CaribSailor

I have stayed in this cabin and there is absolutely no way they can add a second bedroom. The cabin is nowhere near the stated square footage of 600+.

The aft JS are a good combination of room size and oversize balcony. Just be aware that you will have an obstructed view because of the aft superstructure. There's a gap between the end of the balcony and the superstructure. If you look at Indy's deck plan for deck 7 that upside down dome behind the aft cabins represents the superstructure that you look through to see the ocean. We would only book an aft balcony if it was on deck 10. Up at that level the structure is not as intrusive. We experienced this first hand on Voyager and now book midships.

Yeah, the view on this cruise isn't all that important and like I said we got this for a steal as it was only 1400$ out of pocket for 3 of us. I see what you are saying about the superstructure. We have been on Indy before but in OS. This is just a cheap getaway so guess I shouldn't be too picky. Think we will keep it unless there is fantastic opportunity to upgrade.

Cool. Thanks for the advice.

Got a very good deal on JS 7412 on Indy. Anyone stay in this cabin? How are the aft's on a freedom class? Would you keep or switch to a midship? First time not in a full suite as well. Deal was way to good to pass up.

We have 7412 for an upcoming Indy cruise.. First time not in full suite. Thinking of moving to another JS midship or upgrading to GS. Anyone stay in 7412 and have pictures or comments? Deal was way to good to pass up that is the only reason we even booked it.

I have, and it's not. :)

And what I meant by TA is the 3rd party websites who live and die by their ability to complete a booking as well as their online presence. Not your mom and pop TA in town.

Don't disagree with your overall premise that the website is not a top priority, but your assumption that only 15% book through the website is highly questionable considering the rapidly declining state of the TA industry, and the availability to use the site to search for cruises and then call RCL directly. I'd err on the other end of that pendulum and surmise that 70-80% of people who ultimately book a cruise (any cruise line) start their selection process on the cruise line's website. BTW, even on the remote chance your numbers are even close to accurate, as a marketing tool, it truly sucks.

Right I do agree with you where the search starts but where it ends is with a phone call for final booking (therefor the website did its job) The 15% I quoted is accurate. Do a little research of the industry and you will see. And as a marketing tool it actually doesn't suck. It does its job of collecting names and email addresses (which is all most organizations want). You know how other TA providers who tell you they want your zip to identify discounts for you which is a load of crap. This is marketing 101 in a digital world. You can think I'm full of bull if you want but most Fortune 500 & 1000 would disagree.

I personally know of 20+ cases of 7 figure fines in Canada and Germany in the last 6 months.

How do you like the aft on freedom? Does your balcony get much sun? We have one booked for an upcoming Indy cruise but thinking of switching cabins.

I'm not missing the point at all. However, I do not wish to debate the finer points of why websites do not function properly. As a consumer, my concern is whether or not I can access the product that is offered. If I cannot, the website, and the company, has lost a customer.

That's your decision. There are multiple ways to book a cruise. Clearly Royal has not lost you even though they have a crappy website.

Yes, similar to airlines, their computer systems, and their websites, which seem to be superior to (at least) this cruiseline's. Sorry, but I'm not very forgiving of the glitches with RCI's website over the years, nor am I forgiving of any company who rushes their product to market before testing it thoroughly.

Cruise ships have much more complex technology than commercial airlines. I think you are missing the point here. RC's tolerance for down instances on their ships is almost zero, they can't afford it. Their website is probably not even in their top 5 priorities for the fiscal year or 3-5 year plan, that is not where innovation happens in the cruise industry. Do you know how many people actually book a cruise through RC's website? I can almost assure you it is less than 15%. So tell me, if you were RC and know your website only generates less than 15% of your bookings where would your prioritize, spend your investors cash? If you say your website, well think again. It's a marketing tool, top of the funnel. From a booking perspective, what you see on RCs portal is the top layer of the larger travel agent portal. If it was truly that important to RC and had a high impact to revenue believe me, they would fix it.

So they cant even reliably contact the people that are already in the program but feel the need to expand the # of people in the program so that they can contact them ..... does anyone know if there is actually an IT department at RCI ?? Seems like money would be better spent on fixing the systems so that you can actually email the existing list rather than expanding the list ...

