Prices.

[merlindog22]

I have been reading reviews written by other cruisers who have recently been on Rcc cruises on various ships, and it seems to me that although they are raising their prices across the board for everything, including the cruise the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone. The quality of food, the way the food is served, the fact that they have reduced it would appear drastically the number of waiters in the dining rooms, the number of bar staff. You now have to go and get a drink from the bar, instead of having roving waiters on deck etc. They just seem to take and take more at every turn, but give nothing in return. In fact they are taking more away. There are a lot more instances of them removing services etc. to go into. It seems to me that more money now means less service from RCC. I have a RCC cruise booked for June, however if it turns out to be as I suspect, that will be my last with RCC. They just don't seem to care if they lose customers now adays.

[ryano]

I have been reading reviews written by other cruisers who have recently been on Rcc cruises on various ships, and it seems to me that although they are raising their prices across the board for everything, including the cruise the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone. The quality of food, the way the food is served, the fact that they have reduced it would appear drastically the number of waiters in the dining rooms, the number of bar staff. You now have to go and get a drink from the bar, instead of having roving waiters on deck etc. They just seem to take and take more at every turn, but give nothing in return. In fact they are taking more away. There are a lot more instances of them removing services etc. to go into. It seems to me that more money now means less service from RCC. I have a RCC cruise booked for June, however if it turns out to be as I suspect, that will be my last with RCC. They just don't seem to care if they lose customers now adays.

 

I agree with everything you said as I have witnessed it in just the last four years of cruising RC. I guess it was really noticeable to me because I was on a 3 year hiatus but I do give you fair warning in that you will likely be called a complainer by those here that refuse to admit or see it.

 

Im going on Allure because its just now in my budget and Ive wanted to experience that ship since it was built. It very well could be my last RC cruise too. We will see.

Edited May 14, 2015 by ryano

[BonnieSte]

I agree with everything you said as ive witnessed it in just the last four years but I do give you fair warning in that you will likely be called a complainer by those here that refuse to admit or see it.

 

Im going on Allure because its just now in my budget and Ive wanted to experience that ship since it was built. It very well could be my last RC cruise too. We will see.

 

"Like" unfortunately my next one may be my last one also. May be time to start looking at land vacations. :(

[ryano]

"Like" unfortunately my next one may be my last one also. May be time to start looking at land vacations. :(

 

Im wanting to try different cruise lines. Im sure they are all going through the same thing and have many unhappy or complaining guests but trying others out and being new, I will not know :)

 

And Im in no way saying my last cruise was bad because it wasnt. We just noticed a huge cutback in most areas of service, the quality of food in Chops and the MDR and an overall feeling of paying more yet getting less than three years ago. Im also not bashing EVERYONE here either. Some people that cruise 4 or 5 times a year may not be able to see it as well as we did after taking a three year break. Everything the OP posted is very much a real thing in our opinion though.

Edited May 14, 2015 by ryano

[BonnieSte]

Im wanting to try different cruise lines. Im sure they are all going through the same thing and have many unhappy or complaining guests but trying others out and being new, I will not know :)

 

And Im in no way saying my last cruise was bad because it wasnt. We just noticed a huge cutback in most areas of service, the quality of food in Chops and the MDR and an overall feeling of paying more yet getting less than three years ago.

 

LOL that's a great point. If I don't know what I would be missing then I won't be missing it. :D

[alfaeric]

Two posts about preceptions in less than a week. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2208462

 

Impressive.

 

I wonder when the next post of "I booked this cruise for 2 years from now, and now I want to not go" post will show up.

[papaflamingo]

Agree with all. But if you read the other cruiseline boards you'll find that they are saying essentially the same things. NCL now charges $7.95 for Room Service for example.

It's become a "race to the bottom." It'll hopefully start to recover.

But keep one thing in mind. Our first cruise was 1998 on Grandeur. She was one of the newest ships. We paid a discounted rate of $750 for an inside cabin in Sep. Figuring the value of money, that would be about $1100 in todays dollars. I can book on Allure for the same week, right now, an inside cabin for $695. In 1998 that would have been $479. So the cost of a cruise is about half. Yet the cost of labor, fuel, food, etc. has gone way up. So, they adapted by reducing staff and increasing on board costs. Only you can decide if it's "worth it" or not.

[Hawaii697]

From my signature, you can see that I'm a Carnival fan. With the exception of a few minor instances, I've always enjoyed sailing on Carnival because its affordable and we always have a great time. Being the group coordinator I suggested we try a different cruise line and we're sailing on the Adventure of the Seas next year.

