Complaining Couple Banned from RCI

[LonW]

I cruise to try to relax. If I had had that many problems with a cruise line, you may rest assured I would sail with another company.

 

It's baffling to me why they kept coming back again and again.:confused:

Because they were working the system to get discounts and free stuff. That is why RCL banned them.

[joycefnp]

How does one search for and find all of these supposedly awful posts by the banned cruiser? I'm still not getting it. I read the review. It was not slanderous by any means.

 

As someone who has suffered myself from a cabin on another cruise line with sewage smells so bad we couldn't be in it -- even to sleep -- I have sympathy for the banned cruiser.

 

Go to the review, it will list her member name. Then go to the member list, and you can look at all of her posts. Honestly there were thousands, and I took a brief look, and I didn't see anything absolutely heinous. But there is no way I looked at all of them. I think what the point is from people who have posted with her in the past is that she actually gives advice on how to spin your complaints to get perks. I have a sister like that. She goes into resturants, eats all the food and then complains so much about it that they don't charge her. And then brags about it. For those of you who are more "in the know" so to speak, does that sum it up? I hope RCCL didn't ban her because of the review, and that is what other's seem to be thinking. It seems that they banned her because she is a professional complainer who does it to beat the system. If that's how it is, I don't want her seated at my dinner table.

[labeachcomber]

Many people are wondering why she continued to cruise RCCL if she thought they provided such a subpar experience. Maybe because the cruiseline is reasonably priced. Maybe because she knew that by complaining they would give in to her demands. Who knows. I think she got what she deserved.

 

Without even knowing this person, I can almost guarantee that cruiselines are not her only target. I'm wondering why a story such as this gets national media attention. I bet there's lots of restaurants out there that have told patrons never to come back. Or doctor's offices that have told a chronic complaining patient to find another physician. So why is this so interesting?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this unsatisfied cruiser files some kind of wrongful discrimination lawsuit against RCCL.

[critterchick]

So does that mean on our Cruise Critic group Genesis cruise, we can expect 7 gifts on the bed, one for each night???? :eek: :D

 

RCCL better take note or I'll be sending a letter! :p

 

Don't count on it unless it's also a Crown & Anchor members' cruise - if it's just a CC members' cruise you'll need to take it up with Laura S.;)

[jbond]

Take the user name from the review posted in the MSNBC article and google it along with "cruise critic" and you can see a listing of all the threads/posts by this user.

Well not exactly ALL. The threads that were pulled because of controversy can't be seen, including the one that I believe was the cause of RCI banning her. Her complaining was the initial cause of the problems, but her escalation of the compensation she claimed she was receiving, was IMO, the cause of the ban. There are many CC users who are aware of what I'm saying and are in full agreement with RCI's action.

[joycefnp]

Trust me, it is VERY difficult these days to disengage a patient! If we could disengage patients who are nasty or rude , I have at least 10 I would get rid of. It is a process you have to go through, at least where I work. Part of the problem is HMOs. If your HMO says you have to go to this particular healthcare system, and they disengage you, then what?

[wolfganghowell]

Most of the offensive posts are long gone. Since it stands to reason that she is the one who contacted the media (we KNOW RCI wouldn't), the upshot is that this has backfired on her and put NCL on their toes. Ah - karma is something, isn't it? :D

[cruiselover57]

6 gifts :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

I got a bottle of wine, a fruit basket and some water for being in a GS.

 

So does that mean on our Cruise Critic group Genesis cruise, we can expect 7 gifts on the bed, one for each night???? :eek: :D

 

RCCL better take note or I'll be sending a letter! :p

 

You can expect a piece of candy on your pillow everynight! LOL

 

Laurie

[geocruiser]

Hi,

 

I read through a lot of this thread. But not all of it due to time. I have a question. How did RCL know who was writing these posts if her CC name was different from her real one?

 

Geo

[jbrambach]

One thing i have found with professional complainers is that the computer is the best invention they could have found.

 

The one I dealt with had set letters, different complaints, different levels of complaint etc...they choose the one that they feel will suit the situation they want to make, print it off and send it.

