Sovereign of the Seas boarding nightmare and more...

[jrflvball]

My husband and two small children sailed on the Sovereign a day late because of Hurricane Jeanne (9/28). The busing situation getting us from Port Canaveral to Port Everglade was a nightmare. After being informed buses would run every 45 minutes to Port Everglade starting at 9:30, we figured arriving at Port Canaveral at 11:30 would be just right for us. There were no buses to be had for anyone (including a family similiar to ours that HAD been there since 9:30!) many of us waited out in the extremely hot sun after having our "color" called to get on the next bus. Still no bus. We waited until 2:30 to board a bus and didn't get to the ship until 5:30. The ship did not depart Port Everglade until almost 11PM that night because it was waiting to get the rest of the passengers that were waiting and/or arriving at Port Canaveral until 4PM. We were told that many of the buses had either been chartered to South Carolina or they were going back and forth to Port Everglade (that's 3 hours one way!!!)

 

I'm not sure why they didn't have their act together but for a first time RCI cruiser I was not impressed. The situation was unacceptable. We were tired, hungry and thirsty and not one complimentary drink was offered to any of the many people once finally boarded (and I'm not talking non alchoholic)

 

We had insurance for this trip so we could have chosed to cancel. We also had the option to cancel and we would get a ship credit for another cruise. The third option was the one we chose, "$250 onboard ship credit and 50% off our next cruise of 7 nights or less to be taken by 12/15/05"

 

Imagine my surprise and disgust when I called RCI yesterday to make plans for the next cruise. (My husband refuses to go again) SO, I thought I'll go with my aunt, sister and mom. Guess what, since they weren't the traveling passengers on the past cruise they have to pay full fare and I get 1/2 my fare. Apparently RCI pulled a nice little bait and switch on that one and fails to recognize that the entire last cruise came out of my pocket not other people.

 

I can't believe this is happening I was so excited to take advantage of a 1/2 off cruise. I guess nothing is ever as it seems.

 

Having said all that, I must say that the service aboard the Sovereign was top notch with the exception of an off shore excursion clerk. He was an idiot and really didn't know much about Nassau. Many of the tours were cancelled because we got to Nassau so late. Also, as many of you already know Coco Cay was not on the itinerary either.

 

I apologize for such a long post. I scoured this site prior to our cruise (which is not my first) to get any extra tips and info and it proved to be helpful. So thank you! and again sorry for the long negative. I really needed to get it off my chest since the wound was reopened yesterday!

 

JR

[skiiergirl]

jrflvball...Glad you got that off of your chest. I'm sure you feel better. lol I am truly sorry you had such a bad time getting to the ship. I am glad you enjoyed it (mostly) after you were onboard. However, I don't think you should have expected them to give other people the 50% off for another cruise if they weren't on the cruise. I think the onboard credit and 50% off was extremely generous of the cruiseline in the first place. As we all know, weather/mother nature/acts of God cannot be controlled by the cruiseline and the "fine print" in the cruise contract basically says they don't have to do compensate in anyway for things like that. Same goes for airlines. I have had airlines blame "mechanical problems" on weather so that they don't have to compensate the passengers for the delay. On the other hand, I have had airlines provide compensation when it was weather related and they didn't have to provide anything. I was thankful for their generosity.

 

Again, I am sorry you had such troubles actually getting to the ship. That is always our worst part. Getting up early, getting on a flight, changing planes, getting to the airport, waiting forever on a bus, getting to the pier and waiting in the cattleherd line is always a pain in the patoot. But once I step through security and up the escalator, across the "plank" I am in heaven!

[CMurph]

That is a terrible way to begin a cruise, especially your first on that cruiseline. I'm sure patience was running low that day, for everyone involved. I'm not making excuses for poor service, but just remember that these hurricanes have taken a terrible toll on the state of Florida and other areas. The buses the cruiseline wanted to provide for you may not have been available, as many decisions were having to be made quickly, not just in order to get the cruise underway, but to protect lives & property. The compensation they offered you is generous..you had your cruise (despite the bad start), on-board credit and 50% off your next cruise! That is a good deal. The fact that the 50% off isn't transferable to others is understandable. I can see why you & your family don't have good feelings for RCI right now, but with 50% off your next cruise it might be worth another try. Good luck!

