Say it ain’t so: Royal Caribbean is latest cruise line to slash service level on ships

It looks like the days of over-the-top service on cruise lines are coming to an end — at least on mass-market ships.

The world’s largest cruise line, Royal Caribbean, has begun reducing maid service levels on its ships in recent days after Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line took similar steps.

Like the other two brands, Royal Caribbean has instructed housekeeping to only clean most cabins once a day, rather than twice a day, which has been a hallmark of the cruise experience for decades.

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In a statement sent to TPG, the line suggested the change was permanent but said suites on their ships would continue to be served twice a day.

“Royal Caribbean International is introducing a daily cabin cleaning service across the fleet,” the line said in the statement on Thursday. “Vacationers will continue to regularly see the familiar faces of their cabin attendants, who will continue to deep clean, provide new towels, refresh amenities, and be available to guests for questions and cabin requests throughout the cruise.”

Twice-daily service to cabins on even the most affordable ships has long been a tradition in the cruise world, contributing to the cruise’s reputation for a higher level of service than land-based resorts.

Maids on cruise ships traditionally cleaned rooms once in the morning and then returned to them in the early evening to tidy them up and make beds.

Also see: The 5 Best Places to Visit on a Royal Caribbean Ship

Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival are three of the largest mass-market cruise brands, collectively accounting for more than a third of all cruises worldwide.

Currently, most other cruise lines, including other mass-market brands such as MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Disney Cruise Line, and Celebrity Cruises, continue to offer twice-daily service. However, Royal Caribbean’s change this week could impact the policies of those other lines.

As the world’s largest line, Royal Caribbean is considered an industry pioneer, and their choices are often copied by other brands.

One of Royal Caribbean’s sister brands, Celebrity, has already begun offering passengers an added benefit – extra loyalty points in Captain’s Club – if they agree to opt out of twice-daily service during cruises.

The two-time service on cruise ships is labor intensive and therefore costly. The service cuts come as lines look for ways to reduce spending to shore up their balance sheets.

Cruise line balance sheets have been severely weighed down by the industry-wide shutdown following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, are saddled with record levels of debt.

The service cuts at Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival come even as the lines sharply increase their service fees. Royal Caribbean increased service fees on its ships by more than 10% in August to $16 per person per day for those sleeping in most staterooms.

As a result of the increase, a family of four in a typical stateroom now pays nearly $450 in service fees for a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line increased its daily service fee even more in January, raising the fare for passengers staying in most cabins to $20 per person per day. That’s 25% more than the line’s service fee in 2022.

Almost at the same time that it was increasing its service fee, Norwegian began reducing service on rooms — a seemingly inappropriate move that drew criticism from customers.

With the cuts in room service, both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian are following Carnival this year, which reduced daily housekeeping on its ships in 2021.

See also: The Ultimate Guide to Royal Caribbean Ships and Itineraries

The combination of recent sharp increases in service fees and cuts in service levels means cruise lines are now paying more for less — something that could ultimately discourage customers from taking cruises as an alternative to land-based resorts.

However, onshore resorts and hotels have also reduced service levels since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some no longer offering daily room cleaning services or no housekeeping at all.

As a result, even cruise lines that limit themselves to once-daily room service may still have an advantage over some land-based vacation options when it comes to service levels.

Cruise line service cuts, explained

In a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and CEO Frank Del Rio indicated that the company is trying to balance financial pressures to cut costs with the need to keep passengers happy .

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, as well as two high-end brands — Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises — that haven’t cut their twice-daily service.

“It’s a balance. Obviously you don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, which is the customer,” Del Rio replied when asked by an analyst about the wisdom of such cost-cutting measures. “We try to balance what customers pay, what they actually pay for and what they get. For example, we haven’t cut turndown service across all brands or cabin categories… look, it’s management’s responsibility to optimize revenue and minimize costs. That’s Economics 101, and that’s what we do.”

Moments later, Mark Kempa, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings executive vice president and chief financial officer, added that the company was “just aligning itself with what others have been doing in the hospitality industry lately.” In other words, Norwegian Cruise Line followed shore-based hotels and resorts in reducing service levels.

“This is nothing new. I think customers in today’s society are used to receiving a different level of service,” said Kempa. “We are fully focused on ensuring the guest experience is fully intact, but we will align with what is the new normal for hospitality. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

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