If you ran RCI...

[macruisefan]

...What would you do?

 

If you suddenly were at the helm of this wonderful company, and you had the power to make changes with a simple declaration, what would you do?

 

Here are some of the things I would start with:

 

-Espresso and Cappuccino included for no charge in the MDR.

 

-Restore the items that seem to have been quietly dialed back or eliminated in recent years (i.e. chocolates on the pillows, towel animals every night). It's not so much the I care about these things (am fine without them), but their absence strikes a tone of cutbacks.

 

-Expand the premium beverage packages to be more in line with those on Celebrity (i.e. include soda, bottles water, fresh juice. And allow a credit towards drinks above the minimum).

 

-Allow the purchase and consumption of alcohol within staterooms. Let guests purchase bottles from RCI for use in the room. I laugh every time I walk into my suite and see a bar, even stocked with glasses, but I can't have any booze!

 

-Fire whomever has been running the website and start from scratch!

 

-Expand port stays. Seek to be in port as long as possible on any given day.

 

-And... to pay for these immediate improvements: An across-the-board price INCREASE! Yep, I wouldn't hide it or make an excuse. I'd come out and say, "yes, the prices are going up a bit. But we strongly believe that this will allow us to offer you the wonderful experience you demand". And be able to show it with the above changes.

 

So, what would you do?

[FLACRUISER99]

Sell my RCL stock!

[cb at sea]

Well...you CAN consume alcohol in staterooms...as long as you buy it from them!

 

I would get rid of the 'specialty restaurants' and make the dining room experience like it used to be.....upscale, with beautifully presented (and tasty!) food and real silver/crystal/china!

[macruisefan]

Well...you CAN consume alcohol in staterooms...as long as you buy it from them!

 

Clarification: I was referring to being able to purchase a bottle of liquor for consumption in your stateroom, as most other lines allow.

[PLEIKU68]

Institute a Dress Code and inforce it. If you don't like it don't cruise. :)

[DEIx15x8]

The first thing I would do is more drink stations! I'm blown away at how much of the time the only drink option is water, coffee, or tea in Sorentos or Cafe Promenade. I loved that Park Cafe finally gave us some options for other drinks outside the Windjammer on Oasis but it was still only during the day. On the Grandeur Park Cafe was open all day and night so the drinks were more readily available (when someone would fill them) but still out of the way. I will never understand why it is so hard to offer juices and teas in other complimentary venues when they are supposed to be complimentary as well.

[FLACRUISER99]

OK I got one, have breakfast in your room on disembarkation day.

[DEIx15x8]

Institute a Dress Code and inforce it. If you don't like it don't cruise. :)

Sounds like #2 on my list, lol. 3rd is enforcing the curfew for unaccompanied minors (and I'm only 24, rude out of control children annoy everyone, not just old people).

[slk230red]

...What would you do?

 

Raise prices and stop changing prices everyday!

[ronandannette]

I think the premise underlying this thread is misguided; it presumes that the CEO's primary interest would be in making the cruising experience better. In fact, priority in any business is maximizing profits and if you (or I) were REALLY in charge of RCCL our goals would be to minimize costs anywhere and everywhere as long as the ships keep sailing full. It's still fun to dream though, isn't it. :)

[srvdmy4usn]

I like all the ideas! But, just to play devils advocate, primarily because I am board out of my mind at the office today :D

 

It is probably somewhat safe to assume that the "cuts backs" you speak of (towel animals, chocolates, etc) were done in order to stay competitive with their target audience. I know most of the contributors to the RCI board are fans and even some cheerleaders, but that does not make the target audience any different. RCI is targeting nearly the same demographic as carnival. (Personal opinion, they do a way better job at it and I would pick them over carnival any day when it is my choice!)

 

So, can items like chocolates on the pillow allow them to remain competitive, or is the list of change items really just a different way of saying you want RCI to change their target demographic :)

 

That being said.... PLEASE KILL THE WEBISTE! It is just about the worst one out there! :eek:

[hazeleyez3]

• An actual Park Cafe on all ships (not just a section of the solarium).
  
• Lemonade available 24/7 (not just lunch and dinner in the WJ).
  
• Build new ships that don't have things like ziplines, carousels, roller skating, or bumper cars.
  

[momzcruzing]

Absolutely raise prices a bit and drop the tipping and reducing hard working employees to begging for good grades on comment cards. I get queezy when the last night the waiter and room steward have to beg for good comments.

 

Also PLEASE establish and enforce an "adults only space" somewhere on the ship. Now that I can count on kids being in the solarium, the CL and camped out in the elevators, what is left for me? I love kids and work with them professionally, but please let me vacation a bit.

[Paulxyz2004]

First thing I´d ask a question like the OP did to my Team and fire everybody that comes up with ideas along the lines of the OP.

 

Second I´d find People bringing in ideas to increase Revenue and reduce cost while still attracting enough cruisers to fill the ships.