 

the problem with doing it that way is that after a while you can easily forget which set letter you have sent already...and that is where companies catch you out.

 

For example....

 

She may have used letter #A for Celebrity in 2004, got the desired result. The next year she uses letter #B, the next letter #C and so forth. All worded differently, all making different complaints.

 

Now if she takes a cruise with RCI and sends letter #B, there is a real chance that as RCI is the parent of Celebrity that the letter appeared familiar in some way.

 

That customer service clerk looks in the records and voila...same letter, same wording but 3 years beforehand about a Celebrity cruise. Companies definately keep letters, especially ones where they make pay-outs, for future reference.

 

The fool I caught was found to have several letters outlining different problems/complaints and she chose which one to use each time, and eventually she got caught out...granted not by an identical letter for a seperate problem but by bragging about the awards given by sending those letters.

 

Someone can have as many complaint letters on the memory of their computer as they have shoes in the closet...each has their own particular event that is perfectly suited to an occasion.

 

Never underestimate a professional complainer ;)

:eek: :eek: :eek: Are people really this greedy? I guess the answer is yes, but I have a few questions:

 

How can they live with themselves? Do they really think they deserve compensation for something they made up? Or do they convince themselves that it happened that way? I have one word for them KARMA:D

[wolfganghowell]

How did RCL know who was writing these posts if her CC name was different from her real one?

 

It's been said before - they probably didn't have to do much detective work. Her cabin number is in the review - but what is PROBABLY missing from this story is that when she wrote letters to RCI she probably bragged that she was an active member of Cruise Critic. (in an attempt to "scare" them - ooh) Do not believe for ONE SECOND that they were banned over a review.

 

MY NEW MANTRA: COMMON SENSE COMMON SENSE COMMON SENSE....

[LauraS]

Please stick to the issue at hand. Too many posts have already crossed the line either bordering on flaming/harassment or blatant name calling. This thread will remain open as long as you all can post with our guidelines in mind.

 

Laura

[suzyed]

Well one of the reviews is right on the front page of CC....I believe it was the review of the Dawn.

[flagger]

No.........in fact this instance happened on the Radiance of the Seas 9/14/07 sailing............

No. According to the story this couple was banned from RCL in November.

[jbrambach]

No. According to the story this couple was banned from RCL in November.

Don't know for sure, but maybe they took their cruise in Sept and were banned in Nov?

[amybear912]

Just playing devil's advocate though, if you didn't know the story already, would you have picked this out of the review? I found that if I ignored what I knew, the reviews really didn't seem that bad.

 

absolutely agree with you on this and felt the same way...

[weluvtwocruz]

No. According to the story this couple was banned from RCL in November.

 

Don't know for sure, but maybe they took their cruise in Sept and were banned in Nov?

The cruise in question was the C&A September 14, 2007 Member's Cruise on Radiance.

 

They received their farewell notification from RCI in November.

[Leejnd4]

If any of you have been following (or participating in) the comments on the original Tripso article, sadly they JUST closed down the comments section. I know because I was trying to post one, but when I hit "submit" it said that the comments section is now closed...and it no longer includes a space to add comments.

 

Too bad, because that was some DARN good reading there!

 

If anyone hasn't read it, here's the link once again:

 

http://www.tripso.com/columns/banned-from-royal-caribbean-for-complaing-too-much/

[kingsgirl]

Just playing devil's advocate though, if you didn't know the story already, would you have picked this out of the review? I found that if I ignored what I knew, the reviews really didn't seem that bad.

 

absolutely agree with you on this and felt the same way...

 

Which is why I think it wasn't because of the review itself that caused the ban, rather all the complaining before hand, and the inability of RCI to ever be able to please those involved.

