Response from Mr. Goldstein's office re: Explorer 1/14/10 Embarkation

[chopper825]

Received a phone call in response to my letter to Mr. Goldstein regarding the embarkation problem on the Explorer 1/14/10 cruise that most of you are probably aware of as it has been discussed here and in all of the poor reviews for that cruise in the review section so I won't rehash it here.

 

Although RCI did call to apologize, it was almost as if it was a canned response for the problems of that particular cruise and he did not read my letter at all. He addressed nothing in my letter. The things he apologized for were not the things that we were upset about and I found myself interrupting him to correct him as to what our concerns were. We were not upset about the ship being late and the whole apology centered around that. Did they even read my letter?

 

The explanation for the lateness of the ship out of dry dock was weather. They accepted no responsibility for the way things were handled and actual said "it was nobody's fault". Weather is nobody's fault, but they way things went down that day were the fault of RCI and no one else. They needed to acknowledge that this was handled improperly and they did not. No apology is necessary for weather. So this so called apology leaves me actually more angry than I was before. No compensation or responsibility was offered for sitting 5 1/2 hours in a warehouse - they call it a terminal - waiting to board while people who arrived hours after me were already on board having dinner. Which by the way, we missed.

 

We will accept their apology only because they at least dialed the phone. My only recourse is to take my business to another cruise line and make sure that everyone I know is aware of how Royal Caribbean does business. And that is exactly what we will do.

 

So go ahead and blast away. This was my first RCI cruise and I expected much more from them. We lost the first day of a vacation that we waited almost two years for because of the incompetence of the cruise line and then their inability to accept any real responsibility for the outcome. We have now let it go and will move on. Back to the Princess boards.

[DocJohnB]

Received a phone call in response to my letter to Mr. Goldstein regarding the embarkation problem on the Explorer 1/14/10 cruise that most of you are probably aware of as it has been discussed here and in all of the poor reviews for that cruise in the review section so I won't rehash it here.

 

Although RCI did call to apologize, it was almost as if it was a canned response for the problems of that particular cruise and he did not read my letter at all. He addressed nothing in my letter. The things he apologized for were not the things that we were upset about and I found myself interrupting him to correct him as to what our concerns were. We were not upset about the ship being late and the whole apology centered around that. Did they even read my letter?

 

The explanation for the lateness of the ship out of dry dock was weather. They accepted no responsibility for the way things were handled and actual said "it was nobody's fault". Weather is nobody's fault, but they way things went down that day were the fault of RCI and no one else. They needed to acknowledge that this was handled improperly and they did not. No apology is necessary for weather. So this so called apology leaves me actually more angry than I was before. No compensation or responsibility was offered for sitting 5 1/2 hours in a warehouse - they call it a terminal - waiting to board while people who arrived hours after me were already on board having dinner. Which by the way, we missed.

 

We will accept their apology only because they at least dialed the phone. My only recourse is to take my business to another cruise line and make sure that everyone I know is aware of how Royal Caribbean does business. And that is exactly what we will do.

 

So go ahead and blast away. This was my first RCI cruise and I expected much more from them. We lost the first day of a vacation that we waited almost two years for because of the incompetence of the cruise line and then their inability to accept any real responsibility for the outcome. We have now let it go and will move on. Back to the Princess boards.

 

Just what is it you wanted?

 

Stuff happens. If this were the worst thing that happened to me in my life, I would be so grateful.

 

Had Mr. Goldstein's office called and apologize, but still offered no compensation, would it have made a whit of difference to you. I suspect it would not. What I do suspect is that you wanted monetary compensation for "losing the first day of your vacation that was two years in the planning". You did get aboard the ship that day, right?

 

You say you have "now let it go". Really . . . I don't think so.

 

Anyhow, enjoy your Princess cruises/boards. I only hope Princess doesn't screw up and not meet your inflated expectations.

[cruisinfanatic]

Received a phone call in response to my letter to Mr. Goldstein regarding the embarkation problem on the Explorer 1/14/10 cruise that most of you are probably aware of as it has been discussed here and in all of the poor reviews for that cruise in the review section so I won't rehash it here.

