Does HAL have Champions?

[hulamoon]

my apologizes for prematurely missing Abe Vigoda. I was swept up in the Sleeps with the Fishes Theme.

I probably would like the bread pudding but as it is made with bread will never know.

[Krazy Kruizers]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]To be honest -- on some ships the bread pudding was great -- on others -- just so-so.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Really depends on the person making it.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]
[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]On our recent Noordam cruises there were some dark chocolate "drops" (suppose to use on ice cream -- but I thought they were too big for that) -- after I got a scoop of the bread pudding, I put some of those dark chocolate drops on the sides -- then poured some of the hot vanilla sauce over them. Made for a wonderful chocolate sauce.[/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='hammybee']There are as many facts as there are opinions to be found here.

The bread pudding consistently gets rave reivews. I detest the stuff. My husband can't get enough of it.[B] Only thing that matters is if you like it, or not[/B].[/quote]

That's what it all comes down to in a nutshell.

When I first joined CC I have to say I learned a lot about HAL ships. I'd already been cruising for many years so I didn't need any hints about cruising in general. But I did learn a lot about the ships, cabins, restaurant, etc., of HAL and all that was really helpful.

But in a million years I would never decide to cruise HAL because of anything someone said here. That doesn't mean I don't find it interesting because I do. But there's no way to know if anyone here would like what I like about cruising. People here go on the same cruise ... one comes back raving, the other is miserable. So.....

Sarah said, and I believe her, that they don't pay anyone for what they say here. I'm sure they don't. Neither does RCI.

[hulamoon]

I read the reviews and I do form a picture of what I expect from a line. Although some are very entertaining and many incredible I read for the information and decide if it sounds like it is for me. I would love to try them all to get an opinion but it isn't realistic for me.

Reviews, advertising and price play a roll in my choices. I would have cancelled my current trip if something positive had not been finally been said about the experience of the ship. Of course I can make my own decisions based on my own taste, but until i cruise more lines and more ships how else would I base my choice? For me, it was reading, asking friends and visiting this site. To be honest, not that many people I know cruise. Testimonials and the repitition of those testimonials, are powerful advertising tools.

Now if I tried Kool Aid and didn't like it and then someone said I should, I still wouldn't like it. But if I tried orange and didn't like it and someone said try the grape it is better than orange, I may give it a try, with a cautious but open mind.

[hammybee]

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida']

But in a million years I would never decide to cruise HAL because of anything someone said here. That doesn't mean I don't find it interesting because I do. But there's no way to know if anyone here would like what I like about cruising. People here go on the same cruise ... one comes back raving, the other is miserable. So.....[/quote]

I'm with you, Heather. I enjoy reading people's reviews of all the cruise lines. I especially enjoy reading polar opposite reviews of the same cruise. And my all time favorites are when the same quasi outrageous review gets posted under different screen names, to different cruise line forums and message boards. What's up with this?

[AZjohn]

[quote name='hulamoon']For me, it was reading, asking friends and visiting this site. To be honest, not that many people I know cruise. Testimonials and the repitition of those testimonials, are powerful advertising tools.[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thank you for your honest reply. I have been following thr RCCL thread as much as this one and it cracks me up how 99% of cruisers say that their decission to pick a specific ship/line would never be influanced by what someone writes here. I personaly do not buy this, we are all human;).[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]So, I read the following post last night here on CC but not on any specific cruise line board, but the "Ports of Call" board. At lease someone was honest (see the bold)[/FONT]

[quote name='tally10']We went Oct. 25 : Rome, Naples, Marmaris. Izmir, Istanbul, Athens, Katakolon, Florence, Rome. The weather was warm. We had one day in Florence where it was raining (all day) and cold. I had heard that there would be less crowds, but there were crowds everywhere except Marmaris. This was on the Carnival Freedom. [B][U]We had booked the Voyager prior to this but were warned off by a poster on Cruise Critic, so we switched to the Freedom[/U][/B]. We had a wonderful cruise. I am sure the Voyager can't be as bad as she made it sound.[/quote]

[Ship's Wake]

[quote name='AZjohn'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thank you for your honest reply. I have been following thr RCCL thread as much as this one and it cracks me up how 99% of cruisers say that their decission to pick a specific ship/line would never be influanced by what someone writes here. I personaly do not buy this, we are all human;).[/FONT][/quote]

AZjohn, you are spot on about this. We recently booked a cruise on the Azamara Journey. Being past Oceania cruisers, we wanted to see if it was prudent to save money going on Azamara or returning to Oceania even though the price was higher.

