Bringing dessert back to the cabin?

[Smitheroo]

2 hours 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.

On my recent trip I wished I had some and made a mental note to bring a supply next time.  I took two croissants from the bread basket in the main dining room at breakfast one day. I forget what I had to wrap them in but a ziplock would have been better. They are only going to be thrown out. Not served to someone else after being on your table where your might have put your hands all over them.  never even thought it would be frowned upon.  I'm sure the specialty restuarants have their own set of rules. I can understand not wanting their china spread all over the ship

[Smitheroo]

On 11/3/2023 at 3:49 PM, D_And_K_gocruising said:

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. 

This is somewhat related but why no objection to people putting room service food outside their doors on the floor? Half eaten food looks kind of disgusting in my opinion

[complawyer]

in 25 cruises with ncl, (although we do not do it often) i have never once been told either in a specialty restaurant or regular restaurant that we cannot take food back to the cabin. same goes for alcohol. we sometimes go up to the bar, order a drink (cold heineken) and take it back to our cabin, where i can sit on my balcony, and enjoy an ice cold one while watching the world go by. 

 

most of the time the server is more than happy to wrap it up for us.

 

it may be different in/on ncl, but it my world, it's called a "doggy bag" i was surprised reading the original post as i never found this to be an issue.

 

and yes smitheroo, plates of uneaten food, dirty plates and glassware outside someone's cabin door are indeed gross and disgusting!

[UKstages]

4 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

This is somewhat related but why no objection to people putting room service food outside their doors on the floor?

NCL objects to it and asks guests not to do it. there is usually a card on the room service tray that asks guests to call to have their items picked up.

 

4 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

Half eaten food looks kind of disgusting in my opinion

indeed. i feel the same way about most door decorations!
 

in addition to being an eyesore, room service trays, dishes, plates and such in the hallway are also a safety hazard. people can trip over them and they sometimes block the path for those on scooters. they also can interfere with emergency operations for the same reason.

 

cabin attendants used to remove some room service trays during their second daily visit to  each cabin. now that they are only visiting each room once a day, my sense is that there is an increase in hallway clutter.

[Smitheroo]

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

NCL objects to it and asks guests not to do it. there is usually a card on the room service tray that asks guests to call to have their items picked up.

 

indeed. i feel the same way about most door decorations!
 

in addition to being an eyesore, room service trays, dishes, plates and such in the hallway are also a safety hazard. people can trip over them and they sometimes block the path for those on scooters. they also can interfere with emergency operations for the same reason.

 

cabin attendants used to remove some room service trays during their second daily visit to  each cabin. now that they are only visiting each room once a day, my sense is that there is an increase in hallway clutter.

Yes I do remember reading not to put your dirty dishes etc outside your cabin door. Clearly not enforced.   I can remember "back in the day" that it was common practice for passengers to put their trays and dishes from room service outside of their cabin door.  More people used room service back then it seems.  I'm referring to the 1960's.  I remember because I was a teen who would have loved to sleep in and ordering breakfast to my cabin but my mother would not allow it.  The stewards used to come around and knock loudly on your door "7;30, good morning" unless there was a do not disturb sign on the door I would imagine.  

[66Olds442]

Last year on the Breakaway we had our dessert delivered from Cagney's to our room (Club Balcony). Last week on the Prima we had our Guacamole & Chips packaged up and delivered by our butler to the room (Haven Penthouse Balcony).

 

I think it just depends on your server, both times our server offered to package it up for us without us even asking.

[Travelicious]

It does seem to depend on the ship.  It used to be that the specialty restaurants offered to have the dessert delivered to your room.  On the Breakaway earlier this year, I asked about that option in Cagney's, and was told the room service charge would apply. So I think it turned out to be about $13 to have it delivered.  I asked about taking it with us, and was told that was not allowed.

[skittl1321]

On 11/5/2023 at 6:05 AM, Smitheroo said:

Yes I do remember reading not to put your dirty dishes etc outside your cabin door. Clearly not enforced.   I can remember "back in the day" that it was common practice for passengers to put their trays and dishes from room service outside of their cabin door.

