Bringing dessert back to the cabin?

[Mojito85]

Does NCL have a rule about bringing dessert back to the cabin from a specialty restaurant? I tried on a cruise last week and was told it wasn't allowed despite me doing this numerous times in the past.

 

Seems like a silly rule to me...

[Laszlo]

Strange, we have been asked a few times if we wanted dessert to go? Maybe they had people waiting for our table and wanted us to leave 

 

 

Did they bring it out to your table and you tried to take it with you?

[zqvol]

There have been reports that it is not allowed, but IMHO it depends on the ship and restaurant staff.. 

[BirdTravels]

23 minutes ago, Mojito85 said:

Does NCL have a rule about bringing dessert back to the cabin from a specialty restaurant? I tried on a cruise last week and was told it wasn't allowed despite me doing this numerous times in the past.

 

Seems like a silly rule to me...

On our May cruise, we were told it was not allowed.
 

But,,, our Cagney’s waiter brought our two desserts one plate with a cover and says “I won’t see if you walk out with that plate”. 

[Mojito85]

32 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Strange, we have been asked a few times if we wanted dessert to go? Maybe they had people waiting for our table and wanted us to leave 

 

 

Did they bring it out to your table and you tried to take it with you?

We were overly stuffed from dinner and asked if we could just take the desserts back with us to the room instead of eating them at the table. 
 

It seems like such a harmless request. 

[stinkyharriet]

14 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

On our May cruise, we were told it was not allowed.
 

But,,, our Cagney’s waiter brought our two desserts one plate with a cover and says “I won’t see if you walk out with that plate”. 

In Cagney’s on the Joy last year, when we all said we didn’t want dessert, the waiter tried to convince us to take it to go.

[sailingships]

In April/May on the Epic we couldnt but since then on another ship we could.

[D_And_K_gocruising]

Wonder what their reasoning is for not allowing it?  You're going to give it to someone else?  You're going to decide you dont want it and just leave it somewhere?  It's part of your meal that you paid for (it's part of the specialty dining credit and should be included).   Just seems weird.  

[julig22]

I've not taken anything back to my room except from the buffet but AFAIK, there isn't an issue with taking food from any place except the Local/O'Sheehans. Why there I don't know but I've seen signs saying you can't.

[Mojito85]

26 minutes ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Wonder what their reasoning is for not allowing it?  You're going to give it to someone else?  You're going to decide you dont want it and just leave it somewhere?  It's part of your meal that you paid for (it's part of the specialty dining credit and should be included).   Just seems weird.  

It’s silly..you can’t bring the chocolate cake back from Cagney’s but you can order a chocolate cake on room service. I’m paying for both cakes.

[Sand and Seas]

On the Joy two weeks ago they let us take dessert from Ocean Blue and Q.   It was common to see others carrying covered plates around the ship.

 

It never hurts to ask, but we have also been told 'no' on some other ships in the last year or two.  

 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

1 hour ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Wonder what their reasoning is for not allowing it?  You're going to give it to someone else?  You're going to decide you dont want it and just leave it somewhere?  It's part of your meal that you paid for (it's part of the specialty dining credit and should be included).   Just seems weird.  

Bugs, mess, and decaying food.

 

If you have room service, staff is aware there is food in your room.  It is usually self-contained on the table/tray.  It is either picked up by staff or placed outside the room where it is visible. 

 

A single plate of food may be put in a cabinet (for "later") and forgotten.  Crumbs fall on shelves and around the cabin. 

 

Seems very reasonable to me. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by CruisingAlong4Now

[D_And_K_gocruising]

2 minutes ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

Bugs, mess, and decaying food.

 

If you have room service, staff is aware there is food in your room.  It is usually self-contained on the table/tray.  It is either picked up by staff or placed outside the room where it is visible. 

 

A single plate of food may be put in a cabinet (for "later") and forgotten.  Crumbs fall on shelves and around the cabin. 

 

Seems very reasonable to me. 

Same thing could happen with room service food..  Could still be put somewhere for "later"  And could be worse, could be just put on a paper towel or napkin since they would need to give the real plates back so they could be taken away.  At least if you take it with you, it's probably going to be on it's own disposable or maybe real plate.   So sure, while I 'get' what you're going for, still doesnt make a lot of sense.  But hey, there is other food around that you can grab and take back to your cabin, so don't let me take it on a plate.  I'll go grab something from the buffet and do the same thing. 

[DaisyGoldberg]

Depending on the dessert, a ziplock bag will do the trick...

[mking8288]

Within the past year and a half, it's been mostly "no" if you asked, politely & discretely.  If you order it normally, can't finish up and just take it, leave and go ... not in their face, apparently fine - while "they" are busy or distracted or focused on other tasks and guests, probably not going to run into the undercover food police.  

 

Lately, it appeared that portion sizes had gone slightly petite, less is more, easy to share & finish it off.  Could help explain part of that 30% savings achieved in food costs.  Perhaps, don't ask and don't squeak or tell.  #cough #cough - ziplock bags (as noted) can be useful for emergencies in lieu of aluminum tin foils or food-grade rolled up wax paper, cut down those trips to track down food afterhours & waiting for room service to deliver, for y/our (in)convenience, of course.  

