$3.95 Service Charge for Room Service starting

[Ocean Boy]

I hear you. :)

 

Lack of combinability of stockholder OBC and the Diamond discount makes me nuts too. :cool::eek:

 

HAL still has a wine card for 10 or 20 drinks. I found it very convenient and wish RCI had one. :)

 

Same here. I hear her, and you, too! In fact, I think the stockholder OBC should be cominable with any of the other credit and promotion programs.

[3GR8Sons]

A show and normal meals are all part of a cruise. Gluttony in the WJ and irresponsible room service calls are not. :cool:

 

I am wearing my asbestos undies. Flame away. :D

 

No flames here, but I am wondering what is gluttonous about ordering room service late at night? I don't think you get to be the arbiter of what it gluttonous and what is not.

[alwalaska]

My first cruise was 15 years ago. I have always viewed cruising as a nickle and dime adventure comparing to my other all inclusive vacations. I have spent more on photos and drinks than on the cost of the actual cruise. Now they are adding a few things than before. I am used to paying for things on a cruise. I add 15-25 percent to the cost of each cruise to cover extras. With lower fares that percentage keeps going up. I recently booked 7 nights to Alaska on Princess for $2157 (total) for a family on 4. Realistically I need to add 50-60 percent for extras. For this price I would be happy with 2 solid meals and buying lunch on excursions. I must admit I am happy with the inside gty and any meals not prepared in my kitchen or served with fries is a good start for me:p All along I thought paying for drinks on a vacation is Jack, especially soda...come on!

 

You might want to make that 100%. The excursions in Alaska (we were on Princess not RCCL, but I assume they are similar) were amazing but very pricey. You did get a really good rate. I think that is because most people want balconies in AK. Our cruise for 4 in an interior was less expensive than my parents' cruise (same exact cruise - we were across the hall from them) for just the 2 of them.

[wolfcathorse]

Our cabin steward for our 2 day on Navigator (Owners Suite) told us that soon the service charge for room service will be charged on all orders no matter what time, meaning for breakfast deliveries as well. He also said only suites will get chocolates on the pillows which was true, we had no chocolates on our 5-day in our E1 balcony cabin. We had no pillow menu in the Owners Suite but we did have lobster Day 4 on the 5-day cruise. Ice is only delivered at evening turn-down. But our cabin steward for the balcony gave us ice in the morning too when we asked.

[Ocean Boy]

Our cabin steward for our 2 day on Navigator (Owners Suite) told us that soon the service charge for room service will be charged on all orders no matter what time, meaning for breakfast deliveries as well. He also said only suites will get chocolates on the pillows which was true, we had no chocolates on our 5-day in our E1 balcony cabin. We had no pillow menu in the Owners Suite but we did have lobster Day 4 on the 5-day cruise. Ice is only delivered at evening turn-down. But our cabin steward for the balcony gave us ice in the morning too when we asked.

 

Well, isn't that a surprise. As I recall, a few people on this thread got bashed for stating that they thought this wouldn't be far in the future.

[rednancy1]

No flames here, but I am wondering what is gluttonous about ordering room service late at night? I don't think you get to be the arbiter of what it gluttonous and what is not.

 

I think you misunderstood my post. Gluttony in the WJ and irresponsible room service orders are two different things.

In previous posts we've discussed people piling up their plates in the WJ and leaving it untouched and uneaten. Personally, I saw someone pile at least 2 lbs of bacon on their plate and just let it sit and get cold and did not eat it. And, no I'm not nosy. :rolleyes: I couldn't help but notice this loud table next to me. My DH finally came back from the buffet after waiting for them to replenish the bacon. IMHO that is gluttony.:(

I know of teens that order room service and just won't answer the door as a joke. I personally witnessed trays and trays of uneaten food just sitting by cabin doors waiting to be removed. IMHO that is irresponsible.:(

[Ocean Boy]

I think you misunderstood my post. Gluttony in the WJ and irresponsible room service orders are two different things.

In previous posts we've discussed people piling up their plates in the WJ and leaving it untouched and uneaten. Personally, I saw someone pile at least 2 lbs of bacon on their plate and just let it sit and get cold and did not eat it. And, no I'm not nosy. :rolleyes: I couldn't help but notice this loud table next to me. My DH finally came back from the buffet after waiting for them to replenish the bacon. IMHO that is gluttony.:(

I know of teens that order room service and just won't answer the door as a joke. I personally witnessed trays and trays of uneaten food just sitting by cabin doors waiting to be removed. IMHO that is irresponsible.:(

 

I can't argue with anything that you said there. But they have to come up with some way to control those irresponsible people without penalizing the rest of us.

[marci22]

...they have to come up with some way to control those irresponsible people without penalizing the rest of us.

