*LIVE* from Mariner of the Seas - PROBLEMS!

[gamecockvic]

:eek: I am going on the Mariner 5/13/07 and I am wondering how can I find out if there are any groups on my sailing? Anyone? Will RCCL tell me? Please help... Nothing against the M&M folks...I happen to have the same fetish (actually more of a Reese's pieces kinda girl)... but not the gay porn thing... please help!

 

Try a search using the ship's name and the date. You may have to try the date several ways. For my cruise next June, I found a Pan American Airlines group, which should be fine. Good luck!

[kittyg]

I've looked at their website, and the pictures of past cruises that I see show nothing more than shirtless men with their arms around each other's shoulders. I see plenty of photos of them in public places and on pool decks, but they're not overtly suggestive. (There are many links to porn there, but those pictures don't seem to be in public spaces on a cruise ship.)

 

Like any group, these are probably nearly all really nice, good people. I'm not trying to defend a few individuals that are behaving inappropriately, but to assume that all these people are making porn and behaving lewdly is classic prejudice.

 

Then you didn't look far enough. I looked last year when we were planning our cruise, and while DH and I aren't into porn, I happened to click a few links out of curiosity. I could describe the entire porn "story". It was in a cruise cabin (looked like RCL, but I hadn't gone on it yet), two guys get going, a guy in a captain's uniform walks in on them, and well, you get the picture. Then they take the action out to a balcony. I learned things about gays I never knew.

 

They specifically sell the porn videos made on their cruises to their membership. I'm sure they didn't pass up the chance to do the same again this year.

 

Then they had photos. Not the ones on their cruise site, but further in. These guys were on a ships deck, which looked quite crowded with non-bears and one guy had his hands down another's swim trunks and was smirking for the camera.

 

I think as a group they are not only known for their lewd behavior but are quite proud of it. And I'm not showing prejudice when I "assume" they are making porn. I've SEEN it. Wouldn't say I liked it!

 

It's free for anyone else who is curious...

[PH8]

Sounds like it's time to start a boycott of RCCL, seems like anything short of that will fail to get their attention. I'm anxcious to hear stories from other Mariner passengers as they arrive home and access their computers and share their experiences.

 

Someone has already reported in on their roll call,but no mention of any of this..........

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=297116&page=24

[hstrybuf]

Like any group, these are probably nearly all really nice, good people. I'm not trying to defend a few individuals that are behaving inappropriately, but to assume that all these people are making porn and behaving lewdly is classic prejudice.

 

Look at their website again. Do you consider porn stars and their fans "really nice, good people"? :eek: I don't know how long you've been around these boards but the Princess board was in an uproar last time the Bears cruised on one of their ships. That was either last year or earlier this year. It was reported that they were making porn films in their cabins, on their balconies and engaging in overt and unacceptable sexual actions in public spaces. It's what they do for a living!

 

We already know that they are planning another group cruise on the Norwegian Pearl for the Nov. 2, 2007 sailing. NCL lost another possible group booking because of it. Like any other group, they wouldn't be as much of a problem if they behaved themselves in public, but they don't. And who in their right mind can condone porn films being shot on the ship?

[flagger]

And who in their right mind can condone porn films being shot on the ship?

Apparently only people who do not condone it only have missionary sex if any at all. Based on quite a few other threads, quite a few have "gotten busy" not only in their cabins, but on their balconies too as well in other places on the ship. There was no uproar because it was heterosexual couples posting about it I guess. If the walls on your stateroom could talk, I am sure you would hear lots of rather interesting stories.

 

For goodness sake, there is pricing for THREE people in the Rasul treatment rooms on Royal ships.

[leennp]

I too was originally booked on this cruise and found out 3 days before final payment was due by a poster on cruise critic. She was flamed somewhat for her postings and I recieved a few less than gentle comments when I just tried to ask some opinions on cruising with any large group. I am truly grateful I found out about the group before it was too late to cancel. We were locked into having to cruise that week and ended up having a nice time on NCL for the week. I will not book a cruise again without trying to check on any groups for the ship I am interested in.

[hstrybuf]

Apparently only people who do not condone it only have missionary sex if any at all. Based on quite a few other threads, quite a few have "gotten busy" not only in their cabins, but on their balconies too as well in other places on the ship. There was no uproar because it was heterosexual couples posting about it I guess. If the walls on your stateroom could talk, I am sure you would hear lots of rather interesting stories.

 

For goodness sake, there is pricing for THREE people in the Rasul treatment rooms on Royal ships.