Based on reviews and feedback found on the Azamara boards here on CC, we felt comfortable booking on Azamara. So yes, we were influenced by other posters about a line that we have never tried.

I would hate to think that I am naive because of this.

Joe

[bellebaby]

[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29685207/[/url]

[world~citizen]

[quote name='oysterdam']AZjohn, you are spot on about this. We recently booked a cruise on the Azamara Journey. Being past Oceania cruisers, we wanted to see if it was prudent to save money going on Azamara or returning to Oceania even though the price was higher.

Based on reviews and feedback found on the Azamara boards here on CC, we felt comfortable booking on Azamara. [B]So yes, we were influenced by other posters about a line that we have never tried.[/B]

[B]I would hate to think that I am naive because of this.
[/B]
Joe[/QUOTE]

[B]That observation is bang on and direct to the point.
[/B]

[serendipity1499]

[quote name='AZjohn'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thank you for your honest reply. I have been following thr RCCL thread as much as this one and it cracks me up how 99% of cruisers say that their decission to pick a specific ship/line would never be influanced by what someone writes here. I personaly do not buy this, we are all human;).[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]So, I read the following post last night here on CC but not on any specific cruise line board, but the "Ports of Call" board. At lease someone was honest (see the bold)[/FONT][/quote]

[quote name='oysterdam']AZjohn, you are spot on about this. We recently booked a cruise on the Azamara Journey. Being past Oceania cruisers, we wanted to see if it was prudent to save money going on Azamara or returning to Oceania even though the price was higher.

Based on reviews and feedback found on the Azamara boards here on CC, we felt comfortable booking on Azamara. So yes, we were influenced by other posters about a line that we have never tried.

I would hate to think that I am naive because of this. Joe[/quote]

[SIZE=3]I agree! Having been in Airline Sales for more than 30 years, I honestly believe that both Advertising & Reviews as well as Fares/ Routes play a big roll in influencing most peoples decisions to try one line or another...I have never flown on Air New Zealand, however I hope to be able to try them in the future only because of the wonderful things I've heard about them from others, as well as from novice & professional travelers..We've cruised on several Cruise Lines & finally decided we enjoyed HAL best until we found Oceania..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]We cruised with our Friends on HAL's Prinsendam in April 2006 to the Amazon & loved it..When our Friends found basically the same Cruise on Oceania for Nov 2007, we agreed to try it..Several things influenced our decision to try Oceania.. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]1) [B]NO FLYING:[/B] Both DH's (6'2' & all legs) hate to fly, therefore we try to find RT East Coast Cruises..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]2) [B]PRICE: [/B]The price was $1052 less for our 26 day on Oceania than it was for our 25 day on the Prinsendam for the same type of outside cabin..Oceania includes air & prepaid gratuities on many of their cruises..Since we didn't need the Air we received $500 off the basic price..In addition we received prepaid Grat. plus 150 OBC..So in effect we paid approx. $1400 less than our Prinsendam cruise.. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[B][SIZE=3]3) FANTASTIC REVIEWS: We wanted to try Oceania only because of the glowing reports on the Cruise Critic Oceania Board..:):)[/SIZE][/B]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][B] Most posters said the service was fantastic, which we found to be true & th[/B][B]e fact that they did not charge extra for their two alternative restaurants (steak house & Italian), helped us make our decision in addition to the price...[/B][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]We love HAL's service & find most of HAL's Stewards are excellent, but have also found service can be inconsistent..However, we have cruised enough to know that if we are dis-satisfied with the service, we should handle it On Board rather than make a big deal of it after we return..

I can unequivocally state that the service we received on Oceania from [U]everyone[/U] was unbelievable..Now we understand why some posters on the Oceania board take the same itineraries over & over..One couple we met, who has been on HAL, is going on their third cruise to the Amazon on Oceania..

The reason we don't jump ship, is that most of Oceania's prices are much more than HAL's prices for the same itinerary & they don't have as many different itineraries from the U.S. that HAL has (remember DH's hate to fly, & we can't afford business class :() Another plus for HAL is that we enjoy sitting on their ships wrap around Promenade Decks which Oceania does not have & HAL's staterooms are slightly larger than Oceania's.. Each has it's pro's & con's...In the meantime I can't wait for our Statendam B2B in Nov..Only 7 months 27 days 19 hours & 21 min to go ![/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]JMO...Cheers..:) Betty[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[hulamoon]

I have also been influenced by the raving Azamara reviews, I haven't been on a ship yet, but I almost left a deposit once.

