How come rooms not ready?

[jasbo49]

I've read a few pages of this thread and am surprised at the defensiveness and "snarkasm" of many posters. Is this common on the Royal Caribbean forum? It reminds me of a nasty dress-code spitting match on the HAL boards.

 

The OP's original proposal was a valid one. Who would want to stumble around the ship and buffet with a carryon full of cameras and prescriptions and wine bottles rather than drop it off in a cabin? But IMO he/she would be wise to quit trying to refute every point made by his detractors. That's what turns a discussion into an ugly spectacle.

 

Jim

[travelgoddess1]

When the Quantum starts sailing, the rooms are supposed to be ready when we board. All passengers will go to their room on boarding as this is where our Sea pass cards will be located. For our sailing coming up, the boarding starts at 10:30am.

 

Perhaps whatever method they will be using for the Quantum will be rolled out to all ships in the fleet and then you will be able to drop your things in the room before heading to the pool or the windjammer.

 

 

:)

Mary

 

Thanks for this information, Mary, I was unaware of the change for Quantum. Sorry if it's already been mentioned, but what is the rationale for the change? How does one get onboard the ship without a Seapass card? :confused: :)

 

I have to agree with you.....on your approach, which is very similar to ours. We get to ship usually by 11am; on board usually by 11:30am. With us are two small carry-ons (one is mine and one is hubby's), enough to have bathing suit and other small afternoon needs (music player, book, pool needs, camera, meds). We have lunch in WJ, and then head to pool deck. Swim and enjoy the sun (we are not drinkers).....I love watching the later cruisers arriving and their expressions -- It is almost like we have been on vacation for days, and they are just joining us. We head to cabin a little before Muster Drill, then after Muster we are fully ready for SAIL AWAY.

 

No headaches in the WJ lugging around oversized carry ons, like most people do.

 

We like to board the ship early. Boarding day is also day 1 of the cruise, so we like to start the cruise as early as possible. But it doesn't bother us at all that we have our carryons with us. We plan our activities accordingly (mostly people watching from some strategic point while enjoying an adult beverage), and after 1pm, we drop off our bags in the cabin and then grab a bite to eat. Most of the food venues empty out at 1pm, so it is good timing for us. When we are b2b, it is no problem to access our cabin before 1pm, after the Immigration process.

[PhoneGoddess]

In defense of Princess .. we have cruised with them 3 times .. boarded between 10:30 and 11am .. and went immediately to our cabin .. which was clean and spotless each time.

 

 

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This has been my experience as well every time that I have sailed Princess.

 

As far as robes not being in the room when you board, that's because they are being laundered. I have always gotten my robe by dinner time on the first day on all of my Princess cruises.

[bouhunter]

I've read a few pages of this thread and am surprised at the defensiveness and "snarkasm" of many posters. Is this common on the Royal Caribbean forum? It reminds me of a nasty dress-code spitting match on the HAL boards.

 

The OP's original proposal was a valid one. Who would want to stumble around the ship and buffet with a carryon full of cameras and prescriptions and wine bottles rather than drop it off in a cabin? But IMO he/she would be wise to quit trying to refute every point made by his detractors. That's what turns a discussion into an ugly spectacle.

 

Jim

 

It would appear the OP is trying to set a record for the number of individual posts in a thread.......:rolleyes:

[rockdoctor]

I might as well add my 2cents to this thread. In a dozen cruises on various cruiselines, if we had a full suite, we were escorted through the closed doors marked "rooms not ready" and left with a bottle of bubbly or we went to the pool for an announcement to be made or our rooms were ready and we left our carry ons in a completely ready room. Never seen a partly prepared stateroom. Always ready on Princess and HAL. Never ready on Celebrity. Curious.

[CRUZBUDS]

HAL also had the policy of all rooms ready at 11:30. not sure if they still do.

 

We are Platinum on Carnival and get the FTTF (Faster to the Fun) perk of rooms ready upon boarding and seriously expedited luggage delivery. We were in our cabin by 11:30 and had all of our bags by 12:15. DW was in heaven - completely unpacked by 1:00.

