Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2016 #1 Share Posted October 8, 2016 RetiredMustang (Dave) is currently doing a live thread (very good by the way;) ). The in room service breakfast menu had been the same that we are all used to and all of a sudden early in his cruise, it changed. Here is what they now have on their cruise (copied and pasted from his live thread) Oct. 4, Kona (Cont.) In-room breakfast There has been the usual card available each night if we wanted to order breakfast in our room for the next morning. Last night, we noticed that it had changed, into a folded card, with a design on the front page (blank back page): But, the inside pages containing what can be ordered has changed a bit, and now also includes items that you can get if you pay for them: YIKES! I sure hope this isn't going fleet wide. The surcharge for eggs benedict you can get in the Lido, MDR or Pinnacle Grill is still baffling me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loreto Posted October 8, 2016 #2 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Oh dear! I don't see any egg substitute/egg whites. no cream cheese, bagels or English muffins either. I assume coffee comes with cream. We always order room service, and put together our own concoctions. DH likes to make a breakfast sandwich. Now he really won't want to cruise again!:( I hope this is just something they are testing before adopting it fleetwide. It is pretty much what a room service hotel breakfast looks like, and in a way does make sense. Happy planning for your cruise, Jacqui! Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love the beach Posted October 8, 2016 #3 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We had the same menu on my recent Koningsdam cruise. I did write in a few things (oatmeal, english muffin) a few times and did receive them. Forgot to write my displeasure with the new menu on the survey..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mame42 Posted October 8, 2016 #4 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Oh dear! I don't see any egg substitute/egg whites. no cream cheese, bagels or English muffins either. I assume coffee comes with cream. We always order room service, and put together our own concoctions. DH likes to make a breakfast sandwich. Now he really won't want to cruise again!:( I hope this is just something they are testing before adopting it fleetwide. It is pretty much what a room service hotel breakfast looks like, and in a way does make sense. Happy planning for your cruise, Jacqui! Karen I have a medication to be taken with food first thing in the AM, but I am NOT, repeat NOT, an early breakfast eater. I can force down toast or a bagel with cream cheese, but gag at the thought of anything else. I hate the thought of stashing stuff in my purse at dinner to eat with my pill in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysfrantic Posted October 8, 2016 #5 Share Posted October 8, 2016 This would be a terrible change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2016 Author #6 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We had the same menu on my recent Koningsdam cruise. I did write in a few things (oatmeal, english muffin) a few times and did receive them. Forgot to write my displeasure with the new menu on the survey..... Lovely Other posted on Dave's live thread that they had no luck substituting despite writing it in on their Kongingsdam cruise. Glad to hear that you were successful. Dave has reported that you he was told you "should" be able to add things. I always enjoy live threads, but really glad I am following his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Oh dear! I don't see any egg substitute/egg whites. no cream cheese, bagels or English muffins either. I assume coffee comes with cream. We always order room service, and put together our own concoctions. DH likes to make a breakfast sandwich. Now he really won't want to cruise again!:( I hope this is just something they are testing before adopting it fleetwide. It is pretty much what a room service hotel breakfast looks like, and in a way does make sense. Happy planning for your cruise, Jacqui! Karen Thanks Karen :). And thanks for your help with the Santiago de Compostela trip. We booked the HAL transfer ;) I don't get why there is no bagel with cream cheese and salmon either, nor why there is a charge for a salmon eggs benedict. Hope it is not fleet wide, but I have a bad feeling...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted October 8, 2016 #8 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Was reported on Koningsdam that surcharge items were complimentary in NS and PS categories. I know that Mimosa is free in NS or PS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysfrantic Posted October 8, 2016 #9 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Breakfast can be ordered by phone in the morning, right? A full dining room menu breakfast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonialinnkeeper Posted October 8, 2016 #10 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We were on the Koningsdam this summer and ordered room service about 6 or 7 times. This new order form was the one we received and I just wrote in the same breakfast we have been eating for the past few years. I would write things like, "no potato please" or "chocolate croissant, please" or "one egg, please". It seems wasteful to order one of their offerings that have several things included, if you are not interested in eating it all. We did not like the new menu as it is written and hope that this was just a test to see how cruisers liked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted October 8, 2016 #11 Share Posted October 8, 2016 This new Breakfast Service menu was tried on our HAL PCC's Pacific Coastal April 2015 we learned when we had dinner with her May 2015. She reported that it was not well received by the "seasoned" HAL cruisers but new cruisers didn't really object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted October 8, 2016 #12 Share Posted October 8, 2016 This new Breakfast Service menu was tried on our HAL PCC's Pacific Coastal April 2015 we learned when we had dinner with her May 2015. She reported that it was not well received by the "seasoned" HAL cruisers but new cruisers didn't really object. Well duh! New HAL cruisers wouldn't know what was offered before.