Cruise lines, especially ones serving a family audience, must constantly evolve to serve new customers while also pleasing the old. That's a tough line that both Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) must straddle.
You have to continue to serve a loyal audience that expects things to be as they always have been while also adapting to changing standards. That's why both cruise lines loosened standards as to what "dressed for dinner" means.
It used to be that the main dining room (MDR) on either cruise lines ship required men to wear pants and a collared shirt with women being expected to don the female version of that attire. Now, pretty much anything short of a bathing suit is allowed ,and even on formal nights (which Royal Caribbean now calls "Dress Your Best" night, it's not uncommon to see shorts and t-shirts.
A change like that may rankle people who have been used to things being a certain way, but what someone else wears doesn't actually impact your dining experience. Other dining changes do, and that's why many passengers were upset over Royal Caribbean overhauling its MDR menus, taking off its always-there "Classics" section, while Carnival cruisers have been upset over that cruise line charging $5 each for your third (and any subsequent) entrees,
Dining on a cruise ship is steeped in tradition and that's why any change, and even the rumor of a change, tends to get passengers upset.
Image source: Nora Tam/South China Morning Post via Getty
Royal Caribbean Goes Smaller
In many cases, Royal Caribbean has opted to trim portions where it might not be noticed. Passengers, for example, who use the prix fixe option at Izumi sushi will notice (or maybe they won't) that rolls now come with fewer pieces. Customers who order on an a la carte basis still get the original portion.
Shrimp, in some cases, have gotten smaller (although not at Chops steakhouse), and in a broad sense many portion sizes have gotten smaller. That's not something the cruise line has commented on, but it's clear to frequent cruisers that some menu items have shrunk in size.
In the case of an item like shrimp, that may be due to varying costs. In other cases, the cruise line wants to both save money and avoid waste. The serving size for ravioli and tortellini in the MDR is often small (at least by American standards) which may be because people often also order these as an additional entree.
Royal Caribbean does allow passengers to order as many additional helpings (or different entrees) as they want, except for lobster tails, which come with a $16.99 (plus 18% gratuity) added charge per tail.
Carnival Pushes Back on a Food Rumor
Carnival Loyalty Ambassador John Heald regularly answers questions from fans (and sometimes not fans). He recently pushed back on a frequent rumor he had been hearing.
"Talking of eggs, I know they are expensive at the moment but please ignore the rumour started by The Real Bored Househusbands of Cleveland, Ohio that we are charging $2 per egg," he shared on his Facebook page. "That is utter nonsense. I would make another yolk about this but such was the scorn of people who believed this silliness that it is best I say simply that it is not true."
Carnival has started charging an extra $5 per entree after a passenger has had two complimentary ones. That $5 charge for each extra entree also applies to lobster tails as well.
