Did I miss it? (Empress)

[chrisnsteph1022]

I'm new to this board. I heard about it on my cruise that just got back today. I thought by the time I got to this board tonight, there would be a ton of posts about this week's cruise on the Empress. I'm sure I must have missed it, because a TON of people on the cruise were extremely unhappy. Where is the post about this? (If no one has mentioned it, I'll fill you in on what happened. I just don't want to be redundant.)

[curlyd]

I don't see anything - what was so bad about your experience?

[chrisnsteph1022]

Well, the first night of the cruise, one of the propellers broke. We found out Tuesday morning, as we weren't in Key West as expected. They said we'd get there about 5 hours late and they'd try to fix it. That was slightly annoying as all the excursions were rescheduled and those that had booked outside RC were basically screwed (luckily we booked with RC). So we got there 5 hours late and left 10 hours late. They said they had a temporary fix, but not enough to get us to the rest of our ports (Cozumel and Costa Maya), so they were sending us to Nassau, where they would try to fix it permenantly and get us to another port, possibly. The problem is, most people who have been on a cruise have been to Nassau (most of the ones I talked to) and no one was happy about this. Plus, the vibrating was so bad, silverware and plates were almost shaking off the table in the dining rooms. It was miserable. And loud. Not a good dining experience. We went to Cococay on Friday and had a revised compass, then they cancelled a couple things on the compass (including the final art auction, where a $500 bid credit was to be given away) AFTER rescheduling it. They attempted to 'compensate' us, but from what I heard, not many were happy with it. I heard word of a petition going around, and newspaper articles being written. I also heard (not sure how he knew this) someone say they (RC) knew there was a problem with the prop for a year and a half.

 

Personally, I like RC and am now a Diamond member after this cruise. I plan on going back, but I will NEVER go back on the Empress and had this been my first cruise, I wouldn't go back to RC at all.

[mmsalmon1987]

Not doubting you, I understand how rumors get started. But how can anyone know it need replaced for a year and a half????

 

We will be on the Empress in a few weeks. I don't worry about these things too ofter, it's in their best interest to fix it properly. It is unfortunate that it happened on your vacation.

 

How did you like CoCo Cay? It is one of our favorite places.

 

Thank you for the information.

[justaknucklehead]

I guess that because I just love the cruising part of cruising, missing ports wouldn't bother me in the least. Relaxing on board, the ship life is what I love about cruising.

[chrisnsteph1022]

I'm not sure how someone would know how long the thing's been broke. Supposedly he heard it on a previous cruise. Not sure why a crew member would have told him. Anyway, we didn't get off the ship at Cococay. We've been 6-7 times. It's nice, but there's not a lot to do, so we just hung out at the pool. Just as nice, but no sand. I wasn't really impressed with the ship itself from the beginning. I'm really not a negative person, but this was definitely the worst vacation I've been on. The dining room was one of the most beautiful, though. We've been on 5 of their ships and this was our least favorite. I was just really looking forward to the ports because I've never been to those. Also, I know the port charges for those ports are more than Nassau. The difference between the 4-night that goes to the ports we visited and the 5-night that we were supposed to go on (for a JS category) is $600. I realize there's an extra night in there, but the average cost per night is much less than $600, and the compensation was only $200 per person for a suite ($150 for all other rooms).

[seastar2]

I also was on this cruise. Yes we arrive late in Key West and sailed late which was fine with me cause I wanted to see sunset in Malloy Sq. I wasn't thrilled with going to Nasau again but what the heck I am on vacation we went to the beach. Coco Cay was new to me, I actually like the layout and facilies batter then Princess Cays. Had a great time there and saw and then touched the snout of a manatee in the inlet were the parisail boats were tied up.:D

 

Okay..RCCL gave each person $150 in OBC, fine with me I only owed $12 bucks went I got off. Could more have been done? why the Capt and the cruise line have the right to change the itninery of a sailing. Were we left in the dark possiblity at times. I wasn't thrilled with the sea day activites, a few pool games otherwise not much..why no movies were run in the theater yet one was on a port day? But I feel this was the regular seaday schedule which was just changed from Friday to Tuesday.

