Soverign of the Seas should be SORRY ON THE SEA

[NYPFIA]

I'll start by saying I know this is a budget cruise but that isn't an excuse for everything. The problems started when we were an hour and a half late getting into Nassau. I had booked a shore excursion with Stewarts Cove which we missed. I knew it would be tight on time and made arrangements ahead of time should the ship be late. I later found out the ship always gets into Nassau between 12 and 12:30, not the 11:00am that was on the schedule. Next they allowed my 11 year old son to make purchases on his card which was punched to show he was not to be extended credit. After 4 trips to guest relations and 2 hours of my time the charges are still on my credit card. The only thing I heard was how sorry they were but no one took care of the problem. Each person just passed it along to the next. They have the merchandise back but I still have the charges on my credit card. The final straw was while getting ready to disembark. The message playing in the cabins giving instructions on the disembarkment procedure gave an emergency alert. It stated an incident in the UK had resulted in the terror threat being raised to red. It also said there were major backups at the airports. We had flights at 11:00am and were worried all the way to the airport. The threat didn't exist! The message was months old and never removed, or left intentionally to get people off the ship quicker. The shame of it is Royal Caribbean could care less.

[nlcentralchmps03]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

 

or left intentionally to get people off the ship quicker.

 

I can promise you, that this was not the case.

[billh65]

I'll start by saying I know this is a budget cruise but that isn't an excuse for everything.

I must say I really enjoyed our cruise starting on Memorial Day. Four days, my two daughters and their husbands and my wife ... we had a GREAT time, accomodating staff, better than average food, etc., etc.

 

But, I do realize that "things" can happen that will mar one's viewpoint. Sorry it had to be you.

[Nancyquilts]

Sorry about your experience. We've been on over 10 RCI cruises, and enjoyed every one, even tho' things didn't always work out as we had planned. Nancy

[kingsgirl]

Great, here we go again...come on guys, let's not be too harsh - it's almost christmas ;)

 

 

Sorry that you had a bad experience. I know from experience that the pursers desk can really suck! Other times they are awesome...just luck of the draw. I suggest writing to royal (if you post for a name and addy someone will post for you) telling them of your positive experiences along with your negative in a calm toned letter. It's the best thing you can do so hopefully they can change and learn from the problem so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Sorry you had those issues with the sovereign. We have been on her several times and always find it to be a fabulous experience. I have a 12 yr old DD who I do not allow to use seapass for purchases, so basically all she has is a room key and a means to get on and off the ship..

 

One thing that is very important to know is that even though you can do your online docs prior to sailing and set up the expense account on line and exclude people from charging when you are setting up these docs, it is real important to go to guest relations when you board and make for certain that the seapass your child has is DEFINATELY disabled for purchases. Not always are they set as no charge privileges even if you set it up that way in advance.

 

I have always gone to guest relations to check on this, (not because I think DD will shop) but just in case she looses the card, no one else can make purchases with it. Sometimes it is correct as I had preset, and sometimes it shows active..:eek:

also I go to the purser's desk every night and get a print outof charges before going to bed..this way I always know how much was spent on a day to day basis and there are no heart attack surprises at the end of the cruise. :eek:

 

Did I read that you returned the items and did not get a refund? You should have gotten a credit slip when you returned the merchandise and it should have automatically reflected a refund on your seapass account. Problem is, if you do not correct issues BEFORE leaving the ship, the chances for getting resolution are basically zero... good luck to you, sorry to hear this happened to you.

[FitzLA]

Lets just say that a few small incidences can sometimes over shadow the positives and make for a frustrating time. In any case, I find it hard to believe that the entire cruise was poor/ruined because of these few things. I am sorry that you had some issues, but I hope that you were able to make the best of it and not let it ruin your vacation. If you did have a good time with other aspects of the cruise, please let us know that as well. It is always nice to hear people take the good with the bad. Nothing is ever perfect. (well, expect maybe all my cruises);)

[Merion_Mom]

Perhaps your next cruise experience will be better, but perhaps you could make this happen by taking responsibility for your part of the vacation.

 

I'll start by saying I know this is a budget cruise but that isn't an excuse for everything. The problems started when we were an hour and a half late getting into Nassau. I had booked a shore excursion with Stewarts Cove which we missed. I knew it would be tight on time and made arrangements ahead of time should the ship be late. I later found out the ship always gets into Nassau between 12 and 12:30, not the 11:00am that was on the schedule.

Stuff happens. The ship is on the sea. When you book an excursion with a non-RC provider, they are not responsible for getting you to that excursion on time. Those are the chances that you take when you choose to use another vendor.

Next they allowed my 11 year old son to make purchases on his card which was punched to show he was not to be extended credit. After 4 trips to guest relations and 2 hours of my time the charges are still on my credit card. The only thing I heard was how sorry they were but no one took care of the problem. Each person just passed it along to the next. They have the merchandise back but I still have the charges on my credit card.

