Will RCCL enforce their rules on my cruise?

[luckyprincess]

Hi,

Hope I'm not going to get flamed too bad for this, but here goes. If I read the rules of the cruiseline I will adhere to them and expect others to adhere to them as well. (Not the suggestions, but the rules) If I see a child or pre teen in the adult only solarium I will either go to them and tell them they have to go or let their parents know that they don't belong there. I don't like the shrill sounds or crazy behavior of kids when they are playing (yes, I like kids:rolleyes: ) so I wouldn't go to the family pool. Seems simple. If I don't like it, they make a pool I can use without the sounds of happy playing children. So my questions is, if I have a problem, can I go to a member of staff and ask them to remove the offender and point them to the pool area they can be in? Or will they ignore it. If they ignore, its going to be a problem for me:) . I hate spotty service like that.

The same goes for chair reserving at the pool. I expect that if I come upon it affecting me, I completely expect to go to the staff and have it taken care of. I'm in the hospitality industry, and we get paid to have that uncomfortable conversation with guests to be sure that the rules do get followed, so I expect that on my cruise.

I guess by reading the threads here I'm getting nervous that nothing would be done about these kinds of issues on board.

[CruiseQueenie]

Good Morning:

Most people do follow the rules, there are always "those people" who think they can do what they want no matter what. Regarding the solarium, I TOTALLY agree, I love kids, but when I am cruising alone, I don't want to hear them. I have several times gone to a crew member and they were told to leave. Some parents just don't care, their kids aren't bothering them, they don't care if they bother others!! I always have those brats running down the hall and ringing my doorbell all times of the day/night. It is even more agrevating when they press every button on the elevator!

You can always ask crew members to remove them but most times they come back again. Yes, with the chair saving, just go to a crew member and after 30 minutes, they will remove the towels/books/etc.

I have to say the solarium with kids is my biggest issue. I always put comments on the form at the end of the cruise and when I get emails for my comments after the cruise that it needs to be enforced. Years ago they use to have "Pool Staff" at the solarium and they would immediately make them leave but I haven't seen pool staff in 5+ years!

You just need to know it is going to happen and don't let it affect your good time.

Enjoy and you shouldn't worry about getting flamed for your opinion. That is what this board is for.

[PantherFan]

They do kick children out of the solarium asap! I have seen it done many times.

 

I have seen teens playing with the handicap lifts for the hot tubs or diving into the pools and that being ignored.

 

I don't think it is the staff's job to supervise kids.......Parents:confused:

 

Go ahead and speak up, we have seen people leave beach towels and a well worn magazine in a lounge chair and leave for hours......

[Bakincakes]

Sometimes the crew will only act if a passenger demands that they do.

 

Keep in mind the "offended" passenger may raise a stink and complain about the crew member who did what they were asked to do and that could impact his/her job.

 

If you ask a crew member to do something on your behalf, that impacts another passenger, make sure you either praise them on your comment card or make it your business to let someone know that they had to intercede for you. Your positive may offset any negative that crew member receives from the other passenger.

 

There certainly is a sense of entitlement onboard ships. Some passengers feel like the rules or suggestions ,as some like to refer to them, are for everyone else but them.

 

Fire off a letter to RCI and let them know that you expect them to enforce their own rules.:)

[grandsix]

Sometimes the crew will only act if a passenger demands that they do.

 

Keep in mind the "offended" passenger may raise a stink and complain about the crew member who did what they were asked to do and that could impact his/her job.

 

If you ask a crew member to do something on your behalf, that impacts another passenger, make sure you either praise them on your comment card or make it your business to let someone know that they had to intercede for you. Your positive may offset any negative that crew member receives from the other passenger.

 

There certainly is a sense of entitlement onboard ships. Some passengers feel like the rules or suggestions ,as some like to refer to them, are for everyone else but them.

 

Fire off a letter to RCI and let them know that you expect them to enforce their own rules.:)

 

We agree that the cruise lines should enforce their rules, however over the years, many employees including some management have been reluctant to approach passengers for fear of being written up. Once this happens, the employee is now on the defensive to justify their position. This is still a service business where the customer gets the benefit of the doubt.

[Bakincakes]

We agree that the cruise lines should enforce their rules, however over the years, many employees including some management have been reluctant to approach passengers for fear of being written up. Once this happens, the employee is now on the defensive to justify their position. This is still a service business where the customer gets the benefit of the doubt.

