Delayed Majesty Boarding

[FtLauderdaleCruiser]

It's RCCL's corporate office. Good luck on your cruise.

[FtLauderdaleCruiser]

Areed. We're taking a break from Royal for a while after this trip. What a mess. Other than the formal night in the centrum, did you ever see any senior officers? I think they were hiding.

[doclove]

I think they did have someone come over from the corporate office show up on Friday. We were towards the front of the line when they were getting ready to let us on the ship. A woman pushed her way through the crowd and was flashing credentials and telling people to let her through. When she got to the front she talked to security and told them to let her through. The dock side security were not happy since they ship visitors were supposed to be onboard and through security before guests but they let her through. She then went up to the ship representative and they started laughing and talking.

 

Like was said previously, the fault is solely with the senior staff and corporate offices. I understand that things happen, but it is how you respond to those that shows the type of company you are. I felt bad the first day for the shore representatives. I spoke with one who said that they had been there since 6am and wouldn't be going home until midnight. They would then need to come back the next morning at 6am. That along with dealing with an unruly crowd with no idea how to handle the situation. When they finally opened the ropes to let people through from the terminal people started pushing and shoving to get through because there was no organization.

 

Just a really bad situation all around.

[SMN73]

The fact that there wasn't an actual riot or fight says great things about the passengers on board, even the young rowdy party crews. Things could have gotten out of control to the point of getting hurt. RCI sure did nothing to help the situation and I don't think they were nearly equipped to handle that massive crowd.

[SMN73]

I just called the 305-539-6000 corporate guest relations number. What I've been told is "The president and board of Royal Caribbean are currently reviewing all aspects of the boarding problems and sailing of the Nov 6 sailing and are working on s compensation package. Once a compensation package has been agreed upon it will be emailed to the emails on the reservations." So we wait. Again.

 

I did get a big laugh when I opened my email and saw the guest satisfaction survey waiting for me. They asked...

Edited November 9, 2015 by SMN73

[holly1227]

I was on the August 28th sailing. Embarkation was a nightmare. Compensation was a joke. I sent royal this review and no response.

 

Tuesday 8/25 received notice that boarding will be delayed until 4-6pm due to a water system maintenance issue. This means our hotel stay the day prior to the cruise could have been avoided.

 

Friday 8/28 we arrive at port at 2pm and we hear rumors that the previous passengers have not departed. Our shuttle driver also said there was a bacteria in the water. Not sure if this was true. We receive a notice that we will be given $20 shipboard credit each to cover lunch and other expenses incurred. I felt this was too little given we had to stay overnight and had to buy lunch. We are bussed from the port to Bayside to kill time and told to come back no later than 4pm. We come back at 3pm to be safe and wait in a line (if you can call it that) with hundreds of people. We were out there at least 30 min without shade and drenched in sweat. We finally get back on a bus around 3:30 and we stayed parked there without an explanation for over 60 minutes. Other busses full of passengers drove by, uncertain if they are at the port or in another spot not moving.

 

Finally got off bus just to wait outside for another hour in the heat. Someone passed out behind us and was given CPR. Very scary. Happy to see she was ok after all that.

 

Got sign n sail card at 6pm. In another huge line after that.

 

Got on the ship around 7. Missed muster drill bc we weren't on the ship and no word about a make up one.

 

Didn't receive a notice about itinerary change to Freeport until we heard announcement on speaker later that night. No time to research or plan anything at that port so we booked a snorkeling excursion with ship.

 

Woke up extra early to get ready for excursion. After we get ready we received a notice the excursion was canceled. I wish we would have found out sooner so we could have enjoyed a relaxing morning and slept in. Tried to make the best of the day and sat by the pool all morning. Not very relaxing with the constant clanking of machinery at the port.

 

Our day in Nassau was good. Thankful storm Erika dissipated and we had one good day.

 

The staff on the ship was great. Especially Domingo and Diog in the starlight dining room and our room attendant Inyoman for room 3011. Food in main dining room for dinner was very good (desserts just ok). Lunch at windjammer was very good (breakfast just ok).

 

Noticed a lot of cracked windows on deck 4 in the main areas. The pool deck was VERY slippery. I almost took a couple bad falls.

[Able Seaman H]

That is absolutely horrific.

 

With an ageing fleet, (Majesty is now 23 years old), stuff like this is only going to happen more. I know the company are planning a bit of a refit in 2016 but my understanding was that was to install an outdoor screen by the pool rather than rip out the services.

 

With new ships being built it's easy to forget that 11 vessels in the fleet are now 15 or more years old.

 

But the the most telling factor for me is the total disregard Royal Caribbean show to their cargo. I can't bring myself to type guest or customer because you guys were treated like animals. It reminds me of our experiences at New York on Explorer a few years ago.

 

Mention cruising and all the advertising idealistic images pop into your head. The reality can be very different indeed.

 

Despite our diamond plus status we haven't cruised on RC for a while now, the last trip being an extended family trip. There's talk of another one for 16 people planned next year and RC was suggested. A couple of weeks in the Caribbean so probably 32 cruises (back to back), hence being on here now to see how things are going.

 

I shall forward this thread to all involved.

[Jazzin]

Hi! Right before I made the finishing touches on my family's cruise this December via The Majesty of The Seas I read this topic and now I am concerned.

 

Anymore updates from those back from sailing?

 

We can request a refund but it will only be 50% of the total given back to us.

[loubetti]

That is absolutely horrific.

 

With an ageing fleet, (Majesty is now 23 years old), stuff like this is only going to happen more. I know the company are planning a bit of a refit in 2016 but my understanding was that was to install an outdoor screen by the pool rather than rip out the services.

 

With new ships being built it's easy to forget that 11 vessels in the fleet are now 15 or more years old.

 

But the the most telling factor for me is the total disregard Royal Caribbean show to their cargo. I can't bring myself to type guest or customer because you guys were treated like animals. It reminds me of our experiences at New York on Explorer a few years ago.

 

Mention cruising and all the advertising idealistic images pop into your head. The reality can be very different indeed.

 

Despite our diamond plus status we haven't cruised on RC for a while now, the last trip being an extended family trip. There's talk of another one for 16 people planned next year and RC was suggested. A couple of weeks in the Caribbean so probably 32 cruises (back to back), hence being on here now to see how things are going.

 

I shall forward this thread to all involved.

 

23 years is old?? You are an "able seaman", really?

 

15 years is old too?

 

Ignorance is bliss; that is all I will say to you.

[Able Seaman H]

23 years is old?? You are an "able seaman", really?

 

15 years is old too?

 

Ignorance is bliss; that is all I will say to you.

 

For a first tier cruise line like Royal Caribbean yes, I think 23 years is getting on a bit.

 

If you throw amazing service at people, offer a high space per passenger ratio, fill them with fine food, drown them with complimentary liquor and generally deliver the niche market luxury experience then possibly you can stretch things out a bit.

 

Similarly if you use age as whole reason for being on board then a classic vessel has patina.

 

The problem is a modern cruise ship just gets older. Machinery and services age. You can change the carpet easily enough but unless you drag her out of service for several months tackling the more embedded jobs is impossible. Cruise lines want to throw a team in for a few days, freshen up the outer veneer and get it back out earning money but they are only plastering over the cracks.

 

Ignorance is indeed bliss.

 

I would say the sweet spot for a tier one cruise line to get rid of ships is between 15-20 years. Beyond that they start getting tired. Throw in a turn around every 3 or 4 days and you're talking a very hard life.

 

Henry :)

Edited November 12, 2015 by Able Seaman H

[SMN73]

I talked with the CDC in Miami this morning. They did confirm there is an open case of Legionnaires on Majesty of the Seas. They could not give me any other information. However, when I mentioned that many passengers weren't told of this and were not given paperwork I got several "ohhhhhhhh"s. She told me they couldn't give me any paperwork, but advised me to skip guest services and call their legal department.

 

I did call guest services again just to be sure. The rep this morning told me no other compensation would be given. I don't plan on letting this go.

[ryano]

For a first tier cruise line like Royal Caribbean yes, I think 23 years is getting on a bit.

 

If you throw amazing service at people, offer a high space per passenger ratio, fill them with fine food, drown them with complimentary liquor and generally deliver the niche market luxury experience then possibly you can stretch things out a bit.

 

Similarly if you use age as whole reason for being on board then a classic vessel has patina.

 

The problem is a modern cruise ship just gets older. Machinery and services age. You can change the carpet easily enough but unless you drag her out of service for several months tackling the more embedded jobs is impossible. Cruise lines want to throw a team in for a few days, freshen up the outer veneer and get it back out earning money but they are only plastering over the cracks.

 

Ignorance is indeed bliss.

 

I would say the sweet spot for a tier one cruise line to get rid of ships is between 15-20 years. Beyond that they start getting tired. Throw in a turn around every 3 or 4 days and you're talking a very hard life.

 

Henry :)

 

You make very valid points IMO. But what do I know? :o Ive seen people here refer to Freedom of the seas as "old" :rolleyes:

 

Considering most cruisers want the latest and greatest and all the bells and whistles and the fact that most mainstream cruiselines retire ships around the 20 - 25 year old mark, 23 years is indeed pretty old.

 

I dont know if Majesty is considered "old" or not to most. She most certainly is tired though sounds like. They REALLY need to work on this old gal if they plan on keeping her around.

[Able Seaman H]

With Royal Caribbean the ship IS the cruise.

 

If it fails the cruise fails. The numbers on board are too large to be won over after the event, certainly not with $25.

 

The problem of course is that with on line fares as low as $75 per person per day RC might argue there isn't a lot of wriggle room.

 

At the other end of the scale it is possible to spend over $850 per person per day with embarkation day classed as day 1. Amazingly it's costing us less to cruise on Seabourn Sojourn over Christmas & the New Year. I'm confident they would do more than offer $25 to sweep the problem under the carpet.

 

Given that on departure day you're chucked off by 9.00am it really is important that day 1 runs smoothly on a "3 day" cruise.

 

Anyway, head office have made their position very clear. Thanks for sharing on here.

[330searay]

Legionair disease would be worrisome but I also think the plumbing problems would also not be all that fun to deal with especially after all the hold backs. However on another note ,I love some of the older vessels in the fleet, Grandeur in particular. Dan

[dividedsky]

We just got off the majesty the sailing after this with no issues at all. Crazy the difference one cruise can be to another. I was talking with one of the crew members last night and he gave me the impression these CDC inspections come at random times.

Edited November 13, 2015 by dividedsky

[ddawson711]

is anyone else trying to cancel the trip do to the open case on majesty of the seas

[Steelbreeze]

We are still going on Dec. 4th cruise, a vacation from our 2 week family vacation vacation! My DH works for the department of health, water division, he knows all about this and IS NOT WORRIED!

[goodml]

Still sailing on Dec 11. Fingers are crossed.

[FtLauderdaleCruiser]

I talked with the CDC in Miami this morning. They did confirm there is an open case of Legionnaires on Majesty of the Seas. They could not give me any other information. However, when I mentioned that many passengers weren't told of this and were not given paperwork I got several "ohhhhhhhh"s. She told me they couldn't give me any paperwork, but advised me to skip guest services and call their legal department.

 

I did call guest services again just to be sure. The rep this morning told me no other compensation would be given. I don't plan on letting this go.

:( I received my "Dear John" letter today. I still can't believe they didn't disclose the "nature" of their water system issue. ESPECIALLY since this was the second time in 9 weeks.