Royal Champions Vereses the rest of us

[cruisinMike]

Alexis, I better qualify this again as to my indifference to who is a member of what. I have my own personal opinion, and professional experience to rely on as to what I think concerning influences of marketing efforts. My opinion of....does this pursuade some to be more positive or not, is irrelevant because I always use the buyer beware process on the internet. I also think we lost our way since the OP started this as who gets, or should get rewarded. But, in staying off the beaten path here are some thoughts.

 

If you recall earlier in the thread, I asked Todd, who was very honest about his feelings to not paint with such a broad brush. I know that you used the term "certain" meaning some, but my impression is the RC side is also leaning too far the other way and should be careful not to paint with such a broad brush. We now have a thread started to "ban whiners" or something like that. Just don't think that helps. I have wondered myself sometimes about the moderators choice to let something like that go depending on who the poster is.

 

I don't know that there has been bad information on this thread (maybe, I just don't recall). It has mostly been a little emotional from both sides. The battle that the RC crowd seems to be fighting is not with the posters on this thread (I think), but the expressed intent of RCI's marketing ploy. It kind of puts the RC folks between a rock and a hard place. Here's what I mean.

 

On one hand I read from the RC folks that they are, without dissent, an independent group of thinkers who cannot be influenced by RCI marketing. On the other hand, you have RCI saying this, "Measuring Success: While difficult to measure precisely, based on observation and anecdotal evidence we are confident that the Royal Champions produce ample word of mouth and exert sufficient influence to make the investment worthwhile. Posts from Royal Champions are carefully monitored during events and on a regular basis to ensure that posts remain positive and frequent."

 

Obviously there is a marketing intent that RCI says is working. Does this mean it causes some to be more pro-vocal. Who knows. RCI suggests it does. The posters here say no. But there you have it. This dissonance here is what I believe has caused some of the doubt. Obviously I'm not speaking to those who have felt slighted because they feel more qualified for one reason or another.

 

Unfortunately when doubt like this is presented rightly or wrongly, it's hard to overcome. Admittedly some have voiced their concern over the veracity of RC'ers due to this association. Remember when I used the example of the senator earlier in the thread. Suppose you overheard someone in the middle of a conversation say, have you quit beating your wife yet? Leaves the person asked that question in a lose-lose situation regardless of the answer, and leaves you kinda wondering. Unfortunately, that's the kind of doubt some folks will need to adjust to.

 

Hopefully after there is an ebb in the emotion from both sides, we can go back to our own corners for the next round of us vs them. You know, one we haven't discussed in a while, smokers-nonsmokers or chair hogs-non chair hogs, or one of my personal favorite, jeans-no jeans. ;)

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

I tend to not look at what I don't have, but what I do have and don't get all worked up over what others have...I just tend to look at things differently. I am GRATEFUL that I can even have the opportunity to cruise at all, especially with this economy and would be hard pressed to have the time to complain about what other's have that I don't in regards to vacations.

 

OMG...I think I just found the woman of my dreams!

 

Sorry, ExoticGirl - you know you're the only one for me, but I just had to say that. :D

 

Seriously Mrs. Lewis, it's nice to know I'm not the only one on the planet that thinks that way.

[cruisinMike]

I respectfully disagree. The selection process, as is the ROI determination process, is based on scientific methods. Essentially you're looking for people who have the ability to influence their peers, and whether the influenced peers are more likely than not to spread the word disseminated by the selected actor.

 

As with anything, you will miss those who would've been great assets and you will get false positives. For anyone with a sports background, an appropriate simile would be the bust of Ryan Leaf, Michael Jordan not being selected as the #1 pick of the draft, or Ben Wallace not even being drafted period!

 

Not an arguement to what you are saying but one point with RCI's Royal Champion campaign is they haven't explained the ROI determination. Without quantifiable metrics, how is it measured? For instance if they measured every person who acted upon the recommendation of an RC'er and determined the revenue traceable to the RC group, maybe they would have a verifiable metric. However, at least at this time, RCI is admitting the data is, at best, anecdotal.

 

Now sure, they can measure positive vs. not positive posts in the RC population, but then again, I don't look at that as a quantifiable metric for ROI but one of those soft nice things to have.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

I have read this and felt I wanted to post to it also,

to come to our defense.

