Typical Royal Caribbean

[jsargent34]

Low and behold, another itinerary change for the 1/2 sailing of the Jewel.... This one however, you'll (if you are sailing) probably never hear about!

 

They have removed Key West from the itinerary... not so bad for the seasoned traveler who has been there, but really poor when you discover the "real" reason. The day has been replaced with a day at sea. so now the itin. is now Grand Cayman, Cozumel (which should not be on itineraries yet), and Costa Maya.

 

So, here's the underlying disappointment... The itin. was originally modified on 12/9 to reverse the order of ports due to "berthing space." In doing so, RC ADDED two (2) hours to the scheduled stop in Key West! Now, they have removed it completely and not sent out itin. modifications to agents or agencies, nor posted it on their site or CruisingPower.... I'm fairly certain many will be surprised (though it should be no surprise) when the find out on the ship.

 

So here's the rationale from Royal Caribbean.....

 

"The itinerary was changed at the Captain's request for the vessel. The change is due to berthing space (truth - there is only one other ship in Key West that day), but more importantly because of the lost time due to the lengthy immigration process due to having to clear customs."

 

I'd buy that maybe, if there were more than one ship in port. I might even buy that if the visit was shortened in duration due to the original itin. change.... BUT they actually created MORE time in Key West!

 

I wonder how many of us know the "real" reason for the change????

 

One of those "secrets" for you: Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity) Captains now receive financial bonuses based on fuel consumption. Need I say more?

 

Typical these days from Royal Caribbean... penny wise, pound foolish. Though I've been to Key West some 9 times (and won't really miss the visit myself), it is still a huge diappointment as my traveling partner had never been. I chose between the Infinity and the Jewel and obviously regret the choice now.....

 

The ever changing Royal Caribbean! Painful to say, still my favorite - but it gets harder each and every day/cruise!

 

 

disclaimer: please don't reply with the itin. change policy (I know it quite well) as my issue is not with the change... it is with the dishonesty behind the move as well as the continued taking for granted attitude RC builds on daily.

[Enchantment 04]

they reversed our itinerary (same as yours) therefore we had to clear customs in Key West. It took a loooong time and the crew did not like it, neither did the captain. Also, we had to dock at the Navy dock because there is only one other dock which was being used by the Majesty OTS. They may have a navy ship in port that day or they may have not given permission for the Jewel to dock there.

 

 

Joey

[MGoBlue2]

Your fuel consumption conspiracy theory would make more sense if Key West were further out of the way, however it's practically on the route from Cozumel to Ft Lauderdale - wouldn't make for much of a bonus.

[negc]

So they replaced docking in Key West, where they would be using little or no fuel, for a day at sea where they will be using more, and you attribute this action to some financial reward that the captain will allegedly receive for fuel conservation? Somehow your logic totally escapes me.:rolleyes:

[Cruising89143]

So they replaced docking in Key West, where they would be using little or no fuel, for a day at sea where they will be using more, and you attribute this action to some financial reward that the captain will allegedly receive for fuel conservation? Somehow your logic totally escapes me.:rolleyes:

 

I was thinking the same thing. Did not make much sense to me.

[jsargent34]

Though your logic is indeed sound that Key West is on the way (but slightly out of the way) to Port Everglades, the explanation and circumstances are far to "fishy....."

 

More or less just venting (and second guessing the Jewel over the Infinity)

[macgirl]

I was supposed to get married in Key West on Jan. 2. I chose the port and the ship because I liked both. I hired a wedding coordinator in Key West to make all the arragements. On Dec. 9 RCCL changed the itin to dock at Key West on Sat, Jan. 7 instead.

 

The clerk's office isn't open on Saturday to apply for a wedding licence, so I had to hire a company at considerable cost to me to do it by mail. My wedding coordinator had to rebook the venue, florist, photographer, officient, etc. and did so with no extra cost to me.

 

YESTERDAY I found out during a cursory check on the RCCL website that Key West was removed altogether.

 

To make a very long story somewhat shorter, I am no longer getting married. My wedding coordinator and my hair/makeup consultant both refunded me in full immediately even though the contracts were outlined differently. They both felt under the circumstances it was the only fair thing to do. Royal Carribbean doesn't deal in fair. As a matter of fact, they don't give a rat's behind.

 

My travel agent said in all her years working in this business, the customer service, or lack thereof, that we received was appalling. They will help me take it as far up in RCCL as we can, together.

 

And yes, I was more than aware when I booked this trip that the lines could make any changes at any time. It does make one wonder why itineraries are even offered since it just seems to be a spin of the wheel as to where and when you end up.

