Royal does away with bag tags...except for Suite and Pinnacle guests

[waterbug123]

First it was pillow chocolates. Ok It,s no big deal. Then it was $15 for a "better" steak in the MDR. Ok It's no big deal. Then it was reducing the perks in the C&A coupon books. Ok No big deal. Then it was no mailing of cruise docs. Ok No big deal. Now it is no luggage tags. Ok no big deal? Or is it?

 

It is just the way that all businesses look at the bottom line and decide where they can cut costs and not lose customers. Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back? Who knows. I know that as a consumer I am not happy when I get less service for my contract cruise fare. I am just concerned as to how far cost cutting goes. Will all MDR fare be buffet style to cut down on the number of waiters needed leaving only specialty restaurants available for "elegant" dining? Will we be asked to make our own beds in inside and balcony rooms with only suites having "maid service"? When do "minor cuts" become too much?:confused:

 

If they continue to make improvements like outdoor movie screens on all ships, a DL and CL for all ships, Park Cafe on most, pervasive Wi-Fi, digital signage, shipboard nurseries, flat screen TV's, centrum aerial entertainment, a wider variety of optional restaurants etc. etc. I'll gladly accept the trade offs of things like no pre-printed luggage tags and no pillow chocolates. YMMV

[mommabean]

Just an idea......at the port....why don't they add bag ticket printers with scanner stations.....kind of like how many airlines do it. You could have a station where you just scan your sea-pass...put in how many checked bags....print tags out for you....and then put them on your bags. This would have to be a much less costly option still than ordering and sending out tags like they have....eliminate much confusion/mistakes at the port...and give professional printed legible tags. I have to tell you....I have got tags at the port on several occasions....they aren't always the most legible.....and with ships like Oasis/Allure and now half the ship or more showing up with no tags....I have to assume that it will be even more of a rush job for the porters.

 

I would think this isn't done as it is by some airlines because the airlines have their own areas at the airport. The cruise lines share the port space and each cruise line would have to have their own equipment. Not that RCI would want to buy them after saving money on the mailed ones. :rolleyes: But if the port itself would purchase them and have them programmed for each cruise line, this would be nice. The problem might be that there are a lot more people needing to use them at the same time - 2000 - 6000 people in one departure area. The airlines typically have only 150 - 300 people checking in at any one departure time.

 

I think printing our own is fine. We used to look forward to getting them in the mail. Now we can look forward to when our edocs are ready so we can print out our tags out right away. A few people don't have printers....VERY few. That means there will be very few people needing luggage tags from the porters. There just isn't going to be a line backing up at the cruise port because of this.

 

I give thanks every day that I live in a country where this can be a "problem". :)

 

Gina

[mommabean]

If they continue to make improvements like outdoor movie screens on all ships, a DL and CL for all ships, Park Cafe on most, pervasive Wi-Fi, digital signage, shipboard nurseries, flat screen TV's, centrum aerial entertainment, a wider variety of optional restaurants etc. etc. I'll gladly accept the trade offs of things like no pre-printed luggage tags and no pillow chocolates. YMMV

 

I'd gladly give up the outdoor movie screen - an eyesore - to have the luggage tags. I'd give up the outdoor movie screen to have the nice view back from the loyalty ambassador's/future cruise consultant's office on Radiance class ships.

In fact, I'd give it up just to save the money and not have to see the thing. I guess I'm one of those people who doesn't leave my TV on all day at home and don't use it on the ship and sure don't want to see it by the pool.

 

Gina

[waterbug123]

so much easier than making your own or using the ones at the pier. On the large ships, I can see where not having luggage tags with the colors for quadrant and deck are going to delay luggage delivery quite a bit.

 

I don't think you need to worry about that. We've used black-and-white tags from the porters a number of times and have never had an issue with getting our bags in a timely fashion.

 

I have never seen any of the airport porters issue luggage tags , they just grab your bags and load them on cages .

 

The porters always have tags. We've gotten tags from them a number of times.

[waterbug123]

I'd gladly give up the outdoor movie screen - an eyesore - to have the luggage tags. I'd give up the outdoor movie screen to have the nice view back from the loyalty ambassador's/future cruise consultant's office on Radiance class ships.

In fact, I'd give it up just to save the money and not have to see the thing. I guess I'm one of those people who doesn't leave my TV on all day at home and don't use it on the ship and sure don't want to see it by the pool.

 

Gina

 

My point was simply that RC is spending a LOT of money to upgrade the entire fleet. Not everyone will make use of all the upgrades, (personally, I have no use for the nursery, and little use for the outdoor movie screens) but they are making a LOT of upgrades and everyone stands to benefit from a selection of them. People want to keep focusing on the little things RC has done to cut costs, but seem to forget that they are simultaneously putting a lot of money into providing a much enhanced cruise experience.

