Cruise Planner Disappointments

[rjac]

When we started cruising many years ago with Royal, the excursions in the cruise planner had a LOT of info. Like how long the transportation from the ship to the actual excursion area and return was, how long you would be on the excursion site and (most importantly) what other previous cruisers thought of this particular excursion. Boy how things have changed over the years. Now it's basically a crap shoot. No longer does the cruise planner offer total transportation time, how long on the actual excursion nor any previous cruiser comments (good or bad). What I find disturbing is the highlight of the excursion is nothing more than a watered down of description of the excursion. OK, so Royal is trying to cut back on costs, save money, etc...I get it. But, do they still offer post excursion surveys? It's been a few years since we cruised, as for many here and I remember they used to. Would like to hear what you all think. Thanks 

[ChrisK2793]

 

@rjac ….. on the Western portion of your B2B ……  if it stops at Costa Maya, I HIGHLY recommend the Chachoben Mayan Ruins ….. the cruise planner makes it sound like it may be nothing …….. but it was AMAZING ……. They have about a dozen fully intact Mayan pyramids …… you can touch and climb on them to an extent.  We loved it and our 8yo at the time (now 10) son loved it.  We almost didn’t book it because the cruise planner made it sound like it could be crap ……. But it was GREAT ……. It’s right at an hour from the port and you spend 90 minutes there with your same guide from the bus ride showing your around.

 

[Hoski]

I have to agree that there isn't enough information about the excursions from Royal.  I'm trying to plan excursions with kids and would love to know how long the ride is.

[USCG Teacher]

10 hours ago, Hoski said:

I have to agree that there isn't enough information about the excursions from Royal.  I'm trying to plan excursions with kids and would love to know how long the ride is.

 

On 1/16/2022 at 6:29 PM, rjac said:

What I find disturbing is the highlight of the excursion is nothing more than a watered down of description of the excursion.

Agree 100% with these sentiments.  The Cruise Planner definitely doesn't do a fantastic job covering the excursions.  Luckily you can still get the "old school" descriptions, it just takes a little extra leg work.  If you go to https://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/shoreExcursions/downloadBrochure/ , you can get more thorough descriptions for the items listed in the CP.  The downloaded brochure shows all of the potential shore excursions available on your itinerary, so I check the CP for availability first, then look to the brochure to help me make final decisions.

[Renee600]

Those of you that have looked at the brochure vs. the excursions listed in the cruise planner, do you find that the ones in the brochure end up being offered once on board?

We are sailing in two weeks and I'm disappointed with the few options that are available and how many of the excursions have already sold out. 

There are many excursions listed in the brochure that I'm not seeing in my planner. The brochure has live links to multiple excursions with complete descriptions and the correct dates listed to match our cruise itinerary. This leads me to believe they are a possibility to book if I call. ???

However, I also notice some errors. When we are scheduled to be in Costa Maya there are some Jamaica options listed and for our Cozumel port some Grand Cayman options listed.  The ages for children is also different for some options. Any help out there? I plan to call RCCI.