Crew Issues.....and disappointment in RCCL

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, mskaufman said:

Did you notice the same thing on Enchantment that the OP is reporting on GOS?

On my late March sailing there were some staff shortages (mostly bar waiters) and supply shortages, but they seemed to re-supply at Port Canaveral.  The staff was pleasant and seemed to be happy to serve.  The only issue we had was that it took 3 or 4 attempts before they finally acknowledged and fixed the cabin's lack of hot water.

[ricka47]

Just off the Harmony this morning (5/29) and did not notice any issues with crew shortages or service compared to pre-Covid.

[AnyShip4Me]

Did they have mushroom soup? My favorite! I have only got it one time out of three lately,

[firefly333]

17 minutes ago, AnyShip4Me said:

Did they have mushroom soup? My favorite! I have only got it one time out of three lately,

Yes we got mushroom soup. Very few foods they didnt have. Fully stocked with food. And spiced very well imo. Poblano had a extra kick. Every kind of cheese in stock. Food was actually good to very good. 

[BecciBoo]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

towels are only changed if I drop them on the floor

What is the point of this diatribe?  Tit for tat.  You ask for a new box of tissues, I ask for ice in the ice bucket and dry towels.  I guess you missed the part about being kind.  THat goes for posting on here as well.  Oops!  

[bucfan2]

2 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

They would have no problem hiring whatsoever if they had better pay and working conditions. Period. 

Perhaps you can help by giving some of your 5 week vacation into the pool…doubt they get anything near as extravagant as that. 

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

What is the point of this diatribe?  Tit for tat.  You ask for a new box of tissues, I ask for ice in the ice bucket and dry towels.  I guess you missed the part about being kind.  THat goes for posting on here as well.  Oops!  

Why would you take it tit for that. I sure never meant it that way. I was surprised how much service people ask for and was thinking a thread might be interesting. I've been on carnival and they do cabins once a day. I think twice is a lot. I am sorry you thought that's how I meant it. I didnt.

 

Btw I got my own tissues off the stewards cart. I ask for nothing. And I think I am kind. I got along with both stewards i had. Maybe by some standards not much but I gave one $20 and 4 tall cans of pringles. She didnt eat chocolates. I had merci chocolates and the other guy got those and pringles. And he made me a going away hippo. Accusing me of not being kind.... without knowing me or how I am with crew to me is a over reaction.

 

I thought about a live thread because of issues and know the loyal to royal would attack. Believe me I ask for nothing and am neat in my cabin. It wasnt a tit for tat. I just was saying I think I'm really really easy to please and ask for nothing extra. And of course I ask for a card and give them kudos on the survey. Mine loved me. 

 

The guy down the hall who wasnt my steward the last leg but was 2 legs previous asked my steward who said ok and he gave me this the last night. 

 

[GJustice]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I dont remember meeting you on that leg. I did the first 4. The fact you cancelled for sept, it cant have been that good but was one of the better of the 4.

We're not really that big on meeting people 🙂 and we probably DID see each other as there weren't THAT many people on board and it's a small ship. TOO small for DW to want to go again. I ENJOYED the "old school" ship more than the newer ones with all the bells and whistles, but it was her call. 

 

First time in a long taking less than 7 day trip. Usually on Freedom class, and wanted to try smaller ship. Planning to go on Allure next May to finally try a big ship. Hoping service out of Galveston continues to expand as I HATE flying.

Edited May 29, 2022 by GJustice

[GJustice]

2 hours ago, baelor said:

Right, but there are vacations other than cruising.  I never understood why people restrict the "universe" of choices to cruising or staying at home.

 

What level of service on a cruise, for example, would make you choose an all-inclusive over a cruise for your next vacation?  If none, then the advice/mindset you have is really only applicable to people who would never do any vacation other than a cruise.  I cannot imagine that is most (or even many) people.

I'm sure there are, but none that interest us. I enjoy watching the ocean go by as we're cruising, not having to worry about what we're going to eat, what we're going to do or anything else. What we called vacations growing up were usually anything but and this is how we've chosen to spend our second childhood(s) without adult supervision.

 

[kitkat343]

Here's an article addressing this issue:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cruise-lines-canceling-sailings-closing-115700546.html

 

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, ricka47 said:

Just off the Harmony this morning (5/29) and did not notice any issues with crew shortages or service compared to pre-Covid.

Good to hear. Was just on Jewel, B4B incl over Easter and for us Service was actually better then PreCV inc Ship was kept Cleaner then I'm use to seeing

Edited May 29, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[pcur]

I was on the Navigator in February, and almost every crew member I talked to had their contract expiring in 2 weeks.  Every single one of them did NOT want to go home.  When they started last October they hadn't worked in over a year, and they wanted those extensions to make up for lost wages.  

