Holland America to Roll Out New Room Service Menu Fleetwide

There was no "hot cereal" option on the room service menu, that you hang on the door at night, while I was on the Konigsdam recently. I wasn't feeling well one morning, but just skipped breakfast, as I really wanted the hot cereal, but didn't feel up to going to the Lido. I did think that I could call room service between 8-9:30am when the dining room was open, and could have requested the hot cereal then, but I never bothered. I used to get room service on port days, when I wanted to leave the ship as early as possible, but I didn't do that on this cruise, as I didn't like the selections on the menu that you hang on the door. I just got up earlier, so that I could get breakfast in the Lido.

So if the door hanger order menu is gone, how do you schedule room breakfast.

Do you have to call room service the night before to organize it. Spend 10 to 20 minutes on hold because everyone else is doing it.

Also, communicating over the phone is so inferior to the write-in card. Mistakes will be amplified.

The door hang menu is such a staple of HAL room service, I cannot believe it is no longer offered.

I will wait for a more official response on that one.

I will decry such a decision if it is the case.

You guys really need to read this article:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7344

Michael Smith, the line's senior vice president of marine hotel operations, also discussed Holland America's recent decision to upgrade its room-service menus, a move he said was designed to improve both the service and quality of room service. HAL streamlined the breakfast menu, removing a lot of the options that previously were offered. So many options meant that if, for example, 300 breakfasts were ordered, 299 of them were different. It created a time-consuming process that often involved delays and could be error-prone. The result has been a speedier, more accurate breakfast service. Still, Smith emphasizes, passengers can write in preferences like "egg whites" or "chocolate milk." (We tested it on a busy disembarkation day and were rewarded with a hot egg white omelet and wheat toast instead of white.)

So if the door hanger order menu is gone, how do you schedule room breakfast.

Do you have to call room service the night before to organize it. Spend 10 to 20 minutes on hold because everyone else is doing it.

Also, communicating over the phone is so inferior to the write-in card. Mistakes will be amplified.

The door hang menu is such a staple of HAL room service, I cannot believe it is no longer offered.

I will wait for a more official response on that one.

I will decry such a decision if it is the case.

We just got off the K'dam. The door hanger option is still there, but the menu looks like what has been shown above. It has been severely reduced. There was a round tray in our room we used to bring food down from the Lido, however, so no need to bring one.

You guys really need to read this article:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7344

And, according to aliaschief's review, Writing in isn't always possible.

And, according to aliaschief's review, Writing in isn't always possible.

Is this another example of inconsistent product delivery from ship to ship?

If the Senior Vice-President of the service area that includes Room Service says that write-ins are possible, then why did the Culinary Operations Manager on the Eurodam say no substitutions were permitted?

I look forward to learning what other CC members on their cruises find if they choose to write-in breakfast items that are not on the new door hanger menu.

I'm not impressed either, I guess I will be packing my tray and going up to the Lido deck in order to have a 'custom' breakfast on our balcony.

Not sure if all ships are set up the same, but, yes, a tray is handy. We bought one at Walmart during our recent South America cruise on Zaandam. The problem is that they don't hand you a big plate, like they used to, so that you can gather things on it. Your food is plated on a normal-size plate if you go through the regular buffet line. If you don't get in that line, no plate.

I found it hard to gather up my regular breakfast of cheerios and a banana -- carrying the box of cereal, a milk, a bowl, a spoon (since only a fork and knife are in the "set-ups," and then the banana that is behind a partition and must be "requested." A lot of work for a bowl of cereal. My cheap plastic Walmart tray really helped make things work.

Not sure if all ships are set up the same, but, yes, a tray is handy. We bought one at Walmart during our recent South America cruise on Zaandam. The problem is that they don't hand you a big plate, like they used to, so that you can gather things on it. Your food is plated on a normal-size plate if you go through the regular buffet line. If you don't get in that line, no plate.

