Aos 11/21/04

[atonal1]

Excuse me but.....I was planning on winning the powerball tonight. :D I'd be willing to split it with you both if we all have the winning numbers! If not.... and only I win, I'll pay for both of your next cruises. :cool:

 

Cindy ;)

OK, someone in PA won the powerball. Since it wasn't me, I hope it was you!!:D

[rascalious]

All I have to say is you folks that have been long term readers of CC that are complaining about the ship being full of locals that cruised at reduced rates should be ashamed of yourselves. This has been happening every year since 2001. Every November around thanksgiving the ship is overrun with locals who got a better price. Why would you think this year would be different? What is the purpose of this forum if people who read it everyday don't learn anything?:confused: I have cruised twice out of San Juan and I prefer it because it opens up the entire southern caribbean on a 7 day cruise! I have spent pre and post time at some wonderful resorts in Puerto Rico, and I would go back tommorrow.

 

jc

I agree totally! Well said!

[ZacWolf]

Wow, I was on this exact same cruise as some of you and I didn't see any of the issues you've all described.

 

The only issue I had with another cruiser is a lady out group came to call "Jersy B*tch" after an "episode" in Foodjammers. She obviously didn't know how a buffet worked. Folks, a buffet isn't a cafeteria. You don't start at one end and walk past every item "single file" stopping to pick the ones you want.

 

As far as the Puerto Ricans went I found them all to be VERY courteous, friendly, and conscientious of their shipmates. I'm curious how people on the same cruise could have such different perceptions.

 

I wonder if the fact that we were four big guys played any part in how we were treated (or better said how we were not mis-treated)? Even the kids weren't a big issue. Sure our door bell got rang about twice a day, but I'll admit that could just be my karma as I rang a few doorbells and played on a few elevators in my youth. ;) I only saw bad kid behavior one time, and that was when I was late heading to dinner, and some kinds were running around and playing on the elevators. I'm assuming these kids had snuck out when their folks went to dinner, without their folks knowing what they were up to.

 

We had breakfast with a very nice family from Puerto Rico. Their english was a little rusty but we all made do with smiles and head nods, and for the rest of the week if we met those folks on board they always went out of their way to say hello and ask about our day. It was similair behavior we found in all of the Puerto Ricans we talked to in lines or on the elevator. Once you've talked to them once, they always smiled and waved or said hello if you saw them again through the week.

 

The only behavior I saw that could be considered boarderline was (if you are already very sensitive about this kind of thing) the young adults (18-27). My take on it is that Puerto Rico is going through very much the same issues that the rest of the US is going through: that being globalization effecting the overall "attitudes" of young adults. There's more of a need to express an "individuality" through behavior, music, respect/disrespect, and challenging the status-quo. The big difference is that the price-point of the average cruise for young adults in the states prohibits the vast majority of this age group from going on the cruise, whereas the "last minute" discounts offered to Puerto Rico residents means you're gonna see more folks from this age group. If the same prices were offered in urban centers in the states I have no doubt you'd see the same behaviors in young adults from Chicago as you do in those from Suan Juan.

 

I see no good way that RCI can address this issue besides NOT sailing during this time period. The reason they offer this lower last minute rates is because the ship isn't full during the time after summer and before the holidays. The majority of people wonking on the ship work for tips so they need the ship to be as full as possible to make ends meat.

 

I'll be honest I went into the cruise with the issue of "rude/obnoxious Puerto Ricans" weighting on me heavily based on reviews I read prior to my cruise, but I found none of the bad issues others ran into.

 

I sum it up like this in my review: if you are NOT comfortable with a very diverse group of people and languages around you at all times then this is probably NOT the cruise for you. I did see several older American cruisers that were from, let us say "a different era", that seemed very threatened and uncomfortable by all the diversity. It's something you need to consider strongly, as its only your own cruise experience that will be effected!

 

I'm not saying that it was all in your heads, I'm sure the issues you've described are real, but I will say that I doubt there is very little RCI can do about it, so it's just something you have to be aware of and pick an itenerary that's going to provide an environment you're more comfortable with.

 

-Zac

[Seaside2358]

I didn't win Powerball either. I sure hope it was a friend or relative of mine...

[joto]

If RCCL can offer those cheaper rates to Puerto Rican residents they can offer them to the rest of us as well. It seems to be economic discrimination, not offering the cheaper rates to everyone. Most of us will have to spend more to get there and also spend a bit more on tips and extras, so RCCL will get the extra money from us one way or another.

[raerae]

OK, someone in PA won the powerball. Since it wasn't me, I hope it was you!!:D

Nope! Wasn't me either. Oh well guess we all have to pay for our own cruises! :eek:

Cindy ;)

[ZacWolf]

We got to Puerto Rico a few days early so I did some research in the local paper and talked to some of the folks in our hotel that were frequent AOS cruisers. What I found out is that RCI only offers these discounts to Puerto Rico residents as "Last Minute specials", and thus usually post them the Friday before the cruise. Otherwise booking in advance is at the same cost as anyone else. Granted the offers are pretty consistant during the weeks of fall, so Puerto Rico residents can do some planning and hope to get on a range of weeks.

 

But marketing those same specials to residents in the states just wouldn't be profitable because of the added hassle of dealing with Travel Agents (Puerto Rico residents book the special rates directly through the port in San Juan) and there's the additional cost of added air travel to San Juan for residents in the states, so even if RCI offered the special rate to folks in the states the air travel TO Puerto Rico with only two days advance purchase would be just as cost prohibitive.

