Room service and to go food

Are there still snacks in the casino and can I take them elsewhere like to a bar?

That is exactly what I mean. The staff on the ship are very helpful and understanding when you explain the need for accomodations (or they can see it for themselves) The vast majority of the people complaining about this new policy are not disabled, just too lazy to get dressed and walk to the dining rooms to eat.

 

I personally would like to see less spilled food in the corridors and elevators and not see dirty plates at the cabin doors. Charging for room service seems fair given the extra work involved. I happen to support NCL's new policy. :)

Are there still snacks in the casino and can I take them elsewhere like to a bar?

They had snacks in the casino last week. Slider sandwiches, wings, pizza [in place of wings] fruit and veggies. They hit the spot.

So if I want to bring breakfast back to my sweetie I'm lazy? Good thing the rules of CC prevent me from responding to that one;).

LOL well said.

I'm convinced that a cruise line could make children and elderly walk the plank and the cheerleaders would still find an excuse to defend the cruise line LOL. :D

Why make an issue of it? I would be mad as he**. Because it is very important to this cruiser that she can feel assured that she will have access to the food she expected to have access to at the time of her booking and not be restricted to the same small offering of items on the RS menu for an entire week and pay nearly $25 extra dollars a day for these items she was not expecting to have to buy.

 

She has contacted the office of the CEO, explained her situation, and was told that "rules are rules". I am sure she would like some assurance that she will not be hassled by staff each time she tries to go out the door of the buffet. Just because it has not happened yet, does not mean that it will not by the time she cruises. The response from the CEO's office could have been, just let staff know the situation, no problem, but it was not. If pre penalty period, she can cancel and that is what I would do. Otherwise she is a "captive audience".

Mad doesn't even come close to how I feel! I will repost when I get an answer. :confused:

Please let us know what the Access Desk says., so punkincc can get some answers to his/her questions.

I will post when I hear back.... Or I shall be making the call the Stuart's office again!

I have read through some of the comments so my point will most likely have already been cover but I've not had chance to read them all...

I sent an email to Mr Stuart regarding the new policy and asking for confirmation on the 'new rules' as my husband is disabled and sometimes is reliant on me collecting something to eat from the buffet (not a snack) yes, yes, I know I can have room service but as I explained in the email when I booked and paid for my vacation the room services was complementary dining.

The next day I recieved a call for NCL, who have confirmed that yes the rules are now In place and being enforce (hmmmm not sure how this is enforceable) but as I mentioned my husband is disabled so not always able to make it to eat, when I explaines again my situation I was told this is the policy we are sorry you feel let down! The lady told me the reasons for stopping food been taken is to maintain high standards of cleanliness etc...ok ok I get that so how??? Can room service be any different to me collecting food for my husband ..I assume the room service will arrive on a plate?! she was unable to answer this question only kept saying this is the new rule and it is beefing enforced! .... I am now awating a reply from the access desk to where I go from here! I booked and paid in full! in good faith that my husbands needs would be met. Now I am not feeling quite so sure! Any advice welcomed!!

When I sent my email to NCL I specifically mentioned disabled people needing to eat in their cabins and mentioned three specific instances that were referred to in these threads (thereby having the ammunition of actual NCL cruisers). I also addressed multiple other reasons why this policy greatly affects many cruisers. The VERY FIRST THING my representative told me when she called was "First off, we will NOT discriminate against the disabled. We want you to rest assured of that. Passengers who have a disability that necessitates them being brought food to their room will be able to have a travel companion bring them their food with no problem. For us to try and say otherwise would go against very strict disability and discrimination laws."

I did not ask for specifics as to how to go about getting approval for a companion to bring back food. I do know, however, that there is an access officer on every ship. You can ask for them through the front desk. I would call NCL Access Desk (which you did) and have them note your account that there is a disability effecting mobility in your party. If anyone tries to stop you from bringing a meal back from to your room, I would gently remind them that they are discriminating against a disabled person and then ask to speak with the Access Officer if necessary. You could always stop at the front desk first thing and ask to speak with him/her beforehand and ask how this should be handled. I think this is what another poster was describing as "a case-by-case basis on board". Because, I don't think "Joe Shmoe" is going to get the access desk to approve taking all his meals back to his room simply because he gets a little hypoglycemic every now and then. They would probably recommend he take some fruit or a small snack back to his room to have on hand (which is allowed under the policy), but someone in your case...they would have a hard time refusing and still stay within the law.

