endorphin8

Does anyone know of a good private tour group or private driver with minivan or van they have used to pre-book a tour?

Normally I just grab a taxi and go to a beach and easy to find a taxi or have driver come back at a set time. This upcoming trip we have 6people going out to Carabali Rainforest ATV ride (40 mins) away by Yunque Rainforest so getting a driver there from port will be easy but probably hard to find a ride back from out that far unless we book a driver to take us and wait the two hours while we ride the ATVs that might be worth it. Any recommendations for anyone who has used a driver and has their number or contact information is appreciated.

I am sorry for the multiple threads on this topic. I think me and hubby are going to pass on the ATV and probably do the touring on our own but my adult kids and spouses are more excited about ATV excursion.

 

 

I'm a little frustrated with Royal Caribbean.

 

I had originally reserved San Juan Carabali ATV Adventure few months ago and normal price was 144 with sale price of 115 per person. On 11/17/17 I received email that this excursion was cancelled for all of us. I was very disappointed. I went ahead and reserved us all on Campo Rico ATV Adventure for 120 per person.

Today when I was looking at the available shore excursions I can see that Carabali ATV Adventure is available again but now it is not on sale. It is 144.00.

I think Carabali looks more interesting because it is in the rainforest. But Royal said they cannot give us the sale price because it is not on sale today even though I had this excursion at a cheaper price.

Does anyone have any history on Carabali ATV vs Campo Rico ATV? I could switch but it will cost us about 30 more per person.

Appreciate your feedback.

Ask for a manager. I think RCI has just lost focus on the customer. That is ridiculous there is not someone that can override it as long as you have an email receipt or they can access record of what you originally booked it for. It was their cancelling it. Worse case is print out the receipt and take it to the Guest Services Manager onboard and they will probably be able to override the cost. And if they do not, then repost back here whether they make it right for you or not. I have loved RCI in the past but they just make notable price increases on everything for 2018. Escape of the Rubicon when from $8.99 and is now $19.99 for January cruises. As much as I love RCI this will very likely be my last RCI cruise. I don't mind paying a reasonable cruise fare, and I am even willing to pay $400-500 more than some of the other lines, but there is nothing I hate more than being onboard and not feeling like they are not doing what is right, in your case honoring the original price you booked it for before they cancelled it. I hate feeling nickle and dimed and will leave RCI if they continue to do so.

This is because people would reserve the event and not show up. The event probably works best with 12 people. If 12 people book but only 3 show up, nobody has fun. Plus, the people that wanted to reserve can't because of the people reserving the space before them. You cant have a wait list on an escape room. Once the doors are shut, you cant join midway.

And increasing the charge from $8.99 to $19.99 will make a big difference if people show up or not? I agree "Free" is easy not to show up, but I think most who are interested enough to pay $8.99 would still show up and the few who would no show could easily be substituted with a small standby line as I am sure there would be many who did not sign up wanting to get in with standby line just like they do on the entertainment shows but through the Rubicon operating hours. The truth is Royal is simply testing how much they can jack up the price of activities. I would be very surprised if this price does not drop back down in 12 months as it is really a one and done activity that repeat cruisers once they have done it a large majority are not willing to pay $19.99 to do it a second time and may first time RCI cruisers would easily be willing to pay $8.99 but less would pay the higher price. Will be fun to see how long the $19.99 last for. I give it 12 months.

I think the reason the machines use RFID rather than the card is because that's how Coke, not RCI, designed them. I've seen RFID freestyle machines in the Orlando theme parks and elsewhere, but have yet to see one that will take a card.

I have not seen one working with a card swipe yet either, but like the kid in the video did, they could make RFID cards or other cap that guests could put in their pocket and use similar to how the kid in the video did if they wanted to.

I don't like carrying the mug, so I just order a soda from a bar. I don't understand why, other than to let others get soda for free, which, to me, is stealing, but then again, that's for another thread, why someone would go through that much trouble.

