Other lines comparable to Royal?

[Cruisegirl6]

The OP still hasn't come back here yet and explain to us what the problem is, which leads me to believe, its got to be a petty issue, they probably got very annoyed at something and their feelings hurt over something stupid and small.

 

Unless I hear a reason to understand why the OP doesn't want to cruise RC again I simply going to tell you all that RC is my favorite cruise line and will continue to be so!!! :D

[nana541]

But as you see people have mixed feelings about all cruise lines. You have to find one comparable to what your looking for. But Norwegian is closest to Royal Caribbean... Celebrity, Princess, Holland America are all step up in classes of ships but atmosphere can be different.

But Norwegian is a wonderful Haven area and I have been on their ship and the service was great. You gotta remember NCL is more laid back because it's freestyle

 

 

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If you would read post 19 & 20, you would know exactly what the issue is!

 

 

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[Aquahound]

We are having an issue with Royal right now and, to be honest, it has left a bad taste in my mouth. I think next week's cruise will be the last time we sail with them. :roll eyes: We really loved Royal up until this incident, so we would like to pick another line that has similar amenities and such. Hal, Princess, NCL? Who is the direct competitor?

 

I've cruised all 3 of those lines and I disagree with some of the other posts. I do not see NCL as comparable or equal to RCI. In my experience, my NCL cruises have felt cheap, service was lacking and the ships were very poorly maintained....not to mention ridiculous wait times for dinner and inability to reserve dining times for a party of 2.

 

However, I just cruised Princess for the first time on the Ruby and all throughout that cruise, both my wife and I kept saying it was very similar to RCI. I think Princess is a lot more like RCI than NCL is.

 

HAL is definitely in another league. Activites are severely lacking on HAL, especially after dark. It is a more traditional cruise line and I firmly believe it caters to an older crowd. It was a nice cruise, but nothing like RCI.

 

But all that said, all these lines have promotions for certain room categories. The problem you had is something that could happen on any of these lines if you change your room when the original booking was made with a promotion.

[travellink]

Just let your TA handle it for you. I'm sure it will work out for you.

[Big_G]

Between Princess, Carnival, and Celebrity, we found Princess to be the closest to a Royal cruise. We haven't sailed Norwegian or Holland yet.

[SeagoingMom]

I am 50 and going this saturday on my 53rd cruise, I have travelled on different cruise lines and do compare.

 

 

Although I am very curious why you are leaving RC I honestly can say my least liked cruise line is NCL, gosh I hated that Breakaway ship last year, it had so many negatives that in the past 20 ships I been on it was my most disliked ship, we will NEVER go back to NCL again. During the past many years I have been on NCL to get off the ship and stay away, but after a few years give it another try and again disappointed, we learned our lesson now nomore NCL.

 

HAL I can honestly say the majority of passengers are elderly and from my experiences, many are in wheelchairs, scooters, have oxygen tanks and such, its just a much older cruise, one that I won't take.

 

Been on a few Princess cruises and they were really great and love Princess! Passengers are sophisticated like, not very old and not very young. I enjoy the Princess experience overall very much!

 

What's important to me are the buffets, the MDR, specialty restaurants and service overall. I have never had a problem on Princess, although I remain not to have a problem on RC either.

This was not our experience on our 10-night HAL Panama Canal cruise in 2011. There was a wide range of ages (but few children). There were few wheelchairs (though former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop used one on our cruise...), few scooters or walkers, few medical devices to be seen in the public areas. My guess is the average age was in the 50's -- maybe late fifties? But that is about the same as the cruise industry average. I guess each of us has had our own experience...

 

I did not see any significant age differences on HAL than on Celebrity or Princess (except for the children).

 

Statistics on average age of pax by cruise line are elusive. I have seen them, but can't relocate them. My recollection is that the average age of HAL cruisers is about the same as that of Princess. Hopefully someone somewhere can offer a link to these statistics.

