Disappointed with RCI

[SharleneinTexas]

And then again, maybe some of us do feel pretty much the same. The poster in question isn't the only one saying this. Look at the other threads asking the same question. Don't slam the messenger. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

don't slam the messenger who is slamming the messengers? LOL

gotcha

[skiiergirl]

Kicking and screaming, no. Actually I went on all three with high expectations and the first two were actually great, the last one is the one that literally left we with a bad taste in my mouth. Quality, service and attitude had taken a nosedive. As for the next cruise, it won't be RCI, that's for sure.

Stretch

 

Stretch & sgdgirl....RC loyalist here.....I don't understand why you keep posting on the RC forum if you are so unhappy with them. If you don't plan on sailing with them then why spend your time reading and replying on this forum. If you had a bad experience, then tell us about it once and then move on. Spend your time on the forum for whatever line you plan on sailing next. I agree RC has gone downhill in quality over the last few years. I have told you (Stretch) that several times. But the prices are down and customer service and quality have decreased in almost every customer oriented business I see these days. Unfortunately it is a sign of the times. I still love RC and continue to sail them though. If you can't deal with the reduced quality, I understand you not wanting to sail with them but you don't have to bash those that are willing to agree that quality has gone down but are willing to look at the positives that remain.

 

p5woody....I am truly sorry you had a bad cruise. Put me on any cruise ship and I am happy (except the Titanic). As long as the ship doesn't sink and none of my group dies in any other way, then I am going to have a great cruise. There may be things I don't like but I am the one that determines whether or not I have a good cruise. Thanks for telling us more of your "likes" & "dislikes". You may be right in that "cruising isn't for you". If you do decide to sail again, then you might want to try another cruiseline but I think you will have the same feeling based on your "likes / dislikes". If you do sail RCI again, I would recommend you sail either Radiance or Jewel. Fortunately or unfortunately, crews vary depending on ship, etc. We have gone from having the best cabin steward one week to the very worst the next week. Same thing with dining room staff, we have gone from having the absolute best dining staff ever to the worst ever the next week. (Different ships.) Again, I am sorry you were disappointed in the trip. I also would recommend the eastern or southern route over the western route. These routes have much better ports and don't change very often. I can understand if you aren't into sitting by the pool, reading, gambling, musicals that you would have a tough time "enjoying yourself". Those are all of the things I love about cruising. Good luck with your next vacation.

[Catnip]

Stretch,

Hi, guy! What you say is 100% true. I have been cruising on RCCL since 1982 and if people don't agree that their service and customers service has gone downhill over the past 4-5 years, then they don't really have a clue.

I still like RCCL, but I can certainly see the reality of the cruise world these days. I remember when RCCL used to be considered the "cadillac" of cruise lines. No more. They now cater to a different clientele, which is certainly ok and evidently is a huge money maker for them............

Happy cruising! :)

[xpcdoojk]

Hey Catnip, I like your signature, I hadn't noticed it, as my eyes tend to ignore all signatures, BTW I do care about your 26 past cruises.:D ;)

 

jc

[stretch]

Stretch,

Hi, guy! What you say is 100% true. I have been cruising on RCCL since 1982 and if people don't agree that their service and customers service has gone downhill over the past 4-5 years, then they don't really have a clue.

I still like RCCL, but I can certainly see the reality of the cruise world these days. I remember when RCCL used to be considered the "cadillac" of cruise lines. No more. They now cater to a different clientele, which is certainly ok and evidently is a huge money maker for them............

Happy cruising! :)

 

Thank you Catnip :D

I really don't go out and start theads "bashing" RCI, but feel for those that honestly post their opinions and then have them critiqued by those that live and breath for their beloved cruise line. Unfortunatly, they are the same ones that are perfectly satisfied with a bargain basement vacation. As you said, RCI used to be a Cadillac but recently has taken the form of a Kia.

I also want to get the best deal possible and shop around as much as anyone, but am not ready to sacrifice quality and service just for the sake of cruising. I still think that RCI has

the greatest fleet of ships sailing and could still be the Cadillac

of cruise lines if they just reversed their current trends, bring back the service and qualities that made them so popular. First time cruisers really don't have the information they need to make an intelligent decision about which cruise line would fit them the best. They either go in expecting what they have been told by past cruisers that only remember when cruising was special, or go in blind without any idea of what they're in for. Maybe I'm crazy to think that if enough C&A members voiced their honest opinions on where RCI is going, maybe the decision makers would reverse their trends and return RCI to their former stature. But hey, that's me! :D

Stretch

[xpcdoojk]

Thank you Catnip :D

I really don't go out and start theads "bashing" RCI, but feel for those that honestly post their opinions and then have them critiqued by those that live and breath for their beloved cruise line. Unfortunatly, they are the same ones that are perfectly satisfied with a bargain basement vacation. As you said, RCI used to be a Cadillac but recently has taken the form of a Kia.

