"Free" Room Service Breakfast on HAL Ships..........

[sail7seas]

Now here's an 'eye-opener'......

 

Our 'free' room service breakfast on HAL is quite the bargain IMO

 

We were recently in a nice hotel (not The Ritz or Four Seasons this time but nonetheless), quite a nice hotel.

 

I got curious and took home their Room Service door hang tag like HAL has except this one has prices on it.

 

Our 'free' room service breakfast on the ship, on a very hungry morning, might include:

 

One freshly squeezed orange juice (for DH - I don't have juice as I'd rather eat the whole fruit and get the fiber) Price: $ 5.00

 

Pot of coffee (regular) for DH Price $8.00

Pot of Decaf for me Price $8.00

 

Omelette with tomato, mushroom and green pepper Price $14.00

Two eggs over easy for DH - $3.00 each - Price $6.00

 

Turkey bacon for DH Price $4.00

Bagel and cream cheese Price $5.00

Whole wheat toast for me Price $3.00

 

Total for our hotel breakfast would be: $48.00 plus tip and $3.00 in room dining charge

 

 

Total for HAL for same breakfast: "Free"....... or more accurately, included in the price.

 

It really is a wonderful amenity being able to have a full, hot, room service breakfast at no extra charge. Who could deny a steward at least a small tip when they read what this would cost in a hotel??!!! :confused:

 

Interesting, isn't it.

 

I also took along the valet bag which gave laundry and dry cleaning prices. They are similarly on the 'high side'.

[Randyk47]

I agree but then again I don't often pay $700 a day for a hotel. :D

[SwissMyst]

....... Who could deny a steward at least a small tip when they read what this would cost in a hotel??!!! :confused:[/b]

..........

 

Moi. :rolleyes: I like the idea room service is a fully-paid inclusive service and hope others feel the same way. Not sure I see the connection between a tip to the room service steward and the price of a similar ala carte breakfast in a hotel.

[sail7seas]

I agree but then again I don't often pay $700 a day for a hotel. :D

 

 

;) Every cabin, every guest on the ship can order that identical breakfast and some are paying $700 for the Week. :)

That's quite the bargain..... No? :)

[matondo]

Even better..DH and I filled out the room service tag incorrectly and we got enough food to feed several people. Same price as if we had ordered correctly. FYI when you place a 2 by the waffle order that does not mean you want two waffles it means two breakfasts. Be very careful of your state of mind when you are filling out your door tag.:p

[mariner]

Show the St. Regis room service prices Sail.

[CtheW0rld]

i love all the room service options on hal. i think it is ony a matter of time, though, before some of it gets eliminated to save costs.

 

at least tipping the stewards are optional (although i do tip). most hotels add a 'tray charge' and 18% tip. i ordered a pot of coffee in a vegas hotel, and by the time it was all said and done the price was $18.

[sail7seas]

Show the St. Regis room service prices Sail.

 

 

Whoa.... now we're talking pricey. Breakfast at St. Regis is more than anyone here really wants to talk about but it sure is delightful to say the least. :) The tip is enough to shock!!! :eek:

[holomuku]

We were somewhere (I think it was Boston?) in a fairly nice hotel and ordered room service.

 

They had a "cutlery" charge (I think $3 or $5) on top of the food charges-- I mean, do they think you're going to eat it with your bare hands? Outrageous!

 

We rarely get room service in a hotel (unless it's me schlepping out and bringing something back) as it just irriates the daylights out of me to pay SOO much (and often the food is not that great and lukewarm!)

[mariner]

Ah, but the freshly squeezed tomato juice is the best!

[cruz chic]

We were somewhere (I think it was Boston?) in a fairly nice hotel and ordered room service.

 

They had a "cutlery" charge (I think $3 or $5) on top of the food charges-- I mean, do they think you're going to eat it with your bare hands? Outrageous!

 

We rarely get room service in a hotel (unless it's me schlepping out and bringing something back) as it just irriates the daylights out of me to pay SOO much (and often the food is not that great and lukewarm!)

Wow...a cutlery charge...now I've heard everything:D.

[sail7seas]

Cutlery charge is outrageous. That's going toooo far.

