What on earth is happening to royal caribbean

[corakari]

Interesting and informative thread. We are not cruisers, generally take land trips for destinations. But we cruised NCL in 2009 Western Mediterranean and have no complaints. We went primarily for the ports and were not disappointed. Food was ok, service good, ship clean, all we asked for and expected, we received. Now planning a Sydney to New Zealand for the same reason (ports) and tentatively booked on RCI. However, some reviews of Radiance and the other older ships decline in overall experience is concerning. We will be following CC closely and if it looks like RCI is indeed cutting service, we will not hesitate to cancel the cruise but it would be a shame.

[time4u2go]

I wasnt cruising 20 years ago. :) I can only go back about 6 years and IMHO, Ive noticed a decline in overall product quality. That is MY opinion. Maybe its because I dont cruise several times a year and sometimes go over a year in between but while I respect your opinion Hoopster, the best I can get out of that is that Royal Caribbean is very consistent at being inconsistent. :) FWIW, Im going to try something else.

 

Again, Im in no way saying things were bad. Had a great time. Its just things were "off" in a lot of areas and I guess I was taken aback by it somewhat. Its all good.

 

Same here. It's not that things are bad, it's that they're gradually getting worse.

[Thetrail]

Ship dependent... time of year dependent... staffing dependent. I'd like to think I contribute to CC, so let me incl myself in this analogy: Vision 2013 myself and respected CC'ers MadFlyer and Max's'mom all report fabulous sailings from Colon on Vision. One of the best cruises ever for service, food, and especially staff run by Capt Srecko... these guys were everywhere and the entire entertainment staff was brilliant. In the matter of one week after the re-positioning to Tampa, there was report after report after report of how crappy Vision was. Horrible food, long lines at the bars, etc. I couldn't believe it. But new Capt, new CD, likely a huge change over in staff changed everything. This analogy has beeen discussed on CC in the past many times with changeover of staff, especially after a TA of foreign itinerary.

 

To everyone complaining about decreasing services and quality, I suggest going back to 1980's and 1990's price points whereby your interior cabin cost $1000.... today's value = $2000. Last I looked you can get an interior on sale at around $500. So while you and I pay 1/4 the price today compared to 1990 is it fair to expect everything to stay the same? Common sense says no. And now keep in mind the less mainstream cruiselines like Azamara, Regent, etc whereby your interior cabins are in fact $2000 and up (the same value of an RCL interior in 1990) for exactly the services and quality that is supposedly missing from RCL today.

 

Just my 2 cents... if you don't like a shirt you bought, do you continue to wear it or put something else on? If you don't like food you just bought, do you continue to eat it or buy something else? If you don't like the cruise line you're sailing on go sail on something else... extremely easy answer.

 

Side note: Way too much bitching and complaining on CC these days. I have stayed away the last few weeks since my Radiance review. We need more people like Bob, MadFlyer, Cheng, etc who provide respectful and valuable insight & answers to legitimate questions. We're all dying people, your time on this earth is short. Do whatever makes you happy... if RCL is not making you happy then don't sail RCL.

 

"{ P O P }" ... that's my head going back into the sand

IMHO this post is spot on.....I'm not sailing half a dozen times a year with RCL because I don't like it...:)

[Thetrail]

ta

 

We were on the Liberty's Oct. 22 cruise. We thought that the Windjammer was the worst of any of our 20 RCI cruises. Awful tasting, unappealing food choices for both lunch and dinner. There wasn't enough help busing the tables during breakfast and lunch. The last 3 mornings of our cruise we were treated to some entertainment. A supervisor and one of the servers played the drums and symbols. The last thing that I want to hear first thing in the morning is more noise. The Windjammer is loud enough without someone banging away on drums and symbols.

 

I don't enjoy hot food for lunch when sailing in the Caribbean. When it's 90 degrees and very humid outside, I want a cold lunch. The only cold choices were salad and two types of sandwiches. The "chef" on the Liberty decided that a salami sandwich should have mayonnaise on it........yuck. I don't know why they put condiments on any of their sandwiches when condiments are available so that you can choose what you like.

