Just off Independence of the Seas 3/10-16

[rrodriquez2]

My question - how do you know the rules were broken? I'm too a point in my life a 19 yo looks 30 and a 25 yo looks 18. If they were did you complain at the time? Have you written a letter of complaint to the company?

 

I don't see where you did anything other than complain about their pool deck behavior on here. As others who were on the same cruise pointed out -they didn't see anything that horriffic. I'm having difficulty taking terribly seriously your complaint about more than 20 people in the hot tubs. I was on Independence a couple of months ago and did not get into the hot tubs when there were 5 or 6, I can't imagine even wanting to get in with 15 or more. As for the clothing in the MDR - if you spend any time at all on the boards you will get to know the anti clothes police are in full force so, how dare you question daisy dukes and flip flops in the mdr. ;)

 

I'm glad that over all you had a great cruise. Perhpas next year on HAL things will be more calm.

 

Because we talked to the kids and they told us that's what they did? We were out with them at times in the bars and in the clubs and sat with probably 50 of them on a tender back from Cayman. DO you really think turning around at that point and turning them over to security would have provided for a safe and enjoyable cruise for the family?

 

They exploited lax security and a weakness in the system to take full advantage of the drink packages per room. A commendable effort on their part that alone I could care less about but when it spills over to the other stuff.

 

There are people here that have reportedly heard exactly what I heard and what I saw. Most of these people did not spend time on the deck on the last day due to the wind, or were in dinner on the other days when things got really bad on deck. (like the events that preceded things going over the side and people being disembarked)

 

Again do you believe it's acceptable to be asking women leaning over decks to take photos to "show them your ti*s"

 

Serious question. Do you consider that perfectly normal and to be expected on an RCCL cruise?

[devvt]

The Independence of the Seas carries 4000+ passengers when full to capacity. It would have been impossible, unless you never ventured from your stateroom, not to be aware of the existence of various college spring break groups, especially around the pool area in the afternoon. While I certainly can't condone some of the actions of these groups, nothing my husband or I experienced was horrendous enough to have the type of negative impact the OP has apparently suffered, and several other posters who were on this cruise have concurred with me.

 

Several of us have suggested that the OP should have taken his/her concerns to the authorities (security, guest services, concierge, etc.) I find it interesting that he/she was so horrified by some of the college kids' actions and yet spent time with them in the bars?!

 

As I said before, things happen - breathe in, breathe out, move on

[kimark]

To the OP - I wondered how the new drinking packages could affect the spring break cruisers. I think you answered my question which I think a lot of people are over-looking. I found it extremely interesting about the difference in age between booking a cabin on RCL and CCL, something I did not know. I am glad to hear you still had a great cruise. We did cruise during spring break in 2012 but there was no drinking package available last year. Thanks for your review.

[rrodriquez2]

The Independence of the Seas carries 4000+ passengers when full to capacity. It would have been impossible, unless you never ventured from your stateroom, not to be aware of the existence of various college spring break groups, especially around the pool area in the afternoon. While I certainly can't condone some of the actions of these groups, nothing my husband or I experienced was horrendous enough to have the type of negative impact the OP has apparently suffered, and several other posters who were on this cruise have concurred with me.

 

Several of us have suggested that the OP should have taken his/her concerns to the authorities (security, guest services, concierge, etc.) I find it interesting that he/she was so horrified by some of the college kids' actions and yet spent time with them in the bars?!

 

As I said before, things happen - breathe in, breathe out, move on

 

Interestingly a long time member just posted a review that came to the same conclusion in the onboard experience being a disappointment due to the over the top behavior. Again, you didn't mention anything about kids or any significant time spent in the pool or hot tubs. I suspect if that was a goal for this cruise you'd feel differently. I'd consider yourself lucky that you managed to dodge the "package" mayhem.

 

To the OP - I wondered how the new drinking packages could affect the spring break cruisers. I think you answered my question which I think a lot of people are over-looking. I found it extremely interesting about the difference in age between booking a cabin on RCL and CCL, something I did not know. I am glad to hear you still had a great cruise. We did cruise during spring break in 2012 but there was no drinking package available last year. Thanks for your review.

 

There's another review up now describing much the same stuff. What you'll find is it breaks down along lines of "used the pool a lot" or "didn't". Most of the kids were concentrated in the pools on sea days from noon to 7/8pm. Then dinner, then they went to the shows/casino. On land days they were usually around the pools by 4pm or so. If the pool wasn't one of the reasons for your vacation aside of random encounters you probably didn't notice much.

