lowsidr

As the OP I felt the need to check in on this post. I have just had internet restored, water is on but contaminated, no fuel but we regained electricity fully yesterday. I was surprised this thread is still active as when I bowed out to finish preparing for Irma I believe it was at 17 pages. Hunkered down we were east of the eye by about 5-7 miles, it was a nasty ride.

Here's how it worked out for me and RCCL. Post storm (Naples), had to drive looking for cell hot-spots. No fuel available anywhere. Once hot-spot found RC's website was not functioning properly, no updates available in regards to Irma just click and freeze, website down or overloaded. On the 12th I was able to contact RCCL to verify if the 13th sailing of the Allure would be a go and if the port would be open, fully functional and staffed. I was told it "should be a go" but to check for updates. When I pressed for a 100% guarantee that if I drove to Port Everglades on the 13th they could guarantee parking and departure I was placed on terminal hold and then disconnected. This happened three times before I gave up and went home. On the morning of the 13th I drove again to the hot-spot. RCCL's website was still down and phone-lines were overwhelmed and unanswered and if you got through to the automated call center terminal holds ended with disconnects without ever speaking to a person. I was finally able to contact an actual RCCL agent with the help of an outside travel agent in the early afternoon (we are 1.5 hour away from the port) via a three-way call. I was told the cruise was still scheduled but when I pressed if the Oasis and Allure had arrived and disembarked yet and if there was parking at the port the agent didn't know. I explained I wasn't sure if I had enough fuel to make it to the port (there is no fuel to be found as I type and when we spoke) but that "if" I could scavenge some could she guarantee that the ship would sail 100% and that if for some reason it couldn't would I be able to find fuel on the east coast to return home? She didn't know, could give no such guarantee and I understood her position so don't flame me on that. She did say that since I was in an affected area an FCC would be issued automatically but no refunds.

So it is what it is, the ship did sail on the 13th for a shortened itinerary. I have no idea how many people actually made it on the ship but we were unable due to the fuel issue and possibility of getting stranded on the east coast with an empty tank of gas trying to make it. I'm not exactly happy with how this was handled by RCCL but I am also aware they did what they could and this was an extreme situation for all involved or impacted.

Hurricane Irma Update

Port Everglades is closed to waterside and landside activity until further notice.

OP is mostly wrong about his options. The actual offer is !00% FCC if you don't cruise on Wednesday; 50% FCC plus 50% OBC if you do. No insurance needed. If you have insurance you can get a refund, but assuming you can cruise in the next year you don't lose anything from RCI. Now we still don't know if anyone can get to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, or if the ship can get into port, but this isn't a bad deal.

 

Folks that got off ship in Jamaica apparently were complaining about poor treatment. Onboard it is the opposite - continuous updates on the ship info channel, information on getting off in Puerto Maya and Cozumel (Saturday and Monday). No charged gratuities for Sun-Wed (but you can add them back). Drinks/internet 50% off (not free, though). If you bought the ultimate dining package it is extended for free for rest of cruise. Specialty dining otherwise is 50% off. Calm seas, warm, and a port every other day. Current plan is Cozumel on Monday and one sea day north of Cuba.

 

Things could still go wrong - if port and airport are not open on Wednesday then new folks can't get on and folks onboard will continue to cruise around.

I was not "mostly wrong". I have stated continuously worst case scenario is 100% FCC. I spelled out the other options as well very clearly.

What have we established so far?

Insurance: Great to have but not necessarily going to protect you 100%.

Responsibility: Both the cruiseline's AND customers bear some burden.

Greed: Some on the part of the cruiseline's and some with the customers.

Customer safety 1st? I love RC but based on Harvey and Irma as recent example, $ retention trumps.

The contract you signed? Sure, they have it written in their best interest and most never read it or if they do, fully understand the fine print. Overall RC is fair.

FCC? Reasonable, in best interest of the cruiseline's but doesn't work for everyone.

OBC and future FCC for shortened itinerary etc? Wonderful, fantastic, over the top but MAY put people at risk if they choose to benefit from that.

Refund? Seems the most reasonable, sensible in a situation such as this but not contractually obligated.

