Royal Caribbean the McDonalds of cruise lines?

[BNBR]

8 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Look, all I know is that when I made/ordered a qtr cheese in 1979, the cheese was melted by the hot grease.  Now it's a 50/50 possibility and nothing you say can change that.  Maybe it's the lack of foam clamshells

 

And don't get me started on quality control of bun dressing.  The employees don't care.  And to tell you the truth, it starts with front line managers, they don't care either.

 

Clearly you have not ordered a quarter cheese recently.  They make the meat fresh to order, toast the bun 5 seconds longer, too.  The cheese is melted by the hot patty fresh off the grill.  I'm not sure how you could have a 50/50 chance of hot meat melting cheese, science and all.  Sure, last year prior the new procedure you could get a patty that was sitting in a warming tray for half an hour... And not hot, but that's not how it's done anymore. 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 10/23/2018 at 11:22 AM, RDC1 said:

Have to post a correction.  McD did use Haddock and cod at various times, but only on a limited scale, and not in the 90's (for example New Zealand Red cod was used in some NZ McDonalds for a period of time. They have also use Hoki as a replacement for Pollock for a period when Pollock was being over fished.

Actually, Pollock is in the cod family.  It’s a type of cod: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_pollock

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, BNBR said:

 

Clearly you have not ordered a quarter cheese recently.  They make the meat fresh to order, toast the bun 5 seconds longer, too.  The cheese is melted by the hot patty fresh off the grill.  I'm not sure how you could have a 50/50 chance of hot meat melting cheese, science and all.  Sure, last year prior the new procedure you could get a patty that was sitting in a warming tray for half an hour... And not hot, but that's not how it's done anymore. 

 

Come to Cocoa Beach or any drive thru in central Florida.  Procedure might be there, execution is not. That's the 50/50 I speak of

Edited November 2, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Pratique]

That’s on the franchisees.

[terrierjohn]

On 10/22/2018 at 8:12 PM, Eslader said:

Why be hurt by a comparison to McDonalds? McDonalds is the most successful quick-serve restaurant in history. It pulls in more than 20 billion dollars a year. Other businesses wish they did as well as McDonalds. And, much like Royal, people whine about the food but keep coming back nonetheless. 😉

 

Yes I also think it should be taken as compliment, lots of companies would be delighted to be half as successful as McDonalds.

[BNBR]

16 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Come to Cocoa Beach or any drive thru in central Florida.  Procedure might be there, execution is not. That's the 50/50 I speak of

 

That's unfortunate.  And yeah, totally on the franchisees if that's the case.  I have a hard time believing they would be pre-cooking 1/4 pound patties when they have rolled out the all new process, though.  They would get in big trouble.  But who knows. 

[eroller]

I sail frequently on NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and MSC.  The 4 major mass-market lines.  Truth be told they all compete for the same market share, but there are differences that set them apart.  Even the clientele is different on each line.  

 

Generally speaking, I rank them in this order based on my experience.  

 

1.  Royal Caribbean - the ships simply can't be beat, and they tend to be the most expensive of the mass-market lines.  Food is generally not as good as the others but they make up for it in other ways.  

2.  MSC - I think they are making strides and moving up in the world.  I really enjoyed my last MSC cruise on SEASIDE and it was a great value.  Lots of bang for the buck.  

3.  NCL - Not long ago I would have put them below Carnival.  They are really neck and neck with MSC these days but I think overpriced.  

4.  Carnival - truly the low price leader and with good reason.  The ships are not as nice, but they do have great burgers!  It's a very hit or miss product.  I've had great experiences and really awful ones.    

Edited November 2, 2018 by eroller

[grandgeezer]

It’s obvious the troll that posted this was looking to stir up the pot, not anything usefull or productive. Mission accomplished.

[eroller]

17 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

It’s obvious the troll that posted this was looking to stir up the pot, not anything usefull or productive. Mission accomplished.

 

 

Seems to be.  It’s just like when people post that Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines.  Gets a rise out of people every single time.  

[wytygr8]

For its price, McDonalds is the best restaurant food there is. Given that NCL is around the same price as RCCL, what does that say?

[wytygr8]

On 10/29/2018 at 6:27 PM, tetemcg said:

Out of the cruise lines I've been on...I personally compared them to retail stores when someone who hasn't cruised asks my thoughts on a cruise.

• Disney - Neiman Marcus
• Royal Carribbean - Macy's
• NCL - Target
• Carnival - Walmart 

 

I think it’s more like this:

 

* Carnival - Walmart with a Subway

* Royal Caribbean - Walmart with a Starbucks

* NCL - Walmart with a grocery store

* Disney - Walmart where everything costs twice as much.

[Robo1098]

On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 9:51 AM, grandgeezer said:

It’s obvious the troll that posted this was looking to stir up the pot, not anything usefull or productive. Mission accomplished.

Not trolling. It was just a real conversation I had while out with friends. Was surprised at her comment but I have no experience on NCL. Just ignore it if you are offended by the post.

