Amenities Closure on Quantum of the Seas :-(

[ltc12345]

Hi all

 

We are sailing on Quantum of the Seas, Barcelona to Dubai, on 13th May. I have just received an email from RCI, advising the following:

 

As we make our transition from the United States to China we will be doing some enhancements onboard to prepare for our arrival in China. Due to the extent of the work required in certain areas, some venues will need to be closed while these improvements are taking place. Music Hall will need to be closed for the duration of your sailing. The live entertainment usually presented in Music Hall will be relocated to other venues in the ship. "Mamma Mia" will not be in production during your sailing in order to prepare for our new show "Sequins and Feathers." However, the theatre will be open and providing a variety of world-class guest entertainers Emperors of Soul, Westcoast and Masters of the House as well as our own singers and dancers. Additionally, North Star will be closed for the last five days of your voyage.

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank you for your patience with the closures and your understanding regarding the work that may be visible from time to time, Royal Caribbean International would like to provide you with an onboard credit. This credit will be automatically applied to your onboard account. You may spend these credits at any venue on the ship – from the spa and shops to the specialty restaurants, bars, lounges, and the casino – and on shore excursions. The choice is yours.

 

The "gesture of goodwill" is, per stateroom:

 

Suites (Junior Suites & Above) - $500

Balcony - $250

Interior and Ocean View - $200

 

We have booked 2 balcony cabins/4 people. I am not at all happy :mad: and am of the view that the payment is not sufficient.

 

I have not sailed with RCI previously, although I have cruised with P&O on many occasions, and would welcome members' views as to what they believe would be fair compensation for the loss of the main show, plus the much lauded North Star.

 

Would anyone be able to advise if they have experienced such an occurrence with RCI and what was the outcome.

 

Any responses would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you

Lynda

[Paulxyz2004]

Let´s see, I think a generous compensation would be

 

Suites (Junior Suites & Above) - $500

Balcony - $250

Interior and Ocean View - $200

 

as non refundable OBC.

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

Personally, for me, what they have offered is more than enough. Whilst I can fully understand your disappointment, the North Star will be operational for some of your cruise, the Music Hall shows will be in other venues and it seems they are providing a lot of other entertainment in place of Mamma Mia. If it was me, I wouldn't have expected any compensation but that is just who I am. Now if actual facilities, ie, restaurants, bumper cars, rock climbing, flow rider etc were non operational, that would be a different matter.

 

On past cruises, shows have been cancelled, things closed for maintenance etc and it never even crossed my mind to think about compensation. I understood that these things happen.

 

I hope you can still enjoy your cruise.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Cruisingthesuitelife

[SadmanCruiser]

Hi Lynda, we are on the cruise before you.

 

A similar thing happened on the Mariner a couple of years ago when it repositioned to China.

 

Lots of venues were closed on the crossing and the Barcelona to Dubai cruises - we were given $100 o.b.c. total.

 

It was not only closed venues but lots of other work going on. Half of the casino was closed as tables were ripped out to put Chinese games in, the nightclub closed (I think it is now a casino for high rollers), the shops on the promenade were closed and changed into high end watch, jewellery and handbag shops, the list goes on....

 

The worst thing was the change of staff - many of the staff were Chinese, new to cruising, and spoke very little English.

 

Oh, almost forgot - there were crates stored all over the outside deck!

 

If we don't get Mama Mia on the crossing I will be p****d!

 

Pete

 

p.s. Having experienced this type of cruise, I don't believe the compensation is enough.

Edited April 10, 2015 by SadmanCruiser

[Susie51]

Nice obc! Sorry you will miss Momma Mia.

[Catcat222]

My view is that: they should advise these arrangements well in advance, not as late as this, and let the guests make the decision whether to join this particular cruise.

 

Music Hall is really no big deal as there are other bars and live music on board to make it up.

 

North Star missing 5 days out of a 16-night cruise is also sort of ok, because you can do it on the first part of the trip.

 

Missing Mama Mia is bad because it is a biggie on this ship.

 

What I am more concerned, apart from missing the above, is the construction noise / work one encounters on such a cruise. I can understand minor modifications, but major renovation is very different.

