How to avoid Room Service Charge

That makes me feel bad for the staff. I'm sure most people would tip a decent amount in cash to the person delivering their order, but now with the fee, no doubt those tips have decreased.

While I don't necessarily disagree with you I suspect that those who are inclined to tip will do so regardless of the charge.

There's food available most of the time. Why not just grab something? Seems like a lot of trouble just to avoid a room service charge.

Just off LOS.....We couldn't even find anything free to drink after 10PM except water. Other cruise lines at least have a self serve drink dispenser open in the buffet area when the buffet is closed. The only food available was that awful pizza and some sandwiches that we didn't try. The pound cake was good.

I wish I would have thought to take snacks from the lunch buffet.

That makes me feel bad for the staff. I'm sure most people would tip a decent amount in cash to the person delivering their order, but now with the fee, no doubt those tips have decreased.

You really think that "most people" would tip a fair amount???? I disagree, I believe our culture has turned into a society where people feel they are owed, and that food on cruises should be free so it isn't necessary to tip.

Hence the mandatory daily service charge that has become the norm, because people don't tip for good service anymore, they feel it's the job the person has signed up for. Just like when I'm at work (as a store manager) and a grown woman in a fitting room throws her left behind clothes in a ball on the floor and claims, "you get paid to pick those up". The vast majority of society is so self absorbed they are clueless to what it takes to be in a service driven job.

IMO.

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I will freely admit to being cheap. I CAN afford the cruise, so no $8 doesn’t break the bank. But I hate paying fees for anything. I didn’t order room service prior to the fee just to avoid the tip (yes, I tip appropriately whenever i use a service and leave my daily gratuity intact, but I do skip on services that aren’t worth paying at extra for) so definitely won’t order room service now with the fee. Same reason I’ll never order food to be delivered at home. To each their own, we all feel certain costs are worthwhile and certain costs are wasteful.

There is often cheese, salami, rolls, fruit, and yogurt at the buffet throughout the day. We’ve always just grabbed a plateful for these and stuck them in the mini fridge for late night snacking. Solves the problem of nothing being open late. Plus I like a midnight snack without having to call, wait 30-45 minutes, get dressed, and be limited to the handful of items on the room service menu. Having some snacks in the fridge feels a lot more like home to me.

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One reason we enjoy staying on Deck 8 (Allure & Oasis) is the Park Cafe. We can grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich and head back to our balcony to eat breakfast. The only food I've ever taken out of the WJ was a banana or apple since it never occurred to me to take a meal or dessert from the WJ or MDR back to my room. That would be a rather long walk to carry food and drink, and frankly, I would feel awkward in an elevator with a plate of food.

Why, I see plenty of Paxs in the AM taking coffee and breakfast items and using the elevators. I've used the ice bucket tray to take some items to my cabin. It's your vacation why do you worry what others think.

You really think that "most people" would tip a fair amount???? I disagree, I believe our culture has turned into a society where people feel they are owed, and that food on cruises should be free so it isn't necessary to tip.

 

Hence the mandatory daily service charge that has become the norm, because people don't tip for good service anymore, they feel it's the job the person has signed up for. Just like when I'm at work (as a store manager) and a grown woman in a fitting room throws her left behind clothes in a ball on the floor and claims, "you get paid to pick those up". The vast majority of society is so self absorbed they are clueless to what it takes to be in a service driven job.

 

IMO.

 

 

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Well, it's the same as Specialty Restaurants. On my upcoming Anthem cruise Chops is at $42 and rising. I usually add a tip $20+. Guess what, the lever of grats will be affected.

Just off LOS.....We couldn't even find anything free to drink after 10PM except water. Other cruise lines at least have a self serve drink dispenser open in the buffet area when the buffet is closed. The only food available was that awful pizza and some sandwiches that we didn't try. The pound cake was good.

 

I wish I would have thought to take snacks from the lunch buffet.

