New Internet Policy - RCCL

[sailaway2010]

You might have better luck sending your email to the correct office since Adam Goldstein is no longer President and CEO of RCI.

 

This type of thread always makes me laugh. Does anyone really think that the

CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation is reading emails or letters from clients? There is usually a dedicated staff who handles the correspondence. Only something truly important gets shown to the CEO.

 

Canceling a cruise (or any vacation for that matter) over internet access just strikes me a bit over the top.

[PCWalton1]

Sorry - that is long gone. No such offer was made.

 

Sorry to say but with the aggressiveness of your letter (never sailing again, petitioning others to not travel on Royal) they will ignore you and chalk you up as a loss.

They will consider you have been paying thousands to travel on their ships and you pitch this fit for something this minor that you were probably ready to move on anyway.

[TravelEEmpress]

__________________

 

 

 

So you pay once. It doesn't matter if you have a family emergency or are streaming rugby matches or are conducting business in the middle of your vacation (?) for which your business is paying, the bill has already been paid. Paid at a rate that is by commercial standards a reasonable price. I cannot understand why Royal should be expected to give me a lower price because I travel with sick parents at home. I don't understand what the issue is nor do I understand why, if this little extra on the bill is such a big deal to you, why didn't you do a bit of research and find out what you were getting into before you booked however many days/weeks/months on the ship? Most people on tight budgets learn to plan ahead, anticipate costs, manage expenditures... Been there, done that.

 

FYI - the cruise was booked a year and a half ago and the policy was only recently changed. It was a shock to everyone I talked to onboard. Whether or not one has a business which enables them to write off the expense is irrelevant. It was just an example. Good for those that do and can write off the cost but the rest of us who don't are paying 100% out of pocket. Not sure you "get" that the old system allowed you the latitude to actually choose how much you spent on the internet and depended how you managed your minutes through out the cruise. Not sure what commercial standards you are referring to but I've never paid for internet at a hotel in 15 years of international travel. If they do charge I don't book with them. It is clear to me that as you say you don't understand my issue with this policy. I hope this clarifies.

[TravelEEmpress]

Sorry to say but with the aggressiveness of your letter (never sailing again, petitioning others to not travel on Royal) they will ignore you and chalk you up as a loss.

They will consider you have been paying thousands to travel on their ships and you pitch this fit for something this minor that you were probably ready to move on anyway.

 

Its OK - a risk I'm willing to take. Obviously a lot of people feel less strongly than I do about this issue. However even after being home for a couple of weeks and having plenty of time to consider things I still feel strongly about it. The internet issue may be minor to you but its not minor to me. My goal here is to try and get the policy reversed by encouraging those that feel the same to write and make their opinions known. Trust me - the last thing I want to do is give up Royal. I've had a lot of wonderful cruises, have achieved status and met some pretty fantastic people on their ships. But it just boils down to the principle of it all. Its sort of where I draw the line.

[MisterFidgetpants]

Its OK - a risk I'm willing to take. Obviously a lot of people feel less strongly than I do about this issue. However even after being home for a couple of weeks and having plenty of time to consider things I still feel strongly about it. The internet issue may be minor to you but its not minor to me. My goal here is to try and get the policy reversed by encouraging those that feel the same to write and make their opinions known. Trust me - the last thing I want to do is give up Royal. I've had a lot of wonderful cruises, have achieved status and met some pretty fantastic people on their ships. But it just boils down to the principle of it all. Its sort of where I draw the line.

You will book again I am certain.

 

But if you were ticked about Internet minutes wait until you see what they've got in store for D+ in the future.

[Rouque]

Is this a joke?

 

First World Problems.

[mr walker]

Sorry - that is long gone. No such offer was made.

 

We got it last Sept on our B2B2B, seemingly (from your listing) on the very same ship :D Maybe we were just lucky ;)

[TravelEEmpress]

You will book again I am certain.

 

But if you were ticked about Internet minutes wait until you see what they've got in store for D+ in the future.

 

Oh boy........what do you know that I don't.......

