Was this an "off" cruise for RC?

[mation101]

I know you have teenages, but the things you complained most about are ice cream, cookies, and pizza.

 

Really????

[bare_eyed_cockatoo]

I'm getting the sense that it's not fair to have compared the shorter cruise on an old ship to the longer cruises on newer larger ships. It was our first short trip, and it didn't occur to me there would be such a difference, although the bargain we got on the 4 day RCL cruise should have been an indicator, perhaps. I'm thinking that booking a week on a newer RCL cruise ship may be the ticket to giving the line another honest chance. We certainly never wish to have anything/anyone dampen our cruise experiences because we absolutely love cruising.

 

If I might make a suggestion, look into the Radiance class ships.

 

Our first cruise ever was 6 nights on Jewel of the Seas, and we were sold on cruising from that point on. Since then we've sailed to Hawaii and Panama Canal on Radiance, and to Alaska on Serenade.

 

Radiance has recently emerged from drydock, and has lots of new and exciting things to experience. I think she might make up in a big way for your first disappointing exposure to RCI.

[Upandadam]

I think you experienced the new RCI norm. with their cutbacks there is no more quality anything unless your paying extra for it.

 

RCI's food on the buffet, mdr and the pizza is not fit for human consumption.

 

I don't think Carnival's buffet is much better, but their mdr is.

 

In our limited experience RCI has a MUCH better buffet while Carnival has much better food in the MDR.

 

Both are great lines.

[Aquahound]

I'm getting the sense that it's not fair to have compared the shorter cruise on an old ship to the longer cruises on newer larger ships. It was our first short trip, and it didn't occur to me there would be such a difference, although the bargain we got on the 4 day RCL cruise should have been an indicator, perhaps. I'm thinking that booking a week on a newer RCL cruise ship may be the ticket to giving the line another honest chance. We certainly never wish to have anything/anyone dampen our cruise experiences because we absolutely love cruising.

 

You are right. Prior to booking your next, just do a little more research in to the ship. Some of your complaints could have been fixed if just on the right ship. Oasis Class, for example, does give chocolates on the pillows nightly in every room. Also, they may not have waterslides, but they do have a multitude of other options (2 Flowriders, 5 pools, cantilevered hot tubs, H2O zone, zip-line, ice rink, 24hr pizza, 2 self serve frozen yogurt machines.....).

[wolfganghowell]

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad

I find it to be average to decent buffet food. It is what it is. - we use it very seldom - can do breakfast in the dining room pretty fast and on larger ships you have Cafe Promenade as an option

 

2) towel animals for only one night

depends on your stateroom attendant - we usually have gotten them most nights

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

they stopped pillow chocolates a few years ago

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

stopped that too - terrible waste of food. The salad bar in the dining room on sea days is a GREAT replacement - delicious

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. This seemed really weird to us ...

seems weird to me too - I wonder if the machine was broken. I've never heard this.

 

6) no 24 hour pizza

On Voyager, Freedom and Oasis class they have pizza all night - not sure about 24 hours though

 

7) no slide into the pool

nope never have - that's a Carni thing, like flowrider, ice rinks and mini golf are RCCL things.

 

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good.

Food is pretty subjective. I don't consider their food to be great but I don't go hungry.

 

I wonder if perhaps things were off because it was a 4 day cruise. I have often heard that the difference between a 3/4 day cruise and a 7 day cruise is pretty standard. I think it's definitely harder to establish a rhythm or rapport with staff on those short sailings.

 

Best of luck on whatever you decide.

[WillieC]

I am a loyal RCCL and Celebrity cruiser, but what this poster makes some valid points, as I have seen the product decline somewhat as well.

 

I would say that given the outrageous rates charged for cruises on the Oasis (which I was not the least bit impressed by) and the Allure one should have a whole box of candy on one's pillow every night as well as towel animals hanging from every hanger and draped over all furniture.

[mommabean]

I am a loyal RCCL and Celebrity cruiser, but what this poster makes some valid points, as I have seen the product decline somewhat as well.

 

I would say that given the outrageous rates charged for cruises on the Oasis (which I was not the least bit impressed by) and the Allure one should have a whole box of candy on one's pillow every night as well as towel animals hanging from every hanger and draped over all furniture.

 

They price their ships according to what the market will bear. I personally am not interested in the size of these ships or the extra activities that seem geared more to families. Therefore, I won't pay those prices. If I did, I wouldn't expect a box of candy. :rolleyes:

 

I don't consider no chocolate on my pillow a declining product either. I was disappointed at first, just because it's fun to see it there. But I was bringing it home for DD anyway. I can go buy a bag of ghirardelli chocolates for $2.50 and have enough for 2 or 3 weeks.

