Room Service in suites

[cruiseluvva]

Is room service still free in a suite, if ordered via the Butler?

[molecrochip]

Free however you order.

[cruiseluvva]

9 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Free however you order.

Thank you.

[molecrochip]

If it appears on the bill, give reception a call and they will remove it. It shouldn't happen but does occasionally.

[cruiseluvva]

9 hours ago, molecrochip said:

If it appears on the bill, give reception a call and they will remove it. It shouldn't happen but does occasionally.

Thank you.

[smokey01]

Do people tip each time they use room service or leave it to the end of the cruise?

[Windsurfboy]

I thought gratuities were included.

[Hampshire Steve]

On 5/25/2023 at 8:11 PM, molecrochip said:

If it appears on the bill, give reception a call and they will remove it. It shouldn't happen but does occasionally.

We ordered once via room service on our cruise a few weeks ago and were charged, when we discussed with our butler the following day he looked into it and came back and said thats what happens if you order direct, no refund offered. Have since decided that suite benefits are just not worth the extra. Breakfast at Sindhu on Arcadia just wasn't that special on several occasions and gave it a miss on the second half of this cruise. Canapes no longer daily (although generally awful anyway) reached a new low on our first dress night where they were served as guacamole with a salad cream drizzle or tomato ketchup - Yes genuinely just ketchup, couldn't believe it!. First fruit bowl that arrived on day two, we sent back there and then as it was the level of maturity that we would have thrown out at home, needless to say it didn't get better.

 

Apologies to whoever traveled in our suite on the next cruise because I dropped a Chicken Tikka on the carpet, called housekeeping for assistance in cleaning, they never came, called the butler who came with a cloth and rubbed it in and said it would get cleaned the following day, it never did so the stain was still there on departure day.

 

Even with the negatives we enjoyed the cruise and have booked five more since, including some back on Arcadia but no more suites.

[molecrochip]

12 minutes ago, Hampshire Steve said:

We ordered once via room service on our cruise a few weeks ago and were charged, when we discussed with our butler the following day he looked into it and came back and said thats what happens if you order direct, no refund offered.

I’m sorry this happened, there should be no charge either way. The only thing that still gets charged are drinks ordered. Tray charges and supplements should be waived as you’re in a suite.

[Hampshire Steve]

We did say we were in a suite when we called room service but got the impression the person on the other end of the phone just thought we were showing off,  system works on Princess so I guess there is a connection to cabin number with them? 

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Hampshire Steve said:

We did say we were in a suite when we called room service but got the impression the person on the other end of the phone just thought we were showing off,  system works on Princess so I guess there is a connection to cabin number with them? 

Never had any problems ordering direct, and never charged. Any error would quickly and simply be corrected at reception, I’m sure.

[smokey01]

22 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I thought gratuities were included.

Yes they are, but on American style lines where you pay a very expensive daily auto gratuity, Americans always mention giving the room service deliverer a cash tip for each delivery. I’m hoping on P&O the server would not expect a cash tip as it is the more British version of ‘we are not great tippers’. Even though tips are included I do always give something extra to the cabin steward and waiters (if we are on traditional dining and presuming they did a good job) but it is only a small amount at the end of the cruise.

[SeaJane]

55 minutes ago, smokey01 said:

Yes they are, but on American style lines where you pay a very expensive daily auto gratuity, Americans always mention giving the room service deliverer a cash tip for each delivery. I’m hoping on P&O the server would not expect a cash tip as it is the more British version of ‘we are not great tippers’. Even though tips are included I do always give something extra to the cabin steward and waiters (if we are on traditional dining and presuming they did a good job) but it is only a small amount at the end of the cruise.

We got off Ventura this morning and had an aft suite. We used room service several times for lunch on the balcony and ordered through our butler. He delivered our order himself each time and we did not tip him on delivery. He also provided our requested milk, wine and decaff tea and coffee. He was clearly very experienced and pro active and asked us on day one whether we wished to have canapés each day - we opted to have them and were pleasantly surprised that they had improved from 3 years ago.  We had our two favourites of chocolate covered strawberries and smoked salmon too! We tipped him at the end of the cruise. 

[smokey01]

2 minutes ago, SeaJane said:

We got off Ventura this morning and had an aft suite. We used room service several times for lunch on the balcony and ordered through our butler. He delivered our order himself each time and we did not tip him on delivery. He also provided our requested milk, wine and decaff tea and coffee. He was clearly very experienced and pro active and asked us on day one whether we wished to have canapés each day - we opted to have them and were pleasantly surprised that they had improved from 3 years ago.  We had our two favourites of chocolate covered strawberries and smoked salmon too! We tipped him at the end of the cruise. 

Thanks, that helps a lot. 

[Harry Peterson]

2 minutes ago, SeaJane said:

We got off Ventura this morning and had an aft suite. We used room service several times for lunch on the balcony and ordered through our butler. He delivered our order himself each time and we did not tip him on delivery. He also provided our requested milk, wine and decaff tea and coffee. He was clearly very experienced and pro active and asked us on day one whether we wished to have canapés each day - we opted to have them and were pleasantly surprised that they had improved from 3 years ago.  We had our two favourites of chocolate covered strawberries and smoked salmon too! We tipped him at the end of the cruise. 

Our favourite place to be - and I'm glad the canapés have improved!  

 

I'm curious - what's the general state of those suites now?  Last time we cruised they were in a pretty poor state and really needing some replacements of furnishings, along with the bathrooms.  Tired, I think, is the word, and in hotel terms everything would have been replaced.

 

Have they improved, along with the canapés?

[SeaJane]

Just now, Harry Peterson said:

Our favourite place to be - and I'm glad the canapés have improved!  

 

I'm curious - what's the general state of those suites now?  Last time we cruised they were in a pretty poor state and really needing some replacements of furnishings, along with the bathrooms.  Tired, I think, is the word, and in hotel terms everything would have been replaced.

 

Have they improved, along with the canapés?

This was our first time on Ventura so I can’t comment on how the suites were previously. We were in A751 and the furnishings in our suite were in good condition. The surface of the bath was a bit “flakey” looking, but the rest of the bathroom fittings were modern and I would think must have been refitted fairly recently. The balcony furniture was new. 

[Camberley]

Never been charged for room service in a suite - and we book directly through to the kitchen as it is much quicker than the butler - but as has been said it is always worth checking just in case P&O make one of their infamous errors.

 

Mercifully those god-awful canapés are no longer a daily threat (I fear P&O might prefer to drop the h in their advertising), yet ironically they gate-crashed the suite on celebration nights on our recent cruises on Iona and again on Britannia. We’d have thrown them overboard but we didn’t want to concuss a whale.

 

But despite the “extras” not amounting to much (I mean, they are pitiful!), the space and those aft balconies are, for us, what makes the suite life so much better. I know some bang on about barely using their room or their balcony - but in some of those aft suites it is proper spacious, peaceful bliss and we love using that space ourselves and with many friend on board for drinks gatherings and the like. Bliss……until the soot falls…

Edited May 28, 2023 by Camberley