Why so much complaining?

[lrcruising]

I am getting ready to go on the Mariner on June 6th with some dear friends. We are all so excited to try RCCL after several Carnival cruises. I have read so many negative boards that I am almost afraid we made a mistake switching to RCCL. I hope that all the negativity I have been reading is just from people who expect things to always run perfectly. It's a vacation shouldn't it be fun even if there are a few bumps in the road occasionally? I am going with a 'positive' attitude and if there is a problem or two, I promise not to voice my disappointments so others don't get nervous before their cruise instead of excited.

[caviargal]

IMHO RCCL is to Carnival as Hyatt is to Holiday Inn.

 

Mariner is beautiful and you will have a great time!

 

Try the specialty restaurants if you can as they are very good.

 

RCI(37),NCL(12),Princess(1),HAL(2),Celebrity(3), Carnival(2), Eastern (13),Radisson(2), Star Clippers(1),Home Lines(2), Costa(5),Big Red Boat (6), Dolphin (1), Commodore (2), Others (11)

 

[lrcruising]

Thanks I appreciate a positive response.

[DFritz]

Ircruising- You have the right attitude so you will have a great cruise.

 

Everyone has certain things that make a cruise perfect for them. I've traveled RCI and Carnival and although I prefer RCI for my own little reasons I still had a great time on Carnival and would sail on either cruise line.

 

'Til my next cruise

 

[TEXASMUNK]

20,000+ people per week on RCI....A couple of people get on-line and whine, gripe and rant.

IGNORE THEM!!!!

You will enjoy!

 

Next....San Juan

[ugyvel]

Note that 95% of the people complaining are doing their next cruise on RCL!

 

Golden 11/01

Monarch 12/02

Fantasy 6/03

Serenade 9/03

Radiance 11/03

Mariner 6/04

Enchantment 9/04

Legend 3/05

[TBRay]

I take the information and comments and leave most of the 'poo poo' slide. Mariner is an AWESOME vessel with all the bells and whistles! You are in for the time of your life and you don't even know it yet. Of all the trips I've been on, our Mariner 02/2004 trip is ranked Numero Uno (#1).

 

Dfritz is correct. Attitude is everything. People who want to have a bad time will bound to make it happen. I always tell me DW to keep an open mind, let some of the 'nit picking' slide and just enjoy the week. You might always find a rude person or two or someone who decides to 'butt in' while in line. But overall I'd say 99% of the passengers I've met were extremely friendly and helpful (the same could be said for crew members also).

 

And there is a reason those two named businesses are #1 and #2 in the world. They both provide a solid product or they would not exist. Opinions are like.... never mind

 

9/19/2004 Mariner of the Seas

*** Royal Hounds Cruise ***

 

 

1/30/2005 Mariner of the Seas

**Our First Balcony (Corner Aft of Course!**)

[FinelyCruising]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I promise not to voice my disappointments so others don't get nervous before their cruise instead of excited. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

If you have a disappointment, I'd hope you would indicate it so others may know in advance of something they may need to take note of. I don't take footnotes and observations as complaining.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[shmthaus]

Some people love McDonald's and some don't. Some like steak and some fish.

 

Some like RCCL and some don't.

 

Be your own judge and go with an open mind.

 

Me, I just happen to like it.

 

Shmthaus

 

 

11/02 RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas

12/03 CCL Celebration

11/04 RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas

http://community.webshots.com/user/shmthaus

[cruisingirls]

There is a difference between whining and informing! I have been a major competitor of a thread about the Empress. I just returned on Saturday from my first ever cruise. I responded with information-including the problems that ship has coming out of drydock. Those problems did not ruin my vacation-but I am getting the info out that since I would want to know about them in advance if I had a cruise booked on the Empress in the next month or two!

[flagger]

Well this board is called cruise critic. I expect to hear the postives and the negatives about their experience. For the amount of money I am paying, I am expecting near perfection.

 

[7nucruzers]

lrcruising:

 

great attitude - you'll have a ball. some people are so spoiled and demanding it's a shame. they obviously have too much money and time on their hands to do anything else but complain!!!! To me (who can only afford to cruise every 5 years) even the worse food and service would still be a vacation away from work and kids!!!! have a great cruise - rccl is the best!

[want2seaitall]

Honestly, after 2 RCCL cruises and 1 Carnival...there is no comparison...RCCL is superb. I wanted to make the comparison for myself...so I tried Carnival...and came back.

 

As for people complaining...I can't imagine, for the life of me, what people can find to complain about. Do things go perfect...it is a vacation...things will not always go as expected...that is a guarantee. But on RCCL...they come as close to perfect as you can get.

 

My first balcony on the Vision!!! 2/20/05

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

Originally posted by flagger:

Well this board is called cruise critic. I expect to hear the postives and the negatives about their experience. For the amount of money I am paying, I am expecting near perfection.

 

People will be glad to know that you will be wearing a tuxedo on formal in order to make it a perfect evening for the other people who are also looking for perfection! PS don't forget to leave the crying baby in the room!

 

jc

[cruiserforlife]

Simply put,go in with low expectations and you'll have a GREAT time!

 

As was previously stated,you have an excellent attitude and don't worry,you'll have an excellent vacation.

 

"a bad day at sea is better than a great day at work and a lousy day at sea is still pretty damn good!"

[sab1268]

keep a positive attitude for your vacation. we went last year on first cruise and our luggage was lost but that did not stop us from haveing a wonderful time. The crew was great in taking care of things for us. Some people are so petty that you could turn flips for them and they still would not be satisfied.

Stacy

[gm87]

flagger - that's like saying you expect a near perfect airline flight, or near perfect marraige, kids , life etc., or that you're near perfect yourself (highly doubt that one)

 

If you're paying that much money maybe you should get a refund & buy a dingy instead.