[kalliekae]

We've sailed on Oasis twice and on HAL 6 times. HAL has much nicer suites than RCCL, but their entertainment is sorely lacking. HAL is great for European, Baltic, and Mediterranean cruises since those sailings are port intensive. Also, we found a much younger crowd on those sailings as opposed to HAL's Caribbean cruises which has mostly elderly people on board.

 

We absolutely loved our Oasis cruises and will book another cruise on RCCL's large ships. You can't beat the entertainment on Royal's ships. Food on HAL was better in the dining room, but the specialty restaurants and buffets were equal to Royal. HAL's ships are smaller and have a classy, old world feel with heavy emphasis on artwork throughout the ship. We love their wide, teak promenade decks that circle the ship and has recliners that get you close to the sea. So there are advantages to both lines. BTW, our first cruise was on HAL in 1995 with our two middle schoolers. There were plenty of other kids on board, too. So please don't always think that HAL is for the geriatric crowd.

 

 

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[Cindy]

We've sailed on Oasis twice and on HAL 6 times. HAL has much nicer suites than RCCL...

 

 

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My thoughts are just the opposite...I think my suites on Royal Caribbean were MUCH nicer than my suites on HAL. Both the cabin furnishings and the bathroom fixtures/materials were much more luxurious in my RCI suites, and the suites I've had on Royal Caribbean (OS & GS) were also more spacious. My favorite thing about one of my HAL suites was the balcony (a huge aft-wrap). Other than that and a very comfortable bed, I thought the furniture was kind of cheesy looking.

[Familygoboston]

I think the answer to this depends on what hacked you off in the first place...

 

Cruise not a good value/crowd to stuffy?: try Carnival or Norwegian

 

Service not up to snuff?: try Disney (yes, even grownups, they take pains on Disney to keep the kids OUT of the adult areas) or Celebrity

 

Tired of the anything goes dress in the dining room, clods at the dinner table: try HAL or Princess

 

Sick of cruising with Americans, want a more "continental" experience?: Try MSC

 

bored to bits with belly flop contests and same old ports/sick of CHOGS?: Try a river cruise or expedition cruise; you won't sit still long enough for any of that silliness!;)

 

Those are just the Mass Markets...if you want to spend a little more, (ok, a lot more) you can be casual and cosseted- PG and Oceania and Windstar. Dressed up and cossetted- Crystal or Regent or Cunard.

 

and on and on...CC has really good reviews of the various lines and who they cater too, but this had been my experience both on my own sailings, friends and fellow travelers

Edited May 7, 2014 by Familygoboston

[Raenstoirm]

So I guess we are going to have to try them all since everyone's opinions vary so much! ;)

 

Someone posted my issue a few posts up. I wasn't trying to be cryptic by not mentioning it, I just didn't think it was relevant to rehash it. I totally understand why they would pull the OBC if we dropped our room class, but we upgraded gave them a substantial amount additional money and the promo was for our new room type as well. Dh posted on Royal's Facebook page and person after person told us royal tried to do the same thing to them, but it ended up getting fixed. The lack of customer service (pulling a promo because a customer gave you MORE money) just sucks. It may be the cruise industry in general that has bad customer service. I really don't know since we have always been with royal. We have had issues related to Disney in the past and they bent over backwards to help us. That situation was in no way Disney's fault (family medical situation), but they did everything and more for us. (They paid for our cab ride to the airport so we could get home faster!) . I guess I am just used to that kind of customer service and this incident with Royal just makes me cringe.

[Cruisegirl6]

I agree totally with Aquahound, NCL cannot be compared to RC at all, too many differences, making RC a lot better cruise line overall.

 

Seagoingmom it definitely sounds like there is a different crowed on a Panama Canal cruise, I still am staying all away from HAL, its too quiet and boring at night and the food is very very bland.

 

Raeinstorim, I realize your very upset what had happened but with any cruise line if you upgrade or change to a lower price you really need to vaify that the perks you originally had will still be available, what happened is bad and I agree very disappointing but you need to ask these questions...just so you know next time, it actually could happen on any cruise line.

[uksimonusa]

So I guess we are going to have to try them all since everyone's opinions vary so much! ;)

 

Someone posted my issue a few posts up. I wasn't trying to be cryptic by not mentioning it, I just didn't think it was relevant to rehash it. I totally understand why they would pull the OBC if we dropped our room class, but we upgraded gave them a substantial amount additional money and the promo was for our new room type as well. Dh posted on Royal's Facebook page and person after person told us royal tried to do the same thing to them, but it ended up getting fixed. The lack of customer service (pulling a promo because a customer gave you MORE money) just sucks. It may be the cruise industry in general that has bad customer service. I really don't know since we have always been with royal. We have had issues related to Disney in the past and they bent over backwards to help us. That situation was in no way Disney's fault (family medical situation), but they did everything and more for us. (They paid for our cab ride to the airport so we could get home faster!) . I guess I am just used to that kind of customer service and this incident with Royal just makes me cringe.

 

They didn't pull a promo because you gave them more money, in fact, they didn't pull a promo at all. You asked to change your booking, booked during a promotion, from one cabin type to another, the cabin you wanted was subject to the current promotion, BOGOHO, so the price you saw and paid was a promo price. All RCI did was, traded an outdated promo, for the current promo, which, I believe, actually saved you a lot of money overall. Would you have been happier if you paid full price for the new cabin and kept the OBC?

[Raenstoirm]

They didn't pull a promo because you gave them more money, in fact, they didn't pull a promo at all. You asked to change your booking, booked during a promotion, from one cabin type to another, the cabin you wanted was subject to the current promotion, BOGOHO, so the price you saw and paid was a promo price. All RCI did was, traded an outdated promo, for the current promo, which, I believe, actually saved you a lot of money overall. Would you have been happier if you paid full price for the new cabin and kept the OBC?

 

Actually no, the current Bogo is for 2015 cruises. My cruise is in 4 days so it really didn't apply in any way. And I didn't change my booking, I upgraded my room. Royal did not charge me cancelation fees, so it is not a new booking in their eyes. I have upgraded 100 vacations in the past. If I booked a coach seat on an airplane with a bags fly free promo and then upgraded to first class the airline wouldn't make me then pay for the bags after I gave them more money for the better seats! I have done that 30 times (most flights I upgraded to business class, but you get the idea) and I assure you the airline never made me pay for the bags because I didn't upgrade during the promo. I have booked numerous hotels with certain free meals included as part of a promo. When I upgraded the room, no hotel has ever decided that I no longer get the free meals because the promo has expired. We often book basic flights, rooms, etc and then upgrade when we get closer to the date of our trip and we know what are finances look like for he trip and have NEVER had an issue like this. :rolleyes:

[EmpressofPurple]

Actually no, the current Bogo is for 2015 cruises. My cruise is in 4 days so it really didn't apply in any way. And I didn't change my booking, I upgraded my room. Royal did not charge me cancelation fees, so it is not a new booking in their eyes. I have upgraded 100 vacations in the past. If I booked a coach seat on an airplane with a bags fly free promo and then upgraded to first class the airline wouldn't make me then pay for the bags after I gave them more money for the better seats! I have done that 30 times (most flights I upgraded to business class, but you get the idea) and I assure you the airline never made me pay for the bags because I didn't upgrade during the promo. I have booked numerous hotels with certain free meals included as part of a promo. When I upgraded the room, no hotel has ever decided that I no longer get the free meals because the promo has expired. We often book basic flights, rooms, etc and then upgrade when we get closer to the date of our trip and we know what are finances look like for he trip and have NEVER had an issue like this. :rolleyes:

 

Well put. I agree, it just feels cheap.

 

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[George C]

I would try Princess or HAL OR Celelebrity , we have cruised the 3 but like rccl, they sometimes enforce dress codes on other lines, which it appears after my last cruise RCCL has no dress codes.

