I'm Pretty Sure I'm Being Punked

Here I am at the beginning of day 2 on the Quantum and I just wanted to give a quick review of my experience so far.

FIRST THE GOOD:

1. I am very impressed with the size of the inside cabin. I had expected it to feel claustrophobic and that is not the case.

2. I fit into my 12 year old daughter's leggings (see below).

NOW THE BAD STUFF:

Embarkation: Holy Hot Mess Batman! This is the third cruise line I have been on and I was shocked by the scene at cape Liberty. Mobs of people everywhere with no guidance and no signs (that I noticed at least). We got to the pier at 12:20. Our Set Sail Pass was scheduled for 11:45, but RCI called, texted and emailed everyday for the past four days to let us know to come an hour later (rumor has it that the past cruise had a Noro outbreak and they needed to sanitize.). Anyway, at 12:20 we turned in our six pieces of luggage and parked, uneventfully. We then jumped on the shuttle. We should have just walked the short distance. Instead it took 20 minutes to get to the terminal because there is no shuttle lane so we had to wait in line behind all the cars dropping passengers off at the terminal. We got inside and eventually figured out that we had to go wait on line to go through security. Then we waited on line to check-in. At 2:00 we finally made it to the front of the line. After half-an hour the guy helping us called over someone else because he was having computer issues. The second guy then brought me and two of my kids across the terminal and checked us in. He gave us our Sea Pass cards there and told us to throw out the cards that would be in our stateroom. At about 2:40 we finally got on line to board the ship, which took another 15 minutes. Of course when we got to the front they told us that three of us needed to retake pictures. FINALLY, got on board at 3:00.

STATEROOM: They announced that rooms would not be ready until 4:00 so we took our heavy carry-on luggage and waited in line for the elevator up to Windjammer. After a few minutes we decided to just go to eat at the cafe since we were no where near the front of the elevator line.

We waited in line at the Cafe @ Two70 which was completely disorganized, only to discover we were in the 'roast beef sandwich line' instead of the 'Sandwich line.' Finally got a salad instead, which was very fresh and good.

Took elevator up to fitness center to sign up for boot camp, and was very surprised to find that there were no staff members up there, just a few clipboards with sign up sheets in them.

At 3:30 they started the Guest Assembly Drill, which was fine, except it took over a half hour, which was much longer than what I've experienced on other lines. Oh, and we had to wait in line to get in...an apparent theme on RCI. Dh thought we might have to wait in line to fall asleep at night. Luckily he was wrong! The captain made some kind of announcement at the end that was so quiet and mumbled, the only word I could make out was, "Florida." Just hoping he didn't say that we're no longer going there! We nicknamed him 'Captain Mumblebutt.'

At 4:15 we left the Drill and headed to our stateroom, only to be met by a sign that said it would be ready after 4:30. Okay, no big deal. We, along with everyone else on the ship, sat down with our carry on bags in the deck's lobby, figuring we'd wait 15 minutes. At some point they made an announcement that the rooms were not going to be ready anytime soon. We dragged our kids, ourselves and our carryons over to the indoor pool, my dh got some drinks for everyone, which my daughter promptly spilled onto my carry on, and we hung out there. Since we didn't have bathing suits, we literally just hung out there.

Finally, at 5:45 they made an announcement, that we couldn't hear at all by the pool, but we decided to check our rooms in case they had said that they were finally ready. They were, yay! But...no luggage yet...boo.

DINNER: After a few minutes we made our way down to Silk for our 6:30 dinner reservation. The bright spot there...our waitress, Acella, was wonderful. She was the first crew member with a real smile on her face. Most of the others just looked miserable. The food at Silk, did nothing for me or my family, though to be fair, my four-year old liked the meatball that came with his spaghetti. Didn't like the pasta or cheese, but liked the meatball.

