RCCL V Other lines

[jmorrisuk]

Hi all,

 

Im Just hoping to get some other members opinions regarding RCCL and what other lines they have sailed with.

 

We have only sailed with RCCL and had many amazing cruises and experiences, however recently we have noticed that the price they are asking is increasing on a regular basis and more recently the last 2 cruises this year the quality of the service has not warranted the price. (We don't mind paying extra for the cruises but it doesn't seem justified recently) Compared to other lines the prices have increased but nothing on the cruise seems to warrant this. If you compare the potential sailings to P&O you seem to get a longer cruise and more destinations for either less or the same money but a better style of cabin.

 

The last few cruises the quality of service seems to have dropped especially in the formal dining room where the staff seemed very disinterested in all the customers and just rushing around as if they were understaffed. Two of our waiters pretty much ignored us most of the evening. Again in the windjammer our table was only cleared at the very end when a waitress just asked 'you done'!!!

 

Another issue we have found is the amount and type of maintenance that is being undertaken whilst sailings are happening. Once again i know this needs to be done to keep the ship 'ship shape' however i don't feel whilst on a sea day i should have to deal with decks being sanded, welding occurring and been asked to move so they can paint an area. Overall we feel the company has put financial gain over customer satisfaction.

 

SO......

 

The big question as we are starting to look at future cruises mainly next year, is what other lines would RCCL 'supporters' recommend or suggest we try. we like the style of RCCL with its more relaxed atmosphere to a certain extent. We are thinking P&O or NCL compared to RCCL. The only reason we have said NCL as a couple we were talking to on our last cruise mentioned the exact same issues as us and said they had had a great cruise with NCL. We are looking at a Caribbean cruise and then another one later in the year.

 

I know this seems like i have come here to bash RCCL but i haven't we have had many amazing cruises with them and have another one booked in august which we have said will go a long way in deciding what we do.

 

But i would love some input into other lines and what everyone else has thought of their recent experiences with RCCL.

 

Thanks

[Biker19]

Most mass market lines will be fairly similar and many things about a sailing are subjective. Try something by ship, itinerary and value and not name brand.

[Strangerush]

We just booked what will be our last Royal cruise for next year. A few years back we tried NCL and LOVED it. The price is much lower than Royal and we had some of the best service we have ever had with them. Not to mention they gave us an all inclusive drink package and 4 free dinners at the specialty restaurants with our booking. The crew was wonderful, the stops were exactly the same, the entertainment was better. The only thing we missed was the promenade. Royal is so expensive for what we are getting and when we can go on a cruise that, in our opinion, is just as good as anything we have gotten with them for half the price with someone else...well...we will go with someone else.

[deliver42]

I understand going for the lowest rate, but 1/2 with NCL, not going to happen.NCL and Royal are usually very close in price. I do agree about the "free" items, though you pay about $200.00 in grats for the drink pkg, and about $25.00 for the specialty dining. They sre still good perks. Royal very rarely gives anything other than price increases.

[Strangerush]

We took an 8 night Christmas cruise in December on NCL Gem. We booked an oceanview room and paid $1100 total. Gratuities (ALL of them...drink package and specialty dining included) and room fare for $1100 for two adults on an 8 night cruise at Christmas. Our 8 night Freedom cruise is costing us almost $3000 for 2...with no drink package and no specialty restaurants. The NCL cruise we took prior was also an oceanview room...7 nights out of Tampa right after New Years, with free drinks and free specialty dining and we only paid $1000 total for that. Those are significant price differences for a product with almost no differences.

[John&LaLa]

We liked Princess back in the day. Hated, just hated Norwegian.

 

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[dpcmh]

I understand your question. For perspective, Royal is a price haven over our former beloved cruise line DCL. For me, their price hikes have been brutal. Though....I haven't been thrilled to see Royal's policy changes like nonrefundable deposits. I haven't sailed Carnival for that reason, and they require both to purchase the same drink package....BF doesn't drink. I'd love to try the Breeze. .....starting to turn my research to all inclusive resorts.

[Ocean Dancer]

We liked Princess back in the day. Hated, just hated Norwegian.

 

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We've never sailed Princess, and only sailed NCL once and hated it also. Celebrity has been nice.

[Clarea]

We liked Princess back in the day. Hated, just hated Norwegian.

Why did you hate NCL?

