Engineroom Snipe

Very interesting analysis and well presented. Thank you for your time and opinion on the matter. What I am seeing and listening on this particular thread is not the average complaining and moaning that some others threads contain. The opinions come from many thoughtful experienced cruisers who love cruising. We are banging the drum as loud as we can to say to RCI: "You are crossing the loyal repeat customer lines...." . I have only 7 days reserved for next year and none for 2025. Probably the first time in ten years where I did not have a minimum of 16 days per year booked well in advance. I will be doing a review of the 8pm MDR on the Jewel one week from now (not live). I have not been impressed with dining for many years. I keep hoping for the best. I hope it is not once again mediocre "SYSCO" provided foods and sauces. So far, the food except in a few circumstances has been maybe a 6 out of ten at best for the last few years. Reading these posts, I am not alone about "where is the money going" except to pay RCI shareholders after borrowing lots of money to survive the pandemic. I had to provide for my family during the pandemic. I am not going to pay what I think are additional fees for new cruises just to "help RCI survive." I am just standing on the sidelines for awhile to watch things unfold.

I have never tried to do that. Looking forward to someone answering your question from experience. I dread giving "hypothetical" advice only to get you frustrated after you get onboard with bad information.

@EmmasNana On Oasis in September we did not prepay gratuities and were able to use OBC to pay for gratuities.

I have been cruising since 1988 with RCI. The "pre-paid" gratuities started with the Introduction of "My Time Dining". Until then, one only tipped the cabin steward, your assigned waiter and busboy, and those who gave you face-to-face service if you wanted to do so. The "behind the scenes personnel" were never mentioned in any tipping discussions onboard.

@livingonthebeach You are correct, there is a money savings off the full price. I never remember having that card available at the beginning of any cruise. I do not think RCI is doing this to save the cruisers money. If they wanted to do that, they would offer it at the beginning of every cruise. The intent of my sarcasm was that RCI normally only makes it available when they are not making drink quotas beyond the drinking packages already bought and paid for. As some people have mentioned, not everyone uses all of the drinks punches before the cruise ends after they buy these cards. To the best of my knowledge, they are only offered about two days or less of the end of the cruise. Even at this discount, RCI must be making a reasonable profit or they would not offer it. If people who are not using drinking packages consume products at full price and the ship is meeting quota expectations, the cards are not offered. There have been discussions on many topics about after the first three days, cruisers with unlimited drink packages start decreasing their consumption. This was why the drink package per day price is higher on the three and four day cruises referred to as "booze cruises". They are drinking hard for most of their cruise. The seven days or more cruises tend to have cheaper per day prices because there is peak use during the first few days which declines afterwards. I can also see how C&A higher tier members might be prime targets for this card as it allows drinks to be shared and encourages them to buy a bit more than their daily tier quota which they enjoy at no cost.

Just an hypothesis: The cruisers who bought premium beverage packages on a seven day cruise are getting a bit "saturated" about three days into the cruise. The bars seem to have a bit of "free" time on their hands. The bean counters who get a computerized spreadsheet on every bar instantaneously realize they are not meeting quotas. Let us set some bait on the hook so people feel like they can save money and we can make money. Break out the discount card.

Oasis cruise, September this year, it was for sale. You could share the card. The ship occupancy was a few hundred short of rated capacity (to the point of exceeding double occupancy easily, many three and four to a room as I walked by stewards doing cabins). I do not know exactly what days it was offered but I saw people using them on Friday of a Sunday through Saturday cruise.

