Screwed by RCI .....once again

[grand isle joe]

I can't imagine RCCL sat in an office and "planned" to "screw" the customers...Let's get real. There was a misunderstanding on timing but in the end the OP got to the ship BEFORE it left the dock. Lesson learned :next time make your own plane reservation and transportation to the dock. Problem solved. People B*tch and moan:mad: over things that in the big picture doen't add up to a hill of beans. You had a great cruise and that should be your focus.

[max227]

I would never fly in the day of a cruise unless there was no other option. If I did fly in the day of the cruise I would never except a flight that arrives at 12:40. We are at the ship and on board by that time.

[mustangjoe]

Our first 2 cruises, we used RC air and shuttles. The first cruise was great and we were on the ship 1:00. Our 2nd, was like the OP's out of Port Canaveral. We flew to Orlando and arrived around 1:00 by the time wwe got our luggage, the shuttle had already departed. However, it was now on the other side of the terminal. Somone from RC reception radio to the shuttle to wait for us and they walked us to the other side of the terminal. We arrived and were on board the ship by 3:15. If we had waited for the enxt shuttle, it would have been enar 4:00.

 

From that moment on, I swore that either myself or my TA would make all travel arrangements. Also, since that day, we always fly in a day early to avoid an travel issues that may arise.

[lmurf]

Instead of embarking and debarking to and from an airport twice for a three night cruise, could you have driven in from your location ?

 

No, we live about a 12+ hour drive from Port Canaveral. Wouldn't drive it; that's why we flew.

[lmurf]

Imurf you were not screwed by RCCL you were inconvenienced. You received everything agreed upon. Granted did take a little longer than you thought. If you had done your homework you would have found out to get from MCO to the port it is easiest to rent a car.

 

Foxtrot, Thanks for your words of ultimate wisdom, your holiness.

[lmurf]

Yes, unfortunately, there are many people who find any criticism of RCCL as an affront and get into attack mode. Sorry your experience was bad and, on a 3 day cruise, I understand your disappointment. Next time, fly to Miami and take a cab to the Majesty. You'll have a great time and be on the ship in no time.

 

Thanks, I will definitely take YOUR advice. I don't think I'll sail out of Canaveral again. Miami sounds like a much better option.

:)

[lmurf]

I don't know if I'm extra tired tonight or just dense, but I'm not getting the "again" part. :confused:

 

Is the OP alleging he was screwed by RCI for something besides the transfer?

 

 

Yes, vasoxfann, we were screwed by RC before, but I won't go into it here. It's over and done.

[setsail]

I suppose they never have

 

Traffic jams

Bus break downs

Drivers not showing up for work

More pax flying in so the bus waits to fill

To gas up the busses

No backup of traffic at the port

etc.

 

In Orlando, or do they.

 

Oh, and maybe Rccl should dig a trench to get the ships closer to the airport to shorten the bus ride.

[buckanear]

Oh, and maybe Rccl should dig a trench to get the ships closer to the airport to shorten the bus ride.

 

:D I just spit water on my monitor reading that. I'll make sure to suggest this :D

[Grandiva]

Have you noticed there has not been an answer to where the 30 minute advertising was.... Curious about that myself now. Verrrry interesting...

 

I used RC transfer from Orlando and do remember that the 30 minute departure notices were posted at the airport in the RC waiting area. I do not remember if it was mentioned on any of the documents.

[cruise365 24/7]

Actually the solution is to not use their transfers -- most of us agree they are a waste of time and money.

 

If you would have just taken a cab you could have enjoyed extra time on the ship ;)

 

###

 

Agreed, I always fly in the day early and in line by 11am to board the ship.

[crusinmama06]

Miami sounds like a much better option.

:)

 

It is. Which is the reason I am hopping on Majesty out of Miami instead of Monarch out of PC. I know I can fly in on the morning of, get a taxi ($26 flat fee) and 8 miles later (about 15-20 minutes) we are sitting at the port. :D

[wrp96]

I used RC transfer from Orlando and do remember that the 30 minute departure notices were posted at the airport in the RC waiting area. I do not remember if it was mentioned on any of the documents.

 

 

Thank you for answering that question Grandiva.

