“Cruising used to feel special” – guests report cutbacks are ruining the cruise experience. What do you think?

• Royal Caribbean has announced a drinks package cutback, which has upset some cruisers.
• While it’s minimal, it follows a pattern that cruise lines seem to be following.
• Cruising has seen the ‘de-inclusion’ of more and more onboard perks.
• Do you agree?

Royal Caribbean has removed a key perk from its deluxe beverage package: the package no longer includes a Coca-Cola Freestyle cup. These cups are used for the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines on board and, until now, have been included in the drinks package. 

A cup can be bought for US$5 onboard.

While the cup may not seem significant, many cruisers see it as symbolic of a new trend: removing cruise perks, leaving guests shortchanged and making a cruise feel less special.

Over recent months we’ve seen…

• Royal Caribbean changed its drinks package policy to remove medical exemptions or other exemptions, this means that even if one person in a cabin doesn’t want a drinks package and the other does, both members of the cabin have to buy one.
• Carnival offered its new Cheers Zero Proof packages to Australia, but hasn’t included specialty coffee and tea in the benefits, much to the dismay of Aussies.
• Carnival’s new loyalty program, Carnival Rewards, has upset many cruise passengers that will lose their loyalty status, and will need to spend extreme amounts to keep it that way.
• Carnival’s drinks packages have strict restrictions, such as having to wait a certain amount of time between drinks, not being able to order doubles and more. 
• Despite Carnival Encounter’s dry dock, it’s been confirmed that the ship still won’t have 24/7 free pizza and soft serve, like other Carnival ships.
• NCL has begun charging for second entrees at meal times, meaning guests can only order one entree at a time in the main dining room without paying more. 
• NCL has limited room service to just one hot and one cold item for breakfast. 
• NCL has stopped the use of drinks packages in its private destination in the Caribbean, meaning guests have to pay individually. 
• Last year, Princess received criticism from cruisers after the prices for Princess Plus and Princess Premier went up, despite a reduction in some perks. 
• Cunard has begun charging for select shows onboard, that used to be included in the fare.

A post-pandemic shift that has stuck around 

Despite a few specific examples being pointed out, service cutbacks can be something that is hard to measure. However, there is a significant online sentiment from cruisers that there was a pre-pandemic to post-pandemic shift in service quality. 

Many cruisers see a larger pattern of cutbacks as the real issue, rather than nickel and diming of particular perks.

Popular cruise blogger Melissa Newman said: “They’ve been moving away from the all-inclusive model at exactly the wrong moment.

“My audience talks about this constantly. Cruising used to feel special and premium almost by default, but that perception is genuinely eroding.”

There are plenty of other discussions online as well, a Reddit user asked other cruisers if there any cruise lines that haven’t “gone downhill” in their service quality recently, and here’s what cruisers had to say.

One Reddit user said: “I’ll answer you question with a question. Is there any segment of the hospitality and travel industry that hasn’t gone downhill lately?

“Covid gave a lot of companies the excuse to make changes in favor of profits over consumers and in a lot of places we’re now seeing “how much can we cut but still maintain profits”.

Another user said: “Given that cruises remain fully booked, it turns out we’ll put up with a lot before we stop buying the product. Cruises have historically been a rare touch of luxury available to the middle class.

“There really is no other alternative in that price range, so they can cut a lot before people give up on it. They might be nearing a tipping point though.”

Another user added: “It’s well past time for the cruise industry to rebuild its staffing levels. With fares and add‑on costs far from minimal, these companies are more than capable of hiring the personnel needed to elevate the customer experience. 

“What we’re seeing instead is corporate and CEO greed and as consumers, we must stop excusing and rationalizing it. When we’re paying premium rates, we should expect and demand premium service.”

Cruisers reported these experiences across all kinds of different lines. 

“We just got off the Norwegian Star yesterday and had the same experience that you did. The food was not good, we never saw our room steward, and the staff all seemed apathetic. They were very likely stretched thin and exhausted. We will be trying Holland America in May and hope to have a better experience.”

Another Reddit user said: “The food quality with Carnival and NCL has gone down significantly. Lobster night is gone. The up charge for a better steak is ridiculous. The steak you get for free is one step above grizzle. The desserts are meh as are the buffets. Service in the MDR is beyond slow and the food, once you finally get it, is cold.

“There used to be bar servers that worked the dining room. Now, it’s a food server’s responsibility in addition to their other responsibilities. It’s quicker to get up, go to the closest bar and bring your drink with you.

“The poor room stewards who used to have assistants now have double the rooms and no help. They also have other responsibilities when they’re not cleaning. All the stewards we’ve had have been very sweet and polite but you can tell they’re tired.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We’d love to hear your stories about where you think cuts have spoiled the wonder of cruising.

Let us know in the comments below and we will publish them in a story.