Chaos of the Seas--Wesbound TA

[Paulette3028]

If you don't understand it by now then you probably never will unless you try it for yourself. And as of right now, they are not cranking out bigger and bigger ships. Anthem/Quantum are both smaller than Oasis/Allure.

 

Keep in mind that they are building another Oasis class ship, and both Quantum and Oasis classes are significantly larger than the Freedom class ships.

 

The bigger they are, the less intimate and cozy they are. I am not so interested in going to an amusement park on the ocean as I am for having a vacation with enough to do.

 

We are going back on a Freedom class ship this February. We did Allure this past summer and it was a fun experience, but I am not so sure it would fall into the 'class of ship that I like the most'. That is why we are going on Indy. I loved Liberty a few years ago, when we sailed on her....she was big enough, yet not too big.

[CVU]

Four of us arrived from Amsterdam about 11:30 to board. We got upstairs and then it was a jamb of people checking in. There were a lot of check in people but all temporary workers I think their badges said. They all tried their best, it was just a lot of volume in one small area with no lines formed until all C&A Gold up and Suites were directed into one line. TA and Gold went another way when you got to the start of the line. We figured it would not be an easy embarkation for such a large ship there, as it was not a normal stop.

 

The Captain sent a letter 1st night, I gather FEW got....., saying we Must leave the ship between 11-12noon. Wish I kept the letter as so Many did not get it! This could have been announced a few times the day before and made it easier for everyone to know what they had to do.

He said--- it could be a lengthly wait and process before we could board the ship again about 1 PM after immigration, etc.

 

We Had to exit and show our passports to be stamped and then we got a hole punched in our Sea Pass Card.

I understand some refused to get off and others heard this announcement over the PA and left then ASAP!

 

We got a hole in our Sea Pass when we were stamped and did see one passenger on board later, with No hole that got on in Rotterdam. Passengers from Rotterdam had a coloured sticker on their card, so we could tell she did not get off the ship to be stamped. I guess she had to have someone come on board to stamp her or other's passports to clear the ship. English was not her first language.

 

RCL did try to get Immigration to come on board but I heard from an Officer, they refused, so all passengers had to get off.

 

Some of the 1400? TA on in Rotterdam..... I heard on disembarking were arguing about their bills at GS. I guess maybe they thought the mini bar was free too?:rolleyes: That delayed clearing the ship.

Then passengers that did not get the Captains letter or those that were not getting off!! could have delayed Embarkation even more?

 

In Southampton there was no place for in transit passengers to reboard and we had to shove our way to the door showing our Sea Pass Card. Then it was OK once inside to reboard.

Edited November 12, 2014 by CVU

[Susie51]

Thanks for the info

[royzer76]

If people followed the pre boarding times that were set forth by rccl we wouldn't of had all the boarding issues. I asked a handful of people what floors they were on when waiting in line and not a single person I spoke with was suppose to be there at that time. Everyone showed up early which flooded the small ports and caused a complete back up.

 

That really wouldn't have helped.

 

The vast majority of passengers were in the crown and anchor scheme, platinum and above, and they could board anytime from check in opening. Deck number didn't even come in to it.

 

As I posted elsewhere this was a huge oversight by RC. No point trying to stagger boarding when the process you choose to do it doesn't apply to most of the people.

[jimp1266]

I was on this cruise and echo what most have said about the issues encountered on this sailing. I avoided these threads because I did not wish to get aggravated again recounting our experience. Now that some time has passed I ventured into this thread and was surprised to read that RCCL is offering compensation to "everyone." My wife and I have not received this email. In fact I had to call yesterday just to receive the refund from the cancelled chef's table that they stated would be automatically refunded. Has anyone else not received this compensation email? Is the offer of compensation only being sent to those that have voiced their dissatisfaction to the cruise line?

 

 

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[truffles2]

I'd like to know the answer to that too. We have not received anything. We also did not (for the first time) receive the post cruise satisfaction survey.

