Breakfast in the Pinnacle

[Crazy Gramps]

our last cruise we showed the first morning for breakfast. We were told that breakfast wasn't being served the fitst day any longer.

 

Anybody else run into this?

 

Yes, we were in a suite entitled to the Pinacle.

 

Gramps

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have read that since HAL is doing this Code Red thing for the first 48 - 72 hours on the ships, the Pinnacle isn;t being opened during this time.

JMO -- but I do not think this is right. Those of us in the Deluxe Verandah Suites have paid for the right to have breakfast there.

[sail7seas]

Agree. If Pinnacle can be open for dinner the first night, it can and should be open for breakfast the next morning. It makes no sense in terms of infectious control. Are they using Pinnacle Staff to supplement Lido staff in order to keep free of self service?

 

What would be a logical reason for not opening Pinnacle for breakfast that morning?

[canadianbear]

I agree, it should be open...is it because they need the extra staff elsewhere to help serve?

[SwissMyst]

Is the Pinnacle breakfast available for all "S" suites, or just the Neptune Lounge "S" suite passengers?

[jtl513]

Is the Pinnacle breakfast available for all "S" suites, or just the Neptune Lounge "S" suite passengers?

Not the SS/SY/SZ Superior on the Vistas or Signatures.

[sail7seas]

Guests in Deluxe Vernada Suites and Penthouse Suites may have breakfast in Pinnacle at no additional charge.

 

That is category "S", "SA, SB, SC" and "PS".

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been on quite a few ships that were actually in Code Red and never was the Pinnacle Grill closed for breakfast.

There was enough staff to work there and enough staff to work the Neptune Lounge as we were not allowed to touch anything in there as well.

[Colakid]

On our recent Zuiderdam it was the third day before the PG opened for suite guests for breakfast. We will be going again on the Veendam in August to Bermuda and hope it opens earlier in the week. Colakid.

[sail7seas]

If Pinnacle remains open for lunch and dinner during any cruise, it should be opened for breakfast barring any other legitimate reason for not opening. It is not appropriate it should close first morning because of extra precaution to avoid Noro spread. If they can serve dinner, they can serve breakfast.

 

Non-negotiable IMO

 

[taxmantoo]

If Pinnacle remains open for lunch and dinner during any cruise, it should be opened for breakfast barring any other legitimate reason for not opening. It is not appropriate it should close first morning because of extra precaution to avoid Noro spread. If they can serve dinner, they can serve breakfast.

 

Non-negotiable IMO

 

 

I agree...closing the PG for Noro precaution is ridiculous. If that logic made any sense, they would also close the MDR :eek:!!!

[Bill HaHa]

On the Zaandam March and early April 2010, we had the suite breakfast in the Kings Room next to the Dining Room. Don't know why not in the Pinnicle, except the pinnicle has no windows. The Kings Room does have windows. A greater view. We had it everyday. A very quiet place to have breakfast

[TLHB70]

We were cruising on the Oosterdam last week. (May 30-June 6). We were able to enjoy Neptune's Lounge and breakfast in Pinnacle since we were in SA suite. Pinnacle started serving breakfast on Wednesday. We received notice of this in our suite on the first day (or first night).

[sail7seas]

We were cruising on the Oosterdam last week. (May 30-June 6). We were able to enjoy Neptune's Lounge and breakfast in Pinnacle since we were in SA suite. Pinnacle started serving breakfast on Wednesday. We received notice of this in our suite on the first day (or first night).

 

 

You boarded on Sunday, May 30 and were not permitted to have breakfast in Pinnacle until WEDNESDAY morning? What reason did they give for it being closed on Monday and Tuesday?

 

Noro Prevention is a bogus excuse.

[CowPrincess]

I suspect that it is a manpower issue but that is purely speculation on my part. I have no idea the # of crew who would normally be staffing the Pinnacle for breakfast, but can see how redeploying those people to the Lido could be useful.

 

edited to add: Given that this 48-hour "prevention" period is pretty new, I suspect that once the logistics are all worked out, the suite pax will be getting breakfast in the Pinnacle again for the entire length of the cruise.

[TLHB70]

You boarded on Sunday, May 30 and were not permitted to have breakfast in Pinnacle until WEDNESDAY morning? What reason did they give for it being closed on Monday and Tuesday?

