Rci Are You Listening???

[Host Kewlguy]

I couldn't agree more! Part of the reason I enjoy traveling is to try the "local flavor". We almost always eat ashore and consider the expense ahead of time. It often makes another cruise memory.

 

Yea, getting food poisoning from food being cooked in unsanitary conditions would make for a wonderful cruise memory. I'll stick to eating the food I already paid for. I'm not Donald Trump that I can afford to eat in every port we stop in. I'd rather save my $$$ for my next cruise.

[slotaddict]

I have been to Bermuda four times on a cruise ship and never once were the bars closed. The casinos were closed.

[hdawson]

Kewlguy. I don't know what your interests are in traveling by cruise or land or your travel history/experience. Do you really think businesses in various ports want to make you sick so you won't come back or bash their community? I've ported in most Caribbean ports and have never gotten sick eating the food or drinking the drinks. I've spent 8 days in Merida, Mexico and will be returning in just 36 more days to travel around the Yucatan state for a full two weeks. Food has always been from good to great, just like at home. Again, I personally think it's a total waste of time to return to the ship for lunch, a minimum of 2 hours of a 9 hour port call. But that of course is just my personal opinion. No one is saying that you are required to experience the food and culture of the various ports and I respect your decision to do as you please.

[lovetocruiserccl]

Food for thought

 

Do you get anything free when your flight is re-route due to weather or when traffic is changed due to a accident?

 

Be thankful you are able to cruise. Enjoy them all.

[Host Kewlguy]

Kewlguy. I don't know what your interests are in traveling by cruise or land or your travel history/experience. Do you really think businesses in various ports want to make you sick so you won't come back or bash their community? I've ported in most Caribbean ports and have never gotten sick eating the food or drinking the drinks. I've spent 8 days in Merida, Mexico and will be returning in just 36 more days to travel around the Yucatan state for a full two weeks. Food has always been from good to great, just like at home. Again, I personally think it's a total waste of time to return to the ship for lunch, a minimum of 2 hours of a 9 hour port call. But that of course is just my personal opinion. No one is saying that you are required to experience the food and culture of the various ports and I respect your decision to do as you please.

 

This is what we do. We eat a big breakfast, leave the ship for the day and return to the ship with plenty of time to prepare for our late seating. I never eat lunch unless I sleep late and miss breakfast. I'm not saying it's wrong to eat in port. It's a matter of personal opinion. The food on the ship has already been paid for. Why should I spend more money to eat food off the ship? I'm not Rupert Murdock. I have a budget here.

[raiderag]

OK, my previous post was a little bit harsh. I apologize. It wasn't terribly far out of line, given the tone the OP used. I was a little bit out of line. I am sure it is terrible to have your itenerary changed like that. I failed to put myself in OPs shoes.

 

As far as compensation goes, you have to consider human nature. Some people would have thought a free drink coupon or $50 onboard credit was a nice gesture. Other would have taken it as a slap in the face, and mobbed the guest relations desk. Others would have taken an offer of any compensation as an admission of guilt, and would have really been hard to deal with. People are just so interesting. Sometimes it is really amazing how people react when you are trying to keep them safe, and make them happy.

[H82seaUgo]

The food on the ship has already been paid for.

You must really get in a conundrum if you eat out, want French onion soup, and find out your entree also comes with soup or salad.

[OceanCruise]

I can certainly understand how the OP and other passengers would be disappointed with the change in itinerary. He has made it clear he understands it was a safety issue. I can also understand that a gesture of goodwill from RCI would have been nice. Was it necessary-no. They don't "have" to do anything. However, as a business, a little something would have smoothed over the customers' disappointment and they would have felt that RCI cared. We were on a Carnival ship that left the embarkation port about 6 hours late due to a hurricane. They had free drinks for an hour and gave everyone a coupon for another cruise plus a letter of apology. That was classy and left us with a good feeling about Carnival. Why, even though we were not impressed with that particular cruise, because of the coupon we booked another cruise on Carnival.

[Host Kewlguy]

You must really get in a conundrum if you eat out, want French onion soup, and find out your entree also comes with soup or salad.

 

I'd rather have the free salad bar.

[beckers]

I was on this cruise with my father who has never cruised and we had a fantasitc time. We never thought RCI OWED us anything by keeping us save from the hurricane. Maybe we OWE them something by making the right decision and keeping us out of harms way. Way to go RCI. :D

[xpcdoojk]

i posted this to "share my feelings" about my recent cruise with others who might have had similar experience. this board has been an invaluable asset to me in the past and i have learned many useful things here. instead of the conversation i had hoped to enter into i find myself put down,demeaned, ridiculed and insulted. i do not know personally the people who have posted here so i cannot make any judgements. i can only hope to take it from where it comes. it is a shame that some people think of shared feelings and thoughts as "amusement". i have never found hurting others to be a meaningful entertainment.why must some turn a discussion into a feeding frenzy? does it have to get so ugly?