 

During a 10 night cruise we usually enjoy going to the Windjammer 2 or 3 times for a quiet, more casual dinner. Not on this cruise.

 

Rant over.

for the last two words in this post....:rolleyes:

[CruisermanVA]

Couldn't agree more - some folks love to bitch and moan about darn near anything. I read these complaints and just have to shake my head and wonder if these people are like this at home and work, too. We had awesome service (especially our MDR waiters and cabin attendant) on Jewel in September.

 

There was a lady sitting behind us one night at dinner that needed this sign (too bad I didn't have cards made up to give to her): A PERSON WHO IS NICE TO YOU BUT RUDE TO A WAITER, IS NOT A NICE PERSON. I don't know how our waiter kept his cool or composure, but at one point I almost told her to shut up because she was being ridiculous.

 

And here's another sign that needs to be posted on cruise ships: NO MATTER HOW EDUCATED, TALENTED, RICH, OR COOL YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE, HOW YOU TREAT PEOPLE ULTIMATELY TELLS ALL. INTEGRITY IS EVERYTHING. I have seen passengers on cruise ships treat the staff horribly and it makes me so mad.

 

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now and wish I was on a cruise ship instead of looking out the window at the snow. LOL

 

Thanks Anita. My feelings exactly.

[Thetrail]

Someone could have told us that we were under a bar when we booked the reservation and we would have changed to a different room. They could have moved us to a better room instead of giving us earplugs. We went on Carnival in September and felt they were better.

or you could have taken a minute to look at the deck plans for yourself and see where your room was!!!! One of the dumber posts I've seen in awhile!......:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[CaribSailor]

OP seems to have an abundance of negative posts on CC.

 

 

And you always seem to be the one pointing out what you perceive as someone being negative. Hmmmmm

[TC1957]

I keep seeing people post comments like "compared to the prices back in the '90s...". Personally, I could not care less what it cost to cruise 25 years ago...just like I don't give a rats rear how much it cost to buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk back then. NEWS FLASH...this is 2015.

 

If the market price for a cruise on any of the "mass market lines" is $500 for a week in an inside cabin so be it. A cruise line has two options...either figure out a way to make the experience for EVERY customer (not just the loyal ones or the ones in suites) a first rate experience when it comes to customer service, quality in all areas of the product, etc. for that price or charge more than market and sell it along the lines of "We are not the cheapest...just the best."

 

I honestly cannot understand why a cruise line settles for being just like everyone else. Seems to me they would want to be better than the competition and not have to rely on a gimmick or luck of the draw when their options line up with the customer dates.

[CaribSailor]

This thread is like a gathering of RC's greatest cheerleaders and self appointed ambassadors.

[TheTruthCanHurt]

I am not an RC cheerleader. Nor am I the one bashing them... There are some things that I do believe to be true

 

1. some people are not happy unless they are unhappy

2. Some people let the smallest things affect them.. Such as mayonaise on salami sandwich

 

For me......

I like Royal (and I have sailed many other lines)

I like the layout of the ships

I like the casino program ( I think its the best at sea)

I like the overall level of service

 

could things be better? Of course they could.

But... they could also be a lot worse.

 

That being said.. there are certainly circumstances that would not be acceptable to me...but over my 18 RCCL cruises those things have been few and far between. and to be honest, when I have had to deal with guest relations, I am very nice, explain my situation and for the most part they have solved my issues to my satisfaction.

 

Sailing on royal has a certain comfort to me, I know what to expect. I do agree that it is different sailing now as it was in 2001 for example. It's less formal (which I like) there are more things to do, if you want to ( which I like) .... The food is not as good as it once was... but the ships were smaller, and without all the activities, or other food choices... The MDR was sorta a big part of the picture. Now it is just one small part of the overall cruising experience.

 

But cheerleader? Not a chance. Overall happy, satisfied and continuing to sail RCCL .. yes.. absolutely

[ZandZ]

or you could have taken a minute to look at the deck plans for yourself and see where your room was!!!! One of the dumber posts I've seen in awhile!......:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

A first time cruiser might not be aware or informed I agree that a bit of research would have been beneficial but this could be someone's first time and they might not know all the right questions to ask..

