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Some people amaze me

Jumbiecruiser

By Jumbiecruiser,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Jumbiecruiser

Jumbiecruiser

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I started to read,but hate when it is one big paragraph.........I did read up to the part where they said they paid $1400 in tips!:eek::eek: REALLY?????????

 

I will break it down for easier reading.

 

 

 

We are just home today from a week on the Allure in suite 9330 (aquatheater which are 2 bed 2 bath). This was our first time with RCL and I'm not sure if we'll sail with them again. We paid approximately $15,000 for the room (tips not included). The room itself was fantastic, the huge deck was amazing. The master and second bedroom were nice but it doesn't look comparable to the pictures posted here of the Epic.

 

We were greatly disappointed by the perks. We did use a separate Suite check in which was essentially a shorter screening line and ended up in the usual check in line. There was no escort to our suite and we had to find it ourselves (although we were well aware where it would be from booking). I believe we received several small deliveries of canapes and fruit at random times during the cruise, but there was no VIP seating for shows or restaurants.

 

We used the concierge lounge when we could but we also have two small children which made us uncomfortable as we were always worried they would be too loud or make a mess. There is no complimentary internet. No beverage perks other than free drinks in the concierge lounge. No complimentary seatings at the specialty restaurants and almost all of them have a cover-charge (150 Central Park was $50 pp). We met our concierge once at a VIP sail-away party and never saw him again.

 

We didn't use our main dining hall as we couldn't expect our 2 and 4 year old to sit through 1 - 2 hr meals each day. We made a mistake and pre-paid our tips. We didn't realize they were applied at the time we purchased the cruise which meant that for us, we paid approximately 1400 in tips to people we never once saw (Head waiter, assistant waiter and waiter). We were pretty bummed out about that. Lesson learned.

 

The toiletries were unimpressive and were never replenished during our cruise even when I removed the lotion and such from the bathroom. We were really disappointed by the parades in that kids had no special viewing area and both my children were unable to see either of the two parades because there were so many adults in the way. We were told to come early but there was very little seating on the promenade deck.

 

We also experienced long waits for face painting and balloon animals due to ADULTS in the lines. I know these things are trivial but when travelling with a cruise line promoting DreamWorks we expected more. We did receive a complimentary seating for photos but when we went to book they were full and we weren't able to use it at all.

 

Disembarkation was a mess. Suite guests have early disembarkation but so does a standard portion of regular passengers, which meant that the process was as chaotic as ever. We couldn't find a porter to help with our luggage at all. The ship was beautiful but we preferred the more subtle stylings of smaller ships. We missed the art auctions and other events from Princess and in general the ship felt more 'mall' like than ship. Having paid so much we expected more personal service and what we received was pretty much par with everyone else and I'm pretty sure they didn't pay that much! Essentially we paid a lot for the room and large deck.

 

All in all it was a great vacation but next time we'll spend a bit more wisely. Having read all this I'm going to look at NCL for the next trip! It sounds like those perks were more what we were hoping for. In the end it's about value for money spent and we don't feel we received it.

 

Oh and can I add...what is it with POP on cruise lines? I'm sick of paying extra and having to go to "special" locations with my "special" cup or sticker only to feel like I'm pestering someone.

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PH8

PH8

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I thought the same thing. Pre paid gratuties are not that much. Total BS.

Prepaid tips for a suite are $97.30 a week...........unless they were paying for about 14 people,I don't believe it either..

 

Thanks for breaking it down.............my eyes were going buggy!

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PH8

PH8

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I understand but that's how many it would take to equal that and I know that many cannot fit into that size cabin.:)

Maybe they had extended family with them in other cabins and paid for them...oh who knows??

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Cruzaholic41

Cruzaholic41

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Wonder why they did not post this on the RCI site....:rolleyes:

 

$1400 in tips?

 

Only saw Waiter and Assistant Waiter once?

 

$50 per person for 150 Central Park?

 

Some things just don't make sense and are not correct. Could be mistakes on the OP's part, or it's intentional. Who really knows?

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Jumbiecruiser

Jumbiecruiser

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$1400 in tips?

 

Only saw Waiter and Assistant Waiter once?

 

$50 per person for 150 Central Park?

 

Some things just don't make sense and are not correct. Could be mistakes on the OP's part, or it's intentional. Who really knows?

 

I think that they meant that they never saw the waiter once since they did not use the MDR. I think that we have someone that fabricated this entire story.

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critterchick

critterchick

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Now I know that the $1400.00 was BS. :)

 

Perhaps they paid the tips twice - the OP said that s/he didn't realize they'd been prepaid. At just under $100pp, that would add up to nearly $1400. It's no crime to round up.

 

Let's face it - RCI has some of the least impressive suite perks in the mass market line. They've slowly begun to differentiate what people in full suites get, but IMO it's not as good as what Princess offers (the only one I've experienced first-hand) - free unlimited Internet, a special breakfast menu in Sabatini (way better than the special seating in the WJ), free laundry & drycleaning, a minibar setup (yes, the CL is a better perk than that), flowers in the cabin, and a few other things that have slipped my mind.

 

Having said that, I think that the OP's expectations were unrealistic, and in order to be credible, s/he should have talked about a few things that went right - it couldn't all have been bad.

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MadManOfBethesda

MadManOfBethesda

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This was posted on the Carnival board but is about the Allure. Some people amaze me.

 

Yeah, some people amaze me, too.

 

Especially RCL loyalists who troll the Carnival board for the sole purpose of making derogatory comments about CCL.

 

...No matter what the Carnival people try to tell you their ships are much more crowded. It's a simple fact....

 

Wow. Very rude. Is this what the average Carnival cruiser has turned into? Maybe many are glad that they are not going to be on a ship with you.:rolleyes:

 

...That is one fugly ship. Typical Carnival though. Beautiful and Carnival don't go together in the same category....

 

I'd post more examples, but many of your other derogatory comments about Carnival are in threads that have been locked because they devolved into nothing but back-and-forth sniping. Big surprise.

 

I don't understand why some people find it necessary to try to foment disharmony and create turmoil.

 

Yeah, some people truly amaze me. :rolleyes:

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Jumbiecruiser

Jumbiecruiser

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Yeah, some people amaze me, too.

 

Especially RCL loyalists who troll the Carnival board for the sole purpose of making derogatory comments about CCL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd post more examples, but many of your other derogatory comments about Carnival are in threads that have been locked because they devolved into nothing but back-and-forth sniping. Big surprise.

 

I don't understand why some people find it necessary to try to foment disharmony and create turmoil.

 

Yeah, some people truly amaze me. :rolleyes:

 

Glad that I could entertain you. At least my days work has paid off.;):rolleyes:

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Batcat

Batcat

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Gee I didn't know I wasn't allowed to go to parades because I am an adult. :oMy bad! Next time I will stay in my cabin!

 

I'd better do the same! I had booked a character breakfast but I guess I'd better cancel it now since I'm an adult :p

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