And some of them do not even face the ocean!!!!😁

Getting into NJ is free but you have to pay a toll or a tax to leave!!!! If you are passing through, we get you coming and going!!!!!! 🤣

There could be a "two tier system" with different pricing models for those who just like to "watch" and those who want to "actively participate". Similar to using the lounge chairs near the pool as compared to going into the pool water. 🤑

In the Navy, after a ship was overhauled or repaired, we would go for a "Shake-Down" cruise which would have every system heavily tested to see if the repairs could handle expectations. RCI is now doing "Shake-Down" cruises but they are testing your financial limits to see how much stress the consumer can handle. 🤣

BINGO! Maybe I save some of my cruise money for the down cycle a year or two away and make up for the cruise days I will miss next year. I enjoy cruising but I am not addicted to it. So much more to life, I will spend that time not cruising at some of my local beaches listening and looking at the waves. This is the same thing I do from the pool deck or my balcony. 🫠

So far, the CEO thinks things will not cool and he is trying to rake in as much additional profit as possible. This is great for the stockholders but not so great for experienced cruisers getting sticker shock going into next year. It will take some time to see how this really affects prices, maybe 2025 will be the turning point as many experienced cruisers book years in advance. As of now, RCI is enjoying high demand and getting premium prices. Absolutely no incentive for RCI to reduce what they charge until demand drops.

I am halfway through these responses and I have not seen the ever present standard answer of "it's the law of supply and demand, RCI has record occupancy this year......" I am with you. My bookings have stopped as of December 2022. I had 23 nights booked for 2023. So far, 7 nights for 2024 and none for 2025. I am going to wait on the sidelines for a while and try some other experiences with the money. The CEO was right that cruising was less expensive than other experiences and it was his mission to get cruise prices "more aligned" with other vacation experiences. In doing so, he is negating the advantages that cruising offered and opening up the door for people to look for other experiences that now cost the same due to increased cruise total expenses.

RCI is coordinating the balloon 'refurbishment" with the new adult only beach and ICON class ships arriving in January, 2024.

When MTD was originally introduced, your statement was the rationale. When there was only one dining room aboard the ship, for example, Nordic Prince, 1988, the only time you were not seated and served by your assigned waiter and busboy was Tea Time about 4pm and the Midnight Buffet. The introduction of the Windjammer and alternate free eating venues created a void where tips were not expected but service was still needed.

Tea Time and Midnight Buffet,........ ah, the good ole days!

Agree that it is another option. Let's face the truth, a few drinks need some type of complimentary food substance to dim the effects Drinking on a light stomach will do that to most people. No one is expecting a culinary experience at that time of night. Another option is nice. 😁

I guess I never noticed it before. RCI pushes the APP so hard, there is not much in it. One would think it would not be hard to delete the language from it.

So others can follow me to a statement I have not seen before on my cruise using the RCI App on my phone: Under "Welcome Aboard" taking you to another screen saying "Hints and tips to help you get ready for your cruise" Scroll down to "Gratuities". Last paragraph: "Please note that guests using My Time Dining may not opt out of gratuities." (emphasis added by OP). I do not remember seeing this before. Did I just miss it or is this something new they added? I cannot find anything online on RCI's sites which mention this. 🤔

Yes, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it! 😁

I have made many previous postings about bidding for an upgrade. Every posting here is valuable. First, get the cabin that is going to make your cruise satisfying. NEVER hope or depend upon an upgrade to make your cabin what your want. Carefully consider that you could get the worst location of your upgraded cabin category. "Winning" an upgrade at a higher price in a location that you do not want could be a disaster cruise experience. There are thousands of responses in 'Cruise Critic' regarding upgrading your cabin for a fee. Read them all for there is a treasure trove of opinions and experience in each and every one of them.

11:30 am to 6 pm each day? If so, that does not seem to make any noise that would interrupt a good night's sleep? You had one of the good 13 deck cabins! 😁

And that could be a great place. The seats do not move, only foot traffic and the hours are limited. The floors are mopped and not pressure washed. What are the operating hours of Johnny Rockets on your current cruise if I may ask? Like I said, some locations are better than others on deck 13 of the Anthem class.

We are booked on the Anthem Class sister ship Oydessy, November 2024. We have been on the Anthem specifically on deck 12 amidship balcony on the port side to see the sunrise on journeys south from Bayonne. We still heard in the distance much screeching of deck chairs being dragged about 5am in the morning. We are early risers so this was just a wake-up call for us. I could not even imaging how much louder it was one deck above. We would only consider a deck below the pool or "Lido" deck if it was away from noise making actions. There are a few in the fleet that have good areas to be bur you have to know what to look for. Too many stories similar to yours .