 

[holomuku]

We thought it was absolutely ridiculous.

 

It was probably in the "fine print" of the room service menu- but jeez, don't you expect a knife and fork to come with your food?

 

Now that I am thinking back- it might have been that we ordered one entree to split (which we often do- as some of you know, our appetites sometimes decrease with age) and so that's possibly why they charged extra. Perhaps it's one knife and fork per entree?

 

I'd say you should pack a knife and fork in your carry on- but then that's one more knife for the TSA's stash!

[WeLoveCruising]

Good comparison, Sail. I travel frequently on business and you're right, those prices are what I see pretty much any day of the week in an an average Marriott or Hilton type hotel.

 

DH and I once stayed at the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas and ordered room service breakfast.....it was $90! It was good, but not that good...

[SwissMyst]

Cutlery charge is outrageous. That's going toooo far.

 

 

Reminds me of Italy (and other European countries) where you automatically would get charged for "pane et coperto" (bread and cover) - essentially you are paying for the cutlery with that built-in charge too.

[CtheW0rld]

Reminds me of Italy (and other European countries) where you automatically would get charged for "pane et coperto" (bread and cover) - essentially you are paying for the cutlery with that built-in charge too.

 

at least the bread is excellent.

[DizzyDallasDi]

I agree but then again I don't often pay $700 a day for a hotel. :D

 

I agree and try to swallow this....I pay a 200% single supplement so my daily rate is equal to a couple's. Hmmmmm....perhaps I should order 2 room service breakfasts and leave one for the room steward? ;)

[SwissMyst]

at least the bread is excellent.

 

Ahhhh, one of my favorite HAL topics. I am one who thinks HAL bread is very good. I am very content with their fresh baked rolls and sweet butter and the croissants on the Maadam were among the best I have ever had. No one has done them as well as the Maasdam, but I keep looking.

 

The German stollen on the Oosterdam Christmas cruise was the stuff of memories too. One of those one day things. Okay, those Panama Buns were not so great, but it was sweet they tried to do something special.

[holomuku]

Okay, just asked DH tonight at dinner what his memory is of the "cutlery charge."

 

He said it was not, at least in his memory, because we split an entree. Rather when he questioned the front desk about it they said it was because "so much of our nice cutlery goes missing."

 

Well, then you would think they would refund it if they cutlery is returned? I don't feel comfortable saying the name of the hotel- but yes, it was indeed Boston and a large scale chain, probably 4 star.

 

Yikes, what could possibly be next?

[cruz chic]

 

- it might have been that we ordered one entree to split (which we often do- as some of you know, our appetites sometimes decrease with age)

Gee, I hope that will happen to me soon;):D.

[kazu]

Great reminder Sail. We love room service on HAL - especially if we have to get off the ship early for a port - & have been known to also order the odd clubhouse sandwich :)

 

One of the things that I like about HAL:)

[m steve]

room service breakfast is not free. It's part of the cost of the cruise. Secondly, I think the poster meant fress squeezed orange juice, not tomato. That comes from a can.

[sail7seas]

room service breakfast is not free. It's part of the cost of the cruise. Secondly, I think the poster meant fress squeezed orange juice, not tomato. That comes from a can.

 

 

No, Steve. That poster meant exactly what he wrote..... fresh tomato juice.

 

Here is a snippet from a press release re: St. Regis Hotel, N.Y.

 

(See my underline with reference to the Fresh Tomato Juice)

 

 

Return to News List

October 5 2009

St. Regis Hotels & Resorts Celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Beloved Bloody Mary Cocktail

 

 

 

NEW YORK, NY – Monday, October 5, 2009 – St. Regis Hotels & Resorts today celebrates the 75th anniversary of the iconic Bloody Mary with a series of initiatives and special offerings available at St. Regis hotels and resorts around the world. Starting today and through the end of this year, St. Regis will offer guests opportunities to experience its signature cocktail in new and creative ways including a special Bloody Mary menu created by Manhattan and Washington DC’s leading chefs and restaurants, Bloody Mary inspired spa treatments, a Bloody Mary epicurean menu, the St. Regis Bloody Mary World Collection, and more. Invented in the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis landmark hotel in New York, the “Red Snapper,” or Bloody Mary as it has come to be known, has been imitated and adapted endlessly by others throughout the years, but the original St. Regis recipe still stands as one of the most beloved cocktails ever created. To further underscore the celebration, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has issued an official proclamation, naming today, October 5th Bloody Mary Day in New York and Starwood CEO, Frits van Paasschen, will ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange to end the work day and kick off the anniversary in true St. Regis fashion.

