Explorer Review - 10/28/12

[BoxedUp1]

I totally agree with Davy Jones and it's just by the grace of a higher entity did we not make a visit to his locker. After numerous communication with RCCL, they have refused to offer any compensation or acknowledge that they put their guests in harm's way, undoubtedly under the guidance of legal counsel. What really ticks me off, is that when we engaged the Guest Relations Staff on board the Explorer, we were told that all concessions would be handled by Miami. If I knew that was just a brush off, I would have not gone away quietly.

 

I have sent the following to every news outlet and government office I could think of that might be interested in investigating the decision to sail directly into Superstorm Sandy. I urge anyone who feels that RCCL put profits over the safety of their passengers, do the same.

 

And before anyone chimes in that we did have a choice not to sail, let me say that I believed RCCL would make the right decision and change our itinerary, which would have been the prudent plan of action, as they did with the Enchantment. If they would have communicated to us that our course would take us through the hurricane, I'm sure my decision to embark would have been different.

 

 

 

 

Now that we are well on the road to recovery after the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, I would like to bring to your attention a matter that concerns the safety and welfare of cruise ship passengers that embarked from Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ on the October 28, 2012 sailing of the RCCL Explorer of the Seas destined for Bermuda.

 

Hurricane Sandy had become one of the largest storms in history and was making it's way to landfall in New Jersey. Up until Saturday 10/27, RCCL's website posted notices that were updated twice a day and suggested we keep checking back. However, there was not a second update on Saturday and we were left pondering what their plans for our sailing would be.

 

The RCCL Enchantment of the Seas was scheduled to embark from the Port of Baltimore, MD on Saturday October 27, 2012 en route to Bermuda as well, but RCCL decided to offer their guests the opportunity to cancel with a full cruise credit for future use or up to $400 of on board credits. Since we were scheduled to leave the next day, we were expecting RCCL to make a similar offer to us, but none was forthcoming. We had little choice but to sail with the Explorer of the Seas or lose our entire cruise fare.

 

The Explorer of the Seas was scheduled to leave the dock at 4PM but unexpectedly, let go her lines by 3:50PM. We knew it was going to be rough going since it was quite interesting to see the Pilot boat maneuver to pick up the Harbor Pilot after we cleared the harbor in 10 foot seas. The rush was on to escape the wrath of Hurricane Sandy but little did we know, we were embarking on a game of "chicken" as the Captain of the Explorer of the Seas explained our options. Since this was a very large storm, there were 2 routes that he could take to get to Bermuda. One was to take a southerly route which would encounter large waves and tropical force winds from our stern and the second was to take a northerly route which would encounter even larger waves and stronger winds on our bow. He decided to take the lesser of two evils and sail south between the Atlantic Coast and the center of Hurricane Sandy. Needless to say, this was very uncomfortable for most of the passengers on board and those susceptible to sea sickness and even some that were not, were greatly affected by the sea conditions. On Monday, the ship was rolling so much that regular meal and buffet service was suspended due to the inability of the crew to safely carry out their duties and access to the health club on Deck 11 was denied. The reason that access was denied to the health club was that the glass wind deflectors on the forward rail had blown off from the force of Hurricane Sandy and smashed a floor to ceiling window.

 

With all the latest technology available to monitor the conditions of an event as catastrophic as Hurricane Sandy was, why did RCCL make the decision to jeopardize the safety of it's passengers and sail into the path of the strongest storm, as measured by barometric pressure, of the century? Machines break under normal use and if something would have gone wrong while in the midst of this Superstorm, as evidenced by the loss of the HMS Bounty and two of it's crew, who knows how many more would have perished. Why were the guests of the Enchantment of the Seas afforded the courtesy of escaping this Superstorm and we were not? They endured the storm in the safety of Chesapeake Bay but RCCL made the decision that we should sail directly into it.

 

RCCL has failed to communicate the answers to any of the above questions. I implore you to launch a full investigation as to why the decision to sail with passengers into Superstorm Sandy was made and to possibly prevent a similar occurrence in the future with much more dire consequences.

 

Please contact me if you require any further information.

 

[edjny]

And before anyone chimes in that we did have a choice not to sail, let me say that I believed RCCL would make the right decision and change our itinerary, which would have been the prudent plan of action, as they did with the Enchantment. If they would have communicated to us that our course would take us through the hurricane, I'm sure my decision to embark would have been different.

