RCI Serenada of the Seas - Damage Report (LONG)

Thought the group might be interested in the on-going correspondence thus
far between myself and Royal Caribbean International concerning the damage
they caused to my luggage. What follows is : 1. My original FAX to the
Claims Dept. 2. Their response. and 3. My response back. If
interested, I'll continue to post the story as it develops !

Original Claims Letter to RCI :
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
March 12, 2004



Royal Caribbean International

Attn : Guest Claims





To Whom It May Concern:



My wife and I recently returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise. We sailed on
Saturday February 28th, 2004 out of San Juan, Puerto Rico through Saturday
March 6th, 2004 on the Serenade of the Seas. Our cabin assignment was
#xxxx.



Although we had a very enjoyable trip, there were 2 incidents upon departure
that resulted in damage to our personal property. I will describe these in
the text below.



1. Our main suitcase was a large (32" × 24" × 12") piece made by
Euro-Pack. It is the type that has an extendable handle and a set of wheels
for rolling the suitcase along the floor (known as a "roll-along"). The
suitcase was purchased new last fall for a cost of $125.00. We packed the
suitcase and put it outside our cabin on Friday evening, as we were required
to do. The next time we saw our suitcase was when we went to retrieve it in
the "grey zone" of the port terminal upon our departure from the ship the
next morning. I picked up the suitcase to begin rolling it outside for our
transfer to the airport, when at that time I noticed that one of the wheels
had been bent over on it's axle, preventing it from rolling at all. It
appears that somewhere between our cabin and the luggage terminal at port,
our suitcase was dropped hard or otherwise mis-handled, resulting in this
damage. The suitcase was very heavy, and not being able to roll it was a
considerable inconvenience at that time. A suitcase of this size cannot be
carried when full, and consequently, the suitcase is now unusable.
Unfortunately, this damage is not repairable, as the wheels are part of a
single piece molded into the luggage. It is not removable, and therefore is
not repairable.



As this luggage is brand new, we are requesting reimbursement for the
replacement value of this suitcase, which is $125.00.





2. The second incident that occurred was with respect to a box of duty
free alcohol we purchased aboard the Serenade of the Seas at the Centrum
Boutiques. Please see the attached photocopy of the sales receipt. On the
evening of Tuesday March 2nd, 2004, we purchased 5 bottles of alcohol from
the Boutique. Because of the odd shape of 4 of the bottles (the 2 bottles
of Courvoisier, the Sheridan's, and the Miliagro RCCL) the salesperson,
Matija, was unsure how to safely and securely package the bottles. The
bottles of Courvoisier cognac and Miliagro tequila both had long, thin, and
fragile necks, which made me very nervous and concerned about their
packaging and protection. Considering this, I specifically requested Matija
to box each of the five bottles individually, so they would not bump against
each other, possibly causing them to break. My intent was to then put each
small box inside my carry-on suitcase for added protection. However, Matija
chose to disregard my request, much to my dissatisfaction, and he put 4
bottles (the 2 Courvoisier, the Miliagro, and the Sheridans) into one single
"suitcase-style" box, with only a thin layer cardboard separating each
bottle. The cardboard separations were not corrugated (cushioned) nor were
they part of the box. The were small pieces that he inserted into the box.
The result of this is that these pieces of cardboard could easily shift away
from the bottles, exposing them to contact with the other bottles. When I
expressed my dissatisfaction with his packaging, Matija insisted very
strongly, and assured me that the package would be very safe for transport
back the United States.



He was quite wrong. The box was stored in the overhead compartment on our
US Airways flight from San Juan to Philidelphia. At some point during the
flight, the package shifted, and the necks from one bottle of Courvoisier
and the bottle of Miliagro broke, spilling cognac and tequila into the
overhead compartment. This accident certainly would not have happened if
the Royal Caribbean International employee had listened to me. Single
bottles inside their own individual box cannot hit each other and break. As
a result of his poor judgement in packaging, I have now lost an investment
of $64.95. The actual value of the loss is considerably more if you look at
the replacement cost of these bottles of alcohol in a store in the United
States.





