Is RCI's "refund" for the Oasis "Tragedy at Sea" Appropriate?

[insidecabin]

This trip was relatively expensive as TA prices go it is hard to nail one issue just loads of things were just not right. We set our experience expectations for TA and refrb/inaugurals but enough was just not right for the price paid.

Embarkation issues predictable and the disembarkation was a repeat of our previous RCI TA on independence.

Lack of seniors around to address issues and the CD failure to manage were key failings.

The drydock overrun was planned based on conversations with contractors.

For us the cruise was overpriced for what was delivered.
Looking as Allure next year an the price needs to drop a lot from current price levels, the 20% credit will help.

[insidecabin]

[quote name='RDC1']I was mostly in agreement with you until this post.

Waiting 3 hours to get on and off a multiple day cruise is a minor inconvenience. Showing up and finding the cruise canceled is not. Missing a flight schedule late in the afternoon due to delays is not.

Finding that they washed the carpet and it was wet and had a blower that caused a problem for at most a couple of hours, while not good process and should not have been done, while annoying, is a relatively minor inconvenience. Coming back and finding that a sewer line has busted right over your cabin is not. (both of these comparisons have been real events written about by CC members over the past few months).

They are, as people often say, first world problems. They are all things that should not happen, but individually are relatively minor. I would suspect that most of this stems from the issue with the work not being finished from the dry dock. This would also have greatly disrupted crew procedure. I suspect that the reason why the officers were not visible and why the crew seems very harried was due to the extra stress also linked to the dry dock. Especially, since a lot of crew turnover takes place during dry dock. So you had new crew trying to integrate, passengers that start out annoyed due to boarding delays and finding the items from dry dock not completed, everyone dealing with on going dry dock issues, officers trying to handle their departments in the midst of these issues, customer service burned out by repetitive complaints about issues where they had no way to respond, etc.

The real question is would you have been happier if RCI had contacted everyone just before the cruise and said that because of delays with the dry dock work the cruise would be canceled. Because that was probably RCI's only reasonable alternative.

They apparently thought they could deliver a worthwhile cruise experience and from the notes here a fair percentage probably thought that they did. Afterwards they decided that it was not sufficient and made the 20% future credit.

Three lessons are:

1. You do not book the cruise immediately before or after dry dock unless you are prepared to deal with issues like work being done or the other service issues.

2. Cruises to the US, that originate in other countries are consistent in having delayed disembarkation. Happens pretty much everywhere. You can do a search and you will find similar stories about most other cruise ports in the US. Especially during the last two years.

3. Anytime a ship is out of service for even a short time you have a lot of crew change. This disrupts service levels until they learn the ship and get integrated into the ships procedures and their co-workers. While a lot of things are similar there are variances.


Not sure what happened on embarkation. Ships cannot board until they have been cleared. Since the ship had been in a previous EU port I have no idea why they had to clear the ship and have passengers that had previously boarded in an EU port go through UK customs. I would suspect that the ship was probably as surprised as the passengers were. If so they would not have had staff assigned to dealing with the issues. That decision by customs alone would have thrown off the schedule by several hours. I have never seen that happen when going through Southampton when having stopped from a previous EU port. Could have been something show up on the UK customs computers, could have been someone in their office was in a bad mood. Who knows? The key point is that it happens. All of us that travel run into it sooner or later. We all tend to survive the experience.[/QUOTE]

The UK is not within EU borders for immigration so it not clear what the issue was.

NCL have done similar trip eu->uk->ta without issues and normal cruises that include eu/uk ports don't have issues.

There was something about how RCI set this up that probably caused problems.

[RDC1]

[quote name='insidecabin']The UK is not within EU borders for immigration so it not clear what the issue was.

NCL have done similar trip eu->uk->ta without issues and normal cruises that include eu/uk ports don't have issues.

There was something about how RCI set this up that probably caused problems.[/QUOTE]

That's interesting. When I have flown through London in the past I always cleared customs there and do not recall ever having to clear customs again in any other EU city that I went on to (Usually Brussels, Frankfort, and Rome). Now I used to do those flights 3-4 times a year and that was 10 years or so back so my memory might be playing tricks on me.

