Just off the Serenade of the seas! (2 complaints)

[glenneagle]

We do not cruise out of San Juan any more.Two years of awful preboarding and chaotic embarking and rude porters was enough to ditch san juan.

[Desert Cruizers]

PantherFan I agree with you totally. We have never cruised out of San Juan but not sure I really want to, but would love to sail on the Serenade. In our few cruises, we have encountered repairs or maintenance, but so far nothing at the hours you experienced. We have seen on our two Princess cruises repairs being made to the Lounge chairs in the sheltered area at the bow and will stand there and watch them. Hopefully your future cruises you will not be awakened at 5:30 :). lastly anytime any of us have a situation and we need to address the cruise lines, we should be able to walk away knowing they care and will take care of the problem.

[amybeth4]

we were on voyager when this happened to us and just called it a work in progress. We did not let it bother our cruise vacation! We were in an expensive suite on the 10th floor too! when ya get lemmons make lemmonade and ENJOY!!!!:) hope you had fun though!!

 

Yeah, and "a bad day cruising is better than a good day at work." (Grrrrr.)

 

Realtree, I'm sure you're a really nice person and you do have a great attitude so I mean NO offense, but I'm sorry, there are times when you have EVERY RIGHT to be annoyed. This is a case of not saying, "C'est la vie, let them walk all over me because I'm on vacation so I have no rights."

 

If, for example, I went to bed at 1am and had a big excursion planned for the next day and was woken up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep, you better believe I'd be annoyed, as would most people, vacation or not. Hell, even if I had a lazy day at the pool planned, I'd be annoyed after 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

 

Sorry, but there ARE times in life when we have every right to complain (even if we're just complaining to our cabin mate or regaling CCers with their story). :(

[sldcruiser]

"First of all, we had a fantastic week. The staff is the best and the weather was awesome."

 

This was how the post started. I think the 2 complaints the OP had were legitimate. We're sailing out of SJ on the Serenade in June. I was glad to get the heads up about the porters. And I hope RCCL read the complaint about the noise so early in the morning. There are other times to do big repairs.

 

It doesn't sound like either of these things ruined their cruise. I guess you're not allowed to say anything negative about anything on these boards.

[Lynnees]

Tis is exactly why we no longer sail out of San Juan. The rudeness and thievery knows no bounds and it is definitely reason to sail from other ports.

 

Perhaps this has something to do with much cheaper cruises and the fact they are pulling the Adventure out of San Juan?

[cruisin from florida]

Yeah, and "a bad day cruising is better than a good day at work." (Grrrrr.)

 

....

 

If, for example, I went to bed at 1am and had a big excursion planned for the next day and was woken up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep, you better believe I'd be annoyed, as would most people, vacation or not. Hell, even if I had a lazy day at the pool planned, I'd be annoyed after 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

 

Sorry, but there ARE times in life when we have every right to complain (even if we're just complaining to our cabin mate or regaling CCers with their story). :(

 

Agree 100%

One of my migraine triggers is sleep interruptions. So the cruiseline waking us up at 5:30 with loud noises that precluded getting back to sleep would not only mess up that night, but probably the next day as well. Unacceptable, and I'm glad the OP has complained about it up the ladder.

 

I think RCCL is cutting back in a LOT of areas that aren't as obvious as the dining room and mints on the pillows and C&A perks, and this kind of scheduling of maintenance could be a result of that. They need to know it's not acceptable, and will cost them customers in the long run.

[amybeth4]

Mheeren, and isn't it sad that RCCL has to be "told" that it's ridiculous to install carpets at 5:30am?!

 

Sometimes there's not enough sugar onboard to turn those lemons into lemonade. Sometimes you just end up with lemon juice all over your hands. :)

[PrincesScuba]

"First of all, we had a fantastic week. The staff is the best and the weather was awesome."

 

This was how the post started. I think the 2 complaints the OP had were legitimate. We're sailing out of SJ on the Serenade in June. I was glad to get the heads up about the porters. And I hope RCCL read the complaint about the noise so early in the morning. There are other times to do big repairs.

