Revenge at Sea?

[lovedogs]

Interesting article....follow the link below. (If this has been posted already - I apologize). Sign of the times, or just a cruise "newbie" looking to complain?

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29921431/

 

I'm not sure if this link works (I copied and pasted it from my browser). If not, just go to MSNBC.com and search for Chris Elliott Travel Tips or "revenge at sea".

[hcat]

Link worked for me--the article was interesting...

 

If Royal C keeps taking away perks or adding extra charges we might just take our next cruise & see how little in extras we can purchase! We may find we enjoy the more simpler style of cruising...

[bluegirlum]

I think that most of what he says in that article is not new. Many people have been taking alternate excursions for a while, and many choose not to dine in alternative dining restaurants. The key is to be an educated cruiser. Someone's always going to find something to complain about, but if you know what you're paying for, you can have a great cruise and come away from it without having to pay for a zillion extras. It's just like anything else. I don't know why this is "news."

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

I read the article yesterday, and honestly did not think it was very well balanced. Just as an example - the specialty restaurants have always been for a fee...if you don't want to pay it, fine...there is more than enough "included" food in the WJ and MDR.

 

I'd have to go back and read it again to note everything, but it just seemed to be lacking in some of the good things about cruising.

 

JMHO ;)

[alexkrn46]

Our set sail pass was half I usually spend. Why I wanted to give RCCL a message, you plan on cutting back I will respond the same way.

[satxdiver]

Set Sail charge for our 2008 cruise: $500+. Set Sail charge for our 2009 cruise: $210. Both include the normal tip for two. I guess the extra charge for midnight room service, etc., worked wonders for RCI. Next cruise? Mariner trip in October canceled. Ruby Princess in early 2010 booked. Good work RCI.

[Merion_Mom]

Set Sail charge for our 2008 cruise: $500+. Set Sail charge for our 2009 cruise: $210. Both include the normal tip for two. I guess the extra charge for midnight room service, etc., worked wonders for RCI. Next cruise? Mariner trip in October canceled. Ruby Princess in early 2010 booked. Good work RCI.

 

Copied from the Princess board of Cruise Critic: (I added the boldface)

 

Ruby March 14-21 Review

 

 

 

I wanted to review this ship but wanted some time to pass before I put it in writing.

 

Pros:

 

-beatutiful ship-pretty, well laid out

 

-service--pretty good overall, although I called for room service multiple times and was on hold for over 30 min each time. When I contacted the pursers desk to ask if somebody was working, they replied "they are very busy, just wait". I was very disappointed in this comment. Never received room service as nobody answered. Cabins were average and very clean. Room steward did a good job.

 

-Food--a very big disappointment. Very average and sometimes the waiter himself had difficulty recommending anything. He commented that the menu had changed and that the tenderloins of beef were actually "pressed beef". I guess thats why it was like leather and tastless. Buffets were just OK. Paying for ice cream is just crazy!

 

--Entertainment--they say it is "a big ship with a small ship feel" What this really means is that they have very small theaters and if you want a seat you must arrive 30-45 min before the show. It seats 800 people. Carnival Glory seats 1400 people. It is not my idea of a vacation when I have to arrive that early for a show. People were actullly turned away from the shows as it was "full" They sell it by having the show on multiple nights, which means the same show runs for at least 2 nights and therefore no other show runs. The entertainment was by far the worst part of the ship.

 

MUTS--great concept, but again, repeats, for at least 2 nights. This is so the people who stood in line trying to get into the show had somewhere else to go when they didn't get into the show.

 

 

The boat appeared dead every night, with nothing fun to do in the evenings other than the disco which started very late to get fun. If you are looking for a great kareoke bar or a fun Piano man you will not find it on this ship.

 

 

All in all, I was so disappointed. This was my second Princess Cruise and I have cruised Carnival twice as well. I have to say again, that Carnival food is more interesting and tasty. The entertainment was much better on Carnival with enough seating for eveyone. The service is better on Princess, other than the room service.

 

Not sure if I will travel Princess again.

 

One huge factor for us is that Princess is behind on their smoking policy. Our one and only Princess cruise so far was nothing but smoke filled. Our cabin smelled like smoke (whoever tells you that you can never tell and that they have special ways of cleaning cabins is lying), the halls and stairways smelled like smoke. Disgusting.