[insidecabin]

[quote name='CVU']Theater was being used for the CATS rehearsals, so there was no place big enough for a movie.[/QUOTE]

They should have been done overnight or before they got to the ship.

Opening the theatre for the paying passengers.

[Big_G]

[quote name='insidecabin']The UK is not within EU borders for immigration so it not clear what the issue was.

NCL have done similar trip eu->uk->ta without issues and normal cruises that include eu/uk ports don't have issues.

There was something about how RCI set this up that probably caused problems.[/quote]

Now you're just guessing.

[quote name='insidecabin']They should have been done overnight or before they got to the ship.

Opening the theatre for the paying passengers.[/quote]

Rehearsals over night or before they got on the ship? These aren't grade school plays. Me thinks you've lost any remnant of objectivity. Edited November 8, 2014 by Big_G

[insidecabin]

[quote name='alfaeric']They apologized for the delay in getting off- which they have no control over.l:[/QUOTE]

Where they lost control was on the ship.
it was a freeforall just line up they abandoned the number system
They stopped refreshments for those waiting in the dining area.
they just wanted people off the ship

they even had the windjammer set up at 12 knowing people would be late boarding and the food would sit for ages.

B2B were told their lunch was delayed.

[laurac22]

[quote name='ocean boy']research may also show that words like whining, grow a pair, and duh aren't likely to get someone to see your point of view.

Op, since i wasn't on this cruise i really can't answer your question. However, is tragedy really any more appropriate than some of the words used above?[/quote]
***like***

[CruiseMore1]

[quote name='agentcorona']I'm not sure if you can really say RC screwed up. They don't control the weather. And as far as the construction goes, you have to take into consideration "remodeling" doesn't always go as planned. Anyone who has ever renovated a home knows this. Or have you ever stay at a hotel when construction was being done? It's the same thing. However a hotel patron usually has to complain in order to get any compensation, and usually it's done after the front desk has tried switching you out to another room.

RC offering a 20% discount for a future cruise across the board seems extremely fair to me. I'm sure not everyone on the cruise complained in order to get this (1st world problems). You wanted your vacation to be stress free and perfect, I get that. But let me ask you this; what would you have considered to be fair outside of the 20% discount?[/QUOTE]

And were you on this cruise? Nah, didn't think so.

So no, perhaps you can't say RC screwed up, but since you weren't there, you really don't know. My dissatisfaction is not about the amount of the compensation, and I believe it to be a nice gesture. My dissatisfaction is with the attempt to not accept ANY blame, only saying it was "out of their control." In many situations, that simply was NOT the case. So will they attempt to take some control and responsibility next time? Who knows?

Have I given up on RC? Absolutely not! We've had over 20 great cruise with them. Since you were not there to experience it, you and others who weren't really can't fairly judge the feelings of those of us who were.

[Oville]

[quote name='artbcpa']

First of all it is quite obvious from your grammar, spelling, and lack of reading skills that you never passed grade school. While this forum is not a test of your English proficiency (we all make mistakes), just a little bit of common courtesy would also be nice.[/QUOTE]

Wow Art, I was a big fan of your blog and you just lost me as a fan. I was willing to forgive your wanting compensation for the inconvenience of having our carpet cleaned without notice and your partners complaints about the incomplete sets of Mahjong tiles, but your quote above it mean at best and I believe against Cruise Critic rules. Also you stayed in a suite so my guess is your future cruise voucher is sizable.

Sorry I really liked your blog and reading about how you enjoyed drinks in the Suites Lounge and the other perks that went along with it. I also appreciated some of the things you were unhappy with such as the chemical fumes bothering your partner. However, being nasty is never pleasant.

[lucymorgan]

duplicate post Edited November 8, 2014 by jenibor

[lucymorgan]

It is interesting to see how many people 'have friends who were on the cruise and had no problems' versus the number of people on the cc boards who did have problems.

Perhaps the friends are not telling the whole story - I wouldn't bother to explain to someone who thinks that no wrong can be done.

