Chaos of the Seas--Wesbound TA

[Ocean Boy]

Maybe I am incorrectly interpreting who you mean when you say "great crew, poor staff (stripes on their shoulders)"

 

The crew which you have described as 'great' takes their instructions from the 'poor staff that have the stripes on their shoulders' -- if that is correct, how could the crew have been GREAT.

 

Please elaborate.

 

There are people who know how to do their jobs well and take pride in what they do even if they have supervisors who are lacking in ability. Members of the crew may have been trained very well on previous ships and they bring that training to their new assignments. It would not be hard to fathom that a crew member could do an excellent job and have a less than stellar supervisor at the same time.

[Paulette3028]

There are people who know how to do their jobs well and take pride in what they do even if they have supervisors who are lacking in ability. Members of the crew may have been trained very well on previous ships and they bring that training to their new assignments. It would not be hard to fathom that a crew member could do an excellent job and have a less than stellar supervisor at the same time.

 

Yes, true. But some crew members have unfortunately been reprimanded by people above them for 'not following the directions they have been given' by those supervisors (maybe not even on this ship, but in other circumstances).

 

When (and there is a lot of crew movement throughout Royal) their are crew changes, which often occur from a European to Caribbean cruise itinerary, there can be lots of tension between the ranks....it should be mediated before it reaches the cruisers, but sometimes it doesn't -- they are people as well.

 

I have not been on European cruises or TA -- but friends have done both. They have always said that their is a different level of friendliness and interaction between staff/crew and cruisers. One of my friends even referred to European crews as 'stiff'. When I get to take a European cruise I will see for myself.

[Tim,n,Sue]

Maybe I am incorrectly interpreting who you mean when you say "great crew, poor staff (stripes on their shoulders)"

 

The crew which you have described as 'great' takes their instructions from the 'poor staff that have the stripes on their shoulders' -- if that is correct, how could the crew have been GREAT.

 

Please elaborate.

 

The crew are the workers such as the stateroom attendants and the MDR wait staff. They are the every day faces you see and interact with and they were excellent. The poor staff (stripes) became invisible when a problem arose and did not take ownership to correct issues. The people who depend on you for their wages (tips) busted their butts to make people happy but their superiors (insert sarcasm here) were useless. There is a difference between crew and staff.

[insidecabin]

Right, the passengers are just stupid. :rolleyes: So what is the reason for all of the issues on this cruise on the part of the crew and IT folks?

 

If you turn up at 7 3 days in a row with everyone else and there is a line you are part of the problem come at 8 and you will be second in line behind me.

 

Food lines on ships especially sea days are avoidable.

 

Plenty of other issues this was a specific comment about food lines, the same on NCL and princess and celebrity when everyone wants to eat at the same time on flexible dining there WILL be a line eat at a different time or go fixed.

[insidecabin]

Any interesting tidbits you weren't suppose to hear?

 

Nothing most of don't already know happen(activities bingo,parties) just dates and places(late pax like studio b, dazzles)

[paulabr]

Not at all happy with how this cruise went. From boarding to getting off! WE have done TA's before and knew that it's not the same as a Caribbean cruise. But very very upset this time around. There were 6 of us, shows were canceled put back on at our dinner times, I printed out all the times for dinner and shows etc, but RCL just changed when ever they felt like it. ( not because of weather )We were told to leave dinner before we were all finished because it was someone elses table, there were empty tables near by. The only good thing was our room attenend.

shame shame on you Royal, i wont be so loyal.

[CruisinAddict]

We finally booked Oasis for April a while back. I'm having serious second thoughts between reading the reviews on this thread and the new Dynamic Dining that will start shortly before our cruise. Then there is Cats. Didn't like it on Broadway or as a movie. It was a real disappointment to learn it would be the show for our cruise. As much as I would love to see Oasis, I'm wondering if one of the other RCCL ships would be a better choice.

 

For the people who were on the TA, would you pick a different ship if you could have a do over?

 

Yes - any ship on Azamara, Celebrity, or Oceania!!

[SA Traveler]

The crew are the workers such as the stateroom attendants and the MDR wait staff. They are the every day faces you see and interact with and they were excellent. The poor staff (stripes) became invisible when a problem arose and did not take ownership to correct issues. The people who depend on you for their wages (tips) busted their butts to make people happy but their superiors (insert sarcasm here) were useless. There is a difference between crew and staff.

