"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[thedudeabides]

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

On January 11th, we were supposed to take a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  Instead, we got kicked off the ship at dockside because I came down with a migraine.  I started having migraines at age 6, so I've had over 50 years of experience with them.

We got there in plenty of time, there about 10:30 when last check-in time was 3:00. Got into the stateroom, unpacked, had lunch, arranged for a shore excursion to replace one that was cancelled, etc.

Then they had the lifeboat drill. I didn't know that when they blow the ship's horn for the signal, they also have strobe lights going off in the corridor. I got one right in the face, no more than 10 feet away.  IMMEDIATE migraine trigger.  And as bad luck would have it, there was a medic right there at the muster station. When I'm in migraine prodrome, I slur and stammer.  This is a common-enough symptom that it has a name, dysphasic aura.  The medic insisted that I might be having a stroke, and wouldn't listen to me or DH telling them that this was the same set of symptoms that I have with EVERY migraine, and have had for at least the last 20 years.   They gave me my Imitrex, but wouldn't listen when we told them that all I needed to do was lie down in a dark room for a couple of hours. They kicked BOTH of us off the ship and confiscated our shipcards so that we couldn't get back on.   

They sent me in an ambulance to the ER, where the doctor took one look at me, had me do the very basic neuro test (squeeze hands, smile, check eyes), gave me an EKG, agreed that with my history of migraines, I knew what I was talking about, and discharged me. In and out in half an hour. (When was the last time you got through the ER like THAT on a Saturday afternoon?) Meanwhile the cruise people packed up our stuff and called a taxi for DH. SonIL#2 got there first and took him to the hospital. When DH walked into the room, I was ready to leave.

So we came home. Nothing else to do. The ship had sailed as soon as they got DH off of it.

We did get a refund of our shore excursions and wine package and stuff like that, but not the cost of the cruise itself.  Our only recourse is to file with the travel insurance people.  For the last month, our travel agent has been fighting for us to get some sort of recompense from Royal Caribbean, but this afternoon we got a forward from her:

Dear Ms. [Agent]:

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept my apology for not responding sooner. We appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to further address any concerns.

The well-being of our guests is our highest priority. However, there may be times when things do not go the way we had intended. We understand your disappointment regarding the medical evacuation of your client. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate the request for compensation. I apologize for any disappointment with our final decision.

Ms. [Agent], thank you for the time you have taken to write to us. We truly look forward to the opportunity to welcome your clients back again and demonstrate our commitment to service on a future sailing.

Sincerely,

Najwa Pagon
Corporate Guest Relations Advocate

It will be a cold day in Hell before we step foot on a Royal Caribbean ship again.   In the morning, I'm calling my local TV station's Investigative Team.  We will also be consulting legal advice.   

You know that old saying, a satisfied customer tells one person, an unsatisfied customer tells 10?   Pass this along, people, and let's make it 10,000.

And whatever you do on your next cruise, DO NOT admit to having a minor ailment. 

I relinquish ALL rights to my words above.  May be disseminated in any form whatsoever, by anyone.

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

[BeagleMommy]

I will never use the eyeglass department of a local department store.

The insurance through my work does not offer an eyeglass plan.  I get appointments paid for because of my diabetes.  Before DH got eyeglass coverage through his work we called several places to find the best prices on the lenses I needed (progressive bifocal, high index).  We also decided on a price we could afford for the frames.

I went to department store and the woman assisting me kept trying to steer me toward a pair of red plastic frames (think Sally Jessie Rafael style).  My skin tone is quite pink so I never wear red near my face and the frames were out of my price range anyway.  I finally had to say "I am not going to take those, I don't like them".

I chose my frames and sat down with her and handed her my prescription.  She looked at it then said "You have such a small add (the bifocal).  Are you sure you want it?"

Me:  The doctor ordered it so I want what the prescription says.
Her:  (sighing) Don't you take your glasses off to read?
Me:  (I know I was rude here, but really) Lady, did you look at my prescription?!  If I take my glasses off I don't see this! (I stuck my hand in front of my face.)

Never went back and I never will.

[gramma dishes]

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

But she and her husband WERE familiar with her medical history and she told them so.  It's not like it's the first time this ever happened to her. 

