Royal Family Suite - Explorer

[Hflors]

My three sisters and I stayed in the Royal Family Suite 9694 on the March 12 - 19, 2006 sailing. I will tell you it was dissappointing. I will explain why. The condition of this suite is sad.

 

1) the housekeeping leaves a lot to be disired. The beds in both bedrooms were were made up together. (four women were to occupy this cabin) We waited for an hour for the cabin steward to come, than finally started to separate the beds ourselves. I know I know we could have waited, but we had suitcases everywhere (9 total) and we wanted to get unpacked and on our way. The matress on the bed that I was to sleep on was disgusting large dark stains on both sides. When Florance showed up about a half hour later I asked her for a cover she said they didn't have any she would put on an additional sheet. Well folks what we found when we separated the matresses made me sick. Oviously the carpet under and in back of the beds had not been cleaned in a very long time. The living room also needed a good cleaning. In one of the chairs there was tons of sand and someone's fingernail, also in back of the couch was the same dirt and collection of items from previous guests. The furniture was worn and old looking. To be frank it didn't have a "Suite" look to it at all.

 

2) The Maintenance has not been kept up. The tv in the living room didn't work. We called Maintenance and they replaced it the next day with one which part of the screen was green. The refrigerator didn't keep items cold so we called maintenance. The tech who came this time told us point blank that what we thought of as a refirgerator wasn't a Refrigerator, but a "chiller" and it was working as good as it could work! Funny the brochrue and the description of this cabin lists a Refrigerator not a chiller. They must both be wrong. For the first two days we couldn't get the air conditioning to work. We called maintenance, they came and looked around and left leaving us a note that they had been there, but no explanation as to why it wasn't working. My sister finally figured it out. For it to work the door to the balcony needed to be sealed. Once we kept it sealed - we didn't have a problem. Of course at that time we also realized there were thermastats in both bedrooms which had been turned off before we arrived. So finally on the third day the cabin was cool.

 

3) The problem with the soot on the balcony. We kept a pile of 4 towels in the living room to cover the chairs on the balcony so we could sit down and not get soot all over our clothes. We had to wear shoes because it gets on your feet then you track it into the room. I thought it was funny that in the bathroom there is a sign about saving the waves - kind of telling you to re-use the towels but the ship blows soot all over the air and ultimately into the ocean. The problem with the soot can be easily corrected. My sister's husband owns a company that does this type of work on ships, mostly tankers. I told her we should take one of her business cards to the captain's table at dinner and tell him to have RCCL repair the problem. (Of course we did no such thing during our dinner with the captain) But I sure thought about it.

 

4) Lastly our cabin steward Florance when she finally arrived the first thing out of her mouth was I come twice a day that's all. Put sign on the door so I know when to come. Otherwise I might miss your cabin. OK??? Wow we were kind of taken aback. It was like she was doing us a favor. We left a note two days in row about cleaning the living room and getting the sand and fingernails out of the seat cushions. On the second day I cleared off the table and put the note right in the middle. She finally used the vacumn.

The stuff she left in our cabin was strange. Tickets for peoples shore excursions, prepaid receipts for tips, wipes for cleaning. It was very odd. During the entire week we never received one ounce of extra service from her. Oh and another thing in the morning she collected all the ice containers we guess from all her rooms. They would set on top of her cart until afternoon. (We finally started to call room service for ice every day) I guess then when she finished all her work she would go and get them filled. My sister asked her about it and she said there was only one plece on our floor to get ice. Anyway two of my sisters weren't impressed with her service and I can't say I blame them. We thought for over $8,000 for the four of us the room and service would be better. If I were to compare the room it was on the line of a Days inn hotel..

 

The only thing it had going for it was lots of space and a wonderful view from the Balcony. Would I book that room again. probably not!

 

Our dining stewards got extra and above we all put more into our envelopes over and above the prepaid tips. I know for a fact my one sister gave the waiter and asst waiter each one hundred dollars just for herself.

