Royal Caribbean no longer providing the service they advertise?

[tattoocruise]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

What is Gold Anchor Service ? It ' s how we

make your cruise vacation even more

memorable. One thing that keeps our

guests coming back again and again is our

friendly and personal service. Maybe it ' s a

server who remembers the name of your

daughter ' s teddy bear . Or the bartender

who remembers the extra olive. Or perhaps

the housekeeper who reminds you of your

dinner reservation time. Our unique style

of service will enhance every aspect of your

cruise . No matter where you are - the pool ,

the dining room , the spa or your room -

get ready to be wowed ! And we deliver it 24

hours a day . This is way beyond normal

service . This is Gold Anchor service

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

[cruisekap]

I just finished a 7 day on Allure and I found that all of the personel were very friendly. The one exception was at the loyalty desk. The women who "helped" book my next cruise was not very friendly at all. I was surprised because I expect staff working at the loyalty desk to be very customer service oriented. Maybe she was having a bad day. It didn`t stop me from booking another cruise though.

 

It is too bad that you have not had a great experience. For the most part I am very happy with RCI.

[Merion_Mom]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

 

Um.............your post is completely devoid of information.

 

Would you care to share some?

[rubrrick]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

 

Would you mind being more specific on the myth? What did you expect...and what did you receive?

 

Why........and this being your third cruse on RCCL in the past 4 months....and being what you have said........did you expect?

 

I did not catch how long you have been with Cruise Critic.....so maybe you can come back and tell us exactly what you did not like about your cruise........or the service that you received.

 

And, one last item.........if you have had an experiene on another cruise line.........what was it that you liked or did not like.........as compared to what you experienced has been in the past.

 

Rick

[Merion_Mom]

Would you mind being more specific on the myth? What did you expect...and what did you receive?

 

Why........and this being your third cruse on RCCL in the past 4 months....and being what you have said........did you expect?

 

I did not catch how long you have been with Cruise Critic.....so maybe you can come back and tell us exactly what you did not like about your cruise........or the service that you received.

 

And, one last item.........if you have had an experiene on another cruise line.........what was it that you liked or did not like.........as compared to what you experienced has been in the past.

 

Rick

Well, Rick, he posted this less than two months ago:

 

Recently home from what was an enjoyable time on Jewel. I truly enjoy this class of ship and have always received stellar service and this time was no different - with a few exceptions.

 

The ship is beautiful and staff friendly for the most. Food was okay this time around, not as good as my Oasis cruise in the dining room but certainly not terrible. The only criticism I have of the dining room is the staffing issues that arose halfway through the cruise. My wonderful team of waiter and assistant were replaced by two new individuals who seemed less skilled or maybe simply overworked. The level of service provided by the replacements did not live up to the standards set by their predecessors. I chose to eat in the windjammer after two nights of the new team.

oops...must run for now...will elaborate later...

 

Food was acceptable in Windjammer for dinner and although it is buffet dining the service by the staff was quite good. Drinks brought to us, refills prompt and even extra food items fetched for us simply because we mentioned how much we liked it. I found the atmosphere sedate and less noisy than the dining room and may give windjammer another go at dinner on my next cruise.

 

The condition of the ship is quite good, actually too good as part of the aft windjammer outside seating was unavailable to us because of maintenance, and the rest of the ship is kept in good condition. I did notice some stained/worn carpet in some of the passageways but maybe those areas are due for maintenance soon.

 

Aside from the staffing issues in the dining room, we encountered the type of service we have come to expect from royal Caribbean in almost every other venue we visited. We had a complaint about an item we ordered from seaview cafe and it was handled exceptionally well and our concern was addressed quickly and efficiently.

 

One complaint that wasn't handled well was a request that staff politely remind people to smoke only on the appropriate side of public decks. We seemed to frequent the same spot on deck 5 as someone who repeatedly disregarded the no smoking signs. Multiple requests that staff do something were unsuccessful in correcting the problem. I suppose the staff can get tired of repeatedly asking the same passenger to move and maybe they gave up. He who smoked wherever he liked did not care about anyone but himself (well, he obviously doesn't care much for himself because he continues to smoke and slowly kill himself but he showed that he cared for those around him even less by repeatedly smoking where he shouldn't)

 

One of our favorite spots is the solarium. Thankfully no kids allowed in the one on Jewel, unlike what we experienced on Oasis. I prefer the completely covered solarium to the partially covered Oasis solarium as well. A few days of chair hogs during this cruise but we think staff did a good job overall keeping the lounges free for people that wanted to use them for more than just a place to store their hats/books/sunglasses. I had to move someone's belongings from my lounge chair once and never saw the person come back to claim it. Oh well, I suppose they didn't really want those sunglasses anyways.

[Scotty G]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

 

We totally disagree and we have received the advertised service many times over!

[koterry]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

Just off a B2B on the Allure and the crew was fabulous, as was the food, shows, etc???Can agree with the one post that the young lady for future cruises seemed to be having a bad day the day that I booked my next B2B

[Cuizer2]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

 

Would you like to provide some example to back up what you are saying?

