Will the higher prices per fare and unpopular changes in the MDR have you considering changing lines?

[deliver42]

Actually for the most part we have changed lines except for the upcoming Harmony cruise. We were booked on MSC for May 7th and they cancelled the cruise. The Harmony on May 6th had  a very similar itinerary for May 6th, so we didn't have to go through the hassle of changing my vacation time. We have been cruising Celebrity and love it.

[artvlay]

Just off Anthem and after many many cruises we are not up on Royal like we used to be. The windjammer has gotten to be like a high school cafeteria. The selections are poor, the food quality is just ok. And the service of the food workers is poor. A lot of this is attributed to staffing issues but Royal keeps building ships and taking from existing ships. I honestly think that Royal is at the bottom of the list of the major cruise lines, Carnival, Holland, Celebrity, NCL, and Princess.

Also, the entertainment is nothing what it used to be. It seems that the Washy Washy singers outside of Windjammer is their top entertainment.

We will still go on Royal but not anywhere like we have in the past.

 

[Spurschick]

11 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Every cruise line is repetitive with itineraries.  Most have private islands, too.

What I mean is Royal seem to send all their Caribbean sailings to CocoCay where they can. 
 

some ships offer an eastern then western option, some ships do same itinerary week in week out.

 

if I look at Beyond sailings for an example it might be an 11 night Panama transit followed by a southern Caribbean not doing canal to an eastern etc. 

 

when other lines are able to vary ports for the same ship and different itineraries for different ships there is imho much more choice. 
 

Even Carnival offers a Bahamas option from Galveston to mix things up.

[Spurschick]

11 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

What dates?

March 11th Adventure 5 night 2 adults 2 kids in a 3B Balcony is $13,563.84 to be exact

Edited February 7, 2023 by Spurschick

[volk904]

My first impression of the New Menu is that I don’t like it or at least I think they should have kept the daily classic options of Salmon, Chicken or Steak.  There is just some night I don’t like much on the entree list and that sucks. On the other hand my wife like the new menu.  Our next cruise in March is on the Beyond but we are booked on the Harmony in Oct.  Hoping they get enough complaints to adjust a bit.  I really think instead of cutting costs in the food they should just raise prices $50 a person and work on the quality of the food. I am almost Diamond but will try NCL again if I do t like the menu.  

As long as this is a soapbox to complain I want to address the rip off kids sail free deal. For our Oct cruise we are in the window for kids sail free only they are really more than adults.  The Balcony cabin for my daughter and husband was about $2000. If they add my granddaughter that is supposed to be free the price jumps $1100 because they charge much more for a cabin that sleeps 3.  I ran the kids free deal on NCL and they charged only about $375 for port charges and taxes for kids. Had they had a Oct cruise in our Fall Break window we would be on NCL. 
 

[CruisingNole]

No more Royal cruises this year. Can’t justify the price considering how diminished the product is. Booked on Celebrity next month. Balcony for 4 nights on Silhouette was cheaper than interior for 3 nights on Independence. Same weekend, similar itinerary. 

And then on to Virgin in November. 
 

Maybe they will be better than Royal…maybe not. Won’t know until I try.

[Ret MP]

Just now, CruisingNole said:

No more Royal cruises this year. Can’t justify the price considering how diminished the product is. Booked on Celebrity next month. Balcony for 4 nights on Silhouette was cheaper than interior for 3 nights on Independence. Same weekend, similar itinerary. 

And then on to Virgin in November. 
 

Maybe they will be better than Royal…maybe not. Won’t know until I try.

I will never cruise Rustbucket Cruise Lines again.  But, my wife is a shopaholic (fortunately she's just a shopaholic, not a buyaholic) and prices cruises all the time.  She tells me that Rustbucket is out of control with their prices, especially with their two or three newer ships.  Doesn't matter to me.  

[Merion_Mom]

13 hours ago, nelblu said:

OnAnthem presently and seated in Silk with 5 other passengers.  Not a problem with menu items, but service slow in getting entrees serviced. 
 

The first night we thought it was one off, but it happened again last night. Some complained that if serviced did not improve they would dine in the WJ   
 

He told us to give it another chance. Also the discussion, covered the new menu and the loss of flexibility in the # of entrees.  We mentioned that it was changed to speed the dining process, but the opposite in our case.
 

He volunteered that the menu will be visited again in June. Don’t know if there’s been any pushback from passengers. 

