Royall mess on Liberty

[M&Msmom]

We are on Liberty. Yesterday before we arrived in St Martin, they had everyone who had booked an excursion report to the theater. Since we had already gotten our tickets we thought maybe the we having the groups meet there instead of the dock. We had never seen this done before but we went down . what a diisaster. Everyone was there at the same time and the theater wasn't even open. By the time it was open nearly 50 min later the crowds were backed up to the 5th floor. They then had every walk to the front of the theater to get a sticker, which served no purpose, because you still had to go to the dock and find the person with the sign for your excursion.Some people just gave up after standing and waiting for over an hour, others just went to guest services and cancelled. There were handicapped people struggling to stand that long and also trying to go down the stairs of the theater get the sticker and come up the stairs on the other side, and no one offered assistance.There were many people whose excursions ran late or were cut short for time loss. We had 31 people missing from ours, I think they were still waiting in line. Lol The moral is if they tell you to report to the theater before your excursion, DON'T Go. Just go to the dock, find the sign for you excursion, and have a great time.

[Desert Cruizers]

We have always sent #1 person down to get tickets for our family. Sorry you experienced such confusion, they are generally more organized. Sounds like the people handling the tickets for the groups didn't make it down to the theater thus creating the backup. During a coastal cruise, the cruise planner advertised a Fort Tour, however those that booked on board got information it was a Wine tour. They went on the tour waiting for the driver to take them to a winery in Astoria.:) Friends planning to go were confused so didn't go. There were a lot of refunds that day on that 1 tour.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[FTLcruisers]

it is typical for anyone on a ship's excursion to go to the theater where you check in, they give you a sticker, you hang around until they are ready for your group on the pier and then you proceed outside and meet your tour guide or find your bus. Not sure why there was such confusion on your ship but I would not advise having everyone just go outside with the hope of finding the right guide. If a lot of people booked a particular excursion, they might be divided into several groups and you wouldn't know which one to go to. Also the folks on the dock may just send you back on the ship to get checked in!

 

Marianne

[M&Msmom]

I had thougHt the groups were meeting in the theater, they were not., and you already had your tickets. They did not even open the doors until after the time some excursions we supposed to have already started. At that point you had another 30 to 45 minutes to get through the crowd to get a sticker. There was no direction given, no group to meet. You just had to find your own way to your group out on the dock. By then most were late for their excursion, forcing some tours to be cut short , and some missed it entirely.

[WestCoastCruiser123]

It was this way for liberty in march too. I waited around for a long time for my number in the teens to be called. And that was after waiting a while for people to first get their stickers. I had forgotten about this cluster. Makes me re-think doing a rccl tour this summer.

[M&Msmom]

It was this way for liberty in march too. I waited around for a long time for my number in the teens to be called. And that was after waiting a while for people to first get their stickers. I had forgotten about this cluster. Makes me re-think doing a rccl tour this summer.

 

They never even called numbers... They just gave you a sticker and sent you out without even saying what the sticker was for. It was just one failure after another. We are booked on Liberty again in July, And trust me, I won't do that again.

[Langley Cruisers]

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you; sounds very frustrating. But having said that, I do want to say that ship excursions can and do work wonderfully - they are not always a mess as you said. We booked exclusively with ship's tours for our Med cruise a few years ago, and we had our tickets ahead of time and also met in the theater each morning. We received our sticker, lined up, and followed a staff member out of the ship, onto the pier, and right to our bus. Could not have been easier.

 

As I said, so sorry to hear of your frustration, but they don't all end up like that. :o

 

.

[setsail]

Have not booked a rci excursion for years, but I do remember them meeting somewhere on the ship. I have to ask, what is the sticker for if you already have the excursion tickets?

Edited May 26, 2015 by setsail

[Big_G]

They never even called numbers... They just gave you a sticker and sent you out without even saying what the sticker was for. It was just one failure after another. We are booked on Liberty again in July, And trust me, I won't do that again.

 

How was the rest of the cruise?

[steveru621]

How was the rest of the cruise?

 

I agree, how was the rest of the cruise?

 

RCI does dumb things sometimes. You unfortunately experienced a bad moment. There is no excuse for what they did because normally those numbers are used to meter the number of passengers leaving the ship. Unfortunately most excursions that are on buses that depart from the pier, and a number from the theater is absolutely required. Blanket don't go to the theater is bad advice.

