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I can get angry at a lot of things but then try to rationalize and look for the bright side. what are the negatives here 1. the potential for a limit on room service? 2. only one entree at a time in the main dining room? 3. a cutback in room service from twice a day to once a day? 4. gratuity price increase you’ve not vacationed since 2011….so it would seem had you not been on this forum you would not be aware of these changes. now that you are aware 1. potential change to room service- you can plan accordingly. 2. a change in the entree serving-again, you can plan…which entree do I want first 3. single service cabin-figure out which works/time frame best and ask for extra towels. hotels have pretty much done away with daily fresh towels etc. 4. gratuity increase noticed were sent to all who had cruises booked and it was discussed on this forum. All of us had the opportunity to prepay the gratuities and save 10.50 per person so in your case $21. It appears the last increase was in 2018, so essentially 5 years without a raise if you look at it that way. Inflation has been ridiculous and these poor people were unable to work for over a year.-their governments don’t do unemployment’ like we do. No stimulus checks like we do. They need the small piece of pie they get. what is the bright side You get a vacation, on a scale of 1-10 that’s a 10-yeah!! You get to visit the ports, experience the ship, meet new people, see entertainment you don’t get at home, still have unlimited choices at the buffet and main dining room Was the room service, old menus and stateroom service the only reasons you booked Royal? We all know you removed the gratuity-so that negative was addressed. it seems you’ve gotten caught up in the experienced cruisers remarks about the changes. You can’t miss something you’ve never experienced. I for one won’t miss this room service change as I had stated id never used it before, and now likely won’t use it again. Your decision to not cruise and essentially lose out on your vacation seems counterintuitive. You’ll need to find accommodations, purchase food or get yourself home-likely at an increased cost to you. You are missing out on the ability to say “i didn’t miss those things, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and I don’t know why you all were bitching so much”.

Well behaved guests of all ages are welcome. It's the misbehaving guests regardless of age that are the problem. Some entitled parents go on vacation from their parental duties when they cruise. Most parents do not. It's the bad apples that impact us all.

Someone needs a shot of happy juice! Wow…I am so sad to read just how worked up and angry you have gotten yourself! You are definitely full of negativity so probably a good thing you have decided to not sail…otherwise you would subjecting many innocent people to a week of HELL…from your vibes! When people (talking about you here) allow their attitudes and unhappiness to take over their world…it’s best they stay clear of the rest of us who want to enjoy life and can take the good with the bad and the ugly with the beautiful. Life is not a bowl of cherries but heck…I choose to be happy because…well…why not? Go home and sulk and be miserable . Hope you don’t impose your misery on everyone on your way back home! They don’t deserve it!

Just an update about the Manhattan trip. We get outside to the taxi place and asked if there was a van that could take us round Manhattan befor go to the Newark airport. And there was, for just a few dolar more than we did pay for the Royal Caribbean tour that was cancled. Now we are at the airport waiting for our flight. So we are happy this was possible. Thanks again for all feedback and suggestions! Me and my wife will make our comments about the small issues we tought there was onboard in the Survey later..

I bet you’re a lot of fun at parties.

1. Release the shows schedule early tethered to if I purchase the UDP I can look at it and make my dining reservations BEFORE I board. Boarding day should be reserved for making adjustments, it would just relieve some frustration on day one. I think they would sell more UDP if reservations can be secured before hand with the UDP. 2. For goodness sake standardize the suites product, it is different across the fleet and I think if the product was the same across the ships it would generate a better feeling of value, and possibly more bookings = more revenue. At minimum a Sky class experience for the Grands & higher, Sea for the Juniors. (Star on the smaller vessels seems not needed, ie. too small) 3. Along the same lines the Suites Lounge has become wildly popular and address in some way the capacity problems. If you stay in a suite you are afforded this amenity & if not then please enjoy another venue or make the lounges bigger with an additional concierge because one can't handle it. 4. This may be off putting but reaching 700 + nights sailings and achieving Pinnacle means a huge investment was made with the company, Pinnacles should be afforded "free room service" always no matter what class of cabin they are in as well as 9 drinks per day! Depending on the amount on board say 20 have a special luncheon service just for them.** 5. Open the theaters early before the shows and just allow people to enter at their leisure. 6. I've repeatedly stated allow cabins to be booked with or without Genie service (the Star ones) Have the service as an add on at booking for certain cabin types. ** I am not Pinnacle, but want to be one in the future! Only about 33 seven night sailings to go!! @FSUFAN thanks so much, this was fun!