 

I know there is a symbol on my card that gives me soda or if I have the deluxe package, drinks so I don't see what good it is other than another way to cheat the cruise line out of the money.

 

It seems as though the scammers, schemers are moving from another line to this one. How sad. If I am wrong though, I do apologize and will look for an explanation. All the schemes will eventually will affect us, but I guess until then, those that do so will succeed.

The RFIDs on the cups only allow the cup to be refilled every 10-15 minutes or so, so I do not believe it is intended as a way to cheat or steal more soda as it is a convenience of not having to carry a big mug around every where you go, lose it, or with the recent Gastroinestinal Virus that just broke out on another RCI ship, using a fresh clean cup every time likely helps reduce. One thread mentioned cups being seen in the public restrooms on the ship. I don't want some kid who just came out of the restroom with his cup placing his cup on the machine where I will be filling my mug next. I agree I don't want drops of soda on my seapass, but swiping the card through a card reader would still allow RCI to only allow the user to use it once every 10-15 minutes just as it does now. Having a mug to carry around does not stop someone from pouring the soda into another cup for another guest. The cup does not stop or encourage dishonest people any more than a card would.... but maybe that is just my thoughts from an honest person who likes the soda machine but do not want to bother with carry a mug around wherever I go just for the convenience of the machine.

On board credits can be used toward anything usually that posts to your shipboard account including gratuities, so unless the amount of credit is abnormally high, it is unlikely that you would still have a credit balance on your account after gratuities have been applied per person onto your account.

Last time we had one, it was a little over $4 with gratuity.

I don't mind paying a small surcharge for being a monopoly and onboard a ship, but if they continue to increase their prices and keep adding new fees (i.e. Escape the Rubicon from complimentary, to $8.99, now 2018 Sailings are $19.99, new Room Service fees $7.95, and $4+ for a soda) this is when I start boycotting future cruises and taking larger groups on other cruise lines. There is nothing I hate more than feeling taken advantage of or paying nickel and dime ridiculous fees, even if other cruise lines continue to follow suit. I figure I won't do the Rubicon for $19.99 and usually only order breakfast room service a few times while onboard, so they do not gain much from trying to up sell me, but my choosing to book a large group on other cruise lines I figure is loss of thousands of dollars they would gain in cruise fare, spas, shopping, casino, and other fees that are reasonable.

The sad thing is that the short sighted management will be able to see and track new "Upsell" revenue from extra charges, but they do not have the ability to easily see and track loss of passenger revenues from former loyal guests like myself who will book more land trips or other cruise lines so they will continue to see millions of new revenue and keep adding new fees as long as some are willing to pay it, including those who do it in spite or price gouging fees. $2.50 to $3 for a Soda is high, but seems reasonable on a cruise ship. $4 plus 18% gratuities if this is in fact what they are charging now in addition to may other nickle and dime fees where no major service is provided, like the spa or hair salon that does make sense, just makes me think negatively of a bad customer friendly philosophy and makes me want to take my business elsewhere as a matter of principle. I do appreciate others who do not care about paying more, and others who are new to cruising that just accept it for what they are charging. I absolutely love RCI ships, but not enough to feel dirty or significantly overcharged by RCI. Their private island fees are another great example of over changing a reasonable "monopoly" captive customer fee.

Does the Soda Package include gratuities, or is 18% gratuity plus tax added to soda package, or is 18% added to onboard account each time you get a drink from the bar? Years ago, or on another cruise line, it was all included with the price paid, but the Terms on the Soda Package suggests the 18% gratuity is only waived for Austraila and another international location, and makes no reference as to 18% gratuity being included or waived on Caribbean sailings which causes me to wonder if it 8.50pp/day plus 18% & sales tax?

Ill be honest, with the package I have asked for cans in the past and they have never questioned me. They will give you one if requested.

