R.C.C.L Respond To Immersion Crisis, Please

[SF]

Carolyn,

 

What do you mean when you stated: "they've already backed away from Indy immersions"?

[MakinGold]

Carolyn,

 

What do you mean when you stated: "they've already backed away from Indy immersions"?

 

No "immersion" cruises on Independence of the Seas.

[SF]

That's what I thought it meant but when I called last week to question our booking the receptionist said it was a "British Immersion" cruise. What happened? Did they re-tract that?

[Yvie]

That's what I thought it meant but when I called last week to question our booking the receptionist said it was a "British Immersion" cruise. What happened? Did they re-tract that?

 

SF, click on this link for the cruise news Royal Caribbean: Cruising Beyond American Boundaries

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2619

 

About halfway down, the article states that plans to make the Indy an immersion cruise have been scrapped as a result of guest feedback.

[Lakers1041]

Looks like Lisa Bauer strikes again........lol......... Im guessing by reading the Cruise Critic news that she was the one with the great plan.............

[Guest coolgauntie]

duplicate post sorry

[Guest coolgauntie]

sorry duplicate post

[Guest coolgauntie]

Mark my words, this will turn out to be a crisis for RCCL. I was a huge fan of this cruise line! I retired early, Alice and I took 2 cruises last year and planed to do 2 this year and in the years to come do at least 3 cruises or more per yr. Should our June, immersion cruise not be to our liking, I.E.

 

1) English not spoken by ship staff

2) Excursions in a forging laungage

3) Food totally forging

3) Smoking area expanded

4) Entertainment in forging language

5) Euros as on board currency

7) Meal times drastically different

Then we will find other cruising vendors to give our money too!!

If you are in europe why not have euros as the currency after all you will be in europe i have been on the Jewel it caters for everyone , we Brits are entitled to holiday some people love cruising but unable to fly what should get a tin bath in the garden and pretend we are on a cruise ship i dont think so its a great idea to have cruises departing Harwich Dover and Southampton oh by the way if its travelling in europe we have stict smoking places

[jzygail]

If you are in europe why not have euros as the currency after all you will be in europe i have been on the Jewel it caters for everyone , we Brits are entitled to holiday some people love cruising but unable to fly what should get a tin bath in the garden and pretend we are on a cruise ship i dont think so its a great idea to have cruises departing Harwich Dover and Southampton oh by the way if its travelling in europe we have stict smoking places

 

As big a fan as I am of the minimalist approach to punctuation, it's possible to take it too far.

 

That said, I would think that given the current state of the dollar compared to the euro, a cruise using the dollar would be a great thing for the UK and other European passengers.

[TRacanoUK]

If you are in europe why not have euros as the currency after all you will be in europe i have been on the Jewel it caters for everyone , we Brits are entitled to holiday some people love cruising but unable to fly what should get a tin bath in the garden and pretend we are on a cruise ship i dont think so its a great idea to have cruises departing Harwich Dover and Southampton oh by the way if its travelling in europe we have stict smoking places

 

This might be true for Mediterranean cruises, but when Jewel is in the Baltics, the euro is not the primary currency:

 

England: British pound

Lithuania: Lithuania litas

Estonia: Estonian Kroon

Russia: Russian Rouble

Helsinki: euro

Denmark: Danish krone

Sweden: Swedish krona

Norway: Norwegian krone (not to be confused with the Danish krone or Swedish krona!)

 

So tell me again, why should I be carrying euros on this cruise?

[Andrew9999]

As big a fan as I am of the minimalist approach to punctuation, it's possible to take it too far.

 

That said, I would think that given the current state of the dollar compared to the euro, a cruise using the dollar would be a great thing for the UK and other European passengers.

 

I agree. GBP and USD are both weak against the Euro. GBP v USD has hardly changed at all in the last year. I am much happier to pay on-board costs in USD rather than Euros.

 

A coca-cola on board costs $2.01 with gratuity which is a fraction over £1. In a decent London hotel (equivalent of an RCI ship) you would pay about £2. Even in a pub it would be £1.50.

 

Andrew.

[madforcruising]

This might be true for Mediterranean cruises, but when Jewel is in the Baltics, the euro is not the primary currency:

 

England: British pound

Lithuania: Lithuania litas

Estonia: Estonian Kroon

Russia: Russian Rouble

Helsinki: euro

Denmark: Danish krone

Sweden: Swedish krona

Norway: Norwegian krone (not to be confused with the Danish krone or Swedish krona!)

 

So tell me again, why should I be carrying euros on this cruise?

