marti315

10 dollars for mediocre fast food on top of the money you have paid for the included food is just silly now.

The biggest plus for us was meeting lots of very interesting and friendly people. We meet some really nice people that we certainly hope to see again.

 

All in all there were some glitches, but we had a great time. Will I go on Royal Caribbean again? Yes I most certainly will.

Sounds like you had similar experiences with the specialty dining as I did. I also heard the Concierge lounge manager was great and i also heard from some guests in there they never ever called anyone out for shorts. Some Gold Card suite guests we ate lunch with a few times said they were always treated well, even times when they came up in swim trunks and flip flops.

Can I ask you if you tried other cruise line? Because what I ear is that the cruise industry is not the same anymore....

Food is less and less, no midnight buffet on many lines now. Many cut backs, like no more lobster night etc...

 

But, overall, a cruise is still a good vacation I think.

 

Very sorry about this time on vacation that was not so good :(

Been on carnival about 10 yrs ago. but ever since then i have had about 12 on Royal Caribbean. They still had lobster on this past cruise, and it was good. I do agree it is a "Good" Cruise vacation, i was just super disappointed that the stuff i paid more for actually were worse than the core cruise itself.

Wow, sorry you had such a rough time on your cruise. How have all of your other cruises on Royal been? Once in a while you get a lemon. I don't think I'd quit cruising with Royal because of one bad cruise.

 

Good luck with your new Cruise Line

Sorry about some of the words mashed together, I wrote it all in MS word and pasted and it may not have liked the carriage returns.

To be honest maybe I am just tired of paying more and feeling like i am getting less and less. Examples are in the specialty dining, beverage packages etc. One would think you pay extra for specialty dining and you get extra service and superior food, i found the opposite to be true. My MDR staff was FAR superior in attentiveness and even willing to get me anything special to make my vacation memorable.

I think for those of us who travel RCL 3 - 4 times a year it becomes a bit of a twilight zone, jokes from the CD are all the same, 10.00 sales are all the same etc.. When people complain and then continue to go right back on that brand we all call them nuts, this time i am speaking with my $$$.

03-17-2016 – Navigator of the Seas – First Time cruisingwith Diamond Status on RCL

Embarkation:Arrived at the Miami Port approx. 10:45 am and was pleasantly surprised at thelayout of how all the ships are arranged and more importantly how the trafficcan get to the appropriate ship without all that much delay. Security was no more than a 10 minute waitand the diamond check in like probably had about 20 people in line. I was pleased with the organization of theport and check in process, we were on the boat by approx. 11:20 am.

Room: SuperiorBalcony D3: Rooms opened up at 1:15 pm and so we headed to the room to dropoff the carry-on luggage. One initialpleasant surprise was that they removed that table that always took up most ofthe floor space in the rooms. This madethe room look larger and less tripping obstacles in the middle of thenight. Bed was terrible, absolutely terrible. I realize they push the two twins togetherwhen you have a together bed format but both of these twins should have beentossed and replaced long ago. They wereeach so indented (I took plenty of pics) that I could only imagine we would besleeping on a steel frame and that surely was the case. Asked for a mattress topper later thatevening and was told there were none available so this was going to be the bedfor the 9 nights. The balcony wasclearly never cleaned as there were stains of who knows what all over theground outside. Also looked like theglass on the balcony hadn’t been touched in quite some time, it was more thanjust sea water mist, it was foot prints and just nasty. There were no diamond welcome gifts in theroom when we got there. I waited untilthat night and still nothing. Then I calledthe room attendant the next day and yes he delivered the stuff then but I donot enjoying having to ask for something that is set up ahead of time. Luggage showed up around 6:45 pm on day one,kinda late but not much you can do about that. Not a lovely start to this trip but oh it only gets worse, much worse.

