My problem with the survey is that it focuses on staff, and not the policies of RC. What I mean is this, let's say the survey asks me about the service I received. On one of my cruises the service in the dining room was lousy, but it wasn't the fault of the staff, it was RC's fault because they implemented a policy of reduced staffing. So if I rate the service as being bad, it's a reflection of the staff, when in reality the problem is with RC's policies.
@@kodiak7 That's actually what I do too, but I never know for sure if anyone reads the comments, or they only go by the ratings. But yes, I'm with you and that's all we can really do.
I always provide clarifying information in the box at the end. Dates/times of crew doing fab things or problems. Also any comments on policy changes. I had a friend in Guest Services who said that they read the surveys that pertain to their ship.
There was a case in England over the “all inclusive” cruises not too long ago, RCI lost. Guests who are UK citizens (not guests just departing from a UK port) do not have to pay automated gratuities. Automated gratuities are not mandatory anyway! You DO NOT have to pay them. You can go to Guest Services and have them removed. People should not be shamed whether they decide to pay them or not. You can tip the people who provide you direct services as you wish. However, I agree that the automated gratuities if cruise lines really want to collect them then make them service fees and include them in the upfront price just like port taxes and inspection fees if they are truly for the crew. Then they would be mandatory. And people would have a better idea of their cruises actually cost. Stop “nickel and dimeing” passengers. The surveys have a box at the end where you can provide any clarifying details. If I’ve had a problem or issue, I include the date/time/crew member name and details on the incident. The same for in order to highlight an exceptional service or crew member.
I'd like to see Royal enforce the chair hogs more. Cruised on Celebrity in June, and they did a great job of removing towels from chairs that obviously didn't have anyone using them for a while. Usually around an hour. There's way too much of this happening on Royal.
I'd also like them to enforce kids/teens more. My last cruise (7/2023) had teens running everywhere, down room halls, up/down stairs, all over the hot tubs at the Solarium, etc. I never saw any crew member/security ever tell these kids that they could not be in adult-only areas, or to stop running down hallways at midnight, etc. It was very irritating.
Celebrity did a great job of controlling younger kids in the adult pools. As soon as they were jumping around and splashing, the attendant put an immediate stop to it. @@pharmatographist
I reported a group of six people who dropped towels and walked away 2.5 hours later and NOTHING. Why have a policy if you absolutely do not enforce it. A couple showed up and we said those loungers were never sat in, please don’t be put off by the towels reserving them. They used them, I was happy, the people didn’t show up before we left.
My husband and I were JUST talking about this! Add the gratuities! The less I have to worry about/pay at the end or even have to add to my cruise separately, the better. Just give me my price upfront.
Totally agree with getting rid of checking in and out towels. They don't even make you do that in most hotels, and there are far more opportunities to take the towels on a land vacation. Shouldn't have to wait in line to get or return them either. Why not put the blue towels in the state rooms, or just have them available in the pool areas? R.C. should definitely get rid of check in/out of towels.
If RC did a pass across the pool deck and removed towels from seat hoarders, then this fee would start to hurt those jerks, and perhaps make them change their behaviors.
What’s more, if you’re in a star class or higher suite, they provide towels in the room, and you don’t need to return them. Leave them at the pool, no worries. There will be fresh ones waiting for you in the room later on.
Without question, the top thing they should change is the ability to search the website (or app) for the lowest priced suites. I'd pay $2,200 for a suite on a 7-day Alaskan cruise but I shouldn't have to click on all the different sailings to find that info. I can search by ship, month, departure port, etc. Why can't I search for room type and then sort by price??
Just got off a cruise last week and got nailed with the mystery unreturned towel fee despite returning all our towels. Get rid of it right away. The other huge complaint I had was buffet hours. There should never be a time between 6am and 9pm the windjammer isn't open in some form. Especially port days, we'd constantly be getting back on the ship just as the buffet closed and be left with only the quick eats options which aside from the hotdogs were all just so so. On Oasis the buffet is mirrored, so just shut down half to do the change over then repeat.
Number 1 for me is that they should offer a "non deluxe" drinks package. I don't need a drinks package that costs over £200 per day for a couple. That's just utterly insane - even more so for us as my wife does not drink. They should add a lower end drinks package just giving access to a couple of the cheaper beers plus a house red and a house white. This is how it works on some other lines and also in many all-inclusive holiday resorts.
100% agree my wife will maybe have a few glasses of wine the whole cruise and I may have a couple of beers a day that is all, It's crazy to expect people that don't drink much to pay for everybody else that does. We had a free drinks package on Anthem back in 2015, and we drank more cola etc than we ever drank beer or wine.
In Australia its not a cultural thing (although it is) its a legal thing - the laws say the price stated must be the price, no hidden costs, taxes, fees or anything else - even with tipping which of course technically flexible, as they add it and you have to remove it, is considered mandatory enough to have to be included. When you got to supermarket and get a can of coke and the label says $1, you pay $1 - you dont pay $1 + this and that tax and fee like you do in the US.
Mike, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
I just cruised on Adventure of the Seas... Our total gratuities were $560... I went to guest services and had them reduced 30%. You can have them removed completely if you want but they will try to make you feel like your screwing everyone over. I have made adjustments on all (5) cruises we have taken.
I disagree! What if I only eat at specialty restaurants? Why should I have to tip main dining and specialty restaurants staff? Leave it as it is currently established.
I disagree - It is an option, keep it as it is. The reason they started adding an option to pre-pay or auto-add it to the cabin, was because the old system of the envelopes was such a pain in the a**. The fare is the cost, and the gratuity is a tip. If you don't want to tip, or still want to use envelopes, you can have it removed or adjusted on your bill.
100% agree with the gratuity issue. The initial “advertised” lower rate doesn’t fool anyone. Everyone knows that there will be gratuities forced on them, either in the initial option for booking or daily . The gratuities will be paid.
My thoughts exactly. Unless you live with your head in the sand, you know you're going to pay gratuities - might as well include it up front. I would be perfectly fine with that.
Mike, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Agree with all. My addition would be to improve the details provided for shore excursions. They used to have video clips that seems to have dropped. One year we did a beach trip in Jamaica. They left out the little detail about the 90min bus ride each way.
Gratuities - Keep it like it is. You can pre-pay it, or pay it later. Personally, I prefer to pay as little as possible up front. I prefer to pay it on my bill at the end of the cruise. It also allows me the option to pay it with OBC.
Royal Caribbean needs to schedule their ships to be in port at their private destinations longer. If I'm gonna pay $2k for a cabana, I wanna use it all day
While I agree with this I also think that $2k for a cabana is ridiculous even $1200 or $1000 it sort of prices out many people who now days have a very tight budget because of the economy. Or, people on a fixed retirement income, and what if you book your cruise 24 months in advance and things turn south in your budget in the mean time? It is a VERY BIG expense for such a short time period.
@@lpeppeard1659 RCCL has been perfectly clear, if you're on a "tight budget" they no longer want your money. They are chasing cash-cows nowadays. $8,800 for an interior room during the summer is absolutely insane. They have lost their minds doubling prices, and reducing how many times they clean your room, lowering dining options, and even doing a surveying on charging for pizza.
We reserved a private bed and chairs at CoCoCay... the entire time the Sea Gulls ran all over the top often fighting and also at some point crapping on the pillows. They should come with complementary pellet gun and ammo for the ridiculous price we paid.
I completely agree with all of these. After years of only cruising on Royal I’ve recently ventured off to other line that don’t do any of these. The experience is so much better.
As somebody who works with big data, all day every day, I 100% agree with the 5 stars thing. I've heard the same thing from staff members that they're told essentially 5 stars is all that matters. If they're treating anything below 5 stars as a failing grade, then they need to switch to a Satisfied/Unsatisfied rating system instead. If you're going off a 5 star system, you should be utilizing that extra information that you're getting from the different star ratings. Either by incorporating averages, distribution spreads to accurately evaluate the performance of your employees and where they can improve. I don't work for Royal, so I don't know to what extent they're doing that type of data analysis, but if they're putting all the emphasis on 5 star ratings and nothing else, they're making a massive mistake with their data tracking practices.
I had the tips included on the fare, but I also give an additional tip. At end of my recent cruise I gave the stateroom attendant a $30 tip. He went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable.
FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Matt should Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
RC has a “policy” of not reserving sun beds, there’s a pink sleeve on most of the beds stating this, however….. on our first and probably our last cruise (for various reasons that are not important to regular lovers of cruising) last month, beds in their droves were reserved from minute dot on sea days with in some cases beds not being used to close to lunchtime! If I had a dollar for every towel on a sun bed reserved for more than say 2 hours that I could quite happily have thrown overboard to teach that individual a lesson, I’d be a rich man
I agree with all these. Along the lines of included tips, I still get irritated every time I purchase a drink package, soda package, dining plan, and so on and they add an 18% gratuity at checkout and you have no choice but to pay it if you want the package. I prefer to tip as I get a drink and I shouldn’t be charged a tip for the soda I get out of the machine myself. As for specialty dining, I’m sure when the check comes (which does even if 0 amount due) many people forget they have already tipped 18% when they purchased the package. I do tip more if the service was good, but geez. Thanks Matt for all of your videos. So much helpful information.
I totally agree about the gratuities! Reason is that it breaks my heart that some remove them. Plus I get tired of the debate. Just make it included and be done with it!
Adventure ocean embarkation sign up should be done on the app in my opinion. Similar to booking a show on the first day, we could answer the questions on the app. I think it would be more convenient 😊
Yeah, the 5-stars-or-bust mentality is not what should be reality. You're right, nothing is perfect. The fact that a four star rating can basically torpedo an employee's career is mind-boggling.
RC should have an option to make add-ons a part of the cruise fare thats due 90 days prior to sailing. I would happily pay full price on the Delux beverage package if it ment I could pay on it gradually.
All I can say is agree 100% with all. I would’ve liked for the survey to have a section for detailed feedback on the shore excursions. Individually if possible. So they can revamp or refresh their excursions accordingly. I feel the survey should have a bit more space to explain your rating and/or experience
I agree with the survey star rating issue. We felt very uncomfortable on a recent RC cruise where our wait staff pressured us into giving her 5 stars. It was an impassioned plea and she over explained the system and how it can be a problem for her if we didn't do 5 stars. We felt bad and that is not what you want to hear from your staff on the last night of the cruise.
Yes, yes, yes to including gratuities in the cruise fare!!! Regarding surveys, I always tell my patients to be brutally honest because if we don't know that something isn't working, we can't fix it. I approach my Royal Caribbean surveys the same way. I also make sure I take pictures of name badges for crew who do excellent work so that I can remember to mention them by name.
The intense hounding for 5 stars is a thing. We were on Oasis about 18 months ago and started to dread the MDR beg gauntlet that we had from 2 waiters, an assistant waiter, the floor/area manager and Head Floor Supervisor. It was insane and ridiculous. My husband and I realized by the 3td night that we were being asked about service and reminded to fill out the survey with 5 stars about every 5 to 10 minutes throughout our dinner. Ugh.
The consequences are real for them. It means less pay or less time with family back home. Plus - as the video said - it can lead to them losing their income over it. It is a hassle at dinner for passengers but that’s Nothing Compared to what it means to crew.
@@ss_sailaway so what your saying is a policy change is in fact needed. And I believe that was the whole point of Matts mentioning of it. So RC if your reading these comments. Lets do something about this.
No joke, on my last cruise the waiter at a specialty restaurant only charged me for one person instead of two and then asked me to give him a 5 star review on the survey. He was an amazing server so I had no problem with it but the half off dinner didn’t hurt either. 😅
Matt this is great of you to speak out on these points. I've been watching a ton of Cruise videos and people explaining how things are. But never anyone giving their personal feedback like you have. So Cheers to you for stepping up.
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Signing towels out and in frees up chairs by the pool. Without this policy, people just leave their towels on their lounger when they are done for the day and others think the chairs are taken when they are not.
Another BIG thing they should change and would help them tremendously with food cost is this. When booking a cruise you choose between early, late or My Time dining. Why not none of the above. My husband and I are Diamond Plus with over 450 days at sea. We now eat at a speciality restaurant on nights one and two(due to the buy one get one perk) then the Windjammer the rest of the cruise. We do not like going to main dining room and it bothers me that they are holding a seat and food for us. It would be wonderful to book your dining venue at the time of reservation. I understand first time cruisers wouldn’t know but us Loyal to Royal know what we are going to do. Also if you buy the Dining Package, my card still says my dining room and table. Makes no sense to me. Plus we are paying for gratuity for the Main Dining staff that we do not use. Just my thoughts 💭
I love the idea. I would say the problem is when that person that did select "none" then changes their mind onboard. It's a no-win situation for Royal because no customer wants to hear "too bad" even if it's their fault.
Good suggestion ! we ae Diamond + also and the main menu now is NOT Acceptable, its like cafeteria food. 1 Lobster tale which costs them $ 3.50 The exects are pocketing millions in Bonus $$ and trying to sqeeze us now.
As a family man of 5. They need to revamp the website to allow families to search for rooms that can fit 5 people. (Ultra spacious rooms). This is a huge flaw that they will need to fix soon! More and more families have a total of 5 people. As of now, you have to call, wait for over 30 minutes, and let their travel agents search for you.
Answer - two adjoining rooms. Three in one and two in the other. There are four of us and we always get two rooms. Added bonus - there are two bathrooms.
@jimroscovius I agree...we booked wonder of the seas in Feb 2024 with 2 adjoining rooms. But stil.... almost impossible to search by yourself with adjoining as well. (Yes I know they added a "connecting rooms feature" on the search. But it is not accurate compared to calling their agents.)
@@mr.diyforthewin7634 We were on Harmony last year, overlooking Central Park, and we have adjoining rooms on Wonder next April, overlooking the Boardwalk.
Well the cruise we had in February on Mariner I don't recall seeing the survey when we got back. But I don't really enjoy the 5 star method for everything, I think written comments should be a lot more important than stars. I think upper management will get more out of that and can contact you if they want more information about it
There is also a very big psychological factor of not including gratuities as part of the cruise prepayment. They are now showing up every day, for every person, on the app and it can dampen other spending that people might have done had they had a $0 balance to start the cruise.
crew get their contracted rate regardless of how much you tip. they do NOT get your tips unless and until the tip amounts exceed their contracted rate. and they almost never actually receive tips higher than their contracted rate. therefore, enforced gratuities are just us subsidizing RCL's labor costs. you should know this, as someone who cruises RCL so often. do you ever talk to your steward or dining server?
Interesting. Almost makes me wonder if there are legal ramifications by calling it a gratuity and it not actually being passed along to the crew members as additional compensation. Do you know if they have to report cash tips? Or if they have to turn them into a collective pot that is then distributed equally?
@@MrSnoomun1983 am told they are supposed to turn them in (for specialty dining servers anyway; have not asked this specific question to anyone else yet), but i always find a way to sneak it to them individually when no one is looking. as for the legal issues -- the ships are flagged in locations with different employment laws than in the US or other similar countries. so they get away with a lot.
I just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise. I paid my tips in advance. The employees still had envelopes for additional tips. We were also told by the restaurant staff that we had to give perfect scores for them. The ratings on quality of the food would, also reflect on them. During one time at the buffet, we were approached by an employee who took a survey. That was probably the way to do it. Yes, get rid of checking out the towels. Maybe that also cuts down on chair hogging though.
Matt, I agree with you after hearing your take on the cruise survey. If it is that crew members can be fired for receiving a three start of a five star review, perhaps the best answer for me at the time is to just simply refuse to do the survey. I wouldn't fire anyone over a four out of five star review. But, on my part, as a customer, I may honestly not feel like I got five start service. So rather than lie and inflate the numbers Royal can brag about, maybe falsely, in ads, I'd rather just not do the survey. And that stinks, because I do think Royal needs honest feedback from their customers directly after a cruise.
I think that RCCL should consider letting Diamonds and above exchange their drink vouchers for a discount on the Delux Drink Package. It is simple math so they wouldn't lose any money, and might even convince a lot more in those categories to get a drink package.
Doubt this will happen. RCCL know all the figures behind this. They likely know that drinkers will pay for the drink package in full (current policy). To give this discount would only be a $$$ loser.
I proposed that to RCCL management and Crown & Anchor executives and even showed them how it would increase revenues dramaticaly. (I have a PhD in math specializing in the travel industry.) I was met with a resounding NO from both.
@arthurmatthewf5406 I suspect you don't have the foundation of years of stats --on hundreds of thousands of cruise guest bookings-- on which to base your analysis (like RCCL does). : - )
I’d like the dress code in the MDR room to be more formal and/actually enforced. Or at least one of the MDR for this. If you don’t want to dress up, fine, go to the “casual” one of Windjammer. For some people it’s fun to dress up for a nice dinner. And when you do and your sitting next to a table with tshirts and flip flops, it just creates a different environment.
