unhappy on the adventure

[Carolla5501]

People are not reading this post because it's too long.

 

Effective complaints are short and to the point.

 

I got bored and gave up

Edited March 27, 2015 by Carolla5501

[delirious9876]

Blimey !!!!!!!!!!!! This is one of the threads where you think "blimey I'm shocked just how unempathic, judgemental and uncaring a substantial contingent of CC posters are"

 

:( :( :(

[softsands]

I have seen waaaaaay more people agreeing with the OP than I ever expected. OP's trouble was with the airlines. Choiceair is a booking agent that only guarantees they will get you to the ship eventually. Not that they will to the ship in time for embarkation. For people that are saying RCCL is responsible for the AIRLINES delaying the flight and the AIRLINES losing her luggage. If I book through my local travel agency and this happened, do you expect them to refund my whole trip over something like this. No!! This is and AIRLINE issue.

 

And I'm sorry, just using choice air is no excuse for the number of traveling mistakes that were made. Their layover was 45 minutes!!!! That is a ridiculously close layover for any flight, but especially for someone flying in to meet a cruise on the first day. Airlines have delays. Airlines have lost luggage. These are all airline problems that are common and foreseeable. I saw absolutely no complaint that was made about royal caribbean except that she didn't have her run of the stores for free. No idea why this was posted.

 

Yeah, well, maybe RCCL should rethink their affiliations. Don't offer the service if you can't stand behind a quality delivery. But then again, we are talking RCCL here...

[LilBlackDress]

I have read a lot of horror stories about travel, some on Cruise Critic, some on the Internet, some in books, some in magazines, some in newspapers an some on TV. Yours is one of the worst. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this and have your vacation ruined.

 

However, it appears that you do not travel much, and were totally unprepared for the problems that came your way.

 

In today's society, you must have a credit card, even if only used for emergencies.

 

Travel insurance would have helped, even if it only reimbursed later for the additional costs you incurred. IF you read her posts you would know they did have travel insurance. Instead you had to depend on the kindness of others, which in your case was in short supply. Being reimbursed later would have meant that you could have made things easier on yourself by being able to pay for the things you needed (hence the need for a credit card).

 

Do not put anything more valuable in your checked luggage than your clothing. ALL of your medicine should have been in your carry-on. She had a 7 day supply of her meds in her carry on.... one would think traveling from Seattle to San Juan would not use up all her supplies

 

I will never book my flights through the cruise line. There is no such thing as a guarantee. Ships sink, airplanes crash, people get killed in auto accidents that are not there fault, criminals are everywhere. Supposing you had a cruise leaving on September 13, 2001 and back in May of 2001 the cruise line guaranteed you would make it to your ship on time. How do you think that would have worked out? Things happen and there are no guarantees. The problems you experienced in getting to your ship were caused by the airlines. The cruise line has no control over the airlines. She didn't say it was RCI fault, all she wanted was soap, shampoo toothbrush/paste etc and maybe just maybe an I'm Sorry... it goes a long way

 

That said, part of the problem was that you booked your flights through the cruise line, which was trying to get you to San Juan on the day your ship departed. BIG MISTAKE. Forget booking through the cruise line, they don't take responsibility for anything. Book your own flights and make sure to have a back up plan. This means arriving one day prior to your cruise, so that if something happens you still have time to make things work.

 

One of the problems was, you ran out of time. The other problem was, you were a moving target. First you want your luggage in San Juan. Then you want your luggage in Barbados. Then you want your luggage on the next port and so on until finally you want your luggage at home, and it still hasn't caught up with you. Had you had that extra day in San Juan (which would have cost you a hotel stay) there is a good change your luggage would arrive in San Juan the following day before the ship departed.

 

Which would you rather have, the horror you went through, or a hotel bill and all of your luggage and an enjoyable cruise?

 

You've received a lifetime of travel problems in one vacation. Hopefully, whatever you choose as your next vacation you will prepare yourself by doing research, getting a credit card, buying insurance SHE DID!!!, planning your travel to allow for unexpected delays and making sure you are reasonably familiar with how the whole system works (though you certainly got quite an education on this trip).

