(Not) included?

[Stoffel1982]

With all those speciality dining and drink packages it is confusing what's included in the "standard" rate and what's not... (Pastries at Al Bacio, breakfast in another restaurant, food delivery in cabin, grill, ice cream, etc?)

 

Can someone explain?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[Project_gal]

Food in Al Bacio is included, beverages are not.

All breakfasts are included except at Bistro on Five.

Room service is included [but it is usual, but not essential, to tip a little].

Food at Pool grill is included.

Ice cream is included, gelato is not.

 

Sue

[Stoffel1982]

So having breakfast in Blu is possible without an extra charge? Nice, i didn't know that!

 

 

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[fleckle]

So having breakfast in Blu is possible without an extra charge? Nice, i didn't know that!

Yes, if you are in aqua class or a suite.

 

No, if you are in any other type cabin, not even if you are willing to pay an extra charge.

 

 

I agree that it can be quite confusing.

For example, you board the ship on the first day and are greeted warmly with a "Welcome aboard" and offered a drink. There is no charge.

 

Then you go up to the pool deck where you are also greeted warmly with a "Welcome aboard" and offered a drink. But for that one, there is a charge.

 

[cruisestitch]

Breakfast in Blu is only available to those who book Aqua Class or Suites.

 

Breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner at Bistro on Five, carries a $5 charge.

 

Room service breakfast is complimentary.

 

Pastries from Cafe al Bacio are complimentary. The beverages there are not complimentary, but the pastries can be taken away if you would like to enjoy them elsewhere, always a nice option.

 

Breakfast in the MDR and at the buffet and at the Aqua Spa are complimentary, but there are some items which may carry an extra charge, such as special smoothies or fresh squeezed juices.

[Stoffel1982]

You see what i mean?? It IS confusing!

 

 

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[Lsimon]

Perhaps it is easier to list what food there is a charge for, rather than what there isn't. There is a charge for:

• Muranos and M class equivalents (Ocean Liners, Normandy, SS United States, and Olympic) $45 service charge
  
• Qsine - $45 service charge
  
• Tuscan Grill - $35 service charge
  
• Silk Harvest $30 service charge
  
• Lawn Club Grill $40 service charge
  
• The Porch $5 service charge
  
• Bistro on Five $5 service charge
  
• Gelato served at the Gelateria or Bistro on Five - cost per item (but ice cream at the ice cream bar in the buffet area or by the grill is no extra charge)
  
• Caviar (at certain bars or room service) cost per item
  

Room Service: Room service is generally no extra charge but there are a few exceptions. I've seen a few reports here of a new breakfast menu that in addition to the historical no charge items has a few premium extra charge items such as steak and eggs. I've also run into cases where we've been referred to some sort of extra charge catering service when ordering for a large gathering, say enough cheese and crackers for 10 or 15 people when we've had a veranda big enough, but this has not been consistent and we've gotten around this by having a couple guests each order a couple cheese plates.

 

Bar snacks: On our Silhouette cruise last December in Cellar Masters they charged for Tapas style bar snacks there. I don't know what the status of that is since we've not been charged at Cellar Masters for bar snacks on other ships, including our most recent cruise last spring on Eclipse. Most other bars just have salty/crispy types of snacks at no charge but usually just have one option per night and not a list to choose from.

 

Packaged snacks: A selection of packaged snacks and foods are sold in the gift shops on board.

 

Beverages: I wrote a post a while back on no-extra charge beverages which is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=28137836

Generally speaking there is a good selection of basic no extra charge beverages available at all dining areas, and from room service, on the ship. But there are premium extra charge versions of most and there is a charge for anything carbonated, bottled or alcoholic. With limited exceptions (such as tap water) there is an extra charge for all beverages served at bars and lounges including the coffee bar.

 

Smoothies - There is a charge for these in the Aqua Spa Cafe (not sure if these are served in any other dining area open to all or not). There are complimentary smoothies included in certain cabin types (at one time this was CC and above but I'm not sure if it still is) from room service and in Blu for those in cabins that have access to Blu.

[Lsimon]

....

I agree that it can be quite confusing.

For example, you board the ship on the first day and are greeted warmly with a "Welcome aboard" and offered a drink. There is no charge.

 

Then you go up to the pool deck where you are also greeted warmly with a "Welcome aboard" and offered a drink. But for that one, there is a charge.

 

 

There are two different situations here:

 

To your first point above: Celebrity has traditionally offered a complimentary glass of Champagne (actually sparkling wine) just as you stop on board the ship as a welcome on board greeting to celebrate your embarkation. They usually have an alternative non alcoholic item which I think is usually orange juice. This is truly complimentary and there is no trick here.

 

The second is a despicable scam type practice followed by bar waiters on most mass cruise lines, most frequently on embarkation day afternoon but occasionally at other times as well. The bar waiters will walk around with special drinks, often in souvenir glasses, and offer them in a way that a first time cruiser would presume is complimentary only to be asked for your sea pass card after the drink is accepted. Celebrity used to do this but I think they've stopped the practice recently - although it could be that I just don't notice any more. This is, or was, common in the buffet and anyplace out on deck on embarkation day or at special events. Other cruise lines, but not Celebrity, also have a similar practice with shots of liqueur in the dining room - especially for those celebrating a special event.

[cruisestitch]

An anecdote about the shots of Liqueur -- some friends were seated at the Captain's Table when the waiter with the shots of after-dinner drinks came by. Their neighbors at the table said, take them, the interestingly-shaped glasses are souvenirs. While my friends didn't drink, they thought the glasses were pretty and made their choices, only to be asked for their SeaPass cards. The Captain then realized what was happening and was mortified that his guests were being asked to pay for their drinks.

 

I suspect that the poor bar waiter who made the gaffe was washing dishes for the remainder of the cruise.

