Towel fee eliminated

[mommabean]

The gold towels are not actually towels. They are lounger covers that the pool attendant wraps over the loungers and ties on at the beginning of the day. I've seen these on Voyager class ships on the second tier up in the gold card seating area. On Oasis the gold card area is so far from the pool and the wind is blowing so hard there would be no reason to place the gold towel like covers up there.

 

Radiance class has no pool side gold card seating. At least they haven't on any of the cruises I've been on. I haven't see them on Vision class either since there is no designated area on those ships either.

 

Gina

[cruisinck]

Many years ago the pool towels were gold and they used to leave them in your cabin.

[jp30338]

Actually, on the Grandeur repo cruise I went on in April 2013, the GOLD towels were for the spa. They are all in the shower/changing rooms.

 

I found out if you took a GOLD towel from the SPA and took it to the pool or wherever else, you were NOT required to show your seapass for it and were not liable for the $25 charge, AND the crew never once tried to take it or tell us they were for spa use only!

 

Just a lil secret to keep in mind :D

[KansasK]

I think this change is a step in the right direction toward better customer service. After bringing back wet towels from an excursion, we would go first to our room and shower and get changed for what was next. If it was later in the afternoon, the towel station would be closed when we got there. At least now we could leave the towels.

 

I agree with other posters who have said there should be a way to drop off wet, sandy towels when we board the ship again. This would be the easiest thing to do, and back in the day before the $25.00 charge for a missing towel, I remember RCI ships doing this. The bin would either be inside just as we came on board, or outside on the pier by the gangway.

 

We did a snorkel excursion on our last cruise and thought we ended up with an extra towel when we got back to our cabin. We had gotten towels twice and taken back towels once and had kept one we had not used from the first batch. We did not know the people next to us on the snorkel boat. We kept a lookout for them all week, but did not see them. When we turned in the towels and told them the number, they did not say we had one too many. Maybe an extra one was folded with the two they gave us, or maybe we got confused, but I worried about someone being charged for that towel. Now it would not matter.

[BillOh]

CC blocks the link but it is the unofficial blog site. I checked the press area of. RCI and found no mention of it.

 

I don't foresee many towels going home in luggage but what I envision more is many towels left on the private beaches.

 

It will be interesting to see how this is rolled out and if you still need to check them out using your Seapass cards. No need for the chair hogs to ever return to get their towels now.

 

 

 

Good to know, we should begin hearing from returning cruisers in a few days.

[BillOh]

I guess to many people were catching on to their scam of falsely charging people at the end of the trip.

It seems hard to justify anyone wanting to take one of those ugly brown towels.

Princess, NCL, & Carnival's towels are much nicer and are worth stealing, but they don't try to charge you for them...

 

I will add not all the towels are the same fleet wide. The ones used on Allure in the inaugural season 2010-2011 I think were quite nice. In 2013 those were in use by the crew.

[BillOh]

I never thought of it as a revenue generating proposition, but rather a loss prevention policy. Never bothered me in the least - in fact on our last trip, we missed the guy on the pool deck the last night. Went and turned my towel in @ guest services, no bother;).

 

I think the people that thought this was a revenue generator were a victim of, or heard of people being charged after the fact. I don't think it was an intentional fraud by the cruise line, but they are notorious for making mistakes.

[Kellie Poodle]

 

I found out if you took a GOLD towel from the SPA and took it to the pool or wherever else, you were NOT required to show your seapass for it and were not liable for the $25 charge, AND the crew never once tried to take it or tell us they were for spa use only!

 

Just a lil secret to keep in mind :D

 

Not such a big secret. I've been doing it since they started the "towel monitor" business.

[BillOh]

Did you notice they eliminated the policy everyone in the stateroom must purchase a drink package? Why, "TRUST". It was an annoying policy.

 

I didn't hear that one. They price it high enough though they probably still make money if people did misuse it. My bar bill is never more than $100 on a 7 day cruise so its not worth it to me. (glad it is there for those that do)

[BillOh]

DH has a theory about this policy change… He thinks the towel 'security program' was probably a major headache for Royal, and it probably really didn't save any money. If you think about the cost of staff time to man those towel stations for many hours each day, that cost probably exceeds the cost of lost towels on a given cruise. In a cost/benefit analysis, the towel program loses.

 

Plus…can you imagine how much staff would hate that assignment? They would rarely or never get a WOW card, and there are always tons of complaints. I don't imagine they would get tips either. And the towel police, in the big picture, don't really contribute anything perceived as POSITIVE by the guest about his/her experience aboard a RC ship.

 

It's a good move to eliminate this.

Judy

 

And also add the cost of charging people's accounts and then having to refund. I'll bet that was a few dollars annually.

[critterchick]

The gold towels are not actually towels. They are lounger covers that the pool attendant wraps over the loungers and ties on at the beginning of the day. I've seen these on Voyager class ships on the second tier up in the gold card seating area. On Oasis the gold card area is so far from the pool and the wind is blowing so hard there would be no reason to place the gold towel like covers up there.

 

Radiance class has no pool side gold card seating. At least they haven't on any of the cruises I've been on. I haven't see them on Vision class either since there is no designated area on those ships either.

 

Gina

 

Brilliance used the "secret" balcony on Deck 11 all the way forward as the Gold Card area. I thought that Jewel did that as well, but there was no signage to that effect in December. It's a pretty carpy area, with no pool and (more importantly) no bar service anywhere in sight.

