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

[caribill]

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.

 

I do not drink wine either, but I am not a kid and I expect I will be paying the $10 charge for an included glass of water (with free refills).

[Cruise Junky]

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.

 

Yes it does. I'm not defending them, just saying wait and see the full policy especially how it applies to kids and non drinkers

[LMaxwell]

Yes it does. I'm not defending them, just saying wait and see the full policy especially how it applies to kids and non drinkers

Slice, dice, chop, spin it any way you want; what used to cost $0 is now going to cost real money. I don't for a second thing Princess will subtract $9 out of a $10 cover if the person does not want wine, for the wording does not say WINE included, it just says BEVERAGE included. Not all beverages are $9. But also not everyone wants to drink corn syrup sugar water. Plain old water is fine. What then?

[shredie]

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.

 

Childish? Interesting way to put it. Someone offers a product or service at no additional cost, and then when the customer arrives to collect, the vendor says "Pay up. We changed our minds." There are people in line behind this customer who hear this and declare they are not going to pay for any of it and go home. I find it hard to believe that even a child would jump and down and say, "Oh goody goody! I get to pay for the free stuff, too!" The apologists for this Princes bait and switch scheme puzzle me no end. I guess some people like to be told an untruth.

[Cruise Junky]

Slice, dice, chop, spin it any way you want; what used to cost $0 is now going to cost real money. I don't for a second thing Princess will subtract $9 out of a $10 cover if the person does not want wine, for the wording does not say WINE included, it just says BEVERAGE included. Not all beverages are $9. But also not everyone wants to drink corn syrup sugar water. Plain old water is fine. What then?

 

I didn't disagree that yes it will now cost. I just said wait to see the actual policy before freaking out...oh wait, too late :eek:

[RDC1]

Childish? Interesting way to put it. Someone offers a product or service at no additional cost, and then when the customer arrives to collect, the vendor says "Pay up. We changed our minds." There are people in line behind this customer who hear this and declare they are not going to pay for any of it and go home. I find it hard to believe that even a child would jump and down and say, "Oh goody goody! I get to pay for the free stuff, too!" The apologists for this Princes bait and switch scheme puzzle me no end. I guess some people like to be told an untruth.

 

Somewhat of a difference. The changes are on optional items that one does not have to use. The level of the changes are relatively minor in terms of the overall cost (not material so to speak). A similar example would be if you had tickets to a Disney theme park and found out that they had raised food prices since your last visit. You might decide not to visit in the future, but you have the option to buy or not to buy the food during your current visit. Bottom line is if the service is not worth the cost then don't spend the money, your choice.

 

Would be a different story if they said that they were adding a $3 dollar daily service fee to your bill to cover room service and you did not have a choice (oh wait that it what some hotels do with they resort fees).

[shredie]

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.

 

 

For some people, $100 is a lot of money. Yes, they tell you in the fine print that things could change, but sometimes they tell you about the change BEFORE you board the ship. It may be only $100 to some people, but what if they decide to increase the already-paid fare by half AFTER you board? Perhaps those who object to that can jump overboard. It would be their own mistake, after all, by budgeting that closely.

[caribill]

Somewhat of a difference. The changes are on optional items that one does not have to use.

 

These items were not optional but were included until the new charges were added.

 

I guess you could say if they added a daily charge to eat in the main dining room it could then be also considered an optional item.

[4cats4me]

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 respectfully disagree. For me it is an economical Decision versus a childish one. I was figuring on going at least 3-4 times for our next cruise. $30 for 3 of us each time, $120. No. We have budgeted for excursions, et ct, and Alaskan excursions can be pricy, so this just means we won't go to Alfredo's if they implement the $10 charge on the Grand.

Edited May 25, 2014 by 4cats4me

[insidecabin]

Going to run out of cruise lines to trust at this rate.

 

No advanced warning means even the late bookers get caught.

 

As with the X messing about with the drink packages s this is likely to conflict with consumer laws in europe and some states in the US.

 

Problem is we now have to print off all the paperwork for our bookings just in case so we can get the charges removed should they appear.

 

This is what it says is included for our cruise(I left some out like the entertainment).

 

Anytime Dining or Traditional Dining(breakfast, lunch & dinner) with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Anytime Dining is not available on Dawn, Sea, and Sun Princess (while sailing in Australia), Ocean, or Pacific Princess.

