What's going on with Royal Caribbean?

[kruzerci]

Just now, renza said:

You must have not been out traveling if you have not noticed any change. Every restaurant we go to charge more for less Quality and quantity. Every hotel has less staff and charge more. 

I travel frequently for business and pleasure in addition to living an active life, therefore your generalizations and assumptions are unnecessary. I acknowledged that these issues are not specific to Royal Caribbean, however I have found that their cutbacks and general decline is quality is more noticeable and arguably aggressive than other industries and companies. 

 

You may have different expectations and standards than others. They have certainly been catering to a budget type of crowd in attempt to fill their large fleet. 
 

Cheers. 

[kruzerci]

6 minutes ago, Diego Da Monkey said:

Not sure where this comes from but after doing back to backs from Venice to Tampa on Brilliance in Oct/Nov..I can attest that there was no shortage of Lobsters!…they were smaller tails but plentiful. After the initial one we were offered as many as asked for…and without any kind of charges…on both legs of our cruises. Only complaint was the poorer dining service…but only as compared to pre Covid days.

New menus are going into effect during Q1 and you will be charged for more than 1 lobster tail when they are implemented. 

[Firestation46-121]

4 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

The change involving the lobsters is more recent.

Doc suggested I stay away from fish with shell so lobster and shrimp are out, other fish is fine.

 

I loved shrimp, lobster I could go without

[neverbeenhere]

With Carnival- the newer the better. 
 

we cruised on the Paradise when it was 100% smoke free. Back in ‘43

Edited January 11, 2023 by neverbeenhere

[artvlay]

There are people who chose to be positive or negative about the same issue so you will get a wide range of comments on this topic.

I am a D+ member who is addicted to cruising. I am also a RC stockholder who understands that it is a business and it needs to turn a profit.

Over the past year we can see the overall quality dropping and it is concerning to us. As others have written the phone customer service has decreased in quality. But, the staff are still very good on the ships.

At the same time we have talked to many crew members on a number of different ships and the majority have told us that they are not renewing their contract. This is different from post covid. The staff seem to be more inexperienced than in the past. Off the record we were told that due to shortages and a lacking supervision they find it difficult to do their job.  A big reason for this is due to the availability of decent paying jobs around the world.

As for the entertainment I  think that the entertainment in bars and in the theater has been halved and it is very frustrating. I have no idea why people are concerned about the current cruise director. All they do is have staff do trivia, karaoke and other non entertainment tasks.

As to the food it is definitely not what it was a few years ago. Sure some of it is very good but it falls back to cutting corners and not having experienced people preparing the food in Windjammer. I was watching guys making toast as fast as it can go through the toaster, and then it was just sitting there getting cold without the demand for it. The same thing with waffles, piles and piles of waffles. Did you ever sample the cold eggs Benedict? 

These things are able to be efficiently prepared on other lines, Holland, Celebrity Princess, so why not on Royal?

I hope things change in time, I truly want the Royal product to survive.

[Firestation46-121]

28 minutes ago, artvlay said:

There are people who chose to be positive or negative about the same issue so you will get a wide range of comments on this topic.

I am a D+ member who is addicted to cruising. I am also a RC stockholder who understands that it is a business and it needs to turn a profit.

Over the past year we can see the overall quality dropping and it is concerning to us. As others have written the phone customer service has decreased in quality. But, the staff are still very good on the ships.

At the same time we have talked to many crew members on a number of different ships and the majority have told us that they are not renewing their contract. This is different from post covid. The staff seem to be more inexperienced than in the past. Off the record we were told that due to shortages and a lacking supervision they find it difficult to do their job.  A big reason for this is due to the availability of decent paying jobs around the world.

As for the entertainment I  think that the entertainment in bars and in the theater has been halved and it is very frustrating. I have no idea why people are concerned about the current cruise director. All they do is have staff do trivia, karaoke and other non entertainment tasks.