Add internet as a perk for grand suite and above on all ships, not just ships with a royal suite class. Roll gratuities into the cruise fare. Add self-service kiosks for snack and beverage basics.

WOW ! Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face ! If Royal Caribbean is truly the object of enmity here then you have just handed them the ultimate "win" ! They keep your money and you get nothing but unhappiness and resentment. I wish you and your husband full healing and a quick and joyous emotional turnaround. I have been perpetually unhappy before....and it's not healthy. I hope it all changes for you very soon.

Honestly, you staying home might be best for everyone else on the cruise, including the staff. Sounds like you were going in looking for nothing but negatives and weren't going to be swayed. Unfortunately, sounds like your husband is still going with the purpose of making a point to the people that don't deserve it. I hope he gets on and its the best trip he ever had, and he wonders why the two of you have been so negative for months before even boarding. You not going is just silly and a waste of money. You sound hard to please, you'd rather just throw away your money rather than even give the cruise a chance to impress you.

First of all, I love when people ask about tipping. Cruising can be confusing, and we have this great forum to ask questions and get lots of different opinions. Now on tipping amounts: How much you tip depends on what type of room, how many people in the room and how your finances are. I consider my tips big but if I ever hit the lottery my tips will be very big. My tipping procedure: I got in a habit of tipping at the beginning of the cruise and apologize for the mess my son was going to leave when I was not there. I know my son would come in a hurry to change for the pool or from the pool and leave a mess the cabin steward would have to deal with before I came to the room. Now that my son is grown, and I cruise solo I still tip extra at the beginning of the cruise. At the end of the cruise, I tip my cabin steward and dining room staff based on the service I get. My last cruise my cabin was only cleaned in the evening, but my cabin steward made sure I had plenty of towels and bathroom supplies. Occasionally he would pop in during the late morning and grab our dishes from our late-night snacks. I appreciated it and made sure he was compensated.

We are Loyal to Royal. Here is why: back in 06 or 07 we had a cruise planned. We always plan a year in advance, this time we had our daughter's friend with us as well. We live in Kansas and usually have to take 2 flights to get to Florida. Well, we get to the airport well in advance of our time and our first flight to St. Louis was canceled. They put us on a Greyhound bus for Dallas and it broke down 10 times on the interstate. Needless to say, we missed our flight and the sail away of our ship. GRRRR. RCL got us to Miami, put us up in a hotel, flew us to Jamaica, and got us to the ship. When we finally boarded 2 days late, we get a bottle of champagne and a note apologizing and AND we all got 1/2 of our cruise refunded. 2 adults and 2 teens. It wasn't even RCL's fault!!! We will be forever Loyal to Royal.

Me and Super Mario! He has a roped off office on the pool deck

I still can’t believe they’re going to put a brand new O class ship on shorties. It’s either a stroke of genius or a BIG mistake.

Definitely loyal. My first cruise was Freedom in 2015 (I was a young 53 then) and we've been on 7 since (#8 is Mariner this Friday!). Nothing brings me more joy than that first step on board. I breathe the biggest, most refreshing breath at that time. Our next cruise, which is yet to be planned/booked will make us Diamond (big whup) but it's a nice little milestone. I've heard so many things that Royal does for folks who have been displaced/inconvenienced (see OP) that I feel like I belong to a huge corporation family. Remember when the lines all started up after covid? Soooo many people who got infected were taken care of by RC - to the costly expense of providing them a free ride home. Who does that in business? Yeah, I've "considered" NCL (I met an employee here while we were having beers and she told me she would give me the friends and family discount, which I assume is nice) but that line just doesn't do it for me. I've met the most wonderful people through this blog, and going on an insiders group cruise was a freaking blast! - I don't want to switch. I'm now 61 (wayyyyy much younger than Mike^) and not sure how many cruises I have left, but you can rest assured they'll be on Royal.

Definitely not loyal. On multiple occasions Royal has provided an over the top experience and on multiple occasions Royal has stated loud and clear they feel no need for any loyalty in our business relationship. From those multiple occasions where they threw me under the keel it was absolutely clear we have nothing more than a business relationship. I sail multiple lines and during the restart I made a point of spreading my money across five different cruise lines. Two of those were Royal and Celebrity but the other three were not in the RCG family. Royal is the line I like the best, right now, but I will continue to test the waters elsewhere to validate I still feel that way and Royal will continue to throw me under the keel when it suits them. I do most of my cruising with Royal but I'll eagerly cruise with other companies when something catches my eye just as Royal will drop me like a wet paper bag full of groceries if they can make a dollar more with a cancellation. I feel like we both have a very clear understanding of our business relationship and it is not exclusive in either direction. I think we are both okay with that.

