Cruising has long been loved as a mostly all-inclusive vacation, but over the years, cruise lines have slowly trimmed away some of the complimentary perks.
Older cruise passengers will remember the little freebies that once made the experience feel extra special – many of which now come with a price tag.
Below, we will see ten things that were traditionally included in your cruise fare, but have gradually shifted to an additional charge.
I’ll also tell you if any cruise lines still offer these perks for free, even as the general industry trend has changed.
1. Room Service
Not long ago, ordering room service was a guilt-free thing on most cruises. You could have sandwiches, desserts or a late-night pizza delivered to your cabin at no extra cost (aside from an optional tip).
In fact, complimentary room service used to be standard on cruise ships.
Today, however, many cruise lines have introduced “convenience” fees for room service deliveries, especially on mainstream ships.
For example, Royal Caribbean now adds a service charge (plus an automatic gratuity) for each room service order, and others have followed with flat fees per order or per item.
Carnival Cruise Line even announced plans to eliminate most free room service items and move to a paid menu (with only continental breakfast remaining free).
The reason often given is to curb food waste and align with what other lines are doing.
That said, not all cruise lines charge for room service.
A few still offer it free of charge: for instance, premium brands like Princess and Holland America continue to offer room service at no extra cost.
2. Lobster Night
Lobster has always been a highlight on cruises. I perfectly remember the days you could order lobster tail in the main dining room on formal night and even ask for seconds (or thirds) without paying extra.
It really gave that feeling of cruise luxury. However, now lobster is usually available on one night of the cruise, but the free-flowing lobster has been completely removed.
Many cruise lines now limit the amount of lobster you can get for free or charge for additional servings.
For example, Carnival serves lobster tails on one formal evening on cruises of 6+ nights, but now charges you for a lobster tail after the first two.
Even worse, Royal Caribbean, if you want more than one lobster tail on the special “lobster night,” you’ll pay an upcharge for the extra plate.
And on other evenings outside of the designated night, lobster isn’t part of the free menu at all unless you dine in a specialty restaurant.
Some cruise lines have even cut lobster from the main dining room menu on shorter or less expensive itineraries to save costs.
Often, you’ll only get a lobster night on longer cruises now.
As far as I know, across mainstream fleets, only Disney Cruise Line still includes multiple lobster tails on its longer cruises without extra charges.
3. Sauna and Steam Rooms
After a workout or a day of exploring ports, many cruisers love to unwind in the sauna or steam room.
In the past, the saunas and steam rooms located in the ship’s fitness center or spa locker room were typically open to all guests at no charge – you could just walk in and enjoy a sweat session as part of the cruise amenities.
This has changed on many newer ships. A growing number of cruise lines have built elaborate “thermal suite” areas in their spas – featuring steam rooms, saunas, therapeutic pools, heated loungers, even snow rooms – and these areas now require passengers to buy a pass for access.
In other words, the sauna and steam room are no longer free if they’re part of an upgraded spa complex.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s obvious that you have to pay to enter the spa, but they could at least keep a free sauna in the gym.
In this case, credit goes to Viking Ocean Cruises, which includes the use of its sauna and thermal suite for all passengers, with no extra fee.
Also, newcomer Explora Journeys does the same, but that’s a luxury cruise line. On modern mainstream ships, you should expect that if you want to use the sauna/steam room, you may need to purchase a spa pass.
4. Specialty Coffees
For coffee lovers, this change is a bit of a wake-up call. In the past, you could finish off a lovely dinner with a cappuccino or espresso, and it was included in your dining experience.
These days, while regular brewed coffee and tea are still free, most cruise lines treat espresso-based drinks and specialty teas as an extra charge.
So if you wander into a café for a latte or order a cappuccino with dessert, you’ll likely be charged a few dollars unless you have a drink package.
The shift happened as lines realized specialty cafés could be revenue generators – so virtually every big cruise brand rolled out specialty coffee menus with pricing.
There are exceptions, but only at the higher end, like luxury cruise lines and river cruises.
