Royal cutbacks.....just my opinion

[Big_G]

Apparently Royal missed the boat (pun intended) when implementing the alcohol packages. Maybe they should have implemented classic, premium, and ultra cruise packages instead. Looks like there might be some takers. :D

[cruzinlady1947]

I have only been cruising since 2004 and all of my cruises have been on RCCL, but I don't EVER remember being given ice water and cool wash clothes when re-boarding the ship. Our first cruise back in 2004 was on Navigator and we have cruised several of the other ships in the fleet, and some several times.

 

I can't be accused of confusing my experiences on RCCL with another cruise line, since I have never cruised another line, but are YOU?

I have been cruising Royal for over 20 yrs. and have not had any ice water or warm drinks, cool or warm towels to freshen up with. But, on our one cruise on Celebrity, we did. But, that is not saying it wasn't done on some other Royal ships. I just never experienced it. I know that when there was a Celebrity ship docked with us at a Caribbean port, I would have liked to have gone to their gangway for a cool drink or cool towel after a hot day. The only time I remember getting a towel is last Nov. when it rained cats and dogs in San Juan and they were giving out towels to dry off when people returned.

Gwen :)

[lakelorain]

I have only been cruising since 2004 and all of my cruises have been on RCCL, but I don't EVER remember being given ice water and cool wash clothes when re-boarding the ship. Our first cruise back in 2004 was on Navigator and we have cruised several of the other ships in the fleet, and some several times.

 

I can't be accused of confusing my experiences on RCCL with another cruise line, since I have never cruised another line, but are YOU?

 

We've had ice water and cool wash cloths several times. They are in a little tent near the entrance to the ship. If I remember correctly most of the time it has been on the Jewel of the Seas. I've never been on any other cruise line so I'm sure it was Royal Caribbean.

[JasonV1]

The Carnival boards see a lot more posts like this since that line has cut back much much further than Royal. The latest item was tablecloths in the MDR during dinner.

 

So long as the ships sail full (or close enough to it), that is evidence that the cutbacks are acceptable. I've been on 22 cruises in 19 years, and only Carnival has cut back enough to where it really bothered me. Granted, if I couldn't afford Royal I would probably still be sailing Carnival as I do like to cruise.

 

My feeling is if you want it to be more elegant, make it so. Book suites, wear formal clothing, go to the chefs table, payoff your bartenders/stateroom attendant/waiter to give you extra attention, etc. I'm sure if I gave the stateroom attendant an extra $100 at the start of the cruise he would be willing to accommodate some specific requests (even if he has to buy candy onboard and place it on your pillow himself).

 

Just remember that not everyone else wants/cares about those things, and don't criticize them for it (not saying you are, just thinking out loud here). Just bring onboard a small stack of cash and use it to guarantee the level of service that you want. I certainly wouldn't blame a bar waiter for serving you first if you are giving him extra cash every time he comes by (so long as I get regular service of course).

Edited January 12, 2014 by JasonV1

[Midwestgal]

And so any of you complain about Carnival. I got a Chocolate every night on my pillow as well as towel animals nightly and the kicker is the food & service was pretty good much better than my Freedom cruise....go figure:eek:

Indy of the seas is next on my list so we'll see how that ship compares .....I really think its more about what ship then what line .

[OasisOTS2013]

And so any of you complain about Carnival. I got a Chocolate every night on my pillow as well as towel animals nightly and the kicker is the food & service was pretty good much better than my Freedom cruise....go figure:eek:

Indy of the seas is next on my list so we'll see how that ship compares .....I really think its more about what ship then what line .

 

Look at their clientele and safety history. They are cutting corners and slashing prices for a reason.

[John&LaLa]

most midnight buffets were just photo ops anyway. deck parties were windy, but I remeber one that actually had grilled steak and burgers. Carnival used to have a gamblers buffet at around 1AM for those that didn't want to leave casino:D. Majesty 3 night in two weeks is down to $109, what do you expect?

[Midwestgal]

Look at their clientele and safety history. They are cutting corners and slashing prices for a reason.

 

 

I do agree that they have had two cruises that were unacceptable as far as how they handled what was going on. The ships are so big with so many people theirs a good mix and I don't make a point of looking at and judging other , for the most part all has been fine, I have encountered "high class" people who are plain rude self important jerks however.