[zachrach]

Cruised 12 days on Enchantment of the Seas Feb. 28th and had a wonderful experience. Yes, the waiter in the Main Dinner Room was extremely busy, but the service was fabulous. Food was good - I didn't have to cook or clean up, so I was happy. Had such a great time that I've already booked the same cruise for next Feb.

 

zachrach

[Aquahound]

Isn't this the same guy that hated the Oasis because a bartender didn't know how to make something called a Runny Nose, and the butter in the MDR came in wrappers?

[BillOh]

I was on Freedom when it was relatively new and still the "top" ship. I thought the ship had the best of the best as far as crew. I hope I feel the same way on Allure in May. I definitely understand the spirit of the Ad that the OP mentioned. If I don't feel exactly that, I'll probably manage to have a good time, but I am looking forward to the experience.

[EVALUATOR]

Isn't this the same guy that hated the Oasis because a bartender didn't know how to make something called a Runny Nose, and the butter in the MDR came in wrappers?

 

That was one of the reasons RCI used as an excuse for eliminating the chocolates...:rolleyes:

 

"Removal of Chocolates from the Pillows at Night

We provided small chocolates on the pillow for many, many years and it was indeed a nice touch at the end of another enjoyable day of cruising. We decided to eliminate the chocolates outside of our suites for two reasons. One is our strong desire to eliminate waste where possible. According to our Hotel Operations and Supply Chain groups, on an annual basis we have been throwing away approximately 35,000 pounds (17.5 tons!) of chocolate covered by 780,000 square feet of foil. Many (but probably not all) readers are aware that public health rules require us to dispose of all such unused chocolates notwithstanding that they are foil wrapped. In our opinion, throwing away such a volume of chocolate and foil is not environmentally sustainable behavior. Second, we want to re-purpose the investment in these chocolates into the continued evolution of the onboard experience. We did not make this decision lightly. It was hard to say good-bye to the chocolates and we know some of our guests read into this a decline in our product quality. But we believe this is the right decision to make."

 

They should, by their own arguments, have butter servers stationed at each table.:)

[Teeara]

That was one of the reasons RCI used as an excuse for eliminating the chocolates...:rolleyes:

 

"Removal of Chocolates from the Pillows at Night

We provided small chocolates on the pillow for many, many years and it was indeed a nice touch at the end of another enjoyable day of cruising. We decided to eliminate the chocolates outside of our suites for two reasons. One is our strong desire to eliminate waste where possible. According to our Hotel Operations and Supply Chain groups, on an annual basis we have been throwing away approximately 35,000 pounds (17.5 tons!) of chocolate covered by 780,000 square feet of foil. Many (but probably not all) readers are aware that public health rules require us to dispose of all such unused chocolates notwithstanding that they are foil wrapped. In our opinion, throwing away such a volume of chocolate and foil is not environmentally sustainable behavior. Second, we want to re-purpose the investment in these chocolates into the continued evolution of the onboard experience. We did not make this decision lightly. It was hard to say good-bye to the chocolates and we know some of our guests read into this a decline in our product quality. But we believe this is the right decision to make."

 

They should, by their own arguments, have butter servers stationed at each table.:)

 

Brilliant! :D

[dyjack]

They should, by their own arguments, have butter servers stationed at each table.:)

 

Shhh. Don't say that too loudly :p LOL.

[negc]

One of the things that keeps us coming back to Royal Caribbean is the high quality of service we receive. Lacking any specifics to back his statement, I can only consider his comments as unsubstantiated and unworthy of further discussion.

[Sequim88]

On our recent cruise we DID notice a change in service level from three years ago. But at this point the sample size (for us) is too small to conclude anything useful. Perhaps if enough examples are given by the aggregate membership of CC a trend could appear but on a topic that is so subjective that still might not have much meaning.

 

Our MDR experience was phenomenal. Fernando, our waiter, even came to greet us the one night our group ate at Portifino. That's a fair hike on a Radiance class ship from the MDR! He even remembered to stand behind my Dad each night when he described the menu because Dad doesn't hear too well. Gold Anchor service all the way.

 

BUT.... our stateroom attendant was notably absent. Nothing like the attention and greetings we're used to. More like basic hotel housekeeping service - everything got done (mostly) but never seen. My parents next door ran out of toiletpaper (no spare roll) and tried calling but never got an answer so they left a note - only to later learn the attendant did not read English. The only time we saw here was briefly when we first got in to the stateroom and she said RCI had eliminated the assistant position and her staterooms were scattered all over that deck. I think there is a hint of a trend here if RCI is cutting personnel costs and spreading the staff too thin.