 

I found it hard to gather up my regular breakfast of cheerios and a banana -- carrying the box of cereal, a milk, a bowl, a spoon (since only a fork and knife are in the "set-ups," and then the banana that is behind a partition and must be "requested." A lot of work for a bowl of cereal. My cheap plastic Walmart tray really helped make things work.

Old Room Service menu and old breakfast cards on the Zuiderdam today.

I have to say that we have pretty much given up on room service--on all lines--with the exception of early-morning coffee, so that we can rouse ourselves to go to the Lido.

We've found room service--at any time of day or night-- to be nearly always bad: wrong orders, missing items, food poorly cooked and/or cold. They usually ARE on time, but I wouldn't plan to call the MDR/kitchen directly to place a breakfast order: even more room for error.

We most recently ordered room service, via the concierge for our suite stateroom, off that evening's dinner menu. One entree was wrong, one app was wrong AND bad, and the service was abysmal--he just dropped the tray on our balcony without even removing covers to ensure the order was correct (nor setting the table, as shown in the HAL suite pics--and as is done in Celebrity suites). Never again.

As a side note, we've also found room service on land to be uniformly bad--most memorably at the SF Fairmont, where the mushroom pizza had no mushrooms, the cheeseburger had no cheese, and it was all cold. (I know, I know: "the food wasn't very good and they didn't give us enough," lol. But still.)

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7344

Well, he does say you can write n your preferences, but doesn't say they will be met! :rolleyes:

We just got off the K'dam. The door hanger option is still there, but the menu looks like what has been shown above. It has been severely reduced. There was a round tray in our room we used to bring food down from the Lido, however, so no need to bring one.

I just got back from the K'dam also, but our door hanger was the same as always - the options were the same as shown on the Roger Jett Photography pages. The Neptune suite version even included the free mimosa option. There weren't any errors or cold food in the room service breakfasts and the stewards were early and careful in their deliveries. (The mimosa I tried once, but didn't care for it).

We only had room service breakfast three times since the Pinnacle was so nice and quiet. Good, friendly service there.

When I stay in Hotel/Casino resorts n Las Vegas or Reno they encourage you to pre-order your room service breakfast the night before. I always do this now and it ensures a more reliable delivery time and most likely the food is still warm.

Now large Hotel/Casino resorts have better room service menus and quality of room service food then a cruise ship line does. But if HAL starts to offer this service they could then do away with the door-hanging card system.

-Paul

Just off the Maasdam and when I voiced my dislike for the new menu options the waiters told me they had had numerous complaints. Several of us wrote to the hotel manager to complain about food being wasted. Personally, I started crossing out things not wanted on the set choices to end up with a reasonable breakfast. It took a couple of days but eventually my requests were honored. It would be nice to have a write-in line for hot cereal etc.

The evening door-hanger breakfast menu is still on your bed nightly.

The extra charge for a smoothie is absolutely ridiculous. With their popularity we wondered why there isn't a smoothie bar available?

... things not wanted on the set choices to end up with a reasonable breakfast. ...

The evening door-hanger breakfast menu is still on your bed nightly.

Is the evening door hanger breakfast menu different to the room service menu? I thought the door hanger one was gone.

Is the evening door hanger breakfast menu different to the room service menu? I thought the door hanger one was gone.

On the Koningsdam last week, the usual door hanger was still being used. In the information book, the Room Service menu has an abridged breakfast menu, for when you want to call in the morning for breakfast. Two ways of getting breakfast in your cabin.

Just off the Maasdam and when I voiced my dislike for the new menu options the waiters told me they had had numerous complaints. Several of us wrote to the hotel manager to complain about food being wasted. Personally, I started crossing out things not wanted on the set choices to end up with a reasonable breakfast. It took a couple of days but eventually my requests were honored. It would be nice to have a write-in line for hot cereal etc.

The evening door-hanger breakfast menu is still on your bed nightly.

The extra charge for a smoothie is absolutely ridiculous. With their popularity we wondered why there isn't a smoothie bar available?

On the Westerdam we crossed things out on the door hanger too. We don't like to waste food. They also honored our requests (crispy bacon, no toast, no sausage) and the breakfasts were hot and tasty.