USFFrank

Agreed, the extra voucher really wouldn't cost them anything.  We never use all of our vouchers in a day.  I'd like for the vouchers to be for the whole cruise and not expire each day, since you'll have some days where you don't use them all and other days where you may need extra. For a 7N sailing, Diamond would get 28 vouchers to use, which means we would probably stop buying the soda package.  Once we turned Diamond, we went from the Refreshment package to the soda package, so we could still get our "fancy drinks" for the shows and around the pool and not waste a voucher on a soda.  We also like the Powerade and sparkling water options in the Freestyle machines

I think they could put a bandaid on the situation by adding another daily drink voucher for D and D+. Problem solved. 

There’s always the pin as well. I am certain to get flamed for saying this but the pin is obnoxious. I wouldn’t be caught dead with that Pinnacle pin on. I don’t want that kind of attention. 

Well it looks like we know what is eventually to come to all ships on all sailings when it comes to access to what used to be called "diamond lounge". 
This is textbook how Royal Caribbean does things too. Test it out on "one ship, just one sailing" scouts honor and then 2 minutes later it's the law of the land. 
 
https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-adjusts-top-tier-lounge-access-again/113208

I agree with the original poster that cruise prices have gotten very high when compared to just last year.  RCCL's price point is about as high as it can go.  However supply and demand economics is working well for RCCL their cruise fares seem high but their ships are sailing full so why would they want to drop the prices?  I have started comparing cruise fare prices with other lines for the first time in 30 years.  The prices for any of the new ships like Wonder or Icon are almost equal to Viking and in some cases Silver Seas.  I don't want to leave RCCL but they may leave me.
Bill

It's sad that the former CFO who is now the CEO has done what people were saying he would do when he took over. Any yes I know Royal has a debt to pay.
It's funny how the other cruise lines haven't really gone in that direction. They may have raised their prices too, but not like Royal. 
At this rate they might as well merge with Disney and call it "Disney / Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines". 
I say all of this with a heavy heart. If you look at my signature, even though I may not have cruised as much as some of you on this board, the vast majority of my cruises have been with Royal Caribbean. I got married on Freedom of the Seas. 
I'm now in diamond status and have 2 cruises booked with Royal that are significantly more money if I were to book them now than when I booked them this past February.
I was looking at a cruise for early December, 2025 and although there are only a few out there available now, I chose to book the Carnival Mardi Gras. I weighed the pros and cons of booking that vs. Icon of the Seas and I like my decision. Not only is Mardi Gras one of their newest and largest ships, during it's 4 stop itinerary it will be visiting 3 places I have never been to. The biggest decision was in the price. In booking the same type of interior cabin that week (I checked other weeks as well) Icon of the Seas was more than double what I'm paying for on Mardi Gras.

If you like meat so thin that it can't sit on the warming trays for more than 2 minutes before being as dry as shoe leather, then sure get all you want. If you want to guarantee that no one finishes more than one bite of a dish and then chucks the rest, then this is the right move. If you're idea is that people will eat less if you make the food terrible, then this is definitely the way to go.

If you're okay with paying more and getting less again and again and again, then by all means keep defending them. They'll get to something you do care about eventually. And at the rate they are going, it won't take long.

Wow! I've had pork chops in the WJ before and they were cut like what most people would know as standard pork chops. What we had on Oasis tody was less than an eighth of an inch thick. Barely thicker than lunch meat. What a disgrace. The pork schnitzel the previous night was easily twice as thick. And that dish is supposed to be pounded out thin! The race to the bottom continues unabated unfortunately...

I just checked pricing on an 8 day Southern Caribbean on Adventure in a JS that I booked February of this year.  The price has doubled. I know it being a JS changes things a bit, but goodness.  
This is the free market. When the market will bear it, it will be done.
I booked 5 cruises in pretty rapid succession over a few months end of 2022 and first of 2023. The second of them is Mariner in a couple of weeks. The August Mariner cruise was amazing, I saw none of the issues many have reported. The pricing on all of them is/was great to ok.
We started cruising RC later. I had a plan mapped out to reach Diamond (some will think that absurd, I'm a mark for status programs) in 2027 before our 35th anniversary trip. I think RC is getting ready to kneecap that so its no longer a deal. 
They are pricing me out though. I have enough airline miles socked away that the wife and I can fly pretty much anywhere. I have hotel points for rooms. We love cruising but at some point will sit it out a while and see what happens with pricing.

