TempoGL

Even with the drink package, I tip $1 per drink on top of it. I personally think the right thing to do is to take care of the people who are working long hours, away from home, for months (or years!) on end. As a side bonus, I notice that they will serve me the moment they see me.

Here is what I said in my email: Here is what I got in reply:

You're talking as though I am asking for the moon. If you go out to eat in a restaurant and your entree is inedible, would you be OK with the restaurant saying "pay the entire bill this time AND come back to eat another time, and we will comp your dessert on your return visit?" I highly doubt it. That's basically what happened here - have things messed up quite a bit, and do nothing about it except say "come back and spend more money with us, and in return, we will graciously give you a small discount."

My problem is not that the AC went out, it's the atrocious way in which customer service handled it after the fact. With all due respect, it seems like you missed a lot of what I said. I explicitly mentioned already that I remained calm with the staff on board, even though I witnessed multiple people with the same problem yelling at (dare I say "berating?") staff. The staff on board the ship were all very nice and I think they did the best they could. And if I were at a land hotel, I would inform them that I'd find another room elsewhere and ask (again, politely) that they cancel my reservation.

Yes, I got it correct but typed it incorrectly, thanks. Mbayley's team told me to go fly a kite. Facebook did the same. I know this is a forum likely dedicated to RC fans, but I would say to proceed with caution with this company. The lesson they are trying to teach here is "be a horrible jerk to poorly paid people from third world countries (the people who work the desk on the ships) because if you wait, we will waste hours of your time and do nothing to help you when you've received a poor product from us." I say that's the lesson because the people who were losing it while on board were at least regarded seriously, whereas my correspondence after the fact was treated as a joke. I don't know if any cruise lines would be better, but certainly nobody could have handled this worse.

Response via the BBB was essentially "here's 1/7th FCC, you can go (bleep) yourself." I emailed mdayley last night, so maybe one of his people will get back to me with something resembling an appropriate response. RC is very close to being on my list of businesses that are officially dead to me.

The final payment date was actually while we were on this one, so I already have paid in full

I tried that and was told no.

I went to the front desk/customer service/whatever and told them about it. Their response was "we are trying." I asked for another room and they said none were available. I asked for a fan and they said they'd try. We never got one.

The OBC is much better for me since we did already have another cruise booked for April. The FCC expires in a year and I didn't plan on booking another cruise before then - it's essentially forcing us to book a cruise with them when I had other vacation plans.

It was on Enchantment of the Seas. Several (many?) other people on deck 4 where we were had the same issue. Some of them were having legit tantrums at customer service on board but I kept my cool...sadly I am sure the people that freaked out got taken better care of than I did.

Does the CEO actually respond to emails like this? If so, that's wild and VERY at odds with the rest of their customer service experience!

I did that, as I mentioned. Their answer was "we are trying." They did fix it after a few days (I think nights 3,4,5 were the really hot ones, and 6 and 7 were fine after that). I didn't want to waste time on board and I erroneously thought that RC would have a customer service department that rivaled most other giant corporations, meaning bad...but not atrocious. I do have another cruise booked with them (this last one was my second) but honestly if they don't properly address this, I will probably take my business elsewhere in the future.

I had an issue on a recent. For three nights of the cruise, the air conditioning in our room was not working. I am someone who can definitely sleep in a warm room, but it was way beyond that. We tried keeping the door open all night, and my girlfriend even tried sleeping in the Centrum because it was so hot. The heat was truly stifling and we got terrible sleep for those three nights. I checked with customer service while on the cruise and they said that they could not do anything about the heat. Not only did we sleep very poorly for three nights, being tired and drained throughout the day detracted from our enjoyment of activities in the daytime, and we also had no place to rest and recuperate. So sob story out of the way, I emailed Royal Caribbean and I got an automated response, but never heard back. Tried calling them and the wait to talk to a rep was an hour and a half. After trying several times, I finally got through to someone. Their best offer was 30% FCC, which I thought was ridiculous. Firstly, it should be 40% because 40% is about 3/7 (three out of seven nights), and secondly FCC is a joke because I should not have to spend more money with them in order to recoup anything. It should either be a refund or at least onboard credit. After politely reiterating this to the CS rep, I was told I would receive a call from a supervisor or manager within a three days. It's now been six days and nothing. Well, not entirely nothing because I just got an email from RC, telling me that I was getting an offer of about 15% FCC due to an issue that occurred on my cruise...so after waiting all this time, they tell me I get less compensation. I assume that email was separate from my phone call log, but this whole thing is a joke. I'm sure other people here have had issues in the past. Were there any methods that were successful in getting them to do right by their customers? I did file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau after my unproductive phone call last week, but I'd rather not hold out hope there if I don't have to. TIA

when people say "no copies," they mean like a photocopy, correct? My girlfriend did not listen to my advice about getting a passport and is planning on using her birth certificate. We leave in five days, so no time to get a passport. She is bringing the "Certification of Birth" (that's what Illinois calls it) paper with raised/embossed seals on it. It's on that special paper with little fibers in it (not sure what you call it). in some definitions of the term, it would be a "copy" because it was issued in 2013 and she was born in 1990, hence it is not original. Are we good to go?

I'm heading out of Baltimore on Dec 30th on Enchantment of the Seas. I see from the deck plan that it has indoor hot tubs and outdoor hot tubs. Will the outdoor hot tubs be open? I'm wondering if they'll be closed due to cold weather.

The Sex Pistols version? That would have been my preference

Thanks, but their amazing website crashes every time I try to select a date. Maybe I can try again later!

so how do you book the park and cruise deals? I couldn't find that option on Expedia nor the actual hotel site

I'm coming from the west (not used to calling Illinois that but it is factually correct in this case lol), but I think I like as close to the port as possible, since I am planning to do a Cannonball Run the day we get off and drive back to Chicago in one shot.

Hello, Looking for one of those "stay and park" deals near the Baltimore RC port. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

so are you saying they brew a little pot of tea to order if you ask for iced tea?

I didn't try it in the MDR, although I'd be a little surprised if they used something different there. If you try it in the MDR, please report back

Definitely liquid concentrate. That's unilaterally worse than brewed, but at most places that use the concentrate (many fast/quick service restaurants), the iced tea is drinkable. This stuff was...something else.

I don't disagree. It's pretty charming how excited she is, though. I just told her what eating in the main dining room is like and her mind was blown!