COMPLAINERS UNITE! What Can Royal Do Better?

[travelinjones]

Oasis is wonderful , but MUCH bigger ( 3x bigger) than the Splender..don't miss:

 

 

 

Walking thru Central Park AT NIGHT and listen to the classical trio

 

Hairspray- best musical I've ever seen on my 29 cruises

 

The AquaPark diving show at the back in the Aquatheater

 

Ice-skating shows

 

Flowriders ( if just to watch..)

 

Retro 70's disco party in the Royal Promenade

 

Sitting in the canti-levered hot tubs in the Adult Solarium pool area ON A SEA DAY

 

Dancing in Dazzles night club

 

Zip -line ( if you dare,lol..)

 

Try the roast beef sandwiches in the Park Cafe

 

Dancing in Boleros Latin club ( On the Royal Promenade)

 

Have a pint in the British Pub in Royal Promenade & sing along to 60's/70's /80's songs

 

 

 

Any more questions, let me know...lots to do for sure..I get bored easily on small ships...you won't be bored on the Oasis...have a great cruise!

 

 

 

Big Al

 

Thanks Big Al

 

Can't wait to try all of your recommendations!

 

 

 

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[Paulette3028]

1) Need to keep at least a section of the Windjammer open at night for late night coffee/cold drinks. There was absolutely no where to sit after coming out of the shows. How can Sorrentos or the Cafe accommodate thousands of people.

 

2) There needs to be a drink station closer to the pool area where you can get iced tea or lemonade etc without having to walk through the Windjammer.

 

6) Can't believe the number of people who book assigned dining and treat it like any time dining with 6:00 diners coming in a 6:45. Totally disrespectful to the servers who have to rush and then clean up for the next seating. Doors should close at 6:15.

 

I firmly agree with what you have stated as #1 and 2 above. Keeping a small section of WJ open after 10pm, with fruit, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies would be great on EVERY ship.

 

Your item #6, I partially agree with.....cruisers (like myself) book the early seating, but sometimes can't make it to dinner precisely at 6pm; Keeping the doors open only until 6:15 at times may not be enough...especially on the bigger ships that have so much going on ALL the time....but I can see the doors closing at 6:30pm.

[jerseybeachmom]

More single cabin options and a single meet and great before midnight for us more "seasoned" singles. (maybe a singles breakfast?)

 

I agree that the Bingo prices are prohibitive.

 

Enforce adult ages when posted ( ie- the Quest). My kids did not attend the first year we cruised as they weren't old enough. This should be enforced.

Edited May 21, 2014 by jerseybeachmom
update

[lperry1016@yahoo.com]

Ice buckets in cabins. We were told that they did not have an ice machine on the floor. We were unable to get an ice bucket until the 5th night of the cruise. We were in cabin 10208 a D2 ocean view balcony. There were holes in the top of the curtain and the bottom seam was frayed. I had requested an egg crate for the sofa sleeper two months before sailing as we had three people in the cabin and needed to use the sofa sleeper. Our attendant did not come to the room until 6:00p.m. I told him that the egg crate was requested two months in advance and would like it to be brought to the room. He explained that all the egg crates were taken. We did not get one until we requested on from one of the officers. We had one by that evening. A couple of chairs in the Windjammer sanked when sat upon. The Oasis is not that old of a ship but was in the worst shape from all the ships I have sailed on. Most of the ship is in good condition but for the price of the cruise our stateroom was not up to par. Also our commode took up to 20 minutes to flush. On day 5 which seemed to be our magical day the commode overflowed. I called maintance and someone came down and had it fixed within in 30 minutes. The commode flushed good after that. I am glad I sailed the Oasis once but will not sail her again. I can go to an old hotel and spend much less to get the same quality of room as the Oasis. I hope they do change the curtains and furniture when they dry dock. :(

[Paulette3028]

