Very unpleasant experience on EXPLORER OF THE SEAS

[LetsGetWet!]

I'm sorry that you didn't have the cruising experience that you expected and that the rest of us look forward to on RC. Just a heads-up: please know that it is unlikely that you will get much sympathy from a board where 99% of the regular readers/posters are "loyal to royal."

It sounds like each incident could have been easily forgotten, but when you add them up, they made for an unpleasant experience. I've cruised multiple times with RC and there has never been any occurrence that I've wanted to complain about. I guess if I think hard enough, I could make a short list. But, we've had so many positive experiences that these far outweigh any frustrating incident. Keep in mind that the crew are from various countries with different customs. For example, we were talking candidly with a bartender one night. She told us that the crew was given a talk about body language. She said to us, "Body language! What is that? In my country, there is no such thing." Maybe so.

Regarding your second observation: putting used cups next to clean ones was a health concern. The staff tries very hard to control the spread of infectious disease on the ship and what you did didn't help to control it. And who knows...maybe the staff had a stressful meeting the day before about this very topic, so it was fresh and raw on the mind of that staff member.

I hope that you enjoy your future cruise experiences on whichever cruise line fits your expectations.

 

Very nicely put.

Agreed - with one exception.

 

I have to take exception to the portion I bolded. As an example, I've never been on HAL, but I'd be every bit as skeptical of someone who joined just to post a "vent" about a laundry list of minor issues on a HAL cruise also. Its not an issue of blind "loyal to royal." As a couple have pointed out, at least one of the issues wasn't even their own, it was something he/she observed happening to a different passenger! And a couple of the others were due to he/she clearly doing unsanitary things and being called on it - on a ship where staff is extremely sensitive at the moment due to the recent noro episode. We'll see if the OP sticks around as a contributor for more than just this thread - my guess is no...

Edited March 6, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[renee1222]

Just to let you know, Save the Waves is much bigger than just picking up empty glasses off the pool deck. The crew of each ship separates EVERY piece of trash from ALL trash cans by hand, pulling out paper, glass, aluminum, batteries, etc. Basically, they sort everything in order to recycle as much trash as possible. Think about that the next time you throw anything away. A crew member (with gloves, of course) will have to handle that piece of trash. Also, all biodegradable food trash is collected and processed somehow before being released to "feed the fish" when the ship is at least 12 miles from any shore.

 

I understand that seeing dirty dishes on the pool deck may be unappealing, but I have always seen the crew making an effort to clear things away in a reasonable time, but lunch time on sea days is an example of when some items may get easily overlooked. Of course, if dishes are tucked up underneath chairs, the crew will not disturb passengers and/or they might not see them quickly. The pool decks are also completely cleaned/hosed down every evening.

 

As far as the water bottle goes, it is very easy to get a cup of water from the WJ or other bar and pour it into the bottle. Or request a cup of ice if that is all you want. The soda cups have a drinking spout that you remove before filling the cup, so the area where your mouth was does not come into contact with the machine. The same reason why you always remove your lid/straw before getting a refill in a restaurant. No, it's not 100% germ-proof, but it cuts down on a lot!

[crookedhalo]

One day people will realise that the place called Coco Cay actually does NOT exist, it is just the cruise lines way of stating they will call at a private Island, and then keep us all on the ship for an extra day :D

 

 

 

.

Nope, it's there. I'm like 4 for 5.

 

To the OP please remember that English is a second (third, fourth or more) language for most of the staff, so their way of speaking may sound stiff or jerky, which could be interpreted as rude.

[cruisenfever]

Thanks! It just doesn't make sense to me because people with the the beverage packages can refill the cups that they get, isn't that the same thing?

 

Not exactly. The special beverage cup provided has a lid from which you drink from and which is removed when filling so there is no contamination between where your mouth was to where it is being filled.

 

You can't say that about filling personal water bottles from the machines in the WJ. You are really supposed to fill a plastic cup and then transfer that to your water bottle.

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks! It just doesn't make sense to me because people with the the beverage packages can refill the cups that they get, isn't that the same thing?

