Vision of the Seas - a disgraceful cruise, any advice?

[mcgorr]

I recently completed a transatlantic from Brazil and this is my experience. I will be surprised if you don't hear more about this cruise from other passenegers. Everyone I spoke to thought the cruise to be very, very poor. I believe it was because the Brazilians' expectations were low because when they left the ship things slightly improved, such as the food. It shows how poorly valued they ewere by RCI, how shameful!! I hope this review I am posting is evenly balanced because where there were positives I have highlighted them.

 

Embarkation:

A disgrace to any cruiseline, and after 30 cruises the worst I ever experienced. It took over 2.5 hours to finally get to the ship. We were left in the rain for most of that time. Between the embarkation area and the ship, a few hundred yards, we were left on a bus for about 45 minutes (some people for 2 hours) while we waited to get on the ship. No staff member came to afford us an explanation.

 

 

Food:

Very poor. Particularly the meat which was of dubious quality, in the Windjammer we were served a lot of brisket, and the menu in both was geared towards Brazilian tastes. Pre cruise we were given a dining time choice and chose 8.45, the actual dining time turned out to be 9.30, with us leaving the dining room after dessert at about 11pm, much too late for comfort. Even after days at sea we were told that a certain item was not available – most bizarre, did the chef not know what was in his store? Also on a few occasions we ordered an item to find it had been substituted and were given no explanation or apology. Perhaps they didn't think we'd know the difference between prawns ans clams, or a greek salad with feta cheese and a cheddar cheese salad!! On 3 occasions our table was given a very dirty glass. The Windjammer food varied between poor and mediocre and had little variety, how often can they offer beef and olive casserole? Seats were highly prized on the many sea days. Around 3pm a nice pudding was served along with scones.

 

 

Entertainment:

We had been disappointed to realise that this was a Brazilian cruise with maybe 150 English speaking guests. Had I realised that English would not be the 1sr language I would have gone with Costa or MSC where English is liberally translated. The shows were mainly orientated towards Brazilian tastes. At all entertainment the staff spoke at length in to the Brazilians and we got a 20 second synopsis and in some cases, as in the smaller venus when say 'Name that Tune' was held, we were totally ignored. This was downright rude and inconsiderate. There was very little music in the bars, one night we were not interested in the show as it catered for the Brazilians and trawled the bars looking for an alternative, there was absolutely no entertainment anywhere else on the ship. There were no gala evenings, no midnight buffet, no chocolate buffet, no ice carvings, no tit bits served in lounges around midnight.

 

 

Ship:

Very attractive, bright areas, plenty of bars and nice seating areas. Outside decks were well laid out and the solarium was great for cooler days.

 

 

Cabins:

I had an inside and then an outside cabin and was very happy with both. A decent size with good pillows and lighting. Some cosmetic amenities might have been welcome. My first steward was excellent, inconspicuous and highly efficient, the second one less so. Minor problems such as with the TV were efficiently handled by Guest Services.

 

 

Hygiene:

Going into the Windjammer hand sanitation was strictly monitored but not in the MDR. The ship seemed clean but I saw what seemed to be faeces on the wall of the ladies toilet 2 days in a row and reported it to guest services, 2 days later I wrote to the cruise director and after another 2 days it was removed!! Disgusting!! Is it any wonder this ship was not allowed to dock at Santos earlier in the year because of Norovirus!!

 

 

Disembarkation:

