Pizza issue put to rest

[PL8SWPR]

From Michael Bayley (Facebook)

Pizza ! Pizza !  Everywhere !     A couple of weeks ago we conducted one of frequent small group guest surveys. As usual we asked questions on this n 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 per cent of guests were opposed, 20 per cent of guests said they would still go for Pizza with a charge,  25 per cent 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.

[Pattycruise]

Excellent.  It does pay to have voices heard.

 

[Xaa]

They asked because they wanted the voices.

This response also demonstrates that they didn't have their mind made up just by asking the question.  The sky wasn't falling.

I still feel it was a question around how much we like Sorrento's all.  "Do you go there?"  You like it some amount.  "Would you pay?"  You like it alot.  That helps them decide how to dedicate their resource of space on new builds etc.

 

[smokeybandit]

I don't think Bayley's reassurance is due to unexpected feedback on that survey. My guess is they asked that knowing the answer (and who are the crazy people that would pay extra for that pizza?) but that passion for free pizza will mold other dining decisions (since that survey also asked several other food related questions).

[teddy]

What do we do with all these pitchforks and torches now? 

 

 

[Ampurp85]

12 minutes ago, teddy said:

What do we do with all these pitchforks and torches now? 

 

 

Turn them on something else asked in the survey. Or PDCC in any aspect. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

29 minutes ago, teddy said:

What do we do with all these pitchforks and torches now? 

 

 

The whole “1 housekeeping visit per day” is still a hot one.  Turn the mob in that direction !

[Cakemeister]

Someone had mentioned in one of the other threads that the pizza thing was just a distraction from an across-the-board price increase. Give with one hand and take with the other. 

[tjcruisers]

Surprised 20% answered they’d pay for that pizza 

[barbeyg]

They aren't stupid.  They are going to push the pricing increases, along with decreases in service, as far as they can.  That's what businesses do.  This kind of survey just allows them to find how far they can push without overly upsetting those who regularly cruise with them. 

Frankly, all the changes have helped me be more open-minded to other lines.  We have our cruises booked thru the spring of 2025, but the 2025 Norwegian fjords cruise we want to sail is up for grabs, and RCI/Celebrity won't be our only consideration.  We wouldn't have considered that a year ago. 

[smokeybandit]

43 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

They aren't stupid.  They are going to push the pricing increases, along with decreases in service, as far as they can.  That's what businesses do.  This kind of survey just allows them to find how far they can push without overly upsetting those who regularly cruise with them. 

Frankly, all the changes have helped me be more open-minded to other lines.  We have our cruises booked thru the spring of 2025, but the 2025 Norwegian fjords cruise we want to sail is up for grabs, and RCI/Celebrity won't be our only consideration.  We wouldn't have considered that a year ago. 

Do you think other cruise lines aren't trying to maximize every ounce of profit, too?

[HeWhoWaits]

54 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

Surprised 20% answered they’d pay for that pizza 

Those are the same people who enjoy White Castle or Denny's at 2:00 a.m. when the bars close down.

[Cakemeister]

50 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

Frankly, all the changes have helped me be more open-minded to other lines.  We have our cruises booked thru the spring of 2025, but the 2025 Norwegian fjords cruise we want to sail is up for grabs, and RCI/Celebrity won't be our only consideration.  We wouldn't have considered that a year ago. 

Me, too. I've already booked one cruise on Princess, just to try them out. I'll probably book one on Norwegian as well, and MSC when they come to Galveston. Princess are price-competitive now, and if the food is better then Diamond benefits won't keep me with Royal, even if Icon 3 does come to Galveston.

[twangster]

So the next logical question is... what now will become a charged item since the Pizza charge that was imminent has been eliminated?

They know better than to ask next time.  

[JasonOasis]

1 hour ago, tjcruisers said:

Surprised 20% answered they’d pay for that pizza 

Exactly who are these 20%er's who would voluntarily pay for pizza onboard their cruise? 

