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Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

Royal Caribbean • Cancellations, changes • Crime • Illness, injury • Lost luggage --- News • Cruise Lines Agree To Refund $21 Million In Fuel Surcharges • New Jersey Sues Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruises is the second-largest cruise operator in the world. Its fleet includes the three largest passenger ships ever built, the 137,300 gt Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas.

But as in so many other things, size isn't all that matters. While many cruise fans return time and time again to Royal Caribbean, others don't have a good experience. And as the complaints in this section show, the line is not always eager to make set things right.

John of Mounds, OK May 19, 2009

This is regarding the RCCL Diamond members getting the boot from the Concierge Lounge. I have to say I am very disappointed in the decision to take away this benefit. On the RCCL website on the benefits page it says in bold letters Even More Reasons to Cruise. in reality there are less reasons to cruise with RCCL for Gold, Platinum and Diamond members. I guess fortunately for my wife and I your decision to make this change just makes our decision to take a different cruise line that much easier. Especially since quite often the prices are lower on other cruise lines. We have a cruise booked on RCCL in July to Alaska and the only reason we have not cancelled this is because I couldn't find another cruise line to switch to that has the same dates, in order to change I'd have to change airfare, hotel etc. Our daughter and her husband are platinum members that were looking forward to this nice benefit but After talking to them they said they no longer have a reason to cruise RCCL. We've made it a tradition to cruise together so where one of us goes on a cruise the others go so RCCL has lost 4 people not to mention people we refer, guess who we won't suggest as a cruise line to use for vacations. I know 4 people is a small number but it's cheaper to keep existing customers than to get new ones. It's the fact that they changed the rules in the middle of the game. They established a Loyalty program and set specific goals. Many guests reached those goals only to have them taken away after the goal was reached. RCCL could completely restore the benefits at this point but that would not change the fact that they treated a large number of their most loyal guests with disrespect. It's a matter of trust and respect.

Christopher of Pembroke Pines, FL May 19, 2009

I booked a four day cruise through a travel agent on Royal to leave May 21 that was to have a small four hour stop in Key West and a full day stop in Cozumel Mexico. The Cozumel stop was later canceled because of the swine flu outbreak. No one even notified us. We found out when my wife tried to verify the name of the ship we were departing on on the internet and couldn't find one with a Cozumel stop. We understand why Royal would choose to cancel the Cozumel port of call but by doing so they removed all the value out of our itinerary as we are Florida residents. The new itinerary is a full day stop at Key West and a full day stop at Nassau Bahamas. We have two children traveling with us and my mother. On the original itinerary my daughter's birthday would have fallen on the day spent in Cozumel. On the new itinerary we will be at sea that day. We had even reserved a dolphin encounter at Cozumel. We only chose this particular cruise because of the Cozumel stop as we could have cruised on NCL for less than half as much and visited three Bahama islands. When I called asking what could be done about canceling or working out some sort of resolution after an hour wait time the first customer service representative was dismissive and didn't even want to speak with me directly because we had purchased the ticket through a travel agent. When my travel agent called she notified us that if we wanted to cancel we would lose all of our money.

I called again, this time with nearly a two hour wait time and they notified me that we would receive a 250.00 per state room on-board spending credit and a 250.00 per person credit toward any future reservation on Royal. I told them that they were sadly mistaken if they thought that I would let them kidnap me on my own vacation and I would ever set foot on one of there boats ever again. They then transferred me to customer resolutions where they were very nice but insisted that they were not authorized to do anything for me except that I could transfer to another cruise with them. They told my travel agent the same thing when she called them back. My wife then found a Jamaica cruise of equal value and our travel agent called to make the change. Our travel agent was then informed that no changes were allowed. We were furious. They had lied to us. My wife called yet again and spoke to the assistant to the President. The assistant was very nice and tried to assist us after we explained our situation. The first person that was supposed to call us back never did.

Upon a subsequent phone call we were transferred to a person who insisted she could not help us. This happened one more time and finally on a third phone call we were told that perhaps if we called back again we might be able to transfer to another cruise by paying a penalty! I was already a little upset from the very beginning that I had to pay 480.00 for my ten month old son who would not eat any of the food or use any of the facilities. On NCL an infant pays only a flat fee of 100 to cover port fees and taxes. When my wife asked to speak to the President she was told by the President's assistant that she would be welcome to but that his standard line in such cases was that he did not deal with customer resolutions. My wife called one more time to ask if a crib would be provided for my ten month old son and when she asked about the on-board spending credit she was informed that we would only receive a 50.00 per state room credit. They had lied to us again! Cancellation due to itinerary change will result in 100% loss of funds. We were lied to about being changed to another ship or itinerary. We were lied to about the amount of on-board spending credit we would receive. We lost a total of over five hours of our lives on frustrating phone calls where we were lied to and that resulted in no meaningful resolutions.