The hole punch in your son's SeaPass merely means that he is underage and cannot be served alcohol. It has nothing to do with the ability to charge using the SeaPass. Ultimately, you as a parent are responsible for your child's behavior and actions. The cruise line is not serving in loco parentis.

The final straw was while getting ready to disembark. The message playing in the cabins giving instructions on the disembarkment procedure gave an emergency alert. It stated an incident in the UK had resulted in the terror threat being raised to red. It also said there were major backups at the airports. We had flights at 11:00am and were worried all the way to the airport. The threat didn't exist! The message was months old and never removed, or left intentionally to get people off the ship quicker. The shame of it is Royal Caribbean could care less.

I am sorry that you were needlessly alarmed, but if you got off the ship more rapidly, you should be THANKING Royal Caribbean. Most cruisers complain about the slow disembarkation process!

 

Good luck in your future vacation plans.

[Nyco]

Thank's for your post

I now know too

- book my excursion with the ship, or check with tour operator for what happens IF xxxx happens

- go to guest relations when you board and make sure that the seapass is disabled for purchases

- book air with rccl or book late flight

- and what your read or hear may not be true

[forpaws]

To the OP:

 

Sorry you had a terrible time - I sailed on Sovereign in August with my teenaged niece and nephews, and we all had a BLAST! :D

 

And..for the record..our ship was on time, so apparently the info you got saying the ship is always 60-90 minutes late getting into Nassau is incorrect.:rolleyes:

[honybunyyy]

Are you serious? They are not always late. When we went I was on the balcony injoying the sunrise and it was about 5:30 am. I have never heard of them getting in late, unless there was a storm or something making arrival time late. Sorry to hear about the problems with your child. Sounds like you have your hands full with that one.

[MGoBlue2]

Just a couple of thoughts ...

 

Itineraries are always subject to change without notice. It's one of the reasons booking with the cruiseline or allowing yourself lots of leeway is always advisable.

 

If my child charged things after being told not to, Royal Caribbean would not be the one I'd be having serious conversations with.

[terri23]

sorry for your disembarkation issues. surely others have complained about the recording and hopefully they will change it soon.

 

ditto some other posts on your child's charges to the sea pass - that's your responsibility, not RC's.

 

except for the disembarkation recording, you could have learned about how do deal with all the other "issues" right here on CC if you had looked BEFORE you cruised. at least now you know where to look.

[James&Rob]

Hello

Sorry you had such a bad time on the soverign . We have sailed on her three times and alway had a great time. she is one of my favorite ships have a great day James sorry dont know why this doubled posted

[GoinCruisin]

Well hopefully these were the only downsides and you were able to enjoy your cruise? Sounds like the sea pass issue was a misunderstanding, but I do hope you get a refund on the charges... seems odd that they would take the merchandise back without issuing a credit... that would have sent up a red flag to me...

 

I certainly don't think they intentionally left the message...

 

We arrived a few hours late into Nassau when on the SOS in February... we also missed Cococay, so I think we had several things working against us... not to mention, it was HORRIBLE weather and for 3 days they had barf bags every 2 steps... sometimes a series of events can set the tone for the cruise and your perception. I won't cruise on the SOS again, but I will cruise RCL again... I'll stick with one of the newer larger ships. Hopefully you aren't giving up either :D

[Happy ks]

Well, this is Cruise Critic, so this new person is well within their rights to come here and criticize :) .

 

It's just a shame you weren't here before, to ask questions about your cruise before you left. You would have then known that you should not book an excursion so close to port arrival and that a flight home really should not be booked before noon.

 

About the child charging, though, I really don't think you should hold RCI responsible for that. Before we have left on any cruise with our kids, the ground rules are set in advance and their purchase power is discussed with them.

 

Thank you for your post, it may help others in the future, I am sorry you didn't have a great time.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

 

 

 

I can promise you, that this was not the case.

 

how can you make that promise?

[tkportersat]

Well, this is Cruise Critic, so this new person is well within their rights to come here and criticize :) .

 

It's just a shame you weren't here before, to ask questions about your cruise before you left. You would have then known that you should not book an excursion so close to port arrival and that a flight home really should not be booked before noon.

 

About the child charging, though, I really don't think you should hold RCI responsible for that. Before we have left on any cruise with our kids, the ground rules are set in advance and their purchase power is discussed with them.

 

Thank you for your post, it may help others in the future, I am sorry you didn't have a great time.

So true, need to be able to post the good and the bad. Both help everyone have an understanding that things happen sometime and to go in with an open mind.

 

As far as charges, I have always been asked if my children's cards are to be disabled or not. That is the slip that is handed over w/ the credit card. Doesn't excuse the fact that RC did not credit your card back for merchandise that was returned. Definitely call about that.

