If you were in charge of RCCL, what changes would you make?

[FSUFAN]

Okay, so you get to be "King" of RCCL.  There are a lot of opinions and ideas floating around on the board (maybe even a few complaints). 

What are changes that you would do to make for a better sailing experience?  Simply saying cheaper cruises in not an option here.  Lowering the price of add-ons is acceptable though.

Mine:

1) Drop The Key or give it some really nice benefits like 1 free Drink of the day. Bring back free room service. 10% or 20% off ala carte on board stuff with The Key.

2) Offer a lower tiered drinks package. Maybe a 5 drink per day package for a set lower price of $30 or $40/pp/day. 

3) Ban all the hard sell tactics at the Spa.  Mrs Fan won't even go to the spa anymore due to this issue (even after she asked not to be barraged with the upsell)

[twangster]

I never do well in these exercises because to be king for a day requires that I think like a king for that day. 

That means I must stop thinking about my personal needs or desires and I must think about what is best for the kingdom.  Rarely are the two the same.  

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

I would bring back the tried and true old dinner menu…immediately!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Bring back Portofinos !!

[dmattinson]

Offer transparent pricing with upfront options to have things like how NCL prices things out - give me a package option that includes internet, tips, and drinks.  

Helps avoid that $399 pricing sticker shock when the total comes up and the chasing down sales and the inevitable customer service inquiries that goes along with the changing of packages when prices change for internet and drinks.  

[Xaa]

Increase prices by including gratuities and internet in the cruise fare.

Work toward a connected ship experience like Princess Medallion 

[smokeybandit]

Add internet as a perk for grand suite and above on all ships, not just ships with a royal suite class.

Roll gratuities into the cruise fare.

Add self-service kiosks for snack and beverage basics.

 

[wordell1]

My Day 1 changes:

1.  Enforce the chair hog rules.

2. Change the recommended tips to a mandatory service charge.

3. Replace Cats with anything else.

4. No smoking in the casino.

5. Add about 25 tap beers to the Pub selection.

[Neesa]

1.  Release the shows schedule early tethered to if I purchase the UDP I can look at it and make my dining reservations BEFORE I board. Boarding day should be reserved for making adjustments, it would just relieve some frustration on day one. I think they would sell more UDP if reservations can be secured before hand with the UDP.

2. For goodness sake standardize the suites product, it is different across the fleet and I think if the product was the same across the ships it would generate a better feeling of value, and possibly more bookings = more revenue. At minimum a Sky class experience for the Grands & higher, Sea for the Juniors. (Star on the smaller vessels seems not needed, ie. too small) 

3. Along the same lines the Suites Lounge has become wildly popular and address in some way the capacity problems. If you stay in a suite you are afforded this amenity & if not then please enjoy another venue or make the lounges bigger with an additional concierge because one can't handle it. 

4. This may be off putting but reaching 700 + nights sailings and achieving Pinnacle means a huge investment was made with the company, Pinnacles should be afforded "free room service" always no matter what class of cabin they are in as well as 9 drinks per day! Depending on the amount on board say 20 have a special luncheon service just for them.**

5. Open the theaters early before the shows and just allow people to enter at their leisure. 

6. I've repeatedly stated allow cabins to be booked with or without Genie service (the Star ones) Have the service as an add on at booking for certain cabin types. 

** I am not Pinnacle, but want to be one in the future! Only about 33 seven night sailings to go!!

 

@FSUFAN thanks so much, this was fun!

 

 

 

 

[PG Cruiser]

Clarity of information on their media platforms and consistency of policy implementation fleet wide.

They cannot even provide consistent information on a simple Coffee Card.

 

[Montemy2419]

1.  If I were in charge for one day I would just increase the cost of the cruise and go back to having tipping as an option.  Two nights before the end of your cruise tip envelopes are in your room to with what you want.  Americans are used to tipping but many countries aren't.  

2.  On all menus, including Windjammer,  I would put the tiny symbol next to a food item if it is vegan, dairy free or gluten free.  Currently it only lists vegan and since I'm in charge for one day I get to do what I want

3. Enforce rules such as no ball caps in the dining room.  They have rules but RC is afraid of making the customer upset so about anything goes in the Main Dining Room and elsewhere.

