$7.95 Room Service Charge

[bUU]

The point is your assertion that 'Café Promenade fulfils the need of a food venue to be open in the evenings that has decent food to eat.'

If you think that that was the point then you can't see the forest for the trees, especially after I have made clear repeatedly what point was: How many are trying to fit themselves as a round peg into a cruise line that is a square hole by comparison?

 

Or perhaps you're just missing the point deliberately, given that the thread is so long and you are getting bored with the topic of the thread itself.

[Ocean Boy]

So you think they're lying about their true sentiments. Fair enough.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

No, I would never accuse someone of lying about their view of this charge. However, once the emotional aspect of the change starts to play less of a role then people, at least some, will refocus to on the other various features that lead to their enjoyment of an RCI ( or insert your own cruise line's name) cruise. Maybe for some this one action by RCI is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back. I suspect most will adapt. That is how life works. And that is because almost nothing in life is ever a perfect fit.

[John&LaLa]

True on the newer ships, but a problem on Vision and Radiance class ships.

Park Cafe is open late

 

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[Clarea]

Park Cafe is open late

 

Later than 2am?

[John&LaLa]

Later than 2am?

[/url]

No, 11:30. Only thing that gets me up at 2am is the bathroom run. [emoji6]

 

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[Clarea]

No, 11:30. Only thing that gets me up at 2am is the bathroom run. [emoji6]

I forget what ship you are on.

[Ocean Boy]

No, 11:30. Only thing that gets me up at 2am is the bathroom run. [emoji6]

 

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Not my definition of late.

[EBFURR]

I don't think, in reality, that the fit is as disproportional as it may sometimes seem from posts on these boards. This thread is about a complaint (concern) that people have. Folks are not necessarily going to balance out their concerns with all the positive aspects of a cruise that RCI provides. I would expect to see a balance of positive and negatives in a review but not on a thread like this one. RCI provides a great product for my family and me. The imperfections do not rise to a level... yet... that would drive me to say goodbye.

 

I get your point exactly. I have done my share of complaining about the "nickle & dime" charges over the years both on and off CC. I have actually changed my outlook a bit lately after doing some research on my cruises back in the "good 'ol days". This from a thread I started about our Aug. 1994 cruise:

 

It was a 7 day western Caribbean (yes, 7 days on the Majesty and we were darn happy about it!). MJ was a sister to Sovereign and Monarch which were the newest and largest afloat back then. The cabins were, and are, tiny but we had no basis for comparison and we were more than pleased. Note that this was an outside deck 3 cabin @ $1541.50 per person! This did include round trip airfare, port transfers, and the note says cruise insurance also but I think that was in the neighborhood of $45 per person.

 

 

I went to the CPI inflation calculator on the US Department of Labor website and found that the $1541.50 equates to $2539.32 in March 2017 dollars. If is take away the airfare and port transfer cost based on our upcoming Liberty cruise of $260.15 that leaves a cost for cruise only of $2279.17 in 2017 dollars. Our liberty cruise in the same week (our anniversary) for 2017 is $964.33 including all taxes & fees. We also have an OBC which equates to $50 PP so that further reduces it to $914.33.

 

So, we have an OV cabin in 1994 for $2279.17 versus a Balcony cabin in 2017 for $914.33. Same cruise length and essentially same itinerary on a larger ship with more bells & whistles for $1364.84 less. In 1994 a beer was $2.30 which is $3.79 today, so that has gone up. You got "free" soda back then and a number of other smaller ticket items were included. The MDR was very good and there was a midnight buffet every night. There were no specialty restaurants park cafe, etc. You had MDR and Windjammer.

 

The gist of this is that for the $1364.84 difference I can eat in specialty dining every night, pay the difference in drink prices and use room service every day (we do not) & still come out ahead in real current dollars. The truth of the matter is that we only eat in specialty dining once or so per cruise so we are really spending significantly less of our disposable income now on a cruise than we used to and we are on much nicer ships.

 

If you look at prices over time, the price of a cruise has really gone down. Granted, there is not as much included in the base fare as there used to be, but most of those things are available at extra cost. That said, there becomes a trade off between the low base cost (to fill the ships) versus how much extra you have to spend on board to have the same experience you are accustomed to - quality of food, room service, etc. As the on board costs continue to go up to keep things the same, it is harder to know ahead of time what your true final cost will be. You see a "deal" on the cruise, but then to get what you expect you have to spend hundreds more on board. The upside is that you do have a choice in the extra expenditures.

