Jump to content

Luxury Goes Missing on the Paul Gauguin


Recommended Posts

Fred and I booked B2B on the PG beginning 5/21. The first week was fabulous--just what we expected. (Will post a review later.) On Saturday afternoon, 5/28, we stood on our balcony and sadly watched the many friends we made on the first leg depart. Only David and Wendy remained to enjoy a second week of near perfection. We congratulated ourselves on booking B2B, one of the best cruise decisions we've made. And we still believe that to be true. We then enjoyed a wonderful leisurely day looking forward to our second exciting luxurious sailaway dinner on PG. We had a date to dine with David and Wendy.

 

Early that Saturday we learned that a group of 166 would board the ship. When we saw the Saturday schedule, we noted that L'Etoile was posted closed. Dinner was to be in La Veranda. We assumed that L'Etoile was reserved for the group of 166 and that was, indeed, the case.

 

We entered La Veranda in high spirits and went directly to the table where David and Wendy were seated. And that's when the shoe fell. David leaned in my direction and said "Pat, it's a buffet." The food we were presented was essentially the same lunch buffet we had eaten seven hours earlier on the ship. Radisson had created two classes of passengers for the remainder of the cruise. Those in first class were the group of 166 who were dining in L'Etoile in the grand style they had anticipated and their company had paid for. They had the standard sailaway menu, snappy service, and were dining on what the PG calls "the finest food ever served in the South Seas." The rest of us, numbering 130, were seated in coach eating a very ordinary weakly presented buffet lunch. We were denied the elegant dinner we had anticipated and paid for.

 

I was livid. So much so that I spoiled any chance David and Wendy would have at enjoying their second lunch of the day. And to them I apologize. I made my feelings known to the Maitre D and sulked off. Fred was angry but more calm. After "lunch" he headed directly to the Internet Cafe to pound out a message of protest to Mark Conroy.

 

What a way to start a cruise! That evening was, of course, ruined for us. And the experience colored the remainder of the trip.

 

As you would expect, word of this outrage spread quickly among the 130 who had been, to use a gentle word, slighted. It decreased their tolerance to the inevitable adjustments needed to accommodate a large group sailing on a small ship. When the group was not programmed, they congregated at the small pool on deck 8 rendering the entire deck off limits to the rest of the passengers. There was no "off limits" sign posted of course, but if you weren't part of the group trying to swim there or read a book while lounging in the sun was like attending the wrong wedding. The coach class on the ship was very displeased!

 

There was an ugly incident involving the group on one of our days in Moorea. It was mid-day. And hot. About a dozen coach passengers were waiting for the tender to take them back to the ship. The tender was late because it was bringing a full load of groupies to shore to participate in some kind of organized event. When the tender finally landed and off loaded the groupies, the crew informed the waiting passengers they would be picked up on the next round trip because the tender had to rush back to the ship to fetch the remaining groupies. A mini-mutiny insued. The waiting passengers defied the crew and rushed on board the tender anyway. They weren't happy campers.

 

You should know there were no additional major outrages after Saturday night. The next morning, the Hotel Director sought me out on deck and apologized. He affirmed that the decision to do this was made at corporate, not by the crew of the ship. A note of apology awaited me in our cabin along with a bottle of fine cognac. Our service on ship, which was already first class, shined. Clearly the "damage control" order had been issued and the marvelous crew of the ship couldn't do enough for us. While we appreciated the extra attention, we felt that the crew was as much the victim of Saturday's outrage as we were. they work so hard and so well they just don't deserve the added burden of damage control duty.

 

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am really sorry that you had this experience that could have ruined a wonderful vacation. When we took our first Radisson cruise-to Alaska on Mariner-there was a huge Australian group of insurance sales people who were on the cruise as some sort of reward.(Perhaps for being loud and pushy, because they were quite good at that, probably because they were celebrating their good fortune of having won the cruise!) Luckily, Mariner was large enough that we only had problems in the specialty restaurants and a couple of shore excursions. But I do empathize with your experience and the frustration you must have felt. At least the crew did its best to rectify the situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So after the 'lunch' buffet/dinner... did the cruise return to fine dining? did you enjoy your meals after that incident?

 

I too have felt slighted when staying at a hotel during a convention I was not part of, the staff were falling all over themselves trying to please the group and we were second class citizens (paying premium prices) :rolleyes:

 

I am curious on the back to back.. did you have to depart the ship and then reboard? or could you stay on board while the ship was preparing for the new passengers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was on the same cruise as Pat, and not knowing any better, my husband and I walked into L'Etoile the night it was closed for the group dinner. We had a nice meal. Although we did notice that the quality of food has declined since our first Tahiti cruise 2 years ago. It's still good, but not great. The group that was on board did take over the ship. There were a few couples on their honeymoon who were very upset - it certainly wasn't the quiet, romantic luxury cruise they were hoping for. We managed to have a good time, but it would be nice if Radisson would let you know when you're booking a trip that there's a large corporate group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing about this particular cruise that may not be apparent from the original post is that the ship WAS very close to max. capacity. In addition to the obtrusiveness of the "group" who were more than 1/2 of the guests onboard, I must comment that I have never ben on a cruise that was this full that didn't have problems with food and service. Cruise ships just don't "sail well" when totally full, period.

