Would you pay Extra for Northstar/iFly ?

[broberts]

When I'm choosing which cruiseline or ship to book, the prospect of additional costs will make the whole package much less appealing to me. I'd be more likely to make a different choice when booking. (Hint: NCL had me at "free drink package"!)

 

I agree, people should vote with their $.

 

Sadly, one has to be very careful and read all of the fine print and then do more net research. The NCL "free drink package" is not actually free. One has to pay an 18% service charge on the package cost.

[John&LaLa]

There was a bread basket on the table on the Navigator earlier this month. I was shocked! ;)

 

Lunch or dinner?

[John&LaLa]

As Debde said, RCI has funny ways of implementing and testing upcharges. We will just have to see how it plays out.

 

Easy to charge for slides with the wow bands

[John&LaLa]

I would pay a nominal fee if we were able to easily book our times / dates. Free is better, of course...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Plus one. I'd pay a little for better availability. I don't mind paying for convenience

[tingyyy]

As an Asian (I am Singaporean though, not Chinese), my speculation is that Royal is testing this out on Quantum first simply because the Asian market would be less opposed to idea of additional charges for 'premium experiences' than the American market. Cruising is still a relatively new type of holiday here and the idea of a cruise being an 'all inclusive' vacation hasn't really had the opportunity to take root in people's minds. The concept of all inclusive vacations (which I first learnt of in this forum) isn't really common here either. We book holidays in nearby beach resorts like Bali and Phuket and fully expect to pay for meals (except maybe breakfast), water activities etc when we get there. Anything that comes complimentary is a bonus.

 

Frankly like one of the posters above, I was surprised to find out that Northstar and iFly were free. There is a iFly in Singapore and I remember paying about 80sgd (which is close to 60 usd) for it, so what Royal is planning to charge seems low in comparison.

 

So yes, Royal probably figured that charging for NorthStar and iFly would face less resistance here in Asia than in the US. Then, after the charges on Quantum become well known and the hoo haa has died down, they might start charging on the Anthem on the basis that 'hey, we have refrained from charging on the Anthem until now and it's about time we standardized the experience on the Q-class ships!'

 

I'm pretty interested to see what they do on the Ovation since I'm booked on a 3 nighter out of Singapore in June 2016. I have a feeling that if they do charge I will still pay because we have US$300 in OBC between the both of us to use up in those 3 nights!

[Merion_Mom]

Lunch or dinner?

 

Dinner, of course. They have always left a breadbasket on the table at lunch.

 

;)

[Firefighterhoop]

I would pay to do them, ONCE. (Not that I would be happy about it) Hopefully it stays complementary in the US Market

[The_Big_M]

Yup!! I'm not buying for one minute that this is directed at the 'Chinese market' as some are labeling it.

With that said, and even if you want to believe this will only be for the one ship what stops them from charging something extra for the 'Caribbean market' in the future......:confused:

Like I said on another thread. What about the slides on Harmony??? Could you imagine!!! :eek:

 

Exactly.

 

Some amusingly opine that because the website says there is only a charge now on Quantum, it is only for the Chinese.

 

Of course, a week ago it wasn't for the Chinese either, and there was no such suggestion. It is an equally similar thing to add this charge to other ships.

[The_Big_M]

Personally, I think everyone is getting a little too worried about something that hasn't even happened.

 

While you may be referring to it happening to other ships, the fact is it has already happened to one ship.

 

And that was done with one weeks' notice, and no justification. How some find that defensible is odd... but I guess it's the view that they're not affected so who cares about those who are, and the actions.

 

As for the suggestion that it's cultural, that's just an assumption, of which there are actually many possible justifications. It is questionable as well. How to explain then the test price increase of WowBands on Anthem? In the same argument that must be a cultural thing as well. Chinese mustn't be willing to pay for upcharges whereas Americans will.

 

Hang on...

[Ocean Boy]

Easy to charge for slides with the wow bands

 

You mean the same WOW bands that you have to pay extra to get?

[John&LaLa]

Dinner, of course. They have always left a breadbasket on the table at lunch.

 

;)

 

Got it, I have yet to see a basket on the table for dinner. I would eat to many

[John&LaLa]

You mean the same WOW bands that you have to pay extra to get?

 

Pay to play. ;)

[Ocean Boy]

If we wait to make our opinion known until after it's implemented fleet wide, it will be too late. The point of making our displeasure known now is to make it clear that we will not participate. Maybe they'll listen if enough people speak up. I wish they had talked to their customers before the designed whole ships for dynamic dining. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I wonder if RCI wishes that they had talked to their customers first. Nah, those folks dishing out thousands of dollars to sail on our ships will take whatever we through at them because we know what is best for them.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[Ocean Boy]

Pay to play. ;)

 

I thought that was what my cruise fare was for. How ignorant of me.

[John&LaLa]

If we wait to make our opinion known until after it's implemented fleet wide, it will be too late. The point of making our displeasure known now is to make it clear that we will not participate. Maybe they'll listen if enough people speak up. I wish they had talked to their customers before the designed whole ships for dynamic dining.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I for one can't wait to try Dynamic Dining. If they had asked me, I would have been very supportive.

[michael821]

It seems that RCL is starting to charge for North Star, and Ripcord's IFly.

 

So would you pay extra, for what was once free?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I would NOT.

[michael821]

It seems that RCL is starting to charge for North Star, and Ripcord's IFly.

