Room service menu

[MACruisers]

Can somebody please tell me what is on the Dawn room service menu for Breakfast? I'm hearing it is limited, but I would like something more like eggs, pancakes, waffles on my balcony.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Can somebody please tell me what is on the Dawn room service menu for Breakfast? I'm hearing it is limited, but I would like something more like eggs, pancakes, waffles on my balcony.

 

If you want those on your balcony you'll have to bring them back from the buffet. Breakfast on dawn is continental only right now. Even on the new ships with the enhanced menus there are no pancakes or waffles.

[emcelh]

If you want those on your balcony you'll have to bring them back from the buffet. Breakfast on dawn is continental only right now. Even on the new ships with the enhanced menus there are no pancakes or waffles.

 

Unless you're in a suite.

[MACruisers]

Thank you. No eggs on the balcony for me.

 

Can I go to the buffet in my bathrobe?

[cb at sea]

Please wear clothes....real clothes!!!

[mking8288]

Yes, you can go to the buffet in your bathrobe, providing its BYO going forward ...

 

Seriously, there're no complimentary white bathrobes inside the closet of our BA balcony stateroom 2 weeks ago, when I finally realized something isn't right - our friendly & apologetic Room Steward said for unspecific operational reasons - the remaining inventory was being embargoed. Besides, XXLT not available, as always. We pack disposable slippers already and will make room for our silk robes.

 

Perhaps a convenience fee is coming as it 'might' no longer be complimentary, the enhancement designed to help maintain low fares, Haven & full suite passengers will continue to ...

Edited April 10, 2015 by mking8288

[hpecorari]

Thank you. No eggs on the balcony for me.

 

Can I go to the buffet in my bathrobe?

if you were at a hotel, would you go to breakfast in your bathrobe?

 

Harriet

[rochelle_s]

Yes, you can go to the buffet in your bathrobe, providing its BYO going forward ...

 

Seriously, there're no complimentary white bathrobes inside the closet of our BA balcony stateroom 2 weeks ago, when I finally realized something isn't right - our friendly & apologetic Room Steward said for unspecific operational reasons - the remaining inventory was being embargoed. Besides, XXLT not available, as always. We pack disposable slippers already and will make room for our silk robes.

 

Perhaps a convenience fee is coming as it 'might' no longer be complimentary, the enhancement designed to help maintain low fares, Haven & full suite passengers will continue to ...

 

 

So did I read this correctly? You were told on the Breakaway they are getting rid of the bathrobes?

 

 

Rochelle

Edited April 10, 2015 by rochelle_s

[mking8288]

So did I read this correctly? You were told on the Breakaway they are getting rid of the bathrobes? Rochelle

They didn't say anything at all - sarcasm on my part, to poke a bit of humor - apology on that part.

But, fact-of-the-matter, we did not have the white bathrobes in our regular balcony on arrival and only realized it on Day 3 - not having it is not a big deal as Day 2 was still chilly to sit out on the small balcony & we're out in and out of the cabin most of the day. Besides, I normally don't bother with it as they are one-size-fit all and thus too small for my preferred & relaxed fit (XXXL or at least XXL and Tall size would be spot on). The Breakfast Order Form (Door Hanger) was missing also as was the 24 Hour Room Service Order Form - I asked for both & only gotten the 24 Hour RS Order Form. I checked the Breakfast Order Form as it was listed on the Interactive Stateroom TV under the sub-menu system and it was offline or not showing. Perhaps they ran out of the BOF for us but we did see them hanging outside other staterooms in the evening, so whatever - DW dislike the limited selections on it anyway. We ate most breakfast in the MDR, once in OSH and once in the buffet during the week. Our steward was rather busy & we thought she had an assistant, but we learned toward the end of the week that it was "no" & she's on her own, including take care of the corner Fwd Haven/suite 4 doors away.

Three little things that mattered most to us on Day 1 was ice in the SS bucket, emptying contents of the mini-refrigerator and restocking the blank facial tissue box holder in the bathroom.

I thought perhaps, robes are no longer provided and keep forgetting to ask about getting them - she replaced our towels daily, sometimes twice a day and was good about getting us new beach towel after we came back from GSC & left the soiled ones on the bathroom floor/lower shelf. Not once during the entire week did we see a housekeeper supervisor around - on our Deck 10 forward corridor (starboard side) as they typically do (spot ??) QA checking of the cabins. She was running her own checklists on the clipboard & marked them in the logsheet. At least, we didn't get charged for 2 missing bathrobes, taken from the stateroom, LOL. I don't really think it was a conspiracy to remove them all but we just happened to be unlucky. A # of NCL crew members were similarly absent-minded & overlooking the details and upon reflection, obviously not energized about their improved compensation ??

For 2 evenings, I managed to slice the tough lamb cuts with a regular dinner knife, as they should've replaced them with a steak knife for us to do easier "slicing" - several servers mentioned the kitchen/gallery being slow as the reasons for slow service.

The lack of synergy and motivations among crew member were the key observations that I walked away with - they're doing their jobs, no more & no less with a somewhat indifferent attitude. Just didn't "feel" right as a whole & didn't help when the senior officers at the CC Meet & Greet did not take questions or solicit comments from our group of 50 to 60 - sitting in La Cucina and left in a hurry right after the very short presentation.

Still, we had a great vacation & it didn't ruin anything for us - left us with the memories of the unforseen changes on its way to us.

[MACruisers]

if you were at a hotel, would you go to breakfast in your bathrobe?

