Die Hard RCCL Cruisers...AKA Loyal Royals.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

RCI really sucks bad in many ways - it is a bad company:eek::(

But their ships and the entertainment are they key selling point.

 

MSC is catching up fast with their new ships ... (y) (y) (y)

[cruzeluver]

Best cruising decision we ever made was to pledge loyalty to no one line. Like to mix it up. I do believe that "familiarity breeds contempt". We cruise two to three times a year and would be bored senseless if we saw the same shows over and over and over again, ate the same food over and over and over again, etc.Besides, I can think of many itineraries and ports we would never have been able to experience if we stayed with just one line. Love Royal, but also love Celebrity and MSC and hope to try a few others in the not too distant future.

[geomancer]

I'm only a loyalist as far as the company I give my money to is willing to reward me for that loyalty (above and beyond what I get as a basic benefit for my commerce).

 

I used to be extremely loyal (as an example) to United Airlines as a customer. 24 year relationship. Flew them exclusively unless there was no other option. They've eroded their loyalty program to the point that it's hardly a factor at all on which airline I choose any longer. I was doing ~100K miles a year to Asia... and now I just pick the airline that sucks the least because choosing the airline I've been loyal to for decades means almost nothing other than putting me higher on the potential upgrade list if there is a seat available.

 

Cruise lines are going the same way. It felt reasonable to invest in sticking to one cruise line to get some reciprocal benefits... but now I'm just pricing out what I think will be my total package value. There are very few actual loyalty perks left. "Welcome" bottled water? Yay?

 

I agree. And those seat upgrades on airlines are pretty rare unless you're at the highest level. Planes don't often fly half empty anymore, they're pretty much all packed. I can't tell you how many times I'm 17 on the upgrade list of 32+ names all going for the single first class seat they reserve to the end.

 

With the rewards programs as they are, there is 0 reason to be loyal.

[birdylady]

We are loyal to Royal mostly because that was our first cruise and loved the product. Have stuck with them and are now diamond. We are a few years away from D+, assuming they don't move the carat again. After that, we 'might' consider other lines if we run out of options with Royal. But it would be like starting from the beginning so not sure how that will feel.

 

Erika

[Living4acruise2day]

From what I understand, MSC status matches

[cruzeluver]

From what I understand, MSC status matches

They do. You just have to provide them a photo or screen shot verifying your status with another line (or even hotel company). The caveat is to maintain your status if achieved via status match (as opposed to achieving status by sailing with them) you must cruise with them at least once every two years. Its not a bad deal at all.

[Palmetto Pilot]

Have you, will you, ever going to try another cruise line?

Yup we tried Carnival and loved the Breeze and NCL as well. Now were equal opportunity cruisers.

[island lady]

Tried many other lines pre-Royal. Did our first RCI cruise with Mariner and we were hooked, strayed one more time to HAL...(mistake) and then have come back ever since.

 

Not to say we won't try other lines later, but right now we are indeed "Loyal Royals"...and have been enjoying the perks of being such ever since. :cool:

[clarky213]

All 6 cruises with Royal, but spending the Day on Celebrity Eclipse next month when she visits Liverpool just to see what the opposition is like.

[Tapi]

One of the BEST cruise related decisions I’ve ever made has been to stop being loyal to one cruise line, and that’s even I had already reached one of the highest loyalty levels at one particular cruise line. Now, I make it a point not to repeat the same cruise line twice in a row and I’m constantly looking at cruise lines that I haven’t sailed on before.

 

The result has been wonderful. Every time I set foot on a new ship and on a new cruise line, everything feels fresh and new. That feeling of wonder and excitement that first time cruisers experience repeats itself every time I cruise. And I’ve learned how useless some loyalty perks truly are. Many times, I’ve received better treatment as a first time cruiser than as a past guest.

 

Royal still ranks high on my preferred list of cruise lines and I consider that it delivers a product most in tune with my personal preferences. But bouncing around has taught me that there are things that other cruise lines do much better while I’vd developed a new appreciation for the things in which Royal excels.

 

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

Pretty loyal to royal , but will be sailing Oceania next year , sure that will ruin us for all others

 

I just did this. I hope it will not take me away from nor ruin any future RCL sailings, however it really opened my eyes. Kudos for taking the step to give it a try :) If interested, expand my signature as I have a link to my recent Oceania review, geared with tidbits comparing to RCL

[pcur]

We've bounced around to Princess and HAL, because their itineraries and prices for the South Seas to Hawaii and Tahiti are not available on RCCL. We also had a return cruise from Sydney to Honolulu, but HAL had one all the way to Seattle for less, so we cruised with them. I cruised on NCL in April 2017 with my friend in the Med. Hubby and I went this past March on NCL, HAL, and RCCL. That's when we decided it was time to boomerang back to RCCL.

 

If we want an itinerary RCCL doesn't offer, then we look at Celebrity, then Princess and HAL. But, we prefer RCCL.

 

My signature says it all................................1973 was with RCCL

[zdad59]

Our gang likes RCL. We have done the last 3 annual cruises with them. For next year we decided to try something new, so we booked an NCL cruise for 2019. Only a few weeks after booking, however, NCL did not treat some friends of ours very well, so we all decided to cancel that trip and we booked Allure in Feb instead. We know what we are getting with RCL and it suits us fine. SO they are now our go to for a while. One is our group owns a quilting store and is now even running a couple quilting cruises on Grandeur out of Baltimore in April next year. She may be making a business out of cruising.

SO its RCL for the Delaware Football Parents cruises now and in the future.

 

 

[rncruiser]

We are diamond with Royal. The only other cruise I have taken so far not on Royal was with Home Lines, which went out of business in the ‘80s.