 

I did like the pools and the movies under the stars better on Princess. Too bad the smoking experience cancelled all that out.

[Happy ks]

The odd thing to me is that the author wrote as if cruise lines advertise as all inclusive and I don't believe they do that. I've never thought a cruise was all inclusive from my very first Disney cruise in 1998. Although tipping is most of the time left up to the discretion of the passenger, I will not be one to opt out of giving gratuity to the people who serve me.

 

Add the fact that we've been saying "no" to much of what is in the article. We don't buy art, we don't gamble, we may purchase one photo if we find one we like, we don't buy souvenirs, don't buy soda packages. We loathe cruise ship excursions and avoid them whenever possible.

 

We do buy a few drinks and wine by our own choice. Probably the only thing about cruising that is annoying to me is that we can't bring our own wine aboard. The cruiselines cannot convince me they are not making money off our wine when they charge $12-15 corkage fees :rolleyes: Our onboard spending has pretty much remained level at around $100 per day for the two of us, for several years now.

 

I have a feeling that with all the cuts in cruise fares and pax cutting their spending habits onboard that the one thing suffering the most will be service. There is no way the cruise lines can provide service without personnel and there is no way they can hire personnel without the money to do it. Those passengers seeking revenge may find themselves bickering amongst themselves waiting in long lines at the guest services desk.

 

Even worse, dining service will become slow with fewer servers, cabin attendants overworked with more than they can possibly handle. Although these people depend on the above mentioned gratuity for income, it does cost the cruise line to house and feed them.

 

There is a thread here discussing the good old days of cruising. With articles like the OP linked and people believing and practising those habits, the past 5-10 years will quickly become the good old days.

 

All in all, I thought the article was written with little investigation. He would have done better to have spent a day reading this message board or another similar.

[madforcruising]

LOL,

I have to agree with what most of you said, there´s not much news in this article.

I had especially to LOL about the statement that Passengers got a Coupon for JR and the cruiselines try to lure people to those places.

 

Those coupons are given to C&A members ever since they started to charge for JR. :D:D:rolleyes:

[donaldsc]

 

Add the fact that we've been saying "no" to much of what is in the article. We don't buy art, we don't gamble, we may purchase one photo if we find one we like, we don't buy souvenirs, don't buy soda packages. We loathe cruise ship excursions and avoid them whenever possible.

 

We do buy a few drinks and wine by our own choice. Probably the only thing about cruising that is annoying to me is that we can't bring our own wine aboard. The cruiselines cannot convince me they are not making money off our wine when they charge $12-15 corkage fees :rolleyes: Our onboard spending has pretty much remained level at around $100 per day for the two of us, for several years now.

 

 

Considering what you do not buy, how can your bill be $100 per day. Seems like you are buying almost nothing on the ship.

 

DON

[temple1]

Drinks and wine can add up pretty fast. Trust me. :D Then throw in the daily tips and you are there.

 

I've always felt that a cruise vacation is what you make of it. I like to buy the formal night photo with the captain and that is about it. Another item I always buy on vacation is some kind of Christmas ornament.

 

I for one prefer to do ship sponsored excurisions - I am enough of a newbie to still have fears of missing the ship. Our last excursion in Cozumel was the best by far! Part of my vacation is gambling. If you enjoy gambling - great, if you don't, then don't.

 

I might go to one of the specialty restaurants on my next cruise - not sure yet, but I would like to try one. If I were on a land vacation and wanted to do something different from the usual - I would end up spending much more than $40 or $50 over our regular dinner cost.

 

The person should be ashamed to admit he stiffs the staff. If he hates cruising on the mainstream lines that much, I would suggest alternative vacations.

[aloha43]

Good article...but.....

 

I goes to show that OTHER cruise lines are doing the same as RCL. Nickel and diming, removing perks, etc... It is definitely a sign of the economic times.

 

So, for those of you that are canceling your cruises to move to another line....I hope you get what you want.

[KeywestK]

Very good article. The bottom line is that as travel consumers, we will ultimately have the last word, and that being, of course, how we decide to spend our dollars.....whether it be in deciding which cruise line to sail with, and also how we spend our dollars once on board. I think the upcoming months will prove to be very interesting. As another poster on another thread said, get the popcorn...;)

 

Karen

[FireIce0010]

Good article...but.....