Lawrence of Smithtown, NY April 16, 2009

My wife nad I took our three girls on a cruise from 4-4 to 4-11 09 for our 20th anniversary. The first day was fine and my youngest daughter ate too much and with the motion of the boat coupled with too much food, she threw up. My wife thought my young daughter needed a children's medicine to relieve her so she went to the medical facility on level one. She was immediately examined and told she would be quarantied even though she did not have a fever and was feeling better, just dehydrated. They gave her Gatorade and then made us sign a form that stated that she must be isolated for 48 hrs, my other two older and healthy daughters also needed to be isolated or we would have to disembark at our cost. I asked the doctor, what testing methods did you use to reach that decision and he told me he did not have to explain and fortunately for me, I met a fine man in guest relations that realized that the situation was out of his hands although he truly cared.

Now picture this, my 12 year old would now have to be stuck in a state room w/ no window for 48 hours, my two other girls jammed into this sardine room with NO symptoms all because there is no lab, no pediatrician, not ebven a children's infirmary and we had 4000 people on this boat with 1000 kids! Luckily, everyone was fine the next day and we paid an extra 200 just to have the doctor come up to examine her. He was useless, he stated that there was nothing he could do and she would remain in quarintine although she was fine and no one was symptomatic, still no stool sampling, no physical exam, just visual and stating this is US CDC policy and he would not jeopardize his job.

We were blessed that one manager in guest relations called my daughter to see how she was and the next morning, he, NOT the doctor that promised, saw my daughter as fine and he had the 2nd doctor finally discharge her but we lost two days in port and most important, how traumatic is this to younger and more impreshnable children to be stuck in a room that has no windows, no doctor monitoring, parents cannot enter and they have to order off room service menu for their diet!

This is a disgrace but Royal caribbean can easily resolve this by blocking a few rooms for children that could be sick, having a pediatricia n board and a lab that can analyze a stool sample on board to prove either way if a stomach ailment is a norovirus or just a tummy ache and not ruin the lives of the passengers that are unaware of this poor service.

2 lost days for one child 1 lost day for 2 children 2 lost days for us most important, policy needs to be changed regarding CHILDREN's rights at sea, humane care, pediatric doctor must be present and an infirmiry geared for children which has a window.

Julie of Lenox Township, MI April 15, 2009

I am a loyal RCCL customer and a Platnum level member of the Crown and Anchor Society. For my mothers' 60th birthday, a celebratory cruise was planned in her honor, for myself, my mother, and two friends of hers. We booked a 4 night Bahamas cruise aboard Majesty of the Seas, an older ship, but we have cruised on it many times before and have had a wonderful time. This trip was booked via Expedia / Sams Club in June 2008 for a sailing date of April 20, 2009 (this coming Monday). All was well, received reciepts stating limitations and exclusions, no problems.

In December I found out that I was expecting. After speaking with my OB, he stated that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever I could not go on this trip. My last cruise with RCCL I was 7 months pregnant and all was well at that time too. I checked my documentation I received when booking and see that they have a limitation that you cannot be 27 weeks pregnant at any time during your cruise tour, which with some quick mathematics it was determined I would be 24 weeks at the start, and 25 weeks upon my arrival home, again no problems. I have multiple copies of the receipts, since every time we went online to either make a payment or look something up, the reules/regulations reprint, all stating 27 weeks as a cutoff. Mind you in 2003 when I was 7 months pregnant there was nothing mentioned, no concerns about my pregnancy. This cruise was paid in full in February- again no mention about pregnancy limitations being anything but 27 weeks.

However, LAST WEEK I received my cruise documents, inside it states that RCCL will not accomodate passengers that are in their 24th week at any time in the cruise tour. This change was made in April 2008, but extended due to problems that RCCL had with it, until October 2008. You will see tht MANY travel agents AND websites site the 27 week limitation, except theirs of course- but why (until this entire issue came up) would I be looking it up on a website? Expedia / Sams Club is authorized by RCCL to sell their product, and I trust that they have the correct information to supply to travelers. This is unaccpetable- basically two weeks before I am supposed to leave on a trip that I organized as a birthday party, they decide I cannot go? And that is just what they did. I have been told that they will not accomodate me- end of story. Yes, they will give me my money for my trip back, but not my flight, that I used my NWA frequent flyer miles for, that will cost me 100.00 thru NWA. They would also accomodate my mom with a refund, sans the airfare, but nothing for the rest of out travel party.

We would have ALL moved it to another later date, but the other people in the party would lose upward of 500.00 per person for their flights. Too bad, per RCCL. However, they will gladly waive the fees to have my trip transferred to another persons' name- which is what we had to do. So now my father gets to go, UNPAID from work as he has no vacation time available,AND he has to get separate airfare out of his pocket, since I cannot get a credit from RCCL for mine. In addition, we asked that what if no one noticed I was pregnant until on board, and THEN I was told that if I could not produce documentation from my OB stating that I was less than 24 weeks, they would MAKE ME DISEMBARK at the next port of call.

