NCL Balcony Room Service Questions

[kismetique]

We're Sapphire Level, and usually always cruise in a suite.  However, we are planning on spending the first 7 months of 2025 on NCL basically doing B2B cruises with a few days in between here and there, changing ships several times.  Since we're taking 8 cruises, we can't afford to book suites, and in fact, are using all our accumulated World Points and booking OV's and upgrading to balcony's.  The points are basically worthless for those that cruise in suites.

 

I'm so very used to eating lunch in Cagney's or Maderno - any tips or tricks on how to perhaps order room service from that menu from a Balcony Cabin?  Or is it just NOT possible.  I know on one cruise we were on, we made great friends with our room steward and he would help us navigate certain issues, like getting a meal prepared only for the crew, and things like that.  Just took greasing palms. We were on that cruise for 19 days so we had plenty of time to form a bond with him.  I'm also used to ordering anything I want for room service breakfast - will I have to strictly stick to the offerings on the little hangar card?   Or can tipping help with this as well?  If anyone has any experience with this, please fill me in!

 

I know these questions sound trivial, but the last cruise we were on, on the Star, the food was horrendous.  I'm having second thoughts of 7 months of bland and inedible food!  The Shrimp Scampi, The French Dip and the Brie Burger from Cagney's lunch menu were to die for and we would come back to the ship early from port and have the butler on his way with lunch - they were that good!  

 

So - am I kidding myself thinking there is a way to buy special services from my room steward (I'm a big tipper! :)?

[zqvol]

Good luck

[kismetique]

3 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Good luck

Yeah, that's what I thought 🙂  But, it never hurts to ask if someone has figured out how to work the system!

[1025cruise]

Only those in suites are entitled to the food served in the suite dining room.

[9tee2Sea]

1 hour ago, kismetique said:

We're Sapphire Level, and usually always cruise in a suite.  However, we are planning on spending the first 7 months of 2025 on NCL basically doing B2B cruises with a few days in between here and there, changing ships several times.  Since we're taking 8 cruises, we can't afford to book suites, and in fact, are using all our accumulated World Points and booking OV's and upgrading to balcony's.  The points are basically worthless for those that cruise in suites.

 

I'm so very used to eating lunch in Cagney's or Maderno - any tips or tricks on how to perhaps order room service from that menu from a Balcony Cabin?  Or is it just NOT possible.  I know on one cruise we were on, we made great friends with our room steward and he would help us navigate certain issues, like getting a meal prepared only for the crew, and things like that.  Just took greasing palms. We were on that cruise for 19 days so we had plenty of time to form a bond with him.  I'm also used to ordering anything I want for room service breakfast - will I have to strictly stick to the offerings on the little hangar card?   Or can tipping help with this as well?  If anyone has any experience with this, please fill me in!

 

I know these questions sound trivial, but the last cruise we were on, on the Star, the food was horrendous.  I'm having second thoughts of 7 months of bland and inedible food!  The Shrimp Scampi, The French Dip and the Brie Burger from Cagney's lunch menu were to die for and we would come back to the ship early from port and have the butler on his way with lunch - they were that good!  

 

So - am I kidding myself thinking there is a way to buy special services from my room steward (I'm a big tipper! :)?

I dont know the answer...BUT if I were in you shoes, I would contact someone in the Latitudes department.  Being Sapphire might have more sway than just being a Platinum member.  Being on so many B2B might boos help with influencing the decision.  Maybe order your meal from Caagneys ( using your lattitudes meal) and ask it to be delivered to your cabin.  I am sure that if you pull rank, and ask very nicely, something will be done to accommodate you.  If you cant get a satisfactory response pre-cruise, go to guest services, or when you see an official at the latitudes cocktail party, and explain what you want.  Hope it works for you.  

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, kismetique said:

So - am I kidding myself thinking there is a way to buy special services from my room steward (I'm a big tipper! :)?

Probably kidding yourself. 

 

But you can order off this menu

[kismetique]

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I dont know the answer...BUT if I were in you shoes,

Very good suggestions!  I wish they would add this one perk to Priority Access.  We already get most of them, and I couldn't care less about the crappy canapes or even the tendering.  I'm happy to pay for breakfast delivery and so forth, and if the food hadn't been so horrendous our last 3 NCL cruises, I wouldn't even give it a second thought.  I'm actually looking at adding 4 more cruises so I might try the influential route!  I LOVE NCL...but the food!  I'm booked on one Princess cruise in the middle of these B2Bs, so I'm trying to branch out and dip my toe into other loyalties.  I wish Princess would do some sort of loyalty match even if not level for level.  It's so hard to start from the bottom when your used to all the perks!

