leaveitallbehind

It is not the TA discounting the rate - it is a corporate sponsored rate that is issued on select itineraries to the TA. The rates are also only published internally to the TA's, so in that respect it would not be published to the general public. And any TA can see these select rates when they are offered. He may have implied that he was able to get a special discount on the rate, but it is not he who is discounting it. (Good marketing technique). Not with the fares to which I am referring. And these fares, when offered, are always lower than the published or direct fare.

Occasionally there are cruise line sponsored (group) rates issued on certain itineraries to which only the TA's have access, or occasionally fares are offered by the cruise line to TA's as "family and friends" promotions. Typically this would have been what your TA was referring to. It is not the TA that is discounting the fare, but the result of this discounted fare offered by the cruise line itself on certain sailings directly - and only - to the TA's.

I guess your posts are not typically as "controversial" as mine may be perceived to be LOL. (Very informative, however).

I would also add that RCCL's primary demographics is families, and their on board activities and different venues are oriented towards families and children, so there would be plenty to do on board to "entertain" your kids. The children's club program is very good and would keep (at least your older two - the program starts at age 3) very busy and active, and they also offer a baby sitting service.

Possibly. With McD's, as I understand it, Latin America and the Caribbean franchises are held by a single large franchise owner, who also happens to be the largest franchise owner with McD's. How he has elected to manage the logistics of these locations is likely driven by local economies, raw material import requirements, etc. The info about this owner, as @mom says suggests, would be available via google.

With most cruise lines (all mass market ones) the base fare structure from the cruise lines is the same as that provided to any travel agent - on line, "discount", brick and mortar, big box, etc. The TA's can often offer somewhat lower pricing based on group, or large block, rooms held by them and sold individually which results in a lower fare structure and often some degree of on board credit or other perk. In this manner they can offer base fares that are lower than that offered directly by the cruise lines. You just have to ask to see a final invoice total from them prior to booking to assure the actual fare. As @sanger727 indicates, check the fine print closely for fees charged separately and in addition to those charged by the cruise line by any TA for canceling, modifying, or changing a booking made through them, and IMO avoid them. 75% of all cruises booked are done so through TA's and there are good reasons to book through them. I would just suggest doing so through a live person and not solely on line. And as a new cruiser you may want to talk with one so as to best understand the different cruise line experiences and how they fit with your preferences. But you can always book directly if desired - your choice. I would agree with comparing as @MCC retired suggests to see what fare differences may exist.

RCCL has family staterooms that hold up to six and are standard category staterooms, not suites. They work well, and in our experience have the standard queen bed arrangement with a "bunk room" that (in our case) had an upper and lower single bed, and a double bed couch. Plenty of closet and storage spaces. There is only one bathroom, but the size of the stateroom is generous and well arranged. You would have to work directly through a TA or RCCL to confirm availability with ship class and to book these as they cannot be booked directly on line.

Not sure that is new format related as I have had one or two of my posts placed in "pending approval" prior to this mess. Happened recently when a poster was "debating" a comment I made and I had formulated what I thought was an appropriate, but carefully worded response. It ultimately was approved.

If in your cruising opinion the two lines are similar enough for your enjoyment, then I would tend to agree with @CruiserBruce that for a similar budget the longer itinerary would be the direction I would be leaning. Itinerary would of course also play a large role and as you indicate, prior experience with RCCL would be a factor as well. But if all that was neutral, I would research P & O further to confirm their on board experience to your liking and maybe give them a try.

Again, "best" answers according to whom? "Baloney" posts according to whom? These answers in your examples express subjective opinions, not "correct" answers based on any fact. But if the intent is to use "upvoting" simply to show popularity of subjective information without context, then I guess "vanilla" topics such as these will result in no harm. I still question how helpful or informative that will really be. But to suggest that member "upvoting" will be the answer to confirm objective information to specific fact based issues leaves a large degree of doubt in my mind. Just my opinion.

Not sure how the mods would confirm the accuracy of the responses and control the voting, and the power of deletion would be the only way to moderate the responses. Kind of chasing their tales. But to me the bigger issue is that which you point out that it is all very vague in terms of rules and expectations. They should have figured this all out first with firm explanations of what they hope to achieve by these changes instead of "opening up the sandbox for play" and determining their next steps based on feedback. Very sloppy and not good business thought, and kind of putting the cart before the horse IMO. But again, thanks for your input.

The fatal flaw I see with upvoting and "best answer" is just because someone "votes" or likes an answer does not necessarily mean that it is the correct or best answer. It is all very subjective IMO with little objectivity involved. It also disrupts the context of the thread by moving the more "popular" answers up on the thread where they may be seen first, but with little context in which the response was provided. Its nothing more than a popularity contest IMO with those who post more frequently likely getting more recognition. I don't see the informative value in that. But that all being said, while I may not agree with your perspective, I do appreciate your response.