I cannot even believe any of this. They have completely ruined my mothers' big birthday party that we were so looking forward to- and they feel that it is not their fault. Expedia / Sams' Club verbally agreed that it was their error, but that there was nothing more that they can do. I WILL NEVER CRUISE RCCL again- 5 past cruises for myself, and 14 for my parents, and they will never cruise RCCL again either.

Emotional distress is the least of my consequences. I have been emotionally and physically sick about this entire thing all day. There was nothing I could have done different, they should have allowed me to cruise since it is obviously their error. Not to mention being out 50K frequent flier miles, 100.00 if I wan to buy them back and 400.00 for a new airline ticket for someone to use my spot on the cruise-

R of Herndon, VA April 12, 2009

We took the Majesty Of The Seas on April 6th for a 4 night cruise. I should've known what I was in for before we even left the airport...we were told the buses run every 20 mins from the airport to the seaport. My 9 year daughter, after waiting 45 mins, politely asked one of the RCCL reps how long it might be for the bus to arrive- the lady told her she was busy and didn't have time to talk to her. Nice, huh? When the bus DID finally arrive, this driver had the nerve to ask for tips and stand there with his hand out, like a panhandler, as we exited the bus.

This was our first cruise and had no idea of where to go or what to do. We got through the cattle call baording process and upon arriving on the ship there was nobody to help us or advise us in how to accomplish the numerous things we had to do in first arriving onboard. We got to the stateroom and it was nothing like what was pictured in the online 360 degree pictures they offer. Bait and Switch!

One of the problems we had was that despite booking this 14 months in advance, we didn't have a table assigned to us for dinner. We were told this wouldn't be a problem, just see the Maitre De at the host stand. We arrived for 6PM dinner seating and I stood in line for 30 mins- to be told that there wasn't any space for us. I made it clear rhat wasn't an acceptable answer and they 'suddenly' found a table.

The biggest issue I had with RCCL wasn't these misteps, which were mostly corrected- but with the conflicting inofrmation I recieved from their Guest Relations people. Nothing we were told by them turned out to be true- and these are supposed to be the Custimer Service experts. When we arrived at home I called the Customer Service number and the first person I spoke to, Alberto, was dismissive of my situation. He saw the lack of a greeter at the entry to the ship and the absence of assistance for 1st time cruisers as not being a customer service failure. He also responded to my dinner situation by saying I've cruised 10 times and never had that happen to me- essentially calling me a liar.

I asked to speak to his supervisor and all she would do is offer the company line of 'were sorry' The dining staff and stateroom attendand were happy and helpful. the rest of the staff at RCCL were condescending and unhelpful- worse they just don't give a 'flip' about their job or the guests on board. Their attitude is that their filling the ships, so they don't care if you come back or not. The inference was shame on you for being stupid enough to sail with us. I won't be that stupid again. Next year and in future years, we'll go back to Disney or sail on Disney Cruise Lines- that's a company that undestands customer service and treats their guests with a level of respect, importance and superior service. Disney treats their customers in a way that makes them feel like they matter. Their helpful and attentive! RCCL is as bad, if not worse, then the airlines.

None- I asked and they refused to offern any compensation. They just don't care. The consequences were that I spent my valuable vacation being aggrevated and frustrated.

Robert of Fort Lauderdale, FL April 8, 2009

As a loyal Diamond member of Royal Caribbean, I enoyed through the years the many amenities the line offered. When an opportunity came up to sail with a charter group on the Freedom of the Seas, I was thrilled. I selected this specific charter simply because it was a Royal Caribbean ship. On January 25, 2009, I sailed on the Freedom. The coston for my trip as a single as 3,860.00. During my last two days on the ship, I developed a mild case of diarrhea. Eager to enjoy the rest of my cruise, I went to the onboard physician to obtain Imodium or a similar medication as they do not sell most over the counter medications in their shop.

When I told the physician I had mild diarrhea, I was informed Royal Caribben guidelines require quarantine for any patient that has diarrhea. I felt this was a bit excessive. After all, I had no fever, no stomach pains or any other symptoms other than the mild diarrhea. While speaking with the physician I was told the policy was to reimburse passengers for the cost per day for the number of day they were quarantined. I received notification and was sent a future credit of 160.00 for the two days I was quarantined! How insulting was THAT? I wrote back to them and they replied they had regretted my dissatisfaction and had nothing further to add in the form of resolution! They said they regret if there was any residula disappointment regarding their final decision! Imagine, after all my years of being loyal to them!