None of us know how we were chosen. We did not raise our hands and yell, "Pick me, Pick me." We did not even know that this Royal Champion selection was going to take place. We were selected and that was it.

Now how many, many months ago was that? And after all this time goes by, up pops this posting.

 

I have a question. When did this "choosing" take place?

 

I ask because when I stumbled across this board prior to my Freedom cruise, I asked a few questions and researched quite a bit. What I discovered was that there were about two handfuls of people that consistently provided me (by directly answering my questions or by providing info that I found) with applicable information. I don't recall if I saw "Royal Champions" in their signatures, and even if I did, it didn't matter to me.

 

In the past few months, I've started paying closer attention to people's signatures and have noticed the "Royal Champions" distinction, but (a) I didn't know what it meant and (b) I didn't care - all I cared about was whether or not my questions were answered accurately so I could make informed decisions.

 

And now I find myself returning the favor to new potential customers. I've talked two couples into going on a cruise and one couple will be heading with us when we use our NextCruise option. But isn't that the point? Regardless of the RC distinction, this board boils down to a social networking tool and still contains the power inferred by that ability.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

Not an arguement to what you are saying but one point with RCI's Royal Champion campaign is they haven't explained the ROI determination. Without quantifiable metrics, how is it measured? For instance if they measured every person who acted upon the recommendation of an RC'er and determined the revenue traceable to the RC group, maybe they would have a verifiable metric. However, at least at this time, RCI is admitting the data is, at best, anecdotal.

 

Now sure, they can measure positive vs. not positive posts in the RC population, but then again, I don't look at that as a quantifiable metric for ROI but one of those soft nice things to have.

 

Do you pose this question as an investor in the company or a consumer?

 

In my opinion, I don't believe the company has to divulge that information to the general public to "prove" the ROI of this campaign. Exposing this information is a two-edged sword: the business/technical side of me is curious because I'm one who constantly builds upon his knowledge, but if I were an investor, I would prefer the company to slap the IP label on it and remain mum.

 

Why is a Coke can red? Why is the Kellogg's name brand red or the "K" red in their Special K cereal?

 

What's so special about having a "K" sound in a product?

 

The answers to those questions have a lot of research dollars tied to them, and while it's nice to know the answers, I don't believe corporations should shoulder the burden of disseminating that information out to the general public.

 

There are programs where it is appropriate that they give you some insight to their marketing aspects (such as when they store and mine consumer personal information) but the RC program isn't one of them.

[relientKitten]

Pardon the intrusion. I've never cruised (currently in the planning stages of my honeymoon cruise, whee!) and stumbled upon this thread as it was linked from another thread on the Celebrity forum. I've read the whole thing and have only one comment to make regarding the below:

 

Maybe it was the Freedom. New customers are necessary, I understand that but not by alienating old ones. It's the same with upgrades, why get to D+ when they give away the upgrades to everyone anyway. This is how I feel and RCL can read these threads and use the information to improve what I perceive is a lack of loyalty to it's most loyal members or perhaps loose us to a cruise line that values us more.

 

cruisePRN,

 

Do you know who Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is? They are the folks behind a number of licenses such as Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. They had a product known as Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures, a strategy game that could be played using plastic figures that represented various creatures and characters, each of which had their own abilities in the game. The plastic figures were also highly utilized by Dungeon Masters (DMs), individuals who ran Dungeons and Dragons games, to represent characters and monsters in their games.

 

Late last year, WotC announced that they would be discontinuing the Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures game and focus only on making the plastic figures for the DMs purposes. There would no longer be stats and abilities made for the purpose of skirmish (playing Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures) nor would WotC organize events and competitions.

 

As a skirmisher, I (just as the rest of the skirmish community) was upset that I would no longer be able to play the game that I had invested so much time and money in. Luckily for me, I also DM, so I was able to use some of those plastic figures for my games, but many of them I would never need (and many have now been traded off for ones I do need).

 

WotC was, in fact, alienating a current loyal fanbase (skirmishers) with the hope of attracting a new, larger fanbase (DMs).

 

Were we happy? Not at all. Many people sold off their entire collections. Extremeists gave up WotC products entirely. Some went to other organized games (World of Warcraft Miniatures and Monsterapocalypse were both popular choices). Those who still loved the game for what it was have banded together and still play, even if the game is still not recognized officially. I took advantage of the opportunity as an excuse to get out of the game so I could focus on more important things, like homework. ^^;

 

Your choices are your own. In the same vein as the choices made by we skirmishers, you can:

 

Give up cruising on Royal Caribbean

Give up crusing on Royal Caribbean and and of their sister lines (Celebrity and... Azumano?)

