Enchanment 4/16-We deserved better!!!!

[Ericknow32]

Their marketing people will tell you that one of the key reasons passengers pick cruises is the ports of call, If you miss a port because of their problems, yes everyone should be issued a refund.

 

Sorry guy, I think you are kinda full of it. You still ate the food you still got to go to Ocho Rios and you still got days at sea. You missed one port get over it. Normally I don't like when people jump on people with complaints because they could have a legitimate complaint but yours is freaking ridiculous.

 

And who do you think you are to claim that you deserve more credit because you are in a suite. Everyone missed the same port. If you have a suite you pay more for the room you have, not the ports of call. You still had your room so why should you have been paid more than all of the other people that missed the same port.

[bobbie0253]

Me!! Me!!! You know it's always 5 o'clock somewhere!!!!!

 

 

celtic

 

 

Hey I love that song! Okay I guess I can go with that theory.

 

Can someone tell me what the "kool-aid" refers to? I have never heard that before.

[yogimax]

Enough Already! It's about time all of us realize that life is a gift. Let's calm down and enjoy the blessings we have!

[judiek]

On our Baltic cruise on the Jewel last summer,we had to bypass Helsinki Finland due to weather being bad.The only thing RCCL did was open the Schooner Bar for free drinks for 1 hour.I thought that was nice and didn't even think of getting compensation.We were inconvenienced also as the ship was to pick up supplies in port so they started to run out of some food items.You didnt have it so bad,you can take another cruise to the Caribbean (I know,not on RCCL) and maybe get a chance to go to Grand Cayman a lot easier than we can fly to London to get the ship to take us to Finland.I think you got a great deal,I would take it and be very happy.By the way,even though the Captain had the audacity to worry about our well being,I will continue to sail on RCCL as much as possible.....

[Max Circus]

Hey I love that song! Okay I guess I can go with that theory.

 

Can someone tell me what the "kool-aid" refers to? I have never heard that before.

 

That goes back to the Jim Jones tragedy in Guyana in the mid-70's. Jim Jones was the leader of a "cult" - had a community called Jonestown. Had convinced (some would say "brainwashed") hundreds of people into giving them their money and property. Ultimately convinced them to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide and they all died.

 

"Drink the kool-aid" is a phrase often used in the business world when you may not agree with the plan being followed, but you go along with it in the best interests of your team.

[celtic selke]

Can someone tell me what the "kool-aid" refers to? I have never heard that before.

 

It was a very sad chapter of history. It was a religious cult that with their leader, Jim Jones ,commited mass suicide by drinking poisoned kool-aid. The kool-aid was used to make it easier for the children to drink. Quite horrifying.

I guess it was longer ago than I remembered.

 

celtic

[bobbie0253]

Thanks for the explanation. How sad :(

[SharleneinTexas]

Re-do your math, it was $200 per room not person. Some staterooms had 4 people in them, $50 a person now that is worth it......

 

 

.

 

I would have done my best to drown my sorrows on my share of that $200/room........lol

 

and I have a feeling you won't be cruising long if you give up on every cruise line who might miss a port.........RCI does not have a monopoly on that........ :)

[private92656]

Jungle, this is not your lucky day. You have just running into a herd of "I'm holier than you" group.

 

For those who said "On my last cruise, I missed xxx ports, all I got was this lousy yyy, and I didn't complain", you know what, you had just been taken advantage by the cruise lines, and you don't even know it.

 

For those who said "you don't deserve anything because you still eat the food and stayed on the ship", port is a very big part of the cruising experience. Otherwise I may do a land vacation at an all-inclusive hotel. Why bother with all the hassle during embarkation and disembarkation? Besides, you will get a much bigger room at any hotel. As a matter of fact, cruise lines actively promote these port calls as a reason for cruising. I know they don't owe you anything when they miss a port, I'm sure their lawyers have worked all the details. However you can't deny that missing a port does bring huge disappointment to a number of passengers onboard. I know I will.