My sister has a severely disabled child who has a large service dog. A few years ago an Asian nail salon refused them entry due to the dog. My sister figured they did not understand our laws, so she tried to explain many different ways that the dog was a medical device and to refuse him entry would be the equivalent of taking away someone's wheelchair and making them walk, or taking away someone's oxygen and telling them to keep breathing. The owner still refused and my sister had to call the police. Needless to say, the police officer explained to the owner that they were, in deed, breaking the law and then actually stayed and played with my disabled nephew while his sisters got their nails done for a special occasion. Sometimes, establishments just need to be reminded of what is and isn't discrimination. An Access Officer has full knowledge of the companies requirements to accommodate your disability...even if the phone reps don't (which seems to be the case when you called). This is why there are lifts by the pools... because to deny a person access to the pool due to their disability would be discrimination. Just as, in your case, to deny food coming to your room would be discrimination. You should be fine. I think a call back from the Access Desk should alleviate some of your concerns. If not, please report back. Because THEN further action is required.

When I sent my email to NCL I specifically mentioned disabled people needing to eat in their cabins and mentioned three specific instances that were referred to in these threads (thereby having the ammunition of actual NCL cruisers). I also addressed multiple other reasons why this policy greatly affects many cruisers. The VERY FIRST THING my representative told me when she called was "First off, we will NOT discriminate against the disabled. We want you to rest assured of that. Passengers who have a disability that necessitates them being brought food to their room will be able to have a travel companion bring them their food with no problem. For us to try and say otherwise would go against very strict disability and discrimination laws."

 

I did not ask for specifics as to how to go about getting approval for a companion to bring back food. I do know, however, that there is an access officer on every ship. You can ask for them through the front desk. I would call NCL Access Desk (which you did) and have them note your account that there is a disability effecting mobility in your party. If anyone tries to stop you from bringing a meal back from to your room, I would gently remind them that they are discriminating against a disabled person and then ask to speak with the Access Officer if necessary. You could always stop at the front desk first thing and ask to speak with him/her beforehand and ask how this should be handled. I think this is what another poster was describing as "a case-by-case basis on board". Because, I don't think "Joe Shmoe" is going to get the access desk to approve taking all his meals back to his room simply because he gets a little hypoglycemic every now and then. They would probably recommend he take some fruit or a small snack back to his room to have on hand (which is allowed under the policy), but someone in your case...they would have a hard time refusing and still stay within the law.

 

My sister has a severely disabled child who has a large service dog. A few years ago an Asian nail salon refused them entry due to the dog. My sister figured they did not understand our laws, so she tried to explain many different ways that the dog was a medical device and to refuse him entry would be the equivalent of taking away someone's wheelchair and making them walk, or taking away someone's oxygen and telling them to keep breathing. The owner still refused and my sister had to call the police. Needless to say, the police officer explained to the owner that they were, in deed, breaking the law and then actually stayed and played with my disabled nephew while his sisters got their nails done for a special occasion. Sometimes, establishments just need to be reminded of what is and isn't discrimination. An Access Officer has full knowledge of the companies requirements to accommodate your disability...even if the phone reps don't (which seems to be the case when you called). This is why there are lifts by the pools... because to deny a person access to the pool due to their disability would be discrimination. Just as, in your case, to deny food coming to your room would be discrimination. You should be fine. I think a call back from the Access Desk should alleviate some of your concerns. If not, please report back. Because THEN further action is required.

Thank you:) for taking the time for such an Informative reply. It was actually the CEO office that rang following my email to his office. You would have 'hoped' for more understanding but I felt I was talking with a scripted robot! But like you say not everyone understands! I shall report back as soon as I recieve a reply.

That is exactly what I mean. The staff on the ship are very helpful and understanding when you explain the need for accomodations (or they can see it for themselves) The vast majority of the people complaining about this new policy are not disabled, just too lazy to get dressed and walk to the dining rooms to eat.

 

I personally would like to see less spilled food in the corridors and elevators and not see dirty plates at the cabin doors. Charging for room service seems fair given the extra work involved. I happen to support NCL's new policy. :)

God forbid anyone act lazy on a vacation. Sometimes a vacation is all about being lazy. There is nothing wrong with that, heck the cruise lines advertise on that fact constantly in their ads. If people want to eat in their cabin then that should be their choice. Then again this policy has NOTHING to do with being lazy and everything to do with forcing people into paying that 7.95 room service fee.

