Eastern Caribbean Cruise: Day Eight

Miami, Florida: We arrived into Miami early in the morning and it could not be early enough as we could not wait to get off the SS Prison Boat. Well its not like we had a choice, since my wife was still “infected” she was given priority disembarkment and we were off the ship quickly. Not sure if it was because they didn’t want to get anyone else sick or just because they were tired of hearing us complain but it didn’t really matter since we were free. We gathered our luggage in the claim area and began the drive back home.

The events of the last few days of the cruise really tarnished what started out as a remarkable vacation. Its hard to believe the amount of power they give to one person with no secondary opinion available. Seems like there should be a checks and balance system in place which there was not at the time. Once we returned home, I contacted Royal Caribbean’s corporate office and advised them of the experience. The actions of the crew were justified in their minds and as a token of the inconvience, they gave us $500.00 towards a future cruise, but based on what happened that wasn’t much since the experience prevents us from ever wanting to cruise again.

Update (12/2009): Three years later, the emotional scars of the last few days of the cruise have worn off my wife and she is ready to give it another try. I contacted Royal Caribbean to see about booking another cruise and using the credit they offered and I was told that the offer was no longer on the table, that too much time has passed since the offer was made. So the customer service aspect of Royal Caribbean has not improved, really leaves me disappointed. They offer such a great product but the poor service of a few has a lasting effect on the whole company. So it leaves me in a predicament, I am looking to try another cruise in April 2010 and they have the itinerary that we want, 10 night Jewel of the Seas. Do we suck up and deal with the poor relations we had with them to give them another try or do we go shopping for another cruise line? Only time will tell what we are going to do and you will be the first to know, if you want to weigh in you thoughts or decisions, feel free to comment below.

Update (2/2010): I continue to work with the executive customer service team of Royal Caribbean to hopefully resolve the issue and be back onboard a Royal Caribbean ship in the future. There has not been a resolution yet, but I am confident that one is in the future.

Update (4/2010): We have settled the issue with Royal Caribbean. Thanks to Jamie Silva of the executive customer service team, they have reissued the original cruise vouchers and we have applied them towards a 4-night Majesty of the Seas Bahama cruise. We embark from Miami on Monday 4/19 and will be visiting Key West, Nassau and Cococay. Hopefully this will all be in the past and Royal Caribbean will live up to their name and expectations. Look to the site in the near future for recaps from the cruise.