Has anyone else stopped recommending RCI to people?

[PORT ROYAL]

Yes, hasn't there been a huge shift in mood and opinions around here in the last 6 months? It's weird, really.

 

For us, we moved over 12 months ago, being not the first wave of disenchanted cruisers

Edited March 16, 2015 by PORT ROYAL

[papaflamingo]

When people find out I cruise they usually ask me which cruise line I sail with or recommend. In the past I always said RCI (unless I thought another line wold suit their needs better). Up until now RCI has been the best overall with regards to price/value, ships, amenities, etc, to us.

 

But lately I've stopped recommending them as a first choice without pause. I say RCI has been our favorite but I can not, in all honesty, tell people to try RCI without doing your research because I no longer feel they are the best value in most cases. Now I tell people to compare a few lines with similar itineraries because in recent months many of RCI sailings have gone up so much in price, to me, they are no longer even close to a good value. This is my opinion, YMMV.

 

The BOGOHOAX sale that's been never ending since last may is a complete farce now. But I guess there must be tons of new cruisers out there that don't know that most of these prices are truly inflated, even from last year's prices, so the sale is working. Supply and demand I guess. I realize there's inflation but the cost increases are way more than that.

 

And now with the huge jump in drink prices....things are getting crazy at RCI. We have 3 cruises booked (booked them back in early May with BOGO, so we truly got sale prices) but unless I find some decent rates I don't see us booking any more RCI cruises.

 

I realize there are still some good rates to be had but they never seem to line up when we want/can to go.:mad:

 

RCI is still my favorite and I will continue to look for opportunities to sail with them but it's not the only line I am pricing now and cruising is not the only form of vacation we will consider. In fact, we are headed to Cuba in a couple of weeks - this is the first winter without a cruise in years - in the past few years we never even considered anything but a cruise. It's sad but it's reality. For me, the value has diminished substantially.:(

 

I know many of you will disagree and that's ok. We all have our opinions and what's a good value to some is not to others. I'm glad there are choices out there for all of us.:D But maybe there are others like me who have stepped off the Royal band wagon and looking at other options.

 

Happy travels:)

 

 

First let me say I didn't read any other posts so I may be repeating something someone else already expressed. But since the OP asked for personal opinions, here goes.

I still recommend Royal Caribbean. I am honest. I don't like Dynamic Dining because I am more of a Traditional Dining person, and it was very labor intensive and very slow on Quantum a few weeks ago. But I did like the food.

I always have told people that you may find better food on other cruise lines, but Royal Caribbean has always been just fine for me.

Don't like the increase in drink packages. But likely that's what will happen everywhere, and the prices are essentially on par with most hotel or resort bars. Plus I have Diamond Happy Hour to offset the cost.

But I have cruised on other lines. Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, and Princess. I cruise mainly in the off season, and I find the rates fairly comparable or close enough that I sail on Royal Caribbean.

I consider other lines, but I always come back to Royal Caribbean. Did my first Celebrity, and it was great. The ship is beautiful. But no real night life. Actually found the cruise a bit boring. So I'm back to RCCL.

So, it's about the experience. If I have to pay more or drinks, that's ok. I don't drink as much as I used to anyway. So with 2 bottles of wine and 3 hours of free drinks a day, my bar bill is still pretty low.

But I'm honest with people. I tell them the good and the bad. In fact I'd be interested how many have gone to one of the other lines and what they think.

[Susie51]

I guess my original title is not completely accurate....I tried to condense it but now I realize it comes across the wrong way.

 

It's not that I don't think RCI is still a great cruise line and it is still my favorite but I feel the value is diminished with the higher prices on fares and on board expenses like drinks while the service and food quality has gone down.

 

I still recommend RCI but only if they find it a good value comparably. A year ago I would have recommended RCI without comparison - That's the difference.

 

Hope that makes sense.:cool:

 

Thanks for clearing this up. I still recommend RCI.

[delirious9876]

When people find out I cruise they usually ask me which cruise line I sail with or recommend. In the past I always said RCI (unless I thought another line wold suit their needs better). Up until now RCI has been the best overall with regards to price/value, ships, amenities, etc, to us.

 

But lately I've stopped recommending them as a first choice without pause. I say RCI has been our favorite but I can not, in all honesty, tell people to try RCI without doing your research because I no longer feel they are the best value in most cases. Now I tell people to compare a few lines with similar itineraries because in recent months many of RCI sailings have gone up so much in price, to me, they are no longer even close to a good value. This is my opinion, YMMV.

 

The BOGOHOAX sale that's been never ending since last may is a complete farce now. But I guess there must be tons of new cruisers out there that don't know that most of these prices are truly inflated, even from last year's prices, so the sale is working. Supply and demand I guess. I realize there's inflation but the cost increases are way more than that.

