Water price increase

[whitecap]

6 minutes ago, ChC said:

Only NAIVE people drink EVIAN. Because the merchant already told you as much. That is why they call the water EVIAN, You see? Read the label backward, the people who bottled the water is laughing at you every time you buy a bottle of this Naive water.

I do like jocularity.  As my favorite character from the tv series MASH use to say, "Jocularity, Jocularity!" 😂

[adolfo2]

On 3/9/2023 at 7:57 AM, DirtyDawg said:

So what's a fair price Royal should charge for the bottled water?

3~4X the price for equivalent water in a Walmart, Target, COSTCO, etc.

[DirtyDawg]

11 minutes ago, adolfo2 said:

3~4X the price for equivalent water in a Walmart, Target, COSTCO, etc.

So if Royal should link what they charge for water to Walmart's price should they also link their dress core and allow 'wife beater' t shirts in the MDR?

 

 

Carnival's price for water might be linked to Walmart's price but I thought Royal was a bit more upscale. 😁

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by DirtyDawg

[Mum2Mercury]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:33 AM, loman said:

I drink the  '' free stuff '' at cafe promenade . 

Yes, bottled water on the ship is 100% an optional purchase.  The free water at Cafe Promenade or Windjammer tastes good -- I drink a ton of it when we cruise.  

Many people like to have a bottle to take off the ship, but ONE bottle (or a refillable bottle) is enough, as you can refill it.  Ideally, bring a wide-mouth bottle that you can easily refill from Windjammer's ice water cups.  

On 3/8/2023 at 9:47 AM, cruiselvr04 said:

... Watch for sales ... 

Definitely.  

On 3/8/2023 at 10:36 AM, time4u2go said:

... I would love to have been in on the very first meeting where someone suggested, "Let's put water in a bottle and sell it".

And I wonder if anyone asked, "What's going to happen with all these plastic bottles after people have consumed our product?  Can the earth afford this?"  

On 3/8/2023 at 7:50 PM, Fouremco said:

Thanks for the information. I wasn't previously aware of the scope of its water system.

You know, when a system WORKS, it's often invisible.  That is, people just don't notice /don't pay attention to how it works.  They just use it.  

Examples are all around us:  Water, electricity, highways ... but when these things don't work /fail temporarily, people notice (and suffer) because they need those things so badly in daily life. 

In contrast, if bottled water isn't available, no one's really suffering.    

On 3/8/2023 at 11:24 PM, Markus201 said:

How much water are you allowed to carry on?

You can bring 12 non-alcoholic beverages of average size.  Is it something like 16-18 oz per bottle?  

[JeffT237]

Of all the things that are debated on Cruise Critic I find the bottled water for or against one of the strangest.  Like any upsell charge if there's value in it individually for any reason, buy it.....if not don't buy it.  A few other things:

 

• Some people don't want to lug around a case of water.
• The included water is never free, it's in your cruise fare as well as mine so yes I am double paying for water just like I paid for food and still pay more at speciality dining which we also enjoy.
• Environmental concerns. I'm pretty sure the cruise lines recycle the plastic bottles and has an environmental officer.  If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find better examples of waste or environmental concerns on a cruise.
• High price, almost every upsell item, excursion etc is high priced.  But yet here we are with most things being sold out or heavily purchased on a cruise that has seen it's fares go up as well.  I bought 2 cases of water on Black Friday for our last cruise with tip at about $40 total. That's $40 out of several thousand spent on the cruise, travel from SoCal and all of the other misc vacation expenses.  Somehow I managed to pay for it and still enjoy our cruise.  
• Finally, some of us like the package, so we buy it.

[whitecap]

37 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Of all the things that are debated on Cruise Critic I find the bottled water for or against one of the strangest.  Like any upsell charge if there's value in it individually for any reason, buy it.....if not don't buy it.  A few other things:

 

• Some people don't want to lug around a case of water.
• The included water is never free, it's in your cruise fare as well as mine so yes I am double paying for water just like I paid for food and still pay more at speciality dining which we also enjoy.
• Environmental concerns. I'm pretty sure the cruise lines recycle the plastic bottles and has an environmental officer.  If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find better examples of waste or environmental concerns on a cruise.
• High price, almost every upsell item, excursion etc is high priced.  But yet here we are with most things being sold out or heavily purchased on a cruise that has seen it's fares go up as well.  I bought 2 cases of water on Black Friday for our last cruise with tip at about $40 total. That's $40 out of several thousand spent on the cruise, travel from SoCal and all of the other misc vacation expenses.  Somehow I managed to pay for it and still enjoy our cruise.  
• Finally, some of us like the package, so we buy it.

Keep in mind that this thread wasn't started to debate whether or not someone should buy water or drink ship water.  it was started simply to advise that overnight, the price doubled.  And then adding the 18% gratuity on top of that, made it not worth the while for us.

[Newcruiser215]

$31 for 12 bottles of water is wild. Must be holy water. Lol. 

[JeffT237]

14 minutes ago, whitecap said:

Keep in mind that this thread wasn't started to debate whether or not someone should buy water or drink ship water.

It always starts as that then morphs into something else.  As most posts do.

 

9 minutes ago, Newcruiser215 said:

$31 for 12 bottles of water is wild. Must be holy water. Lol. 

We purchased 2 cases of 24 bottles, not 12 bottles.  With tip total for the 48 bottles was $40.08. 

[Newcruiser215]

11 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

It always starts as that then morphs into something else.  As most posts do.