Ice buckets in cabins. We were told that they did not have an ice machine on the floor. We were unable to get an ice bucket until the 5th night of the cruise. We were in cabin 10208 a D2 ocean view balcony. There were holes in the top of the curtain and the bottom seam was frayed. I had requested an egg crate for the sofa sleeper two months before sailing as we had three people in the cabin and needed to use the sofa sleeper. Our attendant did not come to the room until 6:00p.m. I told him that the egg crate was requested two months in advance and would like it to be brought to the room. He explained that all the egg crates were taken. We did not get one until we requested on from one of the officers. We had one by that evening. A couple of chairs in the Windjammer sanked when sat upon. The Oasis is not that old of a ship but was in the worst shape from all the ships I have sailed on. Most of the ship is in good condition but for the price of the cruise our stateroom was not up to par. Also our commode took up to 20 minutes to flush. On day 5 which seemed to be our magical day the commode overflowed. I called maintance and someone came down and had it fixed within in 30 minutes. The commode flushed good after that. I am glad I sailed the Oasis once but will not sail her again. I can go to an old hotel and spend much less to get the same quality of room as the Oasis. I hope they do change the curtains and furniture when they dry dock. :(

 

Sorry, you had such a bad experience on Oasis. As I read the intent of this thread to be, it is putting ideas forth that can MAKE Royal better.....your complaints, although very real and valid in your situation -- I HOPE you clearly reported to the corporate home office in some way after your cruise....because putting them here, can't get them rectified. I surely believe service that you received is unacceptable, and the home office of RCI needs to clearly and concisely hear about it.

 

Ever since they stopped putting ice buckets in cabins, we have asked our cabin attendant for one and to have it filled with ice twice each day....Viola....it is done on the first night an everyday thereafter......so I can't share your experience at all.

[thefamilytravelagent]

 

 

When I saw the title before I saw the date- this was my first thought...pre cruise experience is abysmal (website, customer service, knowledge and inconsistency of phone staff etc) Just horrendous and not getting better. Last month- called, only added my daughters C & A number- lost all the pricing...rep said its a "glitch" (ya think:rolleyes:) and they'd have to submit it to be "fixed"...that's horrendous! That's just one personal example- there are hundreds (thousands:confused:) of similar examples and any of us who have cruised with them a bit know that the pre cruise experience in no way matches the on board experience.

 

I haven't sailed Royal Caribbean yet but I just called to price out a couple cruises. I ended up getting into a little debate with the lady because she assured me that the aft staterooms and the "hump" staterooms didn't have larger balconies on these particular ships. I'd seen many pics of these exact balconies since I'd been researching for months before calling. She ended the conversation with "OK fine, if you want to believe that the balcony will be bigger, then sure, I'll see if we have any available, but don't blame me when you get there and it's the same size". It was so snarky that I just wrote down the prices and told her I'd have to make the descision and call back another day. I do understand not ALL of the customer service reps will be great (I even had a bad one one time with Disney), but when your first experience is with someone that is rude (and WRONG) it's kind of a turn-off.

[griffy116]

Having a fridge that was actually a fridge instead of being more like an insulated cooler. Nothing gets cold that didn't go in there cold.

[cruisefrost]

Go Back to the time where almost everything is included in the price as if that will ever happen. We are done with cruising after 25 cruises, 20 on RCL. There is a up charge for almost everything as most of you know. Land Vacations for us from now on. Don't get me wrong I still would like to sit on my balcony on a ship and enjoy a sunrise with rolls and coffee but can no longer afford it. For those that can afford it happy cruising.

[ebonybee]

Solo cabins. I think RCCL will have to adore in the future.

[heyabbott]

No fat chicks. Better chairs by the pool. Better towels.

 

 

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[John&LaLa]

No fat chicks. Better chairs by the pool. Better towels.

