Norwegian Cruise Line will cut back its daily cleaning of staterooms this year, according to Crew Center, a website run by former cruise ship crew members.
Citing a letter sent to NCL crew members, the line will no longer provide twice-daily stateroom service to guests booked in studio, inside, oceanview, balcony and club balcony rooms. Instead, those rooms will receive once-daily service.
All other suites and all Haven categories will be unaffected by the change and continue to receive twice-daily stateroom service, according to Crew Center.
The new policy will be introduced on the Norwegian Epic on Jan. 8 and rolled out fleetwide by March 31, reported Crew Center.
NCL reportedly said in the letter that the reduction in service will have a positive impact on environmental sustainability by conserving water, energy and the use of chemicals and is in line with standard practices in the cruise and hotel industries.
The change will alter titles and pay for stateroom stewards, according to Crew Center. The title "stateroom steward" and "junior stateroom steward" will be eliminated and replaced by "stateroom attendant." Those previously in the position of "junior stateroom steward" will receive a salary increase and stateroom stewards will see a salary decrease on their next contract.
The changes come days after NCL increased gratuities for guests booked in suites and regular staterooms. Beginning with bookings made on or after Jan. 1, Haven and suite guests will be charged $25 per day, up from $20. All other guests will be charged $20 per day, up from $18 for club balcony suite guests and up from $16 for all other cabin categories.
Guests who booked before Jan. 1 can lock in the previous rates if they prepay their service charges before their sail date. Prepaid charges can be added anytime up to 24 hours before sailing.
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Caravan Tours has announced it will no longer pay commissions to travel advisors, beginning with tours operating in 2023. The Chicago-based company posted a notice on its website saying that "all tour reservations will be handled directly between Caravan and our travelers."
The notice did not explain the reason for the company's decision. The company thanked travel advisors for their "hard work and collaboration" with the company, which has been in business for 70 years.
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Hard Rock says Mirage, and its volcano, will live on into 2023.
A guitar-shaped room tower will eventually replace it, but the iconic volcano in front of the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip is getting a bit of a reprieve. To the delight of its fans, it will continue to erupt nightly for most of 2023 as Hard Rock International completes its ambitious plan to remodel the resort.
And despite its ambitious plans to remodel the property, Hard Rock officials say the Mirage itself will also continue to welcome guests into the new year.
Hard Rock took control of the Mirage on Dec. 19 after its $1.1 billion acquisition from MGM Resorts International was approved by Nevada regulatory authorities earlier this month.
The company said the 3,044-room resort will continue to operate as the Mirage with minimal changes until the renovation and rebranding of the property to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas is completed over the next 18 to 24 months.
All room reservations and group bookings will be honored, with no action required by guests or group organizers. Existing MGM Rewards will automatically be transferred to a similar tier of the Unity by Hard Rock players rewards program. Points can be earned and redeemed at participating Hard Rock venues around the world.
Another of the resort's primary draws, Cirque Du Soleil's "The Beatles Love," will continue to be staged through 2023. Long-time attraction Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, however, has closed, and the animals are being relocated.
Among the many substantial changes planned: the addition of 596 rooms for a total of 3,640. Allen said the Mirage's villas will remain but will be modernized.
The casino will be drastically expanded from 94,000 square feet to 174,000 square feet. It will go from 836 to 2,000 slot machines and from 51 to 212 table games.
At least three restaurants and a Hard Rock Live entertainment space will be added, and an infinity pool will be built adjacent to the guitar-shaped tower.
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