Ever Been on a Cruise That You Could Not Wait to Finish?

[Victoria Riddle]

If you go to reviews , Princess, Panama Canal, 03/07/2020 &read the review from Victoria, that’s me. Couldnt wait to go home!!! I’ve been on 3 perfect cruises. This last one was unbelievably horrible. We were robbed of our money our dream trip and our time. 

[lenquixote66]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:13 AM, lynncarol said:

Yes. My first (and almost my last) when my husband surprised me with a New York to Bermuda cruise on one of the Cunard ships for our 25th anniversary. (We have now been married for 54 years so that was quite a while ago).  Anyway, we had barely gotten out into the Atlantic when a big storm came up and I, along with many of the other passengers, got really seasick. Crew were handing out barf-bags and I recall stepping over a pile of vomit in the hallway. My husband felt fine and off he went to the dining room without me, although he later reported very few other passengers were present. Well, we finally made it to Bermuda and I have never been so happy to get off anything in my life. I enjoyed our few days in Bermuda, but dreaded the return sail.  Fortunately, it wasn't as bad, but I was a nervous wreck and it took ten years for my husband to talk me into another cruise. Now I love cruising and with the bigger ships, any wave action I notice is no problem with dramamine.

Our first cruise was in 1973,a Cunard cruise from NY to Bermuda.Everyone on the ship including the ships doctor became il.My wife and I did not do another cruise till 1994 .That was on a Carnival cruise from San Juan to other places in the Caribbean.The food was awful.We did not do another cruise till 2008.

[vacation luvver]

Yes.  It was a fourteen-night New England and Canada cruise on the Celebrity Summit beginning in September of 2012.  There were big problems with the shore excursions.

 

Our first excursion out of Maine was absolutely perfect.  We were told to meet at the end of the pier, and we did so, and everything went well.  However, for our next excursion, for some reason, instead of being told to meet on the pier (or wherever) and then get on the bus, we were told to meet in the theater at 10:45 AM for our 11:00 AM tour.  When we got to the theater, we saw that there were about a dozen tours scheduled to leave at 11:00 AM, and each tour group was led downstairs one at a time to get on the bus, and our group was the last to be led downstairs, and we got on the bus very late.  We were so late that the tour guide was annoyed that we were late and told us that we would miss some of the sightseeing that we had already paid for.  This happened with all of the rest of shore excursions at ports where the ship docked.  When I asked a member of the shore excursions department why we had to meet in the theater instead of going outside and getting on the bus, she said that it was done this way so that they could help us.  I said that they weren't helping us at all by making us late for every excursion and missing out on sightseeing that we had already paid for.

 

Things were so bad when we had to tender ashore that at one port, it was announced that some excursions were cancelled because there was no way to get people off the ship in time, even though the shore excursion department had promised a few minutes earlier that we shouldn't worry, because they weren't going to cancel ANY excursions.  And by the time we got ashore, we were late (and missed more sightseeing that we had already paid for).

 

But the worst was Bar Harbor.  My traveling companion and I had Select Dining, which meant that we made dinner reservations ahead of time and prepaid our tips.  Before the start of the cruise, I called and asked what time I should make our dinner reservation for on the day we went to Bar Harbor.  I was told not to make a reservation for any earlier than 7:30 PM.  So I made our reservation for 7:30 PM.  By the time we arrived in Bar Harbor, we were one hour late, and the tour guide told us that we wouldn't have time to see the gardens that were supposed to be included in our tour.  The tour ended at 6:40 PM, and we got on the end of an extremely long line to get on a tender.  7:30 PM came and went, and the line hadn't moved at all, and now there was a huge line behind us.  7:30 PM was supposed to have been the time that the last tender would leave from Bar Harbor.  I eventually found out that the tenders had not run for several hours, because they were being used to ferry lobsters onto the ship.

 

So we waited and waited and waited, and finally we got on a tender.  Unfortunately, the tender driver drove very recklessly, and the tender crashed into some rocks.  After about an hour, we got on a boat to take us to the ship.  By the time we got to the ship, it was after 11:00 PM, so we didn't get the dinner that we had paid for in our cruise fare, and we had to tip just as much as if we had gotten it, because I refuse to ask for a reduction in my daily service charge.  We went to the buffet, because the daily newsletter said that pizza would be available until 1:00 AM, only to see that the pizza station was locked up.  Very nice to lock it up when approx 96 people didn't get a chance to have dinner, and when the newsletter said that it would be open until 1:00 AM.

