I've HAD IT with Royal Caribbean!!!

[Paul65]

I hope you're as happy as you were on previous cruises. We recently cruised after a 3 year break & saw/felt many of the things so many are now complaining about. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, but the declines were quite noticeable & we're seriously considering cancelling our 2016 Granduer cruise.

 

We've been cruising Royal since 1990 & have always enjoyed our cruises but since they no longer provide the quality they did, we're looking elsewhere.

I recently cruised after a 2 year break & had one of my best cruises ever.

[ryano]

I hope you're as happy as you were on previous cruises. We recently cruised after a 3 year break & saw/felt many of the things so many are now complaining about. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, but the declines were quite noticeable & we're seriously considering cancelling our 2016 Granduer cruise.

 

That cruise is over with and as another one that was 3 years removed from cruising as well, I concur with everything you said. Im now booked on Allure just because the price was great and Ive wanted to try one of those ships since they were first built. I will likely look elsewhere after that.

 

it was NOT a "bad" cruise at all and I enjoyed myself but there was no denying the cutbacks in service and food as compared to our last cruise on the very same ship. Couple that with the outrageous increased drink prices and mediocre to downright terrible bar service and this past cruise was NOTHING close to my last cruise 3 years ago.

 

The crew didnt seem to be as happy as in the past and just seemed to be going through the motions. They all seem tired and very overworked as well. My cabin attendant said he had 16 cabins to take care of by himself. :( No doubt there is serious cutbacks in this area. This was the first time Ive actually had a crew member get downright rude with me for really no reason. I just chalked it up to them having a bad day. We all do. But the morale just was not there as it was in 2012.

 

Some can disagree if they want to and yes I know its subjective but I feel the quality of the MDR food has went downhill with these "new" (new to me at least) menus. The Windjammer was MUCH better for breakfast, lunch AND dinner and I never thought I would ever say that.

 

Chops was a complete waste of time and money IMO. The steak was "ok" but the sides are very underwhelming and the desserts are nowhere near the quality they were the last time I was in Chops. Service was ok however. Never again unless its free.

 

Giovannis was outstanding though and well worth the money. Service was excellent.

 

I think that those of us who have not cruised in 3 or 4 years notice things that those who cruise 3 or 4 times a year might not. All my previous cruises with RC were no less than a solid 9. This last cruise was about a 6, maybe 7 at best. My mom, who loves Royal Caribbean, made the remark "this just doesnt even seem like the same cruiseline". I agreed with her.

Edited June 3, 2015 by ryano

[Swath]

Can anyone confrim the $5 fee to have luggage tags mailed to you ?

This is the first ive heard of it. For $5 id order some, I wont pay $35

The $35.00 is for Cruise Documents in Booklet form

[Thetrail]

I have no idea what they heck is going on at RCCL lately, but I've HAD IT. First of all, their website is in complete shambles. I've logged on to find that my PAID FOR reservation is not showing up. I log off and log back on again, and voila, there it is. Dinner reservations that I've made and paid for are gone. Only to reappear sometimes--not all the time. Forget shore excursions. I can't even log into the program to reserve those.

 

Dynamic Dining? They can keep it. I want to enjoy my vacation, not schedule every minute of it.

 

Reserving at a speciality restaurant? The reservation says "$0" for Sabor. Great. Only after reading these boards do I find out that I'll have to pay when I get onboard. OK. That's fine. But could you please TELL me that on the reservation page so I can plan accordingly??

 

But today was the last straw. I called RCCL to request luggage tags. The agent told me that effective March 1, 2010 there is a $5 fee for luggage tags because everything is online now and I should print my own. I have cruised RCCL since 2010. NOT ONCE have I been charged for luggage tags.

 

I'm done. If this cruise wasn't non-refundable at this point, I'd cancel. Royal needs to get their act together FAST if they want to retain their client base. I'm a Diamond member, not new to cruising. I'm watching the decline in customer service, and I'm darn angry about it.

Are you done now??? Your a diamond member and didn't know about the luggage tags? Huh???.....Maybe a xanax and deep breaths will help.

[phoenix1181]

That cruise is over with and as another one that was 3 years removed from cruising as well, I concur with everything you said. Im now booked on Allure just because the price was great and Ive wanted to try one of those ships since they were first built. I will likely look elsewhere after that.