 

Meanwhile, I'm research everything I can regarding AOS and Royal. Lately, I'm seeing a lot of negative comments regarding RCL. From increase in cabin prices, staff service, to 40% increase in drink prices, etc. I'm not going to let these comments deter me from sailing RCL next year, but I'm hoping that once onboard the AOS, RCL proves most of the negative comments wrong. :)

Edited May 14, 2015 by Hawaii697

[Paulxyz2004]

While I do read the Reviews I don´t buy into most of them. Most Reviews are way too subjective. I´ve read horrible Reviews about Cruises I´ve been on and I´ve not even remotely shared the opinions.

 

I´ve also been reading Food complaints for as Long as I´m a member on CC, yet I´ve always been satisfied with the Food.

 

Of course nobody likes to spend more Money than needed, but everything has a higher Price today than a year or two ago and no stuff has no upgraded Quality coming with it. I don´t expect the Price of a vacation to stay the same.

 

So far I´m fine with the product for the Price paid. Each of us will rate this individually, but I´m sure not starting to complain just because others write bad Reviews. I will only let my own experience influence my decision and I always go with the anticipation of havin a great time and not with a mind set by bad Reviews from others.

[Paul65]

I have been reading reviews written by other cruisers who have recently been on Rcc cruises on various ships, and it seems to me that although they are raising their prices across the board for everything, including the cruise the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone. The quality of food, the way the food is served, the fact that they have reduced it would appear drastically the number of waiters in the dining rooms, the number of bar staff. You now have to go and get a drink from the bar, instead of having roving waiters on deck etc. They just seem to take and take more at every turn, but give nothing in return. In fact they are taking more away. There are a lot more instances of them removing services etc. to go into. It seems to me that more money now means less service from RCC. I have a RCC cruise booked for June, however if it turns out to be as I suspect, that will be my last with RCC. They just don't seem to care if they lose customers now adays.

 

I think, if you go in expecting to be disappointed, it may be a self-fulfilling prophesy. I was on the Serenade last month, and we had a lovely cruise. Enjoyed the food in the dining room, as well as one night each in Giovanni's and Chops. Dinner service was good, and any time we were sitting in a lounge for more than a few minutes, it seemed someone would be asking us if we wanted to order a beverage.

 

The fare we paid was about the same as what we had paid the previous time (about two years earlier), and I didn't notice any other price increases on-board, except for the increase in drink prices. Well...now that I think about it, the photos might have gone up a bit. I think the size that used to be $19.95 was now $22.95, but we don't generally buy more than a couple photos, so barely noticed that change.

[karen&roy]

All in all, even with the all of what you have posted, you cannot go anywhere for these prices. Essentially $200 a night and up with all entertainment, food and a nice room? Also, if there is bad weather you are not stuck in it like you would be on a land vacation. Anyway, we have a done land vacations in Mexico and Florida and spent a lot more overall daily then we do cruisng. I think its a good bang for your buck...but thats just me :D

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

I have been reading reviews written by other cruisers who have recently been on Rcc cruises on various ships, and it seems to me that although they are raising their prices across the board for everything, including the cruise the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone. The quality of food, the way the food is served, the fact that they have reduced it would appear drastically the number of waiters in the dining rooms, the number of bar staff. You now have to go and get a drink from the bar, instead of having roving waiters on deck etc. They just seem to take and take more at every turn, but give nothing in return. In fact they are taking more away. There are a lot more instances of them removing services etc. to go into. It seems to me that more money now means less service from RCC. I have a RCC cruise booked for June, however if it turns out to be as I suspect, that will be my last with RCC. They just don't seem to care if they lose customers now adays.

 

You pretty much summed up everything perfectly. There is really nothing even debatable with what you said. RCCL is a business and right now is catering to their shareholders instead of their loyal customers. Their repeat passengers (like myself) will be moving on to other lines, but their ships are still sailing full right now thanks to first time cruisers and an improving economy. I personally think they are near a tipping point from really damaging their relations with their loyal base. Their insanely high drink price increases are going to beat up their earnings in future financial quarters. You would have to be nuts to buy this stock right now. People are simply going to drink less or not at all. If people are drinking less, then they are gambling less, buying less art and making fewer spur of the moment frivolous purchases etc. Then at some point in the future the economy will slow down and RCCL will try and kiss the butts of the once loyal customers to come back again with some coupons or something. Some will come back and some wont. For my family, we have already decided our cruise in two weeks will be our last with RCCL for many years to come. Other cruise lines are adding IMAX theaters, fancy water slides, breweries on the ships etc. RCCL added freaking bumper cars to their ships in the past year. BUMPER CARS!!!!! Those things were all the rage during the 1920s-1950s. Really RCCL, that is the best you can do? We are excited to try new cruise lines and also revisit some others lines we have not been on in awhile. RCCL is still a good line, but no longer a great line. The value is just not there for the money anymore imo. I am not loyal to any cruise line, so it is time for me to part ways.

