rccl.com/C&A Enhancements

[mojo4trav]

Am I the only one who would love to book massage and dinner reservations on the RCCL website prior to sailing? Princess does it, am I correct? It also doesn't seem like it would be asking too much for some sort of interface to 'log into' your C&A account to see past and future cruises as well as level of membership, etc - similar to an airline's frequent flier program.

[jlx2]

What a wonderful idea! All of us "Type A" planners would be in heaven! Maybe even add reservations to Chops and Portifinos too? I would be in heaven!

[Cloudmaster]

I agree, but it would be helpful if they included the compass' and menus. We like to get an idea of what is going on before we make those plans, and it is so difficult without the compass and menus. I certainly don't want reservations at Portofinos when it is Lobster night, but others may.

[luckymomx2]

I agree with jlx2 that us type-A's would be in heaven! I would be nice to board the ship without having to do the ressie scramble and signing in the kids at the kid's club.

[cruisinfamily]

Yes - I have to agree - I would love to pre-book all of that stuff...maybe say that you can pre-book that up to a certain amount of time in advance of your cruise. I wonder why they haven't done that yet!

[GypsyOBRN]

That it strainge that they haven't done prebooking for those as yet. One would think it would be just like shore excursions... allowing for prebooking online except for 10 days before the cruise and then blocking so many so that some people that couldn't book online would still be able to once on the ship. ~Beth

[FinelyCruising]

I am a frequent user of the spa, the salon and the dining venues. I would be thrilled to have this option as a C&A Member (and as a Captain's Club member too) Thanks for asking!

[Cruise Cat]

You can book their excursions on-line, so I don't see why this would be a problem. The only thing I could see is for them not to book 100% on-line, but leave about 60% open for on-board bookings.

[cruisinfanatic]

How about letting us see our onboard credit on the account when looking at our guest information online.

[RandS]

I sent an email to Royal Caribbean a couple of months ago asking about the ability to view our onboard credits. Here's their reply:

 

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We read with great interest your suggestions on how we may improve our service to our guests, namely regarding onboard credit account information. While we are not certain of the logistics of implementing these suggestions, we have taken the liberty of forwarding them to the appropriate management personnel for review and future consideration.

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If enough people ask for it maybe they will work on making it available.

[pcur]

I would looooooove to see our dining reservations, because they usually mess up our table for two request. It would be great to see your assignment, and be able to communicate to them for a change. This would be a nice C&A perk to add.

[critterchick]

Peggy, we've never been able to get a table for 2. We prefer that and if not, a large table. We can't put in that request with our TA, and we've gotten stuck at a table for 4 with another couple that appeared to wish they were dead instead of sitting with us. Thank goodness it was only a 3-night cruise. They skipped the second night and we skipped the third.

 

I would love to see my current/future booking info and cruising history.

[sleepybert]

That would be a great idea, especially being able to see ALL of your booking info. They put us at a large table last time, when we requested a small table several times. Of course right before the cruise I would probably be checking the info several times a day because of my level of excitement!

[mojo4trav]

we've gotten stuck at a table for 4 with another couple that appeared to wish they were dead instead of sitting with us.

:p

LOL! That made me laugh hysterically!

[Kathie44]

Checking out your table assignments ahead of time would be great. the first cruise we had a great table with an international flair. One couple from the UK and one from Canada, with whomw we still keep in touch. The other two were a mother and daughter from the US and the mother and I exchange Christmas cards.

The second year there were only 6 of us at a table for 8 and the others were very nice, although a lot older than we are. The other couples were celebrating anniversaries and took turns treating all of us to champagne, so on the last night we returned the favor.

Last Feb, we were at a table for 8 with only 3 others, very elderly and often complaining. Not fun.

The Alaskan cruise was with friends (good) and an elderly couple with a wife who complained constantly. (Bad)

I don't want a table for two because we are not isolatonists, but at least people closer to our age or, at least, who are not complainers. Of course the list probably wouldn't know the age and complainer/non-complainer status, so it might not be much help.

We avoid the buffet due to health concerns--we eat too much! -- and would miss the luxury of the dining room service. Paying $25 or more to eat at a premium restaurant, when the paid-for food has always been great to begin with, seems dumb. But there are many people with money to burn.

I have not minded the two seating plan, but also see the benefit of free-style as long as there is no problem getting in when you need to.

[Sea Island Lady]

I am a frequent user of the spa, the salon and the dining venues. I would be thrilled to have this option as a C&A Member (and as a Captain's Club member too) Thanks for asking!

With Captain's Club membership, you can call and make dinner reservations prior to sailing. I am not sure about the spa, but I think you can do that as well!

[sally r]

Ditto to all of the above requests. Would love to see my C&A status and be able to make reservations ahead online.

 

One thing I have always thought would be cool is to have different colored sea pass cards for each level of C&A..or at least something special for Diamond:D ! Would also like to have my sea pass open the concierge lounge. Having two cards is a hassle.

[cruiseman_tx]

Have thought for a long time that table selections should be available online. They have floor plans for all the decks, so why not table arrangements for the dining room?

Good ideas here, and a good poll...thanx.

[mojo4trav]

Have thought for a long time that table selections should be available online. They have floor plans for all the decks, so why not table arrangements for the dining room?

Good ideas here, and a good poll...thanx.

