More RCI Cost Cutting?

[The_Big_M]

Hopefully it was a one time thing regarding the donuts as i liked the donuts and my son really liked them as well.

 

No donuts on our 2 week Rhapsody cruise last month.

 

I think my body didn't moan the loss though! :-)

[afzeluches123]

they are reusing coat hangers:rolleyes:

 

Not brushing the towel animals teeth anymore

lol:d

[seatraveler1]

I think one of the reasons for cost cutting is the cheap @%! people that steal from the ship and try and sell the items on eBay. Just go to eBay and type Royal Caribbean and you'll see what I am talking about.

 

Now I don't care if people buy a souvenir glass and sell it since they paid for it, I am talking about people stealing robes (assumed), pens, brochures etc. and trying to sell them on the internet. Why do you think they take the stainless steel salt/pepper shakers from the table right away after eating, people were taking them.

[Paulette3028]

I think one of the reasons for cost cutting is the cheap @%! people that steal from the ship and try and sell the items on eBay. Just go to eBay and type Royal Caribbean and you'll see what I am talking about.

 

Now I don't care if people buy a souvenir glass and sell it since they paid for it, I am talking about people stealing robes (assumed), pens, brochures etc. and trying to sell them on the internet. Why do you think they take the stainless steel salt/pepper shakers from the table right away after eating, people were taking them.

 

Theft in every industry is a big problem. Call it shoplifting, internal theft, or whatever you want to -- but it adds zillions of dollars to a companies expenditure.

 

People feeling entitled to 'take what they like' because they paid for a cruise -- is sad; put our society has in many ways lost its 'moral compass' -- this is just another example.

 

I am thrilled to have 'use of the robe' onboard; it is a bulky item that I don't have to pack.

[FLACRUISER99]

They are listed for you on your interactive TV in the room. Also when you go somewhere that a coupon applies, it is usually automatically deducted. We went to Johnny Rockets and had BOGO shakes on our list, which I'd forgotten about and never thought of while there and our waiter told us they were one of our coupons..and automatically used it when we ordered shakes.

Not on most ships (I believe only Oasis class).

[Big_G]

At the risk of getting skewered by some of the rude posters on this thread here are my anecdotal observations about RCCL cost cutting.

 

 

 

Just my two cents. Let the bashing begin. Oh, by the way I am a RCCL stock holder as I wanted to get the on board credit. LOL Bottom line is that I am now more open to checking out Holland America, Princess, and Cunard than I would have been.

 

 

I think it's an industry trend. We've been trying Celebrity and found some things that we missed on Royal but to read their CC boards you'll find the same comments there.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FLACRUISER99]

Part of the reason for no automatic ice is to prevent Noro virus.

How does me having to ask for ice prevent Noro virus??:confused:

[cle-guy]

How does me having to ask for ice prevent Noro virus??:confused:

 

Instead of dragging a cart down the hall with ice in it that people walk by while the cabin attendant is in the cabin filling an ice bucket and then filling an entire hallway of cabin buckets full of ice that a possibly noro infected guest may have unsuspectingly contaminated while walking by.

 

Also prior cabin occupant may have had it and if the bucket was in cabin, would have been infected (if a full-ship borne illness,, bucket would be sanitized between cruises, if guest never disclosed the symptoms, no one would have ever known and the virus is now waiting for the new unsuspecting guest to become infected and start spreading on the ship.)

 

And if you think all glassware and ice buckets etc. are removed sanitized and put back in cabin between cruises...I assure you as a former hotel manager, this is not the case so don't be fooled into a false sense of security.

[mrBit]

Yea, can you believe the corners RCI is cutting, i mean heck, i had this LCD thing in my cabin that was like this virtual balcony. Geesh cruising is not what it used to be. :D

[luvscruising2007]

Well, I won't name names, but what I've seen is certain someones around here looking for ways to smuggle alcohol, avoid tipping, avoid any sort of upcharge, look for free this, free that, drink themselves into oblivions during free events, gorge themselves at the buffets, etc, etc, and then turn around and complain about cost cutting....never seeming to see the connection.

 

But aside from those people, cost cutting is a way of life. If you think RCI has cut costs, you should see what's happened to my organization in the last few years. :rolleyes:

 

I don't believe RCI is responsible for "lowering standards". It's the consumer public. Remember when air travel was enjoyable, but the traveling public wanted lower fares. In order to meet the public clamor, in 1978 the government deregulated the airline industry. Now you get nickled and dimed on everything, luggage, food, early boarding,wider seats, even aisle seats. Get used to paying for juice, upgraded steak etc, the public wants lower prices. Be careful what you wish for, you'll probably get more (or less) than you bargained for.

