Does Royal Caribbean Really Care About Its Loyal Customers?

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ltoler

Guest
My wife and I sailed on the Grandeur of the Seas from Baltimore on July 3. During the first night my wife suffered bites from insects that were coming out of her pillow. The insects (bedbugs? were full of blood). The insects were not in the bed, just coming out of the pillow. She had numerous bites on both arms and her head. She was treated at the infirmary but got very little relief from the pain. We felt the problem was handled very poorly onboard and wrote to both Guest Relations and Crown and Anchor Society upon our return home. My wife is allergic to insect bites and had a serious reaction that required additional treatment after returning home. Her doctor stated she could not positively identify the insects as bedbugs but there was a very good posibility. She had huge welts all over her arms. It has been a month since we wrote to RCCL (they signed for my certified letters on July 20) and we have had no response whatever. I sent an email a week ago and other than the automated receipt response, there has been no reply. This was our 8th cruise with RCCL.

Has anyone else experienced any problem in obtaining a response from RCCL? I read in the St. Petersburg Times in July about some other passengers who have experienced difficulty in dealing with RCCL. Royal Caribbean has always been our cruise line of choice but now I am beginning to wonder. Any suggestions?
 
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mlzangel78

Guest
i have had no problems but EWWWWWWWW, i would have lost my mind if that happened to me,,,, i have goosebumps just thinking about it... i carry a small travel size can of lysol on each cruise, and spray everything down when i get in the cabin,,, i also have 2 wet proof, ya know the kind youd use for littel kids or camping, zip covers for the pillows,,, even though they change the cases,doesnt mean someone else germs arent inthe pillow,,,,, im sorry your wife went thru that,,,, lord if it had been me the ENTIRE ship would have heard me rasing hell.... i hope you hear from them soon
 
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rshreib

Guest
I have problems with all the lines getting any response from the HQ. Its seems its a common problem. On Norwegian, I called 4 different people, was told to fax my complaint to 3 different numbers.. Finally I stopped payment on the card and they didnt even bother to call me.
 
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Diamond Plus

Guest
Sorry to hear your problems

FYI - We always bring our own pillow cases .. we also ALWAYS ask for our steward to take off the bed spread for our entire stay thinking that they never clean them !

On our twenty cruises with RCCL, we had 2 issues .. first one was losing our luggage which they compenstated me $300 pp in cruise credits .... the last time was this past july aboard the Empress
which vibrated so much we couldnt sleep in our room ... our first attemp with customer service offered us $50 credits pp ... we said no thanks .. my wife called and she ended up getting $250 pp credits which we accepted ...

The moral of the story is you have to be persistent with Customer Service who can be nasty. I suggest you dont call Friday - Monday when they get the most complaints when passengers get off the majority of their vessels. Don't accept something you dont feel is respectable. Be agressive. The customer is always right.

Side note ... We recently got off the Mariner on Aug 14. We went with my father in law (who was defending his Mr Sexy Legs Title for the 8th time !) ... He was in the head outside the windjammer and slipped and twisted his ankle. The Windjammer captain suggested he gets his ankle looked at in the doctors office . Luckily everything was fine but they charged him $ 150 for the visit. Needless to say he had to fight RCCL to refund the $150 as they claimed there was a sign that the floor was wet. He eventually had to get the Windjammer captain to say there was no sign ...
 
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Robkabob

Guest
Frankly, I am not surprised by the lack of response from their customer service units. Here are some things you might consider:

1. Write the President of the Company and indicate that if this is not remedied to your satisfaction, you will take further action.

Adam Goldstein
Royal Caribbean International
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132-2096

Be as forthright and concise as you can. Sometimes, writing in bullet points helps clarify points. Indicate what you feel just compensation should be.

2. If no answer, then start reporting the ship to agencies:

Reports of unsanitary conditions on a cruise ship can be made to: U.S. Public Health Service, Chief, Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, 1850 Eller Dr., Suite 101, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33316. Telephone: 954-356-6650.

cc the Maryland State Port Administration, so they know this is impacting cruise ship business:
MPA World Trade Center, 401 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Since Royal Caribbean is headquartered in FL, here is a link to the State of Florida consumer complaints.
http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=57

You might consider the Better Business Bureau
http://complaint.bbb.org/

3. Another course of action is to contact the media, although that is always a double edge sword because it could mean a loss of privacy or they may be indifferent to the story.

Since you departed Baltimore, the local media might take an interest:
TV stations:
WBAL
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/wbal/index.html

WJZ
http://www.wjz.com
newsroom@wjz.com

WMAR
http://www.abc2news.com/01-contact-us.shtml

Newspaper:
Baltimore Sun
http://www.baltimoresun.com/about/bal-newstips,0,6827005.htmlstory

4. Finally, you might consider getting advice from a lawyer.

It helps if you have kept records, with dates and persons you contacted, copies of medical bills, etc. If you took any photographs, they are very helpful.

Unforutunately at times, complaints are never answered by anyone. It is infuriating because it suggests their business model is to accept unhappy customers because they can be replaced by new ones.

Good luck. Let us know if you get anywhere!
 
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ltoler

Guest
Thanks for all your good advice. I did write the President of RCCL, the Vice President in charge of the Crown and Anchor Society, and the head of Guest Relations. I will try some of your other suggestions. I do have pictures which are not very pretty and I may post them to this and other boards if I do not hear from RCCL soon.
 
