Disappointed with RCI

[p5woody]

We recently cruised on the Grandeur of the seas on 2/12 out of New Orleans. We booked early and we were both very excited about being able to take a cruise without the kids (ages 6 and 9). We had grandparents fly in to watch the kids while we were away. We booked with RCI based on recommendations from family and friends.

 

I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but I was very disappointed with RCI’s service. I am wondering if these experiences are normal, if I am being over critical, or if cruising is just not for me?

 

1) The first thing that happened was RCI changed our port of call from the Grand Caymans to Key West one week before we were scheduled to leave and they said it was because of Hurricane damage. I felt they should have known about this well in advance and should have notified us early enough for us to make alternate shore excursion plans. I understand current weather conditions can change ports but the hurricanes were months ago and they should have notified us. RCI’s response was we can change anything we want when we want deal with it.

 

2) Based on recommendations on this website, I stopped by the purser’s desk to find out if my scheduled excursions were rescheduled. They said that they would probably change but wasn’t sure. They could not give me any information and I would have to stop by the shore excursions desk when it opened on Sunday.

 

3) On Sunday we stopped by the shore excursion desk and they could not tell us anything either. He said when we get our tickets if we have an issue he would then look into it. Our days and times at port had changed. Both the Purser’s desk and Shore excursions desk acted like we were bothering them.

 

4) Then we went to a shopping talk. During the presentation, they said that since we were in Cozumel during carnival, we would be staying later and that RCI had 2 locations we could watch the parade from and they would be serving drinks. So we went to the first location and it was closed, we then proceeded to the second location. When we got there we saw Alan the shopping guy on the second floor, so we asked how we get up there. He said we should watch the parade from the street. We crossed the street and found a nice location to watch the parade. We then saw the cruise director (Tom) and some of the other people from the cruise ship watching and partying from the second floor. We were wondering why we were not allowed up there. Maybe we misunderstood but we talked to other couples and saw others asking to join the party that were turned down as well.

 

5) Our waiter seemed friendly enough but he didn’t know our name and never went out of his way to get us anything. A few of us at our table tried talking to him the first couple of evenings and we tried to get a couple of extra things but he didn’t seem overly interested in small talk or getting us anything special.

 

6) This type of service continued right up to the point we left the ship. When we received our tags, we called to find out when our color tag would be called. They said they had no idea when it would be called. I find that very strange.

 

I was also disappointed in some of the other cruise members as well. I would wake up early (6:00 am) so I could sit on the upper deck and watch the sun rise. This is when I noticed people placing towels on chairs around the pool and then disappearing for hours. On the final day in the solarium, I walked around the pool at 8am and every chair had a towel on it and there were 10 people including me in the whole place and 5 of us were not using the chairs. I just found this amazing that people were so inconsiderate of others. One additional thing that drove me crazy was being pushed out of the way when browsing the specials they had each day in the shops.

 

I am thinking cruising is just not for me, but my friends that recommended RCI to us say we just had poor service compared to the cruises they have been on. What do you think?

[Jdover]

Did they really say" We can change anything we want when we want deal with it...?

Also, it is true, they have know idea when the next color tag will be called. It is all based on how quick the color in front of you got off and with immagration. Sorry yiu had a bad vacation.

[truffles]

Sorry you were disappointed in your Grandeur cruise. We have been on RCI at least 18 times and have enjoyed every one of them. We have been on Grandeur twice, the last time out of New Orleans last November. Our experience was very satisfactory both times.

 

In regard to the change in Grand Cayman, we did stop there on our November cruise. The damage from last fall's hurricane was quite extensive. One of the natives we talked to said she did not think they could ever get back to where they were before the hurricane. Because of the damage, the Cayman port authority limits the number of ships they will allow at one time. We did not know whether we would get there until shortly before our departure. There were five ships in port when we were there, and all of the passengers were in town at one time. It was a mess. They don't have the capacity to accommodate that many people on the excursions.

 

Every once in a while we have had wait staff in the dining room that seemed "cool" and did not interact with the guests a lot. We noticed that our waiters, and in particular the assistant waiter, had more tables than usual on our last cruise. Consequently, thay were more rushed than usual; however, our service was still good.

 

I hope you will give RCI another chance. We like the Radiance class ships the best, and have been on Radiance twice. We will depart on Jewel this Saturday.

