Room service and to go food

[teriwinkle]

I have to say that since I paid for my complementary food in advance, I should have every right to eat it in my cabin. I may be disabled, ill, have unruly kids, be tired, in a rush, want to enjoy my balcony, or just want to be alone. I should not be limited to what is on a boring room service menu and be required to pay $7.95 each time. I already paid for that food and want to enjoy whatever is available that appeals to me at that moment, wherever I feel comfortable eating it.

 

The only "official" statement I've seen from the PR dept. said they "ASK" that people don't bring food to their cabins. Well, if you ask me to, my answer may be "No."

 

If they "ask" me to not leave the buffet or other restaurant with food, I will "ask" them to show me the RULE in writing for me to comply. With their current communications habits, constant changes, and convoluted wordings for things, I don't see that happening. I will be polite and may have to resort to evasion, but until it is absolutely forbidden it appears it is what I am left with.

 

I plan to order from eateries on the waterfront and buffet, wait for the server to go inside, and find a way to my cabin like a cat burglar. (Ridiculous, I know! :eek:) I will happily return my dirty dishes to the buffet to maintain a beautiful clean environment. I will pack zip locks, if necessary. I know they have the right to disembark me for any reason, so I will have to "appear" to comply.

 

There is time before my cruise for an actual policy (not request) to be clarified, printed on the website, and emailed to upcoming cruisers. I welcome them to. But in its absence, I will do what we were permitted to do two weeks, two months, and two decades ago. And that we are still "officially" permitted to do.

 

It is so seriously ridiculous that I'm even thinking this way! Am I the only one?:confused:

Hear, Hear! No you're not the only one.

[ready1]

Its ashamed, NCL was the pioneer of a lot of the innovations such as free style dining that other cruise lines very reluctantly had to follow. They seemed to be in tune with what people didn’t like about cruising and changed their product to more reflect a land based resort. Can you imagine being at a resort or even a hotel and someone telling you that you couldn’t take food back to your room? You would probably check out on the spot. What’s next a curfew for anyone not in the casino or at a bar? Maybe charge to get off the ship in a port of call? Or solve the deck chair problem by renting them all out by the hour.

 

I’m afraid the new management isn’t trying to win customers over with innovative ideas people will be interested in, but rather ideas from out of touch people sitting in a conference room looking to turn once included items into fee items.

 

Luckily our system has a check on this, the competition.

 

And for any bashers, yes I have sailed NCL many times over the years, and will likely sail them again once they drop this dumb idea.

[Tangocherie]

Its ashamed, NCL was the pioneer of a lot of the innovations such as free style dining that other cruise lines very reluctantly had to follow. They seemed to be in tune with what people didn’t like about cruising and changed their product to more reflect a land based resort. Can you imagine being at a resort or even a hotel and someone telling you that you couldn’t take food back to your room? You would probably check out on the spot. What’s next a curfew for anyone not in the casino or at a bar? Maybe charge to get off the ship in a port of call? Or solve the deck chair problem by renting them all out by the hour.

 

I’m afraid the new management isn’t trying to win customers over with innovative ideas people will be interested in, but rather ideas from out of touch people sitting in a conference room looking to turn once included items into fee items.

 

Luckily our system has a check on this, the competition.

 

And for any bashers, yes I have sailed NCL many times over the years, and will likely sail them again once they drop this dumb idea.

 

 

Amen!

[RuthlessBoss]

There's some exaggeration here for sure. It's usually been late at night that I see more in the halls.

 

And mornings and the utensils are on the ROOM SERVICE TRAYS. I've seen very few other things there.

[punkincc]

Not trying to be sarcastic..... just wondering which "dumb idea" you are talking about as there have been more than one change lately.

 

In terms of the competition, I was reading the Carnival and Royal Caribbean boards today and learned that Royal Caribbean just raised the daily tip fee. Carnival seems to be bouncing around the idea of not having "set seating". Both interesting boards -- particularly if you are thinking of jumping ship (so to speak:-)

 

In terms of the competition, yes, the daily service charges at RCCL and Celebrity are going up to $12.95, right in line with NCL. There was very little comment here when the increase in DSC was announced, ( up a full $6.65 total for me! ) and anyone thinking of making a move would see no difference.

