Room service and MDR

[butternut1]

Good morning. First cruise on Celebrity and I have a couple of questions. I read somewhere quite some time back that passengers can order room service from the MDR menu regardless of what type of cabin they are in. Does anyone know if this is in fact correct? Next question I have concerns bringing wine onboard (surprise, :D) I understand that you can bring on 1 bottle per person at embarkation. Is it posted anywhere that it is only the 750ml bottles? I've heard of people bringing on 1.5L but don't know if that is allowed? Thanks so much.

[Gonzo70]

Yes, any stateroom category can order food from the main dining room at dinner time while the main dining room is open. Keep in mind that unless you have a suite it can be a bit cumbersome to consume a large meal in your stateroom.

 

Celebrity does allow two bottles of wine per stateroom to be brought aboard when first boarding the ship. At times the website has specified 750ml, but not always. If you bring a larger bottle there is a chance that it would be confiscated, but seems like the majority of time it is not.

[bbappel]

We have had the MDR meal in our veranda stateroom when we returned from a shore excursion too late to make it to dinner. The steward brought everything at once (it may have taken him two trips) and we ate on the balcony and served ourselves course by course, leaving the food covered and stacked on the sofa table. We let him know when we were finished so he would come and retrieve everything, but I believe we stacked it so it would be one trip. We had the drink package so as soon as we ordered, my husband went to the bar and brought up 4 glasses of wine (2 white for the starter, 2 red for the entree). It took him two trips to do that - I think to 2 different bars. It would also be a good situation to drink your brought-on-board wine since you wouldn't pay a corkage fee to consume in your stateroom. It isn't easy, but it can be fun. I had brought a flameless candle that we used for light and ambiance. I hope we have the opportunity to do this again, but one small caution, be aware that the food aroma will linger, so you want to be careful what you order.;)

 

Beth

[obnurse]

Wow! That does sound fun!

[butternut1]

Yes, any stateroom category can order food from the main dining room at dinner time while the main dining room is open. Keep in mind that unless you have a suite it can be a bit cumbersome to consume a large meal in your stateroom.

 

Celebrity does allow two bottles of wine per stateroom to be brought aboard when first boarding the ship. At times the website has specified 750ml, but not always. If you bring a larger bottle there is a chance that it would be confiscated, but seems like the majority of time it is not.

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. You've been a great help!

[butternut1]

We have had the MDR meal in our veranda stateroom when we returned from a shore excursion too late to make it to dinner. The steward brought everything at once (it may have taken him two trips) and we ate on the balcony and served ourselves course by course, leaving the food covered and stacked on the sofa table. We let him know when we were finished so he would come and retrieve everything, but I believe we stacked it so it would be one trip. We had the drink package so as soon as we ordered, my husband went to the bar and brought up 4 glasses of wine (2 white for the starter, 2 red for the entree). It took him two trips to do that - I think to 2 different bars. It would also be a good situation to drink your brought-on-board wine since you wouldn't pay a corkage fee to consume in your stateroom. It isn't easy, but it can be fun. I had brought a flameless candle that we used for light and ambiance. I hope we have the opportunity to do this again, but one small caution, be aware that the food aroma will linger, so you want to be careful what you order.;)

 

Beth

 

Hi Beth. That does sound like it would be fun. We are going to give it a try. The flameless candle is also a great idea. Thanks for sharing that idea.

[Begete]

So what was the advantage in paying for a suite?

[bbappel]

So what was the advantage in paying for a suite?

 

Your butler will probably serve you by courses instead of bringing it all at once - and you have more room.

 

And you can invite company to share with you! When were you cruising next?

 

B;)

[Begete]

February 17. Couldn't care less about the butler, but on the website, Celebrity said rooms below suites had "room service" menus, while those in suites (on Century) could order full, breakfast lunch and dinner from MDR, one of major reasons we paid for a suite, as our intent is to have most meals in the suite.

 

This is not the first item we believe we were induced to purchase a suite to obtain, and then either it is available to all, or upon reading the fine print several pages later, like the 1, 2, 3, offerings, not available on the cruise we are taking.

 

This is our 10th + cruise, second on Celebrity, first time in a suite, and now I am starting to remember why we swore off Celebrity about a dozen years ago. They promise one thing in their advertising and then don't live up to it.

[Happy2cruise]

Thanks for the information. Going on our first Celebrity cruise in March and will now plan room service from main dining room on second formal night. Drinks and dinner on the balcony.....life is good!!!!

[phoenix_dream]

You piqued my interest, so I went and read the website myself. I think what they are trying to differentiate (and I agree it is not clear) is that in a suite your butler will serve the meals to you, by course, which is different than just having the food delivered in a standard room. It is a much nicer experience in a suite IMHO.

[Gonzo70]

February 17. Couldn't care less about the butler, but on the website, Celebrity said rooms below suites had "room service" menus, while those in suites (on Century) could order full, breakfast lunch and dinner from MDR, one of major reasons we paid for a suite, as our intent is to have most meals in the suite.

 

This is not the first item we believe we were induced to purchase a suite to obtain, and then either it is available to all, or upon reading the fine print several pages later, like the 1, 2, 3, offerings, not available on the cruise we are taking.

 

This is our 10th + cruise, second on Celebrity, first time in a suite, and now I am starting to remember why we swore off Celebrity about a dozen years ago. They promise one thing in their advertising and then don't live up to it.

