R.C.C.L Respond To Immersion Crisis, Please

[xpcdoojk]

O, no, here we go, again.:rolleyes:

 

jc

[MakinGold]

Yes, afraid so- we just spent 9 nights on Navigator of the Seas from Barcelona, May 10- 19th - smoking was allowed in 10 of the bars which meant that we could not use them- I can list them for you if you wish as I am still looking at the Compass in shock that they allowed this- and that had a huge impact on our cruise.

We like to go to the Pub on the Promenade and listen to the guitar player- full of smokers. The smoke also permeated the Promenade so you couldn't escape it.

Boleros lounge is also a favorite- full of smokers and for some reason late in the evening full of families with young kids, some in strollers - go figure..

The Karaoke in the Cosmopolitan Club was out of bounds for the same reason- the official line there was that smoking was allowed on the "left side of the room" only- can you picture this?

There was no "tightening up" of any smoking policy on this ship, we found their policy to be permissive and dangerous- I watched MANY cigarette ends being tossed over the side when finished with.

The only places we could go were the theatres,Vintages wine bar, the Schooner bar and the Champagen bar.

Never again....

I am all for multi-cultural experiences, that is part of the appeal of travel, but not at the expense of my comfort and safety.

 

Well, I hate to get stuck around smoke, too, but that sounds like more smoke-free places than I was able to find on our Voyager cruise out of Galveston.

[twoputt.plusone]

Who's complaining then? I have never complained about the fact that prices aren't in CAD. That the food isn't Canadian. That the daily schedule can't spell.

 

I have complained about the fact that they can't manage to put the temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. To that I will admit. I think that's common courtesy, since of the 192 countries on earth, 189 use metric. (Though the count of countries on earth can vary at any time.)

 

I've been to many different countries. If you want, you can see my map at TripAdvisor. You can clearly see that I have travelled to many countries and I don't speak most of those languages or expect to use my currency in any of them. I've even ordered from foreign menus with no English explanation. I just think it's part of the fun of travel to immerse myself in another culture, for whatever time I am there. You know, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

 

I happen to be Canadian too and I am no fan of the metric/celeius system. That's a discussion for another day, another place. :)

 

IF I had booked my cruise expecting an immersion cruise, that's one thing. I believe the OP didn't learn of the "immersion" part until long after the cruise had been booked. IMHO that's just plain unfair. I can completely understand his/her displeasure. I would be too.

 

2P.P1

[emdia43]

Well, I hate to get stuck around smoke, too, but that sounds like more smoke-free places than I was able to find on our Voyager cruise out of Galveston.

Well that's interesting- out of the 7 previous RCCL cruises this is the first (and last) time we have encountered this problem. On Caribbean cruises they are getting increasingly strict as far as we have observed.

I will certainly get some statement of their policy on a particular ship before I cruise RCCL again.

[emdia43]

O, no, here we go, again.:rolleyes:

 

jc

 

Not sure what the meaning of your comment was, since it followed mine.

The great majority of ships are restricting smoking for obvious health and safety reasons. Princess already suffered a huge fire as a result of a carelessly discarded cigarette setting fire to a balcony.

The other problems from smoking are so obvious as to not need stating again.

[xpcdoojk]

I am sorry, but when I read that people have contractual rights to air free of anything but Nitrogen, Oxygen, and the other natural elements in a cruising forum, I naturally cringe.

 

So, why do we need to go there?:rolleyes:

 

jc

[ddean52]

Hello all

 

I have read with great interest this thread and the merged 'immersion threads' posted.

 

I am from the UK and will be on a so called 'immersion' cruise, in August.

 

When in Rome - do as the Romans

 

For me personally, if I travel to another country, cruise or not, I expect there to be cultural changes, different food, (sometimes weird and not to my taste) and language differences. What do I do? - I just make the best of it and enjoy a change from being at home - that is what holidays are all about.

 

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

 

and the word 'immersion' has caused untold upset on these boards -

 

You are so right in the above statement, (Knickers in a twist comes to mind) I too will be on an Immersion Cruise in August aboard the Independence of the Seas, there has been so much B...S... within all these "Immersion Threads" that I have come up with the following facts gleaned through talking to passengers that have already sailed on the Independence, so for those of us that are sailing this year from Southampton onboard the Independence please find as follows the facts,

 

1. Currency Prices will still be in US Dollars.

2. ATM Machine onboard pays out in US Dollars.

3. There will be British Bacon and Sausages served at Breakfast.

4. Windjammer will still serve their usual buffet cuisine etc.

5. Jade will still serve asian cuisine.

6. Johnny Rockets will still serve Hamburgers, fries, onion rings etc.

7. Sorrento will still serve pizza.

8. Chops will still serve steaks.

9. Portifino will still serve their cuisine.

10.All the bars will still serve some USA beers

11.Instead of an America entertainment theme it will be mostly British.