I think surveys should use ratings that will yield the info that they are actually looking for. For a service business like this, what I believe they are REALLY asking is "How was our performance RELATIVE to what you were expecting?" That is really what is most important. Was it below your expectations? Did it meet them...satisfactorily? or did it exceed your expectations? Not some impossibly common understanding of "objective perfect".
Agree with the pool towels situation. Maybe they just have that check out station when you disembark at a port. But if you’re using the towels on board, you don’t have to check them out. 🤷♀️
Great video. All your points are valid and prepaid gratuities are a great, hassle free way of staff getting paid what they deserve. The one thing I would like to see is the Australian ships get amplified (Quantum, Ovation and Brilliance). They amplified Voyager, then took her away.
We should remember the staff that gets tipped is already being paid a wage that is good for their country. It may not be what we in the US are paid but that’s life. If cruise lines feel like tipped employees should be paid more….pay them more…..don’t expect me to do it. For tipped employees I will tip with cash, at the end of my trip and based on their performance/lines efforts….not on what the cruise lines tell me to tip.
I would have the Main Dining Room open for lunch/brunch every day. On port days, there are not always adequate lunch options, and at least for me, the food- specifically in the MDR- is the cornerstone of the cruise experience.
I’d like to be able to adjust the gratuities based on service like you used to be able to do with the envelope system. I’m not taking about tipping less! I’m talking about focusing the tip money on the services you used most or appreciated the most. Maybe you never ordered room service, wine, used the spa, etc…but (insert service) was amazing and you want to make sure they get a little extra. If it’s a specific person, you can always tip them directly. But what if you want to give more to the shows at night in general? Or the entire kids area staff? You used to have that ability with the envelopes.
With Royal Caribbean ships getting bigger and bigger I think they need to start doing cruises to nowhere, especially with quantum class ships and above. A week is not long enough to fully enjoy what the ship has to offer, it would really benefit the Icon class the most. In a week I doubt anyone can do everything Icon has to offer.
I would like them to show an actual calendar. Especially for ships that change itinerary each week. I think they need to show exactly which dates the cruise is available for a particular ship. I like a good balance between ship and itinerary... So if I want to do Odyssey/Western Caribbean please let me know exactly when without having to click more buttons....
Very interesting about the survey. If you compare it to a performance appraisal you get if you work for a company, 3 would be doing your job, 4 would be exceeds, 5 would be perfect(like you said) and those are given few and far between. Expecting 5s across the board is unrealistic. But, now I know I should give all 5s.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think it's not just RC that pushes the 5-star rating, or it's bad. It's pretty common to hear people ask you to give a 5-star review for whatever service it might be. It's being programmed into culture to always give 5 stars unless there's a problem. You're right. There should be a way to make a 3 or 4 star be "no complaints" and allow room for exceptional and mind-blowing service. But it reaches way beyond RC.
More non-buffet options for breakfast and lunch on port days. Just ended Alaska cruise on Ovation and on port days, main dining room was only open for 1 hour (7am - 8am) for breakfast. With 2 kids, getting everyone up and ready was tough, and the one day we did make it, service was extremely poor, my youngest didn't even get food served. Which I hope was just a bad morning, because service at dinner in main dining every night was fantastic. And for lunch, I get it, they expect you off the ship, not getting lunch on it. But some ports we didn't get off the ship, and the only options were windjammer and 270. Sorry, but some of us paying for this vacation want just to sit and be served a meal, and don't want to trudge though dragging two kids and getting plates, finding a seat, etc. Other cruise lines have a sit down option for lunch on port days, not just buffet. I like RC, would like to see them implement something similar.
P.S. Signing out towels... I agree. Last cruise, on Serenade of the Seas Aug 2023, I had to stand in line to check out towels, which wasn't TOO inconvenient, but when I went to check them back in, they simply motioned me to throw them in the bin, without my cabin info! So it seems like it is just a bogus threat-deterrent at this point.
This is no trick. Unless you also hand them your sea pass card, they hand you to a fresh towel, quick and easy. If you drop off the towel and walk away, shame on you. And if you towel swap like this, it's one check out on day one, and one check in on the last night. Still, doing away with the check in and out would be nice too.
Matt; I agree with the improvements you've mentioned. Our cruise lady who has booked our last 71 cruises automatically adds pre-paid gratuities and insurance when she books our cruises. We take our own micro fiber towels and don't use RCCL pool towels partly for the reasons you mentioned. I also would like to see the survey changed which would allow for a complaint without hurting an employee. An example would be if you rate the MDR food at less than 5 it also effects the servers even though they have no control over food purchased by RCCL. Bill
Good topic and suggestions Matt. I 100% agree with the tipping situation, just include it and pay them an actual decent wage. One little thing I'd like to see is them add a map showing the route the cruise will take. NCL does this and its helpful to have that visual and also just cool to see. Then showing the end day next to the start day instead of having to count up the nights to see what day it returns. Little things.
Royal is not the only company that has a rating system like this. It truly is inane. I completely agree with you about gratuities. I prefer to pay them upfront as it's less to worry about later and I can give additional tips to the crew members who give outstanding service.
Agree with the lack of enforcement of chair hogs raised below and how much it frustrates some people. One party hogged prime deck chairs at 7:00 every single morning of our 8 night cruise and never showed up once before 9:30. I wonder if chair hogs would change their behaviour if their unattended towels were « borrowed » and put back in the towel bins without checking in under their seapass.
Would love to have gratuities added to purchase price of cruise. My issue is why you have to pay an additional 18% for a specialty restaurant when the mandatory gratuities are supposed to be distributed among all food service workers. On top of that when you get your bill there's a write in about for more gratuities. To make sure our specialty waiter gets tipped we give cash.
To your point, they need to re-evaluate gratuities. So much of the system is based still in a world of smaller ships that had far fewer extra cost venues.
Allow customers to reserve lounge chairs. Limit time to 2-3 hours per reservation and each person to only have 1 reservation in the system at any given time. Reservations can be made via the app, website, or a poolside kiosk.
The surveys should be sent to every adult passenger, not just one per stateroom. On my last trip, we wanted to each do a survey to give more praise to the staff.
I do NOT agree with making mandatory tipping a part of the price. Some things, some people might not even use. When you buy a drink package, the 18% gratuity is automatically added; the same when you order a drink or even for someone to hand you a donut! I definately don't agree with the "per person" vs per cabin. Plus, if you already paid your gratuities up front, they may not give great service. It's up to the cruise line to pay their staff more, not me as a guest. I guess the insanely high price increases aren't enough for some people.
My suggestion is to make gratuities included for room attendant and dining room staff, not drink package. Regarding the drink package gratuity, the more orders a waiter takes with drink package, the larger share of the gratuity pie they get. That's the incentive to give good service, even if it's prepaid.
Regarding gratuities: I just did the math. You can too. $16 per day per person for 3000 passengers. The tips are $336,000 for that cruise. I don't know how the money is distributed, nor have I ever heard if every crew member gets a part of this money. If it is only for passenger facing crew, that is a nice weekly bonus on top of their contracted pay.
I want to search on the website the exact room I am looking for. Why do I have to click, click search, click to find the room I want. I always book Ocean view balcony. I want to find the best deal for the room I like.
The BIGGEST thing they need to change is the LOUSY menu in the MDR. We are Diamond and have cruised twice since the menu change on Jan 1. It was terrible. We are done. Just booked our next cruise on Holland. who STILL has good food in the MDR and twice per day room steward service.
I agree with the Towel Return suggestion. There should be towel return stations at the gangway during port days, and at guest services. Im also not sure why we cant leave them for the cabin steward with the other cabin towels. Arent they all going to the same washer?
Great list. I noticed our MDR waiters, who were great, seemed really nervous about the survey. Sad they are made to feel that way. And signing out towels is dumb.
The #1 thing we'd change is how you can't search the website and sort for the cheapest room type regardless of date. Example: if travel dates aren't important, I should be able to search for the cheapest Suite so my family can have that experience. But I'm absolutely not going to click on every single ship, every single sailing and create a spreadsheet to find the cheapest suite.
That makes zero sense. You can already filter all the different ports if call, days at sea, and as many ships as you want, then look at the cheapest rates for any given cruise. PLUS they have the deals listed too!