 

And now with the huge jump in drink prices....things are getting crazy at RCI. We have 3 cruises booked (booked them back in early May with BOGO, so we truly got sale prices) but unless I find some decent rates I don't see us booking any more RCI cruises.

 

I realize there are still some good rates to be had but they never seem to line up when we want/can to go.:mad:

 

RCI is still my favorite and I will continue to look for opportunities to sail with them but it's not the only line I am pricing now and cruising is not the only form of vacation we will consider. In fact, we are headed to Cuba in a couple of weeks - this is the first winter without a cruise in years - in the past few years we never even considered anything but a cruise. It's sad but it's reality. For me, the value has diminished substantially.:(

 

I know many of you will disagree and that's ok. We all have our opinions and what's a good value to some is not to others. I'm glad there are choices out there for all of us.:D But maybe there are others like me who have stepped off the Royal band wagon and looking at other options.

 

Happy travels:)

Yes, I've stopped :(

[geocruiser]

As of this Jan I have stopped. I still read the boards in popes of reading changes for the better. We now cruise Princess again.

[Homosassa]

Would I recommend RCI? It depends on the person asking and what they are looking for in a cruise experience.

 

Of the 3 entry level cruise lines (Carnival, NCL and RCI), RCI probably has the most bang for the buck without needing to pay extra for edible food (NCL) or needing a set of ear plugs to walk around the ship (Carnival). Of course, one is paying for features in the fare that they may not be interested in, i.e, ice rinks, rock walls, flow riders, etc.

 

However, one does get what one pays for and RCI will be a low budget experience as far as overall service, food and entertainment.

 

If a person wants to just try a cruise and isn't fussy about food or service and doesn't mind being crammed on a ship with other passengers , RCI would be the way to go over Carnival or NCL.

[sjb317]

We are still happy with Royal and still recommend them. Of course there have been cutbacks but if you check out the other cruiseline boards, that's what everyone is complaining about on them. Drinks have gotten pricier, but, as others have said, the price is about the same as a nice restaurant/nightclub on land. I did notice in the Compass on our last cruise quite a few 2 for 1 specials in various bars each day so maybe that helps. We still like the food, too!:D

 

For our last cruise on Vision in February, I paid a total of $940.00 for two in an inside cabin for a 7 day cruise. That is the cheapest price I have ever paid for a 7 day cruise and it was booked just a few weeks before the cruise. We couldn't do a 7 day land vacation for that price!

 

Sherri:)

[yogimax]

Bottom Line - RCCL has the BEST Loyalty Program in the business.

 

Carnival has totally descended into the dregs.

 

NCL is slightly behind Carnival.

 

Princess and Holland America are Carnival products which concern me.

 

Celebrity is great as an alternative.

 

Why leave a winner?

[Trainman-2]

We have been happy with all of our RCI Cruises and see no reason to change to another cruise line.

[Desertbelle]

Bottom Line - RCCL has the BEST Loyalty Program in the business.

 

Carnival has totally descended into the dregs.

 

NCL is slightly behind Carnival.

 

Princess and Holland America are Carnival products which concern me.

 

Celebrity is great as an alternative.

 

Why leave a winner?

Yes, this. :)

[Cruzin-K]

We have been happy with all of our RCI Cruises and see no reason to change to another cruise line.

 

I guess you got past that no smoking on the balcony thing :D

[Debde]

Bottom Line - RCCL has the BEST Loyalty Program in the business.

 

I wonder if this would change and major cutbacks would appear to the program if everyone would still be loving Royal.??

I'm always thinking, for me, that the base product should be first and foremost.

 

..not directed and you yogimax- just questioning in general..........

[shipshape sam]

Cruises are interesting events. Ones that can be effected by a number of factors outside the companies control. Then there are many events/occasions that happen onboard that can effect how you enjoyed or not the cruise.

 

We have never been on a bad cruise, many interesting stories afterwards, but not not a bad cruise. For me, Royal and yes others are raising prices, cutting costs (cutting many of the things that set cruising apart from other vacations) with no end in sight, thus our memories of past cruises wax poetic to the current comparison.

 

To the many who did not sail 10 years ago, they may or may not even appreciate what has changed.

 

So for me, I hate the rising prices, the reduction of many of the amenities that I used to enjoy, but "where do you go?" We are lucky to have a beach house and love to go there too.

 

I do think the cruise industry is in business to make money and thus, try to make the most by providing what their research is telling them passengers want. They have not asked me though. :)

Edited March 17, 2015 by shipshape sam

[The Sunset Glow]

I wonder if this would change and major cutbacks would appear to the program if everyone would still be loving Royal.??

