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What is the most frustrating thing about Royal Caribbean cruises?


Matt

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I love Royal vacations when there, but I would say the booking process.  When you search on their website, they only show you a select number of available rooms.  I'd like to be able to see all rooms from which I can select.  Another pet peeve is if I want to book a 5+ non-suite room ....meaning one with a Pullman and a sofa bed so our kids don't have to share a bed, the site sometimes hides these. A little while ago, I assumed that all Oasis balcony rooms like this were sold out so we selected a Central Park one with this configuration, but this wasn't my first choice.  Then they released the next set of cruises and I saw the same thing...and so realized that they were just hiding them.  I used to use the UK Royal site for this issue as a workaround but they have since changed the UK site to be the same as the US site. 

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FCCs applied to cruise fare. This is the breakdown from my booking confirmation for 7nt,  Crown Loft Suite, pax 3, on Oasis Dec 26th, 2021:

Cruise Fare: $1721

Grats: $367.50

Taxes, Fees, and Port Expenses: $412.14

Total Charge: 2500.84

 

There is no transparency in this whatsoever. Crown Loft Suites don't go for $833/pax for a 7nt holiday cruise. 

 

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Have to agree - IT and all around it such as : 

1. The app - not clear when its possible to do check in if at all , the information is missing most of the time such as personal information and public information (ship details)  
2. Web site - The program rules not clear , its not clear for baggers that you need to book things like photo packages and internet only for one person.
3. Have anyone tried to add his free diamond free internet to already exiting internet package on ship ? good luck doing it yourself.

Ship : 

1. The muster drill , specially for ships its being done outside,
2. Customer services lines.
3. chair hogs and ignoring them by the crew.
4. Spa sells campaigns  during treatments 

Customer service - different answer from different representative.

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I agree with the sentiment regarding inconsistency in some areas. The thing that puzzles me are the times I do mock bookings and it is cheaper to pick my own room than a guarantee. I wonder if those issues are IT related or some sort of marketing strategy I don't understand. I also wonder if their financial analysts are trying to get so dialed in with maximizing revenue during booking and on board, they do it at the expense of those who are less forgiving of the inconsistency.

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On 4/23/2021 at 1:40 PM, melmar02 said:

Line cutters...in the WJ, at a bar, waiting for doors to open at a show, at the ice cream machine, getting on /off the elevators. I know it's not RC specific, but it seems quite a few people lose their manners on vacation. 

 

5 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

On the topic of inconsistent rules enforcement, we have found it frustrating when noisy kids are in the Solarium (e.g, not supervised properly by parents).  But I'd say I am not bent out of shape about this as most ships still have a quiet space somewhere.

This x 2! People, especially some parents. One cruise parents put their kids in the hot tub, which turned into a mini swimming pool for them... While they stood around said hot tub sipping drinks. The kids were taking the access covers off and basically 'owned' that tub for a significant amount of time.

Personally didn't want to use the tub so it didn't bother me but found the whole situation disrespectful.

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On 4/23/2021 at 1:01 PM, twangster said:

Okay number 2.

Having to re-enter my details over and over again when searching for a cruise.  CAS #, age, state of residence, etc.

I should be able to enter that once per session or login and it already knows my state, my age, my CAS#, etc.  

YES! If I'm logged in, why do I need to enter certain info to qualify for discounts? They need to work on streamlining some of their "disconnected" systems instead of fiddling with the design.

I'll take an ugly site that's functional over eye candy.

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20 hours ago, wordell1 said:

I find it frustrating that cruises on Celebrity do not count towards your Crown and Anchor points.

There are quite a few things I find frustrating with Royal Caribbean the lack of consistency fleet wide is I big problem.  If I book a Sky Class suite on on Oasis or Quantum Class ship I get one experience but if I book a Grand suite of higher on a Voyager or Freedom Class ship I get a completely different experience.

 

Then you just nailed it for me in 2019 I sent Royal Caribbean an email because I was looking for cruise out of South America either Argentina or Brazil Royal doesn't cruise out of either of those countries but Celebrity offered several cruises that caught my attention. My email basically asked why I couldn't earn C&A points on a Celebrity Cruise since Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity cruises. My thinking from being in the airline industry was if I'm a member of (lets use United as an example) MileagePlus there are 22 other airlines United partners with that I can fly on and still accrue MileagePlus miles without having to ever set foot on a United aircraft.  They politely responded that will never happen, although Royal owns Celebrity we really want you to cruise with Royal, if you decide to cruise with Celebrity we will do you the favor of honoring your C&A status while on Celebrity but nothing more. Their response was almost dismissive which to a point I can understand but I'm still frustrated about it because Celebrity has some really great itineraries.

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36 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

There are quite a few things I find frustrating with Royal Caribbean the lack of consistency fleet wide is I big problem.  If I book a Sky Class suite on on Oasis or Quantum Class ship I get one experience but if I book a Grand suite of higher on a Voyager or Freedom Class ship I get a completely different experience.

