Ask Royal Caribbean Group’s CEO: Call for Questions for Jason Liberty

[ValerieJo]

Why are you destroying a perfectly good cruise line?  The menu’s, the food, the services and the cuts are making me and many others look at other lines (after 25 cruises on Royal).  What was once a proud line is turning into a junk line.  Can we have Mr. Fain back?

Edited March 3, 2023 by ValerieJo

[resetjet]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

For the ships that need them, booking shows can now be done about a month out in the planner/app.

Well thats exactly the problem.  If you book day 1 you can book every show you want,  7 shows!!!  If you try to book day 2 there is nothing available,  not a single show.  This has happened to me twice.  Why not let everyone book 2 shows and the rest on board????

[Peachestravels]

Could you add more things for handicapped people. Hot tubs are hard to get in to. Not enough seats at shows, limited spots. Special elevators since noone is kind to those with special needs. Sensory tables and rooms for adhd and autistic children. You would be surprised as to how many cruise. Please take them into consideration. Flavored water. 

[Biker19]

19 minutes ago, resetjet said:

Why not let everyone book 2 shows and the rest on board?

Whatever problem you have is more likely an RCI IT issue (which the CEO wouldn't address nor fix) rather than policy issue. Also, other than the small comedy venue on O class ships, it would usually be rare that you couldn't just walk into any show (at 15 min out) without any booking at all.

[resetjet]

26 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Whatever problem you have is more likely an RCI IT issue (which the CEO wouldn't address nor fix) rather than policy issue. Also, other than the small comedy venue on O class ships, it would usually be rare that you couldn't just walk into any show (at 15 min out) without any booking at all.

Its not an IT issue.  Its policy.  The policy is you can book shows in advance at some changing date on oasis class ships.  If you get on day 1, you can book as many as you like.  Day 2 they are all sold out.  Now I realize there are more to book on board, but the guy who got on day 1, most likely booked every show he wanted.  You are wrong about walking on, because we experienced the exact same thing on the last oasis cruise.  At that time we didn't know to book as soon as you get on.  By the time we looked they were all sold out again.  We then did standby and were turned away at least half of the time.  The ones we got into, the seats were awful.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, resetjet said:

We then did standby and were turned away at least half of the time.

Again, that is likely rare (if you attempt all shows) and you sometimes have alternatives like watching the aqua show from the deck 7 rock climbing area. BTW, the same thing (show "sold out" in the app) could have happened before when booking could only be done on board - the early bird gets the warm.

[resetjet]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Again, that is likely rare (if you attempt all shows) and you sometimes have alternatives like watching the aqua show from the deck 7 rock climbing area. BTW, the same thing (show "sold out" in the app) could have happened before when booking could only be done on board - the early bird gets the warm.

Its not rare on an oasis fully booked ship. Its every time.  Getting back to my original comment for Royal to consider, why not allow everyone to book two shows in advance.  Then whatever happens on board happens.  Why should the early bird who gets on the internet every morning to see if there is a worm to be had, get all the worms.  Why should they be able to book unlimited shows while I get nothing because the website says you can only book 30 days in advance, and it opened up on the first day of the month prior. There is no set time that they open up.  Read my post in Feb about the wonder shows fully booked 29 days in advance, maybe that will shed some more light.

[Biker19]

18 minutes ago, resetjet said:

It's not rare on an oasis fully booked ship. Its every time. 

The chances of you not being able to get into one Cats show on Oasis (even when she's fully booked) are probably about the same as full ship masking making a coming back. Again, what you have experienced is likely the outlier - most reports here is that most folks can walk into most shows (other than the small comedy venue) most of the time on most ships without a booking.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Biker19

[resetjet]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

The chances of you not being able to get into one Cats show on Oasis (even when she's fully booked) are probably about the same as full ship masking making a coming back. Again, what you have experienced is likely the outlier - most reports here is that most folks can walk into most shows (other than the small comedy venue) most of the time on most ships without a booking.

Well you could not pay me to see cats.  

[jetlag69]

On 2/22/2023 at 12:37 PM, sgmn said:

Maybe in USA/Canada which has more of a tipping culture. In the rest of the world its not so readily understood that its part of the basic wages so more people will opt out and tip as they go.  Some parts of the world its already included in the basic fare

So they have already addressed it in the markets where it is an issue!

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, jetlag69 said:

So they have already addressed it in the markets where it is an issue!

Some parts of the world, I believe in Australia for instance.  Not in the UK or mainland Europe 

Edited March 4, 2023 by sgmn

[CCAubs]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:17 AM, Jbluebird said:

Will there be any responses to the above questions/concerns so cruisers know they've been read?

We'll be presenting as many questions as possible to the panel, and will be sure to share our coverage of the event here!

[OdieCarol]

Could there please be some “adult only” venues on the ships?  It’s so annoying that you can’t go to bars, specialty restaurants or anywhere that you arent dodging strollers and children running and screaming.  The solarium that’s supposed to be adults only is never enforced, the Diamond and up lounges are hosting crying babies, toddlers running in front of waiters and more. There are many areas for families and children - so it would seem reasonable that some nice adult only areas could be available. 

 

 

[sgmn]

What feedback have they had from passengers and crew about the new menus 

[pinkhatlady]

Is the reduction in quality due to the lack of crew? We did back to back in December and on the first 9 days, I learned 80% of the crew were new. Assistant waiters are being promoted after 3 months. Crew are telling us if we don’t rate them high they don’t get a day off. No wonder food and service is not up to your usual standard. Maybe limiting the number of ships sailing until you get your hiring up to par. Why don’t you pay your crew well? They work so hard. Perhaps that is why they didn’t return after covid. Our room steward told us he only gets tips for his wages and most of that goes to the dining room.

