What Would It Take?

What would it take for me quit cruising? It would take a lot more to offend me and drive me away than it would many of the others on these boards.

Raising the prepaid gratuities 95 cents a day? Nope, that would not make me leave.

Having to walk up to a bar to get my drinks instead of having the roving waiter come by? Nope.

Not getting more than two lobsters on formal night? Nope. That would not do it either.

Not getting a towel animal in my room? Not enough to make me quit cruising. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing them but wouldn't quit cruising if they went away.

I just went on a 7 day on the Freedom and did not really have any problem getting served anyhow. Someone was almost always coming by and it never took more than 10 minutes for them to return. I have definitely waited longer than that before "cutbacks."

Truthfully, having more than two lobsters is bordering on being a little selfish. I know they aren't big, but there are more people than just me that think maybe there should be enough to go around for everyone to have one- instead of someone getting five. Yes, they are included. No you don't get to hoard the lobsters.

What might make me quit cruising? Staff being outright hateful. Really bad food- like rotten. Continuously missing ports of call. Having people complain so much about petty stuff that it becomes unpleasant to cruise.

There are an awful lot of deal breakers for an awful lot of people on these boards. Some of them are very "first world" complaints. Some people's gripes seem like those of someone very entitled. Some folks seem like they have never worked a day in their lives. If you are that lucky, good for you.

It seems like some people really would like to go back to "class cruising" with the super loyal and super entitled on the upper decks and the "steerage" down below with a locked area so they could not come up.

As far as loyalty, I am above a newbie and well below a Pinnacle. However, I try to grant the staff as much grace as they grant me. I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to cruising. I realize I may have to wait a moment for things. Truthfully, that's fine with me. I work on a time sensitive job every day. The fact that I have to wait 5 minutes for a fluffy frozen drink is NOT a big deal at all. My cabin is always clean and livable. You may not be able to eat off the floors, but who really wants to? My dining companions are usually fun. I like meeting new people. I like learning about new things. I know when to back off though.

It is a vacation folks. Try thinking about the people who can't cruise for 1/3 or 1/2 the year. Some of us save our vacation days to cruise for 7 days and that time away is a luxury. It would be great if we could be encouraging.

I am so thankful I had cruised before I ever discovered cruise critic. I think I may never have stepped foot on a ship if I had come here first. I would have thought cruising was the worst thing ever.

Yep..sums it up :)

lol yep.

We had to wait a little on radiance last month, line up at bars etc but that wouldnt make me quit crusing. The only thing that would make me quit is maybe high prices, higher than what an eqv land holiday would cost which is probably not going to happen :)

Missing cruise points according to a recent thread

Well said!

The voice of reason....What a concept!

Totally agree! I sometimes read here and begin to think that I must be missing something or that I am just too accepting. BUT I am not either. I just love to cruise, have been on many land vacations so I am not a novice. BUT unless something really awful would happen, I am just content to be served, cleaned up after, and entertained

Missing cruise points according to a recent thread

I have to say I am with you on that one. :)

It seems that some people do have large numbers of missing points. Yikes. They need to get that one straightened out for sure and give credit where credit is due. Some of you folks do cruise a lot. You should definitely get the perks you have earned. I would be a bit aggravated at that one. Enough disappearing points and I just might consider looking elsewhere.

What will stop me from cruising? Till I can't afford it anymore. :(

Some of them are very "first world" complaints.

Well, cruising is very much a "first world" vacation so really ALL complaints and ALL topics here are "first world". :confused:

You have just said that you are a newbie. Well so am I, kinda. But even after only 6 years and 4 RC cruises I have witnessed many cutbacks and a case of paying more and receiving less. Some people are just tired of it is all and see this as a place to come and voice displeasure. Afterall, "Critic" is defined as a person who expresses an unfavorable opinion on something. ;)

This would be a very very boring place if all it was full of was pom pom waving Royal Caribbean cheerleaders. I for one, appreciate both the positives AND negatives and try my best to give both in any review I post. There is always the option of just skipping over the threads from habitual complainers.

JMHO

Missing cruise points according to a recent thread

For the record. I just checked. All of mine are still there. Thank goodness. When you have as few as I have, you need every one of them.

None of the things listed would make me quit cruising.

They would (and have) all contribute to me considering other cruise lines and other alternatives to cruising, but not outright walking away from cruising.

We love cruising and I have cruised every year since 1977, as long as we can walk on our own and can afford it we will cruise, some cruise line annoy me once in a while so we just try another line.

Well, cruising is very much a "first world" vacation so really ALL complaints and ALL topics here are "first world". :confused:

 

You have just said that you are a newbie. Well so am I, kinda. But even after only 6 years and 4 RC cruises I have witnessed many cutbacks and a case of paying more and receiving less. Some people are just tired of it is all and see this as a place to come and voice displeasure. Afterall, "Critic" is defined as a person who expresses an unfavorable opinion on something. ;)

 

This would be a very very boring place if all it was full of was pom pom waving Royal Caribbean cheerleaders. I for one, appreciate both the positives AND negatives and try my best to give both in any review I post. There is always the option of just skipping over the threads from habitual complainers.

 

JMHO

Well, I actually said I was above a newbie. Not a great choice of words. I am not above anyone. I have earned enough credits to be classified as Platinum. That only means I have cruised more than a couple of times, not that I am any better or worse than anyone with more or less credit and cruise time. More credit than a first time cruiser, but far from Diamond and worlds away from Pinnacle.

