Another cut being tested: Once per day cabin service

[restasured]

On 12/16/2022 at 7:56 AM, loman said:

They just raised the gratuity rate recently , and now they cut the level of service,

but i guess you missed that .

I know, isn't that terrible.  A whole dollar a day.  That is almost enough for a 7 day cruise that a person could get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

[restasured]

On 12/16/2022 at 8:08 AM, BND said:

How long have you been cruising?   We have for 17 years and it's changed a lot just in that timeframe.  I can tell you there are others on here who have cruised a lot longer and remember many things cut.

 

I'll say what I've said before, as long as people demand cheaper fares, there will be things cut.   

Exactly.  I remember our first several cruises, that EVERYONE came to dinner with slacks and a button up shirt and that was on CCL, RCCL, NCL etc.  Much like airlines.  50 years ago planes had 36 - 38 inch pitch where now it is 30 - 32.  Seats were 22 inches wide now 17 - 18 inches.  And most people were in suits.  But people wanted cheap and that is what they got.  And you can bet most of the ones whining are the same ones that want to be able to go to the main dining room wearing shorts, a t shirt and flip flops.  If I thought I just had to have twice a day service, a chocolate on my pillow, etc, I would cruise on Seabourn or Cunard or some of the other luxury cruise lines.  

[restasured]

On 12/15/2022 at 9:47 PM, rockon391 said:

The simple fact is all these cost cutting changes are going to change the cruising experience many cruisers have come to love. There will be a line for many…and that line for myself and fam is going to be crossed shortly. 
 

 

 

Could be but I doubt it.  The airline industry is a perfect example.  People fly Spirit airlines because it is cheap and no amenities.  Even if they could get a meal or drinks or whatever.  As long as cruise lines don't require a person to make their own bed and empty their own trash they customers will keep on coming.  I have never taken a "luxury" cruise, for several reasons.  Of course the cost of a luxury cruise can be 3 or 4 times what a budget cruise costs.  And I don't really care for the "stuffiness" of the high dollar brands. I prefer fun to frumpy. 

[BND]

16 minutes ago, restasured said:

Exactly.  I remember our first several cruises, that EVERYONE came to dinner with slacks and a button up shirt and that was on CCL, RCCL, NCL etc.  Much like airlines.  50 years ago planes had 36 - 38 inch pitch where now it is 30 - 32.  Seats were 22 inches wide now 17 - 18 inches.  And most people were in suits.  But people wanted cheap and that is what they got.  And you can bet most of the ones whining are the same ones that want to be able to go to the main dining room wearing shorts, a t shirt and flip flops.  If I thought I just had to have twice a day service, a chocolate on my pillow, etc, I would cruise on Seabourn or Cunard or some of the other luxury cruise lines.  

I have never worn shorts (nor has my DH) in the MDR at dinner.  LOL.  Twice a day service was always strange to me and we've stayed in resorts and in high end hotels.  The reality is so many things have been "dumbed down".  It's all about the $$$.  Even if it means lowering the experience for everyone.

Edited December 18, 2022 by BND

[loman]

26 minutes ago, restasured said:

I know, isn't that terrible.  A whole dollar a day.  That is almost enough for a 7 day cruise that a person could get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

You seem to have missed the point entirely , but thats ok, carry on .

[neverbeenhere]

On 12/16/2022 at 4:46 AM, cjoyner said:

I guess I will be the outlier. I love twice a day, I will frequently return to my room for a nap in the afternoon and I really enjoy knowing that when I return to dress for dinner, my bed will once again be made and the room freshened. This won't be a deal killer for me, but the whole idea of a cruise is that it is something special. The little extras, robes, twice a day service, etc. add to this perception of luxury for me. If it devolves into a dorm room with a free buffet, I will go elsewhere for the experience I am seeking.

We are with you. Twice a day it will be for us.  May eventually we may have to pay even more for it, but twice a day it will be. 
 

Currently,  Royal is only looking into the possibility. 

[brillohead]

23 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

We are with you. Twice a day it will be for us.  May eventually we may have to pay even more for it, but twice a day it will be. 
 

Currently,  Royal is only looking into the possibility. 

