Adieu Royal Caribbean?

[pre4rep]

We have just returned from two cruises, 6 nights on the Jewel and 10 nights on the Emerald Princess, We have 60 cruises with R.C.I. and 7 with Princess.

The table we requested a table of 6 or 8 (a diamond plus benefit)was not given to us ,the Maitre, d said shore side services handles that. concierge lounge over crowded you had to stand in a line for drinks.Food in the dining room mediocre at best.wait staff efficent but over worked,Entertainment average. yes i have seen many acts repeatedly, but we were not alone in leaving early.Take a nap on deck, imposible with loud solicitation of drinks everywhere.The ship was clean and well maintained.If I had to compare R.C.I.to a hotel it would be a Holiday Inn! Diamond plus ment nothing to the loyalty Ambassador she was to busy selling future cruises.

We were very pleased with Princess, better variety and food quality.less noise with announcements, Great variety in entertainment.overall just a better experience. We are allways asked what is your favorite cruise line.It use to be Royal Caribbean. Please return to the wonderfull company you once were,careing about your most loyal passengers.

[PhoenixCruiser]

What do you think the LA should be doing extra for Diamond Plus Passengers?

 

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[Cruising89143]

Enjoy your cruises on Princess.

[brn2crz]

60....And you are just now noticing a change???

I can't belive there is that much difference say in number 45 than there is in number 60 :confused:

 

I would think about 25 would do it for me :D

[cruzinmecrazy]

BYE!!!:D Hope you get 60 cruises out of Princess without any complaints.

[PH8]

What do you think the LA should be doing extra for Diamond Plus Passengers?

 

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WOW!!I can think of ALOT of things.;)

[amybear912]

Good luck obtaining the perfect cruise from another line...

 

Perhaps it is time to move up to a more upscale line that will meet your expectations...

[squeeks]

like i said to the last person leaving...more flowerless chocolate cake for me!!:D

[pre4rep]

Just give the benefits that they promise at every level.

[berylde]

Agree with everything you wrote and could add more.

 

We (4), just got off the Jewel --had an OS suite.

 

Had a similiar dining room experience---requested a table for 4 and was given a table for 10

 

But, the ship is beautiful and we had a good time

[vmom]

Agree with the OP.

 

RCCL's food hasn't been what it used to be, even compared to just a few years back. They've "dumbdowned" the menu to save $$$. The buffet has also taken a hit.

 

Whether you're diamond or just gold, like me shouldn't matter. RCCL needs to start paying a bit more attention to keeping up the quality of the product and less about getting as many people on board a ship as possible to increase bottom line. I'm not saying the food on board was bad, just ok and cheapened compared to previously...and definately an obvious move by RCCL to save money.

 

That doesn't mean RCCL is a bad product, but RCCL needs to take heed otherwise they will lose loyal customers.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with expressing an opinion that may not be favorable to RCCL and as long as people accept the changes without question, RCCL will continue to increase revenue by cheapening the product.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Just give the benefits that they promise at every level.

 

I understand and agree with you, however what do they promise from the LA? Do you have a link to everything they state they will provide?

 

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[Cruising89143]

Agree with the OP.

 

RCCL's food hasn't been what it used to be, even compared to just a few years back. They've "dumbdowned" the menu to save $$$. The buffet has also taken a hit.

 

Whether you're diamond or just gold, like me shouldn't matter. RCCL needs to start paying a bit more attention to keeping up the quality of the product and less about getting as many people on board a ship as possible to increase bottom line. I'm not saying the food on board was bad, just ok and cheapened compared to previously...and definately an obvious move by RCCL to save money.

 

That doesn't mean RCCL is a bad product, but RCCL needs to take heed otherwise they will lose loyal customers.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with expressing an opinion that may not be favorable to RCCL and as long as people accept the changes without question, RCCL will continue to increase revenue by cheapening the product.

 

Are you willing to pay more for that better food? The prices for cruising have stayed at about the same price for the last five years while everything else has risen in price. If folks want higher quality then be prepared to pay more for it but most will not. They expect to cruise for fifty bucks a day and receive Ritz Carlton quality. Ain't gonna happen on a mass market line.

[hcat]

Thanks for the heads up about not getting the requested table--we will check on that first thing when we board. We find that large tables lead to slow service...& have been very pleased with 6 or max 8..... We enjoyed Jewel last yr so hope things are looking fine when we sail at the end of January.

[eroller]

I am Platinum level with Princess and have sailed 12 times with them. I feel the same way about Princess you feel about Royal Caribbean. Declining standards. Princess used to be "premium", and now it's strictly mass-market in line with RCI, Carnival, and NCL. There are constant revenue producing announcements, tons of flyers everyday in your cabin trying to sell you something (poor trees), and plenty of pushing for drinks (maybe not as bad as RCI). There is crappy art auction art everywhere around the ship, and I also feel food and entertainment budgets have been reduced. Princess is a good all around product, just like Royal Caribbean, but it's nothing like it used to be.

 

At least Royal Caribbean ships are well designed, innovative, and much more interesting then Princess. For this reason I prefer Royal Caribbean and don't have much desire to return to Princess. I'm sure I will sail on Princess again, but there are other lines I prefer right now.

 

The grass is not always greener!