 

These posters have it right. They have said what I have been thinking. Every time someone asks for that lower price, smuggles, steals, shares drink packages they are causing the cutbacks to be necessary. I would actually prefer an increase in price to continue with excellent service, wonderful entertainment and great food.

[Ocean Boy]

Part of the reason for no automatic ice is to prevent Noro virus.

 

Care to explain how that works?

[Ocean Boy]

Cruises in the late 80s and early 90s cost more than what it is now in 2014 dollars. Cruising used to be significantly more expensive, and only affordable by the upper class.

 

 

That simply means that there was enough demand for the number of cabins available back then to charge those prices. The cruise lines decided to increase capacity and demand for the number of cabins available today determines today's pricing just as it did in the 80's and 90's. The laws of supply and demand will always be in effect unlessl the government takes over running the cruise lines.

[Ocean Boy]

Instead of dragging a cart down the hall with ice in it that people walk by while the cabin attendant is in the cabin filling an ice bucket and then filling an entire hallway of cabin buckets full of ice that a possibly noro infected guest may have unsuspectingly contaminated while walking by.

 

Also prior cabin occupant may have had it and if the bucket was in cabin, would have been infected (if a full-ship borne illness,, bucket would be sanitized between cruises, if guest never disclosed the symptoms, no one would have ever known and the virus is now waiting for the new unsuspecting guest to become infected and start spreading on the ship.)

 

And if you think all glassware and ice buckets etc. are removed sanitized and put back in cabin between cruises...I assure you as a former hotel manager, this is not the case so don't be fooled into a false sense of security.

If people are walking down the hallway contaminating ice I suspect that they contaminated a myriad of other things on their way to the hallway.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[cle-guy]

If people are walking down the hallway contaminating ice I suspect that they contaminated a myriad of other things on their way to the hallway.

 

Very true.

 

Also more chance a steward is cleaning the hand rails in the hallway regularly, but probably not doing much to clean the ice cubes. Also ice cubes may be ingested....

 

It's just a simple step to provide a more sanitary cruise, and one that doesn't really seem like it should be much of an inconvenience.

[rimmit]

I understand the laws of supply and demand.

 

I totally agree that it is what the market will bare. When the cruise industry tripled their beds in the late 90s early 2000s with the building boom, they could not fill the ships at the price points of the earlier days and thus opening cruising to the middle class. They then had to lower the price to fill the ships. In doing so the revenue per ship drops and thus cutbacks. Also much harder to guarantee good service watching 23 ships vs 8.

 

Now to get that white glove service you have to move to the smaller more expensive lines. Worth it for some but not for me.

[louv2000]

We travelled in suite 1248 on Freedom 2 weeks ago. We travelled in the same suite back in December 2012.

I was shocked to see that the same damaged t.v. was still hanging on the wall (darkened circles on the flat screen?). The remote was now held together with tape.

Balcony furniture was in a state of disrepair.

Mold in the tub.

And the room smelled like a swamp. This was remedied on the 2nd day of our cruise after maintenance was called--water was pooling in the a/c (?).

We paid big bucks and were a bit disappointed to say the least. No chocolates at turn down either ;)

 

Followed our cruise with a week at Disney. Moderate resort (Port Orleans) and were awed by the clean rooms, new bathrooms, etc. The housekeeper was a marvel and only visted our room once per day and had many, many rooms to maintain.

 

We spent the week at Disney--did a package deal with tickets and free dining. Spent about 1/2 of what we did for the cruise. We didn't have to line up for over an hour to get out of the hotel either and they didn't lose my luggage. :D

 

We're cancelling our upcoming December cruise.

[cle-guy]

The housekeeper was a marvel and only visted our room once per day and had many, many rooms to maintain.

 

Having my degree in Hotel Administration, and having worked for Marriott for several years, housekeepers typically get 16-18 rooms to clean on an 8 hour shift, about 20 minutes or so per room.

 

I've never asked the cabin stewards what their load is, but they also have a lot of helpers and runners to assist.

[rimmit]

Disney is in a class of its own. They strive for perfection and come close to achieving it.

 

The Disney cruise I went on 10 months ago felt like how RCI used to do things. Chocolates on pillows, white glove service, spotless rooms, amazing entertainment, free soft drinks.

