Carnival to charge for all room service!

[knight2096]

This is disgusting for Carnival to do, PERIOD!

[mkmaj]

IMO the crappy thing is how they're doing it. 

 

After we booked and paid for our cruises (in July for us) they can't raise the rates. However, it's somehow ok to raise price or change just a lot that was in the original price of our cruise fare and extras. We prepayed gratuities, purchased social media package, Cheers, FTTF, and made reservations for the Chef's table. Some of these we got in before the price hikes/ changes and some we didn't. 

 

I don't care about room service but I do care that Carnival doesn't seem to be give a crap about honoring what people thought they were buying. Not grandfathering people in that have already booked and paid for their cruises - for MANY things, not just one or two is just shady. That is the reason that I will think twice before booking again.

 

 

 

[les37b]

11 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

Why would you tip less?  If $4 is going to keep you from cruising, you need to rethinking your priorities

 

 

Thats $4 per item, per person, per order, each day.

 

If you are offering to foot the total bill, I'll be happy to stump up that single $4 you claim is all it is. I'll even throw in a new set of pom poms for you.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by les37b

[Retired_to_Cruise]

21 hours ago, bigdog1958 said:

Glad you speak for everyone on cruise critic, that my comment is not helpful...  Thank you for speaking for everyone...

Show me where I said  "everyone on cruise critic". I never said that, nor did I ever say that I was "speaking for everyone". Those accusations by you shows a "slight" amount of your disingenuous posting positioning.      

[Rudyard]

13 hours ago, kruisinkris said:

Oh, well. I might still use room service even though a charge for it will sorely rankle my thrifty soul. But if I'm paying for it, tips will be smaller. 

 

 

While it doesn't bother me I can see where others might be upset by the change, but please don't punish the person delivering your order. He had nothing to do with this decision. 

[rolloman]

11 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I guess I just don’t get why everyone is losing their mind over this! I mean, really?? It will ruin your cruise if you have to pay for room service when there is plenty of food up on deck? As far as late night, there has been a charge for food for quite some time, and that’s the only time I could see ordering anything, other than some coffee in morning, because there really isn’t anything besides pizza 24 hours. But this is an expected change. With every cruise line around Carnival charging for room service, it was a given that they would soon follow. I don’t see it as anything to cancel your cruise over, or change to another cruise line (which will also charge you for room service) Get a grip everyone. 

Because it is a trend..... the cheapening of the cruise experience is at a rapid pace. You can try to break this down into a single event but most long time cruisers are wise enough to understand what has been happening over the years. Historically The cruise lines bend until they see a breaking point. Therefore it is important for cruisers to voice their opinion on issues which matter to them. 

[grandmarnnurse]

9 minutes ago, rolloman said:

Because it is a trend..... the cheapening of the cruise experience is at a rapid pace. You can try to break this down into a single event but most long time cruisers are wise enough to understand what has been happening over the years. Historically The cruise lines bend until they see a breaking point. Therefore it is important for cruisers to voice their opinion on issues which matter to them. 

And as a “long time cruiser” myself, I have seen MANY of my perks disappear, as mentioned previously, such as all the complimentary cocktail parties with appetizers and midnight buffets, along with little things, such as chocolate on the pillow and table cloths, but I am not going to let it ruin my vacation. There is no amount of “voicing your opinion “ on this matter that will change Carnival’s mind, as they watch the trend on all other ships, along with their bottom line, and proceed from there. So, yes, you can tell Carnival you are unhappy with the decision, but it won’t change anything, but create a whole lot of drama. 

[grandmarnnurse]

32 minutes ago, Rudyard said:

 

While it doesn't bother me I can see where others might be upset by the change, but please don't punish the person delivering your order. He had nothing to do with this decision. 

Yes, this is so true. Why skimp the waiter on their tip, just because you are angry with the having to pay for your food. That’s just insane. They had nothing to do with price on food, so why punish them? I just shake my head at some of the entitled comments on here. 

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, rolloman said:

Because it is a trend..... the cheapening of the cruise experience is at a rapid pace. You can try to break this down into a single event but most long time cruisers are wise enough to understand what has been happening over the years. Historically The cruise lines bend until they see a breaking point. Therefore it is important for cruisers to voice their opinion on issues which matter to them. 