[Erie Dave]

Sorry to say, I think you listened to some on these boards too much. There is a lot of negativity around here recently. They give you advice, tell you what to expect, and what to get worked up about. You went on your trip, and instead of being happy and excited, sadly, you just saw all the negative things some of the posters here go on and on about.

My first cruise was on the Grandeur and to this day I still have a special feeling about that one. We went back on the Grandeur 2 years later and it was every bit as good as the first time.

It is too late now, but some one should have told you not to pay too much attention to what is posted here. It is your vacation and it is sad that you were dissapointed with it.

I wonder how much better it would have been if you had not read about "chair hogs", asking for extras, wasting time at the pursers desk........try again, but with an open mind if you can. If not, know this; cruising is what you make of it, not what others tell you to experience.

Better luck next time..

[GaryWT]

Hi, sorry you did not have a good time, it is true that cruising is not for everyone but I think you may need to cruise 1 more time to justify that.

 

It is too bad that the port changes could not be posted earlier but they may of been hoping that enough could have been fixed and did not to cancel too early.

 

It seems funny that the waiter was as you described although I can believe it, I do not believe it is the norm. Our first cruise the waiter drove us crazy trying to please us and although he was great, we now tell our waiters the first night to relax and have fun with us or we will not be happy.

 

The upstair party could have been Crown and Anchor members only and those up there probably had an invitation.

 

The excurtion people should have been more help and as for the color tags, they should have been able to tell you the order they would be called but as for the time, that is a tough call.

 

Better luck next time.

[cruisegirl29]

Hi p5woody,

 

We are leaving on the Grandeur this sat 2/26/05. This will be our 10th cruise & 4th with RCCL. I'm sorry to hear that your experience aboard the Grandeur was disappointing.

 

I know your frustration with the port change. I will be going to Key West instead of Grand Cayman too. I booked only 4 weeks ago & they said nothing about the Grand Cayman issue. From what RCCL has told me is that the Grand Cayman Port Authority decides based on a lottery system which ships can stop there on each day. RCCL said that GC port authority notifies RCCL 3 days prior to sailing. I wonder how true that really is considering we have never been on the calendar that the GC Port Auth. has listed. We have been on Key West's online calendar though. It's not that big of a deal to me if we go to KW or GC. Been to both several time & can have a good time in either place.

 

We hardly ever do a shore exc. & if we decide to do one we book it outside of the cruiseline. So I won't have to worry about pre purchased tickets.

 

We also don't go to the shopping talks either. So I probably would miss out on additional info.

 

Chair Hogs-they are everywhere! Out of 9 cruises this is the usual problem. I'm not getting up at 6am & saving a chair. If I get up by 10 & don't have a chair, I always come up with one...might not be the best location but hey I'm on a cruise "who cares"...but for those who save the chairs an NEVER sit on them.....boo hoo on you! Sometimes I see people remove their towels & sit on the chairs. Also have noticed that the crew will also remove towels & free up chairs if there isn't any personal belongings on it!

 

What I would suggest is that you write a letter to RCCL headquarters letting them know how unhappy you are about this cruise. I have done that with Carnival once & it really paid off. Next cruise we were upgraded from inside bottom of the bottom to cat. 11-suite. It was awesome! I received a response from them within 2 months of sending my letter. They really do care what us cruisers think!!! Also use names.....cruise director "tom"...etc......

 

Don't give up on cruising!!!

Sue

 

Oh...if you go again...ask for white tags....your first off the ship by 8/9am!!!

[joeyancho]

First of all if you read the boards you should have known that some cruises do not go to Grand Cayman due to limited capacity as a result of the hurricane. Also it is easy to check if you are going to GC by going to http://www.caymanport.com. Also if you want something special at dinner the person to ask is the head waiter. If your waiter was not friendly you should have asked the head waiter for a different seating location. Don't just sit there and brood. If the seats at the pool were not being used all you have to do is ask the attendant and he will clear some of the seats for you. Once again ask for what you want and you will get it. The pursers desk has nothing to do with the excursions desk. They know nothing about you tour. Also no one can tell you what time your color tags will be called for disembarkation. The timing is contingent upon the immigration and customs people. I think you copped an attitude and kept it for the whole cruise. You did not say anything about the food, the room, the entertainment, the ship or anything else. Next time go to Dorney Park.

[dc-snoopy]

We recently cruised on the Grandeur of the seas on 2/12 out of New Orleans. We booked early and we were both very excited about being able to take a cruise without the kids (ages 6 and 9). We had grandparents fly in to watch the kids while we were away. We booked with RCI based on recommendations from family and friends.