5. Twice-Daily Cabin Cleaning
One of the classic hallmarks of cruise service was returning to a neatly made-up cabin twice a day.
In the morning, after you left for breakfast, and again in the evening, while you were at dinner, the latter is often called turndown service, complete with your bed prepped for the night.
Many cruisers loved coming back to find fresh towels, a turned-down bed, perhaps a towel animal, and a chocolate on the pillow.
Unfortunately, the era of twice-daily housekeeping is ending on many lines. Several major operators have shifted to once-per-day cabin cleaning for most staterooms. For example.
For example, in 2023, Norwegian Cruise Line announced it would reduce standard stateroom service to once a day (with evening turndown only on request).
Norwegian stated this change was to support environmental initiatives (less laundry and energy usage), although I would add that it also helps reduce labor costs.
Most lines continue twice-daily cleaning only for suites or premium-category cabins, and they are usually willing to provide extra cleaning, but this must be requested from guest services or the cabin attendant.
Have a look at the other 17 things you can request for free from guest services on a cruise.
6. Fitness Classes
As you probably already know, cruise ships have fantastic gyms and fitness centers that are free for all passengers to use.
What’s changed, however, is that joining a group exercise class on board often incurs an extra fee now.
It wasn’t always so – years back, basic aerobics or stretch classes on the ship were typically complimentary.
Today, on most mainstream cruise lines, you’ll pay around $10-$15 (or more) for classes such as yoga, Pilates, spinning, boot camp, or high-intensity training.
The philosophy is that these instructor-led specialty classes are a premium activity, similar to what you might pay for boutique fitness on land.
Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, and others all charge for many of their fitness classes, sometimes with the exception of an introductory class or gentler options like morning stretching or dance classes on deck.
The winner in this case is Virgin Voyages! On their cruises, all fitness classes are free of charge for the guests.
7. Late-Night Snacks
In the golden age of cruising, many ships had a grand midnight buffet.
I think many of you will remember the carved ice sculptures, chocolate fountains, trays of tapas and pastries, laid out around midnight for passengers to admire and enjoy.
Well, cruise lines phased them out years ago due to the large amount of food waste and the labor involved in preparation for a short window of enjoyment.
In their place, cruise ships began offering smaller late-night bites, such as keeping the buffet open for an extra hour or adding a 24-hour pizzeria or café.
The key difference today is that late-night food options are more limited – and in some cases, if you want something specific in the wee hours, you might have to pay for it.
Many ships still have at least one free late-night option (for example, Princess Cruises typically offers a 24-hour International Café with snacks, and Royal Caribbean often has pizza or café items available into the night).
Carnival Cruise Line used to boast 24/7 pizza, but recently, they experimented with closing the pizza at midnight and instead putting out a limited midnight snack buffet on the Lido deck.
I mean, they are fine and of course, you won’t starve on a cruise, but I must say that the beauty of the midnight buffets is still etched in my memory.
I agree that there was a lot of food waste. Maybe it could have been made smaller and more decorative instead of removing it completely?
I don’t know, let me know what you think, and don’t forget to check out the things that 7 things Royal Caribbean is quietly taking away in 2025 and the 7 big changes coming to Carnival in 2025.
8. Chocolate on the Pillow
This is perhaps the smallest item on the list, but symbolically it’s one many cruisers lament: the beloved pillow chocolate.
Traditionally, cruise stewards would leave a little foil-wrapped chocolate or mint on your pillow.
It was a tiny touch, but one that many saw as the ultimate pampering for the customer.
Over the last decade or so, pillow chocolates have largely vanished from mass-market cruises.
Began phasing it out around the late 2000s, initially limiting the chocolates to suit guests or top loyalty members and eventually cutting them for cost savings.
During the 2008–2009 economic downturn, many lines decided that those little extras were a super easy thing to eliminate from the budget.
Today, finding a chocolate on your pillow is the exception, not the rule. Carnival, for example, stopped the automatic pillow chocolates years ago (long-time Carnival fans still mention it wistfully).