 

Long time cruisers see other things too. Not all of it is the sky is falling. Some changes were good. Overall, cruising is more accessible than it used to be. There's a reason why it has grown into a larger business. No amount of tablecloths can change that.

[Drazil65]

15 hours ago, kruisinkris said:

Oh, well. I might still use room service even though a charge for it will sorely rankle my thrifty soul. But if I'm paying for it, tips will be smaller. 

 

I just thought of a plus to their new, stupid, misguided policy. Why book and pay for a balcony if I'm having to bring food down from the buffet or pay extra to enjoy it on the balcony. Maybe I'll just go back to getting an outside (window) cabin …. or even an INSIDE cabin.  How do you like THAT, Carnival??!!! (I know. They don't care. I was just venting.)

 

Wow...vent away, if you do not want to pay for room service then dont.  I personally only use it for morning carafe of coffee and pastries to enjoy the sunrise on my balcony and I will continue to do that (yes I know continental breakfast still no charge but the charge is irrelevant to me).  The sun will still rise and I will still be up early (early riser) and I will put the CCL robe (or not) on to enjoy the ocean air in private on our balcony with my carafe of coffee with DH.  I am still not at home or work.  It is clear that many of the people complaining or "venting" should probably move on from cruising, it obvious it does not work for them any longer.  It is bad enough on these forums but a lot of these same people complain while on the cruise as well, nothing like sitting next to THAT person while on vacation (we just got back from a cruise the week before Christmas and heard people complaining about everything, obvious that complaining is their thing in life)...move on people!

Edited January 5, 2019 by Drazil65

[rukkian]

1 minute ago, Drazil65 said:

 

Wow...vent away, if you do not want to pay for room service then dont.  I personally only use it for morning carafe of coffee and pastries to enjoy the sunrise on my balcony and I will continue to do that (yes I know continental breakfast still no charge but the charge is irrelevant to me).  The sun will still rise and I will still be up early (early riser) and I will put the CCL robe (or not) on to enjoy the ocean air in private on our balcony with my carafe of coffee with DH.  I am still not at home or work.  It is clear that many of the people complaining or "venting" should probably move on from cruising, it obvious it does not work for them any longer.  It is bad enough on these forums but a lot of these same people complain while on the cruise as well, nothing like sitting next to THAT person while on vacation...move on people!

While I don't use room service, I don't understand this mentality.  If somebody says they don't like a change they should never cruise again?  Who are you to say this?  Let people vent.  This is a discussion forum, and I don't remember a rule that says only positive posts about carnival are allowed.    I fully understand people that booked and fully paid with the expectation that room service was included.  I'm, carnival should give people back their deposit if this pisses them off enough.  When the terms change after you sign, then you should have some amount of time to get out of said contract.

[Drazil65]

2 minutes ago, rukkian said:

While I don't use room service, I don't understand this mentality.  If somebody says they don't like a change they should never cruise again?  Who are you to say this?  Let people vent.  This is a discussion forum, and I don't remember a rule that says only positive posts about carnival are allowed.    I fully understand people that booked and fully paid with the expectation that room service was included.  I'm, carnival should give people back their deposit if this pisses them off enough.  When the terms change after you sign, then you should have some amount of time to get out of said contract.

 

LOL...if you read the context completely, I referred to people (anyone) that continue to complain and bash something that obviously does not work for them any longer.  Face it, there are people in the world that wake up everyday just to complain about everything when the fact is, most people can change whatever it is they do not like...turn the channel junior!

 

Things change, if the room service change is enough to make you not want to cruise if you had known about the change prior to booking, then again...probably need to move on from cruising cuz change is always possible when you book (especially early) and it is clearly stated in the CCL cruise contract.    

[les37b]

12 minutes ago, rukkian said:

While I don't use room service, I don't understand this mentality.  If somebody says they don't like a change they should never cruise again?  Who are you to say this?  Let people vent.  This is a discussion forum, and I don't remember a rule that says only positive posts about carnival are allowed.    I fully understand people that booked and fully paid with the expectation that room service was included.  I'm, carnival should give people back their deposit if this pisses them off enough.  When the terms change after you sign, then you should have some amount of time to get out of said contract.

 

My thoughts also.