 

If you plan to consume most meals in your suite then you will care a lot about your butler - in suites the butler delivers the meals course-by-course and often sets the table. While all stateroom categories can order off e MDR menu at dinner time, only suites have it delivered course-by-course, suites have much more space so hat dinfng en suite is more comfortable and the butler can bring espresso based beverages to your suite for no charge. Concierge Class and above heave some upgraded items available via room service such as fruit smoothies and fresh squeezed juice at breakfast for no charge.

 

Seems like you are looking for negatives before your cruise even started; Celebrity has a good product. Sure they make the perks look nicer than they are online and in brochures and commercials, but so do all the mass market cruise lines. I also have 10+ cruises and have sailed on three different lines and found Celebrity to be my favorite. The main advantage of a suite though (unless splurging on the largest suites) is extra space, not perks.

[Begete]

Thanx for your reply, Gonzo.

 

I guess their false advertising is why Celebrity is still in business, while our favorite cruise line that gave you exactly what they promised, CruiseWest, went bankrupt.

[Gonzo70]

Thanx for your reply, Gonzo.

 

I guess their false advertising is why Celebrity is still in business, while our favorite cruise line that gave you exactly what they promised, CruiseWest, went bankrupt.

 

Not sure what you mean by false advertising. Sure they emphasize and exaggerate some things and minimize other things, but that is pretty standard - not just in cruising but in most businesses. I am not aware of anything they do that would be considered "false advertising" - can you please provide some examples?

[Begete]

Specifically Gonzo, I was referring to the 1,2,3, offering which in big bold print advertised being available for bookings between certain dates. The big bold print contained several items in this offering available to those in suites, such as dining in specialty restaurants, etc. So we booked the last available suite.

 

Several pages later, in the small print online, two days after booking the last suite available on our sailing, we noted that the 1,2 3 offerings were NOT available to those in SKY suites on OUR cruise date. I phoned Celebrity for clarification and was told by one agent that 1, 2 3 WAS available in the Sky Suites on this sailing, as Celebrity had just updated the rules, but the next agent to whom I was transferred said agent #1 was wrong.

 

Not sure we would have paid extra for the suite had we not been induced by an offer that now appears does not apply, plus now learning everyone may order off of the MDR menu in this thread when the descriptions of the various rooms available online indicate different room service menus as a major difference between the suites and other catagories of bookings. We are both "foodies."

 

As I mentioned in other threads, this is the first time we have booked a suite, so, hopefully, we will find the other "perks" worthwhile. However, the more I read, those perks, except for room size, seem to be equally available to those who did not book sky suites. In fact the ONLY perks that seems to be available are the free cappuccino (which one can recieve ONLY in the suite), the butler and slightly larger room and balcony size.

 

The butler really doesn't matter to us as in all of our cruises, regardless of cruiseline, we have always had exceptional service from cabin stewards. We booked this suite for health reasons, and not wishing to dine in the MDR (extremely allergic to perfumes and other scented products) but still wishing to dine well, which it appears we could have accomplished at a lower cost in a balcony stateroom.

 

I guess I shouldn't read CC so closely, because I was quite pleased with our choice before reading these threads, especially the other thread on which you and I participated about smoking to which I am also deathly allergic. Now I fear not being able to sit outside in a lounge chair reading my books because someone who doesn't follow the rules may feel they can sneak a puff or two and Celebrity will not do anything about it - or we won't be able to report the offender as we will not know from which room the smoke is coming.

 

So that is why I am feeling a bit negative, but as we are leaving tomorrow, I continue to hope that having the larger space will more than makeup for our misgivings and we will have the relaxing time we so desperatly need after losing two family members to slow, horrible, painful, deaths over the last 3 months, one just two weeks ago, the main reason we seek solitude, comfort and peace on this cruise and why we chose the suite.

[goodie2shoes]

Begete, you have said several times that the 1,2,3 is not available on a Sky Suite on Century on February 17. I would suggest you pursue this further, as we booked a sky suite on the Century for February 17 just one month before the sailing, and we DO have the 1,2,3 offer. The only reason I can see that you might not have it is because you have some other form of special, such as OBC from any source. We had to make a choice between the OBC we would get from our AmEx Platinum card of the 1,2,3 offer. Since the 1,2,3 was greater, we opted for that.

 

Check further, and I hope you enjoy the cruise as much as we intend to.

[Begete]

Thanx Goodie. We DID pursue it several times to no avail. You were lucky. I am furious. I did call our TA again, but I doubt he will have any better luck.

 

So I consider this gross false and misleading advertising, which we have never experienced on any other cruise line.

[casandbliz]

Hi Margie!!

 

For our cruise coming up in 39 days (:D!), we have an excursion in Costa Rica that doesn't even get back until 6 PM. Then, by the time we get back to the cabin, cleaned up, etc., it will probably be 7:30 or so....this will be the perfect night for us to have dinner in our cabin!! I also think the flameless candle is a great idea! Thanks for starting this thread- we never have had dinner in our cabin before, so I never even thought about it!!

[butternut1]

Hi Margie!!

 

For our cruise coming up in 39 days (:D!), we have an excursion in Costa Rica that doesn't even get back until 6 PM. Then, by the time we get back to the cabin, cleaned up, etc., it will probably be 7:30 or so....this will be the perfect night for us to have dinner in our cabin!! I also think the flameless candle is a great idea! Thanks for starting this thread- we never have had dinner in our cabin before, so I never even thought about it!!

 

Hey, I know you. :D I thought there for a minute that I had clicked on the wrong thread. :D Yeah, I think this is a great idea. I just need to pick up a small flameless candle and we're set. ;)