 

Ernie

[cruiserbryce]

took 60 cruises to notice drink solicitation...if you will get more enjoyment out of Princess then certainly do what's best for you but your reasons for leaving RC after 60 cruises seem odd

[Bassnote_1]

Good luck obtaining the perfect cruise from another line...

 

 

The perfect cruise? One with me on it. But I tend to have fun in just a dark room with a wad of chewing gum.:cool:

[cruisindoggie]

Have fun on Carnival, oops, I meant Princess!

[vmom]

I would be willing to spend a reasonable amount more. Frankly I don't think it would cost that much more per person.

 

I am very aware of cruise pricing over the years. My last cruise cost less than my first cruise in 1986. I do not complain about paying for extras such as bottled water (which I don't drink anyway), speciality drinks, soda cards and the like. I prefer that all those extras have an extra fee since I prefer to pay for the services that I will use and not pay for extras.

 

I am very pro-extra fees for extra services....but dining room food is and should be standard with the fare. I am not complaining about lobster...frankly I'm not that much of a fan of the lobster anyway. My point has to do with the overall quality of what they do serve and the downgrading or overall cheapening of the menu both in the buffet and the dining room. I'm not looking for nor am I expecting Ritz Carlton quality.

[vmom]

Are you willing to pay more for that better food? The prices for cruising have stayed at about the same price for the last five years while everything else has risen in price. If folks want higher quality then be prepared to pay more for it but most will not. They expect to cruise for fifty bucks a day and receive Ritz Carlton quality. Ain't gonna happen on a mass market line.

 

This is the post I am responding to in my previous post.

[cruisenfever]

We have just returned from two cruises, 6 nights on the Jewel and 10 nights on the Emerald Princess, We have 60 cruises with R.C.I. and 7 with Princess.

The table we requested a table of 6 or 8 (a diamond plus benefit)was not given to us ,the Maitre, d said shore side services handles that. concierge lounge over crowded you had to stand in a line for drinks.Food in the dining room mediocre at best.wait staff efficent but over worked,Entertainment average. yes i have seen many acts repeatedly, but we were not alone in leaving early.Take a nap on deck, imposible with loud solicitation of drinks everywhere.The ship was clean and well maintained.If I had to compare R.C.I.to a hotel it would be a Holiday Inn! Diamond plus ment nothing to the loyalty Ambassador she was to busy selling future cruises.

We were very pleased with Princess, better variety and food quality.less noise with announcements, Great variety in entertainment.overall just a better experience. We are allways asked what is your favorite cruise line.It use to be Royal Caribbean. Please return to the wonderfull company you once were,careing about your most loyal passengers.

I'm sorry that you had a one bad experience after 60 cruises with RCI. A simple call to C&A three weeks prior to your cruise would have gotten you your special table for dinner.

 

Unfortunately no cruise is perfect..........and you will probably find a cruise on some Princess ship in the future that will not be up to your expectations also.

 

I think that RCI does a GREAT job taking care of its loyal pax and we have always been treated royally. Maybe the expectations of some are higher than others.

 

Wishing you a wonderful future cruise...........on whatever cruise line you select.

[cruisePRN]

Diamond plus are supposed to get their preferrence in dining room seating. :eek: so not getting yours is wrong and plain old false advertising. I couldn't paste but it is clear in the benefit section of the C and A D+ get preferred seating.

[FL_Cruiser64]

We have just returned from two cruises, 6 nights on the Jewel and 10 nights on the Emerald Princess, We have 60 cruises with R.C.I. and 7 with Princess.

The table we requested a table of 6 or 8 (a diamond plus benefit)was not given to us ,the Maitre, d said shore side services handles that. concierge lounge over crowded you had to stand in a line for drinks.Food in the dining room mediocre at best.wait staff efficent but over worked,Entertainment average. yes i have seen many acts repeatedly, but we were not alone in leaving early.Take a nap on deck, imposible with loud solicitation of drinks everywhere.The ship was clean and well maintained.If I had to compare R.C.I.to a hotel it would be a Holiday Inn! Diamond plus ment nothing to the loyalty Ambassador she was to busy selling future cruises.

We were very pleased with Princess, better variety and food quality.less noise with announcements, Great variety in entertainment.overall just a better experience. We are allways asked what is your favorite cruise line.It use to be Royal Caribbean. Please return to the wonderfull company you once were,careing about your most loyal passengers.

 

More room for me. Have fun on Princess.

[NJGRANNY]

I don't understand why people can't post their complaints without getting sarcastic answers.

I've enjoyed my Royal Caribbean cruises, but I'm not "stuck" with one cruise line where I'll defend it to the death. There are things about each line I've sailed on that I've liked and things about each that I haven't been so fond of.

Now, if I could figure out a way to get all my favorite things together in one line, that'd be great.

Until then, I'll go on choosing cruises from many lines and enjoying them all.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Pre4rep, we've reached the same conclusion. It use to be our favorite but it isn't the same cruise experience it once was. Princess is a much better match for our tastes too. We cruised on Rhapsody in the spring and on Princess this fall...Princess had few if any promotional PA announcements, still had lunch in the dinning room every day with a changing menu, better options on the dinning room menu, plus anytime dinning. For this point in our lives it is a better fit for us than RCI (we are Diamond level on RCI and Elite level on Princess).