CuseJeff44

Is the expectation at this point to hand them cash at the end? Do most people do that? I can make that work I just ideally would prefer to only to one or the other.

Last cruise I was on, there seemed to be an expectation for a gratuity even despite the fact we pre-paid. I'm wondering if it just makes sense to give them the gratuity at the end, like we used to back in the day before pre-paid gratuities were a thing. My favorite part of pre-paying is I don't need to worry about carrying envelopes and cash, I can just be done with it and enjoy my cruise. But now, I think based on the interactions I was getting many of the workers on board would prefer to have it in cash and handed to them? I'd prefer to pre-pay, but the worst possible scenario is having to do it twice and can tip at the end if they would rather.

I was wrong. Status match seems something yopu can sign up for independent of a booking, which I now have. Originally was trying to sign up for Voyager Club and that seemed like a diff process.

Truthfully, I find the entertainment on RC very hit or miss. Some of it is ok, like the ice shows, but some is very stale. I suspect it will be on par at worst.

YES. This discrepancy is what I was dealing with. 🙂 thank you!

I'll check again. Seemed like you needed to either click "I have sailed" or "I am booked". Maybe they changed it?

Thanks. I don't know if the Yacht Club is in the cards from a $ standpoint right now. I was thinking maybe the middle level. But i will check. Sadly, seems you can't apply till you've been on one cruise or have already booked. 😐

I've been on 6 cruises, all Royal Caribbean. After our last cruise, I left feeling that the RC experience had dramatically declined, and wanted to try something else. MSC has some amazing ships positioned in and around Italy, and I am considering a cruise next summer on one. What are somethings I should be aware of? Differences? The two that I have picked up on already involve the language differences, which makes sense, and the constant boarding/unboarding of passengers which is difference from US cruise lines.

Gratuities being prepaid means the tip is already accounted for so IMO any tip is above and beyond. We did $25 because we didn’t have any more cash than that (we assumed automatic gratuities meant that we didn’t need to worry about that).

I probably would not do auto gratuities any longer. I used to enjoy it because it made it easier, I didn’t have to hunt down people or carry envelopes to tip. But now it seems even though everyone is doing it they are still soliciting for extra envelopes, so it really doesn’t save much time. I’ll probably just do a cash tip again moving forward so I have something for them in hand

So. It's become clear that despite the word critic in this board's name, the idea of criticism is not really welcome here. I've taken 6 cruises. All RCI. I loved the first 5. I've been the biggest fanboy of the line for 20 years. I've never been particularly critical of it. Hell, I pushed BACK on some of the common criticisms (the food was always just fine). I posted here this week to share some recent experiences to try to get insight on one thing...have I changed? Has the line changed? Or has the industry changed? Because I want to know...should I give the line another chance? Should I give the industry another chance? Or should I take a break. I also made it SUPER clear at the beginning of my post what the post was about so that people who may not have a desire to read it and provide actual legitimate feedback could simply skip past it. Yet, inevitably, small pieces of my post are being ripped apart. The motives for "why" I would question one thing or another are being judged. Seriously, you pay for my cruise, and I will make sure I base my enjoyment on what you want me to enjoy it on. Short of that, it matters not one iota what I value in a vacation. I don't hate RCI at all. I hope that this was isolated. I hope its simply an extended "feeling out" process as we all get through this new normal. That was what the whole point of my post was about. Trying to figure that out. I don't get the snark or the passive aggressiveness at all. It's not appropriate or appreciated. To those of you who actually managed to understand and respond to the original post constructively, thank you.

Not complaining about the wash stations. Questioning the logic of having people congregating amidst COVID. Wondering if there is a safer way to reduce the risk of noro without raising the risk of COVID.

Understood. But COVID still exists. And grouping people is not ideal. So why not use sanitizer which is much quicker (like they do smartly outside the MDR).

I asked the waiter “is one order of onion rings enough to share or should we order one each”. He said “it’s shareable”. So we ordered one. COVID spreads in the air. Not on surfaces. So they had us all packed in by the elevators breathing each other’s air so that we could wait to wash our hands to prevent non existent surface transmission.

May another. Appreciate the feedback. Just need to think on it. Princess possibly. Virgin looks interesting although we have 2 older teen sons and it doesn’t seem to be a fit till we get to a post kid era

My wife was literally not served her food. Is this too high a bar to expect be met?

Re Wifi- 2 teen boys. And unfortunately my job is very very had to just detach 100% from. it is what it is. End of the day, all I ask is, if you sell a service called "Surf and Stream", it should actually work.