 

Unfortunately, that is a never-ending battle that won't be won anytime soon, if ever.

[kyriecat]

Those of you who see people leaving piles of uneaten food in the WJ and from room service must be sailing at different times than I do. I admit I prefer off-season (when kids are in school) cruises on the smaller ships. My husband and I were talking about the food last night and neither of us can remember ever seeing an abundance of uneaten food. We'll occassionally see someone who leaves a plate with a lot of food but that's not the norm. Is the problem more prevalent on sailings with lots of kids? Isn't that part of the reason fares are so much higher on popular sailings?

 

I tend to be cautious the first time I see something on a buffet. I'll take a small portion so if I don't like it, I don't waste much. I have left things on my plate because they didn't taste like I expected. One of the worst things, though is the desserts. They always cut such a large serving and some of them LOOK really good but don't taste good. I've got to the point that I usually skip desserts because I got tired of leaving the mostly uneaten portion. I used to love the desserts on RC but, aside from the specialty restaurants, there's rarely anything that I really like now. The warm chocolate cake, the cheesecakes, and the cherries jubilee just aren't what they used to be! Now if I want something, it's usually a cookie or ice cream.

[rednancy1]

Those of you who see people leaving piles of uneaten food in the WJ and from room service must be sailing at different times than I do. I admit I prefer off-season (when kids are in school) cruises on the smaller ships. .......

 

We cruise off season and on non-holidays so as to avoid large crowds of kids. And most of our cruises have been on the medium ships. :)

 

Come to think of it. :eek: I've mostly seen these abuses on shorter cruises rather than the longer ones. :cool: Never thought about it before.

[rednancy1]

I can't argue with anything that you said there. But they have to come up with some way to control those irresponsible people without penalizing the rest of us.

 

I hear you and agree completely. :)

[3GR8Sons]

I think you misunderstood my post. Gluttony in the WJ and irresponsible room service orders are two different things.

 

In previous posts we've discussed people piling up their plates in the WJ and leaving it untouched and uneaten. Personally, I saw someone pile at least 2 lbs of bacon on their plate and just let it sit and get cold and did not eat it. And, no I'm not nosy. :rolleyes: I couldn't help but notice this loud table next to me. My DH finally came back from the buffet after waiting for them to replenish the bacon. IMHO that is gluttony.:(

 

I know of teens that order room service and just won't answer the door as a joke. I personally witnessed trays and trays of uneaten food just sitting by cabin doors waiting to be removed. IMHO that is irresponsible.:(

 

 

You may not be nosy but you sure are judgemental.

[Cruising89143]

I can't argue with anything that you said there. But they have to come up with some way to control those irresponsible people without penalizing the rest of us.

 

I would love to see them start having the crew to serve the guests in the Windjammer. Not only would it cut down on waste but also cut down on people handling the food and utensils.

[Cruising89143]

You may not be nosy but you sure are judgemental.

 

Seems to me that she is not judgemental. Just stating the facts as she saw them and I agree with her if that is what she witnessed. ;)

[xpcdoojk]

I would love to see them start having the crew to serve the guests in the Windjammer. Not only would it cut down on waste but also cut down on people handling the food and utensils.

 

Yes, I would eat more in the WJ if they served it like they do in the Lido on HAL.

 

Gordon, are you just needing to pound your head against the wall today?:D

 

jc

[Cruising89143]

Yes, I would eat more in the WJ if they served it like they do in the Lido on HAL.

 

Gordon, are you just needing to pound your head against the wall today?:D

 

jc

 

In a word "yes'....:)

[Ocean Boy]

I would love to see them start having the crew to serve the guests in the Windjammer. Not only would it cut down on waste but also cut down on people handling the food and utensils.

I actually think that would be a great idea. I assume you mean crew standing at the serving counter not crew walking around serving the tables.

 

Last year on Adventure they did have a set up sort of like that at the dessert station in the evening. Things like ice cream were kept behind the counter and there was a staff woman there who would serve up what you asked for.

 

Two years ago on Adventure they had staff serving at every meal for the first two days of the cruise because there had been a slight virus outbreak on the ship the week before. It worked out ok but it did tend to slow things down a lot compared to the rest of the cruise when they went back to the serve yourself routine. Perhaps if they had servers there all the time they would get a good routine down that did not significantly slow down the operation.

[Cruising89143]

I actually think that would be a great idea. I assume you mean crew standing at the serving counter not crew walking around serving the tables.

 

Last year on Adventure they did have a set up sort of like that at the dessert station in the evening. Things like ice cream were kept behind the counter and there was a staff woman there who would serve up what you asked for.

 

Two years ago on Adventure they had staff serving at every meal for the first two days of the cruise because there had been a slight virus outbreak on the ship the week before. It worked out ok but it did tend to slow things down a lot compared to the rest of the cruise when they went back to the serve yourself routine. Perhaps if they had servers there all the time they would get a good routine down that did not significantly slow down the operation.

