Room service and to go food

[jakeT]

How about the cake boss bakery. Can you buy cake like , lobster tail, and take it back to your cabin ??? Talk about going bad with heat.

[CavalierX]

In term of the room service charge, given how little NCL passengers pay for a cruise, this fee does not sound unreasonable

 

I ordered a pizza for dinner tonight. The delivery charge was $1. That's a reasonable fee for a guy to get in his car and drive approximately 2.3 miles to my house to deliver my order, then drive another 2.3 miles back to the restaurant. I cannot possibly imagine why I should have to pay EIGHT TIMES that amount for a guy to walk down a hallway and back.

 

Edited May 23, 2015 by CavalierX

[MicheleRos]

I ordered a pizza for dinner tonight. The delivery charge was $1. That's a reasonable fee for a guy to get in his car and drive approximately 2.3 miles to my house to deliver my order, then drive another 2.3 miles back to the restaurant. I cannot possibly imagine why I should have to pay EIGHT TIMES that amount for a guy to walk down a hallway and back.

 

 

That's a great point

[Travelcat2]

So, if NCL charges you $14.25 for a pizza and no service charge, you will be happy?

[emdia43]

So - what happens when you call room service and they tell you it will take at least an hour

and a half to get your food? Are they going to increase staff and delivery personnel?

[AceDoc]

So, if NCL charges you $14.25 for a pizza and no service charge, you will be happy?

 

If they were an "a la carte" ship, then yes. Especially if it was good pizza.

 

But, see, the passenger is already paying for the food. The $7.95 is a delivery fee, and that it is what is being compared.

 

I hope that clarifies any possible confusion.

 

Cheers

[Travelcat2]

If they were an "a la carte" ship, then yes. Especially if it was good pizza.

 

But, see, the passenger is already paying for the food. The $7.95 is a delivery fee, and that it is what is being compared.

 

I hope that clarifies any possible confusion.

 

Cheers

 

Agree -- passengers that book NCL are paying for food. However, what the passengers are paying for does not include alcohol or specialty restaurants. Passengers are also not paying for tips in their cruise fare. While this does make them an "a la carte" ship, it also does not make them an all-inclusive ship. If a passenger does not want to pay the $7.95 "delivery fee", they never have to pay it if they do not order room service. By not ordering room service, not going to specialty restaurants or having alcohol, passengers are getting an amazing cruise for a very reasonable cost.

 

I also wonder why some passengers assume that food costs have not gone up? And, does anyone have information as to whether there has been an increase in crew wages (keeping in mind that most crew members are not NCL employees)? When prices go up, you have a choice as to whether to continue to purchase the item (in this case a cruise). My $2.99/loaf bread has gone up to $5.49/loaf in a fairly short period of time. If you take that loaf of bread and multiply it by the number of loaves consumed in a day by NCL passengers on all of the ships, this is a considerable amount of money (even if the loaf of bread only went up by $1.00/loaf). Unless costs start going down for food and salaries, the only thing that will continue to happen on cruise lines is for prices to go up. I would rather see them go up by charging for something that is not a "need" but a "desire".

[MicheleRos]

So, if NCL charges you $14.25 for a pizza and no service charge, you will be happy?

 

The price of the food is included on a cruise unless it's a specialty restaurant which the room service items are clearly not. It is a service charge for the delivery as the poster stated you're incorrect with your statement

[mking8288]

Hmmm ... $14.25 for a warm 10" pizza (about the size of Pizza Hut personal pan pizza) on a cruise is obviously a bargain with NCL stakeholders, delivered exclusively to one's stateroom - and, would that incur a 18% autogratuity, plus local sales tax or VAT depending on whether the ship is at sea or in a port. I supposed that by cutting it down from a 16" size that they're charging only $5 for delivery, we should all be grateful and doing our "kowtow" to his regime for the innovation to move upscale. What logic - there is ?? and oh, nevermind, there isn't any at all.

 

Hurry & line up to place the order and pay, just sign the payment slip and leave the amount blank, they will take care of filling out the total amount. There is a rumor that all of the final prices for F&B will be indexed to the market daily float rates and since there is now a bird flu crisis, a breakfast surcharge will be collected to recover the higher costs for eggs & poultry ... it's all in the cruise contract, or so they say.

 

It is a business. Yeah !