LUGGAGE: After dinner we went up to our staterooms and discovered that only 4 out of our 6 suitcases had arrived. We were told by our room steward that they were still bringing them up (it was 8:45 at night) and we should have them soon. I was working off of three hours of sleep and really just wanted bed, but didn't have my suitcase yet, so I waited, and waited, and waited. We finally got one more suitcase...not mine. At 9:47 I called the room steward to find out where my suitcase was. He said he was going to go look on deck and would call me in five minutes. Twenty minutes later, he came by and told me he couldn't find it and that I needed to go to Guest Services to see if they had it. So I went down and stood in line (behind the 27 other people already in line) to report my suitcase missing. I finally get to the front and me, along with the two people behind me who were missing luggage, reported the missing luggage. The woman at Guest Services fills out a form to report my luggage, gives it to me to check and sign. I tell her that it is inaccurate. She had written that 0 people were affected by my luggage being lost. I tell her 6 people are affected. My clothes, along with all the sunscreen, half the toiletries, and most importantly, my son's prescription medication! are in that bag. Without a word, she goes into the back room, comes out hands me a small bag of toiletries and a tshirt. I say, "What should I do if they don't find my suitcase? My son's medicine is in there." Her response..."They will start looking for it tomorrow. Sometimes it's delivered to the wrong stateroom and the guests don't notice right away. If we don't find it you can check with Medical." Uh...okay. I have a bright purple suitcase. How is someone not going to be able to distinguish that from there own? Oh, and thank you for that compassionate answer. Also, really? They'll start looking tomorrow? Thanks for the urgency.

As for the medicine. My bad. I would never have put it in my luggage if traveling by air, but I thought a cruise ship was different. Lesson learned.

She then hands me a voucher for complimentary laundry, which I think is hysterical. Shall I sit in my new T-shirt while they take two days to wash my clothes?

Anyway, still no luggage.

Last night my daughters called Maintenance to report that their virtual balcony wouldn't shut off or mute and was extremely loud and annoying. They said they'd send someone right up. Apparently the repairman walks slowly, because my girls are still waiting for him to get there.

Here we are on day two, and the toilet won't flush unless I press it with my foot!

If you'll excuse me, I am going to put on my dirty underwear and go to breakfast.

Yikes that stinks. Sailing Sunday not excited

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow!!!! Sorry to hear this. Hope all works out!!!

Sorry. Hope the rest of your cruise goes better than your best two days.

NOW THE BAD STUFF:

Embarkation: Holy Hot Mess Batman! This is the third cruise line I have been on and I was shocked by the scene at cape Liberty. Mobs of people everywhere with no guidance and no signs (that I noticed at least). We got to the pier at 12:20. Our Set Sail Pass was scheduled for 11:45, but RCI called, texted and emailed everyday for the past four days to let us know to come an hour later (rumor has it that the past cruise had a Noro outbreak and they needed to sanitize.). Anyway, at 12:20 we turned in our six pieces of luggage and parked, uneventfully. We then jumped on the shuttle. We should have just walked the short distance. Instead it took 20 minutes to get to the terminal because there is no shuttle lane so we had to wait in line behind all the cars dropping passengers off at the terminal. We got inside and eventually figured out that we had to go wait on line to go through security. Then we waited on line to check-in. At 2:00 we finally made it to the front of the line. After half-an hour the guy helping us called over someone else because he was having computer issues. The second guy then brought me and two of my kids across the terminal and checked us in. He gave us our Sea Pass cards there and told us to throw out the cards that would be in our stateroom. At about 2:40 we finally got on line to board the ship, which took another 15 minutes. Of course when we got to the front they told us that three of us needed to retake pictures. FINALLY, got on board at 3:00.

I am glad to hear they have sped up the process. We cruised on a Voyager class ship for Port Liberty and it was 6 hours from the time we entered the port gates to when we finally made it on board the ship (and then there was a 25 minute wait for an elevator).

An additional highlight of the Port Liberty was the overspray from the nearby dry dock that coated our coat when we returned. RCI did pay to have it removed.

Here I am at the beginning of day 2 on the Quantum and I just wanted to give a quick review of my experience so far.

 

FIRST THE GOOD:

1. I am very impressed with the size of the inside cabin. I had expected it to feel claustrophobic and that is not the case.