As to the food it is definitely not what it was a few years ago. Sure some of it is very good but it falls back to cutting corners and not having experienced people preparing the food in Windjammer. I was watching guys making toast as fast as it can go through the toaster, and then it was just sitting there getting cold without the demand for it. The same thing with waffles, piles and piles of waffles. Did you ever sample the cold eggs Benedict? 

These things are able to be efficiently prepared on other lines, Holland, Celebrity Princess, so why not on Royal?

I hope things change in time, I truly want the Royal product to survive.

Sad but truthful. A shame. I have good memories of the past RCL trips.I thought loyalty would be of help but I may think to look at other lines. I have 3 grandchildren so maybe when they are older (all under 5 presently) a Disney Cruise may be an option if my daughter and her hubby are up to the $$$ for a cruise. I have enough Jet Blue miles to get them to us in Florida r/t on miles. It’s just is Disney worth a change and can they keep their grandparents engaged. Kids are awesome but a question for seniors like me and my wife

Edited January 11, 2023 by Firestation46-121

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Firestation46-121 said:

Yep, we thought the food hogs were silly. Just checked, our level with RCL is platinum. Not sure if that will change anything.

 

 

I can live with less food options as long as the quality is good.

 

I am tempted to pick a suite for a 4 or 5 day cruise from Tampa.

 

looks to be +/- $2,000 for My wife and I.

 

I wonder if the suite option still gives us the private suite guest dining room vs the main dining room deal

 

any thoughts?

Oasis class has ck, not the older ships. You didnt say which ship.

 

I've had food issues, some will say I'm a complainer. B2b meal I choose short ribs. I got a piece of all fat, it was replaced. Cheers with a officer meat was too much gristle for me. Dont remember the cut. Big piece but not good and we seemed to be unlucky service. People were done who came in later so let it go. Always the WJ but I've not had some bad service or food here and there.

 

I've had reason to complain. I still cruise. 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Firestation46-121 said:

Ouch, just checked Carnival as you suggested. Seems the reviews on Carnival Paradise are harsh. Perhaps due to the age of ship?

 

I would like an unobstructed cabin balcony and keep it +/- $2,000 for 5 or 6 days west Caribbean
 

any suggestions for a better Carnival ship ?

 

thanks!👍

Mardi gras for carnival. For sure not paradise. I'm waiting for jubilee prices to come down. A inside is more on jubilee than a balcony on harmony out of texas. High prices everywhere. And Galveston parking tripled in the last year. Even private parking wants $200 for my jan 30 date. Last march I paid $50 a week. 

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

I previously thought this was an issue only happening on the mass market & budget cruise lines.......but I just returned from a 14 night trans-Atlantic aboard Viking Neptune of Viking Ocean. There were some obvious cost cutting & a few "little things" I found disappointing, not up to standards of previous cruises aboard Viking. You are not alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Plum Happy]

You came here “to The Everybody is a Critic message board” where some consistently do nothing but complain about….you name it, it’s all about those that sway your thinking.

 

 A - the Food - no one person has the same tastebuds while eating the same dish,  be it at the same dinner time on the same ship eating the same meal at the same table.

B - Where some people read everyone’s complaints then get antsy about “Their Cruise” because you keep giving attention to their opinion.

C - YOU because you fail by taking in all their opinions AND by not letting YOURSELF enjoy your vacation while worrying about what’s going to come because in the back of your mind you read a negative opinion here on the food, drinks and service.

 

Stop worrying about their opinions and go out and ENJOY YOURSELF!  It’s your vacation, leave the negative Nancy and Ned opinions out of your VACATION time.

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

…Even private parking wants $200 for my jan 30 date. Last march I paid $50 a week. 

Might be better to get a hotel that has free parking for when you’re gone. That is if they have any there.

 

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Anyone know what the current price is now for a dozen eggs?

In Florida about $4.00 a dozen or was that a rhetorical question?

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, kruzerci said:

Likewise, however that is not the case. It’s a double whammy of less food and lower quality. Minced meat products (hamburgers, meatloaf, hotdogs, etc), pizza, and jello-ish deserts abound, but nothing of quality to be found. 

