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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.

Catherine of Brooksville, FL December 2, 2008

I am one of 8 women that gave up our Balcony cabin, as you were over booked. We did it gladly as we were offered 1000.oo back, we were told we would get it back, before or just after we got back. Now our complaint is, some of us that put it on our credit card, received it right away. The rest of us that paid cash are still waiting. We do not think this is good business, on the part of the cruise line. We want to know when our Travel agent, will receive the checks? We are very unhappy with the Royal carribean.

Charis of Riverside, CA November 30, 2008

Had no housekeeping on this ship. Two dinners ruined...first one dumped sour cream on my potato as I was saying NO, suffered severe allergic reaction, got hives and was in bed for 15 hours. Second day no housekeeping again I called housekeeping and they brought me trash bags and watched me clean my own room. THe Very worst health problem???? RCCL does not have fitted sheets for their staterooms (which I paid much extra for) Even worse, they do not have mattress pads on the beds and every morning I woke up to find myself sleeping directly on a filthy dirty stained mattress. This made it very difficult to sleep no matter how i tried to fix the sheets.

When you enter the ship your photo is taken and it shows up any time you try to go anywhere on the ship. In the Viking Lounge (for 18 yrs and over) my son was refused entrance because it was not him in the picture. He asked them to retake it to no avail. THe dining room had filthy waterstained glassware and most of the public restrooms were out of all needed supplies. I complained to housekeeping only to be ignored again. There werehousekeeping problems and since my room was not dusted or vaccumed I had to buy inhalers due to the dust in my room and had to buy more Benadryl.

I met with guest relations twice and was lied to about my waiter being changed in the dining room. When I asked how that happened I was told there were communication problems between the staff. I did not eat for the first two nights and left the ship on Thanksgiving Day because I was ill and so was my son. I had to do this at my own expense. It was suggested by RCCL that my family leave the ship before the Thanksgiving celebration. We were taken to the airport in Puerta Vallarta and had to arrange all our own transportation home. This cost me an extra 550.00 and I was never allowed to view any charges that were charged to my Visa but the ship put 750.00 on my card. I have asked for copies of all purchases. So it was a terrible and very expensive nightmare.

550.00 for flight home 95.00 immigration tax Physical damage: 15 hours of illness suffered by myself due to allergic reaction from sour cream. I had to buy purchase inhalers and more benadryldue to the romm being dirty and my allergies to dust. My son and I both came home with respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. Even our meeting with the hotel director could produce any changes at all. I have had to be on a higher dose of antianxiety medication pills after this experience and my son is ill with a throat infection.

Deb of Harrisburg, PA November 20, 2008

A few years ago we went on our 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise. During the 9 day trip I contracted an upper respiratory illness. I went to the infirmary (during regular hours, nothing emergency about my illness) only to be charged 247 for 1 rx of amoxicillin. This is among the least expensive antibiotics. While I was there, an elderly woman was crying in the waiting room with her family. Apparently she was in for treatment a few days before & an rx for water pills was dispensed. She was charged over 700 for a few pills, forced to sign some papers threatening to take her house if she didn't pay. She & her family were just a mess over this horrible experience.

When I returned to the states, I contacted my insurance carrier & they reimbursed me. I also contacted RC Cruise Lines who told me that the medical staff can charge whatever they want for their services. They are contracted by the cruise line and don't control their prices! Talk about piracy at sea. That's a disgrace. My advice--refill all your rx's before leaving on one of their cruise ships!

Irene O'dell of Mountain Top, PA November 11, 2008

My family and I booked our first cruise with Royal Carribbean. This was a nine day cruise out of New Jersey. This cruise was to three islands that ended up being two due to problems in Labordee. We were stuck on the ship for seven whole days out at sea. The name of the ship was the Explorer of the Seas. There were people getting ill and vomiting due to the lenghty time on board and rough waters at times. Emesis bags wrem placed in the stairwells to solve the problem and the infirmery was available for motion sickness medication. There were children vomiting in the dining hall(WindJammer Cafe) and the people eating in proximity of the emesis were not moved!

