Are Royal Loyal to Customers - Of Course Not

[Bloodgem]

5 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Try Princess. The only thing they are complaining about on that board is that they removed a chair out of the cabin. Their cabin lay out is not user friendly. They have a walk in closet in front of the bathroom which takes up a lot of living space. The chair only got in the way. We spend little time in our room so it's not a big deal for us but I do like the room layout of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity better. Also try Celebrity. Your D+ status will get you Elite Status on their ships.

Thank you

[mayleeman]

3 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

It feels so dirty posting in a thread that has a terrible, grammatically-incorrect name/heading... 😨😱🤢

Actually, the title is bad only because it has a punctuation error for using a hyphen rather than a question mark.

 

In the UK and a few other Commonwealth countries, corporations are often referred to in the plural rather than the singular as we almost always do in the US. They see a company name as a collective noun, apparently in much the same way as they do for words like "team" or "group." 

 

Thus, "Royal are" rather than "Royal is" is perfectly acceptable as used by the OP. 

 

Now you can feel free to post without dirtying yourself. Except for that hyphen, which might stick in your craw.

[NateUpNorth]

53 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I cruise other lines and not loyal to any one line. All have been declining in service in their own way. It's the sign of the times. I have only been following the Royal Caribbean board for the past year. I can't believe what people will put up with in terms of cancelations, changed itineraries and pricing. Yes these things happen on all lines but from what I have been reading they don't seem to go out of their way to accommodate the customer or try to make them feel whole again. Some people are loyal because they invested so much money to reach the top tiers or the product meets their needs in a way that no other cruise line does. Unfortunately sometimes the only way to be heard is to walk away.  If Royal Caribbean is the only line you have sailed on you may be pleasantly surprised at what you will find trying another cruise line. I hope you can salvage your vacation plans. 

 

 

This post has so much common sense in it that it will be ignored by many. *sigh*

 

[Vegcurry]

I’m from the UK and mostly use a US Travel agent. You get better T&Cs and usually better prices.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

This post has so much common sense in it that it will be ignored by many. *sigh*

 

I like the irony of the Yank giving the Brit an English lesson. That post wasn't ignored.

[dwhe]

3 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I like the irony of the Yank giving the Brit an English lesson. That post wasn't ignored.

 

lol most Brits are rubbish at English, it's a minefield, including me, don't know what I'd do without a spell checker

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, dwhe said:

 

lol most Brits are rubbish at English, it's a minefield, including me, don't know what I'd do without a spell checker

My problem is auto correct and auto fill puts words in my mouth that I never intended to use.

[Reina del Mar]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

In the UK and a few other Commonwealth countries, corporations are often referred to in the plural rather than the singular as we almost always do in the US. They see a company name as a collective noun, apparently in much the same way as they do for words like "team" or "group." 

 

 

This is not the case in the part of UK where we live.

 

A team, group or corporation is a singular noun which uses a singular verb....

[dwhe]

I've seen some really funny autocorrects, I've spent ages reading them via google.

[mayleeman]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

My problem is auto correct and auto fill puts words in my mouth that I never intended to use.

Most peoples' problem is that their brains put words in their mouths that they shouldn't intend to use!

[Zach1213]

Don't ever fool yourself and think a company cares about you. I'm saying this as a general statement, not to OP or any one person specifically. I travel for a living...I am very loyal to American Airlines/OneWorld, Hilton, and National Car Rental. I give them plenty of money each year, and they give me some pretty decent perks back. We've had a good relationship for over 10 years.

 

BUT, at the end of the day, I know they're a company whose sole purpose is to make money, not please Zacharius...they may throw me under the bus someday to help themselves, and in return I also have no problem going to Delta, Marriott, or Hertz should I start souring on our relationship.

 

Loyalty perks are great, but don't ever think the company cares about you...if they don't make you happy, find someone that does. (When I first started traveling for work, I was loyal to United...but between some bad service and the fact that I was frequently traveling to places that were strong OneWorld hubs (Australia and Hong Kong), it was easy for me to spend my United miles quick and move on to American).

Edited May 17, 2019 by Zach1213

[Rogueperson]

8 hours ago, Bloodgem said:

Cancelling Indy worries me, yes I know I'm probably being over anxious.

As someone who can only depart from Southampton and needs an accessible cabin I don't know whether to risk booking an RCI ship in 2021 or try Princess. 

At least I have managed to obtain my goal of becoming a  the D+. 

Try Princess, Try them all and see what you like.