Did you ask for cans in the restaurants, bars, or both? Do they bars have cans too, or only fountain guns? I have not done a soda package for many years and was usually on other cruise lines but thinking of getting one on an upcoming trip as long as I don't have to carry the souvenir cup around in order to get a soda. I would rather just get it in a can with ice or glass when I want one and not have to carry the cup around with me everywhere I go.

If anything Royal would charge for this perk...

Yes they would charge for the service even though it would improve the customer experience and could improve their efficiency of baggage handling. But they would not just charge but it would be double the cost of what a fair amount many passengers would be willing to pay. Great idea though and hopefully one other cruiselines will pick up.

What is this fascination with water? RCI provides canisters of ice cold water at many locations around the ship. It tastes just fine and it is included in the cruise fare. If people choose to spend money on something that RCI is also providing free of charge does that makes the company the bad guys or does that say something about the people spending the money and then complaining about the cost?

You are missing the point. It is not about the water at all! It is about providing the customer with a convenience, and at a reasonable or far less than reasonable price, and not making them feel that the company is trying to squeeze every penny out of them as possible. Yes, one could carry bottle water and soda onboard Carnival if they wanted to and I rarely have, but it is so nice to not have to and still have it for a very modest price. I am hearing they no longer can carry soda or water on Royal without people trying to sneak it in their luggage. I don't mind paying a moderate fee for a convenience. Honestly, I don't even care that much about bottled water in my room. It's just an example of Royal charging excessive fees, like $20 for Escape the Rubicon. Does it really cost that much more than their employees staffing the zipline, flowrider, and other activities? Flowrider operations cost of power and upkeep, I could understand a fee for that. IThe water and soda is just an example of the principle behind their rules of not allowing it onboard, and then charging a ridiculous fee since they have a monopoly and can charge whatever they want. I don't drink alcohol but understand it is also to limit people from sneaking alcohol onboard. So charge a minimal fee and provide it as a service, rather than a way to squeeze more revenue from the guest. If a company overcharges, I don't buy, but if they charge a fair price, then I like others then they gain revenue from me and gladly. I am willing to pay a modest fee as mentioned, but $39 or $69 for a 12 or 24 case of water? Really? $20 to experience Escape the Rubicon? For even $8.99 I might do it on each cruise with new guests traveling with us. For $20, we probably won't even try it the first time. We will see if they continue to keep the price at $20. I will be very surprised if they do not receive some backlash from it. And as far as room service now for $7.95. It probably will not get me to order room service more or less than I otherwise would as I do like they are at least trying to initially offer a better menu to justify the fee, but again its the feeling that RCI is more concerned about making "upsell' revenue than making money at reasonable prices that customers will gladly pay for the convenience and possibly even do more than they previously would have spend, which was the point of the bottle water example. I have never bought water for stateroom on 60+ cruises, and I purchased several cases. True Carnival probably did it near or slightly above cost, versus Royal making ($39 less maybe $12/case cost) $29(?) additional revenue, but is it worth customer feeling overcharged and no longer valuing or thinking about the overall value vs price paid. We spend thousands at Disney and we do it willingly without thinking about it, because of the experience. It's when customers recognize how much most RCI is costing once onboard versus other ships and resort options that they will consider no rebooking future cruises. I am not cancelling our upcoming trip on RCI, but will now consider different vacation options I had originally thought of rebooking on RCI. It is interesting to read the different strong opinions on both sides of the argument on this site of predominately regulars like myself.

While I sorta agree on the water, as it´s nice to get some low priced bottles deliverd, it´s not a deal breaker for me and yes I do get along just fine with the tap water on Royal.

 

It´s not Royal who needs to get a clue. You need to get a clue here.

 

Royal will only lose thousands from lost business if they don´t manage to fill those cabins, which they usually do. But even if they would not fill those cabins they would not lose those thousands you are talking about, as they don´t need to provide a service and as such reduce their cost as well, but let´s still assume it´s thousands as some of their fixed costs would still be there.

