room service charges?

We took the PoA last year, and had a blast! I bet we saw and did more than anyone else that week. I told my friend about it, and she booked the same cruise with her daughter. She returned last week, having had a thoroughly awful time. Some of her many included... nothing to do in port, too windy to use the balcony, the food was terrible and service worse, crew was curt, there was a norovirus scare so they were "sterilized at every doorway", they were bored on the ship. Upon further discussion, she admitted they had eaten every meal in the buffet, did not attend any shows or classes, only got off the ship twice, etc.

However, one thing did catch my ear. She insisted the room service now costs "$12.95" no matter what you order." Is that true? When we cruise (our 15,16,and 17th are booked) we like room service...but I'm not willing to pay that much for it! Is that true, or did my friend read it wrong??

I have never heard of that with NCL...and if it were true it would be all over these boards like crazy.

There are some items on the room service menu that do cost...like party platters, etc., but that's it...the rest if included with cruise fare.

Sounds like she was her own worst enemy on her cruise...usually it's up to yourself to decide if a vacation will be a good one.

Don't let her negativity get you down...:rolleyes:

I told my friend about it, and she booked the same cruise with her daughter. She returned last week, having had a thoroughly awful time. , she admitted they had eaten every meal in the buffet, did not attend any shows or classes, only got off the ship twice, etc.

Perhaps cruising isn't for your friend, not even getting off the ship to walk around? Of course that would be boring, it seems that she didn't take advantage of everything the cruise had to offer.

As to the room service the PoA is a different bird so they might indeed charge for room service, that is not the case on the regular NCL ships. I hope someone will come and answer this.

Nothing do in port in Hawaii? Are you kidding me?

We were on the POA in December and ordered room service without any charges

I'm sorry but this person sounds miserable - nothing to do in Hawaii, getting off only twice (again, in Hawaii!), eating all her meals in the buffet, didn't go to any of the shows - cruising is not for everyone and I'm going out on a limb and saying that she shouldn't cruise, maybe not even travel (how do you not explore Hawaii?!?!).

As for the room service charges, if the POA room service menu is the same as all the other ships in NCL's fleet, I believe she misinterpreted the menu. There are certain items that do carry charges and you do have to skip quite a few items before you reach the "free" items. So, it's possible that she saw all the charges and didn't go any further. I do hope that someone who has cruised recently on the POA can confirm that there are no charges for regular room service.

Perhaps she was confusing the Daily Service Charge with Room service charge.

Maybe she means the daily $12 service charge?

The NCL web site still lists room service as being included... "on the house". She is mistaken.

It sounds like she was her own worst enemy.

This was one cruise where we really had to make hard decisions as to what to do in each port because there were so many things to do. Hawaii is so beautiful, with so much to do and so much to see.

If she was just going to stay on the ship, she really should have stuck with a cheaper Caribbean cruise.

Thanks...I feel better! Yes, I agree there was too much to do in Hawaii. I planned our trip so well, and we did so many exciting things, that I just don't see how she had such a rotten vacation.

My friend also griped that breakfast was never served on the PoA. What?? She admitted they had slept in until 10 am every day, so the buffet was closed. Ten am!? By then, we'd been out and about, happily exploring, for hours! There was even a time when we went snorkeling at a top-five beach, at 6am because the rest of the day was full. That turned into one of the many highlights of the trip... there was an astonishing variety of underwater stuff to admire, and --bonus!--a rainbow, right over the bay!

I agree, her decree of "I'll NEVER go on another cruise!" is smart. Certainly, not with me!

repeater, perhaps she DOES need to go with you so you can show her how to do a cruise properly! ;)

I sympathize with you, I have travelled with a friend (who I love dearly) and cruising is great for us, she'll sleep until 2 pm and I can do what I want by myself. It works out great for us. She gets a totally different perspective of our cruises from what I experience, but it won't stop us going on ships!

When we did the 10 day Hawaiian cruise on the Pride of Aloha there was just one afternoon at sea, all the other days were in port and we took full advantage of every minute. I went to the pool that afternoon at sea and struck up a conversation with a young woman there. This was the last day of the cruise and she hadn't been off the ship! She said she just wanted to relax. I remember thinking she'd flown thousands and thousands of miles, from the east coast, and could have had the same experience much closer to home and saved a lot of money! But she seemed as happy with her cruise as I was with mine!

We took the PoA last year, and had a blast! I bet we saw and did more than anyone else that week. I told my friend about it, and she booked the same cruise with her daughter. She returned last week, having had a thoroughly awful time. Some of her many included... nothing to do in port, too windy to use the balcony, the food was terrible and service worse, crew was curt, there was a norovirus scare so they were "sterilized at every doorway", they were bored on the ship. Upon further discussion, she admitted they had eaten every meal in the buffet, did not attend any shows or classes, only got off the ship twice, etc.

 

However, one thing did catch my ear. She insisted the room service now costs "$12.95" no matter what you order." Is that true? When we cruise (our 15,16,and 17th are booked) we like room service...but I'm not willing to pay that much for it! Is that true, or did my friend read it wrong??

Note to poster and self, keep your mouth closed about cruising. I've learned that the hard way. Just bring pictures to work.