Our room steward got just the prepaid tips, none of felt she deserved any money above what we had prepaid. That says something since we all are big tippers.

 

I feel RCCL let me down on this cruise. I had bragged so much about RCCL in general and the cabin and how they did things for you while on board. This cabin was a big reason why two of my sisters want to go on another cruise line next time. I can't argue with them since one of them paid for the first two full fares and the other two only paid for third and fourth.

 

RCCL I hope you read these reviews and the comment cards we filled out at the end of the cruise. IF you do you will know why our next cruise won't be booked with you.

 

As I sit here re-reading this review it saddens me . I loved the rest of the ship. It is the most beautiful ship I have ever been on, but with the cabin and some of the other problems we encountered it sure scared my sisters who are first time cruisers on RCCL away. This was my fifth cruise on RCCL and it had me questiioning why I chose this cruise.

 

ANyway I know it's long, but it's my two cents.

[madforcruising]

I´m sorry you had a less than great exerience on the ship and it´s always sad when things on a what should be a perfect vacation arenot up to par.

 

But I´d like to give my 2 cents to a couple of your remarks.

 

1) I´ve often entered my cabin and the bed configuration was different then I requested apart instead of together or together instead of apart. It never was a problem I just told the room attendant when he/she came to introduce. It always have ben taken care off when the cabin was turned down in the evening. To me it´s an odd request to have it done right away. The room attendants have such a busy day on turnaround days and they have to take care of all the luggage etc. I don´t see the need to have it done right away unless you want to lay down and sleep but you stated yourself that all you wanted was to unpack quickly to be on your way.

I agree that the room should be clean but on the other hand I never felt the need to look at the mattress or to lift the seating cushins and search in the back of the couch for something from former passengers. Probably this saves me from a lot of :eek:

 

2)Well I think it´s common knowledge on hese boards and you are around here quite a while that the refridgerators don´t keep things very cool and the maintanance person is probably right about calling them chillers.

TV, well not great but can happen why have you not called again to get it fixed.

Air condition, I´m sure the maintanance people got to your cabin, and found the AC working as the balcony door was closed and they found the thermostats in the bedrooms turned off and thought it´s like you want it as when they turned them on the AC probably worked. So no reason for them to leave a note in my eyes when everything is fine.

 

3)Common problem on aft. balconies that many ships have.

 

4)The crew members are humans too like all of us and there are people that do a great job, an OK job or a bad job. I´m sorry you seem to have had one of the last category, but hey that´s life. Has happened to me too but it didn´t ruin my cruise experience. Just did what you did and voted with my tip. Looking back now I might should have complained to chief housekeeping. You might should have done that too, but as I said I didnt either.

During the entire week we never received one ounce of extra service from her.

This is something I don´t expect. I expect good service within the regular duties of the crew. If I receive extra service that´s great and I appreciate it and show them my appreciation. If I don´t get extra service (read : something that does not belong to the regular duties) that´s fine to me as I don´t expect to get it in the first place.

 

Again I´m sorry you had this experience but all in all to me it seems like minor things. Sorry but that´s just my opinion.

[mav]

We had the Royal Family Suite just below yours. Same cruise and I agree the room condition as far as wear and tear could use some work. We had a wonderful room steward and great service. Loved the huge balcony and quite frankly other than showering and sleeping I spent very little time in the room. This was our second Royal Famliy Suite. We had one on the Serenade but thedown side of that was the balcony was very small.

Melissa

[krewzin]

I agree that the room should be clean but on the other hand I never felt the need to look at the mattress or to lift the seating cushins and search in the back of the couch for something from former passengers.

 

Whether she searched or not...this is totally unacceptable! These rooms are supossed to be spotless, and looking behind a couch, or under a cushion and finding dirt in ANY cabin...much less the Royal Family Suite...should be reported to the HM IMO.

 

Sorry you had a lousy experience....

[Ocean Boy]

I have never understood why they ask us when we book how we want the beds set up and then never have it correct when we arrive in the cabin. It seems to me it would save the attendents a lot of extra work the first evening of the cruise if they made use of the information that we provide. It would also make it easier to unpack and move into the cabin on our arrival.