We were to disembark in Lisbon on 19 April in the midst of the volcanic ash crisis. Many Brits asked at guest services if we would be afforded any assistance and were told it was not their problem. After phoning Miami and been told help would be given the ship staff refused to assist us. The 36 Brits arranged a meeting and 4 crew members were sent to tell us that we were displaying mutinous behavior and convening a riot!!! Honestly if you had seen the age group involved!! No help was given to people who had been at sea for days, had no 'live' information and were frightened about what lay ahead. That evening they agreed to let us sail on a daily rate (with ' as small amount of tax') to pick up ferries in France and elsewhere. We were told we had until 7pm the next evening to decide as the ship would not be leaving until 9pm. We cancelled our Lisbon hotels deciding to avail of this. Next morning they put up the prices by 25% and were charging $164 taxes and fees. Disgraceful again!! We were told to recheck in at 10 am and this was put back until most people got checking in at 12pm. After trying to argue the unfairness of increasing the cost when passengers were at their most vulnerable we were left with no option but to rebook. One diamond member was told by staff that if he did not rebook immediately he would call port side security to escort him off the ship. The ship sailed that afternoon at 5pm (we were not informed of this and just by luck were on board) with 650 passengers on board, the captain said they had expected 1900 and 36 children. Lots of cabins were vacant and RCI had received full fare for all those who didn't turn up plus the extra for those who remained onboarrd. What a rip off!!! We were told to leave the ship at midday and were given no help with luggage or information on where the ferry terminal at Le Harve was located. 18 of us had to haul our luggage approximately 1 mile, 1 man was aged 71 and his 69 year old wife had been to the doctor 2 days before with pneumonia. We were then left to wait outside the terminal at the side of the road until we could book in at 5pm. Thompson cruises, the British line put their cruise guests with travel issue getting home to UK and Europe up in a 5 star hotel and provided representatives several times a day to update their customers on the travel situation. This puts RCI to shame.

A terrible time and a disgrace to cruising. I will never cruise with RCI again.

Has anyone any comments or advice on how I should approach RCI

[LBumb]

if you didn't book your travel with RCI why would they step in with weather and travel issues. Also, it sounds as if you didn't have insurance. Sorry to be harsh but i feel this is the truth.

[heatherb1958]

Looks like there is a running theme in the way RCI treated their disembarking guests during this chaotic crisis and it is not a good one.

 

I have read a couple of reviews on a UK site of how some guests were treated after their Dubai cruise, I haven't read a positive account from anyone yet.

 

 

I was upset at having our 19th April cruise cancelled but I am now beginning to think after reading these reports that we were very fortunate not to have endured a nightmare situation like you went through. I am sorry I don't have any practical advice for you other than I hope you got receipts for the costings of the extended cruise and all other expenses for insurance purposes.

 

Good luck with your claim. We are still processing ours:(.

[gadaboutgal]

What a dreadful trip for you. I think you might get suggestions as to how to approach RCL; however, you stated in the last sentence that you would never approach them again so I will not waste any advice.

[hazence]

Gouging prices has nothing to do with travel insurance or booking.

 

What unethical, unprofessional behavior!

 

To the OP: you have every right to be furious and disgusted! I was also in Europe during the Ash Cloud crisis and many on this side of the pond have no idea of the chaos and confusion. We all heard many different travel stories.

 

The customer service, professionalism, and effective ability to deal wiith a crisis was handled very differently by individual travel firms, cruise lines, airports and airlines.

 

We must make sure never to put a cent in the pocket of those who were found sorely lacking...and to find every opportunity to praise those who showed ingenuity, compassion , and concern...and ran their businesses like pros.

 

By the way, the Pelham Hotel in London is top notch!

[waterbug123]

I recently completed a transatlantic from Brazil and this is my experience..... Entertainment:

We had been disappointed to realise that this was a Brazilian cruise with maybe 150 English speaking guests. Had I realised that English would not be the 1sr language I would have gone with Costa or MSC where English is liberally translated. The shows were mainly orientated towards Brazilian tastes. At all entertainment the staff spoke at length in to the Brazilians and we got a 20 second synopsis and in some cases, as in the smaller venus when say 'Name that Tune' was held, we were totally ignored. This was downright rude and inconsiderate. There was very little music in the bars, one night we were not interested in the show as it catered for the Brazilians

 

I certainly understand your disappointment, as you have a number of valid complaints, but I have to take issue with your complaints about the language barrier.

 

1. You took a Transatlantic from Brazil, but were surprised to learn that it was a Brazilian cruise? How could you not expect that there would be many, many Brazilians on board and that RCI would, understandably, cater to them?