I think the Champions program was a clever conceptual idea, foolishly implemented, but clever none the less. But a focus group is a far cry from fans grouped to post positive reviews. It seems some of the Champions are not completely clear. One said, they almost went bankrupt trying to go to all the the free events. Gifts are payment, free cruises are gifts and in my experience counted as income. It doesn't matter if you pay to transport yourself.

The article states it clearly, transparency would have been helpful for the program. The longest threads I read are the ones when the masses are trying to solve a mystery. When it first came up if there had been a transparent statement from RCCL rather than champions trying to defend themselves some of it could have been stopped.

The repitition of advertising is powerful in all it's many forms and personal testimonials are the most powerful.

You haven't convinced me yet that reviews are mostly fake, or somehow unworthy of consideration. I still see it as a way to give back to others who may follow me on a ship. I ask questions before I go and when I disembark post a review or answer questions for the next about to board. That is a way of giving back, and updating the experience. Service could improve or fall apart. A room could get new carpet, a new program could start. An excellent waiter may love hearing he was so good he was recommended to the next AYW guests. A tour guide may stand you up, others may want to know, or flame for daring to have a less than perfect experience.

I do not see it as a contradictory or red flag that two people could take the same cruise and have opposite experiences. They have different waiters, different rooms different stewards and diifferent tastes. Now if the same person as stated is sending in posts with the opposite points of view then do tell how do you know this? Is it the writing style or a trick of the technically gifted that know these things? Please let me know, I am still trying to figure out why spell check doesn't work for me.

Hammybee and Heather, I have always enjoyed your posts, even though you may be figments of my imagination and not real people, I have learned from both of you. I do feel foolish, the way my son did when I told him professional wrestling was fake. Understanding slowly came to his eyes over weeks at a time. His enlightenment was gradual, possibly mine will be too. But if you do convince me reviews are for entertainment only I will not be reading them for entertainment, I won't be reading them at all.

[kryos]

[quote name='hammybee']The bread pudding consistently gets rave reivews. I detest the stuff. My husband can't get enough of it. Only thing that matters is if [B]you[/B] like it, or not.[/QUOTE]LOL ... I'm with you. I never tasted anything so bad. Way too sweet, in my opinion.

But then ... there are lots of other good things to be had, so I forgive them for the crappy bread pudding. :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

[quote name='hulamoon'] I do not see it as a contradictory or red flag that two people could take the same cruise and have opposite experiences. They have different waiters, different rooms different stewards and diifferent tastes. Now if the same person as stated is sending in posts with the opposite points of view then do tell how do you know this? Is it the writing style or a trick of the technically gifted that know these things? Please let me know, I am still trying to figure out why spell check doesn't work for me.
[/QUOTE]
I would see it as a red flag if all the reviews were the same.

Two people can go on the same boat and have entirely different cruise experiences, even on the same cruise. It all depends on expectations before boarding, and what you pay for. If I take a HAL cruise and get more than I bargained for ... maybe I was expecting mediocre food and got great food ... then I'm gonna have a great cruise experience. If I pay for an inside cabin and somehow get upgraded to a balcony, I'm gonna get a lot more on that cruise than I expected, and I'm gonna be raving about it. But if I book top of the line accommodations, and then get on the boat expecting to be treated like royalty, and have everyone running around kissing my you know what ... and that doesn't happen ... then maybe, fair or not, I'm gonna be turned off to the cruise ... simply because my over-inflated expectations were not met.

I can't speak for CC, but I can speak for another cruise-type message board and I tend to think CC is the same way. Reviews are not rejected because they aren't complimentary to the cruise line. When a review comes in, I edit it strictly for glaring punctuation and spelling errors and then up it goes. Makes no difference whether the reviewer is bashing the cruise line for this and that or raving about it. We just want reviews that express the reviewers impressions of their cruise. Of course, if someone gets vulgar or offensive, that's a different issue and sometimes the review will have to be declined. But if we're talking one or two sentences where the reviewer uses a term we would prefer not be posted on the message board, I will just substitute another term that means pretty much the same thing ... but less offensively.

