RCCL Service Providers on Board

[TTraub1250]

Not all of the sales and service people on board a RCCL ship are employees of the cruise lines.  It is hard to tell at times who is a RCCL employee and who is not.  RCCL has outsourced / rented space on their ships to other companies.  I am not sure of the agreement between these other companies and RCCL, but watch yourself in some of the transactions.  The sale of paintings is reported on several forums to be a scam.  As you can guess once you bought the painting it comes from a warehouse on shore and gets shipped to your house.  Who knows how the pricing is set and of course try to contact someone after you receive your goods.  Based on my past experiences, few of the outside vendors on board the ship are topshelf. I understand a person maybe charged a little more for the convenience of having it close, and at the same time I ask myself if the service providers can not be employed on shore and have to live in the crowed conditions of a ship, then what service level should I expect vs what they are charging.  Your experience ? 

[time4u2go]

Not really sure what your point is.  I don't care whether they are employees of RCCL or not.  If they have something I want at a price I'm willing to pay, I'm going to buy it, regardless of whom they work for.

Edited March 2, 2019 by time4u2go

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, TTraub1250 said:

  Your experience ? 

There’s a very small chance that you can buy anything on a ship cheaper than on land. 

[TTraub1250]

Time4u: Point is all about quality, and if the product or service is not what you paid for, then who do you go to, to correct it?  Had an RCCL employee pad my bill at Chops by adding a $10 tip, after I put a line through that part of the receipt.  Now even though I was still on the ship, it took 2 days for RCCL to correct the problem and about 2 hours of my time.  When they are not employees, I am suggesting you will have harder time correcting things if it gets corrected at all.  

[GarlicBread]

Photog aren't rccl 

Shops aren't rccl 

Art aren't rccl 

Medical aren't rccl 

 

Its not a secret. Its the same with the majority (if not all) cruise lines. 

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, GarlicBread said:

Photog aren't rccl 

Shops aren't rccl 

Art aren't rccl 

Medical aren't rccl 

 

Its not a secret. Its the same with the majority (if not all) cruise lines. 

 

Spa also.

[time4u2go]

26 minutes ago, TTraub1250 said:

Time4u: Point is all about quality, and if the product or service is not what you paid for, then who do you go to, to correct it?  Had an RCCL employee pad my bill at Chops by adding a $10 tip, after I put a line through that part of the receipt.  Now even though I was still on the ship, it took 2 days for RCCL to correct the problem and about 2 hours of my time.  When they are not employees, I am suggesting you will have harder time correcting things if it gets corrected at all.  

If there's a problem with a product I purchase in a shop, I will go back to the shop. If there's a problem with a photograph, I will go to the photograph department.  If there's a problem with medical care onboard, I will go back to the medical clinic.  If there's a problem with a spa treatment (also outsourced, I believe), I will go back to the spa.

 

It seems like the case you provided does not support your point of view, since it took 2 days and 2 hours of your time even though they were RCCL employees.  I have had issues with photos, and the issues were resolved promptly.  I've returned things to shops with no problem.

 

The "art" sales are another matter altogether.  There have been numerous issues with that.  But for the other outsourced products and services, I don't believe the fact that they are outsourced makes them inherently worse in quality or service.

Edited March 2, 2019 by time4u2go

[reallyitsmema]

23 minutes ago, TTraub1250 said:

Time4u: Point is all about quality, and if the product or service is not what you paid for, then who do you go to, to correct it?  Had an RCCL employee pad my bill at Chops by adding a $10 tip, after I put a line through that part of the receipt.  Now even though I was still on the ship, it took 2 days for RCCL to correct the problem and about 2 hours of my time.  When they are not employees, I am suggesting you will have harder time correcting things if it gets corrected at all.  

 

That makes no sense, if your receipt is wrong, you have them void it and reprint.  Crossing off something is not going to get it corrected in the computer.

[TTraub1250]

The waiter added the tip to the bill after I had crossed off the tip area on the bill and had signed it.  I was checking my account on the TV in the cabin and noticed the extra $10. Now does it make sense ?   I agree that it is not a secret, and would suggest that most people cruising do not know.  Some of the vendors are obvious by the names and others are less noticed.  If you look at my signature, you will see I am a United States Coast Guard  licensed engineer that has sailed ships and worked in the industry. 

[reallyitsmema]

Maybe we should utilize the DMAIC process to understand what problem you are trying to solve with this thread.

