Quietly reading, now speaking out

[Eliz2]

Round and round the wheel rolls. What came first? The chicken or the egg? At this point, it doesn't matter. Ahh...lawsuits...ain't that what you can do if you buy coffee and then spill it on your lap because you're a clod and then sue the fast food restaurant because the coffee was hot? Dah???

 

--Jean

 

I know this is off topic, and I don't have time to read all the other responses in this thread right now, but re: the McDonald's coffee case, McD's KNEW that they were keeping their coffee dangerously hot and continued to serve it to drive through passengers at that temperature. McD's KNEW that if someone spilled the coffee on themselves they would be seriously burned. The woman got horrible burns on her crotch and legs and required numerous surgeries. And the jury DID reduce her damages to account for her own negligence.

[tuggers]

Will, let's not speak ill of Regal Empress! In her day she was a fine ship and her current situation and condition is no fault of hers. I sailed on her approx 15 times years ago and they were some of the best sailings I've ever had!:D

[Happy ks]

My bottle of Clorox bleach state on the label you must leave the bleach solution on for 5 minutes for it to be an effective disinfectant.

 

I feel sorry for the pax, as well as the workers onboard the ship.

 

I also think that the staff and crew are told not to communicate certain things to the pax. It's possible their hands were tied.

 

Karyn8, If you read through your contract, it is noted that any court claim must be filed in the state of Florida. Are you willing to travel to FLA, or hire an attorney to do that for you, for a small claims issue?

[WillK]

Will, let's not speak ill of Regal Empress! In her day she was a fine ship and her current situation and condition is no fault of hers. I sailed on her approx 15 times years ago and they were some of the best sailings I've ever had!:D

 

I agree, she's a beautiful ship that just hasn't had the attention she deserves. My point is that if I book a room at the Sheraton, I expect certain standards and amenities. Let's say I arrive at the Sheraton to find out that management has overbooked and that instead they'll be giving me a free shuttle ride over to a room they've reserved for me at the Motel 6. I don't care that I'll be reimbursed 25% or given future discounts. If I'd wanted to stay at a Motel 6, that's what I would've booked in the first place. At least on a land-based vacation, you have the option of switiching hotels. Is this example a fair one in terms of what you experienced?

[tuggers]

Oh, yes, Willk, I fully get it. I used Carnival as an example in a post because I sailed on them one time years ago and had a horrific experience. Motel 6/Carnival, seems we're on the same page!

[FinelyCruising]

Other cleaners should have been used, and believe me, there are others that are just as effective.

 

Others types of products were used. We just keep talking only about the bleach.

[tuggers]

I never saw them using anything but the bleach. And they were bringing it on by the pallet loads. And, yes, I did see that.

[FinelyCruising]

I know about the bleach by the pallets...we joked with the guys cleaning near the B stairs on deck 10 that we frequently used,l asked them if they were running out yet, and they said...No way, we have it by the pallet!

 

They'd need at least pallets to account for the every half hour protocol and the size of the area they needed to cover, even with the dilute but potent formula that they were using.

 

There were at least two other items being used. One I don't know what it was, it was being described by a worker in the Cova Cafe, but the other I saw the label of and for the life of me I can't remember what it was exactly, but it was something akin to a bacteriostat mix...maybe someone else can say exactly what it was, I saw the label but it's just not clear in the forefront of my memory.

[cruisePRN]

 

 

Karyn8, If you read through your contract, it is noted that any court claim must be filed in the state of Florida. Are you willing to travel to FLA, or hire an attorney to do that for you, for a small claims issue?

 

I didn't realise that but yes, for a refund of several thousand dollars I'd go to Florida. I think you can use small claims in the venue where you paid your money. If that is the case the contract doesn't hold up on this issue. RCL's contract doesn't supercede the law of this country although I realise the ships are registered to various foreign countries. It is an interesting point and needs further research.

[woodofpine]

I think Celeb is an exemplary line when things are firing on all cylinders, but frankly, I think the line is pretty weak in the problem solving department. When problems arise staff quickly go for what's expedient and forget about customer satisfaction (even when it would take little to achieve it).