Night 1 SpecialtyDining Chops: Line of approx. 15 people waiting to be seated at 8 pm when Ihad my reservation for two for. Thisseemed odd to me but we waited a bit to be seated. Then when we got seated we waited, and waitedetc…. Food orders took a LONG time,drinks orders were non existent, heck our waiter was like a gypsy, you wouldsee him and then he would disappear for a long period of time. The table next to us and the table next tothem all got to talking about how terrible service was so a few of us walkedout to the Windjammer bar to get our own drinks. Food came and my Filet was overcooked to approx.a MED-WELL / Well Done when it was ordered as Med Rare. The manager decided arguing that it was closeto Med Rare was a good idea but I think he realized he was just blowing smokeso he asked if I wanted a new one and yes I wanted one cooked morecorrectly. The new one came, was more onthe rare side but still good and I finished it all. These side dishes they say are for sharingare pretty funny. They are the size of asmall restaurant monkey dish and the sides were for the most part bland andbad. When we finally got done eatingaround 10:30 pm, we never received a bill or even a thank you and the managerwas nowhere to be found, but this was just the start to a bad experience. I later found out from the head of the specialtydining establishments that the reason for the chaos was that NONE of the onlinereservations came through to their system so all of the people that booked theday 1 special which was 50% off night 1 at chops were trying to be forced inwith all the people who booked online and believed they had a validreservation. Needless to say a mess.

Night 2 SpecialtyDining Giovannis: This line to get seated at 8 pm was longer than theprevious night at Chops. At least 20people queued back into the windjammer entrance where the hand cleansermachines are. Service was slow at firstto get any orders taken or wine but I think we were expecting that now sincethere were so many people seated at the same time. Apps took a while to come out but weretasty. Filet mains took a good deal oftime to come out and mine was again overcooked. I am not talking med vs med rare, again this steak was closer to welldone so I asked for a new one. New onecame and was perfect and very tender. This dinner was around 2 hours long, not terrible but there were a lotof long waits for food and re-fills on wine.

Night 4 SpecialtyDining Sabor: One would think that after those first two nights of specialtydining not being a great experience I should just cut my losses and stop withthem. I learned one night too late andSabor did me in. Again reservation for 8pm, line up of people at the door waiting to be seated. Probably more like 12 people this time. We get to the host to seat us and tada noreservation. That’s funny because Saborcalled at 7 am that morning to confirm our reservation. Anyways after a few more minutes wait we gota table. Again service washorrible. We placed orders for Guac andMargaritas at around 8:10 pm and they showed up at 8:50. I was so fed up during this time that I hadleft Sabor to go get my own Margarita at Schooner right outside. Only one of the two Guacs came and its stillmade back in the kitchen. The guacamolewas fine but it was a bit watery for my liking. No wow factor as I have read before but it was good based on how hungry Iwas. I must say the apps at Sabor arequite delicious, I had the queso fondido and the jalepeno chicken things. Where things go really south Is when themains arrive. I had ordered the MoleShort Rib and my wife had gotten the red snapper. My short rib was an absolute piece of shoeleather, almost as if it had only cooked for a very short period of time. My wifes Snapper tasted as if it werespoiled, even the mango chutney couldn’t fix it. We quickly called the waitress over to haveher try to cut into my short rib (keep in mind, you should be able to shred ashort rib with a fork when done right). We then asked for the manager and again no manager was available so shesuggested we talk to Guest Services. Wewere so tired of waiting and of the issues so we went without a main or desert andwalked out (these were pre-paid meals so we didn’t walk out on any tabs). Went straight to guest services to talk tosomeone and this was a fun adventure.

Guest Services / Headof Specialty Dining: I was fed up enough with my 3 experiences with specialtydining that I felt I needed to make it known. Hannah who initially helped me at guest services was lovely and got thehead of specialty dining to come talk to me. I asked that they cancel my two remaining pre-paid booking at Sabor andthey did and I was told I would be refunded for my other 3 nights based on myexperiences. They wanted to make itright by sending me to specialty dining one more time complimentary. I picked Giovannis on the last night becausethis was the best experience. I wrotedown the date/time I wanted and they said they would take care ofeverything. The day before the Giovannisreservation I stopped by Giovannis to check on the reservation and nothing wasever reserved. I then headed back toguest services to talk to Hannah again who immediately got on the phone to takecare of it. I asked about my refund forthe original 3 nights and she said I would have to work with corporate for thatbut she assured me that all of the notes were in the account. YAY we all know how much fun working withcorporate is. The last night inGiovannis was a great meal, attentive services, smiles all around and verypleasant. What I did find funny is thatthe head of specialty dining said he would come check on us but never did,maybe because I had to call them out on never making the reservation.

