The Cruise Experience is changing!...

[Merion_Mom]

NCL just bought Regent and Oceania cruise lines.

 

 

 

It's official: Norwegian is acquiring Prestige Cruises in $3bn deal

[alfaeric]

Totally agree with you!

Unfortunately, RCCL " Ain't what it use to be ...." :(

LuLu

 

It isn't. And to US, it's better.

 

sometimes I think people have dreams about the old food- but I remember my first cruise on the Monarch that the food was just ok. And ever since that trip has gotten better, mostly.

 

On top of that, the food options are MUCH better now, as well. Then- Windjammer/MDR. Now, same plus Park Cafe, Chops, Portofino, etc... some free some not, but that's ok.

 

The entertainment is light years better than it was in 2001. Back the was the big show with the entertainment staff under the cruise director. Now we have ice shows, ariel shows, musical reviews, water shows, and broadway shows as options.

 

I see less waste- no worries about sending food back as it was too much, or the cheap chocolates, or other things that made you "felt" rich, but not so much- it was more using for the sake of using.

 

As for the service, well, perhaps a, "hi, I'm alfaeric, nice to meet you" to the staff must go a long way. Then again, we've gotten a few comments from the staff about that- so perhaps it's not the staff as much as it's the passengers.

 

All of that, for same absolute $$/night. Adjusted for inflation, it's even better.

 

Which is why we cruise WAY more often now than ever before.

 

Change is good. Worth trying, and if it doesn't work- take it off.

[jayblue]

After a small handful of cruises in the 90s, I decided to try other forms of travel. The reason? Despite the fact that the cruise ships were getting bigger, the overall experience was the same.

 

I like the idea of setting my own dinner time and eating what I want when I want. It seems to create a more relaxed atmosphere. I work 8-5 M-F. That's my office schedule. Why should I have a rigid schedule when on vacation? RCCL is answering this question with a relaxed schedule.

 

jayblue RCCL cruiser

[sr4mjc]

I for one am glad the cabins got sooooo much nicer than the old days. I remember cruises back in the mid -late 80s on Costa with my parents and those were some tight quarters.

 

I am looking forward to DD.. The rigidity of MDR was never my favorite. But it was a known entity and some people like that. Be 'here' at X time every night, whether hungry or not, I guess it is appealing to some.

[SUSIEK]

The food has gotten terrible. I don't know if I'm ready to compare it to Carnival, but it is headed in that direction

 

Curious.... what Carnival ships have you sailed on? The food, in my opinion, has exceeded Royal a long time ago.

[OCruisers]

How people feel about this depends on if they did not begin cruising on RCCL until the 2000's .... or if they began cruising on RCCL back in the early 1980's.

Whatever, things are the way they are now and there's no going back ....

LuLu

[alfaeric]

How people feel about this depends on if they did not begin cruising on RCCL until the 2000's .... or if they began cruising on RCCL back in the early 1980's.

Whatever, things are the way they are now and there's no going back ....

LuLu

 

But you still have the cruises that give you almost the same experience with similar prices. You can go back.

 

I'd rather not, though. :D

[OCruisers]

Did you know that at one time, Royal Caribbean was targeted to upper middle class cruisers who wanted a quiet relaxing vacation? The line prided itself on its personalized service and excellent food (including being known for the chocolate).

 

It has certainly changed. With the acquisition of Celebrity and the start up of Azamara, the Royal Caribbean corporation made the decision to down class its premier cruise line to compete with Carnival and NCL.

They certainly have achieved their goal. Crowded, noisy ships that have mediocre food (and no decent chocolate) with a clientele that want a frantic cruise schedule.

 

Yes, the RCL experience has certainly changed.

 

Yes, things have changed!!!

LuLu

[Warm Breezes]

Yes, things have changed!!!

LuLu

 

Change is a constant. If you don't like change then you are in trouble because life may be passing you by. We are go with the flow type of people. I don't expect things to be the same. In fact I like switching up cruiselines so things won't be the same. One thing I do like to do is research so I can anticipate the changes and determine if what I am paying for is of value to me and my family for the ship I am choosing right now not 5 years ago or even a year ago (quite a few of the ships I have sailed on have had recent drydocks and have changed since we sailed on them just a year ago or less). Many don't do this and are surprised when things aren't what they had expected from their past experience. Then they come on here and complain that things have changed and they don't like it. There are so many choices out there that with a little research, I truly believe people could find the ship to suit them.

 

FWIW, I have not seen a decline in food or service. Some is beyond my expectations, some below, and most right on.....it doesn't matter what ship or cruiseline I am on. It has been this way since we started sailing. Sometimes I think peoples expecations are set too high for what they are paying for or maybe it is the "me" attitude that is so prevalent these days.

