Bruising Add-On’s Tarnish the Cruising Experience

I can’t pretend to be an authority on cruise ships, having taken all of one full trip and one out-and-back trip to nowhere on a “naming cruise” with mainstream cruise lines in my life. Even with my limited experience, I was shocked at all the extras that are not included in the price of the voyage. In fact, I wrote a feature called “Keeping the Bargain in Bargain Cruises” after I found out how many add-ons there are and how much they cost.

Now Anne Campbell’s post, “Royal Caribbean the First to Charge for Cupcakes,” on her Ship Critic blog shines an authoritative spotlight on these extras. She wrote, “Aboard Royal Caribbean’s ‘Oasis of the Seas’ you’ll pay extra — the cruise line says prices aren’t available yet — for a cupcake at The Cupcake Cupboard, an on-board shop.”

While she praises the beauty and such innovative diversions on RCCL’s ship(s) as the “flow rider” surfing simulator, rock climbing, ice skating, roller blading on deck and central Promenade of stores, restaurants and bars, she takes the line to task for charging extra for room service and a surcharge or a la carte pricing (a record in the cruise industry) at nine of 24 restaurants aboard.

“But no one wants to feel nickeled and dimed aboard a cruise,” she notes.