Shabby treatment of Grandeur's 4/23 passengers

[colette5479]

Im sorry, but I, too, would be very upset to have only been offered $150 pp credit for two missed days. I would take it as an insult as well. I am not very informed about this situation, but were any ports missed? If they were, I would like to get my port charges back as well:)

 

I do feel sorry for the ones who planned this cruise for months on end and re-arranged their schedules for this. I know I would be disappointed...as most people would be. Maybe a few letters to RCI would result in better compensation.

[debbie311]

 

My point is . . . you need to be realistic. Sh*t happens and you need to be ready for it when it comes. Nothing will ever go 100% YOUR way. I'm sorry for all the people that had their cruise vacation cut short. I feel more sympathy for those ON the Grandeur when all of this happened. That would have ruined my cruise for sure. For all of those who were booked on the next sailing . . . you had a heads up. You were offered a full refund. You had some time to develop a back-up plan unlike those onboard and had already begun their vacation.

 

This article was posted by selucrey on another thread regarding the "heads up." Not everyone was notified before they left for New Orleans:

 

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-0/1114495101200610.xml

 

I wonder how people would feel if the passengers who were stuck in Costa Maya were charged for their extra days on the ship? Fair is fair, right? :rolleyes:

[randyat1001]

I'm a teacher & DH is an executive manager- yes, vacation has to be planned out a year in advance, but situations come up that can't be changed. My grandma died on Christmas Eve this year while I was vacationing in FL. I had to fly up to VA for 3 days in the middle of my vacation. I wanted to be there & I didn't think twice about paying the 1000 bucks this situation cost me. In March my husband had a short vacation to Key West planned. Last minute US Airways canceled his 5pm flight and rescheduled it to 9am!! He didn't have any vacation days left and the airline didn't care. Either he had to fly or lose his money. He went to work at 1 am so that he could get 6 hours of work in before flying out.

 

My point is . . . you need to be realistic. Sh*t happens and you need to be ready for it when it comes. Nothing will ever go 100% YOUR way. I'm sorry for all the people that had their cruise vacation cut short. I feel more sympathy for those ON the Grandeur when all of this happened. That would have ruined my cruise for sure. For all of those who were booked on the next sailing . . . you had a heads up. You were offered a full refund. You had some time to develop a back-up plan unlike those onboard and had already begun their vacation.

S**t happens is a callous comment for the people involved in this situation

[leighuf]

This article was posted by selucrey on another thread regarding the "heads up." Not everyone was notified before they left for New Orleans:

 

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-0/1114495101200610.xml

 

KEY QUOTE from this article:

Sheehan, the Royal Caribbean spokesman, said he believes his company's response was fair and reasonable.

 

"This has been a difficult situation for our guests as well as our company. We've made every attempt to assist our guests," he said. "If there are any individual problems, we can deal with those guests on a case-by-case basis."

 

Cruisers on the Grandeur when it hit the dock & those who paid to be on the Grandeur the following week should be the ones complaining- not everyone else and their grandma on cruise-critic who knows how to type. I do believe particular individuals should get compensation . . .like the couple who flew out to NO for a pre-cruise trip before the Grandeur struck the dock. This individual problem should be properly handled on a 'case by case' basis by RCI. And hopefully RCI will have the integrity to do so.

 

Sorry if my opinion doesn't go hand-in-hand with everyone else's. You DO know that this isn't the end of the world . . . right?

[FinelyCruising]

You know my heart goes out to everyone who was affected, those on board her at the time, and those who were waitng to sail her next.

 

But as with some other incidents for example as Celebrity cruisers experience often with having to cancel cruises due to the fairly famous engine issues, or those who were on Carnival when one of thier ships caught fire as another, unfortunatley these events do happen.

 

And they are sh*tty when they do. Really sh*tty. But they are unpredicatble and unforseen, and everyone has to find a way to cope with the disappointment.