 

It doesn't sound like either of these things ruined their cruise. I guess you're not allowed to say anything negative about anything on these boards.

 

I agree. The Original Post was useful, helpful, informative and exactly what Cruise Critic is for.

[Miss Vickie]

We sail out of San Juan nearly exclusively, because we prefer the itineraries out of San Juan. And Serenade is far and away our favorite ship (we're sailing on her for the 5th time this January, with #6 booked for 2011). We haven't encountered the rudeness with the porters, probably because we're always to the pier early, before the lines have had a chance to get long or the taxis to line up too far, and are usually holding our tip in our hand when we get out of our cab. We'll be on the lookout for it this year. May not have the tip visible, just to see what happens, we'll see.

 

Sorry about the early morning problems - that is truly a legitimate issue. We prefer aft balcony suites, deck 10 and had a problem on one cruise with the cleaning staff in the Windjammer decided to play loud music while working in the wee hours. We were not happy campers, but a call to guest relations helped, and it was not repeated. I'm sorry your complaint wasn't treated as seriously.

[Cruising89143]

First of all, we had a fantastic week. The staff is the best and the weather was awesome.

 

I do have 2 complaints and did bring them to the attention of RCL.

I know they are not acceptable but, I know I will get flamed by RCL supporters. :D

 

1. Heads up to all that arrive at that port to check in. WE got dropped off by taxi and had to drag our bags through the line to the "porters" (port workers not RCL employees)

 

It was a really long line while no one was at customs. When it was our turn we knew why. The "porters" were making people give them $$ before they were allowed to go to customs! Yes, that is true!

 

I walked by them with my 2 carry-ons, but they were yelling at me to come back to pay them. I did not. However, the rest (5 adults) had to shell out $$ to pass. I told customs, that told me to tell RCL which I did.

 

We also filed a written complaint to guest relations--haven't heard anything back so be warned...

 

2. Now, you can flame me....

We sprung for an expensive suite and were awoken at 5:30am on Friday morning (a sea day) by banging, hammering outside our door and down the hall. We are thinking what the heck?:eek:

 

They were installing carpet and it was loud and completely unacceptable!

 

I called down 3 times and they did not stop. It went on for 1 1/2 hours and we were at end of hall. The beginning of the hall must of been blessed by the noise earlier. We took photos. (see below)

 

We told Ken and guest relations and though they agreed it was not acceptable, nothing was done. (like an apology for waking us up)

 

Yes, RCL fan club members, we know RCL has to do regular maintenance

but, at what land based resort or even at our homes would that be okay? I think not!

 

My husband stuck his head out and the guys were by our door, he shook his head and said " I can't believe this" one of the workers said "believe it".

 

Just my thoughts...:(

 

Our diamond commerative gift was a small lapel pin and magnet.

 

I agree that the installation of the carpet at that time of the morning is totally unacceptable and regardless of cabin accommodations it would not have made me happy but I also find the "baiting" of egging on someone to come back and flame you totally uncalled for. It seems to me that you're asking for folks to flame you. Hopefully RCI will respond to your issues and it won't happen to future cruisers.

[PantherFan]

jl

 

When you go again take note if a RCL employee is nearby, nobody from RCL was around when we got to the porters, so it may be that they act this way when nobody from RCL is around.

[monkeyinhat]

Soooo....if you do not resort to the exortion from the porters, do they "misplace" your luggage . yikes. They take my bag , I tip, but not tipping 20.00 for them to stand there

 

I would be extremely upset with the carpet banging too. I would be on the phone calling and calling . I know from another cruise these people are usually subcontractors not ship employees. I bet they were wanting to get there work done and over with and enjoy the rest of the cruise work free.

 

(an NC Falcon fan :)

[cecelia0613]

and while I understand the concerns about working on the carpet at that time of the night, it was fun to see how fast the carpet was changed. From tearing out the old to completely installing the new carpet in the hallway it was all done within a 24 hour window. They were working outside my door at midnight but I was so tired from the day I went right to sleep.

