Room service fee for suites?

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

I was just looking at the Sea/Sky/Star class amenities chart, and I noticed that complimentary room service was nowhere to be found. I also clicked on the "See all amenities" button that takes you to the FAQ ... still nothing. 🫤

 

I could have sworn that the service fee for room service was waived for Grand Suites and above, although admittedly we don't do room service much and we don't always sail in suites, so it's been some time since I've ordered from a suite. Is my memory failing me? Or has this perk been removed? Or is it just another case of Royal's stellar website quality? 🙄

[Anton]

Scroll down towards the bottom.  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Thanks Anton!  This is the FAQ link I was talking about, where it isn't listed:

 

What benefits are included in each Royal Suite Class Tier? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

 

So yeah, looks like a case of Royal's world-class website again.  😣 Good to know I'm not losing my mind, though!

 

[luckyinpa]

seems like no free room service for even sky class anymore.

 

copied from another forum:

 

"I just had a nice long chat about the *NEW* Room Service policy. As per RCCL Executives, Room Service will only be complentary in Star Class. I know there is going to be a ton of disappointment surrounding this and I apologize on behalf of Royal Caribbean. It appears as if it wasn’t rolled out clearly amongst the staff within Royal Caribbean. "

[smokeybandit]

I'm not sure I believe that. 

[Tree_skier]

I just looked and it still shows as a perk in the suites program.  Not that the website is without error but I'd be surprised if they cut that and left it on the website.

[Tree_skier]

One of the perks is ordering room service off the MDR menu.  Does anyone know, if you have the UDP, could order from Chops for room service?   

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

One of the perks is ordering room service off the MDR menu.  Does anyone know, if you have the UDP, could order from Chops for room service?   

Only Star class can order from Specialty. 

[A&L_Ont]

Maybe this is the new Pizza Gate story of 2024.  We read that it was being charged as well and that it hadn’t been rolled out earlier in the year as expected. 
 

Who knows if it is true or not, but with RC it wouldn’t surprise me. 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

Some folks on another social media site have been posting correspondence with the executive office on this matter. Here are a couple of the snapshots.

 

 

So it does appear that they are no longer waiving the service charge for room service for Sky class suites on ships that are a part of the Royal Suite Class (Oasis, Quantum, and Icon).

 

For the second email, it also appears that MDR ordering will also be removed as a benefit from the Royal Suite Class ships.

 

What isn't entirely clear is whether the waiver no longer exists for GS and above for the rest of the fleet. The benefit still exists in the list linked below.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

 

There seems to be some mention regarding gratuities within the first email being the reason why they are no longer making it complementary, but if gratuity for the staff is the sole reason for the change, the service charge should still be waived and they can charge a smaller fee which is 100% gratuity for the staff.

 

[smokeybandit]

Still seems quite fuzzy to me

[DigiPro]

I think there is definitely some confusion at RCI.  I wrote to Mr. Bayley expressing my concern over this change.  Apparently he is receiving complaints from others, as well.  Nonetheless, this was his response.

[orville99]

25 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

What isn't entirely clear is whether the waiver no longer exists for GS and above for the rest of the fleet.

We did a B2B on Adventure in April in a GS, and ordered room service from the MDR at least 7 times over the course of the cruise. There were no room service charges added to our invoices. We have also ordered from the MDR on Oasis class ships when staying in a GS with zero room service charges. 

 

We have, however, occasionally encountered a clueless room service order taker who didn't know that a GS is in fact a full suite, and resisted letting us order from the MDR menu until he "cleared" it with his boss.🙄🥴

[smokeybandit]

7 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We have, however, occasionally encountered a clueless room service order taker who didn't know that a GS is in fact a full suite, and resisted letting us order from the MDR menu until he "cleared" it with his boss

Not really uncommon actually.

 

I even occasionally get charged for regular room service, despite noting I'm in a suite (though the concierge happily takes care of it)

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

2 hours ago, DigiPro said:

I think there is definitely some confusion at RCI.  I wrote to Mr. Bayley expressing my concern over this change.  Apparently he is receiving complaints from others, as well.  Nonetheless, this was his response.

What exactly was you question in the email? Technically the Royal Suite Class benefits have not changed as complementary room service hasn't been a stated perk under the Sky class benefit list, at least for some time now.

 

There are basically 4 facets to this :

1. For Royal Suite Class ships (Oasis, Quantum, Icon): Whether there is now a service charge for room service for Sky class suites.

2. For Royal Suite Class ships (Oasis, Quantum, Icon): Whether MDR menu items are available for ordering for Sky class suites.

3. For non-Royal Suite Class ships (Freedom, Vision, Radiance, Voyager): Whether there is now a room service charge for full suites (GS and above)  and upper suites (Royal and Villa).

4. For non-Royal Suite Class ships (Freedom, Vision, Radiance, Voyager): Whether MDR menu items are available for ordering for full suites (GS and above)  and upper suites (Royal and Villa).

 

Clarification is needed on all 4 of these.

[orville99]

16 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Clarification is needed on all 4 of these.

In our experience (and we do 8-10 cruises a year in RCL Grand Suites on both Royal Suite and non-Royal Suite classes, and order room service from the MDR on ~50% of our days on board), our answers would be:

 

1) No

2) Yes

3) No, and

4) Yes

[DigiPro]

Although I have not cruised as frequently as Orville99, my experiences have been the same.  And my question was basically number 1:  Whether there is now a service charge for room service for Sky class suites.  We always stay in Grand Suites and above, and almost always order room service breakfast from the MDR menu.  We’ve never been charged before (and of course we tip appropriately).  It’s not about the actual fee.  If I can afford the suite, I can afford the fee.  It’s about a perk that I previously had as a suite passenger possibly being taken away, given how much I am paying for my upcoming Owners Suite.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

In our experience (and we do 8-10 cruises a year in RCL Grand Suites on both Royal Suite and non-Royal Suite classes, and order room service from the MDR on ~50% of our days on board), our answers would be:

 

1) No

2) Yes

3) No, and

4) Yes

Thanks for the insight. It's my understanding that this potential change was communicated to onboard staff very recently, so we need some confirmation from folks onboard ships today.

[orville99]

38 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Thanks for the insight. It's my understanding that this potential change was communicated to onboard staff very recently, so we need some confirmation from folks onboard ships today.

I tend not to overreact to rumors, especially those that involve RCL. We will be on Adventure for a B3B in two weeks, and I thoroughly expect nothing to have changed with their suites program.

Edited Friday at 06:49 PM by orville99