I think most people buy travel insurance in case they get sick before the trip, or ON the ship, plane, etc., or at their destination and need medical care there or to be shipped back home.  They don't expect the vendor to make unilateral decisions that they aren't going to let their customers go at all.  Since the ship's personnel made the decision against her will, I do think they should compensate them for at least most of the cost of the cruise.

[shhh its me]

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

On January 11th, we were supposed to take a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  Instead, we got kicked off the ship at dockside because I came down with a migraine.  I started having migraines at age 6, so I've had over 50 years of experience with them.

We got there in plenty of time, there about 10:30 when last check-in time was 3:00. Got into the stateroom, unpacked, had lunch, arranged for a shore excursion to replace one that was cancelled, etc.

Then they had the lifeboat drill. I didn't know that when they blow the ship's horn for the signal, they also have strobe lights going off in the corridor. I got one right in the face, no more than 10 feet away.  IMMEDIATE migraine trigger.  And as bad luck would have it, there was a medic right there at the muster station. When I'm in migraine prodrome, I slur and stammer.  This is a common-enough symptom that it has a name, dysphasic aura.  The medic insisted that I might be having a stroke, and wouldn't listen to me or DH telling them that this was the same set of symptoms that I have with EVERY migraine, and have had for at least the last 20 years.   They gave me my Imitrex, but wouldn't listen when we told them that all I needed to do was lie down in a dark room for a couple of hours. They kicked BOTH of us off the ship and confiscated our shipcards so that we couldn't get back on.   

They sent me in an ambulance to the ER, where the doctor took one look at me, had me do the very basic neuro test (squeeze hands, smile, check eyes), gave me an EKG, agreed that with my history of migraines, I knew what I was talking about, and discharged me. In and out in half an hour. (When was the last time you got through the ER like THAT on a Saturday afternoon?) Meanwhile the cruise people packed up our stuff and called a taxi for DH. SonIL#2 got there first and took him to the hospital. When DH walked into the room, I was ready to leave.

So we came home. Nothing else to do. The ship had sailed as soon as they got DH off of it.

We did get a refund of our shore excursions and wine package and stuff like that, but not the cost of the cruise itself.  Our only recourse is to file with the travel insurance people.  For the last month, our travel agent has been fighting for us to get some sort of recompense from Royal Caribbean, but this afternoon we got a forward from her:

Dear Ms. [Agent]:

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept my apology for not responding sooner. We appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to further address any concerns.

The well-being of our guests is our highest priority. However, there may be times when things do not go the way we had intended. We understand your disappointment regarding the medical evacuation of your client. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate the request for compensation. I apologize for any disappointment with our final decision.

Ms. [Agent], thank you for the time you have taken to write to us. We truly look forward to the opportunity to welcome your clients back again and demonstrate our commitment to service on a future sailing.

Sincerely,

Najwa Pagon
Corporate Guest Relations Advocate

It will be a cold day in Hell before we step foot on a Royal Caribbean ship again.   In the morning, I'm calling my local TV station's Investigative Team.  We will also be consulting legal advice.   

You know that old saying, a satisfied customer tells one person, an unsatisfied customer tells 10?   Pass this along, people, and let's make it 10,000.

And whatever you do on your next cruise, DO NOT admit to having a minor ailment. 

I relinquish ALL rights to my words above.  May be disseminated in any form whatsoever, by anyone.

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

I can understand where the cruise line was in a tough spot but once they made the decision to remove passengers I think its on the cruise line to refund them.   Especially since they triggered the symptom.

[thedudeabides]

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

But she and her husband WERE familiar with her medical history and she told them so.  It's not like it's the first time this ever happened to her. 

I think most people buy travel insurance in case they get sick before the trip, or ON the ship, plane, etc., or at their destination and need medical care there or to be shipped back home.  They don't expect the vendor to make a unilateral decisions that they aren't going to let their customers go at all.  Since the ship's personnel made the decision against her will, I do think they should compensate them for at least most of the cost of the cruise.

Except that what she described as her symptoms are incredibly unusual for migraines but incredibly common for strokes.  When the stakes are that high, the cruise line can't afford to take on that liability that the passenger is being honest OR that what she thought was a migraine really was a stroke.