 

I goes to show that OTHER cruise lines are doing the same as RCL. Nickel and diming, removing perks, etc... It is definitely a sign of the economic times.

 

So, for those of you that are canceling your cruises to move to another line....I hope you get what you want.

 

It does show that the other lines are doing the exact same thing that Royal is doing. Many of the things like the concierge lounge is not even offered by other lines. It is just a sign of the times. Either pay for it all upfront or pay for it as you go. Not too hard to figure out for some.

[bthom70]

I love airing dirty laundry. And this article puts alot of the whining and gripes many of us have had in perfect mainstream media form.

 

Book late, pay less, don't spend any extras on pictures, bingo, casino or specialty restaurants and we'll see how all of the cruiselines react.

We are the guest, doesnt mean we have to bear the brunt of thier illconceived greedy notions.

 

Happy cruising.

[Cruising Greek]

Good article, Thanks for posting the link!

[Onessa]

MSN (the source of the link) has another interesting artical that was included as a link off of the posted article about hidden charges and surcharges in the car rental industry.

 

While some point to it as a "sign of these tough economic times", and others say it is just pure greed -- as consumers we have brought on these extra charges ourselves. By demanding special treatment -- freebies, discounts, buying based upon price alone -- we've forced businesses into cutting back on services and building in a system of extra charges to make up the difference.

 

When you pay a bargin-basement price for a cruise, don't be surprised when the quality of the cruise suffers.

[G'ma]

Good article...but.....

 

I goes to show that OTHER cruise lines are doing the same as RCL. Nickel and diming, removing perks, etc... It is definitely a sign of the economic times.

 

So, for those of you that are canceling your cruises to move to another line....I hope you get what you want.

 

Well, not all are.

 

The only "for-fee" venues on Carnival ships are the Supper Clubs at 30.00 per person and the specialty coffee/pastry concession.... None of their many dining venues have any type of charge at all....unlike Royal and others.

 

As for the photographers and others like shops, art auctions, etc....those aren't mandatory. One can choose to buy---or not.

 

Same with alcohol. You can drink like a fish at 6-7.00 a pop or drink in moderation - avoiding those "frou-frou" concoctions and fancy plastic glasses and have a very moderate bar bill.

 

The tipping charges were put in place because too many people skipped out and stiffed everyone.... If adults had behaved like civilized adults and didn't run off without tipping, there would be no separate charges for it. And, on many, you can adjust or remove those charges....

 

I think people are simply watching their budget more carefully....me included. I've never been a shopper, never bought photos onboard, drink very little, never buy shore excursions so my bill is moderate. Even so, I watch the pennies onboard, for sure. I don't think it's revenge...at least not on Carnival.

[dutchess43]

We have brought this on ourselves once we started eating in the specialty restaurants, buying better coffee, ice cream etc., etc., etc, we opened up different avenues. Once any cruise line figures we can get more monies out of the passengers lets keep going as long as they are willing to pay extra for it!

[ByeBye1]

-- as consumers we have brought on these extra charges ourselves. By demanding special treatment -- freebies, discounts, buying based upon price alone -- we've forced businesses into cutting back on services and building in a system of extra charges to make up the difference.

 

Just look at the smuggling of liquor to demonstrate how RCl had to compensate.

[Maraprince]

We have brought this on ourselves once we started eating in the specialty restaurants, buying better coffee, ice cream etc., etc., etc, we opened up different avenues. Once any cruise line figures we can get more monies out of the passengers lets keep going as long as they are willing to pay extra for it!

 

 

You are 100% right on the money! This "pay extra" venue was tried out to see how many passengers would be willing to pay more. If the basic services you paid for in your cruise price were lacking, there would have been numerous complaints and perhaps a rebellion. Problem was, there was nothing wrong with them! The lines did a great advertising job(brainwashing) to convince everyone to part with more of their money to dine in the speciality restaurants making them believe that the experience would be something so so so special that they wouldn't want to eat anywhere else. As we all know, not all specialty restaurants deliver what they promise to do.

 

It has been a case of let's see what else we can get them to pay for as we laugh all the way to the bank.

