Quite serious although I am unsure what my charitable habits have to do with this issue. I still believe it is no ones business if the company compensates or at what level they compensate. That is a private matter. All I need to know I knew when Royal didn't contact the guests.

 

I guess I'm just not nosey...?

 

You stated you don't bother with things unless they happen to you personally. Charity is all about caring for people WHEN things don't happen to you personally.

No, you are not nosey but I don't think you are caring either.

Not true. They had told affected guests and

travel agents the next day (8/22) about the compensation. They just left the media out of it.

 

Ah, no. How can you make this statement if a) you are not nosey and b) it wasn't on the media?

And that statement is wrong anyway according to people who were actually left behind and who posted on another thread.:rolleyes:

[Arnold1]

I was on Serenade of the Seas at 3:00 on August 21, 2011 with my family. I was utterly flabbergasted when I heard that RCCL was not fully compensating the guests for the ship's early departure. Why? Because they failed to provide anyone with any notice about the early sail. How could you tell 2600 people you ask? Well, just like you tell them to fill out their "My Time Dining" by email? Well, RCCL didn't know how bad the weather would be you ask. My opinion is that they were watching the weather and must have known about the potential for this storm.

 

The big issue for me ist that those 164 people (I heard announcement made circa 4:30 on Seranade of the Seas), should have been notified of a potential problem by email as early as Friday afternoon, August 19. By 5:00 pm on that date, it was clear that Irene, still a tropical storn, was bearing down on San Juan. I know because I received a weather report from my company about the oncoming storn and its potential effects on San Juan on Friday late afternoon.

 

 

Why wasn't email communication attempted? RCCL had our email addresses. I don't know, but you have to wonder . . .

 

*How would a Friday email from RCCL to the folks who were going to sail on Sunday affected those individuals?

*Would people have opted to use travel insurance purchased through RCCL simply to cancel based on announcement that the ship may not sail at its scheduled time due to an oncoming storm?

*Would people have opted to buy "Last Chance" travel insurance offered by RCCL through, I believe, Friday night to have the option cancelling on Sunday morning?

 

 

Clearly, the techology was there. Emails from RCCL are constant during the run up to the cruise. As I stated earlier, I got many asking me to complete my "My Time Dining." Couldn't this simple technology be used to inform the people who were about to be passengers?

 

I talked with a couple who came aboard in Aruba. They told me that they got to Aruba via Panama and their luggage got to Aruba via New Jersey. They were very unhappy.

 

Turns out Carnival took care of their guests. RCCL should get off its butt and offer the same deal to its customers. It's only fair, especially becuase they may have screwed the pooch on the potential "failure to provide adequate notice" end of things.

 

Anyway, it was our first cruise and notwithstanding anything that I say above, I loved it. Service, food were excellent. The staff was amazing. We did our own excursions and 4/5 of them were super. I will cruise again with RCCL, but I will watch them closely and pounce on them when I have to - just like I do with any corporation that I percieve isn't being fair to me or my friends.