New Suite Deposits Effective June 1, 2023

[orville99]

9 hours ago, firefly333 said:

12 GS suites sounds costly to me, one a year or not. I saw someone mention JS on adventure approaching $5k. .. and GS even more costly. I'm not sure what a average cost is for them right now. Could also cost over 100k for 12 GS suites. 

We currently have 16 GS booked on Adventure through April 2025, and the average cost of those 16 cruises including taxes, fees, and travel insurance is $5,045/cruise

[orville99]

Duplicate post

Edited May 25, 2023 by orville99

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

Minor increases.  most bands went up by $10.  Some did not go up and a couple went up by $20.  The ones that did not change or went up by $20 were above $5000 pp cruise fare.

 

Pretty reasonable increases after 4 or 5 years with no increase.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[Jerseygirl1416]

12 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Originally there were no Suite Lounges.  There were Concierge Clubs and those clubs have long blended suite guests with loyalty guests.  

 

Royal will continue to adapt and adjust policy.  That is inevitable as ships, suites and tier level numbers change.    

 

At the moment Royal still appreciates the many long time cruisers some of which have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, far greater spend than someone who books a dozen GS over 12 years.  Neither extreme represents all cruisers completely and only Royal knows how best to respect both groups.

 

At the moment it is what Royal wants it to be.  Their ship, their rules.

 

Yes and my money my decision. 

[twangster]

13 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Yes and my money my decision. 

 

Yes.  More room for us too.   

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royals travel insurance makes absolutely zero sense to purchase for the deposits for a number of reasons.

 

Royals travel insurance is paid at final.  While it could be purchased ahead of time it is based on the entire cruise fare.  Their is no option to insure only a portion of your trip.

 

Take a $20,000 suite (after taxes)  the deposit is therefore $2,000.  The premium for the insurance is $999 per person.  Pretty sure that most can see that is not a winning proposition.

 

You can find other insurance providers where you can cover the deposit only and then increase the amount when you make final but tat option is not available with Royals insurance.

Yep, I haven't purchased any Cruise Line sold/provided travel protection coverage since I was a baby cruiser.  I purchase my travel protection from my TA, whomever that may be in the future. I've actually got a couple of quotes from an insurance sales entity that, I believe, advertises here in C.C., and is in the running.  My next cruise is Jan 2024, so far.  3 couples are on this booking and we are having a conference call (one couple in Texas, one in Indiana, and one in Alabama) today to decide what travel protection we want to purchase and then make the call to purchase it.  To be honest, it's like hurting kittens to get something done like this, everyone has their own preferences and budgets.  Right now it looks like we are going to be going with the TA-offered travel protection, though. 

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Let's use real numbers.

 

My first cruise on Royal was in an Oasis loft suite.  I was pre-gold so I had no CAS discounts or other crazy rates to leverage.  The website rate for a fall school break cruise was $5,936 for two guests.  My cabin mate was a school teacher so we had to cruise that specific week with no ability to shop weeks for the lowest rate.  

 

My second Royal cruise was a year later in an Allure loft suite on another ship at $5,529 for two guests as a gold member so no CAS discounts.

 

My 3rd cruise in a Harmony GS a year later was $4,218 for two guests as a gold member so no CAS discounts.  

 

All were sky class so I got to use the SL and CK.  We had no issues getting seats. 

 

On my first cruise I met a Pinnacle member named Bill who explained the whole CAS to me.  Pretty cool I thought but I'll never be able to reach 700.  Bill was also on my 3rd cruise and he used his Pinnacle influence to get some Guinness in the SL.  He had lunch with the FBM he told me, and that night Guinness appeared in the SL.  Nice guy and I appreciated having Guinness in the SL.  Before that it was only basic beers in the SL.

 

My average spend across the three cruises was $5,224 per cruise for sky class.  I wasn't a casino player, no CAS discounts, no weird super secret TA deals.  Newbie booking cruises on the website.  

