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Chip... chip... industrious RCl

dani negreanu
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dani negreanu

dani negreanu

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Posted

:(

As of lately --

 

Chip - cancellation policy

 

Chip - shorter final payment

 

Chip - raising gratuities rates twice in the last 2 years

 

Chip - free room service

 

Chip - free 24 hrs internet for D and above - ok... still pending....

 

Chip - introducing non refundable deposit

 

Chip - introducing non refundable deposit only bookings for Suites [doesn't apply to me, but out of solidarity :D]

 

Chip - the rates of refundable deposit skyrocketing [very applies to me]

 

Chip - balcony discount from Platinum above - ok... practically nonexistent

 

Chip - robes in every cabin, without asking

 

Chip - food quality

 

Chip - food variety

 

Chip - service quality

 

On the top of my head --

 

Pls. feel free to add... and I apologize for my faulty command of the English language

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ARandomTraveler

ARandomTraveler

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Interesting article. I can see how people are feeling nickel and dimed, but I also see so many complaints about that nickel and diming from people who continue to cruise and spend the money even though they don’t like it. This clearly works for the cruise line since they have shown a steady increase in revenue from the nickel and dime changes.

 

Some might say that they prefer the nickel and dime strategy, as it allows them to choose not to spend money on things they don’t find valuable (such as room service, robes, and drink packages). Others will feel the pinch, as they liked the all-inclusive nature and the ability to jump on board without having to budget for anything more.

 

I didn’t think people would go for the non-refundable deposit thing, but lo and behold, it seems the majority of people actually prefer the money savings even though it comes with more risk. I didn’t think people would continue to buy drink packages with all the price increases, but...they seem to purchase them more. I didn’t think people would bother paying for room service instead of using their legs to walk to the free venues and bringing the food back to the room themselves, but, they do.

 

People can verbally complain all they want, but as long as you keep giving them your money, your complaints are worth nothing. I definitely understand the feeling of being “ripped off” or feeling that the value is being lessened with all the chipping away at things that used to be free, but you could also look at it as a way to tailor your experience in a way that allows you to choose what you spend your money on, or not, and see it as having more options rather than less.

 

The only surefire way to keep a company from raising prices is to have a large enough customer base who rejects them. Royal clearly has a big market of people who don’t mind the prices, and even if they feel nickel and dimed, are still forking over their money to them.

 

 

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dani negreanu

dani negreanu

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and yet, bookings are strong and ships are full at higher rates.

 

Biker,

I couldn't agree more... I've checked rates for Oasis next year while it is in Europe, beginning of June, the cheapest inside cabin -- outrageous rates, BUT only few of them remain.

Anyhow, I simply HAD to vent my frustration, since, relatively, I've started cruising only 8 years ago, and already seen so many changes to the worse.

I'm pretty sure the "veterans" have a much longer list :(

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GSOTall1

GSOTall1

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I can understand frustrations but deposits and payment dates do not remove any value from your trip. RC is reducing flexibility since they lose money when someone changes their mind last minute. The solution: get travel insurance which you should have anyway.

 

Free room service being lost was due to majority of cruisers not using it and a minority exploiting it which can also be said for a few other items on the list.

 

I've checked rates for Oasis next year while it is in Europe, beginning of June, the cheapest inside cabin -- outrageous rates, BUT only few of them remain.:(

 

 

You're surprised that one of the most busy months of the year that's almost sold out a year early has high rates?

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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Posted

 

 

 

Quite an eye opener. They really use some interesting psychology to get our money.

 

When we were on Radiance, the various crew members were all over the ship with up sell pitches.

 

One change of merit, was the question on the evaluation about crew begging for perfect scores on that evaluation.

 

I got a spa treatment on our last cruise, and had to listen to sales pitches the whole time. I’d planned for a second visit to the spa, but after that, I didn’t return.

 

I wonder if the crew got that 5% bonus.

 

 

 

 

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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WE’ve got eight cruises booked, and none of them happen to be w/ Royal Caribbean. Well, one is with Celebrity. I think Royal Caribbean shot themselves in the foot by discontinuing the future bookings w/o an itinerary.

 

But we will be checking at the next cruise desk next year on Celebrity.

 

I still think Royal Caribbean has the nicest JS in the industry.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Doesn’t shorter final payment mean we hang onto our Money longer?

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toyman55

toyman55

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and yet, bookings are strong and ships are full at higher rates.

 

 

Which is why they can do this. Demand is equaling supply so you can decrease supply or increase costs until you max your return.

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LS6Caddy

LS6Caddy

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When we were on Radiance, the various crew members were all over the ship with up sell pitches.

 

One change of merit, was the question on the evaluation about crew begging for perfect scores on that evaluation.

 

I got a spa treatment on our last cruise, and had to listen to sales pitches the whole time. I’d planned for a second visit to the spa, but after that, I didn’t return.

 

I am guilty of still cruising. I am guilty of buying a drink package even though I am a moderate drinker and I know that I probably hover around the break even point...but I like the fact that it is not an expense I have on the cruise. Everything except a few souvenirs will be paid for before we set foot on the ship in a month.

 

What I am not guilty of and I absolutely cannot stand is the constant up-sell happening. As soon as they start an up-sell pitch I automatically go into tune out mode and get turned off to whatever they are selling regardless if it is something I may actually be interested in. I actually do ZERO spa treatments because I don't want to hear the constant up sell for second treatment if I do one.

 

And I do get turned off a little by the "begging" for perfect customer satisfaction scores. I am always very generous with my scoring because I understand that they work long hard hours for what would be considered low pay. But the sales pitch for good scores is a little off putting to me.

 

But alas...I still go...and probably will continue to go...so I am part of the problem.

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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Just the opposite.... you "hang" to it 15 days less....

Oh, that stinks!

 

I guess they have to pay for all those new ship builds. But unfortunately, I've seen this trend since they announced the Oasis class. The Oasis class was announced, and we lost our daily newspaper, pillow chocolates and commemorative gifts. With each new ship announcement, it seems we lost another perk.

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dani negreanu

dani negreanu

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The list was made, hopefully, with quite a bit of sense of humour.....

 

I can understand frustrations but deposits and payment dates do not remove any value from your trip. Really? Value [as in money] equals for ME, also value as in "enjoyment" -- if I can't afford cruising no more because the higher rate of refundable deposit, no value remains for my trip. RC is reducing flexibility since they lose money when someone changes their mind last minute. 3 months out is not "last minute" - RC has enough time to refill the rooms. The solution: get travel insurance which you should have anyway. We always do. In my country, though, it "kicks in" only 30 days before travel. Whereas before I had only an 45 days "gap" to "bridge" between paying the final and the insurance kicking in, now I have 60 days to worry. Life happens. Luckily, we never had to cancel a cruise. Worrying = value.

Free room service being lost was due to majority of cruisers not using it and a minority exploiting it which can also be said for a few other items on the list. We never used room service, but I remember a big outroar about the new charge

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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$64K (7 day itinerary) ultimate family suite already booked for most of the next year? Wow.

Is that $64K per person or $64K for the room?

 

They can probably sleep 8 people comfortably, and I counted things like sofa beds, pullmans, etc up to 12. Didn't see how they could sleep the final two though.

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knittinggirl

knittinggirl

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:( . . .

 

Chip - balcony discount from Platinum above - ok... practically nonexistent. . .

 

Have they reduced the Balcony Deposit? I do know they mess with the calculations when computing their BOGO or 30% discounts by subtracting the balcony discounts then calculating the discount on the remainder.

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ONECRUISER

ONECRUISER

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Biker,

 

I couldn't agree more... I've checked rates for Oasis next year while it is in Europe, beginning of June, the cheapest inside cabin -- outrageous rates, BUT only few of them remain.

 

Anyhow, I simply HAD to vent my frustration, since, relatively, I've started cruising only 8 years ago, and already seen so many changes to the worse.

 

I'm pretty sure the "veterans" have a much longer list :(

And yet Royal ships sail at 104% and sailing is cheaper then it was 30 years ago, not even taking inflation into it...

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Clarea

Clarea

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Have they reduced the Balcony Deposit? I do know they mess with the calculations when computing their BOGO or 30% discounts by subtracting the balcony discounts then calculating the discount on the remainder.

Besides chipping away at the balcony discount as you mentioned, they also deem certain parts of a price an "instant discount" which is not combinable with the balcony discount, so that's another way they deprecate the C&A benefits.

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