Stay away from RC.

[Clarea]

Sorry for being way off topic but... how did they handle the B2B turnaround on this ship? We are doing a B2B 5 and 9 night next april. Any info you could provide would be greatly appreciated :D Was there a lunch in the MDR or anything as such? etc etc

On our B2B, we had to do the usual get off and get back on at around 10:30am. No luincheon, but that may depend on the number of guests.

[Keith1010]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and thanks for your report.

 

Keith

[robtulipe]

Sorry for being way off topic but... how did they handle the B2B turnaround on this ship? We are doing a B2B 5 and 9 night next april. Any info you could provide would be greatly appreciated :D Was there a lunch in the MDR or anything as such? etc etc

 

On our B2B, we had to do the usual get off and get back on at around 10:30am. No luincheon, but that may depend on the number of guests.

 

What Bob mentioned was if you wanted to stay on the ship on the change over day. You used your old ship's card to go off the ship and the new one which they will provide to immediately get back on after basically showing your passport or other documentation to a C&BP agent.

If you wish to go off the ship to do a shore visit they will direct you to a different exit door to the gangway than the regular disembarking passengers use where the staff will provide you with your new onboard card needed to re-board which you will not be able to do until regular boarding has started for the new passengers coming on. As normally done you use your old ship's card to exit the ship.

Edited February 29, 2016 by robtulipe

[Lerin]

I think you're going to see a picture of the lighted rings they throw out during parties (e.g. 70s dancing in the streets).

:confused: A glow stick is the "sex toy" in question?

Add me to the list of those who would like to see the photo

Edited February 29, 2016 by Lerin

[DrD]

I don't expect to be intimidated/threated or put up with any such behavior by them and will follow up vigorously and profusely onboard if I were subjected to such especially if my luggage was damaged after such an incident. :D

 

Before you do, you may wish to consider who runs the docks in NYC. It's not the Boy Scouts.

[bigque]

 

We did start to notice two things that made us a wonder if this was a norm for Royal Caribbean. The majority of the staff had a very hard time understanding English and small things were let go for longer periods of time. For instance one night in the dining room I ordered stake and the server repeated shrimp. I said not steak and again he repeated shrimp. Finally I said no steak and pointed to the steak on the menu and he smiled and nodded and walked away. When the dinner came he brought me shrimp. This was a common thing with the majority of the staff. We also noticed things like dirty dishes being left to sit on tables for a very long time. Or cleanliness issues not being addressed for a very long time. All of the other cruises I have been on the staff was on the ball and took care of these issues quickly. The next morning came and went and we got no call about our luggage but we had a day planned so I did not want to bother with it

 

 

 

 

:/

 

I know stuff happens but this is one thing that I just find hard to believe, especially if the OP pointed out that he wanted a steak and was still brought shrimp! I have never seen dirty dishes left on other tables. On every cruise I have been on they have taken away the dirty dishes after you finished each course. Sorry I can buy into this one.

[RCKYMTN]

I am pretty sure the toy is going to be the lighted ring they throw out during the 70's party. It is a little strange looking, but pretty sure it has no other uses than a flashing light.

[beshears]

I haven't read all the postings, but we are doing the Adventure of the Seas the first week in April. If it was me, I would prefer doing Carnival, but I cannot wait that long before doing the cruise.

 

Hopefully we will (I'm NOT a nit picker) find this cruise going smoothly for us. Several years ago we were on the RCCL ship, and our luggage wound up on "another" ship for almost 4 days. To say the least we were very UNHAPPY. I'm glad I had some insurance to cover, but it really didn't help much, especially when you have your own clothes to wear, and they are on "another" ship going around. Bad experience.

[wolfganghowell]

I'm sorry the OP had some bad experiences. Taken altogether, they are really annoying I agree.

 

I'm always confused though when someone joins CC after their cruise, posts an inflammatory title "stay away" and then makes a litany of complaints. Why not come on before your cruise - research, ask questions.

 

That being said, I feel bad that the OP seemed to have a snowball effect of bad events.

 

As others said, the porters are not RCCL employees. The guy was way out of line and it should be reported. The room delay seems strange - ALL rooms onboard were delayed? I never got exactly when the rooms were open. The broken luggage handle should be taken care of by travel insurance. I have a really hard time buying the "steak vs shrimp" story - yes most workers have English as a second language but a dining room waiter is good enough in English to grasp that one. The excursion - yep that one I'll buy. Best you can do on that is voice your displeasure via survey. As for the sex toy and the oily substance. Yeah it could be one of those giveaway toys but it could be what it looked like too. Dunno!