 

Hi ya Flagger! Long time no see! :) Yes, yes, I know about what others have done, but I don't believe it's quite the same as shooting a porn film for profit. ;)

[MoreCruisesNow]

I am only sorry that I was not on this cruise so I could join in the lawsuit against an unfeeling company who restricted access to a popular venue for the general welfare of all the passengers.

 

This suit could have been next in my series of lawsuits: against the City of San Francisco for closing the art museum on Monday, the only day I was in SF; against the Dallas Zoo for not having the Reptile House open on the day I visited; against Disneyland for having closed the Haunted Mansion on my only trip there in ten years; against the State of Texas for having 3 Interstate exits closed as I was driving across the state; against a local funeral home for not selling me space in their really elegant mausoleum, simply because it was full.

 

I'll tell you, the gall of some of these companies just astounds me!

[bplazo]

"General welfare of Passangers" Please- if it was something to do with hurricanes or bad wheather, etc. I could see closing a public area. Not just because grown men were acting imature and crude.

 

I did e-mail RCCL and expressed my views (not that they probably care).

[Tony20]

After seeing the offensive behavior that I mentioned in my earlier post, I stopped security right there on deck 12. They absolutely refused to get involved. They just shrugged their shoulders and said I needed to speak with Guest Relations.

 

One officer said he would say something to them if he saw it. He then walked in the opposite direction and I didn't see him all day. Previously, I had seen him every 15 minutes or so roaming D12.

 

I approached Capt. Johnny at his book signing and asked why his people weren't enforcing the rule against offensive behavior. I described the head in crotch etc, etc. He didn't apologize for his crew, nor apologize for my bad experience. He just said that I needed to report it to guest relations. Remember, Guest Relations were the people that said it was OK as long as it was in the adults only area of the solarium. Capt. Johnny seemed deathly afraid of making any statement that would acknowledge wrong-doing or culpability on the part of RCCL for allowing this to continue.

 

I later spoke with a supervisor at Guest Relations who was extremely sympathetic. She apologized and blamed Miami (RCCL HQ) for dumping this group on them. She said that she had already received 300+ complaints.

 

Bottomline, it seems that the whole cruise atmosphere was poisoned. The only thing anyone seemed to discuss was their disgust at the Bears. On the elevators, at poolside, at meals, the Bear's actions was all anyone talked about. Not a happy experience. I made a lot of new friends when anyone and everyone wanted to verbalize their feelings.

[bplazo]

Tony, I am sorry that you had such a disappointing cruise. I hope that all cruise lines will start enforcing correct behavior from ALL passengers.

[KK_Cruisin]

Look at their website again. Do you consider porn stars and their fans "really nice, good people"? :eek: I don't know how long you've been around these boards but the Princess board was in an uproar last time the Bears cruised on one of their ships. That was either last year or earlier this year. It was reported that they were making porn films in their cabins, on their balconies and engaging in overt and unacceptable sexual actions in public spaces. It's what they do for a living!

Porn stars make their living off of having sex in front of a camera. As with any indusrty there is the good and the bad. Unfourtantlly, in adult entertainment there is a lot of bad. The "Bears" acting the way they are aboard this ship, is not because they are pornstars, it is because they any amount of manners, class, or consideration.

 

They could be making movies in the cabins with no one the wiser and most likely on the balcony also. How many stories have we read on here about newlyweds and everyday couples sneaking a little nookie on their balcony and other hidden corners of the ship. Either way I dont agree with anything explicit or rude infront of or around other passengers. You paid for your cruise, do what you want, but be considerate of the 3000+ other passengers aboard the ship. And closing off parts of the ship for the remainder of the cruise is absurd. A few hours a day for a large group I could understand, but not the entire trip.

[cowboycritter06]

LOL. I also find it humourous when people get angry when they dont get anything for complaining. I did find out that this group moves from cruiseline to cruiseline and also goes to Disney resorts and cruiselines. So if you are scared you may see homosexuals you better start checking out every vacation spot on the planet before you go. I understand public affection going to far, but no you wouldn't get complaints if you were fooling around with your wife or girlfriend. I also heard that RCCL did put people of the ship at different ports for their behavior. Just wanted to pass the info along and you can make up your own minds whether how open or closed minded you are.:p

[bplazo]

I do not ever remember grabbing my husbands privates in public.

[dream2cruise]

I am only sorry that I was not on this cruise so I could join in the lawsuit against an unfeeling company who restricted access to a popular venue for the general welfare of all the passengers.

 

This suit could have been next in my series of lawsuits: against the City of San Francisco for closing the art museum on Monday, the only day I was in SF; against the Dallas Zoo for not having the Reptile House open on the day I visited; against Disneyland for having closed the Haunted Mansion on my only trip there in ten years; against the State of Texas for having 3 Interstate exits closed as I was driving across the state; against a local funeral home for not selling me space in their really elegant mausoleum, simply because it was full.