 

it was NOT a "bad" cruise at all and I enjoyed myself but there was no denying the cutbacks in service and food as compared to our last cruise on the very same ship. Couple that with the outrageous increased drink prices and mediocre to downright terrible bar service and this past cruise was NOTHING close to my last cruise 3 years ago.

 

The crew didnt seem to be as happy as in the past and just seemed to be going through the motions. They all seem tired and very overworked as well. My cabin attendant said he had 16 cabins to take care of by himself. :( No doubt there is serious cutbacks in this area. This was the first time Ive actually had a crew member get downright rude with me for really no reason. I just chalked it up to them having a bad day. We all do. But the morale just was not there as it was in 2012.

 

Some can disagree if they want to and yes I know its subjective but I feel the quality of the MDR food has went downhill with these "new" (new to me at least) menus. The Windjammer was MUCH better for breakfast, lunch AND dinner and I never thought I would ever say that.

 

Chops was a complete waste of time and money IMO. The steak was "ok" but the sides are very underwhelming and the desserts are nowhere near the quality they were the last time I was in Chops. Service was ok however. Never again unless its free.

 

Giovannis was outstanding though and well worth the money. Service was excellent.

 

I think that those of us who have not cruised in 3 or 4 years notice things that those who cruise 3 or 4 times a year might not. All my previous cruises with RC were no less than a solid 9. This last cruise was about a 6, maybe 7 at best. My mom, who loves Royal Caribbean, made the remark "this just doesnt even seem like the same cruiseline". I agreed with her.

 

Sounds like you experienced what we did. Staff on our cruise were definitely overworked &, in some cases, not as pleasant as they should be. They battled Noro on the previous cruise & most of ours so we had to give them a pass if/when they were grumpy or short tempered.

 

I got a great deal on the Grandeur cruise on the BOGO a year ago & we wanted to cruise out of Baltimore so we'll probably go but I'm pretty sure it will be our last on Royal. It's a shame................ They were a great cruise line. Now they're just okay to us. Their newer, bigger, ships are geared to families & people much younger & more active than we are. It's obviously time for us to move on.

[KatnBob]

Hey, don't worry...be happy. Freedom of the Seas is a really beautiful ship, especially since the dry dock re-hab earlier this year. The services are very accommodating. We have done the Caribbeans four times on Freedom and now we don't even bother with the ports. The ship

itself is our destination and we love every minute of our cruise and we think you will too..

[PLEIKU68]

I have no idea what they heck is going on at RCCL lately, but I've HAD IT. First of all, their website is in complete shambles. I've logged on to find that my PAID FOR reservation is not showing up. I log off and log back on again, and voila, there it is. Dinner reservations that I've made and paid for are gone. Only to reappear sometimes--not all the time. Forget shore excursions. I can't even log into the program to reserve those.

 

Dynamic Dining? They can keep it. I want to enjoy my vacation, not schedule every minute of it.

 

Reserving at a speciality restaurant? The reservation says "$0" for Sabor. Great. Only after reading these boards do I find out that I'll have to pay when I get onboard. OK. That's fine. But could you please TELL me that on the reservation page so I can plan accordingly??

 

But today was the last straw. I called RCCL to request luggage tags. The agent told me that effective March 1, 2010 there is a $5 fee for luggage tags because everything is online now and I should print my own. I have cruised RCCL since 2010. NOT ONCE have I been charged for luggage tags.

 

I'm done. If this cruise wasn't non-refundable at this point, I'd cancel. Royal needs to get their act together FAST if they want to retain their client base. I'm a Diamond member, not new to cruising. I'm watching the decline in customer service, and I'm darn angry about it.

 

 

 

Bye ! Hope you enjoy Carnival ! :eek:

[transam84]

Change is hard. I for one hate it. But everything changes. "That's life" ain't that what Frank Sinatra said? 😎 I was apprehensive about printing my luggage tags at first but honestly it wasn't bad. I used a color printer, and we covered them with clear packing tape. They worked just fine. Also I love planning! Making the reservations is half the fun. It prolongs the vacation in my opinion. You can always modify. I know the website isn't the best. I am technologically challenged and find all this new technology frustrating, but again that's our society not just Royal. I see it at work, and everywhere else. Too much complicated technology. I try not to sweat the small stuff as I have too much big stuff. My mom just passed after a long horrible illness. Seeing what I saw makes me appreciate any good I have and a cruise is one of those. Vacations are for fun. Not to worry about luggage tags, fighting for tiny price drops (subject of other thread), some minor glitches in a website. If life gives you lemons make lemonade. :)

[DirtyDawg]

Bye ! Hope you enjoy Carnival ! :eek:

 

The OP will probably end up on Princess or HAL and not Celebrity which means RCL Corporate looses a customer and the cash they bring in. This whole reduction is service and quality reminds my of the U.S. auto industry in the 70's and 80's. Declining quality eventually resulted in significant market share loses and over time, serious financial problems.

