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REALLY ANNOYED …. Would have cancelled if they told us this YESTERDAY when we had 48 hours to go!


ChrisK2793

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

There’s a very old joke about a prostitute that I won’t repeat here.  But the bottom line is this was a HUGE problem until Royal threw enough money at you?  So how big was the problem really?


They credited us an upgrade us from a JS to an OS …… What did that cost them????  NOTHING ……. I’ve spent at least 140k on Royal since early 2019 so I don’t need their money ……. like I said, it was MAINLY realizing what it would cost me to earn the 20 points I’d be giving up by not going and them offering the free upgrade just sweetened the pot.  And as I said in another post, the BIGGEST problem I had was they pissed me off throwing that at us LESS THAN  24 hours before the cruise!  

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I think this is all a bit overblown. All they are doing is adding a few extra rooms where you have to wear your mask INDOORS. One is in a dark theatre, the other is in a smoky casino.  So avoid the casino and sneak a few deep breaths with your mask down while people are watching the show. 

When your job changes the rules, do you also throw a fit? Probably not if you want to keep your job. This is no different. 

I think Royal has been the most understanding and accommodating organization in regards to their customers needs and wants...giving back money, giving you incentives to stay. I mean come on. 

Change is going to happen!! (it's always Last Minute to someone)

And if there is a medical reason you or your loved one can't wear a mask all the time, then get a medical exception. 

Much ado about nothing. 🙄

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16 hours ago, jeffmw said:

I totally understand why everyone here is upset, but I wish you would just step back and understand why they're doing this. They're fully aware there are people out there like you who would be upset about this. They have plenty of people calling them right now complaining. When they made this decision I'm sure they had a pretty accurate approximation in mind of the revenue they'd lose over the next few weeks by instilling this policy. They know they will lose bookings over this. They've baked that into this decision.

However, their (very) educated decision -- as the people who lead this industry and know more about it than we ever could -- is that this policy will do more to keep cruising (and the public's perception of cruising) safe than the negative effect of people cancelling right now. I understand also that some people here think masks do not work. Unfortunately for those people, RCI listens to their full-time medical staff, who are medically trained doctors whose full-time job is to evaluate the efficacy of masks and other safety measures on cruising. It's a pretty specific job that they dedicate their life to. And those educated individuals (along with other business executives more concerned with finances and long-term viabilty of the company and industry) have determined this policy will help them continue to cruise safety. 

The executives at RCI don't give a crap about politics. They care about what's going to allow them to succeed now and years and decades into the future. That's why these decisions are made. 

That said, I think anyone with a cruise between now and Jan. 5 should absolutely be provided the opportunity to make changes to their itinerary if they don't wish to cruise under this policy. 

Well said.  I agree with each and everyone of your posts.  

It sucks, but is is what it is, and Royal is doing what is best to keep everyone safe...even if it means cancellations and angering people.

P.S. - For us, the stricter protocol is a plus in helping us decide whether to go or cancel.

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I received an email directly from Royal announcing the mask protocol change for my New Years Eve cruise. It wasn't hidden and I didn't have to go looking for it. I never had any concern about transparency because I know change (good and bad) during these difficult times is inevitable and may be effective immediately. I expect it, look for it, and am ready to deal with it. If I wasn't, I would find something else to do until things settle...but everything seems to be affected right now. Why should I expect cruising to be different...

I'm on the Anthem now in the middle of a 12 night cruise...6 nights to go. There has been no change to the current masking policy. I'm hoping it stays that way. If it changes...I change. Whatever I have to do to keep cruising!

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21 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

 

P.S. - For us, the stricter protocol is a plus in helping us decide whether to go or cancel.

This is a very good point as well. The loudest faction of people (but not necessarily the largest) are the people who see this as a bad thing. There are certainly people (likely those who cruise less often but could potentially be interested in doing it a lot more often -- a very important group of people for the industry) who will feel more comfortable cruising with this policy in place. 

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13 hours ago, barbeyg said:

I’m sorry that some of you have had your travel plans disrupted because of CDC demands and the cruise lines having to jump thru hoops to please this bloated government bureaucracy.  

I just want to make sure everyone is clear that these policies have nothing to do with CDC guidelines or "government bureaucracy."

Nothing is forcing them to do this. No government is mandating these policies. RCI is doing this because their medically trained health experts, who are tasked with evaluating the efficacy of these types of policies, have determined that this policy will help to ensure safe cruising. This is a decision being made by a private business in the best interest of its future and the safety of its customers and employees. No government body is forcing them to do this.

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27 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

I just want to make sure everyone is clear that these policies have nothing to do with CDC guidelines or "government bureaucracy."