We should talk about prices. Last year I went on Mariner of the Seas and spent around $100 for Coco Key Beach Club now $300 per person. Most Excursions have tripled in price. The drink package has also going up significantly along with the dining package. I understand Royal Caribbean wants prices to raise prices to make up for the covid days however it appears they're going to price themselves out of a lot of excursions people would normally take
I totally I agree!! When I worked in another Norwegian cruise line the NCL (not The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line also called RCCL-RCL or RCI that it likes to call them selves now actually was) in the mid 80’s as a deck boy as a Norwegian (of course), all these issues didn’t exist at all, besides giving tip. The towels, the Internet pop ups and scores weren’t an issue. But the towel thing Yes… we received the towels on the gangway… the passengers got them from us… but if someone forgot them… So what?!? The cruise-industry has changed sooo much the last 35 years… for the worse I am afraid… The ad once are insanely now. In the 80’s, everything was included besides tip in the Caribbean… Food, drinks and so on
I would like to see royal offer an all included package to similar to Celebrity as it is a great value and also they would have more gratuities paid upfront because they are included with the drinks and wifi
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Well said! On the towel issue, I have been staying in a suite on multiple occasions where towel checkout is not required and still get nabbed for a missing towel fee due to some system error of mis-entered room number. To resolve this issue, I have had to go to my suite where pool towels are always stocked and then go turn one in to the towel station to resolve the issue.
I never let a good survey go to waste. If the cruise line requests my feedback, then I give it to them - especially if it’s Royal Caribbean. The reason I’m super critical of Royal is because I love the brand, as well as the product they attempt to deliver. Nobody does the Caribbean like Royal. When I make my suggestions for improvement, I always make sure to focus on the policies, procedures, and executive decisions that negatively impacted my cruise. I say put the stress where it belongs: the decision makers of the company. At the end of the day, *they* are the ones who make or break a cruise for me.
Totally agree about the towels. That was one of the annoying things about our cruise is that we had to go back to the towel stand and wait for someone to show up to return towels instead of just being able to toss them into a collector
As a professional travel agent, I ALWAYS include gratuities as part of the quotes, so my clients know the cost prior to cruising. They can occasionally be confused as to why the quote I give them can be higher than the website when in reality it’s the same cost. I wouldn’t want to find out after the cruise I owe an additional $400.
Included it in the cruise fare. You don't have to worry about it. If a crew member goes above and beyond for you, then give them something extra. They deserve it as hard as they work!! I would give $100 to the cabin stewarts when we arrive. The room is always clean. They're super helpful and nice they work hard 24 hrs a day!!
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Towels - Back in 2010, the pool towels were actually something. They were white with a huge Royal Caribbean logo on them. You could check them in/out for $25 just like the pale blue towels they use today. However, back then they would actually say "return them and get your deposit back, or keep it and we'll add it to your bill" I had one of these towels for many years, and it was the best beach towel. It was free advertising for them. Not sure why they did not continue this.
I agree. All companies Need to Start PAYING THIER Employees! Tipping should not be an income. This is for restaurants and all the cruise lines not just RC. I am consideing Not cruising if I have to pay the Tip Fees that are charged/expected. I want the option to Tip for extra/Great Service only.
I'm sure most people agree with you on the gratuities, but I'm glad they're additional. I have an RC credit card, and I use the points for onboard credits only to pay gratuities. I almost never buy anything on the ship, and I would hate to have my points go to waste or to just buy stuff I don't need just to use them.
Yes thats Great, tell Matt to stay away from making stupid suggestions that would screw us long term Cruisers! Tks Karen ! my response to Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
I got a suggestion for really wet towels that maybe handy if everyone took a towel onshore is have some sort of a bag with them to put that towel in and return it with them back on the ship so it won't be left behind that is the only thing I could think of that way no charges will be made to anyone's credit card
9:35 Really? Is a pop-up offer what bothers you the most? Granted, there is no reason it should be shown more than a few times, but their website lacks at least a few important features, like: 1. Sort search results by price per night instead of total price 2. Same for the price of a specific kind of cabin. For instance, I could want to see the cheapest price per night on a junior suite 3. Filter in/out round-trip cruises 4. Stop resetting the sorting criterium back to recommended. I want it to stick to lower prices first! 5. Letting us know when new cruises have just been released or that they are about to be. Anyway, it's a nice video, Matt. Thanks for sharing.
Funny you mentioned the towels, my wife and I just got off an Alaskan cruise which was 95% adults and we felt like we had to go beg our parents for towels each time.
I appreciate and believe in gratuities and even gave above and beyond the prepaid on my recent cruise. I was a little put out when my son lost his cup and we paid for another one (no issues with paying for another one) the bar tender gave us the cup literally and it was 18 percent gratuity. Little things like that are excessive in my opinion. It just makes the experience feel like a nickel and dime experience. I did add this to the survey as an example.
Matt, it is considered optional...because some passengers insist on not paying gratuities at all...they have it removed the last night...which is not fair after the services...then if it's included in the fare...there will still be complaints, unfortunately!
Do you think they did this to ensure everyone gives a gratuity? I bet a lot of guests left no gratuities when it was left up to the guests. I say this because I remember the last night, which was typically when you handed out the gratuities, the dining rooms were more than half empty. And it still is more empty than normal. So in some way does this eliminate the cheapskates?
That towel fee… ugh. Earlier this year my stateroom attendant removed my damp pool towel from my room, then royal added it to my bill. After standing in the dreaded end of cruise guest services line… which I’ve avoided for 38 cruises, I was able to get the charge reversed… but honestly they should have paid me the $25 for the lost time + pain and suffering caused by their staff’s actions.
I agree with the survey. We have been told on many RCCL cruises by the waiters that a less than perfect score on food quality was also a ding against the waiters, as if somehow they could fix things by offering another less than perfect alternative. On some days, the menu isn't good for everyone. So if you get excellent service from your waiters, you must rate the food high as well, or they get less than an excellent on their performance when the actual blame should fall on the chef.
It's really sad how anything less than a perfect score impacts the crew. And you're so right about how waiters get dinged from guests about bad food, but not their fault.
Totally agree about gratuities. When we cruise Princess or Holland America, we always choose the Princess Plus or HA Have-it-All package that bundles the gratuity with other things like wi-fi and the drink package. I don't believe Royal offers any similar option.
FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. I do not like when Mike kisses RC exects in the Butt !
SOLID AGREE on all points, in fact I would give this video a 5 rating. I actually want a survey option that say "go into detail", I get that in order to have high participation you want a survey to be concise and easy, but for those of us with detail - they give a single text box limited to like 250 characters, yuk. Give us more subcategories and lose the whole notion that straight-5s are the only answer. Grats, towels, website - no brainers, get it done RCCL.
In regards to having the towels returned, one thing that you didn't mention in your clip was that by having the guests return them, you have less "mess" around the pool area, AND less work by the crew staff that have to pick them up after being left by the cruiser(s).
My problem with the survey is that it focuses on staff, and not the policies of RC. What I mean is this, let's say the survey asks me about the service I received. On one of my cruises the service in the dining room was lousy, but it wasn't the fault of the staff, it was RC's fault because they implemented a policy of reduced staffing. So if I rate the service as being bad, it's a reflection of the staff, when in reality the problem is with RC's policies.
I've noticed that on lots of surveys anymore.. You really cant give the feedback on really what was wrong lol
I score against the policy. Then in the comments I praise the crew and say Royal sucks at xxx
@@kodiak7 That's actually what I do too, but I never know for sure if anyone reads the comments, or they only go by the ratings. But yes, I'm with you and that's all we can really do.
I always provide clarifying information in the box at the end. Dates/times of crew doing fab things or problems. Also any comments on policy changes. I had a friend in Guest Services who said that they read the surveys that pertain to their ship.
There was a case in England over the “all inclusive” cruises not too long ago, RCI lost. Guests who are UK citizens (not guests just departing from a UK port) do not have to pay automated gratuities. Automated gratuities are not mandatory anyway! You DO NOT have to pay them. You can go to Guest Services and have them removed. People should not be shamed whether they decide to pay them or not. You can tip the people who provide you direct services as you wish. However, I agree that the automated gratuities if cruise lines really want to collect them then make them service fees and include them in the upfront price just like port taxes and inspection fees if they are truly for the crew. Then they would be mandatory. And people would have a better idea of their cruises actually cost. Stop “nickel and dimeing” passengers.
The surveys have a box at the end where you can provide any clarifying details. If I’ve had a problem or issue, I include the date/time/crew member name and details on the incident. The same for in order to highlight an exceptional service or crew member.
I'd like to see Royal enforce the chair hogs more. Cruised on Celebrity in June, and they did a great job of removing towels from chairs that obviously didn't have anyone using them for a while. Usually around an hour. There's way too much of this happening on Royal.