 

Twelve cruises times $5,224 each equals $63k in spend.  That's a fraction of what most Pinnacle Club members have contributed to get where they are.  That's real word spend. Not some imaginary most or least expensive suite with casino discounts or GGG or CAS balcony rate.  Those are actual numbers for a never cruised Royal newbie booking on the website.  

 

I'm not using the lowest GS rate ($4,218) to come up with that $63k spend.  That would only be $50k.  I'm using my real spend across L1 and GS rates averaged over 3 years of cruises.  

 

I stand by my statement, someone booking sky class once per year using website rates pales in comparison to the spend of a Pinnacle member.    

 

 

That $ amount is most likely similar to our spend over 50 Royal cruises in various cabins from JS to insides that we pick. Just for comparison... not arguing your point. (Some were last minute bargains no longer available. )

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, BND said:

I saw a post on FB yesterday with a chart showing the new rates.   We buy an annual policy through Allianz.  It covers more than RCI's does.

I think that is exactly where my wife got the Info yesterday.  

I've looked into the Annual Policies and decided against them.  Why?  Well, the companies I looked into stated that the limits are for the entire year.  In other words, if you have a 100K limit on "emergency evacuation/repatriation" expenses, and you use, say, 70K getting home early in the policy term, then you only have 30K left for the rest year or have to purchase another whole or partial policy.  Since I rarely cruise more than once a year, and my other travels are usually done by car and I don't book hotels in advance unless they have a cancelation of 0 up to 24 hours before, and the annual policy doesn't seem to be my best option.  There are more reasons, just the easiest to explain.  Everybody else's Mileage May Vary.  

[Jerseygirl1416]

58 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Yes.  More room for us too.   

That’s a mature response 🙄

[Pratique]

Putting aside that this thread has been hijacked by a discussion about "spend", a show of hands from everyone who cares what other people are spending.

 

When I am flying, I do not care how much other passengers paid for their seats. I do get annoyed when the gold/bronze/platinum passengers get to board ahead of me, and that is not any incentive for me to spend more with the airline to earn that benefit.

 

At the end of the day, I evaluate the value for my money. If I see my CK server doting over a Pinnacle at the cost of ignoring us (it has happened more than once), I am not happy and I do not think "well, they earned it." Instead, I think, "all things considered, is this cruise vacation worth the cost to me." And at some point, I will probably say "not any more" and move on to something else.

 

Loyalty is absurd from a customer's viewpoint because the perks are always getting diluted. Always and without fail.

[Ret MP]

12 minutes ago, Pratique said:

Putting aside that this thread has been hijacked by a discussion about "spend", a show of hands from everyone who cares what other people are spending.

 

When I am flying, I do not care how much other passengers paid for their seats. I do get annoyed when the gold/bronze/platinum passengers get to board ahead of me, and that is not any incentive for me to spend more with the airline to earn that benefit.

 

At the end of the day, I evaluate the value for my money. If I see my CK server doting over a Pinnacle at the cost of ignoring us (it has happened more than once), I am not happy and I do not think "well, they earned it." Instead, I think, "all things considered, is this cruise vacation worth the cost to me." And at some point, I will probably say "not any more" and move on to something else.

 

Loyalty is absurd from a customer's viewpoint because the perks are always getting diluted. Always and without fail.

Well, thank you for continuing the tradition of "Hijacking" this thread.  And I appreciate the fact that this is a discussion board and I do care what others do or don't do while cruising and the process leading up to the cruise, the cruise, and post cruise.  It's not only a discussion, but educational.  Otherwise, why the hell do we need a social media site like this one?  And I do earn my status by earning the money to pay for that status, something I work hard for.  I am not a "class envy" type of person.  I do work to upgrade my status though.  I like the perks and luxuries that I've worked for.   My only thought, when I see someone that is receiving a perk or luxury that I don't qualify for is, "I can't wait to achieve that perk or luxury" or "I need to work harder to get to that status".  