2. I fit into my 12 year old daughter's leggings (see below).

 

NOW THE BAD STUFF:

Embarkation: Holy Hot Mess Batman! This is the third cruise line I have been on and I was shocked by the scene at cape Liberty. Mobs of people everywhere with no guidance and no signs (that I noticed at least). We got to the pier at 12:20. Our Set Sail Pass was scheduled for 11:45, but RCI called, texted and emailed everyday for the past four days to let us know to come an hour later (rumor has it that the past cruise had a Noro outbreak and they needed to sanitize.). Anyway, at 12:20 we turned in our six pieces of luggage and parked, uneventfully. We then jumped on the shuttle. We should have just walked the short distance. Instead it took 20 minutes to get to the terminal because there is no shuttle lane so we had to wait in line behind all the cars dropping passengers off at the terminal. We got inside and eventually figured out that we had to go wait on line to go through security. Then we waited on line to check-in. At 2:00 we finally made it to the front of the line. After half-an hour the guy helping us called over someone else because he was having computer issues. The second guy then brought me and two of my kids across the terminal and checked us in. He gave us our Sea Pass cards there and told us to throw out the cards that would be in our stateroom. At about 2:40 we finally got on line to board the ship, which took another 15 minutes. Of course when we got to the front they told us that three of us needed to retake pictures. FINALLY, got on board at 3:00.

 

STATEROOM: They announced that rooms would not be ready until 4:00 so we took our heavy carry-on luggage and waited in line for the elevator up to Windjammer. After a few minutes we decided to just go to eat at the cafe since we were no where near the front of the elevator line.

 

We waited in line at the Cafe @ Two70 which was completely disorganized, only to discover we were in the 'roast beef sandwich line' instead of the 'Sandwich line.' Finally got a salad instead, which was very fresh and good.

 

Took elevator up to fitness center to sign up for boot camp, and was very surprised to find that there were no staff members up there, just a few clipboards with sign up sheets in them.

 

At 3:30 they started the Guest Assembly Drill, which was fine, except it took over a half hour, which was much longer than what I've experienced on other lines. Oh, and we had to wait in line to get in...an apparent theme on RCI. Dh thought we might have to wait in line to fall asleep at night. Luckily he was wrong! The captain made some kind of announcement at the end that was so quiet and mumbled, the only word I could make out was, "Florida." Just hoping he didn't say that we're no longer going there! We nicknamed him 'Captain Mumblebutt.'

 

At 4:15 we left the Drill and headed to our stateroom, only to be met by a sign that said it would be ready after 4:30. Okay, no big deal. We, along with everyone else on the ship, sat down with our carry on bags in the deck's lobby, figuring we'd wait 15 minutes. At some point they made an announcement that the rooms were not going to be ready anytime soon. We dragged our kids, ourselves and our carryons over to the indoor pool, my dh got some drinks for everyone, which my daughter promptly spilled onto my carry on, and we hung out there. Since we didn't have bathing suits, we literally just hung out there.

 

Finally, at 5:45 they made an announcement, that we couldn't hear at all by the pool, but we decided to check our rooms in case they had said that they were finally ready. They were, yay! But...no luggage yet...boo.

 

DINNER: After a few minutes we made our way down to Silk for our 6:30 dinner reservation. The bright spot there...our waitress, Acella, was wonderful. She was the first crew member with a real smile on her face. Most of the others just looked miserable. The food at Silk, did nothing for me or my family, though to be fair, my four-year old liked the meatball that came with his spaghetti. Didn't like the pasta or cheese, but liked the meatball.

 

LUGGAGE: After dinner we went up to our staterooms and discovered that only 4 out of our 6 suitcases had arrived. We were told by our room steward that they were still bringing them up (it was 8:45 at night) and we should have them soon. I was working off of three hours of sleep and really just wanted bed, but didn't have my suitcase yet, so I waited, and waited, and waited. We finally got one more suitcase...not mine. At 9:47 I called the room steward to find out where my suitcase was. He said he was going to go look on deck and would call me in five minutes. Twenty minutes later, he came by and told me he couldn't find it and that I needed to go to Guest Services to see if they had it. So I went down and stood in line (behind the 27 other people already in line) to report my suitcase missing. I finally get to the front and me, along with the two people behind me who were missing luggage, reported the missing luggage. The woman at Guest Services fills out a form to report my luggage, gives it to me to check and sign. I tell her that it is inaccurate. She had written that 0 people were affected by my luggage being lost. I tell her 6 people are affected. My clothes, along with all the sunscreen, half the toiletries, and most importantly, my son's prescription medication! are in that bag. Without a word, she goes into the back room, comes out hands me a small bag of toiletries and a tshirt. I say, "What should I do if they don't find my suitcase? My son's medicine is in there." Her response..."They will start looking for it tomorrow. Sometimes it's delivered to the wrong stateroom and the guests don't notice right away. If we don't find it you can check with Medical." Uh...okay. I have a bright purple suitcase. How is someone not going to be able to distinguish that from there own? Oh, and thank you for that compassionate answer. Also, really? They'll start looking tomorrow? Thanks for the urgency.