My son was also registered in their Voyager activities on board. I went to pick him up on a particulary rocky sea day and was told children were getting ill and needed to leave. They kept the other children in this environment which is completely enclosed with no air circulation.

The morning we were to port in Labordee the isalnd was cancelled due to a strike , so we would stay out to sea. Now, all four thousand or so passengers including 800 children all went to the ship's top decks to enjoy outdoor activities. One of the two swimming pools were drained the night before due to a child vomiting in it. The pool was refilled quickly due to the complaints and it being a scorcher. The pool was pressure washed and refilled and people began to swim. These are just a few things I noticed on this trip regarding sanitary condition.

The boat docked back in New Jersey on Sunday , November 9, 2008. My son started to get ill that evening around ten p.m., by eleven p.m., he fell to the ground with stomach pain and had projectile vomiting. Three hours later he had to be admited to the hospital for acute abdominal pain, vomiting , and dehydration. The culprit Norwalk. I called Royal Carribbean and spoke to two customer service representatives and one literally told me it was too bad. I asked her if she knew what it was like to hear an eleven year old who was to weak to stand up yeling Help Me! She had no empathy and told me the ship was not responsible for his illness and no reimbursement will be made for any hospital bills or bad experience while sailing with Royal Carribean. I did not let her even finish. I told her I would call the CDC, so others could be informed or to find out if there were any other complaints. I then hung up.

My child is still in the hospital with this virus and can not eat. I do not think as a result of this experience we will ever go on a cruise again. The emotional trauma we have experienced and our son's physical trauma with the virus he has brought back as a direct result from this cruise. Never again!!

Dan of Nashua, NH November 8, 2008

Just completed our 16th cruise with Royal Caribbean and NO problems so far. Although some of the complaints I've read here are probably justifiable there are some issues that are the responsibility of the traveler. Such as: knowing the on line log in deadlines prior to the cruise, arrival embarkation rules (for security reasons these are mandated by agencies of the Federal Government DHS, etc.). Denied boarding means the traveler Or his/her agent, didn't properly inform themselves of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations on embarkation.

The cruise lines are mandated by Federal Law to conform to them as long as they are berthing at United States ports. Cruise line gift certificates include instructions for use and are NOT responsible if a customer doesn't follow the instructions. As for dirty ships, all cruise lines that visit US Ports are held accountable to the US Govt. Center for Disease Control Vessel Sanitation Program and are inspected by the CDC. It's highly recommended that travelers buy travel insurance that covers any event that may occur. read the policy before purchasing

Cecile N Stephens of Queen Creek, AZ November 6, 2008

Took the Panama Canal cruise 10/17/08 to 11/02/08. Stateroom not as pictured on web site, not enough storage for 16 days. one of the ships propulsion sys. was working only intermittently. ran on one propeller a good amount of the time. Mildew smell in buffet and lobby very strong. Had to stand in land 45min to 1 1/2 hrs to get off the boat at ports of call and 1 to 2 1/2 hr (in rain or 90 degree heat)to get back on because they would have only 1 line.

The boat was generaly dirty with curtains hanging off rods, rust in baths, ceiling leaked in places when it rained, ac ducts dirty causing red eyes and coughs. Laundry ruined a shirt. Painting dining room during lunch. Apparently someone at the guest relations desk stole my credit card number and someone tried to use it in Louisiana when I was in FL.

Made for a very uncomfortable vacation for 3700. Had to cancel CC and Royal Caribbean owes me a credit of 374. which cannot go thru until new card can be issued.

Mike of Beverly, MA October 9, 2008

I went on my 3rd Royal Caribean Cruise back in April 08 aboard Liberty of the Seas. My parents' luggage was lost by the cruise line and they refuse to reimburse them the fair value of what they lost. We opted to use the cruise line's baggage handling services from the airport. When we arrived at the ship we saw my parents' luggage being unloaded from the bus to be put on the ship. That was the last time anyone saw their luggage.

When my parents inquired about it on the boat they were given the run around and told many different things on many different days. Upon leaving the ship they inquired about how they would get reimbursed for the loss. To make a long story short after months of paperwork and phone calls, etc., they were sent a check for 1/20th of the value of their luggage.

