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What is the most frustrating thing about Royal Caribbean cruises?


Matt

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

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.  

Some people LOVE wifi on a cruise. I feel it's one of the last areas in the world that I can really disconnect. So I would hate all-inclusive pricing. As for the drink package, I don't drink enough to justify the cost. An all inclusive sailing (Celebrity) would make me lose interest as well.

Something I think could do well is an all-inclusive RATE, that is not a requirement to be on the sailing. The rate has everything already included, but those of us uninterested could skip it. Overall, I doubt Royal will move to an exclusively all-inclusive pricing model, as the "budget" option of RCI's brands. It would raise prices significantly higher and not allow advertising low prices to get people on the ship. 

Are people really put off by the difficulty of booking wifi/drinks in the cruise planner after booking?

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

 

  • 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!

This! "Well how much would that suite be?" "Maybe I'll take this with an inside stateroom".

For instance, we love the balcony rooms on decks 11/12 forward on Voyager class (similar setups on Freedom class too) I don't care what category it is, I just want to know how much one of those rooms, in that location will cost.

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54 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

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.)

But doesn't it work out to be all inclusive? Especially since many of us use MEI and cruise planner. With a TA getting us the best deal, using the cruise planner to get a drinks, dining, excursions and possible WiFi package...it because all inclusive. Usually you find that paying that one fee works out be the same or more, as what one might spend to combine everything.

Personally, I don't like all-inclusive vacations. I feel like I have to work hard on the vacation trying to make it worth the cost. I would rather pay for what I actually want.

Which circles us back to a major frustration....not allowing individual choices. I shouldn't need the DBP if all I drink are smoothies.

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41 minutes ago, APM said:

That people fail to remember we are all sharing this vacation.  Respect common courtesies.  Don't get on a crowded elevator with your phone or bluetooth speaker blaring loud music. 

Speaking of elevators, let people get off before people get on.  It works alot better that way.

I used to think this was one of those universal "common sense" things up until we took our 2019 cruise on Symphony. It seems that some folks are blind as a bat when it comes to basic elevator ethics. ?

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On 4/27/2021 at 9:33 AM, alamode123 said:

My biggest frustration is finding which ships have solo cabins available on the web site. 
 

Not Royal's website, but...

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/11/03/guide-royal-caribbeans-single-and-studio-staterooms

Summary:

Vision Class - none

Radiance Class - Studio Interior on each ship

Voyager Class - only Adventure and Mariner have Studio Interior 

Freedom Class - none

Oasis Class - Only Harmony has Studio Interior and Studio Ocean view, no other ships in this class have studio cabins

Quantum Class - All ships in class have Studio Ocean View Balcony, only Odyssey does not have Studio Interior

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Not Royal's website, but...

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/11/03/guide-royal-caribbeans-single-and-studio-staterooms

Summary:

Vision Class - none

Radiance Class - Studio Interior on each ship

Voyager Class - only Adventure and Mariner have Studio Interior 

Freedom Class - none

Oasis Class - Only Harmony has Studio Interior and Studio Ocean view, no other ships in this class have studio cabins

Quantum Class - All ships in class have Studio Ocean View Balcony, only Odyssey does not have Studio Interior

twangster, Royal Caribbean should employ you, feels like you know more about them than they do!!

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On 4/24/2021 at 8:06 AM, 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.

Totally agree...that is one of our biggest complaints.  The Solarium is labeled as Adult (above 16) only, but rude parents still let their kids run wild in there.  RCL needs to do something about that.

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39 minutes ago, alamode123 said:

I use that, but I meant STILL available. It would be a nice feature that if you put 1 guest in a search engine that all the cruises with solo cabins available show up.

I feel the same about certain suites.  If I'm looking just for a Star Class suite for example.

I'd love to be able to filter on specific cabin category and see the price range over several months, lowest to highest.

As far as solo cabins, Royal doesn't really embrace them.  Too often they are not so much cheaper that it makes sense to book them.  Once in a while maybe, but look at Harmony for example.  A 2W studio interior is often a few bucks more than a regular interior.  A studio ocean view is often a few bucks more than a regular ocean view.  Why would anyone book a studio when for less money you get double points in a bigger cabin?