 

And if Carnival were to eliminate set dining times, that would only be considered a plus by most at NCL. Don't they already have a version of "my time" as an option?

 

So not sure what point you are trying to make. Nothing you mentioned would be that great a deterrent.

[cruisebie]

And mornings and the utensils are on the ROOM SERVICE TRAYS. I've seen very few other things there.

 

 

Very good point. I haven't seen that much of the hallway litter that other posters have reported, but what I have seen has been on room service trays. The new fee & no take out policy is not going to eliminate those.

[Cruise4Real]

Very good point. I haven't seen that much of the hallway litter that other posters have reported, but what I have seen has been on room service trays. The new fee & no take out policy is not going to eliminate those.

 

Bingo! NCL created most of the "mess" with their room service, added to it by not ever giving passengers instructions of what to do with the trays (with some room stewards telling pax to put the trays in the hall!) and now publicly trashes their own ships in order to provide an ex post facto rationale for a new policy designed to extract money from guests unwilling to pay a hefty charge for a marginally improved RS menu.

 

What a bungled mess.

[Travelcat2]

punkincc: I wasn't trying to deter NCL passengers from trying other cruise lines - actually, I was sharing some information I read on other boards (Royal Caribbean and Carnival). For people that are considering changing cruise lines, it may be a good idea to read threads on the other boards to see what their passengers are thinking..... if there are any new policies on the horizon, etc.

 

legion3: Sorry that I did not explain my "set seating" post very well. Open seating would definitely be a positive for NCL customers. However, unless I am reading the threads incorrectly (always a possibility), Royal Caribbean has set seating as does Carnival. However, Carnival has some program or dining venue that sounds like it is open seating. Not sure how it works or how many people it will accommodate.

 

I am all for trying other cruise lines. I did (after a ton of research) and am happy that I gave two other cruise lines a try. Although I still prefer Regent, other cruise lines give a different choice of itineraries which I find a good thing. A couple of months ago I was researching NCL's "Haven" but have not yet come to the conclusion that we would be happy on such a large ship. I would never say "never" in terms of cruising NCL. I was 99 9/10% sure that we would not sail on Oceania and we have now done 2 cruises.

 

As far as the dishes, etc. left outside the doorways...... this is such a simple fix. One meeting with the crew telling them that all food and dishes should remain in the cabin and it's done.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Travelcat2

[old sole]

Not trying to be sarcastic..... just wondering which "dumb idea" you are talking about as there have been more than one change lately.

 

In terms of the competition, I was reading the Carnival and Royal Caribbean boards today and learned that Royal Caribbean just raised the daily tip fee. Carnival seems to be bouncing around the idea of not having "set seating". Both interesting boards -- particularly if you are thinking of jumping ship (so to speak:-)

 

A quote widely attributed to Lincoln comes to mind. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

 

Carnival does have set dining as an option. Concurrently, it also has something similar to NCL's "Freestyle" dining that they call "Anytime Dining". When you book you may select early set dining, late set dining, or anytime dining. I follow the Carnival board pretty closely and I have seen nothing that even hints at Carnival thinking about changing how they administer seating in their main dining rooms. Aside from the Cruise Critic forum, Carnival has a company sponsored message board on their website and Carnival has a Senior Cruise Director with an official title of "Brand Ambassador" who has a very active public fcbk page where all things Carnival come to light pretty quickly. Believe me when I say that if there were a hint of changes in dining room policy as you suggest it would be very actively discussed in all three places, and it is not.

 

It is helpful when people come onto these forums and offer information or suggestions based on knowledge. Suggestions, conjecture, suppositions based on no knowledge at all are not helpful and are not welcomed. You really should stop.