Consider trying other cruiselines (it sounds like this may be the path that you've chosen)

Continue cruising RCL because it's what you love

Give up cruising altogether and save some money (and send it to me; I'm a worthy cause! ^^; )

 

Moral of the story: Companies will do what they have to in order to stay in business. If RCI loses you as a cruiser but gains ten new people because of this Royal Champion program, they've likely made the more sound decision financially, and that is what RCI's shareholders are interested in.

 

(I'll stop hijacking your forum and crawl back to Alaska now, cheers!)

(PS: The critter-lady-person with the kitty-on-a-broom avatar picture... he's so cute!)

[cruisinMike]

Do you pose this question as an investor in the company or a consumer?

 

In my opinion, I don't believe the company has to divulge that information to the general public to "prove" the ROI of this campaign. Exposing this information is a two-edged sword: the business/technical side of me is curious because I'm one who constantly builds upon his knowledge, but if I were an investor, I would prefer the company to slap the IP label on it and remain mum.

 

Why is a Coke can red? Why is the Kellogg's name brand red or the "K" red in their Special K cereal?

 

What's so special about having a "K" sound in a product?

 

The answers to those questions have a lot of research dollars tied to them, and while it's nice to know the answers, I don't believe corporations should shoulder the burden of disseminating that information out to the general public.

 

There are programs where it is appropriate that they give you some insight to their marketing aspects (such as when they store and mine consumer personal information) but the RC program isn't one of them.

 

 

Ummmm, I never meant they would, or should "expose" themselves. But quite frankly, this is not highly proprietary or even secretive information. Are you of the belief that these types of campaigns are so unique as to have some highly secretive way to calculate ROI. No, they are not.

 

By the way, I don't divulge my investments in an on line community. But I will say this, if I were an investor with a few thousand shares, you could rest assurred I would be very interested in ROI on this campaign since management has made some recent public blunders.

 

You're mixing apples and oranges here. You're throwing publicly well known trademark symbols into an equation with the Royal Champions, quite publicly unknown, except for these threads. Hopefully you do this in jest.

 

As I originally said, RCI, not me, says they only have anecdotal information on the benefits. That makes the most sense as I highly doubt the bean counters have any metric that directly relates to revenue generated through indivdual RC'ers. As I said, it wasn't an argument, just a stated fact from RCI. Maybe you missed that part.

[suziehmkr]

OMG...I think I just found the woman of my dreams!

 

Sorry, ExoticGirl - you know you're the only one for me, but I just had to say that. :D

 

Seriously Mrs. Lewis, it's nice to know I'm not the only one on the planet that thinks that way.

 

Thanks for making me smile this morning. :) That's always a good thing.

[ChristieNJ]

This is really strange...All of a sudden I realize that people probably don't want my help anymore, and I can understand where they're coming from when they say they don't trust me anymore.

 

Mary - You have been indispensable on these boards, and ALL of your effort into helping posters has never gone unnoticed or has ever been unappreciated, I'm sure. Don't let the view of a couple of sourpusses who "won't take your word for it" discourage you from helping the majority who DO appreciate it. What you post is YOUR opinion, and obviously others find that helpful. I have been pro-RCI for YEARS now, even though I have only been an RC for almost 2. If you read my reviews, there ARE things that are negatively mentioned, but yes, most are positive because I most certainly do believe RCI has the best product that I've ever cruised. I'm not going to stop saying that just because someone else doesn't agree!

 

And don't forget, people are on the Royal Caribbean boards because they want to learn about their ships or because they want to cruise their ships, so they are looking for certain information that we all can share with them in a positive way. Don't let certain people discourage you....if they don't like it, that's their problem.

 

Same with you, Tina. Don't stop your regular posting because a couple people 'won't take your word for it'. Do it for those that look up to what you say and trust your judgment. :)

[MrPete]

Mary - You have been indispensable on these boards, and ALL of your effort into helping posters has never gone unnoticed or has ever been unappreciated,

 

There are plenty of us regular readers who can tell between helpful RC posters and those RC's that come on sometimes appearing like they are posting from a script, always singing praise as if this business can do no wrong.