 

And I didn't complain when 2 weeks before the cruise I had to change all my wedding plans. But 2 days away - oh yeah - let the complaining begin. I am going to be a thorn in the side of as many people at that company as I can. Maybe I'll get nothing, but I will be irritating as many people as I can along the way. Just the way they irritated me.

 

And again - what was the reason? I booked outside of hurricane season to minimize that risk, and there is no hurricane. There is no real reason at all, apparently.

 

And in case you are wondering why I didn't get married on board, well just surf on over to the Weddings board and see how well that turned out for most people. I did call Royal Romance before I decided to get married off the ship, but it became apparent in seconds that all the horror stories I'd heard about them was bang on.

 

C'est la vie. We'll go on the cruise and try to have a good time and then I have a wedding to plan yet again. But one thing is for certain - I will never again give RCCL one dollar of my business, and will also make it my life's mission to make sure no one else I ever come into contact with throws a dollar there way either.

[Cruising89143]

I was supposed to get married in Key West on Jan. 2. I chose the port and the ship because I liked both. I hired a wedding coordinator in Key West to make all the arragements. On Dec. 9 RCCL changed the itin to dock at Key West on Sat, Jan. 7 instead.

 

The clerk's office isn't open on Saturday to apply for a wedding licence, so I had to hire a company at considerable cost to me to do it by mail. My wedding coordinator had to rebook the venue, florist, photographer, officient, etc. and did so with no extra cost to me.

 

YESTERDAY I found out during a cursory check on the RCCL website that Key West was removed altogether.

 

To make a very long story somewhat shorter, I am no longer getting married. My wedding coordinator and my hair/makeup consultant both refunded me in full immediately even though the contracts were outlined differently. They both felt under the circumstances it was the only fair thing to do. Royal Carribbean doesn't deal in fair. As a matter of fact, they don't give a rat's behind.

 

My travel agent said in all her years working in this business, the customer service, or lack thereof, that we received was appalling. They will help me take it as far up in RCCL as we can, together.

 

And yes, I was more than aware when I booked this trip that the lines could make any changes at any time. It does make one wonder why itineraries are even offered since it just seems to be a spin of the wheel as to where and when you end up.

 

And I didn't complain when 2 weeks before the cruise I had to change all my wedding plans. But 2 days away - oh yeah - let the complaining begin. I am going to be a thorn in the side of as many people at that company as I can. Maybe I'll get nothing, but I will be irritating as many people as I can along the way. Just the way they irritated me.

 

And again - what was the reason? I booked outside of hurricane season to minimize that risk, and there is no hurricane. There is no real reason at all, apparently.

 

And in case you are wondering why I didn't get married on board, well just surf on over to the Weddings board and see how well that turned out for most people. I did call Royal Romance before I decided to get married off the ship, but it became apparent in seconds that all the horror stories I'd heard about them was bang on.

 

C'est la vie. We'll go on the cruise and try to have a good time and then I have a wedding to plan yet again. But one thing is for certain - I will never again give RCCL one dollar of my business, and will also make it my life's mission to make sure no one else I ever come into contact with throws a dollar there way either.

 

Sorry about your wedding plans being changed but you are setting yourself up for a week of misery if you're going with that attitude.

 

I have been cruising for twenty years and have only had my itinerary changed twice out of 27 cruises. You by your own admission knew that ports can change so I wonder why you or anyone for that matter would plan to take a ship to a destination to get married? There are just too many things that can happen as you are now finding out. Yes you can put some blame on the cruise line but you knew going in what could happen so you share some of the blame yourself.

[MGoBlue2]

I was supposed to get married in Key West on Jan. 2. I chose the port and the ship because I liked both. I hired a wedding coordinator in Key West to make all the arragements. On Dec. 9 RCCL changed the itin to dock at Key West on Sat, Jan. 7 instead.

 

.

Wouldn't it have been somewhat difficult to get married in Key West on Jan 2, what with the ship just leaving Fort Lauderdale late that afternoon?

[MGoBlue2]

Though your logic is indeed sound that Key West is on the way (but slightly out of the way) to Port Everglades, the explanation and circumstances are far to "fishy....."

 

More or less just venting (and second guessing the Jewel over the Infinity)

I don't know about fishy, but from what I've seen itinerary changes are far more common on these special cruises made up around the Christmas/New Years holidays. The standard weekly/biweekly cruises have them far less often.

[macgirl]

I'm kind of in an emotional upheaval right now, it was Tuesday, Jan. 3 we were initially supposed to get married.

 

And I had no idea this was a "special" cruise? What was special about it?

[Cruising89143]

I'm kind of in an emotional upheaval right now, it was Tuesday, Jan. 3 we were initially supposed to get married.

 

And I had no idea this was a "special" cruise? What was special about it?

