We Will Never Cruise With RCI Again

[A&L_Ont]

On a recent cruise with RCI one of our bags did not show up to our cabin by 7pm so I went to inquire and was told the bag had been "confiscated" because it had alcohol it in. I was then led to a little room by a very unpleasnt employee and instructed to open the bag so they could see what was in it. While several employees stood staring at me I got down on the floor and opened the bag and showed them two bottles of wine. Their published policy allows two bottles of wine per cabin. I was then told ok you can take your bag now (with the wine inside) and I was left to schlep the bag all the way to my cabin. Throughout this episode I was never offered any apology or kind word by any of them.

 

We are vetern cruisers on many different lines. I'm not at all happy about this encounter and it will be my last RCI cruise.

 

I wonder how the rest of the cruise went?

[Zigggypup]

Other than the wine incident, how was the cruise?

[noobcruiser]

......While several employees stood staring at me I got down on the floor and opened the bag and showed them two bottles of wine......Throughout this episode I was never offered any apology or kind word by any of them.

 

I think the real issue here is that the OP really felt wronged. The scene, as described, probably felt degrading to the OP and explains why they were upset at the lack of apology.

 

Could the OP have handled the entire situation differently by hand-carrying the wine? Sure. However, that doesn't invalidate how they felt about the situation.

 

All of that being said, why bother venting on CC about the situation and reacting as a child to the situation when the mature thing would have been to handle it on ship and asking for the apology from the employees?

[The Sunset Glow]

I've been to the "naughty room". Your description doesn't pass muster. They do this with dozens of bags every trip. It's a routine, standard part of departure day for the crew. They are not unpleasant. In fact, they are very friendly and even apologetic about it.

 

On the other hand, in most circumstances when people come on here and talk about the crew being rude, I am fairly convinced that the crew demeanor is nothing but a reflection of the individual they are dealing with.

 

If the crew was unfriendly and unapologetic, I'm guessing the OP was being a real jerk the whole time. He (or she) sounds pretty entitled.

 

Totally agree with this. It's all about attitude and perception.

[canadianeh934]

Totally agree with this. It's all about attitude and perception.

 

You agree with an assumption which is base on nothing more that an opinion?

 

The fact that the OP had to go to the room was not the issue. The issue was how he was made to feel and the outcome. If he did nothing wrong a simply sorry Sir would have made a lot of difference as well as an offer to deliver the bag to the room.

 

The fact that he was aware that he could have been called to the room does not change anything about how he was made to feel....like a criminal!

 

If they want you to carry on the wine then make it a policy....currently it is not!

 

No one has considered that they may have traveled with the wine and we all know the policy regarding liquids on board a plane. He may have simply forgotten to remove the wine from his checked bags to bring it on board, or felt no need to do so as it is not a policy and not required. A overreaction possibly but if I was made to feel like a criminal and was not offered an simply sorry, I would have been pissed as well.

 

This all could be avoided by having a clear policy.......

[Aquahound]

Totally agree with this. It's all about attitude and perception.

 

I've been to the naughty room one time, and on that one time, there were a lot a disgruntled people down there and security, while courteous, was stern. That is their job. They are security, not customer service reps. That's why we so affectionately call this the "naughty room," not the "happy room." This whole complaint seems similar to people who speed on the highway and blame the cops for them getting pulled over, and then complain when the cops aren't smiling.

[ellie1145]

Sorry to hear about the OPs experience, but hope that the rest of the cruise was good. Of course staff should never be rude, but it doesn't seem to me to be sufficient reason never to sail on a RCCI cruise ship again.

 

We didn't even know about the 'naughty' room until I read a thread on it before we went on Allure of the Seas, and as we never try to bring alcohol on board we had no reason to believe we would ever see the inside of it.

 

Well, how wrong can you be?

