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Cruise of a lifetime. NOT.


stlpam

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Just got back from our Alaska cruise on Explorer of the Seas on September 7.  The ship was nice, and so was our room.  Staff personnel were also kind.  We were celebrating our 48th Anniversary as well as both of our birthdays.  That was noted on the reservation at least two different times, for all the good that did.  No one said a thing to us.  There were no gluten free desserts and no sugar free desserts at Windjammers even though I spoke to Guest Relations about it twice.  One server said the Jello was sugar free.  The one I confirmed it with said it was not.  Their "gluten free" sweets were two baskets of  . . . .apples.  Yes, I have pictures.  We wanted to have a steak in the main dining room the last night, but that was not an option.   The three dinners we ate in the main dining room were good.  The one we had to  eat there after getting on board the ship was very limited, and they kept running out of food. 

On the 6th, I started with congestion and a sore throat.  I didn't go to the ship's doctor because we'd heard that you get quarantined.  I had to go to Urgent Care on the 8th and my doctor on the 9th.  I have acute sinusitis and acute bronchitis.  On the 11th, my husband started getting sick.  It started out just like my infection.  We had to call the ambulance on the 14th because he could not breathe.  He has Influenza A and pneumonia.  He is still in the hospital and is likely there for another two days because he still needs oxygen.

Talking to representatives from Royal Caribbean yielded that it was our fault for not going to the ship's doctor, and since I got steak once, that was good enough.

 

 

 

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Did they run out of steaks or something?  Every Royal Caribbean Cruise I've been on has had at least a New York Strip option every night in the main dining room.  I've never looked for gluten free desserts, but there was always at least something sugar-free offered, or did they run out of those too?

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44 minutes ago, stlpam said:

On the 6th, I started with congestion and a sore throat.  I didn't go to the ship's doctor because we'd heard that you get quarantined.  I had to go to Urgent Care on the 8th and my doctor on the 9th.  I have acute sinusitis and acute bronchitis.  On the 11th, my husband started getting sick.  It started out just like my infection.  We had to call the ambulance on the 14th because he could not breathe.  He has Influenza A and pneumonia.  He is still in the hospital and is likely there for another two days because he still needs oxygen.

Talking to representatives from Royal Caribbean yielded that it was our fault for not going to the ship's doctor, and since I got steak once, that was good enough.

 

 

 

So sorry to hear you and your husband got sick but I don't understand how getting Influenza could be RCI fault? 

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My cousin recently returned from Explorer the week before this post. This was his third RCCL cruise this year! He also complained about the food in the main dining room as well as the service. He was also very turned off by the waitstaff begging for a 10 rating on the survey every day, even going so far as to say my family depends on it.  Have you also had that experience?

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I cruised Explorer in June.  We ate in the MDR almost every night, never had any issues with the food.  They ran out of food?  I've never heard of such a thing.  I met people this morning while waiting to board Mariner who were on that same cruise and they didn't mention any issues.  

It's unfortunate you got sick from another guest.  I've heard of people refusing to give up their cruise because they were sick and they boarded any ways.  Getting sick happens on land as well.  As a frequent business traveler I can't count the number of times I've gotten sick after flying domestically within the U.S.   

They only quarantine when it's appropriate.    Not going to the doctor for fear of quarantine puts other guests at risk.  If you've both gotten this sick you've likely infected someone else.  Imagine how they feel.  

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There was a section in Windjammer devoted to Gluten Free, and all it contained was two baskets of apples.  I do have photos. 

Due to the incubation time of our illlnesses, there is no other place that we could have gotten infected.  My husband will be in the hospital for a few more days.  He's on his fifth antibiotic.

I guess they ran out of steaks.  I don't know. 

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It seems to me if he had the flu...he needed to be quarantined......take it from someone who was exposed to the flu by a sick passenger .

I was between jobs, so no insurance, I missed my first week of training because I was so ill. It also cost me over $300 in doctors bills.

I didn’t blame RCCL for becoming ill, I blame the passenger who was contagious and spread it around.