 

On the same front i paid 3200 for the cheapest inside stateroom for 3 people. Just cruised explorer and paid 2800 for 3 in a junior suite. You get what you pay for in the cruise industry.

[louv2000]

We used to do Disney a lot. They were perfection for many years and then it got too big. Quality slipped big time and we stopped going as often and upgraded to more expensive resorts when we did go.

 

We did not spend big bucks for our time last week. It was a 'moderate' resort. I was really impressed.

 

I still think that a suite on Freedom should be better than Disney. Just looking at the $$ it should have been twice as good.

[setsail]

I always wondered why cruise lines spent billions on building new ships when there was NO DEMAND:rolleyes::p

[LA_CA_GAL]

Easy one - had a pretty lazy CS years ago. Took everything out and put it into the sink. Let him know that the sink still needed to be cleaned - "you" put that stuff wherever you want - the chiller is "mine". The second day everything went away ;).

 

YMMV.

 

Good for you!

 

And maybe your toothbrushes were used to clean the toilet.

 

Personally, I never agitate anyone that serves me food or has access to my personal belongings.

 

However, it would affect them financially.

[Ocean Boy]

I understand the laws of supply and demand.

 

I totally agree that it is what the market will bare. When the cruise industry tripled their beds in the late 90s early 2000s with the building boom, they could not fill the ships at the price points of the earlier days and thus opening cruising to the middle class. They then had to lower the price to fill the ships. In doing so the revenue per ship drops and thus cutbacks. Also much harder to guarantee good service watching 23 ships vs 8.

 

Now to get that white glove service you have to move to the smaller more expensive lines. Worth it for some but not for me.

 

Nor is it worth it to me as I really don't require that much service. Part of why I enjoy the Windjammer is that I really do not like being waited on hand and foot. I'd rather get up and walk around and get my own food. I don't need staff walking around the decks asking me if I want a drink. I'd rather get up and walk over to a bar when I want one. I guess it all has to do with my inability to sit still for very long. I am big on walking. All I need is my cabin cleaned, the bed made, and the table I'm using cleared of dirty dishes. All and all, I'm pretty good with exactly what RCI is offering for a cruise experience.

[Ocean Boy]

Good for you!

 

And maybe your toothbrushes were used to clean the toilet.

 

Personally, I never agitate anyone that serves me food or has access to my personal belongings.

 

However, it would affect them financially.

 

My mother subscribes to this same philosophy!:D

[sjb317]

We used to do Disney a lot. They were perfection for many years and then it got too big. Quality slipped big time and we stopped going as often and upgraded to more expensive resorts when we did go.

 

We did not spend big bucks for our time last week. It was a 'moderate' resort. I was really impressed.

 

I still think that a suite on Freedom should be better than Disney. Just looking at the $$ it should have been twice as good.

 

I agree that a suite for what you pay on Freedom should be better than Disney. However, a 2 day pass for 4 adults & one child cost us almost as much as our 7 day Freedom cruise in an interior room, something I kept pointing out to my husband!:D And I think we spent more money in the park for food & one souvenir for the grandchild than we did for the entire week on Freedom. And the food was pretty bad in the parks, in comparison the MDR was gourmet!

 

Sherri:)

Edited February 19, 2014 by sjb317

[louv2000]

I agree that a suite for what you pay on Freedom should be better than Disney. However, a 2 day pass for 4 adults & one child cost us almost as much as our 7 day Freedom cruise in an interior room, something I kept pointing out to my husband!:D And I think we spent more money in the park for food & one souvenir for the grandchild than we did for the entire week on Freedom. And the food was pretty bad in the parks, in comparison the MDR was gourmet!

 

Sherri:)

 

really?

We paid $2444 for the week at Disney for 2 of us: hotel, 4 days at the parks and all our food.

 

We paid $4429 for our suite on Freedom for the week with my time dining.

 

Food is very subjective, but I'd have to suggest you likely weren't eating at the same places as me at Disney. Best food ever, by far. IMHO.

 

Disney isn't perfect--waiting in lines for buses and attractions, crowds, etc. But this past cruise just hit us that its 'not all that' either.

 

My husband flow rides a lot and he noticed that the ''unit' itself was showing wear--all discoloured, etc. The mini-putt was a mess--torn up turf. Looked awful. Hallways were dirty, carpets in need of cleaning. I guess Freedom is showing its age at last.

 

The activities and shows haven't changed in years. We found that we spent most of our time lounging on our balcony (not complaining!) sleeping and reading. You can't beat the weather in the Caribbean, but the same old ports are wearing thin too.