Bar / BeverageService: I had the deluxe beverage package. My initial observations is that they have cut back bar servicedramatically to where now you will only find 1 bartender at most bars for agood majority of the day. Getting drinkstook longer than I was used to but I did find some awesome bartenders (Abel& Alladin at Pub and Bartenders at R Bar) who were still always smiling andwanted to get to know you and give you a positive experience. I felt like a lot of the other bars(Schooner, Boleros, Pool Bars, Windjammer Bar, Casino Bar) were always grumpyor just tired of being bothered. I was abit disappointed in the first day we boarded that the bars were out of a lot ofbeers and liquors. They said theprevious cruise had drank a lot and they hadn’t replenished yet. Come to find out some of the beers they saidwere gone were actually gone all week as they are doing away with a lot ofbeers and liquors that they will no longer carry.

Main Dining RoomExperience: I was very pleased with the main dining room service and thefact that our waiters were able to get us a different curry every night. Each curry that they brought was full offlavor had a nice potent spice level to it and was a welcome change to the MDRfood that sometimes lacks flavor. Having been on many RCL cruises over the past5 years we all know the MDR food doesn’t change much and therefore it’s hard toget all that excited about the offerings but what I did have was good and theattentive service by our MDR staff made the experience great. Kudos to you folks for making up for thespecialty dining messes.

Upselling / Crowdingof public areas: When you put 3500 people on a ship, many with walkers,canes and give them 3 – 4 feet on either side of a table full of who knows whatfor sale it just ends up being an uncomfortable experience. As most of us know people get overly excitedfor the “sales” and this makes already tight areas to the point where it’s justimpassable. Another thing that irked mewas the annoying selling of specialty restaurants. I almost feel like I need to wear a “No Solicitingsign” around my neck at all times to get these people to let me enjoy my timewithout being harassed for buying another specialty dining experience. I guess with all of the negative experiences Ihad with specialty dining this upselling irked me even more than it usuallywould.

Diamond Lounge: There were a lot of Diamond, Diamond +onboard this 9 night sailing and therefore they opened the full cosmopolitanclub up to these guests each evening from 4:30 – 8 for the top tier happy houras I called it. This was quite a perk asit is always enjoyable to sit in the “Viking crown” and watch the sunset, I personallywas presented with some pretty negative experiences. On the first formal night which was the dayof Labadee I had gone up into the lounge at 4:30 with some khaki shorts, boat shoesand a button up short sleeve shirt on. The diamond lounge concierge came to me as I was enjoying someappetizers and advised me since it was formal night I shouldn’t have shortson. I accepted this without incident andwent to change into slacks. Upon comingback up I started to notice MANY people wearing shorts and flip flops, thediamond lounge concierge wasn’t talking to any of them, hrmmmmmm. Two days went by and I was back up in thelounge and I had on some shorts again and a polo. I was then approached yet again by the diamondlounge concierge whose exact words were “Shorts Again I See”. I immediately turned around to him and said “Areyou serious?” Him and I had a very very longtalk about how he had been singling me out (I am young but earned my diamondstatus just like every other person up there, by paying for enough cruises overthe years to earn the status) and this got me to now photograph every singleperson wearing shorts (Some in swimsuits) that he did not talk to. I have over 30 photographs from the remainingdays of the cruise of folks in shorts, flip flops etc in the diamondlounge. I filed a formal complaint withguest services and nothing was done but I needed it on file. To avoid any further humiliation I woreslacks / dress shoes every evening after that second incident but I proceededto take pictures each and every night for the remainder of the cruise of folksin shorts. Interestingly it was alwaysthe same people wearing shorts every night but there were clear differencesbetween them and me, I’ll leave it at that. I promised the diamond concierge I would be cancelling every upcomingcruise I had booked, which is 4 of them and listing him as the reason for notsailing RCL anymore. I cancelled all 4which were all within 100% refund and am no longer a customer of RCL.