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Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.  As other have mentioned, I am quite surprised to hear about the lack of gluten free options.  I'm not GF, but I always have noticed quite a lot of choices. Certainly more than apples.  

5 hours ago, stlpam said:

I didn't go to the ship's doctor because we'd heard that you get quarantined. 

Sadly, a lot of people do this.  Heck, when my daughter threw up on Rhapsody I thought the same thing. Ultimately, we called anyway because it was more important to be treated than if we had to watch a bunch of movies in the room for a day or two.  

5 hours ago, stlpam said:

We were celebrating our 48th Anniversary as well as both of our birthdays.  That was noted on the reservation at least two different times, for all the good that did.  No one said a thing to us. 

There's no guarantee noting it will do anything, and frankly, I don't think it's a big deal if they do or don't.  You and your spouse were celebrating and a cruise vacation is a great way to do so.  Not sure if your waiter says something or brings you a cupcake it makes or breaks your celebration.  

In the future, you could always step away from the table and speak to the waiter to surprise your spouse.  I've done that trick a few times.

5 hours ago, stlpam said:

We wanted to have a steak in the main dining room the last night, but that was not an option.

Are you referring to the the up-charge steak from Chops? Or something else?

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2 hours ago, stlpam said:

There was a section in Windjammer devoted to Gluten Free, and all it contained was two baskets of apples.  I do have photos. 

Due to the incubation time of our illlnesses, there is no other place that we could have gotten infected.  My husband will be in the hospital for a few more days.  He's on his fifth antibiotic.

I guess they ran out of steaks.  I don't know. 

I don’t understand why you are blaming Royal Caribbean for getting sick. You can get sick anywhere. 

And while running out of steaks one night is disappointing, I don’t understand how that contributes to a bad vacation.

i hope your husband is out of the hospital soon though. 

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Running out of steaks was a small part of the issues.  No gluten free or sugar free desserts at Windjammers was another, even after I asked Guest Relations and various servers for something. Anything, except the glorious apples.  

No mention of our celebrations was another.  I know of at least three other cruise lines that do something for celebrants. 

When you get sick on the sixth day of a seven day cruise, you have to assume you got it on the ship.

I am on my third round of antibiotics and my husband is on his fifth one.  He has been in the hospital for 6 days.  This was a super bug, for sure. 

Royal Caribbean was so nonchalant about our issues.  Basically said it was not their problem, and they don't give a fig for their passengers.

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I’m reallt surprised that they didn’t have any GF or sugar free desserts. We recently sailed on Indy and in all restaurants we had the option of either GF or sugar free deserts. As I have coeliac I would say that I had more choice of GF desserts in the windjammer than the main dinning room. But the head waiter and waiters did their best to accommodate my needs.

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I really thought about this after reading your post.  The flu/cold could have been picked up any number of places.  Excursions that you may have went on, someone sitting at your table, someone who touched a door knob.   There really isn't a way to blame RCI for getting sick.   There is no way to guarantee even if you had went to the ship's doctor you wouldn't have still needed several courses of antibiotics or that your husband wouldn't have been ill.  We were on land last winter and my husband and I both went through several rounds of antibiotics.  

 We have sailed several time and there has always been a section of Windjammer with desserts that are marked Sugar Free (I am diabetic, so I do watch for it)   No the variety of Sugar Free Desserts is not as large as regular desserts, but I don't expect it to be.  Usually jello or some small slices of cake.  I do not remember seeing Gluten Free desserts, but I am not normally looking for that. 

It sounds as if when you contacted RCI  to complain, you may have gotten someone who might need a refresher in customer service.   I am sorry you both became ill.  It is hard enough when one of a couple is ill, let alone when both are ill.  

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6 hours ago, stlpam said:

Thank you.  He is finally home.  I think it was the lack of customer service that really ticked me off, the most.  Id love to share a couple of photos, but don't know how to do that.

Simply drag and drop a picture onto a post that you are typing in.  As I write this reply I can drag and  drop photos into this post such as these from another ship I am currently on. Resizing them first can help but don't worry about that if you don't know how to.

IMG_3110.jpg

IMG_3111.JPG

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