The Quantum inaugural cruise fiasco

Sold as an “inaugural cruise” but was it was not. I believe that RCI should be ashamed of what they did on the Quantum sailing on November 23, 2014. They advertized one thing and didn’t deliver. I like many complained to agoldstein at rccl dot com and got a token “I’m sorry”.

I believe that we were owed much more. If you too think that RCI has grown so big that they no longer respect their client base, you are in agreement with their management. This cruise had a passenger base predominately D, D+, and Pinnacle. I shutter to think how this line is treating new cruiser!

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CRUISE LINE I LOVED?

This cruise had a passenger base predominately D, D+, and Pinnacle. I shutter to think how this line is treating new cruiser!

Sorry, I don't follow. Our recent Explorer repo was also predominately upper tier C&A but I'm not seeing your point...?...

Our Explorer repo, even with the lifeboat misadventures, was a walk in the park compared with what has happened/is happening on the Q.

Our Explorer repo, even with the lifeboat misadventures, was a walk in the park compared with what has happened/is happening on the Q.

Yes, I know they are having problems, but I just didn't understand the C&A reference from OP, is all.

Sold as an “inaugural cruise” but was it was not. I believe that RCI should be ashamed of what they did on the Quantum sailing on November 23, 2014. They advertized one thing and didn’t deliver. I like many complained to agoldstein at rccl dot com and got a token “I’m sorry”.

I believe that we were owed much more. If you too think that RCI has grown so big that they no longer respect their client base, you are in agreement with their management. This cruise had a passenger base predominately D, D+, and Pinnacle. I shutter to think how this line is treating new cruiser!

 

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CRUISE LINE I LOVED?

What were you expecting an Inaugural cruise to be like..in other words what was missing ?

Not sure what C&A level has to do with anything :confused:

I have heard from some folks on that sailing that they did receive compensation in the form of a discount/FCC, I take it you did not for some reason ?

This post confuses me.

Not sure but maybe Op is referring to lack of "special" feeling for an Inaugural cruise.

We did the Allure Inaugural cruise and C&A members were given little presents each day (depending on level was the type and amount).

More "one of a time" things - for instance, on top of the balloon and face painting for the kids...they had a guy make special coins with the allure of the seas something or other....forgot (that's how special it was)

But if Op chimes in, we will know for sure..

Sold as an “inaugural cruise” but was it was not. I believe that RCI should be ashamed of what they did on the Quantum sailing on November 23, 2014. They advertized one thing and didn’t deliver. I like many complained to agoldstein at rccl dot com and got a token “I’m sorry”.

 

I believe that we were owed much more.

You believe you were owed? In what sense? Did the boat not deliver you to every port in a safe manner?

Sure, it wasn't THE inaugural cruise as they had a 3-day sailing as a pre-inaugural but for Pete's sake, please stop thinking you're entitled to everything because you bought a ticket for a cruise; it just so happens that while you're on the boat, you're sharing it with over 4000 other people.

Bet OP is plenty sorry they made this post. What a nice reception by the Cruise Critic Members! :rolleyes:

I was on the sailing, and agree it was nothing different that a "regular sailing." After 60 cruises with RCCL, this in fact was pretty boring! They DID market it as the "inaugural sailing" and most of us expected a little more. They certainly charged us a premium for this sailing! There were NO special inaugural parties or events, no special entertainers, etc. in fact, the same performers performed in the theatre for 2 nights, and then another entertainer performed for 2 nights. They really should have had a "major" entertainer for an "inaugural sailing." Don't get me wrong, some things were fantastic (Mamma Mia).

That being said, I'm not looking for compensation or special privileges because of it. I purchased a cruise, and I got one. But, I'll certainly NEVER spend that much for an "inaugural" sailing again!

Peter

Ultimately, it is a money-making business. So let's not get so worked up about it.

A friend advised me that they didn't get their free gifts....weren't treated "special"....ship busy.....there were wires coming out of the ceiling (ship not ready?), dining wasn't organized, had to wait, yadah yadah.