 

Now that you mention it, I recall in the past the dining staff using large paper maps of the dining room for table assignments. On Navigator this October I noticed they were using a computer to make adjustments...interesting!

[beachchick]

Checking your table assignment seems like a good idea until you figure that every cruiser who doesn't like the location/size/whatever would be calling their TA or RCI to complain. Then the question is whom do you accomodate when 100 cruisers want the same table on a specific cruise?

 

And I'm not sure how you could check about the other pax assigned to your table. RCI would have absolutely no business giving any personal information (not even names) about your fellow cruisers to you just so you can decide if they might be good table mates. So, it sounds good, but I don't think it would be a good idea (or even reasonable) in practice. I mean, what's next, accessing the names and ages and "smoking status" of pax in the cabins on either side of you?

 

As far a Compasses/menus, I think it would be a good idea to have general information for each ship, but things do change (entertainers, ship's captain, CDs, seasonal events, etc.), so it would have to be clear on the website that the listings are general and representative; otherwise, they would end up with pax whining because their cruise schedule isn't exactly like the Compasses and menus online. I think it would be unreasonable to expect RCI to update the Compasses and menus for each ship every time a change was planned.

 

I would love to be able to book spa and specialty restaurant reservations online. (Although they would have to leave enough openings to accomodate pax who don't actually go online--I know it's shocking to think about in the 21st century, but some people don't use the Internet.) Accessing C&A status and other info would also be good.

 

beachchick

[bpear1600]

Checking your table assignment seems like a good idea until you figure that every cruiser who doesn't like the location/size/whatever would be calling their TA or RCI to complain. Then the question is whom do you accomodate when 100 cruisers want the same table on a specific cruise?

 

And I'm not sure how you could check about the other pax assigned to your table. RCI would have absolutely no business giving any personal information (not even names) about your fellow cruisers to you just so you can decide if they might be good table mates. So, it sounds good, but I don't think it would be a good idea (or even reasonable) in practice. I mean, what's next, accessing the names and ages and "smoking status" of pax in the cabins on either side of you?

 

As far a Compasses/menus, I think it would be a good idea to have general information for each ship, but things do change (entertainers, ship's captain, CDs, seasonal events, etc.), so it would have to be clear on the website that the listings are general and representative; otherwise, they would end up with pax whining because their cruise schedule isn't exactly like the Compasses and menus online. I think it would be unreasonable to expect RCI to update the Compasses and menus for each ship every time a change was planned.

 

I would love to be able to book spa and specialty restaurant reservations online. (Although they would have to leave enough openings to accomodate pax who don't actually go online--I know it's shocking to think about in the 21st century, but some people don't use the Internet.) Accessing C&A status and other info would also be good.

 

beachchick

 

By far the best table of people we ever had on a cruise ship was in 1981 on the Song of Norway. We hung around together the entire week on and off the ship and had a blast. In those days you picked your Seating beforehand and met with the Maitre'D right after you boarded. He kinda gave you the once over and assigned you to a table. You couldn't do this on the megaships of today.

 

On our last Mariner cruise we were stuck in the auxiliary dining room the whole cruise and it was awful. It was hot and so noisy with the low ceilings you couldn't talk to anyone other than the person on either side of you. Service was so slow when you left the room the main DR was nearly empty.

 

I would love to be able to see where we are assigned but agree that such a feature would open a can of worms that RCI wouldn't want to deal with week in and week out.

[mojo4trav]

I didn't mean to suggest people be able to choose their table mates based on personal data but rather simply make adjustments if they preferred a certain sized table, etc.

[beachchick]

mojo4trav: While I do agree that seeing our table size and location in advance would be nice, I still do not believe it would be practical. I can just imagine the RCI phone lines absolutely clogged with pax or their TAs insisting that the table assignments need to be changed. For example, if there are 12 tables for 4 (48 seats total) and 200 pax on the cruise want those 48 seats, whom do they accommodate? The pax who call and complain the most? The ones who pay the most? The ones who book first? We would still be in the same situation where we are now, except that it would be happening for weeks before the cruise and many cruisers would still end up unhappy. I think it's better to handle this onboard and in person.

 

The bottom line is that some pax will not be happy with their table location and/or size. I do believe that they should handle as many requests as possible; I just don't think it's possible to handle them all. I would like to be able to request things like a table in a quiet area (like not smack in the middle right next to the Captain's table and a busy serving station like last time) because I have a hearing problem. We had to request another table on the first night. It would have been nice to be able to request it during booking. And you just know Folgy (and DH and I too) would like to request a "NO children under 18" table. I'd like them to add those kind of special requests to table preferences when booking. Parents might like to request a table with a family of similar size/ages or an older couple might like to meet others their age. This would be easy to include in the table preference section. And we would still know that it is a request, not a demand. Although, I do think that RCI is obligated to make sure that those with physical challenges are seated in a location that is easily accessible or that helps make physical limitations less limiting.

 

beachchick

[Gaynors]

I don't see why RCI can't have prearrangements for spa appointment just like they do for shore excursions. Princess already does this.

 

Also, it would be very helpful to be able to keep up with and make sure RCI has all our previous cruise information correct right online. Once again, Princess already does this and you can keep up with onboard credit and future cruise bookings!!

 

Come on RCI get up to speed!!! :cool: