PG Has Fallen Apart

[cruisefun27]

I think you put it that! I know it wasn't there on our trip before you. I'm glad everyone had a wonderful time.Twin was the luck with you? Did you win the chart? Room #310 was very lucky for us.:D

[egret]

I was concerned when I saw the original post here. We just got on board yesterday, so far everything is as we remember it from 5 previous cruises. We stayed at the Brando on Tetearoa for three days precruise which was the best land experience we have everhad. Some foulup with the return flight to Papeete. We arrived at noon and there was no one waiting for us. The "airline" young lady called the PG and determined it wa the PG's fault and that we should take a taxi to the dock. We arrived at the dock, the PG took our bags and we were personally escorted onto the ship by a ship's officer and registered, invited to have lunch at La Varanda and then given our room key. They rose to the occasion as is our experience.

[twin123185]

Cruisefun27 thank you it was great. Proper review within a week I hope. No the chart went to someone on deck 8!!! Thanks again for your great gifts!!!

 

 

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[MotuIslander]

I am glad, although NOT surprised, that you all had such a good time!

 

Thanks to Miriam and the other pranksters who took all the pictures of "Flat Motu" in various fun locations!

 

By the way...notice that the background in my avatar looks similar to the photo with Elmo? I wonder why?

Edited September 21, 2014 by MotuIslander

[twin123185]

I was there when this was taken. Lots of fun. This thread needs to die a quick death. Fallen Apart? What a joke....

 

 

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[MotuIslander]

I was there when this was taken. Lots of fun. This thread needs to die a quick death. Fallen Apart? What a joke....

 

Agreed! My gut reaction is to respond, but I think it is only fanning the flames and giving the thread new life.

 

Bye!

[Espi]

No disrespect toward those who feel otherwise, but I was very disappointed in my cruise on the PG (August 30th 2014 Fiji, Tonga, Cook and Society Islands).

 

I’m not sure how to define “luxury”, but I do know that I waited in line for two hours to clear Bora Bora customs. It was a LONG line (see photos below—yes, those folks are pretty disgruntled; some waited even longer than 2 hours).

 

http://s1313.photobucket.com/user/espi1971/media/line2pg_zps99bfff13.jpg.html?o=0

 

http://s1313.photobucket.com/user/espi1971/media/line1pg_zpsf6f285a8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

 

A day or two prior to docking at Bora Bora we were given a letter advising us to “report” to the Grand Salon on Sunday 09/07/14 between 7:30 and 8:30 AM (see photos below--they're small so you'll have to figure out how to make them appear bigger; I didn't figure out how to enlarge them).

 

http://s1313.photobucket.com/user/espi1971/media/ltr_zps5540396e.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

http://s1313.photobucket.com/user/espi1971/media/ltr2_zpsa300ebfc.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

 

This letter was totally unexpected and I personally didn’t appreciate receiving a letter directing me to “report” somewhere on my honeymoon, especially in a one-hour time frame, early in the morning.

 

If you receive this same letter while you're aboard the PG, I suggest you get there an hour early. There were two French customs officials responsible for "clearing" 350 passengers' passports, and neither of them appeared at all apologetic or particularly interested in moving the line quickly (there were a few very elderly among us who waited longer, and I felt pretty bad about it; at least I didn't have to ask to sit in a chair while I waited).

 

I personally woke up early on 09/07/14 (which I didn’t appreciate PG expecting me to do, by the way) and took the elevator down to Deck 5 at about 7:35 AM, to discover that a LONG line had already formed, and the line didn’t appear to be moving...at all. If I had known that it would have taken 2 hours to wait in line to “clear” French customs before disembarking, I would have cancelled the excursions that we had scheduled that day. In fact, we missed our 9:30 AM scheduled excursion for the waverunner (which we were really looking forward to more than any other excursion). There just seemed to be NO organization whatsoever to the custom-clearing process at Bora Bora. The whole waiting-in-line thing shocked and then just disappointed me. The crew of PG were not very helpful in trying to get us another waverunner tour (one associate asked me, “Do you want to just cancel it?” with enthusiasm in her voice, so as to loosen the burden of her chaotic day).

 

This passport-clearance request on 09/07/14 appeared unorganized and felt very frustrating to me and to the majority of the passengers waiting in line with me. I still contend that the French "surprised" the PG with this request. Nobody from the ship seemed to know how to get the passengers through the line efficiently.