[marco]

Yes indeed, cruising has morphed into something it wasn't 30 and more years ago. I was just looking at some old memorabilia and found a ticket from a cruise in 1976 on the Italian Line's "Leonard Da Vinci. It was an 11 day cruise to the Caribbean, it cost $860 pp. You can cruise now for about the same price for the same length to the same destination. What else has the price remained the same for almost 40 years?

Oh, ya......the port taxes and fees were $11.40!........now those prices certainly have not remained the same!

[ryano]

Glad I came along AFTER "the change" and know nothing of the days gone by.

[TamoyLuxCruising]

I've been reading everyone's response to the initial post. I understand some do not approve of the changes and evolution of cruising. Yes the big brands foster larger crowds and mass production of meals, but I think there are a variety of cruise lines that exist to offer the more intimate and "richer" experience that some yearn. If you have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and others a like and ready to step it up for something more "luxury", the opportunity does exist with lines like Regent, CroisiEurope, and more. I have interacted with plenty of cruisers that naturally progressed to the "higher" end cruise lines to satisfy the need to indulge in something more. Change is good, you just have to be willing to try something new. Agents and agencies are always available to help you pick the right cruise line.

[Beachdude]

I'm not sure I agree with these. If by "better dining options" you mean more dining options, then yes. But if you mean better food, then I disagree. We have found that the quality of the food has gone down over the years.

 

I would have to think that adding cabins where there were none before does not result in "better passenger traffic".

 

And if by "better service management" you mean better service, I also disagree. Service is still good, but with the employees stretched thinner and thinner, I don't think it's better.

 

Just my opinion.

 

 

Yes, the OP was pretty good except for this part. But what I have noticed is many folks don't really want great tasting food, they want convenience and quick service like they get at home with fast food restaurants. I am amazed at how many cruisers rate the quality of a ship’s food by the taste of the pizza and burgers. And look at those threads of dressing for the dinner meals. Many folks today desire just going from the pool to the restaurant to grab a quick dinner. A dress code just gets in the way of a fast meal.

 

The new style is an advantage for the cruise lines. More self-serving style meals mean less waiting staffs. We notice a big reduction of waiting staff on our last Celebrity cruise and the service quality suffered greatly. In fact we saw a reduction in most of the service areas like cabin attendants. I keep thinking it is an American thing, but I wonder if the Europeans cruises are following the same trends.

 

Burt

[nfcu]

Curious.... what Carnival ships have you sailed on? The food, in my opinion, has exceeded Royal a long time ago.

 

 

How right you are! Carnival food quality exceeds RCI in every way.

[SeagoingMom]

By and large, cruising has evolved from the concept of "sea voyages" to that of "floating amusement parks." RCCL ships are good examples of this change.

[grand isle joe]

NCL just bought Regent and Oceania cruise lines.

 

Well there goes that cruise line down the drain.....one time on Oceania most everything was included and now with NCL most things will have a surcharge......

[screwsmcernst]

And I can remember when Corporate Executives used to wear a Suit, shirt and tie, and not be seen on the tv dressed in jeans and tee shirts.

Yes, they are still earning billions or millions, but they choose to dress how they want, not what is perceived as being appropriate or meeting the expectations of others.

 

I spend my vacations chill-axing, and not winding myself up with the antics of others. I do not find the current style of cruising to be noisy, but they are full, as they need to be to enable the corporate shareholders to receive their expected dividends.

I have always received personalized service from RCCL and Carnival for that matter - may be its the way we interact with the staff?? that generates the response.

I spend my time on board switching off, generating prime R&R, and not dreaming up miles of pages with criticism.

 

Yes, I dress up on formal nights, and yes I do dress down during the day - but that works for me.

And...........I do enjoy cruising.

 

 

 

Now this I agree with. Well said.

 

There are some cruisers, not all, who feel that because they cruise so often, that it gives them a right to be rude to everyone, especially the staff, and complain about everything.

 

Some people have the opportunity to cruise multiple times a year.... and that is great...but in all honesty, some people cruise just so they can lord over other cruisers, and especially the crew with their "Captain-Platinum-Elite" status. Again, not all, but some, and we have all seen their reviews and posts. Their cruise was "ruined" because they found a rust spot, the carpet was worn, or they had to wait in line with "regular" cruisers so they could eat their 12th meal of the day of food that was so sub par, they wouldn't feed it to their pets.

When you sail on the same ships, with the same itineraries, the same entertainment, and the same menus, over and over,it will get boring. That is when some people get "Nit-picky."

People vacation to get away from their "Normal lives." If cruising has become your "Norm" with more negatives than positives, maybe it is time for some cruisers to try a different vacation experience.

 

Let the flaming begin. :rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

Cruises have changed and so have cruisers.

Which reflects the other?

 

I am not necessarily saying either is a bad thing.

