RCCL holding back passengers from getting off

[Starry Eyes]

I think this is a bit unfair if you ask me.

 

Unfair? Oh, come on, now. If you pay for a first class ticket on the airline, you board early (or whenever else you wish), have bin space held for you and your first class, get drinks right away and often, get special meals, etc. Similarly, if one paid a bundle for a high end suite, of course one expects special treatment. and at some level of loyalty (be it D+ or Pinnacle), special treatment is no surprise.

[ElginSparrowHawk]

Unfair? Oh, come on, now. If you pay for a first class ticket on the airline, you board early (or whenever else you wish), have bin space held for you and your first class, get drinks right away and often, get special meals, etc. Similarly, if one paid a bundle for a high end suite, of course one expects special treatment. and at some level of loyalty (be it D+ or Pinnacle), special treatment is no surprise.

 

Oh you suite goers and diamond members ,always looking for special treatment. :mad:

[Starry Eyes]

Over the years, DH or I have often been off the ship independently and hear the overhead announcements from shore, if at all. We are relative early birds, but maybe many people are trying to sleep and recent overhead announcements waking them at 6:45 am when the ship will be in port until say 6 pm. I bet they'd say if they wanted a wake up call, they'd have asked for one;)

[Starry Eyes]

Oh you suite goers and diamond members ,always looking for special treatment. :mad:

 

I generally do not sail in high end suites....maybe low end ones when the price is right. up if somebody paid thirty times more than me, I am not surprised if they get more service and more amenities. You added a mad face....were you born yesterday?

[ehfl]

This is normal policy. No big deal.

[critterchick]

On our Rhapsody cruise from Honolulu to Vancouver, we tendered in two ports, Kona and Lahaina. They had an early bird window for independents - maybe half an hour as soon as the tenders were available - then gave the excursions priority over most other independents. We were escorted down by the Concierge and were able to join some ship excursion people as they went off the ship. Sometimes RHIP.:)

[pcur]

I disagree on my last cruise the Suite Concierge would escort suite and D+ passengers to the tenders and cut the tender line, no tickets required. This took place before any tender tickets numbers were called.

 

This was true on the Radiance in March/April this year. The Concierge escorts those who have gathered in the CL down to joing the RCCL excursion passengers getting on the tender boats. Poor JayJay was running back and forth for several hours doing this in our tendered ports in NZ and New Caledonia.

[joandian]

As xxoocruiser stated, most of the time you won´t even notice, as they simply won´t tell you the ship is cleared by the local authorities until they are ready for those not on a .

 

And that is why we wait on the stairs on the deck above the gangway. They put a rope across so you can't go any further but remove it as soon as the ship clears. Most times we are getting off or already off the ship before any announcements are made.

Edited June 6, 2014 by joandian

[RSLeesburg]

Unfair? Oh, come on, now. If you pay for a first class ticket on the airline, you board early (or whenever else you wish), have bin space held for you and your first class, get drinks right away and often, get special meals, etc. Similarly, if one paid a bundle for a high end suite, of course one expects special treatment. and at some level of loyalty (be it D+ or Pinnacle), special treatment is no surprise.

 

 

I originally asked the question not because I was looking for special treatment, just to understand the process. On the last cruise during the captain's reception, the head of guest services announced to all the suite guests in attendance that if there was a line to get back on the ship, just wave your gold card and walk to the front. We were in Bermuda so no tendering. I was a bit shocked that someone would do that in the first place, just walk to the front of the line, but this statement was made without any prompting. Being our first cruise, I was not sure if this was true or not, or how this really worked based on what was previously said on the thread. Didn't mean to cause such a stir :)

 

 

 

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[Starry Eyes]

I originally asked the question not because I was looking for special treatment, just to understand the process. On the last cruise during the captain's reception, the head of guest services announced to all the suite guests in attendance that if there was a line to get back on the ship, just wave your gold card and walk to the front. We were in Bermuda so no tendering. I was a bit shocked that someone would do that in the first place, just walk to the front of the line, but this statement was made without any prompting. Being our first cruise, I was not sure if this was true or not, or how this really worked based on what was previously said on the thread. Didn't mean to cause such a stir :)

 

 

 

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The post you quoted was a response to another poster, not to you. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

 

It is interesting that they encouraged suite guests to wave their cards that way; I would not feel comfortable doing that. I know Celebrity now often has two lines to return to the ship, one for suite guests and one for everybody else. I see similar at airports or car rental companies, so the two lines didn't seem odd or awkward to me.

[TravelerThom]

Doubt that ever happened!...

I question thinking that St. Petersburg, Russia and Port Canaveral operate under the same rules. St. Petersburg is the crown jewel of Baltic cruises and they know it. I'd bet on Russian authorities protecting local tour operators over their sucking up to RCI. It wouldn't surprise me if Putin and his cronies have a financial interest in the St. Petersburg tour companies (they have a financial interest in virtually everything else, and Putin is a St. P homeboy).

 

Thom

[RSLeesburg]

The post you quoted was a response to another poster, not to you. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

 

 

 

It is interesting that they encouraged suite guests to wave their cards that way; I would not feel comfortable doing that. I know Celebrity now often has two lines to return to the ship, one for suite guests and one for everybody else. I see similar at airports or car rental companies, so the two lines didn't seem odd or awkward to me.

 

 

Yes. I realized that I quoted the wrong person. Sorry.

 

I found it kind of disturbing that they mentioned it. After a long day in port, people are tired and eager to get back on - the last thing you want to do is encourage some people to barge up to the front of the line. If you have two lines, then that is a completely different situation. I was more curious to know for our upcoming cruise if we would be held back because we were not going on any cruise-sponsored excursions (or private ones for that matter). The last thing I want to do is drag my 4 y/o out of bed and down to the gangway, only to find that we have to wait (he is not the most patient of kids...lol). So, if I know in advance that there will be a wait, we will just plan accordingly and head down later after the rush...

 

 

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[xxHadleyxx]

Yes. I realized that I quoted the wrong person. Sorry.

 

I found it kind of disturbing that they mentioned it. After a long day in port, people are tired and eager to get back on - the last thing you want to do is encourage some people to barge up to the front of the line. If you have two lines, then that is a completely different situation. I was more curious to know for our upcoming cruise if we would be held back because we were not going on any cruise-sponsored excursions (or private ones for that matter). The last thing I want to do is drag my 4 y/o out of bed and down to the gangway, only to find that we have to wait (he is not the most patient of kids...lol). So, if I know in advance that there will be a wait, we will just plan accordingly and head down later after the rush...

 

 

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Even if no one is being held back--we generally wait 20 to 30 minutes after the ship is cleared to head off. If you are not rushing to something that makes the difference between getting off in a line of people who are anxious and sometimes pushy, and walking off at your leisure with virtually no lines. With a 4 year old, I would think that would be much better :)

[RSLeesburg]

Even if no one is being held back--we generally wait 20 to 30 minutes after the ship is cleared to head off. If you are not rushing to something that makes the difference between getting off in a line of people who are anxious and sometimes pushy, and walking off at your leisure with virtually no lines. With a 4 year old, I would think that would be much better :)

 

 

Agreed!

 

 

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[Starry Eyes]

Yes. I realized that I quoted the wrong person. Sorry.

 

I found it kind of disturbing that they mentioned it. After a long day in port, people are tired and eager to get back on - the last thing you want to do is encourage some people to barge up to the front of the line. If you have two lines, then that is a completely different situation. I was more curious to know for our upcoming cruise if we would be held back because we were not going on any cruise-sponsored excursions (or private ones for that matter). The last thing I want to do is drag my 4 y/o out of bed and down to the gangway, only to find that we have to wait (he is not the most patient of kids...lol). So, if I know in advance that there will be a wait, we will just plan accordingly and head down later after the rush...

 

 

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Do not worry too much about it if the ship is docked. In many ports, the shore excursions meet on land, so the ship sponsored people are in the same gangway line as anybody else. Furthermore, if they do not require long drives to sites, many excursions are scheduled to leave at staggered times well after docking so less impact on passenger flow.

 

No matter hoe shore excursions are handled, the stairs, elevators and gangways can get a bit congested with independent travelers depending upon the port and the timing. So, if you do not have a tight schedule, perhaps let the child sleep a bit longer and/or have a nice, relaxed breakfast, then head to gangway after any initial crush of passengers has passed.

 

Have a wonderful family cruise and don't sweat the small stuff.

[BillOh]

I generally do not sail in high end suites....maybe low end ones when the price is right. up if somebody paid thirty times more than me, I am not surprised if they get more service and more amenities. You added a mad face....were you born yesterday?

 

The suite and the concierge are the benefits, they don't need a special place by the pool. What's next, when they do decide to go to the dining room they all get fed first?

[cjdixon4]

The suite and the concierge are the benefits, they don't need a special place by the pool. What's next, when they do decide to go to the dining room they all get fed first?

 

Brace yourself, that's probably just around the bend...LOL ;)

[TravelerThom]

The suite and the concierge are the benefits, they don't need a special place by the pool. What's next, when they do decide to go to the dining room they all get fed first?

Sister line Celebrity is in the process of giving the Suites their own dining room. Maybe in there X will start by feeding those in the most expensive suites first:cool:

 

Thom

[Starry Eyes]

The suite and the concierge are the benefits, they don't need a special place by the pool. What's next, when they do decide to go to the dining room they all get fed first?

IIRC, as part of their suite enhancements, Celebrity will soon have a separate dining room for suites guests (maybe just the high end ones...I have not poured over the details). Who knows, maybe their food will get priority. If Celebrity's suite enhancement program is a roaring success, it would not be surprising if the corporation extended some of it Royal Caribbean. Nor would it be surprising if they kept it as a special feature on Celebrity. Time will tell.

 

The extra perks given to high end suites do not bother me. If those extras mean enough to me, I can pay up and book those suites. And, when I do spring in a suite, I do expect to enjoy those perks. In general, I'd rather sail more weeks in a basic stateroom than have one week in a luxury suite. Opinions vary. If they are willing to pay way more, I am not surprised when they get way more.