Lesson Learned ~ booking with others!

[QTPieRye]

I thought I would share a recent experience with my CC friends... and to remind each of you to always watch out for yourselves first!

 

Background: After our awesome Spirit cruise in Jan 2011 (with 4 teenagers), husband and I booked the Splendor for Jan 2012 for our 20 year anniversary for ourselves only ;) About a month after we booked, some new friends of ours, announced that they had booked the same cruise in the cabin next to us!!!

 

Although our intent was to spend our big anniversary alone, we decided to go with the flow and make the best of our cruise. Since we did not know them very well, we decided that we would spend 2011 getting to know them better~ after a few little snafu's, we realized by August that it was going to take a little more effort than once thought to survive a 7 day cruise with them....... despite our attempts at making conversation regarding excursions, planning, etc. we have not seen them since August!

 

Back on October when we were up for an ES credit, I let them know so they could get the same. Around the same time, we found out that we could move from our balcony on the upper deck aft to the Verandah deck for free or upgrade to a suite. In attempt to do the right thing, since our friends had booked the cabin next to us, we opted to forego the offer....

 

Yesterday we get a text from them telling us that they missed the ES $100credit, but that instead their PVP moved them to a suite, thus we are no longer neighbors! While we are relieved that they are no longer next door to us, we are kicking ourselves for not taking the free upgrade to the verandah deck back in October!! Furthermore, they obviously must think we are complete idiots to believe that their PVP gave them that upgrade for free from an 8A to a suite!

 

Lesson Learned~ Next time do what's best for us and never think twice about it!

[soccersharon]

Everything works out for a reason :) Sure you won't have the suite - but you will have a wonderful anniversary cruise.

[gogetter]

Or if you did take the offer, the neighbors probably would have bad mouthed you for moving away from them....lol....

[firefly333]

I've learned much the same lesson, where I was cruising solo so said, hey its no extra $$ for 2 to cruise, come free.. well I picked dates, I would not have picked but picked for them. upgraded for someone else.

 

Let no good deed go unpunished.. it came back to bite me each time.

 

I too decided to promise myself to book what I want .. not what someone else wants, or try to please someone else. I could have booked a better date for a 5 day jewel OTS instead of the 4 day march date, .. but picked it because someone else couldnt go in jan or feb .. same price .. on and on .. other stuff like this.

 

I think I have learned if you are more selfish people will respect you more.

[shonuf]

We were on a cruise a couple years ago, had wonderful table mates and decided to cruise with them the following year. The second cruise was not nearly as much fun! One husband would not buy a drink, even for his wife. He would drink his smuggled booze in his room and then meet up with us for our pre-dinner cocktail. (Sorry, if you're reading this, but it's a fact.) When the two couples started talking about the next year's cruise, we had someplace else we had to be.:rolleyes:

 

One time we went on a ski vacation with a business acquaintance of my husband. Each family had one child, about the same age (young teen). The families had never met, only the husbands. Our son was a very good skier but their daughter had never been on skis. She was a real brat about everything, had to eat a cheeseburger at every meal (and would then pick the cheese off the burger with her fingers at the table), didn't like being in ski school ("It was for babies"). When we got back to the home airport, we got our bags, they got theirs, we walked out of the airport and never spoke again.

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions!

[gail811]

I can relate! I am a lot like you and would have done things the same way. Sorry you lost out on the upgrade, but I think by having your friends elsewhere now you will be much happier! I hope you are able to enjoy your anniversary cruise in spite of the way things happened.

[hockeyluver]

Look at it this way, you wont be constantly running into them, they wont be hanging out on their balcony right next to you.... and if your really lucky you wont see them on the cruise at all :D

 

Enjoy your anniversary!!

[michelle1836]

been there done that! the couple we cruised with fought all the time to the point where he went looking for the captain to change his cabin.

you dont have the suite but you also wont have the stress

enjoy your cruise!

[QTPieRye]

Thanks everyone for making me feel better :)

 

We could care less about the suite, as we would NEVER have paid for that... we would however, have taken the free upgrade to the Verandah deck~ but you live and learn!

 

Husband and I are actually more excited about our cruise now because it will be much more intimate for our milestone anniversary :)

[pattimelt]

I'm the exact opposite of most of you.. my "cruisemates" I don't see very often during the year, but we all know we will have a GREAT time on the cruise together!!!! I laugh every year, because I'm the "clock" in port, and it's my job to make sure we all get back on the ship.. but they let me book us into a balcony or suite because I'm the smoker of the group--so they pay more so that I'm comfortable..

[mamacat18]

Enjoy your cruise!

[Billzilla66]

As the song lyrics go,

"But it's alright now, I've learned my lesson well,

you see, ya can't please everyone so ya got to please yourself."

:cool:

[glrounds]

"You can't please everyone . . . so, you might as well please yourself" :D

 

Garden Party - Ricky Nelson

 

Edit: Billzilla beat me by 6 minutes . . . LOL

 

 

[babyher]

Its actually a joke between my DW and I . Whenever we do something (or don't do something like take that upgrade) to be the good person, or not hurt someones feelings , or accomodate someone else . We either get slapped in the face for it, or more aggravation and inconvenience than humanly possible. It is just the way it is with us.

 

What is the saying "No good deed goes unpunished " ? Well we were definately the inspiration for that . :)

 

DW will always joke at these times "We just aren't meant to be good people" *LOL*

[Raylynn]

We regularly vacation with friends of ours, they have 2 kids, we have 2 and normally at least a couple of one child or the others friends. We have never had a problem but we do not spend the whole time together. We usually had meals together and sometimes did other things together but mostly we all do what interests us and come back together for supper. After supper we usually do something as a group. If not an activity then the adults will watch a movie in one room and the kids in another. We always take games and have a blast playing them together. Every one needs time away from each other when you travel with others.

[Texarribean Chick]

Our PVP always recommends this when we book a cruise (and often cruise with other couples) - "Please give me a password, so when other try to book on the same cruise, or near you on a cruise, they must be a member of your party" - she says that keeps the "riff-raff" out...............Have Fun anyway. And, I agree with previous poster, when we travel with others our motto is - you do your thing and we'll do ours and we'll meet up later for dinner or such. No feelings get hurt and everyone is happy!

 

OOpps, failed to mention - I ONLY give that password out to those I would choose to have in the cabin next to me. Those that I would not choose to be near me, do not get the password.