 

I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but I was very disappointed with RCI’s service. I am wondering if these experiences are normal, if I am being over critical, or if cruising is just not for me?

 

A little of each, unfortunately. I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience. I'll try to respond to each point and hopefully you'll be able to make up your mind whether to try this form of vacationing again. I can tell you that in our only slightly more experienced way (only 2 cruises to date), we have had much better luck and a much better experience. I hope you'll try cruising again as DW and I think that it is a grand form of vacationing.

 

 

1) The first thing that happened was RCI changed our port of call from the Grand Caymans to Key West one week before we were scheduled to leave and they said it was because of Hurricane damage. I felt they should have known about this well in advance and should have notified us early enough for us to make alternate shore excursion plans. I understand current weather conditions can change ports but the hurricanes were months ago and they should have notified us. RCI’s response was we can change anything we want when we want deal with it.

 

Well, unfortunately the person at the purser's desk was correct. Since the hurricanes, Grand Cayman has severely changed the way they "do business" For the first several months (until about mid-to-late-November) they were not allowing *ANY* cruise ships to anchor. The damage was so extensive that businesses were having trouble keeping up with local commerce let alone tourist commerce and they were rebuilding. Since early December, they are allowing a limited number of ships to anchor each day. It is something like 8000 pax that they will allow. And they call the shots as to which ships that have the stop on their itinerary can stop there. There are some ships that are on the list of ships that can stop that find out a day or two in advance that they will not be permitted to tender to the island and hence cannot stop there. We were there the week of 2/6-2/13 and of some 10 ships that had the stop on their itinerary, we were one of 5 (3 larger ships and 2 medium sized ships) that were there. The day before in Costa Maya, we talked with some people on another ship that were supposed to have stopped there the day before and they had only had 2 days notice that they were not going to stop there. The damage was still pretty clear around the area. Much had been repaired, but there is still a lot to go. Also the businesses were under repairs and did not have the inventory for huge crowds.

 

That said, it does not excuse the very brusque way the purser's attendant responded to you. It certainly does not equate with the way I've been treated when there and I personally would have taken exception to the attitude had it been directed at me, so I can undestand feeling put-off by the experience. I personally would have asked to speak to a guest relations manager/supervisor.

 

2) Based on recommendations on this website, I stopped by the purser’s desk to find out if my scheduled excursions were rescheduled. They said that they would probably change but wasn’t sure. They could not give me any information and I would have to stop by the shore excursions desk when it opened on Sunday.

 

3) On Sunday we stopped by the shore excursion desk and they could not tell us anything either. He said when we get our tickets if we have an issue he would then look into it. Our days and times at port had changed. Both the Purser’s desk and Shore excursions desk acted like we were bothering them.

 

This is very bad service. We did not have that experience when dealing with the Excursions desk either (although when at the purser's desk, I have heard them speaking that way to others). Just unprofessional and again, I would have asked to speak to a manager/supervisor or to have one call me in my stateroom later.

 

On our cruise, we booked our excursions on the first day of the cruise, received tickets in hand and the next day, when I had an issue, they dealt with it on the spot. The only thing I can think of is that they didn't have the pre-scheduled tickets in hand and the inexperienced person didn't know how to deal with problems without the tickets in hand. They have a notebook that they are supposed to take notes about problems when tickets are not available and to write notes and cabin numbers and to contact the pax when the tickets are available.

 

4) Then we went to a shopping talk. During the presentation, they said that since we were in Cozumel during carnival, we would be staying later and that RCI had 2 locations we could watch the parade from and they would be serving drinks. So we went to the first location and it was closed, we then proceeded to the second location. When we got there we saw Alan the shopping guy on the second floor, so we asked how we get up there. He said we should watch the parade from the street. We crossed the street and found a nice location to watch the parade. We then saw the cruise director (Tom) and some of the other people from the cruise ship watching and partying from the second floor. We were wondering why we were not allowed up there. Maybe we misunderstood but we talked to other couples and saw others asking to join the party that were turned down as well.

