Aqua Class Room Service changes?

[NutsAboutGolf]

 

 

22 minutes ago, SbbquilterUT said:

Yes for any meal other than continental breakfast - just off Solstice and that was the case.

 

I can add a datapoint that this is accurate.  On the AQ RS menu the fee is listed on every page including the front cover

[Nashna]

We ordered coffee every morning on our recent Apex & Edge sailings.  The RS waiter introduced himself on the first day and said he would be bringing us our order each day.  We have never had an assigned RS waiter.  He was delightful.  One of our shipmates wasn't aware of the charge and was shocked when she called to order a coke and was told of the $9.95 charge, plus tip.   She had an injured foot and was attempting to avoid a walk to the nearest bar.  She opted to be thirsty. 

 

Another OP mentioned that X would probably revaluate in six months and go back to the old way.  If you look at my signature, you will see my latest cruise booking.  It was going to be on Beyond next January.  The food selection and quality, combined with the nickel and diming forced me to decide on another option.  If you take a look at the Oceania Board, you will see many are jumping ship.   

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, Nashna said:

We ordered coffee every morning on our recent Apex & Edge sailings.  The RS waiter introduced himself on the first day and said he would be bringing us our order each day.  We have never had an assigned RS waiter.  He was delightful.  One of our shipmates wasn't aware of the charge and was shocked when she called to order a coke and was told of the $9.95 charge, plus tip.   She had an injured foot and was attempting to avoid a walk to the nearest bar.  She opted to be thirsty. 

 

Another OP mentioned that X would probably revaluate in six months and go back to the old way.  If you look at my signature, you will see my latest cruise booking.  It was going to be on Beyond next January.  The food selection and quality, combined with the nickel and diming forced me to decide on another option.  If you take a look at the Oceania Board, you will see many are jumping ship.   

 

If I could take a vegas bet, I would bet it's hear to stay and like anything, the amount will increase every so often.  IMO they should get rid of it for Blu since one of the benefits is the expanded RS menu.  Why would anyone want to get a RS salad for $12 when they can get it at the buffet/MDR/Blu for free (rhetorical)?

[crimsonbird]

What is included in room service breakfast?

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, crimsonbird said:

What is included in room service breakfast?

It’s continental so cereals, fruits, pastries and simple beverages like coffee and juices, no smoothies 

[DWhit]

If you order a thermos pot of coffee in the morning, would the room service fee apply?

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, DWhit said:

If you order a thermos pot of coffee in the morning, would the room service fee apply?

Probably if not ordered with the Continental breakfast which is free.

[DWhit]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Probably if not ordered with the Continental breakfast which is free.

If so I guess I will "requisition" my own pot, and walk down and fill it up myself.   

[southernbreezes]

Most hotels I have stayed at list "room service" as a service but it does not mean free. My hotel in Venice the Bauer 2 cups of coffee was 35.00 euros plus a service charge of 15.00 euros so 50 euros! I walked to the lobby and got it for free. My point is we all get room service on the ship every day Continental Breakfast for free then you pay a charge of $10.00 which is cheap the food is free. If you want unlimited room service book a suite I do. Extra charge for lobster tail the Food Hogs brought this about I have seen people eating 4-5 lobster tails, and I have seen people eat 3-4 shrimp cocktails plus a full dinner or even 2 full dinners. Someone has to pay for them and it's us in our cruise price. Stop all the crying.  

[dodger1964]

45 minutes ago, southernbreezes said:

. Extra charge for lobster tail the Food Hogs brought this about I have seen people eating 4-5 lobster tails, and I have seen people eat 3-4 shrimp cocktails plus a full dinner or even 2 full dinners. Someone has to pay for them and it's us in our cruise price. Stop all the crying.  

That would be me, i order 2 shrimp cocktails (no sauce), and usually 3 entrees, and 2 deserts.  Sorry I caused X to implement the service fee. 

[terrydtx]

8 hours ago, DWhit said:

If so I guess I will "requisition" my own pot, and walk down and fill it up myself.   

I have in the past been able to get a pot of fresh hot coffee in the buffet to take back to our cabin. Got tired of RS coffee not being hot, usually just warm.

[Hlitner]

Some folks have yet to accept that if you want a luxury cruise (including 24 hour free room service) you will need to book a luxury cruise line.  On X, one can get something close, but by the time you pay for the "Retreat" Suite, any imposed add-ons, tips, etc. you will have spent more money than it would have cost if you booked Seabourn, Silverseas, etc.  And in its best day, X is not a luxury line but simply a mass market line with some luxury touches for those willing to pay a lot more than the average cruiser.