Corporate responsibility? Shareholders first, nothing new.

Bottom line? I hope the best for everyone, especially those in harms way. Be safe, safe travels, be good to others, help others, don't chastise others for differing opinion. It's just a cruise, much more at stake right now than $, FCC's, refunds, OBC's, vacation interruptions etc....Thanks for the feedback, good and bad. Wish me luck, not looking good for South Florida right now. Personally signing out as I think this thread has brought attention to issues on both sides of the fence. Whether you choose to fully support RCCL or bash them at least some light has been shed and we are all a bit more informed.

I don't think RC is the one with the greed here. Just saying...

So whom specifically is being greedy? Just asking...

Yes, but they're giving people a choice.

 

1 - sail a shortened sailing. You will receive 50% of what you paid as a refundable on board credit and 50% as a future cruise credit. You're essentially getting.free 4 or 5 day cruise (obviously you'll spend something on board).

 

2 - decide not to sail and receive 100% of what you paid as a future cruise credit.

 

They are not forcing anyone to travel to Florida or sail on the 12th or 13th.

 

Some people, like the OP, are just complaining that that they just don't get a complete cash refund like those folks who's cruises have been cancelled.

"Some people, like the OP, are just complaining that that they just don't get a complete cash refund like those folks who's cruises have been cancelled."

You just don't get it do you? It could literally be a life or death situation here for anyone attempting to come in to make the modified cruise, let alone all of the Floridian's that are in harms way. How you can be so dense not to get that blows my mind. There is no crystal ball right now on exactly where this thing hit's. It's NOT about the money right now, it's about safety and a cruiseline not willing to deter their cruisers from coming into a potentially catastrophic situation just so they can mitigate some fiscal loss.

Royal Caribbean using its own cruise ship to evacuate employees

 

Royal Caribbean is putting its employees aboard one of its own majestic ships to get them out of the path of Hurricane Irma.

 

The employees and their dependents will board the Enchantment of the Seas, a thousand-foot ship that can handle almost 2,500 passengers, and churn to calmer waters before the hurricane slams into Florida this weekend.

 

[...]

 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/07/news/companies/royal-caribbean-hurricane-irma/index.html

Very cool of RC to do this.....

Congratulations on 1/4 of this 160 post thread being yours.:):cool:

Yeah, I posted a thread and responded to comments, isn't that the idea? Do you prefer people that start a thread and then not respond?

I guess we can all agree that cruise lines have contracts that pretty much remove them from bearing any responsibility for cruise changes, delays etc. And we can agree that trip insurance is a good thing to have.

But what the issue seems to be is if they talk the talk, then they should walk the walk

If they SAY they care about passenger safety first, and their passengers in general, then they should show it. Keep them safe and do the right thing

We were on a cruise a few years ago to the ABC islands. The day we were supposed to dock, after 2 days of cruising, the captain came on at 8AM and said we were turning around and heading back to Ft Lauderdale. Norovirus was so bad amongst passengers and the crew that the cruise was compromised. We received a full refund to our credit card, 25% off another cruise if taken within 2 or 3 years AND the cruise line rescheduled everyone's airline tickets FOR them. Also 5 days cruising around the Caribbean for $0 ( we didnt get sick)

Did they have to do that? Was it in the contract? I don't think so. Was it a small ship? Nope, 3000 passengers.

But I'll tell you this, that bought my loyalty.

And I hope RCCL does the right thing here by its passengers and everyone can stay as safe as possible and out of harm's way

Great post. I'm also a loyal RC fan and we cruise a lot. Never had an issue with them not bending over to keep us happy. I'm just annoyed right now because they refuse to answer any questions in regards to the time-frame in which they will 100% confirm a departure, in my case anew date of the 13th instead of the 10th. I don't think it's an unreasonable request for them to give more notice. Another person stated earlier that they were still saying the cruise was on the day before and even though the port was closed. Insanity to do this and claim it's all being done for the safety of their customers....Yep, time to walk the walk if you talk the talk.

They're not.

RCL's most recent post today at 6pm stated my cruise has been modified and it will leave on the 13th instead of the 10th. If that's not saying "come on down" i'm not sure what else does.

