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

[cruiseknots]

Chopper, the regulars come here only to praise RCCL, and it is that attitude that perpetuates poor customer service and does the most DIS-SERVICE to their favorite cruise line.

 

You had every right to expect that a call about YOUR letter should, at the least, be familiar with its contents. You don't expect your car dealership to phone apologizing for gas mileage when you are telling them the brakes didn't work. That is the most careless type of arrogance!

 

Secondly, if "these things happen"...RCCL should be prepared with a PLAN to address these matters...including making sure you had the dinner YOU PAID FOR. If, by YOUR mistake, you miss the ship...you are left to ameliorate the situation...but some here think a huge cruise line has no obligation AT ALL in regard to THEIR mistakes.

 

How in the world do people become so besotted with a for profit company?

 

RCCL should have initiated the contact with every CUSTOMER on that cruise. You were not a "house guest" but a paying customer. You are right to be disgusted and disappointed in such shoddy treatment.

 

Ignore the besotted ones...this is a unfortunate common situation of this Board.

 

 

Amen. Well said!

RCI is my favorite cruise line too! That is why I am embarassed for RCI in the way they handle these type of situations. They had more than enough time to prepare for this since It's likely they knew when they left Freeport that they would arrive late into NJ. RCI almost lost me and my family in the way they handled our situation aboard the Mariner last April with the swine flu and all. However, our recent cruise aboard the Serenade has reminded us why we like RCI so much! If this cruise aboard the Serenade wasn't already booked, we would have most likely tried another cruise line which may or may not have resulted in a lost customer. In today's economic enviroment, and especially RCI's, they can't afford to lose any customers. We do pay their bills and salaries in the same way my customers pay mine!

[reallyitsmema]

Actually I did send a reasonable and calm letter that also stated all the things we liked about the cruise. I could not get a word in edgewise during the call. Whenever I tried to interrupt to explain to him that what he was saying was not what I was upset about, he listened, and when I was done he just continued with whatever he was saying. I did this twice and then gave up. It was obvious to me that he really did not care what I had to say. It was his job to make this call and get it over with. RCI was not defensive at all. They just really didn't care what I had to say.

 

We had MTD but they actually closed the dining room and Windjammer. We had pizza from the cafe as it was our only option at the time and we were starving at that point. They didn't even have sandwiches left.

They always close everything for the muster drill, otherwise some people don't bother to go. Nothing opened back up after the muster drill? Did you go back to the dining room and check if they reopened or ask while you were there prior to muster?

 

As far as the phone call, it really seems like a moot point to ask for compensation if you don't plan on cruising RCI again. They are not going to give you a cash refund, if they give you anything. You most likely would have received a small credit towards a future cruise.

 

I would chalk this up as a cruise you didn't enjoy and book with a line you are more comfortable with. There are many cruiselines out there to chooose from, hopefully you will find what you are looking for.

[cruisinfanatic]

The ship was not delayed 5 hours. It was there at 2:00. It was just handled so poorly and was so disorganized that it took 5 1/2 hours to board.

you may have seen it around 2, but it was not docked until close to 3

[chopper825]

I am getting ready to go on my first cruise (Serenade of the Seas) this weekend!!!! , :D and after reading this thread, I am going to be completely terrified to badmouth anything on the cruise.

 

If I see someone forgot to lift the seat on the toilet in a public restroom and I tell a ship worker there is pee on the seat, am I going to get blasted by pro RCI cruisers??? :eek:

 

 

They guy had a valid complaint. You pay a lot of $$ for cruises. If they were good enough to call him back, they could have went the little step further and addressed the problem that he was actually complaining about... People remember the bad things a lot longer than they remember the good things.....

 

Don't worry, you will have a great time on your cruise. Thankfully, these things to do not happen often and we did have a good time in the end.

[chopper825]

They always close everything for the muster drill, otherwise some people don't bother to go. Nothing opened back up after the muster drill? Did you go back to the dining room and check if they reopened or ask while you were there prior to muster?