 

The next day, the captain called those who had been on that tender to meet with him.  He said "Sorry about that!"  He didn't offer us even one penny in compensation.  I guess he didn't think that we deserved any, that hearing him say "Sorry about that!" was sufficient.  I didn't hear anyone at that meeting ask him about compensation.  I think we were all too stunned by his attitude.

 

After the meeting, I went to the shore excursion department to ask for partial refunds on the shore excursions where we didn't get to see what we were supposed to see.  I had no problem getting discounts for my traveling companion and me.  When i mentioned that we didn't get to see the gardens at Bar Harbor, the woman actually asked me, "What gardens?"  "How should I know!" I said.  "We didn't get to see them."  And when I mentioned one particular excursion, before I could say one word, she said, "Oh, yeah, we heard about that one.  How about I give you 60% off?"  Fine with me, but I was annoyed that in order to get a discount, you had to take the time to go to the shore excursion department to make a complaint.  Because if I hadn't gone there, they would have thought that my traveling companion and I were perfectly happy with paying for sightseeing that we didn't get to see, and they wouldn't have given us anything.

 

Afterwards, I kept hearing passengers talking about the people on the tender that had crashed into rocks, and I would say that I was one of them.  I was always asked, "Did they make you sign anything?"  I always said no.  Then I was always asked, "How much are they giving you?"  "Not one penny!" I always said.  Because the captain had acted as if we didn't deserve even one penny.  A few days after I got home, Celebrity called me and asked me for my side of the story.  I told them everything, and a few days later, they offered my traveling companion and me a generous settlement.  I just wish that they had made an offer while we were still on the ship, because if they had, then I wouldn't have told people that we weren't getting even one penny (after they asked), and I wouldn't have been so upset and so eager to get home.   

[Lovely other]

Yes ...my last cruise in October 2019. To be honest I shouldn’t have booked it but my husband wanted to go on the particular ship as we had friends working onboard. I wanted a different cruise itinerary but I gave in and regretted it 😕 

We sail in the cheap seats which has never really been an issue but the cabin we got this time was a big problem. I’m not good with noise and on entering the cabin the first day I noticed the roar of the aircon. I went to switch it off only to find we had one of the few cabins on the Nieuw Statendam that didn’t have the simple touch screen that meant you could turn it off. I wasn’t happy but I was assured if I set it to the middle it would stay off ... it didn’t 😡. Instead it would suddenly roar into life on and off all through the night, then on top,of that there was an air conditioning control room next to our cabin that rattled and banged through the night too. My husband can sleep through anything but even he was struggling. 

We complained and were told there was no cabins available to move to. I didn’t sleep for three nights and I took to wondering the ship on the early hours and sitting crying on empty decks. On the third night my husband phoned the front desk and told them we were getting off in the next port as we couldn’t take anymore ... miraculously the next day a cabin became available and we moved. The trip just wasn’t enjoyable after all that and I was exhausted and unusually for me I was happy to get off at the end of the cruise and head home. 

It was the first time we’d managed to get time off together (I’d been cruising alone) in 3 years and I still feel sad when I think about it. 

[cb at sea]

Yep, our longest cruise (10 nights) was SO looked forward to....but by day  8, we were done....I think it was more the ship and lack of space than anything else.  I couldn't wait to get home.  I mean, I love having meals cooked and served to me, but after the 6th day, it all tasted the same.  Couldn't wait to get the hell home.

 

[Smokeyham]

11 minutes ago, Lovely other said:

Yes ...my last cruise in October 2019. ......

How sad!  Sounds like a horrible experience.  You would think that others would have complained prior to your cruise and that they would have made more of an effort to fix it.  I hope you more enjoyable cruises together in the future.

[Lois R]

11 hours ago, Lovely other said:

Yes ...my last cruise in October 2019. To be honest I shouldn’t have booked it but my husband wanted to go on the particular ship as we had friends working onboard. I wanted a different cruise itinerary but I gave in and regretted it 😕 

We sail in the cheap seats which has never really been an issue but the cabin we got this time was a big problem. I’m not good with noise and on entering the cabin the first day I noticed the roar of the aircon. I went to switch it off only to find we had one of the few cabins on the Nieuw Statendam that didn’t have the simple touch screen that meant you could turn it off. I wasn’t happy but I was assured if I set it to the middle it would stay off ... it didn’t 😡. Instead it would suddenly roar into life on and off all through the night, then on top,of that there was an air conditioning control room next to our cabin that rattled and banged through the night too. My husband can sleep through anything but even he was struggling. 

