In Room Dining -- Main Dining Room Menu

On our past three HAL cruises we have been in a deluxe suite so we've been able to order room service for dinner from the menu for the main dining room. On our upcoming cruise, we are in a superior verandah suite and would like to know if we will still be able to do the same thing.

Also, what do we have to do to have dinner on our balcony? Does it require advance notice so the table can be set, is there a charge for it. I know on another cruise line that there is a charge but the meal comes with a split of champagne, table linens, etc.

On our past three HAL cruises we have been in a deluxe suite so we've been able to order room service for dinner from the menu for the main dining room. On our upcoming cruise, we are in a superior verandah suite and would like to know if we will still be able to do the same thing.

 

Also, what do we have to do to have dinner on our balcony? Does it require advance notice so the table can be set, is there a charge for it. I know on another cruise line that there is a charge but the meal comes with a split of champagne, table linens, etc.

Yes you can. That's a service offered, not a deluxe suite perk.

Not sure about the second question as I don't have personal experience in the matter. I'll leave that for those that have done it before, but I can assure you there is no charge like Princess assesses

I travel in steerage, but anyone can order dinner from the dining room menu to the stateroom.

We have had a balcony, but, being steerage-class people who'd been upgraded to a balcony, we were content to eat on our laps and use the side-table that is out there. You could move the adjustable height table from in front of the couch out there, but I think you'd be in charge of setting it yourself.

The balconys on the non-deluxe suites are smaller -- a very tiny table -- as one poster mentioned -- you will have to hold the plates on your lap.

Being able to order and have dinner in your cabin is an option for all passengers.

There isn't a charge -- and no split of champagne for any cabin category.

You can order off the menu within the first 1/2 hour that the dining room opens. You'll be able to judge for yourself when you see your room. The table in the sitting room area is not a bad size but I think one of you will still be holding their plate;)

On our past three HAL cruises we have been in a deluxe suite so we've been able to order room service for dinner from the menu for the main dining room. On our upcoming cruise, we are in a superior verandah suite and would like to know if we will still be able to do the same thing.

 

Also, what do we have to do to have dinner on our balcony? Does it require advance notice so the table can be set, is there a charge for it. I know on another cruise line that there is a charge but the meal comes with a split of champagne, table linens, etc.

I did the In Room Dining experience, on the verandah, on our cruise in April and it was wonderful!!! No charge, but we did not have alcohol or sodas (I imagine that would be a charge.)

I contacted our Concierge (Non Penthouse and Deluxe Verandah Suite Guests can use the 24/7 Concierge Telephone service if that is available, or via the front desk) to arrange the service.

It came with our own private waiter, white table cloth and all the glamor you would expect of a private dining experience:)

Joanie

This is wonderful news. Thank you so much for this information. Now, we'll just have to give it a try. This sounds really romantic.

This is wonderful news. Thank you so much for this information. Now, we'll just have to give it a try. This sounds really romantic.

Did you see the photos I posted of ours? Here are just 2 of them as a teaser (If you want to see as they set it up you can go here to see the rest: http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Oosterdam/Deck-6.html

--

Joanie

I know regular room service is available to all staterooms, of course, but is the In Room Dining Experience, where the table is set and a steward stays with you throughout the meal serving course by course, available for everyone. How would the ship ever have enough stewards to cover as many rooms as might want it on a particular night when it ties a steward up for an hour or two for each cabin requesting the individual service? The dining room is short-handed as it is and I doubt they are over-staffed with RS stewards. I thought maybe that was only for PH and Deluxe Suites.

Edit: I'm confused, Joanie, because on your post #6 here you say non-PH or Dlx Suite can call the telephone concierge or front desk to order this In Room Dining, but I just looked at your pictures on your website and you say this is only for PH and Dlx Suites. I think on this thread you are giving people the idea everyone on the ship can have what you had.

I know regular room service is available to all staterooms, of course, but is the In Room Dining Experience, where the table is set and a steward stays with you throughout the meal serving course by course, available for everyone. How would the ship ever have enough stewards to cover as many rooms as might want it on a particular night when it ties a steward up for an hour or two for each cabin requesting the individual service? The dining room is short-handed as it is and I doubt they are over-staffed with RS stewards. I thought maybe that was only for PH and Deluxe Suites.

That was my understanding too Peaches - I think Joanie was in SC or SB aft when she got this:confused:

I know regular room service is available to all staterooms, of course, but is the In Room Dining Experience, where the table is set and a steward stays with you throughout the meal serving course by course, available for everyone. How would the ship ever have enough stewards to cover as many rooms as might want it on a particular night when it ties a steward up for an hour or two for each cabin requesting the individual service? The dining room is short-handed as it is and I doubt they are over-staffed with RS stewards. I thought maybe that was only for PH and Deluxe Suites.

 

Edit: I'm confused, Joanie, because on your post #6 here you say non-PH or Dlx Suite can call the telephone concierge or front desk to order this In Room Dining, but I just looked at your pictures on your website and you say this is only for PH and Dlx Suites. I think on this thread you are giving people the idea everyone on the ship can have what you had.

