Suite - Dinner on Balcony?

[Seavoyage]

Hi Everyone:

In an earlier post - Jim and Ruth mentioned to have dinner on the balcony. DH and I are booked on Zuiderdam (suite) end of November. Last time we were in a suite - it was mentioned that we could order from the dining room menu that was delivered in the morning. Has anyone else done this? What was your personal experience? Is there an extra charge - beside the tip that is - do they do anything special? Do they bring everything at once? (stupid question) what about dessert - it might melt:rolleyes: ...It sounds like fun! I would love to hear any stories....experiences...thank you in advance. signed (spoiled rotten!):)

[WindyCity]

Depending on what is ordered, it either comes all at once or in 2 trips. We loved dining in our suite after coming back late & tired from an excursion - not having to dress was wonderful. The meals delivered were hot and excellent. No extra charge, except tip - There was nothing special done - the meal was delivered and placed in our cabin (we were in Alaska in May, so it was too cold to eat outside). The dishes were removed by the cabin steward after we were done.

[LolaWiz]

hello,

 

this is one of my husbands and mine favorite ways to dine while on board.

 

We can order anything we'd like off of the dining room menu and it is brought to us when dinner is beinging served in the dining rooms... whether early or late.

 

They are very generous with allowing you to choose whatever and however much food you want.

 

As we would normally order in the dining room... soup/salad, appitizer, main course, dessert... or however you choose. It is wonderful and quite (or romantic) way to end the day. we usually put some music on quietly while we eat and enjoy the view, in port or at sea!

[Frick_&_Frack]

Dining in the suite (or on the veranda) is a lovely way to dine. In our case, it's fantastic on nights where there is a lot of shellfish being served in the main DR since DH is highly allergic (and it's an airborne allergen).

 

We love the quiet time with just us and the stars above....:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Still haven't tried it yet. Maybe someday.

[Seavoyage]

Hi everyone - thank you for the info...we are going to arrange that- :)

[sail7seas]

We have only dined in cabin about 3 times. Once I wasn't feeling well enough to want to shower and dress and go out for the evening but still had appetite. Another time, we were very tired and wanted a quiet evening.

 

The third time, I had Noro virus and no appetite but DH was hungry. We, of course, quarantined and would not go out. DH requested Room Service bring me some scrambled eggs and wheat toast to see if I could eat a little and they were very accomodating. Brought us anything/everything we wished.

 

If you want to order a dessert that melts, you could ask that be brought an hour later or something of that sort.

 

[FinelyRetired]

We loved our suite dinner aboard Amsterdam last December.

 

Chose a port intensive day to do it. It came in two shifts & served as would be in dining room. They brought a tablecloth, flower, candle and the china! :)

 

Nicely done. Very relaxing. Enjoy!

 

Martha

[shonuf]

We were on the Zuiderdam in January with friends (in matching corner suites). The night we were in Tortola we had dinner on our balcony with our friends. DH had gone up to the Lido bar and the bartender brought down a whole tray of rum punches for us to start out with. We ordered off the menu and they brought a tablecloth, china, silver, the works. Dessert was delivered after we finished our meal. Way too much fun!

 

I'd definitely do it again.

[cp556]

Just back from Zuiderdam 17-night Panama Canal cruise, in an SC suite on Deck 6 aft.

 

We ordered room service a LOT on this cruise, since we enjoyed the huge wrap-balcony so much.

 

On the last Formal night, neither DH nor I felt like dressing up, so we asked the concierge to please order a room service dinner for us ... surf & turf (excellent lobster, not overcooked ... and tender filet mignon), and rack of lamb for DH.

 

The meal was delivered promptly, with tablecloth and all the fixin's, and we had a lovely dinner. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Just a quick note: HAL's cheese & cracker plate makes a wonderful late-night snack ...

 

Carol in SC

[sail7seas]

We must have ordered the wrong thing as I had read about the wonderful cheese and cracker plate posters here on CC had enjoyed and we ordered it. What we received was disappointing with a few ordinary crackers, a small piece of swiss cheese and maybe a cheddar.....nothing remarkable in any way.

 

What did you order?

 

[ambrose64]

Are we talking about Full Dinner Menu room service for just the concierge level suites or for all suites SY through SA:confused:?

[cp556]

We must have ordered the wrong thing as I had read about the wonderful cheese and cracker plate posters here on CC had enjoyed and we ordered it. What we received was disappointing with a few ordinary crackers, a small piece of swiss cheese and maybe a cheddar.....nothing remarkable in any way.

 

What did you order?

 

 

 

The cheese plates are small, with maybe five selections of cheese (cheddar, swiss, brie, gruyere, something with a spice in it ... the selection was different every day). The crackers were wonderful Wasa grain crackers or flatbread with cheesy flavors and seeds. Also on the plate were a handful of nuts and either a few grapes or a piece of dried fruit.

 

Again, not a huge plate, but definitely delicious.

 

Of course, we'd made friends with Room Service by Day 2 and I DID ask them to send up one of their wonderful "cheese plates" .... lol ...