 

On embarkation day, my suitcase and those of our kids arrived, but not my husbands. Although I breathed a sigh of relief that all my shoes and clothes had arrived (phew - imagine going on a cruise without a pair of heels?????) we were worried that his suitcase was still sitting on the dockside at Fort Lauderdale, or worse, floating out to sea. We kept asking the steward but he seemed baffled, until at nearly 7.00 pm he suggested we go down to the naughty room, where sure enough my husband and son found his errant suitcase.

 

So why had it been confiscated? Did it have bomb making equipment or was it full of vodka?? No, I had been shopping in Walmart just before we left, and had slipped a packet of cheap paring knives in my husband's suitcase, and THAT is what they found!

 

They were very polite and just confiscated them, and allowed my son and husband to take the suitcase away.

 

Were we upset? No, of course not, they were only doing their job, and I honestly didn't realise the knives would be a problem - after all, if I wanted to create havoc I could easily pick up a steak knife from the MDR. But we fully accepted what happened, and the only thing we were sorry about was that we were not informed about where his suitcase was, and I had a worrying 5 hours. Now we are wiser I would never repeat the offence, and we would now know where to go to check on a missing suitcase.

 

But never sail with RCCI again? heaven forbid! ;)

 

Oh, and we didn't bother to pick the knives up at the end of the cruise either. Lesson learned.:D

[Tyler80]

On a recent cruise with RCI one of our bags did not show up to our cabin by 7pm so I went to inquire and was told the bag had been "confiscated" because it had alcohol it in. I was then led to a little room by a very unpleasnt employee and instructed to open the bag so they could see what was in it. While several employees stood staring at me I got down on the floor and opened the bag and showed them two bottles of wine. Their published policy allows two bottles of wine per cabin. I was then told ok you can take your bag now (with the wine inside) and I was left to schlep the bag all the way to my cabin. Throughout this episode I was never offered any apology or kind word by any of them.

 

We are vetern cruisers on many different lines. I'm not at all happy about this encounter and it will be my last RCI cruise.

 

Oh the drama! :rolleyes:

[sandy toes]

OP you went to the "Naughty" room at 7pm.

Try my 1120pm...was missing 1 piece of luggage, called guest services and was directed to the naughty room. My bag was one that TSA had lovingly inspected somewhere along the way to the ship. I had pre-paid for the service that gets the bags to the ship so I was not aware of this beforehand. Now, here I am, late night, with a 9yr old in tow (wouldn't allow her in cabin alone and was not about to take her back to Adventure Ocean). My bag was all taped with plastic all around holding it all together and the ID was all folded inside the tape so all they knew was that the bag belonged on that sailing. The staff was very kind, helping me locate my black bag in a room with still at almost 1130pm had a lot of black bags! Two even did magic tricks for the 9yr old. I had no problem taking my own bag to the cabin on the 9th deck; it rolled fine, elevators worked and the halls were almost empty.

Now, OP I have no doubt you are lurking about reading all the responses. I hope you have gotten the idea by now that at CC we all respond with our own IMHO viewpoints. IF you truly had a bad experience, I am sorry for that. Did you report it to GS? But as to having the crew bring you the luggage, did you even ask? I have traveled with someone in a w/c that had a bag brought up during the night and she found it outside in the morning. Would THAT have made you happier? Personally, I wanted my clothing, the sooner the better.

I do hope you find your PERFECT cruise line. When you do, return and tell us loyal to Royal gang all about it.

NOW...on our way to 7 and I am all out of pretzels. Anyone have any popcorn to share?

[The Sunset Glow]

You agree with an assumption which is base on nothing more that an opinion?

 

The fact that the OP had to go to the room was not the issue. The issue was how he was made to feel and the outcome. If he did nothing wrong a simply sorry Sir would have made a lot of difference as well as an offer to deliver the bag to the room.

 

The fact that he was aware that he could have been called to the room does not change anything about how he was made to feel....like a criminal!

 

If they want you to carry on the wine then make it a policy....currently it is not!