 

We wish Royal and Celebrity would add that perk to their loyalty programs. If we weren't Platinum we would happily pay the $50 per cabin that Carnival charges for it. FTTF is tightly controlled -- they only release as many as they can handle - they take account of the number of Platinum and Diamond members. (Royal equivalent Diamond and Diamond +) They sell out immediately.

[cruzincurt]

HAL also had the policy of all rooms ready at 11:30. not sure if they still do.

 

We are Platinum on Carnival and get the FTTF (Faster to the Fun) perk of rooms ready upon boarding and seriously expedited luggage delivery. We were in our cabin by 11:30 and had all of our bags by 12:15. DW was in heaven - completely unpacked by 1:00.

 

We wish Royal and Celebrity would add that perk to their loyalty programs. If we weren't Platinum we would happily pay the $50 per cabin that Carnival charges for it. FTTF is tightly controlled -- they only release as many as they can handle - they take account of the number of Platinum and Diamond members. (Royal equivalent Diamond and Diamond +) They sell out immediately.

 

The FTTF is hilarious. Last cruise on Carnival, everyone was jumping up and down about the FTTFs being sold out. We arrived at the terminal at 11:00 and were on the ship within 15 minutes, but had to wait until 1:00...no big deal...no FTTF, thus saved $50.

 

Personally, I don't need my luggage 30 minutes after I board and the ship won't leave without me. Amazing how they come up with these extra profit items.

Edited October 3, 2014 by cruzincurt

[time4u2go]

The FTTF is hilarious. Last cruise on Carnival, everyone was jumping up and down about the FTTFs being sold out. We arrived at the terminal at 11:00 and were on the ship within 15 minutes, but had to wait until 1:00...no big deal...no FTTF, thus saved $50.

 

Personally, I don't need my luggage 30 minutes after I board and the ship won't leave without me. Amazing how they come up with these extra profit items.

Actually FTTF includes more than just the ability to have your room ready when you board and getting your luggage earlier.

Edited October 3, 2014 by time4u2go

[biomedbob]

We agree.......the FTTF is a great perk. Used it in July and wish we'll have it next week on RCCL.

[magicolor_girl]

Very interesting indeed...So wonder if that means all the cabin doors will be wide open...:confused:

 

I just had that thought too. What if someone goes in the wrong cabin, puts their stuff away, and grabs the cards without paying attention? I would hope there's a plan in place that would make such mistakes unlikely.

[time4u2go]

I just had that thought too. What if someone goes in the wrong cabin, puts their stuff away, and grabs the cards without paying attention? I would hope there's a plan in place that would make such mistakes unlikely.

The doors will supposedly be closed, with the card being attached to the outside. Of course that doesn't stop one from also taking someone else's card and buying a few drinks with it! :D

[magicolor_girl]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people complaining about getting into their cabins early are the same ones who are the last to depart the ship.

 

To be clear, none of us are "complaining" about getting into cabins earlier, simply pointing out it would be nice to drop bags then explore. Further, reading through this thread, I'm left to wonder when RCCL changed the time to leave the room. I thought you had to vacate by 8:30 to a public space so that's what I have done every cruise since the first one. Off to breakfast by 7:30 so that I can return to my cabin, brush my teeth, grab my stuff and head to a lounge to await my departure group.

Edited October 3, 2014 by magicolor_girl

[John&LaLa]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned cabin availability is 1:30 on some ships now. Maybe it's just Port Canaveral

 

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[mustangjoe]

After following this for 9 pages, I have decided to pop some corn and pull up a recliner.

[Bailey & Sophie]

I agree with this statement.

 

And you are entitled to your opinion that you prefer having use of the cabin until 930 on departure day. I think on departure day most people just want to grab breakfast and get off and onto their final destinations as efficiently as possible.