[Funw/Sean]

I agree with all of Hflors expectations. When you book a suite you should get exemplary service. All mechanicals should be checked by staff prior to embarkation for all rooms, it should not be the passengers job to ensure that the room they paid for has functioning electronics or that it is clean that is what we pay for.

 

I travel a significant amount for business and for the higher end suites you do get the more experienced staff to assist you and to make you feel that the extra money you have spent on a particular room is appreciated. As for the beds when you call and request a service that they initial did not honor they should come right away, after all it was their mistake in not fixing the beds the first time.

The title of Royal Suite is there for a reason, it is to make you feel like Royalty, thus the behavior of staff should be prompt and courteous, they don't have to exceed anything they just have to meet the required level of service.

[madforcruising]

I have never understood why they ask us when we book how we want the beds set up and then never have it correct when we arrive in the cabin. It seems to me it would save the attendents a lot of extra work the first evening of the cruise if they made use of the information that we provide. It would also make it easier to unpack and move into the cabin on our arrival.

 

I believe from the point of view of the room attendant it´s the other way round and that´s the reason why it often not fit our requests.

I think the room attendants simply leave the set up that it was the last cruise. This saves them time in the morning when they have to get the cabins ready for the next guests in time and then start luggage delivery.

 

I guess they have more time during the turn down service in the evening to take care of it then in the morning.

 

Of course this is just a guess on my part and I can´t proove the truth of it.

[spaz44]

I´m sorry you had a less than great exerience on the ship and it´s always sad when things on a what should be a perfect vacation arenot up to par.

 

But I´d like to give my 2 cents to a couple of your remarks.

 

1) I´ve often entered my cabin and the bed configuration was different then I requested apart instead of together or together instead of apart. It never was a problem I just told the room attendant when he/she came to introduce. It always have ben taken care off when the cabin was turned down in the evening. To me it´s an odd request to have it done right away. The room attendants have such a busy day on turnaround days and they have to take care of all the luggage etc. I don´t see the need to have it done right away unless you want to lay down and sleep but you stated yourself that all you wanted was to unpack quickly to be on your way.

I agree that the room should be clean but on the other hand I never felt the need to look at the mattress or to lift the seating cushins and search in the back of the couch for something from former passengers. Probably this saves me from a lot of :eek:

 

2)Well I think it´s common knowledge on hese boards and you are around here quite a while that the refridgerators don´t keep things very cool and the maintanance person is probably right about calling them chillers.

TV, well not great but can happen why have you not called again to get it fixed.

Air condition, I´m sure the maintanance people got to your cabin, and found the AC working as the balcony door was closed and they found the thermostats in the bedrooms turned off and thought it´s like you want it as when they turned them on the AC probably worked. So no reason for them to leave a note in my eyes when everything is fine.

 

3)Common problem on aft. balconies that many ships have.

 

4)The crew members are humans too like all of us and there are people that do a great job, an OK job or a bad job. I´m sorry you seem to have had one of the last category, but hey that´s life. Has happened to me too but it didn´t ruin my cruise experience. Just did what you did and voted with my tip. Looking back now I might should have complained to chief housekeeping. You might should have done that too, but as I said I didnt either.

 

This is something I don´t expect. I expect good service within the regular duties of the crew. If I receive extra service that´s great and I appreciate it and show them my appreciation. If I don´t get extra service (read : something that does not belong to the regular duties) that´s fine to me as I don´t expect to get it in the first place.

 

Again I´m sorry you had this experience but all in all to me it seems like minor things. Sorry but that´s just my opinion.

 

OK I am new to cruising but your responses make me think you are making excuses for bad service.

 

If I go to a world class hotel and get a suite I EXPECT that I am going to be treated well and that my room will be clean. Anything else is a copout.

 

I agree about number 1, I wouldn't have been worried but the room stewards don't clean under the bed????? The person should have found no dirt, no toenails etc.