 

Actually you said you posted this hopeful of getting attention of the RCI monitors that could address your issues. You might want to reread your first sentence of your initial post. Most of us view this forum as a way to share information and to maximize our cruise experiences. In as much as you have highlighted a problem that should be obvious to anyone cruising during hurricane season you have provided information. As far as using this forum to get the attention of RCI, I don't appreciate it. A nice formal letter is a much better method. This has the feel of an attempt to disparage the cruise line. Something you obviously feel strongly about. Not quite strongly enough to use proper punctuation and capitalization though. Most members of this forum really don't want to participate in your crusade for a little cash and future discounts and free drinks. In fact many of us think that is a rather shabby crusade to bother with. :p

 

jc

[njtom]

once your on the ship, your at their mercy. do some info beforehand and you'll know that. my parents were on the same crusie and they said the staff were exceptionally nice and made up for the change in plans. make the best of the situation and you will have a great time, at least you didn't get shipped to canada unplanned.........

[hstrybuf]

Yea, getting food poisoning from food being cooked in unsanitary conditions would make for a wonderful cruise memory. I'll stick to eating the food I already paid for. I'm not Donald Trump that I can afford to eat in every port we stop in. I'd rather save my $$$ for my next cruise.

 

Yes, that would be quite unpleasant! However, not being Donald Trump either, I still want to try something new ashore. I do my research beforehand, patronize places with good reputations and recommendations from other cruisers, and I don't go for expensive meals.

[PTarbay]

Actually you said you posted this hopeful of getting attention of the RCI monitors that could address your issues. You might want to reread your first sentence of your initial post. Most of us view this forum as a way to share information and to maximize our cruise experiences. In as much as you have highlighted a problem that should be obvious to anyone cruising during hurricane season you have provided information. As far as using this forum to get the attention of RCI, I don't appreciate it. A nice formal letter is a much better method. This has the feel of an attempt to disparage the cruise line. Something you obviously feel strongly about. Not quite strongly enough to use proper punctuation and capitalization though. Most members of this forum really don't want to participate in your crusade for a little cash and future discounts and free drinks. In fact many of us think that is a rather shabby crusade to bother with.

I don't think getting the attention of RCI was the OP's only point in the post.They said they needed to vent also.I think they also wanted others opinions.They have a right to their point of view and to post it.Yes, most of us do view this forum as a way to share information and to maximize our cruise experiences and that includes both positive and negative experiences.I feel sorry for anyone who has anything the slightest bit negative to say here.A lot of times they are ganged up on and ridiculed.I think a lot of people are genuinely hurt by some of the comments and leave these boards.Maybe we are losing a lot of good information and some nice people because of this.As I stated earlier, I do not agree with the OP about receiving any compensation but I think they have a right to their opinion.I would rather pay more to cruise after hurricane season because of all of the things that can happen such as the incident the OP posted about.I have a feeling most agree that RCI did not owe any compensation but I also think that the ones who agree with the OP are probably afraid to post their opinion.I think you had some valid points but I think adding the comment about punctuation took away from it.I really do enjoy reading a lot of your posts.You seem like a very intelligent and knowledgeable person.

[BulldogR]

I drank plent while in port...on the ship

[xpcdoojk]

I don't think getting the attention of RCI was the OP's only point in the post.They said they needed to vent also.I think they also wanted others opinions.They have a right to their point of view and to post it.Yes, most of us do view this forum as a way to share information and to maximize our cruise experiences and that includes both positive and negative experiences.I feel sorry for anyone who has anything the slightest bit negative to say here.A lot of times they are ganged up on and ridiculed.I think a lot of people are genuinely hurt by some of the comments and leave these boards.Maybe we are losing a lot of good information and some nice people because of this.As I stated earlier, I do not agree with the OP about receiving any compensation but I think they have a right to their opinion.I would rather pay more to cruise after hurricane season because of all of the things that can happen such as the incident the OP posted about.I have a feeling most agree that RCI did not owe any compensation but I also think that the ones who agree with the OP are probably afraid to post their opinion.I think you had some valid points but I think adding the comment about punctuation took away from it.I really do enjoy reading a lot of your posts.You seem like a very intelligent and knowledgeable person.

 

You really think the OPs post was more effective because he intentionally didn't capitalize it? It is really hard to take any post serious when the OP makes intentional efforts to not communicate effectively, don't you think?:confused: It is one thing to make a spelling mistake, or to miss a comma. It seems like a totally different one to intentionally never use the shift key.

 

jc:D

[nrdsb4]

I don't think getting the attention of RCI was the OP's only point in the post.They said they needed to vent also.I think they also wanted others opinions.

 

And they got others' opinions. Those other opinions just did not validate the OP's position. Most were civil but firm in their belief that the OP was being unreasonable. This is not mean, nor nasty, nor ugly. Well, the one telling her to seek pyschiatric help was ugly, but most were okay.

 

Why do so many people here translate disagreement into "ugly?" Are only opinions which agree with ours "okay?"

[PTarbay]

And they got others' opinions. Those other opinions just did not validate the OP's position. Most were civil but firm in their belief that the OP was being unreasonable. This is not mean, nor nasty, nor ugly. Well, the one telling her to seek pyschiatric help was ugly, but most were okay.

