ummgood

 

I hope you do the right Thing and vote with your wallet after your cruise and give your Business to companies you have a better opinion about.

 

Thanks I will.

If you go back and read the OP, the poster was in the water on a floating mat. She also says the people could stand up, having them stand up and calm down would have been a better idea than to try to tow 3 hysterical people into shore.

 

 

 

None of us know what the lifeguard actually did. We don't know if he had radioed for additional help. We don't know if additional lifeguards were on there way. There are lifeguards out on jetskis that could have been coming to aid from the waterside.

 

 

 

It is great that the OP wanted to help out these people but you need to listen to the lifeguard, not tell them their job.

Ok thanks! I did read it but missed that point.

Yes really.

 

 

 

If you don´t like a product or the Terms associated with it, don´t buy it.

 

 

 

I see nothing wrong with what you describe on how big Corps work. It´s money making Business. No one Forces you to buy such products, especially when it Comes to stuff like Cruises.

 

 

 

ETA:

 

BTW, why don´t those small businesses don´t survive anyway with their great customer Service? It´s because todays Society is greedy as I said. People will run towards the big corporations Business to get those lower Prices, knowing they will get less customer Service. It´s their free decision to put greed over Service. That´s why small Business are run over by the big corp.

 

 

 

Look what´s Happening with online Business. People go to the stores to see, touch and check out the products. Many of These stores will be small businesses offering lots of Service and guidance. Then People leave the store witout a purchase and go home to order it online from Amazon or ebay or others. Now who´s fault is this? Big Corp? Small Business? Or maybe the consumer who cries foul later?

You are right about the buying public. I just am convinced that corporations for the most part lack moral accountability and nothing is really done to encourage it. So when it comes to an individual vs a corporation I always side with the individual until I know what went on. In this case I think RCCL really dropped the ball. Good thing they have real competition because maybe with their lack of customer service someone else who does provide customer service can win their business.

I already saw this on our roll call. They moved someone from their connecting room with their parents to another deck without asking. Then when they called to rectify the situation RCCL said they had the right to move them because it is in the contract and refused to put them back together. Their parents are handicapped and I a, sure they were there to assist and RCCL did nothing so they cancelled and are moving to another cruise line. I personally am seeing way to many of these lack of customer service posts to start to think that RCCL really does have a problem. Maybe you haven't seen it but I can put 2+2 together.

Maybe if instead of the people who love RCCL so much butchering those who are experiencing poor service first hand they should hold RCCL accountable for their poor service. Because of they continue to do business the way they seem to be headed you eventually will no longer see the RCCL you love so much if you experience those same things.

We all can encounter problems with travel and life but the way a company handles you when they are directly involved really shows what kind of company you are dealing with. RCCL is failing in my book. My kid got sick on Disney and it was insane how they dealt with it. I felt like they cared like my problems were their problems. While they didn't need to help they went above and beyond. I don't see that with RCCL.

I guess my question would be where was the lifeguard before the lady got all the way out to them? You would think they would have been assisting in whatever way was appropriate before she was able to get all the way from her cabana out to the people. It seemed like she waited for awhile while they were yelling for help to make sure they needed help. I would think the lifeguard would have thrown them something before she managed to get out there. I wasn't there though so who knows what happened.

This has to be the nastiest thread I have seen in a while. Clearly RCI is a family cruise line and caters to kids. Parents booking cabins with children obviously assume the kids will be sleeping on either the pullout sofa or the Pullmans.

 

It is appalling that RCI does not both clearly publish this rule on their website and make it clear when booking a reservation with children.

 

How can anyone of you possibly defend RCI.

 

I award this thread the nastiest thread of the year .. and the RCI cheerleaders the nastiest group on CC. Your treatment of the OP is disgusting.

This thread and the one where the lady booked choice air.

Spot on! It´s horrible to see the way our Society goes These days with less and less People taking responsibillity for their own Actions and always blame others and especially the big corporations for everything. Common sense seems totally out of the window and entitlement has taken it´s place.