I also want to get the best deal possible and shop around as much as anyone, but am not ready to sacrifice quality and service just for the sake of cruising. I still think that RCI has

the greatest fleet of ships sailing and could still be the Cadillac

of cruise lines if they just reversed their current trends, bring back the service and qualities that made them so popular. First time cruisers really don't have the information they need to make an intelligent decision about which cruise line would fit them the best. They either go in expecting what they have been told by past cruisers that only remember when cruising was special, or go in blind without any idea of what they're in for. Maybe I'm crazy to think that if enough C&A members voiced their honest opinions on where RCI is going, maybe the decision makers would reverse their trends and return RCI to their former stature. But hey, that's me! :D

Stretch

 

Stretch, the dreamer.... what a concept. Can you go back to posting in regular colored and regular size font. I would be able to read your posts without glazing over and go back to whipping up on you if you could do this little favor for me.

 

Your friend as always

 

jc

[Catnip]

Stretch,

Unfortuantly, I don't think that will happen. They are going for the mass-market clientele and discount cruising these days. Nothing wrong with that at all, just different from how they used to be. I still cruise with RCCL, but I have to be a lot choosier about the dates that I will cruise with them.....

 

jc,

Since when have you started listing all your past cruises???????? ;) I don't beleive I've ever seen your cruising sig before!!!

I don't list them, because frankly, I don't remember all the past ships and certainly don't remember all the dates. After 20+ years, they all blend together! And, most people don't really give a hoot anyway (myself included).........and then, too many people list them on on a seperate line and that makes for a long scroll down.

 

:)

[bpear1600]

Stretch,

Hi, guy! What you say is 100% true. I have been cruising on RCCL since 1982 and if people don't agree that their service and customers service has gone downhill over the past 4-5 years, then they don't really have a clue.

I still like RCCL, but I can certainly see the reality of the cruise world these days. I remember when RCCL used to be considered the "cadillac" of cruise lines. No more. They now cater to a different clientele, which is certainly ok and evidently is a huge money maker for them............

Happy cruising! :)

 

RCCL since 1981 for us and we're with you, Stretch and all the others that are not wearing RCI blinders.

Bob

[barbgazz]

I totally agree with you stretch, I am really disappointed in the rock climbing walls and the ice rink that attract all the "families" and try to stay away from them. However, since I have a "mass media cruise budget" I don't know what else to do.

[zachnlucy]

I totally agree with you stretch, I am really disappointed in the rock climbing walls and the ice rink that attract all the "families" and try to stay away from them. However, since I have a "mass media cruise budget" I don't know what else to do.

Uhhh, perhaps try Carnival? ;) They don't have any stinkin rock climbing walls and ice rinks.

[barbgazz]

That would be the last place i would try.

[hstrybuf]

Stretch & sgdgirl....RC loyalist here.....I don't understand why you keep posting on the RC forum if you are so unhappy with them. If you don't plan on sailing with them then why spend your time reading and replying on this forum. If you had a bad experience, then tell us about it once and then move on.

 

The way I see it, anyone with experience on RC or questions about that line can post here. It's an open forum. We should be able to hear both positive and negatives in order to make an informed and educated choice about our next cruising experience. ;)

[vijoge]

I haven't cruises on the Grandeur, but have sailed twice with RCI, on the Majesty and the Enchantment. RCI is my favorite line so far and the service on both our cruises with them has been excellent.

 

As far as Key West goes, it's one of my favorite places, so I guess the substitution would have made me happy!

 

Sorry your cruise wasn't what you had envisioned. It's too bad when that happens.

[Catnip]

barbgazz,

Without going to a lot more expensive line like Radisson or Crystal, you might want to try Princess or Celebrity. I hear that Princess (sometimes) limits the number of kids onboard and I don't think Celebrity generally has as many kids as RCCL. I think RCCL is really marketing for the families these days.

 

 

Deb,

Well said!!!!!!! ;)

[cod]

We've been on 2 RC cruises..the Rhapsody in spring of 2002 and the Grandeur later that same year. What a difference!! The Rhapsody was the best of our 7 cruises and the Grandeur the worst! WHY is as follows:

 

Food was not as good. I had a couple of the same dishes and there was no comparison.

Entertainment was not near as good..but that may just be personal preference and the luck of the draw as to guest entertainers.

 

Hair in my salad one night. (Definately not mine!)

 

A drink landed in my lap from the waiters tray as we were waiting to go into the restaurant on - of all things - a formal night! Yes, accidents do happen and I did not kick and scream..I just went and changed clothes.

