New Room Service Menu Coming April 12th - w/some pay items

[ANGELSwithANGLES]

Posts like this one make me want to order a big ole mess of wings from room service every night on my upcoming cruise.

 

(And I do plan on ordering a lot of those pay options. The room service menu was bland before.)

 

Ever wonder why it's mostly poor people that buy cigarettes and lottery tickets?

[iconoclast]

Ever wonder why it's mostly poor people that buy cigarettes and lottery tickets?

 

Not really. Nor is it in any way relevant to the room service menu that I can determine.

 

I've always lamented how plain Carnival's room service menu is. I remember how stoked I was for free room service the first time I cruised. Come to find out all I could get were some sandwiches and salad. I was very disappointed.

 

I understand some people view this as an existential threat but so did the smokers when the smoking policy changed. So did the people who enjoy crap chocolate when those nasty candies were eliminated. They'll all get over it. RCCL's business model has proven that younger cruisers are willing to pay for an enhanced experience. I'm sorry this ain't your grandma's Carnival but I don't want to walk up to the Lido deck for pizza at 2 am.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

You have to wonder ... will PAY room service be any faster? !

 

I've had waits of over an hour several times. Getting in from the casino at 1 a.m. where you're tired and hungry, the last thing you want to hear is that it will be an hour before they expect to be there. :eek:

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

(idle musings)

 

Or here's a nice kicker... for an extra $5 you can go for the "expedited" room service feature. Guaranteed there in "fifteen minutes or less", or it's FREE!

 

:D

 

At 1 a.m., I'd be game - not that they're going to go quite that far though !

 

Tom

[cruizinisthebest]

Ever wonder why it's mostly poor people that buy cigarettes and lottery tickets?

 

Seriously!!!

 

This thread has exhausted it's usefulness.

[goduckies05]

Now I'm a socialist because I value my money? No, I'm just not foolish with it.

 

So how do you figure that the cruise lines are GIVING you anything? Of course they're not--you are paying for it

 

As for corporate America "giving us so much". Yeah right. Let's outsource a large number of manufacturing jobs to Mexico and China, to save money, provide inferior products, and maximize profits. All so that we can have cheap products. Here's a better idea--lets actually keep Americans employed by accepting maybe lower, but still acceptable profit margins, instead of the good old American way--make the money and to hell with whoever gets hurt in the process.

 

Do you have a 401k or investment? if you do and you want a return, you better hope those high priced CEO's try to maximize profit.

Edited April 4, 2015 by goduckies05

[A2Mich]

Do you have a 401k or investment? if you do and you want a return, you better hope those high priced CEO's try to maximize profit.

 

 

Better yet, stop paying these clowns what they make and pay their workers a bit better. My investments actually do quite well. Understand what you're saying but I don't always believe that the end justifies the means.

[eponym]

I am anything but a new cruiser..... and I disagree.

 

I love it when a cruise veteran chimes in a general statement, "I disagree", when the reply poster is making numerous claims.

 

Jimbo, why is it that you disagree with their claims?

[eponym]

Posts like this one make me want to order a big ole mess of wings from room service every night on my upcoming cruise.

 

(And I do plan on ordering a lot of those pay options. The room service menu was bland before.)

 

If the wings are not routinely served anywhere else on the ship or haven't been removed from being served just for the sake of adding them for fee to RS, than by adding them to RS menu (and for a fee if necessary) is perfectly fine with me. Probably for most people.

 

I don't think most Carnival brand cruisers think that the FREE RS menu was 100% bland as you state you do/did.

[eponym]

On another note, for all of the people who say, "just suck it up and pay their prices," why are there so many threads asking how much pop, water, and alcohol they can get away with checking on or smuggling onboard. That said, obviously not everyone is ok with their inflated price gouging. While I understand that some people bring on their own soda due to flavor preferences, their are others who obviously are doing it to "cheat" the cruise line per se, as evidenced by people bringing on the same brands as sold onboard.

 

I think you are misguided. It IS Carnival policy to allow for 12, up to 20oz non alcoholic beverages PER PERSON to be brought aboard. That is in NO way cheating any system for those who choose to lug in their own for whatever reason they see fit.

[eponym]

Yeh, Carnival doesn't follow the caste system....I think it's admirable actually to be the only cruise line that doesn't. Everyone is equal regardless of annual income...you don't find that anywhere anymore.

