Cabin Category changes and Goldstein's Response

[Paulxyz2004]

seriously?

 

lots of these responses are from the folks who have drank the RCI kool-aid.. if RCI (their bff adam) told them they had to sweep the deck they would bring their own broom.

 

 

Well maybe if it still fits their expectation of the product and value for Money.

 

As an informed consumer I always look into a product before making my purchase. While I do like the RCI brand I would never say I´m loyal to royal, or to any other brand in that matter. The majority of my Cruises have been on RCI, but there is a Long list of other lines I´ve cruised with as well. So as a result I guess RCI has done a few things right, just like other lines have.

We all Need to make our decisions about a product we buy based on our Needs and Money value. In the light of this I agree with the poster you quoted, what Kind of Response did the OP expect?

OP basically wanted to complain about a new policy and taking the Chance to write off all the other past policy changes s/he didn´t like, just to end the list with we are going elsewhere.

So do you really think the CEO should now get on his knees and beg for their Business? You shouldn´t stop Folks who are ready to move.

 

Do not buy a product out of loyalty! If RCI makes changes I don´t like I will re-value if they should still be on my list or not, but they won´t Change back for me, or a childish email.

[Paulxyz2004]

I think you right about that, but it also puts me in mind of Carnival's Faster to the Fun program, which was/is (don't even know if they still do it) an extra charge of $50 for the stateroom which allowed earlier boarding and a special phone number if you had problems and one or two more things. Perhaps there is a middle ground somewhere for big cruise lines with respect to these little extras and perqs and not just the broader stateroom categories. Food for thought.

 

Sure enough RCI could go ahead and put some offers up in their gifts and gear section like paper and pen in the cabin for $xx.xx and pillow chocolates every night with a towel animal every other night for $xx.xx

 

Now do you really think People would be happy about that? I doubt it. They would be heavily blamed for nickle and diming. Once the dust would have settled I doubt many People would take the offer, but then I might be totally wron on this one, as I can´t believe what other stuff People pay Money for;)

[springfire]

If I have only one complaint (and I have more) about RCCL (and Celebrity), it's their flippant attitude towards their greatest asset...their customers.

 

Shameful....really!

 

This is a great post! I am surprised to read to find so many posts here with such blind loyalty for a company that continues to not care about its customers or crew.

[Paulxyz2004]

Regarding the "pen issue" (no more pens), I'd much rather not have an RCI provided pen than have what happened to me on my last Celebrity cruise...

 

12 night cruise, in Europe, in Aqua Class, the morning of the last day of the cruise while making up the cabins the cabin steward collected the pens from every cabin, so we were all pen-less through disembarkation.

 

It was widely viewed as a rather transparent effort to make sure nobody steals their pens, and wow was that tacky / unexpected at the end of a long, expensive cruise in Europe on Celebrity! I couldn't believe it!

 

Back to RCI, in all honesty, who cares. I always have my own pens with me when I travel and there's PLENTY of paper to write on... think of all the sales crap they shove into the Cruise Compass every day. I've never had trouble using the backs of those sales solicitations to write a note to the cabin steward if necessary. Just my $.02.

 

I´ve seen this on almost every cruise I´ve been on regardless of line. I highly doubt it´s something put in place to prevent People from taking the pens. It´s rather a way for the cabin attendants to prepare for the new guests and make things on Turnaround day easier and quicker.

 

Most of the time the paper and pen (if provided) is in some sort of a Folder, sometimes even a couple postcards thrown in. Now on the last full day of the cruise those Folders are usually collected by the cabin Stewards to be refilled and ready for the next passegers. Often times they even get back into the cabin, but in some rather hidden place. I´ve seen them placed behind mirrors, on top of cabinets, behind TV´s etc.

 

Doing it this way the cabin attendants just save the time to do the refills on Turnaround day and they just have to get them out again, checking if they are still untouched.

[marci22]

I would not have addressed my email as the OP did but I'm surprised at Adams response and tone. I do think he could have been a little more professional. He has some big ships to fill with more on the way. Why tick off your repeat guests for voicing their displeasure?

 

I am not surprised at Adam's response and tone. He has had this attitude in the past. While I can understand his position in view of the OP's tone, I still don't think it's right.

 

I agree, he could have been more professional. OP is frustrated and a nicer response would have been appreciated.

 

Adam has basically said in the past that he doesn't want to keep some customers. I'm sure lots of business owners think that, but you don't say it on your blog.

[marci22]

does anyone really think Mr. Goldstein is actually reading your emails?