 

What I find equally disturbing is Royal even considered doing this.  The fact they asked the question meant some bean counter somewhere actually considered this and somehow it gained enough traction to be put into a survey.  I'm glad the people's voice was heard and Royal is abandoning this.  One thing Royal needs to keep in mind is customers have choices we can just as easily take our business to MSC which is making great strides here in the US, NCL, or even Carnival. 

[teddy]

They’re just throwing everything at the wall.  Eventually something will stick 

[TXcruzer]

48 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Do you think other cruise lines aren't trying to maximize every ounce of profit, too?

I read somewhere that NCL was charging for mini golf on the Prima class ships

[CanHardlyWait]

What kills me is all the "it was just a survey question" responses.

Isn't possible the additional outrage and press of said outrage was responsible for potentially putting the breaks on a bad idea? They didn't bring it up in the first place for no reason. Maybe being extra vocal actually made a difference. 

[foxrunner]

16 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Maybe being extra vocal actually made a difference. 

Being vocal works, but see below!

2 hours ago, twangster said:

So the next logical question is... what now will become a charged item since the Pizza charge that was imminent has been eliminated?

They know better than to ask next time.  

Yup, it is coming somewhere else!

It is also fair to say that Royal's model is a pay to play one vs all inclusive. For some cruisers that works really well, for some it is nickel  & diming. 

What I wish Royal saw was that the value in cruising vs the land option made cruising appealing. Cruising has some strengths but serious problems.

• Crew working conditions
• short stays in a place
• lack of getting to know the local culture
• crowds
• mass produced food
• negative impact on the local economy outside of a select few
• a harried pace for vacation
• huge negative environmental impact    

I'm not down on cruising but we need to be real here about what is positive and negative. 

Again thank you all for your positivity and hard earned knowledge!

[Al Miller]

I wonder if Mr. Bailey is self aware enough to realize that the outrage was not purely driven by this survey question, but was a symptom of the growing negative perception of his brand in the last 9 or 10 months by its most ardent supporters. It was simply the straw that threatened to break the camels back. There was a time not that long ago when this survey question would not be given much credence by the faithful on the boards here. "Ehh... It's just a survey question. Don't freak out" is what I'm sure most would have said. But at this point in time, we have been conditioned to absolutely not give them any benefit of the doubt when it comes to price hikes and service reductions. That trust seems mostly gone. They've squandered it. And once their balance sheets look a little better in a few years, they may have trouble getting that trust back.

[barbeyg]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Do you think other cruise lines aren't trying to maximize every ounce of profit, too?

Of course they are. All are trying to maximize their profits, and I understand that. 

Pizza-gate aside, in some cases, I’m finding better value elsewhere, comparing like products (RCI D+ benefits against all-inclusive bennies).  I never even looked before.  I know some Pinnacles doing the same. Can’t hurt to try out other (less costly) products when the product I prefer is ever-evolving.
 

 

[CanHardlyWait]

20 minutes ago, foxrunner said:

Crew working conditions

I literally couldn't care less.

If you don't like the job, don't take it.

[steverk]

3 hours ago, Cakemeister said:

Me, too. I've already booked one cruise on Princess, just to try them out. I'll probably book one on Norwegian as well, and MSC when they come to Galveston. Princess are price-competitive now, and if the food is better then Diamond benefits won't keep me with Royal, even if Icon 3 does come to Galveston.

I think the reason Royal asked about charging for Pizza (in formerly complimentary restaurants) was a recent change on Princess. You can get the details here: Princess Cruises hides new fees within expansion of all-inclusive packages - The Points Guy

[Ampurp85]

I was definitely one of the people who thought it was just data mining. I posted that people shouldn’t increase their stress levels. I figured it was just a litmus test. I think that at some point a lot of the higher tier return cruisers will jump ship. I understand business and I don't fault Royal for any charges good or bad, just like they can’t fault me or others who chose to spend our dollars elsewhere.