Do you mostly go to WJ for dinner?  Your posts sounds like you are at a fast food restaurant.   Our experience has been different.

They still serve prime rib, beef tenderloin, lobster. Tuna steak to name a few of our favorites in MDR.

Kummelweck sandwich for lunch has been delicious on all my sailings this year.  

And lots of delicious deserts in MDR too!

Edited January 11, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Might be better to get a hotel that has free parking for when you’re gone. That is if they have any there.

 

In Florida about $4.00 a dozen or was that a rhetorical question?

A dozen eggs here in PA starts around $5 for white eggs up to $9 for brown cage free, etc etc eggs.  

 

[Donsyb]

8 hours ago, kruzerci said:

I travel frequently for business and pleasure in addition to living an active life, therefore your generalizations and assumptions are unnecessary. I acknowledged that these issues are not specific to Royal Caribbean, however I have found that their cutbacks and general decline is quality is more noticeable and arguably aggressive than other industries and companies. 

 

You may have different expectations and standards than others. They have certainly been catering to a budget type of crowd in attempt to fill their large fleet. 
 

Cheers. 

How are they catering to a budget crowd when they’re putting their prices up? And they seem to be filling their ships up just fine.

[twangster]

Anyone who has massive debt looks for ways to save money.  From a family to a large corporation debt controls them.  

 

You can still cruise and have a good time even with the cut backs.  

[superduper123]

We have been on four post-covid cruises (three Royal, and one Celebrity.)  We have noticed slower service in the dining room, but not any difference in food quality. We realize they are short staffed, and hoping this is a temporary issue, and things will eventually go back to "normal." Or maybe, as the saying goes, this is a transition to the new normal. In any case, so far we have not experienced anything that would keep us from continuing to cruise in the future.

Edited January 11, 2023 by superduper123

[nelblu]

8 hours ago, Diego Da Monkey said:

Not sure where this comes from but after doing back to backs from Venice to Tampa on Brilliance in Oct/Nov..I can attest that there was no shortage of Lobsters!…they were smaller tails but plentiful. After the initial one we were offered as many as asked for…and without any kind of charges…on both legs of our cruises. Only complaint was the poorer dining service…but only as compared to pre Covid days.

I guess you haven't seen the new menus being introduced.  Only a single lobster on the special night and an upcharge of $16.99 + grats for a second.  Someone mentioned a larger lobster, but I've yet to see a comment on the size or the quality of the cold Maine lobster tail.

[CruisingWalter]

10 hours ago, ksuyen said:

Is it only me or Royal Caribbean cruises are going downhill? Or is this the trend for other lines as well? Entertainers are lacking, and the reason as quoted by the Director, not enough people willing to work on cruise post pandemic. Food quality is going downhill. Drinks are more expansive. And the big one: Customer Service is either bad or non existence.

 

I have upcoming cruise in 2 weeks, and frankly I am quite worried.

 

We've been on four cruises now since the pandemic and the only cruise that even remotely showed any 'issues' was the Carnival Mardi Gras being painfully understaffed in F&B. It was honestly hard to watch how hard the few crew members they had were working when you knew they were working near 20 hour shifts.  We've sailed NCL Escape, Carnival Mardi Gras, Virgin Scarlet Lady and Symphony OTS.

 

We just sailed the Symphony of the Seas on Dec. 17 and had an awesome time. We were actually impressed with the improvements in the Windjammer since we last sailed Royal on Mariner. The diversity of food, especially the Asian and Indian at breakfast were awesome. Food taste is still very subjective and the buffet will be more bland because they cut down on salt, but overall the Windjammer was impressive. Solarium Bistro was great too for a buffet. 

 

Main Dining Room was ok, not great, but they are rarely great. Princess still has the best MDR at the moment. 

 

We really enjoyed Hooked, Wonderland, Izumi and the Chef's Table was 100% worth the price of admission. El Loco Fresh was meh, BlueIguana on Carnival is much better. Dog House was fun. Park Cafe was great. Playmakers wings are fantastic. That onion ring tower reminded me of Dairy Queen flavor, but the horseradish sauce is great. 