 

To pay in Heksinki;)

 

Kidding aside I get what you say and actually I´ve posted exactly this on one of these immersion threads , maybe even on this one - who can keep track of these:rolleyes:

 

 

I actually don´t want any other onboard currency than the USD as it´s much less expensive for me to pay in USD:D

 

 

But to stay with the facts and I said I posted the same as you about the Jewels Baltic cruise. However having sailed this itinerary twice I have to say that I never had and used any other currency than Euro and Dollar on those cruises. In every single port it was easy to get around without the local currency and either Euro/Dollar/Credit cards have been accepted.

[SF]

Yvie:

 

Thanks for the link in regards to Indy not being an "immersion cruise".

[Guest coolgauntie]

This might be true for Mediterranean cruises, but when Jewel is in the Baltics, the euro is not the primary currency:

 

England: British pound

Lithuania: Lithuania litas

Estonia: Estonian Kroon

Russia: Russian Rouble

Helsinki: euro

Denmark: Danish krone

Sweden: Swedish krona

Norway: Norwegian krone (not to be confused with the Danish krone or Swedish krona!)

 

So tell me again, why should I be carrying euros on this cruise?

Actually i never said you would be carrying euros on this cruise , i am we aware of the other currencies and no need for the sarcasm at all, for a fact you can use euros in your said countries ,as you can the UK.

[ddean52]

I just received this from RCCL;

 

Dear Dean

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Our information indicates that the Jewel of the Seas sailing on June 27, 2008 is not an immersion sailing. We apologize for any inconvenience the earlier misinformation has caused.

 

Mr. Dimascio, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Sincerely,

 

Christopher Fitzgerald

Customer Service Representative

[TRacanoUK]

Actually i never said you would be carrying euros on this cruise , i am we aware of the other currencies and no need for the sarcasm at all, for a fact you can use euros in your said countries ,as you can the UK.

 

I happen to live in the UK . . . where, besides for tourist places and fast food joints that give you a miserable exchange rate, do they accept euros?

 

My sarcasm wasn't directed at you (although I'm sure it read that way). I'm just frustrated with the level of misinformation circulating in relation to this immersion concept.

[CruisenLexie]

It seemed to me the real frustration was purchasing a cruise that ended up not being what was originally sold. It was about selling something as one thing and then changing it after it was purchased. I would not be happy if that happened to me. If RCI wants to do immersion crusing I think that is great. If there is a market for it then why not venture into it. However it is something that should be stated and marketed as such up front. The people that are interested in that experience can book it knowing so right up front. If people from Asia want to go on an Asian cruise where they are surrounded by their culture on the ship they can choose the cruises that allow them that option. The point is everyone knows up front before cruises are paid for and plane tickets are purchased.

 

I have been fortunate to have traveled in Europe twice and the UK once. The first time was a little scary because of the unknown and certainly not because of the countries or the people. I didn't know what to expect and that is why we went on a cruise. I felt secure knowing I had the ship to return to each day. I absolutely loved the experience. Since then we went on a land tour in central eastern Europe. It allowed another experience as we went in early and were on our own for a couple days. The shoe was on the other foot so to speak and I welcomed the experience.

 

I don't know why people have to get so personal on these threads. Slaming people's feelings or concerns, cultures, languages, etc. Some threads sure get scarcastic and nasty pretty fast.

 

Here's to all of our future cruises!!!! :D

[runningdeer1]

Could not say it better, I have traveled the middle east, europe, south america by land, as well as cruised south pacific and carib. It's as simple as full disclosure at the point of sale. We are very excited about 12-7-08 out of Colon, even more so with the immersion. But we have yet to be given dinning times, which I would think are set by now. I love to experiance the local culture when cruising, we always rent cars and travel on our own to explore. but all are not interested in this type of experiance, and to change the "theme" of the cruise after the fact is poor business, AS HAD BEEN SAID, AND BEATEN TO DEATH, sorry to continue the obivious.

[windy sales]

And just as I was getting ready to buy my 100 shares of stock in RCCL...Just got off the phone with RCI about changed "Immersion Cruise" from Santo Domingo. The service rep still thought it was an immersion cruise-RCI's website has removed the immersion part. I spoke with Resolutions, she didn't know it had been changed until our conversation and then the Executive Customer Service, she actually thought I was speaking of the Asian immersion cruise. It is truly amazing how a company can advertize a product, change the product after the open date to get airfare, then figure out that their marketing 'plan' has failed and need to resume the original plan. Someone needs to start communicating with not only their clients, but their employees. The unfortunate part of this whole thing is we rebooked another RCI cruise to take the place of the 2nd part of our back to back and had to pay $485.00 to change our flights. RCI has said they will reimburse us $200.00. Would like to have that cruise back, but can't afford to change the flights again. We have been loyal to Royal, but will finish our booked and paid for cruises, cancel the rebooked cruise, and start sailing anew with a company that can pride themselves on excellent customer service and not creating ulcers.