 

2. Why was it rude and inconsiderate to have most of the entertainment only in Portugese? I mean, you said there were only 150 English speaking guests on the entire ship. I have been on a number of cruises on which I would guess there were far more than 150 non-English speaking guests, and yet I have seldom heard much more than safety-related or disembarkation announcements given in any language other than English on those cruises. How do you think the non-English speakers feel when all the shows, all the contests, all the "just for fun" announcements are in English only?

 

And just to be clear, I have also experienced being in the minority, language-wise, on a cruise. My cruise just a few weeks ago on Enchantment sailed from Panama, and while the entertainment was more bilingual than what you have described, there were several times when little to no English was spoken. We sat in the Schooner Bar one night while the piano player did an entire show, with almost zero translation in English. He'd say something, the crowd would laugh, and we had no idea what the joke was. Then he'd play Spanish songs and the crowd would join in and again, we'd never even heard the songs before. But you know what? We had a good time. We sipped our drinks, enjoyed the music, and enjoyed watching the crowd that was clearly enjoying what I guess were some of their favorite songs being played while they sang along and danced and had a good time.

Another time they were doing a contest out by the pool. One of the cruise staff was leading it and I'd say maybe 20-30% of what he said he translated and said in English as well. But much of it was only in Spanish. But again, we enjoyed the sun, I sipped my frozen drink, we watched the contest or game or whatever it was (sorry, I can't recall which contest it was) and we had fun, realizing that they were catering to the majority. And it was actually much less of a majority than on your cruise; from what we heard I think 60-70% were Hispanic, unlike your cruise where it sounds like about the Brazilians made up around 90-95% of the crowd.

[wg6530]

I recently completed a transatlantic from Brazil and this is my experience. I will be surprised if you don't hear more about this cruise from other passenegers. Everyone I spoke to thought the cruise to be very, very poor. I believe it was because the Brazilians' expectations were low because when they left the ship things slightly improved, such as the food. It shows how poorly valued they ewere by RCI, how shameful!! I hope this review I am posting is evenly balanced because where there were positives I have highlighted them.

 

Embarkation:

A disgrace to any cruiseline, and after 30 cruises the worst I ever experienced. It took over 2.5 hours to finally get to the ship. We were left in the rain for most of that time. Between the embarkation area and the ship, a few hundred yards, we were left on a bus for about 45 minutes (some people for 2 hours) while we waited to get on the ship. No staff member came to afford us an explanation.

 

 

Food:

Very poor. Particularly the meat which was of dubious quality, in the Windjammer we were served a lot of brisket, and the menu in both was geared towards Brazilian tastes. Pre cruise we were given a dining time choice and chose 8.45, the actual dining time turned out to be 9.30, with us leaving the dining room after dessert at about 11pm, much too late for comfort. Even after days at sea we were told that a certain item was not available – most bizarre, did the chef not know what was in his store? Also on a few occasions we ordered an item to find it had been substituted and were given no explanation or apology. Perhaps they didn't think we'd know the difference between prawns ans clams, or a greek salad with feta cheese and a cheddar cheese salad!! On 3 occasions our table was given a very dirty glass. The Windjammer food varied between poor and mediocre and had little variety, how often can they offer beef and olive casserole? Seats were highly prized on the many sea days. Around 3pm a nice pudding was served along with scones.

 

 

Entertainment:

We had been disappointed to realise that this was a Brazilian cruise with maybe 150 English speaking guests. Had I realised that English would not be the 1sr language I would have gone with Costa or MSC where English is liberally translated. The shows were mainly orientated towards Brazilian tastes. At all entertainment the staff spoke at length in to the Brazilians and we got a 20 second synopsis and in some cases, as in the smaller venus when say 'Name that Tune' was held, we were totally ignored. This was downright rude and inconsiderate. There was very little music in the bars, one night we were not interested in the show as it catered for the Brazilians and trawled the bars looking for an alternative, there was absolutely no entertainment anywhere else on the ship. There were no gala evenings, no midnight buffet, no chocolate buffet, no ice carvings, no tit bits served in lounges around midnight.