Nothing is forcing them to do this. No government is mandating these policies. RCI is doing this because their medically trained health experts, who are tasked with evaluating the efficacy of these types of policies, have determined that this policy will help to ensure safe cruising. This is a decision being made by a private business in the best interest of its future and the safety of its customers and employees. No government body is forcing them to do this.

But the original poster to this thread reported this:

"They claim the CDC just made the rule for them and just told them today."

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13 hours ago, KyleW22 said:

Has anyone actually received a notification BEFORE their 48 hours was up?

We cruise tomorrow in star class and I have not received anything about these new protocols either via email or from anyone on-board. 

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Just an FYI but it’s been reported that Symphony has 50 cases from the sailing that docked this morning. Embarkation has been delayed by 2 1/2 hours for today’s sailing. This is why the masking has changed. 
 

50 cases is something to worry Royal. We’ve got Delta surging up north with Omicron on its heels. 
 

I don’t blame Royal for changing policy immediately. They can’t afford to shut down again. 
 

I do think though that increased capacity happened too soon. Especially with it being winter. 

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5 hours ago, jeffmw said:

I just want to make sure everyone is clear that these policies have nothing to do with CDC guidelines or "government bureaucracy."

Nothing is forcing them to do this. No government is mandating these policies. RCI is doing this because their medically trained health experts, who are tasked with evaluating the efficacy of these types of policies, have determined that this policy will help to ensure safe cruising. This is a decision being made by a private business in the best interest of its future and the safety of its customers and employees. No government body is forcing them to do this.

Read on another board that the casino host on Allure said smoking will still be allowed in the casino … in keeping with the best interest of its customers??

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22 hours ago, ChrisK2793 said:


They credited us an upgrade us from a JS to an OS …… What did that cost them????  NOTHING ……. I’ve spent at least 140k on Royal since early 2019 so I don’t need their money ……. like I said, it was MAINLY realizing what it would cost me to earn the 20 points I’d be giving up by not going and them offering the free upgrade just sweetened the pot.  And as I said in another post, the BIGGEST problem I had was they pissed me off throwing that at us LESS THAN  24 hours before the cruise!  

WOW just WOW, that's at least a 10k upgrade, the upgrade alone is worth more than you Paid for the JS.

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16 hours ago, ChrisK2793 said:

The 20 points for 5 nights in a suite is the biggest reason I agreed to still go, even more so than the credit they offered.  We’ve spent so much money on suites since early 2019 when we only had 21 points just wanting to get to Diamond Plus and 20 points on this cruise plus 28 points on our February cruise will get us to 178 points.  When I really thought about it, it wasn’t worth the money we’d have to spend to make up these 20 points later.

 

So, prestige over principles? 

On 12/17/2021 at 8:20 PM, BB1 said:

It seems that this whole tirade was basically a ploy to get something for nothing. Very sad.

 

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On 12/17/2021 at 5:19 PM, ChrisK2793 said:

Carrying a drink doesn’t work ……… on our October and November cruises if you walked inside around with a drink you weren’t drinking at the time and weren’t in a vaccinated only area they’d yell at you to put your mask on ……… now you even have to wear a mask in the vaccinated only areas unless ACTIVELY eating or drinking 

 

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Agree with ChrisK2793.  Last week saw people being told to put their mask on if they were carrying drinks in unvaccinated areas.

So glad we got through our cruise before new mask policy.  It was ok wearing masks in unvaccinated venues, but would definitely have been a problem for us to wear masks in designated "vaccinated only" areas such as theater, nightclub, bars, etc.

 

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On 12/17/2021 at 9:01 PM, SummerRose said:

I just read on the Freedom they're making people pull their masks up in between drinks and bites.

Read this also...believe it was for Carnival cruises!   Also read yesterday that NCL was sticking to its original cancellation policy if people cancelled due to new mask policy this past week.

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This policy looks to be only in play for the holiday sailing as reports have the capacity above 80%.......with some saying it will be 100% 

IMHO this is stupid. While the protocols in place, "may" work for a lower capacity. I can't imagine it will be good for crew and guest to comply with everything that barely works at 50%, with 100% and possibly 25% of those, children. I think RCG jumped the gun by trying to do over 70% on these holiday sailings. There are going to be a lot of unhappy cruisers.

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

And I’d be fine with that.  Never had an issue eating in the MDR.

Same here.  One of the biggest surprises lately to me is how excited people are for Windjammer to be open for dinner.  For me, it has always been a lunch or breakfast only option anyways.  

Of course I have no kids, so that plays a role Im sure. 

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11 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

WOW just WOW, that's at least a 10k upgrade, the upgrade alone is worth more than you Paid for the JS.

