Royal Champions Vereses the rest of us

[Alexis]

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.

 

I do not have to do that. ;)

There was one sailing before this Mariner one. The Liberty in 2007. That is where the term Royal Champions originated. So, no Royal Champions were actually invited on that sailing. They were given that name on board the ship.

I was supposed to sail on the Liberty in May of 2007, but I had to turn it down. The person who invited me said he would remember me for the next pre-inaugural.

Well, that was the Mariner. If that is why I was selected for this sailing I do not know. And, I do not care. I was honored to be on board.

I loved it. I had a ball. I will sail her again from San Pedro and I know enough about her to be of help to anyone who has questions on her. I already sailed her for two weeks last Sept/Oct. so I am more than familiar with that ship.

If I had been able to sail the Liberty, I would have been an RC back in May 2007. I do not know why they chose me in Sept. 2008, but I accept the RC and I will keep it. I will not remove it from my signature to hide.

Yes, I love RCCL and I make no bones about that on CC. Call me one of the "Cheerleaders" and I do not care. This is where my husband and I are comfortable and I will rave over all of my cruises.

[cruisinMike]

I do not have to do that. ;)

There was one sailing before this Mariner one. The Liberty in 2007. That is where the term Royal Champions originated. So, no Royal Champions were actually invited on that sailing. They were given that name on board the ship.

I was supposed to sail on the Liberty in May of 2007, but I had to turn it down. The person who invited me said he would remember me for the next pre-inaugural.

Well, that was the Mariner. If that is why I was selected for this sailing I do not know. And, I do not care. I was honored to be on board.

I loved it. I had a ball. I will sail her again from San Pedro and I know enough about her to be of help to anyone who has questions on her. I already sailed her for two weeks last Sept/Oct. so I am more than familiar with that ship.

If I had been able to sail the Liberty, I would have been an RC back in May 2007. I do not know why they chose me in Sept. 2008, but I accept the RC and I will keep it. I will not remove it from my signature to hide.

Yes, I love RCCL and I make no bones about that on CC. Call me one of the "Cheerleaders" and I do not care. This is where my husband and I are comfortable and I will rave over all of my cruises.

 

Well, now I'm confused. You won't ask them, but you ask me and I only quoted an RCCL spokeperson. Your RC colors are now showing.

[xpcdoojk]

Well, now I'm confused. You won't ask them, but you ask me and I only quoted an RCCL spokeperson. Your RC colors are now showing.

 

Mike, tisk tisk.:rolleyes:

 

I think what she is saying is, and I apologize Alexis if my surmise is wrong, that she doesn't call RCI up and say why are you doing what you are doing, and you are the one cutting and paste and sharing your opinion of what things mean. She was invited to join a club that she happily belongs to with or without being invited to join it.

 

jc

[julesbeara]

Wow lots of opinions here. I'm just happy that I am fortunate enough to have the financial means to cruise a couple times a year. Any day of vacation is better than a day of work. I appreciate the assistance we provide each other on the CC Boards, and my vacations would not have been the same without the help y'all give. I feel like a Royal Champion every day that I get to cruise.

[cruisinMike]

Mike, tisk tisk.:rolleyes:

 

I think what she is saying is, and I apologize Alexis if my surmise is wrong, that she doesn't call RCI up and say why are you doing what you are doing, and you are the one cutting and paste and sharing your opinion of what things mean. She was invited to join a club that she happily belongs to with or without being invited to join it.

 

jc

 

Nope, she specifically asked,

 

"What events are you posting about?

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

 

If she really was asking the question in sincerity, I don't think I should have gotten the "I do not have to do that", after telling her that I had only copied and pasted the information down from an RCCL person, and that her question was better asked of them.

 

It seemed to be unnecessary posturing to me.

[cruisemates2]

We too love RCCL. We have cruised with many different cruise lines, but, RCCL is by far our favorite. Alexis, thank you and the many other Royal Champions very much for the help and advice you have given over the years. Some advice and suggestions we have taken, some we have not--it is our choice, but, again, thanks to all of you for your help. I truly value your experience and thoughts about RCCL.

 

Janet

[elkaybee]

WOW! I feel stupid. I thought the Royal Champions were just a group of online friends...not an organized group. :D Got a laugh over this one.

 

It is understandable that Royal is doing this. Unlike any other land vacation I'd taken, I relied on opinions of others for our first cruise. Advice from friends who have cruised and these boards are the reason we chose RCCL. No "fun" commerical could have convinced me to cruise on another line.

 

Now I'm the one giving out advice and this web address. NOW if we want to really get people stirred up...how about a club for frequent referrals to this site. haha If only I had $5 for every time I'd be cruising right now!