 

My last 6 cruises have been on Royal Caribbean.  They were pretty good.  Until last week, I would have said Royal Caribbean is my favorite cruise line.  This week, I'm waffling.  Last week, I did a 5 night Princess cruise.  The service that's been slowly being degraded on Royal Caribbean that i've been tolerating, its still in full effect on Princess.  For example, I'm sitting at an outdoor table after getting a burger from the grill (which ironically is like the best burger I've ever had at sea), a guy comes up to me and asks if i want an iced tea or lemonade.  This has not happened on Royal Caribbean in a long time, but this happened pretty much a minute after I sat down.  And its not the only time.  In the buffet, staff come up and ask if you want a drink from the station.  No pushing of alcohol, just service!

 

The constant nickle and diming that i've learned to phase out, is surprisingly much more subtle and easier to tolerate.

There are still little things I prefer on Royal Caribbean, but it was a breath of fresh air.  I'm not completely sold and willing to jump ship off of Royal Caribbean because their loyalty program (I'm diamond now) is still worthy and probably better than Princess, but hey, what they do have, is a serious contender.  In my opinion, you need to mix it up just to keep things fresh.  I realized after last week that I've had certain expectations after sailing so many Royal Caribbean ships that other cruise lines can and may exceed Royal Caribbean in certain areas.  Service is definitely one of the areas Princess is still awesome with.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

Actually, the title is bad only because it has a punctuation error for using a hyphen rather than a question mark.

 

In the UK and a few other Commonwealth countries, corporations are often referred to in the plural rather than the singular as we almost always do in the US. They see a company name as a collective noun, apparently in much the same way as they do for words like "team" or "group." 

 

Thus, "Royal are" rather than "Royal is" is perfectly acceptable as used by the OP. 

Actually- the heading has more flaws. My only previous response post was meant as sarcasm humor.

 

The thread title should read “ Is Royal Loyal to Customers? Of course not.

 

Reading that broken original heading is like hearing fingernails scraping on a chalkboard to those of us with an English degree.

 

So getting back to topic...

 

Royal is loyal to Royal, just like any consumer-facing company. Customers are a revenue stream. How customers are treated varies by company. Loyalty benefits are marketing promotions to encourage repeat business. Those are the basics that apply to the original topic.

Edited May 17, 2019 by CRUISEFAN0001

[Iamcruzin]

4 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Try Princess, Try them all and see what you like.

 

My last 6 cruises have been on Royal Caribbean.  They were pretty good.  Until last week, I would have said Royal Caribbean is my favorite cruise line.  This week, I'm waffling.  Last week, I did a 5 night Princess cruise.  The service that's been slowly being degraded on Royal Caribbean that i've been tolerating, its still in full effect on Princess.  For example, I'm sitting at an outdoor table after getting a burger from the grill (which ironically is like the best burger I've ever had at sea), a guy comes up to me and asks if i want an iced tea or lemonade.  This has not happened on Royal Caribbean in a long time, but this happened pretty much a minute after I sat down.  And its not the only time.  In the buffet, staff come up and ask if you want a drink from the station.  No pushing of alcohol, just service!

 

The constant nickle and diming that i've learned to phase out, is surprisingly much more subtle and easier to tolerate.

There are still little things I prefer on Royal Caribbean, but it was a breath of fresh air.  I'm not completely sold and willing to jump ship off of Royal Caribbean because their loyalty program (I'm diamond now) is still worthy and probably better than Princess, but hey, what they do have, is a serious contender.  In my opinion, you need to mix it up just to keep things fresh.  I realized after last week that I've had certain expectations after sailing so many Royal Caribbean ships that other cruise lines can and may exceed Royal Caribbean in certain areas.  Service is definitely one of the areas Princess is still awesome with.

I'm happy to hear they haven't changed. It's been a while since I sailed with them. It has more to do with itinerary dates and having to fly to board a ship than anything else. Celebrity and Royal have a bigger presence in the Northeast. However, with Celebrity and Royals pricing it may benefit me to fly to port to board a Princess ship. 

[dodgestang]

9 hours ago, Perkyboy34 said:

Gone are the days when we used to have a personal cruise consultant located in the same country as you, who became a friend keeping you up to date with the latest developments and cruise news, as well as offering you on board credit and other little perks to make your experience that little more special

 

 

Travel Agents aren't a thing in your home town?

[voyager70]

I've heard of people in UK booking through US agencies in order to obtain the same conditions we have booking in US or Canada.  Might be something to look into.

 

 

[Biker19]

25 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

The constant nickle and diming that i've learned to phase out, is surprisingly much more subtle and easier to tolerate.

Yeah, but that in your face marketing seems to be working for RCCL:

 

[Bloodgem]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

Try Princess, Try them all and see what you like.

 

My last 6 cruises have been on Royal Caribbean.  They were pretty good.  Until last week, I would have said Royal Caribbean is my favorite cruise line.  This week, I'm waffling.  Last week, I did a 5 night Princess cruise.  The service that's been slowly being degraded on Royal Caribbean that i've been tolerating, its still in full effect on Princess.  For example, I'm sitting at an outdoor table after getting a burger from the grill (which ironically is like the best burger I've ever had at sea), a guy comes up to me and asks if i want an iced tea or lemonade.  This has not happened on Royal Caribbean in a long time, but this happened pretty much a minute after I sat down.  And its not the only time.  In the buffet, staff come up and ask if you want a drink from the station.  No pushing of alcohol, just service!