But I cannot imagine any review board declining reviews because they were negative. I just can't see it happening.

Now, what I will say, and this is through experience I have non-cruising related with a "side" job ... websites all over pay outside companies to supply content ... even message board content. I have done assignments for this company where I have had to write maybe 100 pieces that would be used as posts to message boards (never cruise-related message boards). But I have never been told ... write positive pieces or pieces of a certain slant ... just given the subjects they wanted me to write on. I don't know if any of the cruise message boards use this sort of service, though I would doubt CC would ever have to bother. These services, I believe, are used to "stimulate" conversation on message boards with thoughtful, informative posts ... and are especially useful for newly launched discussion boards where the posting activity is pretty much dead. I tend to think that CC and most of the other cruise message boards get enough content from their community that it wouldn't be necessary to employ a third party company to provide it. But I just wanted to mention that using third parties to provide web content, including posts to message boards, is apparently pretty standard and normal industry practice. In fact, many of these services will entirely launch and maintain your website too ... if one so desires.

I will say, I am fascinated by this whole "Champions" subject. I never before this heard of any cruise line having such a thing, but I guess in some respects it is a good idea. I would imagine all the cruise lines give some free cruises to well-established members of the press ... and that is probably standard industry practice and does not require the press to favorably review the ship. You know the old saying, any press is good press, and I would guess that cruise lines like to see their ships reviewed. Even a bad review provides some very good information to cruise line executives and could help them to better their product. And let's face it ... if I work for Travel & Leisure, say as a cruising specialist, there is no way Travel & Leisure ... even as big as they are ... are going to be able to afford to keep me cruising 365 days a year so that I can review ships and their onboard experiences. Of course, the cruise lines ante up some free cruises. They have to. But then, there are no strings attached. The reviewer has the freedom to write whatever he wants, as long as it's honest.

But if a cruise line were outright paying for positive reviews, by giving a select group of individuals a free cruise under the condition that they provide them, then I would have to say that probably wasn't a very good idea.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

[quote name='serendipity1499'][SIZE=3]The price was $1052 less for our 26 day on Oceania than it was for our 25 day on the Prinsendam for the same type of outside cabin..Oceania includes air & prepaid gratuities on many of their cruises..Since we didn't need the Air we received $500 off the basic price..In addition we received prepaid Grat. plus 150 OBC..So in effect we paid approx. $1400 less than our Prinsendam cruise.. [/SIZE]
[/QUOTE]Did you take your Prisendam cruise recently? Did Oceania always provide those bennies or have they only recently instituted them because of the economy?

I'm just wondering because I too have been thinking of trying another line at some point in the next couple of years and I, too, have seen some of the major bennies that some of the luxury and deluxe cruise lines have been providing where even though the cost is a bit higher, the bottom line would work out better when you consider all the inclusions. Free air, included gratuities, 25% single supplements on certain cabin categories, free soft drinks and bottled water, free shore excursions ... all that stuff really adds up and can easily make the jump from premium to deluxe or luxury a very affordable one.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[serendipity1499]

[quote name='hulamoon']I have also been influenced by the raving Azamara reviews, I haven't been on a ship yet, but I almost left a deposit once.

I think the Champions program was a clever conceptual idea, foolishly implemented, but clever none the less. But a focus group is a far cry from fans grouped to post positive reviews. It seems some of the Champions are not completely clear. One said, they almost went bankrupt trying to go to all the the free events. Gifts are payment, free cruises are gifts and in my experience counted as income. It doesn't matter if you pay to transport yourself.

The article states it clearly, transparency would have been helpful for the program. The longest threads I read are the ones when the masses are trying to solve a mystery. When it first came up if there had been a transparent statement from RCCL rather than champions trying to defend themselves some of it could have been stopped.

The repitition of advertising is powerful in all it's many forms and personal testimonials are the most powerful.

You haven't convinced me yet that reviews are mostly fake, or somehow unworthy of consideration. I still see it as a way to give back to others who may follow me on a ship. I ask questions before I go and when I disembark post a review or answer questions for the next about to board. That is a way of giving back, and updating the experience. Service could improve or fall apart. A room could get new carpet, a new program could start. An excellent waiter may love hearing he was so good he was recommended to the next AYW guests. A tour guide may stand you up, others may want to know, or flame for daring to have a less than perfect experience.