 

 

Ship:

Very attractive, bright areas, plenty of bars and nice seating areas. Outside decks were well laid out and the solarium was great for cooler days.

 

 

Cabins:

I had an inside and then an outside cabin and was very happy with both. A decent size with good pillows and lighting. Some cosmetic amenities might have been welcome. My first steward was excellent, inconspicuous and highly efficient, the second one less so. Minor problems such as with the TV were efficiently handled by Guest Services.

 

 

Hygiene:

Going into the Windjammer hand sanitation was strictly monitored but not in the MDR. The ship seemed clean but I saw what seemed to be faeces on the wall of the ladies toilet 2 days in a row and reported it to guest services, 2 days later I wrote to the cruise director and after another 2 days it was removed!! Disgusting!! Is it any wonder this ship was not allowed to dock at Santos earlier in the year because of Norovirus!!

 

 

Disembarkation:

We were to disembark in Lisbon on 19 April in the midst of the volcanic ash crisis. Many Brits asked at guest services if we would be afforded any assistance and were told it was not their problem. After phoning Miami and been told help would be given the ship staff refused to assist us. The 36 Brits arranged a meeting and 4 crew members were sent to tell us that we were displaying mutinous behavior and convening a riot!!! Honestly if you had seen the age group involved!! No help was given to people who had been at sea for days, had no 'live' information and were frightened about what lay ahead. That evening they agreed to let us sail on a daily rate (with ' as small amount of tax') to pick up ferries in France and elsewhere. We were told we had until 7pm the next evening to decide as the ship would not be leaving until 9pm. We cancelled our Lisbon hotels deciding to avail of this. Next morning they put up the prices by 25% and were charging $164 taxes and fees. Disgraceful again!! We were told to recheck in at 10 am and this was put back until most people got checking in at 12pm. After trying to argue the unfairness of increasing the cost when passengers were at their most vulnerable we were left with no option but to rebook. One diamond member was told by staff that if he did not rebook immediately he would call port side security to escort him off the ship. The ship sailed that afternoon at 5pm (we were not informed of this and just by luck were on board) with 650 passengers on board, the captain said they had expected 1900 and 36 children. Lots of cabins were vacant and RCI had received full fare for all those who didn't turn up plus the extra for those who remained onboarrd. What a rip off!!! We were told to leave the ship at midday and were given no help with luggage or information on where the ferry terminal at Le Harve was located. 18 of us had to haul our luggage approximately 1 mile, 1 man was aged 71 and his 69 year old wife had been to the doctor 2 days before with pneumonia. We were then left to wait outside the terminal at the side of the road until we could book in at 5pm. Thompson cruises, the British line put their cruise guests with travel issue getting home to UK and Europe up in a 5 star hotel and provided representatives several times a day to update their customers on the travel situation. This puts RCI to shame.

A terrible time and a disgrace to cruising. I will never cruise with RCI again.

Has anyone any comments or advice on how I should approach RCI

 

Sorry your cruise went poorly. It is not suprising that the ship catered to the majority of the passenger's taste and language. On my transatlantic cruises, I have occassionally noticed certain ingredients were depleted after days at sea, and buffet menus can seem quite redundant on long cruises. We were on a transatlantic cruise during the volcanic ash crisis. I was a bit anxious as commentators said it could last weeks, but fortunately airports re-opened before we docked. Your stress must have been much greater. Obviously RCL didn't cause the eruption and did not close the airports (take that up with your government). RCL certain lost money due to the ash crisis (think of all that lost on board revenue). No matter the daily rate, it was lucky RCL was able to transport you to a port with a ferry, else you would have been stranded with others. The taxes are determined by ports and governments, who probably wanted to tax for the full cruise. Glad you made it home safely.

[yogimax]

if you didn't book your travel with RCI why would they step in with weather and travel issues.

 

It would be the professional and humane thing to do!

[momzcruzing]

Having enjoyed 3 fabulous cruises on the beautiful Vision of the Seas, I am sorry for what you experienced. :(

 

I am amazed at the number of people that reply on these boards that the Ash Cloud was not RCCL's fault so an attitude of "that's not our problem" is permissable. Obviously it is legal, but a little compassion and caring for our fellow travelers in this life most often costs little.