My parents are honest people in their 80's and were only expecting to be treated fairly. I found Royal Caribean's actions towards my parents to be shameless if not downright abusive. My parents lost approximately 800 dollars of some of their best clothes, shoes, etc.

Jim of Las Vegas, NV August 24, 2008

Basically I am not a world traveler. call me naive. so we booked our criuse that leaves out of long beach, ca and goes to enchenada mexico with stops at catalina and san diego. I read the information booklet that they sent and I did not understand if I was ok with just a drivers license or if I needed a birth certificate as well so I TOOK thier advise and called their 800 number for information from them the experts. I and my wife listened very carefully and took notes. I asked the question and the customer service person told me I was ok , however to be carefull becasue if I got left behind in Mexico with out my birthcertificate and DL only there would be problems.

day of the criuse we show up early and ready to get on the boat. They informed us that there is no way to get on this boat with out passport or birth certificate period. I explained the situation and tough. ok...but you told me it was ok....too bad. so they removed our baggage and I called the infomation number again. The first lady i spoke with said well if you can get it we can get you on the next ship with it comes back however our service center in FL is closed today due to tropical storm...call us back.

Called the center back next day and talked with them there. went thru two adgents and bottom line the first person I spoke to wasn't authorized to offer me to get on another cruise. Secondly even if we told you that a birthcertificate wasn't needed you should of known and there is nothing we can offer you for our misinformation have a nice day. Look if I was late... my fault. If we tried to break the law somehow... my fault. But when I didn't understand the booklet they sent me and I called them for a deffinitave answer they gave me the wrong advise....

They one lady said that all CS coversations are recorded the last lady the closer said only some are. OH ok yet more mis-information? I am not asking for anything like upgrades... just something back. if for one second I thought I needed my birth certificate I would of showed up with it in hand or I wouldn't of taken a week of work, dropped of my dog and daughter for a week and drove 5.5 hours. How fair is that? I would take a credit or what ever but this was in part a LARGE part their fault period. I would straongly recommend that no one does any kind of trip with Royal Carribean Inc.

we stayed in Cali for 4 days and tried to make the best of our botch vacation. I want my 780 bucks refunded or a credit for both our party and my step sons party because based on our information he didnt have his birth certificate either.

Nancy of Warwick, RI August 22, 2008

My daughter and I took a cruise and left behind a portable DVD player in the cabin. While on the bus from the ship to the airport we realized we had left the item. The bud driver called the shiop and they stated that they were cleaning the rooms. The cruise lines claims it was not found, and we are not covered for the item.

Angie of Los Angeles, CA August 16, 2008

Today (8/15/2008) my family and I had planned a trip on the Royal Carribbean Cruise line leaving San Pedro, CA. At approximately 4:30 pm we arrived in the parking lot of the cruise ship, only to be told that they were no longer accepting passengers. Apparently, there is a new policy from the cruise line that states that if you are not on the ship at 4:30 you will not be boarding. It did not matter that we paid our tickets, or that many of my family members came from the east coast to participate in our family event.

We were not the only one waiting in line, in fact there were approximately 15 cars attempting to do the same thing. There were 12 in our party and many of the other cars were full with passengers. We were told that there was nothing they could do about it and too bad. This is very poor customer service from a crusie line. They were not even willing to work with us, in fact they kept us on on hold for over an hour. It is unfortunate because as you see I am now blogging my story to every website. I will NEVER or any of my family members buy another cruise on the Royal Carribbean line. It is unfair and unjust. We paid in advance and did not receive anything for our money. In this ecomonmy where times are tuff we could not even get an apology, just too bad.

The gentleman at the entrance was rude and condescending. He did not want to help us at all by the way his name is DAN. The sad part is that we were there one hour and a half prior to departure. They had plenty of time to check everyone in. The saddest part is that there were children crying because they were told that they could not get on. Other passangers even got off because the party was incomplete and they could not join in on what many thought would be a happy vacation.

We paid over 5000. to Royal Carribean for a cruise that we were unable to go on

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