 

Thank you for such great suggestions.  I was hoping others had success with buttering up their room steward like we did on our 19 day.  He was fantastic. The ship was only half full because Israel had just been attacked and we were going through the Suez and Strait of Hormuz so he had loads of time to spend talking to us and telling us jokes and giving us the ship gossip.

[kismetique]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Probably kidding yourself. 

 

But you can order off this menu

 

Thank you for posting that, but I really wished you hadn't.  You almost have me talked out of these B2B's.  The only thing on that whole menu that's even remotely good was the Cobb Salad.  Surprisingly it was very good.  On our last cruise, I heard they ran out of lettuce, yogurt and several other items.  We were in the Garden Villa on the Star so we didn't notice anything being short, but even then, the food was mostly just bad.  Even Cagney's evening meal was just not very appetizing. 

 

This will be our first 'going backwards' cruises.  I think I can do without the Butler, I would even go fetch everything we wanted if they would just let me have it!  🤣

[fredflint]

I would talk to them for sure 7 months of cruising is a pretty penny for sure no matter how you cut it.

[TheBeardedCruiser]

Another idea, eat in the restaurant like a normal balcony passenger and don't expect your room steward to be your butler just because you gave them a tip. They have a real job to do, so you're keeping them from serving the other passengers that they are assigned to serve.

If you want a butler, pay for a room with a butler. Otherwise, get used to cruising the way all the rest of us cruise. We walk to the restaurant, sit down, order, and eat in the restaurant 🤯🫢😱

[complawyer]

while if youre not staying in a suite, your are not entitled to the services of either the butler or concierge. that being said, however, if youre not above palm greasing (my proverbial vegas handshake) i'd find the concierge and see if and how much grease you need (if at all).

 

concierge is usually in moderno at breakfast time.

 

 

good luck. as many of out readers have already discovered, i am an extremely firm proponent of the handshake, and have no shame in doing so

[julig22]

On 6/16/2024 at 1:15 PM, kismetique said:

So - am I kidding myself thinking there is a way to buy special services from my room steward (I'm a big tipper! :)?

Yes, you are kidding yourself. Your room steward takes care of your room - along with the 20+ other rooms where they are assigned, no different than the job they have when you are in a suite. I doubt that they even have access to the kitchen, like a butler does.

[cruiseny4life]

As others have said, you're not going to get any additional room service from your room steward. @julig22 said it. They likely aren't even able to access the kitchens. 

 

You're certainly spending a good amount of money to do seven month's worth of cruises. If I were you, I would look at quality over quantity. That's why we only cruise the Haven. Or, look at the luxury lines. Take two months to cruise for the same money, but enjoy a better ambiance and food. 

 

If your only concern is food, then remember you'll have port calls so you can definitely vary your food with regional cuisine that will be much better than cruise ship food (McDonald's burger tastes way better than O'Sheehan's/The Local, for instance). 

[RocketMan275]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:15 PM, kismetique said:

So - am I kidding myself thinking there is a way to buy special services from my room steward (I'm a big tipper! :)?

So, you want to know if you can bribe your room steward to break the rules and perhaps lose his job?

Cancel enough cruises to pay for suites in the rest.

[kismetique]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

So, you want to know if you can bribe your room steward to break the rules and perhaps lose his job?

Cancel enough cruises to pay for suites in the rest.

Hahaha.... no, I want to TIP my room steward to do whatever he CAN to make more tips and perhaps share tips with others on the ship to provide what is within acceptable perks.

 

The room steward we got to be good friends with on one of our cruises, would tell me exactly what he could and couldn't do.  They will usually NEVER break the rules.  3 demerits and they are shipped home,  no questions asked.  

 

I'm just wanting to know if anyone has successfully done this.  If NCLs food wasn't so dadgum awful it wouldn't even be an issue.   It's just so hard to walk away from the perks and start over on loyalty with another line,  but we will doing just that with a couple of Princess cruises this next year. 

[Pablo Diablo]

If you’re willing to pay extra, you could buy a multi-day specialty dining package for each of your cruises. That would at least give you higher quality food for dinners compared to the MDRs. Also, on ships that have Food Republic, it’s open for lunch on sea days. 

[EngrJones]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

(McDonald's burger tastes way better than O'Sheehan's/The Local, for instance). 

? !

[kismetique]

3 hours ago, julig22 said:

Yes, you are kidding yourself. Your room steward takes care of your room - along with the 20+ other rooms where they are assigned, no different than the job they have when you are in a suite. I doubt that they even have access to the kitchen, like a butler does.

