Anyone Else Leaving or Considering Leaving RCL Over Prices?

[island lady]

38 minutes ago, JoieNsk said:

Sorry for the unfortunate situation with American Queen Voyages! I hope you WILL get the money back.

 

But with Viking I am not worried that they will go out of business with our money. They seem to be doing good - at least nowadays.

 

I just hate to give them so much money -  so much in advance. I could have earned interest on those money. Instead they probably are doing it :)))) I find their payment policy extremely irritating. But even with that - I still went ahead and paid :))))) Hopefully they worth it - we will just have to see :))))

 

 

And you are not alone.  I don't like their way too early pay in full policy either...but it is what it is.  

[OCSC Mike]

13 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

don't remember what the food was like

Based on reviews I’ve read, including a live blog from December, I’ve heard very good things & am definitely looking forward to it.

[Kbonner]

We usually cruise some 90+ days/year with RCI in balconys or JS. This year we do only 4 weeks, all from old bookings from a year ago,  no new bookings. All due to the insane prices. We are doing more river cruising in Europe and also sail with TUI or MSC

[zebra36]

Will probably start looking at other lines as fares for similar cruises on same ship booked this year are at least 25% higher next year.

[kitkat343]

We couldn't get KSF to apply to a sailing leaving mid January after schools were back in session.  The ship also was having propulsion (or some other mechanical issue) which caused it to cancel ports through December.  I shrugged, figured it wasn't worth the risk given the high price, and booked a Xmas cruise with Cunard.  They did a really lovely job, but don't have as many amenities for kids.  I'll be happy to keep looking for cruises on RC and hopefully something will work out at some point. 

[Oceansaway17]

I have wandered over to Princess and NCL for a few of my European cruises next year as they have better itineraries and prices.  But I would not ditch RCI for good as they like any cruise line are trying to make up for Pandemic.  I do feel ICON and STAR are way over the top with pricing though and glad I got my good price way back in Nov 2022 when pricing for ICON opened up. 

[mugtech]

         We found ourselves doing land tours instead of cruises, much cheaper.  We spend October through March in the Philippines,  used to do cruises out of Singapore to Hong Kong.  This year we rented a two bedroom apartment in the mountains, Baguio City.  For $450/ month we got WiFi and big screen smart tv in a barangay a few blocks away from downtown and the park.  The food was very cheap, we spent less than $1,000 on food, transportation and entertainment per month.  We do not drink alcohol.  The temperature was in the high 70's every day, got down to 60 at night.  Rained two days out of 30.  At the mall we got 10 pieces of sushi with senior discount for $2 each.  The Greyhound Cafe, specializing in Thai food, only was $16 total including service charge for the two of us much less than half what we pay for the same quality food and service in the USA.  Cab rides from the mall, a 30 minute walk, were less than $2.  Will be going back next year.

[Harrisonkid]

I must agree the pricing is higher since the shut down. But everything has been inflated. And Sadly, the true customer service of old time cruising left when the started building mega ships . I feel for bartenders trying to cover 4500 people at a pool bar . So switching to land base trips . The food and service has been 'as good' but a nice change of pace. 

If you like inexpensive cruise there are options out there but if your loyal to a certain line price their smaller older ships and enjoy the ' old style' cruising once again.

[lovesthebeach2]

1 hour ago, Harrisonkid said:

I must agree the pricing is higher since the shut down. But everything has been inflated. And Sadly, the true customer service of old time cruising left when the started building mega ships . I feel for bartenders trying to cover 4500 people at a pool bar . So switching to land base trips . The food and service has been 'as good' but a nice change of pace. 

If you like inexpensive cruise there are options out there but if your loyal to a certain line price their smaller older ships and enjoy the ' old style' cruising once again.

On our last cruise on Wonder we met up with a bartender we’ve known from other ships.
I mentioned to them that it’s a shame that beautiful ship is going to the 3 and 4 night cruises and they said they’re not looking forward to that as they’re “party/booze” cruises.
Thats exactly how we think, and that’s not for us at all. Royal is squeezing us out slowly.
 

I really feel bad for all the crew on any of those large ships.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

 

I really feel bad for all the crew on any of those large ships.