 

It's not your burden, but did you tell someone? Please let us know if the same thing happens at the next port. I'll be on Liberty in September. :)

[TBone2K]

Have been to St. Maarten before, but never had to go get a sticker for the excursions. Not anywhere else for that matter. I know they didn't tell the OP, but for anyone else who has been through this, what is the sticker normally about?

[MaryL31]

Very interesting...we are also currently on the Liberty and although we did not have an excursion booked in Saint Maarten, we did have the Forts of San Juan booked this morning, met in the theater, and there was no problem.

[MaryL31]

BTW-we were also given stickers to wear, and as soon as we got onto the main street in San Juan, there were people directing us which way to go for each excursion according to the sticker we were wearing.

[Desert Cruizers]

The stickers are colored coded so if there is more then one bus for a tour, then you would need to know which number & group you belong on.

[Ladysilver]

We are on Liberty. Yesterday before we arrived in St Martin, they had everyone who had booked an excursion report to the theater. Since we had already gotten our tickets we thought maybe the we having the groups meet there instead of the dock. We had never seen this done before but we went down . what a diisaster. Everyone was there at the same time and the theater wasn't even open. By the time it was open nearly 50 min later the crowds were backed up to the 5th floor. They then had every walk to the front of the theater to get a sticker, which served no purpose, because you still had to go to the dock and find the person with the sign for your excursion.Some people just gave up after standing and waiting for over an hour, others just went to guest services and cancelled. There were handicapped people struggling to stand that long and also trying to go down the stairs of the theater get the sticker and come up the stairs on the other side, and no one offered assistance.There were many people whose excursions ran late or were cut short for time loss. We had 31 people missing from ours, I think they were still waiting in line. Lol The moral is if they tell you to report to the theater before your excursion, DON'T Go. Just go to the dock, find the sign for you excursion, and have a great time.

 

Thanks for the warning! :eek:

[ERIE 13]

I hope they get this straightened out before Oct.

[setsail]

The stickers are colored coded so if there is more then one bus for a tour, then you would need to know which number & group you belong on.

 

Thanks for the feedback

[steveru621]

The stickers are colored coded so if there is more then one bus for a tour, then you would need to know which number & group you belong on.

 

Most ships stopped using color coded stickers. Just like luggage tags are no longer color coded, only numbered. Our last few cruises, when they were used, stickers were consecutive numbers all the same color.

[Nhsaltshaker]

Do things get worse while waiting for Custom's to clear?

[daljcl]

:mad: We had the same thing happen last time we cruised RCCL. Poor system.

[Russ Lomas]

We are on Liberty. Yesterday before we arrived in St Martin, they had everyone who had booked an excursion report to the theater. Since we had already gotten our tickets we thought maybe the we having the groups meet there instead of the dock. We had never seen this done before but we went down . what a diisaster. Everyone was there at the same time and the theater wasn't even open. By the time it was open nearly 50 min later the crowds were backed up to the 5th floor. They then had every walk to the front of the theater to get a sticker, which served no purpose, because you still had to go to the dock and find the person with the sign for your excursion.

After booking ship tours for a couple of years, we always book privately now and not through the ship. I find it saves a lot of money and there are a far greater number of choices. It is amazing how doing a bit of research online can save you 50%, find you great trips through honest reviews posted online (and avoid a mess like you experienced). Hope the rest of your cruise went well. We loved the Liberty when we sailed on her 4 years ago for our first RCCL cruise.

[MrsPete]

One more reason to avoid ship's excursions.

Private tours are so much better in every way, and the fact that they're cheaper is just a bonus.

[cpj]

I agree private tours are so much better. But there are lots of people who believe there going to miss the ship and don't want to worry about that. Went with couple once who did nothing but the ships tours and we did nothing but private tours and we even met at some stops. I could not convinced them to go with us they paid more saw less and rode the big busses, they just believe the bs the cruise line puts out.

[tiessa]

I've cruised with RCCL for years and have never gone to the theater before excursions. We always walk off of the ship, find our tour, and get in line.

 

One word about doing private tours, as women traveling alone, we are always a little hesitant to book ourselves. It depends on the port but many times we would never go on a private tour.

[steveru621]

I've cruised with RCCL for years and have never gone to the theater before excursions. We always walk off of the ship, find our tour, and get in line.

 

One word about doing private tours, as women traveling alone, we are always a little hesitant to book ourselves. It depends on the port but many times we would never go on a private tour.

 

At Europe ports they always use the theater for bring groups together. In the Caribbean there are few industrial ports and you can just walk of the ship. Ports with tender usage also use the theater.