Jennifer of North Vernon, IN March 28, 2009

Shame on Royal Caribbean! My family has been planning our first ever cruise since May of 2008. We were all set to go on our cruise on Monday March 23rd. Unfortunately our 6 year old son who had blood clots at birth, resulting is a stroke, the loss of one arm, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy had a severe seizure the day we were to fly to Florida. Chases seizures have always been controlled with medication and weve never had any problems in the past. We ended up spending the day in Riley hospital for children. Our sons neurologist recommended that we not take the cruise since we didnt know what caused this seizure to be so severe and the risk of him having one at sea and having to be air lifted out was too great. She wrote us a note to give to the cruise line stating her recommendation that he not go and told us she thought they would be understanding of our situation.

We of course we were all devastated that the trip we had been planning for almost a year would not happen. I called Royal Caribbean and quickly found out that we hadnt purchased trip insurance, which obviously was a huge mistake. I explained why we couldnt go and was transferred to Annie in the resolutions department. She offered to give us 200 a person in vouchers that would have to be used in a year. I explained to her that we didnt think we would ever be able to take a cruise with him and even with the 200 dollars in vouchers we would be still be losing 1,500 dollars on the cruise. She told me that was all she could do and that I needed to let her know no later than 2 days at the most so they could RESELL my rooms!

Can you believe that? Why would I care if they got to resell my rooms if they werent giving me my money back? She even asked why all four of us werent going on the cruise if it were just 1 child. I couldnt believe what I was hearing! Like I would leave my child home and go without him? I decided Id wait 2 days and call back because I didn't want them to be able to sell my rooms if they weren't refunding me. This time I spoke to someone else and told her what Annie had said. I asked to speak to a supervisor to see if theyd be willing to give us the money instead of a voucher or consider refunding all of it.

The supervisor REFUSED to even get on the phone and speak to me. She told the lady on the phone to tell me the offer was firm and it was all they would do. I cant believe that Royal Caribbean doesnt have better customer service than that! I've never had a supervisor refuse to speak to me. That was pathetic! We lost 1,500 dollars on the cruise.

Stuart of Desert Edge, CA March 16, 2009

Avoid Royal Caribbean if you expect any service recovery after a bad cruise. RCCL is not a bad cruise line, at least in our first 14 cruises with them. But our 15th cruise was a disaster: On arrival, our bathroom was flooded and our cabin attendant had no clue as to his responsibilities (soiled robes, no amenities for our diamond? status, no pool towels, no ice, and finally he hid the appraisal form at the end of the cruise, thinking that if we found it he would not get good marks!). The casino charges 3% even before you make your first bet. Any experienced player recognizes that the casino has a huge % advantage in normal play.... adding 3% to that is absurd (NCL, for instance, has no such charge).

For four prior cruises, we were seated at a table for four in the dining room, despite our requests for a 6 or 8 person table. We did not complain... but on this cruise, we did ask for a larger table and the head waiter was not helpful.. in fact borderline annoying. The clincher was that the other two guests scheduled for our table never arrived... so we ate alone for seven nights.

When I returned home, I sent a careful letter of dissatisfaction to the executive section of customer service at RCCL. I received three phone calls from a very slick and sophisticated customer service rep... one of their best I am sure. She told me that, after 14 cruises with them (no complaints), compensation to us was two restrictive certificates in the amount of 52.00 each.. 104.00 total! I could not believe after spending tens of thousands of dollars with RCCL their response as service recovery for one really bad cruise was 104.00!

I challenged that as not being a proportional response, common in the industry, and the customer service rep blew me off... well, what she really said was that she would buy me a bottle of wine on my next rccl cruise. Goodbye, RCCL.... every bit of good that you did on our many cruises with you has been destroyed by a lack of service recovery. NCL is going to benefit from your decision...just booked two cruises with them.

James of Brunswick, OH March 8, 2009

2-22/3-01 we were aboard the freedom of the seas,for one of the many cruises we have taken with royal Carribean we are crown&anchor society diamond members.We booked a balcony room.We love to sit on the balcony and to sleep with the balcony door open.This time we could not do this because of smokers.We understood these were non smoking rooms we feel our rights were violated.

We also have a complaint against the general store.In your news letter found in our cabin Absolut vodka was advertised for two bottles for 19.95 clerk in store stated that was an old news letter and charged us 21.95.We returned to our cabin and returned to the with the ad.We were reimbursed.We have never had problems before on previous cruises.We spent a lot of money and were disappointed.

Michael of Bradenton, FL March 5, 2009

My wife got food poisioning from the midnight buffet on the Grandeur of the Seas on Saturday, January 31st, 2009. I reported it to Trejo-Valadez at the Pursers desk the next day and she was condesending. I wrote a letter to the VP of Hotel Ops at the address above and only received a generic response stating that they hope I do not stop being a RCL customer over this.

My wife was vomiting for days afterward and missed work upon return to the US

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