I wonder if the people with the 'friends' will ask whether they will accept the compensation :) Edited November 8, 2014 by jenibor

[chloe kitty]

[quote name='Vjoe']Ok I Read the first few pages then gave up. On my very first RCL cruise, I was on Majesty and at the end of the cruise I walked past a group of at least 50 people that were talking about how great the cruise was but that they needed complaints so that they could get some compensation back for the members. "We can get this cruise for free we just need some feedback"

I am sorry silly Americans, your complaints don't take money out of the CEO's paycheck, it takes the money straight from the waiters and service staff that daily make your life wonderful. I am sorry that you can't find a way to be happy, but these people have families that they are supporting on $2 an hour. Get a grip on your self righteousness.[/QUOTE]

My first thought was to not respond to these uncalled for stupid comments, but then it is necessary to point out that on our last night, we had dinner with 3 British couples. All of them were furious about this cruise, and urged us to write a letter, as they all intend to write letters. Are they also silly Brits?

[Coralc]

20% is a nice gesture if you intend to sail with Royal Caribbean again. We had an awful Carnival cruise (many years ago) and they gave us 25% off a future cruise, a two category upgrade, plus a fruit basket offer.

It was nice of them to offer it, but we never sailed with Carnival again. :)

[Oville]

[quote name='chloe kitty']My first thought was to not respond to these uncalled for stupid comments, but then it is necessary to point out that on our last night, we had dinner with 3 British couples. All of them were furious about this cruise, and urged us to write a letter, as they all intend to write letters. Are they also silly Brits?[/QUOTE]

Chloe, are you unhappy with the compensation?

I followed the three blogs/threads from those who were willing to share their western TA journey with us and I thank them for doing so. Their blogs were honest, upbeat and critical when necessary. Art had a some issues but for the most part he tried to be even handed. The one constant on all three blogs was your negative comments about the cruise. At the time, I wished you had started your own blog/thread as you became a distraction to their hard work with your endless and repetitive complaints.

So, do you think the compensation offered is fair and, if not, what would you like.

Thank you. Edited November 8, 2014 by Oville

[internetwhiz]

[quote name='roysmith99']I always regret commenting but just have to do so.

1. Did anyone really expect Royal Caribbean to have all the work completed on time - they certainly would not have done so.

2. It must have been very difficult for those people who did not enjoy their Cruise because of the problems, I empathise, having suffered several similar issues and I feel for each one who did not enjoy the experience.

3. The terms and conditions of the cruise are very clear.... You pay your money and take your chances.

4. Where is the "tragedy" - did someone die and we have all missed it?

5. With all of the thousands of loyal C & A guests rushing to the private lounges each night the rest dk the ship must have been a haven for those wanting a quiet drink.

.

Please feel free to criticise me for my comments...[/QUOTE]


We were on the cruise. Many of us booked the cruise in April of 2013. At that time, there was no mention of what was being done in Drydock other than a mechanical checkup and a facelift for carpeting, etc. We had NO IDEA of the extent of the construction when we booked. Heck, I don't even know if RC knew how much they were going to do to the ship, else they would have scheduled more than two weeks to complete it.

This cruise was not a tragedy. However, I'm D+ and it was my first transatlantic. The staff appeared to have no leadership to get additional activities scheduled, offered free movies, and they could have made us comfortable the almost four hours we stood in the promenade and in lines onshore to debark. We were not offered water, soda or anything and our Seapasses didn't work. I asked some of the RC staffers to get us water or drinks to be told that they couldn't but none bothered to ask a supervisor.

The lack of care and communication were the biggest issues. We had a good time onboard with friends and out CC group had lots of functions. Was not a tragedy at sea, but many things transpired that are just not the norm for RC.

We had no problem getting a drink. The solarium bar was pretty empty and we had drinks loaded on our Seapasses.

Those who are critical of us don't seem to be those who sailed with us. The unregulated crowd pushing at the doors of Southampton terminal was unlike anything I had seen. It was dangerous.

On other cruises, customs agents board the ship and cruisers file through the dining room showing their documents. I have no clue why that was not done in UK.

Finally, Oasis-class ships should never be deployed in cold weather environments. This ship isn't built for that, but it's wonderful in the caribbean.