 

As far as the phone call, it really seems like a moot point to ask for compensation if you don't plan on cruising RCI again. They are not going to give you a cash refund, if they give you anything. You most likely would have received a small credit towards a future cruise.

 

I would chalk this up as a cruise you didn't enjoy and book with a line you are more comfortable with. There are many cruiselines out there to chooose from, hopefully you will find what you are looking for.

 

Not sure whether they opened up after muster drill or not. We were so hungry that after being turned away from the dining room and the Windjammer we just grabbed a piece of pizza at the cafe for dinner. At that point it was time for muster drill and it was late already.

 

I did not ask RCI for compensation in my letter and I don't think I should have too. I was hoping for them to accept responsibility for the whole episode, but instead I was told it was "nobody's fault". If they had offered something toward a future cruise we may have given them a second try because we did have a good time on the cruise. There were lots of things we liked. This did not ruin our whole cruise. But it was not our first cruise, only our first on RCI so we know we can easily move on to another line and enjoy ourselves just as much. Thanks for your comments.

[nrdsb4]

Why does everyone think this is all about missing dinner? We boarded at 7:30 and went immediately to the dining room. There were many very angry people there ahead of us already arguing with the staff because they would not seat them. We were told they were closing due to the muster drill. We ran to the Windjammer only to be turned away from there also. Now we know they have to do muster, we are not idiots. Then we were told to go to our rooms to see where our muster drill station was, which we did. Could we have ordered room service after muster drill. I don't know, I thought it was not available on your first day.

 

Most of you just don't get this. This is the point. We went to the port later as directed. RCI knew the ship was going to be late and still was not equipped to handle the amount of people there in a fair and expeditious manner. We waited 5 1/2 hours to board as we watched people who just arrived board hours before us. How would you feel if you had been already waiting for hours with #54 and they went from calling numbers in the low 20's to numbers in the 60's. Don't tell me any of you would not be furious. At one point a riot almost erupted. Not only were we treated unfairly, but we did not get what we paid for.

 

READ THE REVIEWS OF THIS CRUISE in the review section. Many many people were livid.

 

In general, I try to be a go with the flow kind of person as it relates to travel snafus. But that would have really ticked me off. Then to not get a decent dinner after all that, I would really have been irritated. I'm not a pleasant person to be around if I don't get to eat. My blood sugar drops, I get the shakes, and in spite of my best efforts, I get really snippy. My husband says once he feeds me, I purr like a kitten.

 

I don't really blame you in the least. I hope you made your way to the bar as soon as muster was over. That's what I would have done, lol.:D

[chopper825]

My experience with this was when I tried to explain or address my original complaints, the person on the phone would revert back to a canned response that had little to do with my individual complaints. I tried over and over to get him to respond to my complaints before I finally gave up after seeing it was going nowhere.

 

This is exactly what happened to me. Exactly.

[chopper825]

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.

 

Here is the address I had: Royal Caribbean International, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, FL 33132 and to the attention of Adam M. Goldstein. I thought my letter might help put this all behind us also and in a way it did. I know now it is best for me to just move on. I hope you have a better resolution to your situation than I did. Good luck.

[Maraprince]

Not sure whether they opened up after muster drill or not. We were so hungry that after being turned away from the dining room and the Windjammer we just grabbed a piece of pizza at the cafe for dinner. At that point it was time for muster drill and it was late already.

 

I did not ask RCI for compensation in my letter and I don't think I should have too. I was hoping for them to accept responsibility for the whole episode, but instead I was told it was "nobody's fault". If they had offered something toward a future cruise we may have given them a second try because we did have a good time on the cruise. There were lots of things we liked. This did not ruin our whole cruise. But it was not our first cruise, only our first on RCI so we know we can easily move on to another line and enjoy ourselves just as much. Thanks for your comments.

 

 

It is a requirement that all operations, including food service, be shut down during Muster Drill. The crew and staff have duties to perform at the Muster Drill and stations to report to. As soon as the drill is over, normal food service will be resumed.