[royalcruz]

An anecdote about the shots of Liqueur -- some friends were seated at the Captain's Table when the waiter with the shots of after-dinner drinks came by. Their neighbors at the table said, take them, the interestingly-shaped glasses are souvenirs. While my friends didn't drink, they thought the glasses were pretty and made their choices, only to be asked for their SeaPass cards. The Captain then realized what was happening and was mortified that his guests were being asked to pay for their drinks.

 

I suspect that the poor bar waiter who made the gaffe was washing dishes for the remainder of the cruise.

Was that on RC? I've never been offered after-dinner shots on X.

[Orator]

There is a cure for confusion. Confusion will be reduced as one takes more cruises.

[cruisestitch]

No, it was definitely on Celebrity. Constellation, as a matter of fact.

[Stoffel1982]

How is the cabin breakfast? Do they serve the pancakes and fresh orange juice as well? We'll have the premium package, do we have to pay an additional cost since it is delivered to our cabin or will it be "free"?

 

 

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[highrisesea]

How is the cabin breakfast? Do they serve the pancakes and fresh orange juice as well? We'll have the premium package, do we have to pay an additional cost since it is delivered to our cabin or will it be "free"?

 

 

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It is stated clearly in the beverage package info that room service beverages ARE NOT included (unless, of course, there is no charge on the menu).

[bighairtexan]

To confuse matters more, the room service breakfast menu varies depending on which type of cabin you've booked. Concierge has an enhanced menu and Aqua Class has a further enhanced room service breakfast menu.

But in no class does your beverage package work for room service.

[Lsimon]

How is the cabin breakfast? Do they serve the pancakes and fresh orange juice as well? We'll have the premium package, do we have to pay an additional cost since it is delivered to our cabin or will it be "free"?

 

They had pancakes from room service on some of the menus on board. If it isn't on yours I'd call rooms service and ask if you can write it in, or just try writing it in without asking. For the most part standard breakfast items that are on some of the cabin breakfast menus (like AQ or CC) are available on all of them even if not specifically listed. The Orange Juice from room service is fresh squeezed for CC class and above and from concentrate or syrup for standard veranda and below. Your package is not valid for any room service but the standard room service orange juice is no extra charge anyways.

 

I will caution you that unless you are in a suite the room service breakfast is a little chancy as far as still being nice and hot when it gets to your cabin. So items that wouldn't be as good if they have had time to cool off a little are items that I personally avoid and pancakes would be one of those. Suites are a little better as they are served by your butler and tend to be delivered from kitchen to the cabin a little faster.

[Lsimon]

To confuse matters more, the room service breakfast menu varies depending on which type of cabin you've booked. Concierge has an enhanced menu and Aqua Class has a further enhanced room service breakfast menu.

But in no class does your beverage package work for room service.

 

Here is a thread I did last December with copies of all of the breakfast menus. But notice that a couple of the last posts indicate these have been changed lately on some of the ships and there are other posts saying some ships were still using older versions of the menus. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1752753

[Stoffel1982]

Great info so far! Thanks!

 

 

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[lovetofly2]

This may sound silly but can you tell me what time breakfast is served from in the MDR as we would like to get off early for the ports of call.

[Lsimon]

This may sound silly but can you tell me what time breakfast is served from in the MDR as we would like to get off early for the ports of call.

This will vary based on the cruise and itinerary. On most cruises the MDR Breakfast is from 8AM to 9:30AM on sea days and port days with late arrival. On port days with early arrival it is usually open 1/2 hour before the scheduled arrival time.

 

On one sea day per cruise there will usually be a special buffet brunch that opens at 10AM and runs though lunch time and on that days the MDR will not be open for the regular breakfast.

[lovetofly2]

Thank you for your reply.We are on the Reflection on the 10day eastern med cruise and i read on here that it tenders at some of the stopovers and that you need to line up for a tender ticket and need to be off early to miss the crowds ( the cable car in Santorini and Athens to miss all the crowds ).So hence the question about breakfast times as we want to eat before getting off.Also do you know if the line up for the tender ticket is done on the morning of the stopover or the night before.This in one side of a cruise that my hubby does not like (he hates queues)so it looks like it will be me doing it.We have sailed on the P&O a few years ago and it was very disorganised (queues for everything and the tender side of it was a joke with some not getting off for hours after docking .So any input would help.Thanks

[Lsimon]

Thank you for your reply.We are on the Reflection on the 10day eastern med cruise and i read on here that it tenders at some of the stopovers and that you need to line up for a tender ticket and need to be off early to miss the crowds ( the cable car in Santorini and Athens to miss all the crowds ).So hence the question about breakfast times as we want to eat before getting off.Also do you know if the line up for the tender ticket is done on the morning of the stopover or the night before.This in one side of a cruise that my hubby does not like (he hates queues)so it looks like it will be me doing it.We have sailed on the P&O a few years ago and it was very disorganised (queues for everything and the tender side of it was a joke with some not getting off for hours after docking .So any input would help.Thanks

 

We tend to have breakfast in our cabin on mornings that we want to get off the ship early. We also generally eat a light breakfast on those days as we often enjoy having lunch on shore at those types of ports to enjoy the local cuisine.

 

Your question about tendering would be best posted in a separate thread on that subject as you'll get a lot more responses. But one hint: If you are worried about tender and cable car lines at Santorini then do consider a short morning ship's tour. That will bypass both the tender and cable car lines, get you to a special port used only for ship's tours where your bus will pick you up at the dock and take you to an area of the island you probably wouldn't otherwise see, then drop you off at Fira where you can lunch on your own and tour on your own in the afternoon before returning to the ship.

[shipshape sam]

There is a cure for confusion. Confusion will be reduced as one takes more cruises.

 

I like that course of action/education. :)