What’s a reasonable delivery time for room service?

[BamaVol]

I have only ordered room service (always via the app) three times in 3 Princess cruises.  The first time, it took 30 minutes to get a sandwich.  The second time, I had a beer and a sandwich within 15 minutes of ordering.

 

Last week, I placed an order for 2 fruit plates, 2 sandwiches, 4 bottles of water and 1 beer. One hour and 35 minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.  The time was 5:00 PM, admittedly within peak dining hours. And of course, it showed as “Delivered” 10 minutes before it showed up.  That seems par for the course.

 

I had hoped to get the grandkids fed before the kids club reopened at 7, but it didn’t work out. I wasn’t angry, just a little disappointed. And it supported my impression (just my opinion) that maybe Enchanted Princess was not all full staff.  Mitigating factor: the ship was full.  I don’t know how many pax, but walking down corridors, I saw cabin after cabin with 3 and 4 pax showing on the little screens. There were also, I heard, 700 minors on board. 
 

I thought I would ask here if that was typical. I usually keep expectations low, but 95 minutes seems long and it did mean the kids had to grab something on the way to the club. And Mrs BV and I had to eat all the food (one slice of watermelon wasted).

 

 

[suekel]

3 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I have only ordered room service (always via the app) three times in 3 Princess cruises.  The first time, it took 30 minutes to get a sandwich.  The second time, I had a beer and a sandwich within 15 minutes of ordering.

 

Last week, I placed an order for 2 fruit plates, 2 sandwiches, 4 bottles of water and 1 beer. One hour and 35 minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.  The time was 5:00 PM, admittedly within peak dining hours. And of course, it showed as “Delivered” 10 minutes before it showed up.  That seems par for the course.

 

I had hoped to get the grandkids fed before the kids club reopened at 7, but it didn’t work out. I wasn’t angry, just a little disappointed. And it supported my impression (just my opinion) that maybe Enchanted Princess was not all full staff.  Mitigating factor: the ship was full.  I don’t know how many pax, but walking down corridors, I saw cabin after cabin with 3 and 4 pax showing on the little screens. There were also, I heard, 700 minors on board. 
 

I thought I would ask here if that was typical. I usually keep expectations low, but 95 minutes seems long and it did mean the kids had to grab something on the way to the club. And Mrs BV and I had to eat all the food (one slice of watermelon wasted).

 

 

the more kids the longer it takes.  Especially if there are teenagers since they tend to move around after placing an order.  I've heard that directly from the crew.  I like to cruise when children are rare and 30 minutes is the norm.  

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I have only ordered room service (always via the app) three times in 3 Princess cruises.  The first time, it took 30 minutes to get a sandwich.  The second time, I had a beer and a sandwich within 15 minutes of ordering.

 

Last week, I placed an order for 2 fruit plates, 2 sandwiches, 4 bottles of water and 1 beer. One hour and 35 minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.  The time was 5:00 PM, admittedly within peak dining hours. And of course, it showed as “Delivered” 10 minutes before it showed up.  That seems par for the course.

 

I had hoped to get the grandkids fed before the kids club reopened at 7, but it didn’t work out. I wasn’t angry, just a little disappointed. And it supported my impression (just my opinion) that maybe Enchanted Princess was not all full staff.  Mitigating factor: the ship was full.  I don’t know how many pax, but walking down corridors, I saw cabin after cabin with 3 and 4 pax showing on the little screens. There were also, I heard, 700 minors on board. 
 

I thought I would ask here if that was typical. I usually keep expectations low, but 95 minutes seems long and it did mean the kids had to grab something on the way to the club. And Mrs BV and I had to eat all the food (one slice of watermelon wasted).

 

 

The most I’ve waited was 25-30 mins during the early evening.  Breakfast or lunch times it was much faster.

 

I think the evening is the busiest times, as staff is really spread thin at all the meal venues OB.

 

These ships have all been full also.

 

 

[XBGuy]

My experience is much like yours.  Room Service orders usually arrive in 20-30 minutes.  If it is less than 20 minutes, we cheer.  Also, like you, there was one case where it hadn't arrived an hour after ordering.  Calling back, it was obvious that they were in disarray.  I was quite surprised when they asked, "None of it has been delivered?"  We went through my order, again, and they said they would get right on it.  It arrived 30 minutes, later,

 

They were slammed.  It happens.