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We were on the Koningsdam this summer and ordered room service about 6 or 7 times. This new order form was the one we received and I just wrote in the same breakfast we have been eating for the past few years. I would write things like, "no potato please" or "chocolate croissant, please" or "one egg, please". It seems wasteful to order one of their offerings that have several things included, if you are not interested in eating it all. We did not like the new menu as it is written and hope that this was just a test to see how cruisers liked it. I honestly have little interest in any of the offerings on that menu. It's not a matter of waste - its a matter of taste. I can do a bagel with cream cheese and salmon & capers if need be. But where is our fruit???? Where are my eggs (real eggs, plain simple, boiled,fried, whatever). We only do room service when we have an early morning tour, so a mimosa is of no interest to us complimentary or not. Breakfast is one of the things I enjoy on HAL. <sigh> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 8, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Well duh! New HAL cruisers wouldn't know what was offered before.:rolleyes: EXACTLY :). Thankfully, it wasn't offered on our 2016 Pacific Coastal (2nd segment on our 2016 cruise). Our room service breakfast menu stayed the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted October 8, 2016 #15 Share Posted October 8, 2016 So, another HAL cut-back? The usual Cheerleaders will make the usual excuses, many will simply accept the cut-backs, and others will look to other cruise lines. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnevale Posted October 9, 2016 #16 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Many thanks for highlighting this as I hadn't been following the other thread. This has us very worried as it looks like the K'dam approach is spreading across the fleet. We did not enjoy our K'dam experience and won't sail on her again. We are going to be on Westerdam soon and we hope that going back to the Vista class will put us back into the style of cruising we like. But perhaps we are wrong. We are thinking of booking on Noordam for 2017 while on the Westerdam but if these kinds of changes are spreading, we'll have to revisit that if the K'dam approach to breakfast and other differences on K'dam look like they are becoming the norm. I know many of you like K'dam and I'm glad you do. It just isn't our cup of tea and we hope HAL will keep some variability in the fleet to offer guests a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_More_Often Posted October 9, 2016 #17 Share Posted October 9, 2016 It says on the menu that it is for suites. Have the suites always had a different menu than the regular breakfast menu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cbr663 Posted October 9, 2016 #18 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Thanks so much for bring this to our attention Kazu. This doesn't look like a good thing. I only hope that we can write in a few things on the card. The quintessential cruise experience for me is the full, hot breakfast on our balcony every morning. It's the one thing that I missed when we sailed on X and the one thing that I look forward to on HAL. Yes, this change would be enough for me to switch cruise lines. P.S. The surcharge for the eggs benny with salmon may have something to do with the limited eggs benny choices now served at breakfast. Where once there were six varieties, these were reduced to two on our NA cruise last Dec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinggirl Posted October 9, 2016 #19 Share Posted October 9, 2016 (edited) Other cruise lines have adopted this too. The last time I cruised Royal Caribbean, they had two room service breakfast menus. One very limited, and one w/ the usual entrees. I wondered if they have different room service menus depending on category. I asked our steward for the expanded menu, and he provided it. We had what we think was the old room service menu in our VS on Rotterdam last August. That nice room service is one of the reason we're making the switch to HAL. What's VER,OCV and INS (in the lower left corner) mean? Edited October 9, 2016 by knittinggirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted October 9, 2016 #20 Share Posted October 9, 2016 As long as folks will pony up more money for "special" items, cruise lines will continue to add more and more "extra charge" items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted October 9, 2016 #21 Share Posted October 9, 2016 What's VER,OCV and INS (in the lower left corner) mean? I'd guess it stands for Veranda, Oceanview and Inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketMan275 Posted October 9, 2016 #22 Share Posted October 9, 2016 for all those who've been insisting that they would prefer to pay more for more benefits. Simply pick the surcharged items and pay for the better benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 9, 2016 #23 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Even though we gave up ordering breakfast many years ago, this new menu is terrible. I wonder how many more changes are in sight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 9, 2016 #24 Share Posted October 9, 2016 If the breakfast in cabin menu has changed, I imagine that the 24 hour cabin menu will change as well as the Noon to 10 PM menu. Guess I better start to follow Dave's thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaCruiser72 Posted October 9, 2016 #25 Share Posted October 9, 2016 What's VER,OCV and INS (in the lower left corner) mean? Those are abbreviations for Verandah, Oceanview and Inside - so would assume those are the categories this menu is supposed to be for. For those who would switch to another cruise line over the room service breakfast, I have to inquire - where do you go? Would the additional fare of Oceania, which would be the next logical step, be worth it just for room service? All of the "Big 6" (Carnival, Norwegian, Royal, Celebrity, Princess and now HAL) seem to be cutting back on this benefit and offering a basic option with "expanded" choices for a fee. I don't like these new surcharge items any more than the rest of y'all but I do have to think hard about what the alternates really are, and other than buying up to a line like Oceania I don't see where you will get much more elsewhere. Mainstream cruising is increasingly becoming a pay for usage system - mostly in order to keep advertised base fares low and then increase onboard revenue streams. That, sadly is the way of the future whether we like it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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