I was pretty upset that as a person who consistently makes prime and spends money in their casino, I receive no comp offers. While my friend who sails once a year with me and barely make 600pts, gets two-three offers a month. I was so upset, I booked less cruises. Do they care, no. Because the new cruisers is worth more money to them. Their approach to cruising is working, most people would rather buy what they want and not bundle anything or subsidized someone else vacation. There is always someone will to pay for convenience, that's the basis of the suite life.

[JasonL]

I'm not surprised there was uproar or that it was decided not to charge for pizza. I'm more annoyed about the question being asked at all. I feel like cruising will eventually keep charging more and more until I decide to vacation elsewhere. But for now, I still love it! Please keep the standards free and make your money on the extras!

[TeRriii]

Yeah they won't charge for pizza for now. They will find another way though, like limit slice for every person.

Two or three free slices per person per day. 

[RCIfan1912]

6 hours ago, steverk said:

I think the reason Royal asked about charging for Pizza (in formerly complimentary restaurants) was a recent change on Princess. You can get the details here: Princess Cruises hides new fees within expansion of all-inclusive packages - The Points Guy

I don't sail Princess but I assume their pizza is much better? I'm guessing it's good enough to charge for?

Even though this charge for Pizza didn't happen, just yet at least, it still leaves a bitter taste. Just the fact the question was asked bothers me. I can't help that, sorry. 

[Xaa]

10 hours ago, twangster said:

So the next logical question is... what now will become a charged item since the Pizza charge that was imminent has been eliminated?

They know better than to ask next time.  

It's certainly clear that they want to charge more.  They of course have always been charging for the pizza and will continue to do it through the fare.  I think that's what people are wanting.  Not to have a ton of additional charges.  I hope nobody believes anything is free.  Many things are included with the fare.

Whether their intent was to actually charge for the Pizza or if the intent of the question was to gauge other attributes about the pizza or Sorrento's in general, I do think/hope that they've learned that their cruisers are sensitive to this.  A sensitivity they have created with increases and their public posture toward them.

We all kind of expect the worst from them where pricing is concerned these days.  While I viewed the question differently than most, I am absolutely in the group that expects the worst as they challenge their pricing to find the intersection of the supply and demand lines.

As cruisers we're mostly fungible.  They don't need a loyal cruiser, they just need a cruiser for each slot.  The 20% that said they would pay for the pizza are likely new to Royal or new to cruising.  I'm part of the problem in the industry too.  Princess made a change recently to some included food that created an uproar with their cruisers.  It was meaningless to me as I never sailed princess.  I did just book one with them for 2025 and I gladly took the Premier package.  If someone left Princess because of the change, they were replaced by me on that cruise.  If I left Royal (not on my mind currently), I would be replaced by a new cruiser who doesn't expect the pizza to be free.  Both lines would be unharmed.

[Rackham]

Something I've been wondering, along the lines of data mining, is how much of the Sorrento's question was actually about the pizza and not categorizing guests? Depending on the answers to the pizza questions could group responses to the rest of the survey, at least when it comes to food. 

As several others have said, the fact that we all took this at face value and didn't give Royal any doubt, speaks volumes about the amount of goodwill they've got at this point. 

Also, the pizza Princess is now charging for is the equivalent of Giovanni's, not Sorrento's. It was kinda crazy they weren't already charging for it.

[Villageidiot]

8 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I don't sail Princess but I assume their pizza is much better? I'm guessing it's good enough to charge for?

The pizza at Alfredo's on Princess is quite good IMHO. It is also a sit down dining experience and they offer appetizers and dessert. Used to be complimentary. They have a "by the slice" pizza available on the pool deck that is more equivalent to Sorrento's. You can have a whole pizza delivered anywhere on the ship. They charged $8 for one the last time I sailed with them. 

[twangster]

1 minute ago, Villageidiot said:

The pizza at Alfredo's on Princess is quite good IMHO. It is also a sit down dining experience and they offer appetizers and dessert. Used to be complimentary. They have a "by the slice" pizza available on the pool deck that is more equivalent to Sorrento's. You can have a whole pizza delivered anywhere on the ship. They charged $8 for one the last time I sailed with them. 