[mommabean]

Brilliance used the "secret" balcony on Deck 11 all the way forward as the Gold Card area. I thought that Jewel did that as well, but there was no signage to that effect in December. It's a pretty carpy area, with no pool and (more importantly) no bar service anywhere in sight.

 

 

Radiance uses it, too. Not poolside. Or anything side. :( It works on Radiance for glacier viewing although I'm not sure others aren't sneaking in since no one checks cards.

[reney313]

I'm curious if the pool towel "check out" area will be part of the new "expanded" smoking area on the pool deck? Maybe they really just needed the room?

[Hstergo]

Not sure if this has been posted but effective today RCI has eliminated the $25 fee for unreturned towels.

 

 

Starting today, January 1, 2014, Royal Caribbean has eliminated the $25 (per towel) fee for unreturned towels.

 

 

 

Previously, you could rent towels from the pool deck but would be charged $25 per towel if you did not return it before the end of your cruise.

 

The change is being cited as a result of guests feedback and Royal Caribbean wanting to offer guests "greater convenience and help them enjoy their Royal Caribbean vacation even more."

 

Here is the full statement by Royal Caribbean as to why they decided to get rid of the penalty fee.

 

"We think this policy adjustment will offer guests greater convenience and help them enjoy their Royal Caribbean vacation even more. We’re constantly evaluating our policies and implementing feedback. This is just one of many ongoing changes and improvements we’ve made to ensure Royal Caribbean International is giving guests the Royal Advantage - the most innovative cruise ships, exciting itineraries to popular destinations, and world-renowned friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service. "

 

CC blocks the link but it is the unofficial blog site. I checked the press area of. RCI and found no mention of it.

 

I don't foresee many towels going home in luggage but what I envision more is many towels left on the private beaches.

 

It will be interesting to see how this is rolled out and if you still need to check them out using your Seapass cards. No need for the chair hogs to ever return to get their towels now.

 

Wait a second your "quoting"an unofficial blog site as if RCI said this?

Don't you think they would post new policies on their own site first?

[UNV-IT!!!]

Wait a second your "quoting"an unofficial blog site as if RCI said this?

Don't you think they would post new policies on their own site first?

 

Was thinking the same thing

[seaofwonder]

After reading all this it sounds like it has NOT been implemented yet.

 

Anyone have confirmation directly from royal?

 

 

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[Ken at the beach]

Wait a second your "quoting"an unofficial blog site as if RCI said this?

Don't you think they would post new policies on their own site first?

 

And did they publicly announce the smoking ban on the balconies.:rolleyes:

 

This is a site that provides has provided accurate information in the past.

[Ken at the beach]

After reading all this it sounds like it has NOT been implemented yet.

 

Anyone have confirmation directly from royal?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

It stated that this was to take effect Jan 1. All the comments were from Jan 1 and 2.

 

People are still sailing. There still has not been posts about how the non smoking on the balconies is going. Did you expect people in the middle of their vacation to use the on board Internet to update this board the second that it happened on the ship?

Edited January 8, 2014 by Ourusualbeach

[seaofwonder]

No need to get snarky. I was simply asking a question. And yes, it is January 7th...so the short cruises would be back.

 

 

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[Ken at the beach]

No need to get snarky. I was simply asking a question. And yes, it is January 7th...so the short cruises would be back.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

My apologies for coming across as snarky as I had mistakenly associated your comment with the previous comment about doubting the source.

[seaofwonder]

Ahh no worries :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[bchalker]

I guess to many people were catching on to their scam of falsely charging people at the end of the trip.

It seems hard to justify anyone wanting to take one of those ugly brown towels.

Princess, NCL, & Carnival's towels are much nicer and are worth stealing, but they don't try to charge you for them...

 

yes. "their scam" :rolleyes:

[PSCruiser]

Great news!!!! I'm king of the chair hogs, and I've been waiting years for RC to get rid of that pesky towel fee - now I can go back to my old ways!

Got a cruise coming up in a few weeks, so lets see.....I'll grab an armful of those towels, then first to pool deck, and grab a few recliners with towels, and maybe a paperback. Next, its over to the Solarium, and I'll take a couple of nice poolsides with a towel each, and then find a nice table to set up shop. So, got some great spots for any situation. Might not stay up at the pool long today, but no need to remove my towels - that's somebody elses's problem, they'll figure out my chairs aren't being used by late afternoon.

Can't wait, pool seating will be so convenient for me and DW. Everyone else, not my worry!!!!

[cruisinck]

We are leaving on the Oasis on Saturday so I will send an update if none comes through before then.

[nonnie&dgd]

great news!!!! I'm king of the chair hogs, and i've been waiting years for rc to get rid of that pesky towel fee - now i can go back to my old ways!

Got a cruise coming up in a few weeks, so lets see.....i'll grab an armful of those towels, then first to pool deck, and grab a few recliners with towels, and maybe a paperback. Next, its over to the solarium, and i'll take a couple of nice poolsides with a towel each, and then find a nice table to set up shop. So, got some great spots for any situation. Might not stay up at the pool long today, but no need to remove my towels - that's somebody elses's problem, they'll figure out my chairs aren't being used by late afternoon.

Can't wait, pool seating will be so convenient for me and dw. Everyone else, not my worry!!!![/quo

 

Great sense of humor!

Edited January 8, 2014 by nonnie&dgd