How much more would you spend for the "old" RCCI?

[JanineM]

How much more would you be willing to pay for a cruise that provides you with all of the services of the "old" RCCI?

 

Let's say you've gotten a great deal and are paying $1000 for a balcony on Mariner (for example). How much more would you pay if they threw in all of the things that are now extra charge?

 

• free soft drinks
  
• free room service
  
• chocolates on pillows every night
  
• full ice buckets twice a day
  
• one midnight buffet each week
  
• one death-by-chocolate buffet each week
  
• dance instructors
  
• bridge instructors
  
• and anything else any of you long-term cruisers can add
  

I'm relatively new to cruising and think it is just a fantastic vacation.

 

But I was stunned when my mother, who has cruised for about 30 years, told me that they paid $3,500 per PERSON for an oceanview on Princess for a Panama Canal sailing in 1984.

 

Prices have come down, but do our expectations exceed financial viability?

[Morecruisesplz]

How much more would you be willing to pay for a cruise that provides you with all of the services of the "old" RCCI?

 

Nothing more. Just did it on Disney last week. It was everything RCCL used to be and more! Great food (real steak every night & real lobster), outstanding service, amazing shows, beautiful dessert midnight buffet, etc.

[melbur]

funny, I just posted my thoughts about the "old days" on another thread -

and I would never say what I thought all this was worth in dollars and sense.

(and you forgot midnight buffets EVERY night!)

Buffets at midnight didn't matter to us, we had late seating.

In all the years I've cruised I've never eaten a pillow chocolate

we don't drink soft drinks

Bottom line, I am willing to pay for what I want and am comfortable with - sailing date, ship, itinerary, cabin, etc. It's the total experience.

[JanineM]

Nothing more. Just did it on Disney last week. It was everything RCCL used to be and more! Great food (real steak every night & real lobster), outstanding service, amazing shows, beautiful dessert midnight buffet, etc.

 

Isn't Disney considerably more expensive than Royal Caribbean, or have their prices dropped a lot?

[FL_Cruiser64]

Listen, I have the right to cruise. I have the right to cruise as cheap as possible and everybody should cater to me. I should cruise not only for free, but I also want to get paid to cruise.

 

I also want all the OBC I can get. I want to smuggle alcohol and cash my OBC out. I also will not dress up anymore because the bad bad airlines.

 

And if anybody bitches about me I want more OBC.

 

Cruise fares are no more value. They are too expensive. Got to be cheaper.

****

On a serious note:

We paid for a 5-Night Cozumel cruise for an ocean view $1200 pp. It is just a side note that we never made it to Cozumel but it was turned into a 5-Night Bahamas cruise. Miami - Freeport - Nassau - Private Island - Miami.

 

They even squeezed a sea day between Miami and Freeport in. :eek:

That was in the early 90s.

 

Consider this: as a Floridian you can spend 5-Nights in the Bahamas (even back then) for a 3rd of that money in a nice resort, not in a rust bucket with broken engines.

:D

 

What did we have for $1200 a person (beside a ship/boat on life support):

- 1 main dining room

- 1 little shopping area

- 2 bars (might have been 3)

- a pool which was smaller than my pool at home

 

No ice skating rink, no royal promenade, no flow rider, no stabilizers, no choice between 5 or 6 bars or clubs or lounges, one lousy pool bar, no ships of glass, no atrium......not even a promenade deck...I could go on....

 

BTW, the drinks were much more expensive as well.

 

Boy does cruising suck these days. What a miserable time to spend my vacation.

[JanineM]

 

Boy does cruising suck these days. What a miserable time to spend my vacation.

 

:D Right there with ya!!! But we'd still do it once a year, even if we had to deal with flying.

[cruiserbryce]

Nothing more. Just did it on Disney last week. It was everything RCCL used to be and more!

 

and how much more did Disney get you for than the same cruise on RC would have cost you???

[crazy4themouse]

Isn't Disney considerably more expensive than Royal Caribbean, or have their prices dropped a lot?

 

 

Their prices have NOT dropped. Look at my avatar, my sig... I am a huge fan of DCL, to say the least. And honestly, I was and am still truly shocked that RCCL charges for things like soft drinks, etc.

 

That being said, my next cruise is on the Voyager. For the exact same week on the Magic, same kind of balcony stateroom, it was over $1500 more on DCL, not even including the airfare I'd have to pay. That's a lot of included soft drinks. I love DCL with all my heart, but that sort of price difference is ridiculous.

 

 

-gina-

[BroncosFan2010]

I love cruising and will always love cruising. The worse RCCL becomes the more likely I am to switch to a more luxurious cruise line. It won't be long before we can afford SilverSea or similar lines. Sorry RCCL but your days with us are numbered.... unless there are some serious changes.... but since you seem to want to cater to families, HUGE ships that are the destinations in and of themselves, and nickel and diming at every possible opportunity.... I don't think we will be with you long enough to reach diamond status. :(

[Mickeylee]

I am not willing to pay for the "old" RCCL because I never experienced it. Our first cruise was in 2007 and we loved it, as we did our 2008 one. We had chocolates on our pillows every night and full ice buckets twice a day; the other things wouldn't be important to us anyway. But of course, this poll applies more to long-term cruisers, not to us, anyway.

