Noticed Changes in RCL Cruising Overall

[HBE4]

11 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Refined is a better word than classy. Every time someone uses the word classy I cringe. All I visualize is the bleached blond in a gagster movie cracking her gum and swinging her purse saying, "This is a real classy joint".

 

While her gansta boyfriend, with the pinstripe suit and slicked back hair,  climbs to the highest part of the ship and shouts: "Look at me Ma, I'm on top of the world"

[HBE4]

1 minute ago, fscool said:

 

My point was that they seem to be doing more and more of it.  On my last cruise, especially on the formal nights, I counted 8 locations blocked off at the same time including the 2 formal staircases of course.  This was just in and around the promenade.  

 

It almost as if the photographers thought "How can we take the crowded, congested area and make it even more crowded and congested" Bonus points if its difficult/impossible to navigate. 

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

It almost as if the photographers thought "How can we take the crowded, congested area and make it even more crowded and congested" Bonus points if its difficult/impossible to navigate. 

 

I've had the same impression.

[watson61]

19 hours ago, WeMissSeaView said:

I agree.  On the Ovation last month they did it every night in the dining room.  The head waiter also told a joke over the PA every night.

Ugh, I'm going on Symphony in September and I really hope this doesn't happen. I'll be like "kill me now."  Luckily on that ship, there are plenty of alternative dining places.

[legaljen1969]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 11:07 AM, HBE4 said:

 

I hope you got your pen back. I've been tempted to write on the mirror using my wife's lipstick when I can't find pen & paper. But I guess that could be a bit creepy.

 

 

Agreed.  There are also a few hotel chains that don't provide pens and stationary anymore.....but still have the bible in the nightstand.

 

Not sure where you were going with that, but I suppose if you got desperate enough you could use the Bible for paper.   I would hope that wouldn't be necessary but one never knows.

[legaljen1969]

20 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

And many times people who THINK they are of a "higher class" are exactly the people I find are best being avoided.

We have sailed on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Since they are in the same family of ships, owned by the same company I cannot imagine why anyone would think they were "higher class" than the other.  The experiences are a little different.  Celebrity's "vibe" is a little more refined for the most part. 
Royal seems more "family" and kid oriented- especially the larger ships.  Some of the super short cruises on Royal seem very "party boat" like and Carnival-ish.  But that's the nature of the type of cruise rather than the line, I feel. 
We have cruised both lines with family, and my niece loved the kids programs on both lines. (We now have two nieces, but the oldest is the only one who has cruised on both lines to the best of my recollection.)

We have sailed Mariner and Allure in the RCCL line and sailed Solstice (Celebrity).
How do we pick a cruise?  The time is right and the price is right.    Sometimes Celebrity has been a better deal and sometimes Royal has been a better deal.  Our money spends the same on both, and it spends just the same whether we are the person staying in an inside cabin or a super duper suite.

[legaljen1969]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 10:29 AM, Iamcruzin said:

Cards aren't obsolete. Free cards and other freebies from the past are obsolete. I remember when the airlines provided a meal. People would complain how awful the meal was and then complained when they stopped serving them. The service industry changes all of the time and if the product no longer is providing you the service that you are accustomed to than it's time to move on. The only problem is that nobody wants to give up their the cruise line status and start over on another line. Those loyalty programs work to maintain a lot of clientele. For me it's for the price and itinerary that I base my decision on and I have learned to lower my standards of expectations on any line. Between the ships becoming more like condominium complexes than a voyage on the open sea and the overall decline in general cruising has become just a form of transportation to me. I'm now looking a cruise lines that I would have never considered in the past.

Definitely on the same page with you there.   My family has had a similar issue with not wanting to give up "status" and start over, but the perks with status become fewer and fewer to the point it's not really worth holding on to until you do get high status, BUT you can't get high status without hanging in there and cruising.   

[Iamcruzin]

11 minutes ago, legaljen1969 said:

I cannot imagine why anyone would think they were "higher class

People who make those types of comments are just snobs who think they are better than everyone else. I have sailed Carnival, Royal, Princess and Celebrity. They are just different experiences in terms of age demographic. An older democratic will dress and carry themselves different than a younger generation who have a different life style and different interests. I don’t get the impression that anyone thinks that they are better than anyone else. 

[mugtech]

18 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

It's not a lie if you believe it to be true....

Quoting George C from Seinfeld.  That's both classy and refined.

[not-enough-cruising]

7 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

It almost as if the photographers thought "How can we take the crowded, congested area and make it even more crowded and congested" Bonus points if its difficult/impossible to navigate. 

And who doesn’t want a nice portrait with a bunch of strangers in the background?

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, legaljen1969 said:

Not sure where you were going with that, but I suppose if you got desperate enough you could use the Bible for paper.   I would hope that wouldn't be necessary but one never knows.

 

I'm not sure either......but I think my point was that hotels were getting rid of things people might use more often (pen and paper) while keeping things that are less used (bible). Nothing against the bible but if people would want to read it, they'll probably being their own.

 

But thanks to Parrotfeathers, now I know it's Gideon that places the bible in the hotel and don't mind if people take them.

 

The lipstick on the mirror comment was my lame attempt at a sarcastic joke.