 

Unfortunately it´s not the big corporations that got greedy, it´s mostly the individuals.

Wow really?

I think the problem with today's society is that the world is run by large corporations that treat people like a statistic. If they can get away with lowering service without impact to their bottom line they will. They also pay off the people they need to to get their way. Just look at ATT or Time Warner Cable. They have the worst customer service because they are monopolies. When companies behave this way it causes unreasonable behavior from customers because they fell like and probably in reality have no way to be heard.

The small business has to provide great customer service to survive. Large companies just buy out or kill the good businesses by temporarily lowering prices until they go out of business.

The OP, or you in the OP´s Situation could have all those things by sleeping in the pullman.

With two parents in the room one will be sleeping with the child in the main bed if they followed rccl's requirement.

I agree with the OP on this one.

I have cruised before with young kids in a Pullman on disney. If I didn't see pictures I wouldn't know that they have less railing than Disney. The room steward also put pillows on the head and foot to make a barrier and there was a wall on one end and a heavy curtain on the other to hold everything in place.

With that in mind I understand that he booked assuming that there was no restriction in place since there isn't clear info on the website. Then later he saw something that indicated that his child was too young for the Pullman. That prompted him to contact RCCL. Then on that contact he was told it was forbidden for his child to sleep in the Pullman.

I have seen many here where it was stated that it was forbidden. He already stated that it was rccl via his contact that said it was forbidden. Now that he cannot cancel rccl isn't helping him find a room that is appropriate for him. They want either him or his wife to sleep in the Pullman. This isn't acceptable in my eyes as my kids constantly kick me in the back all night. They need their own bed.

Rccl should help him find another room even at a minimal cost increase. If that didn't work I would have my kid sleep on the floor and would never sail with them again.

I would have made the same mistake. My kids have been on two cruises on Disney and have been sleeping in Pullman beds since three years old. There is no possibility of them falling out of them on Disney because of the rails. How are they setup on rccl ships? We are doing out rccl for future cruises and won't have the kids on our first cruise. It scares me there have been reports of them falling into a bed below. If they fall head first that could have serious health consequences even if it was just a foot or two.

Anyone have close ups of the Pullman beds on rccl and what the railing looks like?

So after all of that, what would be a fair compensation?

 

I'd be pretty confident that RCI will blame the airlines to compensate for your lost luggate- they are the one who lost it, afterall.

 

And what about the rest of the cruise? You arrived in Barbados on Day 3, and there are 4, 5, 6, and 7 before arriving back in San Juan. Which day wsa it that you went to the doctor and then the next day you felt horrible?

 

BTW, some of the "hateful" replies are people trying to provide some kind of solutions. Like the one suggesting that one have a credit car to travel overseas- that's a good suggestion. Or perhaps the suggestion that while in St. Thomas, you could have gone to a pharmacy to fill your perscriptions that you lost- it is the US afterall. Not sure if you did that when you got back to San Juan.

 

Yes, bottled water is expensive- even outside of airports. That $3 bottle cost $4 on board.

 

It's not likely that a ship would have actual clothing to replace what was lost other than gift shop stuff. So assuming you got stuff at the ports with cash that they give you- what would have been a good amount? I'm not sure what I would need- it would take some thinking.

 

But now, that's irrelevant- you are going to get the airlines minimum, probably. What do you want from RCI, bearing in mind that they will offer a discount (maybe up to free) for a future cruise? You lost 3 nights + a hassle- so a 4 night cruise for free? Inside cabin? Is that fair?

 

5 nights? Being that you got the majority of a 7 night cruise, I doubt it will be a 7 night compensation.

 

But your experience does make me think that our "carry on only" policy is a sound one. That way it's all with you the whole travel time.

Here is what my expectations would be. Of course this would be up for negotiation.

1. I would want a full refund for all out of pocket expenses for any cost occurred to me due to lost baggage plus food/drink costs while trying to get to the ship. This could either be from RCCL or whatever insurance pays out as long as I get paid.

