Royal Caribbean did not deliver on expectations

[sshubinski]

I have sailed 6 times previously on Holland America and had wonderful experiences every time. I was notified by RC that the itinerary for this cruise was going to have to change due to one engine not working and another needing maintenance. As a result, the ship could not travel as fast or as far and complete the itinerary. RC chose to remove what would have been the most interesting stops including Icy Point Strait and Dawes Glacier and offered us a meager $100 shipboard credit for the inconvenience. This was an insult to me and I attempted to contact RC numerous times prior to the cruise, once on their website, 3 times by phone and 2 more times by email. There was no response at any time. Once onboard the ship, I found out the cruise on the same ship that went out the week before us received a full day's sailing credit. At this point, I spoke to guest services on the ship and every one I spoke with said it was a corporate decision and there was nothing they could do. They did provide a number I could call onboard but I was on hold once for 2 hours and another time for 45 minutes and still never spoke to anyone. Finally, when I returned, I contacted the guest services department by email. They did respond the next day but basically said there was nothing else they could do for me. For a cruise line that likes to bill itself as "The Best Cruise Line Overall", The fell very short. I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

[taglovestocruise]

3 minutes ago, sshubinski said:

I have sailed 6 times previously on Holland America and had wonderful experiences every time. I was notified by RC that the itinerary for this cruise was going to have to change due to one engine not working and another needing maintenance. As a result, the ship could not travel as fast or as far and complete the itinerary. RC chose to remove what would have been the most interesting stops including Icy Point Strait and Dawes Glacier and offered us a meager $100 shipboard credit for the inconvenience. This was an insult to me and I attempted to contact RC numerous times prior to the cruise, once on their website, 3 times by phone and 2 more times by email. There was no response at any time. Once onboard the ship, I found out the cruise on the same ship that went out the week before us received a full day's sailing credit. At this point, I spoke to guest services on the ship and every one I spoke with said it was a corporate decision and there was nothing they could do. They did provide a number I could call onboard but I was on hold once for 2 hours and another time for 45 minutes and still never spoke to anyone. Finally, when I returned, I contacted the guest services department by email. They did respond the next day but basically said there was nothing else they could do for me. For a cruise line that likes to bill itself as "The Best Cruise Line Overall", The fell very short. I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

We are on Quantum in 30 days, Vancouver to Honolulu.  I think engine problems will still be a issue. Royal has been reaching out via email for the last few months warning of this very problem. All the cruise lines are having major problems right now, you may never cruise again... Bye Bye.

[firefly333]

16 minutes ago, sshubinski said:

I have sailed 6 times previously on Holland America and had wonderful experiences every time. I was notified by RC that the itinerary for this cruise was going to have to change due to one engine not working and another needing maintenance. As a result, the ship could not travel as fast or as far and complete the itinerary. RC chose to remove what would have been the most interesting stops including Icy Point Strait and Dawes Glacier and offered us a meager $100 shipboard credit for the inconvenience. This was an insult to me and I attempted to contact RC numerous times prior to the cruise, once on their website, 3 times by phone and 2 more times by email. There was no response at any time. Once onboard the ship, I found out the cruise on the same ship that went out the week before us received a full day's sailing credit. At this point, I spoke to guest services on the ship and every one I spoke with said it was a corporate decision and there was nothing they could do. They did provide a number I could call onboard but I was on hold once for 2 hours and another time for 45 minutes and still never spoke to anyone. Finally, when I returned, I contacted the guest services department by email. They did respond the next day but basically said there was nothing else they could do for me. For a cruise line that likes to bill itself as "The Best Cruise Line Overall", The fell very short. I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

If you had posted before I would have suggested you email mbayley who does answer, but no guarantee he would have given you the credit you wanted. 

 

If you signed up here just to say you will never cruise rcl again, I guess I dont care what you have ro say if that's the case. Enjoy your other cruises. I've had a few not awesome cruises. Said carnival never again after I lost my car to hurricane Ike and got dumped in new orleans. Now I'm more wary. 

 

Hi and bye .. idk why you signed up to tell us never again. Posts like yours never go well on cc. Sometimes you just dont have the cruise you hoped for and for that I'm sorry.

[FPP777]

You called 3 times and nobody ever answered?l Or did you call 3 times and not get the response you wanted? 

[Bushdog]

Thanks(???) for the post of your experience.

*shrug*

[Seville2Cabo]

47 minutes ago, sshubinski said:

RC chose to remove what would have been the most interesting stops including Icy Point Strait

Except for the Zip line,  icy strait was not a great port. Back on the ship by lunch. You did not miss much 

They had really good Bloody Mary‘s

[matj2000]

Welcome to Royal Caribbean

 

And Cruise Critics.

 

Also because of your post.

 

I cancelled all my upcoming RCCL cruises....

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, sshubinski said:

The fell very short. I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

Keep your hopes high and your expectations low. 😁

[loman]

You wont get any sympathy here from us cheerleaders .🤣

[frank808]

You tried another cruise line. Sorry it did not meet your expectations. Keep sailing HAL, by all means, as you enjoy what they offer. 

[lifes-a-beach]

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, sshubinski said:

I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

That is a good thing. The ships are too crowded as it is.

[coaster]

The never sail Royal phrase hurt your feedback here. Expecting everything to be perfect is not a good mind set. Had no AC on HAL in our cabin and someone commented here they moved from our exact cabin the week before. What is the chance of that? Anyway, still would sail with HAL again. Nothing is perfect.

 

Ok to share your disappointment, but the never sail again take is going to the extreme. HAL cruisers we have been with onboard were the most cranky of all of our cruises also.  I sense a HAL trend in regards to the demographic they seem to attract the most to put it as lightly as possible.