 

Nobody from PG never reached out to us and apologized, nor were we offered another excursion. It was only after I let management know that I didn’t appreciate missing my excursion that they assured me that I wouldn’t be charged. I then said, “I KNOW that. But I would appreciate your offering an excursion--and you guys can pay for it. I expect to be compensated.” They did arrange for a private tour of the island and credited us back for the invoice, but the whole process felt miserable to me. I just expected more. Per our tour guide, Bora Bora is generally "shut down" on Sundays, and when our guide related this info to my wife (she was wondering why Bloody Mary's was empty), she got upset again and complained about PG picking a Sunday to visit Bora Bora. Our tour guide said, "Pick another ship." I'm not sure if he really believed what he was saying, but his comments stung. It just added fuel to the fire.

 

Also, I sensed general ennui and (occasionally) antipathy from certain members of the staff. There were some really great people who always treated us with respect--people like Luis Alvarez; Ivan from La Vernada; Jayson; Francisco; RJ). But there weren't that many who really stood out to us. The photographer acted rude and snobbish, in my opinion. Jose, the chef from Le Grille, treated me nicely to my face, but I was pretty disappointed when my wife told me that he had approached her (when I wasn’t around) and asked her to cover her bikini top.

 

There was also very slow service at times in Le Grille, including one incident in which a waiter and a customer exchanged sarcastic barbs about the long wait time.

 

My wife and I expected better. A lot of our friends and family and acquaintances feel just as disappointed and shocked when we tell them about our experience aboard the Paul Gauguin. They were expecting high reviews and to enjoy their own “luxury” cruise with PG in 2015. One couple has already canceled their trip. There’s just no way that I am going to recommend PG after what we experienced.

 

 

 

In my mind, the very fact that people are debating about the PG “falling apart” speaks volumes to me.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Espi

[Espi]

I know that I wasn't overly thrilled with my PG experience, but I didn't get the impression that they were falling apart. I got the impression that they were becoming more mainstream if anything. It was a good cruise... just not great.

 

This is pretty much spot-on in my opinion. Minus the sub-par events at Bora Bora, I'd have given it above average.

 

The food aboard PG is terrific.

 

But when I think about the amount of money we spent for a room at level 8, I'm not sure I can justify it.

 

If I could it over again, I'd select a regular room (i.e. one without a butler and balcony) and do more excursions. Less time on the ship; more time on the islands.

 

Lesson learned: use the ship as a mere vehicle for exploring. Don't depend on the ship (any ship) to enhance the experience.

 

And I'd have DEFINITELY asked the butler to reserve dinners for us for the entire length of the cruise, all on the very first night, as we found it challenging to "get in" to the restaurants requiring reservations. The butler was not all proactive in helping us secure reservations. I guess my expectations were too high. In my opinion the butler service wasn't worth it.

 

Laundry package is good, too.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Espi

[Espi]

reception people lacked something.

 

Agree 100%. The attitude I often sensed from the reception staff on levels 4 and (sometimes) 5 was, "You are a nuisance. What do you want?" The only times I ever interacted with them was to reserve a movie, and I never enjoyed talking with whoever was down there. To me they had the personality of a frigid librarian who's always ready to go, "Shhhhhhh!!!!"

 

The only time I recall receiving a phone call from reception was when they wanted to offer us (sell) an additional excursion that we tried to reserve prior to embarking; I guess were added to the "wait list," and the woman who called me was very brief and direct about it. It felt like I was being cold called by a telemarketer.

 

Once I declined adding the excursion, she hung up very quickly.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Espi

[Espi]

our complaints were mostly related to overall service, staff attitude, and food more than any physical deficiencies of the ship.

 

As RZ3 implied, it wasn't a terrible cruise, but more like a mainstream line than a luxury ship, but at luxury prices, and "wasn't overly thrilled" was our impression as well. When you spend that type if money, it's not a good impression to leave with.

 

Out of my group of about 45, well over half have stated that they wouldn't cruise with PG again. That includes two couples who have cruised with them in the past. Keep in mind that market research has shown that for every customer who complains to an organization, 10 never say anything but just never "shop" with that establishment again.

 

If I were PG's management, I'd be taking a very close look at what needed to be changed, and find a way to make those changes before losing further market share to the other lines who are starting to sail in French Polynesia. I'd also say that most people aren't choosing their cruise because a ship stays in an area year round. They are going to need to do better than that to retain, let alone gain market share.

