Room Service $17 on Crown

[2boyzmom]

[quote name='Casshew']So let me get this straight. You saw how much the cheese platter & choc. milk was. You ordered it anyway. Then after the cruise you complain about it here.

There are lots of 'free' items on the room service menu that you could have chose and if you wanted cheese you could have made your own plate at the Horizon court for 'free'

I am not a princess lover :rolleyes: having sailed on the golden just once, but compared to other cruises I have been on Princess is not a nickel/dimer.

Speaking of drink costs, have you seen the price for cocktails on celebrity compared to Princess? :eek: I guess they can supply free cheese platters because of drink prices.[/QUOTE]

Why so defensive? It is merely a statement. Yes- I have sailed Celebrity a number of times and am well aware of prices. I guess it's simple- you get what you pay for.....

[2boyzmom]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']My understanding is that the OP was disappointed that these items she had to pay for were not included in the initial cruise price.
One thing that needs researched if you want to know what is and is not included with each cruise line. Each cruise line is different, what you find available at no charge on one, is not available on another. But most lines are really cutting back on those free things the last couple of years, so it is best to not be shocked when what was available to you for free last time now has a small charge with it.

FYI-$5000 for a family of 4 sounds pretty reasonable to us. That is what we normally pay for just the two of us on Princess. I agree, try pricing RCI or Celebrity, they are quite a bit higher. Carnival is the only line I know of that has the cheaper prices anymore, and I am not even going on that subject, after 5 cruises with them, they weren't worth it at any price for us.[/QUOTE]

You are right- I thought I did plenty of research and was aware of the extra fees on Princess, just not for basic items like chocolate milk on room service for goodness sake. Have you ever sailed HAL? We booked an 11 day out of NY for less than the Princess 7 day and you may order a hot breakfast and meals off the dining room menu.

[Toto2Kansas]

No, we have never sailed on NCL. We looked into it at great lengths though. After reading all I could find, it seems that NCL is really a totally different type of cruise line from say RCI, Princess or Celebrity. And we decided that it was not something we would probably feel comfortable with. Not to say we might not try it someday, but it just didn't sound like what we were looking for in a cruise right now. Just ordering a hot breakfast in our cabin isn't enough to get us to try NCL and leave what we find to be a great cruising experience on Princess. As you can see by my signature, we have tried most of the main stream cruise lines, not including NCL. Each and every one had us saying "sure wish we would have booked with Princess because we miss this or that".

Keep one thing in mind. Booking an 11 day voyage on a cruise line because it is less expensive does not mean it will be a great cruise. We found this out once on a 12 day Carnival cruise many years ago. We wanted to get off after the 2nd day and couldn't. Definitely wasn't anything to write home about and in fact, it was miserable. As you said, you get what you pay for.

[willysgrandma]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']My understanding is that the OP was disappointed that these items she had to pay for were not included in the initial cruise price.
One thing that needs researched if you want to know what is and is not included with each cruise line. Each cruise line is different, what you find available at no charge on one, is not available on another. But most lines are really cutting back on those free things the last couple of years, so it is best to not be shocked when what was available to you for free last time now has a small charge with it.

FYI-$5000 for a family of 4 sounds pretty reasonable to us. That is what we normally pay for just the two of us on Princess. I agree, try pricing RCI or Celebrity, they are quite a bit higher. Carnival is the only line I know of that has the cheaper prices anymore, and I am not even going on that subject, after 5 cruises with them, they weren't worth it at any price for us.[/quote]

Very well stated. We were finally able to afford a balcony on Princess because the pricing was so much less than other ships. I didn't care at all about what was extra - it was just as easy to go to the Buffet to bring a plate of snacks down because of the limited room service menu. I didn't feel the need to pay anything extra, but I am not every cruiser.

We are going on the RCCL Freedom this year and paying $200 a person more than we paid for our Princess balcony. And they nickel and dime there as well - have to pay for Johnny Rockets and Ice Cream.

I can put up with a few extra fees for things I don't even bother with on Princess and save $400 on the cruise.

[2boyzmom]

[quote name='Toto2Kansas']No, we have never sailed on NCL. We looked into it at great lengths though. After reading all I could find, it seems that NCL is really a totally different type of cruise line from say RCI, Princess or Celebrity. And we decided that it was not something we would probably feel comfortable with. Not to say we might not try it someday, but it just didn't sound like what we were looking for in a cruise right now. Just ordering a hot breakfast in our cabin isn't enough to get us to try NCL and leave what we find to be a great cruising experience on Princess. As you can see by my signature, we have tried most of the main stream cruise lines, not including NCL. Each and every one had us saying "sure wish we would have booked with Princess because we miss this or that".

Keep one thing in mind. Booking an 11 day voyage on a cruise line because it is less expensive does not mean it will be a great cruise. We found this out once on a 12 day Carnival cruise many years ago. We wanted to get off after the 2nd day and couldn't. Definitely wasn't anything to write home about and in fact, it was miserable. As you said, you get what you pay for.[/QUOTE]

I said HAL (Holland America) and the 11 day voyage has fantastic reviews. I like to try different cruise lines. They all have something different and nice to offer. I loved the itinerary we just had on Princess, loved the food on Celebrity, loved the freestyle experience on NCL, etc. And hey, I may love the room service on HAL next year :) That's what makes cruising fun. It's always different!

[Toto2Kansas]

Sorry, read the name of the cruise line incorrectly. For some reason I had NCL on the brain. LOL
HAL is nice, but we found it didn't have a lot offered for children in comparison to other lines like RCI, Princess and Carnival. We also found the HAL experience a lot more sedate then on the other lines. We enjoyed it, but then we were interested in a more relaxing cruise the times we sailed on them. It gave us what we were looking for. The dining options were very limited, and that is the one thing we really enjoy on Princess ships.