 

RCCL owes you nothing. They did everything the cruise was scheduled to do. There are no guarantees for nice weather or calm seas.

 

Did you not look at the weather map before you left home on Sunday morning? It did not take a genus to see that the ONLY way the ship could go was through the hurricane one way or the other.

 

These ships are designed to take that storm and much worse before there would be any risk or concern. I was not concerned about the safety factor at all on that cruise. The only change to our plan was to use a seasick patch instead of the Bonine due to the higher seas expected. Any fool who did not take medication of some type to ward off seasickness deserves exactly the sickness they got. No sympathy from me for being stupid.

 

As you can tell, I am getting really sick of hearing all these whiners complain. I wonder if there is some pill to protect me from all of them.... :)

[BoxedUp1]

As you can tell, I am getting really sick of hearing all these whiners complain. I wonder if there is some pill to protect me from all of them.... :)

 

Yes, you can choose not to read any further posts.

[gerif]

Yes, you can choose not to read any further posts.

 

Ah, but people really SHOULD read your precruise posts as quoted in your recent thread. Contradictory much? You're making yourself look like an idiot. Get over yourself.

[RareBird]

Royal made the wrong decision! I wholeheartedly agree with OP. Should have given an option to cancel, period. NCL also sailed into Sandy, as did other lines. Very stupid, IMO.

 

I live on NJ coast, right on Hudson river, about 15min from Pier 88 in Manhattan, NCL docks. At my home, we had a LOT of damage. It's heartbreaking. No power for 8 days, lots of damage to our building, my poor cat got sick because how cold it got in my apartment without heat, hot water, no elevators. Sandy was the worst storm I have ever experienced, living here 20+ years. The strength and devastation was so much more than Irene. A lot of people said Sandy was be Irene #2, but boy were they wrong.

 

We book cruises 2x a year, and we do go off-season too. Last year we went in September, and got diverted from Bermuda due to Hurricane Katia. I take my chances, but our Bahamas substitution cruise was so beautiful and easy and calm - no problems at all.

 

If were in OP's shoes, hindsight is definitely 20/20. If I were to pick the worst of 2 evils, I'd probably go just so I did not loose $$. Based on all my prior experiences with hurricanes in our area, they come through quickly, and loose a lot of their strength when they hit land... Sandy was FIERCE AND DIFFERENT, some predicted it, but most had no clue. And through all nor'easter and hurricanes, our building never lost power... until Sandy turned WEST into us.

 

Stay safe everyone.

[stickeypaper]

I have read the many comments and criticism of why people sailed on the EoS on Oct 28 during hurricane Sandy and I feel there are a few "facts" that need to be stated. BTW this is not to compare the devistation that hit the people who live in New Jersey or New York - this is about a cruise and how we were treated by RCCL.

So... a few facts that need to be stated:

 

1. Passengers were NOT given any indication before boarding that this was going to be a rough sailing both going to Bermuda and returning. Had the Captain's description been given to us BEFORE we boarded about the 30 foot waves, rocking back and forth, limited dining room food on Monday, etc... we could have made an intelligent decision to cancel BEFORE going to the port and boarding.

 

2. The RCCL web site did not mention anything about rough seas after the last update on Saturday Oct 27 at 10:00am - there were no web site updates about the conditions of the cruise after that time. And phone calls to RCCL only repeated what was posted on the web site the previous day - in other words, passengers were not told ahead of time what situation to expect.

 

3. RCCL is in the cruise business and passengers are not. As a passenger with NO knowledge or experience of sailing near a Hurricane, I relied on RCCL to have the duty and responsibility to be honest and upfront with the passengers about what to expect before passengers have to make the boarding decision. RCCL did not communicate what will happen until the ship left Bayonne and removed the go/no-go decision from the passengers.

 

4. When pressed for information about the status of cars parked at the port on the way home, guest services said they didn't know and it was up to each individual to asses the damage on their own, after they got off the ship on Sunday. I found this unacceptable as RCCL has feet on the ground in Bayonne and they could have taken pictures of the parking lot (with a $100 camera) and sent them to the ship so people could have the opportunity to see their cars before they got home and make arrangements if they needed. The responses I got from guest services was that they couldn't do that, with no reason why.

 

5. As I stated before RCCL are the experts in the cruise business, I am not and since they knew ahead of time how rough this was going to be, they should have told us BEFORE boarding, not after the muster drill - this was information RCCL had before hand but kept it a secret.