 

I agree 100% with this. I used the fitness center every day and I wasn't expecting much. It's a ship. There's only so much room to go around. One of the machines in the fitness center had an "out of order" sign attached to it the entire time of the cruise, but I worked my way around that. I also walked in a few times and noticed that all of the treadmills were being used--no problem. I worked my way around that that, too. So I no complaints whatsoever about the fitness center.

 

But the quality and attitude from the staff? Disappointing, for the most part. There were some superstars who seemed to always be smiling and would occasionally go out of their way to make sure we were accommodated. But there were too many who seemed in my opinion to be either angry, bored, or just plain burned out, and we felt this from staff on all levels, from waiters to our butler, and another butler, who seem agitated when my wife asked him to show us how to operate the hot/cold water in the shower. To me it's a sign of likely being overworked and underpaid.

 

I'm not sure if PG is open to change. As I filled out my survey, I noticed that they had options for "Fair" "Good" "Very Good" and "Excellent." They don't even offer an option for "Poor." That's a red flag to me. I personally would want to know what people think--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Espi

[Espi]

I'm writing this while sitting in a 5 star resort in San Diego. This place has luxury figured out. (Grand Del Mar) Literally every staff member says hello regardless of what they are doing. The food is beyond superb and the rooms are immaculately appointed. The bar and wait staff are ridiculously polite and prompt.

 

That is not the PG experience. Sure, there are a lot of nice staff and a few stand outs. However, a lot of them are just going through the motions until their contract is over.

 

I'd have no problem with that if they weren't marketing themselves as a luxury cruise. It's not. It's an all-inclusive mainstream cruise withe the Gauguines added in for some entertainment.

 

However, it is competitively priced when compared to the other French Polynesia options available. If you stick to one of the lower priced cabins, you will be getting a good value for your trip. It just won't be 5 star... or even 4 star.

 

Spot on. Agreed. My feelings exactly.

[twin123185]

I heard about the debacle regarding the Bora Bora passport inspection while on board. I would have been pissed too. I have done this and it was crowded early. I went back later and waited 30 seconds. The problem this time from what I understand was that it was a Sunday and one of the immigration officials was new and both officials were angry to be working. They went slow purposely. PG should so a better job by having people with shore excursions go first. Then by deck. I guess it was the perfect storm. I have found that PG simply is better within French Polynesia. Most of the complaints seem to come from cruises not totally within French Polynesia.

 

 

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[cruisefun27]

Yes it was a nightmare but it wasn't all PG fault either. There was suppose to be 5 officers but like you said it was on a Sunday and they did not show up. PG was trying to get the ones that had early shore excursions through first but it still did not work very good. But as Espi was making a comment about being ask to cover up, it is a place to eat and not a pool hang out so I believe they were in their right to ask her to cover up while she was in the Le Grill. I'm not going to let one problem spoil my whole trip. We had a wonderful time on the Aug. 30 Fiji to Tahiti trip and can not wait to go back on the PG for our third trip.Thank you to the crew that worked so hard for us.

[Emdee]

I have had similar immigration slow downs in a number of countries. This is nothing to do with the cruise ship.

From what I recall cover ups are required in the pool grill. So a bikini top would be inappropriate.

 

Sorry you had a bad honeymoon.

 

Reception has been a weak point in the past but the lovely Manu is now there and she aims to please.

 

The photographer is the pits. More on him in my review.

[twin123185]

Emdee you didn't like Martin eh?

I never care about pics but the group photo of all of us wasn't bad.

 

 

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[Emdee]

Emdee you didn't like Martin eh?

I never care about pics but the group photo of all of us wasn't bad.

 

 

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I found him rather rude. His embarkation pics were tacky and he pushed us out of the way when exiting a tender.

Added to that his costs were huge for my cousin's anniversary celebration $300 for 5 pics.

When we had our celebration in 2011 we paid about 400$ for unlimited pics for both the cruise and the celebration.

 

Yes the group photo was good but he was doing it for the big boss there!

[Espi]

I found him rather rude.

 

I agree, Emdee, and it wasn't just his rudeness. He flatly seemed to refuse to smile and/or talk about anything outside of the scope of paying for photos. The last time I spoke to him, I wondered if he was under the influence of something, because his eyes looked...tired (as did the rest of his face). I just never liked him, and about 3 days into the cruise, I flat out told my wife (who really wanted some "professional" photos to take back), "I'm not talking to the photographer anymore. If you want to buy a few photos, go ahead and get them. But I'm not personally speaking with him, because I don't appreciate his attitude."

 

My wife returned to the cabin an hour later with 6 photos--a few which I thought were pretty good, and a few which were actually not that bad, but I felt my wife paid a lot for them; I certainly wouldn't have paid that much for them.