[csk]

Again, I am very sorry to hear about your bad experience. I live in Florida and have been on the SOS several times and have found that under normal conditions Port Canaveral is usually pain free, the hurricanes have been horrible for everyone in and around Florida, everything has been turned upside down for many weeks now, and everyone is trying to get back to "normal" from these horrible storms. Tell your husband not to be to hard on RC, it is an act of God and every one tries to do the best to make the best of everything. We had no electric, cable, phones for almost two weeks, people worked as hard as possible to make things happen. Give RC another try under normal conditions, and I think you will be happy with them. We have cruised many lines and find RC to be our favorite.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Sorry for your bad experience, I hope your husband changes his mind and does another cruise....it sounds like RCI dropped the ball on this one and sorry it had to be you. Good luck for your next cruise.....happy sailings! :)

 

 

***

[jrflvball]

I realized that you may think I want 50% off for additional rooms. What I meant to say was I thought I would receive 50% off my next cruise in total. In other words, 50% off for one stateroom in which there would be 4 passengers (myself and my mom etc.) From what I understand, the 50% only applies to the exact people (husband, a 3 and 5 year old) that traveled during the affected cruise. So, according to the phone rep. if I travel lets say with my mom and one of my children and we share a room, I get half off my fare, my child gets half off and my mother pays full price. I also want you to realize that the half off is also based on the price I paid per passenger on the last cruise. So if I decided to take a 7 night cruise, I would only get a discount of half of what I paid for the last cruise, not half of what the fare would cost for myself on the 7 nighter.

 

I just figured when RCI says "50% your next cruise" that MEANS 50% off the cost of the cruise (of course not including the extras, taxes, etc.) Does anyone else think this is a normal response to the words 50% off?

[jrflvball]

I didn't think of everything to say in my first message guess I thought it was going to long. So here is more:

 

I live in Cocoa, Florida exactly 20 minutes driving time from the Cape. So I do understand about all the hurricanes...

 

no damage just a tree and fence down, oh and a total of 16 DAYS without power.

 

Still there are others here in Brevard County who are STILL suffering terribly!!!

 

Gosh, I hope there's nothing more I should add!

[rcicruiser]

You where traveling in hurricane season, the area just got hit by a hurricane so they where having problems getting drivers for the buses. Why do you think that it your other family members where not on the cruise that they should get have off. That was just for you? Royal Caribbean was not trying to do anything wrong. It always amaze me when people think the way they do.

[cruislovin]

I realized that you may think I want 50% off for additional rooms. What I meant to say was I thought I would receive 50% off my next cruise in total. In other words, 50% off for one stateroom in which there would be 4 passengers (myself and my mom etc.) From what I understand, the 50% only applies to the exact people (husband, a 3 and 5 year old) that traveled during the affected cruise. So, according to the phone rep. if I travel lets say with my mom and one of my children and we share a room, I get half off my fare, my child gets half off and my mother pays full price. I also want you to realize that the half off is also based on the price I paid per passenger on the last cruise. So if I decided to take a 7 night cruise, I would only get a discount of half of what I paid for the last cruise, not half of what the fare would cost for myself on the 7 nighter.

 

I just figured when RCI says "50% your next cruise" that MEANS 50% off the cost of the cruise (of course not including the extras, taxes, etc.) Does anyone else think this is a normal response to the words 50% off?

If the 50% off was transferrable, people would be selling them on eBay! I totally understand why RCL would say they are not transferable. They want the SAME PEOPLE to come back for a great cruise.

 

I hope your reported the Nassau guide on your comment card or to the Excursion cruise desk IF this trip was booked through RCCL. We have done that in the past and RCL seemed to be happy with the feedback. These are independent contractors but the cruise line is endorsing them by selling the shore excursions.

[lovetocruiserccl]

RCCL did not cause the hurricane. Thank God you made it there safely and were able to enjoy a cruise. Some people had to stay in Florida and find their belonging and family members on the other side of the state.

