!st timer with room service question (amongst others)

[Speedbird01]

The week after next we'll be trying our first Princess cruise, last week we tried our first MSC Cruise, previous to that we have done loads of RCI and Celebrity cruises where you currently get a fixed charge for ordering room service regardless if you order a sandwich or a load of food.

On the MSC we were expected to pay for each item of food individually yet the delivery was 'free' (we were Fantastic status)

What is the procedure on the Enchanted Princess? can drinks be included? and is that 'Medallion' thing as good as the videos say it is? get food and drink wherever you are? seems too good to be true to a cynical old fool like me.

Any simple guides will be appreciated though (yes, i've seen another thread with 146 pages covering the Medallion subject but, life's too short)

Thank you for any help.

[peachykiehn]

Although others have had issues with the medallion app we have enjoyed using it over 4 cruises since the restart. On Princess “most” items delivered via room service are free including your drinks if on a drink package. My daughter and husband especially enjoyed having a snack delivered poolside or in a bar when they were craving chips and salsa or French fries. That said on seadays with lots of people ordering especially on the pool deck service was slow. We found it helpful in crowded areas for delivery to use the icon on the phone that helped the wait personnel find you.  Once when service was slow we changed location to our room and the drinks still found us. Does have its issues but overall we found it helpful. 

[Sarnia 432]

It is very clear on the app which items are free and which carry a charge

[Speedbird01]

@peachykiehn

Thank you for that, all questions answered in one go.

[Speedbird01]

@Sarnia 432

thank you, I guess the app will show what you refer to when we get onboard.

But are you saying potentially somethings are free along with free delivery? if so, Wow!

Edited August 3, 2022 by Speedbird01
wrong person replied to.

[JF - retired RRT]

7 minutes ago, Speedbird01 said:

@Sarnia 432

thank you, I guess the app will show what you refer to when we get onboard.

But are you saying potentially somethings are free along with free delivery? if so, Wow!

Free: most of the food - sandwiches, various desserts (cookies, cake), salads, chili

Cost: pizza (a fee of $3.00 (? never actually ordered it, so not sure) for as many as you want to order...i.e. 2 pizzas is a total of $3). Individual items from the specialty restaurants cost $. If you order a full meal that's available in a specialty restaurant, it would cost more than if you went to the restaurant.

Some things that can be ordered from room service aren't on the app. I noticed on our April cruise that regular coffee and tea were not there, only the for a fee specialty coffee/tea. Had to phone room service to get it.

You'll also get a door hang tag in your cabin that you can fill out the night before to order breakfast for the next morning (almost everything on the hang tag is free).

We don't drink and are Elite, so we get a mini-bar that we exchange for 2 coffee "cards". That's all we need. We pay for internet which has a 50% discount for us and pay for our own gratuities. Costs us less than one of the upgraded packages.

 

Almost all the food everywhere on the ship if included in the cost of the cruise. You literally don't have to spend any $$, if you don't want to. We usually do a specialty restaurant at least once on every cruise, but that's about it for any food expenses.

 

Have fun!!

 

[Sunwanabe]

Our group recently sailed on Discovery Alaska cruise. Medallion app worked great. Inside, on deck, definitely enjoyed and made good use of ordering food and drinks to our locations.  

[Speedbird01]

@JF - retired RRT

Thank you Sir.

[Speedbird01]

@Sunwanabe

Thank you

[Coffeeluvr05]

Also, if you have a drink package you can order those beverages to be delivered to your room free of charge.  You can order with your mobile device or through the tv in your room.  

[Speedbird01]

@Coffeeluvr05

This is getting better and better, Thank you

[JF - retired RRT]

26 minutes ago, Speedbird01 said:

@Coffeeluvr05

This is getting better and better, Thank you

Princess does a lot of things really well. It helps those of us who cruise on Princess to put up with the glitches & errors.