[Tranquil Waters]

How much more would you be willing to pay for a cruise that provides you with all of the services of the "old" RCCI?

 

Let's say you've gotten a great deal and are paying $1000 for a balcony on Mariner (for example). How much more would you pay if they threw in all of the things that are now extra charge?

 

• free soft drinks
  
• free room service
  
• chocolates on pillows every night
  
• full ice buckets twice a day
  
• one midnight buffet each week
  
• one death-by-chocolate buffet each week
  
• dance instructors
  
• bridge instructors
  
• and anything else any of you long-term cruisers can add
  

I'm relatively new to cruising and think it is just a fantastic vacation.

 

But I was stunned when my mother, who has cruised for about 30 years, told me that they paid $3,500 per PERSON for an oceanview on Princess for a Panama Canal sailing in 1984.

 

Prices have come down, but do our expectations exceed financial viability?

 

It is hard to say. A lot would depend on what the going market rate was and what the RCI loyalty program to accompany was. Can't answer in a vacuum. :)

[terri23]

I would pay more for better quality food in the MDR, but not for the other things on your list. But as it is, we don't starve; actually, we don't gain any weight on vacation, so that's a decent silver lining. ;)

[AllyGirl13]

Nothing more. Just did it on Disney last week. It was everything RCCL used to be and more! Great food (real steak every night & real lobster), outstanding service, amazing shows, beautiful dessert midnight buffet, etc.

 

Yea, but no casino......

[VASOXFANN]

Isn't Disney considerably more expensive than Royal Caribbean, or have their prices dropped a lot?

 

My thoughts exactly :rolleyes:

[Morecruisesplz]

and how much more did Disney get you for than the same cruise on RC would have cost you???

 

Whoops -- answered that in my post: nothing.

 

We cancelled our Oasis inaugural cruise after the date change and confusion over the 4 night or the 7 night being the acutal inugural. Plus we were disappointed that after working so hard to become diamond they are now taking away the diamond balcony credit if we use our stockholder credit, a next cruise certificate or C & A coupon. It just doesn't seem fair. So we booked a 7 night Disney cruise for the our entire family with children and grandchildren (3 cabins/6 adults + 4 children) for about the same money as the 1 Oasis balcony. What a wonderful cruise experience! Will review over on the Disney boards but you should know real beef is still being served every night - great Kansas beef! (Not that cheap steak chain stuff RCCL has gone to.) And the lobster is real too. (and big!) Free coffee and soft drinks any time you want them is a definite plus and money saver if you are a Coke drinker. If you are comparing prices you will also want to factor in the free luggage handling from your cabin to your airport @ home, unlike RCCL where we paid $20 each. The entire cruise experience was a huge step up.

[Morecruisesplz]

Yea, but no casino......

 

Lots of casinos in WV or DE if I want to throw money away or breath in all that smoke. To me there is much more to cruising than the casino.

[youngestof9]

truthfully, I just wish I could bring an iron. I'm easy to please.

[abridalmaven]

I did love the chocolate in theory, but it was not the greatest, so I can buy better chocolate onshore or in the gift shop. as for the other things, why pay for things seldom used? I like having a choice of what I want to add on, whether it be soft drinks or whatever.

 

So I would not add a cost onto the cruise for any or all of those things.

[Tranquil Waters]

I did love the chocolate in theory, but it was not the greatest, so I can buy better chocolate onshore or in the gift shop. as for the other things, why pay for things seldom used? I like having a choice of what I want to add on, whether it be soft drinks or whatever.

 

So I would not add a cost onto the cruise for any or all of those things.

 

What on earth are you doing up at this hour, girl? :eek: You live on the EAST coast, remember? Now, I have a good excuse. Just finished a c-section and am needing to unwind so I can sleep. But you are indeed a night owl......

[abridalmaven]

What on earth are you doing up at this hour, girl? :eek: You live on the EAST coast, remember? Now, I have a good excuse. Just finished a c-section and am needing to unwind so I can sleep. But you are indeed a night owl......

 

Aw TW, I thought you already knew that! But I am shutting the laptop down right now. Besides my job is slow right now, so no one needs me early tomorrow.:rolleyes: And I take off on Mondays anyhow.

 

But I have been aiming at earlier, like 2 am. I go to bed earlty only when I need to be up early for meetings and what not. No one goes looking for houses that early.;)

[Tranquil Waters]

Aw TW, I thought you already knew that! But I am shutting the laptop down right now. Besides my job is slow right now, so no one needs me early tomorrow.:rolleyes: And I take off on Mondays anyhow.

 

But I have been aiming at earlier, like 2 am. I go to bed earlty only when I need to be up early for meetings and what not. No one goes looking for houses that early.;)

 

Yes, I knew you were a night owl - but 3 AM!?!? :D