Edited May 23, 2015 by mking8288

[AceDoc]

Agree -- passengers that book NCL are paying for food. However, what the passengers are paying for does not include alcohol or specialty restaurants. Passengers are also not paying for tips in their cruise fare. While this does make them an "a la carte" ship, it also does not make them an all-inclusive ship. If a passenger does not want to pay the $7.95 "delivery fee", they never have to pay it if they do not order room service. By not ordering room service, not going to specialty restaurants or having alcohol, passengers are getting an amazing cruise for a very reasonable cost.

 

I also wonder why some passengers assume that food costs have not gone up? And, does anyone have information as to whether there has been an increase in crew wages (keeping in mind that most crew members are not NCL employees)? When prices go up, you have a choice as to whether to continue to purchase the item (in this case a cruise). My $2.99/loaf bread has gone up to $5.49/loaf in a fairly short period of time. If you take that loaf of bread and multiply it by the number of loaves consumed in a day by NCL passengers on all of the ships, this is a considerable amount of money (even if the loaf of bread only went up by $1.00/loaf). Unless costs start going down for food and salaries, the only thing that will continue to happen on cruise lines is for prices to go up. I would rather see them go up by charging for something that is not a "need" but a "desire".

 

I have no problem for what the cruise line wishes to charge for any "optional" product. Drinks can be $30 each, and room service can be $75 per usage; people just won't order them. Public toilets, pools, and all shows can also start having admission prices-- NCL may do as it pleases!

 

It is the possible fallout of such actions that concerns me.

 

I do have concerns that the quality of the product will be significantly negatively impacted by not allowing passengers the ability to have preferred food items in their cabin. You have probably read many of these reasons that passengers wish (or need) to be able to have specific food in their cabin, and that previous freedom is gone. Someone who likes to bring crepes to his wife, or hot wings to her husband so they can enjoy a snack, a meal, or whatever on their balcony should be heard (by those who may not choose to do so) because they are the paying passengers of today and tomorrow. Same goes for those who may become sick, or otherwise unable to leave their room. Their voice and their wallets will affect NCL cruises and (eventually) the stockholders.

 

This is, of course, just speculation-- but I feel it is viable concern. None of this will not be on my worry list while I'm on the Epic, because I will be on the Epic! It will, however, likely affect my choice of cruise lines going forward.

 

Thanks for replying, travelcat! Hope you have a great evening.

 

Cheers

Edited May 23, 2015 by AceDoc

[Kaboochi]

Just off of NCL Star and rest assured you can take food back to your cabin. We brought our main dining room dessert back. The waiter wrapped the plate in plastic and off we went. If you go to the buffet you can bring your plate back to your room. We ate at Cagney's and the waiter wrapped up the filet for me to bring back to the room. Yes, there is a service charge for room service. But, there is a TONof food on the ship that you can bring back to your room. I don't think anyone that is Savey will starve! Happy cruising

[Meredithe]

We are just off the Sun, 10 day in Alaska (end 5/18) and had no issues with bringing food anywhere we wanted to take it. Also, the new Room Service menu had not been rolled out.

[Katesowner]

Just off of NCL Star and rest assured you can take food back to your cabin. We brought our main dining room dessert back. The waiter wrapped the plate in plastic and off we went. If you go to the buffet you can bring your plate back to your room. We ate at Cagney's and the waiter wrapped up the filet for me to bring back to the room. Yes, there is a service charge for room service. But, there is a TONof food on the ship that you can bring back to your room. I don't think anyone that is Savey will starve! Happy cruising

 

We are on the Star next month. Thanks for sharing.

 

In the last month or so, we've received at least a dozen emails from NCL regarding shore excursions, future cruises, etc. If NCL wants to let everyone who's made a cruise deposit know when it is making changes, those emails prove it obviously has the ability to do so (just as it did with the raise in DSC); for whatever reason, NCL has chosen not to inform.

 

I think most of us can agree that NCL's customer service needs improvement.