[PaulMCO]

I am a loyal RCCL and Celebrity cruiser, but what this poster makes some valid points, as I have seen the product decline somewhat as well.

 

I would say that given the outrageous rates charged for cruises on the Oasis (which I was not the least bit impressed by) and the Allure one should have a whole box of candy on one's pillow every night as well as towel animals hanging from every hanger and draped over all furniture.

 

Agree 100 percent. We are just off Allure, what I would like is consistency in the food. Last year on LOS was super. This year on both Oasis and Allure was really disappointed in food quality and the insistent nit picking to get money from you. This includes increases in the prices for the specialty restaurants. At Izumi we spent $130 and went away hungary.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We were on Grandeur two weeks ago.

 

No problems with Windjammer food, in fact we thought there was a very good selection. Of course, some of the food was only warm but that is the way with all buffets on ships, we find. Always found room to sit and eat.

 

Towel animals every other night.

 

No chocolates - no loss.

 

No midnight chocolate buffet - again no loss.

 

MDR (My Time Dining) was superb with only one meal that was less than good.

 

Soft serve frozen yogourt machines operating all day, with a couple of breakdowns, but it was not very good quality and I seem to remember on Carnival a few years ago, it was very good. We had the Ben and Jerry ice-cream instead on a couple of days and that was excellent and worth the extra expense.

 

Pizza on Grandeur was disgusting but again not much of a loss because there was so much other food to eat.

 

Did not miss a water slide. Only been on one ship with a waterslide (NCL) and never used it - not really the place for a 64 year old:eek:

[sgermic]

I'm sorry to hear that your cruise experience with RCCL was a disappointment. Even though you said things that were "nitpicky", you're a paying customer, and on vacation--and sometimes little things add up and can be a bother.

 

I was on the Liberty of the Seas this past November, and every problem you had on the Grandeur was nonexistent on the LOS.

 

So, to answer your question, Yes I think that this was an "off" cruise on the Grandeur.

 

I highly recommend trying the Voyager, Freedom, or Oasis Class ships. AKA---24 hr pizza, multiple soft serve locale, and tons of things to see and do. TEENAGE PARADISE...

 

If you give the newer ships a try and you're still unhappy, stick with what you love and know and enjoy yourself on Carnival :)

[pstone1]

Just wanted to mention that restaurant hours are posted daily in the Cruise Compass. Room service (which includes pizza) can be ordered most any time for no extra charge except late, late night/early morning. There is no reason anyone should be hungry on a cruise ship. We sailed on the Grandeur and had a great time and really had fun with our waitstaff. If you don't like the Windjammer buffet breakfast, you can always eat in the MDR. It's wonderful!

 

Paula

[Industrialdr3ams]

We went on a 3 day in July and wondered the exact same thing. I know now how die hard people can be with their preferred cruise lines. We are giving RCCL another chance aboard Liberty of the Seas. As for the food, maybe it's a foodie thing but I agree with the OP, the food was poor quality at best a middle of the road wedding reception. We had issues that were addressed by RCCL corporate office, they offered their apologies and an onboard credit for this upcoming trip. I hope it will be a 180 from our experience aboard the Monarch. Good luck with your next trip and I hope it is a great one.

[bethco]

I happened to be reading the "What Ever Happened to ....." section of the boards and thought it sounded familiar.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1218710

 

The exact same thing was posted by the original poster more than a year ago. If he had such a bad experience in June 2010, you'd think he'd know enough to stay away from RCCL if he did indeed even go on another cruise.

[NorthTXRanchers]

I happened to be reading the "What Ever Happened to ....." section of the boards and thought it sounded familiar.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1218710

 

The exact same thing was posted by the original poster more than a year ago. If he had such a bad experience in June 2010, you'd think he'd know enough to stay away from RCCL if he did indeed even go on another cruise.

 

That's me. :) And I'm not at all of the mindset that ONE bad experience is necessarily representative of the entire cruise line. Thus my questions. Most of the folks on this board are super helpful with their insight and experience so I reposted now because we're trying to decide which cruise to book for this holiday season.

 

My family is still RCC gun shy but my RCC friends are pushing us to give 'em another try, sure that a longer cruise on a newer ship will sell us on the more typical RCC cruise. Narrowed it down to three cruises -- on Carnival, RCC, and the NCL's new Epic ship. Can't wait to get back out to sea.

