furious w/ RCCL...and cozumel....

[ericksmom]

I got married on the Soverign in '98. We were the first cruise after Hurricane George. We got married on the ship in the Music Man Lounge before it left. But we went into it knowing it was during Hurricane season and we kept our fingers crossed that everything would be okay. That's all you can do.

[megsterl]

Im so glad to hear that you have finally gotten some answers!!:D

I once worked in customer service in a call center and let me tell you that it is the WORST job. However that doesnt give any company the right not to have information. Yes 90 percent of the calls that the agents were getting were probably people upset but that not their problem and they should still atleast konw there stuff. I went to the travel agent yesterday to book my cruise and seh was telling me that she just got off the phone with a cruises customer service line. She was booking a cruise for some other clients, well short story the ship was originally supposed to go out of NO in january and she wanted to verify what port it was leaving form now. The girl on the line told her that it would still be leaving from New Orleans.

 

I know that CUstomer service is stressful and that you only know what in front of you but come on people lets use commonsense. Obviously the cruise is not leaving from New Orleans, and even if the paper in front of the customer service person say that it is they should have some sense to know differently. I m so sick of people only KNowing what the "computers Says"

 

ANother thing why is it that when someone wants to tell pople about the troubles they are going through everyone feels it is their right to "Flame" them. I used to go to another site but I left and came here because that is all people do and it is OSOOO not necessary. It gets to the point that people dont even read past the first few sentences. Not long ago I posted another thread about something other then complaing and the first response I received was "this has already been posted before I hope you dont get flamed" that is sooo sad. Ok that is my rant, Have fun and I fell for you soo much I know from reading you post that you just wanted to konw some of the alternative and finally they gave them to you. You would think that they would have been prepared for people calling with those same questions weather it was only a day after they should have been ready for those Questions two days before the hurricane. GOod luck and HAPPY SAILING

[thewolffs]

I was married on the Majesty of the Seas in Miami before we left port. We were married in one of their lounges. It was the best decision we ever made. The ship's photographer was amazing. We have the best wedding photos and they were so cheap. We sent Royal Romance our own ceremony and the officiant used that. You can use your own officiant if you want. I thought that Royal Romance was great to work with. Hopefully, they will be able to help you out with such short notice. Let me know if you have any questions about working with Royal Romance. Good luck!

 

Christie

[jdr93]

- snip -

 

quite a different way of handling things.....

 

thanx again........trish

trish, thanks for your posts. you have my admiration for your earnest endeavours to make sure your son and his fiancée have their stunning day with their families. the folks you spoke with at rccl, barring the last one, need more and better training on how to be an effective customer service representative. rccl as a company needs to work on better planning for the inevitable hurricane cancellations and reroutings which happen every year. we too are sailing on an rccl ship which was going to cozumel and we're wondering too where we'll end up. (our cruise was supposed to end in new orleans and it took them a very long time to let us know it was going to be tampa). i enjoyed all your posts because they have been so well written, with all the basic facts in plain sight, and so obviously written by an intelligent person. i hope you post a couple more times to let us know what actually happens. (i did, by the way, visit the weddings portion of rccl's site. i understand why they don't do legal ceremonies at sea (licenses and all that) but i don't see why tiffany wasn't more helpful, after all, it was going to mean more money for rccl.) hopefully the 'kids' are not completely stressed out, but are trying to sit back a little, knowing you are doing an heroic job and will come through for them.

 

john

[Lady & Sir]

Trish,

Hang in there. I'm sure when all is said and done, it will be a beautiful wedding and memorable for all, and that this will be something to look back on.

Keep in touch!

Beth

[smeyer418]

Most not all weddings on Cruise ships take place either on the ship or at the port of embarkation. That way you don't have to worry about where the ship is heading and whether it will make a specific port. I am sure you are aware of the people who were to be married in Bermuda but ended up in Canada. I am glad that C and A seems to be helping you. I do think that if you waited a few days you would have gotten a more complete answer although I suspect that you would have gotten some of the run around at the regular number in any case. Finally I do think that your problems pale at the problems that people in Miami and Mexico are having now. I can give you a good example. We have friends who were in NY on September 11 and decided to leave. First they went to Miami and caught their first Hurricaine. Then he become an official at the City of New Orleans. After it was hit his wife went to her parents house with the kids on Captiva in Florida....I for one and not going to visit them...

