Going round in circles with TS Isaac and the Monarch

[Familygoboston]

Interesting to note the difference between how Allure Pax were treated vs Monarch pax.

[wieslaw]

That might be the most important part of a necessary plane or car trip

but I expect quite a bit more from a cruise vacation. Expecting to come back and be safe is a given but I am paying for a vacation so I set the bar a little higher than just getting back safe.

 

When the cruise ship is not facing a huge storm, I would agree with you.... but that cruise did not have too many options ... so the bar had to be lowered a lot....... and getting back safe is and would be very important to me.

And even when the seas are calm it is always very important to me to get back safe or arrive wherever I am going safe ......... most of the guests on Concordia probably would agree with me.

[sleepless]

Interesting to note the difference between how Allure Pax were treated vs Monarch pax.

 

The passengers on the Allure did not get to come home on time. They were stranded out to sea for an additional two days. Those boarding the Allure today, Tuesday, are getting their cruise cut short by two days. It is my understanding the the Monarch did not spend additional days at sea. I fail to see why they passengers on the Allure and the Monarch should be treated the same. While both affected by the hurricane, their out comes were totally different.

[floridagirl0310]

Stop your whinning !

 

Thanks for your constructive comments!!!! The fact is if you would read the post is that they dealt with a bad situation badly. I have missed ports and sailed in hurricane season before.

 

RCCL did not deal with the situation and I thought that this is an appropriate forum to bring this up in.

 

Obviously I was wrong with comments such as yours.

[floridagirl0310]

How did I know there would be a thread or shall I say threads about how awful it was?:rolleyes:

 

I also am just off the MN this morning........

 

It is in your cruise contract.......stuff happens........In this case,Mother nature was in charge of our itinerary,not RCCL......

 

Did you happen to notice the rough seas last night and all that wind????? That is why we were late........a whooping 2 hours,maybe......guess you were lucky you werent on the AL or MJ.....That really would had ruined your trip.

 

We ARE getting back port charges.......

 

What foreign port do you suggest we could had gone to?? Couldn't go south,could we?? Think Bermuda would be a stretch to get to heading north......and besides you can not just say HELLO Bermuda,we are here......let us in.......it's not like parking your car at the mall.

 

Kudos to the crew/staff for making lemonade out of lemons....I would NOT want to be working guest relations this weekend.Some people just think about themselves and not the safety issues involved.....The capt made the call about Nassau...........Any ship that was there left! No ships there that day because of the weather....

 

Reminds me of when I worked for the airlines at JFK...people get really mad when the flights get delayed because of fog........You rather risk your life than be safe?

 

I'm sorry,but this really bugs me..........sorry it wasn't your dream cruise,but I know we sure had a fantastic time.

 

I never said it was my dream cruise and never said it was awful. The thread was started to get some dialogue for how the situation was handled, which was badly.

[PH8]

The fact is if you would read the post is that they dealt with a bad situation badly.

That is your opinion....and maybe some others share it,but on the other hand,myself and others think they made the best of it.........safety first!

[tahqa]

Thanks for your constructive comments!!!! The fact is if you would read the post is that they dealt with a bad situation badly. I have missed ports and sailed in hurricane season before.

 

RCCL did not deal with the situation and I thought that this is an appropriate forum to bring this up in.

 

Obviously I was wrong with comments such as yours.

 

Other reports have said that they handled the situation as well as could be expected on the Monarch. :confused:

 

 

But I, at least, appreciate hearing other people's sides of thing and I'm sure that there is room for improvement (there always is! :D).

[PH8]

I never said it was my dream cruise and never said it was awful. The thread was started to get some dialogue for how the situation was handled, which was badly.

Ok,so what exactly was handled so badly?? The fact,they couldn't cruise far out enough to find sun??:confused: Did you happen to see the radar?? There was rain all over and we were lucky we didnt have rain for the whole weekend.......maybe not so much sun,but not rain for all of it........

 

Handled badly that they were cautious coming back in Monday morning.:confused: The seas were pretty rough that last night......we could hear the ship hitting waves when we went to bed..

 

 

Im just confused...........you say it wasn't awful?? But you still say something like this "They could have done more to make it into a cruise".......so did you like it or not?? And what do you mean make it into a cruise?? To me,being on a ship on the water is a cruise..:confused:

[waterbug123]

 

So, we are now back and everybody is safe but we have a few questions.