 

There are some obnoxious traits that DW and I have found. I don't know if this is all cruise lines or just RCI (since we have only sailed on RCI), but it seems as if the shopping expert and/or RCI have some sort of kickback scheme going on. The shopping expert has given us information that we feel is blatently false about the "deals" and such. They continually claim that you'll get good deals from Diamonds International and we have found them to be the shadiest vendors. They are extremely pushy, they don't give straight answers and they try to pressure you into purchasing overpriced (relative to other vendors) merchandise that you don't really want. We've looked at items there and gone to another shopping district farther from port and found significantly better deals. The shopping expert even tried to convince the group DW was in to not even visit other vendors since they would never give you the kind of deal you want or could get and that you shouldn't waste your time, etc.

 

Regarding the "perks", I'm wondering if the second floor "party" was reserved from C&A members (or even diamond/platinum members) and they just didn't want to tell you. In any event, the way the whole shopping expert and local deals thing works is pretty slimy to me. In my limited experience, you need to avoid the shopping expert as they are rather dishonest. IMHO, this is a definite drawback to the cruise experience and not just bad luck.

 

5) Our waiter seemed friendly enough but he didn’t know our name and never went out of his way to get us anything. A few of us at our table tried talking to him the first couple of evenings and we tried to get a couple of extra things but he didn’t seem overly interested in small talk or getting us anything special.

 

Hmmm...again, of three wait staff teams, this didn't fit any of them. When we sailed in June 2001, I proposed to DW on the cruise (2nd night of 7) and our head waiter, waiter, and asst waiter all spent the rest of the cruise doing little things to make the whole week magical for us. Two weeks ago, we went with a group and our waiter not only chatted with us each night, but chatted with me in the WJ at breakfast when he saw me. Since we were with a large group, one night we shuffled tables and we sat at the next table. The waiter and asst waiter at that table were so nice to us that night and the following three nights, we couldn't believe it. They would come back to our table next door and chat with us. The asst waiter at the next table was from Chile and when I asked him, he gave me some great tips about the Chilean wines. He even remembered to check back with me the following night to make sure I had enjoyed the wine that he had recommended, etc. Maybe I've lucked out, but from all I've heard, the service I got was more the norm. I've heard others who have had experiences like yours, but they seemed to have been few and farther between. Although only about half of the wait staff learned our names, they always recognized us by face and made an effort to be friendly and remember details about us and to follow-up on those details. Most of them were pleased to tell us a little about their families or chat with us when they had the time. (our waiter from Romania was a real joker and sometimes it was like being served with a side of stand-up comedy, but we loved it and he got great tips from our whole table)

6) This type of service continued right up to the point we left the ship. When we received our tags, we called to find out when our color tag would be called. They said they had no idea when it would be called. I find that very strange.

 

This is a problem that can't really be resolved. Every cruise is different and they assign the color codes by definitions of people's follow-up travel plans. Since the number of people in each color group can vary quite a bit and the amount of time it takes for the groups to exit the ship and pass through customs can vary quite a bit, it is very difficult for anyone to be able to guage when it might be called. They can give you a guess but it would be pretty random. There's not much they can do about this.

 

I was also disappointed in some of the other cruise members as well. I would wake up early (6:00 am) so I could sit on the upper deck and watch the sun rise. This is when I noticed people placing towels on chairs around the pool and then disappearing for hours. On the final day in the solarium, I walked around the pool at 8am and every chair had a towel on it and there were 10 people including me in the whole place and 5 of us were not using the chairs. I just found this amazing that people were so inconsiderate of others. One additional thing that drove me crazy was being pushed out of the way when browsing the specials they had each day in the shops.

 

Chair hogs are one of the true banes of cruising. There are signs that say that saving chairs is not allowed. The only thing that you can do is wait 30+ minutes and if the person has not returned, place the items on the chair in a nice nearby section of deck where it won't get wet and then enjoy the seat. It's unpleasant, especially when the hog comes back and confronts you, but you just have to point to the sign telling them that they are wrong and if they continue to harass you, call a crewmember over to help you.

 

I am thinking cruising is just not for me, but my friends that recommended RCI to us say we just had poor service compared to the cruises they have been on. What do you think?

 

Well some of what you experienced were drawbacks to cruising, but IMO a lot of what you experienced were poor service by employees that should have been reported to the manager/supervisor of Guest Relations to have them deal with it. I am a very considerate cruiser, but I don't handle poor and rude service. When I've complained to the managers (the only time on the last cruise was over an incident with very poor service from room service), I've gotten treated very well. I got an apology from the person at Guest Services. She apologized and personally forwarded the message to the manager of Room Service and later called me personally to explain what she did, what the manager of Room Service said and to apologize again. The Manager of Room Service called me herself and apologized and made far more recompense for me than I had expected and I felt they handled the situation well...much better than the server at the time.