It depends. Some policy's require you to insure the entire amount paid for the cruise, flights, hotels, etc., while some allow you to insure a smaller amount. I believe there is an insurance section on cruise critic that you should check out. Why should the cruise line reimbursement people who failed to insure their vacation?

 

Now if a trip is canceled because the ships engine is damaged than in that case the cruise line should be responsible.

 

 

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Appreciate the info but I disagree entirely that the entire weight of responsibility should be placed entirely on a persons choice of whether they purchased insurance or not, that's just not rational thinking. If the product I purchased cannot be delivered as advertised due to the cruiseline not being able to fulfill the product sold, customers should NOT be left on the hook or blamed simply because they didn't purchase insurance.

Sorry for your troubles really! I was supposed to be flying into Fort Lauderdale this morning for my Birthday weekend!

 

I did not take out insurance as my package was a bit over 700.00 ..lucky for me JetBlue will refund. I always take out insurance for my cruises though.

 

Stay safe Florida!!

 

 

Good luck

Reader

Happy early Birthday and thanks for the well wishes. Sorry you are missing out on the cruise....

Did you purchase insurance?

 

 

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No I didn't, i'm fine with the fact I didn't. Worst case scenario I get a FCC. Best case scenario I still have a home, the 13th will be a go and Irma doesn't devastate Florida or other states. My post isn't about insurance, this is bigger than that.

Officials are saying get out now.

 

Royal Caribbean is saying "get here Tuesday or Wednesday". After the storm has passed.

Don't forget the "try" and get here Tuesday/Wednesday. That in and of itself may be impossible. We have the storm surge to deal with and the likelihood of some massive flooding. South Florida has had one of it's rainiest summers in history, south Florida is already saturated and when the storm surge hit's there are thousands of cars currently parked at the ports that will most likely flooded and damaged.

Because he lives in South Florida and may not have a home in the next few days.

Thanks for that, made me laugh and cry at the same time...lol

As a shareholder and avid cruiser of RCCL, the #1 reason for all decisions made is MONEY! Stop the BS about pax safety is 1st. It's very obvious they are creating a cruise to nowhere to keep from issuing refunds. We will hold off on calling & canceling the 7 day Allure sailing and hope the 4 day cruise to nowhere is canceled so we can get the refund we are entitled to. If they still won't, I will call my credit card company as a last ditched effort.

 

Sending anyone to S FL on Tues/Wed is insanity...If the city is not badly damaged and the port open, it will be gridlock on the roads heading south to FLL...let alone gas shortages along the way. Sometimes the only way to wake up the bean counters is to put the spotlight on them in the press.

On point! I'll be doing the same. I just can't see that port being open come Tuesday/Wednesday not to mention the thousands of cars that will probably be flooded and damaged....

Really? My wife is teacher, school here does not get out till the after first week of June, then teachers are held over for another week and then she has 6-7 days of continuing education to complete, which most of those are only offered in the first weeks of June.

I think people forget that different areas have different school schedules. Not to mention the foreign travelers with kids from around the world. It's a different scenario for everyone, not black and white.

Lyncruiser, I'm so sorry that happened to you, it's exactly what they did to several people here in Houston last month. At least they are allowing to people to actually get a 100% FCC now, rather than making them wait until it's too late to avoid the area, but a lot of people are still trying to make the cruise instead.

It is "nice" that they are offering the FCC but for many people an FCC might be something they are unable to utilize. For many, this could be a cruise of a lifetime, they could be dead in a year. I remember meeting a bunch of folks a few years ago from Venezuela, they certainly wouldn't be able to make a future cruise today. Like you said, RCL is essentially baiting people in when every other emergency agency is saying get the hell out. Makes no sense unless you factor in the bean counters making these decisions. It should be a simple refund...

MONEY! Cancel these cruises and issues refunds. I don't think they need to offer any discounts, just a refund would be all that's required and fair. I am sure a great deal of employees would love a little break...

Yeah, a simple refund is sufficient in this type of natural disaster situation. If they chose to offer an additional "incentive" to book a new cruise within a certain time fame more power to them and their passenger retention team.