 

Feel free to still love Royal. But, from reading this board recently, it sounds like a growing number of seasoned cruisers do not and will not continue to pay premium prices for a substandard (in their opinion) product. I for one will be looking at other alternatives for future cruises. I just don't like buying 'Lemons'.

Edited June 4, 2015 by DirtyDawg

[Paul65]

Feel free to still love Royal. But, from reading this board recently, it sounds like a growing number of seasoned cruisers do not and will not continue to pay premium prices for a substandard (in their opinion) product. I for one will be looking at other alternatives for future cruises. I just don't like buying 'Lemons'.

 

Yep. And if you read this board 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, you would have gotten the same impression. People like to complain, and this is a platform to do so.

[PLEIKU68]

Yep. And if you read this board 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, you would have gotten the same impression. People like to complain, and this is a platform to do so.

 

But, RCL provided a quality product back then, today the product is much different. :eek:

[ryano]

.........

Edited June 4, 2015 by ryano
nevermind

[Cindy]

The OP will probably end up on Princess or HAL and not Celebrity which means RCL Corporate looses a customer and the cash they bring in. This whole reduction is service and quality reminds my of the U.S. auto industry in the 70's and 80's. Declining quality eventually resulted in significant market share loses and over time, serious financial problems.

 

Feel free to still love Royal. But, from reading this board recently, it sounds like a growing number of seasoned cruisers do not and will not continue to pay premium prices for a substandard (in their opinion) product. I for one will be looking at other alternatives for future cruises. I just don't like buying 'Lemons'.

 

Unfortunately if you read the Princess and HAL boards, there are just as many disgruntled people on those ships as on RCI and Celebrity ships! I think it's an issue with all mass market cruises and the lines trying to find a way to make money without eroding the product so much that nobody wants to cruise. They're walking a fine line, because the mass market customer base is so broad. They're trying to appeal to everyone from the hardworking family who saves for years to afford a week in an inside cabin to the reasonably affluent couple who cruises several times a year in a suite.

 

It's hard to be all things to all people. The premium lines have a smaller audience, and it's probably easier for them to know who their target market is. The mass market lines have to have something for everybody. They have huge ships to fill, and empty berths equal loss of profits. As mass market customer B (the experienced suite cruiser) tires of crowds, the same itineraries, and the general lack of luxury and sophistication in today's cruise product they migrate to the premium lines if they want to continue cruising. The mass market lines fill those empty spots with new cruisers who don't know how things used to be.

 

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I heard the same complaints when I started cruising in 2000!:eek:

Edited June 4, 2015 by Cindy

[Paul65]

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I heard the same complaints when I started cruising in 2000!:eek:

 

Yep. That's pretty much my impression, too. :cool:

[phoenix1181]

Yep. And if you read this board 5 years ago, or 10 years ago, you would have gotten the same impression. People like to complain, and this is a platform to do so.

 

You're right, 5 or 10 years ago people were complaining. I read the complaints & laughed at how foolish they were &, in many cases, still do. No pillow chocolates or jeans in the MDR isn't an issue for me & never has been.

 

What is an issue is the amazingly poor food quality & grossly overworked staff coupled with more pay venues & fewer "included" items. (like soda in the MDR) While I realize the base price of a cruise has not increased significantly over the years (I believe this is true of all mass market lines), I also realize it's time for me to look for a line whose target market is mature adults, not families.

 

When I find what I (think) I want, I may not be able to afford it which presents another problem. We were very disappointed with the changes we encountered on our recent cruise & I have to at least try to find something better suited to us.

[Paul65]

You're right, 5 or 10 years ago people were complaining. I read the complaints & laughed at how foolish they were &, in many cases, still do. No pillow chocolates or jeans in the MDR isn't an issue for me & never has been.

 

What is an issue is the amazingly poor food quality & grossly overworked staff coupled with more pay venues & fewer "included" items. (like soda in the MDR) While I realize the base price of a cruise has not increased significantly over the years (I believe this is true of all mass market lines), I also realize it's time for me to look for a line whose target market is mature adults, not families.