 

Then you just nailed it for me in 2019 I sent Royal Caribbean an email because I was looking for cruise out of South America either Argentina or Brazil Royal doesn't cruise out of either of those countries but Celebrity offered several cruises that caught my attention. My email basically asked why I couldn't earn C&A points on a Celebrity Cruise since Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity cruises. My thinking from being in the airline industry was if I'm a member of (lets use United as an example) MileagePlus there are 22 other airlines United partners with that I can fly on and still accrue MileagePlus miles without having to ever set foot on a United aircraft.  They politely responded that will never happen, although Royal owns Celebrity we really want you to cruise with Royal, if you decide to cruise with Celebrity we will do you the favor of honoring your C&A status while on Celebrity but nothing more. Their response was almost dismissive which to a point I can understand but I'm still frustrated about it because Celebrity has some really great itineraries.

Yes, I have the equivalent of 28 points on Celebrity and 22 points on RC - So I'm the lowest tier on both.  Luckily the double points deal will move me to Diamond over the next year on RC.  Then I can use the reciprocity to be at the same level on Celebrity.

My wife and I like Celebrity for just the 2 of us, but when we bring our 15 year old, we prefer RC. It seems like a lot of people would fall into that demographic.

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47 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

Yes, I have the equivalent of 28 points on Celebrity and 22 points on RC - So I'm the lowest tier on both.  Luckily the double points deal will move me to Diamond over the next year on RC.  Then I can use the reciprocity to be at the same level on Celebrity.

My wife and I like Celebrity for just the 2 of us, but when we bring our 15 year old, we prefer RC. It seems like a lot of people would fall into that demographic.

 

1 hour ago, JasonOasis said:

There are quite a few things I find frustrating with Royal Caribbean the lack of consistency fleet wide is I big problem.  If I book a Sky Class suite on on Oasis or Quantum Class ship I get one experience but if I book a Grand suite of higher on a Voyager or Freedom Class ship I get a completely different experience.

 

Then you just nailed it for me in 2019 I sent Royal Caribbean an email because I was looking for cruise out of South America either Argentina or Brazil Royal doesn't cruise out of either of those countries but Celebrity offered several cruises that caught my attention. My email basically asked why I couldn't earn C&A points on a Celebrity Cruise since Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity cruises. My thinking from being in the airline industry was if I'm a member of (lets use United as an example) MileagePlus there are 22 other airlines United partners with that I can fly on and still accrue MileagePlus miles without having to ever set foot on a United aircraft.  They politely responded that will never happen, although Royal owns Celebrity we really want you to cruise with Royal, if you decide to cruise with Celebrity we will do you the favor of honoring your C&A status while on Celebrity but nothing more. Their response was almost dismissive which to a point I can understand but I'm still frustrated about it because Celebrity has some really great itineraries.

FWIW - RCG is the only cruise family that provides reciprocal status of any sort.  The product and price/point structure is so different I'm grateful for what we do get between them. 

The Carnival family does zip between brands within the family.  

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25 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

FWIW - RCG is the only cruise family that provides reciprocal status of any sort.  The product and price/point structure is so different I'm grateful for what we do get between them. 

The Carnival family does zip between brands within the family.  

LOL... That's just because they want to keep the Carnival riff raff off of HAL and Princess

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Frustrated that the Royal's booking systems don't allow USA agents to see International bookings, in my case done in Australia and visa versa.

If we book via the US and daughter books via International, you can't link a family booking for dining, shore excursions, entertainment, etc. You can't call locally if there is an issue. 

Also you can only book Club Royale offers via the US and not through International 

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On 4/23/2021 at 12:06 PM, Craig 01020 said:

Booking a cruise on Royal Caribbean's website is clunky...at best.

  • Instead of just showing all available cabins and clicking on them to see a price, you need to click a category, then a section and then you see available cabins!
  • When I sign into my account, I shouldn't be required to re-enter my name, address, etc. That should be pre-populated!
  • Please add a courtesy hold option while booking. (Norwegian has this and I've used it several times.)
  • If I need to cancel a booking, let me do it online instead of calling. (Celebrity does!)

Bottom line, Norwegian's and Carnival's websites are much more user-friendly than Royal Caribbean's.

I would agree with this. New(ish) to cruising, only used RCI to date, great experiences. Due to timing, itinerary, and maybe wanting to see what's out there, we booked a cruise on Princess. The website experience there is muuucchh better. We can plan all our activities, extras (food, drink, others), and excursions from one step-by-step page after booking. The room details, invoicing, and payments page is clear and available.

Princess had to change ships - new one not finished yet, due to "things" in the last year or so. They rebooked us just fine, but our cruisin' buddies were relocated pretty far away. Telephone service was great, rebooked everything in one call. Note: RCI telephone service has always been great when we have had to use it. I would call that about even.

Still love RCI, especially as they are big in our home port of Port Canaveral. Princess is Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale), which is further away.

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I will echo the comments about the Chair Hogs. And it is worse in the Solarium!

The website is terrible. Frankly that's what drove me to my TA. I can tell her where I want to go and she does all the frustrating, boring work. I have tried to book a B2b on RCL's site. Almost impossible to find out to where a ship is sailing on the next sailing. Finding out how much you owe after booking seems to be impossible.