[grandgeezer]

But apparently you do have experience on RCL. If you feel it’s the McDonalds of cruising take ownership of it. If someone said that to me, I’d ignore it not put it out on a public board to agitate those who know better. That’s what trolls do.

[Georgeny]

The fact that the comparison of cruise lines is being made using fast food venues pretty much defines what the cruise industry has become. We have 75 cruises starting in 1984 aboard most of the main stay lines. The changes through the years are huge, some bad, some good. Many cruise lines were owned by shipping line families when we started. NCL the Kloster family. Celebrity the Chandris family ( X on stacks stands for Chandris, X is C in Greek ) . Staff served for years until retirement and were career oriented, ie starting as busboy and by end of career hoping to be Matri-d etc. Service and dining were the mainstay offerings of the lines.

 

Now virtually all the lines are owned by corporation etc. NCL is simply Chinese capital managed by the Apollo investment group. RCL and Celebrity, Carnival corporation, which owns multitude of the lines, are for profit corporations run to benefit stockholders, not customers. You see that in the continuing bottom line decisions such as staff reduction, service reduction, nickel and diming decisions etc. Basically they are all simply mass market entries comparative to many of the corporations we all live with in today's " modern " world. ( SEARS wasn't SEARS anymore )

 

That said, there is no way to truly compare one line to another, even one ship to another as tried here. Same ship, same line, will have a totally different feel and be a totally different product depending on itinerary, length of cruise, home port embarkation. Passengers differ based on all those factors. In short example, sailing from one place may have a primary group of farm country or city people. Different cities produce different clientele. Departing from areas with large international airports you will often find far more passenger from Europe. From NY City far more Canadians and metro area folks. Baltimore combination of some city and many farm country folks. A 5 cruise itinerary more party and drinking people. 11 day more older retired people. It goes on and on. So same ship, different itinerary etc, totally different. Even supply abilities cause drastic changes in food quality etc. Time of year, school in or out.....

 

So no right or wrong on this question, cruising is simply a mass market franchise type mode of travel now. Let's face it, not what they are showing in the advertisements. How many have dined on their huge balcony with the waiter and wine steward standing off on side waiting for your glass to be filled. Not saying can't have that if you spend the real bucks but certainly not mass market lines most of us travel on or in the accommodation most of us sail in.

 

George in NY

[Iamcruzin]

On 10/22/2018 at 2:30 PM, bouhunter said:

An odd comment.  I guess maybe NCL is Burger King or Wendy's.

I was thinking Dollar General.

[4774Papa]

We have only done one RCI cruise, Explorer of the Seas Transpacific in April/May 2018.  We have done 10 on Celebrity and 7 on NCL.  None of these lines would qualify as McDonalds.

 

Each line has it strengths and some weaknesses.

 

NCL and RCI both have excellent entertainment, better than Celebrity.

Love the RCI ice shows.

Celebrity's dining is superior, but RCI and NCL are not significantly below Celebrity.

NCL's ship design (been on 6 different ships) sometimes doesn't allow us to view the ocean that much.  Celebrity's designs are by far the best.   RCI is in between, but we miss the aft bar just outside the buffet, that I don't think RCI have.  We don't care for the RCI or NCL mega ships.

 

 

[creel5857]

Cruise lines vary like hotels as they can all have some good and bad ships.  Overall we have found RC to be above NCL but that also is strictly an opinion.  If your friend cruised others like princess or holland or celebrity and carnival she would have a more varied view of them as some do food slightly better and some do entertainment better and some have more busy activities and others do relaxation better.  But I would not put NCL at the top of the bunch.

[funship freddy]

MSC is a shipping company and is still privately owned by the family. We have sailed Seaside twice this year (Just off Celebrity Equinox) and find MSC a great product at a reasonable price.

[Mikew0805]

On 10/22/2018 at 3:08 PM, BNBR said:

 

It's really not true that it was better decades ago.  Almost all of their changes since 40 years ago has been in how quickly they can push out fresher food.  They have always been about speed, which means they weren't cooking made to order, even in the very beginning.  Decades ago they were making sandwiches and keeping them in warming racks.  15 - 20 years ago they were able to assemble the sandwiches to order, with meat from a holding tray. They have only improved since then how they can get closer and closer to cooked to order, to the point where they are actually cooking quarter pounders to order now.  I say this as a former McDonalds manager.  It's way better today than it used to be.

I became a swing manager there when I was 19, about two months after being hired. Then Second Asst., First Asst all within a year. BOC, BMC, AOC.. Fun stuff. That was 1995, and yep we were assembling to a model and holding in the bin, for up to 10 minutes. We actually did have a goal of quality back then, and there was no way timers were being reset on my shifts, as I would not tolerate it. Fast forward to now, and I think it is all about speed. When I go there now, which is rarely, I am very specific about my order which causes them to park me. I am okay with that, as I prefer quality to speed. I agree that it would be better today, if quality was goal number 1, not speed. I only stayed there until just after I turned 21, then ended up at CCL Reservations in Colorado Springs.

