Just heard..AOS OUT OF BEER/CIGs!

[cruiser217]

I was also on the February 17 cruise. They did run out of beer and cigarettes on that cruise. First we had 3,689 people on our cruise and secondly one of the bartenders we meet on the cruise said that part of the alcohol and cigarettes never showed up. They then said Royal Caribbean located it and was to gave it shipped to Aruba and once again it didn't show up. Then it was to be shipped to Saint Maarten but who ever was getting if there screwed up and shipped it to saint Thomas. By saint maarten it was clear that they were running out. Like jfer873 we didn't let it ruin our cruise. Although some missing stuff it was still a great cruise.

[luvscruising2007]

On the Grandeur out of Baltimore on two different sailings which we were on, the bars ran out of Miller Lite. They were restocked at the next port, so it really wasn't a big deal! I guess it IS a big deal if you're out to sea for 2 - 3 days! Also - the last time it happened (this past October) they ran a special on Foster's beer - buy one, get one. I do not know if this was a planned special or if it was as a result of running out of Miller!

 

Suze!

You know, I think it was last fall that my husband, who always orders miller lite either draft or bottle, ran into problems at several of our local restaurants. I wonder if this problem is with the beer company and not with RCL.

[jfer873]

Just got off the phone with my friend on AOS. Apparently the problem has grown worse. They are out of a lot of the wines and champagnes in many bars, and still out of the beers listed and then some, dos XX is down to a couple, here and there, like get through the day minimal, and drafts on tap are dry in many bars. Liquor is gettting to the point that only the expensive stuff is left and due to this they are using top shelf for most drinks, and only able to charge house prices which means that they soon will run out of these as well. People are up in arms. As we speak, nothing being brought on in St. Thomas, so onward to San Juan with a group of annoyed passengers.

 

Will let you know what happens in San Juan tomorrow evening when we speak again.

[wannalottadough]

maybe since there are 3 days left, your bil and fam can each sneak on a 6 pack at the rest of the ports to make sure they have their beer for the last of the cruise? we have brought on a 6 pack at a port before- just put it in the beach bag , backpack, or whatever.....

 

HAA! A six pack would last my hubby an hour by himself! Well ok maybe two hours:rolleyes:. Anyway I'm wondering if they look the other way when you bring your own back from ports, when they have a shortage. It only seems fair.

[boykin]

Thanks jfer873 for the update. We leave in 8 days and to be honest I'm a little nervous. We are not heavy drinkers but we do enjoy our wine, I'm thinking I need to smuggle some wine in our luggage. I understand that this issue is not important to all passengers but for the ones who have worked hard to pay for a well deserved vacation and want to enjoy beer and wine there should be enough on board! If RCCL is experiencing logistical problems with local distributors then the cruise line should allow passengers to bring 1 or 2 bottles of wine per stateroom similar to other cruise lines. We usually order the wine package but I held off preordering for this very reason. Hope RCCL hears the complaints and addresses the issue. Again, thanks for updating us.

[ezemoney]

hello,

 

i just can't beleive this can happen. i understand if they would run out on particular flavor but several kinds plus cigs. granted i'm not a big drinker and i don't smoke,but this is not a way to run a business. like other posters have stated alcohol is their biggest money maker. i sure hope our 8 night radiance cruise in 2 long weeks is not like this. i hate to have crabby people on vacation.

 

later,

 

ezemoney

[Tex_Jen]

Sounds like a distributor problem. Do you really think that RCI would deliberately run low on their biggest cash cow?

 

Jen

[nstr]

My anxiety is based on the fact that I am cruising during Fla Spring Break week. I can always come up with a drink I like from whats in a bar stock but I don't want to to sail a packed ship with alot of unhappy cranky smokers and beer drinkers :eek: That vibe would be felt for sure. I hope if RCCL does read this board they remedy the problem swiftly. They cannot possibly want something like this to continue.

[Merion_Mom]

jfer, thanks for posting VERY valuable information that speaks directly to this topic. Please continue to keep us posted, particularly if anything surfaces about WHY, not just WHAT. Shortages are bad enough (ok, they are TERRIBLE ;)), but RC better figure out WHY this is happening.

 

Unless I am missing something, this problem seems to be specifically an ADVENTURE of the Seas problem.

 

All of you worried about other ships probably can relax.

[Tex_Jen]

Well, let's see. AOS is one of the few ships in the fleet that does not ever come to the mainland. That means everything has to be shipped to one of the islands. Again, this is a distributor problem and AOS is feeling the brunt, don't you think?

 

Jen

[wrp96]

I gotta know why you capitalize every word?????????

 

We run across this every now and then (Capitalization that is) seems there is some sort of computer software that some folks have that do this,don't know what,don't know why...But I see it periodically...

 

 

If somebody uses all caps in their message (no quotes or smilies), then the board software automatically converts it to where only the first letter of each word is capitalized.

[celtcruiser]

Public announcement for the attention of Rccl. There is a cruise ship leaving Port Bayonne in NJ on 03/16/08 called Explorer of the Seas. There will be an Irishman travelling on her. He likes his beer;). Please make sure you have plenty of stock!! I would also like to point out that 03/17/08 is St. Patricks day so you may need to multiply that again.

 

Lawrence

 

:) There's another Irishman that will be on the Navigator transatlantic 12 April cruise (14 days) that hates to see the bottom of a glass!:eek: Good thing I'm flying to Dublin the day we land in Barcelona-St.James Gate, here I come:)

[mgkdk]

This may have started as a distributer problem, but after not one but may problems...it is now RCCL's problem. It is RCCL that has to deal with angry pax...it is RCCL that has the customer service issue....it is RCCL that accepts $$$ from pax with the premise that they have stocked bars. And YES...when they advertise many bars...it is expected that those areas are stocked enough to service a fully booked ship.

