Cruise Critic Censorship

Hi everyone,

You may have heard of this, sorry if it's a re-do. Cruise Critic is
now deleting anything and everything that mentions 'Royal Champions'
or an article that connects CC to a campaign where RCI is giving
certain select people percs for positive post about RCI, hence their
name 'Royal Champions.
Cruise Critic, a very well known and used cruise forum, really seems
to be doing whatever it takes to sweep this under the rug, making them
look like co-horts with RCI, which really deminishes their standing
with cruisers, and is giving anyone who is a 'Royal Champion' a bad
name and making even them look like they are not to be trusted, even
though some have been very helpful posters at CC, even before this
program.
Here's a link to the article in case you haven't seen or heard about
this:
http://www.tripso.com/columns/royal-...yal-champions/

On Mar 9, 11:12*am, wrote:
Hi everyone,

You may have heard of this, sorry if it's a re-do. Cruise Critic is
now deleting anything and everything that mentions 'Royal Champions'
or an article that connects CC to a campaign where RCI is giving
certain select people *percs for positive post about RCI, hence their
name 'Royal Champions.
Cruise Critic, a very well known and used cruise forum, really seems
to be doing whatever it takes to sweep this under the rug, making them
look like co-horts with RCI, which really deminishes their standing
with cruisers, and is giving anyone who is a 'Royal Champion' a bad
name and making even them look like they are not to be trusted, even
though some have been very helpful posters at CC, even before this
program.
Here's a link to the article in case you haven't seen or heard about
this:http://www.tripso.com/columns/royal-...l-with-their-r...

I'm not standing up for CC here, as there are times when I've found
their moderation techniques to be maddening, but I don't really see
the "censoring" you are talking about. I just did a keyword search of
the RCI forum and retrieved a number of hits to "Royal Champion,"
including the involved, long-running thread begun in Feb. by a Diamond
member complaining about Royal Champions and a post made today about
the very article you reference. It is true that CC starred out the URL
of the article. CC obliterates URLs of most external sites, so I can't
really say that behavior with regard to that post constitutes
censorship vs. routine practice.

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

wrote:
Hi everyone,

You may have heard of this, sorry if it's a re-do. Cruise Critic is
now deleting anything and everything that mentions 'Royal Champions'
or an article that connects CC to a campaign where RCI is giving
certain select people percs for positive post about RCI, hence their
name 'Royal Champions.
Cruise Critic, a very well known and used cruise forum, really seems
to be doing whatever it takes to sweep this under the rug, making them
look like co-horts with RCI, which really deminishes their standing
with cruisers, and is giving anyone who is a 'Royal Champion' a bad
name and making even them look like they are not to be trusted, even
though some have been very helpful posters at CC, even before this
program.
Here's a link to the article in case you haven't seen or heard about
this:
http://www.tripso.com/columns/royal-...yal-champions/

I don't know how to become a Royal Champion. I have cruised many times
with Royal Caribbean and on my last one a few months ago, I had a key to
the concierge lounge. Never heard of Royal Champions until very recently.

Ermalee

On Mar 9, 1:46*pm, Ermalee McCauley wrote:
wrote:
Hi everyone,

You may have heard of this, sorry if it's a re-do. Cruise Critic is
now deleting anything and everything that mentions 'Royal Champions'
or an article that connects CC to a campaign where RCI is giving
certain select people *percs for positive post about RCI, hence their
name 'Royal Champions.
Cruise Critic, a very well known and used cruise forum, really seems
to be doing whatever it takes to sweep this under the rug, making them
look like co-horts with RCI, which really deminishes their standing
with cruisers, and is giving anyone who is a 'Royal Champion' a bad
name and making even them look like they are not to be trusted, even
though some have been very helpful posters at CC, even before this
program.
Here's a link to the article in case you haven't seen or heard about
this:
http://www.tripso.com/columns/royal-...l-with-their-r...

I don't know how to become a Royal Champion. *I have cruised many times
with Royal Caribbean and on my last one a few months ago, I had a key to
the concierge lounge. *Never heard of Royal Champions until very recently.

Ermalee

The entire thing is that you don't "get to become" anything. They
pick you. And what has set the world on fire it seems, is that more
folks are finally reading the months old notes about the group. Mind
you, it was a non-secret from the start. But some of the CC members
got stars in their eyes, others heard about it and thought they just
had to kiss-butt enough to "get there." The thing is that there was
never any "there" to get. I was called personally because they, the
marketing company that generated the list of people, posters, etc,
knew of my website. I seem to recall some confusion, because CC
couldn't fully connect RCI's marketing department with some of the
members. CC had some of its members on the same Liberty of the Seas
cruise I was on. Indeed, I thought it might have been because of the
fact I have an account there, that they found me. Heck, I was even
chatting with the posters who went on that cruise, in the CC forum on
the cruise, out of my own initial confusion.

