Voyager misses Fiji due to electrical issue

[Sparky74]

This is from the RCI Australia FB page:

 

Hi Everyone, we'd like to give you an update on the current Voyager of the Seas cruise. During her call to Noumea, New Caledonia yesterday Voyager experienced an electrical switchboard issue. Our onboard engineers have been working to resolve the issue but unfortunately this meant that the ship had to remain docked in Noumea overnight and could not continue to her next port of call in Fiji. Voyager departed Noumea at 4pm this afternoon, is now sailing directly back to Sydney and will arrive as scheduled on Tuesday 19 February. We'd like to emphasise that the electrical issue has had no impact on the manoueverability of the ship and that all guest areas are operating as normal. We're sincerely sorry to have to alter the cruise itinerary and we'll keep facebook updated with any other news.

 

My in-laws are on this cruise (their 1st ever). We haven't heard from them but I do know it is a 9 night cruise and had only 2 ports of call: Noumea & Fiji. Someone has posted on FB that RCI are offering 40% off another cruise for affected passengers.

[rkmw]

This is from the RCI Australia FB page:

Hi Everyone, we'd like to give you an update on the current Voyager of the Seas cruise. During her call to Noumea, New Caledonia yesterday Voyager experienced an electrical switchboard issue. Our onboard engineers have been working to resolve the issue but unfortunately this meant that the ship had to remain docked in Noumea overnight and could not continue to her next port of call in Fiji. Voyager departed Noumea at 4pm this afternoon, is now sailing directly back to Sydney and will arrive as scheduled on Tuesday 19 February. We'd like to emphasise that the electrical issue has had no impact on the manoueverability of the ship and that all guest areas are operating as normal. We're sincerely sorry to have to alter the cruise itinerary and we'll keep facebook updated with any other news.

My in-laws are on this cruise (their 1st ever). We haven't heard from them but I do know it is a 9 night cruise and had only 2 ports of call: Noumea & Fiji. Someone has posted on FB that RCI are offering 40% off another cruise for affected passengers.

 

is that 40% off the brochure price or 40% off the online price.....no one should pay the brochure price

[goodycruising]

From the website:

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding and cooperation, Royal Caribbean will provide each guest with a future cruise certificate for the equivalent of 40% of the cruise fare paid for their February 10, 2013, Voyager of the Seas sailing.

 

If you click on the royal caribbean icon top left on the website, the front page comes up with a red update notice at the bottom. Keep clicking from there....

[chrisb74]

6 out of 8 days as sea days. You'd want to love the ship.

[bazzaw]

6 out of 8 days as sea days. You'd want to love the ship.

 

Fortunately, VOS is one ship where you do need 6 days to be able to say that you have seen the ship entirely. We only had 4 ports in our 14 days to NZ - and I can't honestly say I really fully experienced EVERY aspect of the ship. There are 14 or so bars - and I only drank in about 4 of them :(

 

Barry

[The_Big_M]

40% off for missing one port?! That's incredibly generous.

[Roguekidd]

40% off for missing one port?! That's incredibly generous.

 

Don't forget if they were stuck in port the casino, shops etc wouldn't be open. Being stuck in noumea wouldn't be great either :o You can finish that port without leaving the boat.

[The_Big_M]

Don't forget if they were stuck in port the casino, shops etc wouldn't be open. Being stuck in noumea wouldn't be great either :o You can finish that port without leaving the boat.

 

Missing one night of shops and casino isn't really a big deal. They still have the other nights both before and after.

 

Oh, and a number of people were complaining about the shopping on Voyager even when it's open :-) (Though I didn't find it that bad. Not the best, but not the worst either.)

[fishtaco]

Don't forget if they were stuck in port the casino, shops etc wouldn't be open. Being stuck in noumea wouldn't be great either :o You can finish that port without leaving the boat.

 

I am in a minority as I really like Noumea and an overnight would have suited me fine!

[KirkNC]

40% off for missing one port?! That's incredibly generous.

 

That was my take, last time we missed a port we got $75 per person.

[Miamia65]

I agree 40% is way more than we got last year for being guarantined due to noro on rhapsody, we got a FCC equivalent to 1/12th of the fare paid, ie. we were quarantined for almost 40 hours, missed a port and were very unwell.

 

Interesting PR approach to two different events with the same outcome, ie missing a port. Maybe I should ask my TA to query RCI on this?