Nothing do in port in Hawaii? Are you kidding me?

I know...VERY odd! We never have that problem, even in ports that are less exciting then Hawaii!;)

OP, tell your friend to stay away from the POA on 4/30. I don't want any rotten apples in my basket.

We took the PoA last year, and had a blast! I bet we saw and did more than anyone else that week. I told my friend about it, and she booked the same cruise with her daughter. She returned last week, having had a thoroughly awful time. Some of her many included... nothing to do in port, too windy to use the balcony, the food was terrible and service worse, crew was curt, there was a norovirus scare so they were "sterilized at every doorway", they were bored on the ship. Upon further discussion, she admitted they had eaten every meal in the buffet, did not attend any shows or classes, only got off the ship twice, etc.

 

However, one thing did catch my ear. She insisted the room service now costs "$12.95" no matter what you order." Is that true? When we cruise (our 15,16,and 17th are booked) we like room service...but I'm not willing to pay that much for it! Is that true, or did my friend read it wrong??

When we cruised the Star last month, the room service menu did include many items that have a dollar amount listed. (For the life of me, I can't remember what they were). You could definitely order many types of items at no charge. Every time we called for room service, it was 1-1 1/2 hour wait they told us. So-we never used room service. Just headed down to the Blue Lagoon.

...and she booked the same cruise with her daughter. She returned last week, having had a thoroughly awful time...

With all the whining, sounds like the daughter must have been a teenager that wanted to be home with friends! That by itself can ruin a trip! ;)

When we cruised the Star last month, the room service menu did include many items that have a dollar amount listed. (For the life of me, I can't remember what they were). You could definitely order many types of items at no charge. Every time we called for room service, it was 1-1 1/2 hour wait they told us. So-we never used room service. Just headed down to the Blue Lagoon.

Those were party platter items, not room service food that would be ordered by an individual for his/her self.

With all the whining, sounds like the daughter must have been a teenager that wanted to be home with friends! That by itself can ruin a trip! ;)

Hahahahahaha I was thinking the same thing. An unhappy teenager would be the worst travel companion!

My mom and I sailed the Pride of Hawaii a few years ago. She has mobility issues so we stayed on the ship at most stops. We used to live in Hawaii, so didn't need to see the various islands. We booked a mini suite. Mom spent most of her time out on our balcony enjoying the warm weather and nice sunshine. I'd run up to the buffet and get breakfast items for dining on our balcony. The room had a coffee maker with Hawaiian coffee, we asked for extra coffee and each day it would be there. We ate in many speciality restaurants. For her birthday, we went to Le Bistro, she was treated like a queen and throughly enjoyed the special treatment. We went to the martini tasting one one of our first days, after that, we made a daily stop at the martini bar for our 5pm cocktail! We sat by the pool, we went to classes on how to make leis, we read, we went to the shows, (every night).

Mom still talks about that cruise as on of the best vacations she's had, and 90% of it was spent on the ship! ;)

As far as the room service charge, I'm pretty sure your friend is confusing it with the daily service charge.

Newbie here -- if I want room service breakfast the very first morning -- how do I order that? Meaning we have to get off early and I HAVE to have coffee and something before leaving for the day. I'm sure I'll figure everything out eventually but definitely am wondering how to get that right away the first morning. So when/how do I order it for the first morning? Thanks!!

Newbie here -- if I want room service breakfast the very first morning -- how do I order that? Meaning we have to get off early and I HAVE to have coffee and something before leaving for the day. I'm sure I'll figure everything out eventually but definitely am wondering how to get that right away the first morning. So when/how do I order it for the first morning? Thanks!!

In the big binder of information on your desk in the cabin will be a pocket that will have hanging door tags in it for ordering breakfast. Fill in what you want, what time you want it served and hang it on the outside of the cabin before going to bed the night before. Not a big hassle at all! Room service will call you before delivering the meal to make sure you're all dressed or presentable to answer the door.

Newbie here -- if I want room service breakfast the very first morning -- how do I order that? Meaning we have to get off early and I HAVE to have coffee and something before leaving for the day. I'm sure I'll figure everything out eventually but definitely am wondering how to get that right away the first morning. So when/how do I order it for the first morning? Thanks!!

You have two choices for room service breakfast - 1) fill out the order form that is in your cabin and hang it on your outside door knob. The order form will be picked up overnight and your breakfast will be delivered at the time you designated (usually 5-10 minutes before you designated); or 2) wake up early and phone in your order. This will take some time since you're phoning it in. I would say allow 30-60 minutes.

In the first instance, think continental breakfast (cereal, fruit, coffee, tea, danish). In the second instance, if you order off the room service menu, there's a wider selection, although very few hot breakfast items.

Thanks! I'll be so glad when I've actually cruised -- won't feel so dumb!! And hopefully I'll be a lot more relaxed. Really appreciate the info.

Room service will call you before delivering the meal to make sure you're all dressed or presentable to answer the door[/b].

This also serves as a nice back-up wake up call.

Those were party platter items, not room service food that would be ordered by an individual for his/her self.

????????? Why would there be party platter items on the room service menu?????? I was thinking it was the option of ordering a steak or something similar. Really wish I would have grabbed the menu so I could look at it now.