 

That's what I meant. Maybe they should try this on a couple of different size ships as a trial and see if there is any cut on waste and such.

[Ladylouwho]

I think you misunderstood my post. Gluttony in the WJ and irresponsible room service orders are two different things.

In previous posts we've discussed people piling up their plates in the WJ and leaving it untouched and uneaten. Personally, I saw someone pile at least 2 lbs of bacon on their plate and just let it sit and get cold and did not eat it. And, no I'm not nosy. :rolleyes: I couldn't help but notice this loud table next to me. My DH finally came back from the buffet after waiting for them to replenish the bacon. IMHO that is gluttony.:(

I know of teens that order room service and just won't answer the door as a joke. I personally witnessed trays and trays of uneaten food just sitting by cabin doors waiting to be removed. IMHO that is irresponsible.:(

 

 

I must say, in all the many Royal Caribbean Cruises I have taken (and all but one was during holiday weeks and summer when the kids were out of school) I have never seen trays and trays of uneaten food. Never. And I think the 2lb bacon story is certainly not the norm. The most waste I ever see is when I tell the waiters I do not want desert and they bring it anyway. Now that is wasteful.

 

Is there food waste on cruise ships, yes, just as there is in any restaurant. Do some people take way more food than they will eat, yes. But I do not think most people waste tons of food. In looking at the cruises you have listed in your signature it seems many if not most were taken while school was in session so is it only the teens calling room service and not eating the food? I just have never witnessed all the trays with food in the hallway. If someone calls room service as a joke it is pretty easy to find the culprit, I mean they know which cabin made the call.

[rednancy1]

You may not be nosy but you sure are judgemental.

 

I don't understand how watching and reporting on people wasting good food is judgemental? :confused::confused::confused:

 

This is what all adds to the bottom line for cruise prices and for the nickle and diming of the pax by the cruise lines. We all end up paying for the abusers of the system. :cool: If you don't mind this and are that generous then I'm very pleased for you.:)

 

That's reality. Not judgement. :rolleyes:

[rednancy1]

You're right, the 2 lb bacon plate is not the norm, thank goodness. But I have seen many wasted trays from room service.

 

Almost all of these incidents have been on short cruises. Go figure.

 

I only call it like I see it. :)

[rednancy1]

Seems to me that she is not judgemental. Just stating the facts as she saw them and I agree with her if that is what she witnessed. ;)

 

Thank you cruisingator2. :)

[kyriecat]

I would love to see them start having the crew to serve the guests in the Windjammer. Not only would it cut down on waste but also cut down on people handling the food and utensils.

The crew isn't any cleaner than the passengers. When I was on Radiance and there was a salmonella outbreak, the staff served food. I watched a staff member wearing gloves wipe her nose on the gloves then go back to handing out donuts and pastries with those same gloves. She wasn't using tongs. Also, I wanted an ice cream cone one afternoon. The guy who was serving had just finished wiping off the counters and tables with a dirty rag and a small bucket of grey water. I asked him to change his gloves before touching my cone. HE REFUSED! He wouldn't even pick it up with a napkin so his dirty gloves wouldn't touch it. I talked to the manager of WJ about it, and he told me that the crew was not to waste gloves by changing them between serving and cleaning. He also refused to address the crew wiping their faces and using their hands to serve. Needless to say, I quit eating in the Windjammer after that. Using the crew to serve was only a false sense of security for the passengers. The crew was just as bad about handling things and spreading germs as the passengers were.

[Ocean Boy]

The crew isn't any cleaner than the passengers. When I was on Radiance and there was a salmonella outbreak, the staff served food. I watched a staff member wearing gloves wipe her nose on the gloves then go back to handing out donuts and pastries with those same gloves. She wasn't using tongs. Also, I wanted an ice cream cone one afternoon. The guy who was serving had just finished wiping off the counters and tables with a dirty rag and a small bucket of grey water. I asked him to change his gloves before touching my cone. HE REFUSED! He wouldn't even pick it up with a napkin so his dirty gloves wouldn't touch it. I talked to the manager of WJ about it, and he told me that the crew was not to waste gloves by changing them between serving and cleaning. He also refused to address the crew wiping their faces and using their hands to serve. Needless to say, I quit eating in the Windjammer after that. Using the crew to serve was only a false sense of security for the passengers. The crew was just as bad about handling things and spreading germs as the passengers were.

 

Very interesting. Maybe I won't gain much weight on my upcoming cruise.:eek:

[rednancy1]

Kyriecat, that is just plain revolting. I'm sorry you had to witness that.

 

Okay.....thinking more about this it probably happens on all the ships. ugh. :(