Windjammer Food: Iam not going to sit here and type that the windjammer food was inedible becauseit was exactly what it’s supposed to be, mass produced, low flavor low spicefood for the masses. I made the mistake of going up one night for the “SpanishDinner”. I hope there were no spanish folksat the windjammer that night because it was as close to Spanish as PF Changs isto Asian food. Always kids dartingaround the buffet area, service to get drinks or to even get plates picked upwas lacking. Overall a pretty depressingexperience each time we had to eat there.

Ports of Call:

Labadee: Always love Labadee. This trip was no exception. Beautiful weather, nice breeze, easy to finda chair and just relax. BB Q lunch was like it always is but it wasgood. Enjoyable time in Labadee.

Curacao: Opted to rent a car inCuracao. Getting the car was a littledifficult and kind of a stressful start to the day but it ended up OK. First I had rented with AVIS which is rightoff the dock. Avis told me they gave myreservation to Budget (They are partners) and that all my original rates/cartype are still the same. Got to thebudget which is inside the Renaissance hotel and there were 6 couples in frontof us. The people who had reservationstook only a few minutes, people who didn’t took literally 10 minutes. Anyways when it was my turn I was told myrate from Avis is now higher at Budget. I questioned it for a second but then figured it would get me nowhere soI submitted a fraud report on my credit card to let them handle thedifference. The other thing that irkedme was when we got the car the gas was at 3 / 8 full. The lady said bring it back with the samelevel. How am I supposed to know whatGAS KM/L a little kia gets to bring it back exactly at 3/8 full. All service stations in Curacao are FULLservice only so trying to tell the man to not fill the tank was a fun littlechallenge. Drove around the island toPlaya Lagun and Playa Kalki. Both wereabsolutely amazing snorkeling and well worth the trip.

Aruba: Took the Arubus Line 10 up toBoca Catalina. Amazing Amazing snorkelingagain here but it was more difficult to get a bus back since they didn’t comeup that far very often so we started to walk south flagging down every bluearubus we saw. We made it back and thebus is a very economical way to get around: $2.60 USD one way cash fare.

Bonaire: Got off at Bonaire and hadplans to snorkel again on Klein Bonaire. Found an operator who had 20.00 round trip over to the island perperson. It was a 60 person catamaran so itworked out well. It came to the islandevery hour and they were pretty much ontime to the hour to take you back whenyou were ready. Amazing snorkeling heretoo, highly recommend this little desolate island.

Overall: If youread this whole review you will see that I will not cruise with RCL anymore. There were things and people I enjoyed andothers that I refuse to pay money to be put through. I travel 40+ weeks a year for work, spend200+ nights a year in hotels, believe me I know how travel is not perfect. What I saw however a continuation of servicedegradation, pushy upselling and overall a less than enjoyable cruiseexperience. The one thing that pushedme over the top was the Diamond Concierge and unfortunately he represents the toptier cruisers of RCL.

Yes I've had ciroc on both allure and liberty. Chances are you will see it on cruises out of the USA.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Anyone in the UK having a problem accessing their cruise planner?

 

We're on the Navigator 31st March and we've been trying to make some dinner reservations, check excursions etc but we just keep getting bounced onto this page --

Well, this is unfortunate.

 

Here you are trying to plan a vacation and our website decides to take one.

 

We are aware of the issue and are currently working to fix it. Please try again later and sorry for the inconvenience.

Visit www.royalcaribbean.com

 

© Royal Caribbean International

 

 

Been like this for 2 or 3 days now.

 

 

Anyone else getting this message?

 

 

Cheers

I am in america but on the 17th navigator sailing and I am also getting this same message on every device every browser I have tried. Been doing this for about a week now and royal Caribbean blamed it on my travel agent. I had already purchased some things in the past so that answer was just a crock. I ended up giving up with the rccl help desk as they kept blaming my travel agent.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

6.95 per person, but this includes unlimited soda while you are eating.

I couldn't care less what someone else is wearing, as I can look away if I don't want to see it. It really is that simple!