 

I have resolved myself to not be as reactionary to these costs but I still want to keep an eye on the "balance" between cruise fare and on board costs. It it starts to not look like a good value (not at that point yet) I will consider other options like all inclusive resorts or just picking a destination and pay as you go.

[John&LaLa]

I forget what ship you are on.

Rhapsody, and actually it's 12:30 now.

 

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[alaska_planner]

I get your point exactly. I have done my share of complaining about the "nickle & dime" charges over the years both on and off CC. I have actually changed my outlook a bit lately after doing some research on my cruises back in the "good 'ol days". This from a thread I started about our Aug. 1994 cruise:

 

It was a 7 day western Caribbean (yes, 7 days on the Majesty and we were darn happy about it!). MJ was a sister to Sovereign and Monarch which were the newest and largest afloat back then. The cabins were, and are, tiny but we had no basis for comparison and we were more than pleased. Note that this was an outside deck 3 cabin @ $1541.50 per person! This did include round trip airfare, port transfers, and the note says cruise insurance also but I think that was in the neighborhood of $45 per person.

 

 

I went to the CPI inflation calculator on the US Department of Labor website and found that the $1541.50 equates to $2539.32 in March 2017 dollars. If is take away the airfare and port transfer cost based on our upcoming Liberty cruise of $260.15 that leaves a cost for cruise only of $2279.17 in 2017 dollars. Our liberty cruise in the same week (our anniversary) for 2017 is $964.33 including all taxes & fees. We also have an OBC which equates to $50 PP so that further reduces it to $914.33.

 

So, we have an OV cabin in 1994 for $2279.17 versus a Balcony cabin in 2017 for $914.33. Same cruise length and essentially same itinerary on a larger ship with more bells & whistles for $1364.84 less. In 1994 a beer was $2.30 which is $3.79 today, so that has gone up. You got "free" soda back then and a number of other smaller ticket items were included. The MDR was very good and there was a midnight buffet every night. There were no specialty restaurants park cafe, etc. You had MDR and Windjammer.

 

The gist of this is that for the $1364.84 difference I can eat in specialty dining every night, pay the difference in drink prices and use room service every day (we do not) & still come out ahead in real current dollars. The truth of the matter is that we only eat in specialty dining once or so per cruise so we are really spending significantly less of our disposable income now on a cruise than we used to and we are on much nicer ships.

 

If you look at prices over time, the price of a cruise has really gone down. Granted, there is not as much included in the base fare as there used to be, but most of those things are available at extra cost. That said, there becomes a trade off between the low base cost (to fill the ships) versus how much extra you have to spend on board to have the same experience you are accustomed to - quality of food, room service, etc. As the on board costs continue to go up to keep things the same, it is harder to know ahead of time what your true final cost will be. You see a "deal" on the cruise, but then to get what you expect you have to spend hundreds more on board. The upside is that you do have a choice in the extra expenditures.

 

I have resolved myself to not be as reactionary to these costs but I still want to keep an eye on the "balance" between cruise fare and on board costs. It it starts to not look like a good value (not at that point yet) I will consider other options like all inclusive resorts or just picking a destination and pay as you go.

 

as someone who does more pay as you go type holidays than cruises, rest assured that they've gone up at least as much as cruises have...

 

if you're looking for a bargain pay as you go destination, get yourself to the UK...

local prices have remained stable (thus far), making it an incredible bargain for anyone coming from a country with a stronger currency than the pound...

[catsisnthecottage]

https://www.******************.com/2017/03/15/royal-caribbean-start-charging-room-service

[The_Big_M]

If you think that that was the point then you can't see the forest for the trees, especially after I have made clear repeatedly what point was: How many are trying to fit themselves as a round peg into a cruise line that is a square hole by comparison?

 

Or perhaps you're just missing the point deliberately, given that the thread is so long and you are getting bored with the topic of the thread itself.

 

I guess if the leader says that he can say that he didn't say something that he said, others will take that cue and claim the same thing.

 

 

 

If you make a point, you should be willing to stand by it. Sad...