I didn't find the pizza at Alfredo's to be all that.  In fact it was no better than Sorrento's IMO, but with a charge.  Doubt I'll ever go back to Alfredo's.  

[Villageidiot]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

I didn't find the pizza at Alfredo's to be all that.  In fact it was no better than Sorrento's IMO, but with a charge.  Doubt I'll ever go back to Alfredo's.  

Sorry you had a bad experience with them. I'll probably pay for at least one a la cart on my next cruise with them in November. 

[tonyfsu21]

How about they add $5/pp to all speciality dining venues, up the drink package by 25%, add 10% to all alcohol, coffee and soft drink and call it a day? Double the cost of the Starbucks and watch the line disappear.  Forget about charging for the pizza or the hotdogs or extorting people for a grossly undersized rock lobster tail. There are plenty of ways to increase the bottom line and personally I don’t care what they charge for alcohol and food, people will pay! The bottom line here is that regardless of where this company decides to extort more money from customers it’s going to piss one portion of the customer base off and another just won’t give a crap. It’s a delicate dance and there will be people up in arms. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Off topic from pizza, but related to Royal jumping the price again, I just noticed that specialty dining for children 10 & under is now $14.95 instead of $10. No clue when that changed

[Ampurp85]

8 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Off topic from pizza, but related to Royal jumping the price again, I just noticed that specialty dining for children 10 & under is now $14.95 instead of $10. No clue when that changed

I don't have children, but I noticed this when Izumi went up around May I believe. 

[tonyfsu21]

17 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Off topic from pizza, but related to Royal jumping the price again, I just noticed that specialty dining for children 10 & under is now $14.95 instead of $10. No clue when that changed

Still a great value! Inflation tightening its grip. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

23 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Still a great value! Inflation tightening its grip. 

I suppose it would depend on the kid. I think back to when my girls were 10 & under and that would not have been great value for them. 

[BigKarl]

Taking a wild guess here.  I am looking at the C&A questions with the "Overcrowding" and figuring that the cuts are going to be molded into the Perks we currently receive. RCL offers the best perks industry wide but they are slowly being trimmed down a bit and I expect will be further reduced.  They bragged about getting many more "New" cruisers and now can afford to cut perks and upset some Loyal cruisers that are Diamond and Diamond+ (Like myself).  This will reduce the overcrowding in Lounges and reduce their costs via less free drink vouchers, less crystal blocks, less free wifi, and so on.  I hate to say it but that would be something I see as a win/win for them with no real downside to consider.

[Pattycruise]

2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

How about they add $5/pp to all speciality dining venues, up the drink package by 25%, add 10% to all alcohol, coffee and soft drink and call it a day? Double the cost of the Starbucks and watch the line disappear.  Forget about charging for the pizza or the hotdogs or extorting people for a grossly undersized rock lobster tail. There are plenty of ways to increase the bottom line and personally I don’t care what they charge for alcohol and food, people will pay! The bottom line here is that regardless of where this company decides to extort more money from customers it’s going to piss one portion of the customer base off and another just won’t give a crap. It’s a delicate dance and there will be people up in arms. 

I wonder how many additional tails they sell on lobster night.  I’ll guess not many.  I’m thinking that move was to reduce the expense by not giving 2 or 3 per person.  Imagine how they cut that lobster order at least in half, if not more.  Huge savings.

[RCIfan1912]

36 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

I wonder how many additional tails they sell on lobster night.  I’ll guess not many.  I’m thinking that move was to reduce the expense by not giving 2 or 3 per person.  Imagine how they cut that lobster order at least in half, if not more.  Huge savings.

Exactly right, that was exactly what I think from the beginning. Good news is I don't like lobster so my wife will get mine as well. 

Royal Caribbean hasn't started the fee for a second entree like MSC right?