[cruisinfanatic]

In June of last year, we took our first Royal Caribbean cruise (a shorter four day cruise on Grandeur of the Seas) after many Carnival cruises (all seven days or longer). We are an easy-going, happy family that really enjoys our cruises, and we make a huge effort to engage the staff everywhere on the ship and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. That said, our RC cruise was very different and quite honestly, pretty disappointing.

 

We had always heard that Carnival was the "working class" cruise line but have always had "first class" service, accommodations and food. On RC, we didn't have such great luck (and the things that were lacking seemed (??) to be related to cutting costs and/or a less than wonderful atmosphere for the staff that showed in their dealings with us passengers). A couple of RC fans at our dining table, who also said this cruise was very disappointing and way different than previous RC cruises, suggested that we probably experienced the new "pared down" standard that they thought might be in place at every cruise line due to the economy, etc.

 

I'd love your feedback -- before we book another cruise with either RC or Carnival, we'd love to know if our RC experience was an "off" one or something that other RC folks have noticed.

 

The things that disappointed us, when compared to our previous Carnival experiences, are listed below. Some of these things are so small that they're not important to our decision making process, but are included here just so I get a feel for whether our experience on RC was not what we should expect next time out.

 

Here's our (nitpicky) list:

 

1) food in the Windjammer Cafe was really bad (nor warm, and equivalent to a poor buffet). Also unsanitary as we watched staff grab slices of fruit (not by the rind, unfortunately but on the cut flesh) with their bare hands and more unsanitary practices that I won't share here. The Carnival ships' buffet areas were much better and also had desserts and a huge, wonderful selection of fresh fruits and salads, etc. (so much so, that we sometimes lose weight on our cruises since there are so many wonderful fresh things to eat!). Is RC's buffet usually better than what we experienced?

 

2) towel animals for only one night (my teenage girls still LOVE these things and took pictures of them every day on Carnival).

 

3) no Andes' (or any) mint on the bed at night

 

4) no chocolate midnight buffet

 

5) soft serve ice cream machine was only open for 60 minutes a day. The rest of the time EVERY machine on the ship (yes, we found them all) was turned off and covered up with a fitted cover. Only twice on our four day cruise did we find RC folks serving up TINY portions (about a shot glass) into a TINY kids sized cones. After about 60 minutes, they closed it up for the rest of the day and night. We asked about this and they told us that it was opening up for only short periods and that we might "catch" them if we check that area often. This seemed really weird to us ...

 

6) no 24 hour pizza but only really poor quality frozen type of cheese or pepperoni pizza (still on the cardboard piece that it was frozen on) that was lukewarm at best and available only for limited hours. So limited that even though we're the "never in our cabins" kind of family, we only caught the pizza place open once in four days and our pizza loving teenagers were constantly checking! Near the pizza they served store bought cookies in two big plastic bowls while they pizza thing was open, but after about ten minutes, they came and grabbed a bowl and took them to the back. We thought they were refilling the half full bowls, but nope. Our can eat anything and never gain a pound teenagers feared that it was their last chance to get cookies, so they grabbed several to take back to the cabin. Sure enough the RC guy came back to pick up the other bowl promptly and pulled up the table for the night. All the folks in the pizza line (probably 20 people) were looking for the cookies when they got their pizzas and were pretty hacked off that they had closed down the cookie bowls before most folks got their pizza. We only got some because we were at the front of the pizza line. It was totally weird how they had them out for only minutes and then removed them for the night when people were still standing in line to get food at the only place you could get it at that time of the evening (immediately following the late show). Our kids missed the "we'll make you whatever kind you want" pizza 24 hours a day on Carnival and the varieties (e.g., margarita pizza, etc.) all served on fresh dough, and are wondering if the pizza bar at RC on our ship was normal for the line.

 

7) no slide into the pool

 

8) the dining room (nice ones) food was really not very good. Didn't even compare to the food on Carnival ... and the servers, while nice, were not at all engaged or spirited. They did get better on the last day (when they were ready to get their tips?).

 

We want to book another cruise and right now, nobody in our family wants to do a RC cruise "ever again" but I've heard so many good things about RC, I thought it was worthwhile to find out of this is the RC standard or if we just had an "off" cruise.

 

Thanks a ton for your feedback!! I sincerely appreciate it. Our favorite things about the cruises are the wonderful staff and service and the healthy, fresh food. So we're anxiously awaiting informed updates from you.

