What are your cost cutting observations

[mojomanny]

These are observations, not necessarily complaints and certainly not whining, but the Royal Caribbean product is changing and I want to post my observations

Here are subtle but notable changes I've seen recently  (please add your own observations)

 

1. Salad bar "toppings" options greatly reduced
2. cutting down to three dressings on salad bar (no more blue cheese dressing)
3. Eliminating spinach on the salad bar
4. Fresh fruit is no long cut up, it is sliced but not cut up
5. No more strawberries and no honey dew melon on my last two cruises (not too long ago you could get mango, passion fruit, star fruit...)
6. Wedge salad doesn't include blue cheese crumbles (but does have blue cheese dressing)
7. Obviously the whole change to the main dining room menu
8. You may order as many items as you would like (starters, entrees, desserts) but they will serve only one at a time.
9. only 4-5 butter patties on the table when you sit down at a table of 6 (this was the norm, not an exception)
10. Harmony is going to once a day room cleaning/servicing rather than twice a day, with it moving to another ship soon and likely fleetwide
11. Sorrentos used to have other options in addition to pizza, no more
    
    What have you noticed?

[Morecruisesplz]

Carved anything except turkey was rare in Windjammer. Turkey even at breakfast. 

 

Desserts are lacking quality and quantity in Windjammer except for last day when they can be put out again 1st day of next.

 

Staff in Windjammer rarely offer drink service unless waved down. Too few of them.

 

We found new menu offers in MDR much smaller and less appetiting. Switched to specility restaurants and loved all those meals.

 

[resetjet]

Most of what I see in the end is staff related.  Alot of your example could be streamlining to allow for less employees vs actually saving money.  They are all horribly understaffed and it has me concerned.  I see the only way out is the pay more and therefore charge more and even that is questionable.

[Morecruisesplz]

11 minutes ago, resetjet said:

Most of what I see in the end is staff related.  Alot of your example could be streamlining to allow for less employees vs actually saving money.  They are all horribly understaffed and it has me concerned.  I see the only way out is the pay more and therefore charge more and even that is questionable.

Food quality has nothing to do with staffing. Its cost cutting imho.

[SG65CB]

The best way to ruin a restaurant is to let the accountants get involved in the food side of the business. 

 

We had a local steakhouse chain here that featured the salad bar along with premium steaks. The salad bar would go up one side, then back down the other side to build your salad. The accountants convinced management that they should cut the number of items in half and make both sides of the salad bar the same. They also convinced management to switch to domestic beef instead of the imported steaks they had been serving. That was pretty much the end of the restaurant, all downhill from there. 

 

[resetjet]

Just now, fredmdcruisers said:

Food quality has nothing to do with staffing. Its cost cutting imho.

Yes an no.  It takes less manpower to serve a streamlined menu.   Now not allowing multiple lobsters, or getting rid of expensive food items, thats cost cutting and they are doing that as well.  Soon there will be no food included like a hotel.

[firefly333]

I noticed the lack of honeydews last dec. Missed them. Dont like blue cheese so didnt notice.

 

I want sliced fruit like watermelon not little pieces. They hardly ever had it by itself. I had to take a saucer with 3 kinds of fruit when I just wanted watermelon.  

[Morecruisesplz]

10 minutes ago, resetjet said:

Yes an no.  It takes less manpower to serve a streamlined menu.   Now not allowing multiple lobsters, or getting rid of expensive food items, thats cost cutting and they are doing that as well.  Soon there will be no food included like a hotel.

Streamed lined menus. Like on nursing homes?

There will always be food... pushing to specialty restaurants. 

[SG65CB]

4 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

There will always be food... pushing to specialty restaurants.

 

People with UDP are complaining they can't get reservations. If the specialty restaurants are already maxed out I don't see how they can serve a few thousand more people each night. 

[Morecruisesplz]

6 minutes ago, SG65CB said:

 

People with UDP are complaining they can't get reservations. If the specialty restaurants are already maxed out I don't see how they can serve a few thousand more people each night. 

Sure, if they take out 3 floors of MDR and expand specialty. UDP could be a problem with the time they want. We have never not been able to find a time at specialty when flexible on timing. 

[Spurschick]

I am confused. In 2 you say no blue cheese dressing but 6 up you say there is blue cheese dressing. Did you ask for blue cheese dressing as if it exists I’m sure they would have provided for you.