 

I really need to cruise more so I can build up a valid sample size. :D

[FLACRUISER99]

That was one of the reasons RCI used as an excuse for eliminating the chocolates...:rolleyes:

 

"Removal of Chocolates from the Pillows at Night

We provided small chocolates on the pillow for many, many years and it was indeed a nice touch at the end of another enjoyable day of cruising. We decided to eliminate the chocolates outside of our suites for two reasons. One is our strong desire to eliminate waste where possible. According to our Hotel Operations and Supply Chain groups, on an annual basis we have been throwing away approximately 35,000 pounds (17.5 tons!) of chocolate covered by 780,000 square feet of foil. Many (but probably not all) readers are aware that public health rules require us to dispose of all such unused chocolates notwithstanding that they are foil wrapped. In our opinion, throwing away such a volume of chocolate and foil is not environmentally sustainable behavior. Second, we want to re-purpose the investment in these chocolates into the continued evolution of the onboard experience. We did not make this decision lightly. It was hard to say good-bye to the chocolates and we know some of our guests read into this a decline in our product quality. But we believe this is the right decision to make."

 

They should, by their own arguments, have butter servers stationed at each table.:)

BTW Princess gives you 4 pads of butter per couple on top of ice - no foil.

[mikechass]

I would take the supposed "food issues" over the lack of stuff to do on a Princess Ship any day.

We did a two week Hawaiian Cruise on Princess in January. That is the last time I will sail with them until they have upgraded their fleet.

RCCL ships give you MANY MANY more options in my opinion and the staff is far less hurried on any RCCL ship we have been on.

The Princess ship had fine food but we have always enjoyed RCCL food as well.

Our stewart on Princess made SEVERAL comments in regards to us sleeping in and throwing off her schedule for cleaning rooms. If we did see her, you ended up feeling judged.

The wait staff were fine, and the head waiter was more present on Princess then ever before on ANY ship we have travelled but for my money, and the money my group (30-40 people) spend, we would rather it be with RCCL and X over Princess.

Again, just my 2 cents but at least now, my money is at par with the US $ we are always charged in... haha :p

[land lover]

Back from my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise in 4 months and they really aren't providing the level of service they advertise.

 

From the Royal Caribbean website:

 

 

On two of the last three cruises, Gold Anchor Service appeared to be a myth sold to unsuspecting customers just to get their money.

 

The level of service advertised has not lived up to its billing.

 

Time to stop misleading your clients Royal Caribbean. Either ensure the service is delivered as promised or stop selling what you can't deliver on consistently.

 

 

Don't mean to be unkind, but what companies, schools, even the State and Federal governments deliver the service, product etc. they "advertise" consistently? Gosh..if only it was a perfect world, with perfect people.........

[cruzin lady]

We recently finished consecutive sailings on Voyager. There were too many wonderful people working that it was impossible to mention them all, but I did try in a

letter to Adam Goldstein.

 

I received a quick thank you from his office, and yesterday a lady from executive guest relations called to personally thank me for my input. Almost everything in my letter was good, but I touched on some minor things that could be improved. The lady assured me that Mr. Goldstein had forwarded my letter to the ship with his personal letter of congratulating those onboard. :D

 

Why am I posting this? Royal Caribbean does take

feedback very seriously, and they do try to take action where action can be taken. :) All of us realize that

the current economic situation has required cutbacks

for all of us, whether we like it or not. I do think RC

tries to do the best they can, while having to cut out some things we love.

 

Finally, if you will contact Miami with good things, as well as problems, they try their best to follow up. I would encourage you to try finding positive things to write them about. :D

 

Cruzin Lady

[chef_christoph]

I believe RCI has delivered on their promise of Gold anchor Service on every on of my cruises.

 

From the amazing team I had looking after me in the MDR one year, to a staff members who remembered me a year later when she took care of us in Chops(and she wasn't even one of my service team in the MDR the year before, she was in the section next to where I was).

 

The sweet young girl in the WJ on Majesty who remembered me from earlier in the year on Serenade.

 

From the stateroom attendants who have been super friendly and looked after every one of my needs and requests, to other staff not even looking after my stateroom but who went out of their way to ask my name, where I was from, etc. and remembered all week long.

 

The two occasions where my head waiter found out I enjoyed something from the menu one night and made sure he had it specially made for me the next night even though it wasn't on the menu.

 

Sure some service has been just OK at times, but I can name at least one occurrence of "Gold Anchor" service from every one of my cruises. These staff members who go above and beyond anything I ever expected just to make sure I'm happy. You just can't beat that.

 

That is what keeps me coming back to RCI.

[Cruzaholic41]

Are you familiar with the term "puffery"? If not, you should look it up.

 

The OP likes to surface every so often and post this type of information. It's not hard to read into what is going on here. Take it as some fun reading and leave it at that. :)

 

Isn't this the same guy that hated the Oasis because a bartender didn't know how to make something called a Runny Nose, and the butter in the MDR came in wrappers?

 

Yes, yes, and yes. Anyone who remembers his Oasis rant knows this person's complaints are so unreasoanble, they almost can't be real.

 

The runny Nose complaint was one of the most ridiculous.

[Cuizer2]

BTW Princess gives you 4 pads of butter per couple on top of ice - no foil.

 

And do you know how hard it is to spread that ice on the bread?