[rkmw]

That was my take, last time we missed a port we got $75 per person.

 

we have missed out on stopping at a few ports for different reasons and got zero....your cruise line must have been in a good mood to give you something back

[Sparky74]

There were only two ports of call on this cruise so in effect they missed half of the ports.

 

Another way of looking at is is that they only called at one port.

 

The ship is due into Sydney on Tuesday morning & the in-laws are going to stay here on their way home, so I'm sure I'll hear all about it.

[The_Big_M]

There were only two ports of call on this cruise so in effect they missed half of the ports.

 

Another way of looking at is is that they only called at one port.

 

The ship is due into Sydney on Tuesday morning & the in-laws are going to stay here on their way home, so I'm sure I'll hear all about it.

 

But that's what they booked. They still got the rest of the cruise. The cruise wasn't only 2 nights, in which case 1 day is more significant. The 8 other days were as planned, so it's at best 1 out of 9 nights.

[Pushka]

The number of sea days in a normal pacific cruise is one reason I don't like them. 40% discount is pretty reasonable I think.

[robinph]

we have missed out on stopping at a few ports for different reasons and got zero....your cruise line must have been in a good mood to give you something back

 

We were on Princess during the swine flu drama's, and we missed 3 ports in New Caledonea as authority's would not allow the ship to dock or anchor, what did we get for this......not even a free drink!. I would say 40% refund is more than generous,good on RCCL, I wonder if it comes in the wake of the Carnival drama's of the past week. I like Fishtaco would'nt be that upset about an overnighter in Noumea. Robin:)

[bazzaw]

We were on Princess during the swine flu drama's, and we missed 3 ports in New Caledonea as authority's would not allow the ship to dock or anchor, what did we get for this......not even a free drink!. I would say 40% refund is more than generous,good on RCCL, I wonder if it comes in the wake of the Carnival drama's of the past week. I like Fishtaco would'nt be that upset about an overnighter in Noumea. Robin:)

 

Perhaps this matter of "compensation" may depend on whether the problem was of the cruiselines making or not?? Some things like cyclones and norovirus cannot be reasonably blamed on the cruiseline IMO. A fire in the engine room is another matter, even if it was an accident.

[BlBart]

We were on Princess during the swine flu drama's, and we missed 3 ports in New Caledonea as authority's would not allow the ship to dock or anchor, what did we get for this......not even a free drink!. I would say 40% refund is more than generous,good on RCCL, I wonder if it comes in the wake of the Carnival drama's of the past week. I like Fishtaco would'nt be that upset about an overnighter in Noumea. Robin:)

 

We missed 2 ports because of the flu and received 50% off of a future cruise on the same ship in the next year. (on RCCL)

[Mothballs]

Just returned from this cruise this morning and yes we did miss Lautoka.Some people were furious,not mad or upset or disappointed,I mean furious.Anyone would think that we were on the Carnival Triumph doing number one's and two's in a bag the way they carrying on.

Received 40% of the fare paid on this cruise towards a future cruise to be used within two years.I think this smoothed down a few ruffled feathers as the queue to book future cruises was long.I'm glad I booked early for a cruise I already had planned.I just hope that the people using the 40% don't transfer it back to their Travel Agent as sometimes RCCL make the agency wear the cost.

Regards Elaine.

[Shiprobbo]

40% off for missing one port?! That's incredibly generous.

 

Not necesarily - they are receiving 40% off the fare paid on this cruise as a credit against a future cruise to be taken within 2 years. Therefore if they didn't like the cruise and don't go again they get nothing, similarly if they don't go in two years they likewise get nothing.

 

Assuming the fare paid on this cruise was say $1,000, then they get say $400 of the future cruise, but are they allowed to take that off fares that are discounted, or is it off full fare, in which case the discount is really nothing at all. In addition by tying the passanger into another cruise they will reap the benefit of additional onboard spend, on top of the spend from the current cruise and no doubt that was inflated due to the circumstances - bigger spend in the bar.

 

If you ask me the offer is not so much generous as very smart marketing as all that will be remembered in these pages next time there is an issue is that the passangers 'got 40% off', the conditions will be long forgotten.

 

So I ask, what is really better, 40% of a cruise that might or might not be taken in the future, or say $75 for missing a port paid immediately to the onboard account. I know which makes most economic sense for the cruise line and it is not an immediate $75 credit to the on-board account!!

