Food service issues on the Empress

[jonbgd]

Sounds like the ship is ready to go to Cuba:eek:

[Merion_Mom]

If possible, please take pictures of all of the menus, and post them. We would like to compare them to the "normal" menus on the other ships.

 

Thank you.

[Merion_Mom]

My wife and I are also on the May 28th sailing and noticed the dinner service was really slow.

I am sailing with low or no expectations, luckily our room was fine 7664 but our table mates told us of their rooms having no A/C.

We noticed the A/C was not sufficient in some of the public areas such as the casino, the stairwell on the back of the ship, and one of the elevators did not work.

We were late leaving Miami on Saturday due to the excessive time in trying to load all the food into the ship.

My other comment was that my Ultimate Package on Empress only allowed me to purchase a glass of wine up to $12 but I swear it was up to $14 when I was on Anthem last December..Does anyone know if this is true with their UP package on Empress?

 

Hoping tomorrow's tendering exercise to Grand Cayman goes fairly well

 

I think that the prices are higher on Anthem, so the limit amount is higher, too.

 

:eek:

[Merion_Mom]

BTW, does anyone know why we have to pay an extra $29.95, an extra $16.95 for filet mignon and $34.95 for Surf and Turf at Starlight? I had lobster tails as part of the dinner on Anthem last December.

 

You had the lobster tail in the Grande on the Anthem.

 

Only cruises of five or more nights offer lobster in the main dining room.

 

On all non-Quantum class ships, this is offered:

 

[cruzsnooze]

The good news: a refrigerator (for insulin storage) was delivered during the evening, just thirty hours after our first request. It was accompanied by three chocolate strawberries.

 

.

 

I'm laughing at what they think is appropriate for a diabetic.

[jmf123]

We are happy to be on the ship and enjoying ourselves, but...

 

Where is the food? >snip< The problems seem to be related to the amount of food and the time it takes to get it out of the galley. We are beginning to think this might be the first cruise we actually lose weight because of the difficulty of getting fed.

 

Very sorry to read of the food issues. My brother, his wife, and their two kids went on their first cruise (many years ago) on the Sovereign. I'll never forget being so shocked when they told me about the meager offerings of food on board, I truly found it hard to believe! I hope things improve on the Empress soon.

[ctsharpie05]

We are in Empress as well and having the same issues. We wait in line for over 30min to find no food in the containers. Main dining was also horribly slow. For children they only had pizza and wings. No hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken tenders available. Actually no chicken tenders available at all on the ship. I asked for a piece of grilled chicken for my son and they can't do it. Room service didn't have any food available for free, only hamburgers for $5. This was at 9pm. They keep saying things weren't delivered to the ship. The staff is very nice but don't know what to do.

The ship is also very hot. The air conditioning in our room wasn't working well and after asking from 11am for someone to come fix it we finally got someone to our room at 1:30am that was after about 20 phone calls and also going to guest services.

At this time I would not recommend Empress of the seas.

 

 

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I thought kids were allowed to order off of the adult menu?!?!?!?

 

 

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[xxHadleyxx]

My other comment was that my Ultimate Package on Empress only allowed me to purchase a glass of wine up to $12 but I swear it was up to $14 when I was on Anthem last December..Does anyone know if this is true with their UP package on Empress?

 

Hoping tomorrow's tendering exercise to Grand Cayman goes fairly well

Was your Anthem sailing in Europe by chance?

 

We've always been told it is 14$ on sailings here as VAT tax is added to the menu price, but $12 on US sailings.

That said---we were on Serenade a couple of weeks ago and several of the wines that have always been priced to be included on the package have gone up and no longer are included (Conundrum being his favourite of the ones now priced out).

You can pay the difference--but he was a bit miffed; he didn't spend the $55 a day to have to spend another 10-15 a day on getting a wine he likes (he manged and it was not a huge issue, but it is something that makes the package less atractive to him going forward).

[Citymom92]

I have never cruised. June 11th is our first time and I am already over it.

 

ctsharpie we are just like you. Never cruised, taking our three kids (older teens) on the Empress July 18. We were scrambling to find a date that would work with everyone's schedules and the five days seemed better, so we picked Empress over Enchantment. It was right before the first round cancellations.