[BamaVol]

8 minutes ago, suekel said:

the more kids the longer it takes.  Especially if there are teenagers since they tend to move around after placing an order.  I've heard that directly from the crew.  I like to cruise when children are rare and 30 minutes is the norm.  

This was a rarity for us. But we were part of the problem, as we brought 2 of the kids. I agree that cruising when kids are in school is more enjoyable. This was a different experience, but it was meant to be all about time spent with grandkids. As far as the kids were concerned, it was a fabulous success (review coming). Their parents had a good time too. But for us, it meant giving up some of the things we typically enjoy when cruising. I didn’t expect to be giving up timely food delivery, but all things considered it was great fun. 

[JimmyVWine]

Other than ordering room service breakfast the night before with a specific delivery time in the morning (which has always been freakishly accurate), I have given up on room service. I can always beat the clock by walking to the buffet or IC and bringing food back to the cabin faster with the food being hotter. Not always identical selections, but the buffet has a broad enough range to keep us happy. Room service has always been too inconsistent for my vacation schedule. Places to go. People to see, and all that jazz. Yes, I need to listen to my wife and learn to relax and let go. But I don’t see it happening. 

[Kay S]

I have found room service times to vary from ship to ship.  (By this I mean delivery to the cabin not ordering elsewhere from the app.)

[Rick&Jeannie]

An hour and a half is really not acceptable...

[memoak]

Another reason we rarely use room service or the app to order anything unless we are quarantined

[startedwithamouse]

Cruises during the school year, we get fast service, since most of the old crowd doesn't like to use the app.  Younger cruises do, and you'll wait a longer time. Families seem to opt for the Plus or Premier packages too.

 

Our last cruise on the Sapphire was sold out, and delivery was lightning fast, since it was a really old crowd and most didn't have a Plus or Premier package, and it was rare to see people with phones out.

[sns1]

We just got off the Island Princess.  Wait time ranged from 15 minutes (drinks to the room) to 45 minutes for burgers and sandwiches by the pool.  The waitstaff did apologize for the 45 min wait.  We had ordered the same thing two days earlier and it came within 30 min.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

YMMV if you are ordering elsewhere, other than your cabin!

We have speedy service whenever we have delivered to our cabin, 15-25 mins.

However, when you Check out on App., there are 2 Delivery options:

 

(first one)

My Location

(with your cabin #0)

 

(Second one)

Cabin (#)

 

Choose the Second one, if you are in your cabin, so they don't have to hunt for you!

We've found that works best.

 

Edited Monday at 12:12 AM by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[Rick&Jeannie]

We've always had pretty good luck when ordering food/snacks while out by the pool....

[Torfamm]

We were onboard with you. Ocean Now wasn’t working well at all. I ordered coffee twice while on deck. Both times it was marked as delivered about 35 minutes after I ordered although I didn’t receive it either time.

 

On Tuesday while we were in Belize, I received a grilled cheese sandwich in about 35 minutes while on deck. Friday it took about 45 minutes to arrive and was stone cold and so hard that it wasn’t possible to eat it.

[geoherb]

On the Island Princess earlier this month, the slowest time for my room service was 20 minutes. The fastest was less than 10. I ordered a drink once at the Explorers Lounge. They marked it as delivered although I never received it. I just ordered another in person after the comedian finished his act.

After 45 minutes, I'd probably call to see where my order was.

 

 

Edited Monday at 03:37 AM by geoherb

[Honolulu Blue]

9 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I have only ordered room service (always via the app) three times in 3 Princess cruises.  The first time, it took 30 minutes to get a sandwich.  The second time, I had a beer and a sandwich within 15 minutes of ordering.

 

Last week, I placed an order for 2 fruit plates, 2 sandwiches, 4 bottles of water and 1 beer. One hour and 35 minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.  The time was 5:00 PM, admittedly within peak dining hours. And of course, it showed as “Delivered” 10 minutes before it showed up.  That seems par for the course.

 

I had hoped to get the grandkids fed before the kids club reopened at 7, but it didn’t work out. I wasn’t angry, just a little disappointed. And it supported my impression (just my opinion) that maybe Enchanted Princess was not all full staff.  Mitigating factor: the ship was full.  I don’t know how many pax, but walking down corridors, I saw cabin after cabin with 3 and 4 pax showing on the little screens. There were also, I heard, 700 minors on board. 
 

I thought I would ask here if that was typical. I usually keep expectations low, but 95 minutes seems long and it did mean the kids had to grab something on the way to the club. And Mrs BV and I had to eat all the food (one slice of watermelon wasted).