 

One of my travel companions heard about the petition but we never saw one nor do I think I would have signed it..What was the reason for it???

 

I had some issues with the trip mainly with a poor cabin stewart this is unrelated to the prop issues. Why no map of the ship layout in the cabin or given out at embarkation?? The pushing of the fancy drinks with the colletor glasses on deck is very annoying. How does one bring glass drink glasses home with out the proper packing materials????

[cruz1234]

We sailed on the Empress in May, didn't have any extra vibration or even a hint that any thing could be wrong w/ the props. It is disappointing when your ports are changed, especially when you end up in Nassau and you've been there more than once. On Disney we ended up in Freeport instead of their private island, seemed not much could be worse than that, too us. So if you get an onboard credit, can it be used towards tipping? Not a big drinker or gambler so my bill is usually pretty slim except for tipping, so if the OBC can't be used for that I would essentially have to TRY to run up my tab. I would be very annoyed if if missed the orts and couldn't even use up the OBC.

[Merion_Mom]

cruz1234: You can always go to the casino and take out "gambling cash." They don't ask and don't watch what you actually do with the cash.

 

:)

 

Carol

[cruz1234]

Thanks Carol,

I hope I don't ever need that info since it seems to come only in bad situations, but at least I'd be able to use the OBC.

[kc320]

There had been a post earlier from someone who said her son was on the EOS & was upset because of the missed ports. They failed to explain which ship it actually was, guess we know now.

 

All I can say is I hope they have it fixed now, cause in 8 more days we'll be sailing the Empress & can't wait!!!

[sabu24]

The $150 credit that was given was not a shipboard credit. If you did not use it you could have it credited back to your credit card or take it as cash. After many cruises I did not find the itinerary change as an issue. As per the cruise line documents the Captain has the right to change the itinerary when he sees a need.

[tpmartin]

I'm sorry to here about all of your troubles on the Empress, we will be on her doing the southern caribbean out of San Juan on the 31 of Oct.

Someone posted earlier that they said the crew new about the problem 1 1/2 yrs ago. The ship did a massive drydock less than that so I doubt that could be true since she was out of water that would have been taking care of.

I remember when the Diamond Princess hit the pier and bent their prop they had it fixed in about 2 weeks.

Remember missed ports also causes the cruise line to lose money.

[debshomespun]

We were on the Empress 9-3-05 sailing to Key West and Grand Cayman. I would much rather be in Key West in the evening hours to see the sun set. We had a wonderful cruise. No problems with the engine this trip. Our service was impeckable, alll crew was very friendly. We sat on deck 11 near the hump the 2 sea days, and the bartenders did not annoy us. Occassionally, they would ask us if we needed anything. I only had 1 drink the whole trip, and my DH had 3 beers. I would love to have the OBC and we love sea days. They had the belly flop and hairy legs contest as usual. Some bingo and art, a food demonstration and that is about the end of the sea day activities.

 

We could have floated at sea for all 5 days and hit no ports, and that would have been fine with me. As long as we were on a cruise ship. The ship is also in very good shape. They did a very nice job in their refurbishing. We have been on 6 other RC ships, and the Empress is right up there with all the other ones, even the Voyager class.

 

IMO, the ship was small, and the map was not needed to find your way around. There is a ship directory on every wall by every elevator and stairs. It was very hard to get lost.

 

We would go again in a heartbeat on the Empress. Sorry to hear you did not enjoy your cruise. And also, coco cay is one of our favorite places along with Labadee.

 

Every ship has the right to skip ports, and change itinery. If the itinery is what you are looking for in a cruise, maybe you need to switch to a land based vacation.

[Lou123]

In reply to earlier post, we were one of the ones with a petition on Empress of the Seas and are presently writing a letter which will go out soon to those in charge of such a mishandled situation onboard this ship.

To those who were not on this sailing, let me assure you that there are lots and lots of passengers with very sad stories who felt that RC broke a promise of a trip to Mexico and that it was not an "unforeseen circumstance" but rather a disregard of THEIR maintenance problem that caused this incident.

Yes, many people just like to cruise and sun, but there are also many, many who wish to sail to ports they've never been to and probably won't get to again.

Did WE and others feel fairly treated? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! The response to the situation was handled inappropriately and with no sensitivity to these passengers, some of whom had waited years to take this trip on RC. Also, those in charge of customer relations did not respond kindly to the lines of passengers expressing their concerns and discontent. We understand changing itineraries for weather, but not for negligent maintenance......

If any of you would like a copy of the letter we are sending out, you can email us at thebrokenpromise@gmail.com :(

[mrscintn]

In reply to earlier post, we were one of the ones with a petition on Empress of the Seas and are presently writing a letter which will go out soon to those in charge of such a mishandled situation onboard this ship.

To those who were not on this sailing, let me assure you that there are lots and lots of passengers with very sad stories who felt that RC broke a promise of a trip to Mexico and that it was not an "unforeseen circumstance" but rather a disregard of THEIR maintenance problem that caused this incident.

Yes, many people just like to cruise and sun, but there are also many, many who wish to sail to ports they've never been to and probably won't get to again.

Did WE and others feel fairly treated? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! The response to the situation was handled inappropriately and with no sensitivity to these passengers, some of whom had waited years to take this trip on RC. Also, those in charge of customer relations did not respond kindly to the lines of passengers expressing their concerns and discontent. We understand changing itineraries for weather, but not for negligent maintenance......

If any of you would like a copy of the letter we are sending out, you can email us at thebrokenpromise@gmail.com :(

 

 

Just a quick question as to how you know it was negligent maintenance to the prop? Is this because of a rumor that floated around the ship??? Or are you or someone else within your group an engineer who inspected this prop or maintenance records? Like I said just a quick question, not intended to turn into a debate........

 

I was on the ship for 11 nights in April/May and we had no vibrations/problems whatsoever.........and yes she was in drydock not even a year ago for a refit.

[TPCRUISER2]

Thanks Debbie For Your Coments On The Empress Of The Seas. Sorry Fellow Passengers On The Last Cruise With The Propellar Problems. I Had A Great Cruise! Seamed Longer Than 5 Days, Great For Us Cruise Veterans. Yes Sunset In Key West Was Great! And Got A Free Scuba Dive In Nassau.

P.s. Have Sailed The Good Ole Girl Several Times And Will Sail Her Again In October!

[newcruiserdave]

Sorry that you missed the ports you had anticipated, planned and hoped for. Also sounds like the vibration was pretty discomforting. I know nothing about propellers so can't comment on whether it was a maintence problem or whether RC did all they could or not. I know that good communication with the passengers about what is going on is very important, as is pleasant responce from customer service (now that's a job I wouldn't want when things are sour.) Did the vibration persist throughout the cruise, or do you think it was repaired?

[cruisin' mom]

Hi, just jumping in here- first post! We were on the cruise, too. No, the problem was not fixed. The captain had said there was a "temporary" fix made in Key West. They were supposed to made a permanent fix in Nassau, but there were no divers that went down, so I'm not sure what happened there. There was really bad vibrating on the last night. It was during the early seating of dinner.

 

I was just wondering where the Empress was now? I *think* she is supposed to be in Key West today. When my husband and I were leaving yesterday, we talked to an employee who said that she "wasn't going anywhere until the problem was totally corrected".

 

I must say, there was really poor communication about the entire situation. My husband and I missed the announcement (we were onshore in Key West) that said we would be going to Nassau instead. So, when we got back on the ship there were rumors flying around already. My husband went to go talk to someone to find out exactly where we were going. There was a HUGE line of people all complaining about everything. My husband was told that reps from RCI were flying in and were going to hold meetings onboard with everyone to make sure we all knew what was going on, etc., etc. To my knowledge, that never happened. However, I do know that they did send some "higher ups" in because they were sitting at a table next to ours at dinner.

 

Like I said, I'm really interested to know where she is now, if the problem was only temporarily fixed?

[prairie_fox]

You will have to let me know how it is, we leave on ours Oct 10th, and I hope all is fixed and running well for it is a port change and a long time at sea if something doesnt work right.

Lesia

[Jeepers385]

Your right I wasn't on this trip so I don't know what happened and feel bad for those of you who missed your ports but I have been on cruises where we didn't go to scheduled ports because of weather related problems. Was I upset yes but I also know that if there are problems that the cruise line has a responsibility to keep passengers safe. Would I have been upset if I came back to the ship or was on it and didn't know what was going on, yes and they probably should have put a notice in each and every room to tell everyone. Hopefully in the future for any of RCL's ship they will recognize this and notify everyone appropriately. To give everyone monetary credit is nice and you don't always get it. People nowadays expect credit but in reality they do not have to do it.

 

I've been on the Empress 2 times before (when she was the Nordic Empress) and have scheduled her for next May and personally for me I'm looking forward to my trip again onboard the Empress.

 

To Lou123 as for your statement of RCL's promise of a trip to Mexico well sometimes unforeseen things happen and that's just what happened. As for your claim of neglience "how do you know?" think about it. Not trying to start and argument but unless I knew for sure I wouldn't say it.

 

Debbie

[davidaperryman]

The Key West web cam for Mallory Square shows the Empress of the Seas Docked.

 

http://webcam.keywest.com/

[cruisin' mom]

Debbie, I agree with you. Like I said, we were on the cruise. I'm not going to lie about the fact that we were totally disappointed to miss out on Conzumel, AND have to go to Nassau instead. We both hate Nassau! I do understand that things can just happen and there's nothing that anyone can do about that. However, if I found out that it was due to an error (and I'm not saying that it was) made by RCI, then I would be upset. I'll be interested to hear any stories from the passengers that are on her now....

[RocketJ]

In reply to earlier post, we were one of the ones with a petition on Empress of the Seas and are presently writing a letter which will go out soon to those in charge of such a mishandled situation onboard this ship.

To those who were not on this sailing, let me assure you that there are lots and lots of passengers with very sad stories who felt that RC broke a promise of a trip to Mexico and that it was not an "unforeseen circumstance" but rather a disregard of THEIR maintenance problem that caused this incident.

Yes, many people just like to cruise and sun, but there are also many, many who wish to sail to ports they've never been to and probably won't get to again.

Did WE and others feel fairly treated? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! The response to the situation was handled inappropriately and with no sensitivity to these passengers, some of whom had waited years to take this trip on RC. Also, those in charge of customer relations did not respond kindly to the lines of passengers expressing their concerns and discontent. We understand changing itineraries for weather, but not for negligent maintenance......

If any of you would like a copy of the letter we are sending out, you can email us at thebrokenpromise@gmail.com :(

 

I'm one of those passengers that is not exactly happy! It was our first cruise, we are not beach people and the Bahamas would never be our choice of vacation (not to mention the fact that I could have gotten there a lot cheaper than what I paid to Royal Caribbean for the priviledge.)

 

We picked the itinerary with Mexico as our goal. We were very excited about Mayan ruins, both being history fanatics. $300 per couple was barely a drop in the bucket compared to the total I spent on my cruise and if what Fran says is true about it not being exclusively shipboard credit, that was never adequately explained, especially when it was credited directly to our onboard account!

 

Whether there was actual negligence or not on the part of Royal Caribbean I cannot say, but maintainance of their ship is something they have control over. I would have been far more understanding if the itinerary change had been due to whether conditions but for something to break so badly that you're 4 1/2 hours late to your first port and then can only fix it well enough to get back to your home port for permanent repairs says to me you may not have been maintaining it properly to begin with.

 

I too will be writing to Royal Caribbean to express my displeasure and if we ever go on another cruise again it won't be with Royal Caribbean.

 

Joanne

[cruisin' mom]

Joanne,

 

I looked over the letter that was put in our stateroom about the credit. Yes, it was onboard credit, and said that it could "be applied to any onboard purchase".