"Ultimate" suite benefit??!!

[Hroswitha]

We just returned from Serenade of the Seas' Ft. Lauderdale-to-Copenhagen transatlantic, which we thoroughly enjoyed--short review to follow in a couple of days.

 

On the second day, though, I witnessed the craziest ever exchange at the Guest Services counter. The passenger ahead of me started out speaking calmly and quietly, but the volume of her voice increased gradually until she was shouting, and she began waving her arms and pounding the counter. I watched the back of her neck turn pink and then red until I could (almost!) see smoke rising from her ears! And let's just say her language wasn't very ladylike.

 

The issue? She had somehow determined that in the event of an evacuation passengers from her muster station would use one of the conventional, round-bottomed lifeboats. She felt the catamaran-style ones would be safer and more comfortable, and--as a suite passenger--she demanded a guarantee that she would have a seat one of those. She felt the premium price she'd paid for the cruise should extend to superior emergency arrangements was not about to take "no" for an answer.

 

I have no idea whether one type of lifeboat might or might not be better than another, but the idea that suite privileges should extend to lifeboat seating seems off-the-wall crazy to me! I suspect alcohol might have been involved in her demand!

[mirp]

That is funny.

 

But really in event of an emergency I bet the suite passengers would've the first on any lifeboats. IMHO her concerns were unnecessary.

[maryjaden]

That is too funny! I travel in suites and cannot possibly see wasting time at guest services to make this an issue. WOW. As long as I can get to any lifeboat, I think that would be a good thing!

[Trixie21]

UNBELIEVEABLE! The crap some of the staff on the ships have to put up with drives me nuts. We go out of our way to be pleasant to the staff and that is what we always get back from them in return. I would have dumped that woman off at the next port.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[cb at sea]

OMG...they should have told her they would inflate her with gas, and throw her overboard to float as she pleased!

[setsail]

Oh the drama, her neck turned red:rolleyes:

[alfaeric]

That is funny.

 

But really in event of an emergency I bet the suite passengers would've the first on any lifeboats. IMHO her concerns were unnecessary.

 

I may have had a tough time not laughing....

 

Makes one wonder if someone fed her some info while drinking, and got her all upset... Kind of fed her to guest services.

 

Or did she watch Titanic before flying? :eek:

[leaveitallbehind]

That is funny.

 

But really in event of an emergency I bet the suite passengers would've the first on any lifeboats. IMHO her concerns were unnecessary.

 

Her concern was with regards to what type of lifeboat she felt entitled to. But suite guests do not board ahead of others. Everyone reports to their muster stations and board one after the other assisted by the crew. No distinction regarding stateroom type.

[lovelife]

Worthy of an entry in the book "Idiotic Cruise Passengers the Crew Deals With."

[Amtrac]

We just returned from Serenade of the Seas' Ft. Lauderdale-to-Copenhagen transatlantic, which we thoroughly enjoyed--short review to follow in a couple of days.

 

 

 

On the second day, though, I witnessed the craziest ever exchange at the Guest Services counter. The passenger ahead of me started out speaking calmly and quietly, but the volume of her voice increased gradually until she was shouting, and she began waving her arms and pounding the counter. I watched the back of her neck turn pink and then red until I could (almost!) see smoke rising from her ears! And let's just say her language wasn't very ladylike.

 

 

 

The issue? She had somehow determined that in the event of an evacuation passengers from her muster station would use one of the conventional, round-bottomed lifeboats. She felt the catamaran-style ones would be safer and more comfortable, and--as a suite passenger--she demanded a guarantee that she would have a seat one of those. She felt the premium price she'd paid for the cruise should extend to superior emergency arrangements was not about to take "no" for an answer.

 

 

 

I have no idea whether one type of lifeboat might or might not be better than another, but the idea that suite privileges should extend to lifeboat seating seems off-the-wall crazy to me! I suspect alcohol might have been involved in her demand!

 

 

 

Just looking for some info on your Serenade TA crossing. How was the weather and seas I heard it was rough. Was wondering how the ship handled them?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Worthy of an entry in the book "Idiotic Cruise Passengers the Crew Deals With."

 

And some people wonder why they are not smiling 100% of the time!

[ecormier]

OMG...they should have told her they would inflate her with gas, and throw her overboard to float as she pleased!

 

ROTFLMAO!!! Couldn't have said it better!