I will take the 20% offered. However, I think we are very entitled to it. Not my worst cruise ever, and not tragic. Some of it was just great. I'll close with a quote from Lincoln: most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be. There are always some people who choose to focus on being unhappy. If this sailing was the worst tragedy someone has in their life, they don't know it but THEY ARE BLESSED!


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[Coralc]

I think you deserve it as well.

The cruise contract says that you will receive a cruise, awful or not. Lack of enjoyment is not covered.

20% off of a future cruise is not head over heels wonderful, but it is an acknowledgement of a less than stellar sailing and a nice gesture by the cruise line.

[Cindy]

[SIZE="3"]I think it's a reasonable response to the things that went wrong on the TA. I'm always a little puzzled when RCI decides to compensate, because there doesn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to the amount. I wasn't there, but as I'll be on the Oasis in a week I eagerly read everything that was posted both during and after the crossing, and I thought the reports were fair and balanced.

Weather aside, because it's totally out of RCI's control, there were a number of things they could have done better, and most of them were problems of their own making. The most glaring errors they made, in my opinion as an onlooker, were their failure to monitor and adjust when problems arose, their failure to communicate, and their failure to take ownership of the problems and put the needs of passengers first.

I've never had a poor customer service type of experience on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but I'm trying to temper my expectations for my sailing on the Oasis next Saturday. A number of shows have been rescheduled with e-mail notification, and one was cancelled with no notification at all.:( Our Chef's Table which we were really looking forward to was also cancelled. It appears that things on the Oasis are still in flux, and nobody on the RCI end of the phone line knows why.:confused:[/SIZE] Edited November 8, 2014 by Cindy

[royzer76]

[quote name='tanzer22pilot']One lady fell down the stair at the Aqua theater and ended up with a major head injury. A few days later there was an Alpha call and it was our understanding that someone passed away.

Once again, you can tell who was onboard this cruise and who was not.[/QUOTE]

Did anyone find out how the lady who fell was? We were sitting nearby and the thud was scary.

Not wanting to dwell on someone's injury but again another example of bad management. That show should have been cancelled. The boardwalk and the aquatheatre are a major accident waiting to happen in the rain.

[insidecabin]

[quote name='Big_G']Now you're just guessing.

[COLOR="red"]unlike the US in the eu and uk it has never been a requirement to empty a ship of pax where they are B2B or multiple embarking port. What made this RCI trip different?
[/color]
Rehearsals over night or before they got on the ship? These aren't grade school plays. Me thinks you've lost any remnant of objectivity.[/QUOTE]

Its what the cruise lines do for shows they plan/rehears them ashore before bringing them to the ships. extra rehursals overnight would have freed up the theatre.

cats had 3 weeks of rehearsals planned while the ship was operating with pax.

one of the headliner commented it messed up their normal show on the ship. Edited November 8, 2014 by insidecabin

[shipshape sam]

Cruise lines allow for no delays or issues when they dry dock IMO. Thus, they are rushed and probably take short cuts at end to get dry dock done. Been on only one cruise that was first sailing after dry dock. It was on Celebrity Infinity in 2006 and it was a great sailing. Not extensive changes though. They did change the port of embarkation after we had booked flights/hotel. Lucky for us it changed from Fort Lauderdale to Miami or vise versa.

The reason, is $$$$ and we are talking lots of $$$. They, and I would agree, try to minimize the time the ship is not making lots of $$$ for them. They could not rush as much and have a mini cruise, then start back with normal itineraries, but they don't from what I can see. That way they have not lost a week cruise and the associated $$$, still allowing for time in dry dock to do a good job. Secondly, they need to train crew when adding cabins. There HAS to be new issues with cabin addition that need to be addressed. Guess they work in out on the first sailing and those passengers are the 'test' AND should get some compensation for their participation in working out the kinks.