 

6. This is not the cruise that I signed-up and paid full price for - the cruise was not delivered as advertised. Venues were closed, events cancelled, and lines were long to get food on Monday and lines were always long and slow at guest services to get any information, every time I went by there - all week long.

 

7. I am not asking for a refund since we did get 3 great days in Bermuda rather I would have expected RCCL to allow us to cancel and re-schedule without penality - or give some consideration or compensation for a future cruise. This is about treating your customers with respect and sharing the information with passengers so that we can make intelligent decisions.

 

Go ahead and blast me for what I think should have happened and how we were treated - but this is my opinion and it I expected more from RCCL, both before and after the cruise - and its not happening (I have called RCCL after the cruise and shared my opinion with them but they refuse to provide an future compensation or future cruise consideration).

[BND]

I have read the many comments and criticism of why people sailed on the EoS on Oct 28 during hurricane Sandy and I feel there are a few "facts" that need to be stated. BTW this is not to compare the devistation that hit the people who live in New Jersey or New York - this is about a cruise and how we were treated by RCCL.

So... a few facts that need to be stated:

 

1. Passengers were NOT given any indication before boarding that this was going to be a rough sailing both going to Bermuda and returning. Had the Captain's description been given to us BEFORE we boarded about the 30 foot waves, rocking back and forth, limited dining room food on Monday, etc... we could have made an intelligent decision to cancel BEFORE going to the port and boarding.

 

2. The RCCL web site did not mention anything about rough seas after the last update on Saturday Oct 27 at 10:00am - there were no web site updates about the conditions of the cruise after that time. And phone calls to RCCL only repeated what was posted on the web site the previous day - in other words, passengers were not told ahead of time what situation to expect.

 

3. RCCL is in the cruise business and passengers are not. As a passenger with NO knowledge or experience of sailing near a Hurricane, I relied on RCCL to have the duty and responsibility to be honest and upfront with the passengers about what to expect before passengers have to make the boarding decision. RCCL did not communicate what will happen until the ship left Bayonne and removed the go/no-go decision from the passengers.

 

4. When pressed for information about the status of cars parked at the port on the way home, guest services said they didn't know and it was up to each individual to asses the damage on their own, after they got off the ship on Sunday. I found this unacceptable as RCCL has feet on the ground in Bayonne and they could have taken pictures of the parking lot (with a $100 camera) and sent them to the ship so people could have the opportunity to see their cars before they got home and make arrangements if they needed. The responses I got from guest services was that they couldn't do that, with no reason why.

 

5. As I stated before RCCL are the experts in the cruise business, I am not and since they knew ahead of time how rough this was going to be, they should have told us BEFORE boarding, not after the muster drill - this was information RCCL had before hand but kept it a secret.

 

6. This is not the cruise that I signed-up and paid full price for - the cruise was not delivered as advertised. Venues were closed, events cancelled, and lines were long to get food on Monday and lines were always long and slow at guest services to get any information, every time I went by there - all week long.

 

7. I am not asking for a refund since we did get 3 great days in Bermuda rather I would have expected RCCL to allow us to cancel and re-schedule without penality - or give some consideration or compensation for a future cruise. This is about treating your customers with respect and sharing the information with passengers so that we can make intelligent decisions.

 

Go ahead and blast me for what I think should have happened and how we were treated - but this is my opinion and it I expected more from RCCL, both before and after the cruise - and its not happening (I have called RCCL after the cruise and shared my opinion with them but they refuse to provide an future compensation or future cruise consideration).

 

Rough, not life threatening. You cruise, you have waves and wind. Yes, this was a large storm, but the ship can easily handle it. No one guarantees you will have a storm free, wave free, wind free, perfect cruise. Crap happens and you can choose to not go. At no time was anyone in danger. 30 foot waves are not uncommon even outside of hurricanes. High winds are very, very common cruising up and down the east coast. We've had 60+ knot winds just on a regular cruise up and down the east coast. As I said on another thread, we met a couple who were on the cruise and they have cruised a lot. They said, yes, it was rough, but they were not terrified nor did they ever feel in danger. They also said it was just a little rougher than other cruises they have been on. Cruise ships are built to handle quite a bit and this was far from the worst. You might have a leg to stand on if it was truly a life threatening or dangerous situation, it was neither. It was a rough cruise with high waves and wind. It is the sea after all.