 

During the holidays the cruise lines usually change around the itineraries to match up better with Christmas and New Years.

[Happy ks]

macgirl, You have my empathy and I feel very bad for you that your wedding plans have been ruined. Just a piece of advice, though....... let it go, you don't need a thing like this ruining your life, your marriage and your gut. Get married another time, there is always the courthouse, or a small ceremony with just a minister. It's all about the marriage, not the ceremony.

 

Your plans to make yourself a thorn in everyones side will do you absolutely no good. It will only serve to make people very unhappy to see you and that will include friends, family, co-workers, strangers and eventually your husband. Write a letter, complain, get it off your chest. Then go on with your life, no one cares to listen to complaining that much. When I have been on a cruise and encountered someone with any type of complaint, I duck and go the other way if I see them around again.

 

Ask yourself one important question right now. Whose fault is it and how can anyone make it better for you, right now. They are the only ones you need to be in communication regarding your ruined wedding.

 

Sure, you'll get plenty of people to agree with you that your time is ruined. But, you will only have this one "honeymoon" experience, it is up to you whether you have a fun time, or you spend it miserable and complaining the whole time.

 

I wish you the best in the future.

[stacyinpa]

Being new to RC boards and reading how someone who has a bad experience gets told off..it really scares me.

 

Instead of understanding what happened and acknowledging her feelings on what was supposed to be the HAPPIEST day of her life....you tell her everything else but.

 

I dont understand how if someone wants to vent about 'something' on a message board (isnt this the purpose of a message board) they get jumped all over.

 

Gosh...we can all listen to what is being said and make our own assumptions as to what we would do, but if the shoe was on the other foot--you may feel just like she does. I am sure ALL cruiselines have pros and cons about them and she was simply saying what happened to her on a specific line.

 

Stacy

[Happy ks]

Stacy, No one has jumped on anyone, only offerred suggestions. Please read more carefully before yuo make comments like that. My suggestion to her is to increase her happiness. Venting is fine, for a short time, but at length it can only make the venting person more unhappy than when they started out.

[kenf333]

Being new to RC boards and reading how someone who has a bad experience gets told off..it really scares me.

 

Instead of understanding what happened and acknowledging her feelings on what was supposed to be the HAPPIEST day of her life....you tell her everything else but.

 

I dont understand how if someone wants to vent about 'something' on a message board (isnt this the purpose of a message board) they get jumped all over.

 

Gosh...we can all listen to what is being said and make our own assumptions as to what we would do, but if the shoe was on the other foot--you may feel just like she does. I am sure ALL cruiselines have pros and cons about them and she was simply saying what happened to her on a specific line.

 

Stacy

 

 

Another thought is these people that she will be venting to have nothing to due with the change, they are just there doing their jobs. Sorry about your situation, make the best of your vacation. I think that is all anyone that has posted has said.

[MBeamTX]

I agree with Kathy. Write the letter to RCCL, mail it and let it go. Embark on your cruise with every intention of relaxing and enjoying the trip. And you will! No cruise is perfect, but even the worst of them is still pretty darn good, in my opinion.

 

On the other hand, if you board with the expectation of giving every crew member a difficult time, you're going to have a miserable cruise yourself. Believe me, the bartenders, the cabin stewards and the dining staff had nothing to do with any intinerary change. How will it improve your cruise experience to be ugly to them?

 

I hope that you can sail away in a positive frame of mind and really enjoy the trip. I've been on Serenade, a sister ship to Jewel, and it's absolutely beautiful. You'll love it, if you let yourself.

 

Best wishes,

Susan

[dfishner]

I have empathy but to make up a story about captains getting bonus is far fetch. Cruise line even tell you the itineraries can be changed. I would not be making any plans especially a wedding knowing that. Get married before and take your honeymoon on the cruise would make more sense and so much less stress would be avoided.

[The Big Booper]

I would bet if the fiancee pulled the table waiter aside and mentioned the problem caused by the change in itinerary he/she would whip something up. They can be quite creative. :)

[madforcruising]

But one thing is for certain - I will never again give RCCL one dollar of my business, and will also make it my life's mission to make sure no one else I ever come into contact with throws a dollar there way either.

 

I´m sorry for your ruined wedding but I´m also sorry your life´s mission already failed by now. As we´ve come into contact now I´m the first who definitely will "throw a dollar there way". Though I see your disappointment and your feeling not to give them your business anymore, your ruined wedding wouldn´t hold me a second from cruising RCCL.

