UNCFanatik

We operate in a free market where the customers have a choice of Cruise Lines. Demand for cruising is back up after the pandemic and since restrictions have been lifted. The cruise lines lost billions during the shut down and now inflation is on the rise. Combine higher demand + inflation and you are going to see higher prices and cut backs. Reasonable is such a subjective word. It was a mistake. Pure & simple. Look at this thread, many who purchased the package did so suspecting highly that it would not be honored but rolled the dice anyway. They arent upset and stomping their feet. RC isnt running a charity here or trying to run some break even business. Prices are up everywhere across the board. Its not a money grab, its called sustainability as a company when your costs go up.

Very true and why should they have to pay more for their internet service than people who tried to take advantage of an obvious mistake.

I saw the special when it came out and I thought, $90 for two people for goods/services valued up to $750, it was an obvious error that would have only gotten me a refund for my trouble. And, yes once Royal announced it was in error, it is unreasonable for people to expect any more than a refund and restoration of any cancellations.

I am not saying that they shouldnt be held accountable. Refunds are in order and if customers cancelled any former purchases, they should be restored at original rate. If Royal does this then customer are not penalized in any way. They are made whole again. Experienced cruisers KNEW this was a mistake and tried to take advantage of the company.

I fully agree that this is royals fault and they should refund the purchase of the premier pass and reinstate any purchases that were cancelled at a lower price. However, I cannot support those that think they should get the original deal because it was always too good to be true and an obvious mistake.

I agree that the fault lies with RC. There was an obvious mistake made. However, the entitlement comes in when people who admittedly said they knew this deal was too good to be true, now feel entitled to receive this deal. I have no pity for people that try to take advantage of an obvious error and then cry victim.

I love the smell of entitlement in the afternoon....

Its an inventory issue in so far as that management may want to track what liquor is being sold and if the amount of liquor type being sold in the POS equates to the amount of physical liquor on hand. Some bars use a Berg system to control liquor pours precisely

I fully agree with the exception of inventory management and guest tracking. RC may want more detailed info from the system that creates extra work on the staff.

One reason is that often times the department that purchased the POS system does not get proper input from the end user. The POS system is likely fine but the workflow is where the problem lies Also, if RC is using the POS system for inventory tracking then it adds extra button presses. Want a pina coloda? OK press pina coloda button then press the type of rum if well liquor isnt being used. And that process can multiply with drinks with multiple liquors. If they want to identify on the rocks vs frozen, another button press. The more options from the customer, the more buttons to be pressed Also, hardware peripherals like RFID scanners, barcode scanners, swipes all for the set sail passes do fail and the server/bartender is left having to press additional buttons to bring up guest info. The point being is that RC ould upgrade their POS today and still have same issues because of poor implementation where the upper level management is not including the proper operation folks in the setup and workflow

Well, its obvious if I buy a drink package in cruise planner that the gratuity is charged upfront and can not be removed. Its obvious that when someone orders a drink at a bar, they automatically are charged a tip. A bartender hands me a bottle of beer or water and thats worth a 18% tip? Cant remove that I acknowledge the crew when I pay my cruise fare

Because it should be up to me to decide to tip and how much based on service level. Not a fan on mandatory tipping. its a contradiction in terms

Just wish Royal would remove the auto-gratuity at the bars

All it takes is being around ONE infected person to catch covid be it at home or on a cruise ship

Just like people who have spent a lot of money on cruise vacations that can be derailed by a false positive from a Covid test. Its not just the cost of the cruise. Its the cost of travel, hotels, requested time off from work where people may not be able to reschedule, etc. You could get sick on ANY vacation. Testing doesnt reduce your odds. All it takes is for you to be around one person with Covid on the ship. And testing isnt free. Why test when testing hasnt stopped Covid cases on cruise ships? And what about testing for other contagious diseases/viruses? Your vacation could be derailed by you catching the flu from someone just as easy not to mention more serious contagious illnesses. The odds of catching any illness on a cruise ship will NEVER be 0. People understood this prior to 2020.

The danger is that it breaks the narrative of the last 2 years and people cant admit they were wrong and the Public Health officials were all wrong about the vaccines and the boosters. People are in no more danger from catching Covid from unvaccinated passengers vs vaccinated passengers. Public Health officials from the start have downplayed natural immunity acquired through prior Covid infection because they thought it would contribute to vaccine hesitancy. The fear is that unvaccinated people could get sicker and cause medical emergencies on the ship that would require evac which could alter a sailing. But we have no breakdown of vaccinated people that were Covid positive on sailings that required a medical emergency and evac.

So, people who wake up on cruise day with a runny nose or a slight headache shouldnt go on a cruise? There are several reasons for mild symptoms. And even though, everyone is Covid centric these days, we never acted like this pre-covid when cruising. A common cold should not be the reason someone doesnt cruise. There is quite the difference with someone with severe symptoms that would indicate something infectious vs mild symptoms that would indicate something non-serious or infectious I am afraid there is a subsector of people that would have people cancel their cruises because of a headache or runny nose.

Testing at terminal still wont catch every case because of incubation period. People develop symptoms often before the test positive

No, because of the infectious rate of the variant. Just because your family doesnt cruise, it doesnt lower my risk of getting Covid from other passengers who were positive getting on the ship. I may never come in contact with your family on an Oasis size ship but be around others that are positive.

Do you test before you do anything in crowds in your normal every day life. When you dine indoors with your fellow citizens, do you test EVERY time you go to a restaurant? You must go through a lot of tests. And if you dont test EVERYTIME you leave your house, do you have no compassion for your fellow citizens? And what if the test is faulty and shows negative when you are positive, where is your compassion for your fellow countrymen?

And just because your family didnt sail, it doesnt lessen the risk of any individual getting covid on a cruise ship. I could just as easily catch it from another passenger whether or not your family was on the ship or not.

Not sure what you are expecting from Royal??? You knew the risks going in. You assumed the risk.

They do have breakfast burritos

If you are looking for a quiet place, go to back of ship on Boardwalk where aqua theater is. if they arent doing rock climbing, look for stairs, left and right and climb stairs for quiet are with table and chairs and if you round the corner, some deck chairs for nice quiet spot I liked Portside BBQ Park Cafe is great lunch spot El Loco Fresh serves breakfast If you like Karaoke, get there early because the spotlight venue fills up fast Do the escape room Dont miss Aquashow. Reserve as soon as you get on ship and get there early Music Hall has pool table on upper level If you get drink Package, dont forget its good at Vitality Cafe in the Spa Do rising tide bar at least once

I am for ending tipping on cruise ships totally and increasing price. There shouldnt be a practice of "auto-gratuity" in the first place especially gratuity added to cruise planner food/beverage packages before service is even rendered. AND they need to remove the auto-gratuity at all the bars as well. A bartender handing me a beer should necessitate an 18% auto-gratuity. Shady practice