 

Now I am feeling like we have booked a ship not only with kinks to work out, but also a ship that does not adhere to the standards on other ships AT ALL. Nothing to eat between 9-11pm? Very limited room service menu? upcharges for burgers and wings? I want to believe they can fix the A/C issues and at least get more food on the ship before we all board, but I'm kind of over it too.

 

Time to start dialing back expectations I guess. I hope reports start getting better. Fingers crossed for you guys since you are going to be out on her very soon! Keep us posted.

[LMaxwell]

I thought kids were allowed to order off of the adult menu?!?!?!?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Kids can order off the adult menu.

 

The poster was just saying that of the kids menu offerings only some were available.

[Destaw71835]

I am hoping that these are just kinks that need to be worked out.

 

Why wouldn't RCI load enough food for a sailing??

[caribbean sailor]

Party ship needs food available late night. I think they will get that sorted out.

 

MDR service being spotty and not all food available, I think they will get that sorted out too.

 

Small WJ; can't fix that. Maybe they should have added a pool side grill for burgers, dogs, chicken sandwiches, etc.

 

Price creep RS menu is a big thumbs down.

 

Did any marketers bother to go on competing ships to benchmark them?

 

I'd say it is 50:50 right now; 50% teething issues and 50% poor planning. Both can be mostly resolved in short order if management wants to.

 

Their goal is to cut service and raise the the prices,to pay for all the the new ships.And this will continue as long as we keep filling their ships.We are looking into other cruise lines.Have a great next cruise,on another cruise line.:mad:

[LMaxwell]

I am hoping that these are just kinks that need to be worked out.

 

Why wouldn't RCI load enough food for a sailing??

 

I think the MDR service is a kink that can be fixed. I think RS responsiveness is a kink that can be fixed. I think no food available from 9-11 is a kink that can be fixed. Especially a party ship will have people wanting food from 1am-4am, I think that will be fixed also.

 

I don't think the RS menu is a kink that can be fixed, they are going to charge, period.

 

I don't think WJ size can be fixed, is what it is.

 

As for not loading enough food; who knows? They have enough historical data from other ships to know how much they need, and the ship was in port long enough that vendors could get supplies there. Sounds like a logistical issue though, so also would put it down as can get fixed.

 

Part of the reason I avoid early sailings. Won't pay to be a guinea pig. But since most of the issues are service and logistics related and not infrastructure they can probably be resolved quickly. Procurement and management doesn't tend to let stuff like this drag on.

[jsausley]

I am hoping that these are just kinks that need to be worked out.

 

Why wouldn't RCI load enough food for a sailing??

 

It's not the amount of the food that is the problem, it's the speed at which it is delivered to your table.

[LMaxwell]

Their goal is to cut service and raise the the prices,to pay for all the the new ships.And this will continue as long as we keep filling their ships.We are looking into other cruise lines.Have a great next cruise,on another cruise line.:mad:

 

 

I had looked forward to trying this ship but they haven't released late summer/fall itineraries, so at this point I'm likely a sideliner until at least spring 2017. I've booked my fall 2016 trip already elsewhere.

 

I was very torn between booking new MSC Seaside for 2018 or RCI for 2018. Went with RCI for itinerary, at a significantly higher cost, but have to admit I am nervous about what will change between today and then in terms of service and amenities I get for my money.

[Babb9995]

As a Diamond member I have experienced all of the same issues this week on Empress (WJ, MDR, air condition, etc) In addition to these comments they not having nightly Diamond event as they have on other ships. Only benefits are 3 loaded items. We booked JS (midship) on the 9th floor which makes the it convenient to get around however the noise from pool deck on 10 makes me wish we booked further back on this deck.

[LMaxwell]

Because people will pay it.

 

There are photos on Instagram showing the standard MDR lobster tail from the shakedown cruise (not the larger for pay lobster). So that would seem to indicate the included lobster tails are available on this ship. Maybe that was just for the shakedown??

[caribbean sailor]

Because people will pay it.