Anyone heard anything on past or recent sails and experiences. 
 

By the way on 1st night had crab cakes and shrimp cocktail, whitefish as an an entree which tasted like flounder and ice cream for dessert.  Had an issue getting coffe and went to the D lounge for a nice cappuccino. 
 

Last night had onion soup, calamari and linguini seafood. Asked for marinara rather than the cream sauce and was accommodated.  Dessert was apple blossom and ice cream. 

 

Coffee was served with dessert withou me asking. 
 

So far no problem with the food quality. 
 

What a tremendous difference between the WJ experience between my recent Oasis sails and on Anthem.  It’s like almost 2 different companies. 
 

Love the Anthem selection and and layout. 
 

 

 

 

I am glad that you enjoyed your dessert, but that was NOT the apple blossom.

[wreckem2013]

2 hours ago, Spurschick said:

March 11th Adventure 5 night 2 adults 2 kids in a 3B Balcony is $13,563.84 to be exact

And that cruise is already likely beyond 100% double occupancy and only has a very small number of rooms left. This is dynamic pricing based off of room supply. If you want a good rate on a spring break cruise out of Galveston you book it as far out as possible.

 

I booked a 7 day Thanksgiving cruise on Independence of the seas in a Jr Suite for $2500ish total.

[wreckem2013]

4 minutes ago, wreckem2013 said:

And that cruise is already likely beyond 100% double occupancy and only has a very small number of rooms left. This is dynamic pricing based off of room supply. If you want a good rate on a spring break cruise out of Galveston you book it as far out as possible.

 

I booked a 7 day Thanksgiving cruise on Independence of the seas in a Jr Suite for $2500ish total.

People are used to discounted pricing the closer set sail comes. That’s no longer the case because Royal doesn’t have any problems filling their ships.

[Merion_Mom]

10 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

I'd do the same in regards to other low end/mid range cruiselines (Carnival, NCL, MSC, etc) A dining package usually costs less than 300.00 for two people, vs changing to a luxury cruiseline that costs thousands more and might not be the vibe I want.  But everyone is different, this is just my opinion. 

 

 

An unlimited dining package?  For a week long cruise?  For 2 people?  For less than $300?  

 

I don't think so! 

 

You'll pay almost that for ONE.

[Spurschick]

40 minutes ago, wreckem2013 said:

And that cruise is already likely beyond 100% double occupancy and only has a very small number of rooms left. This is dynamic pricing based off of room supply. If you want a good rate on a spring break cruise out of Galveston you book it as far out as possible.

 

I booked a 7 day Thanksgiving cruise on Independence of the seas in a Jr Suite for $2500ish total.

I agree for any school holiday time out of Galveston book as far ahead as possible and I am aware of Galveston demand as I lived in Texas for 18 years. I was just making the statement as I have never seen prices that high before and when dd was in school we sailed spring break every year. - In fact the 5 night Adventure is $5000 more than 7 night  Allure for the same week and has more availability as well.

 

there are over 70 cabins left with options available in every category 

 

Even 2 people in an interior starts at $3600

 

i just didn’t expect it to cost more than Allure for the same week.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Spurschick

[baldilocks]

Fron the menu postings that I have seen, there is always something that I like. The starters seem to be very good. As far as cost, book as early as you can. You can save hundreds over waiting until the cruise is six months out. 

[aubreyc1988]

4 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

An unlimited dining package?  For a week long cruise?  For 2 people?  For less than $300?  

 

I don't think so! 

 

You'll pay almost that for ONE.

I didn't say unlimited. I did the 3 night one and that was more than enough, especially on older ships where there aren't as many specialty restaurants. But even if you paid for the unlimited dining plan at 200-300.00pp plus grats, it would still be cheaper than a luxury cruise line. 

 

As I said, I am easy to please, and I've never been on a cruise ship/cruise line where I didn't find something good to eat...I always pack on the lbs lol. And I am excited to try the new menu...I don't think it looks super exciting, but glad Royal is changing it up a little because the old one has been around for a while...I'm reserving my judgment until I experience it for myself, but I doubt I'll be put off by it. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I didn't say unlimited. I did the 3 night one and that was more than enough, especially on older ships where there aren't as many specialty restaurants. But even if you paid for the unlimited dining plan at 200-300.00pp plus grats, it would still be cheaper than a luxury cruise line. 