 

[TC1957]

I keep seeing people state "Change is good". Rarely is a blanket statement true and this is most certainly a blanket statement. Change can be good...it can also be bad. What companies hope is that when they make a change that is a flop with the customers they can recognize it quickly enough to mitigate the damage and change it back (assuming they have not invested a medium size fortune that will hamper the business for decades). A better statement, in my opinion is "Change is just that...change."

 

I am not, as a rule, opposed to change. However there are things I like about every company with whom I deal on a fairly regular basis. If they elminate one of the things I value highly during one of their changes they will probably lose me as a customer unless there is no alternative. Based on the anecdotal evidence I have seen the best approach a business can take is to introduce a "change" they think needs to be made as an option. Using the cruise industry in general, and RCI specifically, as did the OP...MTD took that approach. I do wonder how much of the glowing success is based on new cruisers who did not/do not know how to get a traditional MDR seating after being pushed toward MTD by the line...and there is no way to answer that question.

 

I can understand the move to Dynamic Dining on new ships at the expense of the MDR as it makes no sense to build a ship with a feature you would like to eliminate. But on existing ships it makes more sense to me to make the MDR smaller and add some of the venues that are part of DD. If over the subsequent few years it is demonstrated to everyone (and customers are smart enough to see the evidence in the room) that the MDR is a dinosaur that must be eliminated...so be it.

 

For us, and I think many others, given the limited time we can vacation and the cost of everything involved our cruise options are limited to those sailing out of the US. When we reach the point where nothing appeals to us (seeing the same ports) we will change. I refuse to spend thousands of hard earned dollars to book a cruise on a ship when I am 99% certain I will not like the experience. That may be due to the size of the ship, the "Look what we did" parking lot carnival ride features, the dining options, etc.

 

What I find sad is that more and more business (and this includes RCI) take the approach that they will let the quality decline for those things that are included...in this case, the food quality in the included dining venues...and tell the customer "If you want quality, along the lines of what we did in the pass, get your wallet out." That just rubs me wrong. If you need to charge more to maintain quality...charge more. Most customers understand prices go up. It is an easy sell to tell them if they want cheap...book line JKL...if you want a quality experience...book RCI.

[Warm Breezes]

I keep seeing people state "Change is good". Rarely is a blanket statement true and this is most certainly a blanket statement. Change can be good...it can also be bad. What companies hope is that when they make a change that is a flop with the customers they can recognize it quickly enough to mitigate the damage and change it back (assuming they have not invested a medium size fortune that will hamper the business for decades). A better statement, in my opinion is "Change is just that...change."

 

I am not, as a rule, opposed to change. However there are things I like about every company with whom I deal on a fairly regular basis. If they elminate one of the things I value highly during one of their changes they will probably lose me as a customer unless there is no alternative. Based on the anecdotal evidence I have seen the best approach a business can take is to introduce a "change" they think needs to be made as an option. Using the cruise industry in general, and RCI specifically, as did the OP...MTD took that approach. I do wonder how much of the glowing success is based on new cruisers who did not/do not know how to get a traditional MDR seating after being pushed toward MTD by the line...and there is no way to answer that question.

 

I can understand the move to Dynamic Dining on new ships at the expense of the MDR as it makes no sense to build a ship with a feature you would like to eliminate. But on existing ships it makes more sense to me to make the MDR smaller and add some of the venues that are part of DD. If over the subsequent few years it is demonstrated to everyone (and customers are smart enough to see the evidence in the room) that the MDR is a dinosaur that must be eliminated...so be it.

 

For us, and I think many others, given the limited time we can vacation and the cost of everything involved our cruise options are limited to those sailing out of the US. When we reach the point where nothing appeals to us (seeing the same ports) we will change. I refuse to spend thousands of hard earned dollars to book a cruise on a ship when I am 99% certain I will not like the experience. That may be due to the size of the ship, the "Look what we did" parking lot carnival ride features, the dining options, etc.

 

What I find sad is that more and more business (and this includes RCI) take the approach that they will let the quality decline for those things that are included...in this case, the food quality in the included dining venues...and tell the customer "If you want quality, along the lines of what we did in the pass, get your wallet out." That just rubs me wrong. If you need to charge more to maintain quality...charge more. Most customers understand prices go up. It is an easy sell to tell them if they want cheap...book line JKL...if you want a quality experience...book RCI.[/quote]

 

This line just struck me funny. What is the difference of the cruise line charging more to everyone for higher quality MDR food as prices rise vs charging more to just those who choose to have the higher quality in speciality restaurants and let the quality slide for those who don't care in the MDR (not that I have seen this)? In either case the line "If you want quality, along the lines of what we did in the past, get your wallet out." holds true. Either everyone pays with a higher cruise price and those who don't want it sail another line or those who do want it pay through specialty dining and those who don't eat in the MDR. Either way those who want it pay through their wallet :rolleyes:.

[Maeshel]

We've been cruising since 2003.