 

Why should family members who were not on the cruise get a 50% discount on a future cruise when they haven't been on the first?

 

You have 50% a lot of us wish we had. Try it again. But not in hurricane season you will have a great time.

[Cruising89143]

I feel for the fact that you had to wait in the hot sun for the buses which I know was not fun but I have to believe that the cruise lines were doing the best that they could to get the proper amount of buses to handle the passengers. You have to remember that it was not only RCI but Carnival and Disney that had to bus passengers to other ports to catch their ships. Also FEMA had first dibs on the busses. I know this because I was on the Fantasy when Francis hit Florida and we had two extra days at sea and had to debark in Miami in place of Pt. Canaveral. It took Carnival two days to find buses to get people from Miami to Pt. Canaveral. Also Pt. Canaveral did not have power after Francis and Jeanne hit. Makes it that much more difficult to do business.

 

I do not understand why you are upset over the fact that RCI will not honor the discounts to members that were not on the original cruise. I feel that you were given a great package by RCI to go on this cruise and to help ease the aggravation that you and your family had to deal with pre-cruise. Actually they were not under any obligation to give you anything.

 

Maybe your next cruise will turn out better.

[toolongnocruise]

I too was on this cruise with my family and we too waited in the hot sun for our bus. We were there at 9:30 and three different times they passed out tickets and when they got to me, I said, "We need three please", and two different times the ladies said, "oh, I only have two left"; the third time, after promising to come straight to me with the next batch, the agent said, "I only have one left. I promise (again) that I will find you next time". To which I said, "no, I am going with you". Each time the tickets were passed out, passengers who arrived later than others were getting tickets ahead of the earlier arriving passengers. There was no way to tell who arrived first when people were just coming up and congregating on the sidewalk. It was not a "first come, first served" situation. And when our bus was finally called, we waited in line over 45 mins because the bus did not come right away as was originally thought. Then they called the next color to line up next to us. When the bus finally did come, the PORTER (not RCCL) directed the bus into the wrong spot, so the others boarded before us. The agent said our bus was right behind theirs, but it wasn't, we waited another half hour or more. The agent felt really bad about it cause we were all in the hot sun - in line - for over an hour. That is about all that RCCL did "wrong". We backed out of the parking slot at exactly 2:15 (after arriving at 9:30) and we arrived at the pier at Port Everglades at exactly 5:15. The cruise lines are still not accostumed to having to do this shuffling (thank goodness), and this was not something you can easily plan when buses are in high demand on short notice. The transportation would not have been needed at all if the port had been opened as expected. Predicting the amount and exact locations of damage in natural disasters is still not a precise science. The hurricane was not their fault, the lack of buses was due demand after the hurricane. The fact that other buses were their to pick up disembarking passengers who had chartered buses to get to and from NC was as it should be. Those buses had nothing to do with RCCL. They were simply arriving as scheduled to pick up the passengers who had chartered them.

 

The fact that we passengers chose to book during hurricane season because we like bargains, does not mean that we do not have to go into the situation with eyes wide open. You know the risk when you make the booking. Under the circumstances and given the time line in respect to the short notice of finding out that the port would, in fact, not reopen as expected and having to secure transportation for thousands of passengers on the Mariner and the Sovereign, RCCL did a wonderful job. And they were generous to give us a cabin credit and 50% off the next cruise when they were not obligated to give us anything. Acts of God, war and nature are beyond their control.

 

Now, I would like that 50% off to be off the cost of the cabin on the next cruise I choose to book - WHO WOULDN'T???? - (Mediterranean here I come); but, realistically, think how much RCCL would be "out" if that were allowed. They already were generous enough to credit $250. to each cabin and they will be "out" the 50% of the cost of this cruise as a credit for those who do book again. And since they did not cause, nor could they control, the hurricane, they are being more than fair.

 

Furthermore, to make up some more of the cost of another cruise, everyone had the opportunity to book on board and get yet another credit for their next cruise.

