Is Princess charging room service fees fleet wide or only on the Regal?

[Lanwood]

The Captain's welcome party in the atrium (with Champagne waterfall and the Captain's welcome speech) is usually way too crowded. Taking this demand into account, possibly Princess could charge $2/person to attend this event and thus eliminate the overcrowding.

 

The Princess Theater is often full to capacity and additional passengers cannot see the performance they want to attend. If there was a $5/person charge for each show in the Princess Theater, then guest demand can be better regulated.

 

Usually 100% of the passengers will flush the toilet in their cabin, often several times a day. To control the demand for this service, a $1/flush charge should help.

 

LOL:D - don't get me started laughing again. I just ate dinner...:D

[vickie_bernie]

I just heard back from my friend who is the hotel general manager on board one of the ships currently and he said he had no knowledge of this $3 room service fee - so it isn't on his ship. Not sure if that is good cause it isn't on or bad that Princess hasn't communicated this with their HGMs.

[chamima]

I just heard back from my friend who is the hotel general manager on board one of the ships currently and he said he had no knowledge of this $3 room service fee - so it isn't on his ship. Not sure if that is good cause it isn't on or bad that Princess hasn't communicated this with their HGMs.

 

 

Just sitting here shaking my head.

:confused:

[SLI_Fallen]

One likely annoying fallout from all this extra room service charging (from what I am reading on all these threads and FB) is people say they will "just go to HC and IC and get it themselves".

 

Sure, except now you have created stampedes to these two venues, especially in the am. And you think your wait in line for your morning "fresh brewed" or specialty coffee at IC was long already? Just wait.

 

And how fast do you think the fruit bowls at HC are going to actually have fruit in them? (yes they will TRY to keep them filled but again, the crowds will clear it out and the selection will be poor) Especially if people "hoard" fruit & put it in the fridge to save a trip every morning just so they can have some fruit in the am. (not blaming them, just saying) :confused:

[wilfros]

Please allow me to expand and explain my above responses and my attitude.

 

I agree that there should never be a situation where we, the passengers, need to take action or retaliation through the punishment or withholding of monies from some of the hardest working people I have ever met.

 

That Said .... Isn't that exactly what Princess is doing? Are they not counting on us to have this attitude? If there was even the slightest chance that this money was targeted for the room service staff because of stingy passengers who do not tip, then I would be the loudest cheerleader for this increase.

 

THIS IS NOT THE CASE HERE!!! In fact there are even people who know this, on this thread and still acknowledge they will order room service, pay the 3 dollars and tip to ensure the staff gets adequately compensated.

 

It is not the loyal passengers of Princess who have put these poor people in the position, but rather the authors of this policy followed by those who have approved it.

 

They should hold their heads in shame as they pass any of their own employees. No us, we have done nothing wrong here. Both the Staff and the Passengers are the victims.\

 

 

JMHO Of Course!

 

I read about 100 post on this thread tonight, and I was going to let it all pass as I had already posted earlier on this. However, I couldn't get this one out of my mind.

 

To suggest that a way to protest these unannounced surcharges is to have all passengers remove the auto-tips is unconscionable! The only person that hurts is the, to quote you in a later post, "poor help". And most of your other suggestions hurt the passenger. Princess will survive without the $3.00 surcharge, but why should I give up a specialty restaurant, laundry, dry cleaning or shore excursions to protest a surcharge on a service I don't really need. These surcharges are optional. Finally, you want a copy of your bill on a daily basis, or even 10 times a day? Take a walk to passenger services and print it out. Just swipe your card and, voila, there you are, a free copy. On the newest ships, I understand you don't even have to leave your cabin for this information.

 

I also read on someones post about how we would be charged for fruit delivery, ice and glasses. Fruit delivery we can cover ourselves, by getting in at the buffet. As for ice and glasses, unless I am mistaken, these are things that my room steward provides, not room service, so these aren't even at issue. And, since I bring my own cup and rarely use ice, also not an issue.

 

Maureen

 

WOW... Where to begin with this one????

 

Rule number 1 is never (NEVER) quote someone incorrectly. I have included the complete text of both your post and mine. I have even highlighted each part that you have made reference to.

 

Now I know journalists make careers out of pulling individual words, out of context, and then insinuating what it is that they would like others to think they have said. Again the reason I have retained the full context of each of our posts.

 

I never said "POOR HELP". I did however say "POOR PEOPLE". I believe if you look at the full context of the message I was clear my intent was in a compassionate context validated by my earlier statement "some of the hardest working people I have ever met".