Caribill and others -

Just wanted to say, I feel your pain. We were scheduled on Royal Caribbean when Hurricane Jeanne struck in 2004. We faced all the dilemmas that current passengers are facing.

 

Our cruise was to leave Miami on Saturday - the day the hurricane was to hit Miami. On Friday morning, RCCI was insisting our ship would travel as planned (that's why I'm suspicious of that big list of ships they currently claim are still going this weekend).

 

We were a family group flying from the West Coast and celebrating our dad's birthday. We had to leave Friday morning to have any chance of getting to Miami before the storm hit and being available for the still-scheduled sailing.

 

Our group included two elderly parents and a four-month old baby. Coach airfare to fly us all to Miami was about $6000. I purchased trip insurance for everyone. I was also treating the entire family group to the cruise.

 

On Friday morning, we had to make the decision to fly to Miami -- straight into a coming hurricane or stay home. Since RCCI continued to claim the cruise was going as scheduled, we felt we had no choice but to fly.

 

Also, I called the insurer explaining the situation and that the cruise was unlikely to go given the hurricane.

 

The insurance company response:

If your flight is going to Miami and you're not on it, we will NOT reimburse you for the airfare.

If your cruise sails and you're not on the ship, we will NOT reimburse you for the cruise fare.

 

So insurance is often not very helpful in these situations.

 

With no further information and unwilling to forfeit $6,000 of airfare and approximately $8,000 in cruise fare, we boarded our flight from So. Cal. on Friday morning, flying directly into the hurricane's path and having no idea if we would have to evacuate to a shelter. Our Friday night hotel rooms were at a hotel on South Beach.

 

We arrived in Miami about 4 pm on Friday. About 5 pm on Friday, RCCI announced that our 7-day cruise would leave the following Tuesday for a 4-night cruise. Those who took the 4-night cruise would get a 25% credit for a future cruise and a 50% on board credit. Those who didn't take the cruise were, if I recall correctly, entitled to a 100% FCC.

 

Meanwhile, we now had to figure out if we could stay in our hotel rooms until Tuesday (or if we'd be evacuated by the authorities). We spent Friday night at the hotel. Saturday, we learned that the port of Miami was closed. We also learned, however, that the storm likely would shift further east at the last minute. Our hotel was able to let us keep two of our four rooms (which made for crowded conditions but at least we weren't in a shelter). So, we hunkered down and stayed at the hotel.

 

What did insurance pay for? Two hotel rooms for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, as well as documented food expenses for those days. It wasn't a great deal of money on the insurance claim, plus I'd paid over $500 in premium for the insurance. My biggest frustration was that travel insurance was of no use in helping us in a tough situation.

 

Once on board, the 50% on board credit was nice. We bought a couple of things and then used the rest for a refund to my credit card. The 25% FCC was useless. I had paid for airfare and cruise for our entire family group. But, I only was entitled to the FCC for my cruise fare. The FCC was personal to each person in our group. So, the FCC could only be used for a future cruise if the person holding it had enough money to cruise again during the year. The people in my family did not. So, 10 FCCs went unused.

 

We've since stopped cruising and the way things were handled with respect to Hurricane Jeanne (and our incredible stress at being put in the position of having to fly elderly parents and a baby straight into a hurricane) is one reason why.

What a horrible worst case scenario and testament to the human condition and the faith you placed in RCL. I'm so very sorry you all had to endure all of that unnecessary stress and financial loss. It's stories like this from real people that hopefully will bring awareness, not criticism because someone didn't buy insurance or choose to cruise at the wrong time of year. Thanks so much for sharing this, hopefully it will spare someone from making the same mistake, not that it was your mistake.

I understand you are stressed about the hurricane, but you spent these funds on a cruise and wouldn't have had them available for evacuation if the hurricane were to hit the week after your cruise, so that is stretching it. Plus, you keep saying you will go on the shortened cruise, so you weren't going to use this money to evacuate anyway. I also understand you don't like the options you were given, but you chose not to insure your vacation and have posted many times the reasons. I get it, you are frustrated, but they aren't stringing you along, they have made a decision on that cruise.