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I noticed the lack of honeydews last dec. Missed them. Dont like blue cheese so didnt notice.

 

I want sliced fruit like watermelon not little pieces. They hardly ever had it by itself. I had to take a saucer with 3 kinds of fruit when I just wanted watermelon.  

 

I found the same with the pre-prepared deli dishes. All I wanted was a slice of cheese and a slice of ham but they no trays out where I could take just that. I had to take two different deli dishes to get what I wanted and the rest went in the bin. 😕

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I noticed the lack of honeydews last dec. Missed them. Dont like blue cheese so didnt notice.

 

I want sliced fruit like watermelon not little pieces. They hardly ever had it by itself. I had to take a saucer with 3 kinds of fruit when I just wanted watermelon.  

Its stupid of any business to do this since it would just lead to more waste. It is counterproductive to get customers to take things they dont want since they will probably take more and throw more away.

[NC State]

4 hours ago, Spurschick said:

I am confused. In 2 you say no blue cheese dressing but 6 up you say there is blue cheese dressing. Did you ask for blue cheese dressing as if it exists I’m sure they would have provided for you.

The Wedge Salad is usually served with blue cheese dressing.

[Nunagoras]

7 hours ago, resetjet said:

Most of what I see in the end is staff related.  Alot of your example could be streamlining to allow for less employees vs actually saving money.  They are all horribly understaffed and it has me concerned.  I see the only way out is the pay more and therefore charge more and even that is questionable.

That's sadly true in the whole cruising industry right now. I know a Brazilian couple whom is now a blogging/vlogging couple whom were 2 crew members till the pandemic. Him was a bartender with Crystal Cruises. She started as a cabin assistant with Crystal and ended up working for Seabourn before the pandemic. They then partnered with an international credit card agency and some Brazilian travel agents... And they're now taking cruises as passengers to present cruise reviews over to the Portuguese language cruise markets!... And they're far from the unique ones. Folks like those won't return the high seas as crew members anymore now that they can sustain their living far easier than partaking 8 to 11 months contracts to be stuck in a ship with rare-to-no free days to explore the locations they stop on!... And they aren't properly old. The ones I'm talking about are on their mid thirties.

 

TBHH: Service reductions and automation will be the solutions for most everything else on the day-to-day cruise operations, like it or not. Want a cappuccino? Serve yourself from an automated machine. Want house wine by the glass? There will be a vending machine at MDR's entrance. Want more than once a day or once per some days cabin service? Become top fidelity member with cruise line, go suites or pay apart for that, if available.

 

For the times being ships are understaffed and they'll to be understaffed. We will need to accept compromises, even at premium-to-luxury market levels. Will it be what it used to be? No. But better to accept compromise than to go out of cruising!... I hope I can return by 2024...

[Sunshine3601]

5 hours ago, Spurschick said:

I am confused. In 2 you say no blue cheese dressing but 6 up you say there is blue cheese dressing. Did you ask for blue cheese dressing as if it exists I’m sure they would have provided for you.

The OP is saying, i think, is no blue cheese dressing at the buffet salad bar but the wedge salad served in dining room had blue cheese dressing but no blue cheese crumbles that typically come with a wedge salad.

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 hours ago, Spurschick said:

I am confused. In 2 you say no blue cheese dressing but 6 up you say there is blue cheese dressing. Did you ask for blue cheese dressing as if it exists I’m sure they would have provided for you.

Delete. Should have read all the responses. Didn’t want to be repetitive. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Cayman1]

While I understand the need to cut is some places to efficiently run a business and turn a profit, especially after Covid, but the cruise industry has changed a ton over the years.

 

Who remembers when room service was free?

How about the midnight buffets and the ice sculptures and chocolate buffet?

Service throughout the ship used to be amazing regardless of which ship you were on.

There were no specialty restaurants and mostly all food was included.

 

Now we will be looking back at these things, as well as "remember when you used to get 3-4 lobster tails" or "remember when they used to clean the rooms twice a day".

 

Cruising is my passion. There is nothing in this world that I would rather do with my time and money. But I am also fearful that they keep taking away and not giving much back. Again, I totally understand that they are trying to run a profitable business, but all the taking away and the increased cost to everyting, as well as the nickel and dining, makes me concerned for the future.