[camptalcott]

I am not questioning anything OP said. I was not there. However, I have found that on TAs there is an unusually large number of adults and repeat cruisers that participate in the same types of things. [i.e. trivia, movies, etc] This leads to overcrowding. . . . And, it seems everyone eats on the 6pm seating. [ok--mostly everyone] Our late dinner seating was more than 1/2 empty. I am sure the shows timed for the main dinner seating we packed. :eek:

 

Iffy weather adds to this. The public areas are packed. Also, excursions tend to spread out eating times for breakfast and lunch. When everyone is on the ship they all tend to eat within a 1.5-2 hr time frame.

 

On our TA last month we tried to watch a movie for three days. We did not get there early enough to get a seat at any time. Decided we did not want to arrive more than 30 minutes early to see a movie we could see on Netflicks. :D

 

Here's the thing I don't understand though, if you have figured out when the high grazing hours why can't RC and make adjustments?

 

My family owned and operated a restaurant in NYC for 37 years, after a while my grandfather and uncle (who ran the place) could tell you with pinpoint accuracy, people's eating patterns.

Breakfast gets crazy btwn 7-9? Ok, over staff your venue, over staff your kitchen. have hours overlap. plan activities around the ship to ease the pressure off of the kitchen.

 

my point is these are not random events, these are events that RC can plan for. bad weather? break out plan B, extra movies, karaoke, games for the kiddies.

[SA Traveler]

I was on this cruise and echo what most have said about the issues encountered on this sailing. I avoided these threads because I did not wish to get aggravated again recounting our experience. Now that some time has passed I ventured into this thread and was surprised to read that RCCL is offering compensation to "everyone." My wife and I have not received this email. In fact I had to call yesterday just to receive the refund from the cancelled chef's table that they stated would be automatically refunded. Has anyone else not received this compensation email? Is the offer of compensation only being sent to those that have voiced their dissatisfaction to the cruise line?

 

 

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Everyone should get the voucher but they are saying they will be mailed in about six weeks.

 

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[UNV-IT!!!]

But, if you were D+ or whatever, you could come when you wanted? So, the boarding times were not for C&A members etc. at higher levels.

 

Rotterdam was not prepared for this size of ship, to check in but Southampton was just disorganized period!! Our worst ever, in about 60 RCL cruises!!!

We were in transit and so we only had to return to the ship after exploring Southampton. There was no place for us to enter and no direction from anyone??

 

Right I could show up when I wanted because of my tier level. But most people in line were just showing up whenever they wanted. Which completely ruined boarding for those who showed up when they were suppose to.

[UNV-IT!!!]

Or the other way to look at it is RCI brought their ship to ports that were not capable of dealing apporpriately with a ship of this size. I'm not sure that a sampling of a handful of people proves anything for a ship that was going to load over 5000 people.

 

Actually rccl had a plan in place. They had set times for people to show up. If people actually followed the correct times there wouldn't have been issue. Simple. I think sampling people in line is a great example. Most people I asked weren't tiered meaning they SHOULDNT have been in line. Remove all those people and the lines wouldn't have been an issue. Once I made it indoors I walked on the ship as I was able to board with the D and D+ people. Again no line. All the people standing around waiting weren't tiered hence they were just standing in the port not boarding. Again remove those people and there wouldn't be an issue. I was there. I experienced it. Facts are facts. People didn't follow the plans that were set in place because everyone assumes rules dont apply to them

[UNV-IT!!!]

That really wouldn't have helped.

 

The vast majority of passengers were in the crown and anchor scheme, platinum and above, and they could board anytime from check in opening. Deck number didn't even come in to it.

 

As I posted elsewhere this was a huge oversight by RC. No point trying to stagger boarding when the process you choose to do it doesn't apply to most of the people.

 

Exactly C&A people didn't have to wait. We walked right onboard. The people who caused the jam up were the people who WERENT allowed to board because they showed up too early. So they just stood around causing a traffic jam. Again remove the people who weren't suppose to be there and ALL those people standing around not boarding wouldn't be there so no traffic jam

[papcx]

I wasn't on this TA so my opinion is based on just that, my opinion.

 

A ship has a legal requirement to have a zero passenger count before the new cruise can embark (at least that's what I understand from reading these boards.)

 

From that point it's the cruise line that dictates who goes on when.

 

However, from my point of view, I've paid for embarkation day as part of my fare, just as everybody else has. Why can't I board asap to enjoy as much of that day as poss. Even if that means I have to wait to a que for a while?