 

And Will, I was on Regal Empress in September (dodged the formation of a 'cane); she may have some age faults but the dining room servers were second to none so give the old gal a break!

[katiebeth]

Dear Woodofpine,

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head. Celebrity is a great cruise line and is a step above other mass market cruise lines ....as long as there is "smooth sailing". (no pun intended, Ha!). I think the saying that when "they are good they are very good, and when they are bad they are very bad" holds true.

 

However, if any problem arises and you need to deal with customer relations it can be a real nightmare (based on personal experience)!

 

As long as you don't run into any glitches you will love Celebrity. Fortunately, that is the case 95% of the time. However, if you happen to fall into the 5% of cruisers that have a bad experience, I get the impression that you are on your own and frankly no one at corporate really cares.

 

Nancy

[tuggers]

I think this is the most true thing I have ever read about X. When Rick Sasso was there, things were different, when Jack Williams was there, things weren't quite as good but you got responses from him. I've had faith in Richard Fain for a long time, but not so sure this time. Silence so far. Hanrahan is more of an unknown quantity to me and his handling of complaints on this situation up until now is not inspiring confidence.

Makes you wonder if all of our passionate loyalty to Celebrity is not misplaced when they obviously care so little for what they put us through on this cruise.

BTW, I'm still coughing and my friend is still having nose bleeds.

[chicagolass]

Hi Tuggers,

Thanks for telling it like it was. The truth always wins out.

 

It's said that a country's power, wealth, and technological advancement

should not be a measure of how civilized that country is. But rather it should

be measured by how kind or unkind its citizens treat one another.

We could say the same about a cruising line company and its corporate people.

 

After the first cruise, no matter what the unfortunate cause, how civilized or

kind was it for RCCL and Celebrity to permit the many uninformed passengers

to embark and be exposed to the Norovirus. It seems that extreme measures

were needed to protect the crew and passengers and prevent more of the

same--no matter the cost. For example, spending an extra day in port before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sailing to insure more control of the situation could have been an option.

Also, it certainly would have given some of the crew some much needed rest.

Perhaps a day at sea would have been the trade-off but the precaution and

protection of people's health would have been well worth it.

 

No matter who the cruise company is it seems that protecting the crew and

passengers' good health should always be the top priority rather than the

$ sign on the bottom line.

 

Moreover,in the aftermath, words of kindness in writing would go a long way

to comfort all concerned. Actions that express compassion and sincere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

understanding for the unfortunate situation and a gift card as compensation would be very much appreciated by all concerned. It would be the civilized thing for a company to do.

Such actions by such a company and its executives would earn all of our accolades and respect on all of these threads.

 

Tuggers, take care. You deserve the best care.

[seagulls]

If I had been warned at the dock that the crew was sanatizing the ship I would have happily stepped aboard. If after we got underway the crew began a constant spraying of the railings, mirrors, toilet seats, etc until they were dripping wet I would be feeling very differentl What amazes me most is that they used bleach as the disinfectant. I would have thought that there are other substances available that would not have caused tearing eyes, ruined clothes plus I am sure respiration and skin rash problems. And whoever the Celebrity employee was who sent out the welcome home form letter in answer to the person who complained should be fired. The passengers of both cruises deserve to be compensated.

[excitedofharpenden]

If I had been warned at the dock that the crew was sanatizing the ship I would have happily stepped aboard. If after we got underway the crew began a constant spraying of the railings, mirrors, toilet seats, etc until they were dripping wet I would be feeling very differentl What amazes me most is that they used bleach as the disinfectant. I would have thought that there are other substances available that would not have caused tearing eyes, ruined clothes plus I am sure respiration and skin rash problems. And whoever the Celebrity employee was who sent out the welcome home form letter in answer to the person who complained should be fired. The passengers of both cruises deserve to be compensated.

I 100% agree with you seagulls. I've been following this story. They messed up big time here as far as I can see and have now lost a lot of goodwill through it. I don't know what I would have been happy with by way of compensation because I wasn't there, but hope they end up doing the right thing for Gail and others. To me, reading what I have, 25% off and 25% credit toward the next cruise doesn't go far enough and they need to think about the cruise previous too. Let's hope they now have it under control.