 

For those who thinkgs $200 is a big deal, please do the math. If you have 4 in a room, that's only $50 per head. Take out the port charge they won't have to pay, and the profit margin built into, you are really only getting about $25 per person in real money. As for future cruise credit, that's worth much. It's like saying "you don't like our product, well, here is couple of dollars to try it again".

Only about 10% of the dredit ever gets cashed. So cruise lines are not hurting finacially there.

 

For those who said "you should be happy you are not in the office", then why pay $$$ to cruise line, you can simply go down to the local park and have a picnic with your family.

 

I don't know how much is the fair compensation in this case. I will say about $100 each person off their cruise fair.

 

However I do agree that the amound should not be based on whether you are in a suite or not. There is no different classes of disappointment.

[Dolphin-dan]

First of all I know all about the language contained in the RCL brochure. As a customer you always bear that risk, but there are certain things not controlable (ie weather) BUT having sound equipment is the responsibility of RCL. They failed in that responsibility and the passengers paid the price. Also if the there was a safety issue, we should have been taken off the ship. The possibility of another port was something brought up by their crew not our idea. Technically the Enchanment was off the coast of Miami before Midnight if not sooner, the rush to get back was for concern of futures voyages not that the one sailing. Their marketing people will tell you that one of the key reasons passengers pick cruises is the ports of call, If you miss a port because of their problems, yes everyone should be issued a refund. A $200 on board credit to passengers who were delayed in getting to one distatination and deferred from another is an insult. I still feel that if you pay more, then your refund should be proportionate.

 

I'm gonna bite my tongue, and not respond to you...unbeliveable.

[ILUVCRUIZN]

Jungle85, I see your point, but unfortunately I do not think that they knew or intended to have engine problems..

 

Your cruise did get messed and I think that RCL did a fair thing for the passengers. I do not think that they wanted to hand out however much money that it the total came to. I think they would have much rather of had a ship full of happy passengers that were able to visit all of the ports that were scheduled....

 

Every time we go on a cruise I do wonder if we are the ones that are going to have engine problems???? We have been very lucky so far and I do feel sorry for anyone who's cruise that does not go as planned!!!!! :)

[WeBeCruisin']

Don't you feel stupid now, Allen? :D You could have come on here, and complained, and started a crusade and I am sure that they would have well compensted you. I sure know I would have shown you the support I am offering now. Of course, in those days I was a little less diplomatic here. I try to be nice now!!!!!:eek:

 

jc

 

You're a sweetie, jc.:rolleyes: :D

 

Allen

[wolfganghowell]

Private - what you and the OP are missing is that it is the cruise contract you sign before boarding the ship that you are aware the itinerary may be changed AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON and you are entitled to nothing. Yes, it's called the fine print but you have agreed to it. When things such as this happen, the cruise line has a finite amount of time to make the best of a bad situation. As others stated, the contract every passenger signed allowed RCCL to do this with no additional compensation. The fact that they did shows they tried to go above and beyond their requirements. The worst similarity for me is that we were 4 hours late to Casa de Campo On Celebrity once and they had open bar for 2 hours. Again, something they were not required to do but the captain may make those decisions as a gesture of good will. The crew member was trying to be nice but they are not able to always substitute a port that quickly - they must get clearance, have docking space and have the port fees paid. It appears they had no good option.

 

IMHO, they gave you a pretty nice deal.

[WeBeCruisin']

On our Baltic cruise on the Jewel last summer,we had to bypass Helsinki Finland due to weather being bad......

 

We did the Baltics July 30 on Celebrity's Constellation. When we were docked in Copenhagen, we were right next to the Jewel. It's a beautiful ship.

 

If it makes you feel any better, Helsinki was probably our least favorite port on the cruise.

 

Allen

[trishalee]

On our last cruise we missed Grand Cayman, missed Jamaica the one before, Coco Cay the one before that and Halifax the one before THAT. It really never occurred to us to expect anything!:confused: What the heck is going on here???? Were we supposed to get port charges refunded? I really never thought of that!

