Consider this massive public relations failure by this cruise line:

After this couple’s cabin was flooded by a busted water pipe, Royal Caribbean Cruises refused to refund any portion of the cruise fare – instead offering only a 50% on a future cruise. This was the couple’s first vacation after the husband served in the Iraqi War.  Royal Caribbean, which has the most obnoxious PR department in the world, issued the understatement of the year: “We . . . sincerely regret if we did not satisfy their expectations.”

We have heard gobbledygook like this from Royal Caribbean before.

The Army vet responded: “You guys promise a vacation of a lifetime . . . but you’ve given up on us and not tried to help us out.”

WHDH Channel 7 in Boston reported that the couple described the flood as a “torrential downpour” from the ceiling.

Do you ever wonder why cruise lines like Royal Caribbean have bad reputations?

 

Update: It turns out that this is on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas two weeks ago. Here is a video on Facebook from one of the passengers on the cruise ship. The couple was apparently upgraded to another cabin, but no refund.  Just the 50% off in the future.

If you like this article, consider reading other articles about the various ways that the cruise industry has ruined its reputation with its counter-productive crisis management philosophy:

Royal Caribbean Press Statements And Other Gobbledygook

And The Cruise Industry Wonders Why It Has An Image Problem . . .

And The Cruise Industry Wonders Why It Has An Image Problem . . . (continued)

The Cruise Industry’s Reputation – A Sinking Image

(Video courtesy WHDH Channel 7 Boston)