 

When filling a water bottle or type container, the mouthpiece can touch the spout of the dispenser, because you need it close in order to fill without spilling, thus germs can be spread. When filling a cup or glass, I would say, the majority of them don't let the top of their cup or glass touch the spout.

 

What I do is. Get a glass and fill it with ice and put that in my water bottle and then fill it up with water and pour it in the water bottle and repeat as many times as needed.

[kayehall]

None of the incidents you mentioned are deal breakers. Think how fortunate you are to have been on that cruise in the first place!!!

[Big_G]

One day people will realise that the place called Coco Cay actually does NOT exist, it is just the cruise lines way of stating they will call at a private Island, and then keep us all on the ship for an extra day :D

.

 

HA! Big_G here on cruise critic is 0 for 4 as far as making it to Coco Cay! :eek:

 

That's been my theory ChipLondon. I finally gave up. Fool me four times, shame on me. :D

[MommaBear55]

I'm sorry. Never should a staff member treat a guest rudely. It's the stuff you put up with when you work with the public. Even if the guest were wrong there is a way to convey your point in a polite manner. Sorry, guess I was just raised differently.

 

I agree! I think there is always a way to convey a negative message in a positive way. The number of minor incidents can definitely add up to a bigger negative impression.

 

As far as Coco Cay, I think nothing extra is warranted. What they do in compensation is more on board activities. I would happy to be able to eat in the MDR for lunch!

[north29]

And that is the DJ response, I do believe they(RC) might have a pre approved/copyrighted songs to play????? Or he just did not wants to find the song.

Anyway I have been rudely spoken to a couple of time, I might have deserved it, but I do follow all rules except dress code for the MDR LOL. However I just forgot it and went on,

All people are human(yes even ships staff have bad days), your expectations, as others have said, might be too hight or you are overly sensitive.

[kitt82078]

I just dont understand why the spelling of someone's name incorrectly AT ANOTHER TABLE is even worth listing as a reason your trip was horrible.

[Cruzn Fool]

I would like to hear what some folks from the Explorer Noro cruise in January think about this "unpleasant experience". I bet they would have been happy to switch places. I guess it's all just perspective.

[Fat Paul]

We have cruised on RCI enough to be diamond. In that time we have had awesome service mostly. Twice we did not think that the concierge did a great job, good but not great. One room steward seemed less than happy to be away from his family. I felt kinda sad for him. Other than those examples the staff on the ship have gone way above and beyond the call of duty. When on vacation or life in general it pays to be nice and give grace to others.

[mskaufman]

Sure why not. Miss a port and give 4000 people free drinks all day. Are you serious?!?!?

Sounds like you definitely need to move on to another cruiseline.

 

It has happened. I was on a cruise where we missed a port due to a hurricane. They opened up the bar for selected drinks for two hours.

[yogimax]

We'll be on Explorer in two weeks and I was curious to see your post.

 

Bottom Line - sounds like you have a very thin skin - Enjoy Carnival!

[thelasttime]

Hmmm, maybe I am being unreasonable and my expectations were too high. Note, my itemized list above is an excerption from the note I am sending RC. This is why it is so detailed. Appreciate posters' kind replies (errr, some of them?).

 

I have no doubt that RC will continue to have amazing voyages including the Explorer of the Seas. I am not complaining just to complain, I am also acknowledging things that were excellent in my note to them, for example:

 

* crew being excellent about encouraging guests to use hand sanitizers.

* Stateroom attendant, Cornelius Da Souza was A++

* Our dinner server, Ning was also A+++++

* I liked that bartenders poured a generous amount of alcohol

* The check-in process was very smooth and easy

* Entertainers: Leigh Xuereb and Andre Miller were A++++

[robtulipe]

5. The people sitting at our dinner table were celebrating a birthday one night and the wait staff failed to bring out a birthday cake that was pre-arranged by her mother, instead, it came out 2-days later with her name misspelled.

 

I just dont understand why the spelling of someone's name incorrectly AT ANOTHER TABLE is even worth listing as a reason your trip was horrible.