 

She told me that when she went to retrieve the photos that there was a woman in front of her who was "going off" on the photographer, "screaming" at him. After that woman walked away, my wife (who would rather "schmooze" her way through a confrontation than argue), told me that she and the photographer engaged in smalltalk for a few minutes (what????), and that the photographer talked about his childhood, how he was a natural lefty, but then "they" forced him to become a righty. So my wife--who is a lefty--was basically making a light-hearted joke about how repressed and unfortunate and tortured it must be for him, having to switch from lefty to righty. We actually laughed about it and it was nice to share that as an inside joke between us as we passed by him throughout remainder of the cruise.

 

But on the evaluation sheet, I didn't schmooze. I let them know my personal feelings about the photographer. He needs to be gone, in my opinion. I'm not sure what they see in him or why they hired him to begin with.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[Emdee]

Basic pics were standard shipboard prices of $25 per pic. Its the special occasion packages which went sky high.

He definitely suffered from an attitude problem.

[Espi]

Sorry you had a bad honeymoon.

 

Reception has been a weak point in the past but the lovely Manu is now there and she aims to please.

 

The photographer is the pits. More on him in my review.

 

It wasn't all bad Emdee--there were some things and some people that I really enjoyed on the cruise. But the issue at Bora Bora was just unacceptable to me.

 

I personally expected PG to be "great," instead of "not bad." "Bad" is not a word that I appreciated using in relation to my cruise aboard the PG.

 

I had heard horror stories about long disembarkations via the larger cruise lines. I didn't want that or expect that from PG. I didn't want to be regarded as a "unit" and I expected outstanding luxurious accommodations and a staff that was willing to go the extra mile. If I wanted less, I could have boarded Carnival. I live in Florida and could have driven to port and sailed the Caribbean.

 

If the incident at Bora Bora had never happened, I'd be considering another cruise with PG for our 5 year anniversary.

 

Even if SOMEBODY would have reached out to us and acknowledged the incident at Bora Bora (and I personally don't care or want to understand whose fault it is), I would have likely respected them even MORE and wouldn't be reporting back to our friends and family and acquaintances about the sub-par happenings on the PG.

 

But instead, management was nowhere to be found in the minutes after they informed me that our 9:30 AM waverunner excursion was canceled. There was no explanation given for the cancellation; no alternative excursions offered; no compensation; no apology. NOTHING.

 

In the minutes after I was told my excursion was cancelled, I personally didn't appreciate walking down to the reception desk and complaining and demanding to speak with a manager. I spent 30 minutes in front of the reception desk asking PG to step up and offer us a free excursion in exchange cancelling our excursion and for waiting in line for 2 hours to clear customs.

 

The compensation was something I fought for, mind you. In front of other passengers. PG didn't seem to make it easy or really care too much about making sure that I was given something free in exchange for the inconvenience. I'm not if it was Manu at reception, but it was a young girl, and though she listened and acted nice enough, she seemed to keep trying to get rid of me. "I'm sorry about that Sir but if you'll come back in 30 minutes...." Unacceptable. I wasn't leaving reception until they offered to compensate me. And to their credit, they did. They arranged a private tour of Bora Bora and personally escorted us over on the tender and introduced us to the taxi driver, our "tour guide." We paid $130 USD and PG credited it back on our invoice. But the whole thing felt like a freaking struggle to me. And that private tour was really just a taxi driver circling the island, pointing our various things, stopping when we asked (we didn't ask to stop very often). He was a really nice guy who seemed passionate and enthusiastic about showing us Bora Bora, but I personally didn't enjoy the experience too much, knowing that PG (or whomever) had expected us to wait in line for 2 hours that day and then cancelled our original excursion.

 

On the last day of the cruise, a fellow passenger approached me and said, "You were right for demanding that they offer you something. I heard you complaining at reception last Sunday, and I hope everything worked out."

 

I appreciated hearing that woman's comments; certainly nobody from PG ever approached me and said anything like that to me. I felt like nobody from PG ever genuinely stepped up and apologized or proactively called our room to say, "How did the private tour of Bora Bora go? Are you enjoying the cruise? Is there anything else we can do for you?"

 

In the week or so since that cruise, I've received nothing from PG, expect a generic form letter from a smiling Diane Moore, hoping that all went well. I also received a solicitous email from PG, reminding me of their 2015 itinerary.

 

I unsubscribed.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well gee, what group photo, she asks?