I agree. Turning over an O class ship twice a week rather than once a week creates a lot more work for the crew. I thought this would never happen on the big ships but, obviously, I thought wrong.

[Ocean Boy]

9 hours ago, Beeline Cruiser said:

 

This has all made me a little sad, too, Kbonner! And I'm truly grateful to have cruise on RCI before the current CUTS and when it was priced fair. Seriously time for some of us to move on to better value!!

That's funny. Seems to me that you've been complaining about RCI, and especially the food, for as far back as I can remember.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

That's funny. Seems to me that you've been complaining about RCI, and especially the food, for as far back as I can remember.

How can she complain if she hasnt been on a rcl cruise since covid. She almost did a cruise. I seem to remember something went wrong with the ship. But as far as I know she hasnt been on a ship to actually know how the food tastes.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

How can she complain if she hasnt been on a rcl cruise since covid. She almost did a cruise. I seem to remember something went wrong with the ship. But as far as I know she hasnt been on a ship to actually know how the food tastes.

 

After disembarking Serenade last month after the first quarter of the WC, 63 nights....that was the one thing I was very much looking forward to...cooking my own food at home.  😉 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

On our last cruise on Wonder we met up with a bartender we’ve known from other ships.
I mentioned to them that it’s a shame that beautiful ship is going to the 3 and 4 night cruises and they said they’re not looking forward to that as they’re “party/booze” cruises.
Thats exactly how we think, and that’s not for us at all. Royal is squeezing us out slowly.
 

I really feel bad for all the crew on any of those large ships.

I live in Florida and have cruised on a lot of 3/4 day cruises on Mariner, Navigator, Independence and Freedom. My experience on these cruises has not been significantly different than longer cruises. The 3 day cruises might have more of a party atmosphere, but I have experienced party atmospheres on bigger ships including on Icon last month and Symphony this month. The numerous 4 day cruises I have been on, which have all been Monday to Friday cruises, have been some of the quietest, most relaxing RCI cruises I have been on. I know several bartenders on Freedom that I keep in touch with since Freedom is the RCI ship I have cruised the most. All of them say they don’t like the 4 day cruises in general because passengers tend to not drink a lot on these cruises. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The numerous 4 day cruises I have been on, which have all been Monday to Friday cruises, have been some of the quietest, most relaxing RCI cruises I have been on.

 

That is the twist to changing 7 day cruises into three day and four day cruises.

 

What looks like a great three day money maker might be negated by four day midweek snoozers.  I would love to be on those midweek cruises.

 

Something for me to think about.

[ILCTCRUISER]

4 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I agree. Turning over an O class ship twice a week rather than once a week creates a lot more work for the crew. I thought this would never happen on the big ships but, obviously, I thought wrong.

Didn’t NCL at one time say that it was migrating away from 3-4 night cruises in favor of longer cruises?  I believe part of the reason given was to minimize turnovers.  However I look at the NCL itineraries in place now and I still see quite a few 3 and 4 N cruises?  Anyone else recall this?  A 3-4 N may work if you live somewhat near a port; we’re not flying for one 3 or 4 night cruise.  We’d be doing B2B, but why do that given the time one spends in port of origination?

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

  A 3-4 N may work if you live somewhat near a port; we’re not flying for one 3 or 4 night cruise.  We’d be doing B2B, but why do that given the time one spends in port of origination?

 You and I both agree on this.

 

There are a few my wife works with who do a "Power Cruise" weekend. They barely make the ship from the airport, party hard and do a Red Eye flight to "work" on Monday morning.

 

My wife says they are zombies who just exist making others work harder. It does not lend itself to good employee morale.

[pstone1]

We just got off a 4 night cruise on Liberty.  Our mistake as Spring Break had already started (March 4)!  There were more than 4,200 guests and more than 800 kids.  Lots of older teens, twenty-somethings, and families.

 

Luckily, we could go to the Suite Lounge and we used our BOGOs for dinner in Sabor and Giovanni’s (both excellent).  The Windjammer was packed at breakfast/lunch (and probably dinner), and MTD was packed the two nights we went. Great staff though, and good food everywhere!

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, pstone1 said:

We just got off a 4 night cruise on Liberty.  Our mistake as Spring Break had already started (March 4)!  There were more than 4,200 guests and more than 800 kids.  Lots of older teens, twenty-somethings, and families.

