Royal Caribbean Caught Infiltrating Forums
Cruise Line Compensating Posters Who Create Ads
March 9, 2009
When the word came out that Royal Caribbean International had created a group that was designated Royal Champions, I think most people had no idea at all what it was about.
Many seemed to have thought that it was another reward program based on how much money those people spent with Royal Caribbean and how many cruises they booked with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL).
It had become clear to Royal Champions, as early as May 14, 2007 why they were Royal Champions, if not before. They were being compensated, in advance and after the fact, for creating ads for RCCL in the online forums under the guise of impartial consumer opinions. It was a covert method of advertising the product, in places where advertising was prohibited.
These ads, were personal or professional testimonials given in forum postings and in cruise reviews that promoted travel aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
The compensation was extensive, which no Royal Champion can deny. One of the highest levels of compensation included a two day cruise to nowhere on May 14 to May 16, 2007 aboard Liberty Of The Seas.
On this pre-inaugural cruise, top dogs from RCCL were on hand to push the agenda of RCCL, so there could be no mistake why these passengers were chosen to be Royal Champions. Champions were greeted & thanked by RCCL President - Adam Goldstein, Chairman & CEO – Richard Fain and other officers.
Goldstein and Fain made sure their agenda was clear, making sure that all the Champions got the tour of the different cabins and suites in each price category. After all, they would need personal knowledge in order to create their own secret, individualized successful ad campaign.
Another fact came out during this particular cruise as well, Cruise Critic had worked with Royal Caribbean to get these people together and further the secret agenda of RCCL. The secret, was only secret to those who were not part of that cruise.
One Cruise Critic poster bragged in her review, that Champions were selected and compensated because they had "publicly promoted" RCCL and then went on to thank RCCL and CC for joining forces to put on the special cruise event for the Champions. This comment, and others tie the management at Cruise Critic directly to the secret ad campaign, inspite of later pleas from CC that they had no idea what was going on.
Another CC poster, a Champion himself says he was told by RCI that "Royal Champions are selected based on a proprietary methodology to recognize influential online contributors."
Given that CC had set up and arranged the drink and greets aboard prior to the cruise, and knew that the cruise was free, and specifically for the Champions, this claim of innocence doesn't resonate.
The value of the compensation depends on who you ask. One Champion who attended indicated that the cruise was free and alcoholic beverages were free. How much a Champion drank, could alter the total compensation received from one person to another.
In addition to those free perks other compensation given was free specialty coffees, Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerry’s, internet, video games and parking at the port. All tips to the crew were also included. The free internet would have made it easy to post right from the cruise. For somebody like me, that value could have been worth several hundred dollars.
In addition, other gifts received by all included a licensed duffel bag, Aqua Mouse, a maiden voyage pin and a coffee tumbler designed for the Royal Champions.
The value of that one compensation package alone had to have a value of $1000 per couple for some, who drank into the wee hours of the morning. One Champion said in a sentence, what Cruise Bruise has said about those who hang out continually at Cruise Critic and other cruise forums. If you drink enough, even a sunk ship is a great cruise. She said that the CC motto was “Sleep is for the Weak.” This while admitting she drank what would seem to be more than her fair share of vodka.
Reading the postings for that cruise, many things are clear, but most importantly is the Champion was able to bring their spouse with them which doubled the dollar value of the compensation. When the cost of the cruise, taxes, tips, drinks and gifts were all tallied, it would not be hard to get a nice $1000 vacation out of the deal.
RCCL did not miss a trick, including telling the Champions aboard that since they got so much for free on this cruise, they should visit the jewelry store aboard and make a purchase.
One Champion poster raved about the ring her husband bought her, shamelessly plugging the jewelry store, one of RCCL biggest money making opportunities while at sea. That must have put her on a fast track to the next free cruise.
A problem arose, however, when forum members began bragging about becoming Royal Champions. Some members at Cruise Critic, were clearly angry that they were not chosen, saying that they have to work all day and can not sit in the forum posting all day and all night.
Other Cruise Critic members were hostile that some Royal Champions were posting only a word or two to bump up a thread, and in their view, getting credit for the posting, though it was worthless as far as a promotion went. This made it crystal clear, that the agenda set out for the Champions was common knowledge among them.
Another poster set some fellow CC members straight in one thread, saying that the Royal Champions programs was about how much time they spent on the internet, not the value of the business they personally did with the line.
The thread evolved, and others agreed that posting these reviews and comments could generate 50 new passengers or more, who in return could generate dozens more new passengers, each. It made much more sense to reward them on the time they spent pumping the cruise line, than rewarding them for dollars spent. Publicly, it had become common knowledge that Royal Caribbean had broken the barrier between right and wrong.
Not only that, non-champions began to slam Champions that worked harder than some to create glowing ads for RCCL within the Cruise Critic forums. Two posters, both who had posted over 10,000 times said they could tell those who were lying just to hype RCCL, and those who were honest in their reviews.
Still another poster said what many were thinking, Champions getting all this compensation were not about to "bite the hand that feeds them.".