We complained and were told there was no cabins available to move to. I didn’t sleep for three nights and I took to wondering the ship on the early hours and sitting crying on empty decks. On the third night my husband phoned the front desk and told them we were getting off in the next port as we couldn’t take anymore ... miraculously the next day a cabin became available and we moved. The trip just wasn’t enjoyable after all that and I was exhausted and unusually for me I was happy to get off at the end of the cruise and head home. 

It was the first time we’d managed to get time off together (I’d been cruising alone) in 3 years and I still feel sad when I think about it. 

So sorry this happened to you....the lack of sleep sounds terrible and I probably would have shed those tears

as well.   Hoping your next one is much better.

[getting older slowly]

Well sort of.... normally on the last day have always been thinking wouldn't it be nice to stay on board.....

 

last cruise did a B2B  26 nights ( our longest so far ) by about night 22 was looking forward to getting home....

 

We did enjoy the cruise, but decided  that 13-20 nights is the ideal length for us.....

 

and you get off wanting more..... 

 

I would need a different mind set to do a long cruise .....

 

Now can't wait for our next cruise........  if it is on late in the year...

 

Cheers Don.

[Jasalth]

There was 2 (well 1.5) for me. 

 

First was a spring break trip on RCCL. I would have never chosen it, my mother won a good chunk of $ and took 3 generations on a cruise with a chunk of it as we were living across the country with our 2 little ones at the time. 1st a western in July just isn't for us, even the little ones. 2nd it was on one of the newer ships, but the Mega ships were getting ready to sail in 2-3 months at the time. The first thing the CD says on this cruise is an announcement of how happy he is they announced who would be going to the new Mega ship and for 7 days wouldn't be quiet about it. Needless to say, staff who wasn't being transferred, were LESS than happy. Out of 3 rooms, only 2 were serviced every day. They were all connecting and had the same staff. Dinner in the MDR was... atrocious. I still don't think my mother gets why on the 2nd night, after 90 minutes and no entrees yet for a 3 and 5 year old we walked out and ate at the buffet the rest of the time. Dinner on night 1, was a 3 1/2 hr affair...

 

Out last trip was 23 days in Italy and what could go wrong, did go wrong! From breaking my glasses on the flight over, to landing in the bad tide in Venice in '18, to rain the whole time, to getting stuck in Germany for 48 hrs on the flight back. It did have it's moments.. our cruise had 2 very large travel groups on it. From watching some of them having brought their own food on board, to always thinking of this as the "throwing elbows for hot dogs and fries!" cruise. But by about day 16 or so of it all I was ready to go home. 

 

So what do I do when I get home? 3 months later book ANOTHER 25 day trip to Europe. What can I say? I am a glutton for punishment! It was for this September so cruise is canceled by CCL, but still might be land tripping it depending on the state of the world by then!  

[Mike981]

On 3/27/2020 at 5:42 PM, Smokeyham said:

 
I have friends who look at those short cruises and think they should just do them to "try cruising."  I try to dissuade them!

 

 

I do the same. Since I know that they are going to have to fly to cruise, I use the cost of a flight for a cruise that will at best, be a two and a half day cruise.

[rattanchair]

Not every cruise is a dream, there are those nightmares as well. But for those of us that frequent these boards, we are 'dyed in the wool' enthusiasts. Why did not the worst cruise we ever experienced, not stop us from cruising again?  Come on, we all have the time, now.

  I will start by telling you of a cruise 32 years ago crossing the Tasman Sea in a typhoon. Very few passengers showed up for dinner, early or late seating. Our table for 8, only I was present. DW and the rest were lined up at the medical center for shots. I had to hold my plate down with one hand and scoop the food into my mouth. Glasses were only filled 1/2 way, the way wine is always served only in a heavier glass. No etiquette at my table at all. Emetic bags were placed on our pillows instead of chocolates. I asked the room steward why with the 'head' so close by, he said they were to take with us should we leave the room and not find one available in the hall or stairways. The waves were over the bow and the doors to the deck were cordoned off, and the stewards ordered to seal the port hole windows in all cabins. Just like in the movies, with the rock and roll of the ship, no  one could sleep and many slept with our life vests on, sitting up right. All very scary. To this day DW cruises with a stash of ginger root, fresh and powdered, meclazine, which she begins a day before we board and does not stop taking till we dock;4 pairs of accupressure sea bands for her wrists, which she wears even in the shower. Only 4 of us passengers showed up the for oriental painting class,  the instructor's easel kept tipping over and no one to help hold it up (or him, he kept rolling from side to side unable to paint). What normally would take him 5 minutes took an hour to accomplish. What a trooper he was that day.