 

most these replies are full of made up facts... I hope the OP sees all the positive and understanding posts and not all these negative BS replies

[LilBlackDress]

People are not reading this post because it's too long.

 

Effective complaints are short and to the point.

 

I got bored and gave up

 

it was too long because it was FULL OF COMPLAINTS!!

 

so sorry you got bored. I really hope nothing ever happens to you and you need to vent out your frustrations. With that type of an attitude, I doubt many would want to read it

[legaljen1969]

Perhaps Choice Air is not Royal Caribbean and Royal Caribbean is not Choice Air. They do maintain a business relationship with each other. If one finds out that the other is not delivering a quality service up to the standards of their customers, they should look at what the complaint is about and consider whether they want to continue that relationship. If Royal "recommends" an air carrier, then they should be willing to back up their customer/cruiser who uses that carrier. They promote this travel as if it is a package. When they package their services, it is reasonable for someone to believe that the cruise line and the air carrier are both going to work in tandem to make your vacation happen as it should.

 

If this is a persistent problem with Choice Air, or their selected carriers, I do believe that by all means the cruising guests of Royal Caribbean and any other cruiseline who recommends Choice Air SHOULD be writing to corporate representatives and making their plight known. It may cause Royal to revisit that business relationship.

 

I know that a while back, a retail merchant I frequented, had a business relationship with a certain bank for credit card transactions. The bank/credit card company they chose to work with was changing the terms of their agreement constantly. I wrote to the corporate people at the store and found out that I was not by far the first party to complain about the practices of that credit card company. The retailer changed the company that handled their cards.

 

You never know if you are the tipping point that makes a company change their ways of doing something. Maybe they have a formula of how many people have to complain before they see it as a problem. Whether you are the first or the last, you MUST report to them that you view it as an association between their company and the other company that wronged you. If they don't know there is a problem, they will NOT address it. They might not address it anyhow, but at least they will know there is a problem.

[Ocean Boy]

People are not reading this post because it's too long.

 

Effective complaints are short and to the point.

 

I got bored and gave up

 

I read it and thought it was well written.

[Carolla5501]

it was too long because it was FULL OF COMPLAINTS!!

 

 

 

so sorry you got bored. I really hope nothing ever happens to you and you need to vent out your frustrations. With that type of an attitude, I doubt many would want to read it

 

 

 

No it's not full of complaining. The first two paragraphs are background.

 

Then it's a play by play

 

 

 

"We booked Choice Air for our cruise out of San Juan. According to the information on the website this means RCL will assist if there are delays "

 

 

Instead you buried Choice Air in the details,,,,

[fenton04]

I read it and was amazed that the OP refrained from using expletives. I myself would have been tempted to use them if this would have happened to us! Still sorry that it happened.

[Ocean Boy]

No it's not full of complaining. The first two paragraphs are background.

 

Then it's a play by play

 

 

 

"We booked Choice Air for our cruise out of San Juan. According to the information on the website this means RCL will assist if there are delays "

 

 

Instead you buried Choice Air in the details,,,,

 

I thought you didn't read it?

[legaljen1969]

So I went on Royal Caribbean's site and found Air and Ground Transportation. Air Transportation is listed as Royal Caribbean Choice Air. Why would someone who has never cruised with the line think it was not connected? yes, the fine print,.... blah blah blah. So then you click on "Learn More" at the air transportation portion of RCI's site. And it once again says in big letters at the top of the screen Royal Caribbean Choice Air.

Then "Need Flights?" Royal Caribbean has the lowest price. Guaranteed. Book your airfare through Royal Caribbean with all the ease of an online travel site. "

 

At what point does Royal Caribbean begin leading you down the path of "it's not on us?" Once you read the fine print. Sure, we all need to read it but when the BOLD PRINT says Royal Caribbean Choice Air, it is NOT unreasonable to think companies are associated and even maybe the SAME company.

[cruisinfanatic]

Sorry all this happened OP, BUT

Booking flights same day as cruise?

No emergency credit card?

Packing meds in checked cases?

traveling on a plane in shorts and flip flops in March???