I do not see it as a contradictory or red flag that two people could take the same cruise and have opposite experiences. They have different waiters, different rooms different stewards and diifferent tastes. Now if the same person as stated is sending in posts with the opposite points of view then do tell how do you know this? Is it the writing style or a trick of the technically gifted that know these things? [B] Please let me know, I am still trying to figure out why spell check doesn't work for me.[/B]

[B][SIZE=3]I had to download spell check into Internet Explorer on my Google tool bar in order to get it to work on Cruise Critic...Some words are not shown in spell check, so then I look it up in my American Heritage Dictionary on my PC. or go on-line to get the correct spelling in Dictionary.com..[/SIZE] [/B]

Hammybee and Heather, I have always enjoyed your posts, even though you may be figments of my imagination and not real people, I have learned from both of you. I do feel foolish, the way my son did when I told him professional wrestling was fake. Understanding slowly came to his eyes over weeks at a time. His enlightenment was gradual, possibly mine will be too. But if you do convince me reviews are for entertainment only I will not be reading them for entertainment, I won't be reading them at all.[/quote]

[SIZE=3]I can guarantee you that Heather is not a figment of your imagination.. She is an articulate, intelligent & lovely lady who has a great deal of insight into the ways of the world.. Even though I don't completely agree with her on this subject, it does not color my opinion of her & I sincerely hope it will not get in the way of our Friendship..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Please don't feel foolish as I'm sure that Heather does not mean it the way you may think..IMO reviews are very important & are not just for entertainment... As I said in a previous post, if it were not for reviews & reading all the posts on the Oceania Board, we probably would not have tried them..[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]JMO..:)Betty[/SIZE]

[serendipity1499]

Did you take your Prisendam cruise recently? Did Oceania always provide those bennies or have they only recently instituted them because of the economy?

 

I'm just wondering because I too have been thinking of trying another line at some point in the next couple of years and I, too, have seen some of the major bennies that some of the luxury and deluxe cruise lines have been providing where even though the cost is a bit higher, the bottom line would work out better when you consider all the inclusions. Free air, included gratuities, 25% single supplements on certain cabin categories, free soft drinks and bottled water, . all that stuff really adds up and can easily make the jump from premium to deluxe or luxury a very affordable one. We found that some of Oceania's shore excursions were more than HAL's & some were less. don't know the reason though..We actually hired Cabs in most places as we were with our Friends & that was less expensive..Oceania's Grat's . were $11 per day in 2007 for most cabins & believe it was $12.50 for suites, however they did recently increase the Grat's..don't think you will go wrong on Oceania, but have to warn you that it is strictly open seating not assigned..

 

Oceania was offering those beenies for our cruise in Nov. 2007 & the Regatta was fully booked

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Rita I'm going to start a new thread to answer your question:

 

Betty

[HeatherInFlorida]

.......

Hammybee and Heather, I have always enjoyed your posts, even though you may be figments of my imagination and not real people, I have learned from both of you. I do feel foolish, the way my son did when I told him professional wrestling was fake. ............

 

Thank you (I think;))! I promise you I'm a real person:D.

 

I'm not trying to convince anyone here of anything. I was explaining my personal reaction to CC as a souce of information when planning a cruise. We have cruised now for 25 years and I know exactly what we're looking for in a cruise.

 

Over those years we have met many people on cruises who are now our friends. Some of those people are right here on CC. None of them cruise one line exclusively so I have a ton of people I can rely on, who share our tastes in cruising, who help us decide the ships or lines we would like.

 

So I rely on word of mouth from people I know personally (and who know me) rather then on the reviews I read here (unless they are by one of those people).

 

That said, once I decide on a cruise line, or a ship, I definitely read everything I can about those ships here on CC. So the reviews, thoughts, opinions are important at that stage, but they would never influence whether we book a particular ship or not.

 

I will ignore any review that says a cruise was either 100% positive or 100% negative ... neither is realistic.

 

I can guarantee you that Heather is not a figment of your imagination.. She is an articulate, intelligent & lovely lady who has a great deal of insight into the ways of the world.. Even though I don't completely agree with her on this subject, it does not color my opinion of her & I sincerely hope it will not get in the way of our Friendship..

 

Please don't feel foolish as I'm sure that Heather does not mean it the way you may think..IMO reviews are very important & are not just for entertainment... As I said in a previous post, if it were not for reviews & reading all the posts on the Oceania Board, we probably would not have tried them..