 

Weren't you complaining about Royal and their low class passengers?

Edited January 12, 2014 by Midwestgal

[Midwestgal]

I did read your other thread and sorry my mistake, you weren't talking about the people just the overall quality of cruising and on that we did agree that things are not like they once were.

 

My first cruise in 1998 the food was very good and service was much better although like I mentioned we cruised on Carnival Liberty last month and it was pretty good except for the big shows.

I'm looking forward to Indy in 2015

[JasonTehGreat]

This is how I look at things from the perspective of a travel agent:

 

 

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has 3 American brands:

 

Royal Caribbean International

Celebrity Cruise Lines

Azamara Club Cruises.

 

 

That list is ordered by amenities and price inclusiveness.

 

You cannot sail a company's cheapest brand and expect them to maintain the perks and amenities of their more expensive brands.

 

 

To put it in perspective:

 

Carnival Corporation has several primary "American" brands:

 

Carnival Cruise Lines

Princess Cruise Lines

Holland America Line

Cunard Line

Seabourn

 

 

 

Do you really think that you will get the same amenities on a $399 Carnival Cruise as you would on a $10,000.00 Seabourn cruise? Absolutely not!

Edited January 12, 2014 by JasonTehGreat
spelling error

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

We have cruised for 30 years and we still love Royal, I think part of the problem with cruising all the time as we don't get the same wow as we did when we first started cruising. I find everything more predictable now as the cruise-lines don't change up things like the Quest, and events like that. For those of us that sail all the time we know what is going to happen, or Love & Marriage game show the questions have been pretty much the same for years. There are a bunch of very creative cruise directors out there who we have sailed with and they work hard to change those things up. The 70s in the atrium is a little change but the 50s and the country and western nights are still much the same. Despite all of these things if you are a regular person who will only go on a cruise once every 4 or 5 years then these things wouldnt be so noticeable.

We enjoy the security knowing that we have a good selection of meals everyday, a clean cabin and bathroom, a good show or comedian to watch every night and the casino to finish the night off. A different port to visit and explore around the world, learning new cultures and different types of experiences and beautiful views of the amazing world we live in.

 

happy sailing

 

Brian J

[SPacificbound]

We are new cruisers, first cruise was in 2013. I'm glad we are new so I don't have the "good old days" to compare to. I think the prices are great! I loved our first cruise and all my towel animals, and am looking forward to the next and the next, etc. :):):):):)

 

Here is an example for price comparison the way I look at it......

 

1. Business class flight Los Angeles to Auckland $4,700.00 X 2= $9,400. and change each for 13 hours in a very uncomfortable "lie flat seat". Included was a couple of sub par meals.

 

2. RCCL Rhapsody, Sydney to Honolulu 18 nights in Grand Suite, which of course included transportation, lodging, food, entertainment, tips and travel insurance and all services, $18,000. and change.

 

I can't wait for Europe and TA for 2015 to open so I can book more! :D

Edited January 12, 2014 by SPacificbound

[LMaxwell]

 

1. Business class flight Los Angeles to Auckland $4,700.00 X 2= $9,400. and change each for 13 hours in a very uncomfortable "lie flat seat". Included was a couple of sub par meals.

 

2. RCCL Rhapsody, Sydney to Honolulu 18 nights in Grand Suite, which of course included transportation, lodging, food, entertainment, tips and travel insurance and all services, $18,000. and change.

 

 

1. I never realized airfare was so massively high for that route!

2. GS's on that cruise ranged from $5k-$6300 pp. How did you end up with an 18K bill???

[seaofwonder]

But then you still had to get to LA? and the return airfare too, right?

[CatBelle]

So are they making cutbacks? I though it was just each ship has their own rules, gifts and habits.

 

I made 2 cruises, one in Europe in 2009 (Voyager OTS) and the second in Western Caribbean in 2011. (Allure OTS)

 

I remember the first one as much more "detailed" as someone said before we had chocolates on the pillow, and before serving us the dinner we always had some bread and different types of cheeses and patés while waiting for the dishes.

 

We didn't have this in the second cruise in 2011.

Edited January 12, 2014 by CatBelle

[seb]

DW and I love cruising. We love RCI as well but we also love to get value for our money. There are other options out there with different cruise lines and different vacation venues.

