Things that make me sad about Royal.

[dunrobbin]

I came  to cruising late.

Hubby and I started cruising a couple of years ago, and love it, but it is changing as we watch.

Quality down and prices sky rocketing! 

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

I have read there was a time you could get double points, and we missed that to!

Pension age is 67 in Australia and I have 18 months to go on working .....

At 36 points, I think death will beat us to Diamond Status!  LOL

[Mick B]

Hi,

IIRC the double points was only for 2021 and 2022 to get folks back on ships after all the bad press.

 

You have 44 points left until you get to the 80 needed and don't forget to that you don't get Diamond status during any cruise you are on when you get to 80 points either, but the next.

If you want to get to Diamond quicker, then this can still be done by booking a Junior Suite or higher. I would advise making sure this is only on a ship where you get something extra like a Coastal Kitchen for your money though!

 

Another way to rack up some points cheaply is to try a TA as these are normally 12 to 15 nights and can be half the price of other shorter cruises. A JS on one of those could get you up to 30 points in one go.

 

The prices have gone up, but so have prices everywhere else too (and I doubt they will come back down by much) and as for quality, I can tell you that the food in the MDR on the Enchantment was OK earlier this month (with the new menus) and only things like shows/entertainers have really been a noticeable difference to us recently.

Having the room cleaned only once meant we could return to the cabin later and not find it being cleaned again, as we would keep it as clean as we could anyway.

 

Mick.

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Mick B

[firefly333]

30 minutes ago, dunrobbin said:

I came  to cruising late.

Hubby and I started cruising a couple of years ago, and love it, but it is changing as we watch.

Quality down and prices sky rocketing! 

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

I have read there was a time you could get double points, and we missed that to!

Pension age is 67 in Australia and I have 18 months to go on working .....

At 36 points, I think death will beat us to Diamond Status!  LOL

The double pts promo wasnt that long ago. It ended dec 30 2022, last dec. It had to be booked by the sept before, sept 2021. I got some double pts last year and some not. We wouldnt see those low prices for a long time. You were cruising last year? 

 

Covid low priced deals also spoiled some of us when we got extra low prices.  .now they are extra high. 15 years ago you got less and paid more. 

[George C]

We are diamond plus mainly because of suites , ten years ago suites were pretty cheap as long as it wasn’t on the newest ships . Diamond perks are really nice. Last rccl we had the double because of suites plus Covid extra points.

[Pratique]

Three cruises in a suite and you're there.

[poocher]

We lucked out on the double points promotion.  15 days total in suites - 60 points.  Gold to diamond in 2 cruises.

[neverbeenhere]

1 hour ago, dunrobbin said:

...

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

...

Yes, the cost of cruising has gone up over time. As have wages. (Hopefully)  While cruises have risen quite a bit recently, new massive ships are coming. We likely will see prices decline on older ships in the next two years.  Got to get pent up demand fulfilled

[orville99]

2 hours ago, dunrobbin said:

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

Our first cruise was a 7 night NYC to Bermuda back in 1981 in a cabin with a porthole and two single beds that were bolted to the floor. When adjusted for inflation that same cruise today would have cost us more than $10,000 in today’s dollars. We have a B3B (22 nights total) in a GS on Adventure booked for next July for ~$10,000 so I guess it is all relative.

Edited June 30, 2023 by orville99

[smokeybandit]

Didn't Australia recently have its own double points promo?

[Mick B]

I do worry a bit about those lovely smaller ships, some are coming to the end of their life as such and are likely to be sold off in a few years and if we only have the big ships left then what will the price be to stay on those and also importantly, where are they going to sail from and to if some of the ports we all love don't upgrade to allow them to dock. No new smaller ships are on the horizon (literally!).

 

I think in the past decade I have had some really good cruises at really good prices and talking to some other passengers, so have they. It may be that those days are now gone and the cruise lines are going to have to adjust their business model in order to turn profit, which is fair enough as long as we don't end up paying more for less. 

I have always believed that cruising should be for all of us and not just those fortunate few who are very well off, but looking at the amount of expensive suites that are popping up not just on new ships but are also being added to older ones too, I just hope cruising doesn't become something like it was 50 years ago.

 

Anyway I do believe for all the food and entertainment you get on a ship, it is still far cheaper than a land based holiday. It just gets better when you have those Diamond perks.