 

To be quoted out of context leaving the impression you did, I find to be insulting and disrespectful.

 

I am all for an open and energetic discussion, and welcome your points of view. Many people have posted here and have made me stop and rethink. And they all managed to do this without misquoting anything!

 

To be clear I stand by everything I have written, I do not stand by your insulation.

Edited May 25, 2014 by wilfros

[billco]

I have trouble understanding everyone's irritation with the way this was implemented. Sure, the Princess website still says 24 hour room service is included in the price of the cruise, but that hasn't been totally accurate for a few years. Phoning a Princess customer service rep with a question has no more than a 50% chance of getting a correct answer and therefore often yields surprises once on board. Policies and procedures are implemented unevenly across the fleet all the time (case in point: the Emerald Princess required that both people in a cabin needed to purchase the drink package far longer than other ships). Drink prices change from one cruise to the next. The Sanctuary doubled in price; the price for the Chefs Table went up more than 20%. And, as we know, the passage contract allows Princess to do pretty much anything it wants to do as long as it picks you up in a port and houses you for x number of days (it doesn't even have to drop you off at the right port at the end of it all) . I'm not certain why this change is being perceived to be that much harsher.

 

Frankly, the surprise was that Alfredos was ever free of charge. HAL has something similar with Caneletto. Our first two HAL cruises it was free, and we ate there one time on each. The next two cruises, it wasn't, and we ate there once on one and not at all on another. Paying $10 per person on one cruise and skipping it on the next had zero impact on our overall cruise enjoyment, and I wouldn't have even remembered it but for this discussion.

I agree. I don't think the $10.00 Alfredos or $3.00 room service surcharge and the way they were implemented is a big deal. I do think some of the reaction is a bit childish, such as threatening to cancel a booking or never sailing with Princess again or coming up with all these hypothetical situations that Princess might charge more fees.

[Love.II.Cruise]

On Celebrity and HAL all cabins can order a full hot breakfast and in the evenings you can order off the MDR menu (even on Formal Nights) at no charge. If Princess expanded their Room Service Menu I don't think people would mind paying the $3 charge.

 

If Princess offered full hot breakfast and I could order from the MDR menu any night, I wouldn't mind paying the $3/person charge.

 

We didn't care for Alfredo's so won't go back. But a $10 charge including a drink seems wrong if someone just wants water. :rolleyes:

Edited May 25, 2014 by Love.II.Cruise

[kruisey]

I have trouble understanding everyone's irritation with the way this was implemented. Sure, the Princess website still says 24 hour room service is included in the price of the cruise, but that hasn't been totally accurate for a few years. Phoning a Princess customer service rep with a question has no more than a 50% chance of getting a correct answer and therefore often yields surprises once on board. Policies and procedures are implemented unevenly across the fleet all the time (case in point: the Emerald Princess required that both people in a cabin needed to purchase the drink package far longer than other ships). Drink prices change from one cruise to the next. The Sanctuary doubled in price; the price for the Chefs Table went up more than 20%. And, as we know, the passage contract allows Princess to do pretty much anything it wants to do as long as it picks you up in a port and houses you for x number of days (it doesn't even have to drop you off at the right port at the end of it all) . I'm not certain why this change is being perceived to be that much harsher.

 

 

Frankly, the surprise was that Alfredos was ever free of charge. HAL has something similar with Caneletto. Our first two HAL cruises it was free, and we ate there one time on each. The next two cruises, it wasn't, and we ate there once on one and not at all on another. Paying $10 per person on one cruise and skipping it on the next had zero impact on our overall cruise enjoyment, and I wouldn't have even remembered it but for this discussion.

 

I personally do find this $3 charge for room service harsh when we are not allowed electrical coffee pots or tea in our cabins.

Most hotels supply coffee and tea free in the room.For Princess to charge $3 for bringing hot water ,tea bags and milk to the cabin charging $3 plus I always give a couple of bucks to the steward who delivers outrageous and unreasonable. Unfortunately as one ages ones balance is not so swift(Yes it happens to us all);) and this can cause accidents especially so on a moving ship.:eek:

If they had the complete dinner menu for room delivery thats a different matter I would pay that for an occasional meal after a long day on shore.

Edited May 25, 2014 by kruisey

[makingmemories21]

I agree. I don't think the $10.00 Alfredos or $3.00 room service surcharge and the way they were implemented is a big deal. I do think some of the reaction is a bit childish, such as threatening to cancel a booking or never sailing with Princess again or coming up with all these hypothetical situations that Princess might charge more fees.