 

It is unfortunate that an audible announcement was not made to the cabins and in the public areas that food service in the dining rooms and the Windjammer had resumed.

 

Could things have been handled better in the terminal? Certainly. Delayed boarding is not the norm. RCI should have handled things better -- more cookies, coffee, etc.

 

Several years ago, we had to wait to board a HAL ship because it was arriving in NY after being overseas for several months. Both a health inspection and an Immigration inspection were conducted as soon as the arriving passengers left the ship. Everything and I mean everything stopped dead in its tracks. The crew had to report for Immigration so preparation of cabins stopped; food service was shut down since the health inspection was in all the food areas. Nothing could resume until both inspections were over. Happily, the ship more than passed the health inspection. Unlike Cape Liberty, Manhattan has adequate indoor seating to accommodate many more passengers. We were told what the delay was but no one knew how long we would be waiting. The ship was hit from both sides.

 

While our wait was shorter than yours, I had some food to munch on while we waited since one of my cabin mates is a diabetic on insulin and must eat every few hours.

 

If this had happened to me at Cape Liberty, I would have been hitting the vending machines! Or called for a pizza/food delivery from a nearby shop. Even the port staff has to go off the premises to eat since there is nothing at the port.

 

I alway keep some type of food with me and at least a bottle of water. It also comes in handy while waiting for my car service at Cape Liberty.

 

MARAPRINCE

[cruiseknots]

It is a requirement that all operations, including food service, be shut down during Muster Drill. The crew and staff have duties to perform at the Muster Drill and stations to report to. As soon as the drill is over, normal food service will be resumed.

 

It is unfortunate that an audible announcement was not made to the cabins and in the public areas that food service in the dining rooms and the Windjammer had resumed.

 

Could things have been handled better in the terminal? Certainly. Delayed boarding is not the norm. RCI should have handled things better -- more cookies, coffee, etc.

 

Several years ago, we had to wait to board a HAL ship because it was arriving in NY after being overseas for several months. Both a health inspection and an Immigration inspection were conducted as soon as the arriving passengers left the ship. Everything and I mean everything stopped dead in its tracks. The crew had to report for Immigration so preparation of cabins stopped; food service was shut down since the health inspection was in all the food areas. Nothing could resume until both inspections were over. Happily, the ship more than passed the health inspection. Unlike Cape Liberty, Manhattan has adequate indoor seating to accommodate many more passengers. We were told what the delay was but no one knew how long we would be waiting. The ship was hit from both sides.

 

While our wait was shorter than yours, I had some food to munch on while we waited since one of my cabin mates is a diabetic on insulin and must eat every few hours.

 

If this had happened to me at Cape Liberty, I would have been hitting the vending machines! Or called for a pizza/food delivery from a nearby shop. Even the port staff has to go off the premises to eat since there is nothing at the port.

 

I alway keep some type of food with me and at least a bottle of water. It also comes in handy while waiting for my car service at Cape Liberty.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Then the muster drill should have been delayed. Unless there is a recent change to SOLAS regulations, the muster drilll must be accomplished within 24 hrs of departure. This gives cruise lines some flexibility when it comes to the drills.

[funfamilyfun]

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!

 

 

I agree with you. My sister just had a flight cancelled to Hawaii...due to bad weather. They each received a refund on their ticket and a $400 voucher per person. Heck...all the OP wanted was drinks at dinner and acknowledgement of the mistake.

[akcruz]

I agree with you. My sister just had a flight cancelled to Hawaii...due to bad weather. They each received a refund on their ticket and a $400 voucher per person. Heck...all the OP wanted was drinks at dinner and acknowledgement of the mistake.

 

The difference here is that the flight was cancelled. If the cruise was cancelled everyone would have gotten their money back.

 

Flights are delayed all the time and there is no compensation for it and nobody asks for it either. Sorry to the OP and those on this particular sailing but things happen sometimes when you travel.