 

Mick.

 

[lovesthebeach2]

We had lots of cancelled cruises during the shutdown, so as soon as we could we used all the FCCs to cruise during the double points time frame. (Partly because the FCCs had an expiration date). Prices were better than they are now, but this is expected as prices are higher for everything.

 

 

[neverbeenhere]

Henry is getting very expensive. He is very cute, but come on the price is getting insane.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Love cruising. Love trying new ships and destinations. However a few things that have made me sad about royal and made me look elsewhere.

 

1, Royals prices have gone sky high. Yes so has a lot of things but other lines more competitive. Alrhough airfare prices ro the US and Europe have gone equally mad, esp in school holidays. 

2, Graturites, enough said on that. Its cultural for me. 

3, Cost of the extras, Royal is becoming Vegas at sea where your paying for everything and then grats on top of grats.

4, mislead deal pricing. Oh thats a good price and kids sail free, oh no they dont as the adult prices go up by the ammount the kids are orginally discounted. 

5, Lack of new itineraries. I like to see new destinations but royal do the same old routes.

 

However that said i do really enjoy royals new ships and some great customer service on the ships and great friendly staff. Ive got to the point where like i said if the ship and deal is good then i will try it, no matter what line it is. 

 

[shipgeeks]

Some random thoughts:

We've been cruising for 30 years. Never heard of double points.

Everything is much more expensive. Our groceries cost more than double what they did just a couple of years ago.

We cruise to be on a ship at sea, and to have some nice food, music, service, conversation with other passengers, and entertainment. All of that is still there. We rarely have an interest in other stuff such as specialty restaurants, souvenirs, excursions, shopping.

We sail only the small ships. On our last cruise, the Captain was asked if they will be sold off soon. He said No; there is still plenty of life left in them.

[LobsterStalker]

6 hours ago, dunrobbin said:

I came  to cruising late.

Hubby and I started cruising a couple of years ago, and love it, but it is changing as we watch.

Quality down and prices sky rocketing! 

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

I have read there was a time you could get double points, and we missed that to!

Pension age is 67 in Australia and I have 18 months to go on working .....

At 36 points, I think death will beat us to Diamond Status!  LOL

>>>Ouch

 

 

[LobsterStalker]

6 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

IIRC the double points was only for 2021 and 2022 to get folks back on ships after all the bad press.

 

You have 44 points left until you get to the 80 needed and don't forget to that you don't get Diamond status during any cruise you are on when you get to 80 points either, but the next.

If you want to get to Diamond quicker, then this can still be done by booking a Junior Suite or higher. I would advise making sure this is only on a ship where you get something extra like a Coastal Kitchen for your money though!

 

Another way to rack up some points cheaply is to try a TA as these are normally 12 to 15 nights and can be half the price of other shorter cruises. A JS on one of those could get you up to 30 points in one go.

 

The prices have gone up, but so have prices everywhere else too (and I doubt they will come back down by much) and as for quality, I can tell you that the food in the MDR on the Enchantment was OK earlier this month (with the new menus) and only things like shows/entertainers have really been a noticeable difference to us recently.

Having the room cleaned only once meant we could return to the cabin later and not find it being cleaned again, as we would keep it as clean as we could anyway.

 

Mick.

 

I believe the cruising public will determine this one !

 

Cheers 

[Tlbecker1]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Some random thoughts:

We've been cruising for 30 years. Never heard of double points.

Everything is much more expensive. 

They used to have double points for cruising in the month of December.  In 2021 we cruised with double points on many cruises. Double points now are earned if you book a JS or higher.

[cruisegirl1]

9 hours ago, dunrobbin said:

I came  to cruising late.

Hubby and I started cruising a couple of years ago, and love it, but it is changing as we watch.

Quality down and prices sky rocketing! 

Boy I wish we had been able to afford to cruise earlier!

I have read there was a time you could get double points, and we missed that to!

Pension age is 67 in Australia and I have 18 months to go on working .....

At 36 points, I think death will beat us to Diamond Status!  LOL

Simply enjoy it. Don’t cruise for points, cruise for enjoyment and memories. 
 

We started cruising in the mid 1980’s and have seen lots of changes, some good, some not so good.