 

Hank

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Some folks have yet to accept that if you want a luxury cruise (including 24 hour free room service) you will need to book a luxury cruise line.  On X, one can get something close, but by the time you pay for the "Retreat" Suite, any imposed add-ons, tips, etc. you will have spent more money than it would have cost if you booked Seabourn, Silverseas, etc.  And in its best day, X is not a luxury line but simply a mass market line with some luxury touches for those willing to pay a lot more than the average cruiser.

 

Hank

With the huge increases in future Sky Suites, we can now book on Oceania for similar itineraries for less than Sky Suites. We have 4 more Celebrity cruises booked in Sky Suites, that were hundreds of dollars less when booked, than current pricing. After we are done with those 4 cruises we will be looking at Oceania or Viking Ocean. We already booked our first Oceania cruise for 2025 for 18 nights for the same price as what a 14-night cruise on the Equinox Sky Suite would cost. Looked at Silverseas and Seabourn but they did not offer an itinerary we liked but they are still a lot more than Sky Suites. I will say before I would ever book an upper suite with Celebrity, I would book with a true luxury line which would be competitive.

Edited February 8, 2023 by terrydtx

[Hlitner]

Just now, terrydtx said:

With the huge increases in future Sky Suites, we can now book on Oceania for similar itineraries for less than Sky Suites. We have 4 more Celebrity cruises booked in Sky Suites, that were hundreds of dollars less than current pricing. After we are done with those 4 cruises we will be looking at Oceania or Viking Ocean. We already booked our first Oceania cruise for 2025 for 18 nights for the same price as what a 14-night cruise on the Equinox Sky Suite would cost. Looked at Silverseas and Seabourn but they did not offer an itinerary we liked but they are still a lot more than Sky Suites. I will say before I would ever book an upper suite with Celebrity, I would book with a true luxury line which would be competitive.

Just one caution about Oceania.  While we would happily cruise on O we would not be so fast to book one of their older "R" ships which have relatively small cabins and truly tiny cabin bathrooms.  The line seems to have two completely different standards that being their newer vessels (Marina, Riviera, and Vista) vs the 4 "R" ships.  We actually cruised on those R ships when they were new and with Renaissance Cruise lines (hence the "R" ships) and they were fine for small ship cruising on a regular cruise line.  No matter how much Oceania spends on upkeep and rennovations they cannot reasonably change the normal cabin sizes and truly small bathrooms. 

 

We recently looked at a terrific Oceania Itinerary (from Asia to South Africa) but decided we did not want to be stuck on a normal cabin on an R ship for many weeks.  The price of upgrading to one of the much larger suites put the cruise out of our price range.

 

Hank

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Just one caution about Oceania.  While we would happily cruise on O we would not be so fast to book one of their older "R" ships which have relatively small cabins and truly tiny cabin bathrooms.  The line seems to have two completely different standards that being their newer vessels (Marina, Riviera, and Vista) vs the 4 "R" ships.  We actually cruised on those R ships when they were new and with Renaissance Cruise lines (hence the "R" ships) and they were fine for small ship cruising on a regular cruise line.  No matter how much Oceania spends on upkeep and rennovations they cannot reasonably change the normal cabin sizes and truly small bathrooms. 

 

We recently looked at a terrific Oceania Itinerary (from Asia to South Africa) but decided we did not want to be stuck on a normal cabin on an R ship for many weeks.  The price of upgrading to one of the much larger suites put the cruise out of our price range.

 

Hank

We are fully aware of the older R ships, the cruise we booked for 2025 is on the Marina which is scheduled for a full refurbishment in May 2024 like what the Riviera got last year.  The small older ships are what has kept us from considering Amazara for a cruise alternative.  After being on the Oceania CC forums for a while it is amazing how many former loyal Celebrity and HAL customers have jumped ship to O. 

[Hlitner]

10 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We are fully aware of the older R ships, the cruise we booked for 2025 is on the Marina which is scheduled for a full refurbishment in May 2024 like what the Riviera got last year.  The small older ships are what has kept us from considering Amazara for a cruise alternative.  After being on the Oceania CC forums for a while it is amazing how many former loyal Celebrity and HAL customers have jumped ship to O. 

We had looked forward to trying the Marina in Dec 2021, but "O" completely changed the itinerary (and ports) at the last minute (within a few weeks of the sailing) prompting us to cancel.   We have been cruising a lot of Seabourn and, even on that line, have met many past Celebrity/HAL customers who decided to move up to a luxury line.  Most told us they would never go back and were surprised that DW and I would still cruise on a mass market line (although it is happening less and less).  I will admit that having experienced unlimited caviar and French Champagne on Seabourn, it will take a major attitude adjustment to handle our upcoming HAL cruise.