 

As for firing that employee, I suspect that it is the one that has "Dell" or "Hewlett Packard" or suchlike on their lapel. Aint technology great at making you feel special?:rolleyes:

 

Phil

[lysolqn]

Does anyone expect compensation of any kind when a Noro-type virus is going around the office and people start dropping like flies? How about compensation when a virus is ripping through your kid's school? How about compensation when you become sick after being at the theater, a sporting event, a hotel, a restaurant, a public bathroom or a friend's home where the virus is running wild? I'm not defending the cruiseline, but it was in a lose/lose situation - no matter what it did or didn't do in an attempt to control the outbreak, passengers would complain and demand compensation. You can get sick anywhere, any time (even on a cruise) and it's not necessarily anyone's fault. Sorry, but it's the luck of the draw.

[SandyMc]

I do agree it is luck of the draw. We were terribly disappointed in our March 17 cruise but had pretty well decided that Celebrity was just not a very class organization and was never even going to acknowledge our "less than perfect" cruise. However, once they decided to compensate passengers on one cruise, still ignoring March 17, they displayed not only very little class but flagrant discrimination!

 

For all of you who love Celebrity I can only wish you problem free cruises in the future or you too will end up feeling like all of us from the March 17 cruise!

[Sky Sweet]

I have a feeling that if more people on the March 27 cruise chose the option of not boarding, Celebrity would be more likely to cancel a cruise in the future.

[Texasannie]

Does anyone expect compensation of any kind when a Noro-type virus is going around the office and people start dropping like flies? How about compensation when a virus is ripping through your kid's school? How about compensation when you become sick after being at the theater, a sporting event, a hotel, a restaurant, a public bathroom or a friend's home where the virus is running wild? I'm not defending the cruiseline, but it was in a lose/lose situation - no matter what it did or didn't do in an attempt to control the outbreak, passengers would complain and demand compensation. You can get sick anywhere, any time (even on a cruise) and it's not necessarily anyone's fault. Sorry, but it's the luck of the draw.

 

It wasn't the virus that created the requests for compensation for the 3-17 cruise. It was the fact that we paid thousands of dollars for a top notch cruise and received far less than we paid for. Had management communicated with the passengers, offered any small token of regret, and maintained adequate service throughout the cruise, I doubt anyone would feel cheated at this point. Most of us save for a year (or years) to be able to take this kind of vacation and we expected the dining room to be open, the extras to be there, and the crew to be wonderful. I think there is no comparison to this situation unless you were there.

[katiebeth]

Texasannie,

 

Very good point...well said! Most of us understand that the compliants have nothing to do with the virus, rather the way it was handled!

 

I agree with you.

 

Nancy

[Texasannie]

I appreciate your kind words! You just had to have been there to understand how awful it really was. We did try to make the best of a bad situation. There are many folks out there that think the March 17 cruise was the first one with problems, but the cruise prior to us had the norovirus and we were not told of that when we boarded. It wasn't until two days into the cruise that the bleaching really became a problem for all the passengers. I can empathize with Tuggers! We were saturated!:eek:

[elsje]

I appreciate your kind words! You just had to have been there to understand how awful it really was. We did try to make the best of a bad situation. There are many folks out there that think the March 17 cruise was the first one with problems, but the cruise prior to us had the norovirus and we were not told of that when we boarded. It wasn't until two days into the cruise that the bleaching really became a problem for all the passengers. I can empathize with Tuggers! We were saturated!:eek:

Hi TexasAnnie ~ I posted on several other Mercury threads an email response I received from the CDC's Chief Vessel Sanitation Program. David Forney that CDC NEVER authorized spraying of the bleach. They recommended wetting rags and then wiping the surfaces. They had several discussions with the cruise line and the spraying process has now been stopped.

I empathize with all of the passengers and (crew too) that the bleaching was the main problems for so many. I would not expect my clothes to be ruined by bleach or my skim and lungs to come in contact with it.

I hope people, passengers and crew alike, will wash their hands so this virus won't spread so rapid.

Els