No access to Royal Connect Programme for UK Cruisers

[RoofingPrincess]

Interesting. I just googled "Royal Connect" and the first page shows nothing related to cruising or Royal Caribbean - except this thread! :)

AH - I see now - you have to take the space out between the two words!

 

The Miami Herald reported today that Royal Caribbean is launching an online social network dubbed “RoyalConnect.”

Royal Caribbean says “RoyalConnect” will allow the line’s customers to get in touch with the company staff and other cruisers with similar interests. Royal Caribbean says approximately 70 executives, captains, cruise directors and other select ship staff will be among the first employees to create profiles so that customers can engage with them. There’s a catch: You have to be a member of the line’s Crown & Anchor Society and that requires having sailed on the line for at least one cruise. Bill Hayden, assistant vice president of marketing planning and strategy for Royal Caribbean, says there are close to two million active members of the society, and close to one million have cruised within the year.

[crusinmama06]

Thanks Roofing Princess.

 

Here is the link to the story for others that want to see the details...

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/522311.html

[Elizanessie]

The reason I believe that Cruisecritic.co.uk was created was not to split the boards or countries etc it was to let people on this side of the pond have somewhere that they can access info which pertains to their bookings etc over here, i.e. different pricing,different booking conditions,different spelling,different cultures,different ports etc etc.

 

There is no seperate "message board" it is only a home page with TA deals etc etc in £s not $s also there are cruise news links which reflect what is happening in the UK/Europe.

 

With cruising growing and growing on this side of the pond I certainly appreciate CC considering the feelings of UK/Europe cruisers in having the UK version.

 

Kudos to CC :D

[Goldryder]

The reason I believe that Cruisecritic.co.uk was created was not to split the boards or countries etc it was to let people on this side of the pond have somewhere that they can access info which pertains to their bookings etc over here, i.e. different pricing,different booking conditions,different spelling,different cultures,different ports etc etc.

 

There is no seperate "message board" it is only a home page with TA deals etc etc in £s not $s also there are cruise news links which reflect what is happening in the UK/Europe.

 

With cruising growing and growing on this side of the pond I certainly appreciate CC considering the feelings of UK/Europe cruisers in having the UK version.

 

Kudos to CC :D

 

Liz, I know that there is only one CC board but there is nothing on the redirect page that says that...the perception for newbies, especially those who are not au fait with boards or how they work, is that you are being redirected to another site altogether with another board....it needs something added to the effect that it has info for UK cruisers but will also give access to this board too. It doesn't say anything.

[LauraS]

Laura, with all due respect, boards like these should be multinational...not one for UK, one for US and so forth.

 

Regardless of where the members hail from, the board should always be open to all and no-one should ever be made to feel unwanted...even if it is inadvertantly done.

 

Boards like this and others in the cruise sector (for example) bring together people from many walks of life who share their own experiences and splitting them into UK, US etc is such a shame cos we can all learn something from each other and how different countries view different things.

 

The inherent danger of splitting sites or making 'new' offshoots is that you can easily alienate your target audience...for example, a Brit wanting to know about a US port would naturally look on this site, and chances are they will get the answer they desire. Having the redirect to the UK site can be seen as 'we don't want you here'. Now I am not saying that is the case, but the perception is there.

 

In the same way that the US cruise lines are blocking all countries except the US for certain perks, competition etc is also putting up barriers where there really should be none.

 

We here in the UK/Europe are now getting the bigger ships...yet we who fill those bigger ships cannot play or enjoy the same things as the US citizens can just by virtue of the fact that we don't have a US zip code.

 

It is a form of segregation and discrimination...albeit fairly loosely.

 

It is a shame that the cruise line behave in this way and when I discovered that CC was to have a UK variant I was dismayed, cos that flies in the face of what these boards are all about...several thousand cruisers from all corners of the world being together in one place with a single love of cruising and somewhere to share their experiences, likes and dislikes without feeling pushed out as many are by the cruise lines who call themselves international but who in essence really aren't at all.

 

Whoa, wait just a minute.

 

These boards are for everyone....it is exactly the same set of boards/forums on BOTH of our sites.

 

Essentially what we have done is create an entire editorial CONTENT area geared to our friends across the pond.

 

Again -- one set of boards here for all. (Seriously, go look for yourself).

[LauraS]

Liz, I know that there is only one CC board but there is nothing on the redirect page that says that...the perception for newbies, especially those who are not au fait with boards or how they work, is that you are being redirected to another site altogether with another board....it needs something added to the effect that it has info for UK cruisers but will also give access to this board too. It doesn't say anything.

 

And I don't think it needs to. Why would we need to ask them which board they want -- if the boards are one and the same?? The point is, they end up here no matter where they enter. IT doesn't matter which site you enter....you will still get the same set of boards -- whether you click BOARDS on the cc.com site, or click FORUMS on the UK version.

 

Also, if someone is truly a "newbie" why would I confuse them by clarifying which board they are gaining access to -- when they've never been here before?

 

Anyway, if you'd like to discuss further, please email me at community@cruisecritic.com. We've hijacked this conversation a bit much already :)

 

Laura

[coxswain]

Laura i'm sick of being redirected - i think its really stupid to have a .co.uk

 

 

JMHO

 

 

 

jj......

[Elizanessie]

And so back to our regular programme :D thanks ladies :D

 

Next Cruise Option....thats another thing UK Cruisers cant use :(

 

I have been told the reason we cant get many of these things is ...resources??!!:confused: the other answer I usually get is "different cultures":confused:

 

So is there anything we can do I wonder to try persuade RCCL UK/Europe that it is time we had access to all the different things our friends over the pond get? I have been trying for 3 years and I am sad to say I have failed so far...although I am not going to give up the battle quite yet :D

[sparkieplug24]

And so back to our regular programme :D thanks ladies :D

 

Next Cruise Option....thats another thing UK Cruisers cant use :(

 

I have been told the reason we cant get many of these things is ...resources??!!:confused: the other answer I usually get is "different cultures":confused:

 

So is there anything we can do I wonder to try persuade RCCL UK/Europe that it is time we had access to all the different things our friends over the pond get? I have been trying for 3 years and I am sad to say I have failed so far...although I am not going to give up the battle quite yet :D

 

well can I just ask one question what can you use if you are a UK cruiser because it seems your not allowed to use quite a lot of things??