Fresh fruits upon request

[CH_ca]

We used to have fresh fruits delivered to our staterooms pre-pandemic. On our recent cruise, we asked the cabin steward for fresh fruits everyday. She told us HAL no longer provides that because they don't want cabin stewards to handle edibles 😏. On their website, "Fresh fruits upon request" is still clearly stated under amenities regardless of cabin categories. Has anyone got fruits delivered to their staterooms recently?

 

 

[Gunther1]

I noticed that just this am, also.  I suspect it’s yet another error on their website.

 

I used to love that feature.

[CH_ca]

So do I 🙁

[oakridger]

I wonder if going through room service for the request would be the way to go now.  After all, they handle food every time!

 

~Nancy

[Catlover54]

I received the fruits I requested (the friend I was with loves bananas), but perhaps it mattered that I was in a suite? The explanation about stewards not authorized to handle fruits makes no sense (unless crew are taking some of the fruit back to their own quarters)

If they had declined, and there weren't any fruit  locally,  I would just have taken a plate or bag and loaded up on the ones I like in the Lido and brought them back to my cabin and then had peace for the next week and one less issue to worry about.

[leerathje]

Sorry, realized this was a duplicate question.   Deleted.

 

L.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by leerathje

[cbr663]

We noticed the absence on the fresh fruit during our Alaskan sailing in May.  The response was that HAL hasn't been providing it for well over a year now.  The cabin steward asked me what we wanted and I replied that we would like fresh berries every day.  He brought them that afternoon only.  We sailed in a Neptune Suite.

[Haljo1935]

Also noticed no fresh fruit on all sailings since the restart. I assumed materials had not been updated to remove and didn't ask for any. Instead, I would order it w/morning room service coffee and pick some up in the Lido. Used one of the muffin baskets from breakfast to keep it in.

Non-suites.

Edited August 29, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Ellencruise]

39 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Also noticed no fresh fruit on all sailings since the restart. I assumed materials had not been updated to remove and didn't ask for any. Instead, I would order it w/morning room service coffee and pick some up in the Lido. Used one of the muffin baskets from breakfast to keep it in.

Non-suites.

Good idea, I’ll do that next cruise!

[Gunther1]

Going back to the original question, HAL should remove that from their list of what is available in each stateroom, as it isn't.

[Haljo1935]

3 minutes ago, Gunther1 said:

Going back to the original question, HAL should remove that from their list of what is available in each stateroom, as it isn't.

Aligned. Unfortunately, there is quite a lot of "list updating" for various things that needs to happen. Repeat HAL cruisers may dismiss them as mere annoyances (or may not), but new HAL cruisers may well be confused and disappointed. 

Always best when expectations and experiences align. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[jljcruise]

11 hours ago, CH_ca said:

We used to have fresh fruits delivered to our staterooms pre-pandemic. On our recent cruise, we asked the cabin steward for fresh fruits everyday. She told us HAL no longer provides that because they don't want cabin stewards to handle edibles 😏. On their website, "Fresh fruits upon request" is still clearly stated under amenities regardless of cabin categories. Has anyone got fruits delivered to their staterooms recently?

 

 

In April, my SIL and her hubby requested 2 bananas be delivered each evening so they could eat them in the early morning before taking pills. The request was honored. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by jljcruise

[CH_ca]

1 hour ago, jljcruise said:

In April, my SIL and her hubby requested 2 bananas be delivered each evening so they could eat them in the early morning before taking pills. The request was honored. 

Great idea!

 

[Real NHDOC]

Lots of room stewards don't want to be bothered with any extra work.  Many of them will tell you that cabin cleaning service is now only once a day, which it is not, it's up to the guest to decide if they want the cabin cleaned once or twice a day. 

There used to be a form they left with any special requests and the fruit was on there.  I suspect a good steward will get you anything you want if you ask nicely and offer a few dollars as incentive for them not to forget.

[horseymike]

I thought the fresh fruit was picked on the sea days 🤣

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, horseymike said:

I thought the fresh fruit was picked on the sea days 🤣

 

Only on ships that have a Club Orange. 

[Fred321]

On this year's world cruise we had great cabin stewards but they advised that they no longer offered the fresh fruit option. Was able to run down one of the old wire baskets in a bar and got my own fruit from the lido. They must have had a lot of requests because they set up an entire station in the back of the lido with whatever fruit was available. Worked great until South Africa when they went out of their way to get local produce which resulted in a gastro outbreak.  No good deed.....

[FlorenceItaly]

22 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:

Lots of room stewards don't want to be bothered with any extra work.  Many of them will tell you that cabin cleaning service is now only once a day, which it is not, it's up to the guest to decide if they want the cabin cleaned once or twice a day. 

There used to be a form they left with any special requests and the fruit was on there.  I suspect a good steward will get you anything you want if you ask nicely and offer a few dollars as incentive for them not to forget.

This was our case in May on the Zuiderdam.  We requested twice a day and they obliged.  We left gratuities in place and tipped them extra.  I think they were pleased.

[bluesplayer]

At the front desk there is a place to leave a note for guest services.  I have done that and had a quick response to a minor issue.  I am wondering if room service could provide fresh fruit?  We do as others and take some back from the Lido..  with a few macadamia nut cookies..  Yum!!

[Mary229]

No fresh fruit anymore in the steerage class.  The Neptune suites may have a different experience.  I have noticed a larger variety of whole fresh fruits on the lido now and I make a daily trek there to gather my larder.

[OlsSalt]

eBay- simple, packable orange peeler tools online.

 

[LabMom57]

Interesting that the responses are varied. I didn't remember that was available and just ordered it with room service as previously stated. I will ask about this on my next cruise.

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, LabMom57 said:

Interesting that the responses are varied. I didn't remember that was available and just ordered it with room service as previously stated. I will ask about this on my next cruise.

Yes you can get fruit from room service.  Used to be there was a basket in room that the steward filled every day 

[Catlover54]

10 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Yes you can get fruit from room service.  Used to be there was a basket in room that the steward filled every day 

 

 

AVOIDING WASTE may also be an issue.

Recently on another line (a luxury line), all pax in all suites got notification in their boarding materials that if they wanted fresh fruit daily (or intermittently) they could either ask their cabin steward to deliver  it or select it on their own in a designated location (pool deck or Lido ).  They explained that in the past there was a lot of wasted fruit thrown into trash/composting  if stewards just routinely brought  a basket every day .  I can relate to this -- usually I am too busy eating 3 heavy meals a day and also snacking on  cookies/pastries, or otherwise doubling my baseline caloric intake, so then there may not be room for a whole basket of fruit daily on top of that, even for two people :).  But when I asked for it (I told them exactly what I liked and disliked), they brought it.

 

I would like to think that HAL, just like luxury lines,  is similarly simply recognizing the reality that there is indeed a lot of unnecessary fruit waste (but then they shouldn't be giving irritating  bogus explanations as in post #1), but hopefully pax can still get it even in nonsuites, without hassle, if they do indeed *ask* for it.  All lines are of course interested in cost savings wherever they can these days, not just in avoiding waste.  So it may make  sense to target  high expense and low demand areas (as opposed to doing things like charging people for second entrees and meanwhile shrinking the size of the entrees,  and otherwise nickle and diming).

 

Does anyone know roughly what percent of cabins routinely want a full basket of fruit per day?

 

 

 

[Real NHDOC]

It wasn't a full basket left every day it was just what you requested.  If you wanted a banana or a pear a day they would bring that.  So not a waste issue.