Who is leaving Royal, and who left, and came back

[temple1]

Unfortunately I left Royal through no fault of my own on May 2.

 

They made me get off the ship at the end of my cruise. I would have stayed, but nooooo - they said I had to pack up all my stuff and leave. :mad:

[crzycruizer]

We just returned from Mariner that was diverted to the Pacific NW from Mexico due to Swine. We paid a pretty hefty fare for our balcony but opted to stay on due to flights, vacation time etc. On the phone with RCCL we were offered 350 OBC and 350 for another cruise to Mexico. We could not get those credits until we boarded the ship. WELL guess what???? We boarded and no credits were given to us even after several calls and emails to RCCL corp in Miami.

 

The price for our balcony was 500.00 more than those who booked as New Bookings. I am going to try once more with a written letter but honestly, after this, we will try another line. We are gamblers and drinkers and I cannot believe they did this to us. Corporate America does not care.

 

I have been on many CCL cruises and although they are the "party boat" have been treated better than this debacle.

 

We will be giving another line a shot if this is not resolved in some manner. Which I expect will be the case. I think we will try Princess or NCL and see what happens.

 

Happy cruising and the price and itinerary are the most important things in this economy.

[cruiseorbust]

As a Travel Agent, I hope that someone from Royal Caribbean is reading this thread to share with corporate! You need to do something, because the "WOW" factor seems to be wow against Royal Caribbean??? Prices do seem very high, especially when I look at the prices being charged for the Oasis around the holidays and beyond. In this economy, who can afford to cruise with prices so high?

[cruisefromct]

Just got off the Mariner the same time as the previous poster. Booked 5 1/2 weeks ago when the itinerary changed. Got a great deal on a JS sailing solo. If you think the cruise perks have gone down wait until you see the coupon books. Not worth the paper they are printed on.

[smoosh21]

Anyone left Royal?

 

Anyone left and come back?

 

Anyone left and stayed away?

 

Lost of discussion on these threads, about trying another cruise line.

Would be interesting to hear your comments.

 

Happy Cruising

 

I am one of those people who is not 'loyal' to any cruise line. As you can see from my previous cruises, I have sailed on many lines. I was going to stick with HAL, but then I tried Royal and then I figured I would try others too. I still want to sail Cunard, and eventually one of the luxery lines like Crystal.

 

Since I have sailed so many, I have not built up the loyalty perks on any of them, so that is not currently a factor for me.

 

Every cruise line does have a certain personality and there are things I like about each and things I don't like about each. The only one so far I have not cared for is Carnival.

[Hypo]

We have left Royal; but, we didn't go too far. We have moved over to Celebrity, since we sailed on the Solstice last November and found it to be more to our liking. We will be back in the future, whenever an itinerary meets our needs.

 

Hypo

[crusinmama06]

I'm back already. :D See, that didn't take long...lol.

 

Money saved wasn't worth it - TO ME. And only to ME.

 

DISCLAIMER: This statement is not meant to infer that the money saved would not be worth it to anyone else. The above opinion represents only an opinion of the above named poster and that opinion is not assumed to be the opinion of anyone else on cruise critic and all of its affiliates. Void where prohibited. Not valid in Arizona and Hawaii.

[yawalias]

We left in May for a Princess cruise. We will never sail anything but Royal Caribbean again!!! Already checking out cruises.

[jtwisconsin]

Too funny Michele. ;)

 

To be perfectly honest I am not that crazy about the Voyager and Freedom class ships. They just seem too big and I am not a fan of the Royal Promenade. Likewise I am not looking to try Oasis either.

 

We are going to try Celebrity next - most likely a Southern Caribbean cruise. I will be interested to see for myself what Celebrity is really like.

[Mickisews]

Yeah, I was on the cruise June 7-14 & "royal" gave us a royal screwing. We booked a JS in 4-08 & were supposed to get $200 OBC for booking on a prior cruise, $600 OBC for the route change & $600 future cruise. We got $100 OBC & that's all.

 

Called my TA & she's not getting anywhere with them. Furthermore, I doubt her agency will recommend Royal in the future.

 

We just returned from Mariner that was diverted to the Pacific NW from Mexico due to Swine. We paid a pretty hefty fare for our balcony but opted to stay on due to flights, vacation time etc. On the phone with RCCL we were offered 350 OBC and 350 for another cruise to Mexico. We could not get those credits until we boarded the ship. WELL guess what???? We boarded and no credits were given to us even after several calls and emails to RCCL corp in Miami.

 

The price for our balcony was 500.00 more than those who booked as New Bookings. I am going to try once more with a written letter but honestly, after this, we will try another line. We are gamblers and drinkers and I cannot believe they did this to us. Corporate America does not care.

 

I have been on many CCL cruises and although they are the "party boat" have been treated better than this debacle.

 

We will be giving another line a shot if this is not resolved in some manner. Which I expect will be the case. I think we will try Princess or NCL and see what happens.