[xpcdoojk]

Well I guess we are just behind the times. Nowadays the battle cry is "Compensation, Big Time!" I also missed Labadee once and was sort of hoping for a free drink.

Didn't happen though.

And once, the ship I was on went dead in the water for a few hours. Did get a few free drinks for that one. Boy, was I happy.

Guess I look rather foolish now.

 

celtic

 

gosh, now I feel extra stupid. I missed Labadee on our first cruise on the Majesty of the Seas. It was raining and about 60 degrees. I know my not getting to swim at the beach had to be worth more than $200. I am so mad, and I am so stupid!!!! :mad: ;)

 

I am sorry, Allen. I should not have called you stupid, since I share your ignorance!

 

jc <----LMAO:D :D

[private92656]

Wolfgang, I'm fully aware that RCL doesn't owe anything, not a single penny, to the OP LEGALLY. However since I'm also in the service industry, working for a company provides high end computer network service to fortune 500 companies, we go way beyond what's called for in our contract to satisfy our clients.

 

I just thought that it's a good business practice to keep the customer happy. I try to put myself in OP's shoes. If GC is the port he wants to visit, then I'm sure he is very disappointed. I don't know how I would react in this case. I have been very lucky that I have not missed one single port during my 10+ cruises. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no need to be so harsh on the OP. Some people may not care about port calls, but other do, and that's one of their main reasons for taking a cruise.

 

Again, I still don't think $200 of credit per room is worth that much. $200 refund per cabin, YES! credit NO!

[WeBeCruisin']

For those who said "you don't deserve anything because you still eat the food and stayed on the ship", port is a very big part of the cruising experience. Otherwise I may do a land vacation at an all-inclusive hotel. However you can't deny that missing a port does bring huge disappointment to a number of passengers onboard. I know I will.

For those who thinkgs $200 is a big deal, please do the math. If you have 4 in a room, that's only $50 per head.

For those who said "you should be happy you are not in the office", then why pay $$$ to cruise line, you can simply go down to the local park and have a picnic with your family.

.

 

OMG, Private! If I had only known my "rights"! :rolleyes: My wife and I spent a week at the Paradisus Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, two years ago. It was a luxury all-inclusive resort, but that week almost everyone there got sick and stayed sick almost the entire week. We even brushed our teeth with bottled water and still got sick. If I had only known that I could have sued them or something and deserved big bucks in compensation. I feel so silly and inadequate :eek:

 

As for the "four in a room", Jungle said that "some" people had four in a room. She never said she did, nor did she ever say how many people actually were in her room. She implied that there were four.

 

A picnic in the park is just not really the same as a cruise, ya think? Many people take cruises, particularly in the Caribbean, and never leave the ship, because it gives them another "sea" day, and that is what they enjoy the most about the ships.

 

Allen

[Bonnie Voyager]

Hey one of my all-time favorite posters! Hi Bonnie!!!!

 

Good to see you again, hope all is well with you. I just noticed that you have a picture in the avatar spot... May I be presumptuous that I am seeing a picture of Bonnie? :D

 

Hope you are well, don't be a stranger, you can always find me on these threads. :D

 

jc

 

Hi jc! It's also nice to see you here and there :D I am well and as always am counting down the days till my next cruise! Yes, that is me pictured in my avatar. Now, if you ever run in to me on a cruise you can stop and say "hi"! ;)

[ILUVCRUIZN]

WOW!!! I just went back and reread what I had posted!!! :eek: Sorry if you guy's did not understand what I was trying to say!! It has been a very long week!!! :D :D Me's thank I got a little tongue twisted!!!! :D :D

[Ericknow32]

Wolfgang, I'm fully aware that RCL doesn't owe anything, not a single penny, to the OP LEGALLY. However since I'm also in the service industry, working for a company provides high end computer network service to fortune 500 companies, we go way beyond what's called for in our contract to satisfy our clients.

giving $200 is way beyond what is called for.