[cruisenfever]

I know most people say it is no biggie and yes I can see their point , however it is an inconvenience for those that do not have printers , it means a trip to the library and a small charge to print off the needed tags , then you need to add a roll of sticky tape or a stapler to you flight hand luggage , you are advised to attach the luggage tags after your flight , so you need the tape or stapler for when you collect your bags at the arrival airport , Royal take your bags from you at the arrival airport , so you don't see them again for the porters at the port to give you tags , I have never seen any of the airport porters issue luggage tags , they just grab your bags and load them on cages .

So for me I would rather pay whatever it costs royal to send out the luggage tags , it wouldn't cost much at all and would not be noticed in the cruise payment .for those of you with printers , an easy job to print them , if you have a flight do you attach them before flight or do you go equipped to attach them after you pick your bags up after the flight ?

That doesn't happen here in the US and it hasn't happened to us when we arrive at an international airport either. We must claim our luggage and then it comes with us to the port or to a per-cruise hotel.

 

So after claiming our luggage, if going directly to the port we removed the airline tags and attach the cruise line tags.

[mommabean]

My point was simply that RC is spending a LOT of money to upgrade the entire fleet. Not everyone will make use of all the upgrades, (personally, I have no use for the nursery, and little use for the outdoor movie screens) but they are making a LOT of upgrades and everyone stands to benefit from a selection of them. People want to keep focusing on the little things RC has done to cut costs, but seem to forget that they are simultaneously putting a lot of money into providing a much enhanced cruise experience.

 

I get your point. And I absolutely agree with you.

 

But....you and I DO have use for the nursery. Oh, yes we do. :D If you know what I mean. ;)

 

Gina

[Ocean Boy]

Just an idea......at the port....why don't they add bag ticket printers with scanner stations.....kind of like how many airlines do it. You could have a station where you just scan your sea-pass...put in how many checked bags....print tags out for you....and then put them on your bags. This would have to be a much less costly option still than ordering and sending out tags like they have....eliminate much confusion/mistakes at the port...and give professional printed legible tags. I have to tell you....I have got tags at the port on several occasions....they aren't always the most legible.....and with ships like Oasis/Allure and now half the ship or more showing up with no tags....I have to assume that it will be even more of a rush job for the porters. Yes...I have had to hunt down bags on occasion because they couldn't read the tag the porter wrote and it got delivered to the wrong area.

 

The problem with your idea is that you woul have to keep all of your luggage with you until you until you got your seapass. Normally your luggage is alread gone before you enter the terminal. They would also have to have the big scanners at the entrances so they could scan your bags before you went inside with them.

 

And lets face it, none of us have been on a flight where 4000 people are checking in for it. It is really hard to make comparisons to what the airlines do to what cruise lines do.

[mommabean]

That doesn't happen here in the US and it hasn't happened to us when we arrive at an international airport either. We must claim our luggage and then it comes with us to the port or to a per-cruise hotel.

 

So after claiming our luggage, if going directly to the port we removed the airline tags and attach the cruise line tags.

 

Oh, I get it now. I didn't understand what she meant. Over my head! LOL :)

 

Gina

[cruisenfever]

Oh, I get it now. I didn't understand what she meant. Over my head! LOL :)

 

Gina

She may be talking about RCI transfers from airport to hotel, but you still have to claim your luggage and take it with you to the bus.

 

Prior to 9/11, if you were flying in the day of departure, and had transfers from airport to pier, you had to put your luggage tags on prior to leaving home, because RCI actually had people collect the luggage, load it and take it to the ship for you.

[bajathree]

I would think this isn't done as it is by some airlines because the airlines have their own areas at the airport. The cruise lines share the port space and each cruise line would have to have their own equipment. Not that RCI would want to buy them after saving money on the mailed ones. :rolleyes: But if the port itself would purchase them and have them programmed for each cruise line, this would be nice. The problem might be that there are a lot more people needing to use them at the same time - 2000 - 6000 people in one departure area. The airlines typically have only 150 - 300 people checking in at any one departure time.

 

I think printing our own is fine. We used to look forward to getting them in the mail. Now we can look forward to when our edocs are ready so we can print out our tags out right away. A few people don't have printers....VERY few. That means there will be very few people needing luggage tags from the porters. There just isn't going to be a line backing up at the cruise port because of this.

 

I give thanks every day that I live in a country where this can be a "problem". :)

 

Gina

 

 

Cruise lines that share space are already bringing their own laptops...they don't share computers....so it really would not be that much of an issue. Also terminals such as terminal 18 for Oasis/Allure are only used by RCI.

[melbur]

My point was simply that RC is spending a LOT of money to upgrade the entire fleet. Not everyone will make use of all the upgrades, (personally, I have no use for the nursery, and little use for the outdoor movie screens) but they are making a LOT of upgrades and everyone stands to benefit from a selection of them. People want to keep focusing on the little things RC has done to cut costs, but seem to forget that they are simultaneously putting a lot of money into providing a much enhanced cruise experience.