[angeleyes27]

We sailed on Splendor of the Seas and I was told that they were selling that ship and we were on one of the last for that ship. That could be why the effort was not there. We are not complainers. We have been on 5 previous NCL, two Carnival, and one Princess. We were happy with all of those and any complaints were minor.

On the RCCL, the food was fine as we do not expect gourmet. But at the Captain's dinner, any lobster or better steak choices were an upcharge of somewhere between $10-$30, I can't exactly remember. The one night, there was no show. On the last sea day, there was little offered and we spent a good part of the day watching TV in our cabin, a first for us. What entertainment they had was very good and enjoyable. Our cabin stewart and wait staff were very good, eager to please and friendly, and eager to let me know their names so they could get a good rating. Our cabin was clean. When we spoke with other fellow passengers, they felt that the little touches were missing. For instance, it was their anniversary and although the crew was informed, there was no mention of it at all.

[angeleyes27]

The other thing was that you would come back from shore excursions starving around 4pm and there was nothing to eat until 6:30 except a hot dog. I had to take fruit and cereal boxes from the buffet to put in my room to eat for when I got back. Entertainment was late also after 9:30 or 10pm and half the time we could not see it as we were dragging. We would try to go back to the room to sleep and there were pounding and banging until 1am. The one customer service guy said that there seemed to be a very rowdy gang on this crew, worse than normal so that was why there was so much noise. This was the only cruise that we had that problem.

[CaribSailor]

I am not an RC cheerleader. Nor am I the one bashing them... There are some things that I do believe to be true

 

1. some people are not happy unless they are unhappy

2. Some people let the smallest things affect them.. Such as mayonaise on salami sandwich

 

For me......

I like Royal (and I have sailed many other lines)

I like the layout of the ships

I like the casino program ( I think its the best at sea)

I like the overall level of service

 

could things be better? Of course they could.

But... they could also be a lot worse.

 

That being said.. there are certainly circumstances that would not be acceptable to me...but over my 18 RCCL cruises those things have been few and far between. and to be honest, when I have had to deal with guest relations, I am very nice, explain my situation and for the most part they have solved my issues to my satisfaction.

 

Sailing on royal has a certain comfort to me, I know what to expect. I do agree that it is different sailing now as it was in 2001 for example. It's less formal (which I like) there are more things to do, if you want to ( which I like) .... The food is not as good as it once was... but the ships were smaller, and without all the activities, or other food choices... The MDR was sorta a big part of the picture. Now it is just one small part of the overall cruising experience.

 

But cheerleader? Not a chance. Overall happy, satisfied and continuing to sail RCCL .. yes.. absolutely

 

 

One of the rules I live my life by is simple - you can't complain your way to happiness.

[Biker19]

The Critic part of CC is surely rearing its ugly head in the this thread. Meanwhile, the ships sail at 105% capacity year in and year out - and this year at higher yields. One would think that if the overall cruising population felt like the average on this thread RCI would be out of business tomorrow. But, human nature as it is, people vote with their wallet - you can bitch all you want but RCI still offers a product people open their wallets for.

[TC1957]

The Critic part of CC is surely rearing its ugly head in the this thread. Meanwhile, the ships sail at 105% capacity year in and year out - and this year at higher yields. One would think that if the overall cruising population felt like the average on this thread RCI would be out of business tomorrow. But, human nature as it is, people vote with their wallet - you can bitch all you want but RCI still offers a product people open their wallets for.

 

You are correct. Hence my comment that if the customer is so st...complacent that they do not demand a better product the lines have no incentive to change or improve.

[The Sunset Glow]

The other thing was that you would come back from shore excursions starving around 4pm and there was nothing to eat until 6:30 except a hot dog. I had to take fruit and cereal boxes from the buffet to put in my room to eat for when I got back. Entertainment was late also after 9:30 or 10pm and half the time we could not see it as we were dragging. We would try to go back to the room to sleep and there were pounding and banging until 1am. The one customer service guy said that there seemed to be a very rowdy gang on this crew, worse than normal so that was why there was so much noise. This was the only cruise that we had that problem.