My room service experiences have steadily gotten worse as the ships have filled after the restart.

 

On the Regal in December '21, I ordered several times with all but one delivery within 12 minutes. That ship had under 1000 passengers.

 

On the Majestic in April '22, my deliveries were done in 20 to 30 minutes.

On the Ruby, my first delivery was 45 minutes, and the second I cancelled after 90 minutes. 😯

 

On other cruise lines, I expect and mostly receive RS to the cabin in 30 minutes or so. Anything beyond 45 minutes starts to irritate me. I try not to take it out on the delivery person; it's not their fault. 👹

[CU64]

13 hours ago, BamaVol said:

This was a rarity for us. But we were part of the problem, as we brought 2 of the kids. I agree that cruising when kids are in school is more enjoyable. This was a different experience, but it was meant to be all about time spent with grandkids. As far as the kids were concerned, it was a fabulous success (review coming). Their parents had a good time too. But for us, it meant giving up some of the things we typically enjoy when cruising. I didn’t expect to be giving up timely food delivery, but all things considered it was great fun. 

Was it too much trouble to go to buffet and pick up food for them, take back to room? Seems like a better option to me. Or go to the grills, slice pizza & bring back to room. 

[BamaVol]

2 hours ago, CU64 said:

Was it too much trouble to go to buffet and pick up food for them, take back to room? Seems like a better option to me. Or go to the grills, slice pizza & bring back to room. 

In fact, it was. We were watching a movie together, and were due at the kids club in 2 hours. I had paid for Plus and that entitled me to free Room Service which I thought would be a treat for the kids. 
 

if you are accusing me of being too lazy to take care of my family:

 

- I averaged 14,800 steps daily while on this cruise. It was a little shy of 7 miles a day.

- I took an elevator twice all week and probably walked up an average of 30 staircases daily. 

So I am physically capable of doing what you suggest. I just didn’t think I would need to. 

[BamaVol]

10 hours ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

YMMV if you are ordering elsewhere, other than your cabin!

We have speedy service whenever we have delivered to our cabin, 15-25 mins.

However, when you Check out on App., there are 2 Delivery options:

 

(first one)

My Location

(with your cabin #0)

 

(Second one)

Cabin (#)

 

Choose the Second one, if you are in your cabin, so they don't have to hunt for you!

We've found that works best.

 

I selected the second option. We were watching a movie and planned to be in the cabin for about 90 minutes. 

[Shippy]

Although I know it does not seem fair....

  The last few cruises we have stayed in a Penthouse. Room service very fast. Perhaps orders from suites jump ahead in the preparing of room service 

[beshears]

I did have the package where I could do this, but I'm just thankful for myself, being at the age of 81, that I can still GO and get whatever I want. Yes it is a convenience if you don't want to walk, but I want to get all the exercise I can. 🙂 Yes children on the cruise ship does make a difference. My son/d-i-l both work for the school, and that is why we try (February) to do it when spring break is NOT on.

[suekel]

45 minutes ago, Shippy said:

Although I know it does not seem fair....

  The last few cruises we have stayed in a Penthouse. Room service very fast. Perhaps orders from suites jump ahead in the preparing of room service 

They absolutely do.  It's wonderful.  

[cruzrbachoua]

5 hours ago, Shippy said:

Although I know it does not seem fair....

  The last few cruises we have stayed in a Penthouse. Room service very fast. Perhaps orders from suites jump ahead in the preparing of room service 

Nope we were in a suite last year and it took over an hour on one day to get our food so our suite sure didn't get the head of the line treatment. 

[TRLD]

From what I have seen too many taking advantage of the App because they can. Have seen too many cases of people in lounges ordering, then deciding to leave before the order gets there. As far as they are concerned no cost to doing so. However it really jams up the process because the waiter then spends a lot of time trying to find them.

 

Saw one group order another set of drinks in Explorers. Then decide to leave. No worries for them they all had packages.

[SCX22]

5 hours ago, beshears said:

I did have the package where I could do this, but I'm just thankful for myself, being at the age of 81, that I can still GO and get whatever I want. Yes it is a convenience if you don't want to walk, but I want to get all the exercise I can. 🙂 Yes children on the cruise ship does make a difference. My son/d-i-l both work for the school, and that is why we try (February) to do it when spring break is NOT on.

 

I wish more people had your can do attitude.