 

Personally, there were much bigger issues on this cruise that RCCL is hearing about already that these little things mean nothing. I will never cruise out of San Juan again for more reasons than I wish to share on this board at this time. What I will say is this...deep discounting cruise fares out of San Juan is bringing problems to the ship...

 

Regardless, my husband and I had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed the ports and excursions we participated in. We made the best of the cruise...

[waterbugohio]

We have only cruised twice and both were on the Serenade out of San Juan. While I have nothing to compare to, I did notice the porters this year vs. last year. Either that or I just don't remember them last year. We were in line at 11:30 and starting moving almost right away. As soon as we were within 5 ft of the porters they asked for the tip before they even took the bags. While I won't let this ruin a cruise for me or stop me from sailing out of San Juan, I did think it was very forward. My husband of course is very generous and already had the tip out, if it would have been me, I would have told him to forget it. To me, a tip is earned, not asked for!!

[PantherFan]

Personally, there were much bigger issues on this cruise that RCCL is hearing about already that these little things mean nothing. I will never cruise out of San Juan again for more reasons than I wish to share on this board at this time. What I will say is this...deep discounting cruise fares out of San Juan is bringing problems to the ship...

 

Regardless, my husband and I had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed the ports and excursions we participated in. We made the best of the cruise...

 

I know what you are referring to and agree 100%. (We are grateful though, that we did not see any La Quinceañera large groups)

 

We cruised 4 times on RCL this past year and experienced issues on each one. I know no cruise or land resort is perfect and some problems are easier to overlook that others.

 

We are not complainers for the sake of complaining, we want to be helpful to fellow cruises.

 

We did have a nice trip don't get me wrong, it is just a nicer feeling to feel

that you are a valued customer. (5:30am carpet installation is not one of those times:()

[JerseyGem]

"First of all, we had a fantastic week. The staff is the best and the weather was awesome."

 

This was how the post started. I think the 2 complaints the OP had were legitimate. We're sailing out of SJ on the Serenade in June. I was glad to get the heads up about the porters. And I hope RCCL read the complaint about the noise so early in the morning. There are other times to do big repairs.

 

It doesn't sound like either of these things ruined their cruise. I guess you're not allowed to say anything negative about anything on these boards.

 

I agree with sidcruiser- we're sailing the SOS in July and appreciate the heads-up. Pantherfan-Thanks for posting!

[danacline]

We cruised out of San Juan just over a month ago and both embarkation and debarkation were fast and painless. We were sailing on the Celebrity Millennium. Apparently they told other passengers to arrive around 2:30, but we arrived at noon and were onboard just 10 minutes later. When we returned, we were off the ship by 8:30 and out of the terminal maybe 15 minutes later.

 

I wonder if it's the cruise line and not the home port that makes the difference?

[happy cruzer]

and while I understand the concerns about working on the carpet at that time of the night, it was fun to see how fast the carpet was changed. From tearing out the old to completely installing the new carpet in the hallway it was all done within a 24 hour window. They were working outside my door at midnight but I was so tired from the day I went right to sleep.

 

Personally, there were much bigger issues on this cruise that RCCL is hearing about already that these little things mean nothing. I will never cruise out of San Juan again for more reasons than I wish to share on this board at this time. What I will say is this...deep discounting cruise fares out of San Juan is bringing problems to the ship...

 

Regardless, my husband and I had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed the ports and excursions we participated in. We made the best of the cruise...

 

Hi, you might consider writing a review of your experience and post it to the review page. Years ago I had a very bad experience in San Juan and of course was told it did not happen and that I was all wrong. The experiences should be shared so people can be prepared. Posting the facts over in a review is painless compared to the discussions boards.

 

Back to OP. My guess on the carpet is that they decide that they have to install it while passengers are asleep so that they do not risk passengers getting hurt or complaining that they can't get where they need to be for events. I'm sure they think it's very quiet and of short duration. It's a bad situation.