 

 

I can't believe what I'm reading. Did you actually write that you "don't think the way they were implemented is a big deal"?? They told me both services were free, my printed documents regarding theses services say they are free...now that I am set to board in a few weeks I find out they are not. I had every intention of utilizing both of these "free" services on a daily basis and now my family of four will be incurring a significant cost increase. Write whatever you want about the fees being acceptable or not, but the way they were implemented?? 100% sneaky and dishonest.

 

 

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[Julia’s Journey’s]

Yes, it's not the fee so much as just springing it on folks with no advance warning. When they removed free internet from suite perks it was announced when it would go into effect and previous bookings were grandfathered in.

 

I have left my message on facebook and encourage others to do the same.

 

Princess has a million and a half followers on FB and they need to know the impact decisions like this have on their customer base.

 

Mike:)

 

 

They don't care how many msg's they get until people start walking away, we are doing our first RCL cruise this year but booked on regal for Thanks giving and seriously considering canceling both cabins - not only due to the fees :(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[LMaxwell]

 

At this point I am thinking that the $3. charge for room service is a way for Princess to compensate the personnel involved. I could easily see that very few passengers are tipping for the service.

 

 

What on Earth makes you think Princess is doing this for the benefit of their staff? It is a revenue stream. It has nothing to do with staff compensation.

 

I doubt that you can "easily see that few passengers tip for this service." How can you easily see that? I would love to hear this explanation.

[LarryF]

We're on the CB next week and I was looking forward to spending the week in the Sanctuary. We love the Sanctuary and we purposely booked an inside cabin knowing we would spend most of our time in the Sanctuary. It's now very hard to justify paying $360 for the week, plus our usual 15% tip! Shame on you Princess! :mad:

[kruisey]

What on Earth makes you think Princess is doing this for the benefit of their staff? It is a revenue stream. It has nothing to do with staff compensation.

 

I doubt that you can "easily see that few passengers tip for this service." How can you easily see that? I would love to hear this explanation.

I would also like to see that explained?

[Cruise Junky]

I can't believe what I'm reading. Did you actually write that you "don't think the way they were implemented is a big deal"?? They told me both services were free, my printed documents regarding theses services say they are free...now that I am set to board in a few weeks I find out they are not. I had every intention of utilizing both of these "free" services on a daily basis and now my family of four will be incurring a significant cost increase. Write whatever you want about the fees being acceptable or not, but the way they were implemented?? 100% sneaky and dishonest.

 

 

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They also told you those conditions could change anytime and you agreed to that. Well guess what, they did. Do I like it? of course not. But with how far in advance you can book, things are going to change

[billco]

I can't believe what I'm reading. Did you actually write that you "don't think the way they were implemented is a big deal"?? They told me both services were free, my printed documents regarding theses services say they are free...now that I am set to board in a few weeks I find out they are not. I had every intention of utilizing both of these "free" services on a daily basis and now my family of four will be incurring a significant cost increase. Write whatever you want about the fees being acceptable or not, but the way they were implemented?? 100% sneaky and dishonest.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I find it hard to believe a family of four would intend to dine at Alfredos and order room service every day on their cruise.

[LMaxwell]

I find it hard to believe a family of four would intend to dine at Alfredos and order room service every day on their cruise.

 

I don't find it hard to believe at all. Alfredo's is a casual Italian eatery, certainly suitable for lunch or dinner. Some people spend the entire cruise going to one specialty restaurant.

 

An afternoon room service order of snacks before dinner is a tradition with many people.

 

I have no trouble believing people would use room service and / or Alfredo's daily.

 

The point is that with a family of four, room service and Alfredo's has now gone from $0 to $43 per day. (one room service delivery, one trip of four people to Alfredo's). What I find hard to believe is that Princess thinks customers would see $301 worth of value over the course of a week in what was previously included with the fare.

[chamima]

I find it hard to believe a family of four would intend to dine at Alfredos and order room service every day on their cruise.

 

Can't answer as to Alfredos because it didn't exist when we cruised with our kids who are now in their 30s and 40s, but they ordered room service breakfast and a "getting dressed for dinner" snack every single day of our cruises with them!

[PescadoAmarillo]

I can't believe what I'm reading. Did you actually write that you "don't think the way they were implemented is a big deal"?? They told me both services were free, my printed documents regarding theses services say they are free...now that I am set to board in a few weeks I find out they are not. I had every intention of utilizing both of these "free" services on a daily basis and now my family of four will be incurring a significant cost increase. Write whatever you want about the fees being acceptable or not, but the way they were implemented?? 100% sneaky and dishonest.