 

Give us credit for being able to tell the two apart.

 

A helpful post is always a helpful post, regardless of the tagline.

[sea-cruise]

Thanks Christie & Pete.

You two have always been helpful as well, and I understand what you mean. As I said, I'm old but still learning, and I am learning to "tune out and ignore" mean posts. :):)

[DireMongoose]

Ummmm, I never meant they would, or should "expose" themselves.

 

Wouldn't that be innovative marketing! :eek:

[Morecruisesplz]

* My "FREE" Pre-Inaugural cruise on the Liberty cost us about the same it would have cost us to sail on a 7-day cruise out of California due to hotel, parking & flights.

 

* The fact that I was invited on the 1-nighter was inconsequential compared to the number of travel agents invited that had never cruised with RCCL and still don't "get it" - I heard the conversations - trust me - they don't get it and many won't be able to convince others to try something they don't even understand. I have (as we ALL have) steered many people to RCCL BEFORE I was selected as an RC.

 

Thanks Tina! I have not seen you on the boards but I'm sure you are very helpful. I think you will find that statement applies to most everyone here. But how could a Gold C & A member possibly know as much as the RCCL product as the multitude of D+ posters and/or the travel agents who post here? (I'm not one of them, by the way.) You just don't have the RCCL experience.

 

And please don't complain about how much the free trips cost you! You were invited and if the cost was prohibitive you could have declined. (Maybe a D+ would have made it on.) Wouldn't you have air and hotel with any cruise?

 

Here is the problem: RCCL doesn't need to give a group of cheerleaders special treatment to convince others to cruise with them. All they have to do is: 1.) Fairly and honestly implement the loyalty programs they have in place and stop "reinventing the wheel," 2.) Spend more time communicating in mass and less time have secretaries call people with useless info like "we're revamping our loyalty program" (Too late!), 3.) If they want to use new marketing tactics, just email the changes to all C & A members -- they have our email addresses! They get the stupid ads to us! Be honest and fair with your customers. Communicate -- don't make us read all of the changes on CC and you won't need to reward a randomly selected group of people whose judgement you have now made suspect.

 

Please put RC in your signature and we'll all read accordingly.

[Morecruisesplz]

I respectfully disagree. The selection process, as is the ROI determination process, is based on scientific methods. Essentially you're looking for people who have the ability to influence their peers, and whether the influenced peers are more likely than not to spread the word disseminated by the selected actor.

As with anything, you will miss those who would've been great assets and you will get false positives. For anyone with a sports background, an appropriate simile would be the bust of Ryan Leaf, Michael Jordan not being selected as the #1 pick of the draft, or Ben Wallace not even being drafted period!

 

Not any more. The cats out of the bag.

[FL_Cruiser64]

I respectfully disagree. The selection process, as is the ROI determination process, is based on scientific methods. Essentially you're looking for people who have the ability to influence their peers, and whether the influenced peers are more likely than not to spread the word disseminated by the selected actor.

 

As with anything, you will miss those who would've been great assets and you will get false positives. For anyone with a sports background, an appropriate simile would be the bust of Ryan Leaf, Michael Jordan not being selected as the #1 pick of the draft, or Ben Wallace not even being drafted period!

 

So what qualifications does each posses?

 

Are they all positively influencing cruisers to cruise RCI? No, as we have some who are critical.

Are they all D+ or D members? No, since some have been 'chosen' at gold level.

Do they all have 5,000 plus post? or 10, 000 plus posts? No, as some have been 'chosen' with under 1,000 posts.

 

I have my own business in internet technology for about 15 years which includes advertisement and marketing and forming 'groups of people' who are willing to promote products which included data mining.

 

If Royal Caribbean would have come to me and said: "we want a group of consumers to promote our product" and I would have come back with that group (nothing against RCs now) they would have asked for a refund.

 

While you are correct that this is how it works basically it surely does not change the fact that there is no scientific background to the selection of RCs.

 

Like I said. I have no ill feelings towards RCs. I wish them good luck and lots of fun. But you can not put them at something they are not - a scientific selection of a marketing tool for RCI.

 

Maybe it the initial intend was just like that. And maybe the very very first selection (do we know who that was?) was a product of such marketing strategy. But I do believe that the further selection was simple human decision making. And humans make - more often than not - irrational decisions based on emotions rather than on common sense and logic.

