Cruise Critic and Royal?

[Salsa Dancer]

Can anyone tell me if Royal Caribbean is affiliated with this website? I found that they have a link to Cruise Critic on their site and was wondering. :rolleyes: I guess forums like this could be or likely are monitored by cruise lines, then the information would lead to improvements or better service while cruising.

 

I also noticed that while shopping for a better price, I was asked on several sites, for a previous cruise #. There was a hint that the price might be lower, but no pricing was ever lower after entering that information. I was told that the number is my Crown and Anchor number. :confused:

 

Salsa Dancer

[nlcentralchmps03]

No CC and Royal are not affiliated in any way, I don't believe.

However, like you said, there are people for RCI that monitor these boards for the reasons that you mentioned above.

[Honey's Gal]

Yes, your C&A number will verify if you are platinum or above which will entitle you to a discount on a balcony cabin.

I do not beleive anyone can offer you a lower price, but I have heard that some do offer OBC etc.

[SDPadreFan]

CruiseCritic is owned by TripAdvisor, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ? (probably some investment group somewhere).

[twoputt.plusone]

This could get interesting. I'll bet this thread is gone in a hurry. :D :D :D

 

2P.P1

[GMoney]

CruiseCritic is owned by TripAdvisor, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ? (probably some investment group somewhere).

 

Trip Advisor is owned by Expedia.

[Johnd6rose]

Can anyone tell me if Royal Caribbean is affiliated with this website? I found that they have a link to Cruise Critic on their site and was wondering. :rolleyes: I guess forums like this could be or likely are monitored by cruise lines, then the information would lead to improvements or better service while cruising.

 

I also noticed that while shopping for a better price, I was asked on several sites, for a previous cruise #. There was a hint that the price might be lower, but no pricing was ever lower after entering that information. I was told that the number is my Crown and Anchor number. :confused:

 

Salsa Dancer

 

IndependentTraveler.com (AOL Keyword: Independent Traveler) and Cruise Critic (AOL Keyword: Cruise Critic) are published by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a closely held New Jersey corporation.

:)

[Shelli]

CruiseCritic is owned by TripAdvisor, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ?, who is owned by ? (probably some investment group somewhere).

 

I guess that's true-- but you left out The Independent Traveler, which is the parent company of Cruise Critic, and which is the subsidiary of TripAdvisor. Under "About Us" on TripAdvisor's site, I found this:

 

"TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE). "

 

So that makes Expedia the parent of Cruise Critic! And who owns Expedia, you ask?

 

Well... it was started by Microsoft in 1995. But in 1999, it had its own initial public offering (IPO), becoming a public corporation in its own right. Microsoft remained the majority shareholder until 2001, when Expedia was acquired by USA Networks. I don't know much after that, and I can't get on Expedia right now to check, since the site appears to be down.

 

P.S. Other folks posted quite a bit while I was doing this research! LOL

[MNfamilycruiser]

Can anyone tell me if Royal Caribbean is affiliated with this website? I found that they have a link to Cruise Critic on their site and was wondering. :rolleyes: I guess forums like this could be or likely are monitored by cruise lines, then the information would lead to improvements or better service while cruising.

 

I also noticed that while shopping for a better price, I was asked on several sites, for a previous cruise #. There was a hint that the price might be lower, but no pricing was ever lower after entering that information. I was told that the number is my Crown and Anchor number. :confused:

 

Salsa Dancer

That is what I found also - the current price (and it can change daily) on the RCI website, is the same price that all the internet TAs have on their websites. They probably cannot sell it at any lower price - BUT they can offer OBC or free pre-paid gratuities.

[Tom_n_Sara]

I imagine that RCI also pays something for the advertising on a per hit basis coming from CC. Nothing wrong with that, I imagine that the other cruise lines do the same thing.

[sunchasers64]

RCI does have an official private party (Meet & Mingle) for the cruise critic members if enough sign up (25 I think?). If signed up, the official invitations are delivered to your stateroom with time/place. We went last week on the Voyager, and it was a lot of fun! Snacks were served, and prizes were given away, although they were just small sourvenirs (pens, backpacks, t-shirts, etc). But it was a really good time anyway, and it allows the cruise critic members to meet each other onboard. I highly recommend it. They RCI crew members were very entertaining. :D