Anyone else see The Travel Spies on travel channel tonight?

[Jeanne S]

What got me was that she was going to charge a $15.00 Communications charge to call and get some info for the guest about where you can get good chowder.:eek: Talk about outrageous:mad:

 

I found that annoying given our experiences on that ship which were wonderful and cannot understand why she did not direct the Spy to somenoe on board who was knowledgeable on the subject.

[lknick]

I saw both that show and the dry dock show last night.

 

My experiences on a six star line, without the butler, was the staff went out of their way to provide extra services that the mass market lines would only scoff at. Example, on a recent cruise, I fell in love with the egg sandwiches at the first tea. When they were not available at the second, I enquired. From that point onward, there was a tray of these sandwiches especially for me. Now that's service.

 

Of course, you pay more for that kind of attention.

 

As to the buttling, my only experience was on the QE2. Not only did he unpack for me, but anything he thought to be wrinkled he whisked off to have pressed.

[kenandlaura06]

Not really kenandlaura06, the bottom line i got out of the show was, i am better off sticking with RCCL for the money :)

 

Thanks!

[butnzb]

I tuned in also, some things were helpful. I think the Butler issue was pushed a little hard. There were some rather odd requests (but then for that kind of money). But come on...requesting his family crest be applied to his towels, I know I would think he was a sandwich shy of a picnic.

[budaman]

I enjoyed the show and was a little disappointed in the showing that Radison made. I know editing can give a prejudiced view though. The thing that bothered me the most was that most of the things they complained about, are thew same things I see on the boards daily. Frayed and worn linens, good but not excellent food, poorly cooked steaks, etc. So if that is the norm across the cruise industry, then service is what should set a "luxury" line apart from a "mass" line and in this point I think they failed miserably. The Butler should know the menu. The Purser should know most of the recommended establishments in Bermuda, afterall they only have one Port of Call on the itinerary. Radison stresses how low their crew to Pax ratio is, so why did it take so long for any of the services requested. It leads you to wonder how many of the crew is actually dedicated to serving the passengers and how many are required to operate the ship. From my own experience on the Rhapsody, it took less than 10 minutes to get a new hair dryer after ours quit, less than 15 minutes to get someone up to fix our safe after I screwed it up and Room Service breakfast in under 20 minutes without any prior notification. Finally, I didn't notice any Towel or Pillow art in any of their cabins....now that's totally unacceptable!;)

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Jeanne S]

I enjoyed the show and was a little disappointed in the showing that Radison made. I know editing can give a prejudiced view though. The thing that bothered me the most was that most of the things they complained about, are thew same things I see on the boards daily. Frayed and worn linens, good but not excellent food, poorly cooked steaks, etc. So if that is the norm across the cruise industry, then service is what should set a "luxury" line apart from a "mass" line and in this point I think they failed miserably. The Butler should know the menu. The Purser should know most of the recommended establishments in Bermuda, afterall they only have one Port of Call on the itinerary. Radison stresses how low their crew to Pax ratio is, so why did it take so long for any of the services requested. It leads you to wonder how many of the crew is actually dedicated to serving the passengers and how many are required to operate the ship. From my own experience on the Rhapsody, it took less than 10 minutes to get a new hair dryer after ours quit, less than 15 minutes to get someone up to fix our safe after I screwed it up and Room Service breakfast in under 20 minutes without any prior notification. Finally, I didn't notice any Towel or Pillow art in any of their cabins....now that's totally unacceptable!;)

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

 

Have not seen any Towel Animals on the Navigator. What is pillow art?

[keeper236]

We stayed in a regular balcony cabin last year after being upgraded from a window cabin. Next Wednesday we are slated to be in a window cabin as the Blond Spy was. As you can see all the cabins are the same size, excepting the balcony.

 

These spies were not typical passengers. The ship and its service are excellent. I wish they had pointed out how it is all inclusive as far as most alcohol/wine and tips.

 

They did mention that is was all inclusive at the start of the show which accounted somewhat for the higher price and mentioned that you get up to 4 bottles of premium liquor with your room, or least the $6900 cabin

[budaman]

Several evenings, our Room Steward made characters out of our pillows along with the towels. Examples are in the web link below. 1st night Aaron did it, we had to do a double take.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[Jeanne S]

They did mention that is was all inclusive at the start of the show which accounted somewhat for the higher price and mentioned that you get up to 4 bottles of premium liquor with your room, or least the $6900 cabin

 

I do remember the 4 bottles now, but not about the other perks and when they were dining were they served wine? Non Butler gets only 2 bottles and if you want something not on the list and they carry it, will provide it for you.

[PeggySand]

Mike, I enjoyed your pictures. One of my favorites was the "Ghost Fleet," you had great timing on that one. Of course, the sunset and sunrise pictures were beautiful, too. Thanks for sharing.

 

As to the Travel Spies program, it showed me that whether I pay $1000 or $6000, I am going to get a cabin with a balcony that is satisfactory, and I am going to get good food and fun entertainment at both prices. It wouldn't surprise me if RCCL and Carnival were dancing with glee knowing that people would take that away from watching this program. I felt that the fellow with the butler was aweful to him, and treated him like some stuck-up rich snob would treat his servants. However, I agree that with only one port of call, the Purser should have known a bit more about the port, and the Butler should have known the menu better.

 

Give me RCCL or Carnival anytime, and I will find a creative way to spend the money that I saved from sailing on a luxury line.

Peggy

[keeper236]

But come on...requesting his family crest be applied to his towels, I know I would think he was a sandwich shy of a picnic.

 

LOL so true! The thing that made it even more corny was that he told the butler since he just got divorced he was really needed to have some family rememberance around him on the trip. In that case you would think someone would bring there own family crested towels and a family member. Even cornier than that was at the end when the gal acts like she is going to purpose to the guy after meeting him, falling in love and wants to marry him all in seven days and dining room manager is trying to get the dining room to cheer for them.

 

But even worse I seem to stay tuned to the silly show every time I find it on.

[fanofseas]

The show was very stupid the only reason I taped it because it was about a cruise ship. I tape anything about cruiseing.

[Former Goalie]

I hope the butler is not fired, he did put the guys family seal on every towel.

 

 

The show did teach me one thing. I will stick with my lower class cruise lines since it seems the basics are the same.

We sailed RSSC Navigator to Bermuda 6/04, the rates were very favorable then. We loved it for just a couple's cruise. We love RCI just as much, and for some different reasons, particularly with children.

The food is slightly better on RSSC, that is to be expected.

The service is far more attentive and polished on RSSC. That should be expected as well, with such a large staff to passenger ratio on a 490 pax ship.

It is wonderful to experience a virtually all inclusive cruise such as RSSC offers. You want something, it is there, butler or not.