Mariner 10/15 - RCCL's Corporate Reply

[Cruise_Couple]

Royal Caribbean claims it does not discriminate in their letter to you but isn't that exactly what they did to you by not allowing you access to all areas of the ship that others were allowed to access? If the solarium is closed for a particular group without prior warning (BEFORE THE CRUISE SAILED)(and allowing you enough time to cancel or rebook) to every booking passenger then I think that is some form of discrimination! You were not afforded the cruise experience you paid for through no fault of your own and the "group" was given preferential treatment.

[Harlow2]

Royal Caribbean claims it does not discriminate in their letter to you but isn't that exactly what they did to you by not allowing you access to all areas of the ship that others were allowed to access? If the solarium is closed for a particular group without prior warning (BEFORE THE CRUISE SAILED)(and allowing you enough time to cancel or rebook) to every booking passenger then I think that is some form of discrimination! You were not afforded the cruise experience you paid for through no fault of your own and the "group" was given preferential treatment.

 

Cletourn - you hit the nail on the head! That was exactly my complaint. We felt that we were actually the ones that were being discriminated against by not being allowed to use the public spaces, the solarium in particular - especially since I try to stay out of the sun - the solarium was our only pool option which was taken away from us. Had I known ahead of time, it without a doubt, would have affected my decision to take this particular cruise. We, too are off to Princess next year - even with the "brownie riot" incident! We were also Platinum members who are basically disappointed in how the entire incident played out and RCI's nonchalant attitude toward customer satisfaction and complaints - from all passengers including members of the infamous group. They just seemed to want to put their head in the sand and hope it will go away. One thing that appears to be going away is RCI's customers from this cruise.

[SherriZ366]

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).

Thanks for the link.

 

One thing about a large group booking versus a "spontaneous" event like the brownie riot is that one can read these boards and get informed about various groups. You can then find the groups postings on the internet and avoid those cruises if you don't want to sail with them. The Bears are next sailing on the NCL Pearl on Nov. 7, 2007.

[joetrizeo]

wow. this is making me re-think cruising totally.

 

hey all, my names joe and this is my first post on the RCI boards by the way.

 

this crap happens on every cruise line. i've read stories on Carnival, Costa, Princess and now RCI.

 

I've been thinking about switching to Royal Caribbean, assuming the clientel is a little more mannared and 'classy' than other cruise lines. however it seams they have their problems as well.

 

cruising is a HIGHLY social, interactive way to vacation. I guess i chalk it up to that...

 

later

 

-Joe

[Christy1120]

What happened to prompt this letter? I can't figure it out. Can someone fill me in??

[FitzLA]

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

 

 

Very true. The bears group sailed on Princess last year, and the same reaction was had by all then. And they will be sailing on NCL next year, and I am sure the NCL board will look just like this. Don't get me wrong, I do not condone any of the actions of the bears and how it was handeled. But if people keep leaving cruise lines cause they were not happy with the response, pretty soon they will not have a cruise line to travel on. It would be nice if the cruise lines had a site that people could look at to see what large groups will be on, but they would never do that. This is going to continue to be a problem in the future and there is no way around it. The cruise lines gave a half baked appology and I don't understand what any one else is looking for. There isn't much else they can do. I would be interesting, however, to see how many people aboard that cruise actually complained. I know CC only represents about 1% or so of cruisers.

[PhoenixCruiser]

What happened to prompt this letter? I can't figure it out. Can someone fill me in??

 

Click here for some interesting reading :eek:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=432013&highlight=Bears+Royal

 

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[Christy1120]

OMG, I thought you were referring to The Chicago Bears. :) :) I feel like an idiot now. Wow...interesting reading.

[Sue L]

Cletourn -

the solarium in particular - especially since I try to stay out of the sun - the solarium was our only pool option which was taken away from us.

 

 

I am confused on this point, there were some posts that said the solarium was closed the last couple of days of the cruise. But then there were many others that said that it was NOT closed but there were signs and guards basically warning people that the Bear's were there and that anyone could go into the solarium and many posters did and had a wonderful time. So was the solarium really in fact closed or were people just warned away?

[Cruise_Couple]

There isn't much else they can do.

 

Bologna!!! There is a lot they can and should do! All of the passengers rights should have been protected... not just the "group's". All of the rules should have been strictly enforced for everyone. All inappropriate behavior should have been dealt with swiftly and assertively. There is no excuse for allowing any group to interfere with other passengers in any way manner or form. The cruise lines do have an obligation to ALL the passengers and should be held accountable when they screw up. I understand you can't discriminate against any particular group and that they have a right to be there the same as the rest of us but they MUST conform to acceptable standards of behavior and the cruise line MUST guarantee a safe and acceptable environment for everyone. I know many will not agree but there is a degree of rights and my right not to be exposed to inappropriate behavior IS GREATER than their right to behave inappropriately!