Oh and by the way people do not run to the dining rooms in their underwear to get the food back to their cabin or snap their fingers and it magically appears, they get DRESSED and WALK it back to their cabin.

I wonder if people posting here and those posting here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2211247

cruise on the same cruise line but live in parallel universes?

There it is claimed that dirty dishes in hallways are common and this thread claims that they are essentially "imaginary" - simply an invention to create room service charges.

Which is it? :D

We are scheduled to take our first NCL cruise this September and would prefer no dirty dishes in the hallway.

I wonder if people posting here and those posting here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2211247

cruise on the same cruise line but live in parallel universes?

There it is claimed that dirty dishes in hallways are common and this thread claims that they are essentially "imaginary" - simply an invention to create room service charges.

Which is it? :D

We are scheduled to take our first NCL cruise this September and would prefer no dirty dishes in the hallway.

So if I want to bring breakfast back to my sweetie I'm lazy?

No - I think he meant that your sweetie may be lazy, not you :D

When I called NCL and specifically asked about folks that were sick or had a disability, I was told that it would be handled on a case by case basis on the ship.

Does that mean they individually tell you no? Does it mean they will break policy for some? What is the measurement to determine when NCL will ignore their policy? If my wife suffers an ailment that an NCL guest services staffer hasn't heard of then what? So we have to divulge personal medical information for nothing ?

Telling someone they will handle something on a case by case basis sounds to me like they do not have a policy or procedure in place and wanted you off the phone.

Does that mean they individually tell you no? Does it mean they will break policy for some? What is the measurement to determine when NCL will ignore their policy? If my wife suffers an ailment that an NCL guest services staffer hasn't heard of then what? So we have to divulge personal medical information for nothing ?

 

Telling someone they will handle something on a case by case basis sounds to me like they do not have a policy or procedure in place and wanted you off the phone.

It just wasn't a topic until last month. I know the search capability on CC is feeble, but I did my best to see where and how often this had been discussed in the past. I searched for "spilled" and browsed 10 pages of returned posts going back to August of 2013. I found reports of spills in the dining rooms, waiters who spilled drinks on people while serving them, a report of a drunk falling in a club and remarkably not spilling his drink, and a couple of mentions of "spilling the beans", but only one report of spilled food in a hallway. It was in a review of a Breakaway trip in December 2013 from an obviously disgruntled passenger. Here is that review:

Originally Posted by sks314 View Post

"This is not a fancy or cleverly worded review and certainly not for entertainment purposes. These are all facts and truthful statements of my experience on this very recent cruise. I was on deck 13 for those of you who care to know. Having always cruised RCCL I thought I'd give the new Breakaway ship a try. Although the ship is beautiful, I will never cruise NCL. To begin with, we never met our stateroom attendant, from the best of my knowledge we had two different attendants since one left the ship to go home. The hallways were littered with food trays and laundry bags on a regular basis. It took 3 days before the Cheerios that someone spilled on the carpet in the hall to be cleaned up, 4 days to get ice and a couple of glasses. There was vomit in the elevators, the bathrooms on the ship were also atrocious. Luckily I had the foresight to unmake the bed before we left because I found the bed was made over my husband's wet bathing suit. The food in the Garden Cafe was cold and had no variety. Although I must say the specialty restaurants were fabulous and so was the staff in the perfume shop. We had an opportunity to share our experience with an upper level crewman who sent several other crew to talk with us, however I did not see much change. There is not much more I can say except I hope you take this review seriously and consider another cruise line. "

I've seen typical responses from cruise line loyalists (not just here on the NCL forum, but yes, here as well) to reviews that read like that, and generally the person posting is ripped mercilessly for their obviously exaggerated claims.

That review is the only mention of spilled food in the hallways I found until the mega-thread that started in March over the room service charge. Beginning with that thread and since then, people have been coming out of the woodwork to claim they can hardly move around in the ships without having to step over or around piles of spilled food.

It just wasn't a topic of discussion until then. It isn't true. Just because NCL belatedly latched onto it as a justification for their ridiculous no take-away policy doesn't change the fact that it was not and is not a problem.

I wonder if people posting here and those posting here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2211247

cruise on the same cruise line but live in parallel universes?

There it is claimed that dirty dishes in hallways are common and this thread claims that they are essentially "imaginary" - simply an invention to create room service charges.

Which is it? :D

We are scheduled to take our first NCL cruise this September and would prefer no dirty dishes in the hallway.