 

Luckily, we could go to the Suite Lounge and we used our BOGOs for dinner in Sabor and Giovanni’s (both excellent).  The Windjammer was packed at breakfast/lunch (and probably dinner), and MTD was packed the two nights we went. Great staff though, and good food everywhere!

We had over 2k kids on oasis mid march last year. 800 doesnt sound too bad. 

 

I'm weighing my options moving to PC. The only 7 day is star and to me more than I want to spend so its adventure or shorter cruises b2b. I also booked a 4 day utopia. I may try out another line if something doesnt pop up saying book me. Not at the prices I've seen. But I'm also booking shorter cruises. Explorer comes in the end of 2025 doing 4 and 5 days. Adventure, especially the 8 days is running $200 a day. Might as well do utopia 3 and 4 night. Hard to find any dates under $200 a day imo. 

[Ocean Boy]

23 minutes ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

Didn’t NCL at one time say that it was migrating away from 3-4 night cruises in favor of longer cruises?  I believe part of the reason given was to minimize turnovers.  However I look at the NCL itineraries in place now and I still see quite a few 3 and 4 N cruises?  Anyone else recall this?  A 3-4 N may work if you live somewhat near a port; we’re not flying for one 3 or 4 night cruise.  We’d be doing B2B, but why do that given the time one spends in port of origination?

I also am not getting on a plane for less than 7 nights on a cruise. And doing a b2b in order to make 7 nights doesn't excite me either. I don't want to spend a day doing turn around.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

That is the twist to changing 7 day cruises into three day and four day cruises.

 

What looks like a great three day money maker might be negated by four day midweek snoozers.  I would love to be on those midweek cruises.

 

Something for me to think about.

 

Against my better judgement, as we don't do short cruises, we booked a 4 night (Mon-Friday).   A few reasons doing so, being we have never been on Allure, and would like to meet her before she leaves our local port here.  Convenient.  

 

And...have never seen Mamma Mia, so we would love to do so.  Will be interesting indeed how the four night atmosphere is compared to many years ago when we did those short cruises while still gainfully employed.  I know the ship is totally booked out for our sailing in May.   

[Cruising89143]

We currently have three four night cruises on the Navigator and one three night that bumps up to one of the four nighters. The four night cruises have been tame compared to some of the seven night cruises that we have taken. The ship is in driving distance for us as mentioned above, I’m not flying to board a ship for less than seven nights. We do have a fourteen night TA booked on the Odyssey later this year. 

[lovesthebeach2]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I live in Florida and have cruised on a lot of 3/4 day cruises on Mariner, Navigator, Independence and Freedom. My experience on these cruises has not been significantly different than longer cruises. The 3 day cruises might have more of a party atmosphere, but I have experienced party atmospheres on bigger ships including on Icon last month and Symphony this month. The numerous 4 day cruises I have been on, which have all been Monday to Friday cruises, have been some of the quietest, most relaxing RCI cruises I have been on. I know several bartenders on Freedom that I keep in touch with since Freedom is the RCI ship I have cruised the most. All of them say they don’t like the 4 day cruises in general because passengers tend to not drink a lot on these cruises. 

I see you also live in a Florida and have you seen the Royal ads on TV that say Weekend Cruises? Possibly that will be the 3 day ones.  I was just saying what the bartender we know told us. That they think it will be like a party cruise.

 

[Littlebeachlover]

On 2/29/2024 at 7:09 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

Hmm, went on Allure for 4 different weeks when she was in Galveston, I guess i don't pay close enough attention because I thought she was in pretty good shape

I was on her in December....I thought she was in good shape too! 

[ILCTCRUISER]

And then there are the 4 Ps of marketing.   Product.  Could we be seeing product differentiation w/i RCG.  There is a difference between RCL and X but was it that much of a difference.   I’m not suggesting that every RCL cruise is a party cruise but promoting Weekend Cruises suggests that it is one market being targeted.  Pricing?   There are no AI inclusive resorts in Florida (well, someone once told me there was one, but…).  I won’t spend my time trying to do an apples-to-apples for this but could it be that RCL’s pricing, which we believe has been on the upswing, may be attractive in the end?

Edited March 9 by ILCTCRUISER