 

When I find what I (think) I want, I may not be able to afford it which presents another problem. We were very disappointed with the changes we encountered on our recent cruise & I have to at least try to find something better suited to us.

 

Sure, people complained then about the demise of pillow chocolates, but they also had the same complaints about the "amazingly poor food quality" and such. As long as I've been around this website, things (according to some people) have always been drastically worse than the were just a couple years ago. If things were really declining that rapidly, it would just be a few people griping on a website; the cruise line would be out of business.

 

But, in reality, while some things have change, it's still a good vacation and a good value for most people who try it, the food is good, and the staff is friendly and helpful. There will be exceptions here and there that give rise to legitimate complaints, of course, but the demise of the cruise product has been talked about for decades, yet the company keeps growing and adding more new ships.

[Chandra76]

First time cruiser here. Since this board is talking about luggage tags I thought I could ask a question about luggage.

 

There will be 3 of us taking a 4 night RCCL on the Enchantment March 2016.

(2 adults 1 child)

 

I was thinking 3 carry-ons will be sufficient. Do we have to TAG carry-ons? I know when flying we are each permitted to take a carry-on. Are the rules different with cruises? I have no problem keeping luggage on us until our room is ready.

 

My thought right now is 2 rolling suit cases that meet the height and width requirements for flights and 1 rolling garment bag for dress pants, dress and suit jacket. Also one back pack with documents.

 

With airline requirements for liquids, each carry-on bag may contain a 1quart zip lock bag with 3.4 ounces of how ever many liquids will fit. Is this okay with cruise check in?

 

Thanks

[ryano]

 

What is an issue is the amazingly poor food quality & grossly overworked staff coupled with more pay venues & fewer "included" items.

 

As I said previously, I experienced this myself firsthand and could not care less if some people here refuse to believe me. I tried to be as positive as I could with my thoughts on my cruise that I posted as to not get jumped on by the RC pom pom wavers here though :rolleyes: I let my negative opinion be heard on board and in the survey of which Im sure fell on deaf ears.

 

I was here 5 years ago and I totally disagree that there was as many disgruntled seasoned cruisers as there are today. The RC product as a whole has changed in the last several years. At least on Freedom of the Seas anyway and apparently on many other ships as well.

 

I guess Im just one that likes to complain though :rolleyes: Funny thing is, before this last cruise, I would have probably been considered a RC "cheerleader" as I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the cruise line.

 

To us, everything just seemed "off" compared to three years ago. Again, this is MY opinion. The food, the service, the happy crew and pretty much EVERYTHING except the condition of the ship which was excellent as she just had got out of drydock and was shining like a new penny.

Edited June 4, 2015 by ryano

[Big_G]

First time cruiser here. Since this board is talking about luggage tags I thought I could ask a question about luggage.

 

There will be 3 of us taking a 4 night RCCL on the Enchantment March 2016.

(2 adults 1 child)

 

I was thinking 3 carry-ons will be sufficient. Do we have to TAG carry-ons? I know when flying we are each permitted to take a carry-on. Are the rules different with cruises? I have no problem keeping luggage on us until our room is ready.

 

My thought right now is 2 rolling suit cases that meet the height and width requirements for flights and 1 rolling garment bag for dress pants, dress and suit jacket. Also one back pack with documents.

 

With airline requirements for liquids, each carry-on bag may contain a 1quart zip lock bag with 3.4 ounces of how ever many liquids will fit. Is this okay with cruise check in?

 

Thanks

 

No need for tags on carry-on luggage and cruiselines do not follow the airline liquid restrictions. You can actually carry on two bottles of wine per stateroom on Royal. Have a great cruise.

[phoenix1181]

First time cruiser here. Since this board is talking about luggage tags I thought I could ask a question about luggage.

 

There will be 3 of us taking a 4 night RCCL on the Enchantment March 2016.

(2 adults 1 child)

 

I was thinking 3 carry-ons will be sufficient. Do we have to TAG carry-ons? I know when flying we are each permitted to take a carry-on. Are the rules different with cruises? I have no problem keeping luggage on us until our room is ready.

 

My thought right now is 2 rolling suit cases that meet the height and width requirements for flights and 1 rolling garment bag for dress pants, dress and suit jacket. Also one back pack with documents.

 

With airline requirements for liquids, each carry-on bag may contain a 1quart zip lock bag with 3.4 ounces of how ever many liquids will fit. Is this okay with cruise check in?

