Just back from Mariner 'Alaskan' Riviera cruise...

[klfhngr]

and pissed!!! Just read what the next cruisers get in regards to OBC.... We were told onboard that RCCL was being generous in what we would be getting... some expected some kind of credit for a future cruise, but that never happened.. We got a measly $150 per cabin, and that was it! Yea, they had 'free' Bloody Mary's and Screwdrivers for an hour and a half, but big wow....

 

I'm happy for the next round of cruisers, but at least they are prepared. The first days we were told that there was nothing to worry about, then bam, no more Mex. after leaving Cabo.

 

Why am I upset? In regards of preparation, we spent a considerable amount of money in buying 'summer' clothing. We didn't take jackets, I didn't take jeans (only slacks, suits, shorts) and so on. So after leaving Cabo, the weather was DOWNHILL! Cold, foggy, and RAIN in San Francisco. Yes, they did sell sweat tops/jackets on the ship, for $99, oh, make that $49 after the 50% off! So the $150 OBC all went back to them anyways, plus a LOT MORE! Not being in port, the stores were open every day, there was NOTHING to do on the ship except drink, which means even MORE money for RCCL.

 

I think that RCCL could've done more for us. They made it sound like they did so much for us, they didn't. Those in my group were upset, I heard SO MANY people complaining. I know it's not RCCL fault, but it would've been nice to be informed BEFORE the cruise that we might not make it to Mex., and if we wanted to cancel, we could. Being told the first couple of days that everything was ok makes us even more pissssed off....

 

Anyhow.. I know that there's another post for our cruise, but oh well.... If you have any questions, ask away..

 

Oh, and yes, the food 'sucks' (in MDR).....

[bubbadog]

lmao:p

[JanineM]

I truly feel badly for the people who saved for their hard earned cash for a hot weather vacation and wound up in the Pacific Northwest.

 

BUT what did you expect them to do? Did they have advance notice of this pandemic? If I recall correctly, all of the cruise lines were scrambling last weekend to make alternate arrangements. And if they had sailed to Mexico and someone got sick with the flu, how many people would be screaming and moaning?

 

And as to the clothing issue, we've taken cruises where the weather has been horrible & I've had to spend money in the shops to buy warm clothes. Heck, on our TA last year there were snow flurries in the ports! There is always a risk that the weather will change & you'll be without the best clothing choices.

 

Seems to me that they were stuck between a rock & a hard place and tried to make the best of it.

[Rancher Dave]

That had to be a tough sailing with the change from warm to cold while in the middle of the cruise.

 

Of course it was a hard situation for RCCL. They knew when they changed the direction of the ship that it would mess folks up.

 

I know had I been aboard I would have been up a creek to be properly dressed in cold rainy weather vs. on the Mex Riveria.

 

The key is did folks come away feeling like RCCL cared about their needs or not...

[cecelia0613]

While I feel for those on the cruise last week, I think RCCL would have been worse off had they gone to Mexico and passengers and crew ended up sick. The ship might have been quarantined, etc.

 

As for the clothing issue, we cruised the Mexican Riveria a few years back and when my husband and I left the east coast and arrived in LA where we thought it would be warm, it was only 30 degrees. Needless to say we had to purchase some warm clothes for the extra few days. Once on the cruise the weather did not improve until we reached the second port in Mexico. It was the coldest cruise I've ever been on but everyone made the best of it. The lesson learned for us is the Mexican Riviera is NOT the Caribbean and don't expect to have perfect weather. To this day we take clothes to accommodate what might happen with the weather.

 

Sorry you had a bad time, but it could have been worse.

[CruisinManiac]

Why am I upset? In regards of preparation, we spent a considerable amount of money in buying 'summer' clothing. We didn't take jackets, I didn't take jeans (only slacks, suits, shorts) and so on.

 

Look at it this way...you are now prepared with a new wardrobe for your long hot days of California summer. :) You are way ahead of me in the clothing department.;)

[cruiserbryce]

a little bit of the same here...I feel for everyone that was planning on going to the Mex Riviera and ended up elsewhere but you make it sound like this whole thing is a RC scheme to make more $...I still think they made the best decision by skipping the ports they did

[I'm on holiday]

What a shame you didn't enjoy your cruise. :( There is so much anticipation, and to be disappointed is a real bummer. I know that future Mariner cruises are scheduled north, but did they change your itinerary enroute? RCI's decision to avoid the swine flu was prudent, but if you did not know until you were under way...well, that stinks.

 

On a lighter note...did you wear the Tux t-shirts on formal night?

