PAYING for Pizza in Sorrento’s

[Engineroom Snipe]

4 hours ago, nferr said:

Everybody is an expert on here. RCL will continue to raise prices and cut things until it starts to affect revenue. They certainly haven't seen that yet. The ships are running at capacity and they claim future bookings and pricing are strong. That's the way capitalism works. If a change starts to negatively impact the bottom line they'll reverse it. Not happening yet.

 

Your point is accurate but I personally feel that the grumblings you read on this website are precursors to longer range trends.

 

For instance, any price increases that RCI made from last year around September did not affect my four reserved cruises for the calendar year 2023 and 2024. Most repeat cruisers, especially many on this board, reserve two years ahead and have multiple cruises every year.

 

RCI will not see my lack of cruising until about 2025. So far, I have not booked any additional cruises for 2023 and 2024. I am looking for one more cruise in 2024 but I am waiting for better prices. If they do not occur, I will enjoy my one cruise next year and try others options with that money.

 

When you read from experienced cruisers that "I am looking for another cruise line or land vacation experience," my opinion is that RCI will not see the decrease in bookings until 2025.

 

So again, I stress, my humble opinion, RCI will have record bookings and capacity until around 2025 concerning many of the experienced posters on this board.

 

 

[Ocean Boy]

5 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Your point is accurate but I personally feel that the grumblings you read on this website are precursors to longer range trends.

 

For instance, any price increases that RCI made from last year around September did not affect my four reserved cruises for the calendar year 2023 and 2024. Most repeat cruisers, especially many on this board, reserve two years ahead and have multiple cruises every year.

 

RCI will not see my lack of cruising until about 2025. So far, I have not booked any additional cruises for 2023 and 2024. I am looking for one more cruise in 2024 but I am waiting for better prices. If they do not occur, I will enjoy my one cruise next year and try others options with that money.

 

When you read from experienced cruisers that "I am looking for another cruise line or land vacation experience," my opinion is that RCI will not see the decrease in bookings until 2025.

 

So again, I stress, my humble opinion, RCI will have record bookings and capacity until around 2025 concerning many of the experienced posters on this board.

 

 

I was looking for a second cruise for next spring as well as a winter cruise 2025. I'm not booking either at present pricing. For me it is not a matter of staying within a budget. I'm simply not booking if I don't feel that I'm getting good value for my money. Present pricing doesn't do it for me.

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/10/2023 at 10:22 AM, firefly333 said:

It's not even very good pizza. Carnival has their white pizza. All their pizza is hand made individual pizzas. I know there will be a few who say rcl pizza is fine, or they like it .. not up to my standards. I eat it once in a while because it's free. I sure wouldnt pay for it. Not how it is now. 

 

Carnival eats their lunch for fast food already. Let's bury rcl lol. 

No thanks! lol

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:39 PM, Ret MP said:

I haven't read every post, so if I'm repeating someone else's post/idea, so what!!!  LOL

 

I think  <that means that it is my opinion>  that Royal's Mother Ship has observed the lines, via many means, at Sorrento's and confused it with popularity, affirmation of wonderful taste, and quality.  However, again, I think it is an affirmation of "FREE", period, nothing else.   Don't get me wrong, I eat pizza at Sorrento's probably 2 times a day while on an RCCL ship.  But, what I really like is their marinated cheeses and olives.  Their pizza is less than average as far as I'm concerned.  I eat their pizza because it is free, convenient, and not terrible.  I usually special order with extra pepperoni and extra cheese and then pick off the pepperoni and cheese and throw away the rest.  

 

Having said that, the newbs who don't know any better will be willing to hand over their cash for the substandard pizza (and many other things as well), and then there are those that will just "turn the other cheek" and say/do nothing different, even defend it.  We wonder why there are so many adverse changes, that's one of many reasons why.  

 

I can tell you, on my next cruise, Jan 2024, I will make it a point to discuss many of these situations with management IF I am affected by them personally.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on one's view) I'm cruising Star and I won't be affected by the once-a-day cabin service, price of meals, and drinks.  But, if I notice that the specialty restaurants have downsized, lowered quality, and have fewer choices, I'll be vocal.  Also, my post-cruise survey will be a piece of art.  

 

 

Totally agree

[HBE4]

Because I like to play devils-advocate....

 

If I was a Royal executive reading this thread, I'd come to the conclusion that: A) Our pizza isn't great, B) A lot of people don't like it and C) People seem to have no issue eating it up as fast as we can make it a long as we give it away for free.

 

By charging for pizza, it'll offer the dual benefit of saving money by not giving away food to those that don't "like" it and making money off those that genuinely want it.  To a bean-counter, it's a no brainier of a decision.