[Familygoboston]

So I guess we are going to have to try them all since everyone's opinions vary so much! ;)

 

Someone posted my issue a few posts up. I wasn't trying to be cryptic by not mentioning it, I just didn't think it was relevant to rehash it. I totally understand why they would pull the OBC if we dropped our room class, but we upgraded gave them a substantial amount additional money and the promo was for our new room type as well. Dh posted on Royal's Facebook page and person after person told us royal tried to do the same thing to them, but it ended up getting fixed. The lack of customer service (pulling a promo because a customer gave you MORE money) just sucks. It may be the cruise industry in general that has bad customer service. I really don't know since we have always been with royal. We have had issues related to Disney in the past and they bent over backwards to help us. That situation was in no way Disney's fault (family medical situation), but they did everything and more for us. (They paid for our cab ride to the airport so we could get home faster!) . I guess I am just used to that kind of customer service and this incident with Royal just makes me cringe.

 

This is the best idea you've had yet!!:D

 

 

I agree with you that if the company isn't meeting your needs, at this end of the market, this is a commodity business, and there are plenty of fish in the sea (cabins on the ocean ;)) Don't let folks get you down...if you aren't happy, try something else! We are diamond cruisers with Royal with over 100 nights, but that hasn't stopped us from taking a variety of cruise lines and trips of all kinds. We personally have a dollar limit on vacations we will purchase from this company BECAUSE of their poor customer service handling issues; (I'm referring to issues that have happened to ME, personally)- we just won't risk significant dollars (to us) or precious touring opportunities (on say, once in a lifetime destinations) with this company.

 

I can assure you there is life (and a very good life:D) after Royal! I would say you might be ready to go "smaller" and if you are willing to spend a bit more, you might find more stellar service on some of the higher end lines...when you really break down the pricing with their AI cruising, it's not a huge price difference if you catch some decent dates and promos. It will never be the rock bottom prices you get on Carnival, NCL and RCI, but you do in fact get what you pay for;)

 

btw, the smaller lines have message boards here on CC and they tend to be like smaller towns; fewer trolls and nastiness, people are nicer because they truly DO bump into each other more often while sailing, and also, the companies themselves often weigh in on a question or complaint. It makes for a very nice community...I feel I've really made some "friends" on the other CC boards :D Come on over and peruse some of the other lines CC boards, see if the people you "meet" there seem like folks you could cruise with, some you might find "clicky", but I've found most have been wonderful sharing reviews and answering questions when I post a query!

 

Good luck with your research!!

 

ETA: There are some really wonderful people HERE too!!! It's just you really have to separate the wheat from the chaff!!

Edited May 7, 2014 by Familygoboston

[karmacats]

Dh posted on Royal's Facebook page and person after person told us royal tried to do the same thing to them, but it ended up getting fixed.

 

It may help to call back C&A and tell them this, and maybe take a screen shot of the FB page and offer to email it to them. If it's being fixed for other people, there's no reason it shouldn't be fixed for you.

 

I had a similar situation a couple cruises ago when Royal did not want to honor a price drop because they said it was for new bookings only, but there was no restriction on the website and folks on here were reporting they got the drop. All i said to the C&A rep after she told me "no" was "that's odd, because I'm a cruise critic member and everyone on there is getting the drop" and she put me on hold for 5 minutes and came back and told me I could get the lower price. I think sometimes a little knowledge is power. :D

[Cindy]

I saw on the RCI Facebook page that the OBC has been reinstated. Enjoy your cruise -- and the GS!

[rjrpar]

Celebrity Solstice class ships are really nice; Solstice, Eclipse, Reflection, Equinox and Silhouette.

 

Totally agree. The average age on Celebrity is slightly higher but they provide a very good cruise experience, but probably not ideal if you have young children.

[DWhit]

I suspect they are all pretty comparable. I have heard the line about HAL being for older people, and we have not found this to be true. The pax were no older than the recent Celebrity and RCI cruises we took. I think it is much more dependent on the length of the cruise and when you take it with regard to pax age and number of kids. That being said, I think most lines have a great product, but every now and then you can run into problems on any line. Its Human Nature to say "Heck with you, I am moving on to another line." If you cruise enough with this attitude, you may run out of lines to change to.