[CookieMonster123]

I'd consider yourself lucky that you managed to dodge the "package" mayhem.

 

Yes, totally. We're middle aged nerds with a school age (11 year old) daughter and were on this cruise. We dodged the mayhem because we didn't have high expectations about relaxing by the pool anyway. In fact, I kept wondering where all the college kids were during the day as we did all the other activities on the ship. Turns out they were stuffed in the hot tub! :D

 

Interestingly, we took a four day cruise last year during East Coast Spring Break and were completely turned off by the pool area due to the loudness of RCCL's music and the fact that there were so many drunk adults letting their little kids run wild. Compared to that experience, college kids stuffing themselves into a hot tub (apparently with funnels) seemed like nothing. But again, we'd already made up our minds that the pool was just one small element of the vacation.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to take another Spring Break cruise on RCCL. If we were pool people we might think twice, but again -- we were off doing other things and feeling happy that we weren't being hit in the ankles every five minutes with strollers.

 

I also thought the ship was extremely clean and I've never seen so much hand washing and Purell used in my life. There were stations everywhere. The food on this cruise was much better than the food I had last year on The Liberty. It exceeded our expectations in every way, especially Chops. I went in thinking I'd probably wasted money paying extra, but the meat was definitely worth the cover charge.

 

I'm sorry the OP had such a bad experience with the college kids and am glad he posted those photos. I hope RCCL sees them and takes them into consideration.

 

It also just occurred to me as a I sit typing this that during the Farewell Party when RCCL showed clips from the voyage, they included one from The Sexiest Man contest (which we skipped :eek:) with men practically grinding on girls, pretending to do lap dances, etc. If they didn't want to encourage that sort of thing, why would they show clips like that at the farewell party? I didn't think anything of it until now, but in hindsight they could tone that down. My daughter nudged me and said "gross" during the show.

 

I'm also going to get my husband's opinion on this because he and my daughter are the pool people and while they didn't complain about the kids with the funnels, they did spend noticeably less time on the pool deck. My daughter was probably scared of the behavior and didn't want to admit it.

[rrodriquez2]

Yes, totally. We're middle aged nerds with a school age (11 year old) daughter and were on this cruise. We dodged the mayhem because we didn't have high expectations about relaxing by the pool anyway. In fact, I kept wondering where all the college kids were during the day as we did all the other activities on the ship. Turns out they were stuffed in the hot tub! :D

 

Interestingly, we took a four day cruise last year during East Coast Spring Break and were completely turned off by the pool area due to the loudness of RCCL's music and the fact that there were so many drunk adults letting their little kids run wild. Compared to that experience, college kids stuffing themselves into a hot tub (apparently with funnels) seemed like nothing. But again, we'd already made up our minds that the pool was just one small element of the vacation.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to take another Spring Break cruise on RCCL. If we were pool people we might think twice, but again -- we were off doing other things and feeling happy that we weren't being hit in the ankles every five minutes with strollers.

 

I also thought the ship was extremely clean and I've never seen so much hand washing and Purell used in my life. There were stations everywhere. The food on this cruise was much better than the food I had last year on The Liberty. It exceeded our expectations in every way, especially Chops. I went in thinking I'd probably wasted money paying extra, but the meat was definitely worth the cover charge.

 

I'm sorry the OP had such a bad experience with the college kids and am glad he posted those photos. I hope RCCL sees them and takes them into consideration.

 

It also just occurred to me as a I sit typing this that during the Farewell Party when RCCL showed clips from the voyage, they included one from The Sexiest Man contest (which we skipped :eek:) with men practically grinding on girls, pretending to do lap dances, etc. If they didn't want to encourage that sort of thing, why would they show clips like that at the farewell party? I didn't think anything of it until now, but in hindsight they could tone that down. My daughter nudged me and said "gross" during the show.

 

I'm also going to get my husband's opinion on this because he and my daughter are the pool people and while they didn't complain about the kids with the funnels, they did spend noticeably less time on the pool deck. My daughter was probably scared of the behavior and didn't want to admit it.