Why do so many people here translate disagreement into "ugly?" Are only opinions which agree with ours "okay?"

I never stated anywhere that opinions disagreeing with the OP were all mean,nasty or ugly.If you had read all the posts you would see I disagree with them.I agree that most were civil and never said any differently.The particular comment I was refering to is the one you just mentioned.Nowhere have I translated disagreement into ugly.If you read my posts on this thread twice I have disagreed.My point is there are ways of disagreeing without becoming personal or nasty.I didn't in any way mean it pertains to all of the posts or even ones that disagree.If you read a lot of the threads on this board they get very ugly and nasty.I don't know how you got the impression that I translate disagreement into ugly or that I think only agreeable posts are OK.One of the points of my post was everyone has a right to their opinion on either side.

[PTarbay]

You really think the OPs post was more effective because he intentionally didn't capitalize it? It is really hard to take any post serious when the OP makes intentional efforts to not communicate effectively, don't you think? It is one thing to make a spelling mistake, or to miss a comma. It seems like a totally different one to intentionally never use the shift key.

I agree it would probably be taken more seriously with capitalization and the shift key.I just think that with the comment about the punctuation your post isn't taken as seriously.I think it takes away from the points you are making.

[gerif]

One of my co-workers was on this sailing - it was her first cruise and she went with her husband and a small group of friends. When I saw her this morning I said "well, I hear you lost a day in Bermuda" - her reply was "so, what - we had a great time!" She said the food was so good she never got to Portofino (as I had recommended) - and this is a person who eats in a lot of high-end places. She also won over $1,000 in the casino, which could have helped her mood:-) So, not all passengers were upset (or even mildly annoyed) by the loss of a port day.

 

Oh, BTW, I'm with Kewlguy - usually come back to the ship for lunch or have a big breakfast and skip it. Call me cheap, but I do travel a lot and eat in plenty of interesting places, so I don't feel the need to waste port time in a restaurant that may or may not make me sick.

[bobbie0253]

I am not saying RCCL should give anyone anything for missing a port. We have missed ports twice. Once we got the same thing the OP got. Screwdrivers or Blood Mary's from 11:00-12:00 in the afternooon.

 

That said if they choose to give free drinks, as the OP mentioned, why not do it in a way that is a little more fair to everyone? Why not just put coupons in each stateroom that night? It wouldn't cost RCCL much extra to have preprinted coupons with each room steward. If they miss a port they tell their room stewards to give each person a coupon. That way if someone sleeps in late, or misses the announcment at least they don't feel like they were "missing something".

 

JMO

 

Bobbie

[suncruiser]

I had to chime in and agree with those that spoke up about the less expensive cruises during hurricane season. We all know, even those who are new to cruising, that hurricane season is the least expensive time to go. My anniversary is 9/6, but if itinerary was important, I surely would not cruise during this time, I would celebrate with a cruise during a different time of year. You should only cruise during hurricane season if a change in itinerary is not going to matter to you. The reason the cruises are less expensive is for this reason, and this reason alone. It's called supply and demand. There is less demand during this time, plus it is when schools are back in session. In fact, there are many times the RCI ships cannot tender off Coco Cay due to high seas, even during non-hurricane season. You must be open to changes in ports and not always expect reimbursement, even though it may disappoint. Sorry!

[Mr.Adventure]

It is disappointing to have your time in port cut short. It may not have been as big a financial boon to the cruise line. Are we sure that they don't have to pay the dock fees anyway?

 

One cruise we were on we missed so many ports they had to alter the menu because they ran out of the foods printed on the menus since they couldn't resupply.

[nrdsb4]

I never stated anywhere that opinions disagreeing with the OP were all mean,nasty or ugly.If you had read all the posts you would see I disagree with them.I agree that most were civil and never said any differently.The particular comment I was refering to is the one you just mentioned.Nowhere have I translated disagreement into ugly.If you read my posts on this thread twice I have disagreed.My point is there are ways of disagreeing without becoming personal or nasty.I didn't in any way mean it pertains to all of the posts or even ones that disagree.If you read a lot of the threads on this board they get very ugly and nasty.I don't know how you got the impression that I translate disagreement into ugly or that I think only agreeable posts are OK.One of the points of my post was everyone has a right to their opinion on either side.

 

Actually, the second quote you took from my post was not really directed at you, though it would be easy to think so. Sorry for the confusion. My comment was directed at the people who so often get upset when any disagreement takes place on this board, even if the disagreement is civil and respectful. They'll say, "hey, back off! The OP is simply stating their opinion, which they have a right to do! You're all being so mean!" In reality, when someone starts a thread complaining about something but also asking for comments, there is usually very little true "flaming." Some people ask for opinions, but what they really want is validation of their position. They are not interested in any opinion that differs from their own. Everyone has a right to state their opinions, even the people who feel that the OP is being completely unreasonable. But there certainly is no reason for being personally insulting, you are right about that!

[moakes]

I'm wondering if maybe select bars are closed in port (the one(s) that the OP tried to go to), while others are open. Why staff 20+ bars if there are only a handful of passengers onboard?