 

I'll tell you, the gall of some of these companies just astounds me!

 

1.The Solarium was not shut down to everyone. It was shut down for the sole use of a specific group.

 

2. The reason the group was granted sole access has been reported here as a way to contain a problem to appease other cruisers after complaints. Was this the best solution to the problem? Should some of the troublemakers have been left at a port as an example to others? Would that have caused more problems or less? Who knows???

 

Would I have a problem if an area, including the Solarium, were reserved for a party for a known limited period of time? NO.

 

However, to have an area declared off limits for an extended period of time would be irritating. Especially, if this was done to isolate bad behavior which should not be happening in the first place. AND, YES, I would have a problem with ANYONE flagrantly groping in public. Intimate acts should be private.

[Tony20]

1.The Solarium was not shut down to everyone. It was shut down for the sole use of a specific group.

 

2. The reason the group was granted sole access has been reported here as a way to contain a problem to appease other cruisers after complaints. Was this the best solution to the problem? Should some of the troublemakers have been left at a port as an example to others? Would that have caused more problems or less? Who knows???

 

Would I have a problem if an area, including the Solarium, were reserved for a party for a known limited period of time? NO.

 

However, to have an area declared off limits for an extended period of time would be irritating. Especially, if this was done to isolate bad behavior which should not be happening in the first place. AND, YES, I would have a problem with ANYONE flagrantly groping in public. Intimate acts should be private.

btw. I didn't hear that anyone was put off. The actions I observed were on the last two days, so some of them were still aboard.

[BillOh]

Perhaps someone should suggest this as a story idea for the major networks. Then maybe the cruiselines would clean this up.

[beachbuddy]

Okay,

 

I still don't understand why RCCL didn't do anything about the lewdness of these people. We were on a cruise where a few older woman (I believe they were Europeans and I know that's their custom to do this) took their bathing suit tops down right at the main pool while they were sunning and one of the RCCL staff came right over and told them they couldn't do that. I was glad they were told because it wasn't a pretty sight! LOL So.........why were the bears allowed to do what they were doing? Makes ya wonder.......I think the fact that they were gay made RCCL afraid to do anything. It's like reverse discrimination. I don't know what the answer is, but I think RCCL should have at least disembarked the ones that were really behaving badly.

 

Beachbuddy

[mojo4trav]

I apologize for the delay, but we are exhausted after driving back to Naples this morning.

 

First of all let me say, neither my wife nor I want anyone to think that EACH and EVERY one of the members of this group behaved offensively. I can only recount and speak of the behavior of those we saw, and again, it was not ALL members of the group. The offensive behavior was the harassment of passengers, including myself, and the overt and outward sexual behavior in plain public view. Both RCCL Security and the contracted firm onboard (McKenna Protective Services) witnessed this behavior which was surely also visible on security cameras throughout the ship, but little was done.

 

So back to where I left off...

 

After my first post, I returned to my stateroom and found Maria, Guest Relations Manager, left a voicemail for me advising I now had an appointment at 9:15 Saturday morning.

 

Earlier in the day my wife and I, now Diamond C&A Members, went to talk with Viviene (Loyalty Ambassador) to tell her of our concerns and also to cancel our appointment for Saturday morning when we were going to book our 2007 sailing on Liberty. When we arrived, she was assisting another C&A member who was also complaining about the group. We cancelled the appointment once she was free and she took our cabin number down as being one that was complaining. She indicated she was receiving a significant quantity of complaints; all she could do is take down cabin numbers for now, and apologized again. (There were several others who were behind us wanting to register similar complaints.)

 

As I was waiting for Maria on Saturday morning, once again there were several people at the Guest Relations Desk, some visibly agitated, registering their complaints about the group.

 

Maria arrived and escorted me into her office and proceeded to take notes regarding the harassment I encountered, the behavior I witnessed, apologizing profusely for the experience we had. She indicated that Security was never to have denied access to the Solarium, but rather was posted (in quad teams at each access point - 4 north; 2 each at the starboard and port sides/4 south; same spread) to 'warn' or 'notify' guests that the group was occupying the Solarium. (I have pictures of the signs RCCL posted at each entrance, but stopped short of photographing the actual group as I didn't feel it would have been appropriate.)

 

Clearly her understanding and the execution by Security were two entirely different things. She also indicated that she had “many, many, many meetings” scheduled regarding similar complaints to mine and that she was simply not able to meet with everyone.

