Join My letter writing campaign to RCI

[lawgirl]

I have read differing opinions on this site about RCI changes. Many feel as I do. I am a Diamond member who has spent thousands with RCI (literally only booking my vacations with them for years) to obtain Diamond status. I did it for the perk of the concierge lounge, which I have now only used once before it is taken away. I also bought stock (and have lost money like everyone else) for the benefit of an onboard credit. All of this is now taken away. I feel that RCI had a responsbility to allow VESTED Diamond members and shareholders to keep benefits. If the rules need to change, they should be limited to those who buy stock or become Diamond after the change date. (I understand that you may not agree, but if you do, please read on...)

 

I am writing to every person I can think of at RCI. I hope you will join me. RCI must have some regard for Cruise Critic members, as they have an onboard social event for us. Maybe this will do no good, but if enough of us complain, who knows. Here is who I am writing:

 

crownandanchor@rccl.com

 

Corporate Guest Relations

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Vicki Freed

Senior VP Sales (who heads the C and A program)

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Adam M. Goldstein

President and CEO

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

 

Richard D. Fain

Chairman and CEO

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Lisa Bauer

Senior VP of Hotel Operations

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

 

investorrelations@rccl.com

[lori450]

thank you. I did send emails to Fain, Goldstein and C&A. You seem to be quite articulate (I suspect an attorney???). I think people would be more prone to sending a letter if they had one that was pre-written. Would you be willing to write such a letter and post it here so that people could cut, paste and email to the addresses you have provided.

 

Thank you!

[megr1125]

thanks...there are a few more on your list! of course, i am too steamed...maybe when i calm down...

 

Oh and the email from C&A with the so called changes, enhancements, whatever, finally showed up at 2 AM! :eek::rolleyes:

[Chitoryubt]

I had an electronic petition going - I announced it in a thread here on CC, but apparently the admins poofed the thread.

 

Here's what my letter said (the way the petition worked, it sent the below text in e-mails to Adam Goldstein, Bill Weeks, Customer service,a corporate officer (M. Bayley), web_reservations@rccl.com, shareholderbenefit@rccl.com, investorrelations@rccl.com, and crownandanchor@rccl.com)

 

Here's the text:

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

I feel that it is unfair to take away the Concierge Lounge benefit that was previously available to Diamond members. I sailed with your cruise line exclusively, specifically to earn Diamond status and the associated benefits, particularly access to the Concierge Lounge. To not "grandfather in" current Diamond members is duplicitous and unfair. I will no longer be "loyal to Royal", as I certainly don't feel that Royal was loyal to me. If I continued to sail Royal Caribbean and finally reach Diamond +, the Concierge Lounge benefit might be removed, again!

 

Please reconsider this decision. Your company will lose a great deal of revenue from those of us you cultivated so greatly, but whom now feel so betrayed.

If you want to participate in the petition, e-mail me at btsamp at bellsouth dot net and I'll send you the link to it.

[SI Cruiser]

If you are a stockholder like I am, then the changes going into effect are exactly what you want to see. Royal is a struggling company with too much debt. Expense reductions are necessary and perks such as a free happy hour for Diamond members is just the beginning of changes that need to be made in tough times. If I was running the show I would shut down the CL to everyone until the time the company returns to profitability.

 

I am going to write the powers that be and suggest that they close the CL and remove all perks. The dividend was recently eliminated and similarly all perks need to be stopped. If this includes the stockholder OBC then so be it.

 

All the whiners remind me of Wall Street execs and AIG employees crying about their bonuses.

 

If you want your cruise line to return to greatness then you need to bite the bullet as they work through these difficult times.

[lawgirl]

For those of you interested in writing to RCI about the Crown and Anchor changes, per the request of Lori, I am setting forth below a version of the letter I am sending. Please feel free to cut and paste and make any changes you see fit to personalize it. As noted, I am sending this to every person on the list in my original thread post. A slew of letters may be our best bet at changing the rules:

 

Mr. Richard D. Fain

Chairman and CEO

Royal Caribbean International

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

 

Re: RCI Changes to Crown and Anchor and Shareholder Benefits

 

Dear Mr. Fain:

 

My family and I have cruised many times on RCI. I am a Diamond member (member number __________) and frequent poster on Cruisecritic.com. I recently received an e-mail advising that RCI is removing important Diamond member benefits from its Crown and Anchor program. As of January, RCI also took away the ability to combine shareholders onboard credits with loyalty member credits.