[FitzLA]

Bologna!!! There is a lot they can and should do! All of the passengers rights should have been protected... not just the "group's". All of the rules should have been strictly enforced for everyone. All inappropriate behavior should have been dealt with swiftly and assertively. There is no excuse for allowing any group to interfere with other passengers in any way manner or form. The cruise lines do have an obligation to ALL the passengers and should be held accountable when they screw up. I understand you can't discriminate against any particular group and that they have a right to be there the same as the rest of us but they MUST conform to acceptable standards of behavior and the cruise line MUST guarantee a safe and acceptable environment for everyone. I know many will not agree but there is a degree of rights and my right not to be exposed to inappropriate behavior IS GREATER than their right to behave inappropriately!

 

I agree with you and have always agreed with the complaints of the passengers who were affected. However, RCI appologized in the letter and I can't see them doing anything else. What would you expect them to do? And lets not forget that many of the letters written by people on this board were people who were not even aboard Mariner for that cruise. What should RCI do for them? Nothing. Like I said, I agree with you. But if people stop cruising RCI because of this incident, they are going to run into problems with other cruise lines as well. The Bears have cruised on many lines, and any time there is a large group, the cruiselines get a myriad of complaints.

[TexasMom2]

Thanks for the link.

 

One thing about a large group booking versus a "spontaneous" event like the brownie riot is that one can read these boards and get informed about various groups. You can then find the groups postings on the internet and avoid those cruises if you don't want to sail with them. The Bears are next sailing on the NCL Pearl on Nov. 7, 2007.

 

The Bears are back on Princess before November, here is the link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=451488

 

So with all of the problems and uproar on Princess last year, they are having them back, but it appears that they learned a lesson and the group is chartering the whole ship. Perhaps RCI has learned the same lesson and that's all we can expect after the fact. I believe RCI did their best to deal with the situation at the time, just like Princess.

[SherriZ366]

The Bears are back on Princess before November, here is the link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=451488

 

So with all of the problems and uproar on Princess last year, they are having them back, but it appears that they learned a lesson and the group is chartering the whole ship. Perhaps RCI has learned the same lesson and that's all we can expect after the fact. I believe RCI did their best to deal with the situation at the time, just like Princess.

Full ship charters work really well for big groups.

[bdjam]

The Bears are back on Princess before November, here is the link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=451488

 

So with all of the problems and uproar on Princess last year, they are having them back, but it appears that they learned a lesson and the group is chartering the whole ship. Perhaps RCI has learned the same lesson and that's all we can expect after the fact. I believe RCI did their best to deal with the situation at the time, just like Princess.

As usual, you know not of what you speak (or post for that matter). RSVP, a well known gay vacation company that charters full ships two to three times a year has chartered Caribbean Princess - their first Princess cruise was on Diamond Princess this fall as was very successful. The Bears group is not chartering the whole ship, RSVP is. RSVP has chartered Carnival and HAL ships for over 10 years. They do not charter RCI company ships, however another gay travel company – Atlantis – does.

Face it – the “uproar” doesn’t really have anything to do with a large group – it has to do with who makes up that group.

[PhoenixCruiser]

As usual, you know not of what you speak (or post for that matter). RSVP, a well known gay vacation company that charters full ships two to three times a year has chartered Caribbean Princess - their first Princess cruise was on Diamond Princess this fall as was very successful. The Bears group is not chartering the whole ship, RSVP is. RSVP has chartered Carnival and HAL ships for over 10 years. They do not charter RCI company ships, however another gay travel company – Atlantis – does.

Face it – the “uproar” doesn’t really have anything to do with a large group – it has to do with who makes up that group.

 

WOW, that was a bit harsh :rolleyes: My mini "uproar" really is about large groups taking over a ship if you must know! It has NOTHING to do with the makeup of the group.

 

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[TexasMom2]

As usual, you know not of what you speak (or post for that matter). RSVP, a well known gay vacation company that charters full ships two to three times a year has chartered Caribbean Princess - their first Princess cruise was on Diamond Princess this fall as was very successful. The Bears group is not chartering the whole ship, RSVP is. RSVP has chartered Carnival and HAL ships for over 10 years. They do not charter RCI company ships, however another gay travel company – Atlantis – does.

 

Face it – the “uproar” doesn’t really have anything to do with a large group – it has to do with who makes up that group.

 

Hello, Brian. Welcome to the RCI board. The info was taken from the Princess board. The "uproar" was how the lines handled the behavior at the time, and to some people, the fact that they didn't receive any apology for certain areas of the ship being off-limits, or certain inappropriate acts made in public. Nowhere have I mentioned anything about "who makes up that group." So what is your point, exactly?

[Aquahound]

Face it – the “uproar” doesn’t really have anything to do with a large group – it has to do with who makes up that group.

 

That's right, it does. I'll be truthful here. It's who makes up the group......and how those who make up the group are acting. ;)

And, how the lines handle the problem.

[mojo4trav]

Just got an extra copy in the mail today; I suppose they wanted to make sure I got the message! ;)