 

I totally agree with you. I commented on this in my survey. When so many different individuals cite the uncaring attitude of the staff "in stripes" as you say I hope someone listens and gives them some training. If you don't believe that a front line worker can be excellent in spite of a lack of leadership from above then all I can say is you should have been on this cruise.

 

As for Cats other than the madhouse trying to get into the theater I thought it was excellent. I personally had never seen it nor read the book and I didn't really understand it but I loved the music. Later when my friend explained the story it made a lot more sense and I would actually like to see it again.

 

We probably won't do another TA on one of these large ships but we really enjoyed our 7 day Allure cruise and would do it again. I would hope that the Oasis will be back to normal as the construction is completed and she is back on her normal itinerary. I do hope the attitudes of the higher ups improve though. This was our 30th RCI cruise and never before saw anything like it.

[Paulette3028]

The crew are the workers such as the stateroom attendants and the MDR wait staff. They are the every day faces you see and interact with and they were excellent. The poor staff (stripes) became invisible when a problem arose and did not take ownership to correct issues. The people who depend on you for their wages (tips) busted their butts to make people happy but their superiors (insert sarcasm here) were useless. There is a difference between crew and staff.

 

I appreciate you elaborating on what you meant. I agree with the distinction you have made, and some of those crew staff members do a better job than others (in every situation). I have always had those that were exemplary.

[sidari]

We were lucky to sail on Oasis in the early years in the Caribbean with 95% great weather on a ship built for the heat.

 

Oasis like Indy is not a fair weather ship and RCI chose the wrong time to bring the Oasis over to Europe for the Drydock knowing full well that the East bound sailing could well be a damp squib until you reach the Caribbean unless you get lucky.

 

One reason Indy was moved was because they were running out of the UK through winter time to the Med using a ship that had no indoor pools and with at least 3 days with everyone being inside after leaving Southampton.

 

It looks like the VCL is going to disappear from all RCI ships which is a great shame because it offers many people somewhere to go to get away from the crowds and heat and even rain, a retrograde step for sure.

 

There is no excuse for rude people but they are on every ship regardless of the cruise line, when people are couped up for 5 sea days inside then you have to expect that there will be friction at some point sadly.

[insidecabin]

It is really easy to solve the everyone inside issue.

 

You suck people into the largest venues with something interesting.

 

Afternoon ice shows in studio B

 

Matinee shows in the theatre.

 

Lectures are also a good candidate to suck in people.

 

On most of my previous TA the progressive team trivia was hosted in a way to attract as many people as possible usually by the CD. with a tried and tested formula

 

They also usually have progressive men-v-girls which can be very entertaining as husband /wife are on different teams.

 

We also often got features from the band and singers from the shows doing their party standalone acts.

 

Bet the ice skaters have show pieces they could have slipped in at some point when the seas were a bit calmer.

 

One area I have not seen any complaints about is the sports deck and everytime we had a look things seemed to be running smoothly.

Edited October 29, 2014 by insidecabin

[oakleys]

Kind of puts me off trying this size ship.

[SA Traveler]

Kind of puts me off trying this size ship.

 

The normal 7 day Caribbean cruises don't compare so don't be afraid to try one.

 

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[logielynn]

Trying to board oasis at southampton was a nightmare and very dangerous situation indeed , disembarkation at Fort Lauderdale nightmare flights back home would have been missed , staff looking like lost sheep could not give answers to the guests, we had a wonderful waitress in the silk dining room maritess lovely girl and brilliant at her job.

[Debinnova]

Yes, I agree Maitess was amazing and really went the extra mile! Loved her.

 

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[rtazz17]

We finally booked Oasis for April a while back. I'm having serious second thoughts between reading the reviews on this thread and the new Dynamic Dining that will start shortly before our cruise. Then there is Cats. Didn't like it on Broadway or as a movie. It was a real disappointment to learn it would be the show for our cruise. As much as I would love to see Oasis, I'm wondering if one of the other RCCL ships would be a better choice.

 

For the people who were on the TA, would you pick a different ship if you could have a do over?

 

Dont let a few peoples reviews out of thousands of people who have had a great time influence you.ALL forums are a place where alot of people like to complain.Most cruisers are not even part of a forum and just go and have a great time and dont post about it.I have had nothing but a fantastic time on all of my royal cruises.We are going on oasis in a couple of werks and expect to have a great time again.Trans atlantic is way diff then a carribean cruise.No comparison.

[CVU]

Kind of puts me off trying this size ship.

