Royal Caribbean passengers got angry and they spoke up.
A cruise fare includes a number of things. First, your ticket gets you a cabin on the ship. In most cases you pick a cabin when paying for the cruise, but sometimes you can buy a guarantee, a cheaper option whereby you select a category and the cruise line assigns you a cabin in that category or higher at a later date.
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Your fare also includes most onboard entertainment. On Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) that means pretty much all shows including the main theaters, as well as performers in the Schooner Bar, pub, and things like the Aqua Theater water shows or Studio B's ice skating spectaculars.
In addition, a basic cruise ticket gets you access to the ship's pools and hot tubs, aside from any reserved for suite passengers. On Royal Caribbean ships with waterslides and Flowrider surf simulators, those are included as well.
And then, of course, there's the food. Your cruise ticket on a Royal Caribbean ship gets you access to three meals a day served in the main dining room or the Windjammer Buffet. Every ship also has a café with snacks and small sandwiches that operates 24/7 as well as select other venues offering everything from Mexican to hot dogs or burgers and fries.
Royal Caribbean, like its counterpart Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -), also offers free pizza 24/7 at Sorrento's Pizza, or at Cafe Promenade on the handful of ships that don't have a dedicated pizza venue. Free pizza is a popular staple for both cruise companies' ships, with lines forming on embarkation day and late at night pretty much every day.
Recently, Royal Caribbean made a move that suggested it was thinking about getting rid of free pizza and instead charging for it. The pushback from customers was massive, prompting a definitive note from the brand's CEO, Michael Bayley.
Image source: Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Royal Caribbean takes a stand on free pizza
Royal Caribbean and its Celebrity brand, as well as Carnival, offer free pizza nearly 24 hours a day, but not all cruise lines do. MSC, which competes with those brands, serves pizza on its buffet, but after that venue closes at night, it offers slightly better pizza for an added fee on many of its ships.
Royal Caribbean appeared to be at least considering a similar move. In a recent survey it asked select customers whether they'd pay for pizza at Sorrento's. The cruise line, it should be noted, does charge for pizza at its Giovanni's restaurant and Giovanni's Wine Bar -- offering much better pies than Sorrento's has for free.
The cruise line's fans, however, did not like the suggestion that their free pizza would be taken away, and they voted overwhelmingly against the idea, according to Bayley.
A couple of weeks ago we conducted one of our frequent small group guest surveys. As usual, we asked questions on this [and] that Including customer thoughts on $ charges for pizza! The question was posted with the result that many emails and comments were sent
The survey said 80 percent of guests were opposed, 20 percent of guests said they would still go for pizza with a charge, 25 percent of guests surveyed said they would consider other cruise lines. To calm all our pizza lovers don’t worry we are not charging for pizza.
At a time when Walt Disney (DIS) -), a rival for people's vacation dollars, has succeeded in charging for early-ride access at Disney World and Disneyland, something that used to be included in its admission fee, Royal Caribbean has seen that customers have lines that cannot be crossed,
Free mediocre (at best) pizza appears to be one of those lines, and Bayley was very careful to loudly and publicly close the door on getting rid of this popular perk.
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