 

Although RCI did call to apologize, it was almost as if it was a canned response for the problems of that particular cruise and he did not read my letter at all. He addressed nothing in my letter. The things he apologized for were not the things that we were upset about and I found myself interrupting him to correct him as to what our concerns were. We were not upset about the ship being late and the whole apology centered around that. Did they even read my letter?

 

The explanation for the lateness of the ship out of dry dock was weather. They accepted no responsibility for the way things were handled and actual said "it was nobody's fault". Weather is nobody's fault, but they way things went down that day were the fault of RCI and no one else. They needed to acknowledge that this was handled improperly and they did not. No apology is necessary for weather. So this so called apology leaves me actually more angry than I was before. No compensation or responsibility was offered for sitting 5 1/2 hours in a warehouse - they call it a terminal - waiting to board while people who arrived hours after me were already on board having dinner. Which by the way, we missed.

 

We will accept their apology only because they at least dialed the phone. My only recourse is to take my business to another cruise line and make sure that everyone I know is aware of how Royal Caribbean does business. And that is exactly what we will do.

 

So go ahead and blast away. This was my first RCI cruise and I expected much more from them. We lost the first day of a vacation that we waited almost two years for because of the incompetence of the cruise line and then their inability to accept any real responsibility for the outcome. We have now let it go and will move on. Back to the Princess boards.

Probably was a canned response to your letter. I'm sure they were dialing for the same thing all day. What did you expect for compensation? You didn't lose the whole day. You aren't even supposed to be boarding before 2, so you lost the same as I did, about 5 hrs. I'm over it because I know that it's extremely rare for such a delay to occur.

The cruise line certainly wanted to get those that had been waiting outside in asap. Many were checked in the normal way and were put on waiting shuttles even though they arrived later. Makes sense to me, since those arriving eallier weren't checked in yet.

I arrived at the port and was inside seated at 12:30. Had #27 and was on the ship at 5:30.

Except for embarkation and a seating problem in the dining room, my cruise was darn near perfect.

[Ashland]

WOW...:eek:..I think you are lucky to have received a phone call at all..they could have just sent an email....

[chopper825]

Just what is it you wanted?

 

Stuff happens. If this were the worst thing that happened to me in my life, I would be so grateful.

 

Had Mr. Goldstein's office called and apologize, but still offered no compensation, would it have made a whit of difference to you. I suspect it would not. What I do suspect is that you wanted monetary compensation for "losing the first day of your vacation that was two years in the planning". You did get aboard the ship that day, right?

 

You say you have "now let it go". Really . . . I don't think so.

 

Anyhow, enjoy your Princess cruises/boards. I only hope Princess doesn't screw up and not meet your inflated expectations.

 

I know "stuff happens" and it's how you handle that "stuff" that makes the difference. My "inflated" expectation would have been that I should have at least been able to have dinner that day and not be turned away from the dining room at almost 8:00 at night when we finally did board. I am pretty sure you would expect at least dinner. Actually a drink at dinner the next night would have been enough of a gesture at that time.

 

And by the way, Princess has screwed up but was professional enough to compensate us in a fair and responsible manner and accept responsibility for their error.

[waterbug123]

 

 

No compensation or responsibility was offered for sitting 5 1/2 hours in a warehouse - they call it a terminal - waiting to board .

 

What do you feel fair compensation would have been?

[cruisinfanatic]

Princess has screwed up but was professional enough to compensate us in a fair and responsible manner and accept responsibility for their error.

Happy for them

[chopper825]

Probably was a canned response to your letter. I'm sure they were dialing for the same thing all day. What did you expect for compensation? You didn't lose the whole day. You aren't even supposed to be boarding before 2, so you lost the same as I did, about 5 hrs. I'm over it because I know that it's extremely rare for such a delay to occur.

The cruise line certainly wanted to get those that had been waiting outside in asap. Many were checked in the normal way and were put on waiting shuttles even though they arrived later. Makes sense to me, since those arriving eallier weren't checked in yet.

I arrived at the port and was inside seated at 12:30. Had #27 and was on the ship at 5:30.

Except for embarkation and a seating problem in the dining room, my cruise was darn near perfect.

 

It was a canned response - but not to my letter as he addressed concerns that I did not have. I was okay with the ship being late. We had no problem with that. But they knew they were going to be late and really had no good plan to handle the hundreds of people waiting. If you were on at 5:30 at least you had dinner. We were there at 2:00 and we did not board till after 7:30 barely in time for muster. After we all calmed down we had a good time. We had several other problems on this trip that I did not even mention because they really did not have an impact on our overall trip but our cruise was far from perfect. Still we had a good time.

