Billy Baltic

I'm not sure its reliable enough though. We sailed from Southampton to the Med at the end of May 2016. The first 1- 2 days were miserable - lots of showers, sea mist, cool, windy. Everyone was indoors. There was collective relief when we reached Gibraltar. Going back to Southampton was the same. Someone would need to pay me to spend time on an Oasis class ship with everyone trying to entertain themselves indoors.

This has been flagged for a long time and should already be included in the port charges/taxes already paid to RC.

Just my opinion but I don't think the temperatures sailing out of Southampton would make Oasis class practical. Too much outdoor space which would be chilly, damp and generally unappealing for the first 1 or 2 days and last 1 or 2 days of the cruise. Having done freedom class and voyager class out of Southampton, I find the indoor space very cramped on those cooler days.

For me the last day is a band-aid which needs to be ripped off. Its a major downer and I've no interest in delaying the inevitable. On arrival day, we typically stay in a hotel close to the port, having got a flight the day before. We have a relaxing breakfast in the hotel and go the ship around 11 - 11:30. When we boarding we get the work (muster, dinner reservations, kids club registration, etc) out of the way so we're able to get a drink by the pool by 1 - 1:30pm. Day 1 is a day which I've paid for. The day I disembark is not. That said, if they can figure a way to allow the previous cruisers to have a relaxed exit, then I'm not against it. Just don't delay the start of peoples holiday.

Its a personal choice really depending on how you perceive the cost and the value you get from it. I enjoyed access to coastal kitchen for dinner and the extra space is a nice addition. I thought I'd use the coffee maker but it was as easy just to go to the diamond lounge. Some things to bear in mind. Its a bid so no guarantee you'll get the upgrade. If you do, you have no control over where you'll be.

I've cruised while changing jobs and our kids joined us from when they were 1 year old. Thankfully we've not had health issues. I suppose I don't consider 2 years to be a short absence but that's down to personal opinion and its what makes CC such a fun place.

I'm very sorry for your loss. It doesn't necessarily need to be a cliff edge, to your point. It could be reduced by 1 point every day or even week, after the cutoff. If it was 1 point a week, someone on 300 points would still be diamond plus for another 2 years. Unfortunately, I think the way it could be implemented would be limited by the capabilities of RC IT. And they would probably struggle with just calculating 2 years after any date.

I'm not proposing executing anyone. I'm just saying if there was a need to reduce the number of C&A members (which this thread is about) there could be a cutoff point, like most other loyalty programs, where the benefits get rolled back. To me, 2 years make sense as a timeframe. If I cant be bothered to sail in any category of stateroom over that time then reduce my benefits. I'm going to shock you here ..... I'm not Jason Liberty, so I don't get to decide. I'm just a lowly diamond who enjoys the 4 free drinks but recognise it may not be a lifetime privilege.

I can understand why you'd be unhappy but its a loyalty program. If you haven't used the product in years, you're off doing other things .... which isn't putting money in their pocket. Covid was an exception and I'm a member of other loyalty schemes which were frozen during Covid.

Just an interesting addition to this .... they can leave a room empty, rather than accept a bid. We put in a bid for a 2 bed GS on our last cruise. It was a bit over minimum bid. We were in a JS. Our bid was unsuccessful but I know the room was available as half way through the cruise they had an "open evening" for people to see the room and see how the other half live.

Exactly!! C&A is a loyalty program. If you fit into either category then you haven't been or are not still loyal. IMO, the post above should be pinned on the RC thread as the "last word" on the topic so it doesn't need to be rehashed.

This is all just opinions but I don't think the numbers that will return in the future will make a material difference.

I don't see the target demographic making that much of a difference. Just because someone reaches diamond or cruises as a kid doesn't mean they'll keep it up. My eldest is 21 and had been a diamond in his own right for 5 - 6 years. He might opt to join us if we're going on a cruise (and we subsidize it) but he prefers to go on city breaks or beach holidays, which is what all his friends are into. IMO most of RC's younger customers will cruise a handful of times and drift off to other more "trendy" holidays and may or may not come back when they get into their 30s and have families of their own.

