We had the clerk at the hotel call a taxi for us when we went back to get our luggage, because the taxi driver who’d gotten us back from the aquarium didn’t seem like he’d quite understand a request to stay and wait for us. Which is fine. When we’d gotten in his cab, he had to put out his cigarette (in the ashtray just below the no smoking sign).
The taxi driver who picked us up to go to the port was trying to tell us which seat he wanted Kaitlyn to use because he had a built-in booster seat. We weren’t getting it in Portuguese and even though he’d heard us speaking to each other in English, he asked us if we speak French. So that was how he got his point across to us. By the end of the trip to the port, he started speaking to us in English… a few words here and there. Like to describe how there were way too many people there. Bill pointed out that he saw bus loads of people and packed taxis going the other way… which didn’t seem right. But with three ships docked at the port, I didn’t think a whole lot about it.
We got out at the area for Royal Caribbean and got in line along with everyone else. Everyone had luggage. Everyone was waiting. Soon, word started circulating through the line that something was wrong. The boat had come in late and no one was getting on. Then Bill pointed out people walking out of the boarding area with their luggage. He was right, that was not a good sign. We finally got up to the front of the line to turn in our luggage, and the baggage handler refused to take it. We didn’t have our pre-printed tags from Royal Caribbean; I hadn’t worried about it because the information I had said I could just fill some out when we checked in. And Bill says the luggage guy said he wasn’t taking any luggage for our ship anyway. Whatever his reason, he told me to go over there and check in. I quickly determined that being overly nice to this guy was going to produce better results than being mean, I begged him to help me understand better what I was supposed to do… he finally told me to stand where I was at the front of the line with our luggage and with Kaitlyn while Bill went to check out the check in. Bill came back with a tall, upset looking man from Royal Caribbean who said he was going to fix things.. that indeed no one was checking in at the dock… and that these guys would take our luggage. I finally managed to get a woman who appeared out of nowhere who worked for RC to give me the needed blank tags, then we were in business. The baggage guy took our things (I thanked him for his help, in hopes that our luggage would at least make it on the ship) and we headed off to get on a bus that would whisk us off to a hotel where we were told snacks, drinks and check in was waiting for us. Everyone around us in line was complaining but we really didn’t think things were all that bad… in comparison to our cruise with NCL.
At the hotel we were given a number as we got off the bus and told our number would be called when it was our turn to check in. So we sat and had some sandwiches and drinks. After about 45 minutes, Bill went to see what number they were on. He found out the entire number system had dissolved because a lot of people decided to take taxis rather than the buses and they arrived demanding immediate attention. I’m not saying the number plan was perfect but it might have stood a chance of working if people had gone along with it. But since no one was following it, Bill had us all go stand in the mob that had gathered outside the doors of the room to the check in area. It was horrible. You’d think we were all refugees waiting for our only chance at a crumb of bread. People pushed and shoved and used foul language (the horror!) and were downright horrid to one another. I pushed some guy who trampled Kaitlyn and that didn’t go so well (imagine that). We watched some young guy nearly push over an older gentleman with a cane. Honestly, we were all going to get on the ship. The mob mentality that was developing was outrageous and scary. It’s a cruise, people, not a war or a natural disaster. I never want to be around those people if they do find themselves in a serious situation.
Once we got inside the coveted check-in room, there were ropes set up to help people who can’t queue do just that, and everything was fine. When it was our turn to check-in, I started to panic that maybe I hadn’t printed out every last piece of paper I was supposed to have (since ours was done entirely online, they didn’t mail us anything, they sent us notices that things were ready for download). I looked at the people staring at their laptops trying to process the angry passengers and realized they weren’t even Royal Caribbean employees… but were with a company that had been hired to help handle the crush. The guy helping us first had trouble with the credit card I’d given for our on board credit because on one form I put my name and on another form I’d put Bill’s. We have the exact same credit card number. The RC supervisor came over and helped him type in the right whatever to make that not an issue (she said right away it was not a problem). Then he told me our room keys weren’t ready and that we’d get a paper boarding pass.. something that was happening to a lot of people. Ok. Then he said uh, I show someone else is in your room. I knew this guy was in no position to really help sort this out. I couldn’t tell Bill what was going on because he was trying to keep the now bored and restless Kaitlyn occupied. So I made the decision to accept a boarding pass for a room someone else was probably already in and sort it out on the ship. All I wanted to do at that point was get on that ship.
When I had all the papers this guy could give me, we walked back into the chaos of the hotel lobby and I caught Bill up on what had happened. We went out to get on a bus to go back to the ship. So far, even with all this, we weren’t upset. It was still better than our first cruise.
As soon as we tried to get on the ship, the issue with our cabin number popped up. The guy led us straight to a man who was handling problems. He typed in our name and said we’ve upgraded you to a junior suite. Oh, well, ok then! He gave us our key cards and sent us on our way. We couldn’t believe it. We actually had room to walk around in the stateroom. Our bathroom had a bathTUB in it. And our balcony was huge… two chairs and a lounger. We weren’t upset. Our stateroom attendant came right away to introduce herself and ask if we needed anything. They announced that dinner would be open seating, so we went to the dining room to eat right away. (we heard later the line was crazy long at 9pm with people who didn’t realize it was open seating, so we made a good call with that one)
After dinner our luggage still hadn’t made it to our room. Our stateroom attendant said she was told we needed to go to the purser’s desk to try to identify it among a pile of luggage that hadn’t found its owners. Bill went and soon after someone arrived with all three bags.
We left port around 9… four hours behind schedule. No one could tell us how it would affect our stop tomorrow in Gibraltar. But, still, we were happy and excited and ready to start our cruise.
This check-in story reads like how people reacted in the LA riots….grandmothers stealing stuff from stores…. regular folks doing despicable things…..it does make you wonder what the trip would be like floating along trapped on a ship with people who so far acted like prisoners. Having spoken with you already, I know it worked out. But for those just reading this, makes one hesitant to read the outcome. Sorry, like a movie trailer, I may have just created a spoiler for those who haven’t chatted with you.