[GigiK]

On 7/29/2019 at 9:41 AM, johnjen said:

- ZERO rules effect on keeping children out of the solarium (this isn't new, but seriously, start enforcing it)

 

We cruise so infrequently that I can't comment how things usually are, but the observations are accurate. I will say that the one I quoted surprised me. The tweens were using the Solarium as their hangout and really having a ball. Singing loudly as tweens will, using the steps as their stage for their social media account videos - just generally being tweens. It went on for a good while and no one addressed it.

 

Admittedly, there were not very many adults in there as it was HOT. But it was definitely not a relaxing environment. I only went there once, not because of the tweens, but because I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. Of course, that was not Royal's fault. Haha! It was July. The cabin balcony had a breeze and was much nicer, but I was surprised and disappointed because the Solarium is beautiful. I wish its design had a way to create more breeze.

[Bellamariya]

On 8/1/2019 at 6:14 AM, ptf2009 said:

Celebrity is a very nice cruise line...for older people. Royal Caribbean is much more FUN. When we get older, we'll enjoy Celebrity more.

My husband and l sailed Celebrity for the first time this year and felt exactly the same! I'd like to try them again in a few years 🙂

[Ourusualbeach]

15 hours ago, legaljen1969 said:

 Since they are in the same family of ships, owned by the same company I cannot imagine why anyone would think they were "higher class" than the other.  
 

I agree with your assessment of Royal  Celebrity however the ownership of the company has nothing to do with differences between different brands.

 

If you want to see brands owned by the same company that are night and day different look at Royal and Silversea or perhaps NCL and Oceania or Carnival and Cunard.

[loveheart]

15 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

People who make those types of comments are just snobs who think they are better than everyone else. I have sailed Carnival, Royal, Princess and Celebrity. They are just different experiences in terms of age demographic. An older democratic will dress and carry themselves different than a younger generation who have a different life style and different interests. I don’t get the impression that anyone thinks that they are better than anyone else. 

We tried Celebrity for the first time last year as we had heard it was better than  RC. We didn't think it was any better in a lot of ways. We sailed on Reflection which was a beautiful ship but the food, service and general ambience were no better than Royal.

[Iamcruzin]

6 minutes ago, loveheart said:

We tried Celebrity for the first time last year as we had heard it was better than  RC. We didn't think it was any better in a lot of ways. We sailed on Reflection which was a beautiful ship but the food, service and general ambience were no better than Royal.

I thought the food was better on the Anthem this past June than my last Sailing on Celebrity Summit. On Celebrity the food was over cooked, over salted and uninspired.

[loveheart]

44 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I thought the food was better on the Anthem this past June than my last Sailing on Celebrity Summit. On Celebrity the food was over cooked, over salted and uninspired.

We weren't impressed with Celebrity food either in the MDR or Ocean View cafe.

Our food on Indy this year was probably in my top 3 of RC cruises.

[normannna]

I'd made a comment earlier about not liking the constant parades in the MDR.  I sailed last year on MTD and I think the parades were every night! Some people basically said like it or lump it.  

 

I like to mix MDR with the Windjammer based on my plans and how busy the schedule is.  If I want a nice dinner where I feel a bit more relaxed and pampered and have a nice vibe I should be able to choose the MDR and have my dinner in peace.

 

For those that don't like these dinner interruptions please make a comment on the questionnaire and hopefully RCI will listen.

[legaljen1969]

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 7:00 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

I agree with your assessment of Royal  Celebrity however the ownership of the company has nothing to do with differences between different brands.

 

If you want to see brands owned by the same company that are night and day different look at Royal and Silversea or perhaps NCL and Oceania or Carnival and Cunard.

Well, you always seem to need to disagree with me.  Here's the thing.  We are all human. None of us better than another.  If one has the money to pay for a cruise with Silverseas, then the passengers are both on equal footing as how "good" they are (the passengers, not the ships).  It may be a once in a lifetime thing for one person and it may be a once a month thing for another.   That's fine, but at the end of the day the dollars spend the same and I can promise you the deposit in the bank account doesn't differentiate between the dollars spent on a cruise by the fellow who saved up his whole life to take his wife on the cruise of a lifetime and the 20 something year old trust fund baby who thinks its his own ship.  

[legaljen1969]

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 7:00 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

I agree with your assessment of Royal  Celebrity however the ownership of the company has nothing to do with differences between different brands.

 

If you want to see brands owned by the same company that are night and day different look at Royal and Silversea or perhaps NCL and Oceania or Carnival and Cunard.

I meant the passengers, not the ships.  Of course one offers a more refined experience than the other.  The ship isn't capable of making those character determinations anyhow.  But you knew what I meant and for whatever reason just felt the need to be contrary, as "usual." 

[legaljen1969]

On ‎8‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 5:15 PM, HBE4 said:

 

I'm not sure either......but I think my point was that hotels were getting rid of things people might use more often (pen and paper) while keeping things that are less used (bible). Nothing against the bible but if people would want to read it, they'll probably being their own.

 

But thanks to Parrotfeathers, now I know it's Gideon that places the bible in the hotel and don't mind if people take them.

 

The lipstick on the mirror comment was my lame attempt at a sarcastic joke.

Alas my sarcasm about using the Bible as scrap paper fell flat too.