 

1) Why are port taxes not credited back, RCCL have not incurred the fees as we cruised to nowhere

 

That's been answered in other threads; it appears you ARE getting them back. Although since Coco Cay is a private island, I'm not sure that there are port taxes to pay/get back.

 

2) Why did RCCL not announce the cancellation of Nassau until the last minute, the decision had been made hours earlier and the course had already been changed.

 

How do you know the decision had been made hours earlier? Maybe they changed course to avoid a small cell of bad weather but were still thinking Nassau might be doable later on. In the end, what does it matter when the announced it? The announcement timing doesn't change the result.

 

3) Why did the ship not set sail to another port or head north. At least there would have been some sunshine.

 

Where exactly do you think you should have gone? The Bahamas are rather isolated from the Caribbean, so it's not like you just sail for a couple of hours and hit another island. And has already been pointed out, port calls have to be coordinated with local port authorities. Maybe the next closest ports already had ships scheduled and couldn't handle any additional ones. Maybe they had their own bad weather, Isaac-related or otherwise. Maybe they didn't have the port staff to handle additional ships. It's not as simple as "gee, the line at McDonalds is kinda long, let's go to Burger King instead."

 

4) How can a cruise to nowhere arrive into port late!!!! We could have broken off our loop 4 hours earlier and been in with plenty of time to spare.

 

Again, could have been any number of things. Other ships may have been delayed leaving, and Monarch had to wait til their was an available berth. Maybe the seas were too rough, and Monarch had to wait it out a little longer. Maybe the port was overwhelmed and understaffed; I know at least one ship scheduled to sail from Tampa had to sail from PC instead, and have their pax bussed over.

 

The bottom line is TS Isaac is not RCCL's fault but the way the matter was dealt with seems poor. They could have done more to make it into a cruise and the fact they didn't just tell us the truth makes you feel like they just wanted your money.

 

I would love to hear other peoples take on this.

 

You're disappointed that your vacation wasn't what you hoped it would be. I get that. But you seem to have no idea what's involved in scheduling port calls. Weather is unavoidable, and it can create a chain reaction of problems. Sounds to me like RC did a pretty good job, under the circumstances. Ports and good weather are never guaranteed, and when you sail during hurricane season, there's even more risk and I'll bet you know that, but you chose this cruise anyway for whatever reasons. Maybe those reasons are valid, but it doesn't change the fact that you knowingly sailed at risky time.

[toxicfairy]

You know, I keep hearing this same phrase throughout the boards and it really annoys me. Most sailings in the 6-month period designated as hurricane season are not "dirt cheap". In fact, the cheapest sailings I have seen have been non-hurricane season between December and March.Sure you may find some deals in May or October/early November, but there is nothing dirt cheap about a summer sailing on the Allure (which were were supposed to be on yesterday). I wish people would refrain from using this phrase when it is not necessarily true.

Thank you for a second I thought I was going crazy! I personally can only cruise in late June to mid August as I work for a school and can not take time off during the school year (at least not several days in a row) . The prices are not dirt cheap they are actually PEAK ! Since alot of people with chidren can also ony cruise during the summer months the cruise companies take full advantage of this! If I could cruise in Feb., March or April I could pay HALF of what I pay!! Right now I have a crusie on Oasis booked for next August and I am paying 4434.43 for a junior suite for 2 . And another 2521. for a CPV for our 2 DD's . so it does not feel "dirt cheap" to me.

I realize you are taking your chances and we are willing to take that chance as other wise we would not be able to cruise...but DIRT CHEAP???

[ksuds]

Thank you for a second I thought I was going crazy! I personally can only cruise in late June to mid August as I work for a school and can not take time off during the school year (at least not several days in a row) . The prices are not dirt cheap they are actually PEAK ! Since alot of people with chidren can also ony cruise during the summer months the cruise companies take full advantage of this! If I could cruise in Feb., March or April I could pay HALF of what I pay!! Right now I have a crusie on Oasis booked for next August and I am paying 4434.43 for a junior suite for 2 . And another 2521. for a CPV for our 2 DD's . so it does not feel "dirt cheap" to me.

I realize you are taking your chances and we are willing to take that chance as other wise we would not be able to cruise...but DIRT CHEAP???