[LMaxwell]

I guess if the leader says that he can say that he didn't say something that he said, others will take that cue and claim the same thing.

 

 

 

If you make a point, you should be willing to stand by it. Sad...

 

A perfectly cromulent point; but light on syllable count.

[bUU]

If you make a point, you should be willing to stand by it. Sad...

I did make a point that I'm standing by. You simply are unwilling to admit that you failed to understand what point I was making.

 

So now the question is how much are you going to try to beat a dead horse to try to hide the fact that you missed the point?

 

The point remains: How many are trying to fit themselves as a round peg into a cruise line that is a square hole by comparison?

 

 

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[Ocean Boy]

I did make a point that I'm standing by. You simply are unwilling to admit that you failed to understand what point I was making.

 

So now the question is how much are you going to try to beat a dead horse to try to hide the fact that you missed the point?

 

The point remains: How many are trying to fit themselves as a round peg into a cruise line that is a square hole by comparison?

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the answer to your question (point) is... not many?

[cruising grandma]

Have you ever considered the possibility that the answer to your question (point) is... not many?

 

 

:D:confused:;)

[bUU]

Have you ever considered the possibility that the answer to your question (point) is... not many?

Sure, but from folks are posting the indications are that the answer is "quite a lot," and even more pointedly, "quite a lot more than are willing to admit it". Someone raised the issue a day or so ago in a thread about another cruise line that some folks just complain about "mediocrity" and then patronize the cruise line again and complain about the "mediocrity" again. That lack of acknowledgement that one is a round peg trying to fit themselves into a square hole underlies a lot of those kinds of complaints.

[Ocean Boy]

So you think they're lying about their true sentiments. Fair enough.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

Sure, but from folks are posting the indications are that the answer is "quite a lot," and even more pointedly, "quite a lot more than are willing to admit it". Someone raised the issue a day or so ago that some folks just complain about "mediocrity" and then patronize the cruise line again and complain about the "mediocrity" again. That lack of acknowledgement that one is a round peg trying to fit themselves into a square hole underlies a lot of those kinds of comments.

So it is you that thinks they are lying about their true sentiments.

[bUU]

So it is you that thinks they are lying about their true sentiments.

The two comments are talking about different sentiments.

• You were talking about the sentiments they were relaying to others. You made it clear that you thought those people were lying about being dissatisfied and were just bloviating out of proportion to their true grievances.
  
• The sentiments in my statements are those that those people are relaying to themselves: "This cruise line will satisfy me. It's offering me what I want. I'm willing to accept these terms and conditions because I'll be happy with the experience." It sure does seem like a lot of people are lying to themselves when they say such things to themselves.
  

Now: Why do those people do that to themselves? We could speculate. I suspect part of the answer is money - the lack of enough of it to afford what those folks actually want. The other part would therefore be an unwillingness to adjust their expectations to match what they can afford.

[CaptainBazinga]

The point remains: How many are trying to fit themselves as a round peg into a cruise line that is a square hole by comparison?

 

 

You've repeated this numerous times. Ever consider they may be square pegs trying to fit into a round hole? And if you ask any carpenter, that is a better fit then a round peg into a square hole. Of course, you may have to use a mallet to drive in the peg.

 

Just think of this thread as the mallet.

 

 

CB

[bUU]

How many passengers want to be hit with a mallet for their vacation?

 

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[CaptainBazinga]

How many passengers want to be hit with a mallet for their vacation?

 

None but a lot of them feel RCI has pounded them with one by instituting the $7.95 room service charge without a lead in period that would have protected those already past final payment. They're the ones who've picked up the mallet and pounded back with this thread.

 

But it doesn't matter once the peg is in. People will adjust or move on. Because either way, as you pointed out, we're just pegs.

 

CB

[bUU]

None but a lot of them feel RCI has pounded them with one by instituting the $7.95 room service charge without a lead in period that would have protected those already past final payment.

Yet many held unfounded expectations beyond, "a lead in period that would have protected those already past final payment." Claiming folks whose cruises aren't for six months or more aren't hitting themselves with a mallet would break the metaphor.

 

 

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[Biker19]

Did someone mention....

 

[bUU]

Yes. And then there was an extended discussion about that.

 

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