Many ships have the Promenade Café and usually coffee, tea, hot chocolate & water is available at late hours. I'm lucky, I can go to the D club and have a caffe latte at any time of the day.

I think this is a shameful rip-off of the crew - people who are not well-paid by most standards - by RCI. They are taking much-needed money out of those people's pockets and putting it into their own. Nice. When I stay in hotels, the room service bill usually indicates whether the gratuity has been added (it usually is, in Canada). If it's been added, I don't tip separately. But on the ship, people don't see the bill, and it's likely some (many?) will assume the charge covers the tip. I would have assumed that. Now I find out it's all going to RCI.

I can accept it when the cruise line transparently adds new charges, jacks up drink costs, etc., because I understand what is going on. I can make my decisions as a consumer to continue to do business with them or not. But this strikes me as sneaky. It's a charge that could appear to cover the server's gratuity, unless people look into it carefully. and as such, people may think they are tipping, when all the money actually goes to the cruise line and the staff's workload still remains the same.

NICE

OP makes a crazy comment,,,,, then sits back and watches the entertainment of everyone else commenting.

After breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between I don't have the energy to pick up the phone and order room-service. Besides....once my dentures are in the glass...I'm done eating. ;)

After breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between I don't have the energy to pick up the phone and order room-service. Besides....once my dentures are in the glass...I'm done eating. ;)

Like,

I take a plate and cover it with another plate or a bowl. It keeps folks in the elevator from sticking their noses in your snack.

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Is $7.95 really gonna break the bank?

 

 

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We should ask that to royal since it was free before. I guess it will break their banks bc is no longer free [emoji3]

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Certain items are still free.

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I take a plate and cover it with another plate or a bowl. It keeps folks in the elevator from sticking their noses in your snack.

Or sneezing on it!

Can I get room service delivered to the theater?

;p

Lower level, center section, row 7, seat 12 & 13.

Fortunately, an exception to the Room Service Charge is Continental breakfast, which will remain complimentary. Also, orders to Grand Suites and higher will not carry a charge.

I've not read this anywhere. If I order for multiple people in my suite, they won't charge?

My daughter loves having cookies or something to nibble late at night. We use to order room service all the time. Almost $8/night for a few cookies and things can hurt the bank. Especially on longer cruises. And since it's NOT going to the staff, it is unnecessary. The great thing about cruises is they are suppose to be inclusive (minus drinks) they already raise the prices of cruises every year. To add a charge for room service was VERY unnecessary

While I would not bring food back to my suite in order to avoid a charge, I was surprised to learn that there are those who see something odd in "taking out" dessert.

Dh and I dine out a lot and we often bring dessert home for later since we are never able to eat it with a meal. On our one and only previous rc cruise we had commented on how beautiful the chocolate piano we saw at another table looked and they offered us one for our suite later since we could never have eaten dessert then. Generally speaking I find desserts brought "home" to be much better than those one would get from room service.

Can you imagen how the poor folks feel as they clean up your crumbs and whatnot after you turn the theatre into a dinning room. If you can't go a hour or so without eating something them maybe watching shows should not be on the checklist...

Not to mention how distracting it might be to your neighbor that might be trying to enjoy the show.

I was just on the Allure and they sell popcorn at the shows. Whats the difference?

The difference is the cruise line makes money by selling snacks at the theatre. So if there's money to be made, the real difference is that people who would like to enjoy a performance for an hour without the competing sounds of munching and crunching must take a back seat to the sound of money being made.

I've not read this anywhere. If I order for multiple people in my suite, they won't charge?

Correct

I've not read this anywhere. If I order for multiple people in my suite, they won't charge?

I've never had a problem, but if you are in doubt, ask the Concierge.

This thread got hilarious [emoji23]

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We're talking about a cruise ship, not the Bijou. I would find it extremely annoying to have someone near me chomping on something while I was trying to enjoy a live performance. It would be different if it were a movie, but at a live performance, it would drive me nuts. JMHO......:D:D:D

Bob