 

The statement we read about was maybe true in the very, very beginning. It may have pre-dated the pre-inaugural Liberty cruise (I think that's when most were invited). The order could have been: select me 6 people based on the following criteria. These 6 people were selected and RCI simply said: tell us who else do you think deserves to be an RC. And the more people were selected on human decision making, the more humans had influence and the more diverse the group became.

[dwjoe]

This is the first I have heard of 'Royal Champions'. I never knew such a thing existed. Can I just ask..

 

1. What perks/rewards do these people get?

 

I would prefer to know, when someone is giving me advice or an opinion, whether they are being rewarded or not. I can then decide whether I need to 'weight down' their answers. I am not saying I would ignore what they say but I would certainly bear it in mind.

I think this is really the crux of the issue. Disclosure of benefits received, then people can make up their own mind.

 

From what I've read we're talking about being invited to a free 2-day inaugural cruise that travel agents also got invited to. I'm not overly alarmed by that, after out-of-pocket costs it's probably a wash. I see that in the same category as corporate shmoozing and I think there's a benefit in RCCL looping in active community members so they can get the word out. What would cross the line would be if RCCL would give RC's outright gifts or discounts on cruises they were already going to take.

[Alexis]

I have a question. When did this "choosing" take place?

 

I ask because when I stumbled across this board prior to my Freedom cruise, I asked a few questions and researched quite a bit. What I discovered was that there were about two handfuls of people that consistently provided me (by directly answering my questions or by providing info that I found) with applicable information. I don't recall if I saw "Royal Champions" in their signatures, and even if I did, it didn't matter to me.

 

In the past few months, I've started paying closer attention to people's signatures and have noticed the "Royal Champions" distinction, but (a) I didn't know what it meant and (b) I didn't care - all I cared about was whether or not my questions were answered accurately so I could make informed decisions.

And now I find myself returning the favor to new potential customers. I've talked two couples into going on a cruise and one couple will be heading with us when we use our NextCruise option. But isn't that the point? Regardless of the RC distinction, this board boils down to a social networking tool and still contains the power inferred by that ability.

 

I will be happy to answer your question.

I was sent an email on September 30, 2008. This is why I can not understand the animosity from some now. :confused:

As for your asking questions about the Freedom of the Seas. I do not know what your questions were.

If they were about others experiences on board her, I would think that people who had sailed her would answer them. I myself have not, so I do not feel qualified. Therefore, I would not be one of the people to answer you.

Now if you asked general questions as to meals, laundry, Windjammer buffet, etc. you would get a larger number of CC's answering.

Royal champions are not on here to hog the questions and answers as far as I know? I don't believe that is the reason we have that next to our names.

Your paragraph about you don't care what is next to a name is 100% correct. If a person gives you good advice, listen. ;)

But, that is my opinion. ;)

[Alexis]

Alexis, I better qualify this again as to my indifference to who is a member of what. I have my own personal opinion, and professional experience to rely on as to what I think concerning influences of marketing efforts. My opinion of....does this pursuade some to be more positive or not, is irrelevant because I always use the buyer beware process on the internet. I also think we lost our way since the OP started this as who gets, or should get rewarded. But, in staying off the beaten path here are some thoughts.

 

If you recall earlier in the thread, I asked Todd, who was very honest about his feelings to not paint with such a broad brush. I know that you used the term "certain" meaning some, but my impression is the RC side is also leaning too far the other way and should be careful not to paint with such a broad brush. We now have a thread started to "ban whiners" or something like that. Just don't think that helps. I have wondered myself sometimes about the moderators choice to let something like that go depending on who the poster is.

 

I don't know that there has been bad information on this thread (maybe, I just don't recall). It has mostly been a little emotional from both sides. The battle that the RC crowd seems to be fighting is not with the posters on this thread (I think), but the expressed intent of RCI's marketing ploy. It kind of puts the RC folks between a rock and a hard place. Here's what I mean.

 

On one hand I read from the RC folks that they are, without dissent, an independent group of thinkers who cannot be influenced by RCI marketing. On the other hand, you have RCI saying this, "Measuring Success: While difficult to measure precisely, based on observation and anecdotal evidence we are confident that the Royal Champions produce ample word of mouth and exert sufficient influence to make the investment worthwhile. Posts from Royal Champions are carefully monitored during events and on a regular basis to ensure that posts remain positive and frequent."