 

Harriet

 

This was simply a joke. I would never walk around a ship in a bathrobe.

[Swells1]

if you were at a hotel, would you go to breakfast in your bathrobe?

 

Harriet

 

You would be shocked at the number of people that do! Especially on weekends. I see a heckuva lot of hair rollers and bare feet, too. :eek:

[watchdiva]

Nevermind...once again a post has to have snarky comments about complimentary vs fee. Is it impossible to give it a rest or is it just to keep stirring the pot? And for mking8288, did they run out of steak knives on the ship and what did they say when you asked for one?

Edited April 10, 2015 by watchdiva

[mking8288]

... did they run out of steak knives on the ship and what did they say when you asked for one?

They cannot possibly run out of steak knives on the Breakaway - as that would not be exceptional services worthy of additional tipping, perhaps the behind-the-scene crew heard about the coup' on DSC and staging a silent protest, I dunno. When I asked the server who finally get a chance to stop going back & forth into the gallery about switching a knife, he had a sense of humor :rolleyes: and joked :mad: that you did pretty good with the regular knife. Left me speechless for a moment as DW looked on - I should've stick to ordering some of the special salmon entree but it wasn't on the menu that evening. Hence, we got 2 glasses of soda complimentary instead as his gesture of good will and apology.

When it rain, you learn to dance with it instead of running for cover ... we did that a few times last month.

[rochelle_s]

mking8288,

 

Thanks for sharing all your experiences. When I was on the Gem in the November I was not all that impressed with the service on the ship, other than my cabin steward on the first leg who far and away went above and beyond for me. Not that there was anything (other than bar service) that I felt a need to speak to management about. I did chalk the issues up to one week being a slot tournament the other being Thanksgiving. That was my first experience with the Gem.

 

My next trip is B2B on the Jade which will be my first NCL cruise after the merger. I did a B2B in Feb/Mar 2013 so I have a base of comparison. It will be interesting to see if I 'feel' there is any changes similar to what others have reported. With all the changes that have occurred over the last month or so I would not be surprised if I do. Even with that said I will not be 'looking' for it. This is Europe so the focus is the itinerary and the demographics can play a part in that too. My pre-cruise thoughts is that everything will be absolutely wonderful.

 

Thanks again for your reflections on your recent experience, not just here but on other threads as well. I should add I really enjoyed your very detailed review. Wonderful job!

 

 

Rochelle

[mking8288]

Rochelle, thanks & I realized that review thread has been read - initially, I was going just do pictures & write a few lines, bulletin formats is easier to do - except that isn't my analytical style which I still credit one of my undergrad professor's drillings a long, long time ago.

 

Here is old 2012 GEM Breakfast Room Order Menu (non-suite, of course) for the little/ordinary people - doesn't look that much different from a more recent one or the older ones found in my collection dated back to 2007 (which had less items on it.) Had not bothered to seek out April 2015 old / new Breakfast Room Order Menu, I am sure it will be printed, sooner or later and find its way here. In the morning, we are fine with just coffee (not even juices) and toast or baked items with fillings, and out the doors in a flash. On a cruise, it's a nice treat to find cinnamon roll/bun, chocolate croissant and yogurt as part of the all inclusive bundle - especially when it is a balcony, however small. But, whatever ... just hoping, at this point, they will have whole wheat bread along with white toast, will pass on the muffins & mini bagels, and smoked salmon are far better in Vancouver, BC (being one of our top choices for land vacation during off-seasons due to lower airfares.)

 

This time around, it's that subtle feelings deep down, little cues here & there picked up - not as easy for those new to cruising to gauge with no bearings or reference to compare with. Saw a brief comment by Bill P. that followed us on the M&G, sailed out of NYC on the BA as we headed home - that they got the same "treatment" at their M&G, no questions or comments - passing the bucks, essentially ... not even acknowledging that, yes, folks, we, at NCL, recognized the concerns and will, in time, respond and get back to you, and, communicate. No, sir/madam - not even that ... and, thanks for coming, bye bye.

 

The GEM has/had a very nice team of crew members & the "chemistry" is changing with Jenny L. HD & others no longer with the ship, moving on and it seemed some of the more recent reviews concurred with what you experienced onboard. We have a 10 days GEM booking - our last FCR used - this late Fall but we might just cancel before payment deadline & go back into a holding pattern. One of our nieces just book a great deal for their family of 4 with 2 kids in tow on another line and sidelined NCL and they got a very good to excellent bundled price.

 

I would much rather write a pure upbeat review & say, everything is fine & dandy, best bangs for the (Canadian, in your case) bucks cruising, which - for the most part, still is true. But ... the qualifiers to follow, yada yada (fill that in ourselves) I do pay a lot of attention to details, it's my nature, but does it bother me or ruin my days or evenings - no, most of the time, I'll just let it go. We are all "humans", things happened & we're all have had our bad days, and rolling out of our beds on the "right" side in the pre-dawn hours to get to where we wanted to be. Crew members working hard & if we look for faults, we will find them. NCL is still our favorite cruise line and it is convenient, but the competition is really, really giving it a challenge run for earning our money.

 

Over the horizon, looking more toward an Asia itinerary and NCL is not in the contest, period - haven't been on the Jade but we like the layout for the this class/family of ships, easy to get around & good staff to passenger ratios, something that's clear the BA/GA mega-ships weren't designed for. Your are absolutely spot on - focus on the Europe and the places you will be seeing, go for the destinations.