In summary, I am requesting compensation from Royal Caribbean International
for damages to my suitcase and the Boutique purchases for the total sum of
$189.95.



Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information required.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------



Response from RCI



Re : Serenade of the Seas / 02/28/04

Dear Ms. Good :

We are in receipt of your fax received in our department regarding the above
mentioned sailing.

Royal Caribbean certainly regrets to learn of the difficulty you described
while onboard the Serenade of the Seas.

A routine investigation of this particular matter has determined that this
incident directly involved Mike's Truck Service (an independent contractor),
who is solely responsible for their actions. We have taken the liberty of
forwarding your letter to the bus company for further handling of this
matter.

Please allow two to three weeks to receive a reply directly from the bus
company.

Sincerely,

Ania Pena
Personal Property Representative
Guest Claims Department

cc: Mike's Truck Service
RR 6 Carpintero #69
Monte Hiedra, San Juan PR 0026



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------



My Response Back



March 24, 2004



Royal Caribbean International

Attn : Ania Peña, Guest Claims Department





Dear Ania :



Thank you for your letter dated March 18, 2004, in response to my fax which
I sent on March 12, 2004. There are 2 corrections I would like to make
first. One - please verify my mailing address, located at the top right
corner of this letter, prior to responding to me next time. You addressed
the letter to "Pittsburg" instead of "Pittsford". This may cause a delay in
receiving correspondence from you. Secondly, I am a male, and so please
address me as "Mr. Good" rather than "Ms. Good". Thank you.



Now, with respect to your letter, I appreciate your routine investigation of
the matter of my damaged suitcase. However, I believe that you mis-read or
mis-understood my letter. In that letter I wrote :



"We packed the suitcase and put it outside our cabin on Friday evening, as
we were required to do. The next time we saw our suitcase was when we went
to retrieve it in the "grey zone" of the port terminal upon our departure
from the ship the next morning.".



In some way, you mistook the "port terminal" part of my description to be
the airport, which is not the case. In reality, what I meant "port
terminal" to mean was the large warehouse-type building that we entered
immediately after departing the ship, down the ramp. At the bottom of the
escalator, was a large room where we went through Customs and picked up our
luggage. It was at this point that I noticed the damage to our large
suitcase. You will see that at this point in time Mike's Truck Services had
not yet handled our luggage, as they were not on the Serenade of the Seas
the night before docking in San Juan. It was employees of Royal Caribbean
International who removed our luggage from the corridor outside of our
stateroom to some unknown area of the ship, and then transferred the luggage
to the building at Customs where we retrieved it immediately after
departing. Again - this is all prior to Mike's Truck Service transporting
our luggage to the airport.



I would appreciate a further detailing investigation of the incident with
respect to the damage which occurred to our suitcase.





Finally, your letter dated March 18, 2004 did not address the damage which
occurred to our purchases at the duty free Centrum Boutiques. I believe the
responsibility of the broken bottles lies with Matija, the sales clerk, who
improperly packaged the bottles, even though I specifically requested a
separate box for each bottle. Instead, as I indicated in my March 12, 2004
letter, Matija put 4 bottles together in the same box with inadequate
cushioning, which resulted in breakage and loss of part of my purchase.



In summary, I am requesting compensation from Royal Caribbean International
for damages to my suitcase and the Boutique purchases for the total sum of
$189.95.



Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information required.

This is absurd! A total ludicrous claim, or should I say a scam. In both
instances, your loss was caused by you, not by RCI.

You even said it yourself, "The suitcase was very heavy" and "... cannot be
carried when full." Don't you suppose the axle warped due to the weight? Or
possibly, the baggage handler couldn't lift the bag while moving it from a
container to the "grey zone?"

I picked up the suitcase to begin rolling it outside for our
transfer to the airport, when at that time I noticed that one of the
wheels
had been bent over on it's axle, preventing it from rolling at all. ...
The suitcase was very heavy, and not being able to roll it was a
considerable inconvenience at that time. A suitcase of this size cannot
be
carried when full, and consequently, the suitcase is now unusable.