 

You are correct royal can do any thing they want to it's customers,charge any price.And they still sail full.So why should Zane respect us. :p :eek:

[William W]

I was very torn between booking new MSC Seaside for 2018 or RCI for 2018. Went with RCI for itinerary, at a significantly higher cost, but have to admit I am nervous about what will change between today and then in terms of service and amenities I get for my money.

 

I had to make the same decision for March break 2018, but I end up choosing Seaside. After all, Seaside is less money, a brand new ship, and they haven't even reveal all the features that will be on the ship. And I figure by 2018, base on current trends, the gap between Royal and MSC would have narrow to approximately the same. Royal's services and included experience will go down while MSC will stay the same or goes up for their North American product.

Edited May 30, 2016 by William W

[LMaxwell]

I had to make the same decision for March break 2018, but I end up choosing Seaside. After all, Seaside is less money, a brand new ship, and they haven't even reveal all the features that will be on the ship. And I figure by 2018, base on current trends, the gap between Royal and MSC would have narrow to approximately the same. Royal's services and included experience will go down while MSC will stay the same or goes up for their North American product.

 

Having recently experienced MSC's product I feel it is very much like how RCI used to be before they started cutting services in lieu of gimmicks. No issues with how MSC runs their show.

 

If it came down to RCI versus MSC for similar itineraries I'd probably go MSC. I just wanted to do Southern Caribbean and MSC doesn't do that.

[loubetti]

Remember, this is most likely a short-term break-in period for Empress, until July or so, when she then goes on to support the Communist Castro brothers.

[LMaxwell]

As a Diamond member I have experienced all of the same issues this week on Empress (WJ, MDR, air condition, etc) In addition to these comments they not having nightly Diamond event as they have on other ships. Only benefits are 3 loaded items. We booked JS (midship) on the 9th floor which makes the it convenient to get around however the noise from pool deck on 10 makes me wish we booked further back on this deck.

 

from the RCI website

 

 

Q: What is the Nightly Diamond VIP Event for Diamond members for ships without a Diamond Lounge?

 

A: Exclusive Nightly Diamond VIP Event will take place from approximately 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm (may vary by ship and itinerary) in a bar or lounge on every ship. This event will be announced by your Loyalty Ambassador onboard in the Welcome letter to be placed in your stateroom on the first day of your cruise vacation. We will offer complimentary wine, champagne (sparkling wine) and soda fountain drinks and a 'happy hour' discount of 25 percent off beer and liquor. There is a limit of one drink per member to be served at one time.

 

We now offer either the Diamond Lounge or a Diamond Event on every ship in our fleet.

 

Bolding emphasis mine; but words are RCI's.

[Lionesss]

This is sad about the food snafu......

 

But tell me, are the drinks (alcoholic) plentiful????

 

 

Or is this issue slim pickens also.

 

Hope it gets better for those sailing.

 

 

Good luck

[CruiseTobey]

This is sad about the food snafu......

 

But tell me, are the drinks (alcoholic) plentiful????

 

 

Or is this issue slim pickens also.

 

Hope it gets better for those sailing.

 

 

Good luck

 

 

I doubt it's Slim Picken's fault if you can't get drinks... he has his hands full.

 

 

Ha! :D

[travelwide]

This issue is being looked into by the corporate office as we speak.

 

L Maxwell is correct, every ship, whether is has a dedicated lounge or not, is offering a nightly event for those eligible levels, i.e. Majesty with no lounge. The Majesty sets up an area in the VCL. I do not understand how the officers on this ship can arbitrarily decide to not honor one of the benefits that is part of the program.

 

Hopefully, this will be rectified for those on this cruise and before we cruise on June 11th.

 

I find it hard to believe that no D, D+ or Pinnacle members on board the ship now have not made a point of dealing with this issue.

 

It was mentioned that Suite guests ( and how many suites are on this ship, 6 maybe) have an area in Boleros set up for them.

 

L Maxwell.....you are so right about not being on one of the first to sail new, before or after drydock.

 

i am shocked to hear of the issues on this ship. If I didn't know better, I would think it is being run by all new employees - which is not true.

 

Keep the info coming.