 

The only real problem is that often times pizza is the only late night food option.  Makes me wonder if they'll replace it with a different late night option or not charge after a certain hour.

 

Having said all that,  as a passenger, I'm against the change though it probably wouldn't stop me from booking a cruise. I'd probably eat a little less when stumbling out of the casino bleary-eyed at 2 am.  I'd also be okay if the basic Sorrento's pizza remained free and they charge for a better quality specialty pizza.

[Mick B]

It doesn't surprise me one bit.

Again, I have been saying to my wife (even before the pandemic) that something has got to give on Royal's ships due to the ever increasing amount of C&A members being given things for free or at a large discount.

I was actually surprised after the pandemic when Royal changed the C&A drinks vouchers from the happy hour in the Diamond Lounge to what we have now. I wondered what would be taken away in return. I was expecting it to be scrapped and some sort of reboot instead.

 

Well, certain food in the MDR inc extra Lobster was of them. Now you have to pay for a second and thats only if its on the menu in the first place.

Now it looks like the Pizza at Sorrento's is probably going to be next. To some point it is a shame as sometimes both me and the wife pop in for a slice if we are hungry. However, I have witnessed people taking loads of pizza and then either leaving it on the table as they either could not eat it all, or some family member/friend came past and invited them to go and do something else with them and so the pizza is just left. Also seen loads of it left in the corridors outside cabins in the morning.

Perhaps either the servers could restrict portions to any one person when ordering or even better if they want to charge, then only do so during meals times ie. whilst the MDR is open, or from say 11am to 11pm and allow anyone who wants a midnight snack to have it for free, but again portion controlled. Maybe they'll let C&A members use one of their drinks vouchers for a slice! Sounds crazy, but have you seen whats been happening in the past few years everywhere?

 

More importantly, if food wastage is one of Royal's concerns for saving money (which is all good if it keeps the price of a cruise down) then perhaps they should go back to serving passengers in the Windjammer as yet again during my last couple of cruises I have witnessed people piling about 4 plates worth of food onto 1 plate and then leaving most of it. This is where the biggest food waste is.

 

It does make me wonder sometimes, given that you can have a good variety of stuff for breakfast, good variety of lunch options and a good choice of dinner, why people feel the need to take so much food at buffets and then leave it.

 

One thing I have noticed is that they still have a server at the Ice Cream machines outside instead of the old help yourself, but maybe the amount of Windjammer servers just took too many staff away from other things? Who knows!

 

Next, they will be limiting the amount of drinks you can have in one day with a UDP.

 

Then they will start to charge you for the best seats in the theatre, sorry doesn't the key do that? How long before the Bumper cars cost? or North Star (oops it sometimes does).

Glad I have done all these things when I was a bit younger and a bit fitter, No all I can manage is golf and even that has been removed from some ships to make way for expensive suites.

 

Sadly, the price for a cruise is not going to go down and will only go up along with everything else given the problems globally with interest rates, inflation and wage rises.

At the same time the things we got for free are slowly going to disappear or be drastically cut back.

I used to have 2 cruises a year, but this is the first year where I have only had one (other than 2020 when I had none due to you know what) and next year I have only one, but a 15 night TA on the Jewel and I plan to have another TA in 2025 once the new itinerary comes out later this year.

In a way I am lucky because I am Diamond Plus so don't have to buy any drinks as the 5 we get are more than enough. We no longer eat at Chops as we enjoy the MDR. We normally have an Interior (but not a GTY if I can avoid them), and I can take or leave pizza for snack as we get those snacks in the DL if peckish before dinner.

 

Anyway, for now, all these changes are not going to put me off cruising or change brand, but the cost of cruising has now started to make me look for 1 single big cruise a year instead of 2 smaller ones and have a city break instead. I know it won't make a difference to Royal as there are plenty others to fill the cabins, but it does make a difference to us.

 

One last thing I would like to know is this...

Does the fee apply to only the pizza from Sorrentos? Some ships do not have a Sorrentos, but serve pizza at other venues such as in the solarium. Is the pizza there going to be chargeable too or is it only going to be Sorrentos?

Only ask because when you have a late night dip (providing they haven't netted over the pool) then a nice slice is just the ticket last thing.

 

Mick.

 

 

 

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/14/2023 at 3:37 PM, ReneeFLL said:

I also will not ever pay for food. If the food continues to get worse in the MDR or the WJ, then we’re out. We will either find another cruise line or quit cruising. To many cuts and it’ll be a no go for us.