I don't care what anyone says, don't understand the rush to book any inaugural sailing: pay triple price, for a rough cut cruise. I always give ship a year to work out the kinks.

To each his own.

What were you expecting an Inaugural cruise to be like..in other words what was missing ?

 

Not sure what C&A level has to do with anything :confused:

 

I have heard from some folks on that sailing that they did receive compensation in the form of a discount/FCC, I take it you did not for some reason ?

We were also on the 11/23 sailing. I believe what the OP is feeling is the frustration that many felt with this cruise. It was sold as an Inaugural Cruise. It was listed on the website as Inaugural Cruise. Our Cruise contracts show Inaugural Cruise and yet on board the ship, they tried to convince us that it was not an Inaugural sailing. At the Captains corner they "explained" why it was not an Inaugural Cruise and later we got certificates stating that we were on The Inaugural Cruise.

People paid a premium for this cruise and then to have RCI deny that it was an Inaugural Cruise was insulting to many and the flames are still burning as a result. The OP is venting those feelings.

Those that emailed complaints to RCI are being treated differently. Some got nothing, others got an OBC to use on a future cruise, some got a FCC. Those that opted not to email will get nothing. Yes, I get it that they need to produce income but treating people fairly creates a lot of goodwill.

It was the first cruise out of its new port, so technically it was "inaugural". The ship does multiple routes, so there isn't a traditional inaugural sailing (I would think).

Technically I was on the NCL Epic "inaugural" cruise out of Miami, but in my opinion the repo to get it there was the first true cruise (which is why they called mine the "Miami Inaugural" sailing). We did get a (free) special book though about the ship, so there's that.

As I said in a previous post on this subject, we need to dig up reviews for the first few sailings of the Freedom/Oasis class ships (Voyager is probably too old to have a lot of online reviews) to see if similar issues were encountered. It may be that issues like this are simply to be expected (I would) given that the ship class is wholly new. Each new class debuts with a certain amount of new tech, and recently a good deal of that is customer facing.

To discover some of these issues the ship needs to sail full, which means a "soft launch" with fewer guests wouldn't work. The people who bear most of that brunt are the ones who sail on the repo, which is guaranteed to be a (partial) floating construction zone. Even then, a new ship/ship refurb repo is likely not an accurate test of the ship since work is still being done during the crossing AND I would think most repos are not filled to capacity (hence the big discounts).

I work with pre-release tech nonstop for my job, and even the biggest/most popular platforms have issues that go undiscovered until it sees wide scale adoption. We even engage customers to put our gear into production before it is released (under heavy NDAs), and even that isn't enough to discover all of the issues.

Simply put, until someone uses a product (at capacity and/or on a wide scale) it is impossible to figure out all of the issues that it will encounter. Just be glad that cruise ships aren't like the F-22! Years later and the aircraft still has serious issues.

I did the maiden voyage of both the RCI Quantum and the NCL Getaway this past year.

RCI made a much bigger deal of their maiden voyage than NCL in this instance. I think this occurred as Quantum was 'arriving' at her maiden homeport directly, while Getaway did not reach her homeport of Miami until several weeks later due to scheduling and serving as a hotel during the Super Bowl as a full ship charter.

With Quantum having several homeport activities prior to the actual 'Inaugural Cruise' which was just part of the 'Inaugural Season' of Quantum, I would have been very cautious in booking this sailing with overly high expectations.

I think by NCL 'waiting' to have the real press push until they got their ship to the homeport of Miami that they then might have given those passengers on that first sailing from Miami a big benefit. I think NCL management knew the Getaway was designed for warm ports and wisely waited to get her down to the Caribbean to highlight these.

I remember several years back when I boarded the Carnival Splendor at Dover just after she was christened, I really felt that sailing was not special at all due to the fact that they had done a pre-inaugural sailing from the MED up to Dover. That was my only Carnival experience so I do not know what they normally do. We did get a book though.