Edited September 5, 2022 by coaster

[Merion_Mom]

53 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Except for the Zip line,  icy strait was not a great port. Back on the ship by lunch. You did not miss much 

They had really good Bloody Mary‘s

I LOVE Icy Strait Point.  Fabulous whale-watching.  Great Alaskan ambiance.

[Seville2Cabo]

5 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I LOVE Icy Strait Point.  Fabulous whale-watching.  Great Alaskan ambiance.

Whale watching in Alaska is not the best. They are feeding. In Cabo they are breaching and much better experience. 

[Merion_Mom]

Just now, Seville2Cabo said:

Whale watching in Alaska is not the best. They are feeding. In Cabo they are breaching and much better experience. 

 

We shall have to agree to disagree.  😉 

[Seville2Cabo]

6 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

We shall have to agree to disagree.  😉 

I guess. But I’ve been whale watching 20 plus times, and Alaska was by far the worse experience. 

[Driftwoodgal]

11 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Whale watching in Alaska is not the best. They are feeding. In Cabo they are breaching and much better experience. 

I just got off the Serenade August 14 sailing. We had wonderful views of whales and tails and juveniles on our cruise. Tons of whales breaching and tales. Had an independent tour with whales, seals and orcas. We do independent tours so not sure it this is the difference.

 

[Aquahound]

26 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I LOVE Icy Strait Point.  Fabulous whale-watching.  Great Alaskan ambiance.

 

Agreed.  I also love the new skyride in ISP.  Guess some people just want to see Diamonds International when they step off the ship.  😉  

[Seville2Cabo]

Just now, Aquahound said:

 

Agreed.  I also love the new skyride in ISP.  Guess some people just want to see Diamonds International when they step off the ship.  😉  

No. But what else was in the port besides the zip line?  
We don’t do DI. But the port has some limited shops, one restaurant and the zip line. You must be easily entertained 

[neverbeenhere]

I wasn’t going to post, but…

 

Classic Manifesto post. 
 

RCl was allowing cancellations for these cruises , should have taken the refund instead of suffering. 
 

Holland America is a wonderful cruise line, enjoy.

 

 

I’m still hoping to write my own Manifesto someday!!!!

 

 

BTW: Maui for best Whale action. Make sure you check the calendar for proper months. 

 

 

 

 

[coaster]

Did not know RCI was allowing a refund on these cruises. Good to know. They did the right thing.

36 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

I wasn’t going to post, but…

 

Classic Manifesto post. 
 

RCl was allowing cancellations for these cruises , should have taken the refund instead of suffering. 
 

Holland America is a wonderful cruise line, enjoy.

 

 

I’m still hoping to write my own Manifesto someday!!!!

 

 

BTW: Maui for best Whale action. Make sure you check the calendar for proper months. 

 

 

 

 

 

[coaster]

• HAL did not warn us that AC would not work in the cabin we booked. Not offered a refund if we cancelled. They knew about the issue before we boarded. Anyone taking a shower in our cabin just made the lack of AC more unbearable due to the steam factor. Slept at night with no shirt or bed covers to tolerate the heat.

 

Hats off to RCI for offering a refund and to disclose the issue on this Alaska sailing. OP has little ground here to demand more compensation or be so surprised. OP just joined to Cruise Critic to complain. Really a waste of time for me and other's here to respond.

Edited September 5, 2022 by coaster

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, sshubinski said:

I have sailed 6 times previously on Holland America and had wonderful experiences every time. I was notified by RC that the itinerary for this cruise was going to have to change due to one engine not working and another needing maintenance. As a result, the ship could not travel as fast or as far and complete the itinerary. RC chose to remove what would have been the most interesting stops including Icy Point Strait and Dawes Glacier and offered us a meager $100 shipboard credit for the inconvenience. This was an insult to me and I attempted to contact RC numerous times prior to the cruise, once on their website, 3 times by phone and 2 more times by email. There was no response at any time. Once onboard the ship, I found out the cruise on the same ship that went out the week before us received a full day's sailing credit. At this point, I spoke to guest services on the ship and every one I spoke with said it was a corporate decision and there was nothing they could do. They did provide a number I could call onboard but I was on hold once for 2 hours and another time for 45 minutes and still never spoke to anyone. Finally, when I returned, I contacted the guest services department by email. They did respond the next day but basically said there was nothing else they could do for me. For a cruise line that likes to bill itself as "The Best Cruise Line Overall", The fell very short. I will NEVER cruise with Royal Caribbean again!

You knew the situation before setting foot on the ship.  You knew what the compensation was. The change was within the contract you signed when booking the cruise. You could have cancelled, but decided to proceed. I think that is the end of the story. 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

We are on Quantum in 30 days, Vancouver to Honolulu.  I think engine problems will still be a issue. Royal has been reaching out via email for the last few months warning of this very problem. All the cruise lines are having major problems right now, you may never cruise again... Bye Bye.

The ship has been operating fine with one engine down due to the fire. 

 

HOWEVER, Royal decided to proceed with a planned overhaul (routine maintenance) of a second engine during this period. With two of the main engines offline, the ship could not attain the speed required complete the original itinerary. 

 

It was a business decision to take the second engine offline rather than rescheduling the maintenance. Granted, an engine overhaul requires dozens of contract mechanics to come on board and would take months and months to reschedule... putting the second engine at risk since it would beyond its planned maintenance. 

 

If you have not been notified of any deviation, your cruise will be fine. The engine problem will not be an issue (assuming that the planned maintenance of the second engine completes on time).