The Carnival cruise line is increasing its prices for many popular packages and add-ons. First of all, there will be an increase in per-passenger gratuities. It also has recently shared about the rise in onboard services. Royal Caribbean is a global cruise holding company from Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, US. Do you know that it is the second-largest cruise line operator globally?
As of January 2021, it owns three cruises known as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. But what prices are increasing in the Carnival Cruise Lines. You can find all the details about it here.
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The raise in gratuity rates
The per person and the per day gratuity rates may be increasing for the voyages sailing on or after May 1. Further, in an email sent to guests who have booked the upcoming voyages, the company said that the voyages from May 1 and after, for the standard staterooms, the gratuities would be $14.50, and for suites, it will be $16.50. The email said, “Our shipboard team members work hard to provide exceptional and friendly service, so we hope you will agree that this slight increase is well deserved”.
Before this change, the gratuity rates were $13.99 per day for the standard staterooms. But it was $15.99 for suites. The rates have increased to $.51 per person, per day. There is a 4% of raise for the standard staterooms and 3% for suites.
The passengers will be able to lock the current gratuity rate if they want to pay to pre-pay gratuities before the boarding. This is regardless of when the cruise sets sail. But if the gratuities are pre-paid, then no further gratuity charge will be added to the guest’s Sail & Sign accounts at the time of the cruise. The purchase of service during the sailing like the automatic 18% gratuity will be applicable to the drink purchases.
Other kinds of price increase
There are also other price increases in the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. The email read, “Although we’ve done our best to minimize the impact of rising costs, we will be implementing nominal changes to some of our onboard services while still providing you the best vacation value, on land or at sea”.
This email came with the message for the guest to pre-purchase additional services. It also encouraged the guests to lock in current rates before the prices increase. Some of the services are drink packages, Wi-Fi access and speciality dining. They were listed in the “up to” savings but the actual new prices were not given in detail. Know about some of the details in the price increase.
1. Drink package pricing to increase
The Carnival Cruise Lines are not explicit in listing the new prices for the onboard packages and services. But the cruise line’s help webpage had some of the details about it.
For the cruises that sail in April the Cheers! The beverage package has a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It is priced at $51.95 per person per day for 5 days and longer and costs $54.95 for sailings of 3-4 days. But the guests have to pre-pay for it. The current onboard rate is $56.95 per person per day for longer sailings and $59.95 for 3-4 day cruises.
From May 1, 2022, the Cheers! package price will be $59.95 per person per day for the guests who purchase it before the sailing. When purchased onboard it will cost $64.95 per person per day. There is not going to be any separate pricing based on the length of the cruise. These new prices are a 15% price increase.
Further, the Carnival Cruise Lines Bottomless Bubbles package will only cover fountain sodas and juices. It is $5.95 per person per day and is applicable for guests 17 years old and younger. It costs $8.50 per person per day for the guests 18 days or older. From May 1, the price will increase to $6.95 and $9.50 which sees an increase of 11%. Cheers! and Bottomless Bubbles package will add the 18% built-in gratuity. It is not reflected in the daily package rate.
There is no price increase available for individual drinks bought without a beverage package. But the onboard price will increase in the coming weeks.
2. Speciality dining prices to increase
Carnival Cruise Lines is offering a lot of dining options from the main dining rooms to the Lido buffet and Guy’s Burger Joint, the Blue Iguana Cantina, Hot Pizzerias and more. Many cruise passengers are can enjoy curated menus and great dining experiences at amazing restaurants.
- Starting from May 1 the prices of dishes in the popular restaurants will increase.
- Steakhouse / Fahrenheit 555 increased from $38 to $42 per person
- Cucina del Capitano increased from $15 to $18 per person.
- Bonsai Teppanyaki increased from $32 to $35 per person.
- JiJi’s Asian Kitchen increased from $15 to $18 per person.
- Rudi’s Seagrill increased from $38 to $42 for adults.
- Chef’s Table premium dining experience increased from $80 to $99 per person.
There are no announcements available for the increased prices for the other options in dining. But there are many options like a-la-carte offerings at cafes, sweets and treats from the cruise line’s Cherry On Top stores and more.
3. WI-Fi package pricing to increase
Carnival Cruise Lines provides lots of WiFi packages for the connectivity needs of different travellers. There is a social package that allows guests to get social media websites and other related apps. On the other hand, the Value internet access plan has everything from Social packages like email, news, sports, weather and more.
The price of these internet plans may vary depending on the cruise length and when the plan is purchased. The Social Plan when purchased before the cruise is priced at $6.80 per day or $10 per day. It applies when purchased onboard.
The Value Plan has faster speeds than the Social plan. It begins at $10.20 per day when pre-purchased or $13 per day onboard. There is a twenty-four-hour plan that is also available beginning at $17 per 24-hour period. Starting from May 1, these prices will also increase.
Conclusion
These are the prices on Royal Caribbean Cruise that will see an increase. The guests of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line are notified of it.