 

I think that is interesting. As Main Dining Room is a shared table experience with strangers, the fact that upper echelon food items are now available for up charge only MAY lead to exactly the opposite of what you are saying. Clearly sitting at a table with strangers for a week but not being able to afford up charged meals while they do will be uncomfortable. See the point?

[A2Mich]

I think you are misguided. It IS Carnival policy to allow for 12, up to 20oz non alcoholic beverages PER PERSON to be brought aboard. That is in NO way cheating any system for those who choose to lug in their own for whatever reason they see fit.

 

 

No I do know that. I was referring to the ones bringing suitcases full on Carnival or bringing same on other cruise lines that technically prohibit those items.

[eponym]

In all seriousness, maybe what the cruise lines need to do is simply go to a full a la carte structure similar to what EasyCruise tried years ago and failed at. Start with a very low basic cruise fare that gets you a room and basic transportation and make it where all meals and even cabin cleaning service is all extra. At least then every individual could keep tight control on their spending and will know exactly what they're getting. Granted this didn't work with EasyCruise, but maybe could work on a larger scale. From what I'm gathering here, a fair number of people don't mind spending more on extras or for what they see as an added value, so that might be a viable business model. They could actually lower fares across the board and everything would be extra and leave it to the individual on what level of service or food quality they wanted, how often they wanted their cabins cleaned, if the wanted the cheap toiletries or the higher end ones, etc. Maybe this would be the ideal way to go??!

 

Ah, no. But, that may be what Carnival brand tries.

[Love2Cruz2015]

I think that is interesting. As Main Dining Room is a shared table experience with strangers, the fact that upper echelon food items are now available for up charge only MAY lead to exactly the opposite of what you are saying. Clearly sitting at a table with strangers for a week but not being able to afford up charged meals while they do will be uncomfortable. See the point?

 

I don't agree with what they did...but I also don't know if it would make people uncomfortable. I can certainly afford the upcharge they have for "surf and turf" but I can just wait till they serve it for free on another day. I can get lobster tail, filet of beef, prime rib during normal dining room meals, so why would anyone pay the surcharge? It's anyone's guess. I also have never been to the upcharge restaurants....and I will also not buy anything on the new RS menu that isn't free. My stance is there is SO MUCH included food on board, why would I pay above the fare?

 

I spend my extra $ in the spa, drinks, gambling, shopping, excursions..etc...not food.

[goduckies05]

I think that is interesting. As Main Dining Room is a shared table experience with strangers, the fact that upper echelon food items are now available for up charge only MAY lead to exactly the opposite of what you are saying. Clearly sitting at a table with strangers for a week but not being able to afford up charged meals while they do will be uncomfortable. See the point?

 

I think there is a difference between a 20 dollar steak and a haven suite. Now with the Havana Cabins you might have a point. I bet they offer a pass to the Havana as well like the Spa Pass.

[sjn911]

I would pay the upcharge on room service items only if they bring a tablecloth. I just can't eat cruise food without a tablecloth.

LOL..even though I do like them in dining room...LOL....:D

[eponym]

I think there is a difference between a 20 dollar steak and a haven suite. Now with the Havana Cabins you might have a point.

 

I'm not sure I understand. We were not talking about cabins or cabin status.

 

Help me here.

[Bob NC]

Clearly sitting at a table with strangers for a week but not being able to afford up charged meals while they do will be uncomfortable. See the point?

 

Wow, we are really stretching now, aren't we? Is someone uncomfortable on a boat with 3000 people when they couldn't afford the upcharge for a suite? Do people squirm in their seat because their table mates ordered wine and they didn't?

 

 

Things change. They left a lot of the free items on the menu and added some items for a charge. Yes, the people that liked the open face shrimp sandwich don't have that on the menu anymore. But does ANY restaurant keep their menu the same forever?

 

I go to a restaurant and frequently have the crispy chicken tacos. Last time in, they had reconfigured their menu and don't offer that item anymore. I just kind of said "huh" to myself and moved on. I didn't regale the waitress with an Economics 101 and Psychology 202 primer.

 

CC is kind of turning into the bunch of Mrs Kravitz's and eternally grumpy people like over on the Dis Boards. Everyone will complain for a month that nothing changes at Disney World. Of course the reason is that people will pay anyway and the company saves money by not investing in change. Then Disney WILL change something. Petitions will be sent, mass email chains will start because Disney had the audacity to change something. And of course the reason for the change was it saves the company money and people will pay anyway.