 

As I said, I am easy to please, and I've never been on a cruise ship/cruise line where I didn't find something good to eat...I always pack on the lbs lol. And I am excited to try the new menu...I don't think it looks super exciting, but glad Royal is changing it up a little because the old one has been around for a while...I'm reserving my judgment until I experience it for myself, but I doubt I'll be put off by it. 

 

There are multiple postings about how a three-night package makes sense on smaller ships that only have one or two special dining options. Eating in the same restaurant every night tends to defeat the purpose of trying different meals (almost like MDR for extra money).

 

I would most likely use this option on one cruise before expanding it to an unlimited package.

[broadwaybaby123]

I'm not a fan of the streamlined dinner options. I've looked at the menus online, and they're mainly fish, which I don't eat.

 

Has it deterred me from Royal? No. Other cruise lines are doing the exact same thing, plus there's other options onboard if I choose not to eat in the MDR.

[superduper123]

Not sure yet. We cruise again at the end of March so we will see how that goes. Although I love a good deal, higher prices won't necessarily keep me from cruising (any line) but poor service and food will. 

 

After sailing exclusively with Royal (D+) we tried Celebrity last summer for the first time, and found the experience better than Royal. 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, volk904 said:

 I really think instead of cutting costs in the food they should just raise prices $50 a person and work on the quality of the food.

instead, they raised prices by $500-1,500 pp and you still get a reshuffled and truncated menu.

[Engineroom Snipe]

4 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

instead, they raised prices by $500-1,500 pp and you still get a reshuffled and truncated menu.

 

This was my evaluation too. Short and to the point.

 

I have watched the prices rise by exactly your quoted numbers in the past year.

 

Everyone keeps saying, inflation, post-pandemic financing of debts, staff hard to find, "RCI is entitled to make a profit", the law of supply and demand, etc., etc. I do not have problems with those arguments.

 

I expect the increased prices to overcome any of these difficulties and at least get us back to pre-pandemic service and food. Surely, 35% to 100% increases in cruise prices should be able to do this.

[Canuker]

5 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

This was my evaluation too. Short and to the point.

 

I have watched the prices rise by exactly your quoted numbers in the past year.

 

Everyone keeps saying, inflation, post-pandemic financing of debts, staff hard to find, "RCI is entitled to make a profit", the law of supply and demand, etc., etc. I do not have problems with those arguments.

 

I expect the increased prices to overcome any of these difficulties and at least get us back to pre-pandemic service and food. Surely, 35% to 100% increases in cruise prices should be able to do this.

Neither RCI nor any other business "is entitled to make a profit". The constant business equation is weighing up risk (and it's cost) versus profit (and its benefit). It's the responsibility of governments to provide an environment (taxes, infrastructure, etc) in which businesses can risk capital for a reasonable return on that capital (the fundamental basis of capitalism). They want - plan - to make a profit, otherwise, why bother? But they are not entitled to make a profit. If they were, everyone would be in business.

As Kenny Rogers sang, "Know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em". There is no entitlement. 

[At Sea At Peace]

It is what it is.  Times are tough.  Cost cutting is in place, not well received and prices will certainly have to go up.  And it will still be really tough.

 

 

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

6 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Neither RCI nor any other business "is entitled to make a profit". The constant business equation is weighing up risk (and it's cost) versus profit (and its benefit). It's the responsibility of governments to provide an environment (taxes, infrastructure, etc) in which businesses can risk capital for a reasonable return on that capital (the fundamental basis of capitalism). They want - plan - to make a profit, otherwise, why bother? But they are not entitled to make a profit. If they were, everyone would be in business.

As Kenny Rogers sang, "Know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em". There is no entitlement. 

 

No argument about your post from myself. These snippets are statements you will read over and over to justify higher prices on CC with once-a-day room service and reduced MDR food availability (compared to cruises of less than five years ago).

 

I have three cruises booked for this year at very reasonable prices. All of them are now being sold for 100% to 110% more than I booked them.  I have to wait and see how they go. I would not expect to pay 100% more than pre-pandemic prices and see service and meal quality deteriorate.

[LuCruise]

Haven't tried the new menus yet, but I think it will be fine.  We enjoy the MDR and although less selection (and DH and I don't eat meat so we are limited without the classics), I don't think we'll have an issue.  Kids always have the kids menu.