[Norwich Cruiser]

Have been and still am very loyal to Royal and got two further cruises booked with them but just back from MSC Meragavilia definitely worth a try.

[John&LaLa]

Why did you hate NCL?

Laura sailed Majesty out of Boston to Bermuda and wasn't impressed. We both sailed Gem from Barcelona to Boston her inaugural season. Food was lousy, weather was lousy, only saving grace was our butler and the concierge. Third time was the charm. TA from Southampton to PC. They started running out of food before they hit the Azores. [emoji33] Every night the waiters had to say what wasn't on the menu. They ran out of strawberries after Portugal for God's sake.

 

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[tinkertwo]

If price is an issue DO NOT look at Disney Cruise Line! That was all we ever sailed because we kept hearing how horrible everything else was. Then we tried the Oasis and it was half the price of DCL and, for us, every bit as good. Better in some areas. I find it funny how some think RCL is so expensive but that's because I look back at our DCL cruise fares and cringe.

[Strangerush]

The Gem is almost 10 years old...so you are comparing against a cruise you took almost a decade ago?

 

Listen..what works for one may not work for someone else. I always swore I would be loyal to Royal until my teacher salary could no longer afford them. When we first started with Royal we could get away with an interior room for $400 a person. Now that same room on the same itinerary on the same ship is almost $1000 a person, and nothing has improved to justify the increase...only gotten more expensive. You won't know until you bite the bullet and try.

 

I think it is also important to note that no matter what cruise line forum you post on (Royal, NCL, DCL, etc) you are not necessarily going to get an honest opinion but a biased one towards that particular line. You won't know if you like something else until you try and the biggest piece of that is to try it with an open mind not a "Well on Royal they did this" mindset.

[John&LaLa]

The Gem is almost 10 years old...so you are comparing against a cruise you took almost a decade ago?

 

Listen..what works for one may not work for someone else. I always swore I would be loyal to Royal until my teacher salary could no longer afford them. When we first started with Royal we could get away with an interior room for $400 a person. Now that same room on the same itinerary on the same ship is almost $1000 a person, and nothing has improved to justify the increase...only gotten more expensive. You won't know until you bite the bullet and try.

 

I think it is also important to note that no matter what cruise line forum you post on (Royal, NCL, DCL, etc) you are not necessarily going to get an honest opinion but a biased one towards that particular line. You won't know if you like something else until you try and the biggest piece of that is to try it with an open mind not a "Well on Royal they did this" mindset.

I don't generally comment on other lines because we've been fairly exclusive to Royal since 2008 except for that awful Sun TA.

 

But Bob asked. [emoji6]

 

I did say Princess was nice. We may have become Princess people, but no presence in PC. Plus we just loved Our B3B on Mariner in 2008

 

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[Clarea]

... But Bob asked. [emoji6] ...

I take full responsibility.

[John&LaLa]

I take full responsibility.

Running out of food after 3 days, crazy

 

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[Ocean Dancer]

We also did Holland ONCE..........they ran out of coffee on day 7 of a 10 day cruise!!:cool:

[kalliekae]

We sailed Holland America many times from the mid 90's to 2012. In the old days, it was very nice. Wonderful crew, excellent service, spacious cabins at a great price, and great CD's who made the cruise fun. Then HAL decided to cut out things. The last cruise we had on HAL was BORING. There was nothing to do on a sea day except attend Microsoft workshops, an art auction, or a shopping lecture. That was our last cruise with them. I would only cruise with them again if it was a port intensive cruise that made me so tired that I wouldn't care that there was nothing to do on board. I've priced their European cruises recently, and find the prices quite high for what you get. I think most cruise lines have cut services and increased prices.

[coordinator23]

I have sailed with NCL, Celebrity, Princess and Royal. Most of my cruises have been with Royal. Of the four lines, I currently prefer Princess. The service and amenities remind me more of what Royal used to be like. Celebrity was ok, but I was not real impressed. Years ago Royal competed with Princess and Celebrity for what I consider to be the mid tier cruising crowd. Once Royal bought Celebrity, they slowly began to adjust downward to compete with Carnival and NCL. It makes business sense to go after a new market than to compete with yourself (Celebrity). Now they offer three types of service. A lot like the hotel industry. Royal on the bottom, Celebrity mid range and Azumara for top tier. Royal does offer star class, etc on the biggest ships to garner the market that wants Azumara service and amenities, but also wants the adventure of the flow riders, rock climbing, sky diving, etc. My next cruise is on Princess, but I'm sure we'll be back on some Royal cruises soon. Sometimes I wish I could just turn back the clock

[molsonschooner]

We also did Holland ONCE..........they ran out of coffee on day 7 of a 10 day cruise!!:cool:[/quote

 

How can that happen? There must have been a lot of miserable people on board.