 

As for the medicine. My bad. I would never have put it in my luggage if traveling by air, but I thought a cruise ship was different. Lesson learned.

 

She then hands me a voucher for complimentary laundry, which I think is hysterical. Shall I sit in my new T-shirt while they take two days to wash my clothes?

 

Anyway, still no luggage.

 

Last night my daughters called Maintenance to report that their virtual balcony wouldn't shut off or mute and was extremely loud and annoying. They said they'd send someone right up. Apparently the repairman walks slowly, because my girls are still waiting for him to get there.

 

Here we are on day two, and the toilet won't flush unless I press it with my foot!

 

If you'll excuse me, I am going to put on my dirty underwear and go to breakfast.

HILARIOUS! I know this is very frustrating to you, but you are funny as ever! I'll have to keep reading, hopefully you'll get your son's meds (and clean skivvies) soon!

Cruising sux, didn't you get the memo? On the plus side, it'll be over soon. Sounds like you've decided to make the best of it though.

(Hey, if I can get demand down, maybe I can afford a few more horrible cruise experiences) [emoji6]

YIKES: For future trips NEVER EVER leave medications out of your sight for any reason

I make my dad carry his at all times- (until we are in the room at least) and take 2 extra days worth just in case.

Medications and valuables stay with us.

how long was it before luggage found you

Here I am at the beginning of day 2 on the Quantum and I just wanted to give a quick review of my experience so far.

 

FIRST THE GOOD:

1. I am very impressed with the size of the inside cabin. I had expected it to feel claustrophobic and that is not the case.

2. I fit into my 12 year old daughter's leggings (see below).

 

NOW THE BAD STUFF:

Embarkation: Holy Hot Mess Batman! This is the third cruise line I have been on and I was shocked by the scene at cape Liberty. Mobs of people everywhere with no guidance and no signs (that I noticed at least). We got to the pier at 12:20. Our Set Sail Pass was scheduled for 11:45, but RCI called, texted and emailed everyday for the past four days to let us know to come an hour later (rumor has it that the past cruise had a Noro outbreak and they needed to sanitize.). Anyway, at 12:20 we turned in our six pieces of luggage and parked, uneventfully. We then jumped on the shuttle. We should have just walked the short distance. Instead it took 20 minutes to get to the terminal because there is no shuttle lane so we had to wait in line behind all the cars dropping passengers off at the terminal. We got inside and eventually figured out that we had to go wait on line to go through security. Then we waited on line to check-in. At 2:00 we finally made it to the front of the line. After half-an hour the guy helping us called over someone else because he was having computer issues. The second guy then brought me and two of my kids across the terminal and checked us in. He gave us our Sea Pass cards there and told us to throw out the cards that would be in our stateroom. At about 2:40 we finally got on line to board the ship, which took another 15 minutes. Of course when we got to the front they told us that three of us needed to retake pictures. FINALLY, got on board at 3:00.

 

STATEROOM: They announced that rooms would not be ready until 4:00 so we took our heavy carry-on luggage and waited in line for the elevator up to Windjammer. After a few minutes we decided to just go to eat at the cafe since we were no where near the front of the elevator line.

 

We waited in line at the Cafe @ Two70 which was completely disorganized, only to discover we were in the 'roast beef sandwich line' instead of the 'Sandwich line.' Finally got a salad instead, which was very fresh and good.

 

Took elevator up to fitness center to sign up for boot camp, and was very surprised to find that there were no staff members up there, just a few clipboards with sign up sheets in them.

 

At 3:30 they started the Guest Assembly Drill, which was fine, except it took over a half hour, which was much longer than what I've experienced on other lines. Oh, and we had to wait in line to get in...an apparent theme on RCI. Dh thought we might have to wait in line to fall asleep at night. Luckily he was wrong! The captain made some kind of announcement at the end that was so quiet and mumbled, the only word I could make out was, "Florida." Just hoping he didn't say that we're no longer going there! We nicknamed him 'Captain Mumblebutt.'