 

RCCL did not "owe" you or your fellow passengers anything, however a spirit of caring and willingness to help would have greatly reduced your stress.

 

I loved the reply from Hazence. It is in the bad times where we sort out our true friends from those who are just along for the good times. The same goes for the businesses and companies we chose to invest with our hard earned dollars. As a "Diamond Plus" frequent customer I am looking for RCCL to improve it's humanitarian attitude before I book my next cruise.

[Evelyn9597]

I agree with those who said that the OP has every right to be furious and angry... the treatment by RCI was apalling, particularly allowing that unwell elderly couple to walk a mile with their luggage.. just plain despicable:mad:

 

I returned to the UK from a cruise IOS on 12 April from Miami (a few days before the Ash cloud problem started). I dread to think what might have happened to us if we'd have been stranded.... although we booked through Thomas Cook, who have apparently been superb to their customers, so we may have been OK.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how every time someone says something justifiably negative about RCI, there'll always be a cheerleader jumping to their defence, no matter what.. :confused::(

 

Don't get me wrong, we had an amazing time on IOS, but I'd really think twice about booking again after reading some of the numerous scathing reviews on another website.

[hazence]

I have a particular reason for my frustration with the "cheerleaders": I own a retail boutique business.

 

If I sell you a piece of costume jewelry and it breaks, I don't need a video of how it happened to refund your money. I don't expect other customers of mine to confront you with my business difficulties or berate you because you don't understand capitalism. No one will lecture you on your responsibility to properly care for the jewelry I sell you.

 

You will get an apology and a full credit. Once, even 14 months later.

 

Foolish? That's not what our bottom line is telling us.

 

I KNOW you have many other choices. I want you happy. Sometimes, yes, that is not "fair" to me...but it's a dynamite recipe for success. We have gotten through the last years very, very well...with products anyone can "avoid" purchasing. Our custimers bring their friends.

 

I am so put off by the RCCL excuse makers on these threads. IMO you do RCCL and yourselves no favor. Service and amenities will slip to the lowest level tolerated. You are "enabling" a decline.

 

I make it a practice to speak up when service or products do not meet reasonable expectations. I expect other companies to keep faith with their obligations TO ME...as I do to others. IMO there is absolutely NO excuse for the way the OP and others were treated. That captain and other decision makers should be held accountable. The good salaries that professionals are paid are earned...not onthe many, many days of blue skies and smooth seas...but in the times of white knuckles, chaos and confusion.

 

There was serious failure here.

 

Every time I see an OP with a legitimate complaint attacked, I wonder why?

 

These cheerleaders are waving their pom-poms for poor service, unprofessional-ism, and shoddy emergency planning. It is to no one's benefit...not even their own.

 

Business thrive on happy satisfied customers. A broken necklace or an ash cloud is actually an OPPORTUNITY...a marketing moment to grow your business....to generate goodwill, loyalty...and many positive customer "stories"....the finest advertising of all.

 

Or...as in this case, it can be just the opposite.

 

Shame on RCCL.

 

Keep telling your story, OP...everywhere and every time you can.

[The Viking]

It would be the professional and humane thing to do!

 

How do you expect the cruiseline to assist? Not only are there a great amount of passengers who would need the assistance and NO ONE knew when the airspace would open up again.

What do you expect them to do? Pay for the guest's hotel stay until they could fly out or to reserve train tickets for them? One possibility I can see is to charter busses if any were available, to bus you to GB at your own cost.

[hazence]

1. "Many Brits asked at guest services if we would be afforded any assistance and were told it was not their problem."

 

First of all, this is an inexcusable tone to take with customers. Perhaps a desk might have been set up with airline,train, bus, Eurostar information. Free telephone service could have been provided. Some CREATIVE organization from a travel industry COMPANY who can certainly access information from within their industry. But what is truly repulsive ts the tone. That comes from the top down. It's inexcusable...poor training at the least.