[hcat]

what port was this is? (I think I missed that part)

 

it is a tough call but we learned the hard way-- we had an issue at baggage check -in curbside once at our local airport-- guy kept letting people cut into the line ?)with numerous excuses(& big tips)--so much so that we were getting close to msising our check in time-- well guess what-- we did not tip him & our bags never arrived in Seattle--it was a nightmare & we finally got them at our port hotel in the middle of the night...--the airport claims it was a "belt failure" but we know better! as many other bags arrived :rolleyes:

 

Better to pay the "ransom" than lose your bags!!!

[PantherFan]

Happy Cruzin,

 

I don't think they thought the carpet replacement process out very well. While we were in port in Barbados they removed the old carpet and put down the new padding on both aft hallways on deck ten. In doing this they exposed all the carpet tack strips, and let them exposed the entire evening. Not very safe with all the carpet barbs sticking up.

 

RCL just needs to think a little bit more before doing that type of work. I do project management and installations for a living and safety is key part. They should have removed and replaced at the same time instead of removing everything and replacing it later. That way the tack strips would not be exposed for someone to step on.

 

No matter how they do it, it would interupt the passengers at some point. My thoughts are better in the daytime then when people are trying to sleep.

[PantherFan]

what port was this is? (I think I missed that part)

 

it is a tough call but we learned the hard way-- we had an issue at baggage check -in curbside once at our local airport-- guy kept letting people cut into the line ?)with numerous excuses(& big tips)--so much so that we were getting close to msising our check in time-- well guess what-- we did not tip him & our bags never arrived in Seattle--it was a nightmare & we finally got them at our port hotel in the middle of the night...--the airport claims it was a "belt failure" but we know better! as many other bags arrived :rolleyes:

 

Better to pay the "ransom" than lose your bags!!!

 

 

San Juan..

[critterchick]

Although I understand that ship maintenance is an ongoing project, it's completely unacceptable to start loud work at 5:30 am, sea day or otherwise. Although I would be cranky to be rousted from an afternoon nap, at least that's the middle of the conventional work day. Whether one is in the Royal Suite or an inside cabin, one has the right to expect to be able to catch some z's.

 

As for the porters, I guess I would be carrying on my 26 inch suitcase. I just don't take being threatened or harassed well. In San Diego in October, DH tried to tip the porter who took our bags and he declined - they are not allowed to accept them.

[printingchick]

I agree with all the negative comments concerning 5:30AM carpet replacement. That's just common-sense ridiculous.

 

I have to say that I've sailed out of San Juan twice and have never experienced the porter issues the OP mentions. I will sail out of San Juan again in less than three months, so I'm curious to see if it's become an issue since my last visit. In the past, I found San Juan to be one of the easiest embarkation ports I've ever used.

[shevais]

as neighbors to PantherFan on this last cruise I can echo his comments about the carpet install. I was IRATE when woken up to the install in the middle of the night. I opened the door a number of times to see if I could find an employee of RCI but to no avail. They brought the carpet on board in St. Croix, pulled it in Barbados and at least had the padding down by the end of the night. I was figuring maybe installing the carpet during the sea day or in San Juan.... nope in the middle of the freaking night.

 

When I did complain to the guest relations desk the next day I was pretty much ignored. I was told that was the time that they would bother the least amount of guests. I guess sleep is not valued. Needless to say there will be a letter sent to RCI within the week. I too understand the need to perform maintenance and upkeep, but it should be scheduled a bit better.

 

I did not have an issue with the porters as we dragged our luggage to their station, handed it to them and walked in, right up to customs, into check in and onto the ship within 10 minutes of arrival at the port.

 

Our only other issue is with the diamond lounge, it's amazing that on a ship that provides all you can eat, we couldn't even get some light snacks until the trail mix arrived on night 5 or 6. But hey we made due!!! and that's a whole other story!

[PantherFan]

Shevais,

 

We sent our letter to RCL yesterday and I think the more of that send them in the better chance they will listen.

 

We didn't use the diamond lounge since we went to the CL, sorry to hear the snacks were none existent.

 

Oh, I found out that the yacht we saw in St Thomas was owned by the CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison