Royal Caribbean's unwelcoming policy

[Pontus]

On our cruise to Nassau on the Majesty of Seas food and service was good, but the company's unwelcoming policy in an unusual situation was surprising and unpleasant. Due to the hard wind the ship did not visit Nassau at all. The company could have been able to soften the disappointment in many ways, which would have cost practically nothing, but nothing was offered. No compensation was given, not even internet time at a reduced price, not to mention free. (The connection would have been free in Nassau at Starbucks.) When I asked for it, the replay was: "We owe you nothing." Perhaps this is true legally, but it does not tell good about the company's policy and shows its greedy attitude. Charge of the internet connection was $ 20 / day / device. Price is high, like all the other prices onboard: glass of wine $ 10 and bottle of water $ 3. The tendency to charge for everything possible created a very bad atmosphere.

[George C]

Same would have happened on all the major lines

[Clarea]

On our cruise to Nassau on the Majesty of Seas food and service was good, but the company's unwelcoming policy in an unusual situation was surprising and unpleasant. Due to the hard wind the ship did not visit Nassau at all. The company could have been able to soften the disappointment in many ways, which would have cost practically nothing, but nothing was offered. No compensation was given, not even internet time at a reduced price, not to mention free. (The connection would have been free in Nassau at Starbucks.) When I asked for it, the replay was: "We owe you nothing." Perhaps this is true legally, but it does not tell good about the company's policy and shows its greedy attitude. Charge of the internet connection was $ 20 / day / device. Price is high, like all the other prices onboard: glass of wine $ 10 and bottle of water $ 3. The tendency to charge for everything possible created a very bad atmosphere.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.:)

[molly361]

We were on the Monarch a few years ago and missed BOTH Nassau AND Coco Cay. We got nothing either but still had a great time:)

 

Edit- We did get our port charges refunded

Edited February 18, 2016 by molly361

[Merion_Mom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, Pontus.

 

Perhaps cruising is not the right vacation choice for you. Or perhaps you need to re-align your expectations.

[Jestocost]

Same would have happened on all the major lines

 

Not necessarily. I recall one cruise on another line where there were issues with tendering back to the ship in the afternoon, and everyone was offered a free glass of wine with dinner as a result. Not a big thing but it was something and that was a case where a port was not even missed.

 

That said, I never would expect anything under those circumstances but agree that any concession would be nice.

[wolfcathorse]

if you look closely at your final Seapass account, you'll probably see a refund of the port fees. That is all you're entitled too. Why would they give you free internet for missing Nassau? They don't give free internet when they miss CocoCay. Nobody is needing internet to change flights, you weren't going to get off at Nassau and fly home.

[ryano]

On our cruise to Nassau on the Majesty of Seas food and service was good, but the company's unwelcoming policy in an unusual situation was surprising and unpleasant. Due to the hard wind the ship did not visit Nassau at all. The company could have been able to soften the disappointment in many ways, which would have cost practically nothing, but nothing was offered. No compensation was given, not even internet time at a reduced price, not to mention free. (The connection would have been free in Nassau at Starbucks.) When I asked for it, the replay was: "We owe you nothing." Perhaps this is true legally, but it does not tell good about the company's policy and shows its greedy attitude. Charge of the internet connection was $ 20 / day / device. Price is high, like all the other prices onboard: glass of wine $ 10 and bottle of water $ 3. The tendency to charge for everything possible created a very bad atmosphere.

 

Not even a port charge refund?

[JTBCruiser]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I see this was your first post. I read many, many reviews before I finally signed up to post. I was on the Majesty back in Oct and fortunately, we were able to make the port. I had read multiple times prior to sailing, it would be a hit or miss and knew upfront, it was a chance we would not see it. With that said, I'd ask you to give RCI another opportunity. Try a 7 day cruise and if not up to your expectations, there are several other lines who might be a better fit for you. Good luck!

[ksuds]

You can't control mother nature and the safety of the ship and passengers comes first. Missing ports certain times of year is actually very common. If you review your statement, you will see you were more than likely refunded port charges.

[carterd2002]

Yep if a ship is unable to dock due to Mother Nature the passenger really has no recourse except refunded port charges, but I have heard of cruise lines giving discounts etc. for missing ports due to mechanical problems.

Edited February 18, 2016 by carterd2002

[wolfganghowell]

but the company's unwelcoming policy in an unusual situation was surprising and unpleasant.

 

Every cruise line contract states they might miss a port due to weather conditions. It is not unusual and missing a port can hardly be called unpleasant. Sorry you were disappointed. Since you just joined CC and this is your first post, if you cruise again, hopefully you will do some advance research next time. I'm sure your port fees were refunded to your onboard account.

[emdia43]

On our cruise to Nassau on the Majesty of Seas food and service was good, but the company's unwelcoming policy in an unusual situation was surprising and unpleasant. Due to the hard wind the ship did not visit Nassau at all. The company could have been able to soften the disappointment in many ways, which would have cost practically nothing, but nothing was offered. No compensation was given, not even internet time at a reduced price, not to mention free. (The connection would have been free in Nassau at Starbucks.) When I asked for it, the replay was: "We owe you nothing." Perhaps this is true legally, but it does not tell good about the company's policy and shows its greedy attitude. Charge of the internet connection was $ 20 / day / device. Price is high, like all the other prices onboard: glass of wine $ 10 and bottle of water $ 3. The tendency to charge for everything possible created a very bad atmosphere.

 

YOU do realize they make those decisions based on the fact it would not be SAFE to attempt to dock.....

You think you should be compensated for that?

[champagne123]

I cannot picture anyone on ANY cruise line saying "We don't owe you anything". Want to try again? I think any employee would be fired for saying something like that. Are you sure the employee didn't say something like...."I'm sorry, but......"

[tserface]

Yeah, it's really up to the "ship" what they do in cases like that. We've been on ships twice where they skipped Coco Cay because of wind or the tide. We weren't thrilled, but we knew there's only a reasonable chance we'd get to go there anyway since they seem to skip it often.

 

We had fun having another day at sea, but we were still sad not to have experienced Coco Cay... again.

 

I don't think they make these decisions frivolously. You're right though. Since they save a ton of $$$ by not going to the port (don't have to dock, people spend on board, more people decide to do specialty restaurants, they have extra bingo games and more gambling, etc.) you'd think something like offering free internet for the day would be a really good perk. It wouldn't be so great for someone who already paid for an unlimited package. But, it wouldn't cost them much to offer it.

 

I don't know if I'd consider the lack of this as "unwelcoming" because there wasn't any unfulfilled obligation, but I can certainly see your point that it wouldn't hurt for them to offer some "bones" for people's trouble and to ease the disappointment a bit.

 

Tom

[A&L_Ont]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.:)

 

Ground Hog Day all over again.

[dcgrumpy]

It's like deja vu all over again.

[Pontus]

I think you missed the point totally.

[Merion_Mom]

I think you missed the point totally.

 

WERE your port charges refunded to your SeaPass account?

[Merion_Mom]

Yeah, it's really up to the "ship" what they do in cases like that. We've been on ships twice where they skipped Coco Cay because of wind or the tide. We weren't thrilled, but we knew there's only a reasonable chance we'd get to go there anyway since they seem to skip it often.

 

We had fun having another day at sea, but we were still sad not to have experienced Coco Cay... again.

 

I don't think they make these decisions frivolously. You're right though. Since they save a ton of $$$ by not going to the port (don't have to dock, people spend on board, more people decide to do specialty restaurants, they have extra bingo games and more gambling, etc.) you'd think something like offering free internet for the day would be a really good perk. It wouldn't be so great for someone who already paid for an unlimited package. But, it wouldn't cost them much to offer it.

 

I don't know if I'd consider the lack of this as "unwelcoming" because there wasn't any unfulfilled obligation, but I can certainly see your point that it wouldn't hurt for them to offer some "bones" for people's trouble and to ease the disappointment a bit.

 

Tom

 

Tom, I would also add:

 

Perhaps they do "make more money" when you have to stay on board, but they end up with rather unhappy crew.

 

The crew REJOICE when the ship hits port. So many of them get to SLEEP - something they don't get nearly enough of - when the passengers get off in port.

 

:)

[champagne123]

Actually, I don't think we did. Some of us have been on CC for years. We know how it works.

 

When someone joins "today" after returning from a cruise (does not matter which cruise line).....it is almost always a complaint and/or looking for some sort of compensation. Is this not what you are doing?

[A&L_Ont]

I think you missed the point totally.

 

The point that you didn't read the contract prior to sailing regarding missed ports? Or the point that you did not get what you wanted?

 

Perhaps you missed the points directed at your orginal post.

[emdia43]

Tom, I would also add:

 

Perhaps they do "make more money" when you have to stay on board, but they end up with rather unhappy crew.

 

The crew REJOICE when the ship hits port. So many of them get to SLEEP - something they don't get nearly enough of - when the passengers get off in port.

 

:)

 

Not to mention the poor folks in Guest services ! I walk past and say Thank goodness I don't work there......

[DrD]

Of course RCCL is greedy, they are a for-profit, publically traded company. Their #1 obligation is to their investors, not to you.

 

Of course if they treat customers poorly it will possible affect their profits, but otherwise anything they can do to maximize profits is not only ok but it is their fiduciary responsibility to the investors. That's how capitalism works, like it or not.

[foxgoodrich]

I think you missed the point totally.

 

I understand your point, and also your disappointment. I think missing a destination would be worse on a 3 night cruise than on a longer one, but I've only done longer ones so I don't know that firsthand. A small token gift or discount from Royal would have been a nice gesture, even though the cruise contract says ports may be missed and no compensation will be given.

 

We have sailed 3 times with Coco Cay on our itinerary. And yet we have never been there!:( Each time we missed it weather was the problem, and we understood that tendering in would not be safe due to the weather, but we were still disappointed. We've always gotten a refund of port charge/tax when we missed a port, but never any compensation.

 

Missing ports due to weather is a risk we take each time we sail. We've been pretty lucky overall, but 0 for 3 at Coco Cay makes me really want to get there one of these days. So you may need to do what we've been doing...try again!:)

Judy