LMAO ….. seriously?  You think an owners suite costs $10k MORE than a junior suite on a 5 day Mariner cruise?  I’ve stayed in an OS for a week on an Oasis class 7 day cruise for under $7k for 3 people.  If they had the EMPTY OS to switch us to 15 hours before boarding, what were they making on it before they put us in it?  $0.00.

On our October cruise we Royal Up’d from a GS to a Crown Loft Suite for a grant total of $470.  By your standards that should have been $10k more also.  But again, $470 Royal wasn’t making before they Royal Up’d us in the room.

 

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ANYWAY, we’re on Mariner now ……. At least on this ship, that email they sent Friday was greatly exaggerated ……. Maybe to appease the CDC ……… nobody has masks on once sitting in bars, restaurants, or clubs and haven’t seen anybody asking them to put them back on.  Have also seen quite a few people have walking around the promenade with no masks on as well and haven’t seen anybody say anything to them.

We were told there are 2,700 passengers on the ship of which right at 700 are kids.

 

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4 hours ago, ChrisK2793 said:


ANYWAY, we’re on Mariner now ……. At least on this ship, that email they sent Friday was greatly exaggerated ……. Maybe to appease the CDC ……… nobody has masks on once sitting in bars, restaurants, or clubs and haven’t seen anybody asking them to put them back on.  Have also seen quite a few people have walking around the promenade with no masks on as well and haven’t seen anybody say anything to them.

We were told there are 2,700 passengers on the ship of which right at 700 are kids.

 

did they include in your upgrade  a concierge to lower and raise your mask between bites?😄

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2 hours ago, ChrisK2793 said:

 Have also seen quite a few people have walking around the promenade with no masks on as well and haven’t seen anybody say anything to them.

It's a shame on two fronts: guests not following the rules and Royal not enforcing the rules. Both are pet peeves of mine, primarily the latter. 

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

It's a shame on two fronts: guests not following the rules and Royal not enforcing the rules. Both are pet peeves of mine, primarily the latter. 

Same! I was quite shocked to see many not wear masks, actually be talking to staff and no one said anything. To be honest I noticed it a lot with kids ( would say they ages 6-10 about) running around no masks. Only time i saw someone enforce the mask rule was when they walked up to guest services and at the desk they asked them to mask up.

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It is odd how this changes from cruise to cruise. I didn’t see anyone flaunting the masking rules on our cruise. I’m sure some did, but I didn’t encounter them. And I wasn’t watching out for them either. I have better things to do with my time.  Of course, when we got to the vaccinated venues, everyone was quick to de-mask. (Or is that disem-mask? 😂)

I know that having to remind people to mask gets old.  And they shouldn’t have to, if you signed up to cruise during this time. The cruise lines have to abide by CDC guidelines, so have to police this.  And there will always be those who have to be told, as if they are still stuck in a 3rd grade mentality. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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On the Anthem...day 8 of a 12 day cruise...

Although the Cruise Compass for today still has the original mask policy...'Vaccinated may remove masks in vaccinated-only venues'...today the pre-show announcements have changed. Now all guests are to remain masked during the shows. Also, as we pulled out of St. Lucia, the captain told us that we must remember to wear our masks whenever we are indoors. I'll check the casino...after the show!

Also, I haven't noticed passengers going around unmasked. If there are, then they're few and far between. I appreciate when people follow the rules that they agreed to follow. But then again, on this cruise, I noticed quite a few people who remained masked even when they didn't have to. Most seem to just take it in stride and are enjoying their cruise. Me too!

Update; Still optional mask wearing in the Casino…and other venues. So far it seems only Two70 changed. I guess they’re doing it slowly…or just waiting until after this cruise.

 

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On 12/17/2021 at 5:45 PM, dodgestang said:

WE (and I use that term collectively) are keeping the industry alive by continuing to cruise and book cruises.  I am one bad discussion away (and I suspect many others are as well) from walking away from the industry completely.  Yes they have to walk a fine line.....but they are off the line right now (AGAIN).  I can drop 5 digits a trip ANYWHERE but I choose to do it here multiple times per year......but not much longer

YOU think YOURSELF too importantly, I don’t think YOU can represent all cruise lovers, at least not my family. We support this mask mandate as we just disembarked yesterday from Symphony, which has at least 44 confirmed case. Like the other said, the cruise industry supports hundreds of thousands jobs and families. Their jobs and their families and more important than what you feel comfortable or not wearing a mask.

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11 hours ago, Plumlee2028 said:

Same here.  One of the biggest surprises lately to me is how excited people are for Windjammer to be open for dinner.  For me, it has always been a lunch or breakfast only option anyways.  

Of course I have no kids, so that plays a role Im sure. 

To me it’s about having more options. Sometimes you just want a quick bite for dinner or if you don’t feel like dressing as nice as you normally would for the main dining room. 

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