 

if someone has paid in full for something they are quite entitled to have a moan when they get told they are being dollared. (You can really call this nickel and diming since it’s considerably more.) lol It’s not something that affects me. In all my cruises, I’ve only ever ordered breakfast in the suite on 2 occasions. That said, if I was expected to pay $4 for each item on my full English breakfast plate, the pastries, toast, fruit and juice, then they could whistle for it. Why charge each item? Are they having to make individual journeys for each?  And a tip on top too? What exactly is the “service charge” for? That all goes to the crew doesn’t it? Oh wait......

 

Anyway, I’m pretty sure most of those throwing the insults to those complaining,  probably  would still say their cruise was fantastic if they were confined to the cabin with Noro. As long as they’d still got their Pom poms, it’ll be alright. 

[glittergal1]

My Issue is that when we booked carnival the room service was Free , this I thought was great as many other cruise lines charge so getting it Free was a bonus and swayed the idea of trying Carnival for the first time.

Carnival ARE STILL ADVERTISING IT AS FREE ON THEIR WEBSITE.   so for anyone booking now they are being totally conned !!!!

If when we were booking  we were told of the change we could have decided to book or not , Now we are just NOT getting what we thought we had booked

So thats my issue 

It would be like purchasing a table with chairs where the chairs came free  when you ordered them , only to be told just before delivery that No now you had to pay a small fee of $5 a chair , would you be happy ??? no I dont think so 

 

 

[Ducman]

27 minutes ago, glittergal1 said:

It would be like purchasing a table with chairs where the chairs came free  when you ordered them , only to be told just before delivery that No now you had to pay a small fee of $5 a chair , would you be happy ???

 

<sarcasm>

Don't give them the idea.  Cha-Ching - $5 bucks a chair.   ($10 by the pool) 

 

Some will say Why don't you get a grip, the sky isn't falling,  some will tell you that they don't use them, and others will tell you to open your wallet and don't be cheap. 😀

</sarcasm>

Edited January 5, 2019 by Ducman

[DramaQueen22]

I find it ironic that people will spend $60 a day per person for the Cheers package, but then complain about a nominal charge for room service.   Unless you are someone who orders an entire meal from RS every single day, these charges are small.  If the charges bother you so much, then don't order RS, or seek out the free options that are readily available all over the ship.  

[FlatlandDave]

21 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

The second issue here is what I’ve tried to address with Carnival. This is the second year in a row I’ve had amenities decreased and prices increased right before I cruise (and after final payment is due).

 

I fully understand they can charge whatever they want, and that the entire industry is moving towards a more a la carte experience. I just wish they provided more notice, and made changes less frequently. 

 

I’m not going to yell out “never again” when it comes to cruising with Carnival. They are still cheaper and more inclusive than most. But...

 

1) I am more motivated to try another cruise line. Since they are coming more in line with the rest of the industry, I have less motivation to be loyal. 

 

2) I will not book a cruise with Carnival this far in advance (1 year) ever again. I’ll wait until much closer so that I’ve got a better chance of my terms of purchase matching the product I receive. 

 

 

One one thing I’ve noticed, is that both John Heald and the Carnival social media pages keep mentioning they will give our feedback to he higher ups. John Heald said they would be meeting about the issue Monday. Does anyone have any clue what type of response Carnival may have?

 

I don’t anticipate a withdrawal of the change, but does anyone think they might try offering some sort of positive change to make up for all the negative responses? 

Doubtful , when the personal vacation planner called me to try to sell me another cruise ( no let me finish this one and we will see what we think after that ) and I voiced my concerns. The spin they were putting on it was is that Carnival is trying to reduce waste and be more green and in the long run it will benefit the customer.   I just got off the website and room service is still being touted as "included" from 6 AM to 10 PM. They are a major player and had reported revenues for all of CCL to the tune of 17.5 billion in 2017. I would think they just might have a I.T. guy to update things in a timely manner?

Edited January 5, 2019 by FlatlandDave
i cant type!

[Lil2Angelic]

20 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

 

The second issue here is what I’ve tried to address with Carnival. This is the second year in a row I’ve had amenities decreased and prices increased right before I cruise (and after final payment is due).

 

I fully understand they can charge whatever they want, and that the entire industry is moving towards a more a la carte experience. I just wish they provided more notice, and made changes less frequently. 

 

I’m not going to yell out “never again” when it comes to cruising with Carnival. They are still cheaper and more inclusive than most. But...

 

1) I am more motivated to try another cruise line. Since they are coming more in line with the rest of the industry, I have less motivation to be loyal. 