I've always thought you were supposed to put them outside your cabin.  When left in the cabin, on every cruise I've been on, the room steward does not clear them.  So the only way to get rid of dishes from room service or the buffet is to leave them outside the cabin door, otherwise they sit for days.  

 

[cruiseny4life]

For those told no, you cannot take dessert to your room. Did you try? Do staff throw you to the ground, catch the falling plate midair, and force you to eat the cake before you're allowed up? If crew ever tell me no, I know I'll just be carrying a plate out of the restaurant. I'm doubtful anything bad will happen to me.

[ontheweb]

We were given our anniversary cake after we had finished our meals including dessert. After we took a few bites, we took it back to the cabin. We did have to find something smaller to have it fit into the mini-refrigerator.

[sanger727]

There has always been a general rule that you can't take food to go from any of the dining rooms. The reason being food safety and a concern that you would let something sit out too long and then eat it and get sick. I understand that this is nonsense in the light that you can take food from the buffet or get room service delivered. But we've tried to take food to go and been told that.

 

So, I suspect this rule also applies to dessert in a specialty restaurant. Maybe they have been cracking down on it lately so fewer servers are willing to circumvent it? 

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

For those told no, you cannot take dessert to your room. Did you try? Do staff throw you to the ground, catch the falling plate midair, and force you to eat the cake before you're allowed up? If crew ever tell me no, I know I'll just be carrying a plate out of the restaurant. I'm doubtful anything bad will happen to me.

Didn't you know - that's what's called FULL SERVICE. Actually, they should feed it to you.

 

If you do make your getaway, just beware of the TAF-SWAT team breaking down your cabin door.

(Take Away Food SWAT)

[fmrlkr]

The only time I have been told I could not take food back to the cabin was a cruise with Noro virus.  I asked to take my dessert back to the room and was told that was not allowed.  I was sick the next day and it kept up.  Signs included no condiments on the tables, paper menus, the washy washy song being played over the loud speaker every 15 minutes, and of course everyone talking about who was or had been sick.  The crew, of course denied everything.  After the cruise, I mentioned it to my cruise consultant and he said I should have gone to the medical office since it was covered under my insurance.  The walking down there in the state I was in was not an option, I just spent 24 hours in the shower.

[DaisyGoldberg]

For the record, I'm not stuffing creme brulee in a ziploc.  But I got in the habit years ago of carrying a small baggie on me (great for getting ice on the way back to a hotel room, etc) and if I had it on me and wanted to go back to my room with the second half of my sandwich from O'Sheehans, yeah, I'd use it 🙂

 

[TPgal]

2 hours ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

For the record, I'm not stuffing creme brulee in a ziploc.  But I got in the habit years ago of carrying a small baggie on me (great for getting ice on the way back to a hotel room, etc) and if I had it on me and wanted to go back to my room with the second half of my sandwich from O'Sheehans, yeah, I'd use it 🙂

 

The food we nicked from the buffet and o'sheehans saved our bacon on our 9+ hour excursion through the Panama Canal.   The lunch offered on our ferry was unappetizing and the hot temperature of where that food sat for the duration of our journey was questionable at best.   That bagel, and other things I stashed in my day pack kept our 6 year old from eating a fellow traveler.   Ziplock bags for the win!

[mugtech]

Was told on the Sky in September that we could not take any food with us from the Sushi restaurant because the food got unhealthy if it was not eaten immediately.  It was suggested that since the Sushi restaurant has no desserts, we stop in at the buffet and pick up whatever we wanted to take back to our cabin.

[debenson0723]

12 hours ago, skittl1321 said:

I've always thought you were supposed to put them outside your cabin.  When left in the cabin, on every cruise I've been on, the room steward does not clear them.  So the only way to get rid of dishes from room service or the buffet is to leave them outside the cabin door, otherwise they sit for days.  

 

I have always left my dishes from the buffet or room service in my cabin, and they were cleared out every day. I leave them stacked neatly in the same place, usually at the end of the desk. If it hadn't happened automatically, I would have mentioned to my room steward the first time they were left and asked them to be removed every day. 