[Richiebaseball]

Thanks, I will definitely take YOUR advice. I don't think I'll sail out of Canaveral again. Miami sounds like a much better option.

:)

 

To each his own. Port Canaveral is a beautiful port and very easy to get around. Very affordable lodging choices when coming in early. Getting to the port via a rental car takes about 45 minutes. I've had 30 minute rides in a taxi from Miami airport to the port during traffic.

[nlcentralchmps03]

I don't really have anything to add.

 

Just wanted to apologize to the OP for some of the answers in this thread. People will go to crazy extents to defend their cruise line.

 

Sorry for what happened to you though.

[lmurf]

I suppose they never have

 

Traffic jams

Bus break downs

Drivers not showing up for work

More pax flying in so the bus waits to fill

To gas up the busses

No backup of traffic at the port

etc.

 

In Orlando, or do they.

 

Oh, and maybe Rccl should dig a trench to get the ships closer to the airport to shorten the bus ride.

 

So, is the glass half empty or half full? Miami may have all those things, but the port is closer to the airport than Orlando/Canaveral.

:)

[lmurf]

I don't really have anything to add.

 

Just wanted to apologize to the OP for some of the answers in this thread. People will go to crazy extents to defend their cruise line.

 

Sorry for what happened to you though.

 

Thanks, Justin. People do get defensive over the silliest stuff. But, I'm a retired school principal, so I've been used to dealing with crazy parents before, so my skin has toughened up to lame-axx comments.

 

Thanks to the poster who affirmed the 30 minute guarantee. I couldn't find it in my literature, but knew that I had read it. After 6 cruises, this is the only one where we had to miss a bunch of our first day sitting at the airport awaiting the transfer bus. Obviously, we like RCI as this is all we've ever sailed; if we didn't like it, we wouldn't keep sailing them. But, I admit that we were pretty frustrated with the lackadaisacal attitude the RCI personnel had.

 

To the poster who said that their air and transfers were cheaper, I didn't find that to be the case when we were booking ours. I checked on purchasing the air myself, but RCI's price for custom air and transfers was better than I could get. Plus, because of my schedule, we were unable to fly in a day early and leave a day late this time.

 

Happy sailing to you all!

 

:)

[Toddcan]

There you go! It seems there IS at least signage that indicates a 30 minute wait.

 

I'm with the OP on this one. If they indicated a 30 min wait, at it took many times more than that, then he is justified with his complaint.

 

As an added bonus, all the Monday morning quarterbacks have posted what you should have done in the first place, so now the OP is aware of all these options. :D

 

I LOVED sailing out of Canaveral. It was extremely easy.

[xpcdoojk]

I never suggested that the OP is not justified in being aggravated. I and I believe that most others suggested that the OP's plan was a poor one. We offered suggestions for the future (which can be affected, I can offer nothing for the OP to have an effect on the past:D). Personally, I find flying in for a 3 day cruise odd, but hey, it is the OP's money and he/she can spend it exactly how they want. I feel the OP's pain and suffering, and yet the title of the thread, IMHO, caused many people to view the OP as being unreasonable. Words have meaning, and as a someone so involved in education, they should know better. The OP may have been a mentor to headline writers for the National Enguirer based on the title that was chosen for this thread.:p

 

jc

[cruiseknots]

I suppose they never have

 

Traffic jams

Bus break downs

Drivers not showing up for work

More pax flying in so the bus waits to fill

To gas up the busses

No backup of traffic at the port

etc.

 

In Orlando, or do they.

 

Oh, and maybe Rccl should dig a trench to get the ships closer to the airport to shorten the bus ride.

 

 

??????

What does this have to do with the OP's situation?

Obviously a cruise line can't control traffic, break downs etc, weather, etc.

I would hope there is a contingency plan for such occurances.

 

However, they should be able to control their own services and those of contractor's that they use.

 

I too would be upset waiting that long for a bus. I'm willing to bet that some of the RC cheerleaders out there and those who have made smart-axx coments have also at some point had to wait for the cable guy, or repair man who didn't show up on time and probably was not happy about it.

[setsail]

??????

What does this have to do with the OP's situation?

Obviously a cruise line can't control traffic, break downs etc, weather, etc.