 

The drink pricing is right in line with everyone else, though VV's pricing is a bit lower on the cocktails. 

 

The crew was fantastic, customer service was as expected, though there were long lines many days, but that has been a trend on all cruise ships. I have no idea why so many people have to line up so much every single day. We may have to go once over the course of a cruise. 

 

Overall, we were really impressed with our first Oasis Class sailing, now planning our first Quantum Class.  Reading through comments throughout CC (not just this forum) there are some folks who seem to have 'rose colored glasses' remembrances of how 'things used to be.' In some cases they are right and in other they're a bit off base. But the fact of the matter is times ARE different not just for the cruise industry but for the entire hospitality industry. Over 30% of crew members who used to serve on cruise ships found land-based jobs that they chose to keep instead of returning to the cruise industry. The volatility that came with the shutdown and the realization that they could lose their job in an instant was a shock to many.

 

As the cruise industry continues to rebound, cruise line jobs are not as sought after as they once were, same with many hospitality jobs. As I said, Carnival was the most painful and obvious example of crew shortage. VV had the best crew and hands down the best food (not to mention it's all included). But if there is a crew shortage on Symphony of the Seas it was not obvious as a consumer and the service and food we received was great. I have about 35 TikToks from the ship on my feed. Full food review coming next week to my YouTube channel. 🙂

[lovesthebeach2]

As many here have said, it’s not just cruises that have gotten more expensive while quality has gone down. We don’t go out to eat anymore because prices are way too high and I can make better food at home.
I  love cruising and the fact that the food isn’t the greatest isn’t an issue for me personally because I don’t think the food on royal has ever been that good.  I know I may be in the minority, but I’m not a huge fan of their food. I AM a huge fan of the ocean and that’s still as beautiful and magnificent as it’s always been. We all cruise for different reasons. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Its difficult to decide if royal has lost its mojo or is going downhill. Changes for the good or bad will divide people and you can only make your own observations. IMO for me yes royal have dropped their standards in certain areas:

 

Food, our MDR experience is not fine dining, the food presentation and taste ive had better in pubs. 3* at best. 

 

Costs: The pandemic smashed royals balance sheet so of course prices have to go up, added to that is inflation and the war in Ukraine, boom big bills for royal. Still i feel some costs, speciality resturants, drinks packages and shore excursions are excessive on royal. 

 

Staff: Seems to be a world wide shortage of good avilable staff in the hospitality industry. Lack of good training. Not sure why, of course wages have a play and here in UK freedom of movement ended but still. Everywhere i look has job vacancies. 

 

Entertainment: big hit and big misses. Water shows, ice skating shows are great. Main shows in theatre, not so much. Just find the singing and dancing old school, been around for ages, kinda boring. Bit like a comedian, again the same. Would like to see different shows, magic, the odd singer. Maybe unknown acts, younger acts. Unique stuff. Acrobats etc.  

 

Will i still cruise? Yes of course, will i stay loyal to royal.....nope not a chance, my wallet, destination and ship/company in that order. 

 

[Ocean Boy]

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have had several wonderful cruises in 2022.   Last one on Anthem in December, no food issues, no complaints, crew did a great job!   

I feel the same about my cruises on Allure in 2022. However, there were definite food quality issues last January that seemed to have resolved by April. 

[Diver2014]

A cruise is still the best vacation ever even with the economy in the tank.

[Jimbo]

6 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

 

In Florida about $4.00 a dozen or was that a rhetorical question?

Seems most thread concerning the cost of current cruises be high, someone always adds in the cost of eggs now relating  to the cost of everything is rising.

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Seems most thread concerning the cost of current cruises be high, someone always adds in the cost of eggs now relating  to the cost of everything is rising.

There does seem to be a lot of mention of eggs lately. 🤔

[Peachestravels]

Everything is going up in price. We have to try and enjoy cruises as much as we can and do a little budgeting in the process.. You can't even go the grocery store without paying $7 for a dozen of cheap quality eggs anymore.