 

Obviously there is a marketing intent that RCI says is working. Does this mean it causes some to be more pro-vocal. Who knows. RCI suggests it does. The posters here say no. But there you have it. This dissonance here is what I believe has caused some of the doubt. Obviously I'm not speaking to those who have felt slighted because they feel more qualified for one reason or another.

 

Unfortunately when doubt like this is presented rightly or wrongly, it's hard to overcome. Admittedly some have voiced their concern over the veracity of RC'ers due to this association. Remember when I used the example of the senator earlier in the thread. Suppose you overheard someone in the middle of a conversation say, have you quit beating your wife yet? Leaves the person asked that question in a lose-lose situation regardless of the answer, and leaves you kinda wondering. Unfortunately, that's the kind of doubt some folks will need to adjust to.

 

Hopefully after there is an ebb in the emotion from both sides, we can go back to our own corners for the next round of us vs them. You know, one we haven't discussed in a while, smokers-nonsmokers or chair hogs-non chair hogs, or one of my personal favorite, jeans-no jeans. ;)

 

I only have one question.

What events are you posting about?

Could you name them for me, because I sure don't know about any but my own.

[Longboysfan]

All programs include some and exclude others, based on the point of the program. It is easy to reach C&A PLatinum or Diamond by viirtue of a string of cheap weekend cruises out of Florida. We simply cannot justify a monthly weekend cruise because of the cost of airfare. Should those people really be rewarded ahead of others who spend more on a single cruise by virtue of its length or through buying an expensive suite? On the other hand , should someone in that expensive suite be treated better via suite perks than a person on an inside who has sailed on RCL for years and years faithfully, in more meagre accommodation?

 

All of these programs have their goals. The C&A program engenders brand loyalty, the suite perks program encourages folks to buy a more expensive week and the Champions program is a marketing program to encourage those who already saying nice things about the line to continue sampling and talking about all the line has to offer.

 

I am a Champion but I certainly do not begrudge others the perks they have received via other programs. When you reach Diamond Plus, I'm sure you'll be pleased but the real difference is that we'll be pleased for you.

 

Good point. I just want to make it off the Celebrity "Watch out for this Guy list."

[Alexis]

:

Posted by Schplinky

All programs include some and exclude others, based on the point of the program. It is easy to reach C&A PLatinum or Diamond by viirtue of a string of cheap weekend cruises out of Florida. We simply cannot justify a monthly weekend cruise because of the cost of airfare. Should those people really be rewarded ahead of others who spend more on a single cruise by virtue of its length or through buying an expensive suite? On the other hand , should someone in that expensive suite be treated better via suite perks than a person on an inside who has sailed on RCL for years and years faithfully, in more meagre accommodation?

 

All of these programs have their goals. The C&A program engenders brand loyalty, the suite perks program encourages folks to buy a more expensive week and the Champions program is a marketing program to encourage those who already saying nice things about the line to continue sampling and talking about all the line has to offer.

 

I am a Champion but I certainly do not begrudge others the perks they have received via other programs. When you reach Diamond Plus, I'm sure you'll be pleased but the real difference is that we'll be pleased for you.

Very well written Schplinky. ;)

[masterbaker]

So what qualifications does each posses?

 

Are they all positively influencing cruisers to cruise RCI? No, as we have some who are critical.

Are they all D+ or D members? No, since some have been 'chosen' at gold level.

Do they all have 5,000 plus post? or 10, 000 plus posts? No, as some have been 'chosen' with under 1,000 posts.

 

I have my own business in internet technology for about 15 years which includes advertisement and marketing and forming 'groups of people' who are willing to promote products which included data mining.

 

If Royal Caribbean would have come to me and said: "we want a group of consumers to promote our product" and I would have come back with that group (nothing against RCs now) they would have asked for a refund.

 

While you are correct that this is how it works basically it surely does not change the fact that there is no scientific background to the selection of RCs.

 

Like I said. I have no ill feelings towards RCs. I wish them good luck and lots of fun. But you can not put them at something they are not - a scientific selection of a marketing tool for RCI.

 

Maybe it the initial intend was just like that. And maybe the very very first selection (do we know who that was?) was a product of such marketing strategy. But I do believe that the further selection was simple human decision making. And humans make - more often than not - irrational decisions based on emotions rather than on common sense and logic.