Bet OP is plenty sorry they made this post. What a nice reception by the Cruise Critic Members! :rolleyes:

They've been around 10 years and have over 1,100 posts. How long are we supposed to welcome people to CC?

Actually not true, I did not email, but did get a nice letter and a % based credit. I did not ask for it nor expect it, but gratefully accepted it as being Royals way of acceptance that certain "small" things did not go exactly the way they would have wanted.

Yes there were some issues with some technical items, and sure some did have to wait in line for certain dining options. Mainly caused by the demographic on the early cruises all wanting to dine early, I respect their choice, to make that decision.

However it is clear that DD cannot accommodate everyone in a short period, and maybe even DD will have to have time slot allocations added to the mix. That will prevent more people than there are seats trying to dine at the same time slot.

I see no reason why DD cannot work whilst still offering dining options that have a similarity to first and second seating times. Many people ask for one or the other on most ships, or go for MTD where certain times slots are also filled and an earlier/later time has to be offered.

....................Those that emailed complaints to RCI are being treated differently. Some got nothing, others got an OBC to use on a future cruise, some got a FCC. Those that opted not to email will get nothing. Yes, I get it that they need to produce income but treating people fairly creates a lot of goodwill.

Actually not true, I did not email, but did get a nice letter and a % based credit. I did not ask for it nor expect it, but gratefully accepted it as being Royals way of acceptance that certain "small" things did not go exactly the way they would have wanted.

Is it possible that you got credit without requesting because you are Pinnacle? I would not argue that Pinnacle members deserve to be treated Royally by RCI.

As I understand it, the passengers on the maiden voyage all got the same thing. Yet here again is another exception for the 11/23...some got credit without even asking while others got nothing except an email hoping their next cruise is better. Why are they treating passengers differently?

I just do not understand their handling of this cruise. We are booked again for the Quantum and are actually looking forward to another cruise on the ship. One without all of the hype and hopefully one without all of the complaining. (and yes, we will be using the credit that RCI gave us for the 11/23 cruise)

Bet OP is plenty sorry they made this post. What a nice reception by the Cruise Critic Members! :rolleyes:

Wow, where did that come from? Some of us were simply asking OP to elaborate. S/he has been here for ten years!

It is interesting that a commemorative book was given on the Inaugural cruise but, apparently, no other mementos. On the 12/1/14 sailing both my DH and I received crystal blocks even though neither of us were at the next 70 point stage.

One of the lessons learned from this forum is as good as the idea sounds, I figure that the RMS Titanic was on an Inaugural Cruise, and the USS Enterprise in Star Trek - The Motion Picture was on the first trip after a major refit and upgrade. Neither turned out as expected or planned.

So is the next one still on??

Pending:

11/23/14 - Quantum

01/23/15 - Quantum

Just to clarify a couple of things here.

The guests on the 11/2 Maiden Voyage did not ask for the FCC, they were told on the second day that everyone was been given one because of the problems on the first day & night. Obviously RCCL Executives onboard the ship realised that basically, the ship in no way was ready for us on 11/2.

We had no special big name entertainers on the Maiden and actually even on Oasis & Allure Inaugurals we didn't have them so not sure why anyone would expect them on Quantum :confused:

There is nowhere on Quantum they could have a special Inaugural party..heck nowhere even for Quest so I don't see how they could hold one anyway.

Don't remember a special Inaugural party on Oasis or Allure. Events yes for different C&A levels but not an Inaugural party as such.

There were more gifts on Oasis & Allure Inaugurals because Diamonds in December was happening during the Inaugurals.

Also there was a different Executive team in charge of Quantum Operations, many of whom had come from Celebrity and on Celebrity they do not do anything special for an Inaugural.

So is the next one still on??

 

 

Pending:

11/23/14 - Quantum

01/23/15 - Quantum

I had noticed that too. Wouldn't final payment have to been made prior to the first sailing. I could only imagine what it would have been like to be not enjoying your first sailing while you were returning a few moths later for more.

So people were mad because they didn't get gifts that they expected but were never directly promised to them?

Eeesh people, first world problems right there.

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