Per our Concierge it was available only to PH and Dlx Suites, per Yvonne, the lady in charge of the program (she is in the photos) it is for everyone!! Also note that I did say "at this time."

As to how they can handle it... There are 13 Room Service Stewards (on the Oosterdam in April). Very few of the passengers are aware of this service so only 3 or 4 are used any one night for this service. That still leaves plenty of Stewards to provide regular Room Service. Per Yvonne HAL will be hiring more Stewards in the near future as this In Dining Service catches on. Yvonne is/was traveling Ship to Ship Training the Stewards for this fantastically romantic experience.

Joanie

Per our Concierge it was available only to PH and Dlx Suites, per Yvonne, the lady in charge of the program (she is in the photos) it is for everyone!! Also note that I did say "at this time."

 

As to how they can handle it... There are 13 Room Service Stewards (on the Oosterdam in April). Very few of the passengers are aware of this service so only 3 or 4 are used any one night for this service. That still leaves plenty of Stewards to provide regular Room Service. Per Yvonne HAL will be hiring more Stewards in the near future as this In Dining Service catches on. Yvonne is/was traveling Ship to Ship Training the Stewards for this fantastically romantic experience.

 

Joanie

Wow! this is great info Joanie!!! Thanks for sharing:)

Wow! this is great info Joanie!!! Thanks for sharing:)

You are quite welcome:) And just a litttle more info on the subject, the Room Service stewards do not work in the Main Dining Room. They are assigned to the Pinnacle Grill. Yvonne spent about 15-20 minutes talking in depth to hubby and I about the In Room Dining and some of the ins and outs and misconceptions about Room Service:)

Joanie

You are quite welcome:) And just a litttle more info on the subject, the Room Service stewards do not work in the Main Dining Room. They are assigned to the Pinnacle Grill. Yvonne spent about 15-20 minutes talking in depth to hubby and I about the In Room Dining and some of the ins and outs and misconceptions about Room Service:)

 

Joanie

when we did our course by course dining on the Zuiderdam, we had one of our fave waiters from the PG. I thought it was a fluke. didn't realize that was the way it worked. thanks again:):)

Dumb, dumb question............ Do we tip or is it included in our overall tipping?

Dumb, dumb question............ Do we tip or is it included in our overall tipping?

It's up to you - room service in some people's minds is included in the overall gratuity. I consider this a special service so yes, we did tip.

It's not necessary though - but once you have had the service I think you will want to :D

Thanks

If HAL is going to hire more stewards for In Room Dining, which will service only a minimal number of pax, it would be an excellent idea to hire more for the basic MDR also. We saw service going downhill there on our last HAL cruise several years ago and so many posts here complain about the MDR stewards being so badly stretched with too many tables that it is not the same chatty friendly service that everyone used to love.

If HAL is going to hire more stewards for In Room Dining, which will service only a minimal number of pax, it would be an excellent idea to hire more for the basic MDR also. We saw service going downhill there on our last HAL cruise several years ago and so many posts here complain about the MDR stewards being so badly stretched with too many tables that it is not the same chatty friendly service that everyone used to love.

I have never had slow service in either the MDR or the PG. I have had excellent service, in a timely manner on all of my HAL cruises. At least this is my findings for us.

When I go to a fine dining establishment, I expect the dinner to take at minimum of 2 hours from time enter and am seated to the time I am ready to leave the establishment.

I expect to be treated to a leisurely, delicious meal and to an ambiance worthy of the money that I am paying. With HAL I get all of what I expect and am happy.

With that being said, I can truthfully state that ALL of our HAL dining experiences have been worth the money and have met our expectations (well, I should not make that such a blank statement as I dislike the Pinnacle Grill flavors, BUT hubby loves it.) But that being said, it is a matter of everyone having different tastes and expectations.

I have never lacked for good to excellent service from any dining experience on any HAL ship and the friendliness of the stewards in all the dining venues has been excellent.

As I said, everyone sees things differently and that is fine by me:)

You say that you saw service going downhill on your last HAL cruise several years ago..... Maybe you should try going on one soon and then tell us of your experience in a more up to date setting:)

You have pointed out that there have been complaints about slow dining venues service, but you do not point out those of us who report differently...

Please Peaches try HAL again soon and then come back and report to us a more up to date and current experience:)

Joanie

I think I understand what Peaches is saying.

How does it make good economic sense for HAL to increase its staff of room service stewards, in order to provide this one-on-one personal dining service for any cabin requesting such?

Wouldn't it make more sense, if HAL is looking to beef up its staff, to add to the crew in the MDR?

There have been plenty of complaints about the service in the MDR - or of the wait staff being stretched thin.

I last cruised in Jan-Feb of this year, and I saw it then. [Does that qualify me to make a comment? :rolleyes:] The wait staff was good, but they seemed to have more than they could handle.