 

And that is why I made the suggestion I did.

 

If you ask someone to clear a lounge..or ask someone to get a kid out of the solarium you can bet there is a good chance there will be a complaint filed.

 

The squeeky wheel gets the oil. If more passengers requested that RCI actually enofrce their own rules they might just do it.:)

 

And I do think that RCI and other lines are starting to look at ways to enforce things. Far too many passengers are getting out of hand..drinking..kids running wild through halls...etc. They have to realize that they will lose business from cruisers who are tired of putting up with those kinds of things.

[mochuck]

Is it really necessary to get a member of staff to free up a 'reserved' deck chair? Can't you just move the offending items and hand them in to oh say 'Lost and Found'

[Spurs Fans]

I never saw children in the Solarium on our recent Mariner cruise except for the occassional one just walking through.

[Mark_K]

Maybe, maybe not. If it's a deal breaker for you, I'd find another cruiseline that doesn't cater to families.

 

A couple things to keep in mind...

 

Definitely talk to staff and have them confront the offenders. You doing so could easily be construed as offensive/abusive behavior and get you in more trouble than them.

 

At the discretion of staff the Solarium may be used by children accompanied by parents. This is usually during inclement weather, but is not restricted to that.

[BobBeaSea]

"Will RCCL enforce their rules" on your cruise - probably not. It's sad but true, without some vigorous prodding by the offended passenger nothing will likely be done...even then I wouldn't count on it.

[curley23]

We were on the Enchantment a few weeks ago and I have to say the pool attendant in the Solarium was terrific. Any time kids would come in, she was on them within a minute. Some parent would even try to argue with her and say that as long as they were with the kids, it was OK. Wrong, she called security on 2 different occasions that we saw. I don't put up with chair hogs. Just move the stuff to a near by table,so they can see it. After all it is usually only a book or mag, f someone hase not come back to that for a half hour or so. Funny, but they hardly ask what happened to their stuff, or a least do not ask the person sitting in the chair.

[Sue L]

We were just on the Serenade to Alaska and there were a lot of kids on the ship. Since the weather was cool they had "family time" in the Solarium between 12 and 4. At 11:30 a kid and his mom came in and were looking for chairs, I was readjusting the towel on my chair,so they must have thought I was leaving and asked if they could have our chairs. No sooner did I say I wasn't leaving but security was running over telling the mother that the kid wasn't allowed in and the mother was not happy, she kept saying but it is only a half hour. The security guy didn't care and the mother stayed and the kid left but she put a towel down on a chair for him. The security guy watched all this and went and told her she couldn't reserve a seat. Within a minute or two someone came and took the "empty" seat and the mother was not happy. My kids (19 and 21) went down to the pool late in the afternoon and exactly at 4 the security shooed all the kids out. They were very diligent and all the times I was in the Solarium they had a security person hanging out in there. We also saw a lot of security hanging out by the elevators and patrolling the floors.

[TravelerThom]

Maybe, maybe not. If it's a deal breaker for you, I'd find another cruiseline that doesn't cater to families.

 

A couple things to keep in mind...

 

Definitely talk to staff and have them confront the offenders. You doing so could easily be construed as offensive/abusive behavior and get you in more trouble than them.

 

At the discretion of staff the Solarium may be used by children accompanied by parents. This is usually during inclement weather, but is not restricted to that.

I agree with this, as long as you agree that at the discretion of the Captain I may steer the ship:cool:. I thought that there were clearly stated rules that the Solarium was not to be used by children under some age [don't remember exactly -16?]. Obviously enforcement of this rule is at the discretion of the staff. Personally I have no problem with a quiet child being in the Solarium, but as soon as canonballing or screeches of "Look at me, Mommy, look at me!" occur I have no problem asking for their removal from an adult area.

 

Certainly, as pointed out by many, your request to the staff concerning children in adult areas, then allows the staff the cover to say "I'm sorry, but this is an adult area and other guests have asked for your children to leave." This shifts [most of] the "blame" of why are you ruining my vacation from the staff member [who is justifably worried about maintaining their employment] to another guest [and I can handle that blame from people who are ignoring the comfort of others].