12.Staterooms will still be the same.

13.Room service will still be the same.

14.Main Dining Room Food will still be similiar themes.

15.The Majority of Crew will not be British.

16.The Majority of the crew speaks at least 2 languages.

17.The Pools will be heated.

18.Southampton is still the Dock that Independence will sail from.

19.The majority of cruisers will be British.

20.The Language on board will mostly be English.

21.SO WHATS THE PROBLEM?

22.By the way I should point out to you, that I have read from Andrew cc that there is a rumour going around that the main bedding cover in each Stateroom will be the Union Jack:D I CANT POSSIBLY COMMENT ON THIS RUMOUR.

 

so thats about it, facts not fiction, My family and I are going to have a great time on board, as I hope all of you will, when you sail on the Independence this year from Southampton.

 

the above all makes perfect sense, however, it did not come from the horse's mouth. the above is what i would expect from a rccl product. i think the concern now is; is there a new, policy, direction, concept taking place within rccl?? all of us who are concerned, and as you can see from these boards there are many, would like some solid info. so that we can stop posting on this very tired sybject.

[lisiamc]

I guess this will depend on the passenger mix. If 80% of the passengers are from Japan, they would have a case for making it a Japanese emmersion. The liklihood is that this cruise will be so popular internationally that no one country will dominate.

 

That's my ideal cruise mix - where there is a good assortment of countries and no one country dominates. That's one of the reasons we like European cruises and transatlantics, and one of the reasons we're trying the Southeast Asia cruise - we can get a bit closer to that mix.

 

I don't expect to be able to comunicate in English everywhere I go. I speak some Italian, some French, just enough Spanish to get myself into trouble, and a very few words of Portuguese. And I do make sure I have at least a phrase book when I go ashore elsewhere. I will confess that I enjoy speaking English on board, though. :)

 

Lisa

[lszu]

Okay, I have to know. What's improper usage of "garden"? ;)

 

LOL! To us Americans a "garden" is where you grow flowers or vegetables. Apparently Brits use that word for their yard.

[lszu]

..and she did not get "pissed" with you, or maybe she did?:cool:

 

 

No, she laughed her arse off. ;)

[Ephraim]

I happen to be Canadian too and I am no fan of the metric/Celsius system. That's a discussion for another day, another place. :)

 

IF I had booked my cruise expecting an immersion cruise, that's one thing. I believe the OP didn't learn of the "immersion" part until long after the cruise had been booked. IMHO that's just plain unfair. I can completely understand his/her displeasure. I would be too.

 

2P.P1

 

You can argue the metric system till you are blue in the face, but the reality is that it's accepted in 189 of the 192 countries on earth. Your children (if you have any) have already adapted and the majority of our immigrants have come from countries hat are already metric a long time ago. It's beyond discussion, it's fait accompli. It's just too late to go back. Our hybrid system in Canada works... unless you happen to have a car that's in mph?

 

As I said, I have every sympathy. That being said, there were never any guarantees given in regards to any of the "expectations" and the company does need to survive and sell those berths.

 

Honestly, if someone showed up at the Holiday Inn in Paris and expected that everyone would speak English, that the TV was in English, that the food was American in nature and they only accepted payment in USD, would you say that their expectations were reasonable? We are talking about ships in foreign ports, with foreign flags and foreign crews.

[xpcdoojk]

The most shocking thing about this "crisis" to me is how illustrative of how many people haven't really travelled in their lives and yet they participate in a travel forum for years.:eek:

 

jc

[twoputt.plusone]

You can argue the metric system till you are blue in the face, but the reality is that it's accepted in 189 of the 192 countries on earth. Your children (if you have any) have already adapted and the majority of our immigrants have come from countries hat are already metric a long time ago. It's beyond discussion, it's fait accompli. It's just too late to go back. Our hybrid system in Canada works... unless you happen to have a car that's in mph? It may be a fait accompli but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. Not when your major trading partner deals only in imperial measure and certain industries are constantly "tweaking" the metric system to make it work for them. I do agree that it's a discussion that's long since over. And as I said earlier - another day, another place.

 

As I said, I have every sympathy. That being said, there were never any guarantees given in regards to any of the "expectations" and the company does need to survive and sell those berths.