Crew is almost always great. Food is good to excellent. Benefits are really nice (shareholders, military). OBC is stackable (we've had as much as $1100 in OBC). Entertainment is mostly OK. Shows on the TV are free (lots of movies, news, The Love Boat 😉).

Our first cruise was on Princess, never looked back. DH always says "we're home", when we get on a ship.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Cost: pizza (a fee of $3.00 (? never actually ordered it, so not sure) for as many as you want to order...i.e. 2 pizzas is a total of $3)

Every time I’ve ordered pizza it’s been $3 per pizza. It’s actually quite good too!  
 

@Speedbird01 I’m amazed all those lines charge for room service!  On Princess pretty much everything you’d want or need is free. I think the menu is more than adequate.  

I love the chicken fingers and quesadillas on the children's menu. The guacamole and chips are now free too and it’s good!  I love the wide variety of salads( they are small so I order 2). I’ve called room service from a standard balcony room and had pretty much anything I’ve wanted. Made to order omelets with sausage, bacon and hash browns for breakfast.  Customized salads, customized fruit bowls. They are so sweet!  I usually give the delivery person a dollar or 2 and a small individually wrapped chocolate (the darker the better seems to be the crew fav) if they want it. 
 

My nephew and his wife ordered one of every dessert one night after midnight. Lol. They are younger and it was their first cruise. I’ve been known to eat chocolate cake or cheesecake with a late movie occasionally. 

[Speedbird01]

@HaveDogWillTravel

This could be a case of what Homer Simpson says 'This why God invented elasticated waistbands" 😀

[skynight]

3 hours ago, Speedbird01 said:

 

What is the procedure on the Enchanted Princess? can drinks be included? and is that 'Medallion' thing as good as the videos say it is? get food and drink wherever you are? seems too good to be true to a cynical old fool like me.

Any simple guides will be appreciated though (yes, i've seen another thread with 146 pages covering the Medallion subject but, life's too short)

Thank you for any help.

There is no charge for the room service itself. Some items do have a charge, example $3 for a pizza. Pizza id free on deck by the Lido Pool and you can carry it away, or you can visit Gigi's for waiter served pizza meal (free), no take away there. 

Using Ocean Now you can order on your app or via the cabin TV for delivery anywhere on the ship.

You can also order drinks delivered to your cabin or anywhere on the ship. If you have the plus or premier drinks that are included with the package can be ordered.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Also, if you have a drink package you can order those beverages to be delivered to your room free of charge.  You can order with your mobile device or through the tv in your room.  

Folks out there on this thread, do you really need to be on the package to get a drink delivered anywhere?  Thought that worked out for everyone - even someone like me who doesn't purchase the PLUS fare option.

[Cruise Raider]

15 minutes ago, skynight said:

There is no charge for the room service itself. Some items do have a charge, example $3 for a pizza. Pizza id free on deck by the Lido Pool and you can carry it away, or you can visit Gigi's for waiter served pizza meal (free), no take away there. 

Using Ocean Now you can order on your app or via the cabin TV for delivery anywhere on the ship.

You can also order drinks delivered to your cabin or anywhere on the ship. If you have the plus or premier drinks that are included with the package can be ordered.

The whole pizzas, even on ships without GiGis or Alfredo’s, for $3 each are far superior to what you can get at ‘slice’ up on the pool deck.  They will bring them with the condiments you order in little ramekins, as well.  We ordered salads and 3 pizzas for our group while on the Vista Lounge while watching the NBA finals.  Figure it will be about 45 minutes from time of order to receive it.  Also, a tip for the delivery is customary.  So fabulous!  We had pizza leftover and had it for breakfast in the cabin the next morning.  Still great!  
 

[Cruise Raider]

4 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Folks out there on this thread, do you really need to be on the package to get a drink delivered anywhere?  Thought that worked out for everyone - even someone like me who doesn't purchase the PLUS fare option.