 

Hank
 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

We had looked forward to trying the Marina in Dec 2021, but "O" completely changed the itinerary (and ports) at the last minute (within a few weeks of the sailing) prompting us to cancel.   We have been cruising a lot of Seabourn and, even on that line, have met many past Celebrity/HAL customers who decided to move up to a luxury line.  Most told us they would never go back and were surprised that DW and I would still cruise on a mass market line (although it is happening less and less).  I will admit that having experienced unlimited caviar and French Champagne on Seabourn, it will take a major attitude adjustment to handle our upcoming HAL cruise.

 

Hank
 

We did have the Marina booked in 2021 for a cruise of Spain that got Covid canceled. The 2025 one isn't our first booking but it will be our first, fingers crossed, that will cruise.

[LMHSRN]

24 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We did have the Marina booked in 2021 for a cruise of Spain that got Covid canceled. The 2025 one isn't our first booking but it will be our first, fingers crossed, that will cruise.

A little off topic are we?

[cbfb]

15 hours ago, DWhit said:

If so I guess I will "requisition" my own pot, and walk down and fill it up myself.   

Or just order a muffin or something “continental” at the same time. 

[SSFrance69]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:00 PM, boxkite said:

Blanche998, afternoon canapes are still delivered free for Aqua Class. May have to let your attendant know that you want the afternoon canapes.

 

Same for the sparkling wine in Aqua Class first day, if you want it have to ask for it!

I thought I had read somewhere on CC that the afternoon canapés were also being removed as a perk for aqua class. Is that not true or does it depend on ship? What kind of canapés do they serve? Asking because I'm sailing in AQ for the first time in July. Can you request a cheese plate instead of the canapés? I don't even see the cheese plate on the aqua room service menu on my app, which is strange, because it's on the RS menu in the app for regular staterooms. I used to order a cheese plate every afternoon and enjoy it on my verandah with a glass of wine (not part of the delivery). I will surely miss that. The cheese plates are small. I would have to order 3 of them to justify a $10 service charge. Next month I'll be on Oceana Rivera for 10 nights and I'm afraid I'm going to be very spoiled to come back to X after that with all these cut backs. I'll keep my July booking, but beyond that I don't know.

 

[boxkite]

SSFrance69, DW and her sister just finished a cruise on Reflection in Aqua Class a few weeks ago and they did get canapes every afternoon.

 

When we cruised to Alaska this past Summer in Aqua Class, we asked for cheese and crackers instead and our cabin attendant was able to make that happen. Not saying it was the same cheese plate you are referring to, but go for it!

[SSFrance69]

14 minutes ago, boxkite said:

SSFrance69, DW and her sister just finished a cruise on Reflection in Aqua Class a few weeks ago and they did get canapes every afternoon.

 

When we cruised to Alaska this past Summer in Aqua Class, we asked for cheese and crackers instead and our cabin attendant was able to make that happen. Not saying it was the same cheese plate you are referring to, but go for it!

Thanks for your reply! Fingers crossed! Worst case scenario I know I can grab some assorted cheese from the buffet if it's open in the afternoon, but having it delivered is just easier. Especially if I'm relaxing on the verandah in my robe. First world problems, I know. 🙂 Just out of curiosity, what kind of canapés to they normally serve in AQ? 

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, boxkite said:

SSFrance69, DW and her sister just finished a cruise on Reflection in Aqua Class a few weeks ago and they did get canapes every afternoon.

 

When we cruised to Alaska this past Summer in Aqua Class, we asked for cheese and crackers instead and our cabin attendant was able to make that happen. Not saying it was the same cheese plate you are referring to, but go for it!

 

2 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

Thanks for your reply! Fingers crossed! Worst case scenario I know I can grab some assorted cheese from the buffet if it's open in the afternoon, but having it delivered is just easier. Especially if I'm relaxing on the verandah in my robe. First world problems, I know. 🙂 Just out of curiosity, what kind of canapés to they normally serve in AQ? 

 

Daily canapes are still being delivered yet I also swap it out to a cheese plate.  Canapes are like slender breadsticks wrapped in deli meat, cheese, hummus, cubed cake, etc.  Everything to me appeared to be the exact same food from the buffet

[indy406]

Room service full breakfast in AQ has been a wonderful convenience, especially on port days before making a tour departure deadline. No more apparently. It's probably not a deal breaker, but one more thing to consider when shopping for cruise lines. Less for more (money) seems to continue to be the future. BTW, this policy was announced after we paid in full for our upcoming 2/19 Reflection cruise. Very disappointing.

[jelayne]

On 2/7/2023 at 2:03 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

If I could take a vegas bet, I would bet it's hear to stay and like anything, the amount will increase every so often.  IMO they should get rid of it for Blu since one of the benefits is the expanded RS menu.  Why would anyone want to get a RS salad for $12 when they can get it at the buffet/MDR/Blu for free (rhetorical)?

Which may be why the addition of the charge.