 

Good luck. I do hope that you get enough answers to help determine if you might try cruising again. My apologies that this is so long, but I wanted to give you the benefit of my experiences.

[TahoeBob]

We recently cruised on the Grandeur of the seas on 2/12 out of New Orleans. We booked early and we were both very excited about being able to take a cruise without the kids (ages 6 and 9). We had grandparents fly in to watch the kids while we were away. We booked with RCI based on recommendations from family and friends.

 

I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but I was very disappointed with RCI’s service. I am wondering if these experiences are normal, if I am being over critical, or if cruising is just not for me?

 

1) The first thing that happened was RCI changed our port of call from the Grand Caymans to Key West one week before we were scheduled to leave and they said it was because of Hurricane damage. I felt they should have known about this well in advance and should have notified us early enough for us to make alternate shore excursion plans. I understand current weather conditions can change ports but the hurricanes were months ago and they should have notified us. RCI’s response was we can change anything we want when we want deal with it.

 

2) Based on recommendations on this website, I stopped by the purser’s desk to find out if my scheduled excursions were rescheduled. They said that they would probably change but wasn’t sure. They could not give me any information and I would have to stop by the shore excursions desk when it opened on Sunday.

 

3) On Sunday we stopped by the shore excursion desk and they could not tell us anything either. He said when we get our tickets if we have an issue he would then look into it. Our days and times at port had changed. Both the Purser’s desk and Shore excursions desk acted like we were bothering them.

 

4) Then we went to a shopping talk. During the presentation, they said that since we were in Cozumel during carnival, we would be staying later and that RCI had 2 locations we could watch the parade from and they would be serving drinks. So we went to the first location and it was closed, we then proceeded to the second location. When we got there we saw Alan the shopping guy on the second floor, so we asked how we get up there. He said we should watch the parade from the street. We crossed the street and found a nice location to watch the parade. We then saw the cruise director (Tom) and some of the other people from the cruise ship watching and partying from the second floor. We were wondering why we were not allowed up there. Maybe we misunderstood but we talked to other couples and saw others asking to join the party that were turned down as well.

 

5) Our waiter seemed friendly enough but he didn’t know our name and never went out of his way to get us anything. A few of us at our table tried talking to him the first couple of evenings and we tried to get a couple of extra things but he didn’t seem overly interested in small talk or getting us anything special.

 

6) This type of service continued right up to the point we left the ship. When we received our tags, we called to find out when our color tag would be called. They said they had no idea when it would be called. I find that very strange.

 

I was also disappointed in some of the other cruise members as well. I would wake up early (6:00 am) so I could sit on the upper deck and watch the sun rise. This is when I noticed people placing towels on chairs around the pool and then disappearing for hours. On the final day in the solarium, I walked around the pool at 8am and every chair had a towel on it and there were 10 people including me in the whole place and 5 of us were not using the chairs. I just found this amazing that people were so inconsiderate of others. One additional thing that drove me crazy was being pushed out of the way when browsing the specials they had each day in the shops.

 

I am thinking cruising is just not for me, but my friends that recommended RCI to us say we just had poor service compared to the cruises they have been on. What do you think?

 

"What do I think" I would like to see what you liked about the cruise. All you listed is the bad things that happened. Did you like the food, the shows, games, midnight buffet, pool partys, dancing, the bars, the art auctions, sitting in the hot tub, ect ect...there are many different things to do on a cruise. only you can tell if a cruise is for you, the bottem line is did you have a good time..when you go on a land vacation do you find things wrong with that vacation or do you like that type of vacation more.

I would rather go to Disneyland than a cruise and I never find anything wrong there, but my wife on the other hand will go there with me but she finds little things wrong there all the time.

I would just make a list and put all the good and bad things about your cruise, I have a feeling your list will tell you that you really don't like cruises that much.

 

"I am thinking cruising is just not for me, but my friends that recommended RCI to us say we just had poor service compared to the cruises they have been on."

 

 

your last statement tell me much, your friends while well meaning really don't know what you think.

 

I have a good friend who really hates Disneyland and everything about it, he has been there once in his life and said he never will go back. If I told him to go back and he would have a good time this time well I would just be fooling myself. I think some people who really love to cruise sometimes have there judgement clouded when it comes to people who do not like to cruise, and just cannot understand why everyone does not like it as much.