[Happy ks]

To the OP: I think you may be reading too much CC :)

 

It's a vacation, relax and don't let what others are doing around you bother you so much. Although kids in the solarium is not fair....they get so much of the rest of the ship. We've never had a problem with it on any of our cruises.

 

I take along my Ipod or stick my head in a book, no one bothers me then ;)

[Mark_K]

I agree with this, as long as you agree that at the discretion of the Captain I may steer the ship:cool:. I thought that there were clearly stated rules that the Solarium was not to be used by children under some age [don't remember exactly -16?]. Obviously enforcement of this rule is at the discretion of the staff. Personally I have no problem with a quiet child being in the Solarium, but as soon as canonballing or screeches of "Look at me, Mommy, look at me!" occur I have no problem asking for their removal from an adult area.

 

Certainly, as pointed out by many, your request to the staff concerning children in adult areas, then allows the staff the cover to say "I'm sorry, but this is an adult area and other guests have asked for your children to leave." This shifts [most of] the "blame" of why are you ruining my vacation from the staff member [who is justifably worried about maintaining their employment] to another guest [and I can handle that blame from people who are ignoring the comfort of others].

The fine print in the rules adds something about persons under 16 "During inclement weather, and select hours ... ".

[MrPete]

Early morning Chair hogging: YES

 

Drinks in pools and spas: NO (even after asking)

 

Shorts in the dining room: NO

[MercedMike]

Is it really necessary to get a member of staff to free up a 'reserved' deck chair? Can't you just move the offending items and hand them in to oh say 'Lost and Found'

 

Or just lay them gently on the floor. If the spot on the floor I lay them in happens to have a puddle in it -- OOOOPS ...

 

>:-)

[CruisinChaos]

The adult only solarium is one of the main reason's I am trying Royal Caribbean in January. I am so looking forward to a spot on the ship that will be "Teen and Tot" free. My last two cruises on Carnival, the children were everywhere. Although most were well behaved, there were small gangs cruising around that caused trouble. Carnival never enforced the

adult only whirpools, and they were always full of kids and I never had a chance to utilize them.

[Bakincakes]

The adult only solarium is one of the main reason's I am trying Royal Caribbean in January. I am so looking forward to a spot on the ship that will be "Teen and Tot" free. My last two cruises on Carnival, the children were everywhere. Although most were well behaved, there were small gangs cruising around that caused trouble. Carnival never enforced the

adult only whirpools, and they were always full of kids and I never had a chance to utilize them.

 

 

Did you remind Carnival that it is usually adults that book cruises and pay for them?:rolleyes:

[YOW]

IF a situation were to occur, I believe it is reasonable to approach a crew member and ask them to have the offender(s) politely corrected. It may be best to advise the crew member of your cabin number, and that you are willing to back him/her up in case the offending pax should make a fuss. And as has been stated here, be sure to fill out favourable comment cards for the helpful crew, and perhaps let them know you're doing so.

[mediator]

Hi,

Hope I'm not going to get flamed too bad for this, but here goes. If I read the rules of the cruiseline I will adhere to them and expect others to adhere to them as well. (Not the suggestions, but the rules) If I see a child or pre teen in the adult only solarium I will either go to them and tell them they have to go or let their parents know that they don't belong there. I don't like the shrill sounds or crazy behavior of kids when they are playing (yes, I like kids:rolleyes: ) so I wouldn't go to the family pool. Seems simple. If I don't like it, they make a pool I can use without the sounds of happy playing children. So my questions is, if I have a problem, can I go to a member of staff and ask them to remove the offender and point them to the pool area they can be in? Or will they ignore it. If they ignore, its going to be a problem for me:) . I hate spotty service like that.

The same goes for chair reserving at the pool. I expect that if I come upon it affecting me, I completely expect to go to the staff and have it taken care of. I'm in the hospitality industry, and we get paid to have that uncomfortable conversation with guests to be sure that the rules do get followed, so I expect that on my cruise.

I guess by reading the threads here I'm getting nervous that nothing would be done about these kinds of issues on board.

 

I don't know when your cruise is, but mine is next Sunday. I too am nervous-- about the bigger things,(since we don't have to fly) like a car accident on the way and more life alterating siguations along the way. I feel lucky that I am able to take that cruise with someone I love and I'm not so worried about a kid in the solarium, a chair hog, and spotty sevice. If these are your big worries, I suggest you get a hat and a whistle, so you can patrol.