I'd also like them to enforce kids/teens more. My last cruise (7/2023) had teens running everywhere, down room halls, up/down stairs, all over the hot tubs at the Solarium, etc. I never saw any crew member/security ever tell these kids that they could not be in adult-only areas, or to stop running down hallways at midnight, etc. It was very irritating.
Celebrity did a great job of controlling younger kids in the adult pools. As soon as they were jumping around and splashing, the attendant put an immediate stop to it. @@pharmatographist
Those people drive me nuts. They are self-centred pieces of sh#t.
I reported a group of six people who dropped towels and walked away 2.5 hours later and NOTHING. Why have a policy if you absolutely do not enforce it. A couple showed up and we said those loungers were never sat in, please don’t be put off by the towels reserving them. They used them, I was happy, the people didn’t show up before we left.
Funny that you said Nothing is perfect, and the Robotic Bar, which is perhaps, Perfect. 😂
My husband and I were JUST talking about this! Add the gratuities! The less I have to worry about/pay at the end or even have to add to my cruise separately, the better. Just give me my price upfront.
Totally agree with getting rid of checking in and out towels. They don't even make you do that in most hotels, and there are far more opportunities to take the towels on a land vacation. Shouldn't have to wait in line to get or return them either. Why not put the blue towels in the state rooms, or just have them available in the pool areas? R.C. should definitely get rid of check in/out of towels.
Agreed, on NCL we don't have to sonthis and its great.
If RC did a pass across the pool deck and removed towels from seat hoarders, then this fee would start to hurt those jerks, and perhaps make them change their behaviors.
What’s more, if you’re in a star class or higher suite, they provide towels in the room, and you don’t need to return them. Leave them at the pool, no worries. There will be fresh ones waiting for you in the room later on.
Without question, the top thing they should change is the ability to search the website (or app) for the lowest priced suites. I'd pay $2,200 for a suite on a 7-day Alaskan cruise but I shouldn't have to click on all the different sailings to find that info. I can search by ship, month, departure port, etc. Why can't I search for room type and then sort by price??
I'd love to see that too
Great idea
Just got off a cruise last week and got nailed with the mystery unreturned towel fee despite returning all our towels. Get rid of it right away. The other huge complaint I had was buffet hours. There should never be a time between 6am and 9pm the windjammer isn't open in some form. Especially port days, we'd constantly be getting back on the ship just as the buffet closed and be left with only the quick eats options which aside from the hotdogs were all just so so. On Oasis the buffet is mirrored, so just shut down half to do the change over then repeat.
Agreed!
Number 1 for me is that they should offer a "non deluxe" drinks package. I don't need a drinks package that costs over £200 per day for a couple. That's just utterly insane - even more so for us as my wife does not drink.
They should add a lower end drinks package just giving access to a couple of the cheaper beers plus a house red and a house white. This is how it works on some other lines and also in many all-inclusive holiday resorts.
I used to like the beer and wine package they had, as we drink more of that than the hard liquor.
100% agree my wife will maybe have a few glasses of wine the whole cruise and I may have a couple of beers a day that is all, It's crazy to expect people that don't drink much to pay for everybody else that does.
We had a free drinks package on Anthem back in 2015, and we drank more cola etc than we ever drank beer or wine.
@@andy70d35 If you are only drinking couple of them, then pay a la carte. We did that and it worked out well. We paid as we go.
They had that but took it away. Probably didn't let them gouge you enough.
@@EntropyGuardian What？ Now I can't go and pay as I go? Last I was on RCCL was on Oasis in Oct'22.
In Australia its not a cultural thing (although it is) its a legal thing - the laws say the price stated must be the price, no hidden costs, taxes, fees or anything else - even with tipping which of course technically flexible, as they add it and you have to remove it, is considered mandatory enough to have to be included. When you got to supermarket and get a can of coke and the label says $1, you pay $1 - you dont pay $1 + this and that tax and fee like you do in the US.
I agree with the tipping. It's not an actual option so don't treat it as such. Include it in the price.
Mike, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
I just cruised on Adventure of the Seas... Our total gratuities were $560... I went to guest services and had them reduced 30%. You can have them removed completely if you want but they will try to make you feel like your screwing everyone over. I have made adjustments on all (5) cruises we have taken.
Agreed. all cruise lines should just build it in and pay their staff properly.
Should also happen society wide, but that's a bigger problem to solve.
I disagree! What if I only eat at specialty restaurants? Why should I have to tip main dining and specialty restaurants staff? Leave it as it is currently established.
I disagree - It is an option, keep it as it is. The reason they started adding an option to pre-pay or auto-add it to the cabin, was because the old system of the envelopes was such a pain in the a**. The fare is the cost, and the gratuity is a tip. If you don't want to tip, or still want to use envelopes, you can have it removed or adjusted on your bill.
100% agree with the gratuity issue. The initial “advertised” lower rate doesn’t fool anyone. Everyone knows that there will be gratuities forced on them, either in the initial option for booking or daily . The gratuities will be paid.
My thoughts exactly. Unless you live with your head in the sand, you know you're going to pay gratuities - might as well include it up front. I would be perfectly fine with that.
The sad part is that despite all the supposed gratuities automatically added, the crew still gets paid horribly for the amount of work they do.
Mike, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
You don't have to pay it onboard...you can get it removed at guest services up till the last day
Agree with all. My addition would be to improve the details provided for shore excursions. They used to have video clips that seems to have dropped. One year we did a beach trip in Jamaica. They left out the little detail about the 90min bus ride each way.
Great suggestion
I really appreciate the respect you show all of us that the crew deserves.
Gratuities - Keep it like it is. You can pre-pay it, or pay it later. Personally, I prefer to pay as little as possible up front. I prefer to pay it on my bill at the end of the cruise. It also allows me the option to pay it with OBC.
Royal Caribbean needs to schedule their ships to be in port at their private destinations longer. If I'm gonna pay $2k for a cabana, I wanna use it all day
While I agree with this I also think that $2k for a cabana is ridiculous even $1200 or $1000 it sort of prices out many people who now days have a very tight budget because of the economy. Or, people on a fixed retirement income, and what if you book your cruise 24 months in advance and things turn south in your budget in the mean time? It is a VERY BIG expense for such a short time period.
@@lpeppeard1659 RCCL has been perfectly clear, if you're on a "tight budget" they no longer want your money. They are chasing cash-cows nowadays. $8,800 for an interior room during the summer is absolutely insane. They have lost their minds doubling prices, and reducing how many times they clean your room, lowering dining options, and even doing a surveying on charging for pizza.
@@lpeppeard1659 truth !
We reserved a private bed and chairs at CoCoCay... the entire time the Sea Gulls ran all over the top often fighting and also at some point crapping on the pillows. They should come with complementary pellet gun and ammo for the ridiculous price we paid.
@ScrewThisGlueThat Oh hell yes!! That would make me want to shell out the money for a cabana.
I completely agree with all of these. After years of only cruising on Royal I’ve recently ventured off to other line that don’t do any of these. The experience is so much better.
As somebody who works with big data, all day every day, I 100% agree with the 5 stars thing. I've heard the same thing from staff members that they're told essentially 5 stars is all that matters. If they're treating anything below 5 stars as a failing grade, then they need to switch to a Satisfied/Unsatisfied rating system instead. If you're going off a 5 star system, you should be utilizing that extra information that you're getting from the different star ratings. Either by incorporating averages, distribution spreads to accurately evaluate the performance of your employees and where they can improve. I don't work for Royal, so I don't know to what extent they're doing that type of data analysis, but if they're putting all the emphasis on 5 star ratings and nothing else, they're making a massive mistake with their data tracking practices.
That's right. In Australia the price is the price. That's the law. No + gratuities. No + taxes. End of story. And we don't tip.
I had the tips included on the fare, but I also give an additional tip. At end of my recent cruise I gave the stateroom attendant a $30 tip. He went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable.
FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Matt should Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
RC has a “policy” of not reserving sun beds, there’s a pink sleeve on most of the beds stating this, however….. on our first and probably our last cruise (for various reasons that are not important to regular lovers of cruising) last month, beds in their droves were reserved from minute dot on sea days with in some cases beds not being used to close to lunchtime! If I had a dollar for every towel on a sun bed reserved for more than say 2 hours that I could quite happily have thrown overboard to teach that individual a lesson, I’d be a rich man
I agree with all these. Along the lines of included tips, I still get irritated every time I purchase a drink package, soda package, dining plan, and so on and they add an 18% gratuity at checkout and you have no choice but to pay it if you want the package. I prefer to tip as I get a drink and I shouldn’t be charged a tip for the soda I get out of the machine myself. As for specialty dining, I’m sure when the check comes (which does even if 0 amount due) many people forget they have already tipped 18% when they purchased the package. I do tip more if the service was good, but geez. Thanks Matt for all of your videos. So much helpful information.
