Some Royal Caribbean fans have asked for an all-inclusive cruise, but it's not in the cards for the line.
Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, told passengers on this year's President's Cruise that the cruise line wouldn't offer an all-inclusive pricing.
While on the 2024 President's Cruise, Mr. Bayley took to the stage to answer questions posed by cruisers hailing from all over the world.
One cruiser, Gail from Australia, asked if cruises would switch to blanket pricing.
"I've heard a rumor that the pricing structure for cruising in America is going to be changed to an all-inclusive pricing structure," she said. "Is that correct?"
Mr. Bayley dismissed the rumor and replied that it was not.
Royal Caribbean wants its experience to remain adjustable
An all-inclusive cruise would mean that more aspects of the total cruise experience would be included in the base fare, such as beverage packages, specialty dining, and Wi-Fi.
Mr. Bayley assured cruisers that "Royal Caribbean is not going in that direction."
"I don't think we have any plans to roll it all up into one price," he said.
The cruise line has found from research that the brand needs to give everyone the decision of what they want to be included in their vacation.
"Because of the scale of our brand, we need to give everybody the choice," Mr. Bayley stated.
To appeal to its wide audience of cruisers who hail from all over the world and span many generations, the cruise experience should be adjustable for every individual.
For example, about 52% of Royal Caribbean's guests love the beverage package, but 48% don't.
The average cost of Royal Caribbean's most popular drink package is around $65 to $115 per person per day, depending on the sailing.
If Royal Caribbean switched to all-inclusive pricing, it would force 48% of customers (including families and children) to pay for a drink package they won't use.
Read more: Things I Don't Pay Extra for on Royal Caribbean Cruises To Save Money
Instead, the cruise line wants to focus on an affordable price and value for all cruisers. Then, "If you want to buy stuff, buy it. If you don't, don't."
With the current pricing structure, it's easy for cruisers to simply add the products they want, and not pay for anything they don't want to.
In January 2024, Mr. Bayley said keeping the choice of what extras to buy is better for the cruise line's core customers, "We've learned that unbundling is much easier and better for the guest. It also gets the price point in front of the customer, especially for families. And remember family is our is our real core target market."
"When you unbundle everything, it gives people choice and it pushes the pricing closer to their budget, which is a really important thing for families," he continued.
"We feel like the pricing strategy that we have on the bundling, unbundling is the right path to go."
Gratuities won't be included in the base fare, either
When asked if gratuities would ever be included in the base fare or the cost of services onboard, Mr. Bayley said it wouldn't happen, either.
He explained that another reason for separating pricing is the different cultures around service.
For much of the world, tipping is not a part of the culture and isn't expected by locals.
In the United States, however, tipping is considered normal, even expected.
Bayley, who's lived in the U.S. for decades, joked, "You're just you're trained to tip for everything. You tip for this, tip for that."
"I'm Americanized, [so] when I go to the UK and I go to the pub with my sister and we have drinks, they bring the change and she puts it in her pocket. And I'm like, what is the matter with you?"
Read more: Tipping on a cruise ship: What you should and shouldn't do
While gratuities are required on a Royal Caribbean cruise, they are charged separately from the total fare.
Guests can choose to prepay gratuities before the cruise or to have them added to their onboard account and settled at the end of the cruise.
As of July 2024, the current daily gratuity is $18 per passenger in standard cabins and $20.50 per passenger in Suites (Grand Suite and above).
Instead of including tips within the total cruise fare, Royal Caribbean is transparent about the cost and gives guests the option to decide when to pay it.
The cruiser was referring to the California "Honest Pricing Law"
Royal Caribbean isn't including add-ons in the cruise price, but taxes and fees are now displayed in the total cost.
The cruiser who posed the question implied that cruises in the United States would be changing to a blanket pricing plan.
"I've heard a rumor that the pricing structure for cruising in America is going to be changed to an all-inclusive pricing structure," she said.
It's possible the reason Gail believed all-inclusive pricing was going to become the norm for U.S. cruisers was the recent pricing law that went into effect.
Senate Bill 478 went into effect on July 1st.
Also called the "Honest Pricing Law," this bill now requires businesses to include the cost of extra fees within the listed price.
For cruise lines, this means that fares will look a little higher, as they now include the total cost of taxes and fees.
Michael Bayley explained this during the Q&A session: "When we present the price to you, it has to be an all-inclusive price of what you're going to pay for, which means it has to include taxes and fees."
"It's basically a change in the American market. And I think it makes sense, I think."
However, this merely involves including the price of fees. Royal Caribbean still will not have a blanket pricing structure that includes items like the Internet, specialty drinks, gratuities, and spa services.
What's included in my Royal Caribbean cruise fare?
Despite the separate charges, a cruise fare actually includes quite a lot.
Looking at everything that is still included in the base fare, a Royal Caribbean cruise can come at great value.
Amenities that are included in the base fare on every ship include:
- Stateroom accommodations and private bathroom
- Stateroom attendance and daily cleanings (twice a day for suites)
- Dining venues such as the Main Dining Room and Windjammer
- Beverages like coffee, tea, juice, and milk
- Room service continental breakfast
- Children's programming at Adventure Ocean
- Teen hangout areas and programming
- Entertainment such as musicals, live comedy, and magic shows
- Many onboard activities
- Sports centers and classic activities
- Access to the fitness center
- Pools, hot tubs, and sun decks
Guests also have the option to choose to purchase extra add-ons as part of their vacation.
These can be purchased on the online Cruise Planner before the cruise or onboard during the cruise. Some amenities require reservations or prior payment, while others do not.
Read more: Top 30 extra cruise costs that are not included
Cruise amenities that cost extra include:
- Specialty restaurants
- Beverage packages
- Alcoholic drinks
- Specialty coffee
- Gratuities
- Souvenirs
- Spa treatments
- Salon services
- Room service
- Onboard photos
- Shore excursions
- Internet
- Fitness classes
- Select times at Adventure Ocean
- Arcade games
- Casino
- The Key
- Medical services
- Laundry and dry-cleaning
- Airport or hotel transfers
- Artwork auctions
- Ship-to-shore phone calls
Royal Caribbean has no intention to bundle these amenities into the base cost of a cruise.