[zachnlucy]

I think what makes the 4/25 pax situation worse is what we, the 4/16 pax, received, which I consider excellent service for us. The earlier poster was correct in that, worst case scenario, some of the pax on the 4/16 cruise were inconvenienced. And RCI even chartered several buses and planes to fly those pax in to NOLA who had to be there Saturday. RCI took care of us magnificently and I can't understand why they haven't done the same with the current cruise. It makes no sense to me. You can quote all the contract language you want but the bottom line is ... the current cruisers were inconvenienced way more than we were.

[leighuf]

S**t happens is a callous comment for the people involved in this situation

 

You weren't even on this cruise, honey.

 

For those of you who WERE/SUPPOSE TO BE on this cruise & obviously have well deserved merit to complain: I feel for you! I seriously hope your vacation wasn't ruined & I hope if your personal situation deserves more action by RCI on a case-by-case basis, you get it!:D

 

plain & simple

[barbie]

I sympathize with the 4/23 folks. I'm a loyal RCCL Diamond member and if I were you, I'd keep on complaining. The squeaky wheel gets the oil! I would have cancelled, because I do feel it was the "better deal", however, I understand those that couldn't. Hopefully, you're being treated well onboard.... just wish we'd hear from some of you!!!

 

Luckily .... I'm on the 4/30 sailing!!!

 

Bon Voyage!

[randyat1001]

You weren't even on this cruise, honey.

 

For those of you who WERE/SUPPOSE TO BE on this cruise & obviously have well deserved merit to complain: I feel for you! I seriously hope your vacation wasn't ruined & I hope if your personal situation deserves more action by RCI on a case-by-case basis, you get it!:D

 

plain & simple

 

You are right Honey I was not. What is your point? Am I not allowed to express an opinion?

[debbie311]

You weren't even on this cruise, honey.

 

For those of you who WERE/SUPPOSE TO BE on this cruise & obviously have well deserved merit to complain: I feel for you! I seriously hope your vacation wasn't ruined & I hope if your personal situation deserves more action by RCI on a case-by-case basis, you get it!:D

 

plain & simple

 

Honey?! :eek: Rather condescending, wouldn't you say?

 

I am amazed at your lack of compassion here, but from your public profile and from your signature, I see that you are a 25 year-old who has two cruises coming up this year - one in October and another in November.

 

'nuff said.

[vacation rccl]

For all the folks that are on or scheduled to be on the 4/23 cruise, I feel very bad for you. You have every right to feel cheated.....RCCL should take better care of its customers! What will they do next time, just cancel the cruise, or go out for one night and return and say here is your $300.00 take it or leave it! As I see it.....RCCL is using your money to pay for the cruisers who had their trip extended 2 days! Call it what you will, but it sounds like fraud to me. Please continue to vent, and keep up the pressure on this company until they do the right thing!!!!!!

[BonnieNYTX]

Since I wasn't on either of the two cruises I am not going to get involved with taking sides. I am just grateful that nobody was hurt. I wanted to just mention something I read earlier on the original thread. Those pax that received the ship credit can buy casino chips and then turn around and cash them in. Just a thought. If you had no intention of buying pictures, drinks, tshirts, etc, that might work for you.

 

To all those returning and present passengers on the Grandeur....I hope your memories will not be tainted with all the negativity I have seen in here.

[Retired not Expired]

Honey?! :eek: Rather condescending, wouldn't you say?

 

I am amazed at your lack of compassion here, but from your public profile and from your signature, I see that you are a 25 year-old who has two cruises coming up this year - one in October and another in November.

 

'nuff said.

 

Not to mention she feels she has the right to come down on those who feel they got a raw deal, but anyone else who was not on these cruises do not have the right to support those who were wronged, legal or not.

 

I'm also very happy my grandkids goes to school 1000 miles away from where she teaches. That attitude and language does not fit with the teachers I know.

 

RCCL is legally taking advantage of those 4/23 cruisers and they know it. I hope someone in the front office comes to realize service and satisfaction is what a business needs to be a front runner.