 

 

 

2. "After phoning Miami and been told help would be given the ship staff refused to assist us. "

 

Outrageous. Why is Miami saying one thing, the ship staff another. Extremely poor message coordination. Unprofessional and unacceptable. Is RCCL incapable of putting together an emergency plan and then DELIVERING a consistent coherent message to its employees ON WHAT THAT PLAN IS?

 

 

3. "The 36 Brits arranged a meeting and 4 crew members were sent to tell us that we were displaying mutinous behavior and convening a riot!!! Honestly if you had seen the age group involved!! No help was given to people who had been at sea for days, had no 'live' information and were frightened about what lay ahead."

 

Let's hear the cheerleaders defend THIS approach to customers. What a poorly trained, poorly managed staff. WHO is the captain of this ship? Hos name should be on this thread. The "buck" stops with him.

 

 

 

4. " That evening they agreed to let us sail on a daily rate (with ' as small amount of tax') to pick up ferries in France and elsewhere. We were told we had until 7pm the next evening to decide as the ship would not be leaving until 9pm. We cancelled our Lisbon hotels deciding to avail of this. Next morning they put up the prices by 25% and were charging $164 taxes and fees. Disgraceful again!! "

 

That is GOUGING. That is taking advantage of customers in an emergency situation. That is one of the most offensive business practices imaginable. Corporations do not "sink" much lower than that.

 

 

5. "We were told to recheck in at 10 am and this was put back until most people got checking in at 12pm. After trying to argue the unfairness of increasing the cost when passengers were at their most vulnerable we were left with no option but to rebook. One diamond member was told by staff that if he did not rebook immediately he would call port side security to escort him off the ship."

 

This needs no further comment. Just copying and posting on every travel website everywhere.

 

 

6." The ship sailed that afternoon at 5pm (we were not informed of this and just by luck were on board) with 650 passengers on board, the captain said they had expected 1900 and 36 children. Lots of cabins were vacant and RCI had received full fare for all those who didn't turn up plus the extra for those who remained onboarrd. What a rip off!!! "

 

Yet RCCL HAD to raise the original price quoted in an emergency situation. They had to MILK the emergency. Pick the pocket of the stranded. Come on, cheerleaders...let's hear you praise RCCL for this.

 

 

7. "We were told to leave the ship at midday and were given no help with luggage or information on where the ferry terminal at Le Harve was located. 18 of us had to haul our luggage approximately 1 mile, 1 man was aged 71 and his 69 year old wife had been to the doctor 2 days before with pneumonia. We were then left to wait outside the terminal at the side of the road until we could book in at 5pm."

 

I'm speechless at this. I know many of you don't mind a paying for a week of cruising in a room with a broken toilet..but, really, there are some level of decency...of humanity...we do expect both from individuals and corporations.

 

 

 

8. Thompson cruises, the British line put their cruise guests with travel issue getting home to UK and Europe up in a 5 star hotel and provided representatives several times a day to update their customers on the travel situation. This puts RCI to shame.

A terrible time and a disgrace to cruising. I will never cruise with RCI again."

 

 

I repeat...to the OP...copy and post your experience EVERYWHERE on the Web you can. I will do the same for you.

 

Some websites may delete but...with diligence...your story will get out.

 

AS IT SHOULD.

[land lover]

OP, how disappointing and frustrating.....easy to read review...good with the terrible.

 

Hazence....how wonderful that you take such pride in your business and reputation, wish we had more business people like you in So CAL.

 

But, why should you and the OP post this everywhere?

Complaints need to go to the source.

[marci22]

 

Service and amenities will slip to the lowest level tolerated.

 

It's definitely a marketing plan that they seem to be using.

[marci22]

 

But, why should you and the OP post this everywhere?

Complaints need to go to the source.

 

Why should anyone post compliments, as well? Because people like you and me read them and it gives us another perspective on whether or not we want to purchase the product.

[land lover]

Mcgorr.... my advice would be to...to write an email to RCI

 

Briefly stating that you have written here...do you feel compensation is in order? or just want to sound off?