 

Thank you.

Same complaints from you a year ago

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1218710

[wingnutphl]

I didn't get past the first line. Coming back after a year to post?? Seriously?? How did you remember all that so clearly?? Enjoy your next Carnival cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Edited: Never mind I see from SeaUs post that you are just trying to get a rise out of everyone.

[NorthTXRanchers]

I didn't get past the first line. Coming back after a year to post?? Seriously?? How did you remember all that so clearly?? Enjoy your next Carnival cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Edited: Never mind I see from SeaUs post that you are just trying to get a rise out of everyone.

 

You couldn't be more wrong. I'm sorry that you can't see it, but I posted in an effort to get UPDATED feedback from folks because only NOW are we ready to book another cruise. I asked last year, because it was a fresh issue for us. I asked NOW, a year later, because things may have changed since last summer and the folks on here are so helpful with their detailed feedback which I trust and take into consideration before making a final decision.

 

I'm sorry that you inferred any negativity at all from my message. I can assure you that no such intent was on my mind, to any degree. That said, I appreciate all of the feedback that others have provided. It's been truly helpful and the reason this site is so helpful to me! :)

[Cruzin RN]

I dont think we can compare any short cruise to 7 day cruise on any line...they are different.

OP should go on a RCI 7 day, and then make their decision.:)

[NorthTXRanchers]

Well, it took them more than a year, but I actually got a telephone call from Royal Caribbean this morning about my experience on the Grandeur last year. Better late than never! :) I'm impressed -- by this time, I figured they had forgotten/lost my letter.

 

The RCI representative was really nice and answered the questions I had after our Grandeur cruise. She advised me that RC doesn't have 24 hour a day pizza anymore but that it was supposed to be open from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. for late night pizza (and she said they have other things like hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc.). She confirmed that they don't have a restaurant open after the dinner hours (until the pizza place opens again later, as noted) so that if you wish to eat something after the late show, your only option is room service which she said could be had for a small service charge. I never did check the daily bulletin which would have showed me that -- I admit that I was conditioned by my previous Carnival cruises to think that we'd find a restaurant open after the later entertainment/show.

 

She said the the ice cream situation has generated some complaints and that they believe that on our ship, they were either having some issues with the machines or with a limited quantity of ice cream mix, so that's why they were having an attendant serve the ice cream to passengers in small quantities. She said that on many ships, if kids get out of hand and are serving up big quantities of ice cream and then letting it go to waste, the ship will sometimes elect to either close the machines or have a staff member monitor them. She said that the RC norm is to permit self-service generally though.

 

Essentially, with regard to the various issues, she said that every ship is different and can decide to run things different and order different things, so what we run into will be different on different RC ships. The thing that will be consistent she said was that on RC there is no restaurants open to have a late (post-entertainment) dinner (aside from your cabin, via room service).

 

Of course, she said that mishandling (unsanitary) of the food in the buffet lines was problematic and encouraged me to speak up right away next time so they can identify the person who isn't using proper sanitary procedures (that's totally fair ... I should have said something).

 

She mostly emphasized that they were trying to take stock of passenger feedback re their food and are evaluating where they need to make changes (specifically trying to decide whether they were going to keep the frozen pizza or change over to freshly made pizza). She said that with so many passengers having such different tastes, the best way for them to decide which direction to move toward is to survey customers on what they liked and what they didn't.

 

But she was very honest and not at all defensive. She told me that she'd sailed on the Grandeur and had experienced some of the things I did and that she had conveyed her observations back to HQ herself. They didn't offer any kind of credit, but she did ask a lot of pointed questions about what I thought about certain elements of their food offerings, etc.

 

Assuming they are truly taking such feedback into account, that's a pretty satisfying response. Sure it was slow coming, but I give them credit for following up. Their representative was a thoughtful, kind person who was clearly interested to hear positives and negatives so she could include them in their passenger feedback.

 

Interesting, she noted that many of their passengers are regular RC cruisers and while they are grateful for these individuals, they get their best "comparison" feedback from cruisers who are either new to RC or who cruise a variety of line regularly and don't have RC loyalty. I thought that was a pretty sharp observation on their part. It was clear that they wanted to hear about comparisons and valued the feedback.

 

After speaking with her, I'd try RC again, but on a newer, larger ship and on a longer cruise -- and I'll just know that we'll have to say "bon voyage" to the late night dinners and eat a bit earlier! :)

 

Hope that update helps. Kudos to RC on getting back to me!! :)

[negc]

Well, it took them more than a year, but I actually got a telephone call from Royal Caribbean this morning about my experience on the Grandeur last year. Better late than never! :) I'm impressed -- by this time, I figured they had forgotten/lost my letter.