 

For pricing, yes it's getting quite pricey and things that used to be included are no longer, but everything is going up in cost.  It's not just cruises.  And for us, cruising is our special family time, which is true for any vacation but we really enjoy cruising.  The flights too are going up so a different cruise line won't help with that.

 

For Royal...this is where the loyalty program wins.  We've been on Royal for the past while and so close to Diamond...so we will stick with Royal to get there.  Then when we reach it, the 4 free drinks a day is huge.  Sure, we can book something else for cheaper and spend the difference on drinks, but we like Royal.  Sometimes I think we should try something different to see what it's like...but then, when you are paying that much money and only travelling 1 or 2 times per year, we want to be sure we'll be happy with our choice.  I can see in the future trying Celebrity though, but from what I understand, it won't be any cost savings.  DH and I both work hard .  We aren't big spenders aside from life things (house, kids stating university, etc) and our extra money goes to travel.

 

So to answer OPs post, no for us.

Edited February 7, 2023 by LuCruise

[BirdTravels]

On 2/5/2023 at 3:34 PM, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

Hubby and I have always loved Royal.  It was perfect for us.  Just like other cruise lines, they seem to be cutting corners all over and lowering the quality of food.  It has hubby and I considering changing to another more expensive (or less expensive) line to get more value and a better experience? The MDR menu changes really have me concerned.  Anyone else?

I think that the easiest answer is that Royal is Just Like Other Cruise Lines.  

 

More specifically, Royal is Just Like the Rest of the World. 

 

Royal is playing catch-up in the cruise industry. They are just acknowledging that they need to cater to the contemporary cruiser... not the long time cruiser who has always loved Royal.

 

The contemporary cruiser are those millennials that will sustain the business for the decades to come. Us old folks which includes The Birds, will sail regardless of what the cruise line does. And, we love that Royal has finally realized that they need to evolve or becoming extinct like the dinosaurs.  They need to cater to the young families and not the Panicles. Provide themed contemporary MDR menus versus the same old thing with items that consistently end up down the grinder night after night because only a few order them. 

 

Personally, we embrace change. That is what we expect on land and at sea. Royal still tries to hang on to vestiges of an unwanted past like Formal Nights. Fewer and fewer and fewer still want that. More and more are looking for 80's theme nights and dance parties (not ballroom dancing). We gave up packing dinner dresses and heels and DH's tuxes long, long ago. And are very happy. 

 

Royal is a business and will not survive if they try to keep doing the same 'ole thing at the same 'ole price. They are just like every other business in the world, trying to recover from a unprecedented pandemic, government-imposed closure, evasive government regulations that did harm to their industry, pervasive supply chain issues, government-sanctioned price gouging, and worldwide labor shortages. Have you been to the grocery store lately? Do they sell the same 'ole thing, the same 'ole way, at the same 'ole price? I was just there and the dozen eggs that used to cost me $0.79 now costs nearly $5.00. Those are the same eggs that the ship gives away free by the ten's of thousands every day. But,,, you don't expect them to raise their prices due to operating costs. You think that they are being unfair when they raise their prices or try to be more efficient? 

 

You can go to any forum on Cruise Critic and see the exact same complaints. Higher prices, different approaches to MDR menus. More efficient service approaches. 

 

The grass is not greener on the other cruise lines. If you have always loved Royal, then book a cruise and support them. Paying less on Carnival is not a wining solution. And paying more on Cunard will leave you longing for a the days on Royal. 

[aubreyc1988]

4 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

There are multiple postings about how a three-night package makes sense on smaller ships that only have one or two special dining options. Eating in the same restaurant every night tends to defeat the purpose of trying different meals (almost like MDR for extra money).

 

I would most likely use this option on one cruise before expanding it to an unlimited package.

 

Actually, after purchasing the three day package in Sept on Liberty after not sailing RCI for a while, I was very disappointed in the specialty dining. I did Chops, Giovanni's and Sabor and I felt like it was the same quality of the MDR. Nothing wrong to me with the quality of the MDR, but why pay when the quality is mostly similar. So I will not be purchasing the specialty package on my upcoming Royal Cruises, but I am going to do Playmakers once because I haven't tried it and it's ala carte. I might do the specialty dining package with Royal again if the price was right, but at 250-300.00 pp, not the right fit for me. Food is subjective though, many people couldn't believe I didn't like Royal's specialty dining.