 

 

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Oh dear:eek:

 

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[heyabbott]

Go Back to the time where almost everything is included in the price as if that will ever happen. We are done with cruising after 25 cruises, 20 on RCL. There is a up charge for almost everything as most of you know. Land Vacations for us from now on. Don't get me wrong I still would like to sit on my balcony on a ship and enjoy a sunrise with rolls and coffee but can no longer afford it. For those that can afford it happy cruising.

 

 

Yeah but. We are taking a cruise this August because the hotel prices from Cape May NJ to Rehobeth Beach Del to Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach S.C. are $300++ night for nothing exciting. All the beach towns look the same, all have the same seafood restaurants, food is expensive at the beach resorts, I do not buy alcohol to drink in my room before going out, some beaches are a bit nicer than others and the water is a little warmer in SC than NJ, but it's all the SAME. I'd spend another $150 a day on average on food and drink and such. 3 tanks of gas is $180.

 

For just under $2600 plus service charges ('gratuities'), I can get a JS on a cruise that leaves 35 minutes from my house. In the end I will be pay more for the cruise, drinks, a couple of excursions and parking than a beach week. But with a lot less hassle, hopefully. And as long as there is civility with the pool chairs, it's all self contained and easy. I don't need pictures, trinkets, bingo or any more souvenir glasses. I'm not needy and all I need from the staff is a clean room, sheets and towels everyday and professional MDR service. ( space the courses properly and bring it at the correct temperature)

 

Cruising is not luxury any more, it's actually economical. You get what you pay for.

 

 

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[griffy116]

A fridge that is really a fridge.

Smoking on the balconies.

No specialty restaurants. Serve the good food in the MDR.

Sodas and non-alcoholic beverages included.

Stop having to pay for "premium" orange juice.

Return to allowing you to combine discounts.

More elevators.

[heyabbott]

A fridge that is really a fridge.

Smoking on the balconies.

No specialty restaurants. Serve the good food in the MDR.

Sodas and non-alcoholic beverages included.

Stop having to pay for "premium" orange juice.

Return to allowing you to combine discounts.

More elevators.

 

SERIOUSLY!!!! Paying for soda in the Windjammer for lunch is just being plain greedy. I can see charging for sodas in the bars and lounges, but not in the restaurants at meal time:mad:

Same goes for juice. Fresh squeezed OJ, Lemonade guava, mango etc should be standard in the dining rooms in the Caribbean and warm climates.

[MichaelCMTX]

Cruising is not luxury any more, it's actually economical. You get what you pay for.

 

I really think that sums up a lot of this thread. There's a happy medium someplace between "I'd sure like ____ on my cruises" and "I'd be wiling to pay $xxx more to get it.

 

We don't have a long history of cruising. I joke that "my parents decided the right age to start bringing the kids along was 41." They've gone since 1979 or 1980 so they've seen a lot. They've been all over the major lines but have stuck w/Celebrity the last decade or so. They admit you don't get as much 'stuff' as in the old days. Before specialty restaurants, before Coke packages, etc.; but they also know the cabins are by and large cheaper, inflation adjusted; and the ships are much nicer.

 

I never interpreted it as complaining, but rather as observation. But they'd mentioned some time ago looking into one trip on Azamara, Seabourn or Paul Gauguin just to try one from the top shelf before they got 'too old to enjoy it.'

 

But all said, the price observation is important. I find little to complain about, but that's keeping in mind we've done GS and like what comes with it. Not going to squawk about not getting slippers anymore, but at GS prices it would be nice-- as others have noted-- to get some usable fridge space and not to have to pay for a Coke pass. It was just goofy paying over $8000 to book an 11-night Hawaii GS and then still have to pay for a Coke pass. One of the other lines gives a free specialty dining night as part of their Suite class and I don't think it's too harsh to the bottom line for them to match that.

 

There is a different level of expectation paying $xxx vs. paying $xxxx (or even $xxxxx) for the trip, and RCL has to try to keep all those travelers happy in a way that they can make money. I'm glad I don't have to figure that out.