[chopper825]

WOW...:eek:..I think you are lucky to have received a phone call at all..they could have just sent an email....

 

I totally agree.

[chopper825]

What do you feel fair compensation would have been?

 

I would have been happy with drinks at dinner one night. A free picture. Something to acknowledge the fact they screwed up. I did pay for a cruise that included lunch and dinner on the first day among other things. You usually do get two meals that day - right? We were lucky to get a piece of pizza in the cafe after muster.

[DocJohnB]

We were lucky to get a piece of pizza in the cafe after muster.

 

Really. So there was no other food available to you once you were on board? Anyplace?

 

I am glad you all calmed down and had a good time on the cruise. After all, that is what really matters.

[Mark_K]

I would have been happy with drinks at dinner one night. A free picture. Something to acknowledge the fact they screwed up. I did pay for a cruise that included lunch and dinner on the first day among other things. You usually do get two meals that day - right? We were lucky to get a piece of pizza in the cafe after muster.

Why wasn't the Windjammer and/or Johnny Rocket's open?

 

Unfortunately, companies these days are reluctant to do anything that could be construed as an admission of fault, too many people looking for opportunity to sue. Even when they do give you something, they tend to frame it as a gesture of good will not compensation for something they did wrong.

[bluegirlum]

I know I've gotten flamed for this before, but really, do you expect that Mr. Goldstein is reading every letter and e-mail that is addressed to him? Do you think that when you write to your Senator, he/she reads it? There are expectations and then there are realistic expectations. It sounds like this cruise was a nightmare, but these things happen. I had a horrible flight on my way home from my Majesty cruise. I sent a letter to the CEO of Delta, but did I expect anything more than a canned response? Of course not! I know it never got to him. I'm not a RCI cheerleader, but it's amazing to me what people expect.

[Ziggggypup]

Why wasn't the Windjammer and/or Johnny Rocket's open?

 

Unfortunately, companies these days are reluctant to do anything that could be construed as an admission of fault, too many people looking for opportunity to sue. Even when they do give you something, they tend to frame it as a gesture of good will not compensation for something they did wrong.

 

I doubt that whether or not admitting fault would cause any legal reprocussions. I'm sure that the fine print on your cruise ticket covers them from A to Z.

[Ashland]

I doubt that whether or not admitting fault would cause any legal reprocussions. I'm sure that the fine print on your cruise ticket covers them from A to Z.

Yes..."No Expectation of Enjoyment is Guaranteed"...:D:D

[Skeetercat]

Chopper,

 

I have also written a letter to Royal Caribbean about a problem on our last cruise where we didn't get an apology and where they didn't follow through on compensation promised on board. I have addressed it to Alan Goldstein, but i'm not sure of an address to send it to. What address did you send your letter to?? I really would prefer to not send it by email. This was my first RCL cruise also (Princess previously), and I would really like to put the problems behind us and give them another try, but I want their management to know of the problem with had.

 

Thanks.

[Langley Cruisers]

I would have been happy with drinks at dinner one night. A free picture.

 

Had you been given either of these things, someone else would complain louder and longer and expect MORE than that.

[waterbug123]

I would have been happy with drinks at dinner one night. A free picture. Something to acknowledge the fact they screwed up. I did pay for a cruise that included lunch and dinner on the first day among other things. You usually do get two meals that day - right? We were lucky to get a piece of pizza in the cafe after muster.

 

Yes usually you can get 2 meals on embarkation day, although I wouldn't really say lunch is guaranteed. As for dinner, I realize you may have missed being seated in the main dining room, but there is always the Windjammer and room service, not to mention something lighter from the Cafe Promenade.

[cruiseknots]

Wow....to many on here, RCI can do no wrong.

I happen to think the OP has a valid complaint. I agree, a simple gesture to acknowledge his complaint would have gone a long way.

 

As far as getting a canned call from RCI, how is this better than an email? We got a similar call after last years swine flu cruise. It just adds insult to injury to have them call when it's obvious that they didn't even read your complaint.

