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I have say, We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean since 2002 the only discount we have received is New York residents, and of course the balcony discount for being a diamond/diamond plus member. Even thought I would qualify for military or police discount. Those discounts are few and far between for any of the cruises we have booked. The only cruise line we have used that offers a discount or onboard credit is Princess.

No washing machines onboard any Royal ship. They do provide laundry service, not sure about price.

The liquor package listed on the gifts site is only for cruises leaving from Texas.

Military format for dates:D

To the best of my knowledge non-refundable deposit in suites GS or higher takes effect 1 July 17 for all bookings. Non-refundable deposit for GS or higher when booked on ship believed started in April. In addition, any changes to the booking results in $100 change fee per person.

This includes the US bookings

On our 6 January 17 cruise on the Navigator only 7 of the Barefoot Beach Cabanas were booked.

For those who complain about wasted food and how paying for room service would reduce waste. Should watch the amount of waste in the Windjammer. Much more than room service could cause. The argument that room service is wasteful holds no validity when compared to the Windjammer.

This is being discussed on Royal's Facebook page. RCL will not honor Starbucks if the early version of the a Deluxe drink package was purchased. Starbucks is not included any more. The only option if bought for the coffee is cancel. RCL response was very pointed on this discussion.

TSA Pre-check is available in SJU.

The only way to fly. :D

travelgoddess1,

It is a shame how corporations treat customers today. I have read many of your posts and looked at your past listing of your cruises. One begins to wonder how the rest of us will be treated in the future if a group of loyal cruisers, such as Pinnacle Club members (started by Ricahrd Fain and promoted by him) are starting to be treated poorly. Another Pinnacle member we met recently is posting on Royal's social media site how poorly she has been treated on a past cruise and this how this change will negatively impact her.

What is in store for the rest of us as Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald and Platinum Crown and Anchor members?

Allaboutsailingrc,

You are absolutely correct their program, their rules.

There is nothing wrong telling a corporation you do not like a policy change. Yes, there are other options, but removing this option was great disappointment and poor treatment of long term loyal customers.

What really infuriated my is how the notification was sent out to travel agents attached to "Customer Appreciation Week" flyer announcing the removal of the benefit. Then having Crown and Anchor reps telling us that the promotions for cruises booked after the start date will be better or equal to the removed benefit. Absolutely no true at today's booking standard.

Then respond to other postings on social media stating it was due to feedback about combinability issues, and our guest benefit more from taking advantage of in-market promotions when reserving close in sailings. When I spoke to Diamond Plus rep yesterday she admitted that balcony/suite discount was the best offer, but that will be gone soon. No other reason offered except corporate decision.

It would have been better to be truthful saying we decided to remove the benefit with no smoke and mirrors attached. It still would have upset long term cruisers, but would have more palatable then the excuses being offered.

Bob,

Thanks, not really a great selection of cruises. The rep stated these cruise promotion was better than the balcony discount. What a cheap and demeaning way of justifying their change to loyalty amenity.

I can not blame the rep, they were scrambling for answers the past few days. That is why the complaint website was brought on stream and why I posted the link.

Gees, I hate being treated like an idiot.

When I spoke to C&A rep yesterday they mentioned the Going Gone Sale was an option. Could someone explain that option to me. When I lolled for it I found nothing. I do remember seeing something like that a while ago, but it seemed it was for only 3 and 4 night cruise on the Majesty or Monarch.

Thanks

I hate to say it, but it is very true about Americans. We complain loud and long (about 1 week) when feel we wronged. The we will roll over and play by the rules. The only exception is if we are attacked by another nation!

When I worked in the real world (before retirement) when an unpopular decisions was going to be made we would explore how the public would react, could we hold off the onslaught of negative criticism, and how long would it take to quite down. If the evaluation was within parameters we went ahead. Almost always worked out for us. If the it did not go within parameters we would study it a little longer and find a different way to spin it. Then released the decision. Once again, it usually worked out for us!

Oh, yes count on very short memories, unless personally affected.

The more I read about the change to the balcony/suite discount, several thoughts emerge.

Is Royal having a cash flow problem. We know prior to the introduction of the Suite Class they were having some problems filling higher end suites on their mega ships. Royal added the Royal Suite Class to help bookings. Since, the introduction of this suite class several offered amenities have been removed, with the explanation they were not being used by the customers.

Even their pricing at times defy logic. Not to mention the perpetual Bogo sales. One cruise I wanted to book in 2017 was on the Adventure. When I saw the prices I called C&A to see if pricing was correct. I was told yes it was. The rep firer explained it was during Spring Break time and it was priced higher. I then later booked a B2B to weeks before in Suite 14 days long almost to the same islands for $4000 less. Example, the 29 March 2017 10 night cruise on the Adventure that was released almost 15 months ago, still has 7 Owners Suite ($11734 for double occupancy), Royal Suite is still available for $20739, and the Royal Family Suite is available on line 7 months before sailing for $12182 for double. Also, those prices on in line the higher end suites on the Oasis and Quantum Class ships with the Royal Suite Class amenities, but the are not eligible for those perks.