 

Sometimes ships are late to port, sometimes it is out of their control. I personally wish the cruiselines would visit less ports so that we can spend an entire day somewhere. That is the risk you take by booking excursions with outside vendors, sometimes it works out - other times not.

 

I truly hope that you didn't let these things ruin your entire cruise. You have every right to be upset, but give another ship a try. All of my cruise experiences have been very different and your next trip probably will be too.

Good luck!

[nlcentralchmps03]

how can you make that promise?

Okay, I can't promise, but I highly doubt that Royal Caribbean would purposely leave a false message about terrorism to help get passengers off the ship.

 

IF they did, there could be some very serious issues, and could get into some serious trouble.

 

Hopefully just an oversight on someone's part.

[Ottawa_cruise_man]

Okay, I can't promise, but I highly doubt that Royal Caribbean would purposely leave a false message about terrorism to help get passengers off the ship.

 

IF they did, there could be some very serious issues, and could get into some serious trouble.

 

Hopefully just an oversight on someone's part.

 

I knew you really meant "highly doubt". I was just poking you in the ribs for making a promise you can't possibly keep.:D

 

Did I step on anyone else's toes?:D

[nlcentralchmps03]

I knew you really meant "highly doubt". I was just poking you in the ribs for making a promise you can't possibly keep.:D

 

Did I step on anyone else's toes?:D

 

:p

 

However, I just read in another thread that they arrived to Nassau earlier than expected.

 

Can anyone say for sure what time the ship arrived?

[MIcruiser99]

If my child charged things after being told not to, Royal Caribbean would not be the one I'd be having serious conversations with.

 

That was my first thought! If I saw charges that my kids had made, I would be after them not RCI!:rolleyes:

[DG2004]

I'll start by saying I know this is a budget cruise but that isn't an excuse for everything. The problems started when we were an hour and a half late getting into Nassau. I had booked a shore excursion with Stewarts Cove which we missed. I knew it would be tight on time and made arrangements ahead of time should the ship be late. I later found out the ship always gets into Nassau between 12 and 12:30, not the 11:00am that was on the schedule. Next they allowed my 11 year old son to make purchases on his card which was punched to show he was not to be extended credit. After 4 trips to guest relations and 2 hours of my time the charges are still on my credit card. The only thing I heard was how sorry they were but no one took care of the problem. Each person just passed it along to the next. They have the merchandise back but I still have the charges on my credit card. The final straw was while getting ready to disembark. The message playing in the cabins giving instructions on the disembarkment procedure gave an emergency alert. It stated an incident in the UK had resulted in the terror threat being raised to red. It also said there were major backups at the airports. We had flights at 11:00am and were worried all the way to the airport. The threat didn't exist! The message was months old and never removed, or left intentionally to get people off the ship quicker. The shame of it is Royal Caribbean could care less.

 

 

Guest relations on the sov are a joke. Our bathroom was not working for 3 out of our 4 day (honeymoon) cruise...guest relations did nothing and on my final call to ask to move our cabin, I was told no and the problem "is what it is" and was hung up on.

My first phone call to RC when I was home to report this wasn’t even recorded, and then my second call to RC I spoke with a very nice person who investigated the incidents and issued me and my wife each a $75 credit and apologized for both incidents.

[cruisinchick1]

We have been on numerous cruises with our children (now all adults) and have always had positive experiences.

Do not book excursions independently - the ship is apt to skip the port for any number of reasons, or as in your case get there late. You should either use the cruise line shore excursions (and this is also a safety factor) or rent a car and explore on your own (not a good idea either, but better than going with a tour operator that you really do not know). It is written in your cruise contract that the ship's itinerary can change. As for getting into port late, again that could be any number of reasons, not necessarily a deliberate thing by the Captain.

Guest services is like any other customer service desk, sometimes you will get someone that is overly helpful, and other times you will get someone that is having a bad day, ALL of us have those sometimes !

If you returned the items, you would have gotten an immediate credit on board the ship, if you did not do that prior to getting off the ship, then I will venture to say that you are out of luck - UNLESS, you have the credit slip from the on board shop showing that you returned the items and were credited.

In the future some ships allow you to check your on board account in your stateroom through the tv, not sure about the Sov. but you may want to check into this. It may also be a good idea to explain to your son the problems this has caused - you don't mention how old he is. I remember a time when my son treated all his "new found" friends to virgin margaritas and ice cream on our cruise, we actually laughed about it - but did explain that things are not free and that we are responsible to pay for everything on board the ship that we use our card for.

Good luck in the future - don't let this dampen it for a future cruise - it is really a great way to vacation!

[ColeandAbby]

I;m due to sail on SOS next month. I'm sorry your vacation was a bummer!:( I also hope you don't feel "Jumped on" by some here. You have every right to voice what happens here as anyone else. I want to know the good & bad, so I can weigh my options and move forward. Thanks for sharing!