 

Anyways, on the subject of the photographer, we rarely pay attention since we rarely buy.

 

But, twice on this trip we had a photo taken--once flanked by the Gauguin/Gauguine pair in full costume, and once wrapped in a blanket at the renewal celebration, two poses. All three photos were pretty bad, and I agree, the prices were outrageous.

[Espi]

I heard about the debacle regarding the Bora Bora passport inspection while on board. I would have been pissed too. I have done this and it was crowded early. I went back later and waited 30 seconds.

 

PG should so a better job by having people with shore excursions go first. Then by deck.

 

Agreed twin and I'm glad that you didn't wait hours in line. You and Emdee and several others on this site have invested MUCH more of your time and money on Paul Gauguin than we did.

 

And yes, I agree that they could have assessed and prepared for the situation BEFORE Sunday 09/07 and prioritized the passengers who paid the most and/or given priority to those passengers who had excursions scheduled.

 

In fact, when I first arrived on the deck and witnessed the line, I approached a PG employee (the only one that I remember seeing anywhere near the line, by the way)...a young, beautiful, smiling Gauguine-looking woman in a dress. I told her that my wife and I were staying in room 807 and that I had an excursion scheduled for 9:30 AM. She smiled and assured me that there would be no problem. Her exact words were, "No worries."

 

I'm personally convinced that somebody from management asked this this young woman to stand there to coo the passengers into thinking that all was well. No big deal. No worries. I felt like I had been tricked or duped into thinking that they would take care of me. We "cleared" customs right around 9:30 AM and waited for a minute or two in the Grand Salon to board our 9:30 AM excursion (a $299 dollar waverunner). There was ONE PG employee in the Salon, a woman with a walkie-talkie, who appeared very stressed and unapproachable. Her words to me were, "Do you want to just cancel it?" when I asked her about the status of our excursion. I didn't appreciate the hope and enthusiasm that she seemed to convey in her tone when she asked me that. I felt like she was trying to just scratch me off, so as to lessen the load of the complaints being conveyed at her.

 

Just very disappointing and everybody to whom we've told this--friends, family, acquaintances, business associates--they just don't believe it. They're shocked as we are. One business partner told me, "I'd expect that on Carnival. But not Paul Gauguin."

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[Espi]

Yes it was a nightmare but it wasn't all PG fault either. There was suppose to be 5 officers but like you said it was on a Sunday and they did not show up. PG was trying to get the ones that had early shore excursions through first but it still did not work very good. But as Espi was making a comment about being ask to cover up, it is a place to eat and not a pool hang out so I believe they were in their right to ask her to cover up while she was in the Le Grill. I'm not going to let one problem spoil my whole trip. We had a wonderful time on the Aug. 30 Fiji to Tahiti trip and can not wait to go back on the PG for our third trip.Thank you to the crew that worked so hard for us.

 

I'm not sure who's at fault and I'm not interested in understanding, either.

 

In my mind, I expected Paul Gauguin to do one thing: ensure my wife and me a great and memorable experience on the ship and its excursions. In my opinion, they failed to do that.

 

I would have appreciated 5 customs officers instead of 2, but in my mind, I still would have been waiting longer than I wanted.

 

Given the apathy and lack of efficiency from the 2 officers who did manage to show up that Sunday, I still would have waited 30 minutes or so instead of 2 hours, assuming all 5 officers had shown up, as you say. That's longer than I want to wait. I have no complaints waiting 30 minutes to do other things. But not in this instance. Not during a "luxury" cruise--and definitely not on my honeymoon. Not after I've already paid and been issued my passport. And I wasn't particularly thrilled about being told to be somewhere early in the morning on my honeymoon.

 

Again, this "customs clearing" process was a surprise. Our butler handed us the letter 2 nights before, and he seemed clueless as to why were being ordered to report so early in the morning, over a one-hour time frame.

 

Maybe PG was right to tell my wife to cover up. I'll just say this: I didn't appreciate Jose doing it when I was away from her, getting my food. It personally felt to me Jose was doing something behind my back. Like he waited for me to walk away THEN confronted her. That's what I personally don't like.

 

My wife didn't tell me this until after we were home, because she knew I would have felt offended. I just think Jose could have spoken to both os if, eye to eye. I feel like I deserved better from him. He was all smiles afterwards, but I personally have no respect for him, knowing that he chose to confront my wife when I was away.