[insidecabin]

I wasn't on this TA so my opinion is based on just that, my opinion.

 

A ship has a legal requirement to have a zero passenger count before the new cruise can embark (at least that's what I understand from reading these boards.)

 

From that point it's the cruise line that dictates who goes on when.

 

However, from my point of view, I've paid for embarkation day as part of my fare, just as everybody else has. Why can't I board asap to enjoy as much of that day as poss. Even if that means I have to wait to a que for a while?

 

I think you will find that is only a US requirement, not a EU/UK one where multiple embarkation ports an B2B operate without having to leave the ship.

[fairymum]

I was on this cruise and echo what most have said about the issues encountered on this sailing. I avoided these threads because I did not wish to get aggravated again recounting our experience. Now that some time has passed I ventured into this thread and was surprised to read that RCCL is offering compensation to "everyone." My wife and I have not received this email. In fact I had to call yesterday just to receive the refund from the cancelled chef's table that they stated would be automatically refunded. Has anyone else not received this compensation email? Is the offer of compensation only being sent to those that have voiced their dissatisfaction to the cruise line?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I had the email and I have not voiced my dissatisfaction

[Paulette3028]

I was on this cruise and echo what most have said about the issues encountered on this sailing. I avoided these threads because I did not wish to get aggravated again recounting our experience. Now that some time has passed I ventured into this thread and was surprised to read that RCCL is offering compensation to "everyone." My wife and I have not received this email. In fact I had to call yesterday just to receive the refund from the cancelled chef's table that they stated would be automatically refunded. Has anyone else not received this compensation email? Is the offer of compensation only being sent to those that have voiced their dissatisfaction to the cruise line?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

Here is a the email and phone number of a department at Royal corporate offices in Miami that handles any issue a cruiser may have after a cruise.

 

Email - royalguestrelations@rccl.com

phone - 800-256-6649

 

Reach out to them.

[joandian]

I think you will find that is only a US requirement, not a EU/UK one where multiple embarkation ports an B2B operate without having to leave the ship.

 

I'm not sure about that. On our two TA BTB, one in Barcelona and the other in Rome, we all had to get off the ship so they could zero out the passenger list. Both were nightmares. In Rome, our new seapass cards were left in the cabin but we were left standing on the dock while new passengers boarded (Captain apologized and we all received $150 OBC).

 

In Barcelona there were huge lines to collect the new seapass card before we could even get off the ship. This was totally stupid and I don't know why they couldn't have been given out the day before. Some people didn't get their new cards until lunchtime and many missed organised tours in Barcelona due to this. There were a huge number of BTB passengers - cant remember the exact number now but I think it was over 1000. Getting back on was just as bad. There was supposed to be a designated entry for all the BTB passengers but the terminal was clogged with people and you had to try to get through to a non-existant BTB line. No apology was forthcoming even though many complained about it.

 

Reading all the posts about boarding in Southampton reminded me of the Barcelona fiasco.

Edited November 13, 2014 by joandian

[CVU]

We have had times B2B where we just walk out the door and clear our old Sea Pass card and walk back into another door to enter the New Sea Pass card. When no Immigration etc. is needed.

 

We had our new Cards waiting at the ramp on the way off the ship in Rome on Serenade. They handed them to us there, for coming back on board.

[Big_G]

Exactly C&A people didn't have to wait. We walked right onboard. The people who caused the jam up were the people who WERENT allowed to board because they showed up too early. So they just stood around causing a traffic jam. Again remove the people who weren't suppose to be there and ALL those people standing around not boarding wouldn't be there so no traffic jam

 

Maybe they were taking the advice from multiple CCers who advise people to just ignore boarding times. :rolleyes:

[royzer76]

Maybe they were taking the advice from multiple CCers who advise people to just ignore boarding times. :rolleyes:

 

Yeah I agree. I've seen this posted a lot.

 

But obviously people are only posting what they experience first hand. Obviously RC do not turn away those that shouldn't be at check in. If they did, people wouldn't post 'just turn up, no one checks'.