[TravelEEmpress]

We got it last Sept on our B2B2B, seemingly (from your listing) on the very same ship :D Maybe we were just lucky ;)

 

 

That might have changed with this new policy. Who knows but there were 70 or 80 B2B that didn't fill out the surveys

[tserface]

I had mixed feelings about it the last time we cruised (last month). If you and your spouse are D+ then you really get like 4 days out of 7 covered 24 hours. If you manage it you can start in the middle of a day and go to the middle of the next day.

 

I know the change sounds annoying at first, but we found that we actually got a bunch more free time and didn't have to worry so much about it being slow. We could just leave our iPad in the room, stay logged in for the whole 24 hours, and check email whenever we wanted (or Facebook or Cruise Critic or whatever).

 

We finally got smart and created a special cruising email account so we didn't have to wait for the tons of spam that seems to take forever.

 

I'm certainly no RCI fanboy, but I think the Diamond benefits are really great. We didn't have pay for many drinks, got enough internet, got royal treatment, and lots of free bingo cards on our last trip. We even got a pretty good discount on laundry. All of that for free.

 

I guess if it costs $200 one way you could look at it as you could just add that on to the price of the cruise (along with tips, port fees, etc.) and just consider it part of the price. If you have elderly parents and kids that are that desperate to get in touch with you 24/7 it might be worth the cost. We just give our kids the land to ship number and tell them it's expensive and don't use it unless there is a real emergency. Then we check email every couple of days and when in port where there's often free WiFi. It works pretty well.

 

And... if you go on another line aren't you going to have to start over with any other loyalty program (and the others don't look nearly as good to me).

 

One final point. While considering whether I like the new method or not I remembered how I lost a lot of the previous "free minutes" just figuring out how to connect and download the email. The internet is so slow that we almost used them up the first couple of times. At least now there's no hurry.

 

You certainly have the right to a different opinion and to complain and I'm not trying to say you are wrong (for your opinion). I just wanted to show another perspective. We think the loyalty benefits RCI gives us are pretty amazing even when compared with other lines.

 

Tom

[tserface]

Also, when we were on our B2B last month they allowed people to log on, even in the Diamond Club to fill out the survey with not internet cost. Kind of like going to their website to look up future cruises. We thought that was pretty fair.

 

Tom

[TravelEEmpress]

This type of thread always makes me laugh. Does anyone really think that the

CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation is reading emails or letters from clients? There is usually a dedicated staff who handles the correspondence. Only something truly important gets shown to the CEO.

 

Canceling a cruise (or any vacation for that matter) over internet access just strikes me a bit over the top.

 

Yes, I do know that one of the staff will process the letter so no surprise there. But I also know RCCL has changed things such as their very restrictive alcohol policy, their policy around singles and the fact that they pay double so should be receiving double points and I believe some Diamond takeaways because of client feedback/pressure. Is that going to happen with this new internet policy? That remains to be seen. To those of us who it is really important to - one can only hope.

[TravelEEmpress]

Also, when we were on our B2B last month they allowed people to log on, even in the Diamond Club to fill out the survey with not internet cost. Kind of like going to their website to look up future cruises. We thought that was pretty fair.

 

Tom

 

Yes, that sounds more than fair. Never offered or mentioned to us.

[TravelEEmpress]

I had mixed feelings about it the last time we cruised (last month). If you and your spouse are D+ then you really get like 4 days out of 7 covered 24 hours. If you manage it you can start in the middle of a day and go to the middle of the next day.

 

I know the change sounds annoying at first, but we found that we actually got a bunch more free time and didn't have to worry so much about it being slow. We could just leave our iPad in the room, stay logged in for the whole 24 hours, and check email whenever we wanted (or Facebook or Cruise Critic or whatever).

 

We finally got smart and created a special cruising email account so we didn't have to wait for the tons of spam that seems to take forever.

 

I'm certainly no RCI fanboy, but I think the Diamond benefits are really great. We didn't have pay for many drinks, got enough internet, got royal treatment, and lots of free bingo cards on our last trip. We even got a pretty good discount on laundry. All of that for free.

