Food in Cabin Ban Reversed by NCL

[bangzoom6877]

I think that the problem is no clear direction from NCL as to what to do with the plates after you are done. If NCL would just notify people when they board about what to do with used plates/cutlery and glasses, then I think the problem would be resolved. I can think of several reasonable options:

 

Leave them in your cabin for the cabin steward to pick up.

Phone room service for free pickup.

Have the halls walked frequently for pickup.

 

To me this should be a fairly simple problem to resolve.

 

I think all 3 of those options are very reasonable. The first two should be posted somewhere in the cabin when people first board the ship. And have crew members check the hallways frequently enough in case passengers do not adhere to it. Dirty dishes problem solved!

[mitsugirly]

I just read this online a little bit ago and then seen it on here. I hope they have the story right because otherwise, there could be a lot of angry people. LOL

 

 

I personally do not bring food back to my cabin...now that my youngest daughter that cruises with us has now turned 7. However, I can truly sympathize with other parents out there needing to do this for sanity sake because it's so much easier to bring the little ones food back to the room and eat in peace. We did it when our daughter was 3 and worked out great (not only for us but for others at the dining room that wouldn't have liked it too well).

 

I do realize there are a lot of people that like to eat on their balcony, snack and for whatever reason, I'm happy they reversed this.

 

NOW ONTO MY QUESTION....

 

I have only brought back food to my room twice since my "munchkin" has grown out of her "3 year old stage" and learned manners. We picked our little one up at the kids club for dinner and went to Blue Lagoon and she was so tired she fell asleep at the table. So we brought our food back with us to eat and one other time, similar situation. My question is what is the RIGHT thing to do when you are done with the plates? Since there seems to be an uproar about putting them in the hallway...are we to leave them in the room? Because let me tell you, not only our dirty plates with a little bit of food on them were left in our room for 3 DAYS!!! But so have our cups that we may have in our hands after leaving a bar or the casino and they will sit for DAYS in the room until we have to put them out in the hall to even have someone pick them up. So, what's the right thing to do? I mean if I have to walk them back to the buffet next time I go up, I can do that...no biggie. But expect them to not sit around in our room for days. Maybe this is something they should train their staff on and there wouldn't be as many problems? :confused: They should also have a sign or note in the room stating what to do with the dirty dishes and not to leave them in the hall if that's what they are trying to prevent. I don't think I have ever seen anything stating what the rules should be?

[Markanddonna]

I agree that the plates, cups and trays should be kept in the cabin. I don't like seeing the dirty plates in the hallway.

 

I have only seen one person spill something and that was right at the beverage dispenser in the buffet. Interesting that Del Rio witnessed all these clumsy folks spilling their food all over his ship.

[janpo]

I just read this online a little bit ago and then seen it on here. I hope they have the story right because otherwise, there could be a lot of angry people. LOL

 

 

I personally do not bring food back to my cabin...now that my youngest daughter that cruises with us has now turned 7. However, I can truly sympathize with other parents out there needing to do this for sanity sake because it's so much easier to bring the little ones food back to the room and eat in peace. We did it when our daughter was 3 and worked out great (not only for us but for others at the dining room that wouldn't have liked it too well).

 

I do realize there are a lot of people that like to eat on their balcony, snack and for whatever reason, I'm happy they reversed this.

 

NOW ONTO MY QUESTION....

 

I have only brought back food to my room twice since my "munchkin" has grown out of her "3 year old stage" and learned manners. We picked our little one up at the kids club for dinner and went to Blue Lagoon and she was so tired she fell asleep at the table. So we brought our food back with us to eat and one other time, similar situation. My question is what is the RIGHT thing to do when you are done with the plates? Since there seems to be an uproar about putting them in the hallway...are we to leave them in the room? Because let me tell you, not only our dirty plates with a little bit of food on them were left in our room for 3 DAYS!!! But so have our cups that we may have in our hands after leaving a bar or the casino and they will sit for DAYS in the room until we have to put them out in the hall to even have someone pick them up. So, what's the right thing to do? I mean if I have to walk them back to the buffet next time I go up, I can do that...no biggie. But expect them to not sit around in our room for days. Maybe this is something they should train their staff on and there wouldn't be as many problems? :confused: They should also have a sign or note in the room stating what to do with the dirty dishes and not to leave them in the hall if that's what they are trying to prevent. I don't think I have ever seen anything stating what the rules should be?

 

 

We get room service every morning. Coffee , pastries and a fruit plate. We have always left our dishes in the room and they've always been gone by the time the cabin is made up. Maybe we've been lucky?

[swimmingotter]

NCL staff is trained to clean up dirty plates, cups, make beds, clean bathrooms if you let them in to do their job. Three days without a "house call" for cleaning is excessive through. I would have called for cleaning the first day!

[triptolemus]

I don't think I have ever seen anything stating what the rules should be?

