SOLARIUM CLOSED FOR ENTIRE CRUISE!

[ZBrady]

So you know how on Yelp it indicates how expensive a restaurant is - like $$ out of 5 or whatever.

Same concept here. Theres certainly a spectrum of cruise lines and they all have a price point. Saying that RC falls at X location on that spectrum is a statement of fact.

It seems to me everyone is mostly saying the same thing - some are just misinterpreting or choosing to read others comments through a certain lens.

Still interested to hear what sort of compensation or explanation they offered you.

[wordell1]

5 hours ago, NotPayinExtra said:

What constitutes "Top Dollar" is up to the individual. There finances. And what "Top Dollar" is to them. Any comment on what someone perceives as Top Dollar is classless.

I guess I am classless.

I assure you it's not my intention. I also cruise on Royal, so if I'm judging, I'm judging myself.

I felt like some were calling out anyone who wasn't ready to burn Royal to the ground over this issue. 

I don't agree with a black and white assertion that I should be outraged and hold Royal accountable for every issue that comes up. If for no other reason, I don't have the energy for that.

I respect everyone's opinion and sometimes want to understand more about where they are coming from. I have no problem with people who want to get their dollars worth on their cruise. They can't necessarily expect that every one is going to join the revolution.

Sorry to anyone who felt offended.

[CanHardlyWait]

14 hours ago, wordell1 said:

I guess I am classless.

I assure you it's not my intention. I also cruise on Royal, so if I'm judging, I'm judging myself.

I felt like some were calling out anyone who wasn't ready to burn Royal to the ground over this issue. 

I don't agree with a black and white assertion that I should be outraged and hold Royal accountable for every issue that comes up. If for no other reason, I don't have the energy for that.

I respect everyone's opinion and sometimes want to understand more about where they are coming from. I have no problem with people who want to get their dollars worth on their cruise. They can't necessarily expect that every one is going to join the revolution.

Sorry to anyone who felt offended.

I'm paying more for my next Wonder 7nt then I would on a Trans Atlantic QM2 sailing. (Just looked) I think "Top Dollar" is very relative to each person. Also every single dollar I spend is "Top Dollar" to me. Some of us have no choice but to value what money they have and spend as "Top Dollar". I expect quality from every purchase I make. If you don't, your not getting your monies worth. Nobody will look out for your quality Vs Dollar spent better then you. 

[FSUFAN]

I get the angst from a person who viewed the Solarium as a large part of the experience and are frustrated that there was no pre-notice of its closing.  Also, I personally won't "White Knight" for the RCL corporation, but I understand that some people are passionate and loyal.  

Top Dollar might have been the wrong wording. Hard Earned dollars might better fit. Each dollar I spend is hard earned (even for this guy who is retired). 

My first sailing with RCL on the Voyager was a disappointment (posted earlier) due to a lot of little failures on the part of RCL. Things just weren't "buttoned up" as I hoped they would be. The cruise was relatively inexpensive in what I saw looking at other trips, so that has tempered some of my anger (you get what you pay for).  I am sailing on the Quantum to Alaska next year and spending a lot more money than the VOTS trip.  I hope for a way better experience and that I do "get what I pay for".

[CruisinMikeD]

@CanHardlyWait  I understand where you're coming from.  It's annoying when things are closed, and nobody wants to be short-changed on their vacation.  I'm sure most all of us have experienced this.  Hopefully you're not letting this incident with the Solarium ruin your vacation.

I'm curious to know, what steps did you take to try and make the best of the situation?  Was some kind of compensation offered to you?  If so, what kind of compensation and what was the amount?  Did guest services handle the request courteously and to the best of their ability?  Did management need to step in to offer something extra?  Did you fill out the survey to explain how the problem negatively affected your cruise?  What kind of remedy do you require to resolve the situation to your satisfaction?

Then, what did you do to make the best of your cruise?  Take an extra excursion?  Extra meal at a specialty restaurant?  Get some extra drinks?  Go to the casino?  Spend more time in other parts of the ship?

You've got to find a reasonable balance, otherwise most any vacation will feel like a waste of hard-earned money.  If RC failed you, then you might not be happy taking another cruise with them.  Nothing wrong with voting with your dollars and trying a different line, but you do have to ask, will the other lines at the same price point (Carnival, NCL, etc.) do better?  From what I know, their customer service is about the same as RC.  (Disclaimer: I prefer RC, but I'll cruise any line that can give me a good deal and a great time.)

[brgreens]

Reading through this entire thread, I keep wondering how RC could have done this better. The extreme (which I thought OP was getting to) would be to dry-dock for a week while getting Solarium back in business. Extreme wouldn't begin to describe it.

How far in advance do the lines announce cruise dates? How far in advance do people start booking? We booked ours about 10 months out, and I thought that was overdoing it.... until I heard about a 1-2 year runup for some. 

If they pulled the ship, that's Xthousand passengers who either have to be refunded or rebooked, and where would that happen? On top of all the other booked-up ships? How about the many hundreds of crew?

It stinks, and I would not want to have been in OP's position (and hope I won't be in May). But it was/is a fair topic for discussion, so here we are.

[teddy]

35 minutes ago, brgreens said:

 

How far in advance do the lines announce cruise dates? How far in advance do people start booking? We booked ours about 10 months out, and I thought that was overdoing it.... until I heard about a 1-2 year runup for some. 

 

For bucket list cruises, we book as soon as the itinerary is released. We’ve found the price to be the absolute lowest when we book this early (ie. no matter how many times we check up until final payment, it’s never cheaper).

For example, we booked our October 2023 Italy cruise the first week of January 2022.  Our March 2024 cruise was booked in March 2022. 
 

We are waiting for the 2024/2025 itineraries to be released to book our next one…hopefully this month. 

[Xaa]

 

1 hour ago, brgreens said:

Reading through this entire thread, I keep wondering how RC could have done this better. The extreme (which I thought OP was getting to) would be to dry-dock for a week while getting Solarium back in business. Extreme wouldn't begin to describe it.

How far in advance do the lines announce cruise dates? How far in advance do people start booking? We booked ours about 10 months out, and I thought that was overdoing it.... until I heard about a 1-2 year runup for some. 

If they pulled the ship, that's Xthousand passengers who either have to be refunded or rebooked, and where would that happen? On top of all the other booked-up ships? How about the many hundreds of crew?

It stinks, and I would not want to have been in OP's position (and hope I won't be in May). But it was/is a fair topic for discussion, so here we are.

They could have communicated it as soon as they know for a major space like that.  Not saying they should accept cancellations beyond final payment date without penalty, but that they should try to communicate it.  It becomes a softer blow by cruise time if it has had a chance to settle and isn't a slap in the face when onboard.

No need for them to go to the extreme, but they could have at least taken 1 step.  That would have been better IMHO.

[CruiseGus]

So let's see, what did we have here, the Solarium was only closed for 4 Days, NOT the entire cruise.

Everyone on board received a 20% discount on a future cruise within one year.

Just want to make sure the facts get posted.

[Baked Alaska]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:07 PM, James Faglie said:

The App is showing the adult area (Solarium) is closed for the whole cruise. This cruise is full of nonadults. I usually don't care, because the Solarium area is a haven for us adults. There was no indication that this was going to happen, that I was aware of.

I go to relax on day 2 and....CLOSED.

NOT HAPPY WITH Royal Caribbean at all. 

I have been on many cruises with Royal Caribbean and another already booked.

Rethinking that one!

No, it was not closed the entire cruise. You could have updated your one and only post, but we know. We know.