I believe the point being made here is that you could never use room service for drinks from the package without being charged but now you can.  I love that I can order a glass of wine while I am getting ready for dinner without sending my DH out to retrieve it for me to ensure it is covered under the PLUS package.  

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Every time I’ve ordered pizza it’s been $3 per pizza. It’s actually quite good too!  

I bow to your experience. Don't like pizza, so never ordered it. Altho' I was sure that I read in the past that it was $3 for delivery, not per pizza. 🤷‍♀️

[D. B.]

The only thing Free on a cruise ship is the Air. They do Clean and Filter that in the inside spaces and have not figured out how to Charge for it. Yet.

 Everything else is "Included in your Fare"

 As my ditzy  sister in law once said "Oh Look! They have Free Ice Cream!"................

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

I bow to your experience. Don't like pizza, so never ordered it. Altho' I was sure that I read in the past that it was $3 for delivery, not per pizza. 🤷‍♀️

 

It is definitely per pizza.  Well worth it if you like pizza.  One pizza will easily feed two people.  

[Mike45LC]

I have never ordered room service on Princess.  In almost 40 years of cruising.  I prefer to go get whatever I want from the International Cafe or from the buffet or a bar.  

 

Even though we normally book a mini-suite, I prefer not eating in our cabin.  Too cramped, and I prefer to avoid the food odors, the food remains and dirty dishes.  I was taught not to put trays in the hallway, so if room service delivers trays, well, I have to deal with them until room service can take them away..  No thanks!

 

As to the Medallion App (actually I think the name was "Ocean Ready" or some such), it didn't work worth spit.  First of all, most of the time there were what the Princess Medallion troubleshooters called "connectivity issues" that prevented orders from being placed.  These connectivity issues were preventing me from using the App most of the cruise.  But on the one time I did get through, my wife and I were relaxing out near the pool and I ordered beverages.  After waiting a long time, I checked the App and it reported that the drinks had been delivered.  But in fact, they had not been delivered, and we had not budged even two feet from where I had been when I ordered them.  And we had been on the look-out for a server bringing our drinks.  I walked up to a nearby bar and ordered my drinks in person.  Doing it myself took a heck of a lot less time and got it done!

 

So my take is that the App does not work at all.  Despite YouTube videos from cheerleaders, and despite some people having had success.  I hope to change my tune after our next cruise, but I will still go to the nearest bar to get my drinks!

[Thrak]

We made used of Room Service on our May cruise on Royal Princess. We ordered from the TV and it was surprisingly easy. Anything with a charge plainly showed the cost. Obviously alcoholic beverages showed a cost but, as we had Princess Plus, we were not charged. Delivery was surprisingly fast. One order wasn't done right - my wife ordered a Latte, Kahlua, and Bailey's. She received 2 Bailey's and a Kahlua. We just laughed and I proceeded to order her Latte and something else for myself. Both times it showed up quickly.

 

The only other weird quirk we had with Medallion ordering (aside from the poor waiters standing around being embarrassed as they waited for the stupid system to work) was when I ordered a drink on Lido deck. We had a couple of days of nasty weather. I went up on Lido deck and it was cold and windy. I ordered a double Bulleit straight up at the Sea Walk Bar. The bartender gave it to me and I drank it. The weather was pretty nasty so I went back to the cabin. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and a waiter delivered my drink. The same drink I had already consumed up on Lido deck. D'Oh! I just laughed about it and accepted the drink. With Princess Plus it didn't cost me any extra but it was definitely a weird Medallion glitch. The good news is that they really did track me down and deliver it to where I was.

[Mike45LC]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:The good news is that they really did track me down and deliver it to where I was.

The other good news is that they got your order right (even if duplicated).

[JF - retired RRT]

12 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I have never ordered room service on Princess.  In almost 40 years of cruising.  I prefer to go get whatever I want from the International Cafe or from the buffet or a bar.  

You can request for the used dishes to be picked up on the TV (didn't check for that on the app). They come surprisingly fast.