2. I would want full medical reimbursement for the drugs that were lost and any future Dr. visits due to any medical problems arising from not having my meds.

3. I would want full refund of cruise plus airfare paid for this cruise. While I did get 5 days of cruise or so I also didn't have any clothes to wear but t-shirts. This would basically cause me to feel my vacation was a total loss so I would expect cash reimbursement for the cruise plus airfare.

4. I would want a written apology from RCCL for their handling of my situation.

I think this is fair given the circumstances.

I think jumping off the ship is a pretty crazy thing to do while aboard, myself.

Perhaps... As long as you have the right diving clothes. You wouldn't want to lose your swimsuit.

Strangely the crew on Star Clippers sometimes trail a baited line off the stern. The cruise director told us that on one occasion they caught a decent fish and hauled it in. To keep it fresh they put it in the swimming pool. It was cooked later in the cruise.

 

Regards John

That sounds awesome. I guess if you put it in the hot tub you could technically do some sous vide cooking.

I was kidding and telling my wife I might bring a fishing pole with us on our cruise. After all we have an aft verandah. Maybe I could catch a large fish or even a shark. Then if the food was poor in the MDR I could make a Bon fire out on the verandah and make some shark steaks.

What are some crazy ideas for word stuff to do on the ship you have heard of?

Yes we are, a road trip and a cruise. We leave tomorrow, can't wait 😃

Have fun on your trip! Be careful using your cell phones after El Paso. You can roam onto Mexican towers and get large bills. I experienced this once and had a $2.50 charge for one minute. Thankfully it was a short call!

We drive that drive a lot. We live in Austin but still have family in Cali (wine country) and friends in San Diego because I went to UCSD. We'll be making the trek again in December.

Is there a Family Promenade room on The Navigator?

I don't believe so. Only the freedom class ships and the Navigator is a Voyager class ship.

Even though I might have leg hair I plan on donating to locks of love so just remember that when you have trouble eating at dinner. I'll promise to keep them combed and polished as much as I can.

What I find interesting is the poll currently has 4 voting items. Notice how on the "No" answers the male and female votes are equal. Vs the Yes the males outweigh the females. I have realized that as a guy we are at a slight disadvantage. I typically cruise on hot sailings in the Caribbean. Even when I cruise in December after we get out of the port say on day 2 it warms up significantly. I get uncomfortable in pants unless the AC is really cranking. Women have the option to wear shorter dresses or skirts/skorts that look formal but men are forced into pants. We have no option for something shorter than pants given the current attire suggestions by the cruise line.

I think this is why the poll really is lopsided on the YES votes. Less women care about wearing shorts to the MDR because they have other reasonable options that fall within the suggested attire for casual or formal nights that men do not have.

This is why I voted for shorts in the MDR. I need some kind of cooler option. I'll still obey the rules/suggested attire and wear pants into the MDR but it would be nice to have the option of shorts in the MDR. I personally wouldn't wear cutoffs or basketball shorts into the MDR but some nice shorts made by a quality brand with my tommy bahama type shirts.

I don't think anyone has suggested that dressing up changes the weather. :D But there are some times when, because of the weather, dressing up in a suit is more or less comfortable than others.

Bingo!

I am a big guy at 6'4" and 280 lbs and I can tell you that I am only comfortable in a jacket when it is less than 50 degrees. Other than that I start to sweat. If I wear button up shirts I like to have them open for air. I love Tommy Bahama type shirts because they flow and I don't feel hot and stuffy in them. If they were willing to turn the temp down in the MDR to about 60 degrees I might wear a tie.

Or maybe not. When I told my wife of my clothing plans for dinner she said, oh good, that simplifies my decisions. No need to go buy unneeded dress-up clothes for one dinner.

I married a tom boy girl who likes to skate and do active things. She could care less if she is wearing a dress. In fact in all the family photos when her and her sisters were younger it looked like they were being tortured. So actually I believe my wife wouldn't care about the dressing up part and I don't believe she is lying to me on that one ;)

this type of question is like asking how long is a piece of rope.