Laura

[dwjoe]

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?

Alexis, nobody likes getting their integrity questioned so I can understand if you are upset over this.

 

I am not suggesting anyone has crossed the line. But I feel it's useful to state where the line is, beyond which I feel disclosure would be appropriate.

 

As far as the "posts being monitored during events", that is a direct quote from the study and questions regarding that should probably directed to its authors or RCCL. It doesn't alarm me, btw. I suspect it's RCCL monitoring RC's posts after an industry event to see if they are spreading the word about it. No biggie.

[cruisenfever]

I can not believe that this thread is still alive and kicking. Come on folks.............give this a break. This is beginning to sound like "my dad's better than your dad"!!:(

 

We are all here for the same reason.............giving information out from our own personal experiences in the hopes of helping others.

 

I don't care if you are an RC, a D+, have a gazillion cruise credits, drive a Mercedes Benz or are a millionaire...................you are all human beings and equal to me. I will give you all the same respect that I would hope you will return to me.

 

As I said before.............we are all champions that are treated royally on any RCI ship.

 

OK.........off my soap box...............you may continue your bickering!!:D

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

Not any more. The cats out of the bag.

 

That's debatable. I don't like the comparison I'm about to make but the premise fits.

 

Does everyone know what an email phishing scam is (take your pick of which one)? We all may say "yes" and can clearly recognize the signs - and yet there will always be some percentage of the population that will still people who fall for it. Ever ask yourself why?

 

Ask an 8 year old what a phishing scam is and see if he/she can successfully answer. At some point, that child will grow up, go off to college, open a checking account, get a credit card, open an email account, etc -- at which point, if they haven't already heard, will be a target. The same holds true for adults who haven't used a computer in their entire life may now get online to keep in touch with family. They open an email account, start chatting it up with family and then someone from Nigeria emails them with a fantastic offer.

 

Again, I don't like to make a comparison between the two, but I believe the point is made -- there will always be others to influence. There are those that haven't cruised yet (or visited these boards) and may one day change their mind and start researching. Then there are children who will become of age some day, go off to college and decide to book a spring break cruise with their friends.

 

Buzz marketing has been around for quite some time now; online social networking just provided a different avenue in which to operate.

[cruisePRN]

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.

 

This is the best post I've read because I agree. It's advantageous to know where someone's coming from so having RC in their signature would let us know quite a lot.

I can't imagine disliking any RC because they were picked by RCL, it's not their fault they were picked. It's like shooting the messenger for the message. They do need to state their affiliation as an Royal Champ so we decide if their point of view may be shaded in favor of RCL.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

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.

...

 

A lot to go through with your last post and I don't necessarily disagree with much of it; however, I do believe that there are other options for how the group was selected.

 

You presume that RCL wanted to have a group comprised of similar characteristics. One could also make the argument that RCL wanted a diverse group of people, some of whom differ materially from each other. If they came to you with that specific requirement and you presented the current RC group, do you still believe they'd ask for a refund?

 

Let's use me as an example. This RC group is more likely to positively influence me if I see a collection of members who are critical (not read as constantly negative) to the RCL product. I'm not swayed by "rah rah" marketing so if you engage in that with me, you're just wasting resources. Perhaps the marketing team had a member on it that had my type in mind during the selection process.

 

Which one of us is right (or closest to being right) is anyone's guess because the company hasn't divulged the guts of its selection process. But therein lies the fun of analyzing, critiquing and debating.

[booze brothers]

I can not believe that this thread is still alive and kicking. Come on folks.............give this a break. This is beginning to sound like "my dad's better than your dad"!!:(

 

We are all here for the same reason.............giving information out from our own personal experiences in the hopes of helping others.

 

I don't care if you are an RC, a D+, have a gazillion cruise credits, drive a Mercedes Benz or are a millionaire...................you are all human beings and equal to me. I will give you all the same respect that I would hope you will return to me.

 

As I said before.............we are all champions that are treated royally on any RCI ship.

 

 

OK.........off my soap box...............you may continue your bickering!!:D

 

 

Well spoken Patti and I agree with every word you said!!

[suziehmkr]

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?

 

Where did anyone say that I know more than the mulititude of D+ posters and/or travel agents? I don't be believe anyone has said that. Perhaps that fact that I have cruised a few lines, have been able to compare them without bashing them and give nice balanced reviews is what they liked? I have no idea. But I have never said that I know more about any line than someone else (other than some of the travel agents that I saw on Mariner). I did not apply for something based on my cruise experience. I have never hidden my cruise list from anyone. If they chose me, then there SOMETHING they liked. I don't know what it is and either does anyone else that was chosen.

 

 

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?.