 

As I've said before, what happened to Patrick and Fred and fellow non-group guests was just criminal for a lux cruise. Radisson, in this case, should not do the "usual cruise line thing" and stone-wall this, as they have some big-time explaining to do!

 

Thanks,

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with your observations Dolebludger and I too am eagerly awaiting the explanation if there ever is one, forthcoming, from Rad. A luxury line does not treat pax this way and there is no excuse for it. It will certainly make us think twice about booking another Rad cruise unless we hear something that is plausible as there are other lux lines out there just waiting to treat you better.........such as Seabourn and SS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll keep you folks posted on the fallout from this incident.

 

casshew, after Saturday, the meal service was as it should have been. I'll be posting a cruise review and give my two cents worth on food. I agree with Carol. With respect to your question about B2B, no, we didn't check out and check in again. We unpacked once for the entire two weeks. What a luxury. Our turnaround day was total leisure. Absolutely glorious. Any time we consider a 7-day cruise in the future we will consider B2B if it is available. One of the things I like best about B2B is you can deal with shore options casually. If you aren't sure about an option, you can inquire the first week and then make your decision. On the PG, we booked the Moorea photo excursion for week one. It is limited to seven passengers. So it always sells out. Well, we made two good friends during week one who were waitlisted for the photo excursion. We gave them our week one slot and switched to week two. Just one of the luxuries of cruising B2B.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have friends who only cruise SS and have taken 10 cruises - they were very unhappy with 2 of the 10 - however, those 2 experiences did not stop them from continuing with SS - I would guess you won't find any lux line that has made all of their cruisers happy 100% of the time - Joanna

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have made it a prerequisite to have my TA check to see if there are any large groups booked on my sailing date. I was on one of the mass market lines.....N asty C ruise L ine.....with a very $$$ cabin. well there were three large groups on board that reserved the three large public rooms every evening on a rotation basis. I could not get into the observation lounge once. The Cruise director said there were other places to go other than the 3 major rooms. I said I paid to cruise on the ship, the entire ship.....he said sorry, find one of the smaller rooms or order into your cabin......

Will I sail that line...never again. Will I check to see if large groups are on board...you bet you deposit dollar I will.

On the Rad Navigator there was a group of Brittish car sales men and wives....they never took over anything and were the life of the party. On the Rad Voyager there were Aussies......fabulous people who although loud in the observation bar area...they dragged other passengers into the mix and were great fun.

So check before you book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing about this particular cruise that may not be apparent from the original post is that the ship WAS very close to max. capacity. In addition to the obtrusiveness of the "group" who were more than 1/2 of the guests onboard, I must comment that I have never ben on a cruise that was this full that didn't have problems with food and service. Cruise ships just don't "sail well" when totally full, period.

Well, I have to comment that at least in the case of the Voyager, they seemed to do an awesome job with our cruise, despite being completely sold out. We knew this was a max-capacity sailing and were a little concerned about that, as one of the things I was looking forward to the most in upgrading to a luxury line from the mass-markets is the reported lack of crowds, lines, etc. And I'm happy to report that we experienced virtually no negative impact from the capacity crowd. We never waited even 30 seconds for a table in Compass Rose, we never had trouble finding a great seat in the theatre, never had to wait for a tender. The only line I stood in was to get reservations for Signatures, and that went very quickly.

 

I did hear that some had difficulty getting into Latittudes if they didn't get there early enough, and sometimes I had to wait a few minutes for a computer to free up, but that's it. I would hope the PG is as good at managing a capacity ship.

 

LeeAnne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We too were on a full Voyager sailing, and did not have a problem with food or service being "off." But on a full Diamond cruise, these problems were apparent. And room service really went south! The Diamond and PG pasenger to space ratios aren't as high as the Voyager, and that may be part of the diference.

 

Thanks,

Richard:) :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cruise ships just don't "sail well" when totally full, period.

 

Richard: The above comment would lead people to believe this applies to all ships - I guess it is just the Diamond and PG that fall into this category?? Joanna

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, in Radisson's fleet, I would say that the PG and the Diamond are more prone to SERIOUS "full ship" problems than Radisson's other ships with higher pasenger to space ratios. The problems on our "full" Voyager cruise due to this were so minor --- sch as waits to use the laundry room, but that's about it. Yet, I feel even the Voyager cruise would have been a little better if not so full. And on mass market ships with passenger to space rations down in the 30's (the PG is 58 and the Voyager is 71), expect all sorts of problems when they are totally full.

