Response ....

I have been known to write letters to companies when they do something that upsets me, and knowing this, I also try to write letters complimenting positive incidents. On April 4, 2008, I wrote a letter to Royal Caribbean (through Crown and Anchor) explaining how pleased I was with how they handled the wind debacle on my Grandeur of the Seas cruise. In fact, I told them that I thought that the company went above and beyond what I considered to be their responsibility.

Anyway, yesterday (April 22, 2008), I received a phone call from Royal Caribbean thanking me for my letter and assuring me that it would be forwarded along to the crew on the ship.

Good PR on top of good PR ... one reason why I keep sailing Royal Caribbean.

What type of cruiser are you?

Cruise lines offer luxury, if you are willing to pay. That's one of the nice things about cruising ... there's something available for everyone. Poor graduate students can pay to be served well for a week, and CEOs or other high-rollers can pay obscene amounts to be absolutely pampered.

I was able to cruise in a small suite on the Grandeur ... that was nice. Of course, there was no extra service to go along with this, just a larger room with a huge balcony and a tub. It was a fun experience, and now I know what an aft balcony is like (HOT).

In the future, however, I'm going to be sticking to standard rooms (at least until I get a "real" job ... something I always would have imagined happening by now). I enjoy being on the sea, the open air, and the sound of the waves. I'd rather take two cheap cruises in inside rooms and experience this for 14 days as opposed to 7 days with nicer digs. Maybe this is the first sign of becoming a cruise addict ... only caring that you are on a boat, not which one and not where at.