[avatheps]

.......I don't want to make people mad at me before I even board my first cruise, but isn't this what cruise insurance is for???:confused:

[BoxedUp1]

.......I don't want to make people mad at me before I even board my first cruise, but isn't this what cruise insurance is for???:confused:

There are many companies that sell trip cancellation insurance that provide for refunds. Only the most costly offer "for any reason" cancellations that will refund your total cruise fare. AFAIK, the trip cancellation insurance offered by RCCL only refunds 75% of your cruise fare.

[Debde]

Everyone is being awful hard on BoxedUp1 but I have to say-being the Enchantment cruise was offered what they were-I can totally see why the Explorer folks are upset.

Calling people 'stupid' for being upset is just wrong. Some folks, probably, until that cruise really did not know what the phrase 'rough sea' really is but I'm sure they do now.:eek:

[edjny]

I have read the many comments and criticism of why people sailed on the EoS on Oct 28 during hurricane Sandy and I feel there are a few "facts" that need to be stated. BTW this is not to compare the devistation that hit the people who live in New Jersey or New York - this is about a cruise and how we were treated by RCCL.

So... a few facts that need to be stated:

 

1. Passengers were NOT given any indication before boarding that this was going to be a rough sailing both going to Bermuda and returning. Had the Captain's description been given to us BEFORE we boarded about the 30 foot waves, rocking back and forth, limited dining room food on Monday, etc... we could have made an intelligent decision to cancel BEFORE going to the port and boarding.

 

2. The RCCL web site did not mention anything about rough seas after the last update on Saturday Oct 27 at 10:00am - there were no web site updates about the conditions of the cruise after that time. And phone calls to RCCL only repeated what was posted on the web site the previous day - in other words, passengers were not told ahead of time what situation to expect.

 

3. RCCL is in the cruise business and passengers are not. As a passenger with NO knowledge or experience of sailing near a Hurricane, I relied on RCCL to have the duty and responsibility to be honest and upfront with the passengers about what to expect before passengers have to make the boarding decision. RCCL did not communicate what will happen until the ship left Bayonne and removed the go/no-go decision from the passengers.

 

4. When pressed for information about the status of cars parked at the port on the way home, guest services said they didn't know and it was up to each individual to asses the damage on their own, after they got off the ship on Sunday. I found this unacceptable as RCCL has feet on the ground in Bayonne and they could have taken pictures of the parking lot (with a $100 camera) and sent them to the ship so people could have the opportunity to see their cars before they got home and make arrangements if they needed. The responses I got from guest services was that they couldn't do that, with no reason why.

 

5. As I stated before RCCL are the experts in the cruise business, I am not and since they knew ahead of time how rough this was going to be, they should have told us BEFORE boarding, not after the muster drill - this was information RCCL had before hand but kept it a secret.

 

6. This is not the cruise that I signed-up and paid full price for - the cruise was not delivered as advertised. Venues were closed, events cancelled, and lines were long to get food on Monday and lines were always long and slow at guest services to get any information, every time I went by there - all week long.

 

7. I am not asking for a refund since we did get 3 great days in Bermuda rather I would have expected RCCL to allow us to cancel and re-schedule without penality - or give some consideration or compensation for a future cruise. This is about treating your customers with respect and sharing the information with passengers so that we can make intelligent decisions.

 

Go ahead and blast me for what I think should have happened and how we were treated - but this is my opinion and it I expected more from RCCL, both before and after the cruise - and its not happening (I have called RCCL after the cruise and shared my opinion with them but they refuse to provide an future compensation or future cruise consideration).

 

RCCL made one mistake.... The kind of expected passengers to have an IQ higher than 90... Anyone with any smarts at all would have KNOWN that they were in for rough seas and high winds after looking at the weather map on the Weather Channel on Sunday morning before leaving home. Do you really need RCCL to hold your had and pat your head to tell you that before you board. You knew where the ship was going and where the hurricane was and was going. Did you really believe that RCCL needed to confirm that to you?

[ryano]

If they would have communicated to us that our course would take us through the hurricane, I'm sure my decision to embark would have been different.

 

One of the largest storms in history was hitting the East coast. Just WHERE, exactly, do you think the ship could have sailed and NOT go through some of it?

 

Did you SERIOUSLY need someone to tell you this? Were you living under a rock before you boarded and not paying ANY attention to the weather channels over the previous weeks?

 

Look, best of luck with your complaining about the big, bad, evil cruiseline Royal Caribbean and the diatribe you sent to the media and whoever else you sent it to :rolleyes: but the bottom line is, RCI owes you nothing and nothing is exactly what you are going to get from this. Go on ahead and waste your time if it makes you feel better but you got the cruise you paid for.