 

So...I still think that the future pax of AOS should e-mail or call RCCL and flood the lines with concerns about what HAS happened on numerous occassions on this ship. Until RCCL hears from the masses nothing will get done.

 

So , even it you don't drink beer or smoke cig's...it should still be a concern for you. Next time it could be something that you expect or desire to have on your one week away...your one week of heaven...your one week to unwind and recharge. For many...this is one week is weeks and months of hard work...overtime....and scrimping and saving for these 7 glorious days. And if all someone wants is a cold Miller lite...then RCCL should have it.

[Tex_Jen]

Correct in that RCCL must deal with the angry and "deprived" passengers. I see this situation, though, as no different than airlines that get parked due to weather. Are there angry passengers that had intended their vacation to be different? Yes.

 

In other words...if RCCL did what they were supposed to do (an assumption, I'll grant you) and the distributor(s) did not come through...how is this RCCL's fault. It is their customer service problem, but we need to stop acting like just because we want it, the item will appear. Some things are out of our or their control.

 

Not being a cheerleader....just trying to be reasonable.

 

Jen

[cassieroll]

My brother in law and his entire family (15) are currently on the AOS...he just checked in with us and said that the ship is OUT of ALL MILLER products, OUT of ALL BUD products, OUT of all CORONA

How about they drink something else?

[sealegs9]

Well, let's see. AOS is one of the few ships in the fleet that does not ever come to the mainland. That means everything has to be shipped to one of the islands. Again, this is a distributor problem and AOS is feeling the brunt, don't you think?

 

Jen

Hey Jen- hope they don't run out of Sparkling Wine in the "Champagne Bar". You'll have some upset "mixed nutz" ladies :D. I hope they don't run out of rum for my frou frou drinks.

[megr1125]

hmm...let's see....royal caribbean is not a new company...AOS is not a new ship...and reordering and replacing inventory is not rocket science!!! maybe supplies are ordered ahead....but conventional wisdom would say that a couple well placed calls to miami would speed things up??? maybe??

 

not sure what, if anything, is produced in puerto rico other than rum (but i would think there is SOME sort of beer botttler) but puh-leeze...if this has been going on for many weeks...someone needs to wake up and smell the coffee...or did they run out of THAT too????

[Tex_Jen]

Some things can be sped up, but you are talking about all things being shipped to the islands. It is different. Yes, they do have a beer bottler, but you notice that the first to complain had run out of their favorite beers so the PR replacement probably wouldn't do. Hope they get it straightened out soon, but if a problem in supply occurs, it takes a while to catch up to demand. I beg to differ that it has been "many" weeks. Seems that the complaints have been for a few weeks or intermittent. Again, that means they need to do something about their distributor.

 

Lonnie, I hope they have my cocktails, too. If not, they better have the PR rum supplied for my "Drink of the Day".

 

If it is as bad as reported, I'm hoping that RCI does the right thing with some kind of credit for the inconvenienced passengers.

 

Jen

[jfer873]

I beg to differ that it has been "many" weeks. Seems that the complaints have been for a few weeks or intermittent.

Jen

 

Actually Jen, it has been many weeks that they have not properly restocked the ship with alcohol. Since around mid December. It is just recently that it has gotten to a point where passengers have begun to notice. This directly from a good friend of mine on AOS.

[digital_curator]

We noticed the problems of restocking on our last repro cruise- 9 nights with only 3 ports (one of which was Labadee). It was a full ship and the crowd was fairly roudy/heavy drinkers. In addition to running out of some foods (mostly certain fruits at breakfast), they ran out of certain beers. It was no big deal but we did notice it (they ran out of limes so we had mojitos made with lemons- not quite as good as the originals!).

 

I will be curious to see how the supplies hold up on our repro in May- 14 days to Alaska. Can RCI stock up in ports that aren't on its usual itinerary?

[Frankiesmom]

I agree with the above poster; how much someone does or doesn't drink has nothing to do with the intent of this thread! I happen to drink alot on cruises; I don't have to drive; and when on vacation- especially a cruise and since no smuggling is allowed- people have every right to expect that the ship will have ample supplies of whatever their favorite drink is! I am a nurse and I work hard; when on a cruise I expect to be able to drink as much as I like; and unless I get sloppy ( my DH can always tell when I'm headed in that direction!) in public- it's really noone else's business. And I would be really peeved if they ran out of many different kinds of booze- since you can't bring your own- and you're really @ the mercy of the cruiseline/suppliers.:rolleyes:

[Tex_Jen]

Actually Jen, it has been many weeks that they have not properly restocked the ship with alcohol. Since around mid December. It is just recently that it has gotten to a point where passengers have begun to notice. This directly from a good friend of mine on AOS.

 

In that case, it is beyond time to find a new distributor since they are obviously not meeting the needs of the cruise line. Either that or someone on staff doesn't know how to work the computer inventory system to make sure they are ordering appropriate par levels.

[canucks4]

If RCI knew that a distribution problem existed in December, addressed the issue and saw no improvement in January and has seen further deterioration in February, then to me, it is an RCI problem and no longer a simple product distribution problem.

 

There was sufficient time to resolve the problems through secondary distributorships and/or their Miami-based distribution hub. It now becomes a customer-service issue and a hint of disrespect for their consumers.

 

If there isn't Grey Goose on the Freedom.......:eek:

[WhiteSoxFan]

 

If there isn't Grey Goose on the Freedom.......:eek:

 

Same some for me the following week.;)

[Buccaneergirl]

Any more info on what's going on with this cruise? Two of my friends and their families are sailing this week - ckrobyn and Shar27.:) Hope it all works out!