 

Now you are talking about $100-200/passenger in return to your "thousands".

 

RCI had 5,755,000 passengers in 2016.

 

 

Using your figures we are talking a gain for them of 575,500,000 to 1,151,000,000 for your lost thousands.

 

I would be much more conservative in my calculation and put it down to an average of $10 per passenger over all passengers, knowing the truth will probably somewhere in the middle of it.

 

 

At $10 per passenger they would make 57,500,000 extra for your quoted loss of thousands.

 

I think RCI got the clue.

- Let me clarify, the "Loss of Thousands", referring to formerly loyal customers and their groups leaving Royal. I cannot speak for others, and it's not about just new room service fees or going from complimentary to $8.99 to $19.99 for Escape of the Rubicon. For me in booking groups, it's about feeling nickel and dimed once onboard. I will gladly pay more in cruise fare for Royal than some other cruiselines. RCI agents saying we are following what other cruiselines are also doing and everyone is doing it, doesn't cause me to consider RCI as a leader of the industry. For me their increasingly onboard upcharges makes me recognize the overall cost of cruising and for the first time ever I am considering booking groups to go to an all-inclusive resort rather than cruising.

The positive income they gain from the cruise fare of one passenger, and other money they spend onboard for drinks, casino, and services, is far greater and not worth losing a passenger or group over the potential to gain $10 or more per person in new and increased onboard, upsell add on fees. If Royal is filling their ships to capacity they have nothing to worry about, right? But if once loyal passengers are tired of the Royal's over charges for onboard activities and chose to no longer sail on RCI, then they do lose that income of $1000's from that family, that subsequently brings other family, friends, and work groups onboard taking the larger and repeat revenue elsewhere. Many once thriving businesses who have lost focus of their customers, and especially their repeat customers, have had declines and many have even gone out of business because of it. Don't get me wrong, I love RCI ships, and I cannot speak for others, but I know I made decision to not book a large group on Symphony for January 2019, and possibly future cruises because of their "upsell" fees. If you don't mind paying a bunch of fees for more and more activities once onboard then maybe their moving toward ala carte pricing is great option for you. The market will dictate what customers are willing to pay and if they are like me in tired of ala carte pricing versus the all-inclusive concept. Years ago NCL was on the brink of bankrupcy and travel agents were very hesitant to book on NCL for a few years right before "Freestyle Cruising" was launched by NCL. They reinvented themselves and now they have great new ships and wonderful options. I have not been on NCL for years, but I am impressed they realized they must change and did it in time. Now I am not saying RCI will go bankrupt as I would be very surpised if they are not very profitable, but I know as a customer I am willing to pay more upfront for the overall experience. I have much higher status on Carnival as it's easy to book large groups for less expensive but a few years ago I would still have preferred to take groups on Royal and other cruiselines. Carnival has also recently reinvented their ships with new "complimentary" activities on the Breeze and Vista. I have been on both the last year and they are amazing new and beautiful ships, and they have really done it right. And yes, they do charge for a few things like the 4D and movie theater but are reasonable and moderately priced.

So, this is not to say you should or should not agree, but I for one agree with what others have been saying about feeling more Nickel and Dimed on RCI and price increases and previously complimentary services now charging a fee for shows they are going more in that direction so we will hold off booking future cruises on RCI at least for now.

Don't get disheartened and give up on Royal. The drink prices are totally ridiculous all over the cruise lines, with NCL taking the lead. I have noticed that MSC has the cheapest/most affordable drink prices. I didn't much care for MSC, but I have to give the devil their due where deserved.