Which I did with the New York Reveal. No - I do not always have air & hotel. As stated before, we primarily cruised from the West Coast and it is a mere 7 hour drive which can be done with no air or hotel.

 

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

No worries, it is there and will remain there. As I said, if anyone doesn't trust that I am giving uninfluenced information, they can simply "ignore" me and they will never see another post from me again. But, I can't let people accuse me of being biased when they don't know who I am. I am not trying to hide it like I do many vendors do on the ports of call boards, etc.

 

They do need to state their affiliation as an Royal Champ so we decide if their point of view may be shaded in favor of RCL.

We don't NEED to do any such thing. Do you feel that everyone should list who they work for, who their families work for, every past job they may have had, etc - just so we can figure out if they are biased towards one line or even vindictive? I don't think so. You are an adult, so you should be able to read posts and determine by pattern & tone whether you want to "listen" to them or not. There are several posters that I don't even read anymore because it is obvious they don't know what they are talking about... and I don't even look at their signature. I can tell from the posting alone what they are about. I don't need to know how many cruises they have been on and if they are affiliated with any other group. :rolleyes:

[setsail]

"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.?"

 

Since that was a question, I can answer that. There are multitudes of cruisers who are not C& A nor are they CC members who have lots of cruises under their belt. We have traveled with a couple who are not CC members and until about 2 years ago only joined C&A because we kept after them. They are Gold members and they have around 20 cruises on RCCL going back to the 70's. They don't care about the status, they book the cabins they want, buy the drinks they want,etc. Guess what, you might be supprised that there are lots like this out there AND these people ARE savy cruisers. Gold,plat,D,and D+ does not describe how cruise savy one is at all and neither does a low post count or a high post count.

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

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. ;)

 

My questions were across a wide selection of topics: how much are drinks, are laundry rooms available, does room service have hot meals, port questions, excursion questions, yadda yadda yadda.

 

The answers to such questions and information regarding RCL in general made me (well us) decide to book the cruise and figure out what DG and I would do while on the cruise.

 

Three RCL cruises later, I'm answering questions about drink prices, laundry rooms, room service, MDR/WindJammer, things to do in port, yadda yadda yadda.

 

As for the advice comment, Aristotle once said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it". I think it prudent for anyone to at least entertain the advice coming from an RC. Everyone here is of able mind to be able to properly evaluate it; am I right?

[BadBoysDriveAudi]

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.

 

Interesting. So a diverse set of people were asked to become part of a group...sounds to me like the Marketing folks wanted to have a well rounded group of individuals.

 

That is unless this was phase 2, 3, etc...

[firefly333]

Interesting. So a diverse set of people were asked to become part of a group...sounds to me like the Marketing folks wanted to have a well rounded group of individuals.

 

That is unless this was phase 2, 3, etc...

 

Sounds like at least Phase 2 to me. There was already a group of of RCs that someone posted there were 38 of them. Then 50 new ones were picked some time last year to add to them.

 

I think it prudent for anyone to at least entertain the advice coming from an RC. Everyone here is of able mind to be able to properly evaluate it; am I right?

 

Unless someone puts it in their signature, exactly how would you know if they were or were not RC?

[Alexis]

Mike, tisk tisk.:rolleyes:

 

I think what she is saying is, and I apologize Alexis if my surmise is wrong, that she doesn't call RCI up and say why are you doing what you are doing, and you are the one cutting and paste and sharing your opinion of what things mean. She was invited to join a club that she happily belongs to with or without being invited to join it.

 

jc

 

Well said!! You are correct. ;)

 

cruisinMike:Well, now I'm confused. You won't ask them, but you ask me and I only quoted an RCCL spokeperson. Your RC colors are now showing.

 

cruisinMike,

If you have ever read any of my postings, you would know that I only post on the RCCL main boards, their Roll Calls or the Floataway Lounge.

I have posted so many times on here that once we found RCCL, we were very comfortable on their ships and we do not plan on cruising on any other line. (It is even in my signature) Read my signature and see my cruises. Who are they with?

And what year did we start cruising RCCL. Was it before or after I was selelcted??

I Love RCCL and I am staying with them. I have said that over and over on here for many years. That is nothing new.

So if my RC colors are finally showing to you, then you are way behind the other people who know me on these boards. :D

[Alexis]

We too love RCCL. We have cruised with many different cruise lines, but, RCCL is by far our favorite. Alexis, thank you and the many other Royal Champions very much for the help and advice you have given over the years. Some advice and suggestions we have taken, some we have not--it is our choice, but, again, thanks to all of you for your help. I truly value your experience and thoughts about RCCL.

 

Janet

 

That is appreciated by myself and I am sure many others also. ;)

[alexkrn46]

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.