 

 

I think the dirt cheap comment is for the group of us Florida cruisers who are able to watch the prices and book last minute. Due to the storm brewing out there, RCI dropped the price to 109.00 for inside and 119.00 for oceanview. Trust me, I know a lot of people payed top dollar back when they booked this cruise. All travel is a gamble of some sort.

 

I've also booked airfair and landed up missing connecting flights due to weather. In which I had to sleep at the airport in hopes to get another flight in the AM. I can't complain to the airline, nor can I complain to the terminal. Weather is something that can't be controlled and safety needs to come first.

 

When on a vacation, you never know what could happen. But you need to make the best of it, and find the positives. Number 1 positive is I'm on vacation and not at work. That's fine with me.

[huladancerdog]

That is your opinion....and maybe some others share it,but on the other hand,myself and others think they made the best of it.........safety first!

 

I started to read this thread in its entirety, but finally decided that it was pretty much more of the same, and that was people defending the Monarch's Capt. and crew on how well they turned a bad situation into a fun time. They kept the ship safe and the passengers happy. We had a great time meeting new friends and partying with old ones. Nothing that happened was the fault of RCCL. I think they did the best they could with a bad situation and I said so on my comment card.

[abodom68]

Monarch 8/24. This was my 8th cruise I believe with RCCL and while I can't quite put my finger on it, I have to say this is one of the funnest times I've had onboard! Not sure if it was the staff or the passengers or a combo of both but for me all the stars were aligned this cruise and it was fantastic!

[floridagirl0310]

Obviously in this forum I am in the minority. I find it strange that the Disney Dream which sailed 30 minutes after us made it to Castaway Cay on Saturday and Nassau on Monday and Back to Castaway Cay on Tuesday.

 

Carnival seem to be able to make ports also.

 

Perhaps I should just choose a real cruise line and dump RCCL as everybody here thinks their actions are acceptable.

 

Happy Cruising

[ryano]

.

 

Perhaps I should just choose a real cruise line and dump RCCL as everybody here thinks their actions are acceptable.

 

 

Bye

[ksuds]

Obviously in this forum I am in the minority. I find it strange that the Disney Dream which sailed 30 minutes after us made it to Castaway Cay on Saturday and Nassau on Monday and Back to Castaway Cay on Tuesday.

 

Carnival seem to be able to make ports also.

 

Perhaps I should just choose a real cruise line and dump RCCL as everybody here thinks their actions are acceptable.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Each company has the right to determine what they determine is safe for the passengers and protect the investment of their ship.

 

If you feel Disney and Carnival are the better lines for you,that would be your choice. But if you were on the Carnival ship that the passenger just jumped off of, and you landed up missing the port of Key West, would you write how bad they are too? At least with RCI, it is in act of god. Carnival missed their port because one passenger chose to jump.

 

I guess my point is, issues go with ALL cruise lines regardless of how much you pay. There is never a guarantee that you will make your port with any line.

[saltwaterhappy]

What is left to be said? We were on the cruise on Monarch, and it was great. I am a Floridian, so a bit of cloudy weather and beautiful rain - well, it was just nice to see nature so beautiful in all her elements. The staff was wonderful, and the extra activities were great fun. I love days at sea, so this was a real treat. A lot of people have mixed feelings about Nassau; I love Nassau; but you have to experience more than just the shopping district to really experience and appreciate the beautiful Bahamas. I was sad to miss Nassau, but a day at sea... how relaxing! On the first day, there was a woman sitting in the VCL complaining about the captain not going to Nassau, that we were no where near the bad weather. I thought it was pretty funny - she must have missed the updates that there was a hurricane down there! We did get off the ship two hours later than usual, but it was nice to have a leisurely breakfast the last day instead of the normal rush. Also interesting to see the ship come into PC in the daylight; we usually miss that approach since it's so early. All in all, a great cruise; very little motion, plenty of fun, great ship and staff.

[PH8]

Obviously in this forum I am in the minority. I find it strange that the Disney Dream which sailed 30 minutes after us made it to Castaway Cay on Saturday and Nassau on Monday and Back to Castaway Cay on Tuesday.

 

Carnival seem to be able to make ports also.

 

Perhaps I should just choose a real cruise line and dump RCCL as everybody here thinks their actions are acceptable.

 

Happy Cruising

Disney docks at their island...........RCCL tenders...the seas were way too rough..

