Last day on the Independence - Good, Bad and Strange

[3KDZ]

Emailing them to you now

[cei3]

Did Super Mario say how long he will be on Indy? Thanks.

cei

[jljlinda]

Did Super Mario say how long he will be on Indy? Thanks.

cei

 

We were on this same sailing and met Mario for the first time. We ask him how long he would be on the Indy and he said through the Oct 18, 2015 sailing. He has been on board the Indy since Feb of this year. He is truly a wonderful fellow!!

[critterchick]

Welcome to CC. If some here get a whiff of changes to something, they are on the e-mail train to the CEO immediately. This I find ridiculous.

 

Safety of children and the situation described here, immediate CEO worthy.

I don't care how poor the country is. Don't be grabbing kids by the arm and dragging them into a store-period!!

 

This.

 

Update from my email to Michael Bayley

 

I sent an email to Michael Bayley several days ago detailing my experience on Labadee. In addition, I linked this thread in my email and encouraged them to read the stories that others on here have shared with their own issues with the vendors on Labadee. I never received a written response back, but last night I received a phone call from "Merrel" in Michael Bayley's office asking me to call her back to discuss the email. We played phone tag today, and then finally visited for about 10 minutes shortly ago. Here is a quick recap of what she said:

 

1. My email was actually read by Michael Bayley himself. He then personally forwarded the email to several of the most senior people in the company and said this is "unacceptable". She said this email has since been passed around extensively the last few days. She is being cc'd on the responses on it and assured me my email is being taken very seriously and that action will result from it being brought to their attention.

2. Michael Bayley happened to be visiting Labadee the very day he received my email. He visited with the "head of the island" about it that day in person.

3. Merrel and I then discussed the culture differences with Haitians. As a few others in this thread brought up, grabbing people by the hand and leading them places is common from vendors in Haiti, Jamaica and other countries. However, Merrel said they are not supposed to use this technique on Labadee and that this is clearly not being followed by the vendors.

4. The vendors of Labadee have also been instructed to not carve the names of any children on any item without the express permission of a parent or guardian who is with the child. Again, this is also not being followed she said based on my situation and others in this thread.

5. I brought up the manager of the shore excursion desk and how he completely blew off my situation when it was brought to his attention. She made no comment at all when this was brought up to her on the phone and the subject was changed. Not exactly sure what that means. I kind of wonder if he might be in a bit of trouble over how he handled it, but this is just a guess.

 

So that is a quick recap. I am not sure what actual changes will take place, but I do feel that this is being taken seriously by RCCL. I appreciated the phone call and when the call ended I did feel that RCCL was going to implement some type of new rules/changes/training/policies/security etc within the market. What exactly will change I have no idea though. Perhaps those that visit the market in the weeks ahead will see a difference and hopefully have a different experience than I did. This will be my last reply in this thread. I am satisfied with the resolution I received. I did want to share the phone call information for those interested though.

 

Thank you for letting us know that RCI paid attention to your concerns.

[kimala]

We were on this same sailing and met Mario for the first time. We ask him how long he would be on the Indy and he said through the Oct 18, 2015 sailing. He has been on board the Indy since Feb of this year. He is truly a wonderful fellow!!

 

I will be on the Oct 18th Indy sailing. That would be fun to meet Super Mario but I don't know what he looks like?

[Clarea]

I will be on the Oct 18th Indy sailing. That would be fun to meet Super Mario but I don't know what he looks like?

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/connect/the-passion-of-cruising-a-special-guest-blog-by-royals-leading-cruiser-mario-salcedo/

[Pumbaamd]

Have chatted with Mario several times on board. We are on Indy for two weeks in Aug./Sept. We definitely won't be top cruisers on these two cruises.

Rick and Deirdra

[kimala]

Thanks Clara, It's cool that he got some special recognition, that's some brand loyalty alright.

[MichaelCMTX]

We were on this same sailing and met Mario for the first time. We ask him how long he would be on the Indy and he said through the Oct 18, 2015 sailing. He has been on board the Indy since Feb of this year. He is truly a wonderful fellow!!

 

He was aboard when we were on Indy Jan 17-24.

[jjtt]

Hubby and I will be on Indy next month!! :D I have read about Super Mario for awhile. It will be nice to put a face to a name in person.

[ColoradoGurl]

Don't you think the CEO would like to know about an issue of passenger safety? If you want to try to get the people there on the island to handle it - good luck. The time span between the two posters visits indicate a pervasive and dangerous problem. Not asking the CEO to prepare a warm lunch for them, just protect them from intimidation or worse. You obviously do not know that Mr. Bayley's office has a good track record of responding to and addressing issues of merit.

 

Agreed!!! I normally think people refer posters to the CEO email for petty things. But this is a case I would absolutely recommend emailing him (or his office)!! Labadee is Royal's "private" island which should make them much more concerned and responsible for the reputation of the place! If for nothing else but to keep royal's brand from being associated with a place that starts becoming known for being dangerous and unwelcoming and somewhere people don't want to travel to!