I think it's the latter for a lot of people. I prefer RC because it's the best fit for us at this point. And achieving a C&A tier that actually is beneficial really doesn't give me any reason to look around. But I'm more than capable of seeing the weaknesses RC has while enjoying the strengths.

My Day 1 changes: 1. Enforce the chair hog rules. 2. Change the recommended tips to a mandatory service charge. 3. Replace Cats with anything else. 4. No smoking in the casino. 5. Add about 25 tap beers to the Pub selection.

I would bring back the tried and true old dinner menu…immediately!

I never do well in these exercises because to be king for a day requires that I think like a king for that day. That means I must stop thinking about my personal needs or desires and I must think about what is best for the kingdom. Rarely are the two the same.

That’s a yikes from me FWIW if your mindset is poor it can be hard to enjoy even the best events, so I kind of get it. Personally, even though it’s a sunk cost I’d still board and get my moneys worth from free (and prepared for me) food and other amenities, even if the perceived value for my money has diminished for the cruise overall. Like probably the only reason I wouldn’t board is if I knew I was going to be locked in my room the entire time.

This is likely the best outcome since you are determined it will be a terrible experience. With that outcome already decided in your mind that would most likely have been the experience you would have created for yourself on board. I hope you have a safe and uneventful journey home.

FYI, it has all but been confirmed that Utopia will be doing the 3 and 4-night Bahamas/CocoCay sailings out of PC.

We are definitely loyal to Royal. We are comfortable with how it all works, and even how it all doesn't work sometimes. We keep coming back. As a D+ with no chance of making Pinnacle, I do let my thoughts stray to maybe other cruise lines, but then I come back to my senses. Familiarity is comfortable. Plus, we've loved every cruise with Royal.

Me too! Did not know that there were other 8th Grade teachers around here. I adore that age group. I agree with what others have said, there is lots to be learned outside of the classroom as well. When my kids were not in high school, and I was on my off years, we used to pull them out the week or two before Christmas to cruise. There are usually not too many kids around that time. I would think that September and early January would be good for less kids as well. Since my kids have entered high school, we are back to the high cost, full of kids cruises. When I retire in 6-7 years, Hubby and I will steer clear of all summer and school break cruises. I cannot wait.

Very simple. Create a contest in which Royal Caribbean give one lucky person a lifetime cruising pass. Enter the contest. Rig things so that I win the contest. Resign in shame. Keep the pass.

1. If I were in charge for one day I would just increase the cost of the cruise and go back to having tipping as an option. Two nights before the end of your cruise tip envelopes are in your room to with what you want. Americans are used to tipping but many countries aren't. 2. On all menus, including Windjammer, I would put the tiny symbol next to a food item if it is vegan, dairy free or gluten free. Currently it only lists vegan and since I'm in charge for one day I get to do what I want 3. Enforce rules such as no ball caps in the dining room. They have rules but RC is afraid of making the customer upset so about anything goes in the Main Dining Room and elsewhere. 4. Have healthier food available after 10 p.m. A pizza or sandwich just doesn't do it for some people if they want a light snack before bed. RC will end up with more dishes in the rooms as people have to stash a snack to eat after the evening show. 5. Have a note on the door when first time cruisers board to welcome them to attend an informational "Welcome to Royal Caribbean" on the first day. We have cruised 4 times so far this year and many new cruisers are lost not knowing about the app, not knowing they can ask for a paper Cruise Compass, how to see a show if it's sold out. We have spent hours helping new cruisers and RC should welcome them aboard and help the entire group instead they feel left out and confused.

Then there's this. In the ticket contract is language to the effect that at their sole discretion, RCCL can change terms/conditions of the contract and sailing at any time without notice. Just like Carnival, Celebrity, HAL, Virgin, Disney, MSC, Princess............ I never set foot on a cruise ship til 2022, but I certainly know these times aren't like 2019. Carnival collateralized 17 ships across its brands to borrow money to stay in operation. RCCL took on considerable debt in the form of high yield corporate bonds (AKA Junk Bonds) with short maturities paying 12% yields to bondholders "to keep the lights on". NCL, similar debt assumption. All made staffing reductions, including crews cuts to minimum levels to tend to laid up ships. Commodities costs are still all over the map, most still trending higher. When a cruise line goes grocery shopping, it ain't with a cart in the nearest Wally World. Its measured in semi-loads per ship and barge loads of fuel. These companies feel the same pain each of us do, only in greater magnitude. Amazing the Southern District Bankruptcy Court in Miami isn't wall to wall with cruise line attorneys filing Chapter 11 (or worse) petitions yet. But OP, do what you gotta do................