 

NOTE:  I do not ask for personal information like how much they paid for the cruise or airline ticket.  But, if they are offering the information, I'm willing to listen and learn.  If they paid much less than I did, I want to learn how they did it.  If they get more perks/luxuries than I do, I want to know how I can get them.  My thought isn't defaulted to, look at those a----- over there getting all the attention.  

[Pratique]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Well, thank you for continuing the tradition of "Hijacking" this thread.  And I appreciate the fact that this is a discussion board and I do care what others do or don't do while cruising and the process leading up to the cruise, the cruise, and post cruise.  It's not only a discussion, but educational.  Otherwise, why the hell do we need a social media site like this one?  And I do earn my status by earning the money to pay for that status, something I work hard for.  I am not a "class envy" type of person.  I do work to upgrade my status though.  I like the perks and luxuries that I've worked for.   My only thought, when I see someone that is receiving a perk or luxury that I don't qualify for is, "I can't wait to achieve that perk or luxury" or "I need to work harder to get to that status".  

 

NOTE:  I do not ask for personal information like how much they paid for the cruise or airline ticket.  But, if they are offering the information, I'm willing to listen and learn.  If they paid much less than I did, I want to learn how they did it.  If they get more perks/luxuries than I do, I want to know how I can get them.  My thought isn't defaulted to, look at those a----- over there getting all the attention.  

I appreciate what you are saying and I don't begrudge you for seeking the benefits. However, you say you are not a class envy type of person and then immediately describe yourself as a class envy type of person. I have learned through experience that chasing benefits is a fool's errand. I have spent a lot of money to achieve a benefit just to see the benefit watered down or eliminated - or granted to others who have spent less than I did under some special promotion - leaving myself to ask whether it was worth chasing the benefit in the first place. I am at a certain tier on one airline that affords me complimentary upgrades when available. But the upgrade is only available maybe once out of every eight or 10 flights, so the benefit is not worth much. It's nice when I get it but I don't choose to fly this airline over another for that benefit because it is not valuable. Not worth chasing.

 

Royal Caribbean calls the lounge for suite guests the "suite lounge," which implies it is exclusive to suite guests, but it is not. They should call it something else. But whatever they call it, it is a watered down benefit to me. I will enjoy it if and when I can, but I don't book a suite for the lounge benefit. I book it for the suite, because that has value to me. I can stew about the overcrowding the lounge but it is not something worth wasting too much energy on. If other people are getting better benefits than me, for whatever reason, so be it. The perks are supposed to be above and beyond the core product. The core product for a suite guest includes access to the suite lounge but it is a perk for the lounge to be exclusive to suite guests.

 

And going back to the topic, the deposits for most suites above JS will now be higher. What I get out of that deal is a big fat zero. It is not for my benefit at all. Royal will charge whatever the market will bear for the cabin, and people will still cancel at the last minute regardless of how high the deposit is. The real way to curb this practice is to make the entire fare due at booking and non-refundable. We may think that is a crazy idea but I don't think it is. When they reduced housekeeping in the main cabins to once a day, lots of people came here to rationalize that the second visit was not worth anything to them or that it somehow keeps fares lower. So if someday suites become due in full on the day of booking and non-refundable, someone will come here to rationalize how that is just fine with them too.

[kirtihk]

4 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I appreciate what you are saying and I don't begrudge you for seeking the benefits. However, you say you are not a class envy type of person and then immediately describe yourself as a class envy type of person. I have learned through experience that chasing benefits is a fool's errand. I have spent a lot of money to achieve a benefit just to see the benefit watered down or eliminated - or granted to others who have spent less than I did under some special promotion - leaving myself to ask whether it was worth chasing the benefit in the first place. I am at a certain tier on one airline that affords me complimentary upgrades when available. But the upgrade is only available maybe once out of every eight or 10 flights, so the benefit is not worth much. It's nice when I get it but I don't choose to fly this airline over another for that benefit because it is not valuable. Not worth chasing.