 

One crew member said RCCL was going to keep crew members whose flights could possibly be impacted with the Ukraine invasion, because so many European airlines were reworking their schedules.  Many connections go through Europe.  

 

Each ship is different.  The management has a lot to do with morale, not just the long hours, etc. 

 

The Vision crew in March were ecstatic to be back sailing again; very happy crew.

Edited May 29, 2022 by pcur

[Baron Barracuda]

With most ships back in service and operating at 59% loads RCL still lost $1.3B last quarter.  Their capital is dwindling and who knows how much additional debt the market will allow them to borrow.  Desperately need to get loads back above 100%.  Appear willing to do so even while shortstaffed and risk the bad customer satisfaction scores.

[rudeney]

6 hours ago, baelor said:

Right, but there are vacations other than cruising.  I never understood why people restrict the "universe" of choices to cruising or staying at home.

 

To me, vacation is about luxury, like having people wait on me - housekeeping, restaurant servers, concierge, etc.  With them taking care of those needs, all I have to worry about is enjoying myself.   We spent many years going to Walt Disney World because we always felt like it was a great luxury vacation with their "cast members" always ready to make sure we were having fun and taken care of.  We also have a beach condo, but that's not really "vacation" to me because it's just like being at home with cooking, laundry, trips to Walmart for household supplies, etc.

 

We've never done an all-inclusive resort, but have been on many cruises.  We don't cruise very often - once every 2-3 years.  But when we do, we go for luxury by booking suites.  I know this may sound "entitled" but while I am willing to pay extra to get more room, I am really looking to avoid waiting in lines, getting  better show seats, concierge assistance, etc.  I can deal with problems, and I know not to blame the individual crew members, but when a cruise line is going to charge me a 100% fare for a 75% level of service, I am going to speak-up.  Our next cruise is four months away.  I hope by then that RCI is moving forward and things are working better.  If not, you'll hear about it.  Actually, you'll hear about it either way.  

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

To me, vacation is about luxury, like having people wait on me - housekeeping, restaurant servers, concierge, etc.  With them taking care of those needs, all I have to worry about is enjoying myself.   We spent many years going to Walt Disney World because we always felt like it was a great luxury vacation with their "cast members" always ready to make sure we were having fun and taken care of.  We also have a beach condo, but that's not really "vacation" to me because it's just like being at home with cooking, laundry, trips to Walmart for household supplies, etc.

 

We've never done an all-inclusive resort, but have been on many cruises.  We don't cruise very often - once every 2-3 years.  But when we do, we go for luxury by booking suites.  I know this may sound "entitled" but while I am willing to pay extra to get more room, I am really looking to avoid waiting in lines, getting  better show seats, concierge assistance, etc.  I can deal with problems, and I know not to blame the individual crew members, but when a cruise line is going to charge me a 100% fare for a 75% level of service, I am going to speak-up.  Our next cruise is four months away.  I hope by then that RCI is moving forward and things are working better.  If not, you'll hear about it.  Actually, you'll hear about it either way.  

Not sure what type Suite you are looking to get but if your cabin category is just a  JS  maybe it's best you buy "THE KEY" for your sailing.

[baelor]

4 hours ago, GJustice said:

I'm sure there are, but none that interest us. I enjoy watching the ocean go by as we're cruising, not having to worry about what we're going to eat, what we're going to do or anything else. What we called vacations growing up were usually anything but and this is how we've chosen to spend our second childhood(s) without adult supervision.

 

I mean, you just described my family's experience with all-inclusive hotels.  You can get similar service at any number of five-star hotels worldwide as well, in addition to any itineraries planned through a travel agent.

 

Each can do as they please and what they enjoy, but the advice of "be thankful for literally anything as long as you are on a cruise" is not particularly useful to anyone who cares about where they spend their money and has any standards whatsoever.

Edited May 30, 2022 by baelor

[baelor]

11 minutes ago, rudeney said:

Actually, you'll hear about it either way.  

Sounds good.  And if you ever want to dive into the all-inclusive space, send me a message--plenty of recommendations.

 

And no concerns about feeling entitled.  Not sure how your WDW/suite experiences cost, but until you are spending $600+ per person for a meal or $10,000+ per person for a week on vacation, we are not even dealing with particularly extravagant expenses lol.

[rudeney]

1 minute ago, baelor said:

Sounds good.  And if you ever want to dive into the all-inclusive space, send me a message--plenty of recommendations.

