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I Remember when RCL ............

scootersdad

By scootersdad,
in Royal Caribbean International

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JMG

JMG

Posted
Posted

Had Brochure prices and if you did not book within 6 months of sailing...the prices went up!

Steamers at sail away

Formal nights WERE Formal

Everything was all inclusive!

Shows were geared to the Early and Late inning times...6pm and 8pm.

Shows were singers, magicians, comedians, what ever they could find that would entertain? people for 1 hour!

the Buffet was not open for dinner!

The had a Baked Alaska Parade and Cherries Jubilee prepared table side

Chocolates on pillows every night

They did not have Dogs on board

Horse races and other games in the pool area

Had evening buffets...the chocolate buffet being the most amazing one!

Tour of the ship did not cost extra $$$. On one line we got an honest to goodness tour of the Engine Room! Amazing memory!

No Balconies!

More recently...Diamonds In December! That did not last long!

Had to go to a TA because online reservations were not "invented"

NO private Islands!

Shooters after dinner!

 

....BUT still...we find it to be a great vacation regardless of how things have changed over the years. Some changes have been terrific...others...have been to increase cash flow from our wallet to their bank account!  So..what else is new?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Fun Researcher

The Fun Researcher

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, linerode said:

I'm getting rather burned out on all the nickel and diming and loss of some of the grandeur of cruising on RC. Wondering which cruise line to try that would have some of the old perks and treatment. 

 

I'm guessing you've probably sailed Celebrity, but if not, it was a noticeable reduction in small extra costs.  We sailed the Equinox the summer of 2017.  Depending on the deal at the time, booking a balcony can have a lot to offer.  If they have the "book two" promotion going you can choose the free alcohol package, as well as $150 on-board credit per person.  This covered pretty much all of the "nickel and diming" for us.  Zero alcohol cost, and extra OBC for a specialty restaurant or two and other stuff in between.

 

Dan

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BillB48

BillB48

Posted
Posted
51 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

DH misses the waiter coming by with the little crumb scraper, to clean up after each course 🙂

 

That still survives sporadically... just off the Serenade and both the waiter and assistant waiter did the crumb scrape routine, but only between main course and dessert:classic_smile:.

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rusty nut

rusty nut

Posted
Posted

Yes, I remember. When you stepped aboard the ship, there was no question that you were an honored and valued guest, and you were treated as such. Now, you're just a paying customer, nothing more. I remember when cruising was a bit of a "high brow" affair. Nowadays, the ships are filled with all kinds of rude, disrespectful people with no regard for other passengers. I've never seen so much "trailer trash" on a ship in my life. I'm sure it's not just Royal.

Disappointing. The sad part is, it will never change.

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clean1owner

clean1owner

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, rusty nut said:

Yes, I remember. When you stepped aboard the ship, there was no question that you were an honored and valued guest, and you were treated as such. Now, you're just a paying customer, nothing more. I remember when cruising was a bit of a "high brow" affair. Nowadays, the ships are filled with all kinds of rude, disrespectful people with no regard for other passengers. I've never seen so much "trailer trash" on a ship in my life. I'm sure it's not just Royal.

Disappointing. The sad part is, it will never change.

 

 

Unless you pay the premium price for one of the luxury lines.

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walker1887

walker1887

Posted
Posted

Buying a bottle on the ship and having it delivered to your room and make your own drinks.

 

The streamers at sail-a-way

 

Getting the docs delivered, I know it makes more sense the way it is done now, but, boy, it was so exciting.

 

Getting a phone call stating that the price had gone down and I could either upgrade or get OBC

 

No specialty restaurants, which are fine, but I think the quality of the food has suffered in the main dining rooms

 

And, I loved the horse races, where the teams would build up to it by dressing themselves and the horses up.

 

I also remember paying $2700.00 for 2 of us for 7 nights in a stateroom with a window, now we are paying $1600.00 for 8 nights for 2 in a balcony cabin and these two cruises are 34 years apart.

 

So, not all bad and still absolutely a great vacation :)

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Groucho

Groucho

Posted
Posted
On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 12:54 PM, DarthGrady said:

I've got to second the Viking Crown comment, it is sad that Royal is abandoning their signature feature. All in all though, I'm pretty happy with the current state of cruising. Yes, the ships get more and more gimmicky as the years go by, but at least the Radiance class and (most of) the Vision class ships are still in service. They still provide a fairly traditional cruise experience.  

In my opinion, the Viking Crown was dead on the Oasis Class because of all the other options the ships offered.  Converting that space to Costal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge was a very good move and a better use of that space.

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Groucho

Groucho

Posted
Posted
On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 12:54 PM, nelblu said:

I remember, when:

 

Streamers when departing on cruise.

Family members allowed and seeing you off.

Horse racing on pool deck, but replaced by casinos.

No Broadway or other shows, but staff provided the entertainment.

No diamond lounges.  When DL introduced, only wine, soda & water available.  Plus some minor chips/pretzels instead of the hors d'ovres.

Not necessarily on RCL, but on "Oceanic" had to pay for the loungers, but it made up for the wonderful quantity and quality of food..

No stabilizers and no promenades.

 

Just a few, but overall, I take what is being offered today.