[kmorg1234]

jmorrisuk, I have been wondering the exact same thing. We love Royal, but things happen. We are actually booked on Princess for a Scandinavian trip in August, which I am very excited about- but I will tell you that I booked it because that particular ship met my time constraints.

 

 

I have travelled on Seabourn, Seadream, and Celebrity, and loved them all, just as I love RCI for its special qualities. In the end, I book each vacation depending on the needs of the family. RCI is great, but then again so are the others, for other reasons. Just depends on what you are looking for and who you are traveling with. And Happy travels to you!

[Spurschick]

Running out of food after 3 days, crazy

 

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We were on a RC cruise once and they ran out of beer after 1 day:eek:

[Spurschick]

Hi all,

 

Im Just hoping to get some other members opinions regarding RCCL and what other lines they have sailed with.

 

We have only sailed with RCCL and had many amazing cruises and experiences, however recently we have noticed that the price they are asking is increasing on a regular basis and more recently the last 2 cruises this year the quality of the service has not warranted the price. (We don't mind paying extra for the cruises but it doesn't seem justified recently) Compared to other lines the prices have increased but nothing on the cruise seems to warrant this. If you compare the potential sailings to P&O you seem to get a longer cruise and more destinations for either less or the same money but a better style of cabin.

 

The last few cruises the quality of service seems to have dropped especially in the formal dining room where the staff seemed very disinterested in all the customers and just rushing around as if they were understaffed. Two of our waiters pretty much ignored us most of the evening. Again in the windjammer our table was only cleared at the very end when a waitress just asked 'you done'!!!

 

Another issue we have found is the amount and type of maintenance that is being undertaken whilst sailings are happening. Once again i know this needs to be done to keep the ship 'ship shape' however i don't feel whilst on a sea day i should have to deal with decks being sanded, welding occurring and been asked to move so they can paint an area. Overall we feel the company has put financial gain over customer satisfaction.

 

SO......

 

The big question as we are starting to look at future cruises mainly next year, is what other lines would RCCL 'supporters' recommend or suggest we try. we like the style of RCCL with its more relaxed atmosphere to a certain extent. We are thinking P&O or NCL compared to RCCL. The only reason we have said NCL as a couple we were talking to on our last cruise mentioned the exact same issues as us and said they had had a great cruise with NCL. We are looking at a Caribbean cruise and then another one later in the year.

 

I know this seems like i have come here to bash RCCL but i haven't we have had many amazing cruises with them and have another one booked in august which we have said will go a long way in deciding what we do.

 

But i would love some input into other lines and what everyone else has thought of their recent experiences with RCCL.

 

Thanks

I like Celebrity.

 

It's been a while since I sailed P&O but my parents just did their third P&O cruise since last year (normally sail RC). They like the food but find the service frustrating in areas especially GS. That said they know they are getting a good deal, and can sail round trip to Caribbean without flying.

 

I would try MSC newer ships. We recently booked the Seaside and are quite excited. Also trying Princess next year. Finally!

 

HAL out of Harwich is normally smaller ships, but had a better than expected experience.

[Ocean Dancer]

We also did Holland ONCE..........they ran out of coffee on day 7 of a 10 day cruise!!:cool:[/quote

 

How can that happen? There must have been a lot of miserable people on board.

Yes there were!! On day six to ten the coffee got weaker and weaker, I think they were reusing the grinds. Someone finally fessed up that the coffee order was for a seven day cruise. :eek:

[dani negreanu]

Hated, just hated Norwegian.

 

Me too -- the permanent sewage smell on Decks 5 & 6 (restaurant decks) - clinched it :')

 

Princess - I've tried it once, and that was enough. I like to taste different things at b'fast and lunch - I'm taking small different portions, and if I like it something - I'm going back for seconds (and thirds...). The layout on Princess prevents it -- u have to stay "in line" every time u go back, and they even have waiters "guarding" the line....

 

The RC layout of stations suits my preferences much better :D