 

As a frequent cruiser of RCI, I am frustrated and offended by RCI's disregard for loyal passengers. We have chosen to spend our hard-earned vacation dollars with RCI based upon promises of benefits offered by your line. Now that we have acheived loyalty benefits, RCI unilaterally changes the rules. One would hope that in this economy where all vacation providers are struggling to maintain customers, that RCI would be offering passengers more incentives instead of stripping benefits from those most loyal to your company.

 

Diamond member benefits such as use of a concierge lounge are why many of us have repeatedly cruised your line. Once such benefits were given to us, we trusted that RCI would allow us these perks for the remainder of our vacations on RCI. (Otherwise, we wouldn't have been as loyal to RCI). Now, to use the lounge and other privileges we were previously entitled to, we have to cruise many more times to become Diamond Plus or book an expensive suite. You have also taken away our stock benefit (in a time when we have already lost money on your stock). It is obvious that RCI does not care about loyal passengers nor should such passengers care about RCI.

 

At the very least, the company could have allowed previously-achieved benefits to continue for passengers who reached Diamond status prior to the benefit change date of July 1, 2009. RCI cannot say (under the guise of customer feedback) that the changes are for the benefit of its passengers. If the concern is overcrowding, you can solve that problem by not offering concierge benefits to those who reach Diamond status after July 1, 2009. Passengers would then be forewarned of benefits they will or won’t receive once they achieve a certain level. This is far fairer than literally stripping benefits from passengers who, like us, have been extremely loyal, spending vacation money with RCI.

 

At this point, I and my family and friends will not be cruising RCI in the future. Based upon the many postings on cruisecritic.com, it is evident that other loyal passengers agree and will be changing cruise lines. If your company has no interest in treating repeat passengers fairly, then such passengers have no reason to stay with RCI. We are hopeful that RCI realizes this serious business error and will allow current Crown and Anchor members and shareholders to maintain their benefits. If not, we will be moving to other cruise lines as a result of your poor business decisions.

 

 

Sincerely,

[lori450]

Lawgirl - thanks for taking the time.

[Chitoryubt]

Ditto - thanks for taking the time.

[lawgirl]

SI Cruiser: I am actually an RCI stockholder and to be frank, I am way more concerned about RCI losing many patrons (including me) and how that will affect stock. I believe that the minor cost of the lounge (at least provided to those who are Diamond before the 7/1/09 change) will pale in comparison to the lost revenue. I know many, many of my friends who have been sailing RCI exclusively because they want to attain Diamond for the perks. Now, they and all Diamond have no reason not the shop around. Likewise, there are many stockholders who will dump stock (once it actually goes up a bit) because they bought it for the shareholder credit.

 

I saw an NCL special on CNBC about the busniness of cruising - 50% of their revenue is from repeat cruisers and they are trying to increase that. The biggest loss from a line comes from empty cabins. How many more cabins will be empty when a loyalty program is so useless that the line loses repeat passengers. (really - one free glass of wine or beer in my coupon book after 10 cruises!!)

 

I truly hope folks write. Thanks.

[coxswain]

Well done everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[emdia43]

If you are a stockholder like I am, then the changes going into effect are exactly what you want to see. Royal is a struggling company with too much debt. Expense reductions are necessary and perks such as a free happy hour for Diamond members is just the beginning of changes that need to be made in tough times. If I was running the show I would shut down the CL to everyone until the time the company returns to profitability.

 

I am going to write the powers that be and suggest that they close the CL and remove all perks. The dividend was recently eliminated and similarly all perks need to be stopped. If this includes the stockholder OBC then so be it.

 

All the whiners remind me of Wall Street execs and AIG employees crying about their bonuses.

 

If you want your cruise line to return to greatness then you need to bite the bullet as they work through these difficult times.

 

 

I am a stockholder too.