 

Make sure to state the purpose in the first or second sentence. As these people want to get your concern off their desk ASAP. Don't forget to include a phone number and time you can be reached, I would put a respond by date.

 

Good Luck..

[land lover]

Why should anyone post compliments, as well? Because people like you and me read them and it gives us another perspective on whether or not we want to purchase the product.

 

Point taken...but sometimes my perspective might be entirely different from another who was standing right next to me..and most of the time it is my DH.

 

I feel the OP has given an honest, balanced report.. but some of the circumstances were unprecedented...I was on a swine flu cruise that was diverted last year, talk about chaos on the ship, small peanuts in comparison to what the OP when through.

[NorbertsNiece]

How do you expect the cruiseline to assist? Not only are there a great amount of passengers who would need the assistance and NO ONE knew when the airspace would open up again.

What do you expect them to do? Pay for the guest's hotel stay until they could fly out or to reserve train tickets for them? One possibility I can see is to charter busses if any were available, to bus you to GB at your own cost.

 

Actually, yes.

If Celebrity can send out a brand new cruise ship to rescue standed Brits abroad someone should have had the guts to stand uop to the plate and help out.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Actually, yes.

If Celebrity can send out a brand new cruise ship to rescue standed Brits abroad someone should have had the guts to stand uop to the plate and help out.

 

 

I agree, look at the publicity Celebrity got for helping out, RCI could learn a lesson from them. It would be cheaper than the adverts on Tv they are putting out.;)

Im sorry to the OP they had a bad cruise, it seems to be getting popular these bad cruises .

[hazence]

RCCL spends a great deal on slick TV and magazine ads. That's part of doing business...a marketing expense.

 

Well, I don't know how the Ash Cloud Crisis was covered in the US since I was in London...but I will say ...it was a major story in all types of media everyday in Great Britain.

 

Suppose RCCL had just done...what they did...taken those passengers to the ferries. But in addition, they had waived any charge, used some of the rooms from people WHO BOOKED THEIR OWN TRAVEL and were therefore refused refunds. Suppose they had arranged for a bus for these passengers to the Eurostar....instead of dumping elderly customers to fend for themselves.

 

To me...that would have been a fabulous marketing opportunity..in addition to the decent, moral thing to do.

 

Suppose they had instructed staff to avail these customers with free phone service and POLITE customer service instead of threats and insults.

 

Then suppose they had had their PR people contact the media...to cover the story. Their fast response, professionalism, and genuine concern for individuals IN A CRISIS would be PRICELESS as a media campaign.

 

A great human interest story. Unforgettable.

 

Just as being gouged by a greedy cruiseline who has you at their mercy in a crisis is ALSO unforgettable.

 

As I say, to me , every broken necklace is a marketing opportunity. This event was an opportunity for RCCL to show its corporate "soul" so to speak...and they did (said with disgust) ...just as the OP describes.

 

But if even if they had looked a little deeper into what was BEST for RCCL...it would have been to spend their marketing bucks..not running their slick ads...but making a humanitarian statement of customer concern in a crisis. Just by taking care of these customers and others...and what a PR story THAT would have made!

 

Thompson got a billion dollars worth of free publicity and good will!

 

RCCL , as this story and others make the rounds...will have to deal with the long lasting stench of their corporate decisions as well.

 

Again, WHO was the captain?

 

Get your story out there, OP. Have a grandson put it on U-tube. Put it everywhere you can. Write to newspapers.

 

Customers CAN and should run "marketing campaigns" too.

 

That is the worth of Boards like this.

 

(Spread the praise broadly...when it applies as well, I might add)

[birdie16]

Thank you OP for taking the time to share your experience, I am sorry to hear it was not good.

 

We are Diamond on RCCL and have run into a couple of times when we wondered why? Our experience with RCCL has been very good, with the exception of a couple of times when we needed Customer Assistance and it was EXTREMELY POOR. This is an area RCCL needs to focus on repairing, JMOHO.

 

It is true...posting the truth when it is a little ugly can generate some horrible replies on this board. I will continue to post the truth, no matter how ugly it may be.