The thing is, some of these people couldn't see to disclose their
status as most people are taught. For the most part it was not much
more than as if you won a contest you didn't know you were in. For my
part, I treat the chances as boons, not entitlements. I do tend to be
positive in my approach, but always say when or if something has any
tie with a RC perk. But that is different from being a poster on CC
or CM. I

Caveat Emptor

NWLB
**************************************************
www.RoyalCaribbeanFan.com

NWLB wrote:
On Mar 9, 1:46 pm, Ermalee McCauley wrote:

wrote:

Hi everyone,

You may have heard of this, sorry if it's a re-do. Cruise Critic is
now deleting anything and everything that mentions 'Royal Champions'
or an article that connects CC to a campaign where RCI is giving
certain select people percs for positive post about RCI, hence their
name 'Royal Champions.
Cruise Critic, a very well known and used cruise forum, really seems
to be doing whatever it takes to sweep this under the rug, making them
look like co-horts with RCI, which really deminishes their standing
with cruisers, and is giving anyone who is a 'Royal Champion' a bad
name and making even them look like they are not to be trusted, even
though some have been very helpful posters at CC, even before this
program.
Here's a link to the article in case you haven't seen or heard about
this:
http://www.tripso.com/columns/royal-...l-with-their-r...

I don't know how to become a Royal Champion. I have cruised many times
with Royal Caribbean and on my last one a few months ago, I had a key to
the concierge lounge. Never heard of Royal Champions until very recently.

Ermalee


The entire thing is that you don't "get to become" anything. They
pick you. And what has set the world on fire it seems, is that more
folks are finally reading the months old notes about the group. Mind
you, it was a non-secret from the start. But some of the CC members
got stars in their eyes, others heard about it and thought they just
had to kiss-butt enough to "get there." The thing is that there was
never any "there" to get. I was called personally because they, the
marketing company that generated the list of people, posters, etc,
knew of my website. I seem to recall some confusion, because CC
couldn't fully connect RCI's marketing department with some of the
members. CC had some of its members on the same Liberty of the Seas
cruise I was on. Indeed, I thought it might have been because of the
fact I have an account there, that they found me. Heck, I was even
chatting with the posters who went on that cruise, in the CC forum on
the cruise, out of my own initial confusion.

The thing is, some of these people couldn't see to disclose their
status as most people are taught. For the most part it was not much
more than as if you won a contest you didn't know you were in. For my
part, I treat the chances as boons, not entitlements. I do tend to be
positive in my approach, but always say when or if something has any
tie with a RC perk. But that is different from being a poster on CC
or CM. I

Caveat Emptor

NWLB

Thanks. I rarely go to CC. it's too confusing for me.

Ermalee

"NWLB" wrote in message
...
snip
CC had some of its members on the same Liberty of the Seas
cruise I was on. Indeed, I thought it might have been because of the
fact I have an account there, that they found me. Heck, I was even
chatting with the posters who went on that cruise, in the CC forum on
the cruise, out of my own initial confusion.

The thing is, some of these people couldn't see to disclose their
status as most people are taught. For the most part it was not much
more than as if you won a contest you didn't know you were in. For my
part, I treat the chances as boons, not entitlements. I do tend to be
positive in my approach, but always say when or if something has any
tie with a RC perk. But that is different from being a poster on CC
or CM. I

Caveat Emptor

NWLB



I was on that Liberty OTS sailing as well, but didn't learn until we were
invited to one of the "neighborhood unveilings" in NYC this past year that
there even was a term for what we belonged to.

--Tom

NWLB,

What do you mean by this?

"The thing is, some of these people couldn't see to disclose their
status as most people are taught."

Just wondering. Royal Caribbean has never 'taught' or otherwise told
me to do anything.

Diana

On 3/10/09 12:32 AM, in article
, "D Ball"
wrote:

NWLB,

What do you mean by this?

"The thing is, some of these people couldn't see to disclose their
status as most people are taught."

Just wondering. Royal Caribbean has never 'taught' or otherwise told
me to do anything.

Diana


Did RCI *promise* you anything for spreading the word?

Just want to say I have nothing against RCers, the ones I've read are
real helpful, I am glad though that at least here there can be
discussion about it without some single person deciding that they
don't want it discussed and so they delete the thread.

"peter" wrote


Did RCI *promise* you anything for spreading the word?


Someone close to me is on the Royal Champions list and quite a few r.t.c.
people are also and if they are being directed by Royal Caribbean as to what
they should post or that they would receive anything for their positive
posts I have never heard of it.

That said, you would be foolish to think that the cruise lines do not read
r.t.c and other cruise forums. I know for a fact that some of my posts over
the years have been read. I have not been asked to retract anything I
wrote, but people who have been here for a few years know that some of my
posts were not favorable to certain cruise lines.

I also know of an agency owner (very large agency) who wrote a series of
scathing critiques of one cruise line that were published... and that cruise
line dumped him, would not allow him to book their cruises.

And the funniest example I can remember was on a private TA discussion
forum, one TA went ballistic about a certain CEO. That was supposed to be a
private forum for travel agents only, but it turns out that the CEO had
joined under an assumed name. His reply was polite and to the point and
ended with the thought that you should never assume anything you post on a
forum is private.

Including this one... or Cruise Critic... or any of the others.


--
George Leppla http://www.CruiseMaster.com

Cruise Specials Weblog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/

May 10, 2009 ALASKA http://www.cruisemaster.com/moagc4.htm
January 10, 2009 Southern Caribbean
http://www.cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 16, 2010 OASIS http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com