The high cost of cruising has now caught the attention of the news media.  According to several new outlets including NBC News cruise prices have soared and are now 43% higher than where they were in 2019.
Interestingly enough it isn't Royal Caribbean that leading the way or in the drivers seats it is Carnival with Carnivals CEO saying just a few days ago on CNBC that Carnival with all its brands is well position to push prices even higher industry wide in 2024.  Cruise lines from Carnaval, Royal, NCL, even Virgin are all blaming the price increases on unprecedented demand which shows no signs of waning, the rising cost of labor, food and fuel.  Carnival stated and I quote "the company has been able to deliver a value of 25% to 50% over comparable land-based vacation alternatives". 
According to the Today Show this morning a 5 night Bahamas cruise this December will cost at least $736 dollars per person that is 37% higher than it was just last year in 2022.  That  37% increase is across all cruise lines with NCL telling the Today Show even with these price increases cruising remains the best value for customers vacation dollars.
For cruise lines like Royal, Carnival, NCL, Virgin it is full steam ahead for 2024 and according to the Today Show the cruise lines are saying customers are putting less emphasis on pricing and more emphasis on setting sail to paradise.  According to the cruise lines they all stated don't look for prices to come down any time soon, there are still deals to be had but they are few and far between.  If you want the best price book early because for now demand and according to another article I read some travel agents agree with cruise lines that cruising is indeed a better value than land-based vacation in fact some travel agents are saying taking a cruise is still 50% to even 70% cheaper than a comparable land based vacation. 
For people saying they are thinking about switching to Carnival or another brand that is cheaper than Royal just think about people who cruise with Carnival people who are loyal to cruise lines like Carnival some of them are being priced out completely.  Think about it if you are being priced out of Royal and are considering Carnival or some other brand that appears to be of value there are people at those brands who are truly being priced out of the cruise industry completely and for now there is no end in sight.  
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/09/cruise-prices-rise-as-operators-meet-surging-travel-demand.html
https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/cruise-prices-surge-43-amid-post-pandemic-travel-boom/
 
As someone who works in the airline industry an industry I've been in for 27 years I can tell you we are suppose to be in the "off" season now.  Before the pandemic mid-September through mid-November was typically the "off" season along with the second week of January through the first week of March.  I can tell you this we are not in the off season even though summer is over the children are back in school, the college is back in session airplanes are just as full as they were in July.  In fact we are busier this fall than we were at this same time in 2022.  I can't explain what is going on in the travel industry all I can say is if you are thinking about travel book early, book early, book early.  For those of you looking for last minute deals good luck I truly do hope you can find them.

It's sad that the former CFO who is now the CEO has done what people were saying he would do when he took over. Any yes I know Royal has a debt to pay.
It's funny how the other cruise lines haven't really gone in that direction. They may have raised their prices too, but not like Royal. 
At this rate they might as well merge with Disney and call it "Disney / Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines". 
I say all of this with a heavy heart. If you look at my signature, even though I may not have cruised as much as some of you on this board, the vast majority of my cruises have been with Royal Caribbean. I got married on Freedom of the Seas. 
I'm now in diamond status and have 2 cruises booked with Royal that are significantly more money if I were to book them now than when I booked them this past February.
I was looking at a cruise for early December, 2025 and although there are only a few out there available now, I chose to book the Carnival Mardi Gras. I weighed the pros and cons of booking that vs. Icon of the Seas and I like my decision. Not only is Mardi Gras one of their newest and largest ships, during it's 4 stop itinerary it will be visiting 3 places I have never been to. The biggest decision was in the price. In booking the same type of interior cabin that week (I checked other weeks as well) Icon of the Seas was more than double what I'm paying for on Mardi Gras.