 

Noro Prevention is a bogus excuse.

 

 

That is correct. We boarded on Sunday but were not able to eat breakfast there until Wednesday. There was no excuse given for it. They just let us know that we would be able to eat breakfast in Pinnacle each morning starting Wednesday. I assumed that it was because of the code red prevention/precautions. They were doing that for the first 48 hours so I assumed the Pinnacle staff was needed in Lido and MDR.

[sail7seas]

They need to provide what they advertise they are selling us. They state included in the fare we pay, breakfast in Pinnacle is included.... it doesn't state included for part of the cruise because they are understaffed. If they need to have Code Red precautions in place on every cruise as a regular course, they need to have the staff to handle it IMO Those stewards can only do just so much work. You can only get a certain amount of man hours out of every man (and woman).

 

 

Thanks for the info.

[jmk22574]

We were on the Zaandam (May 21-28, 2010), had cabin #7003, S suite. We got one of those HAL note cards the first night stating that breakfast was not being offered for S suite passengers in the Pinnacle for the entire cruise. I do believe they were offering a second option perhaps? We didn't ever look into it further as we enjoy room service breakfast so we can eat on our balcony. Wish I had kept that note card now, but I do remember on our two previous cruises (one SB cabin, one SA cabin) being offered the option of breakfast in the Pinnacle.

 

Jill

[macbest]

To the post just above mine, this type of treatment (no breakfast at all during the cruise in Pinnacle for the entire cruise) sounds like a complaint and a shipboard credit to me. That sucks. You think you are getting something extra, you pay the full freight, and then to find out AFTER YOU BOARD that something like this is being taken away.

 

As posted above also, to me it sounds like they need the staff (probably a whopping 3-4 people are all that serve the Pinnacle for breakfast!) to cover the code red. Again, if they likely know they are doing this on a regular basis (and it seems like it has become much more common) then they need to add staff to accomodate. To me, with 4 people in our suite, that to me is at least a $300 shipboard credit requirement. Maybe more...

[KatWag]

I'm hoping that they get this resolved before our September cruise. This is our first trip on HAL (have sailed Regent / Windstar / Princess / Carnival / RCI and NCL previously). The HAL suites are a significant premium over the cost of the suites on some of the other lines.

 

We're really looking forward to the trip and fully expect to be HAL cheerleaders after we return. But it would be disappointing to pay that premium and then not have access to the full list of suite perks listed in their sales literature. Not a major issue - we've never had a bad cruise yet - we just love being on the ship. But I don't think it is unreasonable for any of us to expect that the perks they sold us on will actually be delivered once we get onboard.

[kjw869]

We were on the Sunday May 16th sailing of the Oosterdam to Alaska and the Pinnacle did not open for breakfast until Wednesday May 19th while we were docked in Juneau. There were very few others utilizing the Pinnacle compared to our Eurodam sailing in January of this year.

[Two@Sea]

The 'civilized way to start the day' Pinnacle breakfast is the only reason we book suites. Seriously. (I know what you're probably thinking, but we all have our little quirks, right?) :) That relaxing breakfast sets the tone for our entire day. We enjoy the leisurely pace and service.

 

I am disappointed, DH will be devastated, and HAL will be down two suite pax. On the bright side, we can save a bundle cancelling and rebooking a regular ol' balcony cabin.

[Krazy Kruizers]

None of this makes sense as to why the Pinnacle should be closed 48 hours for breakfast.

As I said -- we have been on various ships when they were in the REAL Code Red and the Pinnacle was never closed for breakfast.

UNLESS - HAL has cut back the number of staff in the Pinnacle and Lido so much that there is no choice????

[CtheW0rld]

i would wager some of the staff were sick and needed to be quarantined. they had to get replacements from somewhere. taking them from the pinnacle staff would impact the least amount of passengers.

[TLHB70]

i would wager some of the staff were sick and needed to be quarantined. they had to get replacements from somewhere. taking them from the pinnacle staff would impact the least amount of passengers.

 

 

No, we were not in an actual code red. They started our cruise with the code red precautions in place to prevent any problems. This was done for the first 48 hours of our cruise. Pinnacle was opened for breakfast for us after those first 48 hours.