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

[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.

[Iris]

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.

This. I can't even turn on my playstation without a warning about possible epileptic seizures due to flashing lights every single time, so why would they not warn passengers? Also, if they are the kind of flashing lights that can trigger a seizure it seems counterproductive to have an emergency warning system that may render some passengers immobile. Perhaps someone can clarify?

[sevenday]

Going to leapfrog in to say that the strobe lights are meant for deaf passengers.  Same reason my fire alarms have big honking bright lights on them - trust me you only make the mistake of looking at it while you're testing it ONCE.  So I can see them being turned on for muster drill and other important events where passengers need to leave their cabins and go someplace else.  But if they're doing it inconsistently (yes for one poster, no for another) or don't have that capability on one ship and do on another... yeah, that's just not right.  Plus further information about their medical screwups.  Yeah, I'm not a cruiser, but that line is on my NO list.

[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.

This. I can't even turn on my playstation without a warning about possible epileptic seizures due to flashing lights every single time, so why would they not warn passengers? Also, if they are the kind of flashing lights that can trigger a seizure it seems counterproductive to have an emergency warning system that may render some passengers immobile. Perhaps someone can clarify?

I don't see a problem with having the lights, as sevenday said, they do have their uses, but they ought to have a warning so those who might be sensitive to flashing lights can be prepared for it by closing their eyes and letting someone else guide them to where they need to go.

[Carotte]

Flashing lights sound really disorientating, even for someone who is not sensible to them.
I got through one fire alarm in an hotel at 6am, even just the blaring sound and the lights that automatically go on are disorientating.
A pulsing red light could be more productive (probably, they should test it if it hasn't been done yet.). Corridors in red, emergency exits in green, bam, every one knows where to go.

[kherbert05]

There's something off with Elfmama's story but it has nothing to do with Elfmama or her DH.

We've sailed with Royal Caribbean three times and have another scheduled.  Perhaps it's because we sail on older, smaller ships but we've never encountered strobe lights in the corridors during muster drill.  That would be alarming and disorienting to anyone.  The audience in the theater is alerted that flashing lights may occur during a show.  A similar alert should have been given to passengers at boarding so that people subject to migraines could arrange for alternatives in the same way that passengers who use a wheelchair can make arrangements for assistance. 

I also wouldn't worry too much about the comments on Cruise Critic.  We know that cruise lines pay close attention to the site and post their own blurbs if anyone has a legitimate criticism.  The site must be read with a bit more salt than a prudent diet would suggest.

We certainly hope that Elfmama and her DH get full compensation for their lost fares.

I've had 4 students that strobe lights could cause seizures. Since then they updated out fire alarm with strobe lights. I get they are to alert people who are deaf or profoundly hearing impaired about the alarm - but what is the trade off with endangering people with seizure disorders (Seems they could use a different non strobing type of light).


Last year I had a kid with sensory problems. When the alarm went off I had to grab him and cover his ears, and he covered his eyes while I guided him out of the room (along with 20 other 7 to 8 year olds.)  Made for some interesting questions, when the "drill" happened during an assembly - not to mention the student was freaking out because he realized it had to be real to go off at that time. Turned out to be a fault in the alarm system.

[Elfmama]

I didn't even want full compensation.  Just something to acknowledge "We're sorry this happened."  Something to be applied to a future cruise -- like a cabin upgrade, or a spa treatment, or a wine package, heck, just a couple of soft drink packages.  Instead I got "Oh.  poopadities happens.  Sucks to be you."   

[KB]

Yes, a credit of some sort would make sense, both because it's a gesture of goodwill and because it's more likely that you would consider actually using it.

[PastryGoddess]

I didn't even want full compensation.  Just something to acknowledge "We're sorry this happened."  Something to be applied to a future cruise -- like a cabin upgrade, or a spa treatment, or a wine package, heck, just a couple of soft drink packages.  Instead I got "Oh.  poopadities happens.  Sucks to be you."   

Try contacting Christopher Elliott.  He acts as an ombudsman between consumers and the travel industry

[amandaelizabeth]

I don't understand this.  Elf Mama had taken travel insurance for a cruise.  She could not take the cruise.

Travel Insurance pays Elf mamma, and recovers the cost, if it can, from the cruise company.

If your house burns down because the the next door neighbour's barbeque runs amuck, then you expect your insurance company to pay up. If they can get the money from the next door neighbour, jolly good luck to them, but that should have no bearing on weather they pay you out or not. 

The reason Elf Mama's cruise was cancelled is immaterial and the very real gripe she has, is with the Travel Insurance company not the cruise line