Expecting the cruiseline to give you something because an airline lost your luggage?

Blowing $240 for dinner and taxi and you couldn't go to a store and buy a pr of pants?

I could go on

[delirious9876]

I thought you didn't read it?

Good one ! Lol lol

 

That's exactly what I thought as well :)

[delirious9876]

Sorry all this happened OP, BUT

Booking flights same day as cruise?

No emergency credit card?

Packing meds in checked cases?

traveling on a plane in shorts and flip flops in March???

Expecting the cruiseline to give you something because an airline lost your luggage?

Blowing $240 for dinner and taxi and you couldn't go to a store and buy a pr of pants?

I could go on

Classic post relating to my post #78 ! :(

[gkbiiii]

Well let me stir up the Pot a bit: if this had been booked through Disney Cruise line (as I have done myself) for a Disney cruise: none of this would have happened, because Disney would do, whatever was necessary for complete & total guest satisfaction!!!

 

So there is the RCCL way & there is the Disney way: what one would you choose???? :eek::rolleyes:;)

Edited March 27, 2015 by gkbiiii

[bilyclub]

I see fault in the way both parties, (poster, Royal), handled the situation. I'll just add it to the list of people that do no precruise research. but all of a sudden find Cruise Critic afterwards when things go bad. This is just an effort to use us,(Cruise Critic posters), to apply heat to Royal. This is my opinion. That is all.......

[phoenix1181]

Well let me stir up the Pot a bit: if this had been booked through Disney Cruise line (as I have done myself) for a Disney cruise: none of this would have happened, because Disney would do, whatever was necessary for complete & total guest satisfaction!!!

 

So there is the RCCL way & there is the Disney way: what one would you choose???? :eek::rolleyes:;)

 

We're all aware of how you feel about Royal Caribbean. You're adding nothing here.

 

Enjoy your Disney cruise...............

[bilyclub]

Well let me stir up the Pot a bit: if this had been booked through Disney Cruise line (as I have done myself) for a Disney cruise: none of this would have happened, because Disney would do, whatever was necessary for complete & total guest satisfaction!!!

 

So there is the RCCL way & there is the Disney way: what one would you choose???? :eek::rolleyes:;)

 

 

Let's see.....Disney is geared towards kids, Disney costs more, Disney only has 4 ships. This is the Royal board. Have fun on DCL.

[MrsPete]

I'm sorry you had so much trouble; however, the whole situation could've been avoided with a couple better choices, which a more experienced cruiser would've known:

 

- Never fly on the day of the cruise, especially when a connecting flight is involved.

- Pack light and keep control of your own luggage at all times.

- Always keep medicine and other valuables in your carry on.

[Cuizer2]

Well let me stir up the Pot a bit: if this had been booked through Disney Cruise line (as I have done myself) for a Disney cruise: none of this would have happened, because Disney would do, whatever was necessary for complete & total guest satisfaction!!!

 

So there is the RCCL way & there is the Disney way: what one would you choose???? :eek::rolleyes:;)

 

This may be one of the reasons Disney is so much more expensive.

[Ocean Boy]

I'm sorry you had so much trouble; however, the whole situation could've been avoided with a couple better choices, which a more experienced cruiser would've known:

- Never fly on the day of the cruise, especially when a connecting flight is involved.

- Pack light and keep control of your own luggage at all times.

- Always keep medicine and other valuables in your carry on.

 

Well I guess now the OP is a more experienced cruiser.:rolleyes:

[Ocean Boy]

Well let me stir up the Pot a bit: if this had been booked through Disney Cruise line (as I have done myself) for a Disney cruise: none of this would have happened, because Disney would do, whatever was necessary for complete & total guest satisfaction!!!

 

So there is the RCCL way & there is the Disney way: what one would you choose???? :eek::rolleyes:;)

 

I have chosen RCI.... multiple times.

[CRUIS4ME]

Bottom line may lie in being more pro-active on a number of different levels....

Pack for one night and three days with all medication in your carry-on. Lost luggage happens in the air, rail, and cruise industry.