[knight2096]

To answer your questions, No, I would not pay $7.95 for take-out. I have issues with both the $7.95 service charge as well as the fact that I can't get food to go. When I booked this cruise, both were available, and free of charge. I paid extra for a balcony cabin with the express purpose of enjoying breakfast and coffee there in the morning, and perhaps a late-night snack or dessert at night. We've always considered room service to be a luxury at hotels, and we were looking forward to having that available free of charge on the cruise. I'm not sure a cooked breakfast would still be hot by the time we got it, but if it was that would have been preferable to a cold continental breakfast. Most are reporting they aren't being prevented from taking food from the buffet, so that's what I'll do for breakfast. It's still not the same as having it delivered, but delivery is not worth $7.95 to me. As to take-out, I was looking forward to getting take-out from O'Sheehans late at night. I'd much rather get a beer and to-go order of wings or a burger at midnight to take back to my cabin than have to sit there and eat it. At that time of night, my wife probably wouldn't want anything, but I might, and I'm not about to ask her to sit and wait for me to eat it in the restaurant, nor am I going to sit there and eat by myself when I could be doing so on my balcony. I expect to get take-out on board the same as I do at home, for those times I want something to eat, but would rather not eat at the restaurant. I don't get why it's so hard for NCL to understand that customers would like the same option while on board. In addition, we plan to eat at some of the specialty restaurants. When we go out to eat at home, we're normally too full after appetizers and main course to eat dessert, so we'll have it packaged to go, then enjoy it later once our dinner has digested a little. I would have liked to do the same on the cruise. I have heard some say you can still get dessert to go, but it has to be delivered by room service, and when they do that, they don't charge for it. So, we're hoping the take-out restrictions at least are limited to full meals, and won't affect ability to have desserts sent to our room. Still doesn't allow me to have those wings-to-go though. In short, I'm bothered by both the RS charge and new take-out restrictions, as are I believe are the majority of those posting on here.

 

Well said, it takes away what a lot of people enjoy. Stupid move by NCL.

[CavalierX]

I also wonder why some passengers assume that food costs have not gone up?

 

And I wonder why you think a delivery charge has anything to do with food costs. A passenger who orders room service is not eating food he already paid for in the MDR (or the buffet, or O'Sheehan's, etc) as part of his fare.

Edited May 23, 2015 by CavalierX

[sparks1093]

So, if NCL charges you $14.25 for a pizza and no service charge, you will be happy?

 

Again missing the point of the big picture.

 

Agree -- passengers that book NCL are paying for food. However, what the passengers are paying for does not include alcohol or specialty restaurants. Passengers are also not paying for tips in their cruise fare. While this does make them an "a la carte" ship, it also does not make them an all-inclusive ship. If a passenger does not want to pay the $7.95 "delivery fee", they never have to pay it if they do not order room service. By not ordering room service, not going to specialty restaurants or having alcohol, passengers are getting an amazing cruise for a very reasonable cost.

 

I also wonder why some passengers assume that food costs have not gone up? And, does anyone have information as to whether there has been an increase in crew wages (keeping in mind that most crew members are not NCL employees)? When prices go up, you have a choice as to whether to continue to purchase the item (in this case a cruise). My $2.99/loaf bread has gone up to $5.49/loaf in a fairly short period of time. If you take that loaf of bread and multiply it by the number of loaves consumed in a day by NCL passengers on all of the ships, this is a considerable amount of money (even if the loaf of bread only went up by $1.00/loaf). Unless costs start going down for food and salaries, the only thing that will continue to happen on cruise lines is for prices to go up. I would rather see them go up by charging for something that is not a "need" but a "desire".

 

Food costs do go up and wages go up, yes, we get that too. (NCL ships make their own bread, at least that is what they told us in the Q&A session on the Gem.) And if a crew member is not an NCL employee then NCL need not worry about their wages going up since their employer would need to worry about that. And if they are a crew member their wages are probably covered by the service charge which did just go up or the tips for bar drinks which just did go up. And none of this affects the cost of providing room service. So the passengers who do order room service are the ones that have to pay for the cost increases for the majority of passengers?

 

Even if the increases were that substantial if the increase affect every passenger than every passenger should share in the cost, not just a few. I know that you have a high opinion of Del Rio but please, stop trying to jump through hoops to justify what was done, it doesn't work. Del Rio saw a way to cash in on something without a commensurate increase in expense and when it became obvious that people would avoid the new charge by bringing food back to their cabin they changed the policy. It really is as simple as that- not driven by concern for health and safety, not driven by increased cost, not driven by any factor other than Del Rio wanting to get $4 to $5 more per passenger per day.

[42CruiseCrazy]

I'm sure there are people on this thread who COULD cancel their cruise because of this RS/CarryOut policy because they are before the final payment date. Has anybody done so?

 

 

 

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[sparks1093]

I'm sure there are people on this thread who COULD cancel their cruise because of this RS/CarryOut policy because they are before the final payment date. Has anybody done so?