[Coralc]

Sorry about that...the same thing happened to us in 1998 on a Carnival ship...7 night Mexican Riviera. We sailed happily away only to be told that Hurricane Nora had shifted and struck all 3 Mexico ports. We sailed to Ensenada and the beautiful port of...San Francisco! Only problem is that we live very close to San Francisco. Had to buy warm clothes in the gift shop as well. We also hit up Walgreens for sweatshirts. PSA didn't allow you to leave the cruise in US port.

 

So we flew to LA, sailed home to SF and then sailed back to LA and flew home. And we felt exactly the way you do. We received $50 p/p OBC and 25% off a future cruise and a fruit basket because we received a cruise, as promised by the cruise contract.

 

I understand you're pissed. We were too, back then and posted a scathing review on a defunct website, cruise reviews. All I can say is that it happens sometimes. :)

[klfhngr]

The itinerary changed in route... Also, we NO prior warnings at all that there would be a slight possibility in making changes.

 

It's also upsetting to hear of the options that future cruisers have. Wouldn't it be fair to have offered us some of these choices? We had none!

 

I just got off the phone with my T/A. Seems like they mislead her also! She spoke to them during the week to 'check' up on us. They told her that we were on our way to Vancouver. They also told her that we were getting x amount of dollars as OBC. Well, the amount that they gave here were about $100 off! They also told her that ALL of us would be getting x amount of dollars off on a future cruise. That also did NOT happen.

 

Anyhow.... that's life..... At least Princess and Carnival are treating their passengers fair/well.

[I'm on holiday]

It's unfortunate that this swine flu thing is wreaking havoc on cruising...no fault of RCI. However, I think that all passengers should be compensated equally!

[kruzerci]

Anyhow.... that's life..... At least Princess and Carnival are treating their passengers fair/well.

 

I feel terrible for those of you that were on that sailing, and those that are booked on the Mariner in the next two months, that really does suck. I've been on totally revised iteneraries and it is disappointing, I totally understand that.

 

BUT- you need to understand that it was generous of them to even give you x amount of OBC. They didn't have to do that. You made it to Cabo and had that first 'normal' day at sea, the people booked this week don't have that option.

 

It would have been nice if they offered you some credit towards another cruise, but you shouldn't expect that. When you booked that cruise, you took the chance of havign a totally revised itenerary, and where else did you think you would go if there was a problem in Mexico? The people sailing out of NJ also take the chance of having to go to Canada instead of Bermuda or the Caribbean.

 

Appreciate what they did give you and move on. They couldn't control the Swine Flu and giving you even more credit than you recieved would have been completely uneconomical. Be happy you had a nice vacation and two nice warm days.

 

Like I said before, you have every right to be disappointed in the itenerary change, but they don't owe you anything.

[Merion_Mom]

The itinerary changed in route... Also, we NO prior warnings at all that there would be a slight possibility in making changes.

 

It's also upsetting to hear of the options that future cruisers have. Wouldn't it be fair to have offered us some of these choices? We had none!

 

I just got off the phone with my T/A. Seems like they mislead her also! She spoke to them during the week to 'check' up on us. They told her that we were on our way to Vancouver. They also told her that we were getting x amount of dollars as OBC. Well, the amount that they gave here were about $100 off! They also told her that ALL of us would be getting x amount of dollars off on a future cruise. That also did NOT happen.

 

Anyhow.... that's life..... At least Princess and Carnival are treating their passengers fair/well.

 

Don't get all excited about "princess and carnival treating their passengers fair/well". They aren't so thrilled over on those boards, either.

 

I was on the famous Crown Princess list cruise in 2006. They immediately announced that we would all get our cruise fare refunded. We did receive that refund. They also said that they would pay ALL costs associated with our getting home from Port Canaveral, instead of cruising back to Brooklyn. It turned out that they refused to cover a few things, so I was out those dollars, while others were not. They also RANDOMLY gave out 25% future cruise certificates. When the rest of us asked for them, we were told "no."

 

So not everyone will always be happy with any cruise line's "solution" to a problem.

[RCCL_NVcruiser]

You made it to Cabo and had that first 'normal' day at sea, the people booked this week don't have that option.

 

It would have been nice if they offered you some credit towards another cruise, but you shouldn't expect that. When you booked that cruise, you took the chance of havign a totally revised itenerary, and where else did you think you would go if there was a problem in Mexico? The people sailing out of NJ also take the chance of having to go to Canada instead of Bermuda or the Caribbean.

 

Be happy you had a nice vacation and two nice warm days.

 

Like I said before, you have every right to be disappointed in the itenerary change, but they don't owe you anything.