 

Royal Caribbean calls the lounge for suite guests the "suite lounge," which implies it is exclusive to suite guests, but it is not. They should call it something else. But whatever they call it, it is a watered down benefit to me. I will enjoy it if and when I can, but I don't book a suite for the lounge benefit. I book it for the suite, because that has value to me. I can stew about the overcrowding the lounge but it is not something worth wasting too much energy on. If other people are getting better benefits than me, for whatever reason, so be it. The perks are supposed to be above and beyond the core product. The core product for a suite guest includes access to the suite lounge but it is a perk for the lounge to be exclusive to suite guests.

 

And going back to the topic, the deposits for most suites above JS will now be higher. What I get out of that deal is a big fat zero. It is not for my benefit at all. Royal will charge whatever the market will bear for the cabin, and people will still cancel at the last minute regardless of how high the deposit is. The real way to curb this practice is to make the entire fare due at booking and non-refundable. We may think that is a crazy idea but I don't think it is. When they reduced housekeeping in the main cabins to once a day, lots of people came here to rationalize that the second visit was not worth anything to them or that it somehow keeps fares lower. So if someday suites become due in full on the day of booking and non-refundable, someone will come here to rationalize how that is just fine with them too.

Please don't ruin a person's imagination.  We are all fool one way or another: for example, we've been paying $550 annually for years for Chase Preferred credit card for have the airport lounges access through the "Priority Pass".  Lately, it became almost useless, because the majority lounges don't accept it anymore (especially, in US).  So, again, let one enjoy a foolish sense of being in an elite (exceptional) "Noble" group.

[Cigar King]

15 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

But like the total number of Pinnacles, there is no way to verify or even begin to guess if that is accurate.

While I agree that the accuracy is a question, one important difference is that you need to earn Masters every year.  Last year the totals for the casino tiers reflected the lowered rates they had with Covid.  Pinnacle is permanent.  

[Pratique]

4 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

Please don't ruin a person's imagination.  We are all fool one way or another: for example, we've been paying $550 annually for years for Chase Preferred credit card for have the airport lounges access through the "Priority Pass".  Lately, it became almost useless, because the majority lounges don't accept it anymore (especially, in US).  So, again, let one enjoy a foolish sense of being in an elite (exceptional) "Noble" group.

I will be the first to admit to having been fooled. Once I was chasing a benefit for free burritos. I had to eat a lot of burritos. But the free ones were especially enjoyable. Until the company realized that they were giving out too much free food. It was nice while it lasted.

[jules815]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:17 PM, ShazM said:

Reminds me of a Pinnacle on Explorer a few years ago, he was European. Sitting in the suite seats at the pool in his Speedo's and t-shirt with his nametag on it. The only problem I had with him was when myself and the husband unhooked the rope to go in he wanted to see our sea passes and kept saying "Suites and Pinnacles only" so I pulled out my seapass and showed him it was gold and then he shut up. Pain in the butt.🙄

We sail in suites with RC and if another passenger was asking to see my card like they were security or something, there's absolutely NO WAY I'd show them my card.

[kirtihk]

7 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I will be the first to admit to having been fooled. Once I was chasing a benefit for free burritos. I had to eat a lot of burritos. But the free ones were especially enjoyable. Until the company realized that they were giving out too much free food. It was nice while it lasted.

At least, they (not the burritos company) don't blame you as a "cow" contributing to global warming (or climate change, or whatever the current tag of this hunt is).

Edited May 25, 2023 by kirtihk

[Ocean Boy]

27 minutes ago, Pratique said:

 So if someday suites become due in full on the day of booking and non-refundable, someone will come here to rationalize how that is just fine with them too.