 

 

 

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I have read the posts of many that have either canceled their cruise (in one case multiple cruises) and many that were contemplating booking with NCL that decided not to. Of course NCL will probably be able to replace those customers with those that don't know about the changes or don't care about the changes.

[sparks1093]

Lunch box, paper plates, Tupperware. Bring whatever you want -- this rule cannot be enforced.

 

 

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That the rule cannot or will not be enforced is not the issue, the issue is that NCL is trying to control what we do in an unreasonable way- I have stayed in hundreds of hotels and not one of them tried to tell me that I could not bring food back to my room whether I got it at the hotel restaurant or from the McDonalds across the street (or even *gasp* Dominoes delivery right to my room;)). I for one would follow the rule (provided of course that it was actually published in some fashion onboard, I wouldn't rely on what I've read here on CC) and many others would follow it also.

[42CruiseCrazy]

That the rule cannot or will not be enforced is not the issue, the issue is that NCL is trying to control what we do in an unreasonable way- I have stayed in hundreds of hotels and not one of them tried to tell me that I could not bring food back to my room whether I got it at the hotel restaurant or from the McDonalds across the street (or even *gasp* Dominoes delivery right to my room;)). I for one would follow the rule (provided of course that it was actually published in some fashion onboard, I wouldn't rely on what I've read here on CC) and many others would follow it also.

 

 

I must say that you were right. This rule is not reasonable and cannot and should not be enforced. If only people would show the courtesy of keeping their dirty dishes in the room for the room steward to pick up instead of leaving them in the hallway, there'd be no problem.

 

 

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[punkincc]

If a passenger does not want to pay the $7.95 "delivery fee", they never have to pay it if they do not order room service. By not ordering room service, not going to specialty restaurants or having alcohol, passengers are getting an amazing cruise for a very reasonable cost.

 

I also wonder why some passengers assume that food costs have not gone up? And, does anyone have information as to whether there has been an increase in crew wages (keeping in mind that most crew members are not NCL employees)? When prices go up, you have a choice as to whether to continue to purchase the item (in this case a cruise). Unless costs start going down for food and salaries, the only thing that will continue to happen on cruise lines is for prices to go up. I would rather see them go up by charging for something that is not a "need" but a "desire".

 

 

I agree that a cruise is usually a good deal. It covers your "room and board", with the "board" being all you can eat. So the basic food is already covered in our cruise fare. When someone orders room service, they simply siphon off a portion of the food from the MDR kitchen which you have already paid for, and send it off an a tray. So the only extra cost to NCL, maybe, would be for the staff delivery. Presumably, NCL takes a portion of our cruise fares to cover the base wages, and we pay the incentive portions with our daily service charge. So, hasn't the staff person already been paid with our cruise fare and DSC? Does it cost NCL more to pay someone to walk the tray to my cabin than it does for someone to walk it to my table? It does not even require they be trained as a waiter. Presumably, someone who wanted to "moonlight" from his regular laundry job could pick up some extra $$ in tips by volunteering for this, as has been reported. Of course those tips will now be greatly decreased, because who will tip the waiter on top of the $7.95 fee? And, if it is the matter of a tip, does anyone believe this staff person sees any portion of that $7.95? So your theory that this is to recover the "cost" for food and staff just does not hold water. We have already paid that in our cruise fare, so why should someone who orders room service have to pay for food and service again, anymore than they should be charged $7.95 to eat in the MDR?

 

I have no problem paying for the "extras" above "room and board" that I want. Although it is my belief that the RS fee is just a convenient item to attach a fee to and is a "money grab" which is in no way tied to the cost of food or wages, I could have lived with it if they had just left it at that. I would just not order RS, just as I can pass on paying extra for the Spa or a Specialty restaurant. But, when they try to coerce me to pay the fee by trying to restrict me from taking the food ( I have already paid for ) from elsewhere to enjoy in my cabin, then I have a huge problem with that. And then compound it by telling us with straight faces that it is for health and safety. NCL has "jumped the shark". It is a deal breaker for me. I do not like being manipulated. I do not like that fact that I must be a "rule breaker" to carry a dessert out of Cagneys or the buffet.

 

If associated costs for food and wages have gone up, then I would expect to see that reflected in the base cruise fares and in increase in the daily services charges. It seems to me they have already increased both. If those steaks cost more at Cagneys, then increase the cover charges. They recently did that and now added an 18% gratuity. They have increased drink prices and drink gratuities and excursion prices. It seems to me NCL has pretty much covered their expenses.