It puzzles me why they are alienating the repeat customers who spend $$$ on cruises every year,in order to save the CL costs .

That seems a short sighted and false economy.

"Let's see, how can we save money- I know, let's p*** off every loyal customer we have and see how that works".

I am not sure how that will help a "struggling company".

[baabtx]

What makes this more disconcerting is after watching the show on CNBC last night - Cruise Inc. where they shadowed the NCL Pearl - it was clearly indicated they rely on those "Loyal Return Cruisers" to continue to make money for the line.

 

Seems that RCI has completely lost their focus, so I guess all they are going to get on their ships now are "new to cruising" pax that once they see how long it takes to reach any level on C&A will not hesitate to use another line if they want to cruise.. nothing to keep them coming back...

 

 

Lawgirl you rock!! You bet they'll hear from me!

 

 

 

 

I have read differing opinions on this site about RCI changes. Many feel as I do. I am a Diamond member who has spent thousands with RCI (literally only booking my vacations with them for years) to obtain Diamond status. I did it for the perk of the concierge lounge, which I have now only used once before it is taken away. I also bought stock (and have lost money like everyone else) for the benefit of an onboard credit. All of this is now taken away. I feel that RCI had a responsbility to allow VESTED Diamond members and shareholders to keep benefits. If the rules need to change, they should be limited to those who buy stock or become Diamond after the change date. (I understand that you may not agree, but if you do, please read on...)

 

I am writing to every person I can think of at RCI. I hope you will join me. RCI must have some regard for Cruise Critic members, as they have an onboard social event for us. Maybe this will do no good, but if enough of us complain, who knows. Here is who I am writing:

 

crownandanchor@rccl.com

 

Corporate Guest Relations

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Vicki Freed

Senior VP Sales (who heads the C and A program)

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Adam M. Goldstein

President and CEO

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

 

Richard D. Fain

Chairman and CEO

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Lisa Bauer

Senior VP of Hotel Operations

RCI

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

 

investorrelations@rccl.com

[lrskier]

i used your's as a beginning and added a few comments of my own.. Hopefully a grandfather clause will be added for those already Diamond. If it can not be afforded then as you say, close em down. Put a setup in suites for those that book them like Other cruise lines. You know I feel cheated because some cruisers have gotten credits for 3/4 day cruises to get their status; i did all 7 nite or longer for each credit earned. 11 nites to Hawaii didn't get but one. I thought this was going to nites and not cruises to equalize. what happened? what a mess, glad i don't have to handle this public relations boondoggle.. LOLOLOLolllllllllllll......

[lori450]

Here's the response I got:

 

RE: Concierge Lounge

 

Dear Lori:

 

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your benefits. We apologize for any delay in our response. You are a valued Diamond member and we recognize that you are not pleased by our recent communication regarding benefits changes effective July 1, 2009 as it relates to eligibility for access to the Concierge Lounges throughout the fleet. We made this decision because too often crowding in the Lounges prevents us from fulfilling our original purpose of providing suite guests with a private, exclusive amenity. It has not been an easy decision to make but we believe it is necessary to offer this service at an appropriate level.

 

Royal Caribbean will continue to recognize the value of Diamond level members in a variety of ways. Diamond members cruising on Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas-class ships will continue to experience exclusive access to a dedicated Diamond Lounge on these ships, which feature complimentary Happy Hour from 5 - 8:30 p.m. daily. Ships that do not have a Diamond Lounge will have a new special event hosted by our ships' officers for Diamond members to meet and mingle with other members. It will feature complimentary wine, champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

 

In addition, Royal Caribbean remains committed to maintaining a world class standard in our product delivery. Our fleet is performing at a very high level in 2009 and we hope you will come back to us soon and experience our Gold Anchor Service and amazing innovations. While we are exceptionally excited to introduce Oasis of the Seas later this year and her sister Allure of the Seas in 2010, we would be very happy to have you onboard any of our 22 ships in the near future.

 

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback, and assure you it will be properly documented and utilized for future decision-making purposes.

 

Lori, we look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Christopher Alford

Crown & Anchor Society

 

 

In other words....a whole lot of nothing.