 

 

Thanks,

Richard:) :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Based on our experience with a B2B on the Wind Surf last November (9/16 Navigator Montreal to New York will be our first Radisson cruise), I'll second the thoughts about full ships. During our first week, the ship was 2/3 full and service was fantastic. During the second week, every cabin was booked, and service suffered. Still excellent, just not as good. I imagine the same thing would happen on a full Rad cruise, especially with a large group on board. (The Wind Surf also had a large group the second week; but it was from a group of TAs, so the people weren't as obtrusive as a corporate group).

 

Unfortunately, we've also had second class, full price, treatment when hotels have been booked for conventions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the Voyager back to back in the Eastern Med last fall, the first week was less than two thirds full while the second week was sold out including a group of about 100. We noticed no difference in the service whatsoever and except for a hospitality table and a two hour time when the Observation Lounge was reserved, hardly knew a group was on board.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, we are getting a little side-tracked here, as the complaint about the 5/28 PG was NOT that she was full, but that a corporate group of more than 1/2 the guests took over the ship! I (not the original poster) merely mentioned that the fact that the PG was also 100% full probably didn't ease the situation any.

 

But on the side issue of how much a 100% full ship damages the cruise experience (if at all), this is all a function of passenger to space ratio. This is a math formula that tells how much guest-accessible space is available per guest on a particular ship at flulll double occupancy. It is an estimate of ship spaciousness only, but I find it to be a good indicator. You get the ratio by dividing the max guest load at double occupancy into the gross tonnage of a given ship. The max capacity of the Voyager is 700, and she is 50,000 gross tons, yielding a ratio of 71.43. I think you'll find the Mariner about the same and the Navigator in the high 60's The PG is about 58. Most mass market ships have ratios in the 35 to 40 range. Silverseas ships have ratios of about 74. As the higher the number, the more spacious ship is (and thus better able to sail full without problems), the "looser prize" goes to the NCL Dream, with a ratio of 29. As the Voyager has a very high space ratio by industry standards, she is much better at taking on a full guest load than the less relatively spacious PG. And NEVER go on the NCL Dream. She is crowded even when not full! But as to the Voyager, it does not surprise me that some guests feel no difference when she is full, compared to when she is not. I'm very sensitive on this matter, and I could detect almost no problems when the Voyager was 100% full. Also, a larger ship like the Voyger is far better able to handle corporate groups than smaller ships like the PG. There are so many more facilities the group can use without disrupting the general cruise. So a corporate group of 166 on the 700 guest Voyager probably wouldn't be a problem. But a corporate group of 166 on the 300 guest PG? Big problem.

 

Thanks,

Richard:) :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Richard- Your observations are correct. I'm sure on a larger ship a corporate group wouldn't have been noticed. Also, the fact that it was a full ship had nothing to do with the problems we experienced, the staff was great and tried to provide the best service possible, but they were just overwhelmed when 162 people wanted to do the same thing at the same time. Do you know if there's anyway to find out when booking a cruise if there's going to be a large group onboard?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Carol,

 

Wouldn't that be wonderful to know ahead of time? Like you and others have said, in most cases, on the larger ships like the Mariner and the Voyager, a large group should have no impact. On the Mariner last June, we found out about halfway through the week, that there were 3 corporate groups onboard. 250 with a car dealership, about 100 with a tire company and another 100 with a funeral director's group!! They really did not impact our cruise in the least, thank goodness!! They didn't take over any of the venues. In fact, we met a handful of the car dealership people and they were extremely nice and we were a little disappointed that they ate with their group everynight, instead of dining with us!!

 

Ginny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ITravelNow:

 

No, no, I wouldn't know ALL the aspects of running a cruise line. Not nearly! And just because I know enough to critique a concert doesn't mean I can sing! But let me make a final comment or two, and then leave this matter until there are new developments.

 

1. The corporate group was too large for the ship. And, the PG lacks the "event rooms" needed for a group like this.

 

2. The fact that the ship was full may or may not have played a role in the problem. For example, it may have been the reason the crew was unable to offer the regular menue and full service in La Veranda for the regular guests.

 

3. This incident was a monumental lack of judgment and planning on the part of RSSC managment at some level.

 

4. Anybody booked, or thinking about booking on the PG would do well to make sure their TA pressures Radisson for information about whether there is group like this on their intended cruise.

 

Thanks,

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The truth is, you dont know if RSSC or GCT booked this group on ..and that is the problem with the way the booking is going on the P.G.

I'm glad you claified the full ship problem Richard..as you know I cruise on Oceania and they "always" sail full so know exactly what to do with a full ship and you would not know the difference..

Jan

*****

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jan:

 

One BIG problem here is that Oceania does not cruise French Polynesia. With RSSC and Princess exiting that market --- and essentially leaving no lines operating there, perhaps Oceania should consider it?

 

Thanks,

 

Richard:) :) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been on the Paul Gauguin for a fully booked two week Marquesas cruise and the service was surperb. Other than Thanksgiving, when everyone wanted the French version of Thanksgiving dinner in L'Etoile, there was never a problem with crowding, waits, or stressed crew. They did a fantastic job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.