 

At 4:15 we left the Drill and headed to our stateroom, only to be met by a sign that said it would be ready after 4:30. Okay, no big deal. We, along with everyone else on the ship, sat down with our carry on bags in the deck's lobby, figuring we'd wait 15 minutes. At some point they made an announcement that the rooms were not going to be ready anytime soon. We dragged our kids, ourselves and our carryons over to the indoor pool, my dh got some drinks for everyone, which my daughter promptly spilled onto my carry on, and we hung out there. Since we didn't have bathing suits, we literally just hung out there.

 

Finally, at 5:45 they made an announcement, that we couldn't hear at all by the pool, but we decided to check our rooms in case they had said that they were finally ready. They were, yay! But...no luggage yet...boo.

 

DINNER: After a few minutes we made our way down to Silk for our 6:30 dinner reservation. The bright spot there...our waitress, Acella, was wonderful. She was the first crew member with a real smile on her face. Most of the others just looked miserable. The food at Silk, did nothing for me or my family, though to be fair, my four-year old liked the meatball that came with his spaghetti. Didn't like the pasta or cheese, but liked the meatball.

 

LUGGAGE: After dinner we went up to our staterooms and discovered that only 4 out of our 6 suitcases had arrived. We were told by our room steward that they were still bringing them up (it was 8:45 at night) and we should have them soon. I was working off of three hours of sleep and really just wanted bed, but didn't have my suitcase yet, so I waited, and waited, and waited. We finally got one more suitcase...not mine. At 9:47 I called the room steward to find out where my suitcase was. He said he was going to go look on deck and would call me in five minutes. Twenty minutes later, he came by and told me he couldn't find it and that I needed to go to Guest Services to see if they had it. So I went down and stood in line (behind the 27 other people already in line) to report my suitcase missing. I finally get to the front and me, along with the two people behind me who were missing luggage, reported the missing luggage. The woman at Guest Services fills out a form to report my luggage, gives it to me to check and sign. I tell her that it is inaccurate. She had written that 0 people were affected by my luggage being lost. I tell her 6 people are affected. My clothes, along with all the sunscreen, half the toiletries, and most importantly, my son's prescription medication! are in that bag. Without a word, she goes into the back room, comes out hands me a small bag of toiletries and a tshirt. I say, "What should I do if they don't find my suitcase? My son's medicine is in there." Her response..."They will start looking for it tomorrow. Sometimes it's delivered to the wrong stateroom and the guests don't notice right away. If we don't find it you can check with Medical." Uh...okay. I have a bright purple suitcase. How is someone not going to be able to distinguish that from there own? Oh, and thank you for that compassionate answer. Also, really? They'll start looking tomorrow? Thanks for the urgency.

 

As for the medicine. My bad. I would never have put it in my luggage if traveling by air, but I thought a cruise ship was different. Lesson learned.

 

She then hands me a voucher for complimentary laundry, which I think is hysterical. Shall I sit in my new T-shirt while they take two days to wash my clothes?

 

Anyway, still no luggage.

 

Last night my daughters called Maintenance to report that their virtual balcony wouldn't shut off or mute and was extremely loud and annoying. They said they'd send someone right up. Apparently the repairman walks slowly, because my girls are still waiting for him to get there.

 

Here we are on day two, and the toilet won't flush unless I press it with my foot!

 

If you'll excuse me, I am going to put on my dirty underwear and go to breakfast.

Sounds like you have been Wowed. I hope things improve for you.

Wow, what an awful start to your vacation. I hope it ends up getting better. Out of curiosity, does anybody know what happens if they never do find the luggage? I know airlines have to write a decent sized check if luggage is lost. If he checked all bags at the terminal and several arrived, does RCCL now have responsibility (and liability) for the luggage since that would prove they were in possession of the luggage? Will they give him a check or some type of reimbursement for this lost luggage? How does that work?

Thanks for posting. I hope you will post again and let us know how the rest of the cruise goes.

Boarding after a "Deep Cleaning" because of Norovirus can be rough.

Good luck.

P.S. Your writing style is great!!:D

I´m glad you are enjoying your cruise and having a great time.