 

Room Service (24 hours)

 

Casual Dining Venues with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Vines Wine & Seafood Bar & specialty drinks at the International Café

 

 

Beverages (Iced Tea, Lemonade, Water, Tea varieties, Non- Specialty Coffee) with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Sodas, Alcoholic Beverages

 

Specialty Restaurants (including Chef's Table)Additional Fees May

Apply

 

Balcony Dining (breakfast & dinner only)Additional Fees May Apply

 

Suite passengers - enjoy complimentary laundry and dry cleaning

 

 

http://www.princess.com/html/global/book/popups/included/

Edited May 25, 2014 by insidecabin

[FritzG]

These items were not optional but were included until the new charges were added.

 

I guess you could say if they added a daily charge to eat in the main dining room it could then be also considered an optional item.

 

You're correct! What someone considers optional could be a big deal for others. I don't swim so I guess I should be in favor of a fee for using the pool? We never watch a movie in the theatre so should I think other passengers should pay an extra fee? One of the joys of cruising is that there are so many activities offered as part of the cruise fare, and I hate to see those things become a menu of extra cost items.

 

In addition the way this was done with no advance notice was terrible PR. Can you imagine checking into a hotel and being told that many of the features that were supposed to be included now have an extra charge? Or going to an all inclusive resort and finding new unannounced fees?

[Astro Flyer]

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:

 

This is why Princess' reasoning for their changes is contradictory. They say the $10 fee for Alfredo's Pizzeria is to reduce crowds yet the $3 per person room service fee will increase crowds at the HC & IC. Which is it Princess??? :confused: You're talking out of both sides of the mouth & your excuse is contradictory. :rolleyes:

Edited May 25, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[umuva]

We were on Royal in Feb and were charged the $10 pp in Alfredo's. Personally I enjoyed it $10 worth.

 

We were on The Royal New Years and in April. Ate in Alfredo's many times and were never charged and neither were our friends who traveled with us.

[wilfros]

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.

 

"That'll be 33 dollars thank you. OH don't forget to tip the room service staff, we all know this isn't for them don't we ;););)"

 

Being the class act that we passengers are, who could really sit there and watch this hard working person deliver this and NOT TIP???

 

"It has been a pleasure serving you and Princess REALLY APPRECIATES your understanding" (they just don't have any understanding and consideration of their own, and this policy implementation demonstrates that they now lack class).

[RDC1]

These items were not optional but were included until the new charges were added.

 

I guess you could say if they added a daily charge to eat in the main dining room it could then be also considered an optional item.

 

They are optional you do not have to use room service, you do not have to go to Alfredo's. If they had said that everyone now must pay a room service charge per day if they used it or not then it would not be optional.

 

As far as your comparison to the main dining room. That is quite a bit different since that would remove the only sit down table service option, as compared to one of another for pay options. That would probably not be considered a minor change. But even there it would depend on if there was still an alternative free equivalent.

[RDC1]

Going to run out of cruise lines to trust at this rate.

 

No advanced warning means even the late bookers get caught.

 

As with the X messing about with the drink packages s this is likely to conflict with consumer laws in europe and some states in the US.

 

Problem is we now have to print off all the paperwork for our bookings just in case so we can get the charges removed should they appear.

 

This is what it says is included for our cruise(I left some out like the entertainment).

 

Anytime Dining or Traditional Dining(breakfast, lunch & dinner) with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Anytime Dining is not available on Dawn, Sea, and Sun Princess (while sailing in Australia), Ocean, or Pacific Princess.

 

Room Service (24 hours)

 

Casual Dining Venues with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Vines Wine & Seafood Bar & specialty drinks at the International Café

 

 

Beverages (Iced Tea, Lemonade, Water, Tea varieties, Non- Specialty Coffee) with the following exceptions: Exceptions: Sodas, Alcoholic Beverages

 

Specialty Restaurants (including Chef's Table)Additional Fees May

Apply

 

Balcony Dining (breakfast & dinner only)Additional Fees May Apply

 

Suite passengers - enjoy complimentary laundry and dry cleaning

 

 

http://www.princess.com/html/global/book/popups/included/

 

I doubt very much that this would conflict even with European consumer laws because the services are optional and would probably be considered to be not material to the overall contents and value of the cruise.

 

Also have you tried calling Princess and asked to cancel your cruise and get a refund because of the changes. Which by the way are only on the one ship at this time. If you can cancel and choose not to, then I don't think the consumer laws would apply.

 

Also Alfredo's is a specialty dining venue even if they chose not to charge for it in the past. So your only possibility is the 3 dollar room service charge. Good luck with that.

Edited May 25, 2014 by RDC1

[RDC1]

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.

 

As far as the second NCL, RCI and Carnival have moved in this direction making some entertainment with added charges.

[wilfros]

"That'll be 33 dollars thank you. OH don't forget to tip the room service staff, we all know this isn't for them don't we ;););)"

 

Being the class act that we passengers are, who could really sit there and watch this hard working person deliver this and NOT TIP???

