Mariner 10/15 - RCCL's Corporate Reply

[mojo4trav]

I have received the letter and it is almost exactly the same form letter others have reported getting here on the board.

 

I scanned and attached the letter for those who are interested. In a nutshell, they failed to take responsibility for the lack of action to address the behavior of the group. It seems as if RCCL is trying to avoid litigation or something of that effect.

 

At this point, we are done with RCI. I will not continue to patronize a company that does not take responsibility for their actions and allows passengers, on either side of the proverbial fence, to be harrassed on their ships.

 

[PhoenixCruiser]

A bunch of BS if you ask me :mad: :mad:

 

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[Aquahound]

Well, that response was exactly what I expected a large company like RCI to give. I, for one, am not surprised.

Of course, I did not experience any of this and I do not feel the anger that I'm sure mojo4trav has. So, I say this very subjectively.

Just curious...Does anyone know how other cruise lines have responded to complaints of this exact nature?

[Sue L]

Mojo,

 

Can I ask what you were expecting and what would have kept you with the line? These same complaints were made for last year's cruise on I believe Princess and the response was similiar.

 

Unfortunately, from some of the previous posts I think there was wrongdoing on both sides of the issue and I think this is the only way they could respond

 

 

Sue

[piercetc4]

sometimes things happen that we don't care for- i am sorry that you did not get the response you desired- its your choice to not sail rci anymore-

personally, i can understand both sides but would not let that experience keep me from going on the cruiseline i really like...........so far..............hope your future cruises meet and exceed all your expectations-

[mojo4trav]

One should not assume we had any involvement with a 'side' of the disputes onboard between the Bears and the Straight Club Members. We had no involvement in either 'camp' nor in their public displays of stupidity. I expected RCI to personally address the issues I raised in my original letter and subsequent phone conversations with their office. When I take the time to write a letter to a company and express my concerns I expect the same thoughtfulness in the reply. Unfortunately, all I received was a form letter noting that my concerns were forwarded to the appropriate teams.

 

It was all a carefully crafted blob of jelloed-bullsh*t. I'm allergic to gelatin. ;)

[Aquahound]

It was all a carefully crafted form blob of jelloed-bullsh*t. I'm allergic to gelatin. ;)

 

I know you're mad, but this comment made me laugh! I wonder who the "appropriate teams" are.

[tortugas]

we just got off enchantment, and there was a large group of salsa dancers onboard... nice people and a delight to watch. I was very curious about them, and asked several RCI crew about them, as I was hoping to see more of the dancing. The crew was VERY tight lipped, and it was clear they had been told not to discuss the group. I wonder if that has anything to do with recent events??

[mojo4trav]

I know you're mad, but this comment made me laugh!

 

I laughed while typing it!

 

I wonder who the "appropriate teams" are.

 

Something tells me Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum nameplates grace their desks. ;)

[mojo4trav]

we just got off enchantment, and there was a large group of salsa dancers onboard... nice people and a delight to watch. I was very curious about them, and asked several RCI crew about them, as I was hoping to see more of the dancing. The crew was VERY tight lipped, and it was clear they had been told not to discuss the group. I wonder if that has anything to do with recent events??

 

I can't imagine why RCCL would be so secretive! Unless they were Salsa Dancers on a voyage sponsored by a Salsa Porn Company. Ole! ;)

[woohoo]

Mojo,

 

Can I ask what you were expecting and what would have kept you with the line?

 

Sue

 

I didn't experience what Mojo did but in general when you take time to let

a big company know about issues/frustrations a more personal/specific

apology is in order. There was nothing sincere about that letter.

 

Woohoo

[kenf333]

I laughed while typing it!

 

 

 

Something tells me Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum nameplates grace their desks. ;)

 

A couple of football teams come to mind.

[wolfgang36]

We are through with RCI too. We do not want to cruise with a cruise line that does not care enough to respond to a real complaint. In reading these posts, we are amazed at some of the things folks complain about. Not getting the table they wanted at dinner, a dry porkchop, missed port, standing in line!! Geez! We were exposed to pornography for a week, my husband was verbally harrassed, and we could not use the Solarium because it was full of big, hairy guys making out, and all we get is a form letter?

 

We are broken hearted. We were RCI's biggest cheerleaders. We would have been Diamond next cruise, but we will never feel the same way about RCI. Our leaving probably will not hurt them a bit but our opinion of them is ruined. I will never recommend them again.

 

Someone said in another RCI post that Captain Johnny is gone. Did he go home for holiday? Does anyone know?