I totally agree about the gratuities! Reason is that it breaks my heart that some remove them. Plus I get tired of the debate. Just make it included and be done with it!
Adventure ocean embarkation sign up should be done on the app in my opinion. Similar to booking a show on the first day, we could answer the questions on the app. I think it would be more convenient 😊
Yeah, the 5-stars-or-bust mentality is not what should be reality. You're right, nothing is perfect. The fact that a four star rating can basically torpedo an employee's career is mind-boggling.
RC should have an option to make add-ons a part of the cruise fare thats due 90 days prior to sailing. I would happily pay full price on the Delux beverage package if it ment I could pay on it gradually.
So much Yes!
All I can say is agree 100% with all. I would’ve liked for the survey to have a section for detailed feedback on the shore excursions. Individually if possible. So they can revamp or refresh their excursions accordingly. I feel the survey should have a bit more space to explain your rating and/or experience
I agree with the survey star rating issue. We felt very uncomfortable on a recent RC cruise where our wait staff pressured us into giving her 5 stars. It was an impassioned plea and she over explained the system and how it can be a problem for her if we didn't do 5 stars. We felt bad and that is not what you want to hear from your staff on the last night of the cruise.
Yes, yes, yes to including gratuities in the cruise fare!!! Regarding surveys, I always tell my patients to be brutally honest because if we don't know that something isn't working, we can't fix it. I approach my Royal Caribbean surveys the same way. I also make sure I take pictures of name badges for crew who do excellent work so that I can remember to mention them by name.
The intense hounding for 5 stars is a thing. We were on Oasis about 18 months ago and started to dread the MDR beg gauntlet that we had from 2 waiters, an assistant waiter, the floor/area manager and Head Floor Supervisor. It was insane and ridiculous. My husband and I realized by the 3td night that we were being asked about service and reminded to fill out the survey with 5 stars about every 5 to 10 minutes throughout our dinner. Ugh.
For that reason alone, I would give it a 2 star for being hounded during my dinner!
I HATE that too. I actually deduct stars when this happens!
The consequences are real for them. It means less pay or less time with family back home. Plus - as the video said - it can lead to them losing their income over it.
It is a hassle at dinner for passengers but that’s Nothing Compared to what it means to crew.
@@ss_sailaway so what your saying is a policy change is in fact needed. And I believe that was the whole point of Matts mentioning of it. So RC if your reading these comments. Lets do something about this.
No joke, on my last cruise the waiter at a specialty restaurant only charged me for one person instead of two and then asked me to give him a 5 star review on the survey. He was an amazing server so I had no problem with it but the half off dinner didn’t hurt either. 😅
Matt this is great of you to speak out on these points. I've been watching a ton of Cruise videos and people explaining how things are. But never anyone giving their personal feedback like you have. So Cheers to you for stepping up.
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Signing towels out and in frees up chairs by the pool. Without this policy, people just leave their towels on their lounger when they are done for the day and others think the chairs are taken when they are not.
Another BIG thing they should change and would help them tremendously with food cost is this. When booking a cruise you choose between early, late or My Time dining. Why not none of the above. My husband and I are Diamond Plus with over 450 days at sea. We now eat at a speciality restaurant on nights one and two(due to the buy one get one perk) then the Windjammer the rest of the cruise. We do not like going to main dining room and it bothers me that they are holding a seat and food for us. It would be wonderful to book your dining venue at the time of reservation. I understand first time cruisers wouldn’t know but us Loyal to Royal know what we are going to do. Also if you buy the Dining Package, my card still says my dining room and table. Makes no sense to me. Plus we are paying for gratuity for the Main Dining staff that we do not use. Just my thoughts 💭
I love the idea. I would say the problem is when that person that did select "none" then changes their mind onboard. It's a no-win situation for Royal because no customer wants to hear "too bad" even if it's their fault.
Good suggestion ! we ae Diamond + also and the main menu now is NOT Acceptable, its like cafeteria food. 1 Lobster tale which costs them $ 3.50 The exects are pocketing millions in Bonus $$ and trying to sqeeze us now.
As a family man of 5. They need to revamp the website to allow families to search for rooms that can fit 5 people. (Ultra spacious rooms). This is a huge flaw that they will need to fix soon! More and more families have a total of 5 people. As of now, you have to call, wait for over 30 minutes, and let their travel agents search for you.
Answer - two adjoining rooms. Three in one and two in the other. There are four of us and we always get two rooms. Added bonus - there are two bathrooms.
@jimroscovius I agree...we booked wonder of the seas in Feb 2024 with 2 adjoining rooms. But stil.... almost impossible to search by yourself with adjoining as well. (Yes I know they added a "connecting rooms feature" on the search. But it is not accurate compared to calling their agents.)
@@mr.diyforthewin7634 We were on Harmony last year, overlooking Central Park, and we have adjoining rooms on Wonder next April, overlooking the Boardwalk.
@@mr.diyforthewin7634 I use a travel agent to find those rooms for me.
Well the cruise we had in February on Mariner I don't recall seeing the survey when we got back. But I don't really enjoy the 5 star method for everything, I think written comments should be a lot more important than stars. I think upper management will get more out of that and can contact you if they want more information about it
There is also a very big psychological factor of not including gratuities as part of the cruise prepayment. They are now showing up every day, for every person, on the app and it can dampen other spending that people might have done had they had a $0 balance to start the cruise.
crew get their contracted rate regardless of how much you tip. they do NOT get your tips unless and until the tip amounts exceed their contracted rate. and they almost never actually receive tips higher than their contracted rate. therefore, enforced gratuities are just us subsidizing RCL's labor costs. you should know this, as someone who cruises RCL so often. do you ever talk to your steward or dining server?
Interesting. Almost makes me wonder if there are legal ramifications by calling it a gratuity and it not actually being passed along to the crew members as additional compensation.
Do you know if they have to report cash tips? Or if they have to turn them into a collective pot that is then distributed equally?
@@MrSnoomun1983 am told they are supposed to turn them in (for specialty dining servers anyway; have not asked this specific question to anyone else yet), but i always find a way to sneak it to them individually when no one is looking.
as for the legal issues -- the ships are flagged in locations with different employment laws than in the US or other similar countries. so they get away with a lot.
We have seen cash tips from bartenders thrown all together.
I just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise. I paid my tips in advance. The employees still had envelopes for additional tips. We were also told by the restaurant staff that we had to give perfect scores for them. The ratings on quality of the food would, also reflect on them. During one time at the buffet, we were approached by an employee who took a survey. That was probably the way to do it. Yes, get rid of checking out the towels. Maybe that also cuts down on chair hogging though.
Yep! The pressure was unrelenting
Matt, I agree with you after hearing your take on the cruise survey. If it is that crew members can be fired for receiving a three start of a five star review, perhaps the best answer for me at the time is to just simply refuse to do the survey. I wouldn't fire anyone over a four out of five star review. But, on my part, as a customer, I may honestly not feel like I got five start service. So rather than lie and inflate the numbers Royal can brag about, maybe falsely, in ads, I'd rather just not do the survey.
And that stinks, because I do think Royal needs honest feedback from their customers directly after a cruise.
I think that RCCL should consider letting Diamonds and above exchange their drink vouchers for a discount on the Delux Drink Package. It is simple math so they wouldn't lose any money, and might even convince a lot more in those categories to get a drink package.
While I'd love that, I doubt it ever happens. Would be great if it did!
Doubt this will happen. RCCL know all the figures behind this. They likely know that drinkers will pay for the drink package in full (current policy). To give this discount would only be a $$$ loser.
I proposed that to RCCL management and Crown & Anchor executives and even showed them how it would increase revenues dramaticaly. (I have a PhD in math specializing in the travel industry.) I was met with a resounding NO from both.
@arthurmatthewf5406 I suspect you don't have the foundation of years of stats --on hundreds of thousands of cruise guest bookings-- on which to base your analysis (like RCCL does). : - )
We are Diamond but don't drink. We rarely use our vouchers except for an occasional OJ or Specialty Coffee.
I’d like the dress code in the MDR room to be more formal and/actually enforced. Or at least one of the MDR for this. If you don’t want to dress up, fine, go to the “casual” one of Windjammer. For some people it’s fun to dress up for a nice dinner. And when you do and your sitting next to a table with tshirts and flip flops, it just creates a different environment.