 

No one has considered that they may have traveled with the wine and we all know the policy regarding liquids on board a plane. He may have simply forgotten to remove the wine from his checked bags to bring it on board, or felt no need to do so as it is not a policy and not required. A overreaction possibly but if I was made to feel like a criminal and was not offered an simply sorry, I would have been pissed as well.

 

This all could be avoided by having a clear policy.......

 

Yes, I agree with macruisefan's opinion of the situation. I think it's reasonable and possible but no one knows for sure and the OP hasn't come back.

 

And, yes, I know all about flying in by plane and having to have liquids in your checked bag - hence our experience with the naughty room as well.:p

 

Aquahound describes the naughty room experience very well below. If you perceive the "sterness" as "rudeness" then you could walk away feeling like the OP did. If you chaulk it up to "it's their job - nothing personal" then you walk away like we did......happy we are on a cruise!:D

 

 

I've been to the naughty room one time, and on that one time, there were a lot a disgruntled people down there and security, while courteous, was stern. That is their job. They are security, not customer service reps. That's why we so affectionately call this the "naughty room," not the "happy room." This whole complaint seems similar to people who speed on the highway and blame the cops for them getting pulled over, and then complain when the cops aren't smiling.

[spookwife]

You agree with an assumption which is base on nothing more that an opinion?

 

The fact that the OP had to go to the room was not the issue. The issue was how he was made to feel and the outcome. If he did nothing wrong a simply sorry Sir would have made a lot of difference as well as an offer to deliver the bag to the room.

 

The fact that he was aware that he could have been called to the room does not change anything about how he was made to feel....like a criminal!

 

If they want you to carry on the wine then make it a policy....currently it is not!

 

No one has considered that they may have traveled with the wine and we all know the policy regarding liquids on board a plane. He may have simply forgotten to remove the wine from his checked bags to bring it on board, or felt no need to do so as it is not a policy and not required. A overreaction possibly but if I was made to feel like a criminal and was not offered an simply sorry, I would have been pissed as well.

 

This all could be avoided by having a clear policy.......

 

1: yeah, but.. how someone feels is personal.. the staff may have truly not even had the slightest inkling that they were being perceived as rude or unfriendly, and thus not thought an apology was warranted( or necessary). Some people get mortally offended at the slightest provocation. For instance, on many military bases that still use decals, they are color coded to indicate whether the registered driver is an Officer, enlisted or civilian. since they are also all at 100% ID check, the only time a blue sticker will get saluted( by military personnel, NOT the civilian gate guards) is when the actual OFFICER is in the car. and yet every day my friend has to field calls from some long retired ADM's widow pitching a fit because she 'wasn't saluted at the gate'

 

as for making it a policy to be carry on only, I guess common sense is too much to expect? I mean everyone here suggests it, and not simply to avoid a trip to the naughty room, but because it makes sense and minimizes the potential for disaster.( bottles being broken, ruining your stuff plus somebody else's, etc) Do we really have to be spoon fed everything and remove all possibility of personal responsibility here by placing the onus on someone else?!

 

and for the last.. oh, so they had to schelp their luggage by hand. umm okay. as many others have said by that hour of the night I sure as hell ain't gonna wait another few hours to have it delivered once they have time( especially since by then i would HOPE the staff would be doing little things like sleeping so they can be up at 5 am to get ready for their day). the OP never indicated that s/he was physically disabled or otherwise unable to do their own heavy lifting. and why did they assume that it should have been automatically offered? did they ask?! politely?! or were they all snarky the entire time. as someone who worked in the hotel business in a previous life, I can assure you that the ones that came down to the front desk all up in arms did not get one single shred of additional help by any of us beyond the scope of our listed duties. but if you came down and were nice, respectful and reasonable, we'd bend over backwards to do what we could.

[brillohead]

We are vetern cruisers on many different lines. I'm not at all happy about this encounter and it will be my last RCI cruise.

 

WOOHOO!

 

Now I don't have to risk running into this person on a future cruise!