 

JMO..:)Betty

 

Thank you, Betty. Part of our friendship will never be whether we agree or disagree. I disagree with my husband frequently and he's the center of my life:).

 

And you're right. I never meant to suggest that the reviews here serve only as entertainment (although some of the more unbelievable ones are entertaining;)). I find many of them enlightening and informative; I would simply never rely on them exclusively.

 

I have seen people here post on a review thread that given that particular review, they are cancelling their cruise. I just think that's sad. So if this thread does nothing more than make people a little more suspect of what is written here, that's a good thing.

[Hlitner]

One has to always be careful when considering comments and reviews posted on cc. Personally, I like to look at the posting history of the posters to see if they are active on a lot of threads. One issue we have often encountered are folks that post reviews (good or bad) but have little cruise experience as a baiss of comparison. Its like somebody thinking a VW is the best luxury car on earth because they have never been in any other kind of car. On a recent RCI cruise (Brilliance of the Seas) we met a lot of "one-line" cruisers who would tell us how RCI is the best line (we are Diamond with RCI). My first question would always be, "what other lines and ships have you cruised on?" They would tell me they have been on no other lines because they liked RCI and enjoyed the amenities (they have great extras for Diamond and Diamond Plus cruisers). When we used to do cruise reviews (we tend to avoid this minefield these days) we would try to compare the cruise with our other cruises (we have been on 11 cruise lines and more than 50 different ships). Trying to say that HA has great food, good food or bad food, takes on a different aspect when you try to compare HA food against Princess, RCI, Celebrity, etc. By the way, the best food we have had on any cruise ship (and I am including some luxury lines such as Crystal) was on Azamara.

 

Hank

[world~citizen]

One has to always be careful when considering comments and reviews posted on cc. ...Its like somebody thinking a VW is the best luxury car on earth because they have never been in any other kind of car. ...By the way, the best food we have had on any cruise ship (and I am including some luxury lines such as Crystal) was on Azamara.

 

Hank

 

There is more to it than this, with all due respect.

 

I was booked on a cruise two years ago when three ports were deleted, two a few days after the final payment date. It seemed that the cruise line (not HAL) may have waited until all three ships it had on this itinerary passed their final payment date before scrubbing the ports. A lot of us cried foul, but some posters (not even on the cruise) defended the line for its decision adamantly. I look at the Royal Champions issue now and I think I see clearly what was going on. Lots of us argued on CC a fare reduction was warranted, but certain others just tried to make us feel silly. Do you see what I am saying? In the end, a reduction in the cruise fare became available for those who knew to ask. This was no thanks to those who "championed" the line. I wont't elaborate further.

 

Call them champions or call them friends, I personally don't like it. If you sneak someone on a jury to influence a verdict it is illegal, but put them on CC and it can be defended no doubt citing passages from the Bible, the Constitution and the minutes and proceedings of the Continental Congress.

 

I am prepared to state publicly as CC seems to imply that I should suck it back and get with the program, get with now, get with today.

 

But deep down, I don't believe it.

 

Smooth sailing to all....

[Alaskalovr]

Lawyers choose the jury by asking questions and picking those who ALREADY agree with the points of their defense. This is neither illegal or sneaky. The royal champions were chosen because they already regularly and consistently supported Royal Caribbean. I just felt that this point needed to be clarified.

Also, just to add something else to think about, the blog by the Consumer Insight Group concerning the champions program also referred to the Loyalty programs. This includes anyone who ever received a discount, onboard credit etc. Since ,it seems to me, that includes a lot of people on these threads then no one group should be getting so much grief.

[world~citizen]

Lawyers choose the jury by asking questions and picking those who ALREADY agree with the points of their defense. This is neither illegal or sneaky. The royal champions were chosen because they already regularly and consistently supported Royal Caribbean. I just felt that this point needed to be clarified.

Also, just to add something else to think about, the blog by the Consumer Insight Group concerning the champions program also referred to the Loyalty programs. This includes anyone who ever received a discount, onboard credit etc. Since ,it seems to me, that includes a lot of people on these threads then no one group should be getting so much grief.

 

If a juror tries to influence the outcome of a trial for "consideration" (a promised action or omission of action), my understanding as a non lawyer is that it is illegal.

 

Smooth sailing to you.:)

[HALFans]

RCI has enough information available that no amount of 'championing' would convince me to sail on them at this time.

 

All in all, I think it's a despicable practice.

 

Are any other lines doing the same type of thing?