 

I personally believe in the saying, "The worst argument you can have is the one you win." As a business owner, one of the best things I ever learned was, Proving myself right won't make me more money or make me a better person. Proving somebody wrong, in fact, has probably hurt my business. And personal relationships.

 

PG may have been "right", but my wife wasn't happy about it. And at the end of the day, I'd rather my customers and business associates be happy, rather than proven wrong.

 

In my mind, I could have been handled better. I don't imagine Luis Alvarez or Ivan from La Veranda ever talking to me or my wife in such a way. Had no complaints about the other restaurants. But there was something about Le Grille that I didn't like. Everything from the slow service to what I considered rude and offensive behavior from the staff there.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Espi

[Emdee]

Well gee, what group photo, she asks?

 

Anyways, on the subject of the photographer, we rarely pay attention since we rarely buy.

 

But, twice on this trip we had a photo taken--once flanked by the Gauguin/Gauguine pair in full costume, and once wrapped in a blanket at the renewal celebration, two poses. All three photos were pretty bad, and I agree, the prices were outrageous.

 

Wendy I guess you were not at the Repeaters cocktail party. All of us had a group pic taken and compliments of Mr Bailey received a copy.

[Emdee]

I'm not sure who's at fault and I'm not interested in understanding, either.

 

In my mind, I expected Paul Gauguin to do one thing: ensure my wife and me a great and memorable experience on the ship and its excursions. In my opinion, they failed to do that.

 

I would have appreciated 5 customs officers instead of 2, but in my mind, I still would have been waiting longer than I wanted.

 

Given the apathy and lack of efficiency from the 2 officers who did manage to show up that Sunday, I still would have waited 30 minutes or so instead of 2 hours, assuming all 5 officers had shown up, as you say. That's longer than I want to wait. I have no complaints waiting 30 minutes to do other things. But not in this instance. Not during a "luxury" cruise--and definitely not on my honeymoon. Not after I've already paid and been issued my passport. And I wasn't particularly thrilled about being told to be somewhere early in the morning on my honeymoon.

 

Again, this "customs clearing" process was a surprise. Our butler handed us the letter 2 nights before, and he seemed clueless as to why were being ordered to report so early in the morning, over a one-hour time frame.

 

Maybe PG was right to tell my wife to cover up. I'll just say this: I didn't appreciate Jose doing it when I was away from her, getting my food. It personally felt to me Jose was doing something behind my back. Like he waited for me to walk away THEN confronted her. That's what I personally don't like.

 

My wife didn't tell me this until after we were home, because she knew I would have felt offended. I just think Jose could have spoken to both os if, eye to eye. I feel like I deserved better from him. He was all smiles afterwards, but I personally have no respect for him, knowing that he chose to confront my wife when I was away.

 

I personally believe in the saying, "The worst argument you can have is the one you win." As a business owner, one of the best things I ever learned was, Proving myself right won't make me more money or make me a better person. Proving somebody wrong, in fact, has probably hurt my business. And personal relationships.

 

PG may have been "right", but my wife wasn't happy about it. And at the end of the day, I'd rather my customers and business associates be happy, rather than proven wrong.

 

In my mind, I could have been handled better. I don't imagine Luis Alvarez or Ivan from La Veranda ever talking to me or my wife in such a way. Had no complaints about the other restaurants. But there was something about Le Grille that I didn't like. Everything from the slow service to what I considered rude and offensive behavior from the staff there.

 

Espi,

I am sorry but I dont understand why PG had to ensure you have a good holiday. PG, like any other cruiseline provides a service. It is up to you to ensure you have a memorable experience.

While I believe that every experience is a valid one your first comment about not being interested in understanding is not quite rational. Of course ,purely, IMO.

 

Clearly you have not cruised on too many cruises or otherwise you would not have been shocked by the customs and immigration clearance issues. On the jewel of the seas transatlantic cruise last year we ( Canadians and Foreigners) were asked to present ourselves between 5 and 6 am in order to get our clearances to disembark at Boston. I can tell you that it took me over 2 hours first an hour for my number to be called and then an hour to complete the formalities and this was only the US immigration clearance and we still had to do the customs clearance on arrival. I have had similar clearance situations when travelling in the Caribbean as well. Also when getting into Japanese waters. So this is nothing new or shocking to seasoned travellers. In your case you were not prepared for this so it shocked you. For most of us it is just par for the course!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wendy I guess you were not at the Repeaters cocktail party. All of us had a group pic taken and compliments of Mr Bailey received a copy.

 

On the ship? We were in the Piano Bar the first night, but obviously missed the festivities.