[ryano]

Anyone with any smarts at all would have KNOWN that they were in for rough seas and high winds after looking at the weather map on the Weather Channel on Sunday morning before leaving home.

 

My sentiments exactly.

[shorbr]

RCCL made one mistake.... The kind of expected passengers to have an IQ higher than 90... Anyone with any smarts at all would have KNOWN that they were in for rough seas and high winds after looking at the weather map on the Weather Channel on Sunday morning before leaving home. Do you really need RCCL to hold your had and pat your head to tell you that before you board. You knew where the ship was going and where the hurricane was and was going. Did you really believe that RCCL needed to confirm that to you?

 

Lighten up a bit...would ya...smh

[gerif]

RCCL made one mistake.... The kind of expected passengers to have an IQ higher than 90... Anyone with any smarts at all would have KNOWN that they were in for rough seas and high winds after looking at the weather map on the Weather Channel on Sunday morning before leaving home. Do you really need RCCL to hold your had and pat your head to tell you that before you board. You knew where the ship was going and where the hurricane was and was going. Did you really believe that RCCL needed to confirm that to you?

 

Precisely. DH was tracking that thing via TV and then battery radio once we lost power. Can't believe anyone could have not known what was coming. The only thing that might have kept me home if we were booked on that cruise would have been concern that our pet sitter would not be able to get to our house to care for our cats (none of which got sick BTW despite six days without power).

[BND]

Everyone is being awful hard on BoxedUp1 but I have to say-being the Enchantment cruise was offered what they were-I can totally see why the Explorer folks are upset.

Calling people 'stupid' for being upset is just wrong. Some folks, probably, until that cruise really did not know what the phrase 'rough sea' really is but I'm sure they do now.:eek:

 

Did you read what he/she posted on their roll call before the ship sailed? I'll post the link in a second and you can see why people are being "hard" on him/her.

 

This is just one of several posts along the same vein: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35861135#post35861135

[tahqa]

You guys do realize that the other thread started today was deleted because it got nasty and this one is heading in the same direction... :(

[Coralc]

There are many companies that sell trip cancellation insurance that provide for refunds. Only the most costly offer "for any reason" cancellations that will refund your total cruise fare. AFAIK, the trip cancellation insurance offered by RCCL only refunds 75% of your cruise fare.

 

And I believe Cruise Care 75% is a credit for a future cruise to be taken within one year. It is not a cash refund of monies paid.

[JetsFanCruiser]

To all.......STOP BEING NASTY AND BE RESPECTFUL!!!! THIS RUDENESS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND. IF YOU CAN'T WRITE SOMETHING IN A CIVIL WAY, DON'T WRITE ANYTHING.......

[Coralc]

To all.......STOP BEING NASTY AND BE RESPECTFUL!!!! THIS RUDENESS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND. IF YOU CAN'T WRITE SOMETHING IN A CIVIL WAY, DON'T WRITE ANYTHING.......

 

What????

[Debde]

Did you read what he/she posted on their roll call before the ship sailed? I'll post the link in a second and you can see why people are being "hard" on him/her.

 

This is just one of several posts along the same vein: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=35861135#post35861135

 

The way I see it is, someone, prior to vacation trying to talk themselves into sailing in a hurricane is going to be OK then finding out it wasn't and another ship gave passengers the options to opt out.

I really don't have a dog in this fight. Just trying to see all sides.

[BoxedUp1]

The way I see it is, someone, prior to vacation trying to talk themselves into sailing in a hurricane is going to be OK then finding out it wasn't and another ship gave passengers the options to opt out.

I really don't have a dog in this fight. Just trying to see all sides.

Thank you for your comment.

[edjny]

To all.......STOP BEING NASTY AND BE RESPECTFUL!!!! THIS RUDENESS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND. IF YOU CAN'T WRITE SOMETHING IN A CIVIL WAY, DON'T WRITE ANYTHING.......

 

You are absolutely correct. As one of those who let my emotions take over, I apologize. (if there were an icon for embarrassed, it would be here...) I could have easily written my comments in a form that did not include personal attacks. I will do that in the future...

[dwhite_07017]

You made the informed decision to cruise thru the "STORM OF THE CENTURY." If you felt endangered way anyway it is your responisibilty to err on the side of caution. You chose to go so, SUCK IT UP!