 

OP, giving you the benefit of the doubt that this is legit, I do recommend you send a letter or email to corporate. In this day and age, emails are just as recognized and probably get a faster response. My advice - don't phrase it in anger or use the "stay away" statement. They want to keep your business. If they feel it's lost and there is nothing they can do to win you back, then they have no incentive to make it right.

 

Sorry you had a bad time, our last cruise on Navigator was a lot of fun with an excellent staff and crew.

[Cabansail]

I think there was a mistake.

 

Must have thought you were D+ and you got the complimentary Sex Toy Perk.

[papcx]

I think there was a mistake.

 

Must have thought you were D+ and you got the complimentary Sex Toy Perk.

 

 

Nice one. Now everyone will want one!

[Tommyg74]

Before you do, you may wish to consider who runs the docks in NYC. It's not the Boy Scouts.

 

The NYC guys will accidently lose your luggage is you piss them off.

[Paul65]

I am pretty sure the toy is going to be the lighted ring they throw out during the 70's party. It is a little strange looking, but pretty sure it has no other uses than a flashing light.

 

I don't know...sounds like the OP had another use in mind for it. :eek:

[robtulipe]

Before you do, you may wish to consider who runs the docks in NYC. It's not the Boy Scouts.

 

The NYC guys will accidently lose your luggage is you piss them off.

 

Actually the Mob is more likely to get rid of the jerk longshoreman who is intimidating cruise passengers to coerce tips out of them because someone like that will bring attention to them at a time when law enforcement agencies are investigating what is happening in the stretch between Port Newark and Newark Liberty airport resulting in the recent spate of federal indictments and an ongoing investigation of port corruption.

Also I have this nice cell phone that has a 3MP still/video camera so the jerk longshoreman would only see me having a pleasant conversation on my cell phone. ;)

Concerning my luggage it wouldn't be terrible if that happened to it. It's not a really bad piece of luggage, lightweight Atlantis, but it old. patched up, definitely not designer type and only cost me $10 in a second hand store and will not have that much of value in it. The usual few t-shirt, shorts, underwear, socks, old blue blazer, etc. I always had a good supply of clothes in my large carry on even dress ones. Learn the hard way to do that many years ago when airline lost my bag on the way to an European cruise.

I likely would make money if it were to disappear and the cruise line had to pay for replacing it and its content. I would also have a nice new supply of ship t-shirts. :D

Edited March 1, 2016 by robtulipe

[whataboutport]

Why some of you give some people such a hard time when posting their experience is beyond my understanding. Cruise Critic is a forum for people to relay their cruise experience - good or bad. If you don't agree, say you don't agree, and keep it moving. If you understand and have compassion, same principle.

 

The OP had a HORRIBLE experience on a RC ship! Let him vent! He brought it to RC's attention while on board and it wasn't resolved. I can tell you right now, I would've been LIVID and trust and believe I, too, would not have accepted a meal offer!

Anyway, OP, sorry you had to experience that. Wishing a much better cruise experience with whatever cruise line choose[emoji4]

 

I agree. Accepting the meal would mean that their solution was satisfactory and nothing else was needed to be done. The fact that the OP didn't take the meal AND nothing was done is even worse. I agree, this was an extreme case of bad luck with many RCI employees, not just the same one or department over and over.

[AustinCruise]

My travel insurance wouldn't pay much for a broken suitcase. It was something like 50% new price only if I could cough up a receipt. Practically nothing otherwise, and then only once it was documented by the dock workers and rccl. I gave up b

[silvermcs]

Navigator of the seas

 

 

Sounds like you had a string of unfortunate instances. The porter, the room, the excursion, the food, the SeaPass card and all of this combined with non responsive customer service. I would give it another chance. You are due for better luck!

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for sharing.:D

[splash_in_the_water]

I love a good sex toy as much as the next person, but not a foreign "used" one hidden away in a cruise cabin drawer. Oily surfaces can be fun and quite enjoyable but not when the origin of the "oil" is unknown and untested. In other words, I prefer my cabin to be free of ****, old food stuffs, out-of-fashion clothing, etc. In all seriousness, sorry this happened to you, OP. I hope your next cruise on whatever cruise line is better!