 

For example this past Thanksgiving, we wanted to take a week and take a cruise on RCI. Looked at the pricing and we were quite surprised at how "bumped" up the pricing was.

 

So after doing a little looking around, I found a 5 star all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana area. We had 10 restaurants (all much better quality than the MDR on any ship we've sailed) unlimited alcohol , unlimited golf at their Country Club, First Class Air Fare to and from, private transportation from airport to resort, and much more for LESS than a JS on Oasis or Allure. Oh yea, our room was over 800 sf as well. We loved it there.

 

Point is, there are options out there. We're cruising this March on RCI because we found a great deal on IOS that we just couldn't pass up.

 

I do miss the Midnight Buffet, not because of the food but because of the craftsmanship shown in all the different sculptures :).

[LMaxwell]

So after doing a little looking around, I found a 5 star all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana area. We had 10 restaurants (all much better quality than the MDR on any ship we've sailed) unlimited alcohol , unlimited golf at their Country Club, First Class Air Fare to and from, private transportation from airport to resort, and much more for LESS than a JS on Oasis or Allure. Oh yea, our room was over 800 sf as well. We loved it there.

 

Have never done an AI, but some friends have and have heard mixed reviews (like anyone would hear of any type of vacation) but I am interested to change things up time to time. Do you mind sharing, ballpark, what a trip like that runs? Sounds like you did it higher end and not low budget, but just a range would be helpful. I know airfare is going to be highly dependent...

[SPacificbound]

We are new cruisers, first cruise was in 2013. I'm glad we are new so I don't have the "good old days" to compare to. I think the prices are great! I loved our first cruise and all my towel animals, and am looking forward to the next and the next, etc. :):):):):)

 

Here is an example for price comparison the way I look at it......

 

1. Business class flight Los Angeles to Auckland $4,700.00 X 2= $9,400. and change each for 13 hours in a very uncomfortable "lie flat seat". Included was a couple of sub par meals.

 

2. RCCL Rhapsody, Sydney to Honolulu 18 nights in Grand Suite, which of course included transportation, lodging, food, entertainment, tips and travel insurance and all services, $11,450. and change.

 

I can't wait for Europe and TA for 2015 to open so I can book more! :D

 

I have made a correction on the cruise total, the first total I had was lumped in with some other expenses.

[SPacificbound]

1. I never realized airfare was so massively high for that route!

2. GS's on that cruise ranged from $5k-$6300 pp. How did you end up with an 18K bill???

 

You are correct, the amount I had posted last night was clumped in with some other expenses.

 

But then you still had to get to LA? and the return airfare too, right?

 

Yes of course, we did have airfare Houston to LA and Honolulu to Houston. But my point was comparing an 11 hour flight price to an 18 day cruise price, the cruise being a much better bargain. :)

[seb]

No problem. We went thru an airline web site that I have FF miles account with although, we didn't use miles. The airline is 5 letters beginning with D and ending in A. They have a luxury vacation link and you can get all the info you need for several options. The luxury site will always include first class air but their other vacation site can give you the same info. with economy air fare as well. Our trip for the 2 of us with everything included (hotel, first class air, transportation , food, drinks, golf)was under 6K for 7 nights.

 

We have stayed at 2 AI resorts, one in St. Lucia and the other in DR. We found both to be fantastic. We have stayed away from the AI resorts that you see advertised a lot, I'm sure you know the ones, because we too have seen and heard from friends some negative reviews. But using the airline web site and then doing some research on my own about the resorts, we have had a great experience at both AI places.

 

Hope this helps

 

SEB

[setsail]

I have seen a ton of cutbacks over the years. Examples from our last 11 day are , very liberal balcony discount, free internet minutes, spa discounts, drink discounts, free pictures, shopping discounts, laundry discounts, casino perk, unlimited special coffee, and 11 days of drinks with no upcharge, plus 100 obc for the next one all adding up to about 1000.00 in savings.

 

Keep the royal cutbacks coming rci:rolleyes::D

 

Of course this does not include the rci visa cutbacks or the silly basket with cookies and drinks

Edited January 12, 2014 by setsail

[LMaxwell]

Hope this helps

 

SEB

 

Very helpful, thanks! Gets me pointed in the right direction.

