Norwegian Breakaway was one of the first NCL ships to lose the second daily cabin service.
WILLIAM MAYES
Coming soon after an announcement that its shore staff would be reduced by nine per cent came the news that NCL will be cutting back on cabin servicing, reducing the twice-daily visits to a single call, allowing a reorganisation of the roles of Stateroom Steward and Junior Stateroom Steward to be combined into a single Stateroom Attendant function. Norwegian Epic, Sky, Jewel, Sun and Breakaway are the first ships to lose the second cabin servicing, starting in January 2023.
In its third quarter earnings announcement in early November 2022, the company gave an insight into the economics of its operation. In round numbers, ticket revenue was $278 per passenger per day, but the operating costs were $311, leaving a gap of $33 to be covered by onboard spending, which came to $128 per day, showing how important that has become.
Quite where the 20 per cent gratuity added to everything on board ‘for your convenience’ slots into this is unclear. Probably the greatest cost to be factored in is that of fuel, prices of which have nearly doubled since 2019, when the $33 deficit per person was actually a $71 surplus.