   I guess for me the answer to 'my' question is that every cruise is a great cruise if I do not get sick on board or 5-7 days hence. It is quite trite, but Nietzsche's quote "That which does not kill you makes you stronger." But I draw the line at sky diving at any age.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chipmaster]

Princess sailing to Mexico out of Houston, flew in and spent a day touring Rice University and all excited to go for a week cruise.

 

Shipping accident closed the shipping channel, and got the typical obscure updates that we could sail shortly but no real information.  Of course if we got off, you got off and couldn't get back on.   We spent 3 days stuck at port and sadly our side of the ship had poor cell phone reception so the kids were going batty with cabin fever.   We ate, worked out, layed by the pool, ate, ate, played games and rinse and repeat.        The crew did their best but the management just like airlines when your plane is delayed don't say anything meantinful.     In the end we sailed got two days at sea and one port, they gave us 100% cruise credit, so of course we sailed again, we got a free cruise + gratuities and a second cruise for free 

[rattanchair]

1 hour ago, chipmaster said:

they gave us 100% cruise credit, so of course we sailed again, we got a free cruise + gratuities and a second cruise for free 

Cruise incentives are a great way to "keep the ball rolling."

[rattanchair]

Here is another cruise from the 'horror zone'. In 1986, we and 2 other couples took a Caribbean cruise on a now defunct line. One afternoon lounging around the pool several deck hands raced over to the pool filling up pails of water and racing back to 'somewhere'. Presently the ship stopped moving. Power to the ship was knocked out by a fire on board. Panic  and rumors abounded. No lights in hallways, no air-conditioning ( in July). Friendly passengers turned into zombies, fighting over deck chairs to sleep on as the sun waned.  An S.O.S. was sent out and in a short time a freighter pulled up along side calming the passengers. The freighter stayed along side until the ship was able to regain power and it sailed into the sunset. Everyone got vouchers for 1/2 off a future cruise. One of us quipped that the' Repeaters' Party 'next summer would probably consist of just us 6, held in a vacant elevator with a bottle of warm "Cold Duck" and 6 straws.

[rkacruiser]

July, 1980 aboard QE2 embarking at Hamburg at the end of a cruise for her and prior to sailing the next day from Southampton to New York; my traveling companion and I were Tourist Class guests paying more per day than we had on our preceding 24 day cruise aboard Royal Viking Sky in a comparable outside stateroom.

 

Boarding the ship, there was only one daily program.  OK, we can deal with that.  We asked our Cabin Steward for two copies since we are two separate travelers.  He graciously said that he would deliver such the next day when we sailed from Southampton.  We went to lunch in the Tables of the World Restaurant.  Entrecote was on the menu.  I ordered the steak and was served liver.  When I told my Steward that this was not what I ordered, I was  rather rudely informed that it was.  I wrote a note about that situation and delivered it to the ship's front office.

 

We left QE2 for an all day shore excursion at Southampton.  Returning to the stateroom, there was still only one daily program.  We looked for our Cabin Steward, found him, asked him about this.  Suddenly, out of the pantry, out jumped a Steward who castigated us for making such an unreasonable request.  His manner and his words shocked both of us.  We retreated to our stateroom.  Minutes later, there was a knock on the door.  One of the Hotel Officers was there responding to our message that I sent earlier.  He apologized for my experience and assured us that "all will be better".  We then informed him what we had just minutes earlier had experienced.  He apologized again and departed.

 

Our bathroom had a full set of towels and remained so for the entire trans-Atlantic crossing.  There was only one face cloth, however.  We asked our Cabin Steward for another one that evening from Southampton.  None appeared.  No other face cloths appeared for the entire cruise other than that initial one. 

 

Tea service in the Queen's Lounge:  sometimes cracked pots and cups.  Tea spoons?  Maybe.  I have a photo of my friend stirring his tea with his pocket pen knife.  

 

We learned during the voyage that there were labor issues aboard QE2.  It surely showed.  Richard had friends sailing on the same voyage as us, booked in First Class.  They had a poor experience as well.