I am so angry about FCCs that I have given up on them and routinely get a refund. Another good idea terribly executed. 

Finally, since our first cruise on RCL in 2000, it seems like the experience has deteriorated. At this point my wife prefers Celebrity because of the treatment on board. We still have some RCL cruises booked but only if the itinerary is unique enough to justify the additional ill treatment. 

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The most frustrating thing to me is trying to book Handicapped cabins.  There never seem to be enough of them. If I cruise with the entire family we have to have a handicapped room, and to get any chance of a cabin I have to book at least a year or 18 months in advance. I am grateful that they actually allow you to book the handicapped cabins on their website, as with NCL you have to call in to do so.

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29 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:

Almost every trip, I am frustrated near the end by the “ghost” charges for missing pool  towels.

Have never experienced this. Maybe it's because over the course of a trip I turn in more towels than I check out.

(More than once, I've removed a chair hog towel that's been verifiably unused for several hours and turned it in using my SeaPass).

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One of my “sore” spots is the battles that seem to occur regarding onboard credits. With all the COVID cancellations, rebookings, lift & shifts, and using FCC’s it seems those coveted OBC have a tendency to disappear.  Depending on who you talk to, you can get any number of reasons for this happening. My travel agent, Michelle at MEI has been great in helping with the disasters of 2020 bookings including assisting me in retaining these benefits. 

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Im going with the DBP and all adults in a cabin having to purchase. My wife simply cannot drink enough beverages in a day to make it worth it. If I want it, there is the option for her to get the lower package, but she doesnt drink soda....drinks one coffee per day.....and that package isnt worth it either. 

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8 minutes ago, Craig 01020 said:

It's a review of cruiseline websites only. Leaving Royal Caribbean (& Celebrity) off the list is not a shocker.

I'm just nitpicking the premise of the article, which discusses the scenario when the only thing people have decided about their cruise is that they want to go on a cruse.

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7 hours ago, SteveinSC said:

Im going with the DBP and all adults in a cabin having to purchase. My wife simply cannot drink enough beverages in a day to make it worth it. If I want it, there is the option for her to get the lower package, but she doesnt drink soda....drinks one coffee per day.....and that package isnt worth it either. 

I agree with you on this one both my husband and like to indulge when on vacation and we take full advantage of the deluxe drink package.  However my sister doesn't drink a lot but her husband is an indulges himself when on vacation.  He can no longer purchase the DBP in advance but instead he has to buy it onboard at full price which was around $76 dollars per day in 2019. 

I completely understand why RC implemented this policy because people were taking advantage but there has to be a better way than making customers  choose between buying an unnecessary DBP in advance or paying full price on board.

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My biggest bug bear is the pricing difference between countries, take the recently announced Rhapsody sailings from Barbados, 7 night suite prices in Feb are from £1657 on the UK site, on the US sites they are from $1548, that's about £1120, we're being ripped off here in the UK

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Not being able to figure out the true cost without a bunch of figuring. All the hidden fees and discounts being factored into the cost. A $500 cruise is not a $500 cruise, you have taxes, port fees, tips, excursions, casino, wifi, all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I wish for all-inclusive pricing like they have on river cruises. Those are more expensive, but at least I know the cost up front. Don't flame me for disloyalty. ?

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31 minutes ago, Cakemeister said:

Not being able to figure out the true cost without a bunch of figuring. All the hidden fees and discounts being factored into the cost. A $500 cruise is not a $500 cruise, you have taxes, port fees, tips, excursions, casino, wifi, all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I wish for all-inclusive pricing like they have on river cruises. Those are more expensive, but at least I know the cost up front. Don't flame me for disloyalty. ?

I don't think there are any hidden fees.  Taxes/port fees are factored into your cruise invoice.  Daily gratuity is published. Anything else is optional

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47 minutes ago, Cakemeister said:

Not being able to figure out the true cost without a bunch of figuring. All the hidden fees and discounts being factored into the cost. A $500 cruise is not a $500 cruise, you have taxes, port fees, tips, excursions, casino, wifi, all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I wish for all-inclusive pricing like they have on river cruises. Those are more expensive, but at least I know the cost up front. Don't flame me for disloyalty. ?

Include the casino.  Interesting idea.

I think the problem is some people don't want certain things.  Wifi is a good example.  A lot of cruisers don't want to be connected on a cruise vacation.  If they bundle it into the price everyone pays more including folks who don't want it.  

Celebrity went "All In" and in the process lost me a potential guest.  Pay more for stuff I'm not going to use?  No thanks.

Sometimes I cruise and I don't spend a dime more than the price of the cruise and gratuity.   If Royal went "All In" they'd lose me too.  

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Ideally we'd prefer to buy an all inclusive vacation.  Very few venues offer that anymore except the high end cruise lines and resorts.  Today - cruising it is what it is for the mass market ... (Besides its all on hold, so I'll wait until we start sailing again to get worked up about it.  I don't want to use all my future complaints now.)

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