Updated C&A perks

[Morecruisesplz]

10 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

As in the same quality as before MDR changes.

So not the new menus?

[DallasGuy75219]

10 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Exactly what I said/meant when I said "we paid for those perks/benefits over the years". 

"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program ("the Program") or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice."

 

Just like every other loyalty program, RC can change the terms or eliminate the program all together at any time with no notice.  You paid for the cruises you took and should have had no expectation of the same C&A benefits continuing indefinitely.  You can be unhappy with the changes but have no basis to say you paid for the benefits that are going away.

[orville99]

17 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

As in the same quality as before MDR changes.

Quality in the MDR had gone to pot well before the changes - pretty much pedestrian fare on every one of our 18 cruises post restart, so not surprised someone would find it comparable to that. IMO (as an experienced chef in my younger days), it has continued to go downhill since the restart.

 

Here is one painful example: last night in the WJ they were serving jerk chicken, and the way they prepared it was to sprinkle some jerk seasoning on the skin and then roast the chicken. Any flavor was in the skin, and none was in the chicken - which was dry and chewy. Any competent chef knows Jerk chicken needs to marinate for at least six hours before you grill it.

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by orville99

[Morecruisesplz]

8 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program ("the Program") or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice."

 

Just like every other loyalty program, RC can change the terms or eliminate the program all together at any time with no notice.  You paid for the cruises you took and should have had no expectation of the same C&A benefits continuing indefinitely.  You can be unhappy with the changes but have no basis to say you paid for the benefits that are going away.

Cheerleading.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, melbur said:

You are so right, they would rather have a cabin filled with parents, 3 kids and out buying Thrill waterpark admission, all the junk in the stores, drink packages, etc. We  don't provide the revenue!!

 

I would hate to hazard a guess to what we Pinnacles have contributed to the RCI coffers over the years (and we sail in suites).   That little gold pin is the most expensive piece of jewelry I own.  😄 

 

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Quality in the MDR had gone to pot well before the changes - pretty much pedestrian fare on every one of our 18 cruises post restart, so not surprised someone would find it comparable to that. IMO (as an experienced chef in my younger days), it has continued to go downhill since the restart.

 

 

Why do you continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean if you are so unhappy with the food and in some cases, the ship itself?  Life is too short to spend so much time complaining about all your sailings.  Try Celebrity and see if it suits your needs.

[Ocean Boy]

9 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

 

I think id' rather have a voucher for a T-shirt from the logo shop. Or maybe some "exclusive" C&A T-shirt.

 

But the t-shirts they sell these days are such poor quality compared to what they used to sell. In fact, the Logo shop has really gone down hill from what it once was.

[firefly333]

40 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

no, it wasn't supposed to be funny. I could swear I read that the welcome beverage was either a juice, a soda or a beer. But if beer wasn't a choice, that's ok, I must have misremembered  - I'd take a soda then.

Yea the juice you mentioned hasnt been offered since before covid. Not sure when the juice was dropped. I still had juice which is gone so got a random 1 can of soda. 

 

Yea beer could be had as a choice at diamond plus. A whole 1 beer. 

 

I drank the soda but 1 whole can isnt worth everyone getting upset. 

[DallasGuy75219]

2 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Why do you continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean if you are so unhappy with the food and in some cases, the ship itself?  Life is too short to spend so much time complaining about all your sailings.  Try Celebrity and see if it suits your needs.

Or at least do specialty dining on RC if you know you're not going to be happy with the MDR.

[JColquhoun]

Hi there, I just curious, does anyone remember what perks D+ received 10/15 yrs ago, Just wanted to compare 

 

Thanks 

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Why do you continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean if you are so unhappy with the food and in some cases, the ship itself?  Life is too short to spend so much time complaining about all your sailings.  Try Celebrity and see if it suits your needs.

I will live my life, and you can live yours - you don’t get to direct mine. If you really want to know, we normally sail in full suites and take full advantage of CK when on an Oasis class ship, and in suite dining on ones that don’t have a CK. This was a bucket list cruise on a ship that (in December) had excellent food in both the MDR and in the WJ. It hasn’t just gone downhill since the change, the quality has fallen off a cliff.

 

BTW, pre-change the food in WJ on every class of ship we sailed from Radiance class up had been excellent. The disintegration of quality has been blatantly obvious, not just to us, but to the chefs that are being forced to prepare it (and we talk to a lot of the chefs on every cruise). 

[orville99]

7 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Or at least do specialty dining on RC if you know you're not going to be happy with the MDR.

DW is convinced that is their underlying strategy - to nudge everyone into buying the Specialty dining packages.

[orville99]

1 minute ago, ChC said:

So after 10 pages of discussing, no one, I mean no one caught up with the fact that upgraded bathroom amenity for 340 pointers is now PERMENENTLY cut? 

It disappeared ages ago…

[reallyitsmema]

9 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I will live my life, and you can live yours - you don’t get to direct mine. If you really want to know, we normally sail in full suites and take full advantage of CK when on an Oasis class ship, and in suite dining on ones that don’t have a CK. This was a bucket list cruise on a ship that (in December) had excellent food in both the MDR and in the WJ. It hasn’t just gone downhill since the change, the quality has fallen off a cliff.