[thedudeabides]

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

On January 11th, we were supposed to take a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary.  Instead, we got kicked off the ship at dockside because I came down with a migraine.  I started having migraines at age 6, so I've had over 50 years of experience with them.

We got there in plenty of time, there about 10:30 when last check-in time was 3:00. Got into the stateroom, unpacked, had lunch, arranged for a shore excursion to replace one that was cancelled, etc.

Then they had the lifeboat drill. I didn't know that when they blow the ship's horn for the signal, they also have strobe lights going off in the corridor. I got one right in the face, no more than 10 feet away.  IMMEDIATE migraine trigger.  And as bad luck would have it, there was a medic right there at the muster station. When I'm in migraine prodrome, I slur and stammer.  This is a common-enough symptom that it has a name, dysphasic aura.  The medic insisted that I might be having a stroke, and wouldn't listen to me or DH telling them that this was the same set of symptoms that I have with EVERY migraine, and have had for at least the last 20 years.   They gave me my Imitrex, but wouldn't listen when we told them that all I needed to do was lie down in a dark room for a couple of hours. They kicked BOTH of us off the ship and confiscated our shipcards so that we couldn't get back on.   

They sent me in an ambulance to the ER, where the doctor took one look at me, had me do the very basic neuro test (squeeze hands, smile, check eyes), gave me an EKG, agreed that with my history of migraines, I knew what I was talking about, and discharged me. In and out in half an hour. (When was the last time you got through the ER like THAT on a Saturday afternoon?) Meanwhile the cruise people packed up our stuff and called a taxi for DH. SonIL#2 got there first and took him to the hospital. When DH walked into the room, I was ready to leave.

So we came home. Nothing else to do. The ship had sailed as soon as they got DH off of it.

We did get a refund of our shore excursions and wine package and stuff like that, but not the cost of the cruise itself.  Our only recourse is to file with the travel insurance people.  For the last month, our travel agent has been fighting for us to get some sort of recompense from Royal Caribbean, but this afternoon we got a forward from her:

Dear Ms. [Agent]:

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept my apology for not responding sooner. We appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to further address any concerns.

The well-being of our guests is our highest priority. However, there may be times when things do not go the way we had intended. We understand your disappointment regarding the medical evacuation of your client. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate the request for compensation. I apologize for any disappointment with our final decision.

Ms. [Agent], thank you for the time you have taken to write to us. We truly look forward to the opportunity to welcome your clients back again and demonstrate our commitment to service on a future sailing.

Sincerely,

Najwa Pagon
Corporate Guest Relations Advocate

It will be a cold day in Hell before we step foot on a Royal Caribbean ship again.   In the morning, I'm calling my local TV station's Investigative Team.  We will also be consulting legal advice.   

You know that old saying, a satisfied customer tells one person, an unsatisfied customer tells 10?   Pass this along, people, and let's make it 10,000.

And whatever you do on your next cruise, DO NOT admit to having a minor ailment. 

I relinquish ALL rights to my words above.  May be disseminated in any form whatsoever, by anyone.

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

I can understand where the cruise line was in a tough spot but once they made the decision to remove passengers I think its on the cruise line to refund them.   Especially since they triggered the symptom.

Flashing lights are incredibly common with emergency alert systems these days.  I don't at all think it's the cruise line's fault that a standard emergency system triggered her migraine; that's just life.

[SCMagnolia]

Except that what she described as her symptoms are incredibly unusual for migraines

Not necessarily.

A bad enough migraine will cause me to have slurred speech and an inability to balance, let alone walk.  According to the neurologist that has been treating me for my migraines for the last several years, this is actually much more common than one might think.

[Twik]

I must admit, I would consider good customer service to be recompensing a customer after forcibly removing them for medical reasons. It may not be necessary, but I agree that if I were treated so, I would never use their services again, and I would let people know of my displeasure.

Such an aggressive "stand our ground" posture would make me worry what else they would dig their heels in over.

ETA: I know that people have heels, not heals, on their feet. Truly, I do.

[Outdoor Girl]

I must admit, I would consider good customer service to be recompensing a customer after forcibly removing them for medical reasons. It may not be necessary, but I agree that if I were treated so, I would never use their services again, and I would let people know of my displeasure.