 

Bob P.

[bUU]

All mainstream consumer-facing businesses provide comparable quality for the price, some excelling in some aspects while others excel in other aspects. What seems to govern satisfaction, more than anything else, is how well a customer's expectations match what the business has actually promised to provide. More often than not in mainstream consumer-facing business, dissatisfaction stems from customers' expectations crafted more by misunderstanding of word-of-mouth, or misconstruing the anecdotal superlative experiences of others as descriptions of typical experience.

 

For example, based solely on what RCI promises, passengers should recognize that due to the nature of safe operation of cruise ships, changes to itineraries are possible, and no compensation or other consideration to the passenger is appropriate when itineraries change. Passengers are purchasing a cruise, not conveyance to a set of ports. The scheduled ports-of-call are in no way part of the promise of service made by the cruise line, but rather an expression of what can be considered a typical set of ports for that cruise over the years.

 

Expectations are not only a matter of what is or isn't promised, but also stem from what is appropriate to expect in a mainstream consumer-facing business, where low cost is of paramount concern to most customers. It isn't reasonable to expect every employee to know every other employee's job. I feel that it is reasonable to expect that you have to speak to someone who's job it is to know about what it is you're asking about, and reasonable to expect that some offices are only open limited hours.

 

So, while many customers expect speedy answers to their questions from whoever they ask, regardless of what they're asking about, they furthermore expect perfect answers, both correct and pleasing. Many customers will be dissatisfied with either demurral to the appropriate employee (unless that person happens to be standing there) or an answer that isn't precisely what the customer wanted to hear. I've seen many cases where when faced with imperfect answers, customers escalate their rhetoric, actually forcing the kind of discourtesy they eventually decry. The best an employee can do in such cases is to cut the discussion off: "I'm sorry but I cannot give you any further information." This is indeed interpreted by the displeased customer as discourtesy, but in reality is the only possible answer which is both courteous and accurate, given the circumstances.

 

So, in a nutshell, nothing in this thread is really surprising. I read such discussions fully in light of a clear understanding of the realities of mainstream consumer-facing customer service. The more customers choose products and services on price, and the more customers choose to read what they wish into what they're actually being promised, the more this sort of disconnect occurs. Caveat emptor!

[p5woody]

Thanks for the input.

I'm not saying I had a bad cruise just that it did not meet my expectations. I really wanted to enjoy this cruise and I did but towards the end of the cruise I found myself wondering why I wasn't having as much fun as I thought I would. I did not get angry over anything and forgot about it a couple of minutes after it happened. Things just seemed to build as the week went along. It actually started bothering me more after I got home and was telling people about my experience and they were surprised because they knew how much we were looking forward to cruising.

 

I enjoyed each port (Key West, Cozumel, and Costa Maya). We did something different at each port and I totally enjoyed each one. In Key West we shopped and then ended up at Irish Kevin's bar where we enjoyed the drinks and live music. In Cozumel we did the Hideaway power boats and the carnival parade, both were a blast. In Costa Maya, we went to Kohunlich Mayan ruins. I enjoyed this the most of all and tipped the quide very well because I thought he was outstanding.

 

I enjoyed the food but did not think it was outstanding. It was good, I enjoyed the food in the main dining room more then the windjammer. Some of the food was kind of bland for my taste but I understand they are cooking for thousands, not just me. I was tired of eating by the end of the cruise which isn't really a bad thing.

 

We went to every night time show and they were all very good. The comedians were funny but I got tired of the musicals. The musicals were good, I am just not a big fan of that type of entertainment. My wife enjoyed them.

 

I enjoyed the hot tubs, the games were not that exciting for me, the Casino was fun to try my luck but I am not a big gambler so I did not spend allot of time there. I enjoyed slow dancing with my wife but Disco dancing is not my thing. The last 2 nights I enjoyed having a drink with a couple we met from South Africa after dinner.

 

I did not really enjoy my days at sea. I had a hard time finding things to keep me busy. I do not enjoy sitting by the pool and I am not big on reading. I went to the art auction but was not prepared to buy anything so it got boring pretty quick. The belly flop contest and other things like that doesn't entertain me.

 

Hopefully this help those of you that wanted to know more.

[richs52]

Thanks for the input.