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, mugtech said:

Was told on the Sky in September that we could not take any food with us from the Sushi restaurant because the food got unhealthy if it was not eaten immediately.  It was suggested that since the Sushi restaurant has no desserts, we stop in at the buffet and pick up whatever we wanted to take back to our cabin.

The sushi restaurant and Food Republic are the only 2 places I have ever been told I could not take food out with me, for the exact same reason you were told. 

[rj59]

I think one reason for denying it would be to avoid hogs eating everything on the menu and asking for more to eat later, particularly if it's specialty dining and somebody told them it costs more so don't do it. They might say it's for safety, so you don't trip and spill, or sanitation, but it's basically about money and cutting down food costs. I can see it as sort of equivalent of a buffet on land, where you pay a fixed cost so the restaurant wants to minimize overall food use and thus won't allow anyone to take food away. That's probably more true of NCL, with a lot of people getting a free specialty meal through Free at Sea, so they get more food eaten than on other lines in specialty restaurants and so want to minimize cost. It's the same principle as nominal charges for room service now, so a drunk doesn't order tons of food late at night and leave most of it uneaten in a hallway. Yeah, it's cheap and petty to deny it, but if denied, you can ask the restaurant manager and get a good reason, and leave it in a comment card at the front desk, to see if they'll make it up to you. 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

The silly thing is that, if you are in the Haven or a Suite your butler will almost certainly be able to get whatever you want.

 

If I go to the buffet no one seems to worry if I take back "cookies".

 

What is the difference?

[reeinaz]

On a different cruise line, a friend was taking an unfinished glass of wine from the dining room. The server asked her not to, explaining it was hard for the restaurant to get their wine glasses back because they get returned to the bars. Instead, he poured it in a champagne glass.

[dbrown84]

24 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

On a different cruise line, a friend was taking an unfinished glass of wine from the dining room. The server asked her not to, explaining it was hard for the restaurant to get their wine glasses back because they get returned to the bars. Instead, he poured it in a champagne glass.

I've had this happen before at Cagney's, and I've had no problem doing it.  They are nice glasses.  Surprisingly, on my last Cagney's visit, they let me walk out with it.  Don't judge, I bought it home 😔

[got2havefun]

Just did that twice from Cagney's on cruise last month. Enjoyed it as a late night snack on the balcony. No issues at all 

[Smitheroo]

On 11/6/2023 at 1:11 PM, fmrlkr said:

The only time I have been told I could not take food back to the cabin was a cruise with Noro virus.  I asked to take my dessert back to the room and was told that was not allowed.  I was sick the next day and it kept up.  Signs included no condiments on the tables, paper menus, the washy washy song being played over the loud speaker every 15 minutes, and of course everyone talking about who was or had been sick.  The crew, of course denied everything.  After the cruise, I mentioned it to my cruise consultant and he said I should have gone to the medical office since it was covered under my insurance.  The walking down there in the state I was in was not an option, I just spent 24 hours in the shower.

Ooooooooooooh, that is a miserable experience

Edited November 12, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Smitheroo]

On 11/6/2023 at 10:22 PM, rj59 said:

I think one reason for denying it would be to avoid hogs eating everything on the menu and asking for more to eat later, particularly if it's specialty dining and somebody told them it costs more so don't do it. They might say it's for safety, so you don't trip and spill, or sanitation, but it's basically about money and cutting down food costs. I can see it as sort of equivalent of a buffet on land, where you pay a fixed cost so the restaurant wants to minimize overall food use and thus won't allow anyone to take food away. That's probably more true of NCL, with a lot of people getting a free specialty meal through Free at Sea, so they get more food eaten than on other lines in specialty restaurants and so want to minimize cost. It's the same principle as nominal charges for room service now, so a drunk doesn't order tons of food late at night and leave most of it uneaten in a hallway. Yeah, it's cheap and petty to deny it, but if denied, you can ask the restaurant manager and get a good reason, and leave it in a comment card at the front desk, to see if they'll make it up to you. 

I can understand both sides.  There china and glassware probably do go missing once they leave the restaurant.  But if that's the reason they could provide little to-go boxes.  You've paid for it in some way so you really should be able to take it with you.  I've never heard of a land restauarant refusing to pack food to be taken home but maybe it happens somewhere