 

Bad start, which I should have mentioned first. Cabin was not clean. LONG hairs in a couple of draws and all mirrors were full of smudges. After we gave the tips to the cabin stewards on the last night, they failed to turn down our beds in 2 of our cabins. 'Have money, will ignore you' was the rule of day.

 

We had trouble finding a clean table in the pizza/burger area. We went from table to table several times and found none had been wiped off. Yet crew members were standing around in clusters having a good time.

 

The last morning we were told we could wait in the theatre till our color was called. We arranged to meet others there and then found the doors all chained. Had trouble meeting up then.

 

Granted, I know others who love the Grandeur, so we just may have just hit a bad week. I'm just not anxious to try again though.

[ivanbrowne]

 

What I would suggest is that you write a letter to RCCL headquarters letting them know how unhappy you are about this cruise. I have done that with Carnival once & it really paid off. Next cruise we were upgraded from inside bottom of the bottom to cat. 11-suite. It was awesome! I received a response from them within 2 months of sending my letter. They really do care what us cruisers think!!! Also use names.....cruise director "tom"...etc......

 

I am not sure a letter to RCCl will do any good. I have written 3 letters about a recent bad experience I had all to no avail. A friend of mine had a less bad experience on Carnival, wrote and complained and received a very satisfactory reply. RCCL do not seem to care once you have left the ship

[barbgazz]

I have done Princess and really liked it, but they no longer limit the number of kids, I have done three celebrity cruises and liked them as well. My next cruise is 14 day on Holland America. Let's put it this way, I love cruising since hubby and I can each do our own thing. He loves to sun worship and there are lots of things I can do also. We don't want anybody to wipe our butts for us but like the fact that they straighten up your rooms twice a day. I don't care if I'm escorted to my cabin, since I always see that with a hand out for another tip. I don't mind paying for my drinks or anything else.

 

Cruising is our favorite vacation. We can spent as little or as much as we want.

 

In other words, we are not hard to please and don't look for things to criticize. However, if my room was filthy and people were rude (something I have never found) I would be annoyed too.

[Guest OBAYbee]

Thank you Catnip :D

I really don't go out and start theads "bashing" RCI, but feel for those that honestly post their opinions and then have them critiqued by those that live and breath for their beloved cruise line. Unfortunatly, they are the same ones that are perfectly satisfied with a bargain basement vacation. As you said, RCI used to be a Cadillac but recently has taken the form of a Kia.

I also want to get the best deal possible and shop around as much as anyone, but am not ready to sacrifice quality and service just for the sake of cruising. I still think that RCI has

the greatest fleet of ships sailing and could still be the Cadillac

of cruise lines if they just reversed their current trends, bring back the service and qualities that made them so popular. First time cruisers really don't have the information they need to make an intelligent decision about which cruise line would fit them the best. They either go in expecting what they have been told by past cruisers that only remember when cruising was special, or go in blind without any idea of what they're in for. Maybe I'm crazy to think that if enough C&A members voiced their honest opinions on where RCI is going, maybe the decision makers would reverse their trends and return RCI to their former stature. But hey, that's me! :D

Stretch

 

 

Did you say Cadillac??? hehe War Eagle p.s. sorry couldn't resist.

[Erie Dave]

I think a great deal of this has to do with luck and timing. Our first trip on the Radiance to the caribbean was terrific in just about every aspect. A short time later we sailed the Radiance again to Alaska and the service was pretty average to poor with the exception of Portofino's. The service we had on the Adventure was the best to date, the Jewel was sketchy. The blanket statement that they have gone down hill just doesn't fit.

I think a much more accurate description is inconsistant. Unfortunately, one day can be great, the next one poor. I think RCI needs some better middle management to make the services on board much more consistant and regular.

This cruise line is not marketed as 5 star, it is a main stream, blue collar, bread and butter cruise line. If you know that going in, you get what you expect. They do need to work on uniform service though.

[martdm]

Once again, the narrow minded RCI loyalists have to jump up and basically call the OP a liar...

Stretch

 

 

Yawn. Nobody called the OP a liar so stop being so inflammatory.

 

(btw...you should consider ceasing to use that overly large, and ill-colored font - anyone can use html code to do that stuff but using it here instead of the standard font makes you come across as anxious to be seen/heard and, frankly, sort of juvenile IMO)

 

To the OP - I can understand how you might have had your expectations built up. We had heard much about cruising and read much about it here on these very boards and I think I went into it with a conglomeration of everyone's best experiences in my head as what our first cruise should be like (not on RCCL btw). I did try to keep reasonable expectations anyway, but it is somewhat disappointing when you don't experience some little perk that made another person's cruise special. Nevertheless, I did keep telling myself that many of these things were above the call of duty and should not be expected by me.