I'm not saying I had a bad cruise just that it did not meet my expectations. I really wanted to enjoy this cruise and I did but towards the end of the cruise I found myself wondering why I wasn't having as much fun as I thought I would. I did not get angry over anything and forgot about it a couple of minutes after it happened. Things just seemed to build as the week went along. It actually started bothering me more after I got home and was telling people about my experience and they were surprised because they knew how much we were looking forward to cruising.

 

I enjoyed each port (Key West, Cozumel, and Costa Maya). We did something different at each port and I totally enjoyed each one. In Key West we shopped and then ended up at Irish Kevin's bar where we enjoyed the drinks and live music. In Cozumel we did the Hideaway power boats and the carnival parade, both were a blast. In Costa Maya, we went to Kohunlich Mayan ruins. I enjoyed this the most of all and tipped the quide very well because I thought he was outstanding.

 

I enjoyed the food but did not think it was outstanding. It was good, I enjoyed the food in the main dining room more then the windjammer. Some of the food was kind of bland for my taste but I understand they are cooking for thousands, not just me. I was tired of eating by the end of the cruise which isn't really a bad thing.

 

We went to every night time show and they were all very good. The comedians were funny but I got tired of the musicals. The musicals were good, I am just not a big fan of that type of entertainment. My wife enjoyed them.

 

I enjoyed the hot tubs, the games were not that exciting for me, the Casino was fun to try my luck but I am not a big gambler so I did not spend allot of time there. I enjoyed slow dancing with my wife but Disco dancing is not my thing. The last 2 nights I enjoyed having a drink with a couple we met from South Africa after dinner.

 

I did not really enjoy my days at sea. I had a hard time finding things to keep me busy. I do not enjoy sitting by the pool and I am not big on reading. I went to the art auction but was not prepared to buy anything so it got boring pretty quick. The belly flop contest and other things like that doesn't entertain me.

 

Hopefully this help those of you that wanted to know more.

 

If you do not like all of the things you listed then maybe you are right...maybe cruising isn't for you.

[babs275]

Some thoughts I had:

 

I think maybe your expectations were a bit elevated based on your friends recommendations. When people love cruising - they REALLY love it and sometimes overlook the small inconvienences that come with being in the same local with 2000 other people. It wasn't a problem for them so they didn't think to even mention it to you.

 

Also people have an expectation of being really pampered on a cruise - I think you get more of that on the upscale lines. RCI is more mass market. The waitstaff - just like in land based restaurants - you can have good servers and better servers. In my experience, to have a waiter that remembers my name and has drinks and whatnot waiting for me before I ask is not considered by me to be the standard - it is in my view "above the call of duty".

 

The party in Cozumel - I would guess that the staff you saw was actually "off duty" and wanted a break from dealing with the 2000+ passengers. Think about it - they are "on" 24/7 on a cruiseship. I know the crew takes their days off on the port days - this may have been one of those times. They deserve a break too.

 

As for the "shopping expert" - this I believe is not even an employee of the cruiseline - it is a positioned manned and maintained by a marketing outfit for the vendors that they push onshore. I've always taken what they say with a grain of salt.

 

If you want to try cruising again - I would suggest maybe getting a group together (maybe some of the friends you were talking with) and trying it again. I hated cruising the first time I did it 10 years ago - then went with a group 2 years ago and fell in love with it.

 

On the other hand - it's entirely possible that cruising is not for you - what kind of vacation/activities have you enjoyed in the past?

[stretch]

Once again, the narrow minded RCI loyalists have to jump up and basically call the OP a liar. I'm certain that the OP doesn't give a da*n what the Granduer was like 10 or 12 years ago when you cruised on it, or "my waiter went out of his/her way to make sure everything on MY cruise was perfect" responses. The fact remains that RCI has been cutting corners and going down hill for years and that trend will continue as long as they can get away with it, and judging by how many loyalists they have they can continue to serve chicken s**t instead chicken salad for a long time to come.:eek:

Face the facts, RCI is changing, for the worse and I certainly hope all you loyalists enjoy your vacations with your heads in the sand.

BTW, to the Bicmeister - see you haven't lost your touch , I feel a nap comming on fast! :D

Stretch

[ckrobyn]

I have to tell you bicker, that one just bored the heck out of me, lol.

 

LMAO :D

[jlbkty]

I think "Stretch" needs a hug. Someone else will have to volunteer though.