 

I also would not have stood around waiting for them to be done carving names into anything. And I wouldn't have negotiated payment or given them a dime. The fact that people do this is why the practice continues. You did not ask for the item and specifically requested information that wasn't given; just because the guy finished it and put a name on it doesn't create a contract with you to be required to buy it. Say no next time and walk out. The worst they can do is scream at you, which will just make others avoid his business.

Edited July 13, 2015 by ColoradoGurl

[celly]

We liked Labadee much better before all of the enhancements.

 

Same here.

[Paulette3028]

Hubby and I will be on Indy next month!! :D I have read about Super Mario for awhile. It will be nice to put a face to a name in person.

 

He is a very nice gentleman. We have sat at dinner with him on a cruise. He is very casual in a Cuban style shirt and seen with a cigar often. Rather unobtrusive. Pleasant to have conversations with and willing to share information if he can.

[north29]

If this case in point was exactly as the OP said, I would have screamed my head off and got all the security I should muster and have the incident, reported, resolved it RIGHT THERE AND NOW.

 

Having said that, RC and who ever controls the Vendors have moved them around and YES, you almost, If you do not know Labadee will unintentionally walk through the vendors getting that beach. On our last trip there, my wife speaks enough french to talk to the Vendors, in that language, they are not really happy with the way it is set up, so many people never venture near the Vendors and many will stop way before they get to them.

Also if you think they are aggressive you probably have not been to Egypt and the Pyramids LOL.

[John&LaLa]

Super Mario - Who would have thought that a fellow passenger would one day have groupies.

[papcx]

 

Also if you think they are aggressive you probably have not been to Egypt and the Pyramids LOL.

 

 

Whatever could you mean? [emoji3]

[MrsPete]

Someone puts their hands on my kid and I'll be teaching that person how to make better choices.

It's all well and good to say that, but the upshot could easily be legal trouble or physical injury for you. What do the girls learn from that? How does it help them next time such a thing happens?

 

The very best, long-term, best-for-the-girls answer is to teach them to avoid such situations in the future and to get themselves out in an assertive manner if they do find themselves in a similar circumstance.

 

Talk to them about how people -- not only in Labadee -- may try to force them to go places they know they shouldn't go, may try to force them to do things they don't want to do. Talk about what to do in a public place. Talk about what to do if it's a mean girl at school. Talk about what to do if you're alone with a guy in a car. The best answer is not to bluster and intervene, though I understand that's a parent's first reaction; rather, the best answer is to teach the girls how to react assertively BEFORE the incident happens.

Fourth: I know it's very upsetting to think the children were touched. But I honestly believe Haitians are not so alarmed about touching on the hands, arms and shoulders, and they don't see it as a sexual threat, or understand that many North Americans do see it that way. They kept trying to hold my twenty-something daughter's hand or put an arm around her shoulders. She didn't like it, and I told them sternly, "No! Don't touch." They stopped. But honestly, I felt a bit bad about it. It's a very big cultural difference, and one they probably don't understand.

Great! See, this is what I'm talking about -- Wassup has taught his daughter to take care of herself. When offended, she responded appropriately, and the vendors backed off. Isn't that what every parent should want?

Update from my email to Michael Bayley

 

I sent an email to Michael Bayley several days ago detailing my experience on Labadee. In addition, I linked this thread in my email and encouraged them to read the stories that others on here have shared with their own issues with the vendors on Labadee. I never received a written response back, but last night I received a phone call from "Merrel" in Michael Bayley's office asking me to call her back to discuss the email. We played phone tag today, and then finally visited for about 10 minutes shortly ago. Here is a quick recap of what she said:

 

1. My email was actually read by Michael Bayley himself. He then personally forwarded the email to several of the most senior people in the company and said this is "unacceptable". She said this email has since been passed around extensively the last few days. She is being cc'd on the responses on it and assured me my email is being taken very seriously and that action will result from it being brought to their attention.

2. Michael Bayley happened to be visiting Labadee the very day he received my email. He visited with the "head of the island" about it that day in person.

3. Merrel and I then discussed the culture differences with Haitians. As a few others in this thread brought up, grabbing people by the hand and leading them places is common from vendors in Haiti, Jamaica and other countries. However, Merrel said they are not supposed to use this technique on Labadee and that this is clearly not being followed by the vendors.

4. The vendors of Labadee have also been instructed to not carve the names of any children on any item without the express permission of a parent or guardian who is with the child. Again, this is also not being followed she said based on my situation and others in this thread.

5. I brought up the manager of the shore excursion desk and how he completely blew off my situation when it was brought to his attention. She made no comment at all when this was brought up to her on the phone and the subject was changed. Not exactly sure what that means. I kind of wonder if he might be in a bit of trouble over how he handled it, but this is just a guess.

 

So that is a quick recap. I am not sure what actual changes will take place, but I do feel that this is being taken seriously by RCCL. I appreciated the phone call and when the call ended I did feel that RCCL was going to implement some type of new rules/changes/training/policies/security etc within the market. What exactly will change I have no idea though. Perhaps those that visit the market in the weeks ahead will see a difference and hopefully have a different experience than I did. This will be my last reply in this thread. I am satisfied with the resolution I received. I did want to share the phone call information for those interested though.

It's good to hear about CEOs who involve themselves appropriately to fix problems.

Edited August 30, 2015 by MrsPete