Wow, one logical person in here who didnt go on about how and when they shower and how they try to impress others or impress themselves which in turn they think impresses others. :D

We all complain about the RCL web site but their cruise planner purchase and more importantly cancel/refund is about as easy as it gets. Purchase.... cancel .... repeat until you have the price you want or you are within 3 days of departure.

Unfortunately the specialty dining that has a fixed price wont "sell" you a side dish. If you ask in advance and explain your situation they may just bring an extra side or something small and not charge you but there is no guarantee. niceness goes a long way in this.

You might want to try an A la Carte venue such as Izumi or Sabor on oasis (but i hear Sabor is going to a fixed price soon on Oasis also)

This would be for two adults and one 8 year old. Also, I'm thinking the price could go down between now and then. Thoughts???

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I paid 9600 for 4 adults in a deck 8 ATS on allure for an April 2017 cruise. Gives you a comparison point.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Airlines don't advertise that they do this. The cruise lines do.

Didn't know they advertised this. Point me to the link on their site where they advertise this price drop refund, especially after final payment.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Thank you all for such quick replies and comments. I really appreciate all the thoughts provided. I did not say I will not cruise again. This is not the case. I have been around and know enough about the pricing strategies, refunds, etc. This is the first time I experience such a huge price reduction at the time when rebooking would cost more than the difference. It sucks because they could have offered OBC, or a specialty restaurant package, or a drink package. It would have not compensated for the difference by any means of course, but would have been a nice gesture from RCL to keep a customer happy with the feeling that they tried to do something.

Ever tried to ask an airline to lower your flight price that has dropped or offer you an ECERT? They will laugh in your face even if you are their highest frequent flier tier.

The latter. While RCCL is doing quite well, the cruise business is one in which profits are measured in terms of single digit percentages. None of them can afford to do anything extravagant in term of dining or service. Also, keep in mind that this is food we're talking about - some persons' disgusting entree could be the another persons' Michelin dinner.

RCL is doing amazingly well with their profit margins, they have proven they know how to generate profits quite well recently.

Dec. 31, 2016 13.67%

Sept. 30, 2016 27.04%

June 30, 2016 10.92%

March 31, 2016 5.17%

Dec. 31, 2015 10.87%

Sept. 30, 2015 9.07%

June 30, 2015 8.99%

The latter. While RCCL is doing quite well, the cruise business is one in which profits are measured in terms of single digit percentages. None of them can afford to do anything extravagant in term of dining or service. Also, keep in mind that this is food we're talking about - some persons' disgusting entree could be the another persons' Michelin dinner.

RCL is doing amazingly well with their profit margins, they have proven they know how to generate profits quite well recently.

Dec. 31, 2016 13.67%

Sept. 30, 2016 27.04%

June 30, 2016 10.92%

March 31, 2016 5.17%

Dec. 31, 2015 10.87%

Sept. 30, 2015 9.07%

June 30, 2015 8.99%

What kind of coffee is considered "premium coffee in the package?

Also any of the frozen coffee beverages such as a blended vanilla latte or blended mocha. Those are included as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

For those of us who have been cruising for years, it has become quite obvious the cruise lines did a great job of training everyone into paying extra for their dinner. Initially cruising consisted of over the top food choices, nightly midnight buffets, desert rooms all included in your fare. Then, they introduced "specialty" restaurants. Wow....fancy...and costs were low...10, 15 dollars per person. Then they set the hook.........dining room food and service is degraded. No more nightly midnight buffets. The cost for "specialty" restaurants has skyrocketed...$40, $50, $100.00 per person.... the food served in some cases is not really that much better than what is being served in the included dining room. So yeah...I can see the argument from some regarding these specialty joints. As for me....of course we pay a few times each cruise.....after all.....I have been trained.

Did you fly on an airline 15 years ago vs today? Free bags are now 25-50 each. 33 inches of pitch now are 30-31. Full meals on every flight are now a half ounce of pretzels. Its called adapting to market conditions and its not just royal Caribbean.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Heres how I see it:

 

Part of the cruise value is the all-inclusive food, part of your fare.