I'm always thinking, for me, that the base product should be first and foremost.

 

..not directed and you yogimax- just questioning in general..........

 

 

I agree with this. They do currently have the best loyalty program but if the benefits were cut to be more equal to other lines what would people do then?

 

And if the prices keep climbing how much are folks willing to pay to sail with a cruise line because of the benefits?

 

At what point are you no longer ahead of the game because you're only paying for those "free" benefits in the higher rates?

 

I love the benefits that I've earned through cruising with RCI but I'm not willing to keep sailing on RCI at these inflated rates just to redeem them. In that sense I would be paying all over again to get what I've already earned.

[kontraxed]

I have sailed on Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess. If I had to pick a favorite, I would probably give a slight nod to Norwegian closely followed by Royal Caribbean. Now here's where I could get flamed. I have never sailed on Carnival nor do I want to. While it seems that their reputation may be improving, I have heard too much about "Booze cruises" drunkenness, and a general lack of cleanliness and maintenance. Combine that with ships breaking down at sea for a few days and they're off my list. It's the same with Costa and their accident record. I base cruise selections on price, the size of the cabin and the bathroom (especially the size of the shower), the ship and the ports. For instance, we went on the Norwegian Epic. The layout of the bathroom in each stateroom was horrible. Add to that the fact that you could not walk laps around the outside of the ship (and the ship is aesthetically ugly) and we would not sail on the Epic again. The Caribbean Princess was a fairly nice ship but it had a very small promenade. Also, you had to pay a lot for the Sanctuary area whereas the Royal Caribbean has a free adults pool area. Smoking (or the lack of it) is extremely important to us but all the cruise lines seem to be handling that in the same way. So, the whole cruise selection process is very subjective and just depends upon what is important to each person.

[splash_in_the_water]

^ we've been on 4 carnival cruises now, and I can see where you might get that. The ones we've been on were a little loud here and their. Some had more party people, but to be honest none really seemed like booze cruises, save for a few groups of younger people- but that can happen anytime I suppose. The ships were clean, the staff was friendly, the food was great, the ports were fun.

 

I'm not going to try to convince you, but if you're ever curious, give it a try. I'd bet you'd have a fine time!

[DreamingBig1]

Would I recommend RCI? It depends on the person asking and what they are looking for in a cruise experience.

 

Of the 3 entry level cruise lines (Carnival, NCL and RCI), RCI probably has the most bang for the buck without needing to pay extra for edible food (NCL) or needing a set of ear plugs to walk around the ship (Carnival). Of course, one is paying for features in the fare that they may not be interested in, i.e, ice rinks, rock walls, flow riders, etc.

 

However, one does get what one pays for and RCI will be a low budget experience as far as overall service, food and entertainment.

 

If a person wants to just try a cruise and isn't fussy about food or service and doesn't mind being crammed on a ship with other passengers , RCI would be the way to go over Carnival or NCL.

 

Have you sailed Carnival and NCL? Please don't take that as antagonistic. Just wondering if other than ship layout, the lines are really that different.

Edited March 17, 2015 by DreamingBig1

[DreamingBig1]

I would like to try ever cruise line before I can say there is a best. Since that won't probably ever happen. I will keep trucking along and trying different lines, and come back to some.

[pspercy]

^ we've been on 4 carnival cruises now, and I can see where you might get that. The ones we've been on were a little loud here and their. Some had more party people, but to be honest none really seemed like booze cruises, save for a few groups of younger people- but that can happen anytime I suppose. The ships were clean, the staff was friendly, the food was great, the ports were fun.

 

I'm not going to try to convince you, but if you're ever curious, give it a try. I'd bet you'd have a fine time!

 

Agreed. We did a five night cruise on Carnival Triumph in December 2013. Price unbeatable, it was fine, cabin was large (8F), food decent, service excellent everywhere. Didn't care for the music(?) in main pool area but easily avoided. We'd do it again.

:D

[robandana]

We are D+ and have been sailing with RCL for many years now, I found myself booking with RCL lately because of our perks...(mainly the CL/DL) we both really enjoy the lounge and meeting up with many past cruisers and the free drinks. Last year we booked and sailed 9 RCL cruises on 4 different ships and although we enjoyed ourselves the price we paid for what we received is no longer attractive. We seem to have been blinded by our perks and did not realize that not only have prices gone way up and port fees gone way up but in the past few years some of the best crew members have left...(all of them complaining RCL is reducing there income and diluting their tips) hence the service although good not what it used to be (and I'm not talking about the service 7-8 years ago)....but we are paying more...a lot more and getting less (but RCL has doubled in value in just a couple of years)

 

Anyways this year we decided to go back to Princess, we are happy again, the prices are better the port fees are cheaper for the same ports, the service is great and they have much better itineraries.