 

Cheers, Betty

[RadioRob]

There are pompous asses everywhere unfortunately. :(

 

On Allure, there was a group that was pushing their way to the front of the line for Ziplining. They were throwing major attitude because they were STAR class and they could walk straight to the front of any line. I turned around and said so was I a star guest along with 3 other people. We told them they could get their asses in line and wait like everyone else or that I would personally stand there all afternoon and let others go before us and they would not be getting on before us since we were star class and there before them.

 

They got really POed at us but finally got to the back of the line. We got a round of applause from everyone around us. Haha

[Hroswitha]

In answer to Amtrac's question about weather and sea conditions: For most of our crossing, the weather was lovely with warmer temps and calmer seas than I'd expected. There was morning fog on several days, but it usually burned off later in the day.

 

We did, however, cut short our stay in the Azores by a couple of hours in order to avoid a storm that was predicted to be quite strong. As a result, we experienced no more than some mild rocking.

 

Weather in ports was OK. Quite foggy in the Azores, improving as the day went on. Rainy in Cork. Had sunshine and cool temps in the other ports.

 

No cruise is perfect, but this one was very enjoyable!

[marci22]

I'm sure the genie will get his Star class peeps the better boats. He'll be pushing out the JS cruisers with a big stick.

[LilBlackDress]

Once my husband got a taste of the suite life he was hooked... I would be fine with whatever but I am not complaining :D

 

I don't really even pay attention to what type of lifeboats are on the ship! I don't ever plan on having to get in/on one!! BUT Should the day come that I need to evacuate... I don't give a rats behind what kind of lifeboat it is as long as it doesn't have a hole in the bottom!

[kmorg1234]

Worthy of an entry in the book "Idiotic Cruise Passengers the Crew Deals With."

 

Yes, and this indeed qualifies, as well as we get to deal with as "Health Care Providers" and our Press-Graney questionnaires. Anyway, as that GS saint that had to deal with her, I would have assured her that of course, there are hidden but gorgeous small sailboats awaiting suite guests in the event of an emergency. Of course you will not be inconvenienced if something dire is happening, and if someone's life is in danger!

 

People are nuts.

[topnole]

There are pompous asses everywhere unfortunately. :(

 

On Allure, there was a group that was pushing their way to the front of the line for Ziplining. They were throwing major attitude because they were STAR class and they could walk straight to the front of any line. I turned around and said so was I a star guest along with 3 other people. We told them they could get their asses in line and wait like everyone else or that I would personally stand there all afternoon and let others go before us and they would not be getting on before us since we were star class and there before them.

 

They got really POed at us but finally got to the back of the line. We got a round of applause from everyone around us. Haha

 

Poor attitude by them but star class should get priority access on that and flow rider. No saying it is right or wrong just stating their new perks. They gave my dad a purple band and he didn't wait in line on the zip line. Now he didn't demand it and of course he wasn't rude. They offered it to him so he used the perk. Wonder why you or them had to wait in a long line if you didn't want to. Maybe they weren't really star class.

[Videophile]

tar class should get priority access on that and flow rider. No saying it is right or wrong just stating their new perks. They gave my dad a purple band and he didn't wait in line on the zip line.

 

Glad your dad didn't have to wait in line, but it was my understanding that going to the front of the line on those on-board attractions was not a perk. The Genie can arrange a time for you to do those however:

 

Your Royal Genie grants you exclusive access to one-of-a-kind experiences, like private Shore Excursions, VIP seating – and sessions at signature activities like FlowRider®, before they open to anyone else.

 

If you could just go to the front of the line, why would they need to open it early?

 

Of course, I could be wrong or missed it somewhere, but I don't see that perk listed anywhere.

[topnole]

They don't do it the way it is described in that literature. That is rci for you. I'm sure things will change as they learn but still only a few weeks of star class on allure. Just imagine the cost to open all that stuff like an hour early for 1-2 people.

 

They had a sign all week by flowrider on one side for star class only. So they would let 4 or so regular line poeple go then a star class line person etc. never saw it myself and I rode a lot but someone in line told me they saw it done once for just a couple times. No biggie as there only 11 star class cabins on the entire ship. So star just go get banded and get a different color indicating star class. So those people probably weren't informed properly how to get priority treatment. They were however correct in that they weren't supposed to have to wait in the normal line.