You are so correct about that. It has happened over and over again in the past. Anytime RCI had introduced a charge, or raised a fee, for things that used to be included in the cruise fare people there are always people, without fail, who will rationalize it away on these boards. The CEOs of the cruise lines must sleep well at night knowing the mentality of their customers.

[Ocean Boy]

12 minutes ago, jules815 said:

We sail in suites with RC and if another passenger was asking to see my card like they were security or something, there's absolutely NO WAY I'd show them my card.

Nor would I be showing them my card but I'd have some very choice words for them. Reminds me of the people who post on this site who spend their time watching what others are doing when they go to guest services. People need to mind their own business.

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

You are so correct about that. It has happened over and over again in the past. Anytime RCI had introduced a charge, or raised a fee, for things that used to be included in the cruise fare people there are always people, without fail, who will rationalize it away on these boards. The CEOs of the cruise lines must sleep well at night knowing the mentality of their customers.

Yes, and I think this is a natural human condition.

 

I worked at Walt Disney World in the 90s and 2000s. Back in the 90s just before Christmas they would close the Magic Kingdom to day guests at 6:00 pm and then reopen it exclusively for employees and their families. At first they did this for three nights to accommodate everyone, then reduced it to one night, and then eventually to zero nights. Instead, they gave out passes so the employees and their families could visit the parks with the day guests. Then they started putting date restrictions on the passes so they could only be used during the "off-season." As the years went by, the perks disappeared and each time there were complaints followed by acceptance and rationalization. Win for the company, loss for the employees, but life goes on and memories are short.

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

I appreciate what you are saying and I don't begrudge you for seeking the benefits. However, you say you are not a class envy type of person and then immediately describe yourself as a class envy type of person. I have learned through experience that chasing benefits is a fool's errand. I have spent a lot of money to achieve a benefit just to see the benefit watered down or eliminated - or granted to others who have spent less than I did under some special promotion - leaving myself to ask whether it was worth chasing the benefit in the first place. I am at a certain tier on one airline that affords me complimentary upgrades when available. But the upgrade is only available maybe once out of every eight or 10 flights, so the benefit is not worth much. It's nice when I get it but I don't choose to fly this airline over another for that benefit because it is not valuable. Not worth chasing.

 

Royal Caribbean calls the lounge for suite guests the "suite lounge," which implies it is exclusive to suite guests, but it is not. They should call it something else. But whatever they call it, it is a watered down benefit to me. I will enjoy it if and when I can, but I don't book a suite for the lounge benefit. I book it for the suite, because that has value to me. I can stew about the overcrowding the lounge but it is not something worth wasting too much energy on. If other people are getting better benefits than me, for whatever reason, so be it. The perks are supposed to be above and beyond the core product. The core product for a suite guest includes access to the suite lounge but it is a perk for the lounge to be exclusive to suite guests.

 

And going back to the topic, the deposits for most suites above JS will now be higher. What I get out of that deal is a big fat zero. It is not for my benefit at all. Royal will charge whatever the market will bear for the cabin, and people will still cancel at the last minute regardless of how high the deposit is. The real way to curb this practice is to make the entire fare due at booking and non-refundable. We may think that is a crazy idea but I don't think it is. When they reduced housekeeping in the main cabins to once a day, lots of people came here to rationalize that the second visit was not worth anything to them or that it somehow keeps fares lower. So if someday suites become due in full on the day of booking and non-refundable, someone will come here to rationalize how that is just fine with them too.

Apparently, you didn't read the post that I wrote or we have entirely different meanings of "ENVY".  I do not have, "A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another".  No, what I see is a goal, a challenge, a desire to achieve.  But, I don't hold any discontent or resentment for those that have what I don't, period.