To me the biggest issue was the addition of additional cabins and reduction of public space. I loved our Allure cruise and look forward to sailing her again. Would not consider Oasis. Will miss not seeing 'Cats, the musical'. Hope to get on Allure before she is 'fixed'. :rolleyes: Edited November 8, 2014 by shipshape sam

[Travel1989]

We were on the sailing and had a great time. We always found space along the Promenade for four of us to play cards and have a drink, saw the shows we wanted to without waiting in lines. Who wouldn't have thought there would be long lines for the first showing of Cats? We went the second day with no reservation and no line. Go figure. Same for shows that were cancelled due to weather, of course the next showing will be more crowded, it's just logical and same happens on the seven day sailings.

 

We were on the Westbound crossing and had a wonderful time.

The indoor lounges were crowded most days which I am sure was due to our lousy weather for most of the crossing, however we never failed to find a spot along the Promenadell to play cards or enjoy some time with friends. Evenings we were able to go stand by in most all the shows (did not go to Cats, will save that for next sailing).....

 

Conflicting posts :confused: Were you able to see cats without reservations or long lines?

[insidecabin]

But how do you mess up the tv system so bad.

every day somthing different didn't work.

 

one day you could book things but not view your bookings then could view but not book, the system does not take acount of time changes, account access was intermitant.

 

there were still references to the seafood an donuts that had gone.

 

menus not on the system and when they finaly arrived the wrong order.

 

there seemed to have been no planning to have this ready in time.

 

the construction was never planned to be finished in drydock.

Edited November 8, 2014 by insidecabin

[insidecabin]

Conflicting posts :confused: Were you able to see cats without reservations or long lines?

 

There was a longish line form for the first show started at 6:45 for 8:30 not sure what happened to standby

the second show was afternoon and was not full so no need to line up.

 

I think when they finally decided to put on the afternoon show a lot of people switched from the evening ones so there were free seats at all shows.

 

The way the CD managed the communication of the extra show was appalling.

Edited November 8, 2014 by insidecabin

[SoBe2010]

That's interesting. When I have flown through London in the past I always cleared customs there and do not recall ever having to clear customs again in any other EU city that I went on to (Usually Brussels, Frankfort, and Rome). Now I used to do those flights 3-4 times a year and that was 10 years or so back so my memory might be playing tricks on me.

 

UK is the EU and costums Union. However they have not signed the Schengen agreements.

This means basically no costum control within EU however you have to go thru Passport/ID control.

[internetwhiz]

I think it's a reasonable response to the things that went wrong on the TA. I'm always a little puzzled when RCI decides to compensate, because there doesn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to the amount. I wasn't there, but as I'll be on the Oasis in a week I eagerly read everything that was posted both during and after the crossing, and I thought the reports were fair and balanced.

 

 

 

Weather aside, because it's totally out of RCI's control, there were a number of things they could have done better, and most of them were problems of their own making. The most glaring errors they made, in my opinion as an onlooker, were their failure to monitor and adjust when problems arose, their failure to communicate, and their failure to take ownership of the problems and put the needs of passengers first.

 

 

 

I've never had a poor customer service type of experience on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but I'm trying to temper my expectations for my sailing on the Oasis next Saturday. A number of shows have been rescheduled with e-mail notification, and one was cancelled with no notification at all.:( Our Chef's Table which we were really looking forward to was also cancelled. It appears that things on the Oasis are still in flux, and nobody on the RCI end of the phone line knows why.:confused:

 

 

I just wonder how long RC will go before they hire talented computer programmers and web experts to fix the issues a poor IT causes, Cindy. You issues stem from that

 

The issues of people on the ship queuing for tickets, most of whom were Southampton boarders , an IT issue Their entertainment on the web told them it couldn't be booked, yet Rotterdam boarders could. We shared show information with CC members, and many called and made reservations. This says their computer programs/web interface were not programmed properly to handle a dual embarkation sailing.

 

IT causes many of their issues.

 

RC couldn't control the weather, and captain had to make a choice. Cooler weather or 30 ft waves, the remnant of a storm that churned out to sea. He made the correct choice. What the staff and their leader, the cruise and activity directors did not do was to plan and execute alternate plans, given the weather.

 

I think your Oasis sail should be fine. They have had two weeks already to iron out the kinks. I still think Oasis is a great ship. I just think poor planning by corporate and staff on the ship exacerbated our issues.

 

 

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