If you ran RCI...

[MrsPete]

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. :)

Totally agree. If I were the CEO of Royal, my goals would be to provide a quality product that would encourage brand-loyalty and to maximize profits . . . not to try to save people money on booze.

 

As such, I'd

 

- definitely upgrade the website. That costs very little in the grand scheme of things, and it's many people's first impression of the brand.

 

- abandon any plans to build more mega-mega ships like Oasis and Allure; rather, keep the newer ships "Freedom sized" or smaller. Rather than try to cram everything on every ship, I'd vary the ships' amenities to encourage people to sail different ships.

 

- switch up the port stops -- the idea being to encourage repeat business.

 

- raise the price a bit to allow me to stop tipping. I'd market it as an "honest price" or something like that, which would imply that other companies are not playing fair by "hiding" the need to tip. Clearly, Royal is doing this same thing right now, but if I were the CEO, I'd want to present myself in the best possible light.

 

- expand the cooking classes that are offered by some ships, but I'd make them a much more reasonable price. I think many people would be interested in this concept, if it were more affordable. Similarly, I'd offer other one-shot classes -- some in the gym, some dealing with other topics -- that would interest cruisers who want to do something other than lie by the pool.

 

- do a better job with shore excursions. As it is now, the ship's offerings are vastly inferior to the private tours available on land. I'd offer something like a book-an-excursion-with-us-for-every-island-and-get-a-discount type things. And I'd hire enthusiastic people who'd actually do a good job.

 

- offer a small discount for passengers who book back-to-back cruises. Offering such a discount would encourage more people to book double-cruises, and longer cruises would mean more money for me.

 

- offer a better alcoholic drink package than exists now. Obviously, I'd do a study on what people want and what it'd cost (to the penny), but off the top of my head, I think the best option would be something along the line of a 10-drink punch card, which would give the passenger a small discount on drinks. Even a small discount would cut way down on alcohol smuggling.

 

- allow a small amount of alcohol to be brought onboard. Of course, Royal has started this with the two-bottles of wine thing.

 

- on new-build ships, I'd build the grand dining room smaller . . . and I'd make it genuinely a grand place -- upscale food, an enforced dress code. But at the same time, I'd create a larger number of smaller, casual dining spots that would be available for people who don't wish to dress to match the grand dining room. I'd include a good variety of eateries, especially catering to ethnic foods.

 

- sell things that people actually want in the gift shops.

 

- build cubby holes for people who want a place to leave their towels and shoes while swimming . . . but who don't want a chair. And, on the same subject, I'd empower the pool staff to move things left by chair hogs. Yes, there'd be backlash from the chair hogs, but the fair-minded-let's-all-share-the-facilities people outnumber them.

[markadele]

redesign the dress code to resort casual, for all evenings, with the exception of formal night.

 

Having different "suggested attire," for each evening can be difficult for passengers. Casual, smart casual on other evenings, formal for two evenings.

 

More types of clothing to bring, requires extra luggage. Expensive, when flights are involved.

like

[z44212]

1. Install a "smart" elevator control system that senses passenger load and parties waiting for pick up to more efficiently move people to where they want to go.

 

2. Drink stations with free lemonade/tea/coffee/water/flavored water scattered throughout the ship.

 

3. Rename "tips" to "service charge" and eliminate the custom of tipping on board.

 

4. Install an electrical energy storage system (battery banks or high efficiency flywheels) to allow the engines to run at a more constant load independent of draw.

 

5. Rebalance perks so repeat visitors get less and new cruisers get more - the best way to get repeat business is to make the first contact better, rather than make first-time customers second-class.

 

6. Evaluate employee performance using "mystery" customers (professionals trained in customer service posing as passengers), rather than customer surveys.

 

7. Continuously re-evaluate policies and procedures against the stated company goal. Change or eliminate those that conflict or interfere with the goal achievement.

[pfm18]

1. Include the price of service/crew wages in the top line price of the cruise, encouraging small gratuities only in cash to the crew members who passengers wish to reward for excellence.

 

2. As well as the three options of early/late/mtd, I'd have a 4th option for passengers who wish to eat solely in the specialities and the windjammer. This would help create space MDR users who miss out on their preferred option.

 

3. Expand the freedom and voyager classes to 5 or even 6 ships apiece, replacing the ageing smaller vessels with mid size ships.

 

4. Build a 4th oasis class vessel and send it to Barcelona

 

5. Send Oasis 3 to Asia

 

6. Build large waterslides on new ships, ala Norwegian epic

 

7. Pool tables

 

8. Bowling alleys

 

9. Expand the bellyflop contest. One flop each is a bit too fast for me.

 

10. Send a ship back to Malaga

[coordinator23]

1. Real toiletries in the bathroom. Not just a bar of soap and a container of ??? on the shower wall.
2. Provide each cabin with a pen and paper - to fill out forms and to write notes if needed.
3. Bring back the plastic shopping bags - good place to put wet bathing suits, etc.
4. Bring back the Daily Newspaper in the library. We used to like to read them - Canadian, American and British.
5. Expand staff. Last cruise my room was made up late (noon-ish) every day.
6. Sell liquor on board for in room consumption. (We paid through the nose for a bottle on Princess a few years ago and mixed it with the soda in the 'fridge = win-win for cruise line)
7. I miss the "little" welcome back gifts and honestly continue to use them (toiletry bag, tote bags, hats, etc).
8. Make sure there is always something to do or somewhere to go in the evening. (MOS went dead between 9-10 a few years ago, almost on a nightly basis.)
9. Find a way to bring back the SeaView Café.
10.. Enforce the rules that have been made (chair hogs, adults only, etc) or get rid of them.