[abridalmaven]

if you are a stockholder like i am, then the changes going into effect are exactly what you want to see. Royal is a struggling company with too much debt. Expense reductions are necessary and perks such as a free happy hour for diamond members is just the beginning of changes that need to be made in tough times. If i was running the show i would shut down the cl to everyone until the time the company returns to profitability.

 

I am going to write the powers that be and suggest that they close the cl and remove all perks. The dividend was recently eliminated and similarly all perks need to be stopped. If this includes the stockholder obc then so be it.

 

All the whiners remind me of wall street execs and aig employees crying about their bonuses.

 

If you want your cruise line to return to greatness then you need to bite the bullet as they work through these difficult times.

:d:d:d:d

[SargassoPirate]

This is what happens when you let the bean counters sit at the big table. PO 50% of your customer base is not the way to make your business succesfull. Happy customers tell three people about their experience and unhappy customers tell ten people - and some tell everyone they see.

 

I cancelled two cruises today and am shopping around. Looks like any replacement line I choose for about the same itinerary is around $40 per day cheaper per person.

 

Now I really feel like a royal chump!

[CruisinCJ]

To lori450 and others:

 

 

OMG........they are sending out a "canned" response. I got

the same letter from Michael Scott at the C & A Society!!!

 

Real personalized:eek:

[coxswain]

SargassoPirate i agree with you

 

Accountants should only be there to keep the score but never be allowed to play in the game !!!

 

 

 

What a lovely email from RCCL !!

 

 

 

 

 

jj......

[CruisinCJ]

Thanks Lawgirl,

 

 

I have copied and pasted and will send letters tomorrow.

 

I haven't cancelled anything yet.....oh how I WANT to, but

I'm trying to wait and see if there is any other outcome.

 

Carol

[suekay]

To lori450 and others:

 

 

OMG........they are sending out a "canned" response. I got

the same letter from Michael Scott at the C & A Society!!!

 

Real personalized:eek:

And I got the same letter from Cheryl Kramer at the C&A :rolleyes:

[Larry5440]

My wife and I agree with your coments completely lawgirl. We will stand with you and your thoughts and will forward them to RCL as well. After being Loyal to Royal for over 10 years and having just attained diamond status we were looking forward to what it was going to offer. RCI is basically saying "just Cruise with us 14 more times and you will be able to enjoy the CL". I can just hear it in 2022 RCL has changed the rules again. It won't matter then because at my age I will not know if I am on a ship or in a resort. My wife even went out to get Princess Cruise line book at the travel agent today. I hope RCL recants or at the least ,grandfathers in the people who have been loyal to RCL. We are watching and listening and hoping cooler heads prevail at RCL.

[sailorgrammy]

To lori450 and others:

 

 

OMG........they are sending out a "canned" response. I got

the same letter from Michael Scott at the C & A Society!!!

 

Real personalized:eek:

 

Mine was a bit different, but the bottom line is the same:

RE: Concierge Lounge

 

Dear Karen:

 

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your benefits. We apologize for any delay in our response. Please see the below for further information regarding the changes to our program regarding the use of the Concierge Lounge for Diamond members. This change to our benefits will become effective July 1, 2009.

 

The Concierge Club is a private club reserved for guests staying in staterooms of categories GS and above Diamond Plus members of the Crown & Anchor Society regardless of category. The Club is accessible twenty-four hours a day with a special key that is given to each guest in these categories.

 

The following ships offer Concierge Club services:

Adventure of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas

Enchantment of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Freedom of the Seas *

Independence of the Seas *

Jewel of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas *

Mariner of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas

Radiance of the Seas

Serenade of the Seas

Splendour of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

 

*On Freedom and Oasis class ships, there are two lounges: the Concierge Club, for those guests in a category GS or above, and the Diamond Club, for Diamond and Diamond Plus members of the Crown & Anchor Society regardless of category. If the Diamond or Diamond Plus members are staying in a GS or above, they will have access to both lounges. However, if they are staying in a category below a GS, they will only have access to the Diamond Club.

 

On ships without a Diamond Lounge, a special event will be hosted by our ship officers for Diamond and Diamond Plus members. During this event we will offer complimentary wine, champagne and hors d'oeurvres.