Not really true. I just did Carnival Vista, Breeze, and Regal Princess this last year. I was surprised to find pre-ordering water delivered to room was very inexpensive. I ordered I believe 12 or 24 pack of water for around $3-4/case so I ordered a case for each stateroom in our group. Royal Caribbean pre-ordering in Cruise Planner just checked and is $39 for 12 one litter bottles, and $69 for 24 case!!! Really Royal???? And now charging $7.95 for Room Service and just increased price of Escape of the Rubicon from Complimentary, to $8.99, and now January 2018 price is $19.99. Bad business RCI!!! You would probably only make $8-16 off us for room service, but because of business practices of overcharging onboard you will lose thousands from my not booking groups on Royal anymore, and I think others will fill the same as me. I don't mind paying a fair price for cruise fare, but don't nickel and dime passengers onboard, and then try and justify it by reservation agent saying, "other cruiselines are also charging fees". Something so little as cheap water delivered to stateroom like Carnival and Princess is a small thing but was such as welcomed and nice convenience to have that not only did I pay for it, I did so gladly and I will be much more loyal to them. I was done cruising on Carnival old ships but they are reinventing themselves with new ships that are beautiful like Royal..... but without the ridiculous fees. $39 & $69 for water delivered to Stateroom, $7.95 Room Service, $20 Escape the Rubicon, crazy high prices for activities on Royal's private beach. Get a clue Royal!!! Do you really want to lose thousands from lost business, just to make $100-200/passenger in onboard upselling revenue?

Just booked the Escape Room on the Harmony for $8.99 a person. Happy it was not $20, if it was probably would not do it. Must be cheaper to pre-book it then to book it onboard.

 

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Yes, It has been $8.99 onboard and pre-booking. Starting Jan 2018 pre-booking is $19.99. Royal Caribeen agents were not even aware of price increase until they looking into it and compared Dec 2017 and Jan 2018 cruises. The price increases for January 2018 cruises, and possibly other fees increasing like new room service charges I previously mentioned in post. I am going to research what other services and activities they are increasing and may post a price comparison of findings on this and other cruise sites. Their increasing prices after we booked this ship rubs me wrong and as much as I am excited to take our group of friends, who have never sailed before, on Harmony, I would have booked on another cruiselines new ships in hindsight which just makes me feel burned by Royal.

Your last paragraph says it all, we liked the mostly inclusive nature of cruising. A la Carte style just nags me. Everything in life is a la carte. For a week away I don’t want to be sold every step of the way. I want to walk into a nice resort and have features and amenities and good service if or when I need it. Brand cheerleaders rationalizing loss of value to the rest of us are another big problem. They pretend they are the CFO, say please and thank you as the fees get added, and race back to book more. Why would the company do anything but raise fees then?

I could not agree more. How are they so dumb to recognize this. I go on 1-3 cruises a year, maybe 7 have been on Royal. Others have been on Carnival, Princess, Disney, Costa, NCL, and others. I have loved the new Royal ships and have never stayed at all-inclusive resorts. After recent Royal pricing I plan to go on this last trip and be done with Royal and will book our groups on other cruise lines and now thinking about booking our next large group and trying an all inclusive resort. My bet is however that their executive team will track their new revenue from onboard activities, and not have a clue how much revenue they are losing from others like myself who will just stop cruising on Royal.

I HATE feeling nickel and dimed. I was planning to book our group for $9/pp on our January cruise and was excited to try it. When I saw in Cruise Planner they over doubled the price to $20/pp, not only will they not receive any revenue from us now on the Escape, I was about to book a large group on Symphony for 2019 and now booking that trip on another cruiseline. It's not about the $20/pp, it's about feeling like Royal is trying to overcharge for the little stuff that should be free or $5/pp just to discourage people not showing up or going multiple times and limiting others. Bad Business Royal Caribbean. Is trying to make a buck for little activities onboard worth making regular cruisers hate your business practices, loosing guests for life and having them book family, friends, and work groups on other cruiselines. $7.95 now for Room Service too??? And overcharging for zipline and other activities on your "private island". I don't mind paying a reasonable price but feeling overcharged just because you have monopoly makes me never want to give you another penny. Royal needs to fire their Executive team making these decisions. Yep, you are WOWing your customers Royal! How much are they going to start charging for Flow Rider? Zipline? Mini golf? The shows? Main dining? If Royal is hurting to make a buck, just charge each passenger another $20-30 on cruise fare and stop with the upcharges onboard. Just went on Princess and Carnival and had several 12 or 24 pack of water delivered to each of our staterooms when we arrived for cheap, $3-4/case. It was so nice to have them already available in the stateroom. Royal wants $39 for 12 litter bottles, and $69 for 24!!! Royal is causing me to hate them and want to be more loyal to Carnival, Princess, and Disney. None of them are nickle and diming even close to what RCI is doing.