[boopsahoy]

punkincc: I wasn't trying to deter NCL passengers from trying other cruise lines - actually, I was sharing some information I read on other boards (Royal Caribbean and Carnival). For people that are considering changing cruise lines, it may be a good idea to read threads on the other boards to see what their passengers are thinking..... if there are any new policies on the horizon, etc.

 

legion3: Sorry that I did not explain my "set seating" post very well. Open seating would definitely be a positive for NCL customers. However, unless I am reading the threads incorrectly (always a possibility), Royal Caribbean has set seating as does Carnival. However, Carnival has some program or dining venue that sounds like it is open seating. Not sure how it works or how many people it will accommodate.

 

I am all for trying other cruise lines. I did (after a ton of research) and am happy that I gave two other cruise lines a try. Although I still prefer Regent, other cruise lines give a different choice of itineraries which I find a good thing. A couple of months ago I was researching NCL's "Haven" but have not yet come to the conclusion that we would be happy on such a large ship. I would never say "never" in terms of cruising NCL. I was 99 9/10% sure that we would not sail on Oceania and we have now done 2 cruises.

 

As far as the dishes, etc. left outside the doorways...... this is such a simple fix. One meeting with the crew telling them that all food and dishes should remain in the cabin and it's done.

 

re:A couple of months ago I was researching NCL's "Haven" but have not yet come to the conclusion that we would be happy on such a large ship-

 

The Gem is a smaller ship and has a Haven. I actually think the Haven s more a "haven" on the smaller ships. Less people and the PH Suite people don't have access.

[Travelcat2]

A quote widely attributed to Lincoln comes to mind. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

 

Carnival does have set dining as an option. Concurrently, it also has something similar to NCL's "Freestyle" dining that they call "Anytime Dining". When you book you may select early set dining, late set dining, or anytime dining. I follow the Carnival board pretty closely and I have seen nothing that even hints at Carnival thinking about changing how they administer seating in their main dining rooms. Aside from the Cruise Critic forum, Carnival has a company sponsored message board on their website and Carnival has a Senior Cruise Director with an official title of "Brand Ambassador" who has a very active public fcbk page where all things Carnival come to light pretty quickly. Believe me when I say that if there were a hint of changes in dining room policy as you suggest it would be very actively discussed in all three places, and it is not.

 

It is helpful when people come onto these forums and offer information or suggestions based on knowledge. Suggestions, conjecture, suppositions based on no knowledge at all are not helpful and are not welcomed. You really should stop.

 

Actually, I made a mistake -- it was "Dynamic Dining" on Royal Caribbean that I was referring to. It isn't spelled out very clearly on their boards. Hopefully the information and suggestions that I have made (based on 7 years experience with some of the current management of Apollo/NCHL) has been helpful to some people. Sorry that you have not found it helpful.

 

Hoping that as we go forward, NCL, Oceania and Regent customers will be supportive of each other. Admittedly, it took a while with Oceania and Regent but now there are many customers that sail on both cruise lines.

[punkincc]

Actually, I made a mistake -- it was "Dynamic Dining" on Royal Caribbean that I was referring to. It isn't spelled out very clearly on their boards. Hopefully the information and suggestions that I have made (based on 7 years experience with some of the current management of Apollo/NCHL) has been helpful to some people. Sorry that you have not found it helpful.

 

Hoping that as we go forward, NCL, Oceania and Regent customers will be supportive of each other. Admittedly, it took a while with Oceania and Regent but now there are many customers that sail on both cruise lines.

 

 

I haven't a clue why NCL, Oceania and Regent customers need to be supportive of each other. I have no knowledge or interest in O and R issues and doubt they do in NCL's. Other than ownership, they have little in common. If I ever need the info, I know where to find their boards, and if any of them decide to sail NCL, they know where this board is.

[Travelcat2]

I certainly respect your viewpoint - even though mine is different. Over the years, I have learned that what happens to Oceania may well happen to Regent. To extrapolate this, what happens on Regent and Oceania may have a bearing on what happens to NCL.

 

It sounds like the three cruise lines want to remain as separate as possible since they apparently hope that passengers will graduate from NCL to Oceania to Regent. However, there are things that are being merged ....... this cannot be denied.