 

It was special order birthday cake at their table not at another one and it came two days late.;)

 

6. After taking advantage of the ship’s WIFI service for just 5-short minutes I was shocked to see that I was billed more than $20, thankfully, an individual in guest services helped me by reversing the overages.

 

Likely you did not log out properly so when that happens it takes online time for the system to detect your inactivity and log you out and you did get it rectified.

Edited March 6, 2014 by robtulipe

[LetsGetWet!]

Hmmm, maybe I am being unreasonable and my expectations were too high. Note, my itemized list above is an excerption from the note I am sending RC. This is why it is so detailed. Appreciate posters' kind replies (errr, some of them?).

 

I have no doubt that RC will continue to have amazing voyages including the Explorer of the Seas. I am not complaining just to complain, I am also acknowledging things that were excellent in my note to them, for example:

 

* crew being excellent about encouraging guests to use hand sanitizers.

* Stateroom attendant, Cornelius Da Souza was A++

* Our dinner server, Ning was also A+++++

* I liked that bartenders poured a generous amount of alcohol

* The check-in process was very smooth and easy

* Entertainers: Leigh Xuereb and Andre Miller were A++++

Well, I will say that post was a lot more reasonable sounding than your opening post. When you pick a name like "thelasttime", title your first post "very unpleasant experience on Explorer of the Seas" and then open your post with:

Hi everyone, I just went on my third cruise, 2nd time with RC and had a horrible experience. I was shocked and would love to see if someone here in the community was on the same trip and had a similar experience. I am pretty confident that this is going to be my last time working with Royal Caribbean

It does make it sound like those relatively minor items ruined the entire cruise - and made you promise to never cruise with the line again!

[Cruzn Fool]

Hmmm, maybe I am being unreasonable and my expectations were too high. Note, my itemized list above is an excerption from the note I am sending RC. This is why it is so detailed. Appreciate posters' kind replies (errr, some of them?).

 

I have no doubt that RC will continue to have amazing voyages including the Explorer of the Seas. I am not complaining just to complain, I am also acknowledging things that were excellent in my note to them, for example:

 

* crew being excellent about encouraging guests to use hand sanitizers.

* Stateroom attendant, Cornelius Da Souza was A++

* Our dinner server, Ning was also A+++++

* I liked that bartenders poured a generous amount of alcohol

* The check-in process was very smooth and easy

* Entertainers: Leigh Xuereb and Andre Miller were A++++

 

So for me, things like excellent staterrom attendants, waiters and bartenders really make my cruise. Some great entertainment, easy check in and crew that is concerned with my health, especially after they just had a pretty major noro outbreak would also make me very satisfied with a cruise line.

 

Guess I, along with most others who have commented, just can't comprehend why, in your mind, the few minor negatives you have far outweigh those positive experiences. But I am not in your shoes and I am sure you feel validated in your thoughts which is all that matters.

 

But from an outsiders perspective, which is what you will have in the person you submitt your letter to at RCCL, don't you think they are going to see all of those major positives and feel you are just being overly sensitive to a few minor issues- two of which didn't even happen to you directy? I'm not sure your complaints will be taken very seriously based on what you have stated here. Just my opinion, for what it is worth to you, to consider when you re-read the letter you are going to submit to RCCL.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

And those are the reasons you had a bad cruise and won't cruise RC again?

 

 

***

[houstoncruisers2001]

My DW always has the DJ roll his eyes at her song request. Sometimes they still play the song. sometimes they don't. Most DJ's are full of themselves anyway. I'd have an issue with the bad language though.

 

Nothing that the OP mentioned would fall under the "very unpleasant" banner for me though.

 

I mean, who doesn't know not to re-fill a water bottle, especially a third time cruiser?

[BillOh]

Here are just some of the incidents:

 

 

 

3. Another day in THE WINDJAMMER I was using the ice machine in order to fill up my gym water bottle, a staff member snapped at me and said to stop what I was doing and pointed at a sign that said I wasn’t allowed to refill water bottles. I was completely in the wrong here as I didn’t see the sign but her delivery was terrible and very rude.