 

Thanks

 

If you're planning to carry everything on, you don't need luggage tags. They're only needed if you check bags at the pier.

 

TSA regulations don't come into play at all so that quart bag isn't a concern.

[phoenix1181]

As I said previously, I experienced this myself firsthand and could not care less if some people here refuse to believe me. I tried to be as positive as I could with my thoughts on my cruise that I posted as to not get jumped on by the RC pom pom wavers here though :rolleyes: I let my negative opinion be heard on board and in the survey of which Im sure fell on deaf ears.

 

I was here 5 years ago and I totally disagree that there was as many disgruntled seasoned cruisers as there are today. The RC product as a whole has changed in the last several years. At least on Freedom of the Seas anyway and apparently on many other ships as well.

 

I guess Im just one that likes to complain though :rolleyes: Funny thing is, before this last cruise, I would have probably been considered a RC "cheerleader" as I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the cruise line.

 

To us, everything just seemed "off" compared to three years ago. Again, this is MY opinion. The food, the service, the happy crew and pretty much EVERYTHING except the condition of the ship which was excellent as she just had got out of drydock and was shining like a new penny.

 

As usual Ryan, I agree 100%!

[Paul65]

As I said previously, I experienced this myself firsthand and could not care less if some people here refuse to believe me. I tried to be as positive as I could with my thoughts on my cruise that I posted as to not get jumped on by the RC pom pom wavers here though :rolleyes: I let my negative opinion be heard on board and in the survey of which Im sure fell on deaf ears.

 

I was here 5 years ago and I totally disagree that there was as many disgruntled seasoned cruisers as there are today. The RC product as a whole has changed in the last several years. At least on Freedom of the Seas anyway and apparently on many other ships as well.

 

I guess Im just one that likes to complain though :rolleyes: Funny thing is, before this last cruise, I would have probably been considered a RC "cheerleader" as I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the cruise line.

 

To us, everything just seemed "off" compared to three years ago. Again, this is MY opinion. The food, the service, the happy crew and pretty much EVERYTHING except the condition of the ship which was excellent as she just had got out of drydock and was shining like a new penny.

 

Well, I usually only cruise about once every two to three years, and every time I've come to this site prior to a cruise, I'm surprised at how many negative people there are talking about how far the quality has dropped. Not sure how you didn't see it 5 years ago, but I believe you, that you didn't notice the negativity then.

[alfaeric]

What is an issue is the amazingly poor food quality & grossly overworked staff coupled with more pay venues & fewer "included" items. (like soda in the MDR)

 

When were soda's included in the MDR? I don't recall them being that in 2001 when we first sailed.

[bouhunter]

As I said previously, I experienced this myself firsthand and could not care less if some people here refuse to believe me. I tried to be as positive as I could with my thoughts on my cruise that I posted as to not get jumped on by the RC pom pom wavers here though :rolleyes: I let my negative opinion be heard on board and in the survey of which Im sure fell on deaf ears.

 

I was here 5 years ago and I totally disagree that there was as many disgruntled seasoned cruisers as there are today. The RC product as a whole has changed in the last several years. At least on Freedom of the Seas anyway and apparently on many other ships as well.

 

I guess Im just one that likes to complain though :rolleyes: Funny thing is, before this last cruise, I would have probably been considered a RC "cheerleader" as I had absolutely nothing negative to say about the cruise line.

 

To us, everything just seemed "off" compared to three years ago. Again, this is MY opinion. The food, the service, the happy crew and pretty much EVERYTHING except the condition of the ship which was excellent as she just had got out of drydock and was shining like a new penny.

 

 

I would have to agree with a lot of what you say. Overall service has declined, ships are still beautiful. Food has declined somewhat in our opinion too. We're still going on Adventure next winter and Freedom in 2017 as the price's we got were great (believe it or not!) , but beyond that we'll be reconsidering our plans to cruise RCCL. We just did our first Celebrity cruise last March and didn't see it as any better all all than RCCL. Yes a beautiful ship, but service and food were just OK.

 

We will be retiring in the next couple years, and a couple months on a Caribbean island are beginning to sound much better than the occasional cruise :) At the pace of RCCL pricing, two months on an island might not cost much more than two weeks on a ship..........

Edited June 4, 2015 by bouhunter

[phoenix1181]

When were soda's included in the MDR? I don't recall them being that in 2001 when we first sailed.

 

Our first cruise was in 1990 & soda was included in the MDR. I can't tell you when that changed other than to say it was that way for several of our cruises.