Bed Bugs and Horrible Customer Service!!!!

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 37

Overall rating:

1.8 out of 5
Independence of the Seas

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 05, 2018

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Three days from returning from my cruise in March I woke up to discover beg bugs and bites all over my body. I had to call an exterminator to exterminate my entire condo. I asked my exterminator to determine where they came from to which he said AND documented from my suitcase, the same suitcase I had with me on the cruise ship. After the cruise I had spent one night at my sister's house who lived in the port city before departing on a plane back to Chicago. My sister had her house checked for bed bugs after I found them; she did not have them. I called Royal Caribbean to 1. Inform them that there were bed bugs on their ship and 2. to request that they reimburse me for the $550 that I had to spend in order to vaccinate my condo. I even sent them the report from my exterminator citing that they came from my suitcase. Royal Caribbean took NO accountability at all for their actions and refused to reimburse me claiming that the bed bugs could have come from the airport even though there was not enough time for them to spread at the rate in which they did since I had returned from my plain and my suitcase had been zipped the entire time in the airport and bed bugs were found inside the suitcase. Apparently, because there was a 1% chance that they could have came from somewhere, even though it defies all logic and reason, Royal Caribbean refused point blank to take accountability. I was absolutely appalled by the lack of concerns and responsibility of Royal Caribbean. Do not sail there unless you would like to receive an array of unwelcome critters when you return and have to deal with the horrible customer service I encountered at Royal Caribbean!!!!!

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Three days from returning from my cruise in March I woke up to discover beg bugs and bites all over my body. I had to call an exterminator to exterminate my entire condo. I asked my exterminator to determine where they came from to which he said AND documented from my suitcase, the same suitcase I had with me on the cruise ship. After the cruise I had spent one night at my sister's house who lived in the port city before departing on a plane back to Chicago. My sister had her house checked for bed bugs after I found them; she did not have them. I called Royal Caribbean to 1. Inform them that there were bed bugs on their ship and 2. to request that they reimburse me for the $550 that I had to spend in order to vaccinate my condo. I even sent them the report from my exterminator citing that they came from my suitcase. Royal Caribbean took NO accountability at all for their actions and refused to reimburse me claiming that the bed bugs could have come from the airport even though there was not enough time for them to spread at the rate in which they did since I had returned from my plain and my suitcase had been zipped the entire time in the airport and bed bugs were found inside the suitcase. Apparently, because there was a 1% chance that they could have came from somewhere, even though it defies all logic and reason, Royal Caribbean refused point blank to take accountability. I was absolutely appalled by the lack of concerns and responsibility of Royal Caribbean. Do not sail there unless you would like to receive an array of unwelcome critters when you return and have to deal with the horrible customer service I encountered at Royal Caribbean!!!!!

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

2 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 37

9 Comments

Shh813    6 years ago

What stateroom number did you have? We loved Independance.

tipolka11    6 years ago

Never had that problem with royal Caribbean and I have been cruising with them for 10 years. Also once they return in port they have special that sanitize etc the whole ship. Trust me you would not be the first one complaining if any beg bug were to be found on any ships.

bebooce    6 years ago

I’ve been on 40+ cruises, mostly Royal Caribbean, and have never ever ever had a problem! Most likely those bed bugs were picked up somewhere else. I did say “Most likely”!😉

IkeDeb    6 years ago

brad1312    6 years ago

You would be hard pressed to find ANY cruise line, hotel, or airline that would reimburse you for anything. Unfortunately, this is the price we all pay for when traveling.

rainbowwkitten    6 years ago

I'm weak 😂

grandmarnnurse    6 years ago

coleenand—-I was just going to say the same thing. You can pick them up anywhere, including flights. My daughter returned from a cruise a few years ago and put her suitcases under her son’s beds once she emptied them. She noticed an infestation of bed bugs in their room. She quickly called an exterminator, did a thorough cleaning of whole house, washed every single article of clothing her family of 5 owned, and bought and used a clothes steamer in all cracks and crevices. She threw her luggage and mattresses out, bought new mattresses and new hard sided luggage, as hard sided luggage was recommended to her from the exterminator. She contacted the hotel they stayed in prior to cruise and the cruise line, and none were found, she was told. She later found on the bed bug registry that the Denver airport train shuttle (from terminal to terminal) had an out break of bed bugs, so she feels that’s where they picked them up. Since her “nightmare” experience, I now ALWAYS put my luggage in the shower or bathtub of my hotel or cruise cabin while I thoroughly check out the beds and upholstery. I also got rid of my soft sided luggage and bought hard sided. And I still unpack in my tiled foyer, put all clothes in wash, and spray the insides of my luggage with Hot Shot Bed Bug Spray, and let them air in my back sunroom before putting away.StephJ1214–I understand what a nightmare this was for you, but RCCL is not responsible for reimbursement as you cannot prove exactly where you picked up these unwanted house guests. And believe me, bed bugs ARE a nightmare to deal with.

joeglo67    6 years ago

I can promise you if you have bites and evidence like that, it likely didn't happen overnight. If you look under your sheet at the head of the bed facing the wall you would see them if they were there grouped together. They are brown and smell sweet and disgusting. So... If they came from the ship that would be the simplest way to prove it, however if the cruise line found it after the fact they will never admit it. Use this as a learning experience and always always check your bed anywhere you sleep before you settle in. I'm of the opinion it's doubtful you got them on the airlines, but who knows. Believe me when I say it sucks to get them and it cost my wife and I over $2000 to get our problem fixed and we just had a mild case of them. But we bought a new bed and put a bed bug cover on every bed and pillow in our home. Disgusting nasty little creeps. Not a shame to get them, a shame to keep them. Good luck.

ColeenTangerine    6 years ago

If you stayed with your sister after you disembarked, and she didn't have bedbugs, you picked them up from the flight home. Bedbugs can penetrate zippers of luggage. Contact the airline instead.

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