 

I didn't like standing in the sun for so long before and after our color was called to board the bus, (the terminal was open and air conditioned, but our color had been called to go line up), but I did enjoy the cruise once we were underway. We had a wonderful cabin attendant - Merle - from Trinidad and Tobago, and our waiter - Terrance - from India - was exceptional.

 

This was my 30th cruise, and if there is anything I have learned over the years, it is to take things in stride, don't let the small stuff ruin your vacation, and pay more attention to the good things than the bad. It makes for a much less stressful vacation!

[cruisin-Trish]

Sorry you had such a rough time with your first cruise on RCCL. The pricing problems of using your 50% coupon for another cruise is not limited to RCCL however. I have read posts recently about the NCL Pride of America and also on Princess cruiseline that in order for you to receive the percentage off your cruise the exact same people have to be using the coupon. Just wanted you to know there are others in the same boat as you that have used other cruiselines. Hope your next cruising experience is a great one no matter which line you choose!

[NYUKat]

I too have to agree with other posters regarding the 50% off next cruise offer. This, along with the $250 ship-board credit, seems very generous to me and makes sense to be offered only to those who were on the cruise. You and your family were inconvenienced with transportation issues, not your mom. Asking for the 50% deal to be transferrable doesn't seem right at all. I'm hoping your hubby rethinks his decision and you all get to pick another cruise and have a wonderful time.

[just4kixx]

i read a quote the other day that this thread reminded me of:

 

Do sweat the petty stuff... and don't pet the sweaty stuff... :D

 

Sorry about your disappointment, but RCCL was very generous in their offers to make good. Hopefully you and your family will have the health, good fortune and opportunity to try again.

A

[Sirknight]

We were also on the 9/28 Sovereign cruise. On Monday (original sail date) I called RCCL and was told that we were sailing Tuesday, and to be at Port Canaveral at 9:30 AM to be transported to Port Everglades.

We arrived shortly after 9:30, and unloaded our baggage. Leaving DW and DD to guard the luggage, I parked the car, and by the time I got to where I had left them, they were standing next to a bus, yelling for me to get there before they left without me!!!

Long story short, we were aboard the Sovereign by 1:30 PM. THEN, the hard part came--waiting until 11 to finally sail!

IMHO, everyone who had to plan and transport all the pax to the alternate ports (we weren't the only ship scheduled that day) did a superb job in getting us where we needed to be!

As far as the "reimbursements" ($250 cabin credit and 50% discount), I thought they were more than fair. My only problem was the incredible wait to book another cruise while onboard (I didn't, but that's a gripe for another day!;)).

BTW, DD who turned 18 just before the cruise is now addicted--she'll just have to wait to take her next one as she starts Army basic training next month!:D

[stretch]

OK, who pulled my post on this thread??? Geez!

Stretch

[winkelmann]

Sounds like a long, hot, frustrating start to your vacation. I can only imagine the logistical nightmare for RCCL to tranport pax between ports - both getting off and on ships. I give them a lot of credit for getting you there at all ... even if it didn't go as smoothly as probably everyone hoped.

 

Their onboard credit and 50% off credit are generous. Take the kids and leave DH at home if he won't go. Give it another try and enjoy yourselves.

[jrflvball]

Trish, thanks for your input. It was very helpful! JR

[flamingosun]

We were on the Sovereign trip before yours, which arrived in Ft Lauderdale on Tuesday morning. Customs officials were late arriving to and clearing the ship for entry. I imagine even the customs dept was stretched thin with extra ships in their port that day, and probably short on personnel, as some of them may not have yet returned from evacuation.

 

You had a little inconvenience getting to the ship, we had a little getting home.

 

We got home (we live 12 minutes from the pier at Port Canaveral) after 2:30 pm instead of before 9:00am as we might have. So, I lost a day of work and income.

 

My brother, who was to have been our ride home, was still evacuated, so we took a taxi. The driver had been waiting all day for her first fare! She lost a bundle that week.

 

We got home to some minor damage, lots of debris, no traffic lights, gas stations with no gas, and grocery stores with no food, toilet paper or kitty litter.