 

The people who booked for the this week had MANY options. They could change boats, dates, itinerarys, etc - with credits! We had no options on the 4/26 cruise.

 

I appreciate that RCCL needed to cancel the Mexican Port calls due to the CDC recommendation- but we are very upset with the decision that was made by Cprporate to send the ship through 4 more days with rain, cold, 50+ mile per hour winds across the deck, and 36 hours of fog that required fog horns. They chose a port with a weather forecast of 61 degrees and all day rain. This is not the cruise we signed up for. I believe most would have been happy spending the rest of the vacation at sea off the coast of Mexico - where we could have at least enjoyed the outside areas of the ship.

 

Also - I do not understand your statement of "when we booked the cruise we took a chance of a totally revised itinerary":confused:

[ranquet91]

The itinerary changed in route... Also, we NO prior warnings at all that there would be a slight possibility in making changes.

 

It's also upsetting to hear of the options that future cruisers have. Wouldn't it be fair to have offered us some of these choices? We had none!

 

I just got off the phone with my T/A. Seems like they mislead her also! She spoke to them during the week to 'check' up on us. They told her that we were on our way to Vancouver. They also told her that we were getting x amount of dollars as OBC. Well, the amount that they gave here were about $100 off! They also told her that ALL of us would be getting x amount of dollars off on a future cruise. That also did NOT happen.

 

Anyhow.... that's life..... At least Princess and Carnival are treating their passengers fair/well.

 

 

I was on the cruise with you also, one thing everyone has to remember is many like myself checked the forecast for leaving, I knew that i might get some chilly weather leaving L.A. so I did pack a fleece, tennis shoes and a pair of jeans. Now we got 1 day of warm weather in Cabo but rather then that we had temps in the mid 50's to mid 60's at best with rain (in S.F.) then some good fog with a really obnoxious fog horn blowing off every few minutes. I think what people are missing is we got turned around and did not plan to get a cruise in the rainy pacific. I myself got a $200 OBC for our cabin, which pretty much funded my drinking being locked within a ship for multiple days. Another thing when I watched the news in S.F. they were reporting that the RCL spokesperson stated that noone got off the ship in Cabo (This is not true). We were not told we would be turning around until everyone boarded the ship, my wife at this point was pissed since I kept telling her we would do some shopping in Mazatlan since we would get better deals.... Anyhow im going to stop at this point since im droning on, I will post a full review in a few days.

[Merion_Mom]

I was on the cruise with you also, one thing everyone has to remember is many like myself checked the forecast for leaving, I knew that i might get some chilly weather leaving L.A. so I did pack a fleece, tennis shoes and a pair of jeans. Now we got 1 day of warm weather in Cabo but rather then that we had temps in the mid 50's to mid 60's at best with rain (in S.F.) then some good fog with a really obnoxious fog horn blowing off every few minutes. I think what people are missing is we got turned around and did not plan to get a cruise in the rainy pacific. I myself got a $200 OBC for our cabin, which pretty much funded my drinking being locked within a ship for multiple days. Another thing when I watched the news in S.F. they were reporting that the RCL spokesperson stated that noone got off the ship in Cabo (This is not true). We were not told we would be turning around until everyone boarded the ship, my wife at this point was pissed since I kept telling her we would do some shopping in Mazatlan since we would get better deals.... Anyhow im going to stop at this point since im droning on, I will post a full review in a few days.

 

 

Just a note on the fog complaint:

 

Last week, the week before yours, the last time that Mariner went to Mexico, we had several hours of fog and constant fog-horn blasts as we came into Mazatlan.

 

The Mexican itinerary isn't fog or fog-horn free, either.

 

:)

[klfhngr]

 

BUT- you need to understand that it was generous of them to even give you x amount of OBC. They didn't have to do that. You made it to Cabo and had that first 'normal' day at sea, the people booked this week don't have that option.

 

It would have been nice if they offered you some credit towards another cruise, but you shouldn't expect that. [/i]

 

I'm glad that you feel for us, but I would have to say that I disagree with your comments! You say generous, I say cheap and an insult! Especially in light of what passengers this week are getting. If they had a choice to cancel and get a full refund, I wouldn't feel the way I do. But with all of the other options and choices they have, I am really upset. Why can't didn't we get some choices/options?

 

I have to agree with NVCruiser... We were there, you weren't. I would love to see how you would have reacted. I'm not trying to stir things up or cause problems, but you would have to be there in order to for you to say 'that it was generous' or 'you shouldn't expect that'!