[Sailfish]

Maybe someone already suggested this, but could you have the wedding on the ship?

[DeanD]

Unfortunately I think you've set yourself up for a fall. Obviously RCI can't tell you where they're going at this point, they don't know. And while what YOU want is just an idea, many companies have learned that customers use this info against them. One idle guess becomes a "promise" very quickly. I'd say it's still possible they could go to Cozumel. Remember the activities don't usually entail much of the structures. But if not, places like Meridia, Belize and Costa Maya are distinct possibilities. But I wouldn't r/o Cayman's either. Good luck, I hope it works out.

[BonNYTX]

 

progresso is not an option as RCCL does not go there....

 

RCCL can not sub a port that is not part of their regular stops for the fleet

 

Trish, you were given erroneous information. On our July Rhapsody cruise we dodged hurricane Dennis and wound up in Progresso instead of Grand Cayman, so RCCL CAN sub a port not on their regular stops.

I think pointing out that a wedding on a cruise port is not dependable, in this case, is like closing the barn door after the cow ran off.

I'm sure things will work out for you and the wedding wherever it is, will be sensational.

[futaba951]

Looking at the pictures of the piers, the pier RCCL mostly uses is the one with the piles of rubble. It appears to be structurally in good shape for accepting a ship, but would require temporary walkways and coverings over the holes and couple of open spans. It has a good chance of being open to ships in December, but I doubt there will be much on the island to do except gawk at the devastation.

 

The Carnival pier will be a very long time in returning as most of it is lost below the waterline.

 

Give RCCL at least 2 weeks to get Miami back in order so they can get back to work and try to work out the solution to the hundreds of cruises that are affected by this storm.

 

The holes are just pre-stressed concrete inlays that were knocked up and out by the storm surge. If they had the panels to lay in and an inspection of the rest showed it was okay they could have that pier operational in less than 2 weeks.

[Sea-shell]

Give this all a bit more time. I dont think that anyone is too sure what the game plan will be for a little while. Also, RCI itself may have received damage. We tried contact a co in ft. lauderdale to make our final payment for our jan cruise and we couldnt - office sustained damage, phones are out. They may be sorting out more than just which ports are available...

[DannyS]

she gave me the direct line to the wedding portion of the cruiseline and I plan to call them in a few minutes....

[snip]

as for the ones who would never have a wedding on a cruise ship.... on every cruise we have been on.....we see brides getting off at every port for their big day......I think it is a very common .......

 

I don't think anyone was criticizing having a wedding on a cruise ship. The criticism was for booking a wedding on shore that wasn't coordinated with the cruiseline.

 

If you book through the cruiseline, they can make alternate arrangements if there is a last minute change in plans. Booking on your own assuming all will go well is asking for trouble.

[Host Caroline]

With the massive power outages in Miami/Dade where the offices that handle port arrangements/weddings etc are located you can imagine that they too may be short staffed and possibly on generators??? AND if you are reaching people at a call center out of Miami, they aer probably operating on 18 hrs work a day since all this happened waiting for Miami to get up and running.

 

It's very very frustrating time for all.. and devastating for many.. the docks in Coz are all damaged or gone so IMHO any ships that are coming there when it first "opens" may tender in.

I hope that you can find some patience until the company has a little more time to "Get their ducks in a row" and assess options more definitely.. How difficult will that be with a wedding?? Pretty difficult but the wedding will go on and hopefully -- no matter where -- will be a blessed joyful event.. what do they say? "Love conquers all!"

[JerseyGirl23]

Give RCCL a little time. There is no way they know what is going on yet. They did not plan for this hurricane. I am sure they are working hard on assessing the situation so they can make the proper arrangements. I know you are planning a wedding but this is not RCCL's fault and you seemed kind of demanding. They can't know what port you are going to yet, this just happened.

 

I agree.

[mdeane]

Any mother can feel your deep disappointment and frustration since it is your daughter's wedding. I have seen the most beautiful weddings on the decks of the ships and the most gorgeous photos made by the ship's photographers. It could be done in port just before sail away. How romantic could that be??? There must be help from RCI because it happens on almost every ship sailing. Most even have wedding chapels but I think the deck is more elegant. Blessings on you.