Sometimes on Mariner or Radiance class I see a 2W several hundred cheaper than the next cheapest regular version.  This July on Brilliance for example.  A rare example of a studio being a decent amount cheaper than regular cabin.

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12 minutes ago, twangster said:

  Too often they are not so much cheaper that it makes sense to book them.

What is the average price difference for booking a solo cabin? Is it the regular pp cost and then +50%? Just curious.

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9 minutes ago, FManke said:

What is the average price difference for booking a solo cabin? Is it the regular pp cost and then +50%? Just curious.

There is no standard.  It's not a fixed price difference compared to a regular cabin.

Often the difference between NRD and refundable is pretty extreme on studio cabins too.  

Here is a "hidden" studio interior on Brilliance and Mariner I often see.  You can't see it but after selecting one guest in this case the "guarantee" cabin is actually an studio interior (guarantee are often blocked for solo).  You can call to book it direct and they will see it as a studio interior or find the same cruise on a 3rd party website and you'll see it is actually a studio interior.

The "You Pick Your Room" rate is a regular interior cabin with the 200% single supplement.

827038062_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_33_24AM.thumb.jpg.74b5c96364d297ab553e92b9b95eccff.jpg

3rd party website for same cruise, one guest:

1964272323_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_40_25AM.jpg.1592e0178b7797585a2c3d5156a15a5c.jpg

331789698_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_51_18AM.jpg.ad632949149043f7b99be57c4951f393.jpg

On Harmony I often see the studio version is more money compared to paying the 200% single supplement.

1129195978_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_35_47AM.thumb.jpg.4679b5ffc262815f28dd72bfebe3a77c.jpg

Why on earth would anyone book the studio cabin?

The voodoo magic of solo deepens because Royal does offer reduced single supplements on many cruises but only for a few cabins.  Once a few guests book them, they disappear and all that's left is 200% regular cabins for solo.

The best way to scoop up a reduced single fare (125% or 150% instead of 200%) is to book very early or get lucky.  They are out there but it's hard to be the early bird with so many other birds looking for that solo worm.  

July and August don't usually see reduced single supplements so the rare Brilliance opportunity like above are few and far between.  On this short notice for July the only reason we see them this year is because bookings are off due to the pandemic.  Normally these cabins are long gone.

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9 minutes ago, twangster said:

There is no standard.  It's not a fixed price difference compared to a regular cabin.

Often the difference between NRD and refundable is pretty extreme on studio cabins too.  

Here is a "hidden" studio interior on Brilliance and Mariner I often see.  You can't see it but after selecting one guest in this case the "guarantee" cabin is actually an studio interior (guarantee are often blocked for solo).  You can call to book it direct and they will see it as a studio interior or find the same cruise on a 3rd party website and you'll see it is actually a studio interior.

The "You Pick Your Room" rate is a regular interior cabin with the 200% single supplement.

827038062_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_33_24AM.thumb.jpg.74b5c96364d297ab553e92b9b95eccff.jpg

3rd party website for same cruise, one guest:

1964272323_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_40_25AM.jpg.1592e0178b7797585a2c3d5156a15a5c.jpg

331789698_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_51_18AM.jpg.ad632949149043f7b99be57c4951f393.jpg

On Harmony I often see the studio version is more money compared to paying the 200% single supplement.

1129195978_ScreenShot2021-05-03at10_35_47AM.thumb.jpg.4679b5ffc262815f28dd72bfebe3a77c.jpg

Why on earth would anyone book the studio cabin?

The voodoo magic of solo deepens because Royal does offer reduced single supplements on many cruises but only for a few cabins.  Once a few guests book them, they disappear and all that's left is 200% regular cabins for solo.

The best way to scoop up a reduced single fare (125% or 150% instead of 200%) is to book very early or get lucky.  They are out there but it's hard to be the early bird with so many other birds looking for that solo worm.  

July and August don't usually see reduced single supplements so the rare Brilliance opportunity like above are few and far between.  On this short notice for July the only reason we see them this year is because bookings are off due to the pandemic.  Normally these cabins are long gone.

And I thought booking a double occupancy cabin was confusing!

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When Empress and Majesty lost Cuba they turned out new itineraries and there was no single supplement.  That was incredible and it was during July and August plus since they were regular cabins double CAS points applied (triple for suites). 

That's why I cruised on these two ships in 2019 as much as I did.  No single supplement is very rare.

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