 

I think he does read some of them. And I think he can be rude at times.

 

Everyone has their moments but he is speaking for an entire company, so he should be more careful. As a customer, I am sometimes bothered by his responses.

 

Let me break this down in simple laymen's terms.

 

The OP wrote to AG - SCREW YOU

AG responded back to the OP - SCREW YOU TOO

 

Good summary, but two wrongs don't make a right. imo, it comes off as immature and arrogant.

Edited February 15, 2014 by marci22

[drarill]

We have emailed Adam Goldstein on several occasions and

have had a phone call response. I really can't believe that response came from Mr Goldstein's office. They have always phoned.

 

We have emailed Adam Goldstein on several occasions about the smoking policy and always received a call from one of his assistants. After the policy change we emailed again showing our appreciation and received a short response signed by Adam. Many people on these boards posted the responses they got and most were signed by the person that answered the email. If the OP got an email signed by Adam I'm confident he did write the email.

[bchalker]

I emailed Adam Goldstein this morning voicing my displeasure with RCL's decision to restrict booking of D1 cabins to 3 or 4 passengers.

 

First, my email:

February 14, 2014

Dear Mr. Goldstein,

 

I just wanted to take a moment on this Valentine’s day to personally thank you and Royal Caribbean for giving me so many choices when we cruise.

Your ships enticed us away from Disney, and we’ve been sailing on Royal Caribbean ever since.

Even when you started eliminating the little amenities in our stateroom, we remained loyal.

When you started to cut back on the quality of your food offerings, we remained loyal.

When the service standards in your dining rooms started to go downhill, we remained loyal.

When you chose to replace popular food venues with upcharge specialty dining, we remained loyal.

When you eliminated the pens and paper in the staterooms, we remained loyal (although we could no longer fill out tip envelopes or comment cards).

When you changed the loyalty program and added 10 additional cruise days to become Diamond, we remained loyal.

When you restricted smoking, we switched to Personal vaporizers (by the way, the term electronic cigarette is a misnomer, as there is no smoke), and we remained loyal. In fact, we saved so much money by quitting that we were able to cruise more often, and in better cabins.

When you continued to build bigger and more elaborate ships that disconnected us further and further from the seas we love, we remained loyal, because we could still book our favorite D1 balcony cabins anywhere on the ship and re-connect at our leisure.

However, when you made the decision to restrict our cabin choices to smaller, more poorly located, and more disconnected from the sea cabins by making all of our favorite cabins unavailable to us unless we crammed a third or fourth person into the room with us, you finally came up with the perfect scenario that gave us back our cruise choices.

We currently have six cruises booked on Royal Caribbean though March of 2015 (we leave on the next one in two weeks) and will become Diamond Plus before year end. Once we complete the March 2015 cruise, we can go back and renew our previous relationships with Disney, Princess, Holland American, and Norwegian that we put on hold so we could be more “Loyal to Royal”.

Thanks you again for giving us back so many reasons to broaden our cruise choices.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

And his response:

 

"Hi xxxxxxxxxx. Wherever you choose to vacation, I hope you are highly satisfied. I won't comment on the very particular manner in which you constructed your email. From my perspective, the list of improvements we have made to the product is much longer than your list and is reflected in the highest customer ratings we have generated in many, many years. But that doesn't matter if what we offer doesn't match up with your needs. I would be interested to hear your views about ours or any other cruises you take, especially since several of your comments appear to be equally applicable to the other major cruise lines.

Best regards,

 

Adam

 

Adam M. Goldstein

President & CEO

Royal Caribbean International

(305) 539 6082"

 

Adam is correct 100%. Good riddance OP.

[jackaboo]

I must be the most undiscerning person ever. I enjoy the food and service at the main dining room, the ships are awesome, I'm good with the smoking policy, I like the itineraries,don't mind paying extra for specialty dinning or extra service ect..... and pens & paper....really. And please don't take this wrong but I don't know how you fit four people in one of those cabins. "

 

 

 

AMEN!! I agree

[Familygoboston]

 

The loss of all those little extras are very annoying to some people, but the majority of customers are more impressed with the whole fantastic experience, and to be honest the diamond lounge can be painful if you get a few burnt out cruisers that are no longer enjoying the trip due to their niggling whining daily complaints. It can get you down.

 

I have to agree; DH and I have simply stopped attending top tier events. A recent cruise we sat in the lounge at the top tier event with 2 other couples and it was so negative- DH and I caught eyes, in that way longtime couples do;) and we both KNEW we had to get out of there. We were out of the door even before the CD got up to talk!