 

 

I'm going to go ahead and talk about this one, and I'll get flamed, but I don't care. This one is a "rule for rules sake" and the people that enforce the rule don't even understand why its a rule. Originally someone saw a passenger refill their water bottle at such a water or ice machine and the idiot put the neck of the bottle they drank out of right up against the dispensing machine. As a result something that had touched their mouth was touching a surface that would come in contact with the cups of others. A definite no-no.

 

What you were doing was probably ok, but there is that darned sign. If your gym water bottle was several inches below the dispnser and ice fell down into it, this isn't a problem. Now had you gotten one of their cups, dispensed the ice into that cup and poured that info your gym bottle nobody would have said anything. The only difference is now there is one more cup for them to clean.

[Cindy]

Hi everyone, I just went on my third cruise, 2nd time with RC and had a horrible experience. I was shocked and would love to see if someone here in the community was on the same trip and had a similar experience. I am pretty confident that this is going to be my last time working with Royal Caribbean

 

Explorer of the Seas // Embarkation Date: 02/23/14 // Port of Calls: Port Canaveral, Nassau, Cococay

 

 

It sounds to me like you had some annoyances, but the only "incident" that I would have been concerned about (or probably even noticed) was the DJ's comment. If the things you listed were enough to erase all the superlatives you also listed in a later post and make the experience "horrible" then you certainly need to seek out a different cruise line, or perhaps a different kind of vacation.

[mo&fran]

We were on the first 7 day cruise on Explorer for this year. When we left Nassau the Captain annouced there was a front coming and didn't know whether we would ba able to call there, but he was going to have a look. When we got there, it was pretty choppy, but decided to stay.

While we were preparing to leave, there was a tender loading the food right under our balcony, an was bouncing around pretty good.

We got to the island, and the weather was pretty nice.

Then DW went to use the facility, and when she got back, said we had better leave. As soon as I got up and looked to the southwest, there was a black cloud headed our way. There were not a lot of people on the tender at that point.

WE got back to the ship and went to our room. The Captain came on the PA and said there was a squall haded towards us with strongwinds and lightening, telling everyone to get off of the exposed decks.

The tenders started coming back full of passengers and the wind became considerably stronger. There was one tender that was trying to unload when the worst of the squall hit. The tender turned around and went back to the island to wait for the weather to calm down.

Shortly after, the Captain announced that tendering was being stopped, a they had seen a 55mph wind gust.

Once the weather calmed, they started to return all passengers to the ship.

And the tender that had taken the food ashore returned and the food on board that was to be lunch was strewn all over the place. Boxes of supplies were wet and falling apart. Apparently, they never unloaded the tender.

So, even if you do get there, it can turn into an issue to get back.

The last tender to return had just the crew that had gone ashore.

Edited March 6, 2014 by mo&fran

[cello56]

Sorry that happened. I've done RCCL 3 times and never had such an experience. It seems that some ships are better than others, no one's ever complained about such rudeness on FOS for example (that I know of.)

 

Ironically, after 17 cruises on RCI, the ONLY crew member who has EVER been rude to me was the Hotel Director on Freedom of the Seas! M.R. was rude to me in Vintages at the Captains' cocktail party for suite guests of all places!

[fletch1027]

 

Everyone going on any cruise knows there is always a chance of missing a port of call due to conditions beyond the Captain's control (weather). This is especially true of a tender port. Why on Earth would a cruise line open the bar for free or hand people money for missing a port of call that was beyond the cruise lines control? You had a sea day with activities and food instead of a beach day with food. Sure, it sucks to miss an anticipated port of call, but it happens, on every cruise line, all the time.

 

I agree with what you said, but Coco Cay has the highest "miss rate" that I have seen. This is unscientific based only on reading CC posts. Personally, I am 0 for 1 on cruises scheduled for there.

 

In the spirit of full disclosure, it would be good for RCI to publish a percent missed rate each month along with the weather in their ports of call section. Highly doubtful they would ever do this though...

 

 

 

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