4. Have healthier food available after 10 p.m.  A pizza or sandwich just doesn't do it for some people if they want a light snack before bed.  RC will end up with more dishes in the rooms as people have to stash a snack to eat after the evening show.

5. Have a note on the door when first time cruisers board to welcome them to attend an informational "Welcome to Royal Caribbean" on the first day.  We have cruised 4 times so far this year and many new cruisers are lost not knowing about the app, not knowing they can ask for a paper Cruise Compass, how to see a show if it's sold out.  We have spent hours helping new cruisers and RC should welcome them aboard and help the entire group instead they feel left out and confused.

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, PG Cruiser said:

Clarity of information on their media platforms and consistency of policy implementation fleet wide.

They cannot even provide consistent information on a simple Coffee Card.

 

 

This is a good one. They really need someone to scrub all their documentation and the platform they exist on. 

[steverk]

Develop more ports of Call. For selfish reasons,  I'd do it in the western Caribbean, but it's a concern throughout most of the world. 

[bobroo]

There is one thing Royal Caribbean does worse than IT.......M-E-R-C-H-A-N-D-I-S-I-N-G!!!!

 

I can recover the $40B we are in arrears effortlessly over a few short years by implementing a merchandising program. 

 

[Allen2]

Bring back 2X daily room cleaning service; return to free room service; BRING BACK OLD (BETTER) DINING ROOM MENUS - as already stated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Geezer Of The Seas]

An "all inclusive" fare option (like Celebrity if that is even truly all inclusive) would be nice. I'm loathe to tinker with pricing not knowing the revenue model and requirements for positive margins per sailing out of fear I'll sink the entire kingdom. Reducing executive compensation until things turn around fiscally would be supported by this "king". I still can't believe the compensation the CEO of a cruise line whose initials are NCLH is and has pulled down during the height of service suspension through the present when the balance sheet is still in tatters. Guess he owns or neutered the board of directors.

There's a reason I don't have Michael Bayley or Jason Liberty's job...........

PS: Those gentlemen and every other cruise line executives likely have the "UMP Plan". Unlimited Maalox Plan.

[ZBrady]

Very simple. Create a contest in which Royal Caribbean give one lucky person a lifetime cruising pass. Enter the contest. Rig things so that I win the contest. Resign in shame. Keep the pass.

[Ryan79]

Include the UBP in your cabin fare, enforce chair hogs with brutal efficiency, and lastly, every night is unlimited lobster night! A boy can wish, can’t he??

[tonyfsu21]

How about an investment in the website booking experience? Maybe a filter for star class or other cabin types? How about discount codes are offered when they are applicable so that you don’t have to continuously check codes? It would be great to be able to book casino rates on the website w/o having to bother travel agent to call into the casino royale. 
 

Bring back smoking on balconies. I don’t smoke cigarettes but I do enjoy a cigar on a cruise. 
 

Revamp the ENTIRE casino royale program (again) to better entice gamblers to spend more money. The comps are not great. 

[Southern Waters]

I think RCI should increase the number of ships with solo cabins available and adjust the fare accordingly.  A friend of mine was interested in going to Alaska on Ovation with us and was looking at booking a solo cabin. The ship actually has balcony solo cabins and there were still 3 or 4 available. But the price was around $2200, almost double what we each paid for our balcony cabin. The cabin is set up for one person and the passenger is being charged as though it's a double. I understand that the cruise line is looking at the bottom line and that's based on double occupancy,  but IMO these are solo cabins in name only.

[Mike.s]

As already stated by others,

Chair hogs, enforce the rules.

Main dinning room, bring back the old menus and enforce the dress code, it's not too much to ask to remove baseball hats and flip flops.

Move to a set price for the drinks/wi-fi package, it seems most other cruise lines offer it for a fixed price, the same for all their ships.

Include gratuities in the base fare.

Rotate the ships more often, we've got bored of Anthem out of the UK.

I've noticed that many people have come up with the same list, perhaps Royal should take note.

[Pattycruise]

A calendar that is planned accordingly.  Having popular things conflict with other popular things = difficult choices and missing out.

and, again, moving the dining times so that it impacts with entertainment would be fixed. Most recent example-3:30 showing of Cats (yes, some of us enjoy it)and a 5:00 pm dinner do not jive when the show ends at 5:08 and you have to fight the crowds to get across the length of the ship.

an app calendar where you can add your own items.  this would help with precruise things you plan, via the roll calls here or FB groups,  as well as things you plan onboard when you meet others. 