 

That bolded part is why I didn't complain. They very obviously knew this was going on. Please understand we expose our kids to tons of stuff so we have a high threshold. I had the full drink package and used it substantially each day. The sexiest man competition kind of set the tone for the week. It was gross to be honest and totally inappropriate for a family cruise. What they didn't show on the DVD was far worse to the point I covered my kids eyes and walked inside (they were getting ice creams). I think the cruise director realized it part way through but what could he really do? The only time that pool area was even remotely family friendly was during the sailaway party when the kids were all out there dancing (younger kids) to the YMCA etc. After that it became a drunken booze fest. That's the shame of it. The photos I have from that first day show families enjoying themselves on the sail out. Never again were families able to congregate in that area, on the pool deck between the pools, the pool or the tubs. I cannot tell you how many times I watched a drunken college kid come out of the back tub to do a belly flop into the pool quite often almost on top of the 1 or 2 people actually IN the pool. I'm guessing they were going #1 in the pool or at least that was the joke they'd yell to the person doing it each time.

 

The loud music during the bands I don't understand at all. It was louder on deck at 2pm than down at Labyrinth at 2am. Weird! In retrospect maybe they were trying to drown out the chanting and swearing?

[woostercruise]

Basically, probably without realizing it, RCI has given college students a perfect way to abuse the alcohol package. You get one 21 year old in a cabin with 3 other 18-20 year olds. Only the 21 year old buys the package but shares it with the others. Yes, you can only get 1 drink at a time, but you hand that off, hit another bar for another drink. It sounds like there was a travel site marketing this idea. I think that RCI does need to close this loophole, or it will get worse as it catches on. I would recommend emailing Adam Goldstein (sp?) to let him know that people are deliberately taking advantage of the age requirements and alcohol package.

[rrodriquez2]

Basically, probably without realizing it, RCI has given college students a perfect way to abuse the alcohol package. You get one 21 year old in a cabin with 3 other 18-20 year olds. Only the 21 year old buys the package but shares it with the others. Yes, you can only get 1 drink at a time, but you hand that off, hit another bar for another drink. It sounds like there was a travel site marketing this idea. I think that RCI does need to close this loophole, or it will get worse as it catches on. I would recommend emailing Adam Goldstein (sp?) to let him know that people are deliberately taking advantage of the age requirements and alcohol package.

 

If someone has it I'll gladly email. I believe they're going to figure out something is wrong when they run their booze numbers after last week. These ships are calculated down to the penny. The numbers will be way out of whack for last week, IE, 1 person probably didn't drink 5 cases of beer a week etc.

[woostercruise]

I found this, AGoldstein@rccl.com I hope it is right. I would maybe include the pictures. While we did not see the issues (kids were happy at the kids pool and we had early dining), I'm inclined to email as well. As you said, once more figure out the loophole the worse it will get.

 

I'd love to know if you get a response.

[Nvtitan89]

Good grief, this is not a big enough issue to contact the CEO of a company. This is so blown out of proportion it is laughable.

[Toddcan]

I was on this cruise too, and posted a mini-review, which is probably on the front page for a bit.

 

I certainly noticed the college groups, and they were loud in some cases. It seemed like a Carnival Bahamas Booze Cruise to me. Our last cruise was in the summer on the Liberty, and it was night and day compared to the Indy cruise.

 

We ended up spending most of our time in the Solarium, which was relatively void of college kids, except for the last sea day - they filled the cantilever hot tubs.

 

On day 4, at 3:40am, the college kids on the balcony below us decided to use their balcony as a party central, complete with loud music. Since my balcony overlooked half of their deck 6 balcony, I gently reminded them that it was almost 4am, and most of us would like to sleep. 10 mins later, it was silent. Not a big deal, but they were noticable. I probably won't book another spring break cruise on a cruiseline with an unlimited drink package - just a little too much for me, I guess.

 

Read my review if you wish HERE, but I found the 4 times that my toilet didn't work to be more of a problem.

[BettyPC]

We took a spring break cruise ONCE.... Now I make sure we are nowhere near March (lol)!!

[bridedoll1026]

Good grief, this is not a big enough issue to contact the CEO of a company. This is so blown out of proportion it is laughable.

 

I wasn't on that cruise but it seems like things got out of control. I think the CEO absolutely should know about this! Conduct policies need to be maintained!

[rrodriquez2]

Good grief, this is not a big enough issue to contact the CEO of a company. This is so blown out of proportion it is laughable.

 

If you saw the video you'd probably feel differently and I'll leave it at that. I can't post it but will send it to them if they ask. You weren't there, you didn't experience what we did so TBH you probably don't know what you're talking about in this case. Everything that happened prior to the 3/10 ships sailing with the drink package is ancient history. You've got two people writing reviews that admit spending time in the pools telling you there were significant issues that effected them. That should be enough, regardless of what you think. again JMHO.