 

If I had younger children, I would sail on NCL but would be very interested in looking at the next level of cruising (Oceania). This would be a goal for me. If my parents would watch the kids, Oceania would be an amazing cruise line to sail.

 

In any case, if you are not interested in Oceania or Regent, it isn't a problem. It is important to know, however, that some people are.

[ready1]

NCL either has their heads buried in the sand, or are just arrogant. If you look around at the other major line’s Cruise Critic boards, their “controversies”, such as tipping. discounting, or loyalty party invitations, have a faction of the postings and views as the food ban NCL has rolled out. The longer they let this simmer the more their brand will be identified with this one policy. You would think someone in their PR or Marketing department would wake up at some point.

[NCLStarHawaii2003]

I certainly respect your viewpoint - even though mine is different. Over the years, I have learned that what happens to Oceania may well happen to Regent. To extrapolate this, what happens on Regent and Oceania may have a bearing on what happens to NCL.

 

It sounds like the three cruise lines want to remain as separate as possible since they apparently hope that passengers will graduate from NCL to Oceania to Regent. However, there are things that are being merged ....... this cannot be denied.

 

If I had younger children, I would sail on NCL but would be very interested in looking at the next level of cruising (Oceania). This would be a goal for me. If my parents would watch the kids, Oceania would be an amazing cruise line to sail.

 

In any case, if you are not interested in Oceania or Regent, it isn't a problem. It is important to know, however, that some people are.

I am with punkincc when they say they have no interest in O or R; you keep showing your ignorance when you think you can convert people from NCL to your favorite cruise line R which I am now convinced you are getting paid by the number of times someone posts their name on any CC forum. My children are grown and I have no desire to cruise with either of them. If any thing you are pushing people as far away as possible from any cruise line you mention, so it is not helpful, it is destructive.

[Travelcat2]

I am with punkincc when they say they have no interest in O or R; you keep showing your ignorance when you think you can convert people from NCL to your favorite cruise line R which I am now convinced you are getting paid by the number of times someone posts their name on any CC forum. My children are grown and I have no desire to cruise with either of them. If any thing you are pushing people as far away as possible from any cruise line you mention, so it is not helpful, it is destructive.

 

NCHL apparently thought that it is a good idea to have different levels of cruise lines (perhaps they learned from Carnival - a company that has been very successful doing this). As you know, everyone is entitled to their opinion on Cruise Critic. Perhaps NCL cruisers will try one of their sister cruise lines or they may not. It is a wonderful thing to have choices. In terms of the current issues that are upsetting some passengers, I have also recommended trying a cruise line that is competitive with NCL. I believe in options - whatever works for you is fine.:D

[Travelcat2]

I am with punkincc when they say they have no interest in O or R; and it is very sad that you keep showing your ignorance of NCL when you think you can convert people from the Sheehan NCL to your favorite cruise line R; which I am now convinced you are getting paid by the number of times someone posts their name on any CC forum (so I will no longer be using their names.)My children are grown and yet I still have no desire to cruise with either O or R that you so vehemently try to promote. (what a shock) If anything, you might be pushing people as far away as possible from any cruise line you mention, so it is not helpful, it is destructive to your cause if that is your intention. If you want to promote "o" post on their forums, if you want to promote "R", post on their forums. If people are interested in those cruise lines, they will look to those forums to find out information about them; just as people will look to this forum and maybe discover a little bit about NCL; or what it used to be.

 

Is this a duplicate of your last post:confused:????? For the record, I'm not promoting Regent, Oceania, Carnival, Royal Caribbean or even NCL. Posters are saying that they are going to change cruise lines. My first thought was a sister company - Oceania (not Regent) -- keeping the $$$ in the family. If not Oceania, then maybe RCCL or Carnival. It seems that posters are looking for options - whether it be to ask NCL to modify their new policies or to try another cruise line. IMO, the more options you are given -- no matter where they come from is positive.