[Cruising89143]

I've been to the "naughty room". Your description doesn't pass muster. They do this with dozens of bags every trip. It's a routine, standard part of departure day for the crew. They are not unpleasant. In fact, they are very friendly and even apologetic about it.

 

On the other hand, in most circumstances when people come on here and talk about the crew being rude, I am fairly convinced that the crew demeanor is nothing but a reflection of the individual they are dealing with.

 

If the crew was unfriendly and unapologetic, I'm guessing the OP was being a real jerk the whole time. He (or she) sounds pretty entitled.

 

 

After reading on this thread that the OP knew the procedure and did not follow them then I also question as to who was rude to who.

[EVALUATOR]

Good detective work by our fellow CCers, but I'm going to give the OP the benefit of the doubt and make an assumption since they haven't returned. It sounds like they wanted to smuggle liquor but upon learning the bags would be scanned, packed 2 bottles of wine. Then, they weren't happy with the attitiude of crew upon having the bags checked.

 

I view the checking of possible contraband as a law enforcement task, albeit ship security. If they aren't all puppies and smiles, I would hardly let that bother me.

 

Maybe RCI should offer luggage delivery service for naughty room bags but again, at 7pm, I'm not sure I would want to wait the extra time for the bag to be delivered. i would have wanted that bag in my hand at that moment so I could unpack and get on with my cruise. I still think this is a rather trivial issue to swear off an entire cruise line, but I also can't help but think there were more issues than just this, causing the OP to feel the way they do.

 

Hi Paul,

 

You say good detective work...but here is the full thread from the 1/5 question on bringing alcohol.

 

ORIGINAL POST

florida lover January 5th, 2013 09:12 AM Taking Liquor Onboard In Luggage?

 

We have done many cruises on Princess ships and always were able to carry some liquor onboard in our luggage without a problem. We were also able to carry our own sport cups about the ships without ever being questioned about it. We have our first RCI cruise on the the Brilliance next month and are curious to know if we wil be able to continue our usual liquor routines on the Brilliance?

 

Thank you.

 

They do not say what luggage they wanted to put the alcohol in, checked or carry on and don't mention type of alcohol.

 

1st response

Scoobydobe7 January 5th, 2013 09:14 AM Probably not -- all luggage gets scanned

 

Not correct because alcohol is allowed

 

2nd response

 

39august January 5th, 2013 09:21 AM RCI does not allow liquor to be taken aboard. Sometimes people get away with smuggling, but usually the liquor is caught on scanners and taken away. You can bring two bottles of wine per cabin, however.

 

I guess this is closer to correct, but no reference to carrying it on.

 

3rd response

TxKroozer January 5th, 2013 09:27 AM Mugs....yes

 

We carry mugs around all the time on every RCL cruise. No issues. We even sit at the Pool Bars and use them. Order a drink, they mix it in a glass, and we then pour it into our insulated mugs. Lasts longer with the ice outside.

 

About the mugs. Irrelevant to the alcohol, but still helpful.

 

4th response

 

gerif January 5th, 2013 09:31 AM If bottles are detected on the scanners, your luggage will not be delivered and you will spend precious hours of your vacation time waiting in line to get into the naughty room where you will have to open your luggage, waive goodbye to your bottles and then haul your luggage to your cabin. Not worth it for the few times they might miss a bottle IMO.

 

Not correct about losing alcohol, but does mention possible naughty room.

 

5th response follow up by op.florida lover January 5th, 2013 09:40 AM Are carry on bags scanned/checked for bottles on embarcation?

 

6th and 7th responses say carryons are scanned

 

clarea January 5th, 2013 09:47 AM Quote:

Originally Posted by florida lover (Post 36548889)

Are carry on bags scanned/checked for bottles on embarcation?

 

Yes, all carry ons go through an airport type x-ray machine.

 

ARCruisinNana January 5th, 2013 09:47 AM Yes.

 

 

There were 7 responses total. Only three relate to taking alcohol. One says you can't take it, one says no liquor, and the third says it will be confiscated.

 

Is this the detective work we are convicting them on? Not the best help by cc members to make their trip easier.