They have no problem sending me multiple emails per day. And yes, I know for sure RC has an IT department. I can tell you that I bet the IT departments main focus is keeping the ships online. There is huge technology liability in play with digital business. Website is secondary. They want you to call in to book to sell you more product. Amazing how people don't get it. If you want to think of another business like crusing think about the PGA tour.. They are a business that is heavily reliant on technology and move the circus from town to town week/week. Cruise companies are similar expect at a greater scale and their IT is ever moving, not packed up in trucks week over week. Yes they have centralized structure but "their" cogs are the actual ships and technology is 85% of that. RC has to protect their investors and is a well recognized brand with multiple vehicles to sell its product. If they could just have a marketing website without booking I bet they would do it, application maintenance is very expensive.

It's for marketing. Various countries do not let you campaign/email to them unless you explicitly "opt in". Some that come to mind are Canada and a few in EMEA who hold strict anti spam laws. Fines in the millions per incident. No better way to build your database then a smoke and mirrors promotion or enabling some sort of perceived value on the consumer end...LOOK! Come join our EXCLUSIVE club! All I want is your email and consent..and you will actually get nothing.

We are booked in this cabin in Oct 2016. From the deck plans, it looks like the whirlpools that extend out from the side of the ship on the deck above may allow people to look down on us on our balcony. Can someone tell me if you have experienced this problem in this cabin? Is this a problem?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Dave

They can not see your balcony. However they will be able to see the suites on either side of you, not entirely though. You will have plenty of shade on your cruise.

There is a lot of opinion being thrown around about who deserves what for either the C&A status they have achieved or the cabin that they occupy. We know and have cruised with people at every level and there is just some perspective that might prove useful.

 

We sail on Radiance class ships a lot. Suite perks, whatever they are or will be, affect 27 cabins. So, assuming that some of these cabins are occupied by Pinnacle or Diamond Plus people, that means that we're talking about 40-50 people out of 2000+ passengers. We are doing a transatlantic on Indy next year so I counted the GS and up cabins and there are 37 cabins on that size ship.So again 60-70 people out of 3500 or so. Whatever RCCL tosses in, these cabins paid for it in their fares. It's no different than what hotels do with concierge floors and suite amenities. The airlines do it too for their business class and first class passengers. Now all these businesses have loyalty programs too and they reward their most frequent customers because there are a hell of a lot more of these folks to keep happy. These are the people that could easily choose a competitor and the price of customer retention is cheaper than new customer acquisition. I have sailed with friends that have over 3,000 points and they book in regular cabins. If they get an upgrade to the best cabin on the ship once the sailing closes who would begrudge them that benefit. Last month we did a T/A on Quantum and you could not find a seat in the CL from 5 until 8. Those drink vouchers sure came in handy! On Brilliance, a few days later, we had a totally different experience. The CL was pretty much empty every evening. So, we enjoyed the intimacy of the lounge and the service from Willie Salaya, concierge, and Jocelyn, lead bartender. We've sailed with them a couple of times and like them a lot. We were traveling with some people that did not have CL access so we used our drink vouchers to socialize with them pre dinner. We also used our wash & fold benefit, our dry cleaning discount, and our internet discount. We took advantage of our complimentary photo benefit too. I don't feel bad about using any of my perks because I feel like Royal has made the decision to reward my loyalty. I really liked it when they added the drinks and I just shrugged my shoulders when they discontinued the three $5 match plays. Half the time I didn't use them and lost them as often as I gained anything. I have 32 Royal cruises and if Royal wants to give people that have cruised 100 times or more added benefits then so be it. I feel that my level should get more than someone that's sailed 4 or five times. If you sail in a suite you get 2 points per day instead of 1 regardless of how much you paid per day. Some airlines give more miles for flying in the front or to their top tier loyalty people because it makes sense competitively. Some give more miles based on the fare paid.

 

As Gilda Radnor used to say as Roseanne Rosannadanna, "it just goes to show, It's always something!"

How dare you try to bring any logic to this thread even if it is off topic. This thread is about suite benefits not CA status/benefits/complainers/D/D+feeling under appreciated for their contribution to royals revenue.