[klingoncruiser]

There were several people wondering how skiping Key West would save fuel. I just got off the Galaxy and I can tell you that I am also very suspicious about leaving ports out or leaving early to save fuel. It does work. If you skip Key West because of port congestion and go on to your next port, you will save fuel, because you will need to slow way down to make the port. If you slow down, you save fuel. This is what happened to us. We had to skip Jamaica due to it being Christmas day there. So, we went on to G.C., our next port. This meant that we had to add in those hours that we would have been in port to our arrival time in G.C. We were just doing about 10 Kts for a long ways. (Saving both time and distance) We were also told that we had to leave Coasta Maya early to be able to make Limon. Funny how we could do it last year without a problem.:rolleyes: The real reason for our leaving early was Cozumel. There is a mad scramble to replace this port for now, so Coasta Maya is picking up the over flow. As we pulled out, another ship took our spot. We left about three hours earlier than last year so another ship would have a port call. If the three hours allowed us to slow down only 1 Kt of speed, that would translate to a saving of fuel as a bonus. Guess all this in the end is better than having a fuel surcharge added to our price or another increase in prices.

[VaCruzers]

To the poster who was planning her wedding in Key West, I am sorry to learn of the difficulties you are experiencing due to the itinerary change. I hope that you will just enjoy spending time with your special one & will be able to look forward to planning your wedding.

 

I would just like to add a comment about the Jewel in Key West. We were on the 12/17 sailing of the Jewel. Initially, Key West was to have been the first port, but our itinerary was reversed so that Key West was the last port. Because we'd be entering Key West from a foreign port, everyone had to go thru immigration. According to our schedule, we were to be in port 10 AM - 6 PM. The ship arrived at 10 AM, but then EVERYONE had to go thru immigration before anyone was allowed off the ship. It was around 12:45 before anyone was able to depart the ship & because we were docked at the Navy pier, we had to take a trolley into Mallory Square. By the time we waited in line for the trolley & rode the trolley, it was about 1:15 before we were actually "in" Key West. The last trolley to the pier (the only way to access the ship was by this trolley/train) left Mallory Square at 5:00 PM. Essentially, our port time was 4 hours. Since I have been to Key West numerous times & didn't extensive plans to take in a lot of attractions, it was OK for us, but for someone who had never visited Key West, having 1/3 of your port time cut would have been quite disappointing.

 

Had we maintained the original itinerary, no immigration would have been necessary since we would have been arriving from a US port, Ft. Lauderdale.

[jsargent34]

Just a few more thoughts.....

 

VaCruzers - the itin. change still netted RC MORE time in Key West than the original itin.....

 

Klingoncruiser - making my point better than I could seemingly!!

 

Much like your car, a GE LM2500 gas turbine uses CONSIDERABLY more fuel at idle than it would at 7-10 knots.....

 

As for conspiracy theories and doubting the asserion that there is a fuel bonus out there.... That is fact, straight from the mouth of the Master of the gts Infinity!

 

There's too much about the whole thing that makes NO sense, that's all....

 

I'm not flaming anyone, and hoping the post just serves to make you wonder, that's all.

[MGoBlue2]

Jeff,

 

The change netted more time for the ship to be in KW, not necessarily for the passengers to be off the ship with it having to clear customs/immigration. I know you are just venting but to me the most reasonable explanation is the one you were given.

 

I believe Majesty is the only RCI ship that normally has to do customs/immigration in KW and they do it on a weekday and everyone's prepared for it and used to it. It's not like you can call up the government and force them to add extra staff on a Saturday because you decided to stop in KW.

[dougp26364]

My travel agent said in all her years working in this business, the customer service, or lack thereof, that we received was appalling. They will help me take it as far up in RCCL as we can, together.

 

Good luck taking anything up with RCI's customer service. We had some major problems with RCI just flat out lying to passengers when there was a problem. RCI could not have cared less.

 

When being patched through to RCI via our travel insurance rep (the phone number they gave us to call them for help wasn't any good). the insurance rep got to hear EVERYTHING. After several hours on the phone with RCI and during one of their terminal periods of being put on hold, he told me his opinion of the matter, which wasn't very good.

 

We have two more sailings booked on RCI. One to Alaska with friends. I didn't want to change that one because, at that point, the other cruise lines were more expensive. I didn't think it would be fair to our friends. The other to use the $250 cruise vouchers given to us when we paid RCI $1,400 for charter flights they arranged to get us home.

 

I have already cancelled a Bermuda cruise with them and have a transatlantic booking that in all likelyhood will be cancelled as well. It's a shame because I really like RCI's ships and onboard service. I'm just not overly impressed with their attitude towards the customer when we're not onboard the ship. They really just don't seem to care at all.

 

Now all the other lines might just be the same way. Then again, maybe not. As of yet I haven't set foot on another cruise line. That, however, is going to change.