[sparks1093]

I must say that you were right. This rule is not reasonable and cannot and should not be enforced. If only people would show the courtesy of keeping their dirty dishes in the room for the room steward to pick up instead of leaving them in the hallway, there'd be no problem.

 

 

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As I recall we did order room service on the Gem late one night. We left the tray in the cabin for the steward. The next morning we left to do something and when we came back the tray was in the hallway and the cabin was made up. Go figure:rolleyes:.

 

In any event if this were truly an issue asking the passengers to leave trays/dishes in the cabin is the way to solve it.

[mking8288]

I must say that you were right. This rule is not reasonable and cannot and should not be enforced. If only people would show the courtesy of keeping their dirty dishes in the room for the room steward to pick up instead of leaving them in the hallway, there'd be no problem.

That's really not the problem as majority of CC'ers know - among the core issues, poor and non-existent - and selective - communications to/with the customers. :mad:

 

Here is one simple nickel & dime solution (click here to see) - if others can do it, why can't NCL do it, not innovative enough :D

 

Papa John Pizzas add a $2 delivery charge and even the Hilton Hotel we are staying at this weekend charged only $3.95 for room service delivery - on a stainless steel cart that fold out as a table, with white tablecloth for dining, a wide mouth toaster too - for the breakfast bagel with cream cheese.

 

If NCL wanted to take a different route, follow steps taken by McDonalds & Burger Kings, use disposable paper trays for room service (and, it can be recycled) and less items to wash & clean in the gallery - plastic knives, forks & spoons, etc. sure, why not ... just like the airlines, won't be - however - an upscale experience. For those in Haven & Suites, you have nothing to worry about - you go ahead & take care of your butlers and they will take good care of you, it's all included in the fares you paid - if the Haven lounge is dirty, you just go tell the concierge or room steward to fix it by calling them on the exclusive cordless phone ... happy ending for everyone.

 

Let me go back to finishing my morning coffee - no balcony - just a great view overlooking a nice lake, and CNN is on with the weekend news and to read the "free" morning newspaper. Oversized studio, not a suite but we get 450 sq. ft. of space - pretty good, huh. All of the services are really, actually, believe it for not, part of the what we're already paid for and included - WiFi is free/unlimited & 2 "comp'd" bottles of water, a welcome "sweets" upon check-in, etc. No towel animals, however - you can't have it all. :D

Edited May 23, 2015 by mking8288

[42CruiseCrazy]

You're really going to keep on pretending that that's what this whole thing is all about, aren't you? Despite the fact that most of the dishes in the passageways are ON ROOM SERVICE TRAYS. And despite the fact that even if it really were about clutter in the passageways, the correct solution is to have the trays picked up more often by the staff, not to place restrictions and charges on the guests.

 

 

Let me be clear about this point, Cavalier. It does not matter whether the dirty dishes are from room service or from carry out from the buffet, dirty dishes in the hallway are not nice to look at and create a barrier for people in wheelchairs and scooters. The discourtesy of doing so does not justify NCL disallowing CarryOut food. We all know why they did that.

 

 

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[CavalierX]

Let me be clear about this point, Cavalier. It does not matter whether the dirty dishes are from room service or from carry out from the buffet, dirty dishes in the hallway are not nice to look at and create a barrier for people in wheelchairs and scooters. The discourtesy of doing so does not justify NCL disallowing CarryOut food. We all know why they did that.

 

As I've said before, your true issue is with NCL not telling their staff to clean the passageways of trays and dishes more frequently, or with the staff not giving clear instructions to guests to leave the trays in their cabins for pickup -- if that's what the official policy is. No one seems to have ever heard a clear policy directive on this. I sympathise, but I myself have been asked to do both during the same cruise. I did as asked both times. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Charging passengers for room service won't fix that; it will only annoy guests and cause resentment against NCL. And prohibiting take-away food is just a pitifully transparent ploy to drive up the use of room service... which still won't solve the problem of cluttered passageways. In fact, I predict it will make things even worse, as people will order much more food than they normally would if they know they have to pay $7.95 to have it delivered.

Kind of funny though... NCL claiming there is a serious problem with dirty, food-covered dishes in the passageways to justify driving more people to use room service, which in turn leads to an actual problem with dirty, food-covered dishes in the passageways. A real self-fulfilling prophecy.

Edited May 23, 2015 by CavalierX