 

All my cruising has been done on Carnival. I cruised in January after a 5 year break. I honestly noticed more added than taken away. I liked the Taste Bar, that's something they were in no way required to have, just an extra. I liked the Serenity area, it costs them money to provide that. The Alchemy Bar is a hoot, it's fun. Yes, things changed over those 5 years, but I don't look at every change with paranoia and wring my hands wondering how they are screwing me now.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Bob NC

[Royalty X]

It just means that the US is catching up with Carnival Australia. They've charged for ALL room service items since the Spirit moved here in 2012 and the Legend last year. This is our room service menu...

Edited April 5, 2015 by Royalty X

[ready2cruzagain]

It just means that the US is catching up with Carnival Australia. They've charged for ALL room service items since the Spirit moved here in 2012 and the Legend last year. This is our room service menu...

 

And since so many are "happy" about this menu I fear that our RSM will look like that in the future.

 

At least I will not contribute to it.

[Honolulu Blue]

It just means that the US is catching up with Carnival Australia. They've charged for ALL room service items since the Spirit moved here in 2012 and the Legend last year. This is our room service menu...

 

Thanks for sharing. I like that menu better than I like ours. Lasagna! Meat pies!! Ham & pineapple pizza!!!

[iconoclast]

Thanks for sharing. I like that menu better than I like ours. Lasagna! Meat pies!! Ham & pineapple pizza!!!

 

I would absolutely pay for that stuff. Soooooo much better than a BLT. *Homer Simpson droolface*

[eponym]

Wow, we are really stretching now, aren't we? Is someone uncomfortable on a boat with 3000 people when they couldn't afford the upcharge for a suite? Do people squirm in their seat because their table mates ordered wine and they didn't?

 

 

Things change. They left a lot of the free items on the menu and added some items for a charge. Yes, the people that liked the open face shrimp sandwich don't have that on the menu anymore. But does ANY restaurant keep their menu the same forever?

 

I go to a restaurant and frequently have the crispy chicken tacos. Last time in, they had reconfigured their menu and don't offer that item anymore. I just kind of said "huh" to myself and moved on. I didn't regale the waitress with an Economics 101 and Psychology 202 primer.

 

CC is kind of turning into the bunch of Mrs Kravitz's and eternally grumpy people like over on the Dis Boards. Everyone will complain for a month that nothing changes at Disney World. Of course the reason is that people will pay anyway and the company saves money by not investing in change. Then Disney WILL change something. Petitions will be sent, mass email chains will start because Disney had the audacity to change something. And of course the reason for the change was it saves the company money and people will pay anyway.

 

All my cruising has been done on Carnival. I cruised in January after a 5 year break. I honestly noticed more added than taken away. I liked the Taste Bar, that's something they were in no way required to have, just an extra. I liked the Serenity area, it costs them money to provide that. The Alchemy Bar is a hoot, it's fun. Yes, things changed over those 5 years, but I don't look at every change with paranoia and wring my hands wondering how they are screwing me now.

 

What are you rambling about?

 

It was a simple, to the point thought. You have decided to post ballistic with all kinds of wandering information

 

We aren't sharing cabins, it isn't about what you eat in the privacy of your own cabin. It's shared table dining requirement in MDR, and there will be people and families with children that will be uncomfortable as I indicated.

 

Also, many people don't drink alcohol. Alcohol consumption is 100% optional, but eating food isn't. So, again I view your ramblings as just that.

Edited April 5, 2015 by eponym

[Bob NC]

What are you rambling about?

 

 

LOL, on a thread about room service menus YOU bring up MDR up charged meals.

 

Then I comment on that and I am rambling????

 

 

Good one.

[Love2Cruz2015]

Actually, in the past 3-4 Carnival cruises, they've always given us a table for us as I traveled with a large group (my family)..no strangers. Next cruise it will be just two of us cruising, so I am hoping I do get a table with other people so I can make some adult conversation. I couldn't care less about what they are ordering for dinner....I couldn't care less about what they are wearing....etc.

[golfb4cruzing]

Carnival should go the route of Princess. Slap a cabin tag on a case of soda and it gets delivered, no questions. Same for any non alcoholic beverage. We took a case of wine once and slapped a cabin tag and it was there. They still make their bar quotas. I have not paid more for my Princess trips than a Carnival one, so that argument is moot. Carnival has to make money somewheres to pay for the new ships. So anything out of their norm will have an upcharge. The ones suffering will be the workers as this will ding their tip. Personally, I don't go on vacation to eat in my room. But with small kids (or drunks) it might be necessary.