 

Well said - and couldn't agree more.

[marci22]

I think they are penny wise and pound foolish.

[Ocean Boy]

My point was simply that RC is spending a LOT of money to upgrade the entire fleet. Not everyone will make use of all the upgrades, (personally, I have no use for the nursery, and little use for the outdoor movie screens) but they are making a LOT of upgrades and everyone stands to benefit from a selection of them. People want to keep focusing on the little things RC has done to cut costs, but seem to forget that they are simultaneously putting a lot of money into providing a much enhanced cruise experience.

 

I don't think anyone is going to argue your points. We all love RCI which is why we sail with the company. I would say that is the same reason why people tend to talk about, and sometimes, become passionate about, changes that the company makes. That includes changes that some folks would look upon as being relatively miner when considering the grand scheme of cruising.

 

None of us are here talking about life and death situations. Again, we are talking about cruising. If people want to talk about luggage tags so be it. If people want to rant about some kid who was in the adult solarium or the CL so be it. Want to tak about the lack of chocolates then go for it. And if anyone want to gripe about those megawatt TV sceens on the pool deck..... I'd be happy to join in!:D

[ehfl]

It's funny that they're trying to save money this way. We changed our cabins the day they were first assigned. But they printed and mailed both the wrong and the correct luggage tags. Seemed like a waste.

[Puffinater]

disregard

[travelgoddess1]

Karen, have you ever considered this: with as many cruises as you have been on it's inevitable that you had crossed someone at Royal at some time and this is their way of getting back at you?:p

 

Moi? Never!:eek::D

 

No really, they don't want to waste the bandwidth since she knows what's in the docs. And she needs no tags on her luggage because they know which luggage is hers and where it's going. :D

 

Gina

 

But of course, that is true. Why didn't I think of that?! And thank you for a good laugh, I am in a much better state of mind now. :)

[bajathree]

The problem with your idea is that you woul have to keep all of your luggage with you until you until you got your seapass. Normally your luggage is alread gone before you enter the terminal. They would also have to have the big scanners at the entrances so they could scan your bags before you went inside with them.

 

And lets face it, none of us have been on a flight where 4000 people are checking in for it. It is really hard to make comparisons to what the airlines do to what cruise lines do.

 

I am talking about your paper seapass that you hand in for check-in....not your sea-pass card. You can even just hand it over to the porters and let them scan it and print tags ....I am sure they would much rather that anyways than hand writing out hundreds each per day...and you have to show them your seapass print-out anyways for them to see your cabin to fill out the tag correctly...they have never taken my word for the cabin # without me pulling out my seapass to show them.

[Big_G]

And if this were a World Peace forum, I would agree with you. But it's a cruise forum, and this is a topic that hasn't been beaten to death yet (see, e.g chair hogs, booze smuggling and irons). People are entitled to be upset, but I doubt that it consumes anybody to the point where it wrecks family suppertime.

 

That's my perspective, anyway....

 

Probably the best post and perspective of this thread.

[bajathree]

Well I have a great idea:D....everyone can get together and stage a no bag tag day at an Oasis/Allure sailing at terminal 18....once they have 6K passengers show up with no luggage times a couple times I am sure they will rethink things;)....just saying:cool:

[PCWalton1]

How much for an "E" ticket for Disneyland?

does that include airfare? :p

[PCWalton1]

I'd gladly give up the outdoor movie screen - an eyesore - to have the luggage tags. I'd give up the outdoor movie screen to have the nice view back from the loyalty ambassador's/future cruise consultant's office on Radiance class ships.

In fact, I'd give it up just to save the money and not have to see the thing. I guess I'm one of those people who doesn't leave my TV on all day at home and don't use it on the ship and sure don't want to see it by the pool.

 

Gina

 

They added one of those big screen near the pool in iur Splendour cruise in May and to be honest I can't remember anything they should on it. And I didn't see anyone glued to it either. Kind of a waste.

[PCWalton1]

I get your point. And I absolutely agree with you.

 

But....you and I DO have use for the nursery. Oh, yes we do. :D If you know what I mean. ;)

 

Gina

 

Usage should be mandatory. :p

[mommabean]

I am talking about your paper seapass that you hand in for check-in....not your sea-pass card. You can even just hand it over to the porters and let them scan it and print tags ....I am sure they would much rather that anyways than hand writing out hundreds each per day...and you have to show them your seapass print-out anyways for them to see your cabin to fill out the tag correctly...they have never taken my word for the cabin # without me pulling out my seapass to show them.

 

That would be your "set sail pass". That's what has people confused. The one and only sea pass is your room key. I knew what you meant though.

 

Gina

[FreshOffTheBoat]

I just ordered mine for my upcoming cruise. I better get them atleast for this cruise.