 

So one reason I think it is silly to pay for specialty is you have already paid for the food.

 

Say you choose to dine at Izumi and pay $50 for 2. Well, youve given up on your MDR option, which is an opportunity cost I would value around $15 per person.

 

So in reality you just paid $80 for your meal.

 

Why would I pay $80 for frozen sushi on a ship when I can get higher quality food for less on land? Especially when the folks on land are gettng paid more and have more overhead to cover.

 

Same deal with the Italian options. I can find better quality Italian for less on land.

 

Then you have the "premium" reasoning.

 

Undoubtedly, the steak in Chops is of superior quality than the steak in the MDR. But....

 

 

 

Part of what makes it superior quality is that the free (ie, pre-paid) option keeps getting cheaper and cheaper.

 

End result:

 

As people support paid options, more ship space is dedicated to them. As more space is dedicated to them, RCL must do more to fill them. That means steering people to them by making the free options unappetizing.

 

So one reason people HATE paid dining is that even trying them is "voting with your wallet" and validating RCLs decision to devote more and more space to them and decrease the quality of food elsewhere.

 

Disclaimer: The one and only time I paid for specialty food was Wonderland. Why? That is truly a unique experience that as far as I know, cannot be replicated on land.

I love how you justify wonderland in your own head as OK and use comments like royal doesn't have the expenses like facilities on land. Yea that 1 billion dollar ship just builds itself. :)

You justified wonderland others justify chops, johnny rockets, giovannis , why can't everyone be right in their own mind without ridicule?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Top sushi restaurant? Where??? Inland Texas?

 

OK..my local sushi chef...would be horrified to see your post. :eek: We are on

the banks of the sea where ...yes...OMG..fresh NOT frozen fish is offered for

consumption. :eek: :eek

 

We are are local port with fresh fish coming in each day. And if you were to go to

Hawaii...be prepared to have them come at you with flaming pitch forks for your

comments. :eek: [emoji14]

 

So...you go to Louisiana...and order what... frozen oysters? [emoji14] :p

You are certainly a lot more brave than most if you literally eat raw never frozen fish...If you have never got sick that's great for you and your horrified sushi chef.

https://munchies.vice.com/en/articles/almost-every-kind-of-wild-fish-is-infected-with-worms

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

If you like rice and veggies...can't go wrong.

 

But....don't expect a ship that stocks food at the beginning of a cruise

to have daily super fresh fish like most good sushi restaurants....unless

those sushi chefs are fishing off of the aft deck ;) :p

...it's thawed from frozen fish which is a bit mushy.

Fresh when it comes to sushi is a bit of a misnomer:

For fish that contain parasites, the FDA provides guidance under their Parasite Destruction Guarantee. This states in part that fish intended to be consumed raw must be “frozen and stored at a temperature of -20°C (-4°F) or below for a minimum of 168 hours (7 days)”.

Most ALL raw fish you get at a reputable sushi restaurant has been "deep" frozen to meet the FDA recommendations.

You could go to a top sushi restaurant on two different nights, order the same thing and find the fish to be incredibly different in texture and taste. Its very common when eating well Anything at all.

We are going on Liberty in Sept 2017 (research) and Feb 2018 (25th wedding anniversary and vow renewal) Fog and bad weather concern me. How often does it effect a sailing out of Galveston?

 

JoeRum

I was on a navigator sailing out of Galveston years ago where the ship was stuck in dock due to fog for 2 full days. At the end of the 2nd day they offered folks to get off and get a 100% refund or continue on and miss some ports. They ended up leaving port the morning of day 3. Its really hit or miss, the good thing is i noticed RCL is now backing into the pier which may make things easier getting out.

You will likely get a reply from Corporate that they will say they are sending your request to the ship but from my experience it goes into a big black hole and nothing gets done prior to sailing.

Keep in mind too that Larger ships are typically taller, they act more like a sail when you have cross winds which tip the boat side to side. Ive had some of the worst on rolling on Oasis and Allure.

In my experience when emailing that email address you will get a response from Corporate saying "We will pass this on to the ship". From there in 100% of the times i have emailed asking for something in advance it has never happened.