This is sort of insulting and minimizing. I have been on 6 cruises. The first 5 I loved. I noticed some significant changes this time around and for the first time found my enjoyment significantly impacted, and was trying to get the perspective of other cruisers to see if others are seeing it? If so, is it only RCI? Or is it all cruise lines? Seriously I specifically invited anyone not interested to skip the post.

Possible. But is the issue the mentality of RCI these days? or is it just on those smaller ships? Or is it the industry in general? That's really where I am trying to land. My issues seem to be less with the size than they are with what RCI is doing WITH it and what their current priorities are. And as an aside, this is the first cruise I've been on where the Voyager class would be considered "old" I think. Most of them were over a decade ago.

What does that mean? I've been on 6 cruises. 5 were great. This one wasn't. So I like being, what., 5/6th happy?

Problem is, I don't feel inclined to reward RCI's incompetence by putting money into their pockets via Celebrity. Sigh. I dunno,

I may try another line. Problem is, I don't think a try "luxury" line is in the cards financially....Norwegian I have heard is just as hit or miss as RCI...and Celebrity may be nice, but I don't really want to reward RCI by still giving them my money. And I keep asking myself...maybe I should just pivot to the all-inclusive resort thing where, because I've paid up front (more admittedly) they literally only focus on all the little things that make my life easier and my stay better, rather than harder and more expensive.

This is going to be a little bit of a random download / trip report so feel free to skip past it if that isn't of interest to you 🙂 It's also a LOT of complaining, so again, feel free to skip if that's not your cup of tea. After far too many years away from cruising, and a cancelled COVID trip, we finally got to sail on the Adventure of the Seas this past week on a 5 night Bermuda cruise. This was our 6th cruise, and all of them have been on Royal. The first 5 we loved and always felt it was money well spent. This time, everything changed. Topline takeaway : I always felt that even though the cruise came along with upcharges and added costs, I still got the impression that the Cruise line cared that I had a good time in the end. I always felt appreciated and respected as a passenger, and a vacationer, and even though it wasn't an all-inclusive, I always felt that their number one goal was my happiness. Yes. I know their goal is to make money, but they used to be so much better at still leaving me feeling that I got value. I didn't feel that way at ALL this time around. First the food. I have LONG defended the food on this cruise line from those who said it wasn't good. It was never 5 star dining, but I always felt well-fed and well taken-care of. Not this time. The quality and quantity of the food in the dining room has declined to the point that I have to agree with the criticism. A shrimp appetizer had 3 small shrimp. That's it. More fun times at Johnny Rockets when we asked "are these starters per person or to share"? He said to share. Then he brings our onion rings. Four small onion rings for four people. *****? And...my wife's burger never came at all. I also need someone to explain to me. COVID is airborne. How does congregating large groups of people outside the Windjammer so they can wash hands make sense? Seems to be an increase in risk. It would seem that the quick hand sanitizing shots that they did outside the main dining room would make much more sense. I'm also curious why I can't make my own ice cream...sorry, frozen yogurt...cone outside on the pool deck? How is COVID more transmissible in that one spot as opposed to every other surface in the Windjammer? Or on the soda machine touch screens? On the Promenade coffee machine handles? Arbitrary and didnt make sense. $7.95 upcharge for breakfast room service if it's an egg, but free if its toast. I don't get it. $200 for a family of four for a premium restaurant now. Oof. And there used to be SO many more places to get food. Forget about the long gone away midnight buffets, what about even the burgers and dogs poolside? Now, the ONLY place I could find ANY food during non meal hours was the Promenade, and there was always a huge line because of it. Overcrowding 3,800 people onto a boat despite COVID....fine I can deal with that...but why are you closing half the pools on an AT SEA day? Insanity. People were pouring OUT of the hot tubs. The WiFi? I paid $400 for 4 devices with "streaming". It was AWFUL. Worked maybe 25% of the time, and not at a speed where anything was streamable. I could go on (I know this is a total *****-fest and I am sorry)...But It just felt like every possible opportunity to make things harder for passengers, RCI did that thing. And I NEVER felt this way before about RCI. I don't know if cruising just isn't for me any more, or if its just RCI. Sigh.

Long shot but, Anselmo Boles played the Piano Bar on Splendour of the Seas back in 2002 when my wife and I got married. It was one of many Honeymoon memories we will never forget. Curious if anyone has seen him lately? Is he still around?