 

From a food safety standpoint, if those mini refrigerator aren't safe for short term storage ... then, NCL can and should put a red/orange warning or safety sticker inside & outside the door ... Don't even "allow" milk, juice, half-n-half or those creamer to be stored at all.  Go one step further, get rid of the refrigerators entirely, why bother - call it eco-friendly.  Or, do what hotels provide - a takeway and to-go snack pack that does not need temperature control ... nevermind, that'll drive up food costs.

 

NCL as we know it, consistently ... inconsistent with flip-flopping policies.  Meanwhile, get a handle on those rising fuel costs instead.  Penny-wise and pound-foolish, IMHO of course. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by mking8288

[TPgal]

3 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Wonder what their reasoning is for not allowing it? 

For some reason I have a memory of the plates being a different pattern at some of the specialty restaurants - getting a Cagney's plate back to the Cagney's dish stack might be extra effort for the behind the scenes staff that they are trying to discourage. 

[RD64]

Ziploc bags? Really? 

[laudergayle]

22 minutes ago, TPgal said:

For some reason I have a memory of the plates being a different pattern at some of the specialty restaurants - getting a Cagney's plate back to the Cagney's dish stack might be extra effort for the behind the scenes staff that they are trying to discourage. 

My thoughts as well.  To solve that get a short stack of the Garden Buffet dessert plates.  I’m sure many of those end up in the cabins. 
 

However, it is probably a deterrent to reduce costs.  If I ask you before I order to get it to go, and you say no…then I may not order.  However, if I order, eat a bite, then ask for to go…I likely have a greater chance.

[laudergayle]

3 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Ziploc bags? Really? 

Or BYOPP w/PW

[Sand and Seas]

I recall reading somewhere a few years ago (here or ?) that some would save those plastic hotel shower caps and turn it into a plate cover.  Not sure I could be comfortable doing that with a Cagney's chocolate cake🤔

[dbrown84]

I asked for my cake in Cagney's and mentioned I was stuffed and was going to take it to my cabin.  The waiter said it wasn't allowed, but that he would meet me outside the restaurant and give it to me.  I said thanks and met him outside the restaurant.  I honestly thought maybe it was a ploy for a tip.  The thing is, I wasn't actually asking him if I could take it.  I was just going to take it.  Same with O'sheehan's.  I know at least they used to have a rule about no feed being taken out.  But I'm taking my drunken late night meal with me back to my cabin.  Only once have I had someone try to stop me.  I just said "ok" and kept walking.  On my last few cruises, it seems that the no food taken rule doesn't exists anymore.  they see you leaving and smile and say goodnight.  Maybe it's different because it's usually 3 AM, and  they just want the place to empty out

[Smitheroo]

On 11/3/2023 at 3:42 PM, CruisingAlong4Now said:

Bugs, mess, and decaying food.

 

If you have room service, staff is aware there is food in your room.  It is usually self-contained on the table/tray.  It is either picked up by staff or placed outside the room where it is visible. 

 

A single plate of food may be put in a cabinet (for "later") and forgotten.  Crumbs fall on shelves and around the cabin. 

 

Seems very reasonable to me. 

nothing stopping you from taking food from the buffet so I doubt that is the reason.  Not sure about the main dining rooms.   I didnt see any signs in the buffet that you couldnt take food outside of the area.  You can walk around with Starbucks.  Coffee can easily be spilled and make a mess.  ditto for alcolholic drinks

 

[SoloAlaska]

On 11/3/2023 at 6:18 PM, RD64 said:

Ziploc bags? Really? 

I always travel with reusable snack bags (like stasher). They are great for that cookie I picked up that I want to save for later or that half a muffin I didn’t have a chance to finish before boarding my flight. Would I bring it to dinner… NO, would I bring it to the buffet to grab a snack for later at night… absolutely.

[stinkyharriet]

8 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

I always travel with reusable snack bags (like stasher). They are great for that cookie I picked up that I want to save for later or that half a muffin I didn’t have a chance to finish before boarding my flight. Would I bring it to dinner… NO, would I bring it to the buffet to grab a snack for later at night… absolutely.

My sister & I grabbed a few snacks from the buffet for late night in our cabin.  The only other option would be going to the Local/O’Sheehans, and options are very limited there.

[Smitheroo]

On 11/3/2023 at 7:03 PM, dbrown84 said:

I asked for my cake in Cagney's and mentioned I was stuffed and was going to take it to my cabin.  The waiter said it wasn't allowed, but that he would meet me outside the restaurant and give it to me.  I said thanks and met him outside the restaurant.  I honestly thought maybe it was a ploy for a tip.  The thing is, I wasn't actually asking him if I could take it.  I was just going to take it.  Same with O'sheehan's.  I know at least they used to have a rule about no feed being taken out.  But I'm taking my drunken late night meal with me back to my cabin.  Only once have I had someone try to stop me.  I just said "ok" and kept walking.  On my last few cruises, it seems that the no food taken rule doesn't exists anymore.  they see you leaving and smile and say goodnight.  Maybe it's different because it's usually 3 AM, and  they just want the place to empty out

This one is really funny Thank you for the laugh.  A ploy looking for a tip?   (possibly)