 

Happy cruising and the price and itinerary are the most important things in this economy.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I was very Loyal to Royal until last year when the price of the exact same itinerary on the Golden Princess to the MR was so much less than on the Vision I was forced to give Princess a try. Too bad that was the case because I found out I really liked Princess! That opened my eyes a little bit. So, when we were looking at a southern Caribbean cruise for this year and I saw that Princess had a really great itinerary that included some not-so-over-visited islands on the Caribbean Princess we went for it. I also made a new discovery along the way...changing cruise lines occasionly allows for other new experiences, like new menus and shows. That made me a bit braver. So today I was looking for a cruise to Alaska. I was booked on Princess already (booked onboard the Caribbean Princess), but my OV cabin was so pricey I decided to check out the other lines. I almost returned to RCI when I saw that I could get the same itinerary with a balcony for only $100 more than my current booking on Princess. But then I looked on Carnival's site, just to see....not seriously, mind you. Suddenly it popped out at me that I could get a regular balcony cabin for $1300 less than my Princess OV and $1400 less than RCI's regular balcony. I also remembered friends raving about the Carnival Spirit and I took the plunge!!!:eek:

 

I am still an RCI VISA cardholder and will continue to use it. I will be on the Radiance in September and I can't wait!:D Also, the Visa card has helped give us some very nice savings.:) However, I will now book cruises according to itinerary & price over loyalty to any one line. I learned my lesson. I like RCI, but also like other lines. The thing is that we were very close to Diamond (one more cruise in a JS after this next one) and there was a point where that was very important to me. Now, not so much. There just isn't that much value to it anymore.

[Cruise Junky]

But then I looked on Carnival's site, just to see....not seriously, mind you. Suddenly it popped out at me that I could get a regular balcony cabin for $1300 less than my Princess OV and $1400 less than RCI's regular balcony. I also remembered friends raving about the Carnival Spirit and I took the plunge!!!:eek:

 

 

Carnival Spirit is really well priced right now, we're seriously looking at her for a Hawaii one way either to or from Vancouver.

[Hawaiian_A330]

We were thinking of straying to RCCL from Carnival. The service we recieve on Carnival has always been excellent. From what I am reading, things have really gone downhill on RCCL. If they cant take care of there Diamond members, then what could they possibly do for me?

 

Exactly how we feel as well. We are loyal NCL cruisers who, like you on CCL, received excellent service on every sailing so far :) We were interested in testing the waters with RCCL but are a bit more hesitant now for the same reason you brought up over how they can't even take care of their own loyal customers.

[Ladylouwho]

Exactly how we feel as well. We are loyal NCL cruisers who, like you on CCL, received excellent service on every sailing so far :) We were interested in testing the waters with RCCL but are a bit more hesitant now for the same reason you brought up over how they can't even take care of their own loyal customers.

 

Wow, I am continuously amazed how RCI has alienated so many long term, loyal, frequent cruisers (like me). I cannot put my finger on why they would be doing this. The Management at RCI is either totally inept or they have some strange ulterior business reason that would make them want to get their customers to book with other cruise lines.

 

But reading your post made me realize they were now even alienating people who had never sailed RCI but were considering it! By alienating so many loyal royals who are now giving them "FREE" bad advertising, they are losing future cruisers as well. Why are they doing this?

 

Is there any astute business person out there who thinks the "NEW" RCI Business Model makes sense?????

 

Just Wondering,

Colleen

[zonkiethegreat]

Although RCI tends to be pricier, I prefer it over the other cruise lines. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Celebrity!!! The Celebroty Summit West European Med cruise was AMAZING!

 

Carnival has great itineraries, but I just hate their ships.

[maxamuus]

Wow, I am continuously amazed how RCI has alienated so many long term, loyal, frequent cruisers (like me). I cannot put my finger on why they would be doing this. The Management at RCI is either totally inept or they have some strange ulterior business reason that would make them want to get their customers to book with other cruise lines.

 

But reading your post made me realize they were now even alienating people who had never sailed RCI but were considering it! By alienating so many loyal royals who are now giving them "FREE" bad advertising, they are losing future cruisers as well. Why are they doing this?

 

Is there any astute business person out there who thinks the "NEW" RCI Business Model makes sense?????

 

Just Wondering,

Colleen

 

It sounds like to me that an accountant is the CEO. Accountants only care about the bottom line and numbers and have no understanding of anything but that.

 

I work for a airline and the same type of person almost drove us out of business. Thankfully someone with common sense turned it around at the last second.

[digital_curator]

We have been loyal to Royal, with four cruises under our belt and a TA booked for next year.

 

However, a few things have me looking elsewhere:

 

1) We are shareholders and made Platinum in March, unfortunately at a time when combinable perks were being eliminated (though we just squeaked in a shareholder/next cruise/coupon deal). I am a graduate student, so we have to plan our vacations carefully and losing the combined discount means we will either cruise less, spend less onboard, or look elsewhere. Probably not what RCI had hoped for!