 

The very best example of legendary Cunard service on that cruise was a Deck Steward.  I decided one windy, overcast morning to try to get some fresh air in a deck chair on the Tourist Class'Sun Deck.  There were no deck chairs set up when I got there.  The Steward asked me if I wanted one to which I said yes.  He set one up, got blankets, and literally tucked me in.  After awhile, he returned to see if I wanted anything.  I ordered a Bloody Mary.  Returning with the glass on a tray, a gust of wind caught the tray and spilled the entire drink on the front of his uniform.  He apologized.  (No need for that!!)  He went to get another.  When he did, he was wearing a clean uniform with my Bloody Mary that he was firmly holding in his hand.  He was a more "mature" staff member than the Cabin and Restaurant Stewards that I encountered on that cruise.  

 

Having just sailed on Royal Viking Sky, the contrast between our two cruises could not have been more stark.  

[lenquixote66]

Our first cruise was in 1973 and everyone on board including the crew and ships doctor became ill.The treatment was an injection in the derrière.

We did not cruise again for 21 years.

[Shmoo here]

After reading these, I'm guessing we've been lucky.  No absolutely terrible cruises in our 25 cruises.

 

Yes, there have been small issues on various ones - we lost one of the main generators (at 4 am) that triggered the fire system (and alarms); rough seas in Northern Atlantic for 5 days; lackluster meal prep (on a 28 night cruise); during a engine control room tour the stabilizer alarm went off.

 

 

 

 

[navybankerteacher]

I’d prefer to just forget it.  If I gave details, I am sure some of the line’s cheerleaders would chime in;  and then I’d be tempted to go into more detail — simply no point in rehashing old bad memories.

 

it did not stop me from cruising because I have experienced good cruises on other lines — but it did stop me from ever considering them again —- regardless of how convenient the port might be, how enticing the itinerary, or how low the fare might be.  My time is sufficiently valuable to not want to waste it on bad experiences.

[sparks1093]

Our first cruise was a cruise to nowhere on NCL and we took it to see if we liked cruising and to see what triggers existed for our middle son who had Asperger's. The cruise was out of Boston so we spent 2 days in the Gulf of Maine maintaining steerage way so it was rather rough for DW (I was right at home given my experience in the Navy). There were long waits for drinks and for meals and many experienced NCL cruisers said that it was their worst experience with NCL. We cruised with them again because none of the issues were deal killers and our thought was if this is NCL at their worst then their best has to be better. We also recognized that a 2 day cruise has to be different than a longer cruise. We sailed with NCL a few more times and had a good time with each cruise. We haven't written them off per se but their current CEO has changed some things including how the cruises are priced and they are currently charging more than we are willing to pay. 

[rattanchair]

12 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Having just sailed on Royal Viking Sky, the contrast between our two cruises could not have been more stark.

Dear rka,   Very interesting and informative. Thank you.

[rattanchair]

12 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

The treatment was an injection in the derrière.

Dear len,  That was the same treatment my DW got but her despair lasted 21 hours. Can cooking, cleaning, packing and unpacking and holding down a teaching position be so much drudgery that the worst a cruise can throw at some people is a mere 'cake walk' ?

[rattanchair]

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

My time is sufficiently valuable to not want to waste it on bad experiences.

Dear nbt,  A very good philosophical axiom. I think you left out the word "remembering" bad experiences, because no one goes into a bad experience willingly, knowing it is bad to begin with.

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, rattanchair said:

Dear len,  That was the same treatment my DW got but her despair lasted 21 hours. Can cooking, cleaning, packing and unpacking and holding down a teaching position be so much drudgery that the worst a cruise can throw at some people is a mere 'cake walk' ?

I do none of the above

[sprint180]

Worst - Carnival Magic to the caribbean.  And it wasn't that bad.  One of the rooms the air barely worked, loud music out side of their room.  That was really weird it was only loud in their speakers and none of the others.  Food not enjoyable.  Other minor issues but all add up to be my most un-enjoyable.    Guess we've had pretty good cruises.  

[ldubs]

On 4/15/2020 at 7:15 PM, Shmoo here said:

After reading these, I'm guessing we've been lucky.  No absolutely terrible cruises in our 25 cruises.

 

Yes, there have been small issues on various ones - we lost one of the main generators (at 4 am) that triggered the fire system (and alarms); rough seas in Northern Atlantic for 5 days; lackluster meal prep (on a 28 night cruise); during a engine control room tour the stabilizer alarm went off.

 

 

 

I have to agree.  My "worst" cruise just wasn't that bad and certainly not something that would make me not want to return.  So, I guess I'm lucky too when it comes to enjoying myself.  I plan on keeping it that way.