[spcl4cs_gal]

So once you receive the daily dinner menu in your suite you can get the Neptune Lounge to arrange for dinner in your cabin? (So much to learn about this suite life before March! :D)

[cp556]

So once you receive the daily dinner menu in your suite you can get the Neptune Lounge to arrange for dinner in your cabin? (So much to learn about this suite life before March! :D)

 

 

Every day you receive the lunch and dinner menus in your suite. My understanding was that you can phone Room Service directly in the first half-hour of the dining room's opening and order dinner en suite. DH didn't feel particularly well on the last formal night (a cough and sore throat was going around the ship and he was out of commission for about 48 hours) and I need to eat within a certain window due to medical reasons ... so I called the concierge in Neptune EARLIER than the "half hour before" window so that they could request the meal be delivered at a certain time.

 

Although I'm certain Neptune concierge can do anything for you (and some folks we met indeed had them hopping with every little whim), we called Room Service directly 99.9% of the times ... just asked for Neptune's help when we wanted to be "out of the box" so to speak.

 

BTW, here's the best description I can give of the concierge's services: If you're in PS-SC categories, you need never go to the front desk. The Neptune concierge can handle all your paperwork needs, change money, resolve problems, request shore excursions, and so much more. WELL worth the extra cost of choosing a suite....

[mamaofami]

If you're not in a suite, how would you get a copy of the diningroom menu? Would you have to ask for it the night before?

[CDRMark]

While meals on one's balcony are wonderful, full room service is available to all categories of cabin. Dinner menus are posted outside the dining room sometime before lunch, but one of the HAL secrets is that menus are available at all the bars onboard about that same time. So, have a post lunch cocktail and peruse the evening menu. :)

BTW, as to dining on the balcony, ask your steward to make up the verandah table for dining. You should get a real tablecloth and a small spray of flowers (we did). Neat.

Cheers

Mark

[db777]

We love dining on the balcony (aft)....one thing that I did not see mentioned was that the hot food comes on little heated flat ceramic stones...they keep entree quite warm while you eat soup and salads... haven't ordered any dessert that would melt but I imagine they would bring it later... breakfast is also a treat on the balcony...db777

[hammybee]

If you're not in a suite, how would you get a copy of the diningroom menu? Would you have to ask for it the night before?

 

The menu is posted at the entrance to the dining room, each day. I have heard that one can also request the menu from their Room Steward, if not sialingin a Deluxe Suite. If I were to do this, I would acknowledge that this was an above and beyond service for non-suite passengers and take care of him accordingly, at the end of the cruise.

[hammybee]

While meals on one's balcony are wonderful, full room service is available to all categories of cabin.

 

This is one of the many things that continues to distinguish HAL from other mass marketed cruise lines. That it is a full menu and no extra charge, despite it is obviously a heck of a lot more time consuming for the crew is remarkable, in my opinion. It is one of the reasons that I believe that this incremental service deserves an incremental reward, regardless of how one perceives the auto tip to be sliced/diced.

[sail7seas]

This is one of the many things that continues to distinguish HAL from other mass marketed cruise lines. That it is a full menu and no extra charge, despite it is obviously a heck of a lot more time consuming for the crew is remarkable, in my opinion. It is one of the reasons that I believe that this incremental service deserves an incremental reward, regardless of how one perceives the auto tip to be sliced/diced.

 

 

Totally agree. :)

[mamaofami]

Thanks everyone. We are going to give dinner on the veranda a try. I also remember that our dining steward often showed us the next night's menu in case there was something special we wanted to order.

 

And Hammy, I would certainly remember and reward any extra service we get. I love the HAL crew and want to keep them as happy as they keep me.:)

[hammybee]

Thanks everyone. We are going to give dinner on the veranda a try. I also remember that our dining steward often showed us the next night's menu in case there was something special we wanted to order.

 

And Hammy, I would certainly remember and reward any extra service we get. I love the HAL crew and want to keep them as happy as they keep me.:)

 

I know you do but the next guy may not realize what is above and beyond and I am feeling puckish today.:D

[JimVrhovac]

Menu's are available at all the bars....

 

After you have a nice dinner alone on the balcony invite someone over to dine with you. Lot of fun doing that one. If do it for 4 suggest you go through neptune lounge as lot of logistics ins getting choices set up.

 

If you are paying for the suite life you might as well enjoy all the perks that you are paying for.

 

Ruth & Jim

[Two if by Sea]

After you have a nice dinner alone on the balcony invite someone over to dine with you. Lot of fun doing that one. If do it for 4 suggest you go through neptune lounge as lot of logistics ins getting choices set up.

 

As far as tipping for a full meal service -- would you tip about as much as the tip at a restaurant for 4 people? (on the order of $20-$40 depending on the number of courses and level of service?) Or is that way too much? Do they bring the food and hover and keep helping, or do they just drop everything off and you pay more along the lines of when someone delivers something -- perhaps $5 since it's more than just a quick bottle of wine?