 

You take a cruise to see ports, relax on the ship and be entertained and fed. Do you need a rock climbing wall? Do you need an ice skating rink? Do you need Coney Island, Central Park, a carosel, a zip-line, etc. to enjoy your sailing? ABSOLUTELY not! You can do many of these activities on land. You sail to experience something different that is not offered on land.

 

Somewhere, somehow the signals have gotten crossed.

 

When RCL only did Caribbean cruises, they were at the top of the market and offered a wonderful experience at a reasonable price because they focused on giving you a cruise experience. All these other things on their ships may generate revenue but at a loss of revenue to the other venues on board -- casino, shops, shore excursions, photos, etc. So all RCL is doing is changing where the money is being spent on board. They are not making more money per cruise than before all the "bells and whistles" were added. That is their problem. Someone convinced them that these "upgrades" would generate more on-board revenue. They haven't. They only succeeded in putting themselves into a financial hole that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Maybe someone at RCL headquarters should take a step back and really look at their bottom line to find out why they are losing money before they go out of business.

 

MARAPRINCE

[alexkrn46]

You are 100% right on the money! This "pay extra" venue was tried out to see how many passengers would be willing to pay more. If the basic services you paid for in your cruise price were lacking, there would have been numerous complaints and perhaps a rebellion. Problem was, there was nothing wrong with them! The lines did a great advertising job(brainwashing) to convince everyone to part with more of their money to dine in the speciality restaurants making them believe that the experience would be something so so so special that they wouldn't want to eat anywhere else. As we all know, not all specialty restaurants deliver what they promise to do.

 

It has been a case of let's see what else we can get them to pay for as we laugh all the way to the bank.

 

You take a cruise to see ports, relax on the ship and be entertained and fed. Do you need a rock climbing wall? Do you need an ice skating rink? Do you need Coney Island, Central Park, a carosel, a zip-line, etc. to enjoy your sailing? ABSOLUTELY not! You can do many of these activities on land. You sail to experience something different that is not offered on land.

 

Somewhere, somehow the signals have gotten crossed.

 

When RCL only did Caribbean cruises, they were at the top of the market and offered a wonderful experience at a reasonable price because they focused on giving you a cruise experience. All these other things on their ships may generate revenue but at a loss of revenue to the other venues on board -- casino, shops, shore excursions, photos, etc. So all RCL is doing is changing where the money is being spent on board. They are not making more money per cruise than before all the "bells and whistles" were added. That is their problem. Someone convinced them that these "upgrades" would generate more on-board revenue. They haven't. They only succeeded in putting themselves into a financial hole that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Maybe someone at RCL headquarters should take a step back and really look at their bottom line to find out why they are losing money before they go out of business.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

You make some excellent points and I agree it is up to us the consumer.

[don24]

the amount of photographers has skyrocketed we just sailed on freedom 3-29 .on cozomel there where three picture stations on dock between ship and market area .its not a short pier but its not huge eather . i snapped a quick picture with my camera of aztec warrior at on station and photographer wanted me dead ,i mean dead ,if she saw me on ship i think i would have jumped just so i could chose my time to die:D

[Maraprince]

the amount of photographers has skyrocketed we just sailed on freedom 3-29 .on cozomel there where three picture stations on dock between ship and market area .its not a short pier but its not huge eather . i snapped a quick picture with my camera of aztec warrior at on station and photographer wanted me dead ,i mean dead ,if she saw me on ship i think i would have jumped just so i could chose my time to die:D

 

 

This is a result of a big drop in on-board revenue and RCL's attempt to make up for it.

 

If you recently caught the CNBC special called "Cruise Inc." (although it focused on NCL), you would be amazed about the amount of revenue cruise lines get on every sailing and the quotas they are required to meet to break even (not make a profit) on the sailing. Shore excursions garner the cruise line 40-50% of their cost. No wonder they are so over priced! All those wonderful shops the cruise line recommends such as Diamonds International fork over 20% of the sales they get. In just a 6 hour period in one port in one Diamonds International store the take was $200,000 and the cruise line gets 20% of it.

 

So I guess the million dollar question is where is all the money going? In RCL's case it is to pay for the Oasis. All the "toys" on it with no extra charges do not bring in any revenue but are costly to maintain.

 

MARAPRINCE