 

2) I will not book a cruise with Carnival this far in advance (1 year) ever again. I’ll wait until much closer so that I’ve got a better chance of my terms of purchase matching the product I receive. 

 

 

One one thing I’ve noticed, is that both John Heald and the Carnival social media pages keep mentioning they will give our feedback to he higher ups. John Heald said they would be meeting about the issue Monday. Does anyone have any clue what type of response Carnival may have?

 

I don’t anticipate a withdrawal of the change, but does anyone think they might try offering some sort of positive change to make up for all the negative responses? 

 

[Lil2Angelic]

For anybody that has contacted Carnival regarding this room service issue, I would really like to hear Carnival's response to your concerns. 

[Indytraveler83]

Just now, Lil2Angelic said:

For anybody that has contacted Carnival regarding this room service issue, I would really like to hear Carnival's response to your concerns. 

 

The responses I got were something to the order of “Your concerns will be passed along to our management team, we appreciate the feedback.”

 

In the last few days, it appears they have shifted to a PR statement about going green, and trying to include the new LNG ship as evidence towards it. 

[sanmarcosman]

11 minutes ago, FlatlandDave said:

 I would think they just might have a I.T. guy to update things in a timely manner?

They laid off their in house IT department and shipped the jobs overseas to save a buck or two. We are left with the end result.

I read your other post about your experiences with your PVP. I explained to my PVP from the git go that I need them mostly as an order taker and to be an advocate for me if something goes south with the reservation. I said I did not want to receive sales calls. Not once in 5 years have I received a sales call. Some PVPs will work on this basis but I've read here others will not or they "forget" and call you anyway because you show up in their TK file of their sales program. Good luck.

Edited January 5, 2019 by sanmarcosman

[bury me at sea]

21 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

...

I don’t anticipate a withdrawal of the change, but does anyone think they might try offering some sort of positive change to make up for all the negative responses? 

 

Based on experience I sincerely doubt it.  Based on Carnival's statement of about 18 months ago, it is more interested in attracting new customers than in retaining existing ones.

 

New ones don't realize that the package they agree to buy is not necessarily the package Carnival agrees to deliver.

[Aquahound]

27 minutes ago, Indytraveler83 said:

I’m not going to yell out “never again” when it comes to cruising with Carnival. They are still cheaper and more inclusive than most. But...

 

That's the key right there.  You see it time and time again on these boards.  "Carnival is the best bang for the buck."  "Carnival is always less expensive than the others."  So on an so forth.  Well what do people expect?  Booking prices are the same as 20 years ago.  For that to exist, something has got to give.  And as time goes on, for those prices to continue, things are going to continue to give.

 

But I am curious about the second part of your comment.  How do you figure Carnival is more inclusive than "most"?  

[Indytraveler83]

1 minute ago, Aquahound said:

 

That's the key right there.  You see it time and time again on these boards.  "Carnival is the best bang for the buck."  "Carnival is always less expensive than the others."  So on an so forth.  Well what do people expect?  Booking prices are the same as 20 years ago.  For that to exist, something has got to give.  And as time goes on, for those prices to continue, things are going to continue to give.

 

But I am curious about the second part of your comment.  How do you figure Carnival is more inclusive than "most"?  

 

I say “most” because if I say “all” someone will prove me wrong. It all depends too on what extras are important to you. It used to be that Carnival was definitely more inclusive. 

 

But it at this point, drink packages on Carnival aren’t particularly competitive and while room service items can be had for $2-4, if you order meals and not just a single item, it would be cheaper to go with RCI at $7.99 per visit. 

 

By by no means am I saying tha Carnival is suddenly more expensive than everyone but I also firmly believe they are no longer hands down the cheapest and most budget friendly line. 

 

They are are betting they can bring prices more in line with RCI and NCL, and that their product will still remain competitive. 

 

The sudden and rapid build of new mega ships, combined with the added a la carte items shows a change in philosophy. 

[golfb4cruzing]

2 hours ago, Ducman said:

 

<sarcasm>

Don't give them the idea.  Cha-Ching - $5 bucks a chair.   ($10 by the pool) 

 

Some will say Why don't you get a grip, the sky isn't falling,  some will tell you that they don't use them, and others will tell you to open your wallet and don't be cheap. 😀

</sarcasm>

This already happens on Princess in their "Sanctuary". It can get pricey for a full day in your guarded lounger.