 

The RCI representative was really nice and answered the questions I had after our Grandeur cruise. She advised me that RC doesn't have 24 hour a day pizza anymore but that it was supposed to be open from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. for late night pizza (and she said they have other things like hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc.). She confirmed that they don't have a restaurant open after the dinner hours (until the pizza place opens again later, as noted) so that if you wish to eat something after the late show, your only option is room service which she said could be had for a small service charge. I never did check the daily bulletin which would have showed me that -- I admit that I was conditioned by my previous Carnival cruises to think that we'd find a restaurant open after the later entertainment/show.

 

She said the the ice cream situation has generated some complaints and that they believe that on our ship, they were either having some issues with the machines or with a limited quantity of ice cream mix, so that's why they were having an attendant serve the ice cream to passengers in small quantities. She said that on many ships, if kids get out of hand and are serving up big quantities of ice cream and then letting it go to waste, the ship will sometimes elect to either close the machines or have a staff member monitor them. She said that the RC norm is to permit self-service generally though.

 

Essentially, with regard to the various issues, she said that every ship is different and can decide to run things different and order different things, so what we run into will be different on different RC ships. The thing that will be consistent she said was that on RC there is no restaurants open to have a late (post-entertainment) dinner (aside from your cabin, via room service).

 

Of course, she said that mishandling (unsanitary) of the food in the buffet lines was problematic and encouraged me to speak up right away next time so they can identify the person who isn't using proper sanitary procedures (that's totally fair ... I should have said something).

 

She mostly emphasized that they were trying to take stock of passenger feedback re their food and are evaluating where they need to make changes (specifically trying to decide whether they were going to keep the frozen pizza or change over to freshly made pizza). She said that with so many passengers having such different tastes, the best way for them to decide which direction to move toward is to survey customers on what they liked and what they didn't.

 

But she was very honest and not at all defensive. She told me that she'd sailed on the Grandeur and had experienced some of the things I did and that she had conveyed her observations back to HQ herself. They didn't offer any kind of credit, but she did ask a lot of pointed questions about what I thought about certain elements of their food offerings, etc.

 

Assuming they are truly taking such feedback into account, that's a pretty satisfying response. Sure it was slow coming, but I give them credit for following up. Their representative was a thoughtful, kind person who was clearly interested to hear positives and negatives so she could include them in their passenger feedback.

 

Interesting, she noted that many of their passengers are regular RC cruisers and while they are grateful for these individuals, they get their best "comparison" feedback from cruisers who are either new to RC or who cruise a variety of line regularly and don't have RC loyalty. I thought that was a pretty sharp observation on their part. It was clear that they wanted to hear about comparisons and valued the feedback.

 

After speaking with her, I'd try RC again, but on a newer, larger ship and on a longer cruise -- and I'll just know that we'll have to say "bon voyage" to the late night dinners and eat a bit earlier! :)

 

Hope that update helps. Kudos to RC on getting back to me!! :)

I am glad to read that you are satisfied with the rather belated response by RCI to your comments. I would not be surprised if the response wasn't triggered by your post on cruise critic, since RCI officials have been known to read these boards. Most of what you were told by the RCI rep confirms what many of us mentioned when responding to your post, but hearing it from a cruise line representative should be somewhat more reassuring than the anonymous comments you received here. I hope ou will give RCI another try and if you go on one of the newest ships, your options for late night dining should be significantly better.

[NorthTXRanchers]

I am glad to read that you are satisfied with the rather belated response by RCI to your comments. I would not be surprised if the response wasn't triggered by your post on cruise critic, since RCI officials have been known to read these boards. Most of what you were told by the RCI rep confirms what many of us mentioned when responding to your post, but hearing it from a cruise line representative should be somewhat more reassuring than the anonymous comments you received here. I hope ou will give RCI another try and if you go on one of the newest ships, your options for late night dining should be significantly better.

 

Thank you. :)

 

And yes, we'll give RC another try (on a newer ship!). And I'll check the ship's dining options out online (on the RC site) before we sail so I know what is going to be open or not ...

 

Looking forward to another RC cruise to compare. And then I'd like to do a Norwegian and Princess cruise too ... just for "research purposes" LOL. Think my hubby will buy that one? :D

[alexkrn46]

Thanks for the update and look forward to your future review of other ships.