Have you ever seen any room service dishes in the hallway at your resort hotel? I would bet if you did you did not give them a second thought, and they disappeared quickly. Like the guests at a resort hotel, most cruise ship passengers do not take meals in their rooms. They go out to the ships restaurants, MDRs and buffets. The small percentage on a cruise ship who do utilize room service, or the buffet for carryout, do so for a variety of reasons. Maybe for health or mobility issues, maybe because they enjoy the privacy of their own cabin, maybe because of small children. None of my beeswax.

I have asked anyone to post pictures of the supposed piles of plates and food littering the halls, elevators and public areas. Apparently NCL cruisers like to just drop and eat anywhere. So far no one seems to have any pictures, but a few people have posted pictures of pristine hallways. It has never been an issue on any of my 7 NCL ships, and believe me, I would have complained.;).

So draw your own conclusions. NCL offered this as an excuse, er reason for the ban ( along with the equally lame health and safety reason ) and so therefore there are some who will do backflips to back up this contention lest they have to admit that NCL is being, shall we say, less than truthful about why it was done.

I'm convinced that a cruise line could make children and elderly walk the plank and the cheerleaders would still find an excuse to defend the cruise line LOL. :D

THIS comment is why Cruise Critic needs a "Like" button. :cool:

It just wasn't a topic until last month. I know the search capability on CC is feeble, but I did my best to see where and how often this had been discussed in the past. I searched for "spilled" and browsed 10 pages of returned posts going back to August of 2013. I found reports of spills in the dining rooms, waiters who spilled drinks on people while serving them, a report of a drunk falling in a club and remarkably not spilling his drink, and a couple of mentions of "spilling the beans", but only one report of spilled food in a hallway. It was in a review of a Breakaway trip in December 2013 from an obviously disgruntled passenger. Here is that review:

 

 

 

Originally Posted by sks314 View Post

 

"This is not a fancy or cleverly worded review and certainly not for entertainment purposes. These are all facts and truthful statements of my experience on this very recent cruise. I was on deck 13 for those of you who care to know. Having always cruised RCCL I thought I'd give the new Breakaway ship a try. Although the ship is beautiful, I will never cruise NCL. To begin with, we never met our stateroom attendant, from the best of my knowledge we had two different attendants since one left the ship to go home. The hallways were littered with food trays and laundry bags on a regular basis. It took 3 days before the Cheerios that someone spilled on the carpet in the hall to be cleaned up, 4 days to get ice and a couple of glasses. There was vomit in the elevators, the bathrooms on the ship were also atrocious. Luckily I had the foresight to unmake the bed before we left because I found the bed was made over my husband's wet bathing suit. The food in the Garden Cafe was cold and had no variety. Although I must say the specialty restaurants were fabulous and so was the staff in the perfume shop. We had an opportunity to share our experience with an upper level crewman who sent several other crew to talk with us, however I did not see much change. There is not much more I can say except I hope you take this review seriously and consider another cruise line. "

 

 

 

I've seen typical responses from cruise line loyalists (not just here on the NCL forum, but yes, here as well) to reviews that read like that, and generally the person posting is ripped mercilessly for their obviously exaggerated claims.

 

 

 

That review is the only mention of spilled food in the hallways I found until the mega-thread that started in March over the room service charge. Beginning with that thread and since then, people have been coming out of the woodwork to claim they can hardly move around in the ships without having to step over or around piles of spilled food.

 

 

 

It just wasn't a topic of discussion until then. It isn't true. Just because NCL belatedly latched onto it as a justification for their ridiculous no take-away policy doesn't change the fact that it was not and is not a problem.

But there was no problem with the free continental breakfast before the $7.95 policy, but now with the expanded room service menus people are coming out complaining about it. You can still get what they offered before the policy for free. And with the take out food from the buffet no one has said they have been stopped from doing so and this should be a non issue. Just make sure to keep your dirty dishes in your room not in the hallways.

Have you ever seen any room service dishes in the hallway at your resort hotel? I would bet if you did you did not give them a second thought, and they disappeared quickly. Like the guests at a resort hotel, most cruise ship passengers do not take meals in their rooms. They go out to the ships restaurants, MDRs and buffets. The small percentage on a cruise ship who do utilize room service, or the buffet for carryout, do so for a variety of reasons. Maybe for health or mobility issues, maybe because they enjoy the privacy of their own cabin, maybe because of small children. None of my beeswax.