A critic can also be a person who judges or evaluates. That's how I generally view this site- a place to gather information. Not just a place to say what is wrong or unfavorable. To each his own.

You are right. Cruising is a very first world activity and luxury. I just find it laughable at times that people say "It really adds up when you cruise for 1/3 of the year. That's a big expense." Even cruising in the cheapest stateroom would be expensive if you cruised for 1/3 of the year. But that's not what most of these people do, if they cruise that much. They are generally in suites and LARGE suites complaining about an extra dollar or so every day.

They get off the boat and take pictures of those "poor little poor people in their dirt shacks" and go back and say "Oh, look at those dirt poor folks. They might be criminals." They guard their purses and flip their Diamonds International bags around- acting scared but flaunting their wealth. Some of the folks in those shacks have no hope of ever cruising, unless they are able to get on the ship as a staff member. Truthfully, that may be something they don't even aspire to do in their wildest dreams. Instead of having a wake-up call as to the fact that many places on earth have absolute poverty, and they are far more fortunate than they realize, they complain.

I remember my first visit to Jamaica in 1995 on my honeymoon. We were shown a dentist's office off the side of the road. It barely had a roof and no doors. Yet people went there to get dental work done. It was what they had. Better than nothing, but hardly the air conditioned office with a large aquarium where I go. It changed my heart forever. I had never been exposed to that sort of living. And those folks probably had more than most if they could afford dental care. Think of those who can't. One day, when I have a trustworthy guide, I will take a tour of the real islands. It may shock me to see how little they have, and it may shock me to see the affluence. I don't really know.

We are loyal RC cruisers but last spring we went on the Carnival Breeze for my sons HS spring break trip. Now maybe it's because the Breeze is their newer ship but the service, food choices, general atmosphere and activities were really good. I could totally be happy doing that ship again. I missed things like the royal promenade and florider, etc, but we had a great time and are already talking out doing it next spring break for my next sons HS senior spring break.

The thing that really surprised me however is the thread and facebook group for this cruise was so positive and enthusiastic before the cruise. But as the cruise went on more and more people complained about the service, the food, everything. It was like it was contagious to complain. It really surprised me. I know we all work hard for our money, but that is no excuse to complain about little things like waiting in line at the bar or the lobsters being too small. For value, the Breeze was clearly the winner over any RC cruise I have taken. Apparently amount money spent doesn't change whether people complain or not.

All it would take for me to quit cruising would be a statement from my wife that we don't have to go on a cruise. I won the last round and cancelled our Oasis cruise, but that apparently only delayed things as we are booked on Oasis again for March 2016

We are loyal RC cruisers but last spring we went on the Carnival Breeze for my sons HS spring break trip. Now maybe it's because the Breeze is their newer ship but the service, food choices, general atmosphere and activities were really good.

 

The thing that really surprised me however is the thread and facebook group for this cruise was so positive and enthusiastic before the cruise. But as the cruise went on more and more people complained about the service, the food, everything. It was like it was contagious to complain. Apparently amount money spent doesn't change whether people complain or not.

I would be open to trying another line. This thread was not about Royal in particular. I probably should have posted it elsewhere, but since the "what should be included in regular fare" and the "royal raises gratuities" threads raised so many "I will just quit cruising and go elsewhere" comments- I wondered what it would take for folks to actually quit cruising- with Royal or any other line.

The complainers exist everywhere. That is definitely NOT unique to Royal and it is not unique to those in upper loyalty ranks. Complainers are complainers. I just find the things that people complain about are often things to which I pay no attention. I have noticed there may be fewer roving waiters, but then I think "Give him some time. He may have extra folks to deal with." I don't complain that it takes me 5 minutes instead of two to get my drink.

Seriously, if you have such a serious issue that you can't wait more than 2 minutes for a roving waiter to come back with you drink- you may want to check out the Friends of Bill W meetings.

Missing cruise points according to a recent thread

I was going there too. Apparently all of 20 points that disappeared is the proverbial straw for at least one cruiser.

And likewise there's been another thread where someone (and everyone he knows apparently) were PO'd that his DIL was *gasp* going to have to wait until she cruised ONCE to get grandfathered into her husband's Diamond status. Though to be fair, I'm not sure "never cruising them again" entered that discussion...

It would take a lot to make me stop cruising. I still think it is the best vacation for me. The recent changes and cutbacks are causing me to look at other lines, which may not be a bad thing. Are things always perfect, no but I manage to find positives in all my cruises.

For the record. I just checked. All of mine are still there. Thank goodness. When you have as few as I have, you need every one of them.

I just checked too! And I took a screen shot! :eek:

What would it take to stop me from cruising?

For the seas to run dry:)

Since I don't drink, the packages and high prices don't affect me, so as long as I can afford to cruise, see new places and enjoy meeting people, I really don't need all the extras to make my cruise. DH doesn't wish to know the details of how we got from Point A to B, as long as he gets to meet new friends, and see new places as I do oh and as long as he can buy his beer he is a happy camper:).

What would it take to stop me from cruising?

 

For the seas to run dry:)

River cruises

Congratulations. What has an effect on whether you continue cruising is the same as some people and different than some people.

I would think the issues you describe as not important to you because you save your vacation days to cruise while others cruise several times a year, would actually be more important to you. If you cruise several times a year

there is a good chance the next one will be better. If you vacation once a year and have issues, there goes your vacation for the year.

What would it take to stop me from cruising?

 

For the seas to run dry:)

I pretty much feel the same way.