We Love to Cruise But...

[carmelninetysix]

how is Royal Caribbean or any cruiseline for that matter going to get a message when only a handful of people may stop choosing to cruise! I'm not sure even what type of message they think there even sending the cruise lines either cruise or don't cruise! I'm not sure what the cruise lines could have done differently to offset their fuel charges! I do not think 5.00 dollars per passenger per day is unreasoanble! I say to all those complainers cut back on spending money at home on other things for awhile to save and make up the price difference! My Hubby has told me that most of his co- workers come in every morning with a coffee and a danish from Starbucks! We could never afford to do that and still go on cruises! Hubby and I did love when we went for WDW's 25th Anniversary when we went in mid to late September when the children were back in school and we did get a great vacation package from CLE! We have alot of family and friends who constantly visit WDW and they say prices for everything is sky high! Hubby and I will continue to cruise and enjoy every aspect of it and not not worry about 10.00 dollars a day and if there is lobster, who cares! Happy Sailings and Bon Voyage!!! Melissa

[kidless]

I find the lack of customer service is wide spread and not limited too just RCCI. And even though they do seem to have made some cutbacks it is still a good bang for the buck.

 

I will also tell you we live close to Disney and the other parks and have visited them many times. We have seen the cutbacks they have made, the way over inflated prices , I think a bottle of water is like $4 and not a big bottle. They nickel and dime you all over the place, they charge a fortune now for admission and they over crowd the parks so on a good day your lucky to get in 4 rides.

 

For us we will continue to cruise for now and also look at other places to land vacation. But if you are going to choice Disney be for-warned it isn't all you may think it is....lots of walking....very hot....very expensive....very over crowded.....oh and you better check they have Gay days there.................:D

[jt1120]

My wife and I are not happy by the way Royal Caribbean seems to be ignoring the feelings of those who look forward to cruising, not only by the fuel surcharges, but also by the cutbacks we are hearing about.

 

At the same time, my daughter has gone down to Disneyworld with one of her girlfriends and with her uncle, and her excitement is rubbing off on us.

 

Not sure what concerns you are referring to. A fuel surcharge sucks, I agree, but the price of oil is high, and I can't fault the lines for that. As for cutbacks, that's just business. Or maybe it's just the line that you cruise. Try someone different maybe? I dunno, but I hate to lose a cruiser to Orlando. I live two hours away and can go pretty much any time I want. PASS! Every time I go, it's always "attack of the strollers," with people running you over with their strollers, pushing and shoving (kind of like a buffet line on Princess), the long lines, and so on. I would only warn you that the Magic Kingdom seems to be stroller central. When we go, we like Epcot. It's not as exciting for kids, but for adults it's pretty nice.

[FL_Cruiser64]

My wife and I are not happy by the way Royal Caribbean seems to be ignoring the feelings of those who look forward to cruising, not only by the fuel surcharges, but also by the cutbacks we are hearing about. My wife and I have decided not to cruise for a while, hoping to send a message to Royal Caribbean and to the other cruise lines. At the same time, my daughter has gone down to Disneyworld with one of her girlfriends and with her uncle, and her excitement is rubbing off on us (my wife and I are 59 and 60 years young, respectively).

We are hoping to use one of our timeshares to take a trip to Florida and enjoy Orlando ourselves. It's nice having an alternative, although we look forward to cruising again as soon as we see more concern for their passengers as shown by Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines cruise.

 

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww, got your feelings hurt? Sorry to hear that you amongst 3000 other passengers weren't on the RCI priority list. You hear cut backs? Well, believe the internet. I just did two cruises and I have not seen any cut backs. Have fun in WDW were admissions is 60 bucks a pop, food is quadruple the price outside WDW and not to forget hotel rooms.

 

You are leaving, you just made room for someone else. Cool.

 

I sure hope that all the complainers who go by internet rumors (and of course pre-complainers) will follow your example. It'll make cruising much more enjoyable for the rest of us.

[bouhunter]

NO ONE is better at getting into your wallet in more ways than the mouse in Orlando:rolleyes:

 

Have fun!

[katiel53]

sagiv666, you have already told us that, in fact, numerous times :rolleyes: :eek:

 

###

 

 

Agreed, how many times do you need to say the same thing. We ALL KNOW you are upset, disappointed not cruising etc etc etc. Go to Orlando, give us a break.

 

I say go to Orlando, but really would rather you go somewhere else as I live near Disney and don't want to hear you complaining about Disney a million times either.