 

Now, will the ship actually make it in, I don't know, but as someone who would have had to fly in for that cruise, no one would be forcing me to endanger myself and my family. It would be my decision whether to travel to Florida or not and we would have cancelled our cruise. No way would I go down there and take up hotel rooms that are needed for those who live in the area, like my relatives.

 

Stay safe in Naples. We just sold my aunt's condo down there as we finally convinced her, at 94, to move into an assisted living facility up north, near family. I would have been flying down there this past weekend to drag her out of there kicking and screaming if she hadn't already been relocated.:D

Look, I never said "I" needed the funds to evacuate, I was pointing out that others who live in Florida may and further, some people who may be trying to get here for the 13th sailing could possibly be relying wholly on RCL to provide the cruise. People do stupid things, there are no hotel rooms available as I type so you are being a bit clueless. As for evacuation in general, my area may have mandatory evacuation, don't know yet but even if they did we it may already too late...it's bumper to bumper moving at a few miles an hour with fuel outages and people already running out of gas on the highway's. As for insurance, for the umpteenth time this situation is different, I'm guaranteed at minimum a FCC. What I keep pointing out is that it's simply too dangerous for RC to hold captive a refund on a shortened cruise directly at in area that is in a state of emergency and mandatory evacuations in effect. I'm not whining because I'm not getting what I want, I'm not whining about not buying insurance I'm just stating RC isn't handling responsibly, it seems they are making a fiscal decision in disregard to their customers best interest and safety..

Did not mean to suggest that any of this happened to me. I was reporting what others have posted.

Gotcha. Regardless, it put it into perspective. It's a complicated issue, not just for cruisers but for the cruiseline's.

I thought you had the option to cancel and get a future cruise credit for you entire cruise fare? Are they allowing people to cancel now?

They WANT you to call in and cancel. If you choose to do this you will receive a FCC in the amount of your total fare. No refund, no incentive to re-schedule another cruise, just an FCC. For me that doesn't work, my vacation next year is Brazil and our work is seasonal, can't take another in the near future as this week is our only week. It's a stay-cation at this point as our vacation funds are now being held captive. Those same funds could be used for evacuation right now, I'm in Naples, SWFL, not looking good for us right now.....

It's definitely about loss reduction, they still have to pay all the staff to be on the ship next week, they will use fuel, all the food they ordered still has to be paid for even if they don't use it. If they can get people on board and spending money, they might break even on all of that. I'm sure they want to try and bring the ships back in to port to allow people who need to get off the ship to do that, but that should be it.

My thoughts are along the same lines as yours. I would just pity the roughly 6000 people who could be dumped off at a port with no way out, nowhere to stay, no car rentals available etc. I'm confident RC wouldn't allow that to happen. My gut feeling is the Allure/Oasis will need to find another port, Lauderdale will most likely be flooded and employees may have evacuated or roads impassable. The 13th sailing for me personally would be great, love the incentives to go just don't get how they haven't figured out that's it's just too dangerous a call to make right now, the potential negative impact on thousands of people leaving or entering that area early next week cannot be understated.

I totally agree!! I am still shocked that nobody has gone public with their stories to the news. I would love to see Royal held publicly accountable and have to explain their reasoning behind these decisions.

 

I posted an article on page 4 (post #80) that shows the cruiselines are already out there hard at work giving themselves good PR, and Royal Caribbean is claiming they have cancelled cruises and are giving people their money back, and yet I've seen no news articles of anyone calling them out for lying (or at least, sugar coating the truth by calling a shortened itinerary a "cancellation" and calling a future cruise credit a "refund.)

 

 

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In their defense they did actually fully cancel some cruises and gave full refunds along with a 25% FCC if they chose to book another cruise within 30 days of the official cancellation. They are however stringing everyone else along right now by shortening cruises and "unassumingly I hope" steering people directly into a potentially very bad situation. As far as speaking out against them to a news crew? I'm not one to stick my neck out that far and at this point am giving them a bit more time to make a full cancellation announcement. I have been in contact with them directly and through James Fleet, I have not been able to obtain answers as far as timeline, they're lips are sealed, they just say keep checking for updates.