 

 

I remember the Oceanic!  Your right about paying for the deck chairs.  A crew member would take the small payment and write your name on a small card.  You picked the location of the chair and the crew member would place your name card in a slot on the top of the chair and that chair and location was yours for the entire cruise.  Maybe that prevented chair hogs? 

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mra9955

mra9955

Posted
Posted

We've been cruising with Royal since 2004.  I miss the little things like chocolates on pillows, stationary, pens, shopping bags, and so forth.  But what I really really wish was better was dining.  Specifically quality of the main dining room at dinner and the availability of included other restaurants.  We just got off Freedom and decided to eat at Johnny Rockets one day for lunch.  It was $11 per person, plus $5 for milkshakes.  We got McDonalds quality, and McDonalds service.  I would like Royal to have places like JR that are included and then when we pay an upcharge have it be fantastic food and fantastic service.

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nelblu

nelblu

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, walker1887 said:

Buying a bottle on the ship and having it delivered to your room and make your own drinks.

 

The streamers at sail-a-way

 

Getting the docs delivered, I know it makes more sense the way it is done now, but, boy, it was so exciting.

 

Getting a phone call stating that the price had gone down and I could either upgrade or get OBC

 

No specialty restaurants, which are fine, but I think the quality of the food has suffered in the main dining rooms

 

And, I loved the horse races, where the teams would build up to it by dressing themselves and the horses up.

 

I also remember paying $2700.00 for 2 of us for 7 nights in a stateroom with a window, now we are paying $1600.00 for 8 nights for 2 in a balcony cabin and these two cruises are 34 years apart.

 

So, not all bad and still absolutely a great vacation :)

 

Agree, prices are low for the 1st 2 Pax in cabin, however, I only paid $60 (ex tax/fees) for my daughter as compared to today for 3rd/4th in cabin.

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nelblu

nelblu

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Groucho said:

I remember the Oceanic!  Your right about paying for the deck chairs.  A crew member would take the small payment and write your name on a small card.  You picked the location of the chair and the crew member would place your name card in a slot on the top of the chair and that chair and location was yours for the entire cruise.  Maybe that prevented chair hogs? 

 

Yes, loved that ship with an all Italian crew.  Saw her recently (couple of years ago) in Villefrance harbor.   Only made one stop-Nassau- from NYC, however, the NYC skyline made up for the lack of ports.

 

Loved the Maitre D cook special requested dishes by your table.  Those days--oh well.

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George C

George C

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

Yes, loved that ship with an all Italian crew.  Saw her recently (couple of years ago) in Villefrance harbor.   Only made one stop-Nassau- from NYC, however, the NYC skyline made up for the lack of ports.

 

Loved the Maitre D cook special requested dishes by your table.  Those days--oh well.

I was also fan of home lines and oceanic , along with hal both lines and multiple ships sailing from nyc in 70’s , not many choices of destination either just Bermuda or one day in Bermuda and one day in Nassau. Oceanic was home lines flag ship and Rotterdam was Hal’s ,  Both very elegant ships. 

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clean1owner

clean1owner

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, mra9955 said:

We've been cruising with Royal since 2004.  I miss the little things like chocolates on pillows, stationary, pens, shopping bags, and so forth.  But what I really really wish was better was dining.  Specifically quality of the main dining room at dinner and the availability of included other restaurants.  We just got off Freedom and decided to eat at Johnny Rockets one day for lunch.  It was $11 per person, plus $5 for milkshakes.  We got McDonalds quality, and McDonalds service.  I would like Royal to have places like JR that are included and then when we pay an upcharge have it be fantastic food and fantastic service.

 

 

I have been to land based Johnny Rockets twice, and based on my experiences there, I wouldn't pay 1 extra dime to eat there aboard a ship. 

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Sunnyside up

Sunnyside up

Posted
Posted

I remember all of these gone by the wayside special offerings.  IIems that I miss are the mini muffins (not sure if apple or banana nut) also served with savory bits.  There used to be a sunflower snack bar that was offered  in cafe on Voyager class ships.The smoke free formal nights in the Casino, that is one they really need to bring back.  I only go in casino to spin my free chips, and early morning before smokers arrive. Most of the time don't  go in at all.  I agree about Johnny Rockets, I just went in one in a NE casino, and  my tuna melt tasted like it was just caught. I haven't been in one on RCCL for a while as the RCCL ships I have been cruising don't have them.  Really miss the days when everyone was treated special, not just the ones that now pay for a genie or key.  Those extra perks were earned by your loyalty to RCCL thru the C&A programs.  Just my 2 cents worth (which doesn't amount to much with Royal.  (Still have 3 cruises booked thru 2020).  After that my loyalty is up for sale.

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Journey2016

Journey2016

Posted
Posted (edited)

I remember when, if you paid your gratuities in advance, they gave you little slips of paper with "Waiter" "Room Steward" "Head Waiter" etc. and you would take the slips and hand it to the crew member. 

 

I miss the days when RCCL cared about return cruisers. Now it seems like the only people who matter are in the expensive suites. On our last cruise, the top cruisers had over 800 points, and I watched the crew ask them to move at the ice show so some suite guests could sit there.

Edited by Journey2016
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