 

 

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They told you to read the passage contract which lets them change things too. Honestly, for a family of 4, I can't imagine more than $100 extra cost, even if you dine at Alfredos twice. $100 on an entire vacation? If you're budgeted that closely, that's your mistake to begin with.

 

Really, folks, are your lives so perfectly controlled that this kind of change throws you into a tizzy? Because I'm envious, if that is the case. Hate to see reactions if a promised pension suddenly disappears, or something really major.

[Loonbeam]

Which is why I said "or some other service"

 

Since they don't charge for MDR breakfast the costs of doing som must be recovered somewhere else, either in the fare, which is inelastic, or onboard revenues, which are.

 

To put it another way, they need to see on average $X revenue per passenger at minimum. The question is how they get there when the fare doesn't cover it and you have hit the point you cannot reduce X much more.

 

If it gets to the point where ancialliary charges cannot get to X, then you will see a charge for the MDR. I hope it never gets to that point in my lifetime.

 

 

Most passengers eat breakfast.

 

No matter where they eat it (dining room, buffet, IC, room service) there is a cost for food and personnel.

 

To say that Princess needs to charge additional for room service is to say they also need to charge extra to eat in a dining room, buffet or IC as these also have food and personnel costs.

[Loonbeam]

The necessity factor is not there, but the pricing model is surprisingly similar (as it is at hotels).

 

Cruise lines actually have the worst of the leisure industry because unlike airlines and hotels they don't even have the option of walkups.

 

There are four factors in vacation pricing. Cost of provision, demand, perishability and competition.

 

Princess has some control of #1, Cost - except for fuel, they can control most operating costs down to a certain minimum. They need a captain for example and have to pay for the ship.

 

They have no control over #2, because as you pointed out, no one HAS to take a cruise, and there are lots of other options. Even worse, unlike the airlines, industry capacity is constantly increasing on many of the key routes, thus skewing the demand curve against them. Supply and demand 101 - absent any other factors, the more supply available in a given market, the lower that will be accepted as a price.

 

They have no control over #3, if a cabin sails empty, its empty and $0 revenue for the entire voyage, thus the impetus to fill at any cost, even though that lowers the demand curve for #2. This is a key point regarding airlines as well. Because airlines are seeing more of their revenues from getting those people who do fly to pay more fees, this reduces the impact of an empty seat. Thus, they can afford NOT to discount that last seat or two, which nudges the demand curve up slightly. Cruiselines have noticed this, and if they can get to a place where the revenue per sailed cabin offsets the yield management loss of filling that cabin cheap they will go that route as it conditions pax away from cheaper pricing.

 

#4 There is a big difference between cruise lines and airlines. Right now, competition is fairly differentiated, where airlines are fairly similar (legacy or budget). Cruise lines have different niche markets to a point, and this is what is saving their tails right now, as it keeps the competition in house (much less do I sail Princess or Carnival as "which princess ship should I sail". But there is definitely some feature competition. It's why RCCL can charge a premium for Oasis, as no other ship can offer what it does (agree with it or not, it works, that ship has some of the highest per cabin fares on the ocean).

 

#4 is why I think you see the move that Princess did. I am fairly certain that they expected to see higher cabin fares on the Royal and Regal than they got, to offset some of the higher operating costs of a larger ship and a venue like Alfredos. They didn't get it based on the fares I am seeing. In my book, the reason is that the ship design doesn't offer any compelling reason to choose them at a premium and in fact (remember I said internal competition is big!), pax are choosing older ships over her because of some of those design . So they are not getting the X revenue they wanted and are now looking at other options.

 

 

 

People fly because it is necessary (business reasons, funeral, etc.) or because it is the quickest or best way to get to a destination (Disney World, start of a cruise, holiday destination, etc.)

 

It is never necessary to take a cruise.

Edited May 25, 2014 by Loonbeam

[ggprincess2004]

They told you to read the passage contract which lets them change things too. Honestly, for a family of 4, I can't imagine more than $100 extra cost, even if you dine at Alfredos twice. $100 on an entire vacation? If you're budgeted that closely, that's your mistake to begin with.

 

Really, folks, are your lives so perfectly controlled that this kind of change throws you into a tizzy? Because I'm envious, if that is the case. Hate to see reactions if a promised pension suddenly disappears, or something really major.