I had a cruise booked on Norwegian last year because we were traveling with friends who are big Norwegian fans and they had cruised with us on Royal and we had to let them choose the next cruise. As it turned out, the cruise was cancelled last minute and we ended up on Royal anyway.

Because of the cancellation by Norwegian, we got a 50% credit towards another Norwegian cruise. We recently decided to go in a short family cruise and decided not to let our credit go to waste. We have booked Norwegian Sky to Cuba in July. Although it is a smaller, older ship than what we are used to on Royal , I am interested in comparing food, service and entertainment. I am trying to go with an open mind, but my guess is that we will remain loyal to Royal.

 

 

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[sjb317]

We’ve always been happy with Royal and have 46 cruises with them but a couple of years ago, we decided to try Celebrity and really enjoyed our cruise. So now we switch around between the 2 lines depending on itinerary and price but Royal will always be my first love.

 

NCL has had some great prices for Cuba so we are considering a cruise with them.

 

Sherri:)

[xtremegk]

Only ever sailed Royal (9th-ish cruise coming up this weekend), but have always been open to other lines. Just ends up that at the time, Royal has offered what works best. This will be my 3rd cruise with my wife -- let her pick the first, without mentioning any loyalty to any line. She chose Liberty. The next cruise, we wanted a longer trip (actually looked at land-based first), and as she sorted the options, the Allure won out based on the ship itself. Now this one, we have a baby on the way and saving time off is a key. I actually liked NCL for the extra overnight in Bermuda, but Anthem over a holiday weekend wins based on timing.

 

So short answer: yes, I have and will definitely consider other lines.

[karkee8807]

I've been on 7 cruises, with my 8th booked. All Royal, but one..

 

We found a last minute deal with Carnival on an old ship for $189 a person (before taxes) interior room. I assumed it was fine since Royal keeps up with their older ships. I also don't mind interior rooms.

 

The ship was in horrible condition and smelled like old musty smoke and dampness. The entire crew was rude and unprofessional, with the exception of a bar tender and the check in lady. Little things ignoring us at the bar since we only had the soda package to they were screaming and throwing stuff down the different levels of the Centrum. We had to beg for hand soap for our stateroom, it never came. The food sucked. We pretty much ate burgers and chicken tenders the entire time.

 

I know 4 night Bahamas are common party cruises. I know Carnival is known for partying. But the guests were out of control. They were running around getting in other guests faces, ordering room service to other peoples rooms, throwing glass into the hot tubs, disrupting the peace...things that were something you would see Royal intervene with because other guests were uncomfortable.

 

My husband and I are pretty laid back travelers. We just want to have a good time and relax. We are also easy to please and are always friendly with crew because we see how hard they work and how mean other guests can get. We were shocked how bad this cruise was. The only thing going for it was the adults only area at night. Other wise we would just try to find places to hide out on deck away from everyone.

 

We both agreed we would never sail Carnival again unless we had a very good reason to do so.

 

Had we paid just an extra $50 to 75 more instead of the Carnival cruise we would have gone on Enchantment. So when I saw her in port, I nearly cried because I was so mad at myself for letting my Carnival curiosity get of the best me. We also would be leaving our next cruise with Royal as Emerald members. But instead, we will be one point away from Emerald.

 

However, I am interested in trying lines like NCL or MSC. I would love to use Celebrity too. I like that the points are transferable. I also am a huge fan of Captain Kate's instagram page and would love to take a cruise with her as our captain.

[kalliekae]

We had been on 10 cruises before trying Royal. I wanted to be on a mega ship and the Oasis and Allure did not disappoint. We have only sailed on Allure for the past 5 cruises. We enjoy the activities on board, the staff, and restaurants. However, we would not be opposed to trying another cruise line in the future if it was sailing to ports we had never seen.

[bobbie0253]

We are pretty loyal to Royal but we have tried Princess, Carnival, Disney and NCL. They all have their pros and cons. :)

 

 

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[YlangYlangF9PB3E]

Yes, we are trying MSC next October, 2019. The Meraviglia is coming to New York. It’s a new ship. It will be in NY for the month of October, before transitioning to Florida. They match status and being D+ gives us their top tier of Black. We just want to try something different. I know we will never leave Royal. Just want to experience another cruise line.....we have done Carnival and Norwegian years ago.

 

Gwen [emoji3]

They match our status? Great!! I wish Holland would. I will definitely check MSC’s itineraries. Thank you. 😊

[LMaxwell]

Each line does things a little differently; some things better. Glad I broke out of the mold a few years ago. Besides, companies are not loyal to customers.

[biomedbob]

Our 100th cruise will be on RCL's Grandeur in October. Air cost is a big factor in flying to ports from the middle of nowhere. Our next will be from the worst port (Miami), as we don't speak Spanish, on MSC in February.:evilsmile:

Edited May 24, 2018 by biomedbob
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[maryann2]

I am not loyal to any line and love the variety and different experiences of other lines and usually just do longer cruises.

Just finished a 14 day transatlantic on the new Carnival Horizon, fabulous cruise.

Doing a transatlantic on Jewel OTS in Nov. Then Costa Fortuna from Singapore to Rome in March 2019. Then MSC Meravaglia in Sept 2019 Copenhagen to New York via Iceland.

 

 

I usually travel solo so price and itinerary matter more to me than loyalty.

[Big_G]

We started with Royal bounced to Carnival and Princess but came back to Royal and have started mixing in Celebrity. We wanted to try NCL, MSC, and Holland but now we're leaning more toward Regent and Azamara. It's nice to have options.

[zuscruiserz]

12 Royal cruises as of now (#13 coming up in Sept) and 2 on Princess. So far the balcony perk is keeping me loyal ;)