[dutchess43]

Unfortunately cruise lines no longer care how you feel this is a sign of the times. If you do not choose to sail with cruising at an all time high they will fill your cabin up one way or the other.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HEY GUNNAR!!! LOL!!!:D

 

HI SAGIV...considering that there are about 1 million more new cruise passengers each year I am sure RCI will feel your pain. The fuel surcharge is a realistic one. FYI...we had fuel surcharges on cruise ships back in 1974 or so...when the cost of oil took off...so this is not anything new.

 

So...you are no longer going to get South American lobster...big deal. That so-called cut back was made so they could put more money into better food quality. I just returned from a transatlantic voyage on the JEWEL OF THE SEAS. I can tell you that things are better than ever and that cruising is still the biggest bang for the buck there is. There is just so much more value in cruising than on land...wait til you see the prices in Europe!!! There is no land based vacation, that I can think of, that is better than a good cruise.

[iheartbda]

No ridiculing, sarcasim or taunting intended but "cutting off one's nose to spite their face" comes to mind.

[Cruising89143]

OP, you claim that the RCI is cutting back. I just returned a few weeks ago from a six night cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and I can assure you that they are not cutting back. It was business as usual. The food and service was good along with plenty of live entertainment options all over the ship. The ship was very clean and well maintained which is one of RCI's strong points compared to the other cruise lines that I have taken.

 

The fuel surcharge regardless of how folks view RCI's way of handling is a fact of life. I would much rather the cruise line add this small charge than actually start cutting back on other on board areas. Many of the same cruisers that complain about this surcharge are also the same ones that call RCI or their TA as soon as they see a price drop. This works both ways of which some have a hard time understanding.

 

In the end it's your decision to make but when you compare seven nights on RCI to seven nights at a Disney resort you are going to come out the loser in the end with Disney in cost. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.:)

[TEXASMUNK]

Cruising was considered the vacation for the newlywed or the nearly dead.

 

Then the cruise lines changed to product to attract the greatest number of passengers and we have seen the boom that has occurred in the last 15 years.

 

Yes, the lobsters are not as big. Midnight Buffet is once a week and the crew to pasenger ratio is much lower. But it is still the best vacation value out there.

 

Someone also commented on the economy being tight....watching too much news from biased sources.....When have you ever seen 4.7% unemployment? The economy is rocking!

 

And memories are short! Fuel surcharges seem to be the new "chicken little the sky is falling' topic. They are not new. They have been used by airlines, turck lines, cargo ships etc for years when oil prices soared. Heck cruise lines imposed fuel surcharges back in the 70's.

 

I truly hope you enjoy WDW. I will soon be enjoying Voyager of the Seas.

 

But I will not be joining the throngs that think the world is ending because of a fuel surcharge.

[hoosiermarty]

Some of you sound like kids on a playground. Wow, don't come here to voice your opinions.

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

This is just a general statement of everyone on CC.....

 

Why do people listen to others complain and then take what they say to heart?? EVERYONE ON CC IS MAYBE 20% of the WHOLE cruising industry. I use these boards to find out information and get ideas for future cruises excursions etc., which is what they should be used for....

 

just my 2 cents worth....

GREG

[TEXASMUNK]

CC members is equal to about 1/2 of 1 percent of the cruising population.

We are the addicted ones, LOL, so we really do not represent the opinion of the marketplace, but we do have opinions!

[RetireeWannabee]

I guess I'm not certain what specific cutbacks the OP is referring to that have ruined the cruise experience for him/her?

 

Obviously, everyone has different priorities. Mine are quite simple, so until they quit letting the ship go out to sea, I'm not having any trouble with 'the cutbacks.' I'm not being forced to rise at 5 AM to do ship's laundry or clean the decks. No one has insisted that I vacuum my own cabin or scrub the toity. That's better than what happens at home!

 

I'm not sure that any cruise line will 'get the message' with a non-booking past pax. If you want to send a message, actually Send A Message - snail mail, email, phone call, whatever. That's the only way to sure that Your Message is Received.

[dfishner]

My wife and I are not happy by the way Royal Caribbean seems to be ignoring the feelings of those who look forward to cruising, not only by the fuel surcharges, but also by the cutbacks we are hearing about. My wife and I have decided not to cruise for a while, hoping to send a message to Royal Caribbean and to the other cruise lines. At the same time, my daughter has gone down to Disneyworld with one of her girlfriends and with her uncle, and her excitement is rubbing off on us (my wife and I are 59 and 60 years young, respectively).

We are hoping to use one of our timeshares to take a trip to Florida and enjoy Orlando ourselves. It's nice having an alternative, although we look forward to cruising again as soon as we see more concern for their passengers as shown by Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines cruise.

Sometimes you can only see the negatives here we just got back today from a 5 day cruise on NOS and we did not see any cutbacks on service, entertainment and the onboard experience to us it was a great cruise.