 

 

 

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

8 hours ago, SG65CB said:

 

People with UDP are complaining they can't get reservations. If the specialty restaurants are already maxed out I don't see how they can serve a few thousand more people each night. 

 

This has been a reason why I am hesitant to get an UDP.  With fully booked ships now sailing, one must (or should) completely book all UDP meals immediately after boarding.  This does not allow any wiggle room in the vacation schedule. There have been posts that even when reserving immediately on boarding the ship, peak reservation hours were booked and some venues not available.

 

The UDP package does have a reserve clause that states, "Subject to availability."

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Engineroom Snipe
grammer

[kruzerci]

Food quality, ship maintenance, and headliner entertainment/ musicians are the most noticeable to me. Royal used to impeccably maintain their ships and keep them looking clean and fresh but it looks like they have cut way back on maintenance crews. Our last couple of cruises, they have showed a movie in the theatre on at least one night rather than live entertainment. 

[topnole]

29 minutes ago, Cayman1 said:

While I understand the need to cut is some places to efficiently run a business and turn a profit, especially after Covid, but the cruise industry has changed a ton over the years.

 

Who remembers when room service was free?

How about the midnight buffets and the ice sculptures and chocolate buffet?

Service throughout the ship used to be amazing regardless of which ship you were on.

There were no specialty restaurants and mostly all food was included.

 

Now we will be looking back at these things, as well as "remember when you used to get 3-4 lobster tails" or "remember when they used to clean the rooms twice a day".

 

Cruising is my passion. There is nothing in this world that I would rather do with my time and money. But I am also fearful that they keep taking away and not giving much back. Again, I totally understand that they are trying to run a profitable business, but all the taking away and the increased cost to everyting, as well as the nickel and dining, makes me concerned for the future.

 

 

 

 

Cruising cost more 20-30 years ago. And that isn’t even including inflation.  A standard cruise fare is dirt cheap compared to the history you are speaking of the ships didn’t cost close to 1-2 billion to build.  Expecting low prices and the old ways just isn’t realistic.  By the old standards, a cruiser should easily cost 2-3k per person.  

[topnole]

25 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

Food quality, ship maintenance, and headliner entertainment/ musicians are the most noticeable to me. Royal used to impeccably maintain their ships and keep them looking clean and fresh but it looks like they have cut way back on maintenance crews. Our last couple of cruises, they have showed a movie in the theatre on at least one night rather than live entertainment. 

We cruised twice last year.  Once on Allure and once on Harmony.  Both times the ships looked fantastic and the entertainment was great.  Maybe it varies by ship.  
 

The food definitely seemed to drop off some.   There were still some great meals and overall is wasn’t horrible, just not like it used to be before the pandemic.  

[robmtx]

Crew staffing will be a problem, industry wide. I'll stick to RCI for an example. Since the pandemic started, they have removed two older ships from their fleet and added 2 new ships. If you look at the two retired (833 + 668 crew) vs the new ones deployed (1663 + 2300 crew), we see Royal has a net gain of 2,462 crew.

 

So, just recalling the existing crew and hiring 2,462 new crew has got to be a big challenge. Multiply this issue to cover other cruise lines who are adding bigger ships, replacing smaller ones, and the problem grows even larger, since all cruise lines recruit from the same foreign markets.

 

Add in the fact that the cruise lines cancelled over a year's worth of sailings, losing huge amounts of cash, and it's a no brainer from a business perspective that you gotta have some cut backs. Sucks for us consumers, but I totally get it. They have some epic loans to repay!

 

*numbers based on published crew capacity and do not reflect actual staffing needs.

[irishgal432]

They changed out the Loocatiane bath products with Malin and Gaetz in suites.  Stopped stocking higher end liquor such as Zacapa rum, some nice Merlots.  

 

[BND]

The cost of everything is going up yet people still want a cheap cruise. You get what you pay for.  As for no honey dew melon, meh.  I don't like it, but it and cantaloupe are cheap so it must be a supply issue.  As for strawberries, this is not a good time of year for them so they're also prob harder to get and expensive.   And, lol, you can keep the bleu cheese, yuck!   We've cruised 7 times since restart and have 3 more this year (one in April and one b2b in Oct/Nov).  With the exception of last Apr on EN when they were very understaffed with full cruises, every ship has been very clean and entertainment was good.