 

Thank goodness there are many flavors of cruise lines to choose from. Happy sailing to all, especially those that took the chance, waited it out, and are headed south out of Santo Domingo.

Cindy

[thecruisechick]

Now Dean maybe you'll take a chill pill and enjoy your cruise but don't tell any of the Brits who you are after insulting them so badly. LOL!!! What a thread!

[ddean52]

Now Dean maybe you'll take a chill pill and enjoy your cruise but don't tell any of the Brits who you are after insulting them so badly. LOL!!! What a thread!

 

LOL! Just so we are on the same page, I feel a strong tie with Europe. My family is from Italy! Love the Brits and have a strong respect for Russian history!

It's just that when I buy x car, x model, x color, its what I expect. When I started this thread it was only to get info from RC CL since calling them did no good. This was a success and I got the info. for our group.

I admit this thread seems to be on acid! I also hope it helped ease concerns of others who were in our situation.

Wish to thank all of those posters who posted sincerely!

Some of the others, remind me of the saying "never underestimate human nature"!

I'm done with this thread, I have a cruise to get ready for. I wish your health and a long life! Bye!

[paulap70]

And just as I was getting ready to buy my 100 shares of stock in RCCL...Just got off the phone with RCI about changed "Immersion Cruise" from Santo Domingo. The service rep still thought it was an immersion cruise-RCI's website has removed the immersion part. I spoke with Resolutions, she didn't know it had been changed until our conversation and then the Executive Customer Service, she actually thought I was speaking of the Asian immersion cruise. It is truly amazing how a company can advertize a product, change the product after the open date to get airfare, then figure out that their marketing 'plan' has failed and need to resume the original plan. Someone needs to start communicating with not only their clients, but their employees. The unfortunate part of this whole thing is we rebooked another RCI cruise to take the place of the 2nd part of our back to back and had to pay $485.00 to change our flights. RCI has said they will reimburse us $200.00. Would like to have that cruise back, but can't afford to change the flights again. We have been loyal to Royal, but will finish our booked and paid for cruises, cancel the rebooked cruise, and start sailing anew with a company that can pride themselves on excellent customer service and not creating ulcers.

 

Thank goodness there are many flavors of cruise lines to choose from. Happy sailing to all, especially those that took the chance, waited it out, and are headed south out of Santo Domingo.

Cindy

 

Here's yet another example of RCCL's customer service personnel giving out conflicting information. Here's what happened to me yesterday. I had originally posted it on the sticky thread.

 

I am fuming over my recent call to RCCL. I guess I really don't know why I should be surprised, though.

 

Last week, I received a call that my 2/15/09 sailing on the Enchantment of the Seas would be a Latin Immersion cruise. I have already gotten my airline tickets and used frequent flyer perks to get two free tickets.

 

After doing some reading on this forum, I decided to see if there was a sailing that for this ship that would NOT be an immersion cruise. I called the C&A line this morning and was told that there were sailings on 2/22/09 and 3/01/09 that were not immersion.

 

So, I looked into changing to one of these dates. I learned that American Airlines will charge me $125 to re-credit my miles to my account; however, there are FF tickets available on these alternate dates, so I'd only be out the $125. Not a huge amount.

 

I then asked the C&A representative if the cruise line would compensate me for the $125 change fee by perhaps offering me an equivalent amount of onboard credit. I would view this as a win-win because I would be happy and the cruise line would in essence be out only their cost of $125 onboard credit (which is probably more like $50 to them as we all know there is a huge markup).

 

Their response - "no, we aren't offering any type of compensation if you elect to change." I went 'round and 'round with representative who cited the usual arguments being made (we reserve the right to change, yada, yada).

 

I thought to myself, "go ahead and eat the $125 change fee and change the reservation to one of the non-immersion dates as you and DH will be more comfortable." I then went to RCCL online reservation and did a courtesy hold on the 3/01/09 sailing. When I clicked on the itinerary, I GOT THE NOTICE THAT THIS CRUISE HAS BEEN LARGELY SOLD TO THE LOCALS, ETC.

 

Fortunately, I have made no changes at this point. I did call C&A back and inquired about the fact that I was told that the 3/01/09 cruise was NOT an immersion cruise. The representative told me that if I'm seeing that notice, it must be an immersion. I then asked again if there was any sort of "master list" somewhere letting them know which sailings are immersion cruises. She said no, there wasn't any such list. She also said that maybe all of the sailings from this port would be immersion, but she couldn't confirm one way or another.

 

At this point, I am thoroughly frustrated. I really don't mind the whole immersion thing, it's the mis-information and lack of concern for the customer that really has me fuming at this point!