 

And no, I was on neither cruise, but I can have an opinion.

[leighuf]

I've stepped on some toes. So sorry not to see eye-to-eye. This is my opinion & I'm not afraid to share it. Once again- to all those who were directly affected, so sorry for your misfortune. To all others, have fun keeping this thread long and heated!

 

_________________________________

The ability to have an opinion is the ability to have a voice, no matter how it maybe be perceived by the world. Using the right to voice an opinion is exercising constitutional right. Not all views on a certain subject will be in agreement. The clashing of two opposite views or speech will often lead to friction; one side discriminates against the other and both sides will view each other as having the wrong view.:p

[Shanafan]

I feel more sympathy for those ON the Grandeur when all of this happened. That would have ruined my cruise for sure. For all of those who were booked on the next sailing . . . you had a heads up. You were offered a full refund. You had some time to develop a back-up plan unlike those onboard and had already begun their vacation.

 

I know when the Dawn was hit by the wave it was all over the news......right away. I still have not seen anything in the news about this incident, however it could be I just missed it. I wonder when people were notified about this by RCCL. I know people who read cruise critic knew ahead of time and could make alternate plans, but how much notice did those that don't read this have?

 

(Leighuf.......didn't mean to pick on your post by any means....you just happened to have a statement I was curious about......wondering how long these people had to make a decision and other plans.) :)

[Shanafan]

[quote name='zachnlucy']I think what makes the 4/25 pax situation worse is what we, the 4/16 pax, received, which I consider excellent service for us. The earlier poster was correct in that, worst case scenario, some of the pax on the 4/16 cruise were inconvenienced. And RCI even chartered several buses and planes to fly those pax in to NOLA who had to be there Saturday. RCI took care of us magnificently and I can't understand why they haven't done the same with the current cruise. It makes no sense to me. You can quote all the contract language you want but the bottom line is ... the current cruisers were [i]inconvenienced [/i]way more than we were.[/QUOTE]

Cindy.......coming from someone who was in the situation......I appreciate your comments.

If I were going to have my vacation screwed up by 2 days, I would much rather have it screwed up while we were enjoying sunny Mexico with a bed to sleep in and food (for free ) any time we wanted rather than flying into a strange city and be expected to stay a couple nights without a hotel reservation.

[mudhenmick]

I agree, the 4/23 passengers were "short changed", if they didn't go with the full refund. And vacation time is often very difficult to re-schedule.

I wonder, will we ever know how many people canceled and how many are on the ship now?

[Shanafan]

[quote name='yuyi64']Looks like leighuf is campaigning really hard to replace Bicker as the most disliked poster on these boards. I'd say she's ahead in the race so far![/QUOTE]

LOL.......and where has he been??? I'm still waiting for that review he was working on!

[jdr93]

i like the suggestion posited above to ask the folks from the 4/16 cruise to pay for the 2+ extra days of cruising they've received free gratis. then rccl could use the money to pay for the worry, inconvenience, extra hotel days, extra meals and other out of pocket expenses the 4/23 cruisers had.

but seriously, i still think it is very odd that rccl is acting so out of character with this one cruise. almost everyone has mentioned another similar situation where their cruise line went out of the way to make sure the passengers felt appreciated. i have yet to see even one person on the 4//23 (4/25) cruise say they felt the 300 was fair. now it's a five day cruise with three fewer ports. contract or no contract, the rccl response is totally out of character for them, and likely for any other world class cruise line.

i am amazed at the great job rccl did to make their ship whole again. you look at the huge hole on the first day and think, ok, cruise over, dry dock coming up. but no, a few days later we have pictures of her sailing proudly into new orleans looking fit and trim. and we hear from passengers on the decks above that even after leaving costa maya they kept up the hard work, repairing the interior damage to the crew quarters. it's obvious to me these guys know how to run a cruise line. that aspect of the accident makes me even more happy we're sailing with rccl this fall. and also hopeful they will eventually make it right for the passengers who were booked on the april 23rd sailing.

john

[FinelyCruising]

john, honey...;)

I think this is the base line if you will for the 4/23 cruisers. I think the cruiselines know that many have purchased insurance, and have said on a case-by-case basis they will rewiew the claims, if you will, of those who indicate they are wronged and are looking for more.