I just can't see HAL bringing on more staff so we can all have our own personal stewards hanging around our cabins, waiting to serve us a full-course meal.

I think the difference is, Joanie, that you are a relative newcomer to HAL,

with not that many HAL cruises, all on the larger ships. You are not familiar with how service was on the R and S ships for at least the decade before you began cruising on the Vistas.

I too enjoy a leisurely meal in a fine dining establishment. A 2 hour meal is not a problem for me at all. But the food itself certainly was not up to 4 star quality on our last few HAL cruises and that is pretty much the consensus of the posts I read now. Good enough maybe, but not the premium line quality it once was. When HAL built

the larger ships instead of staffing them as they previously had the R & S

ships, they cut back on the # of dining stewards on all the ships, transferring many stewards from the R & S to the Vistas and not hiring to have the same steward to pax ratio in the dining room that they previously had. It certainly isn't just I saying service and ambiance changed. Stewards have way too many tables and pax to serve to give anything close to the attention to each diner that they previously were able to do. You just aren't familiar with how it used to be, so today may seem fine to you, but not to others who remember HAL before the larger ships were built.

You may find the current staffing and cuisine fine and up to your standards;

others post often that HAL's MDR is no longer up to the standard of fine dining that it once was. I seem to remember you saying you rarely if ever eat in the MDR anyway, though I could be wrong about that.

I think the difference is, Joanie, that you are a relative newcomer to HAL,

with not that many HAL cruises, all on the larger ships. You are not familiar with how service was on the R and S ships for at least the decade before you began cruising on the Vistas.

 

You are correct, I only have 5 HAL cruises under my belt, all on Vista and Signature ships since May 2008. Yes, I am a newcomer:) Nor am I familiar with the old days of HAL, but then again, I am familiar with the old days of my youth and the changes we see in the reduction of personnel in all service industries.....

 

I too enjoy a leisurely meal in a fine dining establishment. When HAL built

the larger ships instead of staffing them as they previously had the R & S

ships, they cut back on the # of dining stewards on all the ships, transferring many stewards from the R & S to the Vistas and not hiring to have the same steward to pax ratio in the dining room that they previously had. It certainly isn't just I saying service and ambiance changed. Stewards have way too many tables and pax to serve to give anything close to the attention to each diner that they previously were able to do. You just aren't familiar with how it used to be, so today may seem fine to you, but not to others who remember HAL before the larger ships were built.

 

See my last sentence above. This is true in all industries throughout the world, not just HAL. As one of our CC members (Bill Roddy, I believe) has posted previously in other threads, the cost of a cruise on HAL today is pretty much the same as it was in the early 1970's. We have to expect either to pay a heck of a lot more for the same standards from those days or to have a reduction of some of the services. I will choose reduction of services.

 

I wonder how many people familiar with Cunard complain about the reductions on their lines, or for that matter all cruise lines????

 

You may find the current staffing and cuisine fine and up to your standards;

others post often that HAL's MDR is no longer up to the standard of fine dining that it once was. I seem to remember you saying you rarely if ever eat in the MDR anyway, though I could be wrong about that.

You are quite correct, after my last incident in the MDR I will no longer attempt to eat in the MDR, but that is not due to lack of service. In 2008 and 2009 and Nov 2010 (all 3 of the cruises we took in those 2 years) I did eat 5 nights out of 6 in the MDR with great service and food. I was happy and as far as I could see, so were all of our table-mates. Granted at the end of our November 2010 cruise I developed my problems and cannot eat there in the evenings at least, so possibly things have deteriorated, but I think, once again it is a matter of expectations and preferences.

My expectations have been well met:)

I respect your right to disagree with me, but will continue to promote how well served we were and the great experiences we have had on all 5 of our HAL cruises in the last 3 years:)

Joanie

I did the In Room Dining experience, on the verandah, on our cruise in April and it was wonderful!!! No charge, but we did not have alcohol or sodas (I imagine that would be a charge.)

 

I contacted our Concierge (Non Penthouse and Deluxe Verandah Suite Guests can use the 24/7 Concierge Telephone service if that is available, or via the front desk) to arrange the service.

 

It came with our own private waiter, white table cloth and all the glamor you would expect of a private dining experience:)

 

Joanie

WOW! No way!

Thats fantastic Joanie-

Is this something standard one can have on HAL?

How does it work? More info :)

WOW! No way!

Thats fantastic Joanie-

Is this something standard one can have on HAL?

How does it work? More info :)

It's all explained in the thread - remember Joanie said for the time being so don't hold expectations that may not be met. ;)

Hello,

Heading on the Westerdam in a couple of weeks. So just to confirm (now 5y later), in our Pinnacle Suite, we can order from the dining room and have it brought up to us in our suite to eat? I ask because I am travelling with a friend and her autistic child, who doesn't do well in the large and noisy dining rooms. We would however very much like to enjoy the higher quality of the dining room food in our suite if possible.

Thanks!