 

Thanks for letting me vent!

[tattydog]

I have just come off Navigator , 5 day cruise from Barcelona. This has been heavily promoted in the UK , now classed as an immersion cruise and yet British were in minority to the very large Spanish presence and of course many Americans. The menus were the same as I have experienced on RCCI sailing from Florida, with a few extra items added. For example, "English breakfast" on main dining room (the only difference being the bacon- I think you call it 'ham' but you could get the overcooked crispy style if you asked). But there was the usual omelettes, eggs benedict etc

The windjammer still seemed to be themed around ports, eg paella, chorizo based dishes in Spain, eggplant parmigian etc i Italy, but you still had burgers, pasta station, salad bar etc.

Main dining still had the same menu choices that I experienced on Splendour 2 years ago from Tampa!

 

The entertainment was excellent, varied and from from many nationalities, an English string quartet, Russian acrobats, Russian/ Canadian/Scottish ice dancers & the usual cosmopolitan singing dance troupes.

All the announcements were in English or Spanish. The cruise director had a Spanish interpretor follow him on stage.

All in all I dont feel that your cruise experience will be lessened.

[editor@cruisecritic]

This is precisely the issue we're trying to get RCI to pin down and they sidestep it....

 

We're going to continue to pursue answers...keep checking back.

 

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

 

Here's yet another example of RCCL's customer service personnel giving out conflicting information. Here's what happened to me yesterday. I had originally posted it on the sticky thread.

 

I am fuming over my recent call to RCCL. I guess I really don't know why I should be surprised, though.

 

Last week, I received a call that my 2/15/09 sailing on the Enchantment of the Seas would be a Latin Immersion cruise. I have already gotten my airline tickets and used frequent flyer perks to get two free tickets.

 

After doing some reading on this forum, I decided to see if there was a sailing that for this ship that would NOT be an immersion cruise. I called the C&A line this morning and was told that there were sailings on 2/22/09 and 3/01/09 that were not immersion.

 

So, I looked into changing to one of these dates. I learned that American Airlines will charge me $125 to re-credit my miles to my account; however, there are FF tickets available on these alternate dates, so I'd only be out the $125. Not a huge amount.

 

I then asked the C&A representative if the cruise line would compensate me for the $125 change fee by perhaps offering me an equivalent amount of onboard credit. I would view this as a win-win because I would be happy and the cruise line would in essence be out only their cost of $125 onboard credit (which is probably more like $50 to them as we all know there is a huge markup).

 

Their response - "no, we aren't offering any type of compensation if you elect to change." I went 'round and 'round with representative who cited the usual arguments being made (we reserve the right to change, yada, yada).

 

I thought to myself, "go ahead and eat the $125 change fee and change the reservation to one of the non-immersion dates as you and DH will be more comfortable." I then went to RCCL online reservation and did a courtesy hold on the 3/01/09 sailing. When I clicked on the itinerary, I GOT THE NOTICE THAT THIS CRUISE HAS BEEN LARGELY SOLD TO THE LOCALS, ETC.

 

Fortunately, I have made no changes at this point. I did call C&A back and inquired about the fact that I was told that the 3/01/09 cruise was NOT an immersion cruise. The representative told me that if I'm seeing that notice, it must be an immersion. I then asked again if there was any sort of "master list" somewhere letting them know which sailings are immersion cruises. She said no, there wasn't any such list. She also said that maybe all of the sailings from this port would be immersion, but she couldn't confirm one way or another.

 

At this point, I am thoroughly frustrated. I really don't mind the whole immersion thing, it's the mis-information and lack of concern for the customer that really has me fuming at this point!

 

Thanks for letting me vent!

[runnerandme]

Today I had a call from Willow at RCI. C & A told me she would call by last Friday with answers to my Immersion questions. ( a few days late but oh well at least she called). She proceeded to tell me

1. eighty percent of the menu would remain unchanged.

 

2. condiments of local culture would be available.

 

3. Dining times would be changed, but she did not know at this point how much later than normal.( I had been told 8 to 9 for early and 10 to 11 for late by a RCI rep on wed.)

 

4. There would be English speaking crew members. Menus would be available in English.

 

I then told her I was very confused, as RCI had changed their minds or stated that they made a mistake. I also told her the Immersion notice had been removed from the web site for our sailings. 2-15-09 and 2-22-09 on Vision out of Santo Domingo.

 

She asked me to hold while she looked it up and stated that she was surprised that I was right. SHE STATED that the first Immersion Cruise is Dec 02 on Splendour of the Seas. With another one to follow on 12-7-09.

Is this going to be the final say on these cruises, I don't think even RCI knows.