 

Where else can you go to travel to numerous islands, have food & entertainment all paid for?!

 

What you get out of a vacation is what you invest in it & I'm not just talking money!

[Iwuvcruisin]

Ircruising, just hold onto that positive attitude and you will have a fantastic time. There are many people in this world who just love to complain. They will complain about anything and everything. There are lots of worse things going on in the world than anything negative that could happen on a cruise ship. Have a great time!!

 

Countdown until Voyager of the Seas

[superjerryw]

Don't worry, just go with your positive attitude and you will have a great time on the Mariner. Some people just like to complain and are never happy. They go on a vacation and look for things to complain about so they will get attention from others. If things were as bad as some people would have you believe all the cruise ships would be empty. I think that the people that complain the most simply have unrealistic expectations. They think the members of the crew are their personal slaves and forget that they are very hard working individuals.

 

 

Donuts, is there anything they can't do....

[lrcruising]

Let me make a few more points on my original topic:

1. I posted a question about bringing alcohol onboard or purchasing it onboard and bringing it to the cabin several months ago and instead of getting an answer, I got some really nasty responses (for instance: that question has been answered before, don't be so cheap, etc). I've only been on Carnival and I know their policy and what you can and can't do. When I tried to search my question, the search engine timed out. If people don't like my question, why can't they ignore it and not respond to it?

 

2. Back to negative cruise remarks: we went on the Carnival Conquest last summer. We left out of Gulfport and returned to New Orleans. That was okay, we got to see 2 places that we've never seen before. Our cruise was right during Tropical Storm Claudette and we only got to stop in Jamaica because of the bad weather, but instead of complaining about it, we modified what we did on the ship. We had never played bingo onboard and did that time and some of our party won $2000. We went to the spa and exercise room, watched some movies, attended some dance classes, visited all of the bars and lounges and saw all of the shows. Had the weather been perfect, we would have been baking in the sun missing out on all of the experiences that the ship had to offer. But when we returned, I saw numberous complaints on the Carnival board about their trips being ruined because of the weather and change of ports.

 

I guess I just don't get it. I really appreciate all of the postitive feedback from my original question.

 

By the way, If anyone does for sure know the alcohol policy (buying it and paying some comsumption fee), please let me know.

[eswort]

like iwuvcruisin said, some people just like to complain and message boards are a great resource for them to get in there complaint quotas per day...go with an open mind and you will have one of the best vacations of your life

 

Voyager of the Seas out of NY

[cmason]

Guess if folks didn't complain there would be nothing to discuss on these boards, at least it seems that way!

 

I think some folks set there expectations much too high. A cruise on a mass market line like RCCL is not going to be a private yacht, the First Class travel of years ago, or even the Ritz Carlton. It will be better service than you get at home, and better than at most hotels. If folks would compare it to a Marriott or Hilton, in terms of service, food, entertainment, etc. they would be impressed. If you expect Ritz Carlton service, you will be disappointed, as that is not what RCCL is trying to provide anyway.

 

 

Join our Navigator Nov 13 roll call

We meet in..

[checkard]

Ok, I'm going to complain

 

1. Someone shops for and prepares all my meals. Then cleans up after I'm finished. I just get up and leave. -- Nothing to complain about there

 

2. Someone comes in everyday and makes sure my room is clean, makes my bed, keeps my ice bucket filled and takes care of anything else I need -- Nothing to complain about there

 

3. I get to unpack my clothes one time but yet still get to visit several other locations. -- Nothing to complain about there

 

4. I go on a floating hotel with swimming pools, hot tubs, entertainment, etc. -- Still nothing to complain about

 

5. I can go on numerous excursions or just spend the day doing nothing -- Only complaint is that I can't do everything I want to. So I'll have to book another cruise -- Hey, nothing wrong with that. I withdraw that complaint

 

6. I get to make new friends from all over -- that's a good thing

 

7 - Seems like my only complaint is that I don't have anything to complain about.

 

----------------------------

Explorer 11/2001

Explorer 12/14/02

Serenade 10/13/03

----------------------------

 

Until Grandeur 5/21/04

 

Until Voyager 10/8/04

 

<MARQUEE>Won't Be Long Now till we'll be cruisin'</MARQUEE>

 

<center>

<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">

</center>

 

[Aldeya]

checkard

 

Great post!

[Michuck]

I rarely (if ever) get into any posts that become controversial, but couldn't resist responding to the poster who said "For the amount of money I am paying, I am expecting near perfection." I'm not sure what I know of in this day and age that one can expect to be near perfect. If you compare a motel room to a cabin, the basic cost would be about (with taxes, etc.) no less than $75.00 per nite (7 nites = $525) BUT, you have to upgrade that because the average motel doesn't have 24-hour room service. So you'd have to upgrade that Motel room to a Hotel room - now we're looking at maybe $125 per nite? (7 nites - $875.). Okay, now we have to find a hotel that has a better than average restaurant - now maybe $200 per nite just for the room? Well, that's $1,400 for 7 nites. Add in extra if you want an oceanview rather than a parking lot view. Plus, add in better than average food for 2, only figuring 3 meals a day. I figure for 7 days that comes to $210 for breakfast, $210 for lunch, and probably between dinners and snacks another $500 for the week? Oh wait!! There's entertainment - gotta figure at least $100 for tickets to at least 2 shows, right? So, right now, to be at a 'land side' halfway decent hotel, we're up to $2,420 for 7 days. Oh wait, what about renting beach chairs? Hubby and I have spent $20 per day for 2 chairs, so add another $100? Don't forget to add $15% to all the meals for tips, when the waiters onboard only get $7.00 PER DAY???

 

Not sure I understand the "For the amount of money I am paying" poster. . . .