 

All in all, I hope you can still enjoy the cruise with the SeaPlex, the many restaurants and the ports. :)

[crnatraveler]

I received my email today also about the changes and personally I feel the compensation is not enough, RCCL has known for quite awhile about what changes were going to be made and should have informed us prior to final payment, I think it is pretty low on their part and have called to have my opinion known. Vicki

[spotted dog]

I am also not happy with the changes and think the OBC is not enough for this cruise type/duration. I talked with RCI and they were less than sympathetic. Their position is that travelers should expect them to make these types of significant changes on any trip.

 

Similar to a previous post on this thread, I would completely understand had RCI even marketed this trip with the potential for changes. At least I could have made my own decision about the significance of the change. Notifying passengers of this change this close to sailing seems disingenuous and a bit sneaky. One of the primary reasons we chose this sailing was to experience the new ship (and all of the amenities). Had we known these changes were going to be made, we would have just gone on the TA sailing.

 

We won't let this ruin our trip, but will chose other cruise lines for future trips.

[alinnj]

With all the $$$$$ they will be making with their new casinos, this OBC is a joke $ I would cancel ! They don't care :eek::eek: One word WOW !

[Biker19]

Two mistakes by RCI with this:

 

1 - they announced this ahead of time (anyone who read some of threads on what's going on with Quantum could have surmised this will happen) - they should have kept quiet about this and sprung it onto the guests while they were sailing - happened to those of us that took the maiden Quantum TA

 

2 - the OBC is half of what they are offering on the next leg (Dubai-Singapore)

Edited April 11, 2015 by Biker19

[little britain]

The fact that Mamma Mia ends in Barcelona as the show is swapping to Allure has been known for months so should not come as a surprise to anyone. Again, anyone who followed the Mariner repo would know / suspect that changes would be afoot. I think the OBC is very generous. Incredible wonderful amazing ports and experiences to be had on this itinerary.

 

 

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[ltc12345]

Two mistakes by RCI with this:

 

1 - they announced this ahead of time (anyone who read some of threads on what's going on with Quantum could have surmised this will happen) - they should have kept quiet about this and sprung it onto the guests while they were sailing - happened to those of us that took the maiden Quantum TA

 

2 - the OBC is half of what they are offering on the next leg (Dubai-Singapore)

 

 

I thought RCI were shabby by advising us this late in the day, to advise whilst sailing would be worse. Whoever took such a bad business decision should be dismissed!

 

I will be contacting RCI after the weekend to formally complain, but I appreciate from my fellow travellers' post who have complained that this will be a futile exercise.

 

Thank you to all for taking the time to provide your views. To my fellow travellers on the cruise, let's hope that we do not experience noise disruption that SadmanCruiser was subjected to. Like spotted dog has said, we will not let this spoil our cruise. I am very unimpressed with RCI withholding this information until this late stage, and think my first cruise with them will be my last.

Edited April 11, 2015 by ltc12345

[little britain]

I am very unimpressed with RCI withholding this information until this late stage, and think my first cruise with them will be my last.

...good to start with such a positive attitude......:)

[KBD1516]

I think they may be closing North Star for safety reasons because we will be in the most dangerous waters of the cruise those days. Could be simply to err on the side of caution. There's been no mention of work being done on it, so it might be for other reasons. Of course I have no idea why they are closing it, but I am glad they told us so we know to ride it earlier in the cruise.

[little britain]

I think they may be closing North Star for safety reasons because we will be in the most dangerous waters of the cruise those days. Could be simply to err on the side of caution. There's been no mention of work being done on it, so it might be for other reasons. Of course I have no idea why they are closing it, but I am glad they told us so we know to ride it earlier in the cruise.

 

Of course, wouldn't want to give the Somali pirates an easy target. They also usually stop people from going on the outside decks whilst in those waters too. Be prepared.

 

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[roxette]

Somalia is really far away from where Quantum of the Seas will be sailing.

[tomatosauce]

I had been thinking the same thing about the North Star although if there was an issue it would be due to the proximity to Yemen. Not running the North Star increases the flexibility where maneuverability is involved.

[KBD1516]

I hadn't thought about maneuverability but that is a good point. I would say not being a target but a 16 deck cruise ship with a 40 foot pink bear isn't exactly a low profile!

[little britain]

Somalia is really far away from where Quantum of the Seas will be sailing.

Actually all ships exiting the Suez canal into the Gulf of Aden and sailing round to Dubai take appropriate precautions against pirate attacks.