Oh my,  I don't think my room steward has access to the kitchen!🤣🤣

 

But my room steward had access to other ship employees that do.  I had a room steward that brought us a crew only meal.  I cautioned if it were against the rules,  and was assured many guests that know about it,  ask for it. Their food is MUCH better than ours!!!😳

 

People!!!!  It's food... not a free massage or drinks!

[kismetique]

53 minutes ago, Pablo Diablo said:

If you’re willing to pay extra, you could buy a multi-day specialty dining package for each of your cruises. That would at least give you higher quality food for dinners compared to the MDRs. Also, on ships that have Food Republic, it’s open for lunch on sea days. 

We buy specially dining for each evening we plan to be on the ship for dinner, plus we get the 2 free with our Sapphire Level,  but I'm talking about lunch.  Unfortunately 5 of our B2B are on the Sky with only 3 specialty restaurants.  Our cruise across the pond is on the Bliss and that ship does have a Food Republic!  Thanks for the info!!!

[kismetique]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

As others have said, you're not going to get any additional room service from your room steward. @julig22 said it. They likely aren't even able to access the kitchens. 

 

You're certainly spending a good amount of money to do seven month's worth of cruises. If I were you, I would look at quality over quantity. That's why we only cruise the Haven. Or, look at the luxury lines. Take two months to cruise for the same money, but enjoy a better ambiance and food. 

 

If your only concern is food, then remember you'll have port calls so you can definitely vary your food with regional cuisine that will be much better than cruise ship food (McDonald's burger tastes way better than O'Sheehan's/The Local, for instance). 

That's the problem!  We're spoiled! We just did the Garden Villa to Iceland.  Talk about butler/concierge overkill!  Here's a tip for others that feel like we did.  Tell them you're going to O'Sheehan's for dinner each night and they will leave you alone.  They wanted to know each morning our entire itinerary for the day!!!  They would walk us off the ship and all the way to meet our private tours!!!!  Crazy!

 

If I were only concerned about quality, I'd be changing lines,  but I need the free laundry and the 2 free meals is a very nice perk!  I'd buy the Priority Access if it included lunch at Cagney's!  I'm craving that French Dip, Brie Burger,  and Shrimp Scampi!!!!!  I don't care about the canapés, tendering, or getting on/off the ship.  I'm happy to pay room service fees as well. 

 

We're thinking of retiring on ships, so we have 10 cruises planned for 2025 to dip our toes in the water so to speak and to use all the world points (300,000) on the NCL credit card.  They are of no use to us if we're not upgrading.. but only to a balcony. I'll definitely look to bid for a suite if one is offered!!

 

We're trying to change our expectations and see if we can "deal" without a butler and dining table! 🤣  I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble or get anything for free,  I'm perfectly willing to TIP and tip well. 

 

Basically just wondering if anyone had done this and if so,  how they went about it.  We'll be on the Sky for almost 4 months.  I'm pretty sure I'll get something figured out!!!

[julig22]

13 minutes ago, kismetique said:

Oh my,  I don't think my room steward has access to the kitchen!🤣🤣

 

But my room steward had access to other ship employees that do.  I had a room steward that brought us a crew only meal.  I cautioned if it were against the rules,  and was assured many guests that know about it,  ask for it. Their food is MUCH better than ours!!!😳

 

People!!!!  It's food... not a free massage or drinks!

And they have a special department just for that - it's called room service. Your room steward in a suite might have had more leeway and/or fewer cabins to keep up - and possibly access to a galley much closer to your room. "Regular" stewards do not, nor should they be asked to, take care of anything but housekeeping.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour to see how the galley works. Waiters, butlers have to wait for their orders to be prepared (most likely deck 4), then take the food back up to the passenger. Not the job of your steward.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, EngrJones said:

? !

I stick by what I said. I'll dig myself deeper and say the Costco hot dog is better than any dog I can get on NCL. I've eaten at O'Sheehan's three times. The only item I've finished are the pretzel bites. It's just not good food. I've found more satisfying food on the buffet and that's not saying much. 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

28 minutes ago, kismetique said:

That's the problem!  We're spoiled! We just did the Garden Villa to Iceland.  Talk about butler/concierge overkill!  Here's a tip for others that feel like we did.  Tell them you're going to O'Sheehan's for dinner each night and they will leave you alone.  They wanted to know each morning our entire itinerary for the day!!!  They would walk us off the ship and all the way to meet our private tours!!!!  Crazy!