I am a foodie and the highlight of my day is MDR. I feel the food has definately gone down hill in the past few years on RCL. We were on Carnival Victory last year and I felt the meals were awful in the MDR. Only one good one in 5 days. We use to do formal night, but in the past several cruises we haven't. The airline charges me $25 each way for bagage. Can't see paying them $50 for garment bag for my suit and the wife's dress. I would welcome no formal night or at least confine it to one dinning room.

Beverage Packages: On our first couple cruises the soda was included. When we went 3 years ago you had to eaither pay for a drink package or by the pece at the bar. My wife decline. I am partial to my beer and an occasional cocktail and looked with intrest at their adult beverage package until I was told that I had to buy one for my with also since she was over 21. My wife doesn't drink and there was no way I could drink her share also. Needless to say, I told them what they could with the package.

Some changes are good others not.

Looking forward to a river cruise on American Queen this winter. A little more pricey than an ocean cruise, but they had a 2 for 1 offer. We'll see how they do things.

[TC1957]

What is the difference of the cruise line charging more to everyone for higher quality MDR food as prices rise vs charging more to just those who choose to have the higher quality in speciality restaurants and let the quality slide for those who don't care in the MDR (not that I have seen this)? In either case the line "If you want quality, along the lines of what we did in the past, get your wallet out." holds true. Either everyone pays with a higher cruise price and those who don't want it sail another line or those who do want it pay through specialty dining and those who don't eat in the MDR. Either way those who want it pay through their wallet :rolleyes:.

 

OK...my line was even confusing to me :eek::p

 

That said, there is a difference. With the way RCI does it now, they are telling everyone that the food quality has remained high while prices have remained constant or gone down. In my opinion, that is not true. I know food quality is subjective. But you see fairly consistent comments that RCI food quality has gone down hill. The reality is that if you want "high quality" you must pay extra and limit you options to just a few venues. This is the "get your wallet ready" approach in my previous approach.

 

The other option is to tell the customer they want to provide a consistently high food quality as part of the cruise experience regardless of the dining venue you choose. To do so, we need to increase our fares by a minimal amount. Additionally, if you want a more intimate dining experience (less noise, more attentive service, etc.) you can choose to dine in these venues at an additional charge. The quality of the food will be the same...but every other aspect of the dining experience will be better.

 

They are very different approaches when you really think about it. One says "We don't want to try to stay ahead of the competition when it comes to quality in general but will provide a select few better quality as an option." The other says "We don't market ourselves as a 'low cost' option. We maintain our high standards and as a result our fares are a little higher." HUGE difference...in my opinion.

[Warm Breezes]

OK...my line was even confusing to me :eek::p

 

That said, there is a difference. With the way RCI does it now, they are telling everyone that the food quality has remained high while prices have remained constant or gone down. In my opinion, that is not true. I know food quality is subjective. But you see fairly consistent comments that RCI food quality has gone down hill. The reality is that if you want "high quality" you must pay extra and limit you options to just a few venues. This is the "get your wallet ready" approach in my previous approach.

 

The other option is to tell the customer they want to provide a consistently high food quality as part of the cruise experience regardless of the dining venue you choose. To do so, we need to increase our fares by a minimal amount. Additionally, if you want a more intimate dining experience (less noise, more attentive service, etc.) you can choose to dine in these venues at an additional charge. The quality of the food will be the same...but every other aspect of the dining experience will be better.

 

They are very different approaches when you really think about it. One says "We don't want to try to stay ahead of the competition when it comes to quality in general but will provide a select few better quality as an option." The other says "We don't market ourselves as a 'low cost' option. We maintain our high standards and as a result our fares are a little higher." HUGE difference...in my opinion.

 

I personally don't see that much of difference, either way the results are the same....those who want higher quality pay for it. But to each his own.

[Folk Singer]

It's official: Norwegian is acquiring Prestige Cruises in $3bn deal

 

 

Thanks Mom.

[swedish weave]

Yes indeed, cruising has morphed into something it wasn't 30 and more years ago. I was just looking at some old memorabilia and found a ticket from a cruise in 1976 on the Italian Line's "Leonard Da Vinci. It was an 11 day cruise to the Caribbean, it cost $860 pp. You can cruise now for about the same price for the same length to the same destination. What else has the price remained the same for almost 40 years?

Oh, ya......the port taxes and fees were $11.40!........now those prices certainly have not remained the same!

 

Just for fun, I ran the inflation calculation to support your statement.

 

If in (enter year) 1976

I purchased an item for $ 860

then in (enter year*) 2014

that same item would cost: 3600.97

Cumulative rate of inflation: 318.7

 

These figures should quiet those who are complaining about the decline in the quality of the cruise experience. The cruise lines must cut costs or raise prices in order to continue to provide us with cruises !!! I prefer the low prices and the option to pay for an upgraded experience if I desire it.