[celtic selke]

Once again, the narrow minded RCI loyalists have to jump up and basically call the OP a liar. I'm certain that the OP doesn't give a da*n what the Granduer was like 10 or 12 years ago when you cruised on it, or "my waiter went out of his/her way to make sure everything on MY cruise was perfect" responses. The fact remains that RCI has been cutting corners and going down hill for years and that trend will continue as long as they can get away with it, and judging by how many loyalists they have they can continue to serve chicken s**t instead chicken salad for a long time to come.:eek:

Face the facts, RCI is changing, for the worse and I certainly hope all you loyalists enjoy your vacations with your heads in the sand.

 

BTW, to the Bicmeister - see you haven't lost your touch , I feel a nap comming on fast! :D

 

Stretch

 

Did you really read the whole Bick thing?? Wow! I am impressed.

I read the first sentence and my eyes glazed over.

Next thing I knew my head had hit the keyboard. Ow!!!

 

celtic

[SharleneinTexas]

Once again, the narrow minded RCI loyalists have to jump up and basically call the OP a liar. I'm certain that the OP doesn't give a da*n what the Granduer was like 10 or 12 years ago when you cruised on it, or "my waiter went out of his/her way to make sure everything on MY cruise was perfect" responses. The fact remains that RCI has been cutting corners and going down hill for years and that trend will continue as long as they can get away with it, and judging by how many loyalists they have they can continue to serve chicken s**t instead chicken salad for a long time to come.:eek:

Face the facts, RCI is changing, for the worse and I certainly hope all you loyalists enjoy your vacations with your heads in the sand.

BTW, to the Bicmeister - see you haven't lost your touch , I feel a nap comming on fast! :D

Stretch

 

Aren't you a lil ray of sunshine??? I guess they had to drag you kicking and screaming on your last 3 cruises?? :D

maybe people continue to sail with RCI because they have positive experiences..........wow........what a unique concept that everyone doesn't feel the same way you do, huh? ;)

 

Sharlene

[xgdgirl]

Aren't you a lil ray of sunshine??? I guess they had to drag you kicking and screaming on your last 3 cruises??

maybe people continue to sail with RCI because they have positive experiences..........wow........what a unique concept that everyone doesn't feel the same way you do, huh? ;)

 

Sharlene

 

And then again, maybe some of us do feel pretty much the same. The poster in question isn't the only one saying this. Look at the other threads asking the same question. Don't slam the messenger. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[KamloopsCruisers]

The contributory issue with client-based service delivery organizations is that aid and benefits are dispensed by staff members with unstable and unreliable degrees of competency and proficiency, thus the consumer is at the mercy of individuals who may or may not have said client’s welfare at the vanguard of their desires. Consequently, service dilemmas can and do arise which may influence the consumer to experience discontentment with the product conveyed, resultant in disparagement and deprecation.

 

(How'd I do??)

 

LeeAnne :) :)

 

You did great, even Bicker should be impressed.:D

[barbgazz]

Stop it LeeAnne, you've been bickerized and will need an exorcism. You are scaring me. LOL.

[stretch]

Aren't you a lil ray of sunshine??? I guess they had to drag you kicking and screaming on your last 3 cruises?? :D

maybe people continue to sail with RCI because they have positive experiences..........wow........what a unique concept that everyone doesn't feel the same way you do, huh? ;)

 

Sharlene

 

Kicking and screaming, no. Actually I went on all three with high expectations and the first two were actually great, the last one is the one that literally left we with a bad taste in my mouth. Quality, service and attitude had taken a nosedive. As for the next cruise, it won't be RCI, that's for sure.

Stretch

[Guest OBAYbee]

The contributory issue with client-based service delivery organizations is that aid and benefits are dispensed by staff members with unstable and unreliable degrees of competency and proficiency, thus the consumer is at the mercy of individuals who may or may not have said client’s welfare at the vanguard of their desires. Consequently, service dilemmas can and do arise which may influence the consumer to experience discontentment with the product conveyed, resultant in disparagement and deprecation.

 

(How'd I do??)

 

LeeAnne :) :)

 

 

You did good! LOL I love it!

p.s. at first glance I thought that was defecation instead of deprecation LOL

[MrPete]

Talk above your audience, and you will find no audience.

 

Most learn this early in their adulthood.

 

Some people never learn.

[MrPete]

I do hope you realize I was just having a little fun?

 

Of course! I'm referring to the post that made me pass right by.