[serendipity1499]

Lawyers choose the jury by asking questions and picking those who ALREADY agree with the points of their defense. This is neither illegal or sneaky. The royal champions were chosen because they already regularly and consistently supported Royal Caribbean. I just felt that this point needed to be clarified.

Also, just to add something else to think about, the blog by the Consumer Insight Group concerning the champions program also referred to the Loyalty programs. This includes anyone who ever received a discount, onboard credit etc. Since ,it seems to me, that includes a lot of people on these threads then no one group should be getting so much grief.

 

First of all discounts have nothing to do with loyalty...As an Airline Employee I was able to receive interline discounts on two cruise Lines that I had never been on before...I was given discounts on most Airlines, even if I had never traveled on that airline before..Most travel Agents can get discounts on any cruise line they want & it has nothing to do with loyalty..It's good business practice to give these discounts to those who sell travel..However many Airline Employees & Travel Agents would prefer to pay full fare, as when afforded discounts they are on a stand-by basis..I've spent many a day on stand-by & it "ain't fun or worth it"..

OBC's also have nothing to do with loyalty! Many Cruise Lines & Travel Agents are offering Free air, OBC's, Bottles of Wine & dinners in the Pinnacle for anyone who books with them...Someone who has never been on HAL before could get all of these perks just as well as I could..

Now having had over 100 days on HAL in Outside cabins, we've never been given an upgrade, while many others always seem to get upgrades including first time cruisers who book guarantee cabins!

Every cruise line has a Loyalty program..Some give more than others..Hal has it's Mariner Program which gives us free tiles, & some discounts which have never been as good as discounts I've been given by some TA's..Other Cruise lines give their loyal Psgrs, some upgrades, free laundry, prioritized boarding & disembarkation..Most of HAL's Psgrs are repeat customers, therefore HAL does not need to give perks in their Mariner's program..

I don't doubt for a minute that many posters are accorded special perks for being HAL Cheerleaders, but one of them is certainly not me.. LOL

JMO..:)Betty

[bepsf]

RCI has enough information available that no amount of 'championing' would convince me to sail on them at this time.

 

All in all, I think it's a despicable practice.

 

I have to agree - I thought very poorly of RCI before, but when I read the article in the news earlier this week, it didn't surprise my one iota that it was dreamt up by the brain-trust over at Royal Caribbean...

 

...what did surprise me was CC's involvement in willingly sharing contact information for people that posted on their boards, for if it was without the individual's consent, that action doesn't seem quite kosher.

(I do hope I am wrong about CC not having gathered pre-consent)

 

I'm glad that SarahatHAL has posted and I take her statement at face value - HAL has historically been among the few lines that doesn't need to provide anyone with free cruises or upgrades to get good reviews. I believe that any insight and contributions Sarah might be willing to provide us regarding certain concerns could be quite meaningful, in much the same way that the President of Oceania have taken time to post on that forum, and how Rick Sasso has patiently answered various questions on the MSC forum.

[serendipity1499]

I have to agree - I thought very poorly of RCI before, but when I read the article in the news earlier this week, it didn't surprise my one iota that it was dreamt up by the brain-trust over at Royal Caribbean...

...what did surprise me was CC's involvement in willingly sharing contact information for people that posted on their boards, for if it was without the individual's consent, that action doesn't seem quite kosher.

(I do hope I am wrong about CC not having gathered pre-consent)

Brian...Laura states she never gave Royal Carib. posters names & e-mails..She only offered to forward RCL's request to posters..Perhaps you might want to read Laura's open forum letter on the RCL board on the closed thread..

Probably everyone should read it..It's Post No. 1979 in the closed thread!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=944526&page=99&highlight=cheerleaders

Part of Laura's post & the CC official statement:

Royal Caribbean contacted Cruise Critic and asked us to obtain permission from a group of members they gave us, so that they could extend an invitation to Liberty of the Seas pre-inaugural sailings in May, 2007. We agreed to forward the information on to this group of members, and asked for their permission to share their contact information with Royal Caribbean. This is Cruise Critic's sole involvement in this program. We did not help develop the program, nor did we help choose the participants. At the time of the request there was no formal name associated with this group or program; we were merely asked to forward an invitation to an event on behalf of Royal Caribbean. We received a second, similar request, in October, 2008.]

I'm glad I read the post as feel much better about Cruise Critic's involvement..

Betty