 

I guess if it costs $200 one way you could look at it as you could just add that on to the price of the cruise (along with tips, port fees, etc.) and just consider it part of the price. If you have elderly parents and kids that are that desperate to get in touch with you 24/7 it might be worth the cost. We just give our kids the land to ship number and tell them it's expensive and don't use it unless there is a real emergency. Then we check email every couple of days and when in port where there's often free WiFi. It works pretty well.

 

And... if you go on another line aren't you going to have to start over with any other loyalty program (and the others don't look nearly as good to me).

 

One final point. While considering whether I like the new method or not I remembered how I lost a lot of the previous "free minutes" just figuring out how to connect and download the email. The internet is so slow that we almost used them up the first couple of times. At least now there's no hurry.

 

You certainly have the right to a different opinion and to complain and I'm not trying to say you are wrong (for your opinion). I just wanted to show another perspective. We think the loyalty benefits RCI gives us are pretty amazing even when compared with other lines.

 

Tom

 

I appreciate your wonderful feedback Tom. I think you have some valid points all of which I've considered. But it sounds like you got a little different deal. We didn't get days of "free" internet but $29.99 off for Diamond and $39.99 for Diamond plus. Even with that I paid over $500 just for internet over the course of 3 cruises. It was unexpected and a bit of a shock

[Dizziedi]

We just paid $220 for 17 nights on the Legend (24 May) and I think we paid a tad more for 18 nights on the Radiance (19 April) - both included the Diamond Plus discount. I thought it had gone down in price and quite frankly, we were happy with the price.

 

We had quite a bit of complimentary internet on the RSS Mariner but once we exceeded that (and we did:cool:) I think it was $14 per day.

 

If I needed to contact someone at home and didn't want to pay the price of the Internet, I would use my cell/mobile phone if it was urgent, otherwise so many of the Ports offer free internet.

 

It's a shame you choose not to cruise anymore with Royal because of Internet prices but that's your call.

 

Cheers

Di

[woodyren]

We didn't get days of "free" internet but $29.99 off for Diamond and $39.99 for Diamond plus. Even with that I paid over $500 just for internet over the course of 3 cruises. It was unexpected and a bit of a shock

 

$29.99 off is actually 1 free day of internet. So if both in the cabin are diamond that is 2 free days. So there will be winners and losers in this depending on how people use the net. For us who have just turned diamond we liked the new policy as we don't need to be in touch all the time and just chose an afternoon connection time with a sea day following for each of our24 hrs free so we in effect had internet spread over 4 days of our 9 day cruise. We then use free wifi if we happen to find it in port.

 

Personally thinks it's a great free perk.

[Merion_Mom]

If anyone is fed up with the new internet policy please email agoldstein@rccl.com. I just reached Diamond Plus but despite that have vowed not to sail with them again. I am in the process of emailing them. I'll post the letter once I send it and encourage those of like mind do as well. Stay tuned

 

You are Diamond Plus? And you travel as a pair, so two Diamond Plus cruisers?

 

You get this X 2.

 

 

$59.90 x 2 Sounds pretty generous to me.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[Merion_Mom]

Seriously...OP is never going to cruise on Royal Caribbean again AND is going to tell everyone she can not to cruise with RC because of the change in the D+ internet policy?? Is this a joke?

 

I know that the first thing on my list of what's important to me on a cruise vacation isn't the entertainment, the activities, the food and specialty restaurants, the concierge lounge or the service, ...it's the D+ internet policy.:rolleyes:

 

The real issue is I don't get chocolates on my pillow every night. Now THAT'S a reason to bail on RC!:eek: (OK..just joking about the chocolates)

 

Janet, someone on FB posted today that she is upset that they gave her the pictures in a PLASTIC SLEEVE instead of a folder. Seems to have ruined her cruise. :eek:

[Newtoncruise]

The op makes a valid point over pricing. It is very expensive. And yes I know its a ship crossing national borders etc

 

I am a mere emerald so get no discount so will have to pay full amount to keep in touch

 

The quality of the connection is the main problem here if you (have to) accept the pricing.

 

If you charge premium prices for a service you should get premium service.

 

You pay for a suite....you get perks.

You eat in speciality restaurant....you get better food service etc

 

We live in an internet age. Free or cheap access is a given in many walks of life. Most organisations get this......