That strategy is short sighted and punishes the wrong people. If you feel that strongly about the direction of the line, that’s fine. You shouldn’t cruise until you see a change back in the direction you like. I used to go to Disney World all the time but their guest policy changes ruined the product for me, so I stopped going. The hard working crew members deserve better from you if you continue to sail.

For all of y'all who are booked, I truly hope you have the cruise of your life!! As for me, I'll gladly take the ship who was there before her, who just started school and is already the prom queen. Icon will be phenomenal, for sure, but I'm just a little over it and looking forward to Utopia, provided she comes to the east coast.

Whaaaat ? Us, too ! We’re sailing with a dear, OLD friend - one of the Jim twins, if you read any of my old blogs, you will know… Would love to meet you. We’ll have to make arrangements.

As a family we continue to return to the brand for the Oasis Class ships which in my opinion are the best. The C&A program (especially at the diamond level and higher) can’t be beat. Deck 17 Suites on the Oasis class is something we look forward to. I’ve sailed all the mid tier brands and they each have strong points but nothing comes close to RC in terms of its fleet and the variety of things to do!

I also teach 8th grade and 7th grade ( can teach 5-12 -love HS)

I don't know if I am loyal or Royal Caribbean is the best fit for me at this point in my life. We cruised lots of time on Disney back in the early 2000. We loved the ships and the way they take care of you. Then the prices climbed, and we could go on 3 other cruises for the price of one Disney cruise. We did a couple of Carnival Cruises and stopped because of too many drunk, loud people on the ships. We did some Princess cruises and loved them because of the locations we cruised to and the good food. I stopped cruising Princess because the last two cruises made me feel like I was on a ship with a bunch of old people (and I am 62). We did a NCL cruise in 2010 and my son hated it. They put the 12-year-old kids in a conference room with Legos and expected them to be happy. My review of the ship was "Motel 6 on the Water". I went on a NCL TA Cruise back in 2019 and fell in love with their Solo Cruising. On that cruise new friends talked about how great Celebrity was. I went on a TP Celebrity Cruise and loved it. On that cruise people talked about how they mix RCL Crises and Celebrity Cruises. Before I could go on a RCL cruise Covid happed. When Cruising opened up RCL had the double points program. I went on 6 Royal Cruises and got double points plus double points for Solo Cruising. I found that RCL has a wide range of ships and locations. They have good food (not great) and all the toys a old man can handle. Now that I am Diamond + they give me enough free drinks where I do not have to purchase a drink package saving me lots of money. With all that said, I don't think I am loyal but can find everything I am looking for on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean at a price point I am willing to pay.

This is a great decision, the cruise will be much better without you

Shout out to all the teachers, you have a patience I cannot fathom. But yes I meant lots of parents, the ones I talk to on cruises, say they ofter have the children bring a packet to keep up with school work. I consider that remote learning. I definitely believe that remote learning during the pandemic really messed up a lot of children because school provides structure. But nothing could be said of real world experiences, we learn everyday or we should be striving to.

My wife is also a teacher (8th grade, as well ). We have a bit longer until retirement; but we also talk all the time about how retirement will open up way more cruises for us. Both time of year and length. We’ll be putting that state pension to use, that’s for sure lol.

Bring back Portofinos !!

Pro Tip: Security onboard will not tolerate arguing, raised voice couples. ANY passenger that picks up their stateroom phone and calls security to report their concern from what they thought they heard walking down a hallway or from the room next door....I guarantee you are going to see an intervention--in force. Another Pro Tip: Being in Florida you are in the epicenter of bitterness, anger, frustration, and remorseful feelings. I think you should cut bait on your planned cruise vacation and modify your trip by just hanging out in Florida for the week. You'll meet a lot of sympathetic new friends. In the end I'll think the both of you will call it a win. The cruise will just be another time you were ripped off and taken advantage of.