 

We purchased 2 cases of 24 bottles, not 12 bottles.  With tip total for the 48 bottles was $40.08. 

It’s much more than that for my upcoming Wonder sailing. 

[ONECRUISER]

14 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

It always starts as that then morphs into something else.  As most posts do.

 

We purchased 2 cases of 24 bottles, not 12 bottles.  With tip total for the 48 bottles was $40.08. 

Interesting, for 24 large Evian price would be typical. If it's the smaller cheaper Brands thats a lot. Paid $20.04 for the 24 pack the cheaper ones on Fall 2022 then last month same $20.04 for 24ct for a couple Cruises Fall 2023

Edited March 26, 2023 by ONECRUISER

[ONECRUISER]

1 minute ago, Newcruiser215 said:

It’s much more than that for my upcoming Wonder sailing. 

For that price must have Gold Flakes in it!

[whitecap]

18 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

It always starts as that then morphs into something else.  As most posts do.

 

We purchased 2 cases of 24 bottles, not 12 bottles.  With tip total for the 48 bottles was $40.08. 

Just a quick question:  Who did you pay your tip to?  18% for them to deliver water to your stateroom prior to your arrival onboard?  Did you tip for the items left in your minibar?  😀

[monorail81]

Still wondering what brand they are providing with the new package. 

[JeffT237]

8 minutes ago, monorail81 said:

Still wondering what brand they are providing with the new package. 

Ours was Niagra 16.9 ounce bottles.  I've read they are going to Evian 1 liter bottles.  

 

[JeffT237]

13 minutes ago, whitecap said:

Just a quick question:  Who did you pay your tip to?  18% for them to deliver water to your stateroom prior to your arrival onboard?

Good question, this could turn into another tipping post!  18% was added on at the time of purchase I suppose to the crew who gathered it from the store room and the guy who delivered it to our cabin, really no idea.

[whitecap]

6 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Good question, this could turn into another tipping post!  18% was added on at the time of purchase I suppose to the crew who gathered it from the store room and the guy who delivered it to our cabin, really no idea.

So, you paid just over $6.00 to have it delivered to the stateroom.  This would then be split between the crew member who off loaded the pallet; the crew member who carried the case to the storage area; the crew member who then carried the case to the room service area; and lastly, to the crew member who delivered it to the stateroom.  Now, since you are already paying daily gratuities, that covers service staff, isn't this a little excessive?  My guess is that the $6.00 goes right into the RCCL coffers.  All of this said, our decision is not to partake but each person has to decide for themselves.  

[not-enough-cruising]

12 minutes ago, whitecap said:

So, you paid just over $6.00 to have it delivered to the stateroom.  This would then be split between the crew member who off loaded the pallet; the crew member who carried the case to the storage area; the crew member who then carried the case to the room service area; and lastly, to the crew member who delivered it to the stateroom.  Now, since you are already paying daily gratuities, that covers service staff, isn't this a little excessive?  My guess is that the $6.00 goes right into the RCCL coffers.  All of this said, our decision is not to partake but each person has to decide for themselves.  

DING! DING! DING!

 

We have a winner!!

[ONECRUISER]

Just looked at my receipt from last month. Paid $16.50 for 24bottle for my Oct2023 Cruise. This includes the Gratuity... 

[JeffT237]

27 minutes ago, whitecap said:

My guess is that the $6.00 goes right into the RCCL coffers.  All of this said, our decision is not to partake but each person has to decide for themselves.  

 

I'm sure you're right on that. My cruise decisions are typically foolish when it comes to a financial decision vs comfort and ease on a vacation.  From a financial standpoint one could certainly argue a lot of our purchases are foolish.  I don't cruise for the financial benefit I cruise for the enjoyment within our budget and what we value. I don't lament over the "wasted" $6 I spent on a gratuity to have an item I ordered waiting for me in my cabin.  I also don't spend too much time on how that $6 was broken down and who it went to.  

 

 

[lovesthebeach2]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:44 AM, whitecap said:

I agree and we may just have to find a vessel (pitcher) to carry water back to the room.

I bring an insulated stainless Contigo bottle for water

[monorail81]

1 hour ago, JeffT237 said:

Ours was Niagra 16.9 ounce bottles.  I've read they are going to Evian 1 liter bottles.  

 

When was your sailing?

[JeffT237]

1 minute ago, monorail81 said:

When was your sailing?

We were on the March 5th sailing on the Wonder.  I purchased it on Black Friday and it was listed as cans, however as many have reported what we received were plastic bottles, which was welcomed. I'm speculating that the price was cheaper for cans because I believe the can size is 12 ounces.  But when we sailed we were given the larger 16.9 ounce bottles of Niagra. 

[monorail81]

2 hours ago, JeffT237 said:

We were on the March 5th sailing on the Wonder.  I purchased it on Black Friday and it was listed as cans, however as many have reported what we received were plastic bottles, which was welcomed. I'm speculating that the price was cheaper for cans because I believe the can size is 12 ounces.  But when we sailed we were given the larger 16.9 ounce bottles of Niagra. 

I THINK they started selling/advertising the “new” package after your sail date.  

[shaycamp21]

3 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I bring an insulated stainless Contigo bottle for water

 

Is there a water filing station onboard or do you just fill from your stateroom?

[lovesthebeach2]

2 hours ago, shaycamp21 said:

 

Is there a water filing station onboard or do you just fill from your stateroom?

Not from stateroom…. They don’t like you filling water bottles from the machines due to germs, so I use a glass which is right there and pour into my bottle, or I have the WJ fill it up.