Such an aggressive "stand our ground" posture would make me worry what else they would dig their heals in over.

I agree; if the OP was the one who said, 'You know, I should go get checked out at the ER.' and the boat left without them, I wouldn't expect them to be compensated.  But the cruise line is the one that made them miss the boat so they should be refunded by the cruise line.  I don't fault the cruise line for making her go get checked out but I do fault them for not refunding them.

[Piratelvr1121]

My DH had a migraine once that mimicked the symptoms of a stroke, so much so that it was kind of scary, really.  He rarely gets them anymore, as iirc, it was brought on by a medication he'd been taking and he doesn't take it anymore. 

But migraines aside, flashing lights can set off other medical conditions such as seizures in folks with epilepsy, so I'd think that unless RCI refuses to allow epileptics to sail on their ships, it would be a good idea to warn passengers of possible triggers.

I'd be more forgiving of RCI if they suggested Elfmama get checked out but didn't kick them off the cruise.

[Elfmama]

But cruise lines don't provide refunds for situations where cruises are missed.  That's why they advise purchasing cruise insurance.  The insurance company is the one who should be providing your money back.

Further, if your symptoms mimic a stroke -- a situation where medically, time is brain function -- someone unfamiliar with your medical history was absolutely doing the right thing to have you referred for further evaluation.  What if you really had been having a stroke and they set sail with you?  You easily could have died under their care.

I'm very sorry that your trip ended up being cancelled, and I hope the insurance company is able to refund your costs.

But that's just it -- it WASN'T mimicking a stroke.   At the time that they insisted that I go to the infirmary, and again when they kicked me off the ship, I did not actually HAVE the headache. I was in the preliminary aura phase, and I used the specific medical term 'prodrome' to tell the medical staff what was going on.  At  no time did they ask me what my pain level was.  They did a basic neurological test in the infirmary, and everything checked out normal.   

And maybe I glossed over it for the sake of brevity, above, but THEY gave me my Imitrex pill.  THEY removed it from the package and handed it to me.  My own doctor about had a kitten when she heard that.  If they really thought I was having a stroke, that is the one thing that they should absolutely NOT have done.  Imitrex works by causing vascular changes in the brain, and would be extremely dangerous for a stroke patient. 

So either they recognized the medication as a migraine-specific med and by dispensing it acknowledged that I WAS having a migraine and so did not warrant forcible disembarkation, OR gave an unknown medication to a person having a stroke, a medication that is specifically contraindicated in those circumstances.  A quick consultation with a Physician's Desk Reference or a call to a local ER would have established that fact.

And yes, they said we could rejoin the cruise later on, if we wanted to fly at our expense to Cozumel with our 5 suitcases, but since they confiscated our shipcards, how would we get back on the ship?

[Noe]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.  Yeeks, this is a little scary.  I'm not even sure i'm doing it right.

This topic is a little close to home for me right now since I am battling with Ulta.com.

I do a ton of online shopping and when Christmas rolled around I did a lot of mine with Ulta this year.  It's easier for me to find what I want online and I stack my orders with gifts with purchase so I get a little shopping fun too.  From Dec 1 through Jan 10 or so, I placed 11 orders with them.  Three of them had multiple shipments, so a total of 14 shipments leapfrogging their way to me.

Ulta uses UPS SurePost where UPS gets them to your city and then gives them to the USPS to deliver.  I had all my orders shipped to work (perfectly acceptable at my office) so that they would not be unattended at my house. 

Three of the orders ended up going missing.  The "tracking" showed delivered but they were nowhere to be found.  I in no way suspected my mailroom because (1) I've never had an issue with them and (2) that department ultimately reports to my boss, so they make sure I'm taken care of.

When I initially notified Ulta that the first shipment was missing, their response was "take it up with your credit card company."  I thought that was a little off.  I've never dealt with an online merchant who just blew off their customer before.  Also, the wording of their email (which turned out to be boilerplate) used the phrase "if, in fact, your order never arrived" which I found a little snotty, like they suspected me of lying straight off the bat.