 

Yes I heard that the fridges are no more than coolers but IMO that should be rectified. I am not expecting any more than a cooler now but that doesn't make it right!!!! In fact I already have plans to write about that in my comment card and complain about it. They are not giving what is advertised and that is frankly wrong!

 

3. Why can't ships do anything about this? Again just accepting that many cruise ships have that problem feels like I would be settling that the cruise line has an excuse.

 

It's life that she got terrible service!!!!. Wow no wonder RCCL doesn't see the need to make improvements, they don't have to, they have you exactly where they want you.

 

If I don't get good service it won't kill my cruise, but I will write a letter, I will phone RCCL and demand improvements. How can they improve if people just make excuses for them and continue to pay money.

 

Just my two cents

[Ladylouwho]

Keep in mind that when you book the Royal Family Suite the prepaid tip amount is higher than when you book a regular or balcony cabin. We had the RFS on the Jewel last year and we paid more per person (there were 5 of us) for the suggested tip amount than if we had booked two balcony cabins. I think the GS, OS,and Royal Suite charge more also. We didn't have any problem on the Jewel, but then the ship was only 1 year old when we sailed her. Our Attendant (and his helper) always did a great job and when we returned to our room after our excursions there was always a nice appetizer plate set up. You pay more for the actual suite and you are expected to tip more, so the higher level of service should be expected. If your experience was really that bad, I would have gone beyond the comment card and called/written RCCL when I returned and not stopped until I had a reply or some satisfaction.

[Hflors]

Thanks everyone who responded positively to my original post. You are right we had to pay for 5 people even though one of our sisters decided early on not to go and you tip for the cabin attendant was higher minium of $5.75 per day per person. Believe me if florance our cabin steward had shown any amount of effort she would have made out very well, but that is life. Like some of you I expected the "Royal Family" treatment. IF it's not that, then why is it named so? Also if the refrig isn't a refrig then why in the brochure and on line is it called so? IF they want to charge me $8,000.00 for the week and I just send $4,000.00 and some monopoly money will they mind? You bet your bottom dollar they will mind. And that's why I mind.

 

Thanks for a good suggestion of writting to RCCL and I'm going to do that. After your thoughts and comments I believe RCCL needs to know why people who spend a lot of money on their cruises are not interested in repeating the experience.

[Happy ks]

I'm so sorry you had a bad experience and agree totally with you and Funw/Sean. You paid a lot of $ for a "Royal Suite" and should have a spotless room with everything in working order.

 

I've not much to add, except, good luck with getting much response from customer service. Cruise lines (not just RCI, most of them) are notorious for after-the-cruise customer service. Keep copies of all correspondence, mail letters return receipt requested and don't expect a speedy reply.

 

To all of you who would excuse this below par service and dirty accomodations, if companies are allowed to get away with this, it will only get worse. I'm all for complaining for the right reasons, this post is not at all whiney, but realistic.

 

I've had deck 2 inside cabins on old ships that have been spotless with extraordinary service from room stewards, the Royal Suite should have that and more.

 

So, here's another vote in favor of the OP.

 

My only final word is, people can be pigs, I cannot fathom leaving behind a disgusting mess for a room steward to clean up after. Get the sand off your feet, out of your bathing suit before you reboard the ship. Put your trash in the receptacle, not under the bed or in the sofa cushions. The room stewards and ships staff are there to serve us, help us and make us feel pampered, they are not our slaves. These words are for the prior occupants, not the OP!

[Ocean Boy]

I believe from the point of view of the room attendant it´s the other way round and that´s the reason why it often not fit our requests.

I think the room attendants simply leave the set up that it was the last cruise. This saves them time in the morning when they have to get the cabins ready for the next guests in time and then start luggage delivery.

 

I guess they have more time during the turn down service in the evening to take care of it then in the morning.

 

Of course this is just a guess on my part and I can´t proove the truth of it.