 

If NCL is doing it right (I know), you shouldn't hear or see any rule regarding RS dishes. If there are too many trays/dishes in the hallway, than that's NCL's problem, and NCL needs to manage it. If they need to step up staffing to pick up the trays then that's what they need to do.

 

Enough is enough of babying the customer. If someone puts their tray in the hallway, so what... pick it up. No need for a customer-facing policy.

 

R/S trays in hallways -- as has been pointed out many times -- is not unique to ships. Hotels seem to be able to cope with the problem without customer intervention.

Edited May 26, 2015 by triptolemus

[NLH Arizona]

I just read this online a little bit ago and then seen it on here. I hope they have the story right because otherwise, there could be a lot of angry people. LOL

 

 

I personally do not bring food back to my cabin...now that my youngest daughter that cruises with us has now turned 7. However, I can truly sympathize with other parents out there needing to do this for sanity sake because it's so much easier to bring the little ones food back to the room and eat in peace. We did it when our daughter was 3 and worked out great (not only for us but for others at the dining room that wouldn't have liked it too well).

 

I do realize there are a lot of people that like to eat on their balcony, snack and for whatever reason, I'm happy they reversed this.

 

NOW ONTO MY QUESTION....

 

I have only brought back food to my room twice since my "munchkin" has grown out of her "3 year old stage" and learned manners. We picked our little one up at the kids club for dinner and went to Blue Lagoon and she was so tired she fell asleep at the table. So we brought our food back with us to eat and one other time, similar situation. My question is what is the RIGHT thing to do when you are done with the plates? Since there seems to be an uproar about putting them in the hallway...are we to leave them in the room? Because let me tell you, not only our dirty plates with a little bit of food on them were left in our room for 3 DAYS!!! But so have our cups that we may have in our hands after leaving a bar or the casino and they will sit for DAYS in the room until we have to put them out in the hall to even have someone pick them up. So, what's the right thing to do? I mean if I have to walk them back to the buffet next time I go up, I can do that...no biggie. But expect them to not sit around in our room for days. Maybe this is something they should train their staff on and there wouldn't be as many problems? :confused: They should also have a sign or note in the room stating what to do with the dirty dishes and not to leave them in the hall if that's what they are trying to prevent. I don't think I have ever seen anything stating what the rules should be?

I would say, call your Room Steward or room service and ask that they come and pick up the plates and glasses. If you decide to leave the dishes in your cabin..when you leave in the morning, put them in the shower and I bet they will be gone when the Room Steward is through making up your room.

 

There should be a sign on the room service trays that tell the passenger to either leave them in their room or call the Room Steward/room service for pick up and they need a note in the room and in the daillies telling passengers not to put dishes/trays in the hallways.

[cb8]

Personally I do not see an issue. If you take food back to the room then surely you can leave the plates in your room till the next morning or walk along the corridor to the steward area to ditch the plates there. No need to leave the plates at you're backside in the corridor.

[BritChickBN1]

I'm glad that pax who like to bring food back will be able to continue doing so. It is freestyle after all. I still don't like FDR.:rolleyes:

[pfm18]

Don't agree with this at all :(

 

 

Reinstate the ban.

 

Why would you want to eat in your room anyway?

[mking8288]

We stayed at a Hilton hotel property this holiday weekend, and they - like others in the hospitality industry, know how to deal with it - it's called communicating directly with your customers on expectations and what to do.

 

A simple message, pretty easy to do - maybe a door hanger or placard on the small table as a friendly reminder - won't cost more than a nickel or dime.

 

Click here to see what these hotels typically do ... give it a try, NCL, it might actually work.

 

I'm sure some of you have stayed at Vegas properties with 2,000+ rooms in multiple buildings and floors and somehow, between their housekeeping and F&B, they managed very well and effectively without tripping accidents and legal claims.

[weltek]

Bravo! It wasn't a huge deal for me, but I understand why it WAS for many others.

 

I think trays in the hallway is a big issue for people with walkers. I've seen more than one person struggle navigating the particularly tiny hallways on the newer ships. And I can see why some people assume it's just fine to set a tray outside---it's what you do at a hotel.

 

So yes, I think NCL just needs to give clear directions to the passenger, as another poster said. Leave dishes in your room for the morning or evening steward "rounds", or call for pickup. That would probably cut down on the majority (some will never follow those policies because they feel entitled to do whatever they want). Easy peasy.

[mitsugirly]

We get room service every morning. Coffee , pastries and a fruit plate. We have always left our dishes in the room and they've always been gone by the time the cabin is made up. Maybe we've been lucky?

 

Or I have just been unlucky. LOL :p

 

NCL staff is trained to clean up dirty plates, cups, make beds, clean bathrooms if you let them in to do their job. Three days without a "house call" for cleaning is excessive through. I would have called for cleaning the first day!