 

Honestly, if someone showed up at the Holiday Inn in Paris and expected that everyone would speak English, that the TV was in English, that the food was American in nature and they only accepted payment in USD, would you say that their expectations were reasonable? We are talking about ships in foreign ports, with foreign flags and foreign crews. Sorry but I disagree with you. When you market in this country or the US, a certain expectation is made regarding what a passenger may expect in their cruise experience. Understanding the language is one of those expectations. If all we've been reading is true, this is a fundimental change made after the fact. Of course it's legal. RCI doesn't pay a department of lawyers for the fun of it. Is it ethical? You decide. Personally I don't think it is.[/quote]

 

2P.P1

[ddean52]

You can argue the metric system till you are blue in the face, but the reality is that it's accepted in 189 of the 192 countries on earth. Your children (if you have any) have already adapted and the majority of our immigrants have come from countries hat are already metric a long time ago. It's beyond discussion, it's fait accompli. It's just too late to go back. Our hybrid system in Canada works... unless you happen to have a car that's in mph?

 

As I said, I have every sympathy. That being said, there were never any guarantees given in regards to any of the "expectations" and the company does need to survive and sell those berths.

 

Honestly, if someone showed up at the Holiday Inn in Paris and expected that everyone would speak English, that the TV was in English, that the food was American in nature and they only accepted payment in USD, would you say that their expectations were reasonable? We are talking about ships in foreign ports, with foreign flags and foreign crews.

 

If I booked a room at some american chain hotel in Japan, yes I would expect that enough english would be spoken by the front desk folks so that I would be able to pay my bill and ask directions!

On the other hand, If I did a train tour accrose Europe, I would have almost zero expectation, of anything other than the cultures, customs..etc of the country I was visiting! Please , lets not forget where the majority of rccl's traditional income comes from! This fact may bother you but a fact is a fact

[madforcruising]

If I booked a room at some american chain hotel in Japan, yes I would expect that enough english would be spoken by the front desk folks so that I would be able to pay my bill and ask directions!

 

I´m sure you won´t have a problem on any of the immersion cruises to find enough english to be spoken onboard for you to being able to pay your bill and ask the pursers for directions;)

[MakinGold]

I don't believe simply marketing in the US should create any particular expectation that the cruise is taylored toward US passengers. I'm sure they do some marketing in UK, Asia, etc. Should this, in the same way, create "certain expectations regarding what a passenger may expect?"

 

Now, past practice by RCI might create those expectations, but not simply marketing in the US. Not having been on any cruises from foreign ports, I would have really expected them to reflect the culture of the area they were sailing, in terms of things like food and entertainment preferences. I probably would also have expected announcements to be in multiple languages, hopefully including English . . .

[ddean52]

I´m sure you won´t have a problem on any of the immersion cruises to find enough english to be spoken inboard for you to being able to pay your bill and ask the pursers for directions;)

 

Fine, as long as we get to participate equally in the "cruise experience". This is the only issue. If I bought a cruise in Asia, my expectations would have been adjusted , however we are leaving out of england, with once again different expectations than Asia.

[I LOVE SUITES]

 

the above all makes perfect sense, however, it did not come from the horse's mouth. the above is what i would expect from a rccl product. i think the concern now is; is there a new, policy, direction, concept taking place within rccl?? all of us who are concerned, and as you can see from these boards there are many, would like some solid info. so that we can stop posting on this very tired sybject.

 

Thank you for your reply, but If you read my opening comments you will see that I was referring to cruises on the Independence this year from Southampton, As Ive read too much ballsh.t this thread and others, in fact all the comments did come through the horses mouth so to speak from paying passengers that have already cruised on the Independence, as I stated fact not fiction

[madforcruising]

I´m a bit tron on this topic as I really don´t see it as dramatic as some others but I can understand how the immersion can be annoying for some especially after having booked under different expectations. This goes not so much for british immersion cruises but for those Asian ones.

 

 

I don't believe simply marketing in the US should create any particular expectation that the cruise is taylored toward US passengers. I'm sure they do some marketing in UK, Asia, etc. Should this, in the same way, create "certain expectations regarding what a passenger may expect?"

 

Now, past practice by RCI might create those expectations, but not simply marketing in the US. Not having been on any cruises from foreign ports, I would have really expected them to reflect the culture of the area they were sailing, in terms of things like food and entertainment preferences. I probably would also have expected announcements to be in multiple languages, hopefully including English . . .

 

I´ve said this on one of these immersion threads already.

I´ve been on a cruise advertising event last year where several TA´s and cruise lines presented their products. Amongst others RCI presented their cruises to the audience with a 20 minute presentation. It was a slide show / power point presentation and a RC sales representative giving a live talk. Having been on a number of RC cruises I was kinda shocked at what was promised in regards of catering to german cruisers:eek:

My thought was wow, that´s going to get them a lot of complaints from people being led to believe their cruise experience being like this.

 

The on my Rhapsody cruise in Sept. there was a number of germans onboard and they complained exactly about this. Missing announcement in german language, International Ambassador not speaking german, etc.

 

Obviously the market concept didn´t fail but the cruise didn´t live up to this expectation.