You say that you don't often visit this section of the board, but that you like this new feature and that it will keep you coming back so that you can test it thoroughly. Not sure I understand what you mean by coming back to test it thoroughly? And please explain, if you don't mind, what it is about this change that you do like? Not challenging - just curious and wanting enlightenment. Especially as I am one who in the past has visited this board frequently and see absolutely no value whatsoever in it. What is - as an infrequent user of the site - the positive benefit you see to us with the change? Again, I am only asking as I am curious to understand.

It also doesn't provide any assurance that those more popular posters who get "upvoted" are indeed correct with their information. It usually means they just post more frequently, and may as a result be more recognized. IMO that doesn't mean they have the better answers.

Understand and no criticism intended towards you. The point being made in my response is that most TA's don't do that or have that policy as part of their T's & C's. Some, however do. I just recommend avoiding those that do. Unfortunately the one you used in this instance does.

Well if that involvement is to morph these boards into popularity contests, then count me out. I want meaningful answers to questions and inciteful responses to different cruise issues. Being upvoted to enhance one's karma (per reddit) kind of misses those points with me.

I just posted this on the other response thread to this "test", but thought it might have merit here as well and perhaps will elicit a response from you. I have what I think are a couple of legitimate questions. What is your end game goal with revising this format? You reference reddit more than once on these response threads. Do you want to shape CC after them? Their primary demographics is the 18 - 29 age group. How does that relate to Cruise Critic at all? I won't do it here but suggest you study reddit's mission statement and tell me how that relates to that of Cruise Critic. I guess I don't see the connection between the two forums even remotely, in particular with wanting to copy and install the upvote function now as a key element to the thread discussions. Maybe I'm missing something, so please enlighten me.

I have what I think are a couple of legitimate questions. What is your end game goal with revising this format? You reference reddit more than once on these response threads. Do you want to shape CC after them? Their primary demographics is the 18 - 29 age group. How does that relate to Cruise Critic at all? I won't do it here but suggest you study reddit's mission statement and tell me how that relates to that of Cruise Critic. I guess I don't see the connection between the two forums even remotely, in particular with wanting to copy and install the upvote function now as a key element to the thread discussions. Maybe I'm missing something, so please enlighten me.

As most have mentioned, yes, a TA can charge a fee for changing, modifying, or canceling a booking made through them. The rub is this typically is in addition to any penalty imposed by the cruise lines. Those that do should make this practice clear up front, not only in their T's & C's, but in conversation with you prior to accepting a booking. Fortunately, most of the better TA's don't undertake in this practice, and I would avoid any of the few that do. They are paid a commission by the cruise lines for the bookings they make, and this practice IMO is just another way to take additional money out of your pocket that would not already be charged by the cruise lines for booking changes.

Maybe if you forewarned the members by announcing the change on a test forum first the feedback would not have been as negative and would have been more relevant to the end result you are trying to achieve. No one saw this mess coming, however. Still likely would not have been supportive but perhaps more objective in tone. BTW, looks like you are 0 for 2 on response threads with "upvoting your fave".

Well this is not reddit - or another form of social media - it is Cruise Critic. I didn't realize the goal here was to increase a posters' karma. And if by your own admission it wouldn't work on most of the other forums, then why do it here? IMO it clearly has no value here either. If you think it has value with reviews or live posting from a ship, then perhaps try it there and see what feedback you receive there. IMO your test has failed already based on the feedback thus far. Please listen to your membership. Why even wait till the end of the week, unless someone internally is trying to increase their own karma!

I would suggest posting this on the MSC board to get answers specific to that cruise line. Here is that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/49-msc-cruises/ But I do know that other lines, RCCL and Celebrity for example, will provide unopened beers from the bar for your stateroom. We do it all the time.

The unfortunate likelihood is that CC won't read or take these comments to heart and will just plow forward believing this is a good thing because they want it to be. But I agree with others that this format has lost a lot of what little was still good with CC and as a result is a step backwards. But what do I know - I've only been contributing to CC since 2008. I've also noticed - and maybe its a function of the upvote feature - that the order of responses has changed on this thread. My first response is now my second and visa versa. If that is the case, that also is a poor feature which makes no sense to me.

Well IMO CC has become far less relevant in recent years and perhaps this is someone's attempt to make their mark by following suit with other social media in "refreshing" CC. Wonder if the mods will delete my comments....

Not a fan - please return to the original format. Change just for change sake is rarely beneficial. And what is the point of "upvoting your fave"?