Cruise cabins have very limited space. The typical room on a cruise ship comes in at about 185 square feet. That’s roughly half the s size of a traditional hotel room.
Because cabins are small, cruise lines think about how every inch of space gets used. Newer ships have incredibly efficient designs so that nearly every available space is used for something.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line quietly made drastic dining change permanent
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the first-of-its-class, largest-ship-in-the-world, offers both USB and USB-C ports in plentiful numbers. It also provides an incredibly efficient design where seemingly every inch of your room has a purpose.
Even older ships have cabins designed to make the best use of limited space. Celebrity Reflection, a ship that first sailed in 2012, has hidden storage spots you may not even notice unless you actually need the room.
That’s common on nearly every ship as the cruise lines know that, in a cabin accommodating multiple people in a very small amount of space, every choice matters,
One choice that cruise lines have struggled with is what to do with the in-room cooler. Most cruise cabins have what seems like a refrigerator that is actually a cooler.
How that gets used varies by cruise line. Royal Caribbean (RCL) leaves them empty for passengers to put water, soda, beer, and other beverages in to keep them cool (not cold as it’s not a full-on fridge).
Celebrity Cruises, another Royal Caribbean brand, uses the cooler as an honor bar, stocking it with soda, beer, wine, liquor, and a small selection of snacks.
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Cruise cabins are small rooms.
Image source: Dan Kline/Come Cruise With Me
Carnival passenger pushes back on its coolers
Carnival (CCL) , like its closest rival leaves its in-room coolers empty. Not every passenger is happy about that.
The cruise line’s Brand Ambassador John Heald recently addressed one angry customer who asked about this issue on his Facebook page.
“Why is Carnival the ONLY cruise line not to have an honor bar? As well as sodas, beers, and miniature spirit bottles like JD, Grey Goose, and Bacardi all the cruise lines have snacks, chocolate bars, and chips. Why?” the passenger wrote.
First, it should be noted that some cruise lines have stocked honor bars and some do not. MSC Cruises, for example, will stock your honor bar, but does it only by request while Royal Caribbean ships have empty coolers.
Heald responded to the post with the logic behind keeping the coolers unstocked.
“Seriously, the Beards tried this maybe 10 years ago or so The problem was that most of the items were not used which meant they went quickly out of date. Plus it is extra work for the stateroom attendants to check what has been used,” he wrote.
(“The Beards” is Heald’s term for Carnival’s executive leadership.)
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Carnival passengers speak out
Heald’s post generated an astounding 8,600 comments. Opinions were mixed on the topic.
“Although I love snacks in the room, I’m sure it’s much cheaper for me to bring my own than what I would pay Carnival to enjoy them. And it’s possible that what is stocked wouldn’t be what I want, so I will continue to bring ours,” wrote Kimberly Walls Dale.
Others think that having the cooler stocked should be an option.
“Make it an option TBD by the passenger before boarding? Similar to deciding if they want a king bed or two twin beds. Stocked refrigerator (snacks and drinks consumed will cost you, or you can pay a flat fee and have them stocked for the entire cruise) or an empty refrigerator to be used how you like. I’m an empty refrigerator gal, but people love options,” shared Kellie White.
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It’s important to note for people who need to keep milk or medicine chilled, the in-room cooler is not a refrigerator. A full fridge is available by request (although it is best to make that need known before your cruise).
“When we first started cruising many years ago, they had stocked our bars in the rooms. We never touched it and never used it and never would use it. We like the empty mini fridge much better because we do use that during the cruise,” added Barry Walker.
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