[cruiseknots]

The difference here is that the flight was cancelled. If the cruise was cancelled everyone would have gotten their money back.

 

Flights are delayed all the time and there is no compensation for it and nobody asks for it either. Sorry to the OP and those on this particular sailing but things happen sometimes when you travel.

 

 

There is if the delay was caused by the airline and not by weather or ATC. Most of the time, they won't come out and just give it to you. You must ask for it. Compensation is usually in the form of a meal voucher.

 

Yes, the Explorer was late due to weather, but that doesn't mean they don't have to provide what has already been paid for by the guests such meals.

 

Also, there is a significant difference between air travel and cruise travel. When you purchase an airline ticket, you are purchasing transportation between 2 points. If the airline delivers this then you got what you paid for. A cruise is usually purchased as a vacation for a set amount of time. Not that it happened in this case, but if you paid for a 7 day cruise, then your cruise becomes a 6 day for whatever reason including weather, you are entitled to compensation.

[cruisinfanatic]

Even the port staff has to go off the premises to eat since there is nothing at the port.

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

There is a diner in a trailer right next to the ship.

[nrdsb4]

There is if the delay was caused by the airline and not by weather or ATC. Most of the time, they won't come out and just give it to you. You must ask for it. Compensation is usually in the form of a meal voucher.

 

 

I was once on a plane heading for London. Somehow one of the flight attendants accidentally set off the inflatable slide. We were just about to leave as I remember it. They didn't or couldn't let us off the plane and it took several hours for them to fix the problem. They gave everyone free drinks while we waited, and that made everyone very happy. I had never really drank much beyond beer or wine coolers at that time, but someone suggested coffee with wild turkey or something crazy. I liked that more than a meal voucher in the terminal, lol. I had a couple and even with the caffeine, I actually slept on that flight.:p

[mamaofami]

I will be sailing RCCL out of Cape Liberty for the first time next week and am really uneasy about the boarding stories I have heard about at this pier. And not just this cruise which was late because of weather. I wouldn't expect compensation, only a warm place to wait and sit which these passengers didn't have. They should also have been able to have a decent dinner somewhere after the muster drill besides pizza. Ship happens and this was an unfortunate incident because of weather and also because of how RCCL handled things once the passengers were on board.

However, people come to these boards to express their frustrations and their praises, and a simple " sorry you had such a bad experience with boarding" would have been nice from those of you who flamed the OP.

[madforcruising]

I will be sailing RCCL out of Cape Liberty for the first time next week and am really uneasy about the boarding stories I have heard about at this pier. And not just this cruise which was late because of weather. I wouldn't expect compensation, only a warm place to wait and sit which these passengers didn't have. They should also have been able to have a decent dinner somewhere after the muster drill besides pizza. Ship happens and this was an unfortunate incident because of weather and also because of how RCCL handled things once the passengers were on board.

 

However, people come to these boards to express their frustrations and their praises, and a simple " sorry you had such a bad experience with boarding" would have been nice from those of you who flamed the OP.

 

I wasn´t there but I´m almost sure after Muster Drill there were options for dinner. The point is the OP didn´t even try to get Dinner after Muster Drill.

 

Not sure whether they opened up after muster drill or not. We were so hungry that after being turned away from the dining room and the Windjammer we just grabbed a piece of pizza at the cafe for dinner.

[cruiseknots]

How do you know?

[reallyitsmema]

Not sure whether they opened up after muster drill or not. We were so hungry that after being turned away from the dining room and the Windjammer we just grabbed a piece of pizza at the cafe for dinner. At that point it was time for muster drill and it was late already.

 

I did not ask RCI for compensation in my letter and I don't think I should have too. I was hoping for them to accept responsibility for the whole episode, but instead I was told it was "nobody's fault". If they had offered something toward a future cruise we may have given them a second try because we did have a good time on the cruise. There were lots of things we liked. This did not ruin our whole cruise. But it was not our first cruise, only our first on RCI so we know we can easily move on to another line and enjoy ourselves just as much. Thanks for your comments.