 

I was on this cruise too, and posted a mini-review, which is probably on the front page for a bit.

 

I certainly noticed the college groups, and they were loud in some cases. It seemed like a Carnival Bahamas Booze Cruise to me. Our last cruise was in the summer on the Liberty, and it was night and day compared to the Indy cruise.

 

We ended up spending most of our time in the Solarium, which was relatively void of college kids, except for the last sea day - they filled the cantilever hot tubs.

 

On day 4, at 3:40am, the college kids on the balcony below us decided to use their balcony as a party central, complete with loud music. Since my balcony overlooked half of their deck 6 balcony, I gently reminded them that it was almost 4am, and most of us would like to sleep. 10 mins later, it was silent. Not a big deal, but they were noticable. I probably won't book another spring break cruise on a cruiseline with an unlimited drink package - just a little too much for me, I guess.

 

Read my review if you wish HERE, but I found the 4 times that my toilet didn't work to be more of a problem.

 

The toilets were getting jammed again reportedly by the college kids. It wasn't a mechanical problem supposedly as much as the kids flushing whatever down the toilet. There were problems up to deck 8 or 9 a few times and of course when the water line broke all of us lost water on the morning of the last day.

 

The armchair supporters of RCCL still don't get that we're telling what we saw as the first passengers heavily in the pool areas on the maiden spring break all you can drink cruises. You saw/heard as did I how big of a draw that was. It WAS the reason they were on RCCL combined with the lax age booking policy. If they don't change things what we saw this year will be 2 or 3x worse on similar cruises next year. This is a bonanza for college kids looking to get hammered and particularly underage kids to have a few. It's much harder to get into clubs with fake IDs versus years ago. Here they only had to be 18 to get into the nightclub and from there all they had to do was have a friend feed them drinks. We never saw security on the top level of the club the 2 or 3 nights we were there.

 

By the way the TAs certainly weren't cutting these kids any deal from what I can see so there is certainly a nice financial incentive for it to grow.

[rrodriquez2]

I wasn't on that cruise but it seems like things got out of control. I think the CEO absolutely should know about this! Conduct policies need to be maintained!

 

Agreed and a letter along with the DVD of what went on is going out in the morning.

 

I think changes will come but it'll be because the auditors see that something was horribly amiss with booze consumption per tag holder on that cruise. Money talks.

[Ambiverol]

To the OP:

 

I think anyone commenting negatively on your post is wrong. You merely stated observations to help others make an informed decision about their future cruises. Some people are very put off by this type of behavior around their family. Now they have information to guide them when making a decision next year during spring break, when an unlimited booze package is offered.

 

You clearly stated that you had cordial interactions with these kids and still enjoyed your cruise despite the sporadic madness. You didn't go whining to the staff, and are just trying to help out others who may be faced with this situation next year. Furthermore, other posters have confirmed your recollection of the cruise and said they feel the same way.

 

I think you handled the whole thing very well, and think it's great you are sharing your opinions here--that's kind of the whole point of this website.

 

To my fellow Boilermakers (12 years removed):

 

I see not much has changed. You guys seemed to have a pretty good time, and I'm glad you enjoyed spring break. West Lafayette can get cold and gray. My spring breaks in Panama City Beach still provide me with fond memories.

 

It's true--IU does suck. That is indisputable (except sometimes in sports, and they have hotter chicks, and the campus is prettier).

 

I also totally understand why you'd want women to show you their t*ts. I get it. But this may not be the appropriate venue for that chant. From one Boiler to another, you should always be cognizant of mixed company.

 

 

That's about it. I think the OP described the situation in a very honest and unbiased way. He stated facts, mentioned he didn't prefer this environment, and let the reader decide from there. I also think the students did exactly what you'd expect in this situation (right or wrong). Now that we have this info, we will be more informed this time next year. Thank you.

 

And, I hope the people kicked off the ship for tossing chairs overboard were from somewhere else!

[oddjob26]

A few things about the drinks package, as I am sure you are aware the drinks package on the Independence of the Seas is not new, myself and my partner was on the 14/03/2011 sailing form Southampton and this was either the very first or second cruise with the drinks package in the entire fleet. In its infancy, the drinks package could be bought by one person in a cabin, however this stopped very quickly as it was abused by pretty much everyone, and within a few cruises, everyone in a cabin of legal age had to buy the package. The demographic on that cruise was quite old, majority of cruisers were 50+, but the drinks package system was still cheated. No trouble was ever witnessed because of it, but the bars were full of people enjoying a good drink late into the night. This cruise was a 11 night Canary island cruise and with a few days to go, certain beers had run out, next to no teenagers, college/university chaps and chapettes on this cruise, but the package was abused then the world over by all nationalitys privvy to it, wherever it was tried. Thats life.