[Cruisegroover]

Speaking only for myself I'd rather the 40% credit off my next cruise than spending a few hours at Lautoka. Some people were not happy but then not everyone had the same expectations as I as I went to experience the ship only. At the end of the day I'd rather stay in Noumea then be faced with a power shortage at sea and a potential Carnival Truimph situation. When travelling not everything goes to plan so make the most of it is my motto.

 

Yes the shops and casino were closed overnight and the next day in Noumea but they would have been closed in Lautoka anyway so it really was one night. RCCL did organise extra shore tours for the second day and they also treated the day like a sea day.

 

The future cruise desk were swamped but you could fill out a deferred booking form and leave it at the Guest Relations desk so that helped.

 

Missing Lautoka meant that they didn't pick up food and supplies as scheduled so by the end of the cruise a few things were in short supply ie nuts and mushrooms!

 

It was strange to sailing so slow - even had to check sometimes to see if we were actually moving. And I saw one of the P&O ships sail right past us.

 

I think we were very lucky as I've reading on FB 8m swells are hitting some of the ships in the area.

 

The Voyager was a great ship and RCCL have admitted that next season some things will be improved ie shopping and more English speaking crew though I thought that the crew did quite well overall.

 

The big question for me is now where do I go next?

[Mothballs]

 

If you ask me the offer is not so much generous as very smart marketing as all that will be remembered in these pages next time there is an issue is that the passangers 'got 40% off', the conditions will be long forgotten.

 

So I ask, what is really better, 40% of a cruise that might or might not be taken in the future, or say $75 for missing a port paid immediately to the onboard account. I know which makes most economic sense for the cruise line and it is not an immediate $75 credit to the on-board account!!

I agree 100% David.I also think that it would be 40% off full fare and as stated previously if the affected passengers book through a travel agent or transfer their booking whilst onboard then I have heard from a very reliable source that RCCL ask the agencies to pay some or all of the discount.

Regards Elaine.

[The_Big_M]

If you ask me the offer is not so much generous as very smart marketing as all that will be remembered in these pages next time there is an issue is that the passangers 'got 40% off', the conditions will be long forgotten.

 

So I ask, what is really better, 40% of a cruise that might or might not be taken in the future, or say $75 for missing a port paid immediately to the onboard account. I know which makes most economic sense for the cruise line and it is not an immediate $75 credit to the on-board account!!

 

That goes both ways. Do you think those passengers who are not going to go again that you refer to are going to remember positively the '40% off?' No way! They're going to be whinging that they got nothing out of it so are even more ticked off.

 

You might say that they aren't going anyway, but like many things people tell other people negatives more than positives. That's not good economic sense.

 

As for remembering, that also goes both ways. Next time someone missees a port there'll be the expectation of a minimum 40%... and imagine if two ports are missed!

 

As for the future cruise benefit, getting a sale of $600 when someone else would pay $1000 is a bit hit to revenue. Yes, there's onboard spending, but there would be onboard spending anyway as these never sail empty and have average occupancy above 100%. So there's a revenue loss rather than a benefit. The only difference is one is $75 loss less margin so say $40 loss, whereas the other is a $400 loss.

 

One is only 10% of the other, so yes it's clear which makes most economic sense for the cruise line and it is not a future 40% hit to revenue!!

[The_Big_M]

And regarding the statement of generosity, from the recently cancelled Triumph cruises, people affected by that have been offered a 25% discount for the same 4-5 night cruise, or 15% discount from a 6 or 7 night cruise.

 

So yes, it is very generous.

[Sweet on the sea]

We were on that cruise, 40% off is ok, but RCCL is not losing that much because the slow ride home and not going to Fiji saved them a fortune on fuel. It doesn't help first timers like us who had excursions booked in Fiji. As we were informed very late on thursday that we were staying in Noumea, there were limited excursions available the next day and nothing suited us. We booked the cruise to snorkle on one of the Fijian Islands and it was dissapointing for the kids to miss it, as it was there first overseas trip. It was also my 40th birthday the day we were suppose to be in Fiji, and that was why we specifically booked that cruise, otherwise we would have gone in school holidays. After one day in Noumea our kids couldn't wait to get back to the ship as they were afraid of the locals and the rude and arrogant shop keepers. They didn't want to leave the ship the next day anyway. As it was our kids first experience of another country it's left them with a bad impression because Noumea isn't one of the nicest cities in the world. So when you take that into account 40% off isn't that great for us.