[icsys]

Very well said. This isn't about chocolates and notepads. It is about RCI cutting corners to the point that it is very noticeable and cheapens the overall experience. It's about too few guest facing staffers being asked to do too much. It's about sourcing food just a half a shade too low sometimes. I'd pay a few bucks more for additional wait staff, or to give up some Windjammer choice in favor of higher quality.

 

RCI isn't in dire straits like Carnival is (can't raise the price or the hordes scream, can't make any further cuts or it's barely a "vacation") but in a race to the bottom it's only those that want the "cheapest" that win, not the best value. I don't think RCI can really afford to go cheaper or cut any more guest facing service staff.

 

This stuff may not matter at all to new cruisers.

 

that is most likely the problem, there are a lot of people 'new' to cruising, it has never been so affordable. We're relatively new after just four years!

The service received is all the new cruiser has been used to, to them it is probably a WOW experience.

Enough with the quoting of pillow mints. It isn't about pillow mints. There WERE many things RCI used to provide, tangible or not, that are no longer provided. Yes the cruise is cheaper now. You can pay more and be afforded access more amenities by staying in an expensive suite, but that still isn't going to change the fact that MANY of the guest facing areas are asked to do more with less resources, or so it seems. Food quality was up, personalized service was up. Now you get way more features and options and at a lower price. It's not all bad. But there's nothing wrong with wanting higher standards than what is provided now. It's about nuance. If you didn't experience it, it's very hard to understand.

 

The answer is not to jump lines; has anyone read the HAL boards? The posts over there are down right apoplectic over cutbacks.

 

And many high priced luxury lines either aren't family friendly or don't really subscribe to the resort casual mentality. In other words, they take their vacations a bit too seriously.

 

Newcomers will not notice because they don't have a fair basis of comparison. 10 years from now there is the very real chance of looking back at current times and claiming they were the good old days, just like people now look back 10, 20, 30 years and can rightly say "You don't know what you are missing...you just don't know how it was."

 

100% honestly, I think RCI is resting on features to wow 'em and get newcomers money and is kind of waiting and seeing what happens with Carnival over the next 1 - 3 years. If Carnival can stop cutting services and features and start demanding higher fares you'll see RCI in lock step demanding higher fares and better. RCI always provided a product "nicer" than Carnival. If Carnival continues to slide and cut features and services and go after price RCI will have to decide if they want to be priced just over and be slightly better than Carnival, or if they want to maintain and expand their role in the vacation market as being just slightly above average, above middle market, offering a taste of luxury ways.

 

Does anyone remember Midnight Buffets? Then they went to one big Gala midnight buffet? Then it went to a nighttime deck party. Now on the Oasis/Allure, the most magnificent ships afloat, there's really none of that. They turn the Solarium into the disco one night, but that's not a deck party.

In just four years and five RCI cruises on different ships we have noticed these things seem to be disappearing, or perhaps it is just different on each ship?

I guess the best way to find out first hand is to sail on the same ships again at some point.

Edited January 12, 2014 by icsys

[skoola]

My personal feeling about the Midnight Buffet, from my very first cruise on Navigator in 2004, was 'over indulgence'. Let's face it, we had eaten only a few hours ago. I would rather have a 'deck party' to enjoy during the late hours, since when we are on a cruise we seem to manage to stay up MUCH MUCH later than we ever stay up at home. It is amazing!

 

I will be on Allure, June 2014 to see for myself.

 

 

I remember being on the Navigator in 2004. My dad and I were the only people eating the caviar at the midnight buffet. We actually posted up on than end of the table. They had a 1/2 kilo of beluga, we probably ate $2000 worth. Wish other people would have eaten it. Shame that don't have it any more.

[CORKY_Q]

I miss the very things you mention … room stewards w/assistants, adequate staff in dining room & Windjammer, pool towels in staterooms, etc . I loved being handed ice water and the cool wash cloths when we re-boarded … one of my "favorite things!"

 

Hey, I miss them too......BUT, when we had them I was paying $1200.00 for and inside; now I'm paying less than that (including tip/gratuity and Port Tax) for an ocean view balcony. To me it's a no-brainer. I'll keep what we've got now. :D