I can guarantee with the number of people on board you will find a great deal of diversity and people that adhere to the rules and guidelines, and those that don't. Statistically however, I think you will find that overall it evens out, and hopefully you will be able to relax and enjoy your cruise and stop being nervous before a cruise about rule breakers. No man is an island, and where do you go to find everything perfect. I hope you loosen up a bit so that you can relax and enjoy your cruise.

[mediator]

To the OP: I think you may be reading too much CC :)

 

It's a vacation, relax and don't let what others are doing around you bother you so much. Although kids in the solarium is not fair....they get so much of the rest of the ship. We've never had a problem with it on any of our cruises.

 

I take along my Ipod or stick my head in a book, no one bothers me then ;)

 

 

Well said, I said it too, on another post, but probably too many words and with too much drama. Like I said in other posts... micromanaging others, and getting upset about what may happen before you have even set foot on the ship. :confused: Yikes maybe they should consider a quite cottage on a deserted piece of land.

[luckyprincess]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. It's interesting to hear so many views. As I said before, I am in the service industry, in a very high end luxury property, and have unfortunatly had to deal with many rude and non-compliant folks in my time. I say this to let you all know that the staff of any vacation/resort/cruise property gets the utmost respect and thought from me. Although it may be cliche, "I've been there".

Many people assume that asking a staff member to enforce their employers rules and conditions means they need to be fearful of being fired. But they have just as much fear of getting fired (if RCCL really is that disgusting of an employer to promise someone fired because of a comment card) for NOT complying to the OTHER cruiser in enforcing the rules. Meaning, they are as wary about approaching the cruiser who doesn't control their child and has them in the solarium pool as they are about MY reaction if they don't approach them. It's not a great situation to be in and I know that because I'm often put in it myself. But it is an expected position in the hospitality industry and we do expect it. A manager will not fire a staff member if he removed towels or told a guest that their child was not allowed in the pool. They know how piggish people can be, and I would think they know what their staff has to deal with. Saying that, I would surely offer my cabin number and fill out a comment card if staff had to intervene. Thank you for that suggestion.

And although I don't care if their are kids on a cruise ship I do care if they are sneaking into areas that they are not allowed. Inconsiderate cruisers are I guess what you would consider a 'deal breaker' for me. But I have no problem speaking up to them about it.

Thanks for all the info!

[luckyprincess]

I don't know when your cruise is, but mine is next Sunday. I too am nervous-- about the bigger things,(since we don't have to fly) like a car accident on the way and more life alterating siguations along the way. I feel lucky that I am able to take that cruise with someone I love and I'm not so worried about a kid in the solarium, a chair hog, and spotty sevice. If these are your big worries, I suggest you get a hat and a whistle, so you can patrol.

I can guarantee with the number of people on board you will find a great deal of diversity and people that adhere to the rules and guidelines, and those that don't. Statistically however, I think you will find that overall it evens out, and hopefully you will be able to relax and enjoy your cruise and stop being nervous before a cruise about rule breakers. No man is an island, and where do you go to find everything perfect. I hope you loosen up a bit so that you can relax and enjoy your cruise.

 

I am just fine. I'm not nervous that I'm going to get hijacked or something. My boyfriend and I love each other very much - not sure where that figures in in your thinking, but guess I need to throw that in there. I don't recall talking about everything being perfect - can you please show me that? Why do you think my concerns about obnoxious children are less than yours about a fender bender on the road? Kind of presumptious, no?

I'll enjoy my cruise fine, I'm sure. Hope you do too.

[luckyprincess]

Well said, I said it too, on another post, but probably too many words and with too much drama. Like I said in other posts... micromanaging others, and getting upset about what may happen before you have even set foot on the ship. :confused: Yikes maybe they should consider a quite cottage on a deserted piece of land.

 

I fail to see how my hoping that I won't be disturbed in an area that is expressly not for children means I need a quiet cottage on a deserted piece of land. Can you elaborate how my wanting to enjoy and adult pool without children ties into that? How am I micromanaging others, too? By not wanting loud kids at the adult pool? By not wanting some nitwit putting a towel on a chair for 3 hours? Sounds like maybe you tinker in such behavior and don't want me to confront you...