[Paul65]

You pretty much summed up everything perfectly. There is really nothing even debatable with what you said.

 

There is actually quite a lot that was debatable, including the main premise that they are "raising their prices across the board for everything." Similarly, the follow-up point that, "the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone," is also debatable. It's one thing to say you agree with it, based on your experience, but lots of people have experienced differently.

 

As I said earlier, I did not experience any significant increase in cost overall (versus 2 years ago), nor did I see any drop in quality of service. So, yeah, it's debatable. :cool:

[Gopher1934]

While I do read the Reviews I don´t buy into most of them. Most Reviews are way too subjective. I´ve read horrible Reviews about Cruises I´ve been on and I´ve not even remotely shared the opinions.

 

I´ve also been reading Food complaints for as Long as I´m a member on CC, yet I´ve always been satisfied with the Food.

 

Of course nobody likes to spend more Money than needed, but everything has a higher Price today than a year or two ago and no stuff has no upgraded Quality coming with it. I don´t expect the Price of a vacation to stay the same.

 

So far I´m fine with the product for the Price paid. Each of us will rate this individually, but I´m sure not starting to complain just because others write bad Reviews. I will only let my own experience influence my decision and I always go with the anticipation of havin a great time and not with a mind set by bad Reviews from others.

 

Well said I agree with you !!

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

There is actually quite a lot that was debatable, including the main premise that they are "raising their prices across the board for everything." Similarly, the follow-up point that, "the quality of the service you receive in exchange is dropping like a stone," is also debatable. It's one thing to say you agree with it, based on your experience, but lots of people have experienced differently.

 

As I said earlier, I did not experience any significant increase in cost overall (versus 2 years ago), nor did I see any drop in quality of service. So, yeah, it's debatable. :cool:

 

 

I know you are one of the the board antagonists, but I will play along and let you have some fun. By all means lets debate. Please name what has not gone up in price? The cruise price has gone up, gratuities up, drinks way way way up, specialty restaurants up, excursions up, bingo up, spa services up. What am I forgetting here? Again, there is nothing to debate when it comes to prices as they have increased for absolutely everything. Now as for service, I guess there could be some debate as that varies person to person. I have personally experienced less wait staff by the pools as has hundreds of others on this board. Could there be some RCCL cruise ship out there that has the same amount of pool staff. Perhaps but doubtful. I have experienced waiters too busy to chat with the dinner guests as well. When you have to cover 6 or 7 tables it is hard to stop and chat. We know that complaints were so high on the the newest ships they brought in additional wait staff. Perhaps again there are RCCL ships out there that are properly staffed like they were two decades ago though. I have not been visited by the head waiter or maitre d in my last two sailings. I am not even sure if those positions exist anymore. The one thing that has never decreased for me personally is the room attendant. I have never had a bad one myself, but the number of complaints about that on this board have increased as well. By all means, please tell me where service has stayed the same or improved. This board is filled with threads probably 50 to 1 against your opinion, but I am open to discussion if I am wrong.

[Paul65]

Cruise price was actually a tiny bit lower for me from two years earlier (for similar itinerary and cabin). Gratuities were the same, but I see they'll be going up slightly in the near future.

 

Trying to proclaim things non - debatable and calling someone who would dare disagree with you a "board antagonist" really doesn't boost the credibility of what you say.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Paul65

[Winghunter]

The prices will not hurt them. The ships are sailing full at high prices. People who want to drink will drink regardless of prices. Go to a baseball game. People are in line for a 10 dollar beer. The cruise line is only loyal to your money, not YOU. I have seen many bars in downtown San Francisco packed where the cost of a Martini is 19 dollars. Go to any major Casino in Las Vegas and order a drink from the bar. 12-14 dollars is cheap.

 

The difference is a land based vacation has actually become a better financial investment than cruising, and the wife and I love to cruise (D+). We just got off the Oasis and while there were negative reviews but we had a blast and loved the ship, it was the overall cost that kills it. 3K for cruise, $900 airfare, $450 for 2 days in FLL hotel.. The killer, $1,400 OB bill and we really didn't buy anything. A mixed drink and a blended drink were $26 with tip, we're light drinkers but every night out dancing and 3 drinks knock on a $100 bill, add gratuities and a couple pictures and they have vacuumed another 1K out of my wallet.