 

Since I am generally out of the room right around 8AM I'd have no problem if Royal said 8AM it is, get out; go eat, go sit in the centrum, go sit on deck, but out of the room; provided the tradeoff were rooms ready at boarding. That's my personal opinion. I have mine, you have yours, neither of us is wrong. Just our personal preferences. :cool:

Oh for crypes' sake. We're talking about a stinking 2 hours here.

If you prefer to vacate by 8 am or so, go for it. I prefer not to.

Your 2 hours on the front is my 2 hours on the back.

Get over yourself.

[cruzincurt]

The doors will supposedly be closed, with the card being attached to the outside. Of course that doesn't stop one from also taking someone else's card and buying a few drinks with it! :D

How can they "bing" you onboard if the card is at the cabin? (I just love that sound):)

[time4u2go]

How can they "bing" you onboard if the card is at the cabin? (I just love that sound):)

Set Sail form.

[magicolor_girl]

Get over yourself.

 

You probably should too. Your opinion and preference is no more valid than the OP's.

 

We all want what we want and quite obviously we're not all going to get it. It doesn't make any of us wrong, just different, so there's no need to be rude.

[LetsGetWet!]

Part of the problem is suggested boarding time is 1pm and everybody wants to show up at 10:30am :eek::rolleyes::eek:

Count me as one of those people. I look at it like this and Im sure i am not alone in my feelings. That is day one of my cruise and I want on the ship as soon as I can get on. If they didnt want you showing up until 1pm that is when they would open the doors to the port. Also they wouldn't open the Windjammer at 11:30 am

 

JMHO :)

I'm one of those people too. We like getting aboard earlier, and often end up by the pool relaxing very soon, or if not maybe at one of the outdoor bars, enjoying our first drink with some eats.

 

As has been pointed out here by others, you generally can't board that early on Princess. So, personally I'd rather board early and go find a nice place to hang and relax - WITH my carryon bag; rather than waiting until later at the port where there's no view, no drinks, no eats and nothing to do. What I DON'T expect is to have the best of both worlds - boarding at 10:30 or a little after, and having my room ready when I board.

[LetsGetWet!]

As far as hotel check ins, yes they are later but no additional wait.

Hotel check-ins - you can check in any time you want to. If you check in early, they will almost always be happy to check you in, but you WILL have an additional wait until you can get into your room. If you wait until later to check in, you can have instant access to your room.

 

Guess what? Its the same on RCI's ships, as quite a few have pointed out. You have the CHOICE to check in (board) early or later. But JUST LIKE with the hotels, if you CHOOSE to check in early, you will have to wait to have access to your room!

 

And, just try to board your Princess cruise at 10:30, I'll pretty much guarantee you won't be allowed to. Why? Because they've apparently taken away your CHOICE and decided by policy they won't allow you to board until they have your room ready.

[LetsGetWet!]

A shoreside team deployed to the ship on turnaround day for faster turnaround and more "heavy lifting" than the day to day for the stewards would help have everything ready to go as well.

Yep! As is the case for most any idea proposed here or anywhere else, all it takes for the company to provide you with a better experience than they currently provide is to SPEND MORE MONEY!

 

I can think of many things RCI could do to give me a better experience, but they would all require RCI to SPEND MORE MONEY as you're suggesting above that they do. If they SPEND MORE MONEY than they will RAISE PRICES and most of the time I don't think that's a good tradeoff. IMHO, you only end up having to "schlep bags around" if you don't plan very well. Even my airline rollaboard carry on bag becomes a checked bag pierside. My wife generally has a large "beach bag" (for lack of better name to call it) and I have a backpack, that's it. Neither of them weigh 20 lbs and we certainly don't consider it "schlepping bags around." I little planning can go a long ways.

[LetsGetWet!]

I was onboard Caribbean Princess 9/1/14; boarded ship at 11:55AM went direct to room; room was 100% prepared and ready for use.

 

My preference is that the room is available for use and secured for stowing my belongings.

It's a poor choice. RCI can do better. They should do better. There is room for improvement. It sounds like RCI is looking to improve this with Quantum, but I don't know. Time will tell.