I think it would be easier to rearrange the beds when they have to be stripped anyway rather than in the evening when they are made. Either way, if they are not going to use the information then they shouldn't ask for it. Because the very first impression you get when you walk into the cabin is... OK, they screwed this up, what else will they screw up this week? If they had never asked one would simply shrug it off as what was left over from last week and think nothing of it.

[BethA]

We had a RFS on AOS and had a similar experience.

 

The room as shabby at best. Horrible orange furniture that was worn and dirty!!

 

The room was never really clean and when we tried to use the fold down couch we discovered piles of horrible things left behind by god knows how many previous guests!!

 

The soot on the balcony was a problem and i had not read about it here til after I booked, but some claim to never have it. We never received an ice bucket and had to ask repeatedly to get anything done. The bathroom was never what I'd call clean either. I think if you are paying more you do expect more and like the poster here we were very disappointed.

[ilionite65]

I think that If I had an experience that upset me and my family that much I would have taken care of it while still on the ship. Very unfortunate to have such bad service but if you had reported it there may have been improvement. If no improvement then notify the appropriate people when off the ship. I would be especially upset with a cabin steward that didn't make an effort to correct problems when brought to their attention as you did when requesting the cover. Sorry your cruise was not what you expected. You did pay a lot of money, and it doesn't seem that you got what you paid for. I really am courious though, why you or your sisters didn't report this while on the ship.

[l929]

Yikes! I'm scared! We are going to be in a RFS in May on Explorer, the one under and over from the OP, I hope Deck 8 has better service! I wonder if when I get the e-mail from the concierge asking if I want to book spa appointments and dinner reservations if they will do anything (like make sure my room is clean) if I send this thread. That's just gross!

[Hflors]

Yikes! I'm scared! We are going to be in a RFS in May on Explorer, the one under and over from the OP, I hope Deck 8 has better service! I wonder if when I get the e-mail from the concierge asking if I want to book spa appointments and dinner reservations if they will do anything (like make sure my room is clean) if I send this thread. That's just gross!

 

Don's expect too much help in Spa appointments or dinner reservations. Two of my sisters requested spa appointments for the next day an hour after we boarded. Guess what later that evening the gentleman at the conciege desk called our extension and left a message that he couldn't get us an app for the whole next day. Then on Sat we called the concierge to get a reservation for our last night at Portofino's resturaunt again he called back to tell us that he couldn't get us a reservation, but we were on the priority wait list. And don't expect an E-mail from the Concierge we never received one before we left. We found the conciege service to be about useless. In fact I believe that is one of my sisters comments on the comments card at the end of the trip.

[Hflors]

I think that If I had an experience that upset me and my family that much I would have taken care of it while still on the ship. Very unfortunate to have such bad service but if you had reported it there may have been improvement. If no improvement then notify the appropriate people when off the ship. I would be especially upset with a cabin steward that didn't make an effort to correct problems when brought to their attention as you did when requesting the cover. Sorry your cruise was not what you expected. You did pay a lot of money, and it doesn't seem that you got what you paid for. I really am courious though, why you or your sisters didn't report this while on the ship.

 

I called housekeeping and they told me to again leave a note for the cabin Steward. I'm not sure who else I could have called. I think after the first couple if incidents I kind of got tired of spending my time calling people and not enjoying my time on the ship. We all filled in our comment cards listing the problems we had on the cruise. IF house keeping isn't interested in how clean their rooms are and mainetnance isn't interested in fixing refrigs that don't keep things cold Etc I'm not going to spend my vacation time doing what they are supposed to do. There are other cruise lines operating out there and maybe they will listen to their customers.

[MikeKool]

I agree with Hflors. Who wants to spend their vacation time on the phone complaining? I also think many people in the customer service area tend to just label folks as "complainers" and blow them off for the week. I took my first RCI cruise in 1997 and was NOT impressed with the overall service onboard. I have taken them four times since.....but still feel their service is second rate. Nice ships.....but second rate customer service. IMHO.