 

It's not about being a "cheer leader"; like Pauly and AZMich, we cruise RCL frequently, but we take lots of other cruises and trips. I recognize what RCL offers and when I pay my cruise fare, I adjust my expectations. When I take other trips or cruises I may (do:p) pay more and I have higher expectations, and they are usually met. I still can't understand why people will pay bottom dollar and expect a top product and then complain about it during their precious travel time with loved ones, and then keep coming back for more when they were disappointed:confused:

[Dave85]

I´ve seen this on almost every cruise I´ve been on regardless of line. I highly doubt it´s something put in place to prevent People from taking the pens. It´s rather a way for the cabin attendants to prepare for the new guests and make things on Turnaround day easier and quicker.

 

.

 

 

Not doubting or questioning your experience, but I can tell you I have NEVER seen that before in 29 cruises, and it was not received well.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Cindy]

I think the tone of the original letter was very negative and sarcastic. While in my opinion it doesn't justify the tone of the response, it does help to explain it.

 

I must have missed reading about the new policy the OP referred to, but in looking at the deck plans for several classes of ship, I can see where this would be a problem for a couple looking for a D balcony in a prime location (hump or aft) on a Voyager or Freedom class ship. (I didn't look at Radiance, Vision, or Oasis class deck plans). It could also be a problem for someone who wanted to book a JS or full suite, and have family in a nearby balcony. Aside from the limited premium locations of the D cabins, there seem to be an abundance of E cabins in prime locations. I assume this new policy doesn't apply to Junior Suites or suites since those all sleep more than 2 people.

[Karma5]

"But that doesn't matter if what we offer does't match up to your needs"

 

This is not a good statement for someone in business…………it could have been worded much softer…………...

[LMaxwell]

"But that doesn't matter if what we offer does't match up to your needs"

 

This is not a good statement for someone in business…………it could have been worded much softer…………...

 

I find nothing wrong with that as a response. It's honest without being mean. People complain when they get back standard form letters that say something like "We hope you still consider us and enjoy your next experience here." There, that's softer. And useless.

 

I think the OP may not fully understand the changes. Cabins will be assigned NEW category codes and THEN have restrictions based on occupancy. This is not the same as restricting current cabin codes. That's not the entirety of the reclassification. That said, you may find SOME rooms that are highly desired unavailable for a couple in the future, or for a solo willing to pay up. That's a shame, but RCI has figured out how to better maximize revenue versus cabins sold.

 

I think someone needs ALL of the facts of the changes, and a full understanding, before firing off a nastygram to corporate. OP's letter didn't really ask any questions, it just complained a little about everything. If they had said "Currently we enjoy doing XYZ, and always look forward to booking XYZ, but because of new rules we can only book ABC and that is a disappointment. Please re-consider this policy change or let me know if it will be possible for us to continue to book XYZ in the future." Probably would have gotten a much more helpful and useful response than they did.

[cle-guy]

I found the RCI response appropriate.

 

Sometimes you have a customer who just isn't truly your customer.

 

The OP listed a litany of things they don't care for, none of which will see any chance of change, clearly indicating the changes RCI keeps making that are increasing its profits and satisfaction scores don't meet the OP'S needs.

 

OP should find a line that suits their needs where they will be happy and satisfied.

[SAS21]

Are suites the exception, since they accomodate more than 2 ppl.?

[Clarea]

Are suites the exception, since they accomodate more than 2 ppl.?

I hope so. I think every JS on Enchantment has a sofa bed. I can't imagine they would restrict every JS on the ship to 3 people.

[The Sunset Glow]

...... I still can't understand why people will pay bottom dollar and expect a top product and then complain about it during their precious travel time with loved ones, and then keep coming back for more when they were disappointed:confused:

 

100% agree...this behavior boggles me.:confused: And I see it often. It's sad really.:(

[travelgoddess1]

JMO, I thought AG's response could have been more cordial. When you are head of a large company, you can't afford the luxury of having a bad public moment. It will end up biting you back.

 

I understand the frustration of this issue, and the fact that it has not been clearly explained. We are a couple who would not appreciate being told we could not book a favorite cabin. :confused:

[Debde]

I still can't understand why people will pay bottom dollar and expect a top product and then complain about it during their precious travel time with loved ones, and then keep coming back for more when they were disappointed:confused:

 

Why do you think they keep coming back......... for me-I've read unbelievable things people say to justify a bad experience but they are 3 cruises away from D+ so they keep booking.