 

Back on Topic.. I think comparing Royal to McDonalds is an insult, but if it were an accurate comparison, then I would classify NCL as the dumpster behind McDonalds.    Just my opinion. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mikew0805

[Robo1098]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 11:03 AM, grandgeezer said:

But apparently you do have experience on RCL. If you feel it’s the McDonalds of cruising take ownership of it. If someone said that to me, I’d ignore it not put it out on a public board to agitate those who know better. That’s what trolls do.

I was merely talking about a conversation I had with friends about cruising on a cruise site. I quoted a comment a woman made because I was surprised by what she said. I like cruising on Royal Caribbean and have not cruised on NCL but thought they were relatively similar. I was wondering what others thought and thought this was the place to discuss cruising. I see no reason to accuse me of being a "troll". I never said anything bad about Royal Caribbean or tried to agitate anyone or stir things up. I really don't see the enjoyment in stirring things up but I'm sure there are better ways. I could start a discussion on smoking or sharing drink packages or kids in the Solarium. If you read what was said there doesn't seem to be people agitated unless you count when McDonalds was better, in the past or now. Nothing was made up and there is nothing to take ownership of.

[asalligo]

I consider NCL the bottom of the list with Carnival slightly above them in quality. I am hoping that RCCL will be a step up from both. The only thing NCL has going for it is free cheap drinks. 

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, Robo1098 said:

I was merely talking about a conversation I had with friends about cruising on a cruise site. I quoted a comment a woman made because I was surprised by what she said. I like cruising on Royal Caribbean and have not cruised on NCL but thought they were relatively similar. I was wondering what others thought and thought this was the place to discuss cruising. I see no reason to accuse me of being a "troll". I never said anything bad about Royal Caribbean or tried to agitate anyone or stir things up. I really don't see the enjoyment in stirring things up but I'm sure there are better ways. I could start a discussion on smoking or sharing drink packages or kids in the Solarium. If you read what was said there doesn't seem to be people agitated unless you count when McDonalds was better, in the past or now. Nothing was made up and there is nothing to take ownership of.

 

This is getting old. First you, and plenty more should look up the definition of trolls at least based on the internet definition.

To paraphrase it, it's someone who intentionally says or post something with the sole intention of stiring the pot to invoke a retaliatory response. If you say I think RCL is the McDonalds of cruising, that is your opinion and you have every right to post it.

You might be called a whiner or you expectations are too high, but by definition, you are not a troll. If you say RCL is one step ahead of the Long Island garbage scow, then that's trolling. The same thing about the sharing drinks or smoking, if you really believe it don't let the bullies and the self righteous cheerleaders scare you away. You have exactly the same right to voice your opinion as everybody who thinks the opposite.

If everybody posted everything negative they heard it would be out on control. Everything I post, I really believe. I'm an educated big boy who is able distinguish between what I like and don't like so if you don't agree, I won't lose any sleep over it. 

[Robo1098]

15 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

 

This is getting old. First you, and plenty more should look up the definition of trolls at least based on the internet definition.

To paraphrase it, it's someone who intentionally says or post something with the sole intention of stiring the pot to invoke a retaliatory response. If you say I think RCL is the McDonalds of cruising, that is your opinion and you have every right to post it.

You might be called a whiner or you expectations are too high, but by definition, you are not a troll. If you say RCL is one step ahead of the Long Island garbage scow, then that's trolling. The same thing about the sharing drinks or smoking, if you really believe it don't let the bullies and the self righteous cheerleaders scare you away. You have exactly the same right to voice your opinion as everybody who thinks the opposite.

If everybody posted everything negative they heard it would be out on control. Everything I post, I really believe. I'm an educated big boy who is able distinguish between what I like and don't like so if you don't agree, I won't lose any sleep over it. 

You are right this is getting old. I didn't post is to stir the pot and if you would read the responding posts you would see it really hasn't. I like Royal Caribbean and have several more cruises booked with them. Most people said that what the person said is not derogatory. So go on policing the internet and make all the incorrect assumptions you want. Trolling has never been my intention and I'm not sure why you are fixated on a post that really hasn't stirred argument.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Robo1098
incorrect wording

[vacationlover_mn]

Hi!  I’m feeling a little left out-  hello to my fellow BK alumns our there 🙂 I met my DH there when we were both in high school.  He quickly rose through the ranks to RM, but thankfully left the horrible hours and low pay to enter the corporate world of Optics 🙂 we both agree that fast food was the hardest job per $ that we ever had...

[GUT2407]

On 10/23/2018 at 5:05 AM, Robo1098 said:

I was out with some friends this weekend. One of the women that has been on 22 cruises with NCL said that she thought that Royal Caribbean was the McDonalds of cruise lines. I have to say I was kind of hurt by this. Don't really agree with this either. I thought for the most part NCL was similar to slightly above RCI. Am I wrong on this?

Why would you be hurt by someone else’s opinion of something?