"Liked" Nickle and Dime of the Seas

or

Upsell of the Seas, Onboard Fees of the Seas. Lost our Vision of the Seas, Fire CEO of the Seas

This upcoming January cruise will be our last time cruising or booking groups on Royal Caribbean. Beautiful and amazing ships, but so tired of their fees. Just charge a fair cruise fare upfront and keep cruising "all inclusive". RCI is becoming the leader in their ruining the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean has just more than doubled the price of Escape the Rubicon for 2018. Originally a complimentary activities, they started charging $8.99/pp, and starting January 2018 they are now charging $19.99, plus also charging $7.95 for Room Service. I currently have Platinum status and love Royal Caribbean but may not continue to sail with them as I hate feeling upsell to do many activities onboard. If they continue to have passengers willing to pay higher fees we can expect they will slowly begin adding additional fees for activities as they have recently added Room Service charges. Below is a message I sent to RCI. For those who like all-inclusive cruises and not feeling like they are charged fees for more and more activities onboard I invite you to also send a letter to RCI. Below is message I sent to Royal Caribbean.

___________________________

RCI you just WOW'd me... unfortunately not a good WOW! Our Harmony cruise in January may be our last on RCI. So tired of new charges that keep popping up. I was online looking into booking a large group for Symphony in Jan 2019, and noticed in Cruise Planner for our January Cruise on Harmony that Escape the Rubicon has increased from complimentary to $8.99, and is now more than doubled the fee to $19.99. We were excited to try the Rubicon and planning to book our small group on this upcoming cruise for $8.99/pp. but for $19.99 we will now forgo doing Rubicon as we are not willing to pay double what was already an up-charge. Bad business RCI. And charging $7.95 for room service now? STOP adding new "nickle and dime"ing fees to guests!!! Royal Caribbean and a few others are starting to ruin the cruise experience.

Your executives can commend themselves for gaining $100-300 per passenger in new up-sell revenue onboard, but they most likely will only gain a small amount from our group and others still choosing to do activities, but will loose $1000s from us as we are now planning to take our next cruise and future trips with large family and friend groups on other cruise lines or to all inclusive resorts instead. Sad to see RCI so short sighted as we have loved RCI ships. Your reservation and loyalty desk agents were not even aware of the new Jan 2018 Activity price increases until they looked up an existing January booking.

We understand fees for Specialty Dining, Spas, alcohol, and other "services", but a bunch of "extra" charges is ruining RCI. Bring back "all inclusive" style cruising, or risk losing us indefinitely. We would rather pay a reasonable cruise fare upfront and not have to worry about more and more extra charges for every activity. When are they going to start charging extras for flow rider, rock climbing wall, zipline, carousel, mini golf, basketball, and to swim in the pools? Sounds ridiculous, right? So why are they charging for Escape of the Rubicon that requires as little or less staffing than the flowrider, rock climbing, or zipline? And Room Service fees? I might order room service 1-2 times at most on a cruise so isn't much revenue gained for RCI, but that and charging crazy upsell price for Rubicon will be $1000s lost from us and what causes me to book groups elsewhere as a matter of principle. I hate feeling nickel and dimed and all inclusive is what has been what we have liked most about cruising over the years.