[TTraub1250]

Master LSSBB ?  Have you read any of Skip Creveling's material on Design for Six Sigma ?  

[reallyitsmema]

Nope, I have not.

[Paulxyz2004]

 

13 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

Not all of the sales and service people on board a RCCL ship are employees of the cruise lines.  It is hard to tell at times who is a RCCL employee and who is not.  RCCL has outsourced / rented space on their ships to other companies.  I am not sure of the agreement between these other companies and RCCL, but watch yourself in some of the transactions.  The sale of paintings is reported on several forums to be a scam.  As you can guess once you bought the painting it comes from a warehouse on shore and gets shipped to your house.  Who knows how the pricing is set and of course try to contact someone after you receive your goods.  Based on my past experiences, few of the outside vendors on board the ship are topshelf. I understand a person maybe charged a little more for the convenience of having it close, and at the same time I ask myself if the service providers can not be employed on shore and have to live in the crowed conditions of a ship, then what service level should I expect vs what they are charging.  Your experience ? 

 

12 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

Time4u: Point is all about quality, and if the product or service is not what you paid for, then who do you go to, to correct it?  Had an RCCL employee pad my bill at Chops by adding a $10 tip, after I put a line through that part of the receipt.  Now even though I was still on the ship, it took 2 days for RCCL to correct the problem and about 2 hours of my time.  When they are not employees, I am suggesting you will have harder time correcting things if it gets corrected at all.  

 

I don´t get your Point at all. Why are People contracted By outside Vendors vs. RCI automatically inferior? Why the he.. are you suggesting a Job opportunity on a ship would be the last Resort when they can´t get a Job ashore? But then I could probably say the same Thing About you. Weren´t you able to get a Job ashore and had to Resort to sail on ships as an engineer, to live in crowded conditions of a ship?

I´m sorry but this is just ridiculous and who´s to say an issue like yours wouldn´t have been resolved easier with an outside Vendor than like in your case with RCI.

 

Oh BTW, everybody can put anything in their signature. I could state I´m the Pope, wouldn´t make me the Pope though and doubtfully anyone would believe it.

 

[chengkp75]

10 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

The waiter added the tip to the bill after I had crossed off the tip area on the bill and had signed it.  I was checking my account on the TV in the cabin and noticed the extra $10. Now does it make sense ?   I agree that it is not a secret, and would suggest that most people cruising do not know.  Some of the vendors are obvious by the names and others are less noticed.  If you look at my signature, you will see I am a United States Coast Guard  licensed engineer that has sailed ships and worked in the industry. 

I have held a USCG license for 43 years, sailing all that time, and don't know why that qualification makes any difference in your comments about the concessionaires on cruise ships.  While I agree that most people think there are "deals" to be had buying things on cruise ships, but it always comes down to "buyer beware", and "you get what you pay for", which are merely common sense approaches to life in general, nothing to do with ships.  And, I would not say that the concessionaires are lesser quality service than the cruise line, nor that the cruise line provides better service in resolving complaints, despite your one example.  

 

And, if you've worked in the industry for any length of time, you'd know that since the ships are foreign flag, that any business practices onboard, whether by the cruise line or a concessionaire is not governed by US law.

 

And I find your demeaning of the concessionaire staff by saying they "can't be employed ashore" so they must be inferior.  I have worked on foreign flag cruise ships, and the international crew are quite satisfied with the wage that many in the US look at as "slave wages", since the wage is more than they could make in their home countries.  And besides, your complaint appears to be over quality of products and services, and this is not controlled by the onboard crew, nor is pricing, but by the parent corporation that holds the concession fleet wide, and many times over many different fleets.

[TTraub1250]

Chengkp75:  Mate or engineer ?  Which school ?  Graduated in 1971 and started with US lines ( Pioneer Contender ) delivering bombs and beer to Vietnam. I agree with most of what you have said.  Talking with the licensed mates and engineers, reading many of the post about problems of resolution, articles written, and my own experiences, it seems companies are slipping in both the quality given and the resolution of the problems.  Went back and got my masters and then Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with a focus on design quality in nuclear subs, so maybe I am over sensitive on quality issues. 

[TTraub1250]

I am interested in how these ships provide service, in addition to the technical side, because I own a number of shares of stock and provide feedback via several channels to companies interested in what the competition is doing. That is why I ended my post with " Your Experience".  Would love to consult for Disney, just to see the training and indoctrination process. 

