The big cruise lines, which are in constant pursuit of fatter profits to please shareholders, are busy finding new ways to tighten the screws on guests.
Last week, word came that Norwegian Cruise Line will no longer allow guests to stream short videos on apps like Instagram or Facebook using the standard $30-a-day Wi-Fi package. It used to be possible to do so, but the line has throttled guest access—now you’ll have to pay another $10 per day to upgrade to the most expensive Wi-Fi package ($40/day) if you want full access to those social media platforms.
Now comes news that Royal Caribbean is ripping a page from the double-dipping playbook at some high-end restaurants.
The cruise line has started imposing financial penalties on passengers who don’t turn up for their reservations at specialty restaurants—the dining outlets on the ship that require advance booking and already cost extra in most cases.
The no-show fees were rolled out fleetwide starting September 1.
Effective now, if you don’t cancel a specialty dining reservation (not complimentary dining) at least 24 hours ahead, Royal Caribbean will slap a fee on your folio.
According to Royal Caribbean, the new fee is $25 for most specialty restaurants.
That’s per person, not per reservation. So if your family of four doesn’t go to dinner for whatever reason, you’ll owe $100.
The fee applies to “any reservations cancelled within [the 24-hour] window,” according to Royal Caribbean.
Officially, there are no exceptions for Covid-19, sunburns, seasickness, or if your booking simply slips your mind.
The only people exempt from the fees are those staying in the luxury-level Star Class or those who made Dining Package reservations.
Royal Caribbean’s official grace period is only 15 minutes. After that, the crew has the option of imposing the fine on your account. Although many of these restaurants have set prices or covers, the cost of the meal you missed will not be levied on top of the penalty.
The fee is even higher than $25 per person at some restaurants: “$50 per person no show fee for Supper Clubs, Omakase, Royal Railway, Hibachi/Teppanyaki, and Chefs [sic] Table,” according to a representative at the cruise line.
It’s not as if Royal Caribbean would find it hard to fill most of those cancellations with other guests. Specialty restaurants are often booked solid—on the newly christened Star of the Seas, nine of the most interesting restaurant options are listed as specialty—and on every cruise we take, there are always passengers who are disappointed they can’t secure certain specialty dining bookings.
Nevertheless, the line is creating a new income source out of guests’ changes of plans.
The penalty for canceling at Celebration Table—which is a hefty 50% of the cost of the reservation—makes a lot more sense. That’s “a full venue buyout” with 14 seats, and is intended for group private dining. Booking Celebration Table is like reserving an entire room, so there aren’t guests waiting for cancellations there.
But punishing passengers for not sticking to a rigid timetable when they’re on vacation? That seems like a bit of a cash grab, especially when the cruise line could simply push the last-minute seating availability to the Royal Caribbean app and, in most cases, other guests would happily take those slots right away.
This is also yet another giant step away from the all-inclusive model that once made cruise vacations so stress-free and popular.