 

I just thought that it's a good business practice to keep the customer happy.

not all people can be kept happy

 

 

Again, I still don't think $200 of credit per room is worth that much. $200 refund per cabin, YES! credit NO!

$200 = $200 whats the differance.

[private92656]

Yes, Allen, a picnic in the park is not the same as cruise. But that's exactly my point. You can have a great relaxing time at places other than a cruise ship. There are other reasons we pay top dollars to be crammed into a floating hotel. So "you are on a cruise ship, you shouldn't complain" is not a valid respond. People pay hard earned money to enjoy the fruit of their labor, they hae certain expectations. When it's not met, they do have a leg reason to complain or vent here.

 

As for compensation for missing port, I really think the minimum should be the refund of port charge. It's an separate item on your cruise fair, supposely paying the local govenments of ports we are visiting. Anything above that, I think cruise lines should consider the impact on its passengers and do what's best in both cruise lines and passengers interest. I really don't know what a fair compensation should be in this case, but I would put a very low value on future cruise credit. As for room credit, it should be discounted by half due to the profit margin cruise lines earned on them. For $200 room credit, it really only costs cruise line less than $100 in real money.

Just my 2 peso's worth.

[xpcdoojk]

 

 

$200 = $200 whats the differance.

 

I think the difference is that if they gave them $200 cash, they could deposit it in the bank and make 1.2% interest on the $200 for the remaining 3 days. The present value of $200 cash there fore is actually worth $0.07 more than a $200 credit assuming that they could deposit that funds for the 3 days they are cruising. I am sure that is what the private means. :cool: How they are going to accomplish the deposit is beyond me... though... maybe if we could figure that out it will help understand this situation. :cool: O, that is not right. He has clarified his view on cash or credit. So, if the cruiseline gives you cash it costs them $200, but if they reduce your onboard account by $200 it only costs them $100?:confused: In the first case if they give you cash at the end of the cruise they are out $200. In the second case if they reduce your shipboard account from $500 to $300. They are again out $200. In other words there is no difference. I will agree with the private regarding a future cruise discount. That is of very questionable value. I remember some class action lawsuit against RCI for over charging port taxes when they missed ports. I won a voucher for less than $20 on a future cruise, of course I had to book the cruise in a short time frame. I am sure that the legal firm handling that suit made out a little better than I did. :mad:

 

jc

[madforcruising]

I have taken several cruises, and I will NEVER go on a RCL cruise again.

 

Fine.

 

 

Best comment right at the beginning. I´m always glad that there will be little to no chance to meet on a future cruise with these whiners and complainers.

[Andipanda1]

Yes, Allen, a picnic in the park is not the same as cruise. But that's exactly my point. You can have a great relaxing time at places other than a cruise ship. There are other reasons we pay top dollars to be crammed into a floating hotel. So "you are on a cruise ship, you shouldn't complain" is not a valid respond. People pay hard earned money to enjoy the fruit of their labor, they hae certain expectations. When it's not met, they do have a leg reason to complain or vent here.

 

While I agree people have a legitimate reason to complain or vent, I think that others have the right to (constructively) respond. I pay top dollars to be "crammed into a floating hotel," as you put it, because I love cruising and being on the sea. But I'm not sure what it is you expect. If you sign a ticket--a contract--that states that for any reason the itinerary can be changed, I don't understand what you expect. The OP expected a cruise--an entire package that includes a room, food, entertainment, and yes, ports. The ship made one of it's ports. The OP was fed, housed, and entertained. The OP was compensated--$200 per room (since the OP has not revealed how many people were in the room) and $200 off on a future cruise. How is this unfair when 2/3 of the expectation were met? Interestingly enough, even though I've asked two times, the OP has not come up with anything that was a good thing about this cruise. Could it be that his/her expectations were so high that missing GC ruined the whole cruise?

 

Seems to be a matter of perception. Another poster has mentioned that the OP got better "compensation" than those people who missed TWO DAYS of their cruise on the Grandeur. Does that change your perspective at all?