LMaxwell

If dining is important to you, you *must* try Virgin Voyages.

You are expressing your frustrations. I didn't tell you to stop. I encouraged you to take action. Cruises are a lot of money and planning/budgeting for a suite on a premium line even more so. To have your included amenities changed and nickel and dimed isn't right.

That you can still do with the door hanger at no charges

Reduce the service charges in equal amount and let them know why. You can whine on a forum that the company never sees, or go make it equal value and explain why you are doing that. Or bring coins for the toilet and tender rides I guess

I would agree

People are justfiying ways to go pay for pizza (lol) and then go to the dining room to make a 3 course meal and get it for $3 less. That's because it's stupid to charge for it in the first place. Stop making yourselves insane jumping through hoops and refuse to participate.

No, that's not what I am saying. I've been on 7 different cruise lines in the past 2 years because I realized long ago that shacking up to one with loyalty was not a good play, because these companies move the goal posts and amenities so often that dedicating years and tens of thousands of dollars to perks isn't a good return. Value is relative; and one of the fundamental questions is 'Did I get what I had bargained for when handing over payment?' If I book a family vacation for....$5000 based on the amentiies and offerings of the company and particular ship, and those offerings are reduced after I pay, that's a reduction in the value for money. These changes are designed so that no one is leaving any cruise line over a reduction in room cleaning, or a $5 room service fee, or a pizza fee, etc. They are annoying and devalue the package. I'm not a crayon writer or glue sniffer, so I understand about needing to operate profitably, but it's not my position to advocate for anything that devalues my vacation. Cutting service in half and overloading a worker with more rooms, while charging me more for it, is a devaluation of my package deal. Is it going to make me leave? No. The revenue departments for these cruise lines know that they are in no danger of running off any significant amount of business, and in all actuality increasing revenue as planned. But there's also a big giant forum I can point out the obvious and share my views about it on also. And it will change nothing.

You are paying $500 extra to eat at same 2 specialty restaurants all week?

Some people are casual cruisers but still enjoy a sit down dining experience with fast casual food and service. Many a thread telling people "where to go" if they wish to fashion themselves casually; well, two of the primary options are now removed. IJS. If I want to dine in a casual manner with sit down service and can't even get a pizza for the fam at Alfredos without a charge, I'm left with just the dining room. So for all of those who have no problem with the new charges, remember that when casually attired folks want to be served in the MDR.

Pick up phone Guest Services Due to steward turnover there were several items overlooked Room is filthy and requires proper cleaning and disinfectant Please have it fully cleaned and changed over with all new linens Beginning and end

All the apps are basically available at salad bar in buffet; so what. Pizza is good but paying for pizza on a cruise ship is chintzy. Sorry, it is. Just off Virgin Voyages; amazing made to order pizzas, grab and go caesar salad, no charges. Princess needs people willing to routinely pay VV per diem prices, not MSC per diem prices. Coin Operated Cruising and Premium Brand doesn't really mix

Club Orange is one toe in the water.

May not fly in Bermuda, OK in Florida

Everything is a balance, no company is perfect. Choose what appeals to you; but them changing offerings after you pay is a party foul

I prefer the mostly inclusive model; I don't like being presented with charges constantly. I don't feel that's a better value. I never said they shouldn't increase charges.

None of these changes will keep anyone off a ship. That's why they are like 1000 straws on the camels back. Individually people overlook them. Just a $5 charge for this, just a $10 charge for that, just an increase to this charge, just a decrease to this service, just a removal of 3 menu items, just a shortening of hours available for included dining venues, just a mild increase in dining package costs, oh internet got slightly faster so just double the price, it's already an $8000 vacation, what's another $300 in incremental costs and value deletion by the service provider... Anyways, I guess I don't really care if they clean 1x or 9x a day; so long as my expectations of the outcome are being met. Unfortunately, us guests pay more than ever before and have reasonable expectations/conditioning over the years of what those services include and many of us take some resentment towards services being halved yet charges increased, or seeing included dining venues scaled back significantly on choice and selection, all while services are reduced, and new fees implemented designed to just drive you to a dining package anyways. Then we have the 'Just happy to be on a ship, I don't have to cook or clean' brigade who tell everyone they should not have individual wants and needs and to just shut up, suck it up, pay up, and get whatever they feel like giving, and if it's even less by the time you ding onboard, oh well.