One can see that this removal targets the higher level of loyalty members. I have rarely seen Pinniacle Club Members up in arms about Royal's corporate decisions. After cruising 255 days on Royal, I have meet many Pinniacle's. It is very surprising to me seeing them post how upset they are on Facebook. I have seen some post stating they appeared happy with $25 increase in thier balcony discount. I am not sure if they were happy with losing the discount.

Along those lines is this just the start of gradually phasing in more amenities removals. Just the way this announcement was made is very suspect. As many of us on this forum we have seen when Corprate officers make an unpopular customer decision they plant thier feet and will not budge. Just like the way those were treated by Royal with cancellation of the Empress cruises earlier this year.

This type of corporate attitude for customers is becoming more persuasive in today's customer service/travel corprations. There is nothing wrong with capitalism as along as the corpration remember who is spending their money on the product.

Please don't get me wrong, I enjoy cruising on Royal. We have 7 more cruises booked for 2017.

My concern, will this attitude cause Royal to start acting like the CEO, Frank Del Rio of Norwegian (once stated he would find a way to get $5 or $10 more from his customers, captivated customers). It seems almost weekly they are changing some policy or amenity. So much so, we cancelled a January 2017 in a Haven suite. At this point Norwegian is extremely low on our list for future bookings. I just hope some day Royal does not join them.

Besides posting to the supplied website address, I wrote a letter to Michael Bayley's Miami Corporate address. I will see if I get a response. I still try to communicate positive and negative comments the good old fashion business way. (short, cogent, precise letter) Did it for thirty-five plus years.

Just sent a comment to CAS, via the website.

After looking at the site, I feel it is just to remove complaints from CAS reps. The only way you can receive a response from your comments is I if they look up email or number associated with CAS number.

Just more smoke and mirrors!

Just a FYI, due to the amount of comments regarding the balcony discount. I was informed a by Diamond Plus C&A rep, Royal has set up a website to collect your comments:

http://www.casexecutivecomments.com

John&LaLa,

I probably interrupted differently then intended.

You all should read Royal's response to the change on their Facebook Page. Vey interesting justifications being used. That the balcony discount on cruises purchased after the 6 month time frame were less than the offers being made in Royal's cruise promotions or offers. I can honestly say I have never seen that.

Or am I missing something? Or I am just a stupid Diamond Plus member?

That maybe a very good option living in the Coco Beach area!

However, some of us still have commitments to our employer and their vacation policies. I wish I could forecast a year or two ahead, but not realistic. The balcony and suite discount as set up before 1 September 2016 would take our availability into account. That is no longer the case. Especially, with the suite cost continuing to increase, on each new sale or promotion.

I am very thrilled that the announcement was sent to travel agents before any other notification to customer, during Royal's "Customer Appreciation Week" promotion. This is enforcing the warm feelings I get from Royal!:mad:

I am very disappointed with the change, but what really infuriates me is how it was sent out. On an announcement citing Customer Appreciation Week.

I wonder how many laughs Royal's Marketing Group and Vicki Freed had when putting this flyer together. We appreciate you spending your money and your loyalty and by the way say good-bye to your balcony discount.

The only recent change to C&A is after 1 September 2016 no more balcony and suite discount for booking made less than 6 months out.

Not entirely true about the Royal Caribbean Cabanas on Labadee. We had their Over the Water 1 (OW1) last December and $250 for the Suite Area at Barefoot Beach. Yes, they have increased the price now to $500 for OW.

When we were in Labadee in December only 6 (out of 20 or so) of the cabanas were rented. The only time all the cabanas on Barefoot Beach Suite Area are fully booked is when the Oasis and Quantum Class are docked. Considering that the really big suites start $4000 and go up to $13000 per person on the average. Royal has no problem booking them then. It just depends on your disposable income. This is a great example of the haves and the have not's. :D

All the cruise lines know their break even point. Those cabanas have been bought and paid for numerous times, since their inception. Royal will use local people for assistance on Labadee. I doubt they are paying a sizable wage.

Included amenities, 6 bottles of water, fruit, water mat, and loungers. That was it!

Recently, did a B2B on the Adventure, carried on 6 pack of water it was not confiscated. I even saw cases with room tags being accepted, and in hallway waiting to be delivered.

I agree it is posted on Royal's website, but rarely enforced except during spring break with young people.

I do expected Norwegian to fully enforce the rule starting tomorrow.

John&LaLa,

Whenever I looked at that cartoon figure, I always thought it looked like someone I had seen.

I hope you are not still waiting for an email from her office. :)

Thanks for the laugh!