I think surveys should use ratings that will yield the info that they are actually looking for. For a service business like this, what I believe they are REALLY asking is "How was our performance RELATIVE to what you were expecting?" That is really what is most important. Was it below your expectations? Did it meet them...satisfactorily? or did it exceed your expectations? Not some impossibly common understanding of "objective perfect".
Agree with the pool towels situation. Maybe they just have that check out station when you disembark at a port. But if you’re using the towels on board, you don’t have to check them out. 🤷♀️
For the 5 star issue, make it so that you can only put 1 thing, on the whole survey, as 5 stars.
Great video. All your points are valid and prepaid gratuities are a great, hassle free way of staff getting paid what they deserve.
The one thing I would like to see is the Australian ships get amplified (Quantum, Ovation and Brilliance). They amplified Voyager, then took her away.
We should remember the staff that gets tipped is already being paid a wage that is good for their country. It may not be what we in the US are paid but that’s life. If cruise lines feel like tipped employees should be paid more….pay them more…..don’t expect me to do it. For tipped employees I will tip with cash, at the end of my trip and based on their performance/lines efforts….not on what the cruise lines tell me to tip.
I would have the Main Dining Room open for lunch/brunch every day. On port days, there are not always adequate lunch options, and at least for me, the food- specifically in the MDR- is the cornerstone of the cruise experience.
I’d like to be able to adjust the gratuities based on service like you used to be able to do with the envelope system. I’m not taking about tipping less! I’m talking about focusing the tip money on the services you used most or appreciated the most.
Maybe you never ordered room service, wine, used the spa, etc…but (insert service) was amazing and you want to make sure they get a little extra. If it’s a specific person, you can always tip them directly. But what if you want to give more to the shows at night in general? Or the entire kids area staff? You used to have that ability with the envelopes.
With Royal Caribbean ships getting bigger and bigger I think they need to start doing cruises to nowhere, especially with quantum class ships and above. A week is not long enough to fully enjoy what the ship has to offer, it would really benefit the Icon class the most. In a week I doubt anyone can do everything Icon has to offer.
Thank you! 9 days should be the minimum, especially with all the money we spend smh
I would like them to show an actual calendar. Especially for ships that change itinerary each week. I think they need to show exactly which dates the cruise is available for a particular ship. I like a good balance between ship and itinerary... So if I want to do Odyssey/Western Caribbean please let me know exactly when without having to click more buttons....
Very interesting about the survey. If you compare it to a performance appraisal you get if you work for a company, 3 would be doing your job, 4 would be exceeds, 5 would be perfect(like you said) and those are given few and far between. Expecting 5s across the board is unrealistic. But, now I know I should give all 5s.
Agree on the tips included. All cruise lines should do this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think it's not just RC that pushes the 5-star rating, or it's bad. It's pretty common to hear people ask you to give a 5-star review for whatever service it might be. It's being programmed into culture to always give 5 stars unless there's a problem.
You're right. There should be a way to make a 3 or 4 star be "no complaints" and allow room for exceptional and mind-blowing service. But it reaches way beyond RC.
More non-buffet options for breakfast and lunch on port days. Just ended Alaska cruise on Ovation and on port days, main dining room was only open for 1 hour (7am - 8am) for breakfast. With 2 kids, getting everyone up and ready was tough, and the one day we did make it, service was extremely poor, my youngest didn't even get food served. Which I hope was just a bad morning, because service at dinner in main dining every night was fantastic.
And for lunch, I get it, they expect you off the ship, not getting lunch on it. But some ports we didn't get off the ship, and the only options were windjammer and 270. Sorry, but some of us paying for this vacation want just to sit and be served a meal, and don't want to trudge though dragging two kids and getting plates, finding a seat, etc.
Other cruise lines have a sit down option for lunch on port days, not just buffet. I like RC, would like to see them implement something similar.
P.S. Signing out towels... I agree. Last cruise, on Serenade of the Seas Aug 2023, I had to stand in line to check out towels, which wasn't TOO inconvenient, but when I went to check them back in, they simply motioned me to throw them in the bin, without my cabin info! So it seems like it is just a bogus threat-deterrent at this point.
This is no trick. Unless you also hand them your sea pass card, they hand you to a fresh towel, quick and easy. If you drop off the towel and walk away, shame on you. And if you towel swap like this, it's one check out on day one, and one check in on the last night. Still, doing away with the check in and out would be nice too.
I totally agreed about the gratuities.
Matt; I agree with the improvements you've mentioned. Our cruise lady who has booked our last 71 cruises automatically adds pre-paid gratuities and insurance when she books our cruises. We take our own micro fiber towels and don't use RCCL pool towels partly for the reasons you mentioned. I also would like to see the survey changed which would allow for a complaint without hurting an employee. An example would be if you rate the MDR food at less than 5 it also effects the servers even though they have no control over food purchased by RCCL.
Bill
Going on a group cruise in May of 2024 on Adventure. So looking forward to it. Thanks for the tour! 😊
Amen to all that you mentioned. Completely agree
Good topic and suggestions Matt. I 100% agree with the tipping situation, just include it and pay them an actual decent wage. One little thing I'd like to see is them add a map showing the route the cruise will take. NCL does this and its helpful to have that visual and also just cool to see. Then showing the end day next to the start day instead of having to count up the nights to see what day it returns. Little things.
Royal is not the only company that has a rating system like this. It truly is inane. I completely agree with you about gratuities. I prefer to pay them upfront as it's less to worry about later and I can give additional tips to the crew members who give outstanding service.
Agree with the lack of enforcement of chair hogs raised below and how much it frustrates some people. One party hogged prime deck chairs at 7:00 every single morning of our 8 night cruise and never showed up once before 9:30. I wonder if chair hogs would change their behaviour if their unattended towels were « borrowed » and put back in the towel bins without checking in under their seapass.
On Carnival,they give you 4 towels which you can find at your room when you arrive and if they get dirty or really wet you can get more
Spot on with the survey issue, but this is true throughout the entire hospitality industry.
Would love to have gratuities added to purchase price of cruise. My issue is why you have to pay an additional 18% for a specialty restaurant when the mandatory gratuities are supposed to be distributed among all food service workers. On top of that when you get your bill there's a write in about for more gratuities. To make sure our specialty waiter gets tipped we give cash.
To your point, they need to re-evaluate gratuities. So much of the system is based still in a world of smaller ships that had far fewer extra cost venues.
Allow customers to reserve lounge chairs. Limit time to 2-3 hours per reservation and each person to only have 1 reservation in the system at any given time. Reservations can be made via the app, website, or a poolside kiosk.
Great idea!
The surveys should be sent to every adult passenger, not just one per stateroom. On my last trip, we wanted to each do a survey to give more praise to the staff.
I do NOT agree with making mandatory tipping a part of the price. Some things, some people might not even use. When you buy a drink package, the 18% gratuity is automatically added; the same when you order a drink or even for someone to hand you a donut! I definately don't agree with the "per person" vs per cabin. Plus, if you already paid your gratuities up front, they may not give great service. It's up to the cruise line to pay their staff more, not me as a guest. I guess the insanely high price increases aren't enough for some people.
My suggestion is to make gratuities included for room attendant and dining room staff, not drink package.
Regarding the drink package gratuity, the more orders a waiter takes with drink package, the larger share of the gratuity pie they get. That's the incentive to give good service, even if it's prepaid.
Regarding gratuities: I just did the math. You can too. $16 per day per person for 3000 passengers. The tips are $336,000 for that cruise. I don't know how the money is distributed, nor have I ever heard if every crew member gets a part of this money. If it is only for passenger facing crew, that is a nice weekly bonus on top of their contracted pay.
I want to search on the website the exact room I am looking for. Why do I have to click, click search, click to find the room I want. I always book Ocean view balcony. I want to find the best deal for the room I like.
The BIGGEST thing they need to change is the LOUSY menu in the MDR. We are Diamond and have cruised twice since the menu change on Jan 1. It was terrible. We are done. Just booked our next cruise on Holland. who STILL has good food in the MDR and twice per day room steward service.
I agree with the Towel Return suggestion. There should be towel return stations at the gangway during port days, and at guest services. Im also not sure why we cant leave them for the cabin steward with the other cabin towels. Arent they all going to the same washer?
Great list. I noticed our MDR waiters, who were great, seemed really nervous about the survey. Sad they are made to feel that way.
And signing out towels is dumb.
the Staff have normally been Great on all RC ships !
The #1 thing we'd change is how you can't search the website and sort for the cheapest room type regardless of date. Example: if travel dates aren't important, I should be able to search for the cheapest Suite so my family can have that experience. But I'm absolutely not going to click on every single ship, every single sailing and create a spreadsheet to find the cheapest suite.