 

I´m just posting this to make clear that while the experienced cruiser with RC knows what he is (was;) ) up for and I as many of the posters here am certainly fine with the "US market tailored" cruise experience and that´s what I booke for there´s many people who are led to a different expectation of a RC cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

I don't believe simply marketing in the US should create any particular expectation that the cruise is taylored toward US passengers. I'm sure they do some marketing in UK, Asia, etc. Should this, in the same way, create "certain expectations regarding what a passenger may expect?"

 

Now, past practice by RCI might create those expectations, but not simply marketing in the US. Not having been on any cruises from foreign ports, I would have really expected them to reflect the culture of the area they were sailing, in terms of things like food and entertainment preferences. I probably would also have expected announcements to be in multiple languages, hopefully including English . . .

 

I keep partially agreeing with you today :) If they marketed it that way in the UK, then I don't think we'd being seeing negative comments on the "immersion" cruises that we are. They would have been expecting it. They were just as upset as US passengers saying they didn't want to book a UK line or a UK experience, they wanted what they normally get on RCI.

[Loracpin2]

We are sailing on the Jewel June 4 to the Baltics. Based on our "roll call" or lack there of, I expect the ship is filled with large portion of Europeans. While this is not an immersion cruise, I would NOT be upset if it was. Little background - this is our 25th cruise, 5th (2 Transatlanitcs and 2 Meds) from a foreign port. Sailng out of Venice listening to the Italian music of Andrea Bocelli was and experience of a lifetime. When I sail out of a foreign port, I expect the meshing of many cultures, immersion cruise or not. It's what makes life exciting and opens us up to new experiences. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have these adventures, we should seize the day.

 

Passengers now on immersion cruises sailing out of the UK are worried about not having the same cruising experience. They're worried about language - people from England speak English. They're worried about entertainment - most every cruise I've been on has had international entertainmet and is usually very good. They're worried about the type and quality of food - I'm sure there will be choices (anything would be an improvement over the American offerings we had on the Explorer in January). They're worried about smoking - have you tried gambling in the casino on a Voyages class ship.

 

I'm going to get flamed for this but, GET OVER IT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ddean52]

We are sailing on the Jewel June 4 to the Baltics. Based on our "roll call" or lack there of, I expect the ship is filled with large portion of Europeans. While this is not an immersion cruise, I would NOT be upset if it was. Little background - this is our 25th cruise, 5th (2 Transatlanitcs and 2 Meds) from a foreign port. Sailng out of Venice listening to the Italian music of Andrea Bocelli was and experience of a lifetime. When I sail out of a foreign port, I expect the meshing of many cultures, immersion cruise or not. It's what makes life exciting and opens us up to new experiences. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have these adventures, we should seize the day.

 

Passengers now on immersion cruises sailing out of the UK are worried about not having the same cruising experience. They're worried about language - people from England speak English. They're worried about entertainment - most every cruise I've been on has had international entertainmet and is usually very good. They're worried about the type and quality of food - I'm sure there will be choices (anything would be an improvement over the American offerings we had on the Explorer in January). They're worried about smoking - have you tried gambling in the casino on a Voyages class ship.

 

I'm going to get flamed for this but, GET OVER IT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LOL..promise no flames, infact i more or less agrre with most of you posting, however <key point> I should have been informed that our cruise would be a immersion cruise (if its a immerson cruise in mostly name only thats one thing, if it is a immersion cruise with drastic changes , unlike the product that rccl routinely floats out of Barcelona then its another thing all together--and all i wish to discover IS WHAT I PURCHASED).:)

[xpcdoojk]

So, Dean, is your cruise in June 2009?

 

If so what is the problem here? You can clearly cancel it and rebook something else?:confused:

 

Am I missing something?

 

jc

 

EDIT, it must be the June 27 cruise? In that case, do you think they are going to change their policy just for you? Better hire a lawyer.

[ddean52]

Ill give this another shot. if, when we called about our cruise being an emmersion cruise, and were told by RCCL "your cruise will have pax from 70 different countries and a staff from 70 countries with a international menu and entertaiment" I would have been 100% happy. I have no desire to travel through N. Europe with 2200 fellow americans! What we were told is that our immersion cruise would be dramaticly different from the normal rccl product. ie the barcelona product that does the greek islands or italy!

I lost my temper last night for which I'm sorry. If what I have just posted is an issue for some posters then so be it.:cool: :)

[ddean52]

So, Dean, is your cruise in June 2009?

 

If so what is the problem here? You can clearly cancel it and rebook something else?:confused:

 

Am I missing something?

 

jc

 

EDIT, it must be the June 27 cruise? In that case, do you think they are going to change their policy just for you? Better hire a lawyer.

29 days!!