columbus_cruiser

Three nights for $164 when it was $105 a few days ago? No thanks. I don't think this is dynamic pricing; it is the new buzzword "greedflation." Love capitalism, so I'm sure some will bite and make shareholders happier.

This a topic of debate among Americans as well.  My take is that the cruise line wants to make the headline price appear as low as possible. They abuse the tipping culture here for that purpose. 
Doesn't seem right,  but I'm not going to stop cruising over it.

I sensed this from the beginning.  I totally agree with you.  Cost-cutting while telling us it will "enhance our onboard experience".  LOL

So it has nothing to do with making it easier on the crew...or anything to do with the lack of new employees. They are eliminating positions. Both onboard and shoreside. At least they're letting current crewmembers complete their existing contracts before letting them go.
So the workload will increase for those who remain employed. I wonder if their pay will increase...doubtful as that would fly in the face of their cost-cutting.
Pretty cynical to try and couch this as an environmentally-friendly action when it's just about profits. In my opinion, they're just gaslighting by claiming they're taking these actions because they want to help save our planet. They're doing this because they want to save expenses and increase their own profits.
Frank DelRio was clear when he indicated that NCL would rather raise prices and fees and sail at lesser capacity with loyal customers...instead of lowering prices and sailing at higher capacity with new and return cruisers. That is NCL's post-shutdown strategy. 
I think that will backfire.... but, who am I?
I am an Ambassador on NCL (Pinnacle equivalent) and decided to sail Royal after the return. Now I'm Pinnacle. I feel I'm in a good position to compare prices, services, ships and...especially...loyalty programs.
It's Royal! Hands down!
Just my humble opinion.

People don't order multiple to "fill up". It's about sampling and it has always been part of the experience.
And to the people who say I don't eat potatoes so I ask they be left off plate to save food. The food is cooked in advance. Enough is made to go around. If you pass it is not put in Tupperware and reserved. It still goes. They can't make more to order on the spot if they run out mid service. And safety limits what can be done with it. Plus at least 4 other basic restaurant kitchen factors that come to mind.

I would happily pay another $100 to $150 per person, per week if the food quality could go back to 10 years ago. And I don't mind paying extra for lobster, but keeping a staple like roast chicken on the menu would be nice. 

I'm 100% sure that's what they do. Lol.

RC's card is probably one of the worst out there for accumulating points.

Day 9 - Disembarkation Day 
I wake up at 6:30 and look outside...did we dock in an oil refinery?  Oh...we docked opposite of how we departed.  It was Captain Per's last sailing before time off and I wonder if he just wanted to pull in and leave it for the next guy?  😆
It was the end of the Odyssey's 100th sailing.  We were bittersweet to leave.  We wanted to be home with the pups that we left with a sitter for 10-days but the idea of vacation was still good in our heads and we weren't completely sick of it.  
We had our last Key benefit to use, departure breakfast...which is regular breakfast with no wait to be seated in a separate part of the MDR.  Take that you line-waiting people. 🤪
So after a little hemming and hawing, we finally get up and make our way to get off the ship.  We hear self-appointed line monitors tell people if they aren't number 34 or lower, they can't get their bags and people have to wait right there!  Karen wasn't pleased when I asked the attendant if Key bags are available and he soundly said "Yes, sir!  Right down here...", I think her brain may have cooked a little.
We grabbed a porter, got our checked bags and made our way out to lot 19...this is it, its over.  Time to load up the car and make our way back 200 miles or so north.  MIL wasn't pleased that the back seat now had large roller bags on it next to her but better than sitting on the roof, aunt Edna! 🤣  Seriously, I don't know why I bought a sedan...I should have just got the Highlander instead of the Avalon.  Once the wife's scooter gets broken down, its tough getting other things in the car.  
So off to Costco in Davie for gas and back on the highway to home.  Trip is over...time to do some laundry and prepare myself for the storm I'm about to walk into at work in the AM.
 