 

If I were only concerned about quality, I'd be changing lines,  but I need the free laundry and the 2 free meals is a very nice perk!  I'd buy the Priority Access if it included lunch at Cagney's!  I'm craving that French Dip, Brie Burger,  and Shrimp Scampi!!!!!  I don't care about the canapés, tendering, or getting on/off the ship.  I'm happy to pay room service fees as well. 

 

We're thinking of retiring on ships, so we have 10 cruises planned for 2025 to dip our toes in the water so to speak and to use all the world points (300,000) on the NCL credit card.  They are of no use to us if we're not upgrading.. but only to a balcony. I'll definitely look to bid for a suite if one is offered!!

 

We're trying to change our expectations and see if we can "deal" without a butler and dining table! 🤣  I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble or get anything for free,  I'm perfectly willing to TIP and tip well. 

 

Basically just wondering if anyone had done this and if so,  how they went about it.  We'll be on the Sky for almost 4 months.  I'm pretty sure I'll get something figured out!!!

Amazing! I'd love to retire onboard...with a few dream land vacations too. Alas, my love of dogs is greater than cruising (and I've just unlocked the 40's). 

 

For those of us that follow you, I know at least one (moi) who would love to hear it all. The decision. The experience. The go/no-go to full-time cruising. Oh, it's so exciting!!

 

Good luck adapting to a non-suite experience. I'm not sure I could do that!

[kismetique]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

And they have a special department just for that - it's called room service. Your room steward in a suite might have had more leeway and/or fewer cabins to keep up - and possibly access to a galley much closer to your room. "Regular" stewards do not, nor should they be asked to, take care of anything but housekeeping.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour to see how the galley works. Waiters, butlers have to wait for their orders to be prepared (most likely deck 4), then take the food back up to the passenger. Not the job of your steward.

I think you're still misunderstanding my inquiry.  

 

I don't expect my room steward to do or be anything but a conduit to those that CAN provide the service.  That way he shares the tip with that person... say 60/40 or whatever they work out.  They are ALL looking for ways to make extra tips.

 

I'm pretty sure I've cruised enough that I fully understand the different jobs around the ship and how room service works.  I also know what extras you can get when you tip well.  

 

I had a room steward on our 19 day through the Suez that sailed half empty and he had loads of time to hang in our room and visit for a couple of hours each day (we had 9 sea days from canceled ports due to the Houthies).  He explained in detail how to feed off your room steward because he knows who on the ship can do what for his guests,  then the room steward negotiates a finder fee percentage of the tip. I wished I had asked him about this particular issue,  but the lunch in Cagney's on the Jade was not good and the menu was different than on our last cruise on the Star where the lunch in Cagney's was the best on the ship!! So good we would pre-order lunch to our room and come back from Port early.  He told us on day 1 of the cruise which day that a free bag of laundry would be offered,  so we could get 3 bags free on that cruise. We ALWAYS make fast friends with the room steward, especially if they are seasoned and not new!  They are usually the most helpful!

 

I'm sure it can be accomplished... it's just food (not drugs or liquor!) and I do have brand loyalty.  My main question was if someone had done it and been successful.  

 

Thanks for the tips. 

[kismetique]

1 minute ago, cruiseny4life said:

Amazing! I'd love to retire onboard...with a few dream land vacations too. Alas, my love of dogs is greater than cruising (and I've just unlocked the 40's). 

 

For those of us that follow you, I know at least one (moi) who would love to hear it all. The decision. The experience. The go/no-go to full-time cruising. Oh, it's so exciting!!

 

Good luck adapting to a non-suite experience. I'm not sure I could do that!

The thought is killing me,  but we enjoy traveling so much.  We did 3 months of train travel all over the EU and found that while we enjoyed it,  we like cruising better.  NCL beds are hard to beat!!🤣

 

I will tell you,  I regret sticking to NCL. I've begged Princess to do a 1 time loyalty match just to see if it's worth it to start over.  No! Is the answer.  Also,  the familiarity of how an NCL cruise is going to go is very comforting... which sounds crazy,  but very real when pushing that button to book a different line.  

 

We've done Carnival, Celebrity and RCCL, but keep returning to NCL.  The food has only recently become an issue.  I hope they take note of the many complaints and remedy the issue.  I'll be sure and post our experiences,  likes and dislikes!

 

We're not doing true B2B on all of them,  as we're taking a week off in Dubai,  as it's a favorite spot of ours. And a month in the interior of India. Most of the ports we're going to,  we've never been to,  so we're excited for 2025!