 

I really think that what is getting a lot of us hot under the collar is the "bait and switch" that was pulled on the Regal sailing. No warning at all. When they took the free unlimited internet away from suites, they had an implementation date and honored the "free unlimited" on all bookings made prior to that date.

 

We are taking (I mean paying for) a group of nine family members to cruise Alaska for two weeks next May/June. I was planning on giving each of the (adult) kids a generous allowance for shore excursions, as well as enough on board credit to cover the auto-tips. Wes and I are going to treat to dinner at two specialty restaurants over the course of the cruise, and we'll foot the bill at cocktail hour up in the elite lounge. BUT - believe it or not this is big for us - my Dad doesn't just love pizza, he LOVES pizza, and I was looking forward to having a nice time in Alfredo's (on the Grand) whenever the mood struck him. With what we are already paying for on the cruise, it might seem like an additional $90 for the gang every other day is no big thing, but it will really add up!!! And we hate to see the kids have to shell out for room service on mornings with early port stops - but they are going to have to. Granted, $3 won't make or break their trip, but it is quite unexpected. So I am kind of fuming. It would be nice, if they "have to implement these fees" to do so with a publicized effective date, and honor pre-existing bookings. This was a case, with passengers on the Regal, of bait and switch. And for those not reading Cruise Critic, if there is not any broad notice given - hasn't been yet - it will be a shocker when it hits the other ships in the fleet.

 

In addition, it just adds to the sense of nickling and diming to death - the extra charge for soda mixers in drinks??? Please! Just that sort of thing.

[24639]

I would be exceptionally surprised if every passenger on a ship ordered room service once per day, every day. I think on our 11 day partial we did it, once, maybe twice.

 

More realistically - 3200 pax at $3 on average 2x per cruise - $19,200 - but I think I am being very aggressive in that since there will be a charge, I think that number will drop sharply- maybe to as little as 2000 deliveries per cruise, or less.

 

I'll see if I can find out a typical number of deliveries on a given cruise, not sure if they have that data, since pre-charge I am not sure room service was always entered into the accounting system.

 

I was thinking along those same lines. My parents have been on way more cruises than I have and have never once ordered room service, nor would they consider it. My son and I, on the other hand, order mint tea, coffee rolls, juice, etc. every morning and consider it a necessary part of our cruising experience. The only thing I am going to reconsider is if I will spring for a coffee card on my next cruise if I am going to have to pay extra for the swill in the carafe to be delivered. I usually spike it with some instant Starbucks to make it palatable then go to the IC after the fog clears. I will still tip the RS guys/gals extra in cash. It will be a wash for Princess if I go this route, but the tip pool will lose the service charge from the coffee card.

[stoneharborlady]

Can't answer as to Alfredos because it didn't exist when we cruised with our kids who are now in their 30s and 40s, but they ordered room service breakfast and a "getting dressed for dinner" snack every single day of our cruises with them!

 

Never sailed a ship with Alfredos, looking at the menu I think I would prefer Pregos pizza on deck, but our cabin of three had coffee and a roll from room service EVERY morning, and a sandwich before bed from room service four nights out of seven every cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

I don't find it hard to believe at all. Alfredo's is a casual Italian eatery, certainly suitable for lunch or dinner. Some people spend the entire cruise going to one specialty restaurant.

 

An afternoon room service order of snacks before dinner is a tradition with many people.

 

I have no trouble believing people would use room service and / or Alfredo's daily.

 

The point is that with a family of four, room service and Alfredo's has now gone from $0 to $43 per day. (one room service delivery, one trip of four people to Alfredo's). What I find hard to believe is that Princess thinks customers would see $301 worth of value over the course of a week in what was previously included with the fare.

 

you're probably jumping the gun on the $43 (unless all four in your cabin are adults) We need all the details on the charge as it's currently being reported that $10 includes a glass of wine, so highly doubtful the $10 will apply to kids.

[LMaxwell]

you're probably jumping the gun on the $43 (unless all four in your cabin are adults) We need all the details on the charge as it's currently being reported that $10 includes a glass of wine, so highly doubtful the $10 will apply to kids.

 

So let's eliminate the kids entirely from the equation.

 

If it just two adults what cost $0 now costs $161. That's based on one room service delivery per day and one trip to Alfredo's per day for two adults.

 

My wife does not drink wine or consume alcohol. If the cost is to offset a $9 glass of wine...will they charge her $1 for the meal? I doubt that strenuously.