On our cruise on the Quantum in February....everyday they had a notice on the tv aboout a missing piece of luggage and to check our stateroom. I hope they find your luggage before the cruise is over and things get better for you.

I always try to cross pack some outfits of mine in DH's suitcase and vice versa so in case one suitcase gets lost we have "some" clothes. Good luck!

I'm glad you can still fit into your 12 year old's leggings. Way to go!:D

Never put medicine in checked luggage. Also carry your bathing suits in your carry on for embarkation day.

You should post this on the Quantum thread.

Hope things improve, sailing next week.

Yikes! Like everyone else, I hope things improve from there... Really enjoyed your post though in spite of the experiences, come back let us know if they ever find that missing suitcase!

Geez, sounds like an awful start to your vacation. Hope it gets better, and quick.

Following.....sure hope things get much better for you.

Maybe I'm just a Pollyanna, but all that sounds pretty mild, to me. True, it's not the ideal start, but you're really just talking about a bit of a slow check-in process and a delay in the cabins being available (probably related to extra cleaning because of some cases of norovirus) and one missing piece of luggage.

You manage to make everything they try to do for you sound like a bad thing. It's nice that they provided you with toiletries, t-shirt and complimentary laundry service.

I'm not unsympathetic to the annoyances, but at least you'll learn to pack a little better. Sounds like you had "heavy carry-on luggage" that didn't hold any of the things you really needed.

We were on the "inaugural" sailing of the Quantum. It sounds like a lot of the same issues that were had then are still occurring. One thing I did learn was that you may have to shut the bathroom door in order to flush the toilet. It is a unique and inventive ship, but there are still issues to be worked out.

Following. Sorry for your bad experience.

Hopefully, by now your missing luggage has showed up. Have you checked the naughty room? I wonder how many people will tell you, "never put medicine in checked luggage", even though you weren't flying. I'm sure you didn't expect your luggage to go missing, when you personally delivered it to the ship.

I also didn't like the iPad check-in when we checked in at Southampton. They've had 5 months to get this worked out but evidently there are still problems. It's called, "chase the person with the iPad". I say, bring back the check-in counters.

I've never sailed on a ship where there were lines for everything. Standing in line for 2 1/2 hours to go up in the North Star wasn't fun but we did want to go up.

Good luck with the rest of your cruise and I hope they find your suitcase.

Maybe I'm just a Pollyanna, but all that sounds pretty mild, to me. True, it's not the ideal start, but you're really just talking about a bit of a slow check-in process and a delay in the cabins being available (probably related to extra cleaning because of some cases of norovirus) and one missing piece of luggage.

 

You manage to make everything they try to do for you sound like a bad thing. It's nice that they provided you with toiletries, t-shirt and complimentary laundry service.

 

I'm not unsympathetic to the annoyances, but at least you'll learn to pack a little better. Sounds like you had "heavy carry-on luggage" that didn't hold any of the things you really needed.

Must be nice to be perfect.:rolleyes:

Must be nice to be perfect.:rolleyes:

Never said I was perfect. It sounds like there were some problems with a chaotic boarding day, probably related to Noro. That created some real problems. And being without one of your pieces of luggage the first night is a pain. But it's not the end of the world. I, too, hope things go more smoothly for the OP the rest of the way.

Still think it's a good lesson, though, that if you're going to lug around heavy carry-on bags, you might as well have something useful in them.

Maybe I'm just a Pollyanna, but all that sounds pretty mild, to me. True, it's not the ideal start, but you're really just talking about a bit of a slow check-in process and a delay in the cabins being available (probably related to extra cleaning because of some cases of norovirus) and one missing piece of luggage.

 

You manage to make everything they try to do for you sound like a bad thing. It's nice that they provided you with toiletries, t-shirt and complimentary laundry service.

 

I'm not unsympathetic to the annoyances, but at least you'll learn to pack a little better. Sounds like you had "heavy carry-on luggage" that didn't hold any of the things you really needed.

That was the smartest thing you said in your post. Pollyanna: to refer to a personality type characterised by irrepressible optimism evident in the face of even the most adverse or discouraging of circumstances. It is sometimes used pejoratively, referring to someone whose optimism is excessive to the point of naïveté or refusing to accept the facts of an unfortunate situation.

:p

dp