 

Was that too cheerleady? :o

[Paulette3028]

Go Back to the time where almost everything is included in the price as if that will ever happen. We are done with cruising after 25 cruises, 20 on RCL. There is a up charge for almost everything as most of you know. Land Vacations for us from now on. Don't get me wrong I still would like to sit on my balcony on a ship and enjoy a sunrise with rolls and coffee but can no longer afford it. For those that can afford it happy cruising.

 

With you not cruising any longer someone else will take your cabin. Having just come off of a week on Allure, I can assure people that there ISN'T an upcharge on almost everything....because if so, we would have a bill from Royal, and we don't.

 

Did we pay for a specialty restaurant, yes -- one night. It was for Izumi, the Japanese restaurant, and we enjoy Japanese cuisine at home (where we go out to a restaurant and pay the bill) and we did it on the ship (it was well worth it and very reasonable). We got a shake from Johnny Rockets (BOGO) and we don't have a Johnny Rockets near home, but know their shakes are terrific. That was it. We had wonderful meals in the MDR and the wide choices of other restaurants on board.

[cruisefrost]

I can see where everyone might not agree with me and as long as your happy with things on the ships as they are that's great. I guess its a problem for me now as I have seen the better days of cruising from the 80" and 90"s. Even though the service on RCL is great today it was much better in years past. Being retired brings new perspective as to how far my vacation buck goes. Also if I lived closer to the port as one poster said he was it would be a better deal for me too. But adding a trip of 1000 plus miles adds greatly to the cost of the cruise. For the most part the ships will all sail full and a lot of good memories will be there. Cruising is great way to see the Caribbean as many other parts of the world. Been across both oceans and through the canal and would not trade the experience for anything. Still watch my videos to enjoy the past cruises. Again many happy cruises to you all.

[Langley Cruisers]

Oh my goodness....

 

It. Is. ALIVE.

 

:p

[99florida]

Improve the food in the MDR.

 

Raise the prices for the specialties.

 

Establish and enforce a dress code for the MDR.

 

Enforce dining times in the MDR. Doors close 15 minutes after serving time. No entrance after that.

 

Allow each pax to bring aboard a bottle for in cabin consumption. Place a $50 per bottle fine on anything smuggled that exceeds the limit.

 

I concur with you about enforcing the dining times in the MDR. It used to be that way ~ door was shut and you did get in if you were late. I really feel awful for the waiters with large tables and people from all walks of life stroll in when they feel like it. I was just on the Enchantment and there were people coming in 30-60 min. late and then expected the waiter to start all over again for them while others at their table were on their main course. That's what MY TIME DINING means. They should have suggested/encourage/enforced those that came in that late to simply go to the MY TIME DINING for the remainder of the cruise.

 

Ok, also a great need for improvement with the pizza and burgers. Sailed on Princess in May and I must say they definitely have the best flavor for these two items. The pizza is true thin New York delicious style pizza and was pleasantly surprised of the flavor that the burger had. No sure if it was simply a better cut of meat, cooking fresh right on the grill like Johnny Rockets, or that they had great meat seasonings on the burger. Very Good indeed.

 

Treat all passengers where Gold all the way up to Pinnacle the same. One trip I was so disappointed in the Concierge Lounge where Diamond Plus status was treated less important to the Pinnacle and Gold Card Suite guests and by the way I was in a suite and a Diamond Plus guest. The attitude changed when the Gold card came out. Not impressed with fake hello's. I chose to sit with other less than important guests and had a wonderful time.

 

When the refurbish a ship (dry dock) and rooms are being upgraded with flat screen tv's, put the doors on the shower and do away with the curtain.

 

Other than that, it's what you make of it :) Happy Cruising :D

[robandana]

I still remember our first cruise, Legend of the Seas out of Barcelona in 1998...wow what a time that was...5 course dinners that took over 2 hours...everyone was dressed up. They did cherries jubilee, crepe suzette's the service was impeccable. You had a small ice cream cart that you could serve yourself I think Haagen-Dazs ice cream....mmm, free shuttles at every post, those were the days...but I also remember paying $1950 for 7 days for 2 of us in a outside cabin...my last cruise 17 years later was $1400 for 7 days in a balcony for 2 of us....and we got $200 OBC....on Independence of the Seas.