 

Airlines have most of the same disclaimers that the cruise lines do and more. I wonder how many of you cheerleaders would be so cheerfull if you missed your cruise due to weather or delays beyond the airlines control. Yes, I know most of us leave early enough to avoid such problems, but even a day early may not be enough with the winter storms we just had. You can't tell me you would simply say oh well and be happy about it!

[madforcruising]

...My only recourse is to take my business to another cruise line and make sure that everyone I know is aware of how Royal Caribbean does business. And that is exactly what we will do.

 

...

 

 

Thanks for letting me know, it won´t change my opinion about them though. Happy cruising on other lines:)

[DocJohnB]

Wow....to many on here, RCI can do no wrong.

I happen to think the OP has a valid complaint. I agree, a simple gesture to acknowledge his complaint would have gone a long way.

 

 

As some on these RCI boards will attest, I am not a RCI loyalist. But in this case I cannot figure out what they did wrong.

 

The explanation for the lateness of the ship out of dry dock was weather.

 

No compensation or responsibility was offered for sitting 5 1/2 hours in a warehouse

 

We lost the first day of a vacation that we waited almost two years for because of the incompetence of the cruise line

 

We were there at 2:00 and we did not board till after 7:30 barely in time for muster.

 

 

Compensation, a little gesture. For what? Even the OP acknowledges the fact that the ship was delayed by the weather. What exactly is it that he or you expect RCI do do. There had to be another 2,500+ people that day going through the same process. Again, what exactly is it you would have had them do to alleviate the problem . . . . . . which was 2500+ people being delayed boarding the ship because of weather related problems.

 

In my opinion, his only possible gripe was his assumption that some who arrived later boarded earlier. IF that was the case, it was wrong, but doesn't he even bear a little responsibility for that happening, i.e. . . . "excuse me, sir/madam, we were here ahead of these folks", might have alleviated that problem.

[madforcruising]

Airlines have most of the same disclaimers that the cruise lines do and more. I wonder how many of you cheerleaders would be so cheerfull if you missed your cruise due to weather or delays beyond the airlines control. Yes, I know most of us leave early enough to avoid such problems, but even a day early may not be enough with the winter storms we just had. You can't tell me you would simply say oh well and be happy about it!

 

 

Not sure how this relates to what happened to the OP, as it seems they didn´t miss their cruise.

 

Anyway, of course I wouldn´t be happy the least bit if I had to miss my cruise, honestly I would probably be mad as hell. However I´d be realistic enough to see what the reasons would be and if the airline would be to blame for the problem or not.

[waterbug123]

Airlines have most of the same disclaimers that the cruise lines do and more. I wonder how many of you cheerleaders would be so cheerfull if you missed your cruise due to weather or delays beyond the airlines control. Yes, I know most of us leave early enough to avoid such problems, but even a day early may not be enough with the winter storms we just had. You can't tell me you would simply say oh well and be happy about it!

 

No one is saying that he should be happy about his delay in boarding. People are simply questioning what he thinks he is owed as a result.

And the OP seemed doubly upset by the fact that someone did not read every word of his letter of complaint and address an individualized reply to him, but as someone said, you need to have realistic expectations. If you expect every word of every letter to be read, and to be read by someone in a position of authority, and to get a personalized response when they are done, get ready to pay a lot more for the price of a cruise because they are going to have to hire a lot more letter readers and pay the a lot more money.

[steponboard]

I think the OP is entitled to an apology and not the flaming. RCL can do no wrong to most of the people on this board so the harsh response are very unsympathetic.

[cruisinfanatic]

I think the OP is entitled to an apology and not the flaming. RCL can do no wrong to most of the people on this board so the harsh response are very unsympathetic.

Was on the same cruise and there were apologies. I heard 1 by the cruise director and 2 by the captain.

 

The reason that some who arrived later were boarded sooner is

 

The seapass cards were on the ship, so everyone arriving earlier than the ship (before 3 or so) couldn't get them. They got numbers in the order they arrived instead. When the seapass cards did arrive from the ship, those with numbers starting getting their cards and immediately boarded the shuttle to the ship. The people waiting in line outside were checked in the normal way. They also got numbers along with their cards. Because the shuttles were faster than the lower numbers were being checked in, those who came later who where checked in and had cards began to be called.

 

It's not like anyone butted. The OP doesn't see it that way, but it makes sense to me.