 

m

 

 

[RB9643]

9 hours ago, dunrobbin said:

At 36 points, I think death will beat us to Diamond Status!  LOL

 

 

I feel your pain. We are so close to Platinum on NCL we can taste it.  However, we chose Royal for our Alaska cruise in August because it was better priced, different itinerary, and just seemed an overall better fit for us. Tier/Status is great, but we cruise for the love of cruising, not the points.

 

 

[Beagle5]

9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Didn't Australia recently have its own double points promo?

Yes, it was for cruises departing up to 1May this year booked prior to April 2021 (or 2022, I can’t remember).

We just did an 18 night transpacific in a Junior suite. Got our 72 points this week which bumps us from gold to diamond. Mind you I did have to email them three times to get them to honour the double points promo.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Beagle5

[RedIguana]

22 hours ago, Mick B said:

Another way to rack up some points cheaply is to try a TA as these are normally 12 to 15 nights and can be half the price of other shorter cruises. A JS on one of those could get you up to 30 points in one go.

Find a 15 night, or any combination thereof,  have one go solo in a JS and the other just grab the cheapest inside. They can still share the JS as far as sleeping and such, and one of the pair would make diamond (45 points), which due to being married, makes them both diamond. 

[ILCTCRUISER]

Back in 2015 we were on a NZ cruise out of Sydney.  Met quite a few Aussies and thoroughly enjoyed their company in the Explorer DL. One couple told us that they got to D status by taking four 10N cruises in a JS. At that time cruises out of Sydney were rather reasonably priced.  And many NZ and So Pacific cruises tend to be longer.

 

If you have the money and the desire to cruise, getting to D status doesn’t take all that long.  D status does provide some nice perks.

 

Cruising for points isn’t our thing.  We’re D+ with 400 some points but I know we weren’t booking RCL cruises simply to pile up points.  We’ve cruised Princess (Elite status), X, NCL and Regent.

 

What do you really get by moving from D to D+?  Two Hershey bars and a Coke.

 

Book for the itinerary, possibly for the ship, for warmer climates during the winter.  But points?  Nah.

 

Back on topic.  What would we enjoy if it were to happen with RCL?  No Coco cay.  No slides or other amusement park distractions.  Less nickel and dime-ing. Less horrendous techno-beat music on deck (it had disappeared but seems to have crept back).  Fewer ships on which you need to pack a lunch in order to walk bow to stern.  And, finally, here’s a pipe dream, consistency when it comes to enforcing rules.

 

Just edited to add one really important item:  MTD THAT IS REALLY MTD!  It’s done on other lines and handled very well without time restrictions or long, long lines.

Edited July 1, 2023 by ILCTCRUISER

[KroozNut]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:34 AM, Pratique said:

Three cruises in a suite and you're there.

And at that point you've definitely paid your 'dues' for that coveted status! 

Edited July 1, 2023 by KroozNut

[ink76]

7 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

Back in 2015 we were on a NZ cruise out of Sydney.  Met quite a few Aussies and thoroughly enjoyed their company in the Explorer DL. One couple told us that they got to D status by taking four 10N cruises in a JS. At that time cruises out of Sydney were rather reasonably priced.  And many NZ and So Pacific cruises tend to be longer.

 

If you have the money and the desire to cruise, getting to D status doesn’t take all that long.  D status does provide some nice perks.

 

Cruising for points isn’t our thing.  We’re D+ with 400 some points but I know we weren’t booking RCL cruises simply to pile up points.  We’ve cruised Princess (Elite status), X, NCL and Regent.

 

What do you really get by moving from D to D+?  Two Hershey bars and a Coke.

 

Book for the itinerary, possibly for the ship, for warmer climates during the winter.  But points?  Nah.

 

Back on topic.  What would we enjoy if it were to happen with RCL?  No Coco cay.  No slides or other amusement park distractions.  Less nickel and dime-ing. Less horrendous techno-beat music on deck (it had disappeared but seems to have crept back).  Fewer ships on which you need to pack a lunch in order to walk bow to stern.  And, finally, here’s a pipe dream, consistency when it comes to enforcing rules.

Yes I agree to ever thing you said but unfortunately I am not in the target market RC is looking for.

[ILCTCRUISER]

12 minutes ago, ink76 said:

Yes I agree to ever thing you said but unfortunately I am not in the target market RC is looking for.

Back in the day, I believe we were, but, as you suggest, that may no longer be the case.