In addition, I should not have to wait on the phone over an hour to reach the call center. Please provide more detailed descriptions of shore excursions especially travel time.

why are their adult games in the pool area that children use (sexiest man competition)?

 

Why can’t I have an issue taken care of or be compensate sooner than later? Don’t make me stand in line to report the same issue every day especially when you know you can’t solve the problem.

Why are your itineraries stagnant ex. Galveston goes so few places?

 

i feel like I book a cruise then I am nickeled and dimed at every turn. By the time it is all said and done the price of my room is often double what I thought it would cost. Why not add those things in the price?

 

On the last cruise in Dec. 1/2 of those at at a table of 8 said they won’t sail with RCI again! You won’t be in business long if you don’t get your act together! 

[Boz575]

Do you believe Royal Caribbean is maximizing CoCo Cay paid excursion revenue? For example, when two ships are visiting CoCo Cay with the same arrival time on the same date, why are the paid excursions (cabanas, jet-ski, Up Up Away etc) not available for sale to passengers on both ships at the same time? For example, my ship, Oasis, visits the same day in July 2023 as Independence. Jet Ski, Up Up & Away, zipline are not and have not ever been available for sale on my planner. However, my friend sailing on Independence has them loaded to their planner. There are spots available to purchase but because I am on Oasis, they are unavailable to me at this time. Same with cabanas. They all show sold out for Oasis but many are available for purchase by Independence passengers. I called Shorex and was told none of these paid excursions are available. It is frustrating when I am trying to purchase something that is clearly available but withheld for sale to Oasis passengers. To Royal’s credit, they do provide a great deal of free options for passengers to enjoy if the company cannot or will not sell the priced excursions. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Boz575

[yogimax]

Diamond Plus is the most overlooked status and the status most taken for granted.  The double point promotion and ease in qualifying made Diamond relaatively easy to attain and has devalued the importance of the Diamond Lounge.  In addition, access to the Concierge Lounge has been taken away from D+.

 

YET, There is such a large gap between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle that there needs to be an additional level added between D+ and Pinnacle with SIGNIFICANT benefits.  This has been discussed for years.  Why hasn't it been implemented?

[Tomnsgirl]

On 2/15/2023 at 10:13 PM, coordinator23 said:

I felt the new menu needs to reviewed and tweaked.  I was very disappointed in the menu selections on my VOS cruise the end of January. Promenade Cafe had little to offer besides substandard pizza.  Windjammer was hit or miss (mainly miss).  MDR choices were substandard. 
On land, if you don’t like a restaurant, you are not trapped like you are on a ship. I must say Chops was amazing, as usual, however I can get the same meal in the Chicago market for the same price or lower.  
I have another cruise planned in June.  I hope some changes will be made by then. (Btw I could care less about the lobster -I am allergic, however it is a hot topic.)

We just sailed on VOS 2/27-3/10/23-Food is horrible.

[Dwarfbunny]

Are there any plans for new smaller ships? The Oasis and Quantum class ships are becoming hard to navigate as we get older, we don't use many of the activities they offer for the same reason, and sometimes it's just nice to go out of a smaller port such as Baltimore, Tampa, or Quebec, places the larger  ships can't sail in and out of. Plus, because of their age, I would think the older ships (Grandeur, Vision, etc) would be more expensive to operate and maintain than a brand new LNG version would be.

[shannon_far_from_home]

On 2/19/2023 at 11:56 AM, RoperDK said:

Could you add some variety to itineraries in the Caribbean?  A different port stop here or there would be a welcomed change. Would love to do a partial Panama Canal voyage roundtrip from a Florida port.  

Especially for Galveston.If yall add more itineraries for Galveston;yall could add another ship there and still sale full.

[shannon_far_from_home]

My number one thing I would address if I was him is their web-site...It is horrible and hard to even find a price for a cruise if doing a mock booking and that should be super-easy.This might even discourage some from booking.My question for him would be could they add more mostly different itineraries for Galveston?They now all go to the same places,If he did this they could fill up another ship there!

Edited March 19, 2023 by shannon_far_from_home

[sgmn]

Would love a ship year round in the Med, maybe based in Barcelona or Lisbon to the Canaries and Maderia over winter.

Other lines are doing this 

[kruzerci]

You are destroying this cruise line. How can you justify the abysmal food and service now present on your ships? 

[Mikew0805]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:10 PM, The Sunset Glow said:

What is the plan for the non-smoking casinos? I would love to see non-smoking casinos but I hope the plan on Oasis class ships is not to add a small non-smoking casino in the Jazz on 4 space and then make the the entire current casino smoking. If anything, it should be the other way around.

 

As a minimum keep the non-smoking side as is even if you add a separate non-smoking room. I don't see how the small space for the new non-smoking casino will allow for enough variety and quantity of slot machines - currently, on the non-smoking side of Oasis class ships, I still have problems finding a slot machine open that I wish to play during busy times. Please don't confine us to one small, separate room at the back as it will probably not be sucessful, nor a true test to see if non-smoking casinos are viable.

There is still going to be the same non-smoking side in the main casino. The second room is just that, a second option that is non smoking as well. 

[roupa]

The APP !  Always ON THE APP!   Grrr!!  I I don’t carry my phone 24/7. I want to disconnect on vaca!   Hate to worry about leaving it behind somewhere, getting it wet or stolen, low battery, low signal….

Please let me have the “dailies “ !