 

[Traveling Mike]

Think about your Solo Cruisers.  You don't have many solo cabins and they sell out very, very quickly.  I would make sure the new ships are designed to take care of Solo Cruisers.  The cabins do not have to be big, but I would have a mixture of inside, ocean view and balcony cabins for Solo Cruisers.  On my older ships I would have specials during off season for my Solo Cruisers.  The last thing is having a Solo Cruise Director like NCL has that can coordinate events for Solo Cruisers.

[SMOKEY0202]

Gosh since COVID, cuts across any line is noticeable these days.

With Royal, communication is lacking.  Nothing is consistent from ship to ship.  I can ask 4 different crew members same question on 1 ship during sailing and get 4 different answers when it should be simple.  Need to unify communication. Even same problem if call Royal directly.

Get rid of pool towels checking in/out or obtain fee

Offer coffee card/drink card in cruise planner across board.  Too many times it's not option on every ship.

Get back to elegant dining in MDR.  Ridiculous to charge for extra lobster tails.  Dress code needs to be enforced.  Recently was on Celebrity and guest turned away for shorts and baseball cap and he was Zenith member.

Better refund process on cruise planner items price adjustments.  Sometimes cancel to do price adjustments and oops says sold out when rebook immediately.  Then i am out of luck.

More details with excursions like column for max capacity of guests

Bring back boardwalk and central park perks for balcony cabins

Seriously we all have opinions with needs and desires.   Can't please everyone but just make things consistent and communicate.  We all notice the cutbacks and it's ashame because rates are higher than pre COVID and it's not the same Royal experience anymore that their brand stands by.

 

 

[RockerDom31]

The first thing I would do is fix the funny math. I'm sure everyone on this board can think of at least one instance of pricing that just doesn't quite make much sense (whether it is the cruise fare or the cruise planner purchases).

[RCIfan1912]

I would up the food quality, not that it's bad but the lasting impression a lot of people get from a cruise is the food quality. If it's cheap and if people can tell corners were cut and it's just low grade that's a bad impression. So just spend a bit more, stop bean counting on food quality. 

[SweetPea]

I'm with everyone who says Royal needs to standardize the suite experience across the fleet. This shouldn't be hard to do. NCL did it, and they have ships with and without a Haven. It's not rocket science. Would be a boon to suites on old, tired ships that had to sacrifice their amps due to shutdown.

Stalking the CP for sales is also ridiculous.  On no other cruise line do i have to do this. Standardize pricing and be done with it. I'm still a fan of NCL's free at sea package. I hate that Royal only offers the ability to piecemeal the all inclusive feeling.

[Rfk]

Dump Nassau forever (new private beach club notwithstanding). 

[tonyfsu21]

2 hours ago, Rfk said:

Dump Nassau forever (new private beach club notwithstanding). 

Yeah I’m with you on this. I would rather spend an overnight in Coco Cay then go to Nassau. 

[Cakemeister]

I'd make the shows line up better with the dinner seatings, so the early dinner folks go to the second show and the late dinner folks go to the first show. Lots of times, the shows don't line up so the second seating people miss the show. And the MTD people sometimes miss both shows!

And I'd bring back the Grand Marnier souffle. 

And I'd put a drink machine on the Liberty.

And I'd swap out all the shower curtains on the Radiance with the clamshell shower doors.

[Last Lion]

Grand Mariner soufflé! Yes sir!

[RafaellaCG]

1. Do away with automatic gratuities (roll it in). 

2. Every month, do an anonymized survey among the crew, see what their main concerns/ observations are.

3. Have coffee available 24 hours somewhere on the ship (just a self serve urn, maybe 2 for decaf and regular, even a paid option is better than nothing.

4. Rework the coffee card so there's value if you order large drinks (raise the price, but 1 punch for a drink. Standardized across the fleet). 

5. Entertainment. The shows on older ships can be really disappointing. Amateur level performers doing an actual show would be better. 

6. Keep the pools open longer hours. They don't need to be closed most of the day. The small expense of more life guard hours will pay off.

7. Movies every night, maybe two synced to dinner times. I'm sure these are licensed by ship, not viewing, so this is basically free. Offer paid snacks and drinks to those watching, maybe also a free snack option.