We are Pinnacle and always book Owners Suites. And while we enjoy the perks we get (nothing really that special in our opinion) we never have and never will cruise or be loyal to any one cruise line for the perks they provide. Having said that I believe there should be a formula that determines loyalty levels that is a combination of nights spent on ships and the dollars spent. There are many Diamond Plus and some Pinnacles that only book inside rooms, nothing wrong with that and good for them that they cruise so often. But the "rewards" for cruising (loyalty benefits) should be somewhat related to how much money a person spends with RCCL...the more you spend the more you get to put it in simple terms. The one size fits all doesn't work. We will continue to cruise RCCL because we like the product. We don't cruise RCCL because of the benefits we get.

I agree 100% on this. Spot on!

Could do without the Yankees and Red Sox fans though. I had to leave Florida and move to within 45 miles of New York to get away from Yankees fans.

Funny! Agree on the redsox fans but find the obsession, I mean passion of the people from the Midwest and college/nfl football slightly more... Well how should I say this without offending anyone..... Annoying. Don't get me wrong I like football but...It's like Halloween every Saturday here in season.

I like the way you think. What do you think of us northeast transplants down here on the east side :)

At least you bring some culture! Haha.

This is entertaining. On another note we have enough snowbirds in Florida[emoji16]. Generally Florida is referred to as the home of the newly wed and nearly dead. We live in Florida and only book suites, enjoy the ability to hop in the car and be at the port in no time, everyone has a choice where they live at the end of the day. Much prefer Canadian snowbirds here vs. birds from the Midwest. Oh yeah, we are nearly D+ but don't use the benefits. Much prefer the suite benefits and cruising in suites as there is no discrimination (lol). Can't wait for the drivers reform to pass and the tourist tax implementation in Florida. Once you are 70 years or older you have to retake your drivers test every two years. Yes this post is mostly irrelevant but so is 99% of this thread.

Everyone cruises on a specific line for a reason. I choose Royal because I enjoy cruising on their ships and find a price that is good for us....and as we have moved up the CAS levels it has just given us a little more.

 

 

 

But we don't cruise because we are climbing up a ladder to the next 'reward plateau'. Those perks come and the ones that are of value to me, especially the balcony discount are nice. But a company is not required to give you anything.....and a company can change their program when they choose to....and you can choose where to spend your vacation dollars. If the program doesn't work for someone any longer fine.

 

 

 

What is ridiculous (to me) is the feelings of entitlement and disappointment when things change.

Finally someone with reason. D/D+ will always whine regardless. Reading things like "I will be more demanding" "I deserve this" "I have cruised with RC x times, how could they do this?" "These are MY benefits". Really? Get a grip people... It's a cruise line and a vacation.. Most of you act like "change" is the end of the world. Maybe royal should add a new deck to all ships (with inside cabins only of course) just for all of you and let you bathe in champagne, be waited on hand and foot, have staff to cut your toenails and give you a sponge bath, perhaps even parade you through the promenade with all the celebration you deserve so everyone on the ship knows who you are. Would that make you happy??? What a joke.... Oh by the way.. You can just book a suite and get some great perks right off the bat.. After all this is a thread about suite upgrades but as always some D/D+ member selfishly hijacks the thread to complain about their diminishing benefits.

Just read the threads on these cabins on oasis, They are identical on both ships.

I don't know what the big deal about him canceling is here. Whether out of frustration or some other reason it was his choice. I have come close to canceling an RCI cruise out of frustration just like they did. Sometimes it's a matter of principle. Dealing with incompetent people is frustrating in its self. For us fortunately the 2 cruises we take a year are not our only vacation and if it's too difficult to manipulate a booking well then we will just do something else.

Ah yes ....... I have the fondest memories of pig headed parents bringing screaming kids into the MDR and wind jammer while eating ....... what lovely memories I have indeed :)

 

 

 

good old shrek, fiona and the entire cast of Madagascar !

 

that probably in fact scar a child for life at 20 months having a 6'5 hippo looking in their pram !

Maybe you should cruise a non family line like HAL.. Probably more your speed with the wheelchairs and all... Unless of course you have some sick fetish involving 6'5'' hippos or you have a crush on Fiona. RC IS a family line like it or not. What's worse a child having a meltdown for 5 minutes or an adult acting like a child all of their lives? I have no doubt you would enjoy the belly flop contest on HAL as a pool is not required as you see them happening all over the ship at any moment with people tripping over the oxygen tanks and wheelchairs! Cheers mate!

We used magnets and black out curtains around the pack and play when our son was younger. Just hang the curtains from the ceiling around the p&p with the magnets.