It's sad that the former CFO who is now the CEO has done what people were saying he would do when he took over. Any yes I know Royal has a debt to pay.
It's funny how the other cruise lines haven't really gone in that direction. They may have raised their prices too, but not like Royal. 
At this rate they might as well merge with Disney and call it "Disney / Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines". 
I say all of this with a heavy heart. If you look at my signature, even though I may not have cruised as much as some of you on this board, the vast majority of my cruises have been with Royal Caribbean. I got married on Freedom of the Seas. 
I'm now in diamond status and have 2 cruises booked with Royal that are significantly more money if I were to book them now than when I booked them this past February.
I was looking at a cruise for early December, 2025 and although there are only a few out there available now, I chose to book the Carnival Mardi Gras. I weighed the pros and cons of booking that vs. Icon of the Seas and I like my decision. Not only is Mardi Gras one of their newest and largest ships, during it's 4 stop itinerary it will be visiting 3 places I have never been to. The biggest decision was in the price. In booking the same type of interior cabin that week (I checked other weeks as well) Icon of the Seas was more than double what I'm paying for on Mardi Gras.

It's sad that the former CFO who is now the CEO has done what people were saying he would do when he took over. Any yes I know Royal has a debt to pay.
It's funny how the other cruise lines haven't really gone in that direction. They may have raised their prices too, but not like Royal. 
At this rate they might as well merge with Disney and call it "Disney / Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines". 
I say all of this with a heavy heart. If you look at my signature, even though I may not have cruised as much as some of you on this board, the vast majority of my cruises have been with Royal Caribbean. I got married on Freedom of the Seas. 
I'm now in diamond status and have 2 cruises booked with Royal that are significantly more money if I were to book them now than when I booked them this past February.
I was looking at a cruise for early December, 2025 and although there are only a few out there available now, I chose to book the Carnival Mardi Gras. I weighed the pros and cons of booking that vs. Icon of the Seas and I like my decision. Not only is Mardi Gras one of their newest and largest ships, during it's 4 stop itinerary it will be visiting 3 places I have never been to. The biggest decision was in the price. In booking the same type of interior cabin that week (I checked other weeks as well) Icon of the Seas was more than double what I'm paying for on Mardi Gras.

If this were a Royal Up bid win you may not know which cabin you'll be staying in until embarkation day.  However, in your case you may be able to contact Royal (or your travel agent) to see which cabin they're putting you in.

The other component to this conversation is what constitutes a "good price" or "deal".
I'm certain we all have different definitions and expectations for what that looks like. Or as once was famously said, "I know it when I see it…"

If you’re flexible, some good deals have begun to appear 1-2 months out for the first time in a while. Some in the GGG sale, some randomly.
I’m only going on Allure in 13 days b/c a good price popped up about 3 weeks ago (and we were able to make it fit our schedule, sort of).
A retired friend of mine just got a really good deal on Wonder for early December in last week’s GGG sale (she can pretty much sail whenever she wants).
Don’t get me wrong, prices are absurd in general, just pointing out that some last minute deals have begun to reappear.

Cruising is our families favorite vacation, but the prices are soaring. Used to always be able to find the value cruise for a family of 5 on an older Oasis or Freedom/Voyager. It seems those days are gone. Anyone else feeling the pinch on cruise prices recently? I know demand is up and with that comes higher prices, but I can't even find reasonable Freedom/Voyager sailing anymore. Sadly I think we need to look elsewhere for our family vacations for a while. 😭
Might even have to try dipping my toes in the C word and see how the pricing compares

It's best to either report this to security or just walk away. As much as I'd like to say something to them and/or the parents, I don't want to deal with any repercussions. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

It's best to either report this to security or just walk away. As much as I'd like to say something to them and/or the parents, I don't want to deal with any repercussions. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

It's best to either report this to security or just walk away. As much as I'd like to say something to them and/or the parents, I don't want to deal with any repercussions. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

+1

The apple never rots far from the tree. Unfortunately, some kids just can't be taught because their parents act the same way. It's just the reality we live in these days when things like Twitter (X), TikTok, Vaping etc exist. Best we can do is just report it and let security deal with it. 

I too agree that security should have been alerted.
Unfortunately, behavior has changed in what it acceptable. I mentioned that children do not bother me at all but the behavior of them and their parents do. So, I avoid saying anything to parents in this sense, but I have no issue with telling security. I try to avoid telling the average crew member because I don't want them to have anything taken out on them by entitled folks. 
But aside I take huge issue with people (children and adults) who insult others when they are just doing their job. I hope karma/universe gets their butt. 

I agree with @USFFrank.  Let security handle it.