 

lol....I'll try to make sure I don't forget my leisure suit on our next go-round

 

Op, if i were you I'd consider giving carnival a try. We've been on 4 carnival and one RCCL and I've found the staff on carnival to be a little more friendly, but then again without more than one RCCL cruises, I can't say for sure. Also I thought the dining room food was better .....

 

That sucks though, sorry you had a bad time....out of my 5 cruises We've had a few hiccups but nothing too major. Some have been better than others so if you're still feeling like a fun cruise , give it another shot- I'm certain you'll have a good time...

[splash_in_the_water]

 

I do not believe Posts like this on any social media have a real Impact on a Business like a cruiseline.

 

Pretty much this. Nobody ever said "you know, I was going to go on this one cruise, but I read a thread on CC where this one dude had a horrible time although there was about 30 other threads though where people had the time of their lives- But with odds like that why take the chance? I guess central Ohio is just fine....dairy farm tour here we come!!"

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our September 2016 Cruise on the Explorer and our April 2017 B2B Cruise on the Jewel.

[MicCanberra]

Pretty much this. Nobody ever said "you know, I was going to go on this one cruise, but I read a thread on CC where this one dude had a horrible time although there was about 30 other threads though where people had the time of their lives- But with odds like that why take the chance? I guess central Ohio is just fine....dairy farm tour here we come!!"

 

LOL, you may be right, I hope there is room in the barn.:p

[Cabansail]

Pretty much this. Nobody ever said "you know, I was going to go on this one cruise, but I read a thread on CC where this one dude had a horrible time although there was about 30 other threads though where people had the time of their lives- But with odds like that why take the chance? I guess central Ohio is just fine....dairy farm tour here we come!!"

 

 

30:1 ..... Not great odds.

[rolloman]

I had a similar experience with a porter on a Celebrity cruise not too long ago, I asked for the supervisor and he came over and all three of us had a nice chat. Problem solved. FYI... I usually tip even though in Florida ports you are requested not to.

 

I find it interesting they offered to repair and even replace your luggage. I think that was actually above and beyond from what I have seen in the past.

 

This is a good reminder to never bring a piece of high end luggage to a cruise. I have seen many, many times the luggage stacked and thrown into a pile onboard waiting to be sorted. I have also seen crew literally walking on top of the luggage to get from one end of the holding room to the other.

 

As for the cascading events thereafter? It is often quite common, when in a reactive mode, the at fault party scrambles to resolve the issue too quickly, this often causes more harm than good. A perfect example from what you described was the excursion manager, trying hard to please and resolve, he quickly offered you a free jet ski excursion, and unfortunately, due to weather, that excursion would be canceled. This of course added to your misery. In hindsight, he probably should have gave you a couple options and had you choose one, this way, you would have played a bigger role in the outcome.

 

Sorry for the bad string of luck, it can and will happen even to the best.

[whataboutport]

I had a similar experience with a porter on a Celebrity cruise not too long ago, I asked for the supervisor and he came over and all three of us had a nice chat. Problem solved. FYI... I usually tip even though in Florida ports you are requested not to.

I find it interesting they offered to repair and even replace your luggage. I think that was actually above and beyond from what I have seen in the past.

 

This is a good reminder to never bring a piece of high end luggage to a cruise. I have seen many, many times the luggage stacked and thrown into a pile onboard waiting to be sorted. I have also seen crew literally walking on top of the luggage to get from one end of the holding room to the other.

 

As for the cascading events thereafter? It is often quite common, when in a reactive mode, the at fault party scrambles to resolve the issue too quickly, this often causes more harm than good. A perfect example from what you described was the excursion manager, trying hard to please and resolve, he quickly offered you a free jet ski excursion, and unfortunately, due to weather, that excursion would be canceled. This of course added to your misery. In hindsight, he probably should have gave you a couple options and had you choose one, this way, you would have played a bigger role in the outcome.

 

Sorry for the bad string of luck, it can and will happen even to the best.

 

Is that true? I didn't know that. We usually only do a carry on so we don't use the porters anymore, but one of our cruises we did, going onto Allure. One of the porters said to a family in front of us "Do you want to leave any donations for the porters?" And the dad was kind of confused, and then seemed kind of shamed into opening his wallet. The comment wasn't so mean or threatening, but left a bit of a funny taste in my mouth.

Edited March 2, 2016 by whataboutport