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian no longer do it either as part of standard service.
It’s no secret that the pillow chocolates and other turndown surprises (like printed next-day programs and towel animals) are fading away. I’ve written a specific article with 10 things you won’t be able to do on cruises anymore.
9. Mini-Bar Treats
When you step into your cruise cabin, you’ll often find a mini-fridge stocked with drinks or a tray with snacks.
In the old days of cruising, some lines would provide a few complimentary in-cabin treats – perhaps a welcome fruit basket in every stateroom, or a couple of sodas or waters for free upon arrival.
These kinds of automatic freebies have mostly disappeared, and the mini-bar has become strictly a pay-as-you-go amenity in standard cabins.
Pay attention because almost all contemporary cruise lines charge to your account for anything in the mini-bar or pre-stocked snacks in your room if you consume them, so you risk getting a nasty surprise when you have to settle the bill.
In addition, those mini-bar prices are usually much higher than what you’d pay at the bar, and an automatic gratuity or service fee (often 15–18%) may be added on top.
This is a shift for cruisers who remember more generous times. Years ago, it wasn’t common to even have a minibar in regular cabins; instead, some lines greeted passengers with free bottles of water or a plate of cookies.
Princess Cruises used to deliver a fruit basket to every cabin at the start of a cruise, and Royal Caribbean once provided fruit baskets too – now those are typically only on request or for suite guests.
Some cruise lines still include them, but only for some cabins. For example, MSC Cruises includes a one-time free minibar setup for certain suite passengers in its Yacht Club and Aurea experience.
While Viking’s ocean ships provide complimentary minibar drinks (replenished once daily) even in regular cabins.
But on other lines (like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian), even if you bought a drinks package, the in-cabin minibar usually isn’t covered.
If you’re traveling on a budget, the smart move is to treat the cabin mini-bar like it’s off-limits – or empty it out and stash your own sodas and snacks inside that you brought or bought onshore.
This is a trick that can be very useful if you want to enjoy the cruise without spending too much. You’ll probably find the list of 10 things to bring from home on a cruise to save money helpful.
10. Port Shuttles
When your cruise ship docks in an industrial port or one that’s far from the city center, it used to be standard for the cruise line to provide complimentary shuttle buses to get passengers from the ship to a central drop-off point in town (or just to the port gate).
These port shuttles were often free of charge as a courtesy, ensuring guests could easily access the destination if it wasn’t walkable.
In recent years, however, some cruise lines have started charging for shuttle bus service in ports where they previously didn’t.
It’s a subtle change that you might not notice until you’re onboard and see a fee listed for the “transfer to town.”
One example: Carnival Cruise Line in 2025 began charging passengers for the shuttle in La Paz, Mexico – a bus ride that had historically been provided for free.
Guests on Carnival were surprised by a letter on board explaining that the trip from the remote port to downtown would now cost a small fee per person.
The new charge wasn’t huge (around $10 round-trip for adults), but it represented a service that used to be complimentary, now becoming a paid extra.
However, this is not unique to Carnival – other cruise lines have also quietly added fees for shuttles in certain ports.
On some itineraries, Royal Caribbean and others might offer a “downtown shuttle” as an excursion you purchase, whereas years ago it might have been free or arranged by the local port authority at no cost.
That said, whether a shuttle costs money can also depend on the port itself. In some countries, the port authority provides free shuttle buses (for safety, to get you out of a cargo port area), and in those cases, it doesn’t matter what the cruise line’s policy is.
If you have been on a cruise in Europe, you will have noticed this, and as an Italian, I know this well, because many European ports mandate a free shuttle if walking is prohibited.
So, if a port is far from town, don’t assume the cruise will automatically bus you in for free anymore. Check your cruise newsletter or ask at the shore excursion desk whether a complimentary shuttle is available.
I would also like to remind you that I have listed the things that are no longer free, but many others remain free, so make sure you don’t miss out on them! Check the article with the 10 free things you must take advantage of on cruises.