 

Third I´d seriously overlook C&A to review if cutting perks might benefit the bottom line, even though I might lose some loyal cruisers, I might still benefit as newbies tend to spend more anyway.

 

I´m sure that´s not what the OP had in mind, but that would be my job if I ran the line.

[Snooksi]

-fire whomever has been running the website and start from scratch!

 

 

 

AMEN to that!!!

[George C]

I would like BYOB on wine with no limit, would like it on booze also.

[macruisefan]

I would like BYOB on wine with no limit, would like it on booze also.

 

I'd like the cruise to be free too, but I don't see that happening!:rolleyes:

[cruisegirl1]

With most of the ideas presented, you will need to look for a new job as your company will soon be bankrupt.

 

The ideas are nice but don't forget RCCL needs to make a profit to stay in business.

 

M

[silygirl77]

Institute a Dress Code and inforce it. If you don't like it don't cruise. :)

"Inforce" it huh? I'm generally not the spelling police, but it looks funny that someone who cares so much about formality cannot spell the word enforce.

[Aquahound]

With most of the ideas presented, you will need to look for a new job as your company will soon be bankrupt.

 

Ain't that the truth! I'd be out of business even quicker because on top of all that, I'd gve the boot to all the rude and whiney people. ;)

[Cruising89143]

I'd gve the boot to all the rude and whiney people. ;)

 

Amen on that one.

[smeck]

Institute a Dress Code and inforce it. If you don't like it don't cruise. :)

 

Boo

[justjim312]

Institute a Dress Code and inforce it. If you don't like it don't cruise. :)

 

 

If you don't like the dress code or how it is "enforced" (note the spelling), then you don't have to cruise!

[hellsop]

Transparency will be the watchword. There will be published inspection reports linked to on the website, by ship and captain, from coast guards to health inspection. There will be law enforcement aboard from the destination country: if a cruise ends in the US, that'll be a US Marshall. If cruise ends in Spain, it'll be a member of Cuerpo Nacional de Policía. There will be a brig. They will be assisted by line security personnel as well. There will be as many security cameras as people seem to think there already are. Incidents dealt with by the law enforcement officer will be published. There will be overboard sensors added to all ships, which will sound in all public areas. There will be literal transparency in some cases: There will be windows fitted between passenger areas and galleys and interior drink/food preparation where possible. The galleys will then be dropped from the "behind the scenes" tours save through those windows. (Passengers are soggy germ-bags too. I'd rather not have them in actual prep areas.) In addition to the "where are we" and bow camera channels, there will also be a channel to observe happenings on the bridge, including audio and a feed from marine radio. RCCL already does a better than usual job with muster drills overall training of hotel staff for emergency situations, but that's something I'd publicize a bit more as well. Wage information, fleet-wide and by class of ship, position by position will be available on the website, for both fleet average and aggregate by per-day on a ship-by-ship basis.

 

All new vessels for at least then next 10 years and some existing ones will be flagged US. Staff on those will be paid by US law, US minimum wage, OSHA-inspected, and staff members on the Bermuda-flagged ships that maintain a sufficiently good rating in both house and customer rating can transfer (or waitlist for transfer) to the US vessels. US vessels will command higher fares in line with the US wages, and can be supported by looking at the wage information. Those vessels will trade change routes with Bermuda-flagged ones seasonally where vessels in the same class fly different flags. If Jewel is US-flagged and Brilliance is Bermuda, Jewel might be Caribbean this year, trade for Radiance in Alaska for summer 2014, then Europe in summer 2015, so that the increased fare can be moved around.

 

What the specialty restaurants have done for dining, we're also going to do for drinking: One bar will have different stocks. There will be no Heineken there. There will be no Guinness. There will be no Jack Daniels white Bacardi, Coke, Apple Pucker, or Canada Dry etc. There will be no souvenir glasses or "drink of the day". There will micro brews, micro spirits, cocktails made with absinthe and with Aperol, shrubs and Ramos fizzes made with real eggs. There will be cola syrup, tonic syrup, simple syrup, honey syrup, fresh berries, and every drop of juice will have been in fruit earlier that day. No less than 30% of the stocked spirits will rotate out quarterly. If you cruise in May and order a martini, you'll be choosing between Few gin and Greylock in there. Come back in fall and find that the Few's been swapped out there's Aviation and Schramm in its place. By December, Greylock is gone and Rehorst is available. The others have moved on. Same with beer: One cruise it might be mostly Bell's beers, the next Great Lakes Brewing, or Abita, or Tampa Bay Brewing. This bar doesn't take the beverage package, though. It's all real SeaPass charges, sadly.

[cjknox]

I think the premise underlying this thread is misguided; it presumes that the CEO's primary interest would be in making the cruising experience better. In fact, priority in any business is maximizing profits and if you (or I) were REALLY in charge of RCCL our goals would be to minimize costs anywhere and everywhere as long as the ships keep sailing full. It's still fun to dream though, isn't it. :)

 

Spot on! My sentiments exactly very well said.