 

Where we once only considered RCL we now have an open mind and look at other alternatives.

 

We no longer recommend RCL, I would still sail RCL if it suited.

Edited March 17, 2015 by robandana

[Homosassa]

Have you sailed Carnival and NCL? Please don't take that as antagonistic. Just wondering if other than ship layout, the lines are really that different.

 

Fair question. Yes, I have. First time on NCL was 1978 and last time was 2 years ago. First and last Carnival cruise was a year ago.

 

NCL ships are beautiful. However, as I mentioned, the food is awful unless you pay for the specialty restaurants and that food is about average.

 

I was on the Carnival Liberty. Food in the Lido was bad. Guy's Burgers was a gray, greasy burger (try one without the bun and toppings to hide the burger and it is inedible) and the pizza was a piece of cardboard. The MDR was slightly better better then NCL. Entertainment was so-so. Drinking was heavily pushed by the cruise staff. And the ship was LOUD! Any public space had the volume amped up to deafening levels, including the microphone used for Trivia games.

 

I was an RCCL cruiser from way back when the line was aimed at a different market demographic and cruise experience. I accept that with the addition of Celebrity and Azamara to the corporation, the Royal Caribbean brand had to be repositioned market wise and the decision was to made it a competitor to NCL and Carnival.

 

We had not cruised RCCL since 2006 because of the downward trend in service, food and entertainment. We just tried a RCCL cruise a month ago just to see where the line finally ended up.

 

FYI, Azamara offers the cruise experience that used to be typical of Royal Caribbean, a quiet relaxing vacation on a smaller ship with high end food preparation and quality and service. Celebrity falls between Azarmara and RCCL.

[Redcat]

I find I am still looking but so far no cruise line does it all for me working now to try a different line each year this is RCI year looking forward to it and future years cruising each a different adventure.

[Debde]

We are D+ and have been sailing with RCL for many years now, I found myself booking with RCL lately because of our perks...(mainly the CL/DL) we both really enjoy the lounge and meeting up with many past cruisers and the free drinks. Last year we booked and sailed 9 RCL cruises on 4 different ships and although we enjoyed ourselves the price we paid for what we received is no longer attractive. We seem to have been blinded by our perks and did not realize that not only have prices gone way up and port fees gone way up but in the past few years some of the best crew members have left...(all of them complaining RCL is reducing there income and diluting their tips) hence the service although good not what it used to be (and I'm not talking about the service 7-8 years ago)....but we are paying more...a lot more and getting less (but RCL has doubled in value in just a couple of years)

 

This is exactly what a good loyalty program is supposed to do. Outsider looking in, Royal is darn good at it. Once the economy for cruising is back full strength[ its getting real close BTW] and core repeat customers become less valuable, a company will then eye up a new target market and new strategy and new target points/rewards for them to gravitate to. Royal has convinced so many that those lounges and perks were the be all and end all. They can and have changed the program at any time.

To each his own and what a cruise means to some, may not to others.

 

I asked the question on another thread. If all the perks went away-is Royal still the best cruise line for the money out there??? Is the base product, with no perks at all still good all around and value??

[LMaxwell]

 

I asked the question on another thread. If all the perks went away-is Royal still the best cruise line for the money out there??? Is the base product, with no perks at all still good all around and value??

 

Without perks it diminishes the value. Each of the perks I can ascribe a dollar amount to and figure out what they are worth as a savings versus going on a different line to have a comparable experience. Many times I've concluded that the dollar value of those perks sways the scale towards Royal.

 

Is the base product, without perks, still a good all around value? Well, it was a lot easier to say yes to that in 2005 than it is in 2015. In my opinion too much of the base product has been ground down, rounded off, eroded, chipped away, or otherwise eschewed. As new cruisers are brought in they never know what they are missing and never think to ask for restoration of prior services and niceties because, and I mean this as nicely as possible, they simply don't know better. So maybe the current base product is a great value for a new cruiser, but for a seasoned cruiser that value has eroded. Eliminate the perks and the value proposition dwindles further. It's unfortunate. The cutbacks have all been in the areas that have made cruising distinct and different from land based resorts for me and if it continues there won't be compelling reasons to choose a cruise over a land based resort.

[cjdixon4]

A colleague and her hubby were looking to book the same Adventure sailing that my hubby and I will be on in May. Changed her mind when she saw that the price on the cabin had astronomically increased since I booked last year. RCI is my favorite line, but I'm absolutely not opposed to cruising with Carnival, NCL, Princess, Holland, or whoever...IF the cost is reasonable, which RCI isn't these days. :(