Then ensued a couple of months of back and forth with various customer service reps who were the most unhelpful bunch of folks ever.*  Every one of them tended to re-explain what I had already explained to them, like Captain Obvious was running their training sessions and I was out over $200 at this point.  Normally, I get a little irate in situations like this, but for some reason I was calm, dogged and extremely assertive.  It didn't help that I had additional issues as subsequent shipments went missing.  But I just kept explaining my case, documenting the process and asking for a supervisor to contact me.  I also contacted my credit card to dispute the charges and filed a report with the USPS because ultimately I think that they are to blame.  However...

When a company chooses the method of delivery for the things their customers order, they also assume some amount of responsibiity when that method fails.  They can't just foist it off like they didn't make the decision.  I work for a company that makes and sells expensive things and ships them to our customers and I can tell you that if the customer doesn't get their order for whatever reason, we are the ones making sure they are taken care of.  Not their credit card company or the carrier.  Ever.

I was really loving Ulta and their selection of both high and low price point products and their customer rewards program.  If you work it right, you can gets lots of little extras that are fun.  After all this, I was loving not so much.

On a happier note, I was finally contact by a supervisor who verified they had received the chargebacks, reviewed all of my emails, acknowledged they really, really need some customer contact training, sent me a gift card in apology, and provided me with a way to contact her directly if I ever needed to again.  Given the fact that one supervisor cannot change company policy overnight, I suppose that this is the best possible outcome.  I will try them again, but with great caution.  And my finger on the phone ready to take that supervisor up on her offer of personal assistance.  She also patiently listened to my encourangement to train their CSRs better and maybe teach them the finer points of written communication.

Shop Ulta online with caution.

*My favorite email was the one that started "Dear Sue" (not my name), went on to say that the reason no one had ever contacted me was because this had never happened before (please.  Stuff gets lost in the mail for everyone including you, Ulta), described my situation as "bazaar," and said they sure hoped the post office could help me (what??).  They then ended with a paragraph exhorting how much they loved me as a valued customer! and they hoped to see me online or in store soon!!. 

Soooo, you've taken my money, abandoned me, called me valued (lie!) and asked me come back for more.  Yeah, not gonna happen.

[Elfmama]

Except that what she described as her symptoms are incredibly unusual for migraines

Not necessarily.

A bad enough migraine will cause me to have slurred speech and an inability to balance, let alone walk.  According to the neurologist that has been treating me for my migraines for the last several years, this is actually much more common than one might think.

Exactly.  Google "dysphasic aura" and you'll get over a million hits.  And there were absolutely NO other symptoms of a stroke.  No weakness, no confusion, no unequal pupil reaction, and at the time, not even any headache.   Absolutely normal EKG.  Just the same symptoms that I have with EVERY migraine.

Good gods, do they throw everyone off the ship who stutters, because THEY might be having a stroke?  Medivac everyone who has a case of indigestion, because they might be having a heart attack?

[siamesecat2965]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.  Yeeks, this is a little scary.  I'm not even sure i'm doing it right.

This topic is a little close to home for me right now since I am battling with Ulta.com.

 On a happier note, I was finally contact by a supervisor who verified they had received the chargebacks, reviewed all of my emails, acknowledged they really, really need some customer contact training, sent me a gift card in apology, and provided me with a way to contact her directly if I ever needed to again.  Given the fact that one supervisor cannot change company policy overnight, I suppose that this is the best possible outcome.  I will try them again, but with great caution.  And my finger on the phone ready to take that supervisor up on her offer of personal assistance.  She also patiently listened to my encourangement to train their CSRs better and maybe teach them the finer points of written communication.

 

Wow, I don't blame you. I had two issues with the Fed Ex SmartPost/USPS, but the USPS part. First time, order was supposedly delivered ,but a day after I left for a 10 day trip. So I didn't realize until I got back, and my neighbor (who was bringing in my mail) told me she had seen no package. USPS was less than helpful and kept geling me "well it shows it was delivered on x date" And as I tried to explain, yes, but that's why I'm calling as it never arrived!!!!

I finally gave up, and called the co, who, issued me a refund and said they would open a claim with USPS, in less than 5 minutes. My other issue was resolved, but had it not been, I suspect the company would have also taken care of that.

[cass2591]

Please don't post negatively about other forums. History has proven some people get their hackles up (from both forums) which -> to a forum war, or at least enough hostility for mod intervention which can be so easily avoided, so what's the point?

Thanks.