Very interesting discussion....but unfortunately, I don't have anything useful to add ! I am so very bad at visualization from renderings. It is difficult for me to visualize how this is all going to look and flow. Truly, I have heard nothing regarding menu(s) or how the addition of the Grove is going to affect the suite area, but I believe that the additional options for dining will only help...so long as they have staff to cover all of the areas. I don't know if Royal is saving the "big reveals" for the suite neighborhood until last for a reason or if it is just less important to them than all of the family-oriented options....but very little has been released as far as I can tell. I can't wait until 12-7-24 when we will be Star Class on Icon !! This is the only SC booking I have and it will probably be the last one for a while, but I can't imagine a better way to make sure we get to experience everything...so I'm really looking forward to it. PS. From the renderings, it appears that the Grove area is going to be a lot of unshaded areas. You will not find me there, if that is the case !

Fellow 8th grade teacher here I think what Ampurp may be referring to is the option to go fully virtual, which does still remain some places. But I have noticed a decent number of traditional students miss a week or more at a time during non-holidays for vacations, certainly more so than in the past. Probably not a significant enough rate to make a difference on any particular sailing, but an interesting anecdote.

As a proud 8th grade public school teacher, I agree many parents think remote learning is still alive and well. This is not the case anymore though. We did offer a remote option during the pandemic. Now students need to come after school to make up missed time post vacation. Most just don't do this. I do understand the tug and pull as a parent and teacher about missing time for vacations. I just don't want you good folks to thing remote learning has solved this issue. One final observation on remote learning is that our most needy students fell the farthest behind during the pandemic. Not because of poor instruction but because of the self discipline remote learning requires. We cruise during school vacation but as teachers like children and even teens, so no worries for us. When we retire we would like to try a no kids cruise.

If you really want to construct a glass shower wall, it's probably more cost efficient to go with the glass blocks they sell on Amazon than to offer to cover The Key for me.

This comes from the Royal Caribbean Website: Question: What assistance does Royal Caribbean provide guests with disabilities getting on and off the ship? Answer: We have personnel with wheelchairs who provide assistance with pushing wheelchairs on and off the ship using gangways and boarding bridges. Please note our personnel are not permitted to lift guests. During peak times there may be a wait for assistance. Please see Getting On and Off the Ship for additional information. If you need further assistance, please contact our Access Department at [email protected] or 866-592-7225. This page will help you: Assistance Onboard & Offshore | Accessible Cruises | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Involuntary Denied Boarding or IDB is an airline term. It's defined by the Department of Transportation. The airlines became so bad and treated fliers so poorly the DOT created compensation rules that airlines are required to comply with when they "bump" anyone who has a confirmed ticket on a plane. https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/bumping-oversales If the cruise lines follow the airlines down this swirling toilet we may need the federal government to step in once again.

Too long; Didn't read? If that isn't what you meant, I'll gladly apologize. Normally, I think of you as being incredibly helpful - this, not so much. Why not just scroll on by?

TL;DR

I have tried all the major cruise lines except HAL and DCL. D+ benefits are excellent. We use them all. Often the only items on the bill at the end of the cruise are gratuities and 1/2 of a specialty dinner. Suits us to a tee. Is RC perfect? Nope. Does their outstanding loyalty program plus large fleet (ergo multiple itineraries) cancel out the imperfections? Yup.

Bring back 2X daily room cleaning service; return to free room service; BRING BACK OLD (BETTER) DINING ROOM MENUS - as already stated.

One thing to consider is that Royal doesn't own the cruise port. There are two parties involved with your accessibility requirement getting on and off the ship. The port is responsible to handle accessibility requirements required by law at the port. To get from the car or bus you will arrive on, through security, through check in and through to the point where you are about to board the ship is the responsibility of the port. Once you are about to board the ship, that is where Royal can and will assist guests with accessibility requirements. The part that that uses the gangways and boarding bridges is when and where Royal will bring a wheelchair off the ship to transport passengers that need one onto the ship. Port employees or contractors are not allowed up the gangway or onto the ship just as ship crew are not allowed outside of the terminal to cars and buses. The gangway is the delineation point between the two parties. I'd suggest reaching out to the port to inquire how there accessibility services function for arriving guests. Each port is governed by local and federal laws for accessibility purposes. Once onboard the ship is a different matter. Royal does not offer wheelchairs or pushers for the entirety of the cruise. If you have a requirement for a wheelchair beyond the act of boarding the ship Royal requires that you bring anything you'll need with you or make arrangements through 3rd parties that can rent items for the cruise such as scooters. For example, it's the end of day two and being tired from the day's activities there is a need to have a wheelchair to get to the theater for a show. Royal does not offer that or a pusher for that. The expectation is that you have made arrangements or brought your own to fulfil that need.

They did do this. I am tempted to say a lot more but there's no point. I wish you increased happiness in the future.