We had flown to Saint Marteen in December and spent 10 days, rent condo, car, food, airfare, etc. and it was $3,000. Difference is I can go buy a bottle of booze for what one round of drinks cost, it adds up. If you look into the all inclusive resorts the price really falls below a cruise and the service and food have become comparable. I enjoy cruising but it will be a once every couple year option now and not once or twice a year as it once was.

[HorrorFan]

The difference is a land based vacation has actually become a better financial investment than cruising, and the wife and I love to cruise (D+). We just got off the Oasis and while there were negative reviews but we had a blast and loved the ship, it was the overall cost that kills it. 3K for cruise, $900 airfare, $450 for 2 days in FLL hotel.. The killer, $1,400 OB bill and we really didn't buy anything. A mixed drink and a blended drink were $26 with tip, we're light drinkers but every night out dancing and 3 drinks knock on a $100 bill, add gratuities and a couple pictures and they have vacuumed another 1K out of my wallet.

We had flown to Saint Marteen in December and spent 10 days, rent condo, car, food, airfare, etc. and it was $3,000. Difference is I can go buy a bottle of booze for what one round of drinks cost, it adds up. If you look into the all inclusive resorts the price really falls below a cruise and the service and food have become comparable. I enjoy cruising but it will be a once every couple year option now and not once or twice a year as it once was.

 

I agree completely. Anyone who says cruising (at least on RCCL, I can't speak for other lines) is less expensive or better value than an all inclusive hasn't done their homework.

All inclusive's (unless you are talking high end resorts, which would be apples to oranges anyway) are in most cases much less expensive, especially when you tack on hundreds of $ for flights, hundreds of $ for a drink package) etc.

I love to cruise, but not enough to pay what RCI is charging these days. And their 'sales', BOGO and otherwise are laughable.

Having said that, we just returned (in March) from a 11 day S Carib on Legend that was wonderful, but it was booked a couple of years ago. Can't get prices anywhere near what we paid now.

I'll be looking at land vacations in Cuba or maybe Costa Rica for next winter.

[Paul65]

By all means, please tell me where service has stayed the same or improved. This board is filled with threads probably 50 to 1 against your opinion, but I am open to discussion if I am wrong.

 

I'm not a super frequent cruiser. My most recent was last month, and I cruised two and five years ago. The service seemed a little off on the cruise five years ago. I would say my personal experience is that service this year was just about the same as two years ago and better than five years ago. I realize, of course, that such things can vary from ship to ship and even from person to person on the same sailing. But I have certainly not seen service "drop like a stone."

 

Even the five-years-ago sailing was, I think, just a bit of bad luck getting some dining room servers who just weren't quite up to par.

 

I can't comment much on poolside service, as that's not an area I generally hang out much during a cruise. I did see some roving servers, whenever I was around the pool area on Serenade last month, but don't really know whether or not it was an adequate number for the folks who were there.

[3dog]

We did just that..Using a website run by an airline, Flew from SFO to HNL and stayed in a very nice resort. We stayed on the 35 floor with a view of the Ocean. Total price with Air and hotel fees, 2200. The last cruise I took, 2700 for the cruise, 900 plus for RT airfair, 200 pre cruise HOTEL and incidentals of about 100 . Thats 3900 without taking the cruise. There are many benefits to a land package just as there are benefits to a cruise..

 

I don't buy this, unless that was $2200pp. You are coming from an area where typical airfare is $600+pp going to an area where 35th floor ocean-view rooms are $400+pn., and IIRC you went in a prime spring time. I could believe snagging a great deal and a getting an upgraded room, maybe $1500pp, but won't be in one of the better resorts. Add to this that nobody eats in HI for less than $20pp/pm (breakfast buffets are commonly ~$40pp, so don't expect to eat for less than $100pp/pd), I am far more believing that two people (with meals) was much closer to $4000 if traveling on a budget (shoot, I can hit this cost for a long-weekend).

 

If you were to go to the most prominent Hawaiian airline site for a week vacation next March, prices are effectively starting at $2000pp, and to get in the "nicer" resorts at the higher levels, expect $3000pp+. Eat at the nicer restaurants where you won't get out for less than $100 (lots more if you order a bottle of wine), or have the drinks in the beach side bars (where drinks are commonly $10 before tax and tip), and an equivalent week-long Hawaiian vacation can be $8000.

[Pesseh0729]

While I do read the Reviews I don´t buy into most of them. Most Reviews are way too subjective. I´ve read horrible Reviews about Cruises I´ve been on and I´ve not even remotely shared the opinions.