 

As to the issues you encountered, they would have happened with or without the drinks package, they have been going on for years, last year the drinks package was not available in America, but the spring break boozers still caused carnage on cruise ships.

 

What is a bit dissapointing is that RCI security have apparently ignored the chanting, shouting "Get your T*ts out" is totally unnaceptable in a family environment, even if it does not bother you personally it is just not acceptable. Period. I am even more amazed by some of the reactions to this on here, perhaps some should post pics on here of themselves (male or female, im too lazy to be sexist) on here and watch the lewd comments start. No?, thought not.

 

The hot tub situation of which photographic evidence exists, is not safe, and I am amazed that RCI did nothing, if there was a accident, and security had turned a blind eye to the overfilled hot tub, then RCI would be in quite a bit of hot water.

 

To the OP, glad you had a nice holiday, but I think unless you go Cunard or HAL during springbreak, you are going to find this kind of thing going on regardless, after all spring break drinkups is, part of American culture.

 

just one question, why don't the cruise lines advertise a cruise as a spring break cruise for under 25's, could save a whole heap of hassle.

 

 

Anyone sailing Independence out of the UK, you will see the people with the drinks package filling out the Pub and not the hot tub, but don't worry they are a happy bunch.

 

Keep Smiling, Life's too short.

 

 

Regards

 

Oddjob

[devvt]

To the OP:

Give it up already! You keep beating a dead horse - no one has disagreed with you that some of the situations you observed were unique to this sailing and should not have happened and are not the norm for RCCL; however, it was spring break, the new alcohol policy was in force, and astute kids will always take advantage of whatever situation. If hanging around a pool is the main reason for your vacation, then maybe you should consider staying home and installing a pool. All of us who have responded have recognized that the college groups were a distraction, but no one else has beaten this issue to death as you have. The one other passenger who posted a review noted that the college kids had awakened him and his family one early morning but they quieted down right after he spoke to them. He also mentioned their presence in the pools and hot tubs but did not dwell on this.

 

So, either take your concerns to Adam Goldstein or stop complaining!

 

Breathe in, breathe out, MOVE ON!

[rrodriquez2]

To the OP:

Give it up already! You keep beating a dead horse - no one has disagreed with you that some of the situations you observed were unique to this sailing and should not have happened and are not the norm for RCCL; however, it was spring break, the new alcohol policy was in force, and astute kids will always take advantage of whatever situation. If hanging around a pool is the main reason for your vacation, then maybe you should consider staying home and installing a pool. All of us who have responded have recognized that the college groups were a distraction, but no one else has beaten this issue to death as you have. The one other passenger who posted a review noted that the college kids had awakened him and his family one early morning but they quieted down right after he spoke to them. He also mentioned their presence in the pools and hot tubs but did not dwell on this.

 

So, either take your concerns to Adam Goldstein or stop complaining!

 

Breathe in, breathe out, MOVE ON!

 

Do you frequently swim outdoors in Vermont in March? I know in Canada it's much less common and probably in Vermont and New England too unless you're a really hardy person and have an auger to get through the ice. By the time I've shoveled the pool and augered out the ice I'm usually too tired for the pool.

 

I think the conversation has been helpful. I like to hear all opinions. Telling people what to do with their money/vacations and posting, weak LOL....

 

 

Oddjob very well said on all accounts. They don't advertise them as Spring Break cruises because they'd never fill the ship and it would not doubt scare off many adults is my guess. That's why I'd suggest people use the search engines with the terms spring break and university/college + the ship names next year. It may save you the hassle we went through. If we'd known there were huge blocks of rooms for specific colleges on this cruise we'd have gone elsewhere.

 

Ambiverol the IU kids seemed to be among the best behaved along with Perdue.

[Iamthesea]

OP, you can ask for this thread to be closed and then you will not have to keep explaining yourself. ;) Look in the upper right hand corner for the caution triangle in red. Thank you again for posting your story. A real eye opener!

[devvt]

I no longer live in Vermont but have recently relocated permanently to Southwest Florida where I can use my pool year round! Having grown up in Canada (Montreal), I understand the need for an ice auger for most months (except maybe July). My point is all cruises have their high points and their low points - you've repeatedly discussed what to you were low points - now it's time to either take your concerns to a higher level (i.e. Adam Goldstein) or stop fussing about them here.