[beachchick]

I agree that the cabins should be clean with everything in working order. And if a problem is found is should be corrected pronto. I realize that there is a lot to do, especially on turn-around day, but that does not excuse poor cleaning and service. As far as the bed configuration, I do wonder why they ask if that info is not then given to the room steward. I think that expecting immediate service to get it corrected when a room steward is trying to acommodate all cabins at once, as well as deal with all the luggage, is a bit much. It does sound like the room steward was haphazard at best, and not terribly courteous to boot. That is not okay.

 

As for the "chiller," I think RCI needs to correct all information. They are NOT refrigerators and should not be listed as such. That's not a problem for us, but it leads to confusion and unhappy pax. Not good.

 

The soot issue is something that they cannot control, and it does happen on many, many ships. I think it has to do with wind and cabin deck/location, but I don't know because we are "midships" cruisers.

 

There is no excuse for poor service, bad cabin cleaning, and lousy maintenance. RCI advertises their cruises as being special; they need to make sure that happens.

 

One last thing, I really don't agree with the logic that "I paid more for a suite, so I expect better cleaning, service" etc. I think that all pax should be able to expect clean cabins in working order and good service. Being a suite guest does warrant extra benefits, but the idea that they are more deserving of these basics in not right, IMO.

 

beachchick

[Merion_Mom]

Hflors - I understand your desire NOT to "spend your cruise complaining."

 

But for the benefit of others who may be reading this thread, and in response to "what else could I / should I have done?", I would suggest:

 

If you get no satisfaction from your cabin steward, and the Head Housekeeper is not helpful, then you call the head of Hotel Services. That's the top of the food chain in the cabin end of things.

 

If this had happened in the dining room, you would call the Food and Beverages Manager.

[Happy ks]

So, unfortunately, it is too late for you to do anything that will improve your cruise. Hopefully, this thread will educate future cruisers. Merion Mom is right, you need to go higher than housekeeping to get results. I think that if I ever run into a problem like this, I'll go there first. The last thing I want to do on vacation is file complaints or get upset by something. While I don't mind at all making requests or reporting a problem, I really want it taken care of now, not later in the week.

 

I do hope you hear from the company and at the very least receive an apology.

[BethA]

I don't think suite guests expect better cleaning, but you certainly expect the room to be clean and free from garbage and not looking like furniture from the salvation army.

 

We received no help from the concierge either. Even when in the lounge to ask a question--they were always on the phone and too busy. We did complain and were basically ignored.

[Nliedel]

I too expect m room to be clean and that is one of the reasons I book RCI. I have never once not had my bed configuration the way I requested it and had Stewards mention to me they changed it for me.

 

This Steward was not up to RCI's standards imo. A darn shame since this was a suite and the OP paid so much for it.

[OceanCruise]

We had a bad experience with a suite on Celebrity Horizon. When I am paying a premium for a suite I do have higher expectations in terms of cleanliness and ambiance. There was a lot of mold in the shower and stains all over the carpet, bedspread and chairs. The furniture and bathroom were old and nothing special. We also found items in a drawer from a prior guest. I did speak with the head housekeeper and they replaced the bedspread and chairs. She also offered to REPLACE the carpeting. We declined this as it would have meant not being able to use the room for a day. While the head housekeeper addressed the problem (although they never got rid of all the mold), it wasn't the best way to begin a cruise and our disappointment was greater because we had splurged for a suite.

[mistybaby]

we were in an owner's suite 2 and a half years ago on Explorer, and the original poster is right, the cabin steward couldn't have cared less about us. I have gotten much more attentive service in both cabins of lesser stature and on those of higher stature. Perhaps it was because my wife and I are fairly young to have such a cabin, he figured either it was some type of free-bee or our parents had paid and he wouldn't get a good tip. He was right about the tip, but not the reason.

 

now, our butler (jon) in our recent courtyard villa suite on norweigian jewel - he knew how to take care of people, as did the room stewards.

 

just my thoughts - it would seem obvious that all staff should be attentive, but the "premier" staff, should be assigned to "premier cabins."