I started sailing RCCL in 2001. I joined CC in 2006 I think, I’m not on CC much, but I do remember seeing you here in the past. It’s regulars like you and me that Royal is driving away with their service cuts, price hikes, and fuzzy math. I see very few mega CC posters here anymore. Sad.  I’m booked on Oasis in Dec (we first sailed her in 2010) and there will be several 1st time cruisers with us. After reading this thread I am really fearful that I’ll be hanging my head in shame and apologizing a lot. Although I now book suites only and am D+ and I get more “freebies”/access than non-suite guests, I fear my cruising every year days are over. I haven’t booked for 2024 and am considering a European land-based trip with a few of my “I hate to cruise” friends next year. Going to watch my Commanders play in New Orleans in 2024 also which will affect my cruise decision as well. Won’t be any food complaints about charbroiled oysters in New Orleans, that’s for sure!

Edited August 16, 2023 by SailyaCruise

[SailyaCruise]

On 8/14/2023 at 4:58 PM, BND said:

A lot of JR's on land have closed.  All the VA locations have.  In the DC metro, the ones left are at FedEx field where the "Commanders'" play.  There are several there.  Otherwise, SIx Flags and a couple of outlet malls are other locations.   It's not a place that most people go to regularly.  They tend to be in touristy places or sports complexes.  

True. The one at Annapolis Mall is long gone and the ones in FedEx Field, home to the soon-to-be-NFL champs Commanders 🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡 don’t have chili fries😩😩😩

Edited August 16, 2023 by SailyaCruise

[GlasgowCruiser01]

It's almost impossible to find anything to eat for free beyond 9pm. The food has already been an issue for me in the last couple of years on Royal and this would be a terrible change, it's already difficult enough.

 

Jason Liberty really is the worst thing to happen to Royal.

[lenquixote66]

36 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Because I like to play devils-advocate....

 

If I was a Royal executive reading this thread, I'd come to the conclusion that: A) Our pizza isn't great, B) A lot of people don't like it and C) People seem to have no issue eating it up as fast as we can make it a long as we give it away for free.

 

By charging for pizza, it'll offer the dual benefit of saving money by not giving away food to those that don't "like" it and making money off those that genuinely want it.  To a bean-counter, it's a no brainier of a decision.

 

The only real problem is that often times pizza is the only late night food option.  Makes me wonder if they'll replace it with a different late night option or not charge after a certain hour.

 

Having said all that,  as a passenger, I'm against the change though it probably wouldn't stop me from booking a cruise. I'd probably eat a little less when stumbling out of the casino bleary-eyed at 2 am.  I'd also be okay if the basic Sorrento's pizza remained free and they charge for a better quality specialty pizza.

Would that be Pizza Hut ?

[The Fun Researcher]

Thinking about the this…

 

Once the buffet closes (which isn’t very late) many Royal ships ONLY have the complementary pizza and finger sandwiches to offer went out and about around the ship. Can you imagine having the only complementary offering being finger sandwiches in Cafe Promenade? The whole idea of this is ludicrous when you really think about what it would be like.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Just now, The Fun Researcher said:

Thinking about the this…

 

Once the buffet closes (which isn’t very late) many Royal ships ONLY have the complementary pizza and finger sandwiches to offer went out and about around the ship. Can you imagine having the only complementary offering being finger sandwiches in Cafe Promenade? The whole idea of this is ludicrous when you really think about what it would be like.

 

 

I'm amazed there is no sweet and salts area for snacking around til midnight near multiple bars.  It's CHEAP, it's easy, and it would make people wildly happy. 

[The Fun Researcher]

9 minutes ago, TwoMisfits said:

 

I'm amazed there is no sweet and salts area for snacking around til midnight near multiple bars.  It's CHEAP, it's easy, and it would make people wildly happy. 

True, forgot to mention  that there are always some dessert options in Cafe Promenade as well.  I didn't think of that because I'm not a dessert kind of guy, especially later in the evening.

 

Nothing really in the bars anymore as complimentary snacks. Some of the pubs offer a menu but it's not complimentary.

 

Still, can you imagine just finger sandwiches and some desserts?  Ludicrous.

[HicksRA]

On the President’s cruise, Bayley made the comment that Royal spends about a quarter billion dollars a year on food. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but should have known this was a hint on something that is heavy on their minds and a serious target for the number crunchers. 

[bstreep]

As I said earlier, NCL serves drinks and food 24 hours a day….  And the food is decent at midnight. 

[The Fun Researcher]

11 minutes ago, bstreep said:

As I said earlier, NCL serves drinks and food 24 hours a day….  And the food is decent at midnight. 

 

LOVED O-Sheehans.  It was amazing to have a complimentary full service restaurant 24 hours!  Absolutely awesome.