So, final thoughts.
I had a love/hate experience with this ship.  Nice and new, rooms were nice.  Public spaces were nice until they weren't.  The Promenade isn't ideal on deck 4 - I don't like how it bottlenecks outside the Starbucks and Sorrento's and forces you around the side of the pub to get to the theater and the front elevators.  On deck 5, its OK but I wouldn't be a fan if I was dining at Izumi and someone walked by me staring at my food while I'm dining.
The opening at Giovanni's was better planned than the Promenade and handled traffic flow much better.  I didn't sit in the MDR where people could see me while eating so I didn't mind it being open to deck 5.  
Seaplex / Playmakers just seemed out of the way and forgetful.  I only went the one day and it never crossed my mind to go there for drinks again, maybe because the wife needed to find the special elevator?  Don't know...
Solarium was nice - adults only the entire time (there were only 300 kids on this sailing).  The main pool was busy...plenty of seats crammed in, side-by-side but there were seats on 14 and 15 available if you looked.  Smoking area on this ship on 14 was right outside the Solarium...going to the men's room was like walking into an ashtray.
Windjammer was only experienced during breakfast...why is their hash different than the hash in the Solarium? 
Giovanni's - probably the best meal of the cruise - we did a lunch seating on day 4.  Wow!  So good and too much food!
The shows...oh boy, I was not a fan of "The Book"... "hahhahahahhaha"  "oooohhhhh" "ackkkk" for 10 minutes and then who knows what the next two scenes were.  Its like they developed a show with no language for international cruising but at the same time made it very weird and to fit into a specific theater.  We got up and walked out...
The Effectors - this one was OK - very cool display tech incorporated into the show.  But it didn't have a story, just each of the "heroes" showing up, chasing around some flying monkey type characters while singing cover songs...OK I guess.  
Showgirls - this one was the best of the three.  Used much of the visual display tech that the Effectors show used but at least you could understand that it was a show about Showgirls over the years with interaction between the characters.  It wasn't a Broadway type show but was good for 45 minutes of time killing.
People - listen, I know it takes all types to make the world go round but there were some people on this ship that I wondered if they were raised in a barn.  Like the lady eating french fries from the tongs on the buffet, the guy taking candy off the gingerbread display houses outside the MDR, or the lady hacking up a lung in the Windjammer with no regard to cover up or move away from food or other people.  This is just a sample...I mean 97% of the people were good but the standouts really made themselves stand out. 
I don't know that I will rush back to this class of ship.  I think the Oasis class is laid out better (and needs to be for 25% more capacity) and even the Freedom class is laid out better with a more open Promenade space.
I'm sure I missed some stuff so I'll post more comments as I think about stuff and as I gather all the pictures and videos.
 

Unfortunately MDR menu changes are a done deal, regardless of what seems to be a phony rationale.  We have purchased specialty dining packages on all of our recent cruises to get better quality choices.  That said, RCCL needs to wake up to the fact that bar services are where you make the money in ALL restaurants.  When it takes 25 - 30 minutes to get a cocktail while seated in the MDR, guests simply decide to forego their adult beverage.  
Most restauranteurs serving alcohol will tell you that the profit margin on alcohol and specialty beverages is far greater than the profit on food.  
 

A number of years ago there were beverage waiters in the MDR.  They are long gone.  Now the regular servers have to handle food and beverage.  The overall cut in the number of servers, in general, adds to the problem.  The root cause of all of the problems related to slower MDR dining time is the lack of service staff. Cutting the menu and reducing the options diners have is attempting to address the symptom and not the root cause.

Sailed Apex over Thanksgiving week in a Sky Suite.    Room steward was in our room straightening things out every time we left the room.  It was like "old days".   On other cruises in 2022 Celebrity and RCL, twice a day. 

I'm more for charging a higher price, then cutting back on goods and services. Especially on a vacation. Nobody wants more limited menu choices or services on that special week of the year. Everything goes up in price. That's a given. But change the very dynamics of the goods and services people come to expect and you run the risk of changing your customer base as well. For me personally it's been one change after another right after I made non refundable Payments for 2023 & 2024. I now no longer feel I'm going to get what I signed on for. And who knows what changes/cut backs are coming next. I firmly believe you need speak up if you want to be heard. Just in case you read any of this Royal. Hey, you never know. Lol.

The erosion continues....

It is not; it's actually the 2023 Star Trek the Cruise, cruise 😄

It is not; it's actually the 2023 Star Trek the Cruise, cruise 😄

It is not; it's actually the 2023 Star Trek the Cruise, cruise 😄

That's up to the chartering company.  It's presented with a cost for them to accept or decline.  
Many charter companies use drink purchases as income towards the bottom line so they may not be motivated to give away 4/5/6 drinks to D/D+/P CAS members among the other costs associated with CAS.  Sometimes they want to use the DL as a VIP venue, etc.  

After Harmony on Dec. 26th I'm not surprised at all.  They can not enforce their protocols onboard and omicron is too contagious for a lackadaisical approach.  And they can't take care of or keep up with the sick passengers either.

As am I.

This does not surprise me at all. The Holiday sailing capacity issue I feel is directly responsible for this. Everyday on the Odyssey more and more crew were missing. They need this pause to get the crew healthy again, just my humble opinion. Crew is tested weekly we were told with or without symptoms. The numbers climbed while we were on board...and then the contact tracing. 
I hope they extend CWC now too!

It’s not far fetched. I unfortunately agree with you. I’m supposed to be sailing again on 1/10 and it seems less and less likely as the days progress. 

Or having adequate crew to facilitate the voyage with positives, and quarantines. 

It’s not far fetched. I unfortunately agree with you. I’m supposed to be sailing again on 1/10 and it seems less and less likely as the days progress. 

Just get me on the ship Sunday 🤞🏼