The Bloody Mary has been a part of St. Regis history since 1934 when bartender Fernand Petiot introduced the “Red Snapper,” which would later be renamed the Bloody Mary, at the King Cole Bar in The St. Regis New York. The famed cocktail was created when Serge Obolensky, a well known man about town whose penchant for vodka was in keeping with his aristocratic Russian background, asked Petiot to make the vodka cocktail he had in Paris. The formula was spiced up with salt, pepper, lemon and Worcestershire Sauce, but since “Bloody Mary” was deemed too vulgar for the hotel’s elegant King Cole Bar, it was rechristened the “Red Snapper.” While the name may not have caught on, the spicy drink most certainly did, and over the years it has become the signature cocktail of the St. Regis brand.

St. Regis properties worldwide have created new and unique offerings to honor the Bloody Mary’s significant milestone including:

• The St. Regis New York and St. Regis Washington D.C. have partnered with a host of noteworthy chefs and restaurants including, Adour Charlie Palmer, WD-50, ‘21’ Club, Landmarc, The Palm, Dovetail, The Spotted Pig, Freemans, Spike Mendelsohn, Art Smith, Todd Gray of Equinox, Vermilion, Acadiana, Back Forty and Blue Smoke who will lend their own personal Bloody Mary recipes to be included on a special anniversary menu available through the month of October in the King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York and The Bar at The St. Regis Washington D.C.

• Reaching beyond the traditional cocktail interpretation, the executive chef at The St. Regis Grand Hotel in Rome has created an innovative epicurean Bloody Mary menu featuring spicy tomato and vodka inspired fare such as ravioli filled with lemon and vodka infused ricotta cheese served over a tomato fondue.

• Guests at The St. Regis Bali are invited to experience an energizing Bloody Mary spa menu including a skin purifying Vodka Tomato Clay Wrap followed by an invigorating Tomato Vermouth and Mineral Salt bath

Honoring the regional influences of St. Regis destinations worldwide, the brand has created a special World Collection Bloody Mary menu that combines local flavors with Mr. Petiot’s original recipe. In addition to serving the traditional Bloody Mary cocktail, each of St. Regis’ 18 properties offer guests a unique version of the Bloody Mary using locally inspired ingredients such as:

• The St. Regis Beijing’s ‘Great Wall’ replaces vodka with Tsingtao beer and adds freshly squeezed lime juice to the traditional St. Regis Bloody Mary blend.

• The St. Regis Houston’s ‘Harry’s Texas’ combines

fresh tomato

and lemon juice with tequila and a mix of Texas inspired spices

• The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort’s ‘The Mardavall Pepper Snapper’ uses Fleur de Sel salt from Ses Salines, Gin, fresh tomato juice and a combination of Mediterranean spices

 

 

 

The King Cole Bar and St. Regis Hotel in NY are quite outstanding. We enjoyed a visit there last summer, that poster knew that and is why he was referencing the fresh tomato juice.

 

 

I put "free" in quotes a number of times to bring attention to the fact it is "included". We all know there is Nothing free on a cruise ship. There are things that are included and things that are an additional cost while aboard.

 

[CamaroKid67]

I think the OP is just pointing out that on HAL room service is quite a deal. I think comparing a ship to a hotel is a flawed concept.

 

Here is another comparison.

 

Holiday Inn - economic and has free Interent

5-star hotels - usually an extra fee for internet

HAL - Internet - extra fee

[iancal]

Room service is free???? So are meals in the dining room. Or do you mean that you got a free cruise?

 

When we go to an all inclusive, the liquer is 'FREE' as well. That does not mean that I have not paid for it.