 

As for the OP not posting back they only posted a couple hundred times in 8 years.

 

They have other threads asking about the best insurance to cover their trip for pre existing conditions. Asked about clothing and excursions. They were even excited about an aft balcony cabin. In all the threads I read they seemed very polite.

 

They did not say the naughty room workers were rude. They said the person escorting them there was rather unpleasant.

 

I have had a couple RCI workers be very rude to us. If Mrs E. said let it go I did. If she said do something, that employee would hear about it.

 

They seem to have had an issue about laying their luggage out on the floor and having lots of people standing around watching them go through it.

 

Maybe there were things in the luggage they didn't want strangers to see. And I'm not talking about drugs, sex toys or alike.

 

When Mrs E. and I went to a rodeo in Tampa we had a suitcase with supplies. She was on TPN and a PCA pain pump. She needed antibiotic IVs. The tumor had actually chewed out her side before she died. It was about the size of two large pineapples sticking out her side. If she drank water it went out the hole in her stomach, into her abdomen, and then poured out her side. Just picture a skeleton drinking water. We carried incontinence supplies and bed pads to cover her side and catch anything that came out. We needed a lot of supplies for a simple 3 hour rodeo.

 

The OP could have had similar supplies they did not want everyone gawking over.

 

 

They say they have cruised other lines. They knew what to expect from other lines. They chose to try RCI. They felt badly treated.

 

We went on 30+ cruises with RCI. We went on the Oasis in 2010. If that had been our first RCI cruise it would have been our last.

 

And for the record, no I'm not married to the OP. What a stupid question for someone to ask. If you looked at the avatar and assumed I'm a woman your wrong. That is a photo of Mrs E. She lost her battle with cancer last year and was buried at sea from a RCI ship in December. I like that photo and put it in the avatar.

[FLACRUISER99]

TSA Guidelines apply to the air travel portion of your trip, if you're flying. That's meant as a reminder to people that, regardless of what you are allowed to bring onboard the ship, when boarding a flight, you are subject to TSA Guidelines. I can see how someone could misinterpret the statement, though, and think it applies to boarding the ship. :cool:

 

I think people are misunderstanding this line - What they're trying to say is that just because you're going on a cruise and THEY want you to have the wine in your carryon doesn't mean you have an exemption from the TSA for your flight to the departure point.

 

It does not mean you need to follow TSA guidelines at the port.

 

Upon review - what Paul65 said 2 mins ago ;)

Great you got my point witch is the RCI rules/FAQ's are not clear, Disney for example clearly states than you can take al the alcohol on board that you want but it must be in your carry-on.

[mrsfecura]

I don't think you're going to get any sympathy here!

[sandy toes]

Evaluator: You stated:"They did not say the naughty room workers were rude. They said the person escorting them there was rather unpleasant"

OP stated: "While several employees stood staring at me I got down on the floor and opened the bag and showed them two bottles of wine. Their published policy allows two bottles of wine per cabin. I was then told ok you can take your bag now (with the wine inside) and I was left to schlep the bag all the way to my cabin. Throughout this episode I was never offered any apology or kind word by any of them."

The employees "staring down at me" was upsetting to OP as was "you can take your bag now" and "never offered an apology or kind word by any of them". OP was upset from the start when luggage was not in cabin/hallway and they had to retrieve it themselves.

Goodness...are we at 7 yet? Oh, and I made some popcorn with butter!!!!

[Aquahound]

Is this the detective work we are convicting them on? Not the best help by cc members to make their trip easier.

 

One of the reasons I respect you so much is, despite occassionally disagreeing, I think we can often debate like adults.

 

No, it wasn't great detective work at all, at least not in the sense of uncovering something glaringly sinister. I made that comment mostly in gest, just refering to our CC friends doing a posting search on the OP.