 

I have asked anyone to post pictures of the supposed piles of plates and food littering the halls, elevators and public areas. Apparently NCL cruisers like to just drop and eat anywhere. So far no one seems to have any pictures, but a few people have posted pictures of pristine hallways. It has never been an issue on any of my 7 NCL ships, and believe me, I would have complained.;).

 

So draw your own conclusions. NCL offered this as an excuse, er reason for the ban ( along with the equally lame health and safety reason ) and so therefore there are some who will do backflips to back up this contention lest they have to admit that NCL is being, shall we say, less than truthful about why it was done.

I don't know about you, but when I take pictures of my vacations, I don't take pictures of dirty dishes nor do I take pictures of peeling paint or cracking tiles, I take pictures of things I actually want my friends to see.

As someone said on another thread, if one hasn't seen dishes in the hallway they are very lucky, so one should draw their own conclusions based off that comment as well. Why NCL made the policy, who knows, but when we talk about plates in the hallways, that does happen. Whether you believe it or not, that is up to you.

Why NCL made the policy, who knows, but when we talk about plates in the hallways, that does happen. Whether you believe it or not, that is up to you.

I will invoke the ancient Internet rule here: pics or it didn't happen. Ideally, I want you (or anyone) to post pictures of a passageway so clogged with dirty dishes that they look like an obstacle course -- and time-stamped pictures of the same hallway hours later with the same (or more) amount of filth.

And then, I want you to explain how the mess sitting there so long is not the fault of those whose job it is to clean it up.

What kind of disability makes it impossible to eat meals at the dining areas? If that's the case how did this person get on the ship in the first place? My wife uses an electric wheelchair and cannot walk a single step and yet she never missed a single meal in the MDR or Buffet on our last cruise. Anyone who able enough to get on a cruise ship is able enough to eat meals in the dining areas (unless someone becomes ill while onboard) yet it's quite alright if someone WANTS to eat in the room. Just keep your &$@?& dirty dishes in your room so my wife can use her wheelchair in the narrow corridor and get to the dining room for her meals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What kind of disability makes it impossible to eat meals at the dining areas? If that's the case how did this person get on the ship in the first place? My wife uses an electric wheelchair and cannot walk a single step and yet she never missed a single meal in the MDR or Buffet on our last cruise. Anyone who able enough to get on a cruise ship is able enough to eat meals in the dining areas (unless someone becomes ill while onboard) yet it's quite alright if someone WANTS to eat in the room. Just keep your &$@?& dirty dishes in your room so my wife can use her wheelchair in the narrow corridor and get to the dining room for her meals.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree 100% with this!

That is exactly what I mean. The staff on the ship are very helpful and understanding when you explain the need for accomodations (or they can see it for themselves) The vast majority of the people complaining about this new policy are not disabled, just too lazy to get dressed and walk to the dining rooms to eat.

It's vacation. So what if someone wants to be lazy? My wife and I work our tails off most of the year. She, at least, deserves to be a bit lazy on a cruise. If I sometimes let her sleep while I go to the buffet and pick out some of her favorite things to bring back for breakfast on our balcony, who are you to judge me?

I personally would like to see less spilled food in the corridors and elevators and not see dirty plates at the cabin doors. Charging for room service seems fair given the extra work involved. I happen to support NCL's new policy. :)

If you want to increase the use of room service for cleanliness purposes, then you don't suddenly begin charging for it just when you want more people to use it. This is such a basic level of logic and common sense that I can't believe I actually had to point it out.

Land vacations don't take you onto the ocean, so there's THAT....

 

 

It's not about greed at all.

 

Anybody who thinks it's about money doesn't realize that Del Rio's vision is SERVICE. He wants to create an upscale experience where your leftovers are delivered FOR you, so you don't have to schlep plates around, and instead can go to the show, or the bar, or the casino and enjoy your evening....finding your left-over dessert in your cabin when you return.

 

Because of the opt-in nature of NCL, the day-long service for food delivery does carry an opt-in charge - if you want to use it, you pay for it....so that everybody who is NOT using it is also not paying for it.

 

 

And whether they forbid it or not, you can bet people who look askance at you carrying your uncovered plate of food at the Four Seasons, or the Peninsula. There's a slight expectation of at least SOME decorum.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

If that were the case, and he TRULY wanted an upscale experience for the guests, the dessert would magically appear in your cabin WITHOUT a separate price tag attached to it. That's upscale.

It's really about the new extra line item on the budget...called Room Service Fee.

That's the reality.