 

How do you know?

He knows because I asked yesterday. It doesn't make any sense that the dining venues would have remained closed that early in the evening.

[waterbug123]

I agree with you. My sister just had a flight cancelled to Hawaii...due to bad weather. They each received a refund on their ticket and a $400 voucher per person. Heck...all the OP wanted was drinks at dinner and acknowledgement of the mistake.

 

Your sister was very lucky to get a $400 future flight voucher in addition to her refund. Generally when flights are cancelled due to weather, there is no additional compensation (beyond refund of original ticket). If there are extraordinary circumstances, such as the recent blizzards, sometimes the airlines will offer something, but usually that is not the case.

[MelissaE1]

From a customer service point of view, businesses are not always judged by the crisis that happens, but rather how they respond to it.

 

Another issue that the OP had was a phone call from RCI regarding his complaint when they didn't appear to have even read his complaint. I too had a similar experience with this. If you aren't going to take the time to read my complaint, then don't bother calling.

 

ITA. Well said. I don't have any issue with RCI, my one sailing with them went fine and we will sail with them again in November. But in this particular circumstance, it sounds like the OP did not get a genuine customer service response. That would frustrate me as well. If you are going to take the time to respond to a complaint, at least know what it is. Otherwise it's a waste of time and energy, besides being insulting IMHO. An apology without sincerity is pointless.

[Maraprince]

There is a diner in a trailer right next to the ship.

 

 

This diner must be a new addition since in 2008 I even asked some of the port staff where they went to eat and was told they need to leave the property to pick up their food orders or to go and eat somewhere.

 

If there is a diner on the property, this only makes things worse since clearly RCI wasn't equipped with anything beyond cookies, some beverages and maybe sandwiches until things ran out during the wait to board the ship. Since this wasn't the "normal" wait for boarding someone could have come up with a "plan" to get some food from this diner once the normal food ran out and provide it to the passengers. This would have help alleviate some of the ill will.

 

My cabin mate is a diabetic and they would have been scrapping her off the floor if she was unable to get food for that many hours. I am sure other passengers had health issues as well that could have resulted in medical problems during the wait to board the ship.

 

MARAPRINCE

[ivycruise]

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.

 

I'd be skeptical that Mr. Goldstein was the individual that replied to my emails that I sent him about the great experiences I had on my GOS and NOS cruises.

 

I had gone on about how great the staff were and mentioned specific names in the various venues, Portofinos, etc. I know for a fact that this was passed on to the individuals as I saw the staff on subsequent cruises on NOS. The crew were very appreciative. I also received a phone call from "a staff member from Mr Goldstein's office" but I don't recall the name. So, the emails/letters do get read and responded to. By Adam, well, someone responded under his email but that very well could have been one of the many staff members. Bottom line though is that those emails do get passed on and addressed/followed up on. At least the good ones that I sent!

[madforcruising]

How do you know?

 

If this was directed at me... how do I know what?

 

As I stated in my post I wasn´t there, so I don´t know a thing about what happened and in my post I didn´t even say I know something but it was - as I thought - quite clearly a post of my thoughts aka opinion.

 

I just went by the OP´s statement of saying they didn´t try to get dinner after the Muster drill, but you are right I don´t know if that was the truth:rolleyes:

 

Again I wasn´t there and therefore don´t know but I have a hard time believing (opinion!) that after Muster Drill all eating venues onboard kept being closed.

[phinn]

What I got from the OP is that the most upsetting thing was to be told "it's nobody's fault". If that was the case, they were covered by their disclaimer, and then, why make the call? What would be so horrible about owning up to a mistake and saying "sorry we slipped up and are working to make sure things go better in the future"? Had that happened, I think it would go a long way to sooth customer relations. The dinner portion, I don't agree with. Somewhere, somehow, there had to be food other than pizza. In any case, while I LOVE RC and have only had one bump in the road with them to date, you can see I am booked again and can't wait. I would hope the OP would reconsider in the future.