 

I have sailed Star Class a number of times.  I feel that I received exactly what I expected and paid for.  It doesn't have to be a physical,  hold in my hand, or even a financial benefit for me to consider what I want and to be satisfied with it.  I guess you require a physical, financial, or hold in your hand for it to be a benefit or status for you.  Not me!  People drive Bentleys but could do well with a Prius.  I guess that Bentley was a fool's errand, eh.  I bet not to the Bentley owner and I don't hold any discontent or resentment towards the Bentley owner but I would like to be able to afford one, one day.  But, it's too late, I'll never be able to unless I win the lottery.  

 

I do have a small problem with watered-down benefits, no doubt.  However, I don't go into social media sites and say that some people that purchase a suite, and "chase benefits", are on a fool's errand or anything like that. IT'S A PERSONAL PREFERENCE/CHOICE,  not yours.  But, I have never been in the SL or CK and it was crowded, so far, that is not an issue for me.  ALSO, I haven't gone into purchasing a Suite without knowing that the suite lounge is utilized by Pinnaclesd, et al, it was not/is not a surprise to me.  Why?  Because I try to be an informed consumer.  Doesn't matter what they call it, I'm informed of it because I checked it out.  I have yet to be denied a benefit that I paid for or knew in advance that it could be omitted if conditions change.  I didn't get many things that I expected on my May 2022 Star Class cruise, early post-COVID but I expected it because we were just coming out of the COVID debacle.  

 

I don't care to address the last paragraph, in detail, of your post as you intended it to be.  We all have our own opinions of the deposit policy.  Mine is, I don't care, if I can afford it, I'll book, if not, I won't.  But, just as a side note, I have never canceled a cruise, RCCL has canceled one ON ME though.  So, don't punish me for something others do.  I like the current policy of the final payment date.  I don't want to pay in full upfront at the time of booking unless it is within the 90-day time frame, which I never do.

 

 

[twangster]

4 hours ago, Pratique said:

Putting aside that this thread has been hijacked by a discussion about "spend", a show of hands from everyone who cares what other people are spending.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Pratique said:

Yes, and I think this is a natural human condition.

 

I worked at Walt Disney World in the 90s and 2000s. Back in the 90s just before Christmas they would close the Magic Kingdom to day guests at 6:00 pm and then reopen it exclusively for employees and their families. At first they did this for three nights to accommodate everyone, then reduced it to one night, and then eventually to zero nights. Instead, they gave out passes so the employees and their families could visit the parks with the day guests. Then they started putting date restrictions on the passes so they could only be used during the "off-season." As the years went by, the perks disappeared and each time there were complaints followed by acceptance and rationalization. Win for the company, loss for the employees, but life goes on and memories are short.

 

Talk about getting off topic.  

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

You are so correct about that. It has happened over and over again in the past. Anytime RCI had introduced a charge, or raised a fee, for things that used to be included in the cruise fare people there are always people, without fail, who will rationalize it away on these boards. The CEOs of the cruise lines must sleep well at night knowing the mentality of their customers.

My last cruise was in a suite so I wasn't affected by the reduction to once a day house keeping however my next four are.  I'm not sure how I am going to respond to this reduction in service.  Typically I leave auto-grats in place and also tip the cabin attendant extra both on day 1 and the last night of the cruise.  I'm going to be hard pressed to continue that level of gratuity knowing I'm getting that much less service. If  gratuities decrease to the staff they will be hard pressed to keep or attract new staff.  

 

I don't think we have seen the end of this yet.  There is potentially a big down side to the cruise lines that they have yet to see.

[Pratique]

24 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

 

 

Talk about getting off topic.  

The horse has been out of the barn for about 10 pages now.

[Pratique]

56 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I guess you require a physical, financial, or hold in your hand for it to be a benefit or status for you.  Not me!

If a perk on a cruise isn't tangible, then in what way is it a benefit? If one of the perks is a free drink, then yes I expect to be able to hold the drink in my hand. If one of the perks is reserved seating at a show, then yes I expect to be able to sit in that seat.

 

Consider yourself fortunate that the CK and SL have never been so crowded for you to the point where there was nowhere to sit. I have not been so fortunate.