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Early Radiance of the Seas Disappointment


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Our first four cruises with Royal caribbean have been great. Two times on Independence, once on Freedom and once on Brilliance.

 

At this time we are beginning day four of a Northbound Alaska Cruise on Radiance. Overall I would say things are ok, we did have a recent highlight where we won $300.00 OBC.

 

I am generally positive and not demanding, but do like things to be as they should. With that said please let me express my disappointments:

 

Day One - we arrived at our junior suite after they announced that all cabins were ready. We found that the carpet had obviously not been vacuumed. There were nail clippings, a button, a coin and other misc small items that were visible. Also, an empty beer bottle was left on the balcony. Overall, this makes us wonder what other items were not cleaned properly. We did notify the staff, the items mentioned were corrected and an apology was given.

 

Day Two - The bath tub was leaking from around the bottom. Staff was notified in the AM, but had to be called again that evening before anyone came to repair.

 

Day Three - A beverage tasting was listed in the Cruise Compass for 4:00 PM. I arrived early and though there were two staff present, nobody was organizing. I did ask, but the the one staff member to whom I spoke was disinterested and said the other staff member was responsible. He was stocking ice. This was reported to guest services.

 

Also, after dinner, upon returning to the stateroom, I found the room clean, but the toilet full of water. Upon calling the room attendant he stated that the toilet vacuum (sucks waste from bowl when flushed) was not working and maintenance was notified. When we returned later in the evening it had been repaired.

 

Day Four - Most dining and beverage venues are closed this day until 6:30 AM, but the Cruise Compass says that coffee is available in the Windjammer, starboard side, 24 hours. When I arrived at 6:00 AM, I and others were being turned away and told that the Windjammer did not open until 7:00 AM and we must wait for the Park Cafe to open at 6:30. Guest services has been notified and they are supposed to let the bar and beverage manager for the ship know of this issue.

 

As mentioned previously, I only expect things to be as they should and understand that sometimes something can go wrong, but so far on this trip, it seems something is not as it should be everyday so far.

 

After spending over $5,000.00 on a cruise, airfare and excursions, I expect a better experience. Disappointed with Radiance of the Seas.

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Agree with you about these little things adding up. Did 19 straight days on the Jewel a few weeks ago, and found the same thing. This doesn't work here, nobody knows about that, etc. Things wrong in the cabin seemed to be a real chore to resolve, no hot water, no TV, safe does not work. There are no real repair people, just some newbee's with a screwdriver going cabin to cabin to pit out as many fires as possible.

 

This was after the ship came out of a $30,000,000 dry dock. Was the cruise ruined?.....NO, but it was not what I was used to with Royal

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Wow! I'm sorry to learn of the mishaps. Hopefully things will continue to improve. Nice to hear you won the $300 OBC offer - that's great!  Kind of concerned since we will be boarding on Friday in Seward.  

 

I know what you mean about things listed in the Compass (i.e. drink mixology, sampling, etc.) I've attempted to go to a couple of those and the "mixology" sessions never seem to materialize. When you ask, there is always a lot of puzzled looks -- like "the cruise compass says what?" And I hate when I've planned my activities only to have them not be accurate. 

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BigBurlyJohn,

 

I am so sorry you are not having the cruise you wanted and deserved and paid for. Like you I am not demanding but I always say I want what I paid for and you certainly aren't getting it. Hopefully to make you smile I will tell you I took a cruise on RCCL last spring and I had a problem with toe nails all over my bathroom floor, the toilet not working properly and being filthy and then I got bitten by bed bugs or fleas, (RCCL wasn't sure what they were), I asked for another room and was refused. I showed them my legs, rash and blisters and they still refused. They came in and changed the mattress and linens out, it took two days for the toilet to be fixed. I remembered to document everything, pictures of my legs, the toilet and when I got home I was busy writing emails to everyone at RCCL. It worked I got a 100% refund but my point was I should have been moved, given another room.

 

Remember to document so when you get home you can send emails.

 

Hopefully everything will be fine moving forward on the cruise.

 

Candie

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Another reason not to pre pay the daily tips. The only thing that gets Royal's attention is money. So if you went to guest services and removed all the tips and gave them your list of problems as the reason it would get attention.  Also on the guest questionnaire list the problems. Now I would be talking to Royal Customer service about the refund they owe you. If they do not take care of this, with all the documentation dispute with the credit card company.