Its a poor choice in your opinion. My opinion is, I am usually onboard between 10:30 and 11:00 at latest. I greatly prefer the early boarding, and would not be happy if I had to wait until almost noon or after to board so that my room is ready.

 

As I said earlier, I think the argument of being forced to "schlep your luggage around" is bogus. There's no good reason whatsoever to have to do that, unless you've planned poorly. Put an RCI bag tag with your cabin number on those carryons and they'll be delivered to your room just like the rest of your luggage. We plan and aren't carrying on anything more than a large handbag for DW and a small backpack of similar capacity for me. Putting a tag on your "carryon" is pretty analogous to having the hotel store your luggage until your room is ready.

[LetsGetWet!]

I think the thing here is it doesn't make the OP upset either. I don't think s/he runs through the ship being mad at everyone because the doors are closed. The point is that it's something within RCCL's ability to change IF they wanted.

YES, as many of us have pointed out, its certainly within RCI's abililty to change IF they wanted TO SPEND MORE MONEY. And if they SPEND MORE MONEY than we will SPEND MORE MONEY for our cruises!

And I'm with the OP only because I acknowledge I would like to be able to put my stuff in my cabin and proceed with my embarkation day activities unencumbered. I'm not upset that I can't put my bags in my room and really hadn't given it that much thought because the situation is what it is. I take them with me because I have to.

Again, NO YOU DON'T! Are you going to NEED the 40-50 lbs of stuff in that bag sometime in the next 2-3 hours? I really don't think so. PLAN, and CHECK the bag pierside! Carry a small, lightweight tote with the few things you'll actually need in the next 2-4 hours.

But the fact that so many people act as if the OP's idea is beyond outrageous/bordering on ridiculous does get my keyboard fingers twitching! :eek: It's a decent idea that most people would be happy with if implemented thus the reactions here are a bit much to a simple post discussing the idea.

You and he think its "a decent idea" while some of the rest of us don't. That's certainly our right every bit as much as it is yours, and there's nothing wrong whatsoever with disagreeing about whether is a "decent idea" or not. Anything will come with tradeoffs, and some of us don't like the idea of the tradeoffs which would result. Nothing at all wrong with that!

[LMaxwell]

All that said. Planning packing checking delaying etc and so forth, my preference is to board the ship and go to the room. It doesn't matter if the reason is to drop off bags, take a nap, take a shower, or practice tantric love making. Once I experienced the Princess way I felt it superior to Royals way. Royal is my line of choice and so if there are better ideas out there I'd like to see them incorporated. We differ in opinion of what is a good idea but I really don't need to justify or defend the reasons for my preference nor am I asking you to do so.

[LetsGetWet!]

You have to vacate your room by 8AM on Princess final morning. On RCI you don't. That's the trade off.

On all four of my Princess cruises the cabin was completely ready when I boarded. However, on most of those cruises we weren't allowed to board until around 12:15 - 12:30 or so. I think my first cruise with them on the Ruby was the only one where I was on before 12, and that was just before 12. I've been on board on RCI as early as 11 or 11:15 (my memory gets fuzzy these days :o )

So there you have it. I think we've managed to collectively figure out Princess's "secret sauce" and its not all that special when you actually figure it out. They make you vacate your room earlier in the morning on the last day, and don't allow you to board as early as RCI does on the first day. Vacating early lets them start cleaning 60-90 minutes earlier, so it stands to reason they can also finish cleaning 60-90 minutes earlier. But that isn't enough for them to have rooms ready by 10:30-11:00, so they simply don't let you board until close to noon - or after.

 

It seems obvious (at least to me) that Princess' system isn't BETTER, its just different. Some will prefer their system, and some will prefer RCI's, and that's just fine. What's bogus is to claim that Princess is performing MUCH BETTER than RCI and RCI therefore needs to CATCH UP to be competitive somehow.

 

I'm one of those who prefers the way it is on RCI. That doesn't make me "right" anymore than those who claim Princess is better are "right." Two different systems, make your choice!