 

We made this decision because too often crowding in the Lounges prevents us from fulfilling our original purpose of providing suite guests with a private, exclusive amenity. It has not been an easy decision to make but we believe it is necessary to offer this service at an appropriate level.

 

Royal Caribbean will continue to recognize the value of Diamond level members in a variety of ways. Diamond members cruising on Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas-class ships will continue to experience exclusive access to a dedicated Diamond Lounge on these ships, which feature complimentary Happy Hour from 5 - 8:30 p.m. daily.

 

In addition, Royal Caribbean remains committed to maintaining a world class standard in our product delivery. Our fleet is performing at a very high level in 2009 and we hope you will come back to us soon and experience our Gold Anchor Service and amazing innovations. While we are exceptionally excited to introduce Oasis of the Seas later this year and her sister Allure of the Seas in 2010, we would be very happy to have you onboard any of our 22 ships in the near future.

 

We appreciate you taking the time to correspond with us. Thank you for your patronage to Royal Caribbean International.

 

Karen, we look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Christopher Alford

Crown & Anchor Society

 

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

 

Call: 1-800-526-9723, 8 AM to 11 PM EST, Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 8 PM EST Saturday-Sunday

(Outside the United States or Canada: +1-316-554-5951)

Visit our Web site: http://www.royalcaribbean.com

E-mail us: crownandanchor@rccl.com

Write us: Crown & Anchor Society

P.O. Box 026053

Miami, FL 33102-6053

 

*** Be sure to keep your Crown & Anchor Membership Number handy and always provide it every time you book a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation to get all the benefits to which you are entitled. ***

[setsail]

This is what happens when you let the bean counters sit at the big table. PO 50% of your customer base is not the way to make your business succesfull. Happy customers tell three people about their experience and unhappy customers tell ten people - and some tell everyone they see.

 

I cancelled two cruises today and am shopping around. Looks like any replacement line I choose for about the same itinerary is around $40 per day cheaper per person.

 

Now I really feel like a royal chump!

 

Interested in being able to look at your evidence that says 50% of RCCL cruisers are po'ed.

 

A show on tv (not about RCCL) stated that 50% of their cruisers were repeat.

 

 

I would say that if I counted all the posters that feel like you here and on that other board, might get 20

 

If 50% of RCCL's pax are repeat then what do you cite that says they ALL are po'ed.

[Aprille]

Here is the response I received which is very similar to what others have posted but check out the slip-up at the end! :eek:

 

Dear Aprille:

 

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your benefits. You are a valued Diamond member and we recognize that you are not pleased by our recent communication regarding benefits changes effective July 1, 2009 as it relates to eligibility for access to the Concierge Lounges throughout the fleet. We made this decision because too often crowding in the Lounges prevents us from fulfilling our original purpose of providing suite guests with a private, exclusive amenity. It has not been an easy decision to make but we believe it is necessary to offer this service at an appropriate level.

 

Royal Caribbean will continue to recognize the value of Diamond level members in a variety of ways. Diamond members cruising on Freedom of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas-class ships will continue to experience exclusive access to a dedicated Diamond Lounge on these ships, which feature complimentary Happy Hour from 5 - 8:30 p.m. daily. Ships that do not have a Diamond Lounge will have a new special event hosted by our ships' officers for Diamond members to meet and mingle with other members. It will feature complimentary wine, champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

 

In addition, Royal Caribbean remains committed to maintaining a world class standard in our product delivery. Our fleet is performing at a very high level in 2009 and we hope you will come back to us soon and experience our Gold Anchor Service and amazing innovations. While we are exceptionally excited to introduce Oasis of the Seas later this year and her sister Allure of the Seas in 2010, we would be very happy to have you onboard any of our 22 ships in the near future.

 

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback, and assure you it will be properly documented and utilized for future decision-making purposes.

 

Brad, we look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

???????

Crown & Anchor Society

 

Who the heck is Brad?! :p I left the sender's name out. I'm sure she's been copying and pasting names all day. :rolleyes: Poor dear. :p

[Leafpeeper]

When RCI says that the CL will be open to suite and diamond plus, does this include junior suites?

 

Also, how many cruises credits does it take to get diamond plus status?