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Royal Caribbean Hotel Idea


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I was looking for a hotel closest to the port of miami terminal A, to be closer to the ship when I fly in the day before.

Then it struck me and I had a crazy idea of Royal Caribbean opening a hotel in all major ports for their guest in case they fly in early or have time to kill after disembarkation.

I don't know if it's actually a thing but I just thought it would be a great idea. 

Hotel could be discounted to guest sailing soon or/and provide early check-in for guest and luggage to avoid lines at embarkation.

-Pictures can be taken

-Sea Pass cards issued

-Luggage check in ahead of time

-Discounts for guest sailing soon or in general to RC members

-Peace of mind of being near the ship on embarkation day.

-A place to take advantage of amenities if you're a RC member if you're flight isn't for a couple of hours or days

 

Or maybe is this already in the works?

What are your thoughts or improvements upon this idea?

 

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I don't think RCI has any interest in that. One of the cruise industry's foundation is being able to avoid local labor laws in most countries to capitalize on cheap labor. Having hotels in the departure ports i.e. US, Europe, Australia, goes against that. I don't know if any other major cruise lines that have a hotel line attached other than Disney, which is a class by itself. The Ritz launched a Yacht collection recently. RCI does not even have "preferred" hotel partners that I know of that give passengers any RCI perks while staying there before or after cruising.  However, I could be wrong.

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16 minutes ago, bokx2 said:

I don't think RCI has any interest in that. One of the cruise industry's foundation is being able to avoid local labor laws in most countries to capitalize on cheap labor. Having hotels in the departure ports i.e. US, Europe, Australia, goes against that. I don't know if any other major cruise lines that have a hotel line attached other than Disney, which is a class by itself. The Ritz launched a Yacht collection recently. RCI does not even have "preferred" hotel partners that I know of that give passengers any RCI perks while staying there before or after cruising.  However, I could be wrong.

I guess one can only dream ?

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A very small percentage of a ship guest population would use it.  A lot of people are local and drive.  A lot of people like myself have hotel chains and loyalty programs that we are vested in.  I wouldn't stay in their hotel when I can use points or earn points by staying in my brand of hotel.

They'd still need the terminal to validate documents and check in for the majority of the ship so the additional burden of having check in available in two places would be a distribution challenge and cost more.   It's easier to consolidate that and do it all in one place, once, for all guests.

Keep in mind that ports themselves are not owned by any cruise line.  Like an airport they are owned and managed typically by local governments.  They might lease a terminal at some ports but the use case and zoning doesn't support hotels attached to the terminal.  The logistics of putting a hotel on port property would be immense or else a major hotel chain would have already done it like they have at many airports.   

Cruise ships depart one day of the week typically so a hotel would sit empty for 6 nights of the week.  That's a pretty ugly business model.  

Royal is already streamlining the check in process so a hotel brings no value to the check in process.

Most cruise terminals are nowhere near a cities restaurants, bars, shopping and other attractions.  City leaders probably wouldn't support the idea and staying near a terminal would be a nightmare for guests who would be captive and find it difficult to explore a city, find a bar, visit a local restaurant, go shopping, etc.  

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11 hours ago, TJ! said:

I was looking for a hotel closest to the port of miami terminal A, to be closer to the ship when I fly in the day before.

Then it struck me and I had a crazy idea of Royal Caribbean opening a hotel in all major ports for their guest in case they fly in early or have time to kill after disembarkation.

I don't know if it's actually a thing but I just thought it would be a great idea. 

Hotel could be discounted to guest sailing soon or/and provide early check-in for guest and luggage to avoid lines at embarkation.

-Pictures can be taken

-Sea Pass cards issued

-Luggage check in ahead of time

-Discounts for guest sailing soon or in general to RC members

-Peace of mind of being near the ship on embarkation day.

-A place to take advantage of amenities if you're a RC member if you're flight isn't for a couple of hours or days

 

Or maybe is this already in the works?

What are your thoughts or improvements upon this idea?

 

Despite the other comments, there is an opportunity here for the right business venture....someone could succeed.

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10 hours ago, TJ! said:

RCI does not even have "preferred" hotel partners that I know of that give passengers any RCI perks while staying there before or after cruising.  However, I could be wrong.

Closest thing is Hyatt.

Royal Caribbean tier matches into Mlife rewards:  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/countries/crown-and-anchor/pdf/MGM_Partnership_Benefits_Page.pdf

Mlife rewards tier matches into Hyatt:  https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/other-partnerships.html

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It's a neat idea and I can see the appeal, but I think @twangster is right about the nature of cruise guests.

Moreover, ships move all over the place and there was a gap at PortMiami for a few years prior to Symphony's arrival where RC went all in on Port Everglades.  So building a hotel that cannot move to accommodate ships that can adjust to needs seems like more of an albatross for RC than a benefit.

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I actually experienced something similar. RCCL didn’t own the hotel but it was a pre cruise package through RCCL. The morning of the cruise a team came to the hotel lobby, took our luggage and checked us in. We got our sea pass cards and transportation and walked on the ship. It was years ago and I believe it was in Tampa for a Panama Canal cruise and San Juan!  We loved  it!  

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2 hours ago, Mljstr said:

I actually experienced something similar. RCCL didn’t own the hotel but it was a pre cruise package through RCCL. The morning of the cruise a team came to the hotel lobby, took our luggage and checked us in. We got our sea pass cards and transportation and walked on the ship. It was years ago and I believe it was in Tampa for a Panama Canal cruise and San Juan!  We loved  it!  

That's exactly what I was looking for! I doubt they will have that for our cruise coming up in Jan, 2020. It's good to know they've done something similar to it though.

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6 hours ago, Mljstr said:

I actually experienced something similar. RCCL didn’t own the hotel but it was a pre cruise package through RCCL. The morning of the cruise a team came to the hotel lobby, took our luggage and checked us in. We got our sea pass cards and transportation and walked on the ship. It was years ago and I believe it was in Tampa for a Panama Canal cruise and San Juan!  We loved  it!  

We experienced the same program for a sailing to the Western Caribbean on Enchantment ages ago. I think it was out of Port Canaveral, but it may have been Miami. It was our first ever cruise, and it made everything extremely smooth and relaxed. It was a great 1st impression. 

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Remember the days when you were B2B but on different ships they would transfer you to the other ship if it was the same day or even put you up in a hotel if it was next day sailing...all at no cost to you.

It would be nice to see a solid partnership with a hotel chain and Royal....

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24 minutes ago, Rob&Ana said:

Remember the days when you were B2B but on different ships they would transfer you to the other ship if it was the same day or even put you up in a hotel if it was next day sailing...all at no cost to you.

It would be nice to see a solid partnership with a hotel chain and Royal....

There was a lot more margin in cruising then.  Like airplanes that flew half empty and you could get a whole row to yourself and lie down.

Those days are long gone.

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