If you weren't satisfied with the packaging, why did you accept it?

... When I
expressed my dissatisfaction with his packaging, Matija insisted very
strongly, and assured me that the package would be very safe for transport
back the United States.

You were in custody of the liquor! It was your responsibility to ensure safe
transportation. And why did you put it in the overhead compartment? I am
certain that before takeoff, the flight attendant informed the passengers to
take caution when opening the overhead bins because items can shift during
flight?

Again, if you weren't satisfied with the packaging, why did you put it in
the overhead? I'm flabergasted by your stupidity to do such.

Bottom line: you were comfortable with the packaging; otherwise, you
wouldn't have accepted it and put it in the overhead bin.

... The box was stored in the overhead compartment on our
US Airways flight from San Juan to Philidelphia. At some point during the
flight, the package shifted, and the necks from one bottle of Courvoisier
and the bottle of Miliagro broke, spilling cognac and tequila into the
overhead compartment.

It really appalls me that in today's society, people think they have to
complain, demand, or sue, to get something for nothing.

Capt. Toledo Jack, USN Retired

In article . net,
Capt. Toledo Jack wrote:

You even said it yourself, "The suitcase was very heavy" and "... cannot be
carried when full." Don't you suppose the axle warped due to the weight? Or
possibly, the baggage handler couldn't lift the bag while moving it from a
container to the "grey zone?"

I think it is a mistake to get luggage that large. (they state it was a
32") As you say the baggage handlers are going to have problems with
luggage that size. It's is asking for trouble. I don't know the brand,
never heard of it, but the price sounds awfully cheap, at that price it
might not be very sturdy.

You were in custody of the liquor! It was your responsibility to
ensure safe transportation. And why did you put it in the overhead
compartment? I am certain that before takeoff, the flight attendant
informed the passengers to take caution when opening the overhead
bins because items can shift during flight?

I agree with you Cap. They always warn about bags shifting in the
overhead compartment. That liquor should probably have been stowed
under the seat.

--
Charles

LOL

"Capt. Toledo Jack" wrote in message
ink.net...
This is absurd! A total ludicrous claim, or should I say a scam. In both
instances, your loss was caused by you, not by RCI.

You even said it yourself, "The suitcase was very heavy" and "... cannot
be
carried when full." Don't you suppose the axle warped due to the weight?
Or
possibly, the baggage handler couldn't lift the bag while moving it from a
container to the "grey zone?"

I picked up the suitcase to begin rolling it outside for our
transfer to the airport, when at that time I noticed that one of the
wheels
had been bent over on it's axle, preventing it from rolling at all. ...
The suitcase was very heavy, and not being able to roll it was a
considerable inconvenience at that time. A suitcase of this size cannot
be
carried when full, and consequently, the suitcase is now unusable.

If you weren't satisfied with the packaging, why did you accept it?

... When I
expressed my dissatisfaction with his packaging, Matija insisted very
strongly, and assured me that the package would be very safe for
transport
back the United States.

You were in custody of the liquor! It was your responsibility to ensure
safe
transportation. And why did you put it in the overhead compartment? I am
certain that before takeoff, the flight attendant informed the passengers
to
take caution when opening the overhead bins because items can shift during
flight?

Again, if you weren't satisfied with the packaging, why did you put it in
the overhead? I'm flabergasted by your stupidity to do such.

Bottom line: you were comfortable with the packaging; otherwise, you
wouldn't have accepted it and put it in the overhead bin.

... The box was stored in the overhead compartment on our
US Airways flight from San Juan to Philidelphia. At some point during
the
flight, the package shifted, and the necks from one bottle of
Courvoisier
and the bottle of Miliagro broke, spilling cognac and tequila into the
overhead compartment.

It really appalls me that in today's society, people think they have to
complain, demand, or sue, to get something for nothing.

Capt. Toledo Jack, USN Retired

everybody brings way way to much luggage? especially small women
usually have the biggest luggage and most pieces. whats wrong with carry
ons only?