 

So would you pay extra, for what was once free?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

This reminds me of the airlines charging for luggage and a larger seat and one airline charging to use the toilet. We shall see where these nickel and dime charges lead.

[roquejo]

 

I'm pretty interested to see what they do on the Ovation since I'm booked on a 3 nighter out of Singapore in June 2016. I have a feeling that if they do charge I will still pay because we have US$300 in OBC between the both of us to use up in those 3 nights!

 

You also? Then see you on Ovation as I am also booked on that cruise for June 9-12. I also took the same June 3 night sailing of Quantum last year from Singapore.

 

I have a "gut" feeling (hopefully!!!) they won't charge in Ovation unless it is a round trip China sailings where 90% of the guests are from mainland China. And unless I am wrong, there are no round trip Tianjin Ovation sailings, both are repositionings.

 

I based on this observation that they began charging in Quantum starting Dec 30, which is the first round trip Shanghai sailing for 2016. Because the previous few Dec Quantum sailings before Dec 30 are from HK, going to Okinawa, Keelung etc, with the last sailing from HK which is the current sailing (Dec 25-Dec 30) are from HK to Shanghai passing by Xiamen and Okinawa..

 

So if we follow this pattern of not charging for Northstar and iFly for sailings out of HK, our Ovation Singapore sailing might be free as well.

Edited December 27, 2015 by roquejo

[Lionesss]

This reminds me of the airlines charging for luggage and a larger seat and one airline charging to use the toilet. We shall see where these nickel and dime charges lead.

 

 

 

Made me chuckle.

 

Reminds me of my younger days going to Ocean City Maryland and the toilet cost 10cents to use.

We would either wait for someone to come out and hold the door open or be hoisted up and over the stall and for the brave of heart crawl under the door.

 

Of course Airline doors are all the way closed, so it looks like it will be a buddy system.

 

Thanks for letting me recall my childhood.

 

Safe travels.

[John&LaLa]

Made me chuckle.

 

Reminds me of my younger days going to Ocean City Maryland and the toilet cost 10cents to use.

We would either wait for someone to come out and hold the door open or be hoisted up and over the stall and for the brave of heart crawl under the door.

 

Of course Airline doors are all the way closed, so it looks like it will be a buddy system.

 

Thanks for letting me recall my childhood.

 

Safe travels.

 

Pay toilets common in Europe. Pray you have the right coins. :eek:

[icat2000]

Pay toilets common in Europe. Pray you have the right coins. :eek:

Now they have coin changing machines outside the pay toliets. At least there was in Florence and Venice when I was there in September.

[broberts]

Dinner, of course. They have always left a breadbasket on the table at lunch.

 

;)

 

I wonder if the unused items are reused at a later seating?

 

Pay toilets common in Europe. Pray you have the right coins. :eek:

 

Coming soon to a pay toilet near you . . . tap to pee. :D

[Russ Lomas]

Definitely would not pay for North Star. Other than maybe taking a few photos from it of the ship from up high, I have no desire to even go on it (looks pretty ugly too IMO on the top of a sleek ship). Even if it was free, I would not like up to try it out. Maybe if passing it and it there was no line at all for it.

 

I would like to try the iFly but would not pay for the experience. I have seen deals through Groupon offering five times the flight time for double the cost that RCCL is trying to sell it for on the Quantum. No thanks. I will drive an hour down the road and try it on land if I have the urge, which I do not.

 

Now, if RCCL made the flowrider a pay attraction only, I would very likely switch cruise lines altogether. I love the RCCL product overall but would love to try Princess, MSC, and try NCL again in the future. RCCL seems to charge more of a premium than the other lines (by a bit, not a lot) and we love RCCL, but I cruise the RCCL ships to get me where I want to go and to flowride in between destinations. Take away that one competitive advantage that you offer in my mind and I would try some other cruise lines who offer some different ports for a change.

[John&LaLa]

Coming soon to a pay toilet near you . . . tap to pee. :D

 

Great, another excuse to go in the pool. :eek:

[WaveSplasher]

You also? Then see you on Ovation as I am also booked on that cruise for June 9-12. I also took the same June 3 night sailing of Quantum last year from Singapore.

 

I have a "gut" feeling (hopefully!!!) they won't charge in Ovation unless it is a round trip China sailings where 90% of the guests are from mainland China. And unless I am wrong, there are no round trip Tianjin Ovation sailings, both are repositionings.

 

I based on this observation that they began charging in Quantum starting Dec 30, which is the first round trip Shanghai sailing for 2016. Because the previous few Dec Quantum sailings before Dec 30 are from HK, going to Okinawa, Keelung etc, with the last sailing from HK which is the current sailing (Dec 25-Dec 30) are from HK to Shanghai passing by Xiamen and Okinawa..

 

So if we follow this pattern of not charging for Northstar and iFly for sailings out of HK, our Ovation Singapore sailing might be free as well.

 

How was the Quantum 3 Nighter? How long do you have to wait for the North star?

 

The higher price on the Quantum is due to the all the new technological advancements they put on the ship.. Furthermore, expect the china market to pay for this and if they are willing too(Most of the sailings are sold out) Royal won't hesitate to add charges.. Like the majority of people on here, I'm not going to pay extra for the IFLY, certainly not the NorthStar, BumperCars when their base price is rather high.

 

But if they start adding charges, this has to fleetwide, or people are going to complain...

Edited December 28, 2015 by WaveSplasher