Just the pizza spot; no late night buffet or promenade cafe

I've never had enough to drink to justify a package, my wife doesn't drink at all. So I'll just be base onboard fare for these cruise lines and, I don't know, pay for french fries or to rent a deck chair I guess.

Nothing against Princess specifically; but my new rule is any change that decreases my value on a paid for booking (I have already paid and can't change without penalty) is getting handled at guest services for an equal amount of value. If cruise lines increase fees and reduces services, my optional service charge payments will scale with those changes. Unless or until the cruise lines get the message that's how it's going to be. I'm pretty good with math, and "I don't have to cook or clean up" is the lowest, most pathetic bar to step over to justify accepting continuing degradation of services for our money. Everyone tries to explain away 'You don't need delivery, just walk to get what you want.' 'You don't need a sit down restaurant inside with options, go to the pool whether blazing hot or raining, and stand in line. It's just as good'. No. User fees, convenience fees, service fees, etc. all added and modified after something has been paid for is nickel and dime stunts; adding charges to what was included as part of the inclusive vacation is insulting; and I'll stunt them right back in the accounting ledger.

They are Hurley hybrid shorts in my case. And I'm dressed in them. Man, a 4 day cruise to Coco Cay to veg out from work ain't that serious. There's 3 decks in a dining room, open for several hours, and multiple other restaurants. You're facing one way, looking at a window, a wall, or a handful of tables, that you can't see under the table cloth unless you're actually some sort of creep crawling around the floor. For some of us it's just a floating, hot weather resort. C'est la vie.

nailed it

Yes, a pool. Try asking the 2 - 4 staffers that provide you direct, personalized service what method they prefer, and why, and they may give you some very enlightening information.

Why not just open it at 6:30 then to stagger it out a bit? I don't mind that RC has "sped up" the dining and trying to hit a time target, but I am not sure I want to take chances and may opt for early dining; reality is you aren't getting your apps until about 6pm anyways so maybe it's not as early as it sounds?

I will just say that as someone who tends to book "Standard" balcony cabins and no add on drink or perk package anywhere, it is very off-putting to see venues that were included, to some degree, now turned into pay for venues. It diminishes the value of the cruise. It takes a real brand loyalist, of any brand, to pay $5000 for a vacation and being told "this pizza is not for you....$15 only....or go up to the pool" unless they opt to pay $120 a day more for alcohol drinks. But it's actually insulting that all they are doing is repackaging current offerings into less value for standard and plus fare and saying that things are now "free". I knew as soon as I saw the headline, it was likely not to be the case. If all the fast casual places end up going to a pay/a la carte model, the cruise is no longer an alternative to a Las Vegas or land based resort. No differentiator. At least on land I am not captive audience to the place I am staying at all week. On a recent cruise, different line, they had their casual sit down Mexican restaurant right off the atrium, no real theming, something like $18 per person all you can eat, no atmosphere, and never busy when we saw it, but on YouTube reviewers go nuts. Think they just love new content. But for a family to drop 72+ tip for a taco dinner and give up the MDR is a little ridiculous. That's the type of restaurant that should be included; and it's the level of dining Princess thinks is worth $15pp or a la carte, and they think giving some of this for "free" is an enhancement to a perk package?

It's fully distributed to a pool. Who is in it and what percentage they get, is between the company and its employees. Much like I have employees that have to hit certain metrics to get full commission; they can go over, or they can get less. But the pool is fully funded.