 

2) We have now cruised a variety of ships (2 Voyager class, 1 Radiance class, and 1 Freedom class) and various itinearies, never seeing the same port twice. While familiar can be good, we are interested in new ship designs/amenities/menus/shows/etc. and different itineraries. We will probably try the Oasis at some point (at least when the prices drop!) but until then, other cruise lines are very tempting, especially Princess. CC reviews seem to indicate more similarities than differences in terms of quality and service.

 

3) I receive regular emails from Princess, Carnival, and HAL and their prices are really tempting- huge sales, OBC, lots of perks. It only took us a few years to make Platinum on Royal, so it wouldn't take us long to do the same with Princess (which seems to have a good loyalty program) and since Diamond status has lost some of its appeal we probably will strike out with a new line for our next trip.

[kruzerci]

Wow, I am continuously amazed how RCI has alienated so many long term, loyal, frequent cruisers (like me). I cannot put my finger on why they would be doing this. The Management at RCI is either totally inept or they have some strange ulterior business reason that would make them want to get their customers to book with other cruise lines.

 

But reading your post made me realize they were now even alienating people who had never sailed RCI but were considering it! By alienating so many loyal royals who are now giving them "FREE" bad advertising, they are losing future cruisers as well. Why are they doing this?

 

Is there any astute business person out there who thinks the "NEW" RCI Business Model makes sense?????

 

Just Wondering,

Colleen

 

See, I don't feel that way at all. I feel like if anything, my cruises with Royal get better with time. The only thing that I could put a finger on that is going downhill is the food, but as far as customer service onboard and onshore, they have always impressed me. The one time I did have a small problem on a RCI cruise, it was handled promptly and sufficiently.

 

I think the people who are leaving are leaving because of petty things such as losing the diamond lounge. Honestly- it's not a big deal! I never used it when I could! And the pillow chocolates, god forbid they take those away permanently :rolleyes:!

 

But seriously, I plan to branch out, but not because Royal is slipping- I just want to test the waters. All I know is that I'm not in a hurry to run back to Carnival unless the price difference is tremendous, and I would still have to really consider it, and I don't want to try "Freestyle cruising". However, I certainly look forward to trying Princess and Celebrity. I have a feeling that RC will always be 'home', though.

[johnrich]

My wife and I are platinum members but decided to test the waters and went on a Princess cruise (Sapphire) to Alaska. We dreaded our decision. I don't think we would sail Princess again. Neither the staff nor the ship were on the same level as RCCL. We are now planning our next cruise and did notice that the prices seem higher than before. We may try another line (not Princess) if we can find an itinerary we like with a really good price, but I'm sure we'll be back to RCCL.

[DC2OC]

I will come/go forever I would guess.RCCL had great loyalty bennies but now they are in line with other lines.Price/Iten will be deciding factors .My loyalty runs with my wife ,family and friends . ............Frank:)

[HMSDingy]

Our first 4 cruises were with Princess. We switched to RCI because of the itineraries and, believe it or not, prices. Regardless of what is being poseted on this board, we find that RCI prices are still relatively lower than Princess for similar itineraries. On our next cruise, we got a $1200 price drop and our TA is still fighting to get sone OBC. Not that we will only cruise with RCI but do a little more shopping. Who knows what line we'll choose next. Most probably skip next year (waiting for my son to announce some news:rolleyes:)

[DonnaK]

The one time we left RCI for Carnival (Miracle), it was a disappointing experience, and we came running back.

 

However, last year we tried Princess and found that they provide an equivalent cruising experience. We are sailing Princess again this year. The reason: simple economics. Our Caribbean Princess cruise costs about $2000 less (for our family of 4) than a similiar itinerary on Explorer of the Seas. Even though we LOVE the RCI product, they are no longer competitively priced for the cruises we've looked at. (We MUST cruise during the summer). As well, we are very tired of the same old Eastern/Western Caribbean ports on RCI, and other cruiselines offer "new-to-us" ports.

[dfishner]

When RCL cut their program we decided to look what else is out there, have two cruises booked one on Carnival the other on NCL. When we booked NCL we were given a huge amount of OBC in addition to a cabin price reduction. We will see how we like both cruise lines. We are booked on Oasis which I am looking forward to but have no RCL cruises booked until 11/10. RCL lost us as our cruise line of choice and it is now an open playing field.

[HMSDingy]

The only cruise that we found with a similar itinerary was onboard the Ruby Princess. But the Ruby sails out of one port and returns to another. That would mean more expensive airfare and we we found the price for a balcony to be more costly as well. But there are many things that Princess does that I prefer over RCI,

[rolloman]

It all comes down to what you expect from a cruise. With RCCL I love the dining classy areas, the spacious common areas and the unlimited activities. I recently went on the new Ruby Princess and it just did not compare to the Freedom Class. I was fond of Princess but comparing apples to apples I am now sticking with RCCL or NCL new ships (Pearl, Gem, Jewel) as I find they are innovative and memorable.