[Driftwoodgal]

We sailed on the Splendour in 2004 to the Panama Canal. I am not sure if this will help you, but they do have an area outside of the spa that is an open deck. I believe it is called the Sports Deck on the brochure. Weather permitting you could have the wedding there with a back drop of an entire blue ocean, it's not the beach but the view is wonderful.

 

You didn't say how many people were going to be at the wedding. This area is right off of the spa area. Your daughter could be in spa area prior to the wedding. They also have a set of stairs on the deck above that she could come down to that deck.

 

Hope things work out for you.

[glgolfer]

Here's a website someone on our Mariner roll call found with good info about what's happening on Cozumal and future plans. It may help clear up some confusion.

 

http://www.cometocozumel.com/english/wilma.asp

[CRUSINBUFF]

The piers are gone ..... so what? They drop anchor & you tender in.

[syndyj]

The piers are gone ..... so what? They drop anchor & you tender in.

 

The hotel they were planning the wedding at is gone too. :S

[mpffls]

haven't read the posts since last night......

 

but I wanted to throw this in.......

 

after my conversation yesterday w/ Siera.....I felt confident that she knew what she was talking about.....

 

today....while looking at the RCCL weather update....guess where the rhapsody is going.....Progresso....

 

Siera assured me that since this was not a port RCCL was already going to that there was no way that it would be the sub!!!!!!

 

with all of the "wrong" info I seem to be getting from everyone at RCCL.......It just concerns me to let them plan this.....but I really have no choice......

 

I did speak to a very nice man in st thomas....that is where the RCCL phone rolls to ..... about a wedding on the ship.....he assured me that it would not look like the meeting room at the "airport hilton"....

 

I plan to call RCCL wedding, per his advise next week.....seems wilma knocked out that departments phones....

 

will keep you postd....

 

thanx.......

 

trish

[MGoBlue2]

The hotel they were planning the wedding at is gone too. :S

While that may be true, it's not really relevant regarding whether the ship will stop there.

[mpffls]

we are 7 weeks from sailing......

 

Christi.....thanx for your positives....and you are so right about the photographers,.....they do take great pics!!!!!

 

John....are you married....how sweet you are.......

 

smeyer418....could you let me know where your friends are living now... I am not sure I want to be anywhere close to that karma!!!!!!

 

bonnytx.....no kidding!!!!!....that is my true frustration....everyone has bad info!!!!!!....and the really dissappointing thing is that Progresso would be an excelllent choice for a sub......we already have contacts there for transportation and a fab hacienda to have the ceremony....

 

colleen....this is what I need....some suggestions....and that back deck sounds like the ticket....do you remember if it was real windy....

 

and Paul.....what a great site.....however I think it is pretty optomistic for 11/14.....but they HAVE to get back.....everyday more $$$$ are lost!!!!... by the way....I am anxious to here how your xmas market cruise is.... please let me know....

 

and finally.....even if we do go to cozumel....the ship wedding is our only option as tendering is not going to make it easy......

 

thru all of this ...many of you seem to think that I have no sympathy, compassion or even thought for the poor folks in cozumel....and you are very wrong....over the years and our travels to this paridise, we have made friends...and especially thru these boards.... and while we have not met all of them, feel we have lived thru many times with them....my heart, my thoughts and my prayers are with them and their families. I hope that the shop keepers and the mayor are true to their word and the 1st cruise ships do dock there 11/14

 

thanx again......and will keep you posted!!!!

 

trish

[glgolfer]

mpffls - If you could send me an email to remind me when we get back from the Danube, I'll be glad to let you know how it was. I will probably write a review and post it on the river board here. We get back late on the 16th of December.

 

thirdparty@tampabay.rr.com

 

Since you're interested in the Danube, if you've ever been interested in Norway, here's the thread for our review of our trip there last May.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=189561

[smrtypnts]

That's a good thing for the islanders, but is it a good thing for the tourists? I mean, if I go to a beach, will they have chairs for me to sit on and enjoy the sun and sand? For that matter, will there be sand? :cool:

[glgolfer]

Forgot to say I hope everything works out for the wedding and it turns out to be just a story to tell in the years to come.