 

However there were many negatives to NCL...  Ship layout (especially pool deck) for one. Terrible. Still enjoyed our cruise.  Don't want to derail this thread though...

[Another_Critic]

9 hours ago, cublet said:

I don't eat pizza so I have no skin in the game to argue. However, this will only make sense to other Brits reading this, I would like to see, and happily pay to use, a branch of 'Greggs' on board.

 

Whenever possible I will select a med cruise that calls into Gibraltar outbound. That way I can call into Morrisons supermarket and stock-up on savoury bakery products for 'emergency' use on board when both WJ and MDR let me down.

Non-Brit here (although related to King Charles III  😄), but can relate.

 

I don't recall buying anything, but I did notice that Greggs was quite busy while I was browsing the shopping area across from Caerphilly Castle in May.

 

Several years ago I stopped for diesel at Morrisons and ventured into the store and bought some tasty pastries.  🙂

[Jjohnb]

On 8/10/2023 at 11:09 AM, HicksRA said:

Royal seems to be trying really hard to ruin their business. 
Between watered down meals, reduced cabin service, cutting most specialty dining food servings in half and all their other cutbacks, I’m about done with Royal. 
I’ve got one more cruise booked (Panama Canal in Oct) and I think it will be my last. (I know - nobody cares - just sayin). 

I agree with you, Jason Liberty is hell bent on destroying the incredible cruise line that Richard Fain spent 50 years building!  We just got off a 9 night sailing last week and all of the cost cutting was painfully obvious.  This is the first in almost 40 Royal cruises where I consistently left the dining room hungry.  The portions were ridiculously small and the quality of the food was terrible.  And before all those who have drunk the Kool Aid start asking why I didn't order multiple entrees, our poor waiter had so many tables to cover, literally he had about 30 entrees balanced on the serving cart and was running constantly to try to serve them all.  Related to Sorrentos Pizza, which was Royal's answer for late night snacks when they eliminated the mid-night buffet, it's ironic that they're thinking of charging for it considering they've cut costs there as well!  The pizza is now almost all crust, there is only a very small amount of sauce and cheese in the center, the outer 2-3 inches of crust has nothing.  At first I thought it was the person who made it but I tried about 3 pieces over the course of 9 nights and went a few other times and just passed because all the pizza looked just as bad and just wasn't worth the calories!  Royal, I believe is also slow rolling the making of pizza to discourage people from eating it.  Every time we went, no matter what time of day or night, there was always a long line.  Not because the pizza was so amazing, but because there was never more than 1 or 2 pies prepared at any given time and then it took them 5-10 minutes to throw a smidgen of sauce and cheese on a frozen pre-made crust and heat it!  I believe this was intentional as many people saw the line and after a couple days knew how slow they were and how bad the pizza was and just left.  So once again Royal has lowered the quality and is serving a lesser product and actually wants to start charging or charge more!  I guess this is what you get when you put a bean counter incharge of the company.  Jason Liberty was a senior manager at KPMG, for those that have never worked in public accounting, that equates to about 10 years experience out of college.  Royal then hired him to be CFO.  He didn't even have his MBA when they hired him, he got it while working as CFO.  When Richard Fain retired after Covid, Liberty was promoted to CEO.  He is a bean counter destroying a great company.  Carnival was once the giant of the cruise industry, Royal has now surpassed them in many ways, why?  because Carnival got greedy, they stopped developing new innovative ship designs (they were developing their own Oasis Class long before Royal and cancelled it due to cost), they stopped maintaining their ships, they were/are rust buckets constantly having mechanical issues, they were cutting costs everywhere, the quality of their food declined significantly... sound familiar?  The mistakes that Carnival made that allowed Royal to pass them by, arguably for good reason with innovative ship designs and great advertising, Royal (Jason Liberty) is now following in Carnival's footsteps and making the same mistakes.  As someone who has been a huge Royal fan for 40 years, it's said to see, it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  It may not happen instantly but the pent up Covid demand and dollars will dry up and people will be more selective where they spend their vacation dollars.  Given the current level of quality, service and pricing, will it be with Royal?    