 

We were on the Oasis TA both ways. Going over was great, we just had problems on the coming back. The weather didn't help either!

 

We are still booked, next time on Allure and enjoy this class ship. The Caribbean is where this Class is happiest. So, don't close your mind because this one didn't go well. We were on her and are booked again, on Allure next year for her TA and in 2016. :D

The ship was great and safe and there was lots to keep you busy exploring everywhere.:)

[John&LaLa]

Dont let a few peoples reviews out of thousands of people who have had a great time influence you.ALL forums are a place where alot of people like to complain.Most cruisers are not even part of a forum and just go and have a great time and dont post about it.I have had nothing but a fantastic time on all of my royal cruises.We are going on oasis in a couple of werks and expect to have a great time again.Trans atlantic is way diff then a carribean cruise.No comparison.

 

Stick to the eastbound TA's, better weather and you arrive in Europe bright eyes and bushy tailed. :D

 

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[tanzer22pilot]

Wilda, what I do is put my wet suit on and go play in the flowrider, but then that is similar to what I do without the wet suit on nice days.

 

OB, I find that a TA allows you to really find time to get to know a ship, and because most of the people on the ship are mature, there are fewer people on the flowrider.:D

 

On a TA you really get to meet some other people, and those are generally the only cruises where the meet and mingles are tolerable.

 

jc

 

 

You know how we can tell you were not on this cruise?

 

The Meet and Mingle should have been renamed to the "Meet and have the Italian guy give away crap so that the Cruise Critic Members can't meet up and compare notes on how things were sucking at that point". Really, in the ice rink? Which is able to be covered for some dance event.

 

This is our first trans Atlantic and our first RCl cruise, and I was told numerous times that this was not normal of RCl. I would like to just put this thought into everyone's mind:

 

With the total lack of communication, supervisor level management, and disorganization of this cruise, had anything bad happened it would be a Titanic level disaster.

[tanzer22pilot]

Dont let a few peoples reviews out of thousands of people who have had a great time influence you.ALL forums are a place where alot of people like to complain.Most cruisers are not even part of a forum and just go and have a great time and dont post about it.I have had nothing but a fantastic time on all of my royal cruises.We are going on oasis in a couple of werks and expect to have a great time again.Trans atlantic is way diff then a carribean cruise.No comparison.

 

Were you on this cruise?

 

Is this a photo of a normal boarding in Ft. Lauderdale?

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you for the reply. Like i say I have not yet been on Oasis class, but just trying to visualize what everyone is referring to.

 

At least I have a clearer understanding of the ship now and a better visualization. Thanks for the comparative answer.

 

On a side note, on another thread a while back you posted a menu for coastal kitchen. I am not sure if you saw my response but was wondering if you had any idea on the coastal kitchen breakfast and lunch menus:D I keep seeing dinner menu but no idea on the other two meals:D

 

Alas, I do not. But I will in just 33 days!!!! And you can be sure that I will post them.

 

:)

[John&LaLa]

Were you on this cruise?

 

Is this a photo of a normal boarding in Ft. Lauderdale?

 

 

 

Nope, I don't see the hoards of children. ;)

[John&LaLa]

You know how we can tell you were not on this cruise?

 

The Meet and Mingle should have been renamed to the "Meet and have the Italian guy give away crap so that the Cruise Critic Members can't meet up and compare notes on how things were sucking at that point". Really, in the ice rink? Which is able to be covered for some dance event.

 

This is our first trans Atlantic and our first RCl cruise, and I was told numerous times that this was not normal of RCl. I would like to just put this thought into everyone's mind:

 

With the total lack of communication, supervisor level management, and disorganization of this cruise, had anything bad happened it would be a Titanic level disaster.

 

Titanic, really? Anybody drown, around 1,500 did on the Titanic. I'm not saying it wasn't a rough crossing, but nobody lost their life did they? :confused:

[LMaxwell]

Titanic, really? Anybody drown, around 1,500 did on the Titanic. I'm not saying it wasn't a rough crossing, but nobody lost their life did they? :confused:

I think they are saying the staff so disorganized and lacking in leadership/ownership of issues, poor communication, etc., that had there been an actual ship wide emergency it could have become a big cluster fudge.

[John&LaLa]

I think they are saying the staff so disorganized and lacking in leadership/ownership of issues, poor communication, etc., that had there been an actual ship wide emergency it could have become a big cluster fudge.

 

Gotcha

 

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