 

Also do not fall for the line that if you dispute it will effect your ability to cruise on Royal.  A very important part of the merchant service agreement with the credit card companies is they will take no negative actions against card holders who file disputes. I also would have met with the Hotel Director before paying the on board charge account and leaving the ship.

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Sorry to hear of your disappointment.  

 

I suggest taking these issues to Guest Services onboard and essentially give them a talk. Not necessarily about the individual issues, but at the bigger picture and that you are not satisfied.  

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Day Four - Most dining and beverage venues are closed this day until 6:30 AM, but the Cruise Compass says that coffee is available in the Windjammer, starboard side, 24 hours. When I arrived at 6:00 AM, I and others were being turned away and told that the Windjammer did not open until 7:00 AM and we must wait for the Park Cafe to open at 6:30. Guest services has been notified and they are supposed to let the bar and beverage manager for the ship know of this issue.

 

Correct the Windjammer isn't open. But there is always coffee available from the same little section as the Doghouse. Had you gone in there you could have gotten your coffee.. Its on the starboard side right before the Windjammer main entrance.

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Correct the Windjammer isn't open. But there is always coffee available from the same little section as the Doghouse. Had you gone in there you could have gotten your coffee.. Its on the starboard side right before the Windjammer main entrance.

Thanks for the input Rekkie. Multiple times there was no coffee in the cafe adjacent to the main Windjammer. I even went into the Windjammer itself (prior to opening) and the attendant at the coffee station there suggested I go to the Park Cafe, which was not scheduled to be open either.

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Our first four cruises with Royal caribbean have been great. Two times on Independence, once on Freedom and once on Brilliance.

At this time we are beginning day four of a Northbound Alaska Cruise on Radiance. Overall I would say things are ok, we did have a recent highlight where we won $300.00 OBC.

I am generally positive and not demanding, but do like things to be as they should. With that said please let me express my disappointments:

Day One - we arrived at our junior suite after they announced that all cabins were ready. We found that the carpet had obviously not been vacuumed. There were nail clippings, a button, a coin and other misc small items that were visible. Also, an empty beer bottle was left on the balcony. Overall, this makes us wonder what other items were not cleaned properly. We did notify the staff, the items mentioned were corrected and an apology was given.

Day Two - The bath tub was leaking from around the bottom. Staff was notified in the AM, but had to be called again that evening before anyone came to repair.

Day Three - A beverage tasting was listed in the Cruise Compass for 4:00 PM. I arrived early and though there were two staff present, nobody was organizing. I did ask, but the the one staff member to whom I spoke was disinterested and said the other staff member was responsible. He was stocking ice. This was reported to guest services.

Also, after dinner, upon returning to the stateroom, I found the room clean, but the toilet full of water. Upon calling the room attendant he stated that the toilet vacuum (sucks waste from bowl when flushed) was not working and maintenance was notified. When we returned later in the evening it had been repaired.

Day Four - Most dining and beverage venues are closed this day until 6:30 AM, but the Cruise Compass says that coffee is available in the Windjammer, starboard side, 24 hours. When I arrived at 6:00 AM, I and others were being turned away and told that the Windjammer did not open until 7:00 AM and we must wait for the Park Cafe to open at 6:30. Guest services has been notified and they are supposed to let the bar and beverage manager for the ship know of this issue.

As mentioned previously, I only expect things to be as they should and understand that sometimes something can go wrong, but so far on this trip, it seems something is not as it should be everyday so far.

After spending over $5,000.00 on a cruise, airfare and excursions, I expect a better experience. Disappointed with Radiance of the Seas.

Sounds normal for the new RCI that is not at all interested in CS only interested in their bottom line.
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Sorry to hear about your problems on the Radiance!  After 61 cruises, only 2 cruises have been horrible; both on the Radiance of the Seas back in 2004 & 2007.   I guess some ships never improve.  Overall, RCCL puts out a good product, but they seem to be all about the bottom line now!   They make rules for the guests to follow, then don't enforce them!  The dress code is non existent.  Lower the standards and more guests/money will follow.

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@John- That's a lot of $,$$$ and you certainly deserved a solid customer service experience from RC and they did not deliver. Do you think we all just expect too much and that our new and harsh reality is this poor customer service? I see it everywhere, it's not just RC. I just can't help but think that this type of service is the new norm. Will it ever get better? Todd hit the nail on the head when he mentioned yanking the gratuity's until the issues are resolved! This most certainly gets the job done. In any case, I hope your next experience is better than the last.

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