[spookwife]

its seems to me you had an issue with ONE PERSON.   doesn't matter who they were employed by.  they tried to scam  a tip out of you by  padding the bill.   that is not a factor of who employed them but rather a factor of their  character.

 

and FTR.. on my Disney cruise I actually found my senior waiter to be rude and condescending the entire week( his assistant waiter was a total gem and she introduced us to her husband who was  serving another section)  

 

levels of service are more about the INDIVIDUAL providing  it and not who hired them, pays their wages or the training involved..  I know  kids making minimum wage  who  are great at customer service and I know people employed at high end places who suck at it.  

 

 

[matj2000]

I have no idea what this thread is about.

 

But more of a way to tell everyone their credentials...

Edited March 3, 2019 by matj2000

[gatour]

A couple of things.

 

You start the thread talking about outside vendors, implying that they are inferior to direct hires.  But then the example you  give is about a direct hire adding a tip.

 

You then ask why are people working on a ship, your conclusion was it must be because they are inferior performers and can't get work on shore.  A good precentage of crew members are from improvised countries with high rates of unemployment.  A cruise ship offers a decent rate of pay that allows them to support their family back home.

 

Other people decide to get a job on a ship to see the world.  I know one person who had a decent job that supported her, however there was no way she could afford to pay to go to some of the places she wanted to see.  She was able to get a job on the cruise director staff.   She has seen Austrialia, Tahiti, Hawaii and several other places.

 

Then there are people that just a job on a ship, as there may no direct corollaly on land

[gatour]

2 hours ago, TTraub1250 said:

I am interested in how these ships provide service, in addition to the technical side, because I own a number of shares of stock and provide feedback via several channels to companies interested in what the competition is doing. That is why I ended my post with " Your Experience".  Would love to consult for Disney, just to see the training and indoctrination process. 

Actually Disney used to offer classes that they would offer to classes that taught their processes.  They may still do.

 

For new castmasters they used to have I believe 3 day onboarding process.  But several years ago this was drastically reduced.

 

I used to go to Disney World 3 or 4 times away.  We encountered both great, indiferent, and barely competent cast members.

 

I found the same on cruise ship no matter the cruiseline. 

[time4u2go]

11 minutes ago, gatour said:

A good precentage of crew members are from improvised countries

I'm guessing you meant impoverished, and I know we're not supposed to point out spelling errors, but I got a chuckle out of "improvised" countries. 

[Pratique]

31 minutes ago, gatour said:

Actually Disney used to offer classes that they would offer to classes that taught their processes.  They may still do.

 

For new castmasters they used to have I believe 3 day onboarding process.  But several years ago this was drastically reduced.

 

I used to go to Disney World 3 or 4 times away.  We encountered both great, indiferent, and barely competent cast members.

 

I found the same on cruise ship no matter the cruiseline. 

WDW employs 60,000+ people in Florida. It's inevitable that not all will be equally competent and capable, sometimes a new hire doesn't work out and it takes time to make adjustments, and everyone has bad days dealing with the guests and the heat and the daily grind. Many people are passionate about the culture of the company and they stand out from those who are just punching the clock for a paycheck. I went through the "traditions" new hire orientation three times over a period of 10 years, back when it was three days then later when it was a day and a half. We called it "pixie dusting."

 

Disney Institute for the classes, but there are plenty of books and web pages where one can read about it as well.

[CapeGal]

18 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Spa also.

Add Wedding packages also.

[gatour]

9 hours ago, time4u2go said:

I'm guessing you meant impoverished, and I know we're not supposed to point out spelling errors, but I got a chuckle out of "improvised" countries. 

You are correct. 

 

Thanks for the understanding and giving me an extra nudge to do better proof reading . 😉 

 

I have had tendency to skip words while typing.  My brain gets ahead of my fingers so not all the words that I thought I typed actually gets to the screen.  I have consciously been working on that and have started working on misspellings.   Over-relying on autocorrect is a crutch, that I need to unlearn.

[time4u2go]

2 minutes ago, gatour said:

You are correct. 

 

Thanks for the understanding and giving me an extra nudge to do better proof reading . 😉 

 

I have had tendency to skip words while typing.  My brain gets ahead of my fingers so not all the words that I thought I typed actually gets to the screen.  I have consciously been working on that and have started working on misspellings.   Over-relying on autocorrect is a crutch, that I need to unlearn.

No worries!  I'm sure many of us are guilty of the same thing.