We just returned from a one week Med cruise on Splendour of the Seas. Although we had a great time (we did both Venice precruise and a train trip to Florence for five days after) and loved the ports, we were very surprised at how bare bones RCI had become. I had known they had cut out the lobster, but the beautiful parade ceremony with baked Alaska turned into the "parade of the waving napkins" Yes, no baked Alaska either. Even in a mini suite, no amenities such as lotion were provided. The food was okay, not special at all, but passable. I do have to say that the coffee was very good. Is this a typical RCI experience? Have those of you who cruise RCI often experienced this obvious cost cutting on all their ships, or is better on the newer and larger ships?

All of that is news to me, SD. On recent RCCL cruises I have not experienced any of those cost-cutting measures. I know Sonny spoke of the Navigator cutting back on stabilizers but I thought that was the extent of it.

When I went on the Navigator in February they said they were cutting the lobster on all cruises. We were told the reason was there was a world wide lobster shortage. Which I didn't buy for one moment.

I've never been big on cruise ship lobster so it doesn't bother me, but it is a mistake to stop serving it. People expect to see lobster on a cruise ship menu at least once. To stop serving it is akin to McDonald's saying they were dropping the Big Mac from the menu because of a worldwide sesame seed shortage.

As for the Baked Alaska parade - they did the same thing with the napkins on the Liberty last summer but still had the Baked Alaska as a dessert.

If there is a "worldwide lobster shortage" Princess does not know about it. We had TWO lobster nights on our 16 night Star Princess cruise in Feb. of this year.

Definitely there was no baked Alaska. Also, I have never had a minisuite before, but I was surprised not to even have robes or lotion provided. I get both of those amenities on Princess in any cabin, though you do have to ask for the robe in lower categories.

I also forgot to mention that the entertainment was the poorest quality we have experienced in any of our nine cruises, and everyone in our group of five (three different households) agreed. Again, is this just on this ship, or is RCL cutting back on entertainment?

If you google it, there were reports last April of a lobster shortage which caused large price increases. But I think most cruise lines rely on the cheaper spiny lobsters for their supply.

We were on the Grandeur in April and had lobster for dinner one night. There was also Baked Alaska for dessert but they didn't use it for the dance - they did something else with fake cakes...

We have been on three different RCCL ships and were told, on all three, that the baked Alaska prominade was cancelled due to an accident with fire/insurance concerns following this. Also one very "proper" server we enjoyed on the Explorer said that dancing with food was not appropriate and he was thankful this declasse custom was going out of fashion! I guess all in all I did not miss the baked Alaska circuit, but I will miss the Lobster.

In January on Jewel of the Seas, we had lobster, but we are not happy with the spiny lobster, only Maine lobster for us transplanted northerners. I am glad they don't do the dancing around either, it was too much for some after that big meal, but the waiters did gather on the stairs and sing to us, which was really nice!

I've never been a big fan of the waiter parades either. I guess I agree with the "very proper" server and don't think a formal dining room is appropriate for it.

But, I know they will happen on certain cruise lines and so I just sit and smile politely.

Your forum curmudgeon,

Well lobster had been, as far as I remember, a protected species with limited fishing grounds and quotas, here on Puerto Rico and the caribbean there are a lot of Red Lobster a great option, it has way better taste than the one the usually serve on cruises, is bigger and have more food serving option than the other one so my best guess thats a lie...
why they keep serving the smaller one?
I don't know...

As for the bare bones

I can only say that on my last cruise with RCCL on the Adventure of the seas they did the same, not with the lobster, but with the buffet options, closing early and limiting the food.
My guess,
Gas prices had hit everyone even the corporations income so everyone have to make sacrifices even the cruise lines like them,
all of the companies had rise their prices, because of it passing the "fuel adjustment" to every cruiser so why now they getting on the food?? or limiting the food??
Well that's a mistery...

SD Cruiser,

The Splendor is 10 years old, and it's a Vision Class ship. The last Vision Class ship I was on was the Enchantment, and I thought everything was first class. Some of the ships I've cruises on have better food and entertainment than others, but that's just my opinion. I couldn't care less if I ever ate another lobster or baked Alaska. My answer to your question about the entertainment being the poorest quality...I would have to say it was just on the Splendor. However, they change shows about every six months. Robes and amenities in a junior suite have never been a problem, sometimes you might have to ask your cabin steward. Sounds to me like you should book your next cruise with Princess so you can be totally happy with a perfect cruise.

Good luck,

Sonny

quote:

Originally posted by drlivingston:
I know Sonny spoke of the Navigator cutting back on stabilizers but I thought that was the extent of it.

Now that was really funny!

quote:

Originally posted by SD Cruiser:
If there is a "worldwide lobster shortage" Princess does not know about it. We had TWO lobster nights on our 16 night Star Princess cruise in Feb. of this year.

Definitely there was no baked Alaska. Also, I have never had a minisuite before, but I was surprised not to even have robes or lotion provided. I get both of those amenities on Princess in any cabin, though you do have to ask for the robe in lower categories.

Why, if you're so pleased with Princess, did you ever even consider RCCL? I feel like I'm writing this to my own parents. They love Princess and anything that another line does that Princess did not do was an unforgivable flaw or complete oversight that never would have happened with their line.

I'll never book my folks on another line. Doesn't matter if they find a Carnival, RCCL or any other line with the greatest itinerary ever at 90% lower cost than Princess. Lesson learned on my part, they're going Princess or booking it somewhere else, with someone else.

My advice to cruise loyalists is never ever consider cruising with any other line for any reason. You'll be very disappointed and those who dine with you, your agent, friends and family can do without the comparisons of why it was a disappointing experience because they didn't provide a robe or fold the napkins correctly in the dining room.

Cheers, Neil

OK, I just got the "Cutting back on stabilizers" joke. That really was a great one Dr. Livingston (I presume).

Brad

One of the things I have come to appreciate about this board is the general conviviality and civility of the posters. That is why I was somewhat surprised about the “America, Love it or Leave it” comments on this string. Certainly someone has the right to complain - without getting banned for life – about RCL without being told (even if somewhat obliquely) to go find another cruise line.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Beers:
If you google it, there were reports last April of a lobster shortage which caused large price increases. But I think most cruise lines rely on the cheaper spiny lobsters for their supply.

Right, the report talks about Maine lobsters. Don't the most ships use the lobsters bred at lobster farms?

As we've seen in this thread and others, people's loyalty to a particular line can run deep.

Most of us have spent a lot of time this week talking about the couple who were banned for life by RCI - the banning that SailorJack refers to - and then this thread comes along and is ripe for dissection.

Reading between the lines of the "love it or leave it" posts, what I come away with is this: just because you had some issues with RCI, don't assume your next Princess cruise will be as good as your last one. Every cruise ship has "one of those cruises". For instance, the fire that took out the port side of the Star Princess a couple years ago.

quote:

just because you had some issues with RCI, don't assume your next Princess cruise will be as good as your last one.

I've spoken to a lot of people on a lot of cruises on a lot of different cruise lines. The one pattern that seems to come up over and over again is that the person's last cruise was the best, and the current cruise has a lot of disappointments. They loom large at the time, but then on the next cruise, the person looks back fondly at this one as the best one ever.

I don't think it's just a case of gaining perspective and blurred lines of one's last cruise. Sometimes folks fail to see the bigger picture of the vacation on their current or most recent cruise, and concentrate on what went wrong.

As for lobster, I like lobster, but honestly, I can't remember whether or not my last cruises had it on the menu. Of course, that may be more a function of my memory than my love of lobster.

Sandy