We've had two blown tires in the days since. Trucks hauling the mountains of debris to dumps invariably drop roofing nails, etc on the roads. It's inconvenient to have to buy a new tire every week or so.

 

I applaud RCL for rounding up enough busses to get 2500 passengers from Ft Lauderdale to Pt Canaveral and another 2500 from Pt Canaveral to Ft Lauderdale in the space of a few hours.... with parts of I-95 closed, debris in the road, little gas to be had, and a shortage of busses and drivers.

 

They also managed to provision a ship for your voyage while in an area where supplies of water, food, ice and gas were low (out in some cases) and demand high.

 

RCL pulled off a minor miracle, treated us like royalty onboard one of their oldest ships, and even compensated us for our minor inconveniences caused not by them, but by a major natural disaster!

 

At least we were safe on a wonderful ship, rather than in the company of an 82 year old woman whose story was in this morning's paper.

You passed near the remains of her home on your bus ride. She survived Jeanne huddled in a closet with her little dog. When Jeanne had passed, she was cold, wet, scared, and shivering. But she still had her dog and her closet. The rest of her home and her car were demolished, the closet miraculously standing amid the wreckage.

 

Wish I could have taken her along on my 'evacuation' voyage... She's still waiting for an available insurance adjuster, so she can go about getting her home replaced. I'd say SHE suffered a major inconvenience!

[jrflvball]

I am really amazed at all the negative reactions to my posting. I read the local paper too as I am a Brevard County resident (have you read the entire thread??). The story about the 82 year old woman who lives in Barefoot Bay appeared on the front page this morning. So you have informed me of nothing new. You are all missing the point of semantics over a phrase that RCI put outon their web site, not me, 50% OFF. It's very clear until the fine print arrives. I have learned a few things from your responses which I was not aware of prior to but at what cost to my experience with this thread?

 

After reading other posts elsewhere on this site, it is apparent that most posters have many, many cruises under their belt and that they ferociously protect their own and the cruise line from any newbies that might have a complaint or two. This site seems to cater to both positive and negative information, but wow, the responses to the negative border on scathing to loath. To those of you I say remember that you were a newbie once too and probably experienced a few glitches along the way. You have the experience, pass it on with kindness not sarcasm and fake empathy.

 

 

I'm sure I'll get quite a handful more responses to this one but rest assured I will not continue to beat myself up. If I stay with this site I will make sure to treat any responses I make to an unsuspecting new poster a pleasant and non "holier than thou" response.

 

Happy Cruising!

[flamingosun]

Yes, jrflvball, did read the entire thread,

 

No, wasn't 'preaching' to you. Sorry you percieved it that way.

 

I was relating our experience within the same time frame, and comparing ours, yours, and hers as a general point of interest, that's all... and expanding on the point by winklemann who mentioned the logistical nightmare the cruise companies (and others) had on their hands that week. I think they did an admirable job.

 

I do think our 'hurricane time' (and, I suspect, yours, too) was a lot more pleasant than that of a lot of folks in our area who didn't get to spend some of that time at sea. Especially folks like the lady in this morning's paper. Glad you caught the article, too.

 

I didn't mention the issue of the 50% off, because I wasn't responding to that, as it wasn't pertinent to the comparison... the passengers on my sailing weren't given that particular compensation. Our cruise wasn't shortened as was yours.

[bUU]

These discussions have convinced me never to book during hurricane season, without being very prepared to expect the worst.

[hstrybuf]

Sorry you had such a disappointing start to your cruise. That would have been tough for me to handle too.

 

IFrom what I understand, the 50% only applies to the exact people (husband, a 3 and 5 year old) that traveled during the affected cruise.

This is correct. Hope your next experience is much better!

[Randolph198]

It strikes me as common sense that no one else would be able to use the coupons, and that you couldn't cash them in for more than your original cruise was worth. But then again, I come from the school of thinking that says I don't need a label on the cup to tell my my McDonald's coffee is hot.

 

Anyway, sorry you had a rough time, I'm leaving Sunday morning for my first trip on the SOS and first cruise ever (sooooooo excited), and I can't wait!