Royal Caribbean raises some specialty dining prices

When you're on vacation, what's a few extra dollars? 

People don't generally think that way when they book a trip, but once they're away on a hard-earned vacation, the rules can change.

You might indulge a little more or buy something that was not in the original budget. On a cruise, where many things -- including meals in the main dining room or the buffet -- are included, it's even easier to justify a little spending on extras.

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While you can go on a Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Get Free Report cruise without spending a dime beyond your cruise fare, that's not generally what happens. The cruise line, like rivals Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC, offers a lot of ways to spend a little (or a lot) of extra money.   

Some Royal Caribbean extras can be booked before you cruise. You might opt for a drink package or prebook the Ultimate Dining plan. In both those cases, there's no set price: The cruise line uses demand-based variable pricing. So customers can't tell whether a price goes up.

Many people, however, make the decision to dine in added-fee specialty restaurants after they get on the ship. Those prices, which can be fixed price for a full meal or a la carte depending upon the restaurant, are fixed.

Now, according to a report from Matt Hochberg of Royal Caribbean Blog, the cruise line has raised prices at four onboard eateries.

Royal Caribbean raises some food prices  

Food costs generally have risen; that's not unique to Royal Caribbean. Walt Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report, for example, has used a mix of higher prices and smaller portions to bring down its food costs at Disney World.

Royal Caribbean has made a number of dining changes since the pandemic. That included relatively small ones, like cutting sushi-portion sizes for people ordering off the a la carte menu at Izumi Sushi, and the larger one of cutting back its menus in the main dining room.

The cruise line did not publicly say that the changes in the main dining room were about spending less money. But, it did talk about reducing waste while also claiming that the changes were about providing quicker service. 

Now, without making any sort of announcement -- a typical move -- Royal Caribbean has raised prices at four onboard restaurants, according to Hochberg, who is not affiliated with the cruise line.

The affected eateries are:

• Playmakers: Entrees increased 33% to $11.99 from $9 while the price of wings went up 40% to $13.99 a dozen from $10. Appetizer prices were all raised by at least $1.99 while the Poke Nachos saw a $4.99, or 63%, increase to $12.99 from $8.
• Portside Barbecue: A restaurant unique to Oasis of the Seas, Portside Barbecue, raised prices across the board as well. "The Signature combo went from 2 cuts for $12.49 and 3 cuts for $15.39 to $16.99 and $21.99, respectively," Royal Caribbean Blog reported. Those increases are 36% and 43%. "The Pitmaster Special price was changed from $9.99 to $14.99." That's up 50%. Prices were also raised on single cuts, sides, and desserts.
• Mason Jar: This new restaurant, which is on Wonder of the Seas, offers a fixed-price menu. It has not raised its dinner prices, but brunch increased 40% to $34.99 from $24.99.
• Izumi Sushi: The price of all appetizers went up by $1 while signature rolls went from $13 or $14 to $15. Prices aside from dessert were increased across the entire menu.

These changes were reported by Royal Caribbean Blog readers who shared photo evidence with Hochberg. The changes do not affect dining packages that include fixed-price meals, but those packages are affected by higher a la carte prices where no fixed price is offered.

Buyers of the Ultimate Dining package, for example, get a $20 daily credit at Playmakers, which will now not go quite as far.