 

Royal Caribbean does NOT seem to get this.

 

I hope they do soon and don't lose the op's business going forward.

[woodyren]

The op makes a valid point over pricing. It is very expensive. And yes I know its a ship crossing national borders etc

 

I am a mere emerald so get no discount so will have to pay full amount to keep in touch

 

The quality of the connection is the main problem here if you (have to) accept the pricing.

 

If you charge premium prices for a service you should get premium service.

 

You pay for a suite....you get perks.

You eat in speciality restaurant....you get better food service etc

 

We live in an internet age. Free or cheap access is a given in many walks of life. Most organisations get this......

 

Royal Caribbean does NOT seem to get this.

 

I hope they do soon and don't lose the op's business going forward.

 

I believe all these issues are not confined to RCL. It has to do with the available technology of satellite transmission at sea. The newest ships have internet capability when in a area with coverage where the speed is comparable to home service. Quantum had this in the USA and again once it reached Singapore. The speed in between was dial up.

 

The price was the same for each though.

 

How does RCL price compare to others?

 

This new technology I assume will be on all new builds and spread into older ships at some stage.

Edited June 29, 2015 by woodyren

[TravelEEmpress]

You are Diamond Plus? And you travel as a pair, so two Diamond Plus cruisers?

 

You get this X 2.

 

 

$59.90 x 2 Sounds pretty generous to me.

 

No I am not part of a couple I am a single and therein lies yet another inequity in the cruise business. I pay double yet get half the benefits that you couples receive. So I find my $29.99 compared to your $59.90 far from generous. Thank you for bringing this up though. Now it has dawned on me why I may place a lot more importance on this than most people. Its because I'm not getting the same benefit as you are despite the fact that I'm paying the same price. Now I see why some are not as adamant about the issue as I am.

[Merion_Mom]

No I am not part of a couple I am a single and therein lies yet another inequity in the cruise business. I pay double yet get half the benefits that you couples receive. So I find my $29.99 compared to your $59.90 far from generous. Thank you for bringing this up though. Now it has dawned on me why I may place a lot more importance on this than most people. Its because I'm not getting the same benefit as you are despite the fact that I'm paying the same price. Now I see why some are not as adamant about the issue as I am.

 

Why do you assume that I am a couple?

 

If you would please read this, it says that YOU, one person, who is Diamond Plus, get $59.90. That gives you TWO free days, or $59.90 to put towards a package.

 

On a recent cruise - I am looking around for the actual paper, and can't put my hands on it right at this moment - a week of internet was $140. Subtract $60 from that, and you would pay $80 for a week of unlimited internet.

 

Is that ok with you?

[Merion_Mom]

No I am not part of a couple I am a single and therein lies yet another inequity in the cruise business. I pay double yet get half the benefits that you couples receive. So I find my $29.99 compared to your $59.90 far from generous. Thank you for bringing this up though. Now it has dawned on me why I may place a lot more importance on this than most people. Its because I'm not getting the same benefit as you are despite the fact that I'm paying the same price. Now I see why some are not as adamant about the issue as I am.

 

By the way, if you keep sailing with Royal Caribbean, when you hit 340 points, your single fare is capped at 150%, instead of paying 200%. THAT's a decent benefit, don't you think?

[woodyren]

Janet, someone on FB posted today that she is upset that they gave her the pictures in a PLASTIC SLEEVE instead of a folder. Seems to have ruined her cruise. :eek:

 

Thanks for the heads up but it's a bit late. Just became diamond and was very happy to get our 2 FREE photos. If only I knew earlier I could have enjoyed myself far less.:p

Edited June 29, 2015 by woodyren

[TravelEEmpress]

By the way, if you keep sailing with Royal Caribbean, when you hit 340 points, your single fare is capped at 150%, instead of paying 200%. THAT's a decent benefit, don't you think?

 

Yes, I do think its a great benefit. But my root issue has more to do with the basic internet policy not allowing us to manage our minutes over the length of the cruise and forcing us into an overpriced package NOT necessarily with the Diamond/Diamond Plus benefits.