I would hope there is a contingency plan for such occurances.

 

However, they should be able to control their own services and those of contractor's that they use.

 

I too would be upset waiting that long for a bus. I'm willing to bet that some of the RC cheerleaders out there and those who have made smart-axx coments have also at some point had to wait for the cable guy, or repair man who didn't show up on time and probably was not happy about it.

 

Couldn't have answered your question better. Glad you figured it out.

 

 

RCCL HAS NO CONTROL OVER THE ITEMS I LISTED,HELLO. I think these would CAUSE a longer wait. The busses don't belong to the cruise line. Contractors.

 

Wonder how the trench is coming along.

[lmurf]

I never suggested that the OP is not justified in being aggravated. I and I believe that most others suggested that the OP's plan was a poor one. We offered suggestions for the future (which can be affected, I can offer nothing for the OP to have an effect on the past:D). Personally, I find flying in for a 3 day cruise odd, but hey, it is the OP's money and he/she can spend it exactly how they want. I feel the OP's pain and suffering, and yet the title of the thread, IMHO, caused many people to view the OP as being unreasonable. Words have meaning, and as a someone so involved in education, they should know better. The OP may have been a mentor to headline writers for the National Enguirer based on the title that was chosen for this thread.:p

 

jc

 

 

So sorry that you think flying in for a 3 night cruise "odd," but, unlike those on this board who are independly wealthy, some of us, though retired, must still work. And, after being in cooler weather, my wife and I decided that we needed a weekend in warmer weather. Hence, we flew to Orlando on Friday morning and back on Monday afternoon. That's not odd at all, I surmise.

 

Never heard of this National "Enguirer" magazine/newspaper....what is that?

 

:)

[philnpen]

So, the sign with the 30 minute shuttle has been verified. The OP has a legitimate complaint. Another post said that if airfare and/or transfers are purchased through RCL the ship will wait. Had that happen on a cruise out of Miami when a group of Brazilian teen girls had a flight delay. The ship was about two hours late sailing. No problem for me. I'm on vacation, I'm on a cruise ship, I've got no worries.

 

In over ten cruises we have only used the transfers one time. That was from Seattle to Vancouver. We had to wait about and hour or so until there were enough people to fill a bus before the busses even arrived. We did save some time at the border because there is a special lane for buses. The people in cars had a very long line to wait in, and we got through customs very easily. The return transfer didn't take as long to fill up because of all the people getting off the ship filled up the buses quickly. Same express treatment at customs. The agent got on the bus and wecomed us back to the United States. He asked the driver if he made any stops between the port and the border. When the driver answered negative the agent jokingly asked if we didn't even catch a stoplight. I was sitting near the front and said there were a few but the bus driver ran them all.

[xpcdoojk]

So sorry that you think flying in for a 3 night cruise "odd," but, unlike those on this board who are independly wealthy, some of us, though retired, must still work. And, after being in cooler weather, my wife and I decided that we needed a weekend in warmer weather. Hence, we flew to Orlando on Friday morning and back on Monday afternoon. That's not odd at all, I surmise.

 

Never heard of this National "Enguirer" magazine/newspaper....what is that?

 

:)

 

Thanks principle skinner for correcting my spelling.:p And to think you threw around that whole smart a... bit, too. :D What an example you are setting. ;)

 

jc

[Wilda]

We booked a hotel in Ft Lauderdale that included a shuttle to Port of Miami. Little did we know that there was only one shuttle daily. We didn't find that out until after we arrived at the hotel (just like the advertisements for the 30 minute wait for the bus were noted at the airport). We had a choice; either wait and miss the majority of the first day of our cruise or chalk it up to experience and pay twice. We spent $70 on a cab ride and were on the ship at 11:30; a full 45 minutes before the shuttle was supposed to leave Ft. Lauderdale!

For a 3-nighter I would of been at the desk asking for a manager (nicely:)) to honor the commitment on the sign advertising a bus every 30 minutes!

To the OP-did you have confirmation of the 30 minute promise when you booked, or did you become aware after you arrived at the airport? If this was stated and confirmed in writing at the time of booking then you have every right to complain. But if your situation mirrors mine...live and learn;)