[rubrrick]

You need to do more research into all of the "facts" before reaching any conclusion.:rolleyes: The ban was not based on the review but the interminable list of complaints filed by the poster. The line indicated that they did their best to respond to those complaints which they felt were valid, but they also concluded that many of the complaints were not valid and because of that it was not possible to ever satisfy the poster and indicated that she and her husband take their business elsewhere. The poster has a history of complaining about her previous cruises on Princess, Celebrity and most recently on Royal Caribbean. Often she embellished on her accounts of problems as she became more creative in her description of situations. Typical was her account of the sewer smell in her bathroom which ultimately evolved into a report of raw sewage spilling out of the bathroom onto the stateroom carpet. Once you have more facts, I believe that you may find that you agree with RCI's action but even if you don't, at least you will have more "facts" on which to base your opinion.:)

 

 

I believe that Laura is correct when she says that no one from RCCL contacted her to ask her to remove any negative posts.

 

After sailing with this person, and knowing some of the staff onboard, let me say that after she disembarked (we were on a B2B) Miami knew of every one of her complaints.......even tho they were not posted on CC.

 

I do not believe that they were banned from cruising in the future with any of the RCCL companies due to anything that they said on CC.

 

I do believe, and agree with you Bill, that they were banned because of her continued, harrassing style of complaints to the point that they were invited NEVER to cruise on the RCCL product in the future.

 

Rick

[jbrambach]

If any of you have been following (or participating in) the comments on the original Tripso article, sadly they JUST closed down the comments section. I know because I was trying to post one, but when I hit "submit" it said that the comments section is now closed...and it no longer includes a space to add comments.

 

Too bad, because that was some DARN good reading there!

 

If anyone hasn't read it, here's the link once again:

 

http://www.tripso.com/columns/banned-from-royal-caribbean-for-complaing-too-much/

 

LeeAnn,

thanks for posting the link, very interesting to say the least.:eek:

[amybear912]

Thanks LeeAnn for the link... very interesting reading...

 

I still think Anita got scammed... and I definitely hope they do a follow-up piece...

 

Rick... I am hereby nominating you to participate in that follow-up story... :)

[jbrambach]

The author of the article even posted:

 

On May 19th, 2008 at 12:48 pm Anita Dunham-Potter said

I am glad you are all finding this story interesting. Keep posting!

Best,

Anita

 

I know!! I find that VERY interesting. I also don't Anita was too happy about some of the things being said about the Moran's.

 

Edit: Kingsgirl, the rest of your post just came up. That was what I was referring too.

[masonn18]

I do find it interesting that "sewer smell" in the review got embellished to "overflowing sewage" in the MSNBC article. Having sailed on two Radiance class vessels (Radiance and Serenade), both had problems with smells from the floor vent and occasional yellow water from changing of tanks. I just put a towel over the floor vent - problem solved! No sense freezing all week in 40 degree weather! <LOL>

[mjbelen]

Here's an e-mail I just sent to Anita, the author of the article. I just think the press owes a duty to the public to get the facts straight.

 

Anita,

 

I do want to point out an inconsistency with your

story and the review which was published by the Morans

on Cruise Critic. In your article you stated:

 

"Last September, during a 14-night Alaska and

Northwest sailing onboard Radiance of the Seas, their

stateroom had a plumbing problem that ended up with

sewage all over the bathroom that overflowed onto the

room’s carpet. Even with cleaning, the room wasn’t

acceptable. The Morans asked repeatedly to be moved to

another stateroom, but was told the ship was full"

 

 

However, below is the direct quote from the cruise in

question.

 

"Our stateroom 8276 (AFT D1) was nicely appointed but

the bathroom reeked of sewer smell for the entire 14

night cruise. Guest Relations did nothing but tell us

about other guests who flush oranges, apples,

silverware, diapers, etc down the toilet so we should

talk to them. So our balcony door remained open the

entire cruise even in 40 degree nights to keep the air

fresh. Night 14 at midnight we have a guy banging on

our door to deliver an envelope from the Hotel Manager

giving us 20% off our next cruise. Too bad it took 2

weeks to do it. "

 

This is not my fight and I do not know the Morans nor

have I corresponded with them on Cruise Critic. I

just saw a posting where you stated that you stand by

your story, but had you read their review you would

have seen that they complained of a sewer smell coming

from their toilet, not a back up of sewage into their

room. Neither one is a good thing, but there is a vast

difference between a foul smell and raw sewage in a

stateroom.