[MrYellowDuck]

This is fascinating really. We're new to NCL with our first cruise in a suite with our two kids. Normally we going with Princess. I'm attracted to the price to be frank - it's half the price and the pictures of the Haven area look like the experience will be reasoanble.

 

Over on the Princess forum the predominant complaint is that some people don't dress sufficiently formally on nights when they're asked to. Over here it's that the dinner plate will be too far away when hunger next strikes. If this is all there is to complain about then NCL must be very good despite my concern over the cheap price.

[knight2096]

No matter what anyone says I believe this is about money, plane and simple. Not keeping the ship clean or enhancing the experience. FDR has said many times he wants each passenger to spend more on-board and since they are a captive audience he can force them to a point. Doing a quick estimate, if each stateroom in the NCL fleet used room-service once a week it would add 153,000$ a week to earnings and since this is a charge for a service that already exists it would be profit. If they allow you to take your own food back to your room they take away all this found money!!

 

Exactly! This is about greed. Anyone who thinks this is about anything else is blind. They want to force people into having to pay for room service. I could not imagine going back to a hotel room and being told I could not bring my doggy bag into the room with me. What NCL is doing is total BS. If this is where the cruise industry is going, then the hell with cruising. Land vacations are looking better and better everyday.

Edited May 18, 2015 by knight2096

[sparks1093]

Exactly! This is about greed. Anyone who thinks this is about anything else is blind. They want to force people into having to pay for room service. I could not imagine going back to a hotel room and being told I could not bring my doggy bag into the room with me. What NCL is doing is total BS. If this is where the cruise industry is going, then the hell with cruising. Land vacations are looking better and better everyday.

 

I don't think this is necessarily the future of cruising, just the future of cruising with NCL.

[sparks1093]

Here's the thing - not every passenger uses room service, that's how NCL was able to do a money grab on it. Most passengers use the other complimentary places more like the buffet or the MDR. Yes, I know on CC most people here use the UDP but they're the minority compare to what actually happens on the cruise ships where most passengers use the MDR for dinner. You only allow a company like a cruise line much control to your wallet as you want and I keep my close to them when it comes to the new room service fee. :cool:

 

The room service fee is not the issue, it is all of the changes made and the ones that will be made to make NCL match Del Rio's vision.

[dna529]

NCL either has their heads buried in the sand, or are just arrogant. If you look around at the other major line’s Cruise Critic boards, their “controversies”, such as tipping. discounting, or loyalty party invitations, have a faction of the postings and views as the food ban NCL has rolled out. The longer they let this simmer the more their brand will be identified with this one policy. You would think someone in their PR or Marketing department would wake up at some point.

 

I totally agree with you.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

[sparks1093]

The room service fee is not the issue, it is all of the changes made and the ones that will be made to make NCL match Del Rio's vision.

 

Forgot to add that being told we can't take food from other dining venues is and issue especially since NCL is being less than truthful regarding the reason for the change in policy (and yes, enforcement at the moment appears to be lax, but just being told we can't is a slap in the face).

[Cruzaholic41]

NCL either has their heads buried in the sand, or are just arrogant. If you look around at the other major line’s Cruise Critic boards, their “controversies”, such as tipping. discounting, or loyalty party invitations, have a faction of the postings and views as the food ban NCL has rolled out. The longer they let this simmer the more their brand will be identified with this one policy. You would think someone in their PR or Marketing department would wake up at some point.

 

You are exactly right. People tend to relate to cruise lines with one thing, such as the chocolate cake on Carnival, MUTS on Princess or ice skating on RCI. With the amount of attention this subject is getting, and will continue to get, it could likely replace Freestyle as the one thing people relate to NCL.

[CavalierX]

You are exactly right. People tend to relate to cruise lines with one thing, such as the chocolate cake on Carnival, MUTS on Princess or ice skating on RCI. With the amount of attention this subject is getting, and will continue to get, it could likely replace Freestyle as the one thing people relate to NCL.

 

"Cruise like a (captive) Norwegian (audience)?"