[rrodriquez2]

OP, you can ask for this thread to be closed and then you will not have to keep explaining yourself. ;) Look in the upper right hand corner for the caution triangle in red. Thank you again for posting your story. A real eye opener!

I'd actually prefer to leave it open pending a response from RCCL. I do know...and it wasn't through this forum that others are sending letters based on their experiences. Let's see what RCCL says in response.

 

You're very welcome, I thought I did it pretty fairly.

 

I no longer live in Vermont but have recently relocated permanently to Southwest Florida where I can use my pool year round! Having grown up in Canada (Montreal), I understand the need for an ice auger for most months (except maybe July). My point is all cruises have their high points and their low points - you've repeatedly discussed what to you were low points - now it's time to either take your concerns to a higher level (i.e. Adam Goldstein) or stop fussing about them here.

 

Mainly I was answering questions or posts and I'll continue to do that as needed.

[Toddcan]

I was the guy who was awakened at 3:40am by a rowdy group beneath us. I was also witness to some of the hotub hijacking, and drinking games.

 

But, all of that was a small part of our cruise. Even though this was our "worst" of the only 5 cruises I have taken, it was still a cruise, and was a good vacation. I compare it to having one rainy day while at Disney for a week - yeah, not dream vacation I hoped for, but it was still a good time.

 

For me - lesson learned. I don't think I will book a spring break cruise on a cruiseline with unlimited drink packages. I'm sure my cabin will be taken by someone who will spend more money on drinks that I did anyway.

 

Like I said in my review - we sailed the Liberty 3 years ago, and it was a perfect vacation. It was during the summer

[rrodriquez2]

I was the guy who was awakened at 3:40am by a rowdy group beneath us. I was also witness to some of the hotub hijacking, and drinking games.

 

But, all of that was a small part of our cruise. Even though this was our "worst" of the only 5 cruises I have taken, it was still a cruise, and was a good vacation. I compare it to having one rainy day while at Disney for a week - yeah, not dream vacation I hoped for, but it was still a good time.

 

For me - lesson learned. I don't think I will book a spring break cruise on a cruiseline with unlimited drink packages. I'm sure my cabin will be taken by someone who will spend more money on drinks that I did anyway.

 

Like I said in my review - we sailed the Liberty 3 years ago, and it was a perfect vacation. It was during the summer

 

Was for us as well. It's been comical my kids have been chanting "chug chug chug" whenever the other one takes a drink now around the house. So it is good to see they took something away from their RCCL luxury cruise.

 

Your Labadee photos were terrific.

[rrodriquez2]

I wanted to add to another point about Labadee after talking with a couple we met on the cruise who had been there at least once or twice prior just now. These are points I'd forgotten but they may be relevant to some. I'm not certain these are related to the spring breakers to be straight.

 

By the afternoon at Labadee you had very few beer selections and rum and other things was low for mixed drinks. The only cups they had were so small they could not hold a regular sized 12 ounce beer. They wouldn't let you leave the bar with the glass so you either had to dump out the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of your beer (expensive if you're paying for each one) or pound it down at the bar, hand it to the bar tender and then leave with your 8 ounce cup.

 

I understand why they did this. Having glass on the beach like they were allowing for part of the day was dangerous. But still, really? Those were the same 8-10 ounce cups they were using for the labadoozies if you were on the drinking plan. Think about the clear plastic cups you'd get at the dentist office when you rinse your mouth. That sized.

 

Second, multiple times if you went to get a drink and they didn't have much of that left, let's say Bacardi or whatever they'd tell you sorry we're out. This seemed to happen to drinking pass holders and again I may surmise that the bartenders make more off people paying per drink and were holding onto it for those customers. This is reinforced by the fact that the same server that wouldn't sell me a labadoozie in a cup at any price at noon would have sold me the whole tray by 3pm in the special cup as people left.

 

I never saw that many college kids on the resort and I saw NONE being a problem. I'll go back to it again the planning seemed to be off on our trip and the situation on Labadee with glass bottles being served on the beach and small ounce cups being the beer cups kind of only furthers that point.

 

When I see the pictures of the FOS there this week I see the corona plastic bottles etc that others had told us were the norm. The drink package vs per diem issue I feel is real as it seemed to happen on the ship as well at times. It's human nature of the part of the bartenders to make the most money they can. But it's something RCL probably wants to look at going forward.

Just observations that I hope some find helpful.