Changing items on mini bar on Royal Princess now done by steward

[paradiselivin1]

We are currently in NZ on the Majestic. This is what was left in our stateroom. We asked the room steward to make the change and he agreed to do it the next day which was fine. Booze for booze.

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

No we are not but its weird to have mini bar empty . Maybe its common now after Covid but I never saw it on other cruise lines .

Most cruise lines stopped stocking minibars (at least as honor bars) years before COVID.  (On some lines you can still order minis, beer, soda etc. from an order form in your cabin, but you pay for everything you order, no honor system where you only pay for what you consume.)

 

Probably too much hassle to check/restock, bill passengers $5 at a time, and then deal with passengers disputing the charges (whether scamming the system or honestly mischarged), especially as some cruise lines were cutting staffing even before COVID. 

 

The minibars are now just chillers (not as cold as refrigerators) for whatever you choose to put in them.

Edited January 31, 2023 by DallasGuy75219

[Pompano2016]

On 1/18/2023 at 4:51 PM, lx200gps said:

Thanks for the heads up. We'll ask Stewart when we are on the Sky in a few weeks. The Room Service line is usually very busy that first day, but then so are the stewards, so we'll see if this improves things.

Glad to see a small change. But, really when you book there should be a gesture to pick bar setup, other options. Time wasted for steward or room service for sure. 

[GonzoWCS]

On 1/18/2023 at 3:38 PM, Shelly97060 said:

I am on Royal Princess and they have changed the protocol to trade mini bar items.  Now instead of calling room service to request the changes your cabin steward handles it.  I was told the change was made because room service is very busy with the Ocean Now deliveries.

 

I don’t know if this is fleet wide or unique to Royal.  Just FYI 😄

Happened to us on the Regal over Christmas/New Years this year.  He was spot on and i didn't argue!

 

Cheers

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Pompano2016 said:

Glad to see a small change. But, really when you book there should be a gesture to pick bar setup, other options. Time wasted for steward or room service for sure. 

 

Not really that much wasted time. I believe the vast majority of people who receive the mini bar setup just keep whatever they are given. Many probably don't even know items can be swapped out. If the stewards have a "standard setup" that is provided to them for the rooms that will receive a mini bar it is much easier for them to just put that in the cabin rather than having to deal with special orders.

[TM]

It sure would be much easier for everyone if we could indicate prior to boarding what we would like for the mini-bar selections rather than having to bother someone to do a change-out on the first day.

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, TM said:

It sure would be much easier for everyone if we could indicate prior to boarding what we would like for the mini-bar selections rather than having to bother someone to do a change-out on the first day.

It sounds logical but I'll bet they did a study to prove otherwise. 

[kayelbee]

If I didn't want the non alcoholic drinks can they be swapped for alcoholic drinks?

If all the drinks can be alcoholic how many miniatures would I receive?

Thanks 

[MissP22]

14 minutes ago, kayelbee said:

If I didn't want the non alcoholic drinks can they be swapped for alcoholic drinks?

If all the drinks can be alcoholic how many miniatures would I receive?

Thanks 

No.

Unfortunately only the alcoholic drinks can be switched for non alcoholic ones.

[julie3fan]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

No.

Unfortunately only the alcoholic drinks can be switched for non alcoholic ones.

 

Is it a one for one swap?  Example, one miniature liquor or one beer for one Coke?

[MissP22]

Just now, julie3fan said:

 

Is it a one for one swap?  Example, one miniature liquor or one beer for one Coke?

Yes, it a one for one swap. Not exactly a fair trade but that's the way they do it.

i.e.- One small bottle of liquor for 1 bottle of water or 1 can of soda.

[voljeep]

On 1/31/2023 at 5:28 PM, Thrak said:

If the stewards have a "standard setup" that is provided to them for the rooms that will receive a mini bar it is much easier for them to just put that in the cabin rather than having to deal with special orders.

I'm not sure it is the room stewards that set-up the original mini bar set-up.  I tried to 'semi-bribe' the person delivering in the hall, if she had any 'extra's' ... didn't work