 

We thought the food was fine (not great), the shows were fine (not great), and didn't find a ton to do on the sea day either. I think we had a standard cruise experience that was fine but not notable and, when I thought about it, I felt that it was perfectly OK as we only paid for a standard experience. I now book cruises that don't have sea days and don't expect anything special (which makes it more of a surprise when you get some nice out of the box treatment from someone).

 

Perhaps you should give it another shot with more basic expectations in mind? Granted, the rude treatment was unacceptable but, otherwise, nothing in your post seems to be anything the cruiseline let you down on. Maybe another type of cruise would suit you better? Just a thought.

[KamloopsCruisers]

I think a great deal of this has to do with luck and timing. Our first trip on the Radiance to the caribbean was terrific in just about every aspect. A short time later we sailed the Radiance again to Alaska and the service was pretty average to poor with the exception of Portofino's. The service we had on the Adventure was the best to date, the Jewel was sketchy. The blanket statement that they have gone down hill just doesn't fit.

I think a much more accurate description is inconsistant. Unfortunately, one day can be great, the next one poor. I think RCI needs some better middle management to make the services on board much more consistant and regular.

This cruise line is not marketed as 5 star, it is a main stream, blue collar, bread and butter cruise line. If you know that going in, you get what you expect. They do need to work on uniform service though.

 

Erie Dave, I concur with your post wholeheartedly. Our cruising experiences on different RCCL has varied from absolutely perfect to somewhat mediocre. A case in point was our recent B2B on the Voyager. Our first week cruising on this ship was above average compared to past RCCL's experiences. Our waiter was perfect, as was our Asst. Waiter. In fact, all of the staff who served us appeared to go that extra mile. The ship was full both sailings. Our second week had an entirely different feel. One, there were a considerable number of more children sailing during the second week. I am a parent, and usually kids don't bother me in the least, in fact, I enjoy them very, very, much. A number of these kids however, were pushy, rude and downright obnoxious. The adults sailing during our second week appeared more anxious, in a hurry, and I felt crowded - not because there was an increase in passengers (there wasn't), but because people everywhere seemed to be cutting me off or try to push past me. I think the dynamics of the passengers has an influence not only their fellow passengers, but the crew as well. IMHO the staff and crew looked "worn out" as each day of the second week passed. In addition, our waiter the second week was fair at best. Little things like serving the men first were somewhat irratating. He was a likeable fellow and seemed to enjoy telling jokes to our table far more than serving us our dinners. I thought the food quality both weeks was above average for RCCL.

 

So, while we sailed on the same ship for both weeks, we had very different experiences during this time. Had the second week have been my first cruise, I doubt that I would be addicted to cruising (as I am now). The second week wasn't awful, we didn't get sick, staff weren't rude, etc., but I wasn't left with my usual feeling of "oh, I can't wait to sail again".

[maddea66]

First of all if you read the boards you should have known that some cruises do not go to Grand Cayman due to limited capacity as a result of the hurricane. Also it is easy to check if you are going to GC by going to www.caymanport.com.

 

Joeyancho, thanks for the tip regarding the website. We are on Mariner leaving 4/10/05 and per the website list we are stopping there, however, when you click on the ship name, it reflects "0" passengers. I think I need to call Royal Caribbean, particularly since we already purchased our excursions online! :eek:

 

Thanks again and enjoy, Deanna

:D

[Kapeluza]

Chair hoggers .......... You will find these inconsiderate JERKS everywhere on cruises... they are like a disease that spreads everywhere.. so don't be surprised... I hope they tan enough to look like a prune!!!! :D

[abridalmaven]

So here goes, Stretch you know I disagree bur since I love amusement parks I must be of the mass market mentality.:p Raddison and the rest would really make me puke, I would be bored to death. Eating to me is not a pastime, just a means to en end. I love food, but it will never be the sole reason I go on any trip, I look at the whole experience as what I judge . I also love refined things as living here I have access to the finest of everything, but I do not want it everyday. As some know my son went on Celebrity and was undewhelmed, so again it is to each his/her own tastes.:rolleyes:

 

As to the OP, I really feel this person had extemely high expectations and also it seems would not enjoy a cruise even if it were a great one. Not that I mean that as an insult, but some people are not cruisers. I did not think I would like one but I was happily surprised on my first one. And not once did I do the belly flop or pool games. There were classes in so many things that on our 10 day cruse I did not participate in all that I wanted to, And I to do not bring a book on vacation, I can do that at home. So I do not think going on another one woud help them change their mind.

 

Some things may have been poor service but somethings were just not up to the criiseline. Ports are what they are and they set the rules, as does changes in weather.

[Shanafan]

BTW, to the Bicmeister - see you haven't lost your touch , I feel a nap comming on fast! :D

 

Stretch

Wow! I am with you! I got thru about the first sentence and couldn't take it anymore!