[PhoenixCruiser]

Just curious...Does anyone know how other cruise lines have responded to complaints of this exact nature?

 

Several years ago we were on a RCI cruise with my sister and her husband. A large group was onboard with us and Royal closed off several areas throughout the week for them. Most of the members were rude, not only to non-group passengers, but to the staff as well. I wrote a letter to RCCL and they offered us 25% (each) off of our next cruise if purchased within a year.

 

Even though I wasn't on this ship, I think RCI should have offered some type of compensation to those whose vacation wasn't what they expected.

 

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[wolfgang36]

We have been cruising with RCI twice a year but have decided to switch to once a year and pay more. This may be topic for another thread. . .Don't think we'll see the Bears on Crystal. We loved RCI. Any suggestions

for a more upscale cruise experience?

[PhoenixCruiser]

We have been cruising with RCI twice a year but have decided to switch to once a year and pay more. This may be topic for another thread. . .Don't think we'll see the Bears on Crystal. We loved RCI. Any suggestions

for a more upscale cruise experience?

 

If we were to leave RCI, we would look at Princess (and keep an eye out for future Bears Cruises lol). Good luck to you :)

 

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[Coralc]

We received the offer of a fruit basket and 2 category upgrade offer in a letter from Carnival once, following a very bad cruise. We received a 25% off future cruise certificate while still on board. Getting the offer by letter was like pulling teeth and required TA involvement. It didn't really matter, because it was our first, last & only time ever sailing on Carnival.

 

I understand how you feel. Once you are soured on a cruise line, hotel, resort, airline or other expensive service...it is very difficult to work up any enthusiasm for giving them a second chance. Your experience did sound very unpleasant, maybe try other lines for a few years, and see how it goes? :)

 

It always comes back to the fact that they honored the cruise contract. Bad vacations unfortunately don't count if they took you "somewhere", fed & housed you and and fulfilled their terms of service. So sorry, I know it doesn't make it any better. :)

[mojo4trav]

This having been our Diamond-qualifying cruise, we have some experience of what to expect from RCI. Unfortunately, their delivery fell short on this sailing, and therefore we'll give someone else our business for now.

[TexasMom2]

Your options will be small - the Bears sailed on Princess last year with the same results and will be on NCL next year.

 

Maybe HAL would be safe and they have interesting itineraries.

[TexasMom2]

On another note, the Crown Princess, their newest ship, experienced the "brownie riot" over the summer. Young adults rioted in the atrium and then proceeded to the pool deck for some vandalism. Ship security did nothing. You may want to search youtube.com for the video before you decide to "jump ship".

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

A bunch of BS if you ask me :mad: :mad:

 

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I'll second that!

 

I guess the bears $$ spoke louder than everyone else's.

 

I hope you and others don't give up.

 

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[dachshunddoglover]

I, too, am so disappointed in RCI. No other issue we could ever have on a cruise ship is as important as this one. Their security is so lame it is like having no security at all. I just made Diamond also, and was previously a loyal 100% RCI cruiser. Now - I will never have that total loyalty to them again. I will sail on them again, and check constantly for any groups on board, but if a great deal comes up on another line, then I will now consider it. It's sad when you loved something so much and now you're disillusioned with it. E-Beth

[SherriZ366]

On another note, the Crown Princess, their newest ship, experienced the "brownie riot" over the summer. Young adults rioted in the atrium and then proceeded to the pool deck for some vandalism. Ship security did nothing. You may want to search youtube.com for the video before you decide to "jump ship".

Could not find the Brownie Riot on You Tube. What do you need to put into the browser?

[SherriZ366]

Someone said in another RCI post that Captain Johnny is gone. Did he go home for holiday? Does anyone know?

Captain Johnny is on holiday. RCCL now has 10 week off/10 week on rotation. He should return in late January -- either for our cruise (1/21/) or the week after.

[TexasMom2]

Could not find the Brownie Riot on You Tube. What do you need to put into the browser?

 

My apologies - the video is on google http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6013796904912739346&q=brownie&hl=en

 

This link talks about Princess' response to some passenger letters http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=416457

 

There were some other threads, the original was poofed due to arguing among posters.

 

The point is, there are issues on every cruise line. Princess made the decision not to clamp down on the rioters because it may have turned into more of a safety issue by doing so. I don't know what the answer is, only that I wouldn't stop cruising a line because they didn't handle a situation properly. No one on Princess got compensation for the brownie riot, or the Bears cruise from last year (you won't find any threads on that, they've all been deleted).