I can tell you from my personal experince on past X cruises that have been cancelled due to immediate needs to dry dock that we were given the option to cruise on an abbreviated cruise, or to cancel without penalty and receive a credit for 50% off of a future cruise on either line.

Airlines, under these circumstances do allow changes for the booking of flights and we have had the benefit of their good grace as a travel partner to the cruise industry without penalty as well in rebooking to accomdate these kinds of events.

I fear that all the intensity of the events and the moment to moment uncertainty of what was happening, or would happen left the cruisers, and the cruisline too, in a highly undetermined predicatment.

I think in a week or so when the dust settles from all of this, those cruisers who did know know what their options were, can either file claims with insurance carriers and will be better able to be in a position to figure out what the next logical and appropriate steps they can or will take as a result of these events. Only after that, is my guess, will the cruiseline examine the case-by-case basis for additional consideration.

[jwlane]

[quote name='FinelyCruising']I think in a week or so when the dust settles from all of this[/QUOTE]


The difference in media coverage with Dawn and Grandeur? No one was hurt or ever in any danger on Grandeur.

I think in a few days we'll hear back from those that [b]did[/b] sail on 4/25 and find out RCCL bent over backwards to make sure they got their money's worth.

[FinelyCruising]

Now, you know you are right, that could be the best to come so far for these folks. :)

I will look forward to hearing those stories!

[yuyi64]

[quote name='Shanafan']LOL.......and where has he been??? I'm still waiting for that review he was working on![/QUOTE]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that review Shanafan. I think he's teaching somewhere up in New Hampshire and is practicing the art of using asterisks to disguise vulgarity.

[debbie311]

[quote name='yuyi64']I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that review Shanafan. I think he's teaching somewhere up in New Hampshire and is practicing the art of using asterisks to disguise vulgarity.[/QUOTE]

;) LOL

[Desertbelle]

I feel sorry for the 4/23 cruisers, and I feel they deserve much more than $150 compensation.

Even though it seems there is an obsession with cruise insurance on these boards (I always purchase it) no one seems to realize that RCI also has insurance to cover these types of accidents. I don't believe for a moment that RCI isn't well covered in a situation such as this.

If you run a business, such as I do, and someone trips on the ripped carpet in my office and breaks a leg, my liability insurance takes care of it. Why would someone have to have pain, endure medications for pain, miss work, and suffer having a cast on or even surgery for something that wasn't their fault? This is why I carry insurance, to protect my interests from situations that occur on my premises. I don't expect my patients to buy insurance to protect themselves from my ripped carpet.

And I would expect that if it went to a court of law my actions immediately following the accident would weigh heavily on the jury's/judge's decision. If I went directly to the person, offered help, a ride to the hospital, watched her children while her husband arrived, sent flowers and a note of apology, immediately fixed the torn carpet AND my insurance picked up the medical expenses, I think it would look like I had done everything possible to make things "right" for the injured person. On the other hand if I acted like I didn't care, even if the medical bills were covered by my insurance, I think it would go badly for me in court.

People want to feel like they are being cared for. People want to be in the information loop. People want to know that there needs are being met.

What RCI should have done is called every Customer Service Rep in, even if it was their day off, and they should have personally called every affected cruiser, met every plane, arranged for food and lodging for every passenger. At the very least they should have offered a shipboard credit worth 2/7 of their cruise, the opportunity to cancel for a full refund AND at least 50% off on an upcoming cruise. Nothing remotely like this happened. RCI dropped the ball.

Contract or no contract, RCI has responsibilities AND that is why they carry liability insurance.