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sailingrose

Guest
Usually takes about a month to call. Used to get letters but I think they call now. I've had a few issues none medical or as awful as what you wife experienced. Usually they apologize and offer a discount, etc.

They are very slow in response but at least they respond.......I'm still waiting for another line to get back to me from several years ago.
 
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Robkabob

Guest
Rose, I think that cruise line "filed" your complaint, if you know what I mean. :)

Good customer service goals are dictated from top management and are part of a company's culture. Where I work, all customer service inquiries must be answered within 3 days. If there is an increase in volume, staff is pulled from other areas to answer snail mail or email. In fact, if our call centers get flooded with calls, we have contingency staff that drop what they are doing to handle the volume.

I know that I am old school, but it used to be that mail would be answered within two weeks. RCI needs to overhaul their customer service delivery for the office functions. They could start by taking field trips to Nordstrom, LL Bean, Disney etc. Of course, with high demand and little competition, there is little incentive to excel. To their credit, the ships are usually run quite well except when things go horribly wrong...like a bed bug invasion. Managers on the ship should be empowered to rectify the situation and make compensation while you are on the ship rather than you dealing with the back office after the trip is over.

Thank you for listening. I will put the ol' soap box back into the garage. :)

Good luck with RCI!
 
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sailingrose

Guest
Robkabob your right in many ways about RCI's service. Not sure if I get their attention because I've cruise more then 20 times with them or not, but your right about the time involved in any response. Good customer service is a must in this day and age and all the cruise lines should learn this policy.

BTW RCI isn't the only awful customer service cruise line........I've had issues with Carnival and Princess in the past.
 
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Karry

Guest
Ewww....makes me sick just reading that post. We have never had a problem with bed bugs knock wood. We are going on Voyager of the Seas in a month. Maybe I should buy the pillow covers Melissa brings. Never would have thought of that. Can't you SEE the bugs before you get into the bed?
 
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Erinm

Guest
I think if you have not heard back from RCCL Soon, you should start looking at the #2 suggestion of writing to the ship agencies. You gave them plenty of time to deal with it (they could have even dealt with it right on the ship!). You don't want to wait too long or they'll think you're just dwelling on the past.
 
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traveltime

Guest
Oh, my skin is crawling ~ no pun intended. Great advice here, and I sure hope you get some resolution. My husband thinks I am ridiculous for being concerned about linens & pillows when we travel. I take a top sheet from home so I can wrap the top of the hotel's blanket & keep only my clean sheet next to my face. I'm going to buy the zippered pillow covers this week & put them in my suitcase for my upcoming cruise!!
 
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cjbee

Guest
When we had big issues with RC's customer service last April. I sent several letters. I eventually did get a letter back 4 - 6 weeks later....
CJ
 
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Smithers853

Guest
Its say when you call the customer service that any letters or complaints will be dealt with in 3 - 6 weeks. Like I said, call the HQ 305-539-6000 and clikc 0 for cusomer service Ask for the executive offices and you should ask to speak to one of the secretaries.

Personally, I have never had a probelm or complaints with any of my cruise......now if there were bugs in my room...then RCL would get a mouth full.

Good luck..and keep trying
 
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traveltime

Guest
Melissa, you betcha! I do pack Lysol, but now I'm wondering if I should pack RAID bug spray? {evil grins}
 
S

Searcher

Guest
ltoler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Has anyone else experienced any problem in
> obtaining a response from RCCL? I read in the St.
> Petersburg Times in July about some other
> passengers who have experienced difficulty in
> dealing with RCCL. Royal Caribbean has always been
> our cruise line of choice but now I am beginning
> to wonder. Any suggestions?


This happened to me as well. I was bitten on the temple and they had to amputate my head.


"During the first night my wife suffered bites from insects that were coming out of her pillow. "

For Gods sake one has a problem like this and one takes not one bug as a sample, especially since some of the bugs seem to have been squished, thus the blood, and especially since there is an allergy prone person?

No wonder you are getting nowhere fast with RCCL. It would have been handled by the Hotel Director, while on the ship, if this was a valid claim, with a very generous reimbursement. You had no need to be fighting Florida for a remedy when it was on board.

Who was the Hotel Director for the mentioned cruise?
Who was the Cruise Director on this cruise?
Who was the Staff Captain on this cruise?
Who was the C and A rep on board?

Sorry if it happened fellow, but I am very leary of newbies logging in with a wild claim about RCCL or any line for that matter and you did not take care of business when you should have, while onboard.

This claim is no different than someone catching Norwalk at the mall or on the plane, going to the ship, and then blaming the cruise line for being sick.
 
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Robkabob

Guest
While one can never account for the veracity of internet postings, the bed bug problem is not a "wild tale". Bed Bug infestations are on the increase. Here is an article on the subject:

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/health/0805/09bedbugs.html

and another on RCCL

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050411/BREAKINGNEWS/50411006

Unlike Norwalk, which can be caught or spread anywhere on the ship, Bed Bugs are usually in the bedding, hence their name. It is the responsibility of the cruise line or hotel to provide bed linens that are free of vermin. (Isn't that an understatement!) Itoler may be new, but the story is plausable.
 
S

Searcher

Guest
Robkabob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bed Bugs are usually in the
> bedding, hence their name. It is the
> responsibility of the cruise line or hotel to
> provide bed linens that are free of vermin. (Isn't
> that an understatement!) Itoler may be new, but
> the story is plausable.
>

But the lack of remedy is not plausable. There is no way the hotel director would have let this matter slide.

That is my point. :)
 


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