 

BTW, pre-change the food in WJ on every class of ship we sailed from Radiance class up had been excellent. The disintegration of quality has been blatantly obvious, not just to us, but to the chefs that are being forced to prepare it (and we talk to a lot of the chefs on every cruise). 

 

LOL  I have no desire to direct your life.  I asked an honest question as all I have seen you post are complaints on a daily basis.  You posted how bad Wonder was and continue to complain about it.  As far as chefs being forced to prepare poor quality food, that makes no sense whatsoever!  Try to enjoy your cruise. 🙂 

[DrProfessor]

We are looking forward to finally making Diamond after our next 3-point/night cruise in a couple of months.  The best benefit we were hoping for are the drink vouchers, and at least that is staying the same.  I'll be happy with that benefit if nothing else - which probably means it's next on the cut list.

 

We will keep sailing with Royal because we have liked our vacations, but it is getting pretty expensive.  For that reason alone, we have our first non-Royal cruise booked in Feb 2024 with MSC (we are trying and internal YC cabin).  They seem to be gaining in popularity and are consistently cheaper for booking than Royal for the same or more benefits.

 

Still, we will mostly stick with Royal - but not for their loyalty program because aside from the drink vouchers, it really doesn't amount to much.  We just won't be exclusive if we like our experience on MSC.  We already have Oct 2023 and Oct 2024 booked with Royal.

[nelblu]

28 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Quality in the MDR had gone to pot well before the changes - pretty much pedestrian fare on every one of our 18 cruises post restart, so not surprised someone would find it comparable to that. IMO (as an experienced chef in my younger days), it has continued to go downhill since the restart.

 

Here is one painful example: last night in the WJ they were serving jerk chicken, and the way they prepared it was to sprinkle some jerk seasoning on the skin and then roast the chicken. Any flavor was in the skin, and none was in the chicken - which was dry and chewy. Any competent chef knows Jerk chicken needs to marinate for at least six hours before you grill it.

 

Oh, you should try the Caribbean Jerk pork chop if you really want to taste bad meat.

[lovelife]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:20 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

CROWN & ANCHOR^® SOCIETY UPDATES

Thanks for keeping us informed. I haven't received anything from RCCL on this.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I'd take a bottle of beer or a mixed drink over a block. Sorry, but these blocks mean nothing to me. Just dust collectors. 

 

Exactly.  Some people don't care about blocks.  Some people do care about blocks.  So as a compromise they are finding cheaper blocks.  So be it.  

 

Their ship, their rules.  

[Starry Eyes]

31 minutes ago, ChC said:

So after 10 pages of discussing, no one, I mean no one caught up with the fact that upgraded bathroom amenity for 340 pointers is now PERMENENTLY cut? 

Check your list again.  It is the last item under the heading

“IN STATE- ROOM SERVICES.”

 

Upgraded bathroom amenities for members with 340+ cruise points31

 

31 Members with 340+ cruise points receive upgraded bathroom amenities in their stateroom upon arrival. Subject to availability.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf

Edited March 1, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[cruiselvr04]

I do like the new 40 % off the wine under $100.  It will get us into Vintages in March which I’m sure is what they want to see.  Hoping someone reports on how that goes.  Assuming just one voucher from one person?

 

The loyalty program is still the best.  It keeps us coming back although we will be straying in the future for more exciting itineraries.  HA is doing an RT FLL to Africa, want the British Isles RT from Southampton, maybe Japan and still hoping for another shorter world cruise with Royal some day.  It’s a big world out there and there’s lots more to see and do.

[firefly333]

44 minutes ago, ChC said:

So after 10 pages of discussing, no one, I mean no one caught up with the fact that upgraded bathroom amenity for 340 pointers is now PERMENENTLY cut? 

I've been counting on getting this for my oasis cruise since I'm flying in. .. now this I will miss. 

[cruisegirl1]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've been counting on getting this for my oasis cruise since I'm flying in. .. now this I will miss. 

It is still there!  You will not have to miss it. 

M

[cruisegirl1]

59 minutes ago, ChC said:

So after 10 pages of discussing, no one, I mean no one caught up with the fact that upgraded bathroom amenity for 340 pointers is now PERMENENTLY cut? 

It is there.  NOT CUT.  

M

[Starry Eyes]

15 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've been counting on getting this for my oasis cruise since I'm flying in. .. now this I will miss. 

It is still a listed benefit😀.  See details back in post #248.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has the right to terminate the Crown & Anchor Society Program ("the Program") or to change the Terms and Conditions of participation and benefits, in whole or in part; at any time without notice."

 

Just like every other loyalty program, RC can change the terms or eliminate the program all together at any time with no notice.  You paid for the cruises you took and should have had no expectation of the same C&A benefits continuing indefinitely.  You can be unhappy with the changes but have no basis to say you paid for the benefits that are going away.

You don't say. Tell us something new. Yea, I get it  but I don't have to like the changes and can't do anything about the changes other than moving on (accepting the changes or not cruising) but I will voice my displeasure here on CC and my PCS for anything I have paid for by cruising with RC that is no longer offered. Especially when RC is trying to promote the changes as an enhancement. The time are a changin but not for the better. And it's not just the cruise lines.

Edited March 1, 2023 by davekathy