 

Room service is an option.

[knittinggirl]

On Disembakation Morning, I had Oatmeal w/ raisins and brown sugar. The ramikan w/ the brown sugar was wet inside near the bottom. Wondered about it, but ate it anyway. About 30 minutes later, I vomited up my whole breakfast! This was the only time I vomited, and I never got diarrhea, so I attribute this to food poisoning. We notified medical, but they said let them know if we need help, but otherwise nothing. Really surprised me since I expected them to collect more details to prevent an outbreak.

[CruisermanVA]

The other thing was that you would come back from shore excursions starving around 4pm and there was nothing to eat until 6:30 except a hot dog. I had to take fruit and cereal boxes from the buffet to put in my room to eat for when I got back. Entertainment was late also after 9:30 or 10pm and half the time we could not see it as we were dragging. We would try to go back to the room to sleep and there were pounding and banging until 1am. The one customer service guy said that there seemed to be a very rowdy gang on this crew, worse than normal so that was why there was so much noise. This was the only cruise that we had that problem.

Thus the importance of carefully examining the ship's deck plan before you book.

 

Your situation is also a good reason NOT to try to save a few bucks by getting a "guaranteed" cabin, as the cruise line will assign you whatever they can't sell, which could well be one of their noisy staterooms.

[Big_G]

 

Of course, RCI ships are sailing above capacity even after the cuts and declines. As long as the customer is too stupid to demand more for their money from the lines (all of them, not just RCI) why in the name of all that is Holy would any of them change back?

 

So are you saying you no longer cruise or are you stupid like the rest of us? :D

[TC1957]

So are you saying you no longer cruise or are you stupid like the rest of us? :D

 

A little of both :p

 

We did not take a cruise in 2015 and are planning a land vacation in 2016. We are considering an Alaskan cruise in 2017 but we have already been discussing three things related to that...lowered expectation when it comes to onboard experience, do we want to make it a land trip or do we want to go somewhere else.

 

Until we both retire Alaska is the only cruise we are seriously considering. We would be open to New England/Canada if nothing else was a desire. In retirement we want to do the Med and/or Greek Isles.

[John&LaLa]

You are correct. Hence my comment that if the customer is so st...complacent that they do not demand a better product the lines have no incentive to change or improve.

 

I will accept complacent ;)

[angeleyes27]

I will definitely check next time exactly where the room was located. This was the first that I have not had them inform me. No, we didn't have a guarantee and we didn't have the lowest category. Anyway RCCL will be our last choice. Did not think of room service.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Agreed. That is one of the dumbest sayings ever when it comes to cruising. Tell that to the cruisers who have been on ships that caught fire or were dead at sea for days or the Costa Concordia passengers :rolleyes: Sorry but Id rather be right here at my desk, working. Another one I absolutely despise is "a cruise is what you make of it" as if there is no responsibility of the cruiseline whatsoever to provide a satisfying product. People are supposed to just deal with it, suck it up and forget the fact they just paid thousands of dollars for a subpar vacation.

 

For every one that likes to bitch and complain about everything, there is at least one cheerleader who thinks everything is just perfect, RC can do no wrong and those who werent 100% satisfied are just ungrateful, entitled losers so it really balances things out. That goes the same for ever other cruise line forum too Im sure

 

People that dont recognize that the overall quality is getting less have their heads in the sand. The product I received in April 2012 was outstanding compared to the mediocrity of April 2015, on the same ship. It is what it is. Still a great time though. :)

 

Could not agree more.

[John&LaLa]

I will definitely check next time exactly where the room was located. This was the first that I have not had them inform me. No, we didn't have a guarantee and we didn't have the lowest category. Anyway RCCL will be our last choice. Did not think of room service.

 

We cruise a lot, and I forgot to check deck above. I was happy to get a JS right off the aft elevator. :D

However it was right below ladies restroom. You would be surprised how popular the solarium restroom is in the wee hours