 

The statement we read about was maybe true in the very, very beginning. It may have pre-dated the pre-inaugural Liberty cruise (I think that's when most were invited). The order could have been: select me 6 people based on the following criteria. These 6 people were selected and RCI simply said: tell us who else do you think deserves to be an RC. And the more people were selected on human decision making, the more humans had influence and the more diverse the group became.

 

I have to admit, sometimes your posts leave me shaking my head. You have some opinions that i disagree with. BUT, this time I really think you have a valid point. :) I've stated it before and I will again, even when we were originally chosen prior to the Liberty pre-inaugural we as a group could find no commonality between us. Even then we were unaware our group would be given the name Royal Champions. That didn't happen until we were onboard Liberty.

 

Royal Champion and my past cruises are in my signature line simply so that others can use that information as a basis to understand my opinion. I think that information is important.

 

Opinions are like noses, everyone has one, and this would be a boring forum if everyone was expected to have the same opinion. I respect every members right here to have and express their own. It's not my place to try to influence or change ideas here. Nor do I feel that i've been influenced by any other. My opinions are mine and mine alone.

[Alexis]

I think this is really the crux of the issue. Disclosure of benefits received, then people can make up their own mind.

 

From what I've read we're talking about being invited to a free 2-day inaugural cruise that travel agents also got invited to. I'm not overly alarmed by that, after out-of-pocket costs it's probably a wash. I see that in the same category as corporate shmoozing and I think there's a benefit in RCCL looping in active community members so they can get the word out. What would cross the line would be if RCCL would give RC's outright gifts or discounts on cruises they were already going to take.

 

To go in that direction is wrong to me. Even to hint of a maybe. That is how rumors start on here. People do not read the whole post, nor do they read the answers. ;)

No one has crossed the line with me, I can tell you that as a fact!

I can tell you as a RC, I am paying for, and did pay for since making this, every cent of my own cruises and there are no extra perks given to me.

As far as I know, no one even knows I am an RC on board the ships. :confused:

There is no special events on board because there is probably only a hand full on board the ship at once. If that many.

That is why I asked the question to cruisinMike in the above post of mine. What events is he speaking of in his posting?

[cruisinMike]

I only have one question.

What events are you posting about?

Could you name them for me, because I sure don't know about any but my own.

 

Alexis, you're asking the wrong guy. You need to direct that to RCCL. It was a copied quote. Now with that, I can only guess it may have been after any sailings RC folks may have been invited to. But, its a guess and I would direct your question to the folks that gave you the RC title.

[SusieCruiser]

I can not believe the contention on here! Well Someone wanted to know about Freedom of the seas ask away I be happy to asnwer you on what you want to know I been on her 2 times and jusst 10 weeks or so ago I just got off her, She is wonderful and Families will love her as well as each walk of life. Lots to do and beautiful.

I have been on 41 cruises and yes I know alot about Cruising but surely believe there is somethings I do not know, I am most satisfied with Royal caribbean, less WHining and people love the ships when you have less whining it makes for a better cruise.

RC is a marketing guage.. that is all... and a smart one. YEs we are he cheerleaders of RCCl because we like their brand NO ONE is saying we MUST say all good things. If something is not good then we report on that too But overall its a good product. take a look at MSC I would not be one of their champions cause tooooo much complainingn all the time about that product but again they have their Champions too adn that is who you want out there because WORD of mouth is your best form of advertising...

Of course some people may love the product and just LURK that dont help the cruise line, but that dont mean for a moment your not a good thing. as a few said some get to Diamond by cheap 3 night cruises which I feel is wrong. I got there but with all 7-9 night cruises. and you know the best perk is getting the $300 off a balcony and the concierge room HOWEVER its tooo crowded now in most so I do not go!

 

We are just wondering is RCCl gearing up for something for their RC? we hope so!

 

Susie the Viking

WHO LOVES Royal Caribbean

[DireMongoose]

While you are correct that this is how it works basically it surely does not change the fact that there is no scientific background to the selection of RCs.

 

That's not necessarily true. I believe elsewhere in this thread it says that Nielsen's internet marketing division was involved in the decision-making process. They've done this kind of thing a lot, and possibly more than anyone.

 

The criteria or pattern may not be discernable to you and I, but I wouldn't be so quick to mistake that for a lack of one.