 

They cleaned the entire room each time, replaced towels and everything...just never would touch the dishes. To this date, they still don't remove all the cups we bring back (as you can see from my signature line, I have been on quite a bit of the fleet so far). :confused:

[sixesandeights]

I was told on my last cruise to put RS tray in the hall after we were done. While we thought this odd we did as requested. The trays were always picked up in a reasonable amount of time. I would be fine keeping them in the room as well, just need NCL to be clear on what they want done.

 

6&8

[mitsugirly]

I would say, call your Room Steward or room service and ask that they come and pick up the plates and glasses. If you decide to leave the dishes in your cabin..when you leave in the morning, put them in the shower and I bet they will be gone when the Room Steward is through making up your room.

 

There should be a sign on the room service trays that tell the passenger to either leave them in their room or call the Room Steward/room service for pick up and they need a note in the room and in the daillies telling passengers not to put dishes/trays in the hallways.

 

I like the shower idea. That's sure to get attention! :) I just hate calling for anything because the couple of times I have ever called for something, usually the manager comes to the door and I feel like I just got someone in trouble. I hate that. It's not my intentions to get anyone in trouble. I know they work hard and mistakes happen. Then when I see the room steward again, they'll mention it and apologize...which means something was said to them. I almost feel embarrassed to face them after that. :o

[kba1988]

[quote name='martinchem']Glad to hear they will "patrol" the hallways.[/QUOTE]

Staff members patroling the hallways more frequently should have been the FIRST solution - not taking away freedoms & choices from the customer...smh Edited May 26, 2015 by kba1988

[Regguy]

Wow -- sorry, RCI, looks like I won't be cruising you to the Adriatic after all, and Jade here we come!

It's actually a good lesson for me -- unless you have to get your deposit back, there's really no reason to cancel a cruise until you have to do so, just in case. I gave some thought to going ahead and just cancelling, but I'm really glad I didn't!

I suspect that this was, from the beginning and again at the end, solely an economic decision by NCL. I'm really happy that we were able to let them know how strongly we all feel. I get that for many people, bringing something from the buffet down to one's balcony seems trivial, but for those of us who do care it really is a big issue and I'm glad NCL understands (or was made to understand) that. Some people like shuffleboard, some people like bingo, some people like art auctions, some people like a snack. I don't really understand why it ever got to be such a divisive issue.

[kba1988]

[quote name='SuiteTraveler']I think that the problem is no clear direction from NCL as to what to do with the plates after you are done. If NCL would just notify people when they board about what to do with used plates/cutlery and glasses, then I think the problem would be resolved. I can think of several reasonable options:

Leave them in your cabin for the cabin steward to pick up.
Phone room service for free pickup.
Have the halls walked frequently for pickup.

To me this should be a fairly simple problem to resolve.[/QUOTE]

^^^^
THIS!! two thumbs up!

[Stillfloatin']

Thank you, NCL, for listening to your customers. There will always be issues where people are sharply divided in their opinions, but this one had an obvious majority who were very unhappy. Kudos for reversing an ill-conceived policy!

[twokids0204]

I have yet to cruise NCL, I will be in August.

I have cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
On those ships I can't recall even being in the hallway where a room steward of attendant was not present. They seem to always be there... So if you see a tray in the hall, remove it (or as others have mentioned, communicate the proper procedure to the guest).

[TheManitoban]

Two thumbs up to the people who made the effort to have this reversed. I dont have a dog in the fight, but good for you all!

As for dishes in hallways, I saw it somewhat on the Dawn last september. I didnt do it at all. I didnt eat much in my room but we had a few plates and drink cans. Left them on the table in the room and our steward took them every single day. No biggie. That should be the policy.

[SAILPRO]

[quote name='kba1988']Staff members patroling the hallways more frequently should have been the FIRST solution - not taking away freedoms & choices from the customer...smh[/quote]

Agreed 100%.
And they've an MBA on what? :D

[ColinIllinois]

[quote name='pfm18']Don't agree with this at all :(


Reinstate the ban.

Why would you want to eat in your room anyway?[/quote]


I like to eat in my room while I'm relaxing and playing on my laptop. Usually reading dumb questions on Cruise Critic.

[pfm18]

[quote name='Regguy']Wow -- sorry, RCI, looks like I won't be cruising you to the Adriatic after all, and Jade here we come!

It's actually a good lesson for me -- unless you have to get your deposit back, there's really no reason to cancel a cruise until you have to do so, just in case. I gave some thought to going ahead and just cancelling, but I'm really glad I didn't! .[/QUOTE]


You surely weren't actually going to cancel a cruise over this? Surely not.

:eek:

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='ColinIllinois']I like to eat in my room while I'm relaxing and playing on my laptop. Usually reading dumb questions on Cruise Critic.[/QUOTE]I truly hope we are on a cruise together, I would love to see the person behind this sense of humor.