 

The constant nickle and diming that i've learned to phase out, is surprisingly much more subtle and easier to tolerate.

There are still little things I prefer on Royal Caribbean, but it was a breath of fresh air.  I'm not completely sold and willing to jump ship off of Royal Caribbean because their loyalty program (I'm diamond now) is still worthy and probably better than Princess, but hey, what they do have, is a serious contender.  In my opinion, you need to mix it up just to keep things fresh.  I realized after last week that I've had certain expectations after sailing so many Royal Caribbean ships that other cruise lines can and may exceed Royal Caribbean in certain areas.  Service is definitely one of the areas Princess is still awesome with.

Thank you

[alistairg]

I have a US travel agent that I use sometimes. Every time we book a cruise I compare the UK and US price and book wherever is cheapest. Thus you can beat them at their own game, strictly speaking Royal don't want UK people to book in the US.

 

I am aware the booking conditions are different and I would be more likely to book in the US if I thought we might have to cancel due to the refundable deposits.

 

This is the reason that they offer price matches in the US, you could cancel and rebook for free anyway.

 

A few years ago I booked a cruise in the UK and the price dropped in the US. I then cancelled the UK cruise, losing the deposit and bought it at the US price. I factored this into the calculation. As has been said, why not cancel and rebook, it seems like you would still save money.

 

I have often bought things which got cheaper after I bought them - cars, plane tickets, TVs etc. In particular in travel if you are willing to wait you can get a lower price but risk not getting a room or the room that you would prefer.  I know Royal offers a price match in the US and if you want to avail yourself of that I would book there. Surely it wasn't a surprise though that they don't do it in the UK?

Edited May 17, 2019 by alistairg

[nelblu]

WOW, this thread has gone from questioning Royal loyalty to its customer base to grammar & English lessons.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

WOW, this thread has gone from questioning Royal loyalty to its customer base to grammar & English lessons.

That happens when a thread starts off on the wrong foot with a cryptic title. It’s happened many times.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

14 hours ago, Perkyboy34 said:

Gone are the days when we used to have a personal cruise consultant located in the same country as you, who became a friend keeping you up to date with the latest developments and cruise news, as well as offering you on board credit and other little perks to make your experience that little more special.

That is unfortunate if that is your current situation...but that’s not at all the case where we are located. We have an Exped** Cruise Travel Office a mile from our home (5 other offices in a 40 mile tour radius), and personal service is their forte.

 

We’re regularly kept informed about our cruises or potential cruises we’ve identified, provided opportunities for terrific discounted cruises, frequently invited to office orientations about cruises all over the world, and welcome to ask any questions anytime the office is open 6 days per week. All staff are professional and friendly.

 

They have no hesitation to get on the phone with Royal or any other cruise line and act as an advocate for customers in any way, including problem resolution. The fact that they have also facilitated some of the best deals ever for us is frosting on the cake.

 

So those days are not gone here at all...in fact...they are still abundant in some places. We have 2 other couples as friends in other places who have the very same experiences with their TA’s.

[loman]

Why bother with rccl if you don't like them.

Toss them to the curb and try another line .

I like them so I stick with them , but I don't expect much so I am easy to please.

You may find that the other lines are focused on bottom line performance also and you may once again be disappointed. 

[MrMarc]

 

 

 

7 hours ago, mayleeman said:

Now you can feel free to post without dirtying yourself. Except for that hyphen, which might stick in your craw.

 

Great new insult there.

[gatour]

4 hours ago, voyager70 said:

I've heard of people in UK booking through US agencies in order to obtain the same conditions we have booking in US or Canada.  Might be something to look into.

 

 

And there is one particular poster that does this and then complains about US consumer protection laws.  He is the first and only person that I have to my Cruise Critic ignore list.

 

To the original poster comments. 

 

In most cases, corporations do want they can to maximize short term profits.  Their is no loyalty to their customers or employees.  They do the minimum to try to keep the short term profits up.

 

I long ago dis engaged from being loyal to particular company.  It is about what are they doing for me now.  Having said that,  I normally fly Delta, as it has the most flights out of my home town.  In the past I have flown all of the other major airlines either due to business or pleasure.  They are all about equal.  In regards to cruises, I have done all of the mass market lines (with the exception NCL, although my cruise was on NCL in 1981, so I don't count that as it has changed since then)

 

All of them has offered acceptable service, certain cruises I have enjoyed more than others, however they all have given a pleasurable experience.

 

You might want to try a different cruise line.