 

I think if we put things into perspective we have to agree that cruising with Royal Caribbean is pretty good value for money. I mean one night hotel in a Hampton Inn is over $100 plus tax...and no food, no entertainment, no DL or CL, no casino....no amazing ship to tour...

 

I think RC do an amazing job! :D

 

Just my opinion!

[Super Grandma]

I love cruising! But there are some things that I would like to see. The refrigerators don't keep things as cool as I would like - not sure why when the only time I opened it was to put a milk carton in and to later remove it. I would love to have skim milk cartons available at night somewhere other than the Windjammer which is closed. I also would love to have trays available in the Windjammer, even if they were just large enough to hold drinks and a plate. Bingo has gotten way too expensive. Perhaps a less expensive game could be held occasionally with lower jackpots? The only experience I've had with MTD was on the Liberty when I was told that the time I wanted to dine was not available because all the slots were taken from people booking online. That doesn't seem to be MTD to me. The main dining has changed from 6 PM to 5:30 on many ships, that is too early and the 8 Pm is too late. Leave it at 6 PM please. All in all, however, I wouldn't change my wonderful experiences cruising on an RCL ship for anything else.

 

 

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[Paulette3028]

I can see where everyone might not agree with me and as long as your happy with things on the ships as they are that's great. I guess its a problem for me now as I have seen the better days of cruising from the 80" and 90"s. Even though the service on RCL is great today it was much better in years past. Being retired brings new perspective as to how far my vacation buck goes. Also if I lived closer to the port as one poster said he was it would be a better deal for me too. But adding a trip of 1000 plus miles adds greatly to the cost of the cruise. For the most part the ships will all sail full and a lot of good memories will be there. Cruising is great way to see the Caribbean as many other parts of the world. Been across both oceans and through the canal and would not trade the experience for anything. Still watch my videos to enjoy the past cruises. Again many happy cruises to you all.

 

Lots of things have changed in every industry from the 80's and 90's. You could go into a department store and actually be 'serviced' by a clerk rather than just have cashiers to take your money. Now you need to search down an employee to ask them whether they might have more of a particular item in stock in the stockroom if you cannot find your particular size or the exact item you were looking for. While the retail prices being charged in those stores has steadily risen and the quality of the products being purchased has declined.

 

It isn't the cruise industries fault that you live far from a port and have to absorb airfare to cost of your vacation. Glad you enjoy watching your past cruises.

[Mycraft]

The fridges don't keep the things really cold because of two things:

 

1. They are built-in in a tiny wooden box...so the heat can't really escape from behind...

 

2. There are two different types of fridges available

 

First: Like at home cold but noisy

Second: Silent but chilly

 

Royal Caribbean have choosen the second one and this was the right choice...coz i think there would be more complaints about the noise rhan chilly stuff...of course is power consumption also a reason on a cruise ship and the silent type is more economic than the common fridge...

[Adayatatime]

UK perspective:

 

Organise tipping in line with how Brits expect it to be (obv only for UK sailings)

 

Have more comedians on board - I like P&O where two or three comedians on in different locations

 

Allow own alcohol to be brought on board more

 

Happy to pay more if these things included

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Your item #6, I partially agree with.....cruisers (like myself) book the early seating, but sometimes can't make it to dinner precisely at 6pm; Keeping the doors open only until 6:15 at times may not be enough...especially on the bigger ships that have so much going on ALL the time....but I can see the doors closing at 6:30pm.

 

. . . and then those of us that have the late 8:30 seating are impacted because the waiters are frantically trying to reset the table while we are seated because the previous cruisers decided to show up 1/2 hour late.