[EVALUATOR]

Evaluator: You stated:"They did not say the naughty room workers were rude. They said the person escorting them there was rather unpleasant"

OP stated: "While several employees stood staring at me I got down on the floor and opened the bag and showed them two bottles of wine. Their published policy allows two bottles of wine per cabin. I was then told ok you can take your bag now (with the wine inside) and I was left to schlep the bag all the way to my cabin. Throughout this episode I was never offered any apology or kind word by any of them."

The employees "staring down at me" was upsetting to OP as was "you can take your bag now" and "never offered an apology or kind word by any of them". OP was upset from the start when luggage was not in cabin/hallway and they had to retrieve it themselves.

Goodness...are we at 7 yet? Oh, and I made some popcorn with butter!!!!

 

I've dealt with security wanting me to open an IV bag so they can sniff it and see that it isn't really a rum runner, so maybe I'm a little less naughty room friendly.

 

On another note, you said you met Mrs E. and me on a prior cruise. Refresh my memory, when?

[srlafleur]

I don't understand why the OP should expect an apology from people simply doing their jobs. And what sort of "kind word" should have been said?

I'm sure having to deal with all the people who end up in the naughty room wouldn't make anyone a happy camper. Since most cruisers aren't on CC, most of the customers that security has to deal with have probably never even heard of the naughty room and probably aren't in very chipper moods when they get there.

I'd guess the best way for the employees to deal with all this unhappiness is to be dispassionate. They want to get the hell out of there too!

..."NEXT".

[Paul65]

Great you got my point witch is the RCI rules/FAQ's are not clear, Disney for example clearly states than you can take al the alcohol on board that you want but it must be in your carry-on.

 

If that was your point, I disagree. While I can see how one might misinterpret the statement about TSA regulations, I don't really think it's unclear. And I don't think the overall policy about bringing on wine is unclear. They do not require it to be in your carry-on, as Disney does.

 

But...it has been pointed out many times here that, if you do pack it in your checked bags, though not disallowed, it does carry the risk that your bag may be diverted to the "naughty room." As others have posted here, it doesn't even have to be alcohol at all for that to happen. It has happened with larger bottles of shampoo.

[1ParticularHbr]

We crossed the 7 page milestone. Do I hear 10?

[Paul65]

There were 7 responses total. Only three relate to taking alcohol. One says you can't take it, one says no liquor, and the third says it will be confiscated.

 

All three of which were correct, since it was a question about "liquor." :cool:

[EVALUATOR]

One of the reasons I respect you so much is, despite occassionally disagreeing, I think we can often debate like adults.

 

No, it wasn't great detective work at all, at least not in the sense of uncovering something glaringly sinister. I made that comment mostly in gest, just refering to our CC friends doing a posting search on the OP.

 

Thanks Paul,

 

I think RCI should clearly state wine in carry on only.

 

And I think it was RCI's responsibility to bring the luggage to the room.

 

Someone likes mac and cheese and there are 100 posts debating it. If you post something incorrect 20 people will usually roast you. But in the other post all three of the alcohol responses were basically wrong. Where did anyone say put it only in your carry on. Or correct the inaccurate information saying you couldn't take it.

 

And is there more to the story...probably.

[johnbob7]

Great you got my point witch is the RCI rules/FAQ's are not clear, Disney for example clearly states than you can take al the alcohol on board that you want but it must be in your carry-on.

 

 

Not only are they not clear but they are inconsistently implemented. A number of us have reported that we brought our wine on board packed in our checked luggage without any trip to the naughty room or any other repercussion. So some ports/ships enforce the rule differently than others.

 

Given the inconisitency, OP could have anticipated the possibility of a naughty room visit. The RCCL personnel should have remained polite.

 

But I really don't see why so many people keep stating the "rule" as must be carry on. There is no such rule. It may be a better idea given the inconsistency of the RCCL personnel, but it is not a rule. Yet.

 

Did OP ever state which port/ship they were on? As far as I can tell, Galveston and Baltimore are way more stringent than Miami Ft Lauderdale, and San Juan has no reports of a problem with checked baggage.

 

bobj