If my option is once a day on Royal or twice a day for an extra $500/week (or probably more) on another line, I'll gladly choose once a day with Royal. 

I prefer more cruising to more luxury, so that's where I choose to put my money.  Other people are only able to cruise a certain amount per year, and they choose to pay more for a suite or other luxury experience. 

I'm just glad there are options to choose from, because cruising used to be way more expensive because the "fancy" cruise lines were all that there were.  Now we have options. 

[Wineaux007]

Having your room cleaned/refreshed twice a day has nothing to do with "luxury."  It doesn't take that much time in the evening, especially if they eliminate the time to make the towel animals.  😉

[Ret MP]

14 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

Having your room cleaned/refreshed twice a day has nothing to do with "luxury."  It doesn't take that much time in the evening, especially if they eliminate the time to make the towel animals.  😉

Totally agree.  Towel animals are a nice touch, but not necessary.  I'd give up the towel animals in a heart beat, the turn-down, to preserve the evening ice replacement, towel replacement, dirty plate/silverware removal, garbage removal, and the little things that make it a vacation.

[Slidell_Cruiser]

Lots a great comments……

An opine of a long time cruiser and TA…..

Evening cabin service is part of the cruising vacation experience….

Yes, things change, I’m Ok with that, like NO skeet shooting nor midnight buffet…

RC be HONEST, why this is happening, to reduce steward staff by up to 50% to save money to pay down BILLIONS In debt….just like menu reductions….

The REAL visible impact will be room service and take away stuff all over the corridors outside of cabins for most of the day and night..

Safe Safe all…Keep Cruising..

[cruisin from florida]

8 hours ago, restasured said:

Exactly.  I remember our first several cruises, that EVERYONE came to dinner with slacks and a button up shirt and that was on CCL, RCCL, NCL etc.  Much like airlines.  50 years ago planes had 36 - 38 inch pitch where now it is 30 - 32.  Seats were 22 inches wide now 17 - 18 inches.  And most people were in suits.  But people wanted cheap and that is what they got.  And you can bet most of the ones whining are the same ones that want to be able to go to the main dining room wearing shorts, a t shirt and flip flops.  If I thought I just had to have twice a day service, a chocolate on my pillow, etc, I would cruise on Seabourn or Cunard or some of the other luxury cruise lines.  

We got chocolate on the pillow on Celebrity. I think that if you want what Royal was 10 -20 years ago, Celebrity is providing it. For a price, of course.

[John&LaLa]

On 12/12/2022 at 5:52 AM, Ocean Boy said:

Plenty of us have been around long enough to know what a "trial" of something on an RCI ship means. If this was a Covid related issue the company would have been more than happy to wave a banner blaming the virus. Heck, I'm surprised they didn't try to pin this on this on Covid anyway.

 

I'm under the impression they are blaming Covid. At least based on the post you quoted 

[John&LaLa]

On 12/13/2022 at 7:31 PM, Longford said:

I departed from Tampa on Serenade on 11/5.  I did not observe any crew (and few guests) wearing masks.

 

Plenty of crew and a few guests still masked on Mariner and Wonder erarlier this month

[foodsvcmgr]

Check those price differences closely, I’m booked on Liberty OTS 5 night Bermuda balcony cabin at $650 pp.

I can (and might) switch to Celebrity Summit 7 night Bermuda at $1000 pp.

Either Celebrity will be right behind Royal with the latest round of food and service cuts or they may be picking up a lot of disenchanted folks.

[John&LaLa]

On 12/15/2022 at 10:49 AM, robmtx said:

Where's the ice machine? Can I just run down the hall and fill up my ice bucket?

 

We can store our used glasses, plates, and other crap in the hallway. We already see that the hall is popular for storing trash, so we can be flexible and do the same.

 

One benefit of the xxx29 CP cabins is the ice machine and dishware collection is next door

[John&LaLa]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:55 AM, st5310 said:

So according to Jsmom2 we can request once per day cleaning?  45+ cruises and I never knew that.