Don't travel without at least one credit card and travel companion should hold a credit card also that is different from your credit card.

Get to the cruise departure point at least a day early and never put yourself on the last flight leaving from the last airport departure point.

Take out travel insurance.

Sorry to read about the nightmare vacation.....although the lost luggage was out of RCCL's control.

[Cuizer2]

most these replies are full of made up facts... I hope the OP sees all the positive and understanding posts and not all these negative BS replies

 

1) Nowhere in her post does she say she has travel insurance. All she says is that she has coverage for her medical supplies. If this information was provided in a later post, so be it. But I responded to her first post, not her later posts.

 

2) "She had a 7 day supply of her meds in her carry on.... one would think traveling from Seattle to San Juan would not use up all her supplies" First of all, clearly both of you are wrong, since in fact it wasn't enough. Second, clearly neither one of you have ever heard of lost luggage. It happens and that is the reason you do not put important items, such as necessary medical supplies, in checked baggage.

 

3) "She didn't say it was RCI fault, all she wanted was soap, shampoo toothbrush/paste etc and maybe just maybe an I'm Sorry... it goes a long way"

 

She she did say it was Royal Caribbean's fault ...

 

"unhappy on the adventure ... But since we booked our flights with the guarantee from Choice to get us to our ship on time, we feel that we deserve a little compensation somehow! "

 

If she doesn't think it is Royal Caribbean's fault, then why did she write what she wrote that I have quoted above?

 

As to the following claim ...

 

"We finally decided to go with the Royal Caribbean – Choice airlines because they guarantee that they will get you to the ship on time. We thought, great!!!

Says it right on their website: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findac...&pnav=1&snav=9"

 

Well, this is what it says ...

 

Finding the right flight has never been this easy! With Royal Caribbean ChoiceAir, you’ll get our lowest airfare guarantee, the assurance that you’ll arrive at your cruise on time, flexible flight options, and 24/7 support if anything comes up. It’s the best way to find airfare for your cruise vacation.

 

It says:

1) you get their lowest airfare guarantee

2) the assurance that you'll arrive at your cruise on time

3) 24/7 support if anything comes up

 

1) The guarantee is for the airfare, not for getting to the ship on time.

2) They only "assure" that you arrive at your cruise on time, they don't guarantee it.

3) They offer 24/7 support. Why would they need to do this if they were guaranteeing that they would get to the ship on time? And in fact they did offer the 24/7 support.

 

Again, I don't us cruise air because of the many noted problems. I don't fly in the day of the cruise, because of the many noted problems. I have several credit cards (though in reality, two would be enough) because of the many noted problems.

 

Could the situation have been handled better? Yes, by the airlines, the cruise line and the passenger. What good is insurance if you can't use it because you cannot afford the extra costs that the insurance would have reimbursed you for???

 

Do not pack necessary medical supplies in checked baggage.

Get a credit card (two would be better).

Fly in the day before.

Be realistic. Nobody can guarantee anything, so if someone does, don't trust them. We do not live in a perfect world. There is no excuse for losing luggage, but it happens, so be prepared if it happens to you. Mechanical issues happen. You have to allow for that.

 

In today's world, you cannot show up at someone's door and say, here I am, take care of me, and then expect that everything will go according to plan.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Cuizer2

[Cuizer2]

Yes, we have travel insurance and ultimately it is not the loss of the luggage albeit alot of valuable things lost that is really bothering me. It is the lack of customer care from Royal Caribbean. Just really disappointed. I guess I will go back to Norwegian!

 

Go back to Norwegian? So the OP has cruised before.

 

So, if this had been a Norwegian cruise, the airlines still would have lost your luggage, you would still be without your medical supplies, but NCL would have been more empathetic.

 

Okay, no argument from me, Royal Caribbean clearly fell short in the customer service department in this case. But if you have cruised before, how could you be so unprepared for problems that unfortunately occur all the time. Again, this does not excuse what Royal Caribbean did (or didn't do).

 

Do you have a spare tire in your car? Do you have a spare key for your house? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. You got the hope part right, but you could use a little more work on the prepare part.