 

I´ve also been reading Food complaints for as Long as I´m a member on CC, yet I´ve always been satisfied with the Food.

 

Of course nobody likes to spend more Money than needed, but everything has a higher Price today than a year or two ago and no stuff has no upgraded Quality coming with it. I don´t expect the Price of a vacation to stay the same.

 

So far I´m fine with the product for the Price paid. Each of us will rate this individually, but I´m sure not starting to complain just because others write bad Reviews. I will only let my own experience influence my decision and I always go with the anticipation of havin a great time and not with a mind set by bad Reviews from others.

 

 

[emoji106]🏾[emoji106]🏾 I agree!! 7 cruises under my belt and no really legitimate complaint I can think about. I love the entire experience. If I have to walk up and get a drink that's not a big deal to me. It's not like I have to make it too.

[cruisevv]

Agree with all. But if you read the other cruiseline boards you'll find that they are saying essentially the same things. NCL now charges $7.95 for Room Service for example.

 

Now THIS I can't abide. It's already bad enough that RCI charges 5.95 for orders after 10pm. :rolleyes:

[Paulxyz2004]

I agree completely. Anyone who says cruising (at least on RCCL, I can't speak for other lines) is less expensive or better value than an all inclusive hasn't done their homework.

All inclusive's (unless you are talking high end resorts, which would be apples to oranges anyway) are in most cases much less expensive, especially when you tack on hundreds of $ for flights, hundreds of $ for a drink package) etc.

I love to cruise, but not enough to pay what RCI is charging these days. And their 'sales', BOGO and otherwise are laughable.

Having said that, we just returned (in March) from a 11 day S Carib on Legend that was wonderful, but it was booked a couple of years ago. Can't get prices anywhere near what we paid now.

I'll be looking at land vacations in Cuba or maybe Costa Rica for next winter.

 

To me comparing any AI to cruising is apples to oranges. To me a cruise is nowhere comparable to any AI resort. We all know most cruises are not AI. Aside from the value of cruising I would never consider an AI at all. I don't want to spend two or three weeks at one place, which sometimes is even in a remote location with nowhere to go outside the resort. I want my Hotel (aka ship) to drop me off at a new exciting port every couple of days. Sorry but even at ten bucks a day an AI wouldn't be better value to me.

[cruisevv]

Aiguring the value of money, that would be about $1100 in todays dollars. I can book on Allure for the same week, right now, an inside cabin for $695. In 1998 that would have been $479. So the cost of a cruise is about half. Yet the cost of labor, fuel, food, etc. has gone way up. So, they adapted by reducing staff and increasing on board costs. Only you can decide if it's "worth it" or not.

 

A lot of people point out that the cost to cruise is the same or less than it was 15 years ago but the ships are also bigger. Bigger ships = more revenue for RCI (as long as each room is booked out).

 

Allure can fit 6,300 people. Grandeur's max is 2,400.

Edited May 14, 2015 by cruisevv

[3dog]

Please name what has not gone up in price? The cruise price has gone up,

 

As many have somewhat related, it depends on the frame of reference. A Voyager cruise I took in 2000 cost $5500 for a balcony stateroom. The last Oasis cruise I took, a regular balcony could be had for about $3000. So from this reference, prices have actually gone down (though in fairness, my current observation is I am seeing stateroom prices starting to rise).

 

This board is filled with threads probably 50 to 1 against your opinion, but I am open to discussion if I am wrong.

 

At best, this is ratio is a guess that is swayed by your opinion. Generally speaking, complainers will usually outweigh the non-complainers giving a shifted value to start with. Adding that this particular board seems to have lots of folks (like myself) who have been cruising for a number of years (potentially outweighing recent cruisers) and might have some opinion about the "good old days", and now there is the appearance of an overwhelming opinion.

 

 

I will agree that with my first (as an adult) cruise experience (a number of years before that Voyager cruise) I had what I believed to be better service than I did with my last. But by shifted dollars, that cruise cost much more than my last (where I stayed in a suite).

 

But even by this observation, I also don't see service or quality it "dropping like a rock", and I still found the food and service to be more than acceptable. Would I give it a 10? No, but having stayed in places where service was a 10, I didn't spend near the same price as those places.

 

 

My opinion here is that prices everywhere are going up. Assuming that anything you paid for or checked on last year will be the same next year will likely lead to some serious sticker shock (and I expect all the cruise lines will be raising prices, so thinking that going to another will be sufficiently better may also lead to sticker shock).