 

We do that. Prefer evening. They used to object, citing supervisors would not allow it. But lately they are fine, and grateful

Edited December 18, 2022 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

On 12/15/2022 at 12:11 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

Kinda like years ago when they started charging for Johnny Rockets -- they claimed that teenagers were hanging around /claiming all the booth space, and a charge would prevent this.  It was a blatant lie.  I never cared about Johnny Rockets one way or the other, but the lie still sticks in my craw.  

 

I'm gonna have to disagree. Johnny Rockets on Freedom was impossible to get into, even after surcharge. Didn't get empty until they dropped the BOGO

[Ocean Boy]

30 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm under the impression they are blaming Covid. At least based on the post you quoted 

The cutback is being reported by people on other ships. 

[Ocean Boy]

20 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I'm gonna have to disagree. Johnny Rockets on Freedom was impossible to get into, even after surcharge. Didn't get empty until they dropped the BOGO

I've been on plenty of sailing where I'd walk by JR's in the evening and it was empty except for crew eating in there.

[HappyTexan44]

On 12/10/2022 at 8:28 AM, dianajo67 said:

Expect to see trash and empty dishes etc in the hallways more frequently, especially around rooms that have 3 or more folks trying to be comfortable in such small spaces.

 

I had thought that I wouldn't mind the change in hotels to a clean every few days.    I'm one that would rather no one enter my hotel room after I check-in.   But it ended up with disgusting hallways.   They became an obstacle course with dirty towels and bags of trash outside nearly every door.   
 

Plus, a hotel room bathroom is bigger than a cruise bathroom.   So, on a cruise there is less places to stash the wet towels.   I could totally see people dumping the wet towels outside the room.   Is there enough room in the bathrooms to store twice the normal number of towels?  

Hopefully they will have someplace that always has the next day's cruise compass.   I am not using my phone for that.   

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

11 hours ago, restasured said:

Could be but I doubt it.  The airline industry is a perfect example.  People fly Spirit airlines because it is cheap and no amenities.  Even if they could get a meal or drinks or whatever.  As long as cruise lines don't require a person to make their own bed and empty their own trash they customers will keep on coming.  I have never taken a "luxury" cruise, for several reasons.  Of course the cost of a luxury cruise can be 3 or 4 times what a budget cruise costs.  And I don't really care for the "stuffiness" of the high dollar brands. I prefer fun to frumpy. 

The only commonality between an airline and cruise line is that they operate big pieces of machinery that move. The claim that what people will tolerate with one will also be accepted from the other is baseless.

[Ocean Boy]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

I'm just glad there are options to choose from, because cruising used to be way more expensive because the "fancy" cruise lines were all that there were.  Now we have options. 

Cruising used to be a lot more expensive because of the demand for the available capacity. Demand and capacity is still exactly what determines fares today.

[Ocean Boy]

6 hours ago, Slidell_Cruiser said:

Lots a great comments……

An opine of a long time cruiser and TA…..

Evening cabin service is part of the cruising vacation experience….

Yes, things change, I’m Ok with that, like NO skeet shooting nor midnight buffet…

RC be HONEST, why this is happening, to reduce steward staff by up to 50% to save money to pay down BILLIONS In debt….just like menu reductions….

The REAL visible impact will be room service and take away stuff all over the corridors outside of cabins for most of the day and night..

Safe Safe all…Keep Cruising..

Maybe RCI will just assign crew to passageway duty. Crew can go around picking up all the stuff people don't want in their cabins. Now used towels can be added to the dirty dished, glasses, ans half eaten food that end up out there.

[time4u2go]

14 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The only commonality between an airline and cruise line is that they operate big pieces of machinery that move. The claim that what people will tolerate with one will also be accepted from the other is baseless.

I agree.  Flying on an airplane is a means to an end.  Cruising is an "end".

[HappyTexan44]

15 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I agree.  Flying on an airplane is a means to an end.  Cruising is an "end".

 

Agreed.  Flying is a fairly short experience.   Awhile back I remember reading an article about first-class vs. economy-class.  They interviewed a woman that was a CEO of a big company and was flying in the ordinary seats.   She said, "If someone offered me 10K to sit in uncomfortable chair for 5 hours, I'd do it.   This is the same thing."   

 

Although many people have talked about a line beyond which they'll change lines or stop cruising.  We've reached that point in flights and we don't fly cattle-air (which is all of them).