 

After she finished talking I turned over the printouts I made of www.*****, in response to which her eyes opened widely. She indicated there was much she would like to say, but could not, and again apologized advising all she was able to do at this time was to take a report and encouraged me to write RCCL Corporate once I returned.

 

Someone must have received new orders in short order, because I was later allowed to walk through the Solarium on my way from the Gym to the aft of the ship (where our cabin was located.)

 

NOTE: There were a number of people (early on) that must have banded together and made badges that they wore on lanyards which read, "Straight Club Member." I heard, but did not witness, that someone associated with this group may have tried to hold an impromptu meeting at the main pool to talk about the takeover of the Solarium. The rumor on the ship was that one or more of this group was ejected at a port and another may have been held in the brig later on during the voyage.

 

There are a few people I met onboard that I encouraged to come here and post if they had anything to add. I certainly hope they and others do so, and follow-through with a letter or email to RCCL Corporate.

 

IN CLOSING: I do not feel that I should have to hunt all over the internet prior to a cruise to find out if a large group, some members of which are into gratuitous public displays of affection, in order to avoid this kind of harassment. Further, I should not be subjected to cat calls, whistles, hoots, spashes of water when I am walking in common areas of the ship, in plain view of Security and Deck Patrol and nothing be done. Some have compared the practice of group booking on a cruise to that of a land resort. There is ONE extremely significant difference. If I am in a hotel and a common area is blocked off for a group, I can go somewhere else for a few hours or the rest of the day. On a ship, there is nowhere to go, you're stuck! Sure I could have gone back to my cabin, or to the Cafe, but I wanted to enjoy a common, public area of the ship.

 

The other difference regarding this group in general is that I understand there was also a Nursing group on board. Who knew? I never ONCE heard a peep about them or from them! However many members of this other group pronounced themselves.

 

I was able to make my final thoughts well-known by both the Loyalty Ambassador and the Guest Relations Manager when I said,

 

"I'm Diamond and I am DONE!"

[Jamrenjer]

Wow! Mojo- we are so sorry for your recent experience. It really is outrageous. RCCL had to have known what kind of group they were dealing with when they booked. It seems like a little bit of greed came into the picture-and now in the long run it may backfire on them.

Again we are so sorry for you-- please keep us posted on how RCCL responds. All the best...

[Jennycruise]

Wow! You guys (mojo4trav) handled this very well. It's sad that a relatively small group was allowed to change the onboard environment so tragically. It's just as sad that there are many who will defend flagrantly indecent behavior and luanch silly verbal attacks at those who find it offensive.

 

I believe we all know what was happening here.

[hstrybuf]

Travis, thank you for checking back in and giving us an update. In addition to the link you gave to Maria, you might also send RCI a link to this thread although I suspect they already are aware of the uproar that the Bears have caused once again.

[mojo4trav]

In case others who were on the cruise with us choose to make contact formally with Royal Caribbean's upper-echelon of management:

 

Michael Bayley

Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations

mbayley@rccl.com

(305) 539-6000

 

 

Adam Goldstein

President / Chief Executive Officer

 

agoldstein@rccl.com

(305) 539-6000

[Cruzn Chuck & Susan]

So sorry your cruise experience was so disappointing.

 

We have one week to go before we board the Mariner. I thank my lucky stars that we booked our cruise when we did, but apparently no one is safe. In the interest of political correctness, RCCL has chosen to alienate many of their loyal past cruisers..what a shame.

I was so looking forward to my cruise even though throughout the booking process, I ended up having some "issues" with RCCL C&A reps as well as RCCL customer service. Also, the fact that RCCL does not allow passengers to bring aboard fine wine or champagne for special celebrations, but allows the nonsense that occurred on the MOS, leads me to believe that they do not value their "non group" passengers. And now, this...The most dissappointing part of this is RCCL response or lack thereof, to the concerns of many of the other passengers on the ship.:mad:

You can be sure, that when we attempt to book another cruise, RCCL will NOT be at the top of our list of choices. :(

[sunlover5]

So sorry to hear about the trouble on your cruise. We too had found out last year on this website that a group "The parrotheads" would be on The Liberty. We didn't even know they were onboard. One day they did have the back pool, signs were posted, but my husband and I went back there for pizza and ended up just people watching. They were never vulgar, rude or anything. They were having a good time just like the rest of us. We saw no "bad" behavior at all. It is too bad The Bears can't act respectful. As a husband and wife we would be told to "go to our cabin" if doing anything inappropriate. Thanks for the thread about their future cruises, we are booked for 2007 and looking for one in 08' so it seems to stay clear of those cruises.

Hope you get some compensation from this!!! Good Luck!