 

And no concerns about feeling entitled.  Not sure how your WDW/suite experiences cost, but until you are spending $600+ per person for a meal or $10,000+ per person for a week on vacation, we are not even dealing with particularly extravagant expenses lol.

 

Most of the time, I avoid $600 meals unless I am on expense account!  But we di generally expect to spend $10K+ on our vacations.  We did have some good deals at Disney with Annual pass discounts and such, but we never spent less than $6K/week there

 

 

11 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Not sure what type Suite you are looking to get but if your cabin category is just a  JS  maybe it's best you buy "THE KEY" for your sailing.

 

No Junior Suites - we book Grand or Owner's suites.  We sail on Freedom/Voyager class ships, so no "Star Class".  Even when we do eventually go to an Oasis or larger class ship, we won't do a "loft" suite because of the stairs.

 

[baelor]

1 minute ago, rudeney said:

Most of the time, I avoid $600 meals unless I am on expense account!  But we di generally expect to spend $10K+ on our vacations.  We did have some good deals at Disney with Annual pass discounts and such, but we never spent less than $6K/week there

 

I meant $10k (and $600) per person.  If you are reaching that at WDW, let me know--maybe that is the only way to skip lines lol.

Edited May 30, 2022 by baelor

[Cruising89143]

Our last cruise on the NV in early May got off to a rough start but things quickly improved as I found out my first issue was an RCI issue and not the ships. Yes there was a few areas where I could tell a difference in service versus a few months prior. 
 

Crew is being held over and not allowed to go on vacation. Our room steward was our same room steward from March. We were surprised to see him still on board. He was on his third contract extension. We spoke with a bar waiter who should have gone home in April. She was now scheduled to leave mid June. RCI is having difficulty getting replacement crew due to a number of reasons with the main issue being visas. 
 

Overall it was still a great cruise. The crew was busting their butt to take care of guests. We will be back on Friday for a B2B and will see if any of the old crew who brought the ship back into service is still on board. I expect a lot of new crew. Packing my patience and my understanding just in case. 

[Lane Hog]

7 minutes ago, baelor said:

I meant $10k (and $600) per person.  If you are reaching that at WDW, let me know--maybe that is the only way to skip lines lol.

It's $6K for a family of four to book a two night cabin at WDWs Star Wars hotel... throw in a couple days at other parks plus hotel and $10K isn't too difficult to reach.

[baelor]

2 minutes ago, Lane Hog said:

It's $6K for a family of four to book a two night cabin at WDWs Star Wars hotel... throw in a couple days at other parks plus hotel and $10K isn't too difficult to reach.

I literally do not know how I could have been clearer that I was referring to $10k per person.

 

Since using that phrase several times explicitly was apparently not enough, do you have any recommendations I can implement to make it clearer in the future?

[ARandomTraveler]

45 minutes ago, baelor said:

I meant $10k (and $600) per person.  If you are reaching that at WDW, let me know--maybe that is the only way to skip lines lol.

You can't buy your way into skipping lines at Disney anymore. There is a work-around though - I went as an invited guest of Disney, and we skipped every single line the whole week and it was glorious. Never waited in line more than 5 minutes. I don't know if I could enjoy the experience the regular way now, as that provided a totally different experience. We didn't have to make reservations for any of our line passes on any ride, and while the line passes weren't unlimited, we left having not used them all. 

Edited May 30, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[rudeney]

31 minutes ago, baelor said:

I meant $10k (and $600) per person.  If you are reaching that at WDW, let me know--maybe that is the only way to skip lines lol.

 

No - that's per trip.  A few times, we were given comp'ed VIP access due to some "political connections", but otherwise, we just did Fastpass or FP+.  The crap they have now where if you don't pay for Genie+, Lighting Lane, or VIP or else have to wait for hours - no thanks! 

 

For our cruises, we usually figure we'll spend over $10K.  I think I'm closing in on that for our October sailing.  I did do something different this time by buying UDP and DBP.  We usually just pay-go for those, but I just decided buying in advance is easier.  The number-cruncher in me will definitely be evaluating the results to see if we came out ahead or not!

 

[goldfish65]

For sure there are staffing shortages...our only options are to either go on the cruise and expect less service, or not go on the cruise. Also there are snags in the supply chain, so it's likely that food and beverage will be impacted. These are the terms we accept right now, no point in getting upset. 

 

One can argue that cruising itself is extravagant, if our money is so "hard-earned" that we demand a certain level of service for price paid,  maybe consider another type of vacation. 

 

Corporations are not going to put the brakes on their capacity; it always falls on service staff to somehow get the job done. 

 

Just my unsolicited opinions....😀