[GJ_123]

@FSUFAN points 2.) and 3.) you've made I agree with massively!! I have worked out in the past I'd need to have 12 drinks a day on the drinks package for it to be worthwhile, there's no way I'd have 12 alcoholic drinks a day! There should be a lower package or they should bring back the beer package! I can't remember exactly what it was, something like 10 drinks (only beer) and it was reasonably priced if I remember. I quite liked it and it seemed like it was only something you could get onboard.

The hard sell tactics at the Spa are a joke. I was recently on Symphony and got a massage, and after I literally had to sit there for 20 minutes being offered ridiculously priced treatments and products. The Spa is supposed to be a relaxing experience yet they put you through that stress. I understand this isn't the staffs fault. RC should change it so there's a disclaimer saying if you want to hear about other products or not. It's the same with my wife, she didn't go because she couldn't be bothered going through the hard sell.

Things I would personally change:

1.) Windjammer times - I would make breakfast until 12pm and lunch start at 1pm (I don't get the bizarre 11:30am changeover). And for dinner I would keep Windjammer open until at least 11pm, if not midnight! RC offers shows/entertainment well past 10pm and when you get out there is often no where to eat. I understand you have the cafe and Sorrentos but I think you should be able to just get a meal in the buffet. I also think it's strange that they don't take into account many European cultures, where people won't eat in the evening until about 10pm. 9pm is far too early to close Windjammer.

2.) I think they need to look at costings for the ships which have the Starbucks kiosks. They need to either remove the 18% gratuity or lower the prices. I understand it's a real treat having a Starbucks onboard, but $30 for 4 coffees is insane!

3.) Costings of speciality restaurants. I personally think the cost of the specialty restaurants have been hiked to an insane amount. I first started sailing with RC around 2016 and I remember the cost of the restaurants were very reasonable and felt like a really good deal (after all, it's meant to be a surcharge...) but now the costs seem ridiculous and often don't feel that far off what you'd pay for a meal of that standard off the ship. Chops Grille is $65pp and that's not including the 18%? Far too expensive.

4.) Lack of juices around the ship - should be some juice options in Sorrentos and the cafe. I would even add a juice station to the Boardwalk on the Oasis class ships.

[HeWhoWaits]

1 - Competent IT

2 - Transparency in pricing 

3 - Consistent application of policies and practices

4 - Better pizza (go learn from New York Pizza on Holland America)

[tjcruisers]

Well, if I was in charge I'd have to think like CEO, would be trying to look at win/wins

• I remember a time where they multiple levels of drinks packages (beer/wine, spirits, everything). Not sure why they went away from that. While I can drink enough to recoup the cost of the current package, my liver doesn't want me to do that  . This causes me to pay as I go and for the most part I really don't drink much on the cruise. Maybe has some in the middle type thing (i.e. 10 drink card).
• Fix the website. On page 1 I can look at prices for inside, outside, balcony and suite. If I filter for balcony, having page 5 asking me again is somewhat annoying. 
• Enforce rules that they have, whether it's chairhogs, dining attire, etc
• Have some type of all in fare option.

[Scarlett625]

I would:

1) Add more complimentary dining options (ie... make Johnny Rockets complimentary or get a better burger option that can be complementary and add complementary options like Dog House and El Loco Fresh to older ships)

2) Allow cruisers to add items from the Daily Planner to the My Calendar section of the app at least a week before the cruise (I small pet peeve of mine)

3) Create a smaller drink package option (ie...10 drinks for a set price like the coffee card.)

4) Amplify older ships that have not been updated in a while. 

[mills10]

I haven't been on a Royal Cruise yet.  First one is in a few weeks! But I would love to see an option to add plans to the My Calendar on the app that aren't booked through Royal Caribbean.  For example doing a hike on our own, or if you book a 3rd party excursion. 

[ChessE4]

On 5/21/2023 at 9:48 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I would bring back the tried and true old dinner menu…immediately!

And adjust cruise fares, if necessary to make the menu work.  It is a business, after all....

[whitsmom]

19 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Yeah I’m with you on this. I would rather spend an overnight in Coco Cay then go to Nassau. 

I feel the same way!  We do not like Nassau at all but we loved Coco Cay.

[PL8SWPR]

Get rid of 70s night.  Anyone old enough to remember them are no longer in the target demographic.