That makes zero sense. You can already filter all the different ports if call, days at sea, and as many ships as you want, then look at the cheapest rates for any given cruise. PLUS they have the deals listed too!
We should talk about prices. Last year I went on Mariner of the Seas and spent around $100 for Coco Key Beach Club now $300 per person. Most Excursions have tripled in price. The drink package has also going up significantly along with the dining package. I understand Royal Caribbean wants prices to raise prices to make up for the covid days however it appears they're going to price themselves out of a lot of excursions people would normally take
I totally I agree!! When I worked in another Norwegian cruise line the NCL (not The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line also called RCCL-RCL or RCI that it likes to call them selves now actually was) in the mid 80’s as a deck boy as a Norwegian (of course), all these issues didn’t exist at all, besides giving tip. The towels, the Internet pop ups and scores weren’t an issue. But the towel thing Yes… we received the towels on the gangway… the passengers got them from us… but if someone forgot them… So what?!? The cruise-industry has changed sooo much the last 35 years… for the worse I am afraid… The ad once are insanely now. In the 80’s, everything was included besides tip in the Caribbean… Food, drinks and so on
I would like to see royal offer an all included package to similar to Celebrity as it is a great value and also they would have more gratuities paid upfront because they are included with the drinks and wifi
I’m in agreement about gratuities.. absolutely right!
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Well said! On the towel issue, I have been staying in a suite on multiple occasions where towel checkout is not required and still get nabbed for a missing towel fee due to some system error of mis-entered room number. To resolve this issue, I have had to go to my suite where pool towels are always stocked and then go turn one in to the towel station to resolve the issue.
I never let a good survey go to waste. If the cruise line requests my feedback, then I give it to them - especially if it’s Royal Caribbean. The reason I’m super critical of Royal is because I love the brand, as well as the product they attempt to deliver. Nobody does the Caribbean like Royal. When I make my suggestions for improvement, I always make sure to focus on the policies, procedures, and executive decisions that negatively impacted my cruise. I say put the stress where it belongs: the decision makers of the company. At the end of the day, *they* are the ones who make or break a cruise for me.
Totally agree about the towels. That was one of the annoying things about our cruise is that we had to go back to the towel stand and wait for someone to show up to return towels instead of just being able to toss them into a collector
As a professional travel agent, I ALWAYS include gratuities as part of the quotes, so my clients know the cost prior to cruising. They can occasionally be confused as to why the quote I give them can be higher than the website when in reality it’s the same cost. I wouldn’t want to find out after the cruise I owe an additional $400.
I actually don’t mind the towel check in/check out and think it makes sense to reduce wastefulness.
Included it in the cruise fare. You don't have to worry about it. If a crew member goes above and beyond for you, then give them something extra. They deserve it as hard as they work!! I would give $100 to the cabin stewarts when we arrive. The room is always clean. They're super helpful and nice they work hard 24 hrs a day!!
Yes, but it's up to the cruise line to pay their staff, not us as guests. They already nickel and dime us enough.
Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
Good information Matt. I wish i had these tips precruise.
Towels - Back in 2010, the pool towels were actually something. They were white with a huge Royal Caribbean logo on them. You could check them in/out for $25 just like the pale blue towels they use today. However, back then they would actually say "return them and get your deposit back, or keep it and we'll add it to your bill" I had one of these towels for many years, and it was the best beach towel. It was free advertising for them. Not sure why they did not continue this.
I agree. All companies Need to Start PAYING THIER Employees! Tipping should not be an income. This is for restaurants and all the cruise lines not just RC. I am consideing Not cruising if I have to pay the Tip Fees that are charged/expected. I want the option to Tip for extra/Great Service only.
I'm sure most people agree with you on the gratuities, but I'm glad they're additional. I have an RC credit card, and I use the points for onboard credits only to pay gratuities. I almost never buy anything on the ship, and I would hate to have my points go to waste or to just buy stuff I don't need just to use them.
Yes thats Great, tell Matt to stay away from making stupid suggestions that would screw us long term Cruisers! Tks Karen ! my response to Matt, We know that you are in Bed with RC executives but pls stop giving them ammunition to raise prices. FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. Stop kissing RC exects in the Butt !
I got a suggestion for really wet towels that maybe handy if everyone took a towel onshore is have some sort of a bag with them to put that towel in and return it with them back on the ship so it won't be left behind that is the only thing I could think of that way no charges will be made to anyone's credit card
9:35 Really? Is a pop-up offer what bothers you the most? Granted, there is no reason it should be shown more than a few times, but their website lacks at least a few important features, like:
1. Sort search results by price per night instead of total price
2. Same for the price of a specific kind of cabin. For instance, I could want to see the cheapest price per night on a junior suite
3. Filter in/out round-trip cruises
4. Stop resetting the sorting criterium back to recommended. I want it to stick to lower prices first!
5. Letting us know when new cruises have just been released or that they are about to be.
Anyway, it's a nice video, Matt. Thanks for sharing.
Funny you mentioned the towels, my wife and I just got off an Alaskan cruise which was 95% adults and we felt like we had to go beg our parents for towels each time.
I totally agree with you regarding the gratuities included in the fare price and the towel check-out policy.
I agree about towels , it is really annoying. Gratuity I agree 100%
I appreciate and believe in gratuities and even gave above and beyond the prepaid on my recent cruise. I was a little put out when my son lost his cup and we paid for another one (no issues with paying for another one) the bar tender gave us the cup literally and it was 18 percent gratuity. Little things like that are excessive in my opinion. It just makes the experience feel like a nickel and dime experience. I did add this to the survey as an example.
I got a survey with only 2 questions. I was surprised. One question about the travel agent, one about the cruise staff.
Matt, it is considered optional...because some passengers insist on not paying gratuities at all...they have it removed the last night...which is not fair after the services...then if it's included in the fare...there will still be complaints, unfortunately!
Do you think they did this to ensure everyone gives a gratuity? I bet a lot of guests left no gratuities when it was left up to the guests. I say this because I remember the last night, which was typically when you handed out the gratuities, the dining rooms were more than half empty. And it still is more empty than normal. So in some way does this eliminate the cheapskates?
Yes, that is exactly why the gratuities went automatic
That towel fee… ugh. Earlier this year my stateroom attendant removed my damp pool towel from my room, then royal added it to my bill. After standing in the dreaded end of cruise guest services line… which I’ve avoided for 38 cruises, I was able to get the charge reversed… but honestly they should have paid me the $25 for the lost time + pain and suffering caused by their staff’s actions.
I agree with the survey. We have been told on many RCCL cruises by the waiters that a less than perfect score on food quality was also a ding against the waiters, as if somehow they could fix things by offering another less than perfect alternative. On some days, the menu isn't good for everyone. So if you get excellent service from your waiters, you must rate the food high as well, or they get less than an excellent on their performance when the actual blame should fall on the chef.
It's really sad how anything less than a perfect score impacts the crew. And you're so right about how waiters get dinged from guests about bad food, but not their fault.
This is not our problem. Rate honestly. If true, RCCL needs to fix it...not have employees encourage guests to submit fake reviews.
Totally agree about gratuities. When we cruise Princess or Holland America, we always choose the Princess Plus or HA Have-it-All package that bundles the gratuity with other things like wi-fi and the drink package. I don't believe Royal offers any similar option.
FYI, we never have to reach into our pockets to pay for Gratuities. We are Diamond, we book 1 to 1.5 yrs in advance. We get OB credits $ 50. advance 6 mth booking, $ 50. Group credit. Agency OB credits, Next Cruise $ 100. OB credit, Royal Carib Stock holder program ($ 100.) We are usually boarding the ship with $ 250. to 350. OB credit already. I do not like when Mike kisses RC exects in the Butt !
I prefer to give each person the envelope personally, and I want to make sure they get their gratuities.
We Tip the regular Plus now we give extras like Socks, tooth paste/ brushes, shampoos ..... as the crew must buy these off the ship.
SOLID AGREE on all points, in fact I would give this video a 5 rating.
I actually want a survey option that say "go into detail", I get that in order to have high participation you want a survey to be concise and easy, but for those of us with detail - they give a single text box limited to like 250 characters, yuk. Give us more subcategories and lose the whole notion that straight-5s are the only answer.
Grats, towels, website - no brainers, get it done RCCL.
In regards to having the towels returned, one thing that you didn't mention in your clip was that by having the guests return them, you have less "mess" around the pool area, AND less work by the crew staff that have to pick them up after being left by the cruiser(s).