Service Fee for Room Service

In response to the amount of wasted food they've experienced from late-night room service orders, Royal Caribbean has announced they will be phasing in a service charge for room service orders placed between midnight and 5AM.

Whether it's from late-night revelers falling asleep before their order arrives, not having as significant "munchies" as they thought when they ordered, or just simply the nature of late-night orders, there seemed to be a much higher amount of food left uneaten from orders placed in the wee hours. Royal Caribbean performed an "exhaustive review" of demand for room service by hour of day and the corresponding amount of food wasted, and determined a service fee may allow for more judicious use of room service and reduce food wastage.

The charge will be applied to food items selected from the Light Snacks menu, listed in the stateroom guest services directory. Guests can enjoy complimentary room service from 5 a.m. to midnight, which includes breakfast service delivered 7 to 10 a.m. daily. In conjunction with the room service charge and to ensure guests have a no-charge option during the late night hours, Royal Caribbean is introducing newly extended hours in either the Solarium Café or Sorrento’s Pizzeria, depending on the ship. On Voyager- and Freedom-class ships, Cafe Promenade is open 24 hours a day, offering finger sandwiches, cookies and snacks. For more information

The new fee will be implemented on a ship-by-ship basis between January 13 and January 23.

My take? I don't mind it. If I'm out and about and want something before bed, I can pick it up from the open venues on my way back to my cabin. If I'm in my cabin and the munchies strike, I don't much care what the charge is, I just don't want to get dressed again. Yes, it is assessing a charge on a previously-free service, but if RCCL is being honest about the food wastage (and I've seen a lot of the trays out with significant food on them), then this is an appropriate response. Make me think twice if I'm really hungry or not. Not a big deal.

By the way, this type of charge is common on lines in Europe, and even Princess has a charge for the personal pizzas through room service (though they do arrive piping hot), while Costa charges for all room service orders.