 

I couldn't agree with you more, it is RCCL who empowered the RC. I agree be honest with their customers. I don't need a champion to speak for me. I have already voted with my dollars spent.

[Alexis]

This is the best post I've read because I agree. It's advantageous to know where someone's coming from so having RC in their signature would let us know quite a lot.

I can't imagine disliking any RC because they were picked by RCL, it's not their fault they were picked. It's like shooting the messenger for the message. They do need to state their affiliation as an Royal Champ so we decide if their point of view may be shaded in favor of RCL.

 

WHY?

Aren't you the one who brought up the old Royal Champion post so everyone could see who we all were?

Should I go and get it to show people? :mad:

[cruisePRN]

 

 

 

 

We don't NEED to do any such thing. Do you feel that everyone should list who they work for, who their families work for, every past job they may have had, etc - just so we can figure out if they are biased towards one line or even vindictive? I don't think so. You are an adult, so you should be able to read posts and determine by pattern & tone whether you want to "listen" to them or not. There are several posters that I don't even read anymore because it is obvious they don't know what they are talking about... and I don't even look at their signature. I can tell from the posting alone what they are about. I don't need to know how many cruises they have been on and if they are affiliated with any other group. :rolleyes:

 

Apples to oranges. If you asked a cop about another cop do you think he'd admit the first cop might be wrong, Nah it's their brotherhood. If you asked a Dr. if another Dr. made a mistake he probably wouldn't tell you either. AS an RC it is like that, a representative of RCL and some will not be honest if it's critical for fear of not being invited to the next inaugural. It's an influencing factor where as what you do for a living probably isn't. Other factors you mention about who your family work for and such don't matter either unless it's for a cruise company in which case it has some bearing.

[Alexis]

:

Originally Posted by cruisePRN

This is the best post I've read because I agree. It's advantageous to know where someone's coming from so having RC in their signature would let us know quite a lot.

I can't imagine disliking any RC because they were picked by RCL, it's not their fault they were picked. It's like shooting the messenger for the message. They do need to state their affiliation as an Royal Champ so we decide if their point of view may be shaded in favor of RCL.

 

 

Alexis;18335015]WHY?

We are on the RCCL boards. Who do you think we would favor? I am answering questions about RCCL.

 

Aren't you the one who brought up the old Royal Champion post so everyone could see who we all were?

Should I go and get it to show people? :mad:

Here, this shows how petty some CC's are for not being picked. To try and turn others against the ones who were. :rolleyes:

 

Yesterday, 06:01 PM

cruisePRN

5,000+ Club

Join Date: Sep 2002

Location: Las Vegas Nevada

Posts: 5,544

 

I'm resurrecting this thread so folks who want to see who the Royal CHampions folks are can.

 

My signature will stay the same. It will continue to have RC in it.

I have posted for over 6 years. I will not change the way I have always posted for you or anyone else.

[suziehmkr]

Apples to oranges. If you asked a cop about another cop do you think he'd admit the first cop might be wrong, Nah it's their brotherhood. If you asked a Dr. if another Dr. made a mistake he probably wouldn't tell you either. AS an RC it is like that, a representative of RCL and some will not be honest if it's critical for fear of not being invited to the next inaugural. It's an influencing factor where as what you do for a living probably isn't. Other factors you mention about who your family work for and such don't matter either unless it's for a cruise company in which case it has some bearing.

 

Brotherhood? Representative? Really?

 

So - I guess I should put "Royal Champion - but I didn't agree with the way that the fuel surcharge was placed retroactively. I filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General so I guess I am not afraid of not being invited to the next Pre-Inaugural. So that proves you can read my posts." ??? :rolleyes:

 

If my email to RCCL before I filed that complaint didn't get me booted, then I think my posts about other lines and/or what I have issues with RCCL about aren't going to do it either. Because I present them is a fair & balanced manner without attacking, name calling, or being abusive.

 

Gosh - I bottle for a company that is owned by Coca Cola. And RCCL serves Coca Cola. So that must be a double whammy on the favoritism. Do I need to put that in my signature too?

 

Like I said - some people are taking this way too personal. It is quite clear that no matter what we type, it won't be listened to and we are wasting our time. So, like Lee - I will not bore you with any more facts. I need to go start packing for my Carnival cruise.... Oh! That might be grounds for my dismissal also. :D

 

Time for this thread to quietly move to page 200... until someone else does a search for "Royal Champion" and brings it all back again. No worries - you won't hear from me on this. I have said my peace. I will continue to post in the same manner as I have for my time on CC. Those that think I am biased don't need to read. To the rest of you, I hope you find good information, opinions, photos you like & insight and most of all as many friendships as I have found on here. :) Yes, my glass is still half full.