For some, this is what cruising is all about and the OP even stated that in the original letter!

 

We currently have six cruises booked on Royal Caribbean though March of 2015 (we leave on the next one in two weeks) and will become Diamond Plus before year end. Once we complete the March 2015 cruise, we can go back and renew our previous relationships with Disney, Princess, Holland American, and Norwegian that we put on hold so we could be more “Loyal to Royal”.

 

I think corporate at times has had enough with some of the 'loyal to royals' because a new cruiser will give them less aggravation and be happy. They don't complain about what used to be and are happy in any cabin that suits the vacation needs.. They don't need a special one, they just want one. So-if someone, traveling as a couple calls up the first week of openings for a cabin that holds 4, you're out of luck until closer to sailing. Just like family suites, that are only open for over 5 or until closer to sailing if they don't sell.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Debde

[Paulxyz2004]

 

...I think corporate at times has had enough with some of the 'loyal to royals' because a new cruiser will give them less aggravation and be happy. They don't complain about what used to be and are happy in any cabin that suits the vacation needs...

 

Exactly and those new cruisers will cost them less and spend more. No loyalty Discounts for them, they will buy all those pics taken because they don´t already have drawers full at home, they will buy those fancy fruity Drinks in souvenier glasses, because they don´t already have a cupboard full of them at home, they won´t spend 3+hours in the DL/CL and gulp down free booze, but instead they will sit at a bar and have a few Drinks, they will buy the after dinner shots because they want the nice glasses they don´t have a whole collection from at home already. They haven´t been to all the ports alredy and still want to explore, thus booking shore excursions with the ship, as they are not confident about their own excursions yet.......

[Ocean Boy]

and maybe this patient had a lot of crap going on in his life, that you couldn't fathom, and getting to your office was a hardship, and waiting a "a bit" was a really long time to him. sad all around.

 

And maybe you are really good at speculating since you most certainly were not there.

[leisuretraveler223]

And maybe you are really good at speculating since you most certainly were not there.

 

Totally agree. As a physician myself I have come to realize that there is a point of no return. After that point, the therapeutic relationship has become irreparably fractured. It can happen through no one's fault, or it can happen because of the behavior of the physician or the patient.

 

There are patients out there that think I walk on water, and others that might be convinced I am in fact the devil. Guess which ones I'm more likely to lose sleep over trying to please.

 

AG's response was perfect. Clearly, the OP was not going to be happy, so short, succinct and to the point is the way to go!

[cruzfitter]

Regarding the "pen issue" (no more pens), I'd much rather not have an RCI provided pen than have what happened to me on my last Celebrity cruise...

 

12 night cruise, in Europe, in Aqua Class, the morning of the last day of the cruise while making up the cabins the cabin steward collected the pens from every cabin, so we were all pen-less through disembarkation.

 

It was widely viewed as a rather transparent effort to make sure nobody steals their pens, and wow was that tacky / unexpected at the end of a long, expensive cruise in Europe on Celebrity! I couldn't believe it!

 

Back to RCI, in all honesty, who cares. I always have my own pens with me when I travel and there's PLENTY of paper to write on... think of all the sales crap they shove into the Cruise Compass every day. I've never had trouble using the backs of those sales solicitations to write a note to the cabin steward if necessary. Just my $.02.

 

I normally don't take pens when I dis-embark, but on my European cruise on Equinox on the last night the cabin steward placed a new set of all the little amenities in one of the unused upper storage areas. I saw this when checking cabin to be sure nothing was left behind and assumed since there was a new pen in with the other amenities that it was expected that the pen would go with the last guest. I wonder if your cabin steward did this also but since your pen was still in the cabin he just put it with the other things to be re-stocked.

 

To the OP have you tried to book a D1 with 3 guests and go back later and drop 1 off the booking? I doubt that anyone would think twice about it being a D1 and try to make you change rooms.

[travelgoddess1]

Exactly and those new cruisers will cost them less and spend more. No loyalty Discounts for them, they will buy all those pics taken because they don´t already have drawers full at home, they will buy those fancy fruity Drinks in souvenier glasses, because they don´t already have a cupboard full of them at home, they won´t spend 3+hours in the DL/CL and gulp down free booze, but instead they will sit at a bar and have a few Drinks, they will buy the after dinner shots because they want the nice glasses they don´t have a whole collection from at home already. They haven´t been to all the ports alredy and still want to explore, thus booking shore excursions with the ship, as they are not confident about their own excursions yet.......

 

Apparently, brand loyalty is a foreign concept to some.