Royal Caribbean Set To Waste $61,000,000 ??? Yes I’m Moaning…Again

So here’s an interesting little story I just came across…….

Royal Caribbean have announced recently that they are set to spend a reported $61,000,000 (yes SIXTY….ONE…..MILLION….DOLLARS muhahahaha #dr.evil) on a refurb program for one of their most consistent and best loved ships, Adventure of the Seas.

Now, here’s the thing…. Adventure has done sailings all over the world, and by my reckoning has always done well. Voyager Class build, well seasoned crew (yum salt & pepper), and a some genuine loyal customers who have now sailed on her several times, on different continents. Popular also, on both sides of the pond, which is a rarity as a rule of thumb, due to us stand offish and politeness obsessed Brits, a stark contrast against the ever fun-loving and ever so relentlessly optimistic Americans. OK maybe that’s a bit OTT but you know what I mean, we don’t generally have the same taste in cruises country to country. Carnival vs P&O for example. And yes I know they are under the same umbrella but they couldn’t be any different if they tried, which is a good thing of course.

Anyway, back to Adventure Of The Seas….

My problem with such a heavy investment is that they are not going to use the money as wisely, or as Britishly as I’d hoped. It will be un-sparingly used to add and improve the entertainment side of the ship, apparently for children. Yes such additions as ‘Adventure Dunes’, ‘Splashaway Bay’ and a dual racing slide, horrifically named ‘Cyclone & Typhoon’, bearing in mind we are talking about a cruise ship here, Cyclone and Typhoon? Are they trying to be ironic or something? Might aswell be called Iceberg & Tidal Wave – wait there are other ships waiting for these ingenious improvements I suppose…….. (picture the facepalm).

All of these “innovations” are set to make Adventure of the Seas this new action packed monster that Royal Caribbean will probably leave in the Caribbean as they inevitably do all their other feature-rich ships, Oasis, Allure etc, or ship them off to China as they have the Quantum and the Ovation. Basically they blast them off to lands far away to their target markets.

But what about us boring Brits who just like a good meal, a strong drink and a funny comedian?

I realise we are not as big as the US market, and not as ripe for the picking as the Far East market, but surely we are still one of your biggest chunks of income?

Yes they are revitalising the ever popular (or is it) Chops Grille, and bringing a new Japanese sushi bar to the ship, but that’s just a money maker in fairness, and sushi isn’t what I go on a ship for. No I am a proper Brit when it comes to a cruise, with one of my main focuses being a cracking bit of grub, something I hear is suffering recently aboard RCCLs fleet – this is not official, but since I speak to almost all of my customers when they return, I think it’s a pretty fair comment having had a few complaints recently.

Why not invest that cash into your staff, and bring more of them on board, train them once again to be the super happy folks that we have learned to love. Why not give the existing eateries an overhaul and bring them up to a higher standard, and for heavens sake why not use it to pay your staff more so that you don’t end up charging the guests up to 28% service and gratuities fees – something we Brits loathe!

I just get the feeling that they are investing too heavily in the childrens facilities on the ship, and perhaps losing sight of who actually pays the bill!

Maybe I am just a grumpy old (at 31) man. I don’t know, but I’d be interested to see what other people thought about where this money should be spent? Do you agree with me, or should I shut my whinging mouth up?

Whatever you think, thanks for reading and as always, until time…………….