Edited May 19, 2016 by topnole

[njmomof2]

They don't do it the way it is described in that literature. That is rci for you. I'm sure things will change as they learn but still only a few weeks of star class on allure. Just imagine the cost to open all that stuff like an hour early for 1-2 people.

 

They had a sign all week by flowrider on one side for star class only. So they would let 4 or so regular line poeple go then a star class line person etc. never saw it myself and I rode a lot but someone in line told me they saw it done once for just a couple times. No biggie as there only 11 star class cabins on the entire ship. So star just go get banded and get a different color indicating star class. So those people probably weren't informed properly how to get priority treatment. They were however correct in that they weren't supposed to have to wait in the normal line.

 

This has been going on recently on the Allure and a certain rider has been really unpleasant about their right to go in front of others waiting a considerable amount of time to ride the Flowrider. The literature states early access to "signature" attractions, not "get ahead of others on line and ride over and over again while you make them wait." There has not been a clear understanding of the new "perk" and frankly, it sucks.

 

Give them an early hour to ride before it opens to the public, give them an hour at the end after it closes to the public, but to make other passengers stand there and wait while those with a purple band get to go over and over again, nope. Not the way to handle this.

[marci22]

This has been going on recently on the Allure and a certain rider has been really unpleasant about their right to go in front of others waiting a considerable amount of time to ride the Flowrider. The literature states early access to "signature" attractions, not "get ahead of others on line and ride over and over again while you make them wait." There has not been a clear understanding of the new "perk" and frankly, it sucks.

 

Give them an early hour to ride before it opens to the public, give them an hour at the end after it closes to the public, but to make other passengers stand there and wait while those with a purple band get to go over and over again, nope. Not the way to handle this.

 

I agree, not a good way to handle that perk.

[topnole]

This has been going on recently on the Allure and a certain rider has been really unpleasant about their right to go in front of others waiting a considerable amount of time to ride the Flowrider. The literature states early access to "signature" attractions, not "get ahead of others on line and ride over and over again while you make them wait." There has not been a clear understanding of the new "perk" and frankly, it sucks.

 

Give them an early hour to ride before it opens to the public, give them an hour at the end after it closes to the public, but to make other passengers stand there and wait while those with a purple band get to go over and over again, nope. Not the way to handle this.

 

 

Not sure where you are getting this information from but I was just on Allure and can assure you it was not an issue on our week. I used the flowrider a lot and never saw the star class privilege used once. I got to know people that were on the flowrider from opening to close each day and heard that perk was only used a little bit here and there but it was not an issue for anyone. They also don't get to go over and over while others have to watch them. They go and then 4 or 5 from the main line go then the next star class goes, etc. and that lasted for a few rides from what I heard for those in star class. Just think about it, only 11 cabins for star class so really this is a perk that will be used minimally. To open the flowrider an hour early for 11 cabins that have passengers that may not even use it would be silly and expensive and they probably would have to take away an hour of normal operation to accommodate a group that may not even use it. I am for one think that if you pay 10K, 20K, 30K, etc. for a cabin you probably should get a few nice perks like that. How are cruise lines supposed to compete with land based type of resorts if they don't give special perks to those willing to pay for them? Should we get mad at those that paid the extra money to have the global pass when going through customs after the cruise? I watched many get through 30 minutes before me that were there after me but I didn't get mad at them because they paid for that privilege. Again, only 11 cabins on Allure with this type of perk so it really isn't going to be an issue that would inconvenience most if any guests practically speaking.

[John&LaLa]

But what if you have 48 people from the Aqua Suites that want to ride. :eek:

[topnole]

I agree, not a good way to handle that perk.

 

From what I can tell the person you are agreeing with hasn't even been on Allure since star class rolled out. Before you so quickly agree with someone that says this perk sucks you may want to think about the facts a little more and not just some gossip that isn't based on the truth or the reality of economics. I was on Allure just recently and was not star class. There system didn't impact anyone negatively while I rode the flowrider (which was a lot) and when you think about it was quite reasonable and practical. If you think there are a bunch of star class passengers running around waving their cards and demanding special treatment you will be surprised when you cruise on Allure because you probably will never see one. Like I said in the other post, only 11 star class cabins so there are very few of these people on board and most passengers will never see them or notice them. This is all a non issue and a false debate being stirred up by people that don't know the actual situation and clearly don't like the idea that they created a program to give special treatment for those that are willing to pay for it. I for one have and will be a regular passenger for most of my cruising days but have no problem with them giving suite passengers extra perks.