 

This being said, we have noticed when you book a "repositioning" cruise on RCCL, the service standards are not as high as on a regular cruise. We have decided to weigh the low price of a repostioning cruise (we fly free, so these cruises are more affordable to us) over a regular scheduled cruise. If the fare is not a HUGE savings, we will not cruise a repostioning cruise, or a cruise just before or after a dry dock.

 

Many of the problems the OP posted about the cruise, such as the food and availability were issues we have found on repostioning cruises. As for the Ash problem, sounds to me RCCL could have handled it a little better and they need to focus on a system wide, "What if" plan for disasters.

[joeyancho]

I have a particular reason for my frustration with the "cheerleaders": I own a retail boutique business.

 

If I sell you a piece of costume jewelry and it breaks, I don't need a video of how it happened to refund your money. I don't expect other customers of mine to confront you with my business difficulties or berate you because you don't understand capitalism. No one will lecture you on your responsibility to properly care for the jewelry I sell you.

 

You will get an apology and a full credit. Once, even 14 months later.

 

Foolish? That's not what our bottom line is telling us.

 

I KNOW you have many other choices. I want you happy. Sometimes, yes, that is not "fair" to me...but it's a dynamite recipe for success. We have gotten through the last years very, very well...with products anyone can "avoid" purchasing. Our custimers bring their friends.

 

I am so put off by the RCCL excuse makers on these threads. IMO you do RCCL and yourselves no favor. Service and amenities will slip to the lowest level tolerated. You are "enabling" a decline.

 

I make it a practice to speak up when service or products do not meet reasonable expectations. I expect other companies to keep faith with their obligations TO ME...as I do to others. IMO there is absolutely NO excuse for the way the OP and others were treated. That captain and other decision makers should be held accountable. The good salaries that professionals are paid are earned...not onthe many, many days of blue skies and smooth seas...but in the times of white knuckles, chaos and confusion.

 

There was serious failure here.

 

Every time I see an OP with a legitimate complaint attacked, I wonder why?

 

These cheerleaders are waving their pom-poms for poor service, unprofessional-ism, and shoddy emergency planning. It is to no one's benefit...not even their own.

 

Business thrive on happy satisfied customers. A broken necklace or an ash cloud is actually an OPPORTUNITY...a marketing moment to grow your business....to generate goodwill, loyalty...and many positive customer "stories"....the finest advertising of all.

 

Or...as in this case, it can be just the opposite.

 

Shame on RCCL.

 

Keep telling your story, OP...everywhere and every time you can.

 

Well said!!. I agree with every word. There are those who will defend RCCL even in the most absurd circumstances. It is as though your are criticizing their child.

[hazence]

Let me also add, that in a large corporation like RCCL, there are people being paid good salaries to deal with all types of customer situations, eventualities.

 

Someone at RCCL should have to answer for why these customers were simply told "That's not our problem." Was THAT the official RCCL response? "Don't help them. NOT OUT PROBLEM."

 

WHO made that decision? Who sent that message to staff?

 

Someone at RCCL made the decison as to what price should be quoted to these stranded customers. Someone THEN made the decison to raise that price when the customers were desperate, left with no alternatives. What well paid RCCL employee authorized the gouging?

 

Who is the captain that allows his staff to accuse elderly customers of "mutiny"...who indulges rudeness of this fashion. Who is responsible on that ship for training staff?

 

There needs to be accountability for this...as far UP as it goes.

[COMBOY]

There is a whole section in Cruisecritic on how to solve post cruise issues and how to deal with them:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=82

 

My advise is to write RCCL a letter describing your cruise experience. Try to keep your emotion out of it and be specific of "what you want from RCCL" if just to let them know what happened. I won't say you never plan on sailing with RCCL again even if that's your real preference. Who know want you "might" do in the future. Sent your letter to Guess/passenger relations. Don't expect a reply immediately. You should allow 4-6 weeks. Whatever the case, you should let RCCL know what happen and why you were dissatisfied. That's the only way things will improved or you will get any satisfaction. Good Luck.