 

"It has been a pleasure serving you and Princess REALLY APPRECIATES your understanding" (they just don't have any understanding and consideration of their own, and this policy implementation demonstrates that they now lack class).

 

"We, here at Princess HQ, have just come to the realization that you have 3 people in the room thus the charge on your tab will be 99 dollars rather than the 33 we all agreed to earlier"

[wilfros]

As far as the second NCL, RCI and Carnival have moved in this direction making some entertainment with added charges.

 

That isn't the point. How did these cruise lines introduce the new changes??? There in lines the whole problem

[RDC1]

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

 

Where on your documents does it say Alfredo's is free? Alfredo's is a specialty Restaurant which the paperwork says may have fee's. Now in the past they did not implement a fee, but the fact that it may now have one certainly fits in paperwork.

 

Now you might have a complaint concerning room service.

[mysaddlebred000]

We really don't know yet if this will really happen. Some of you said you would not mind paying the $3 room service charge if you are allowed to order from the MDR menu. Great - that means another suite perk is gone. I only book suites because we like to relax by ourselves and enjoy our balcony. We order coffee in the morning before heading to breakfast in Sabitini's. Around 1:00 we order something small from room service. Then our afternoon treats come and maybe something before dinner. I am a very generous tipper - even when they change out the fruit. I also like to order MDR dinner about half the time. I like things hot and have learned to order by courses so that is at least three orders from room service and again, I tip each time. IF I have to pay $3 each time which might amount to 6 deliveries per day plus tips - no way!!! Our last cruise was a month in the grand suite which ran over $700 per day and since we had the dining room, we ordered dinner for up to eight people at least a dozen times. If this $3 is a per person charge, we might as well make them balcony dinners or will they increase that price also? I think suites pay more than their share. We paid $1200 a day for our OS on the Royal over New Years. I have several cruises booked so I will be keeping a close eye on this.

[RDC1]

That isn't the point. How did these cruise lines introduce the new changes??? There in lines the whole problem

 

Cruise lines raise prices and make changes all of the time. Alfredo's is a specialty restaurant which Princess has always said might have additional fees. Just as the IC has charges on some items.

 

The way they handled room service is a bit more problematic, but as of this time we can now consider ourselves informed.

 

Those prior to their cancel dates can easily cancel if the $3 charge is sufficient to change their purchase decision. Those after the cancel date that feel so putout should certainly call Princess and request to cancel due to the change if they feel the change is material to what they perceive is the value.

 

I, myself, will just not use either of these optional services. If the change results in unfavorable experiences due to crowds at the HC or IC then I might reconsider my future cruise decisions. If they had made these such that I did not have the option to avoid them then I would feel differently.

 

I cruise on several different lines. I make my decision based upon the overall value. Princess is still on of the best in the cost/benefit area.

[RDC1]

We really don't know yet if this will really happen. Some of you said you would not mind paying the $3 room service charge if you are allowed to order from the MDR menu. Great - that means another suite perk is gone. I only book suites because we like to relax by ourselves and enjoy our balcony. We order coffee in the morning before heading to breakfast in Sabitini's. Around 1:00 we order something small from room service. Then our afternoon treats come and maybe something before dinner. I am a very generous tipper - even when they change out the fruit. I also like to order MDR dinner about half the time. I like things hot and have learned to order by courses so that is at least three orders from room service and again, I tip each time. IF I have to pay $3 each time which might amount to 6 deliveries per day plus tips - no way!!! Our last cruise was a month in the grand suite which ran over $700 per day and since we had the dining room, we ordered dinner for up to eight people at least a dozen times. If this $3 is a per person charge, we might as well make them balcony dinners or will they increase that price also? I think suites pay more than their share. We paid $1200 a day for our OS on the Royal over New Years. I have several cruises booked so I will be keeping a close eye on this.

 

Did it not occur to you that the way you use room service (splitting one meal into several different room service orders) might be exactly the behavior they are trying to stop. Great for you, very very labor intensive for the ship.

[Woobstr112G]

This is why Princess' reasoning for their changes is contradictory. They say the $10 fee for Alfredo's Pizzeria is to reduce crowds yet the $3 per person room service fee will increase crowds at the HC & IC. Which is it Princess??? :confused: You're talking out of both sides of the mouth & your excuse is contradictory. :rolleyes:

 

Agreed.....:):):)

 

Bob

[RDC1]

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.

 

#4 Larger ships are actually more efficient to operate on a per passenger basis. That is why cruiselines are going larger in ship size. A larger ship has significantly lower fixed prices per passenger then a small ship does.