[bstreep]

46 minutes ago, Jjohnb said:

I agree with you, Jason Liberty is hell bent on destroying the incredible cruise line that Richard Fain spent 50 years building!  We just got off a 9 night sailing last week and all of the cost cutting was painfully obvious.  This is the first in almost 40 Royal cruises where I consistently left the dining room hungry.  The portions were ridiculously small and the quality of the food was terrible.  And before all those who have drunk the Kool Aid start asking why I didn't order multiple entrees, our poor waiter had so many tables to cover, literally he had about 30 entrees balanced on the serving cart and was running constantly to try to serve them all.  Related to Sorrentos Pizza, which was Royal's answer for late night snacks when they eliminated the mid-night buffet, it's ironic that they're thinking of charging for it considering they've cut costs there as well!  The pizza is now almost all crust, there is only a very small amount of sauce and cheese in the center, the outer 2-3 inches of crust has nothing.  At first I thought it was the person who made it but I tried about 3 pieces over the course of 9 nights and went a few other times and just passed because all the pizza looked just as bad and just wasn't worth the calories!  Royal, I believe is also slow rolling the making of pizza to discourage people from eating it.  Every time we went, no matter what time of day or night, there was always a long line.  Not because the pizza was so amazing, but because there was never more than 1 or 2 pies prepared at any given time and then it took them 5-10 minutes to throw a smidgen of sauce and cheese on a frozen pre-made crust and heat it!  I believe this was intentional as many people saw the line and after a couple days knew how slow they were and how bad the pizza was and just left.  So once again Royal has lowered the quality and is serving a lesser product and actually wants to start charging or charge more!  I guess this is what you get when you put a bean counter incharge of the company.  Jason Liberty was a senior manager at KPMG, for those that have never worked in public accounting, that equates to about 10 years experience out of college.  Royal then hired him to be CFO.  He didn't even have his MBA when they hired him, he got it while working as CFO.  When Richard Fain retired after Covid, Liberty was promoted to CEO.  He is a bean counter destroying a great company.  Carnival was once the giant of the cruise industry, Royal has now surpassed them in many ways, why?  because Carnival got greedy, they stopped developing new innovative ship designs (they were developing their own Oasis Class long before Royal and cancelled it due to cost), they stopped maintaining their ships, they were/are rust buckets constantly having mechanical issues, they were cutting costs everywhere, the quality of their food declined significantly... sound familiar?  The mistakes that Carnival made that allowed Royal to pass them by, arguably for good reason with innovative ship designs and great advertising, Royal (Jason Liberty) is now following in Carnival's footsteps and making the same mistakes.  As someone who has been a huge Royal fan for 40 years, it's said to see, it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  It may not happen instantly but the pent up Covid demand and dollars will dry up and people will be more selective where they spend their vacation dollars.  Given the current level of quality, service and pricing, will it be with Royal?    

Well said.  I hope someone at RCCL reads this.  I’m seriously dreading our return trip to Vancouver on Royal on Friday.
 

I’m a career sales and marketing guy.  It costs 10x as much to get a new customer as it takes to keep an existing one.  Our last cruise on RCCL was a bit disappointing.  We chalked it up to post Covid issues.  NCL sure doesn’t seem to have these issues. 

[cmich068]

3 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Thinking about the this…

 

Once the buffet closes (which isn’t very late) many Royal ships ONLY have the complementary pizza and finger sandwiches to offer went out and about around the ship. Can you imagine having the only complementary offering being finger sandwiches in Cafe Promenade? The whole idea of this is ludicrous when you really think about what it would be like.

 

 

Carnival, in contrast, just brought back a limited late night snack offering in their buffet because the Pizza was too popular and they couldn't keep up with demand. 

 

I still remember when Royal used to have late night burgers and hot dogs in the Solarium Cafe on the Vision class ships. How times have changed. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by cmich068

[phabric]

This was posted on Royal Caribbean blog.  Royal Caribbean send out a survey and many complained 

Edited August 16, 2023 by phabric

[nferr]

39 minutes ago, cmich068 said:

 

Carnival, in contrast, just brought back a limited late night snack offering in their buffet because the Pizza was too popular and they couldn't keep up with demand. 

 

I still remember when Royal used to have late night burgers and hot dogs in the Solarium Cafe on the Vision class ships. How times have changed. 

 MSC also has a limited offering late at night in the buffet. Snack items and pizza, their pizza is supposed to be very decent, I'll find out in January. NCL has O'Sheehans open really late, with wings, burgers, reubens, etc.  RCL can't offer nothing after 9:30, something has to give.

[deliver42]

MSC's pizza is teriffic, unlike what Royal calls pizza.

[Morecruisesplz]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:18 AM, ONECRUISER said:

Could be worse, some Lines are charging to eat in Main Dining

Don't bring that up!

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, phabric said:

This was posted on Royal Caribbean blog.  Royal Caribbean send out a survey and many complained 

 

I know it shouldn't happen this way (illegal in fact), but sometimes I wonder if the C-level execs have a monthly telecon and draw straws for which cruise line is going to make the next increase, and the rest will follow.

 

I could say that about airlines, hotels, etc.