How long is it?

Just kidding. I know some people spend more or less than others. I am looking more for items I might have missed that I might need cash for. When I see those ideas I'll decide if that is something I would need cash for or not.

We have been doing specialty restaurants on formal night since the days when it really was an issue if you didn't dress to the nines, and we'd even get dirty looks on the Royal Promenade if we were not dressed up on formal night. It seemed silly for us to lug all that extra clothing to put on 5 minutes before dinner and change out of immediately after leaving the MDR. I'm glad it's changing slowly and I wish they would do away with it completely, but there's still a negative vibe on formal night from some people (just read this forum) so we just skip it. It's more of a tradition for us now, and we figure we were going to do specialties anyway, so this just makes it easier for us to determine which nights to do it.

 

I also heard the rumors of higher prices in the specialties on formal nights, but we're already booked for next week on the Navigator at the same price as any other night. If they do go with the higher prices on formal nights, the dress code police will have to deal with 4 more of the unwashed masses in the MDR on formal night.

Thanks that might be the plan. Or I could buy this t-shirt...

Go to Guest Services for change. The casino is not a bank...............

Ok thanks I'll have another reason to avoid it. The funny thing is in Vegas and other places the Casino is the bank if you need cash or to break up larger bills. I figured it was the same on the ship.

We always skip formal too, and last cruise, we went to Portofinos. We wore slacks and a nice shirt and it was just fine. I didn't feel we stuck out at all there. In fact, if I remember correctly, though it's formal dining in the dining room, it wasn't in the speciality restaurants, at least on our Jewel cruise.

Thanks that is what I was wondering about the specialty restaurants.

That's what I've always thought. They give suggestions for what to wear on the various "theme" if you will nights because there are people who really don't understand what terms like "casual" or "formal" mean and what clothing is appropriate for the designated nights. It doesn't mean that the second night is suggested to be formal, it means that it has been designated formal and this is what we suggest people wear to be appropriate.

 

 

On one cruise, a couple from Texas did not come to the first formal night since they had not packed formal clothing. They were encouraged by the waiter and tablemates to come to the second anyway. DH wore a dark suit and I wore a long skirt and beaded top while the third couple wore a tux and full ballgown. We had a nice evening but I could tell they felt a bit uncomfortable.

That is what I was concerned about. It is awkward if your table mates are dressed to the nines and we aren't. That is why we might skip the MDR and have a nice dinner at one of the upcharge places. The reason I said Johnny Rockets is because by the end of the cruise we are usually tired of eating haha and it seemed simple.

I've been in the Navigator twice. Definitely more laid back than other ships. DH did Austin formal-- pressed jeans, boots and a collared polo. He was fine. No one batted an eye. Definitely more of a Texas feel-- coming from a South Austinite!

We live in SW Austin. I don't press jeans though ;)

Thanks everyone!

Another Austinite here! I promised DH that I would not ask him to put on a jacket or tie if he would go on a Mexican Riviera cruise a few years back. We went to specialty restaurants on each of the formal night. He wore a pair of khakis and a Tommy Bahama shirt. We had a lovely dinner, it wasn't crowded at all, and it was obvious that we were not the only couple in specialty restaurants on those nights for the same reason.

 

You should also be aware that they have lately been turning men away from the dining room who were in shorts on Navigator - in case this is the ship you are taking.

Yep we are going on Navigator July 5th. We are ditching the kids with grandma and grandpa and celebrating our 15th anniversary with some beaches and fun in the sun. We have cruised 2 times with Disney but are scoping out RCCL to see how it will be for the kiddos when we are on board. Our kids are 3, 6, and 11.

Thanks! Will we stick out if we are not dressed formal? I guess I don't want to be a disruption. I don't mind going to the other venues on those nights if needed. I don't want my wife to feel uncomfortable.

I don't plan on wearing shorts in the MDR just didn't want to dress fancy smancy.