 

I'm not positive, but I would bet that this same "issue" happens on ships leaving Port Canavaral during the typical "Spring Break" time period. There's probably last minute specials offered there to Spring Breakers that probably piss off just as many Pre-Booked Port Canavaral cruisers as happens on AOS cruisers during the fall season. With Mexico becoming the current "Spring Break" place to be, I'm sure any of the ships that dock in cancun/cozemel/etc are just as full of "rude/obnoxious" college kids during March-May as AOS is full in the fall.

 

It's really just about doing your homework, and realizing that the American concept of egalatarianism is seldom compatible with capitalism. If you want the piece of mind of booking your vacation months/years in advance then you're most likely going to pay a premium for that assurance. Even airlines have changed in this way meaning booking a flight more than 21 days out doesn't garuntee you the best rate, with rates now being most flexible during the 14-7 day advanced period. But waiting does have it's risks as not all flights/times get cheaper during this period.

 

It may suck, but welcome to the 21st century...

 

-Zac

[bobbyd6363]

Here's another question - what about the new homeland security rule that precludes people from buying a cruise so many days (or weeks) before departure? Does this not apply in PR?

[nrdsb4]

It's really just about doing your homework, and realizing that the American concept of egalatarianism is seldom compatible with capitalism. If you want the piece of mind of booking your vacation months/years in advance then you're most likely going to pay a premium for that assurance. Even airlines have changed in this way meaning booking a flight more than 21 days out doesn't garuntee you the best rate, with rates now being most flexible during the 14-7 day advanced period. But waiting does have it's risks as not all flights/times get cheaper during this period.

 

It may suck, but welcome to the 21st century...

 

-Zac

 

This same concept holds through in many arenas. I saw a sweater I really liked at a store. I didn't want to pay the price, but I just didn't want to take the chance that it would be gone later if I waited for a sale. I bought the sweater. A few weeks later, there it was, half price. Is it unfair that someone else is enjoying the exact same thing I have but didn't pay what I paid? Should I resent this person who paid basically nothing for my sweater even though they are not involved in the policy decisions of the clothing store? As far as people being annoyed that discounts are only made available to those who live in the host port, well, we see examples of that frequently don't we? I've often heard of cruise lines offering last minute discounts to residents. Or offering specific "happy hour prices" to new bookings only. Why does a senior citizen get charged less than I to enjoy certain services in our society? What's the deal with a college student getting into a movie for half price when I have to pay full? Why is my airline ticket lower/higher than the guy across the aisle? Personally, I just can't let myself be bothered with worrying about how much someone else paid for their vacation. I look for the best deal I can find, and decide if I'm willing to pay or not. Once I commit, I move on and don't waste negative energy stewing about whether or not someone else managed to get a better deal.

 

Maybe I'm reading some of these posts wrong but it seems that several people (but by no means all) are saying that lowering the price of the cruise allows people of a low income bracket on the ship which equals rude obnoxious passengers. These people say they aren't prejudiced against Puerto Ricans, just Puerto Ricans of a certain income bracket. Still sounds like unfair generalizations to me no matter how they try to spin it. I don't buy the concept that rudeness is a function of socio-economic status, that wealthy people behave better than poor people, but obviously others disagree.

 

One day someone mentioned that they would never again sail from Bayonne due to the rude New Yorkers that filled up the ship. There was a huge outcry over this, but somehow making these statements about another population just doesn't generate the same kind of dismay.

[DMorris]

We got to Puerto Rico a few days early so I did some research in the local paper and talked to some of the folks in our hotel that were frequent AOS cruisers. What I found out is that RCI only offers these discounts to Puerto Rico residents as "Last Minute specials", and thus usually post them the Friday before the cruise. Otherwise booking in advance is at the same cost as anyone else. Granted the offers are pretty consistant during the weeks of fall, so Puerto Rico residents can do some planning and hope to get on a range of weeks.

 

But marketing those same specials to residents in the states just wouldn't be profitable because of the added hassle of dealing with Travel Agents (Puerto Rico residents book the special rates directly through the port in San Juan) and there's the additional cost of added air travel to San Juan for residents in the states, so even if RCI offered the special rate to folks in the states the air travel TO Puerto Rico with only two days advance purchase would be just as cost prohibitive.

 

I'm not positive, but I would bet that this same "issue" happens on ships leaving Port Canavaral during the typical "Spring Break" time period. There's probably last minute specials offered there to Spring Breakers that probably piss off just as many Pre-Booked Port Canavaral cruisers as happens on AOS cruisers during the fall season. With Mexico becoming the current "Spring Break" place to be, I'm sure any of the ships that dock in cancun/cozemel/etc are just as full of "rude/obnoxious" college kids during March-May as AOS is full in the fall.

 

It's really just about doing your homework, and realizing that the American concept of egalatarianism is seldom compatible with capitalism. If you want the piece of mind of booking your vacation months/years in advance then you're most likely going to pay a premium for that assurance. Even airlines have changed in this way meaning booking a flight more than 21 days out doesn't garuntee you the best rate, with rates now being most flexible during the 14-7 day advanced period. But waiting does have it's risks as not all flights/times get cheaper during this period.

 

It may suck, but welcome to the 21st century...

 

-Zac

I live 45 minutes from Port Canaveral and they do not book at the pier anymore; so they tell me. And I have never been offered a last minute rate to sail out of this port. So this is not the same...

[bobbyd6363]

I live in San Diego and there are MANY cruises out of here all week long and I have NEVER seen these same kind of discounts in the local San Diego newspapers...