[Casshew]

:) [quote name='2boyzmom']Why so defensive? It is merely a statement. Yes- I have sailed Celebrity a number of times and am well aware of prices. I guess it's simple- you get what you pay for.....[/quote]

I'm not being defensive of me or Princess. The whole point being no matter how much I pay for a cruise - I would not think of complaining about something I ordered fully knowing there was an extra charge and as Toto said 5000.00 for a family of 4 is a good rate - cruises I take average 8000.00 for 2! Next year I'll be on a celebrity cruise in the galapagos that will cost 12000.00 -14000.00 (for 2!) I better get cheese and crackers 24/7 for that :D but I doubt it.

Speaking of cheese, NCL wins handsdown for cheese served at the buffet, huge blocks of gouda, cheddar, bleu that you cut yourself. :)

[Clutterlady]

Gosh, plenty of food on Princess!! If you don't see what you want on the room service menu, go to the Horizon Court and load up you platter to bring back to your cabin. You'll never go hungry:p

[2boyzmom]

[quote name='Casshew']:)

I'm not being defensive of me or Princess. The whole point being no matter how much I pay for a cruise - I would not think of complaining about something I ordered fully knowing there was an extra charge and as Toto said 5000.00 for a family of 4 is a good rate - cruises I take average 8000.00 for 2! Next year I'll be on a celebrity cruise in the galapagos that will cost 12000.00 -14000.00 (for 2!) I better get cheese and crackers 24/7 for that :D but I doubt it.

Speaking of cheese, NCL wins handsdown for cheese served at the buffet, huge blocks of gouda, cheddar, bleu that you cut yourself. :)[/QUOTE]

Wow- I could not pay those prices for a cruise at this time in my life, so $5000 is alot for us. You better get cheese galore at those rates :)

[Casshew]

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[Jacqueline]

Different things are important to different people, which is why people prefer some lines over others.
For example, I hate that other lines (like X) close their pools so early. That is important to me. I like that Princess has 24/7 dining. I do not feel limited by the room service menu nor do my kids, they love it ~
As a previous poster said- there is a charge for Johnny Rockets on RCL - drinks are more expensive on X. Hal is great- wonderful cabins- but tends to be more costly and the mood is more sedate (ok sometimes, depends what mood one is looking for).
Some people do not like Princess because they prefer trays to platter in the Horizon court, or they are upset that there is no lemonade. Again, I could care less. But if this is make it or break it, then take a ship bettere suited to one's needs.

[SusieQusie]

[quote name='2boyzmom']Wow- I could not pay those prices for a cruise at this time in my life, so $5000 is alot for us. You better get cheese galore at those rates :)[/quote]

I'm with you!!! My hard-working hubby and I (also full-time employed) must be doing something wrong, because to us $5,000 for our family of 4 is an awful lot to pay for ANY vacation!!! Maybe when the kids are out of college (they're currently in H.S.), we'll be in a position to spend that much (or more) on our vacations. For now, however, I would consider $5,000 a very expensive family vacation.

[Casshew]

I am all Caribbean-nd out, been there too many times.

I like Europe, the Med, unusual itineraries and you pay for that. Like the Galapagos, very pricey.

If I was just going to the caribbean obviously I would be paying much lower rates unless I booked a suite or something.

[SusieQusie]

[quote name='Casshew']I am all Caribbean-nd out, been there too many times.

I like Europe, the Med, unusual itineraries and you pay for that. Like the Galapagos, very pricey.

If I was just going to the caribbean obviously I would be paying much lower rates unless I booked a suite or something.[/quote]

Casshew:

More power to you!!! I'd absolutely love to be Caribbean-nd out some day. Sounds like a pretty far fetched dream right now, but who knows what life "after" raising the kids will hold. I definitely consider outselves lucky to be able to pull-off the 9-night Caribbean cruise we're doing this summer. It's our first!!

[Casshew]

Have a great time Susie! and remember, they have cheese for 'free' if you just go get it :)

[Lynda90]

[B]Something I really enjoy on Princess is ordering milk and cookies at bed time. Nothing better than cold milk and Princess chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! No charge.:p[/B]

[Casshew]

Yeah, I ordered hot tea and chocolate cake one night at midnight and then watched a movie. How decadent!

[FloridaLaura]

A few people posted room service menus, however I could not zoom in to read them, can someone give a few examples of what is available for late night snacks...ie: what kind of sandwiches or salad etc thanks in advance

[cbpanda]

We called for cheese and crackers from room service on the Caribbean Princess last year and the very polite person on the other end of the phone informed us that there was a charge for "cheese and crackers" but he would gladly send us some slices of cheese (more like sandwich slices) for no charge. DH said no thanks and went promptly up to the Horizon Court and brought back some cheese and crackers from there. We weren't looking for gourmet items, just some appetizers with our wine before dinner.

It was handled very well, and we were informed before being charged. I appreciated that more than anything.

[cruzinchris]

[quote name='FloridaLaura']A few people posted room service menus, however I could not zoom in to read them, can someone give a few examples of what is available for late night snacks...ie: what kind of sandwiches or salad etc thanks in advance[/quote]

Sandwiches (served w/fries, potato chips, or coleslaw)
Club House
Roast Beef
Roast Turkey
Tuna Salad
Vegetarian

Salads
Assorted Mixed Garden Greens
Caesar Salad w/Chicken Strips
Chef's Salad

Hot Dishes
Hot Dog
Croque Monsieur (ham & Swiss)
Hamburger or Cheeseburger

From the Pastry Shop
Caramel Flan
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Assorted Cookies

Coffee, tea, milk