[magictam]

OP, you claim that the RCI is cutting back. I just returned a few weeks ago from a six night cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and I can assure you that they are not cutting back. It was business as usual. The food and service was good along with plenty of live entertainment options all over the ship. The ship was very clean and well maintained which is one of RCI's strong points compared to the other cruise lines that I have taken.

 

Thanks for the positive posts.

[amybear912]

 

And memories are short! Fuel surcharges seem to be the new "chicken little the sky is falling' topic. They are not new. They have been used by airlines, turck lines, cargo ships etc for years when oil prices soared. Heck cruise lines imposed fuel surcharges back in the 70's.

 

.

 

 

This is a very good point... fuel surcharges show up in almost everything we do... it just isn't itemized to show you that...

 

DH is a chef and was comparing food costs the other day vs. last year... guess what??? major increase... why? Fuel costs more which means delivery of those goods has gone up... In some cases, his purveyors have itemized that cost but in some of those cases, the cost of the goods has simply risen to absorb the extra fuel needed for delivery...

[UTCJCB]

I hope I don't get in trouble for insider trading abuse with the SEC...but dump your RCCL stock immediately! OP won't be cruising RCCL...stock will bottom out next week when the news hits wall street!!!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

I will take 5.95 drinks of the days and a different tropical port of call for 4 of 7 days over being gouged at disney or universal. 8 dollar, watered down cokes just don't do it for me. I'll take my chances with cruising...and with RCCL:D

[fifty]

There are certainly some nasty people on these boards who seem to respond to OP with glee at their chance to spew their sarcasm. Hope none of you are on my cruises!

 

Why do you take the time to respond to an opinion? It is their opinion, their choice and the negative comments are unwarranted.

 

If enough people happen to share their opinions and choose not to cruise, then I suspect that the cruise lines will "get the message". That is the crux of the marketplace.

[petesweet]

RCCL's fuel charge is nothing compared to what Disney charges per day per park - not to mention they've made a lot of things that used to be included extra now too. I feel more taken advantage of at WDW then I ever do on a cruise and the value for my money is far greater at sea (on a line other then the high priced DCL) then at WDW.

 

Has Disney ever gotten a toll-free number? For years we had to pay to call them for information!:(

[watsor1]

Personally, I like to go on a cruise then ***** about it AFTER I get home.

 

No vacation is perfect, and it seems like there's always some annoyance with buffet lines or discourteous fellow travellers or kids out of control or airline flights that get all screwed up or getting ON the ship or getting OFF the ship or parking or no lobster or fake crab, or, or, or.........Jeez, I've seen prople almost come to blows over the midnight chocolate buffet.

 

I don't "cruise on a budget". Don't get me wrong, it takes me 6 months to a year to pay off the seapass card charges depending on how much I drink excursions and how much she loses in the casino (my wife pays for the cruise and I pay for everything else,...methinks she gets the better of the deal:D )

 

So if somebody isn't going to cruise because of a perceived personal affront, then all I have to say is "maybe the upgrade ferry will give me your JS, OS, or GS".

 

Enjoy Micky the Mouse and that money grubbing organization.

 

Sorry, just ranting...nothing against the OP.

 

And now back to our regularly scheduled program............

[madforcruising]

There are certainly some nasty people on these boards who seem to respond to OP with glee at their chance to spew their sarcasm. Hope none of you are on my cruises!

 

Why do you take the time to respond to an opinion? It is their opinion, their choice and the negative comments are unwarranted.

 

If enough people happen to share their opinions and choose not to cruise, then I suspect that the cruise lines will "get the message". That is the crux of the marketplace.

 

 

This is an open message board and therefore people come here taking the time to post their opinions. I´m sure the OP wanted some sort of reatcion with posting their opinion, even though I´m sure what was posted wasn´t exactly what s/he was looking for.

 

I agree that if enough people would stop cruising the lines will get the message, however it ain´t gonna happen.

But let´s face it, even if enough people would choose to stop cruising, what message will the cruise line get? Is it because they added the fuel surcharge, or was it because of cut backs? Or could it have been the elimination of juice from the soda package or was it the added fee for JR?

Was it implementing of Anytime Dining or because they don´t have anytim dining on all ships?.......;) :rolleyes:

[cruzinmecrazy]

CAN I HAVE YOUR CHAIR BY THE POOL???:D

[FL_Cruiser64]

This is an open message board and therefore people come here taking the time to post their opinions.

 

Opinion is fine but this whole "I heard...that's why..." is nothing else than reacting to rumors.

 

Every single 'criticism' on these boards lately has been rebutted. I do like to read critics (which can be positive and negative) but this whole ranting and raving about non issues (see my comment of rebuttal) is becoming overwhelming.