 

48 hours made a difference.............Disney got to Nassau on MONDAY.......No ships were at Nassau on Saturday.

[tahqa]

Disney docks at their island...........RCCL tenders...the seas were way too rough..

 

48 hours made a difference.............Disney got to Nassau on MONDAY.......No ships were at Nassau on Saturday.

 

My one time on the Disney Wonder the winds were too strong to dock at Castaway Cay. Other than that it was a bright and beautiful day! ;)

 

 

So even with places where the ship docks there are times when it just isn't possible. Last December Navigator (I think) missed Falmouth because of high winds and the side of the dock she was scheduled for. We were on Liberty and were able to get in because we were on the other side of the pier.

 

 

Anyways, the captain and the home office don't make decisions to skip ports lightly. I'd rather that they err on the side of caution. It's not like the captain wants to be stuck at sea with a bunch of grumpy passengers. :rolleyes:

[alfaeric]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, here, and others have pointed out that there are very, very few options as optional changes.

 

But are there any other Bahama port that can handle cruise ships? Especially Monarch/Majesty size.

 

Say, it's not weather related- just some problem with the port in Nassau- is there any city in the Bahamas that has a port that would work?

 

(note- this is a real quesiton- I'm not familiar with any other Bahama location than Nassau or Coco Cay.)

[PH8]

My one time on the Disney Wonder the winds were too strong to dock at Castaway Cay. Other than that it was a bright and beautiful day! ;)

 

 

So even with places where the ship docks there are times when it just isn't possible. Last December Navigator (I think) missed Falmouth because of high winds and the side of the dock she was scheduled for. We were on Liberty and were able to get in because we were on the other side of the pier.

 

 

Anyways, the captain and the home office don't make decisions to skip ports lightly. I'd rather that they err on the side of caution. It's not like the captain wants to be stuck at sea with a bunch of grumpy passengers. :rolleyes:

Happened to me at Costa Maya too......on the JW...we tried docking several times.....each time they finally docked,we had to move because the waves were crashing up over the dock........finally got a spot and we docked...........spent the day and came back to the ship........we had MOVED again!:eek: Turns out the spot we had was the one Disney usually uses and that captain insisted we move:rolleyes:

 

Not trying to beat a dead horse, here, and others have pointed out that there are very, very few options as optional changes.

 

But are there any other Bahama port that can handle cruise ships? Especially Monarch/Majesty size.

 

Say, it's not weather related- just some problem with the port in Nassau- is there any city in the Bahamas that has a port that would work?

 

(note- this is a real quesiton- I'm not familiar with any other Bahama location than Nassau or Coco Cay.)

I guess there is always Freeport if need be.but of course,the bad weather was all over the Bahamas this past weekend.Usually if we miss CocoCay,we just float around or if on a itinerary where we go to Nassau first,sometimes over night there..

[tahqa]

I guess there is always Freeport if need be.but of course,the bad weather was all over the Bahamas this past weekend.Usually if we miss CocoCay,we just float around or if on a itinerary where we go to Nassau first,sometimes over night there..

 

There is Freeport, but I get the feeling that it's not really an option for RCI. On one of my Monarch cruises we had missed Coco Cay (go figure :D) and during a captain Q&A session Capt Karrin was asked about going back to Nassau or going to Freeport. She said that Monarch was not a race horse and couldn't get to Nassau and back in the time remaining. As to Freeport she basically said that it wasn't going to happen and didn't clarify any further.

 

 

So maybe RCI doesn't have the necessary agreements to go to Freeport in place. But regardless, it just wasn't a viable option over the weekend.

[alfaeric]

Interesting. one thing good to know- for a short Bahamas cruise, options are limited to none if there are issues at stops. Which we would be ok with...

 

But good to know.

[MCOcruiser]

Was on the "cruise to No where" also. Howevere, we were on the Monarch Aug 3-6. Beautiful weather!! We decided to do it again because we had so much fun and the Aug 24-27 cruise was dirt cheap! A little upset that there was no Coco Cay...but, we had a great time anyway! We meet some great people, had a great time with just our group and relaxed! When you sail during this time of the year..you deal with Mother Nature! Marc and the cruise staff did an excellent job in providing a good time. If you want to whine about it...don't sail during hurricane season!

[PH8]

Sounds like most of us made lemonade out of lemons:)