 

However in RC's defense. In Rotterdam when people (many C&A members like myself who were sick of waiting in a line that was neither priority or going anywhere) started kicking off, some kind of holding area was implemented for those that were not priority and not eligible for boarding at that time. They seemed to be being pulled aside and given a ticket which was called later. Or that's what appeared to be happening.

[Wolfhm]

We love this cruise, no issues. Yes some of our favorite areas were a bit crowded. There was still modification being made during the crossing.

Overall we loved and we were with all of our friends in the CL every night having a great time with old and new friends.

But in honestly speaking I still the smaller to medium size ships.

[John Reid]

Or an ocean facing balcony... just saying booking a boardwalk cabin then compaining you did't see the ocean just seems a bit obtuse to me...

 

jc

Your response seems illogical and unnecessarily condemning. A passenger can book an interior balcony or an interior cabin and still have the desire, even expectation, to have multiple areas on a ship to be able to view the ocean. Or do you believe that those who book interiors on Allure and Oasis should not expect to have ready access to ocean views other than from balcony cabins? That viewpoint would seem obtuse to me.

[UNV-IT!!!]

Your response seems illogical and unnecessarily condemning. A passenger can book an interior balcony or an interior cabin and still have the desire, even expectation, to have multiple areas on a ship to be able to view the ocean. Or do you believe that those who book interiors on Allure and Oasis should not expect to have ready access to ocean views other than from balcony cabins? That viewpoint would seem obtuse to me.

 

Absolutely. If you book an interior room you should have zero expectations to view anything from your room. If you do, you need to adjust your expectations.

[xpcdoojk]

Your response seems illogical and unnecessarily condemning. A passenger can book an interior balcony or an interior cabin and still have the desire, even expectation, to have multiple areas on a ship to be able to view the ocean. Or do you believe that those who book interiors on Allure and Oasis should not expect to have ready access to ocean views other than from balcony cabins? That viewpoint would seem obtuse to me.

 

Ok, :rolleyes:

 

All, I know is that I book ocean view balcony cabins when I cruise. Somehow, I am betting my ocean view is better than an inside cabin, promenade cabin, boardwalk balcony, etc.... Of course, we have established that I am obtuse...

 

jc:D

[Croooser]

We were on this cruise. Boarded in Southampton. We share the opinions voiced here that the staff folks were hustling but the planning and management was poor.

 

They could not even keep the right time on the ITV with the daily clock adjustments. How hard is that?

 

The crowded lines for events were chaotic.

 

When we were approached one evening at dinner in Silk by a supervisor, we expressed some disappointments and he attempted to blow it off with a joke. We let it go.

 

The CD was unresponsive when someone wrote in to him about the issues with lack of adequate spave for scheduled events.

 

etc.

 

Any individual anecdote may seem trivial but the sum of all of them left us decidedly not "Wowed". IMHO they failed to deliver the experience that they promote and promise. At least for us on this cruise.

 

We did not pay much, so we did not feel that we did not get our $ worth but I can not imagine that we will use the voucher promised by Lisa Lutoff-Perlo in her email.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Croooser

[artbcpa]

I am sorry to see that this thread has not ended. I was on the cruise. I have traveled on dozens of cruises and many different lines as I am a travel agent who needs to sample the various cruise lines in order to make objective judgments about them for my clients.

 

To put it succinctly, RCI did not meet the standards on this cruise that they set for themselves. It was not the worst cruise I have been on, but it certainly was not close to the best.

 

For those who travel exclusively (or even primarily) on RCI, I can just tell you that other cruise lines would have handled the problems differently. If you don't travel on other cruise lines, and don't want to, hopefully you and RCI have learned a few things from the experience about some of the limitations that the company and this ship have and adjust your travel plans accordingly. If this was your first experience (or one of the first experiences) you have had with the cruise line, let me assure you that the western transatlantic sailing was not typical of RCI.

 

My biggest concern for my clients is how will RCI react in the future when things go wrong, because they will. That is just the way life is. IMHO, the company needs to do a better job of training their staff. They need to be more visible and be more flexible when encountering unexpected problems. That means that RCI must empower some of their employees not just to recite the company's standard line, but truly think about what they would reasonably expect if they were encountering those problems.

 

I think they call that the Golden Rule.

 

No one expects perfection, but they do expect caring.