[klfhngr]

Just a note on the fog complaint:

 

Last week, the week before yours, the last time that Mariner went to Mexico, we had several hours of fog and constant fog-horn blasts as we came into Mazatlan.

 

The Mexican itinerary isn't fog or fog-horn free, either.

 

:)

 

Rare though, in comparison to Pacific Northwest....

[CRUISING71]

Was the sea rough going up North or return to Long Beach from SF?

[dirtgirl]

Sorry you had to go through all this, bud.;) I hope it all works out for you.:)

[amybeth4]

I wonder if they switched to the Pac. NW assuming people would still want ports...if it were me and I was in the mindframe (and had the clothes) for a warm cruise, I would rather drop anchor off the coast of Mexico and sit by the pool all day, rather than go into 50 degree rain and fog just to walk around (beautiful) San Fran...

 

I'd love to know why ships can't "look into the company database" and throw together a new Compass and create a full day's worth of activities instead of leaving passengers with so little to do because that day was originally a port day. Ridiculous!!!!

 

I'd have been quiiiiiite unhappy on this cruise. All the, "It's not RCI's fault" in the world wouldn't have made me happier had I just spent all that money. Of course I would've understood it but it doesn't mean I'd have to be HAPPY about throwing away $1,000.

 

I'd love to meet all the happy, go-with-the-flow people who seem to be on Cruise Critic. They must have rainbows, hearts and flowers floating over their heads all the time! I'm totally jealous.

[ladyboyd]

I'm glad that you feel for us, but I would have to say that I disagree with your comments! You say generous, I say cheap and an insult! Especially in light of what passengers this week are getting. If they had a choice to cancel and get a full refund, I wouldn't feel the way I do. But with all of the other options and choices they have, I am really upset. Why can't didn't we get some choices/options?

 

I have to agree with NVCruiser... We were there, you weren't. I would love to see how you would have reacted. I'm not trying to stir things up or cause problems, but you would have to be there in order to for you to say 'that it was generous' or 'you shouldn't expect that'!

 

 

I totally agree! That poster did not experience the things we did. I did take 1 velour sweatsuit that I wore for 3 days (first night after Cabo, and the next 2 days) I live in the SF area and got off the ship to buy a jacket! I hadn't been that cold since I lived back east. I needed a coat, hat, scarf and gloves. (I would have been one of those that left the ship in

SF, but I had to go back to LA to get my car!):(

 

We should also have been told beforehand and offered other options prior to boarding ths ship. I can't speak for everyone else, but I worked hard to pay for this cruise and was very disappointed with the outcome.

[rubrrick]

I totally agree! That poster did not experience the things we did. I did take 1 velour sweatsuit that I wore for 3 days (first night after Cabo, and the next 2 days) I live in the SF area and got off the ship to buy a jacket! I hadn't been that cold since I lived back east. I needed a coat, hat, scarf and gloves. (I would have been one of those that left the ship in

SF, but I had to go back to LA to get my car!):(

 

We should also have been told beforehand and offered other options prior to boarding ths ship. I can't speak for everyone else, but I worked hard to pay for this cruise and was very disappointed with the outcome.

 

 

We got off of the ship that you got on. At that point, there was not a problem about the Swine flu. We knew nothing about any problem.....that I was aware of.

 

How could you have been told before hand........except by someone with a crystal ball........that you were going to have a problem.

 

There are always people that have 20/20 hindsight.......that think like this.

 

I feel sorry for you.......but Life is Life!! Like you know when a tsunami is coming your way.......and you want a refund!

[NYCRUISR]

I feel for all of you who were on this cruise.

I too work hard to save for my vacations. The excitement and anticipation is all consuming. We all know that the cruise line may change the itinerary at any time they see fit. You just hope it doesnt happen on "my" cruise.

 

I just can't believe that there weren't any other options other than going north to colder weather. If it had to be however, I do think that the passengers should be offered a bit more compensation. Not because they are entitled to it but because it would be good for customer relations.

 

It is easy for anyone not on this cruise tell others they shouldn't complain but I don't believe any one would be happy if this happened to them. It wasn't simply 1 missed port. Just about the entire itinerary was changed.

 

I love RC but.....shame on them. IMHO

[ladyboyd]

We got off of the ship that you got on. At that point, there was not a problem about the Swine flu. We knew nothing about any problem.....that I was aware of.

 

How could you have been told before hand........except by someone with a crystal ball........that you were going to have a problem.

 

There are always people that have 20/20 hindsight.......that think like this.

 

I feel sorry for you.......but Life is Life!! Like you know when a tsunami is coming your way.......and you want a refund!

 

 

Not true! There was talk of the swine flu for at least a week before we boarded!