There are lots of unknowns which we can only guess at. Is the program really that costly? For a diamond - 4 drinks which cost RC very little and a days internet access which is hardly going to break the bank. What are the real numbers of new people achieving C&A levels? New customers are cruising but RC are selling 3 / 4 day cruise. I'd hazard a guess that a most of those people will not reach diamond. What is the level of attrition? The circle of life catches up with all of us eventually and while I'd like to try, I don't think I'll get to use my 4 "free drinks" when I meet my maker. In Europe, I dont think I've ever seen high numbers. My only concreate reference point is a B2B on Odyssey last Summer. Week 1: 126 Diamond ; 45 Diamond plus ; 2 Pinnacle. Week 2: 167 Diamond ; 36 Diamond plus ; 4 Pinnacle

Only the RC bean counters would know this for sure but I'd be very surprised if they could maximize the revenue on a brand new class of ship by tying it up for 9 months on an extended PR exercise. I think they could get a higher income PPPD in other ways.

I see RC has called out Harmony, Liberty and Ovation for "major" upgrades in 2026. Is this news or had it been expected? I haven't been on here as much recently but normally the gaps in the schedule get called out by the more observant here.

It must be worth a lot of C&A points to try going back that far.

I agree to an extent. Cruising was always evolving and always will. As you say they have focused on making the ship the destination for decades but its only recently been at the expense of service, quality and variety of itineraries. That could well be a trigger to people responding with "we had a great time on ...." or "the service was excellent on ..." but IMO most would agree that its not what it was. BTW, I say that as someone who cruised first in 2011. I'm a mere diamond with a dozen or so sailing under my belt and we cruise as a family with still pre-teen kids. So when I say its not what it was, its in the context of a pretty short timeframe.

Last year, Odyssey docked at a port distant from the old town but there was a water bus there which ran frequently and it was cheap (I dont recall how much).

The vast majority of people who sail on RC are customers who are not shareholders. And the vast majority of people on this forum fell in love with cruising for the product it used to be, not the one which Mr Liberty is selling. Personally, I look forward to the day that the current fad for cruising passes and his business model goes with it. If that means that RC cannot afford to build a fleet of Icon class ships, I'll be crying ..... tears of joy.

Wonder would be due a dry dock but as others have pointed out she may be able to do that in Freeport ...... so no guarantee there will be an Oasis class in Europe. Brilliance will probably be around though.

Agreed. Rhodes, Crete, Chania, Corfu, Sardinia, Valletta, Istanbul , etc, etc. There are so many places which RC could use routinely but either don't go there or only go once or twice a season. Also, Ravenna is a novelty to sail from once but its not something I'd repeat, especially not to get to Explorer.

If you are used to walking and have the right footwear, the step are very doable, especially if the alternative is a long wait for the cable car. We walked down when we were there last July. Yes, its hot and the donkeys soil the path but a bad smell won't kill anyone. If it did, there would have been fatalities on Explorer, deck 8, the last time we sailed on her. The worst part for us was seeing the awful conditions those poor animals are subjected to. Anyone that uses those donkeys, should be tasked with carrying their own body weight up those steps.

It will be fascinating to see how the future of RC plays out in Europe. The business model is now firmly around shorter cruises but IMO they have limitations in Europe. Europeans tend to take longer vacations, there isn't the same large populations right beside the ports, I don't ever see 3 or 4 day cruises being viable in Europe, sailing from Southampton you can hardly reach anywhere warm in 7 days. My own view is that, under current direction, they will minimise the UK market but not withdraw completely, in case they want to revisit that decision in the future. They will continue the same 7 day itineraries (never changing) in the med until they exhaust the market for those and then they'll scale back there as well. They'll show their hand when Freeport is ready for Oasis class to dry dock. If that allows them to stop sending an Oasis class to Europe, then the game is up.

That’s where the stateroom attendants really earn their money