Norwegian Cruise Line Bans Food Outside of Dining Areas

[NLH Arizona]

It really is a shame that one person has to take up a table for 4. If everyone did this there wouldn't be enough tables for those who wish to eat. But more important....when I'm on a ship I don't want to be 'inside'. I want to be outside as much as possible......however, if one wants to eat outside it looks like, most times, the only option is the buffet. I'm not really crazy about any buffets. The cold food is warm and the hot food is warm if best. I don't do buffets when at home so I'm not into doing them when on vacation. Such a shame really....as I'm sure I'm not the only one, like you, that wants to be outside on the ship instead of inside.

 

Harriet

1 or 2 people take up tables for 4 all the time, before these changes. Not only that, but 2 people playing cards are always taking up a table of 4, while many are looking for tables to sit and eat at.

[mrsbojamp]

I already booked the next cruise on RCCL. NCL is crazy for making these changes. I had become a very big fan of NCL because of "free style" but now I don't think it's worth it.

[marelind]

I am currently on the Pearl in Alaska. I have not personally had the experience, but overheard another passenger complaining that she wanted to take a plate of cookies from the buffet to her cabin and was stopped from doing so. I had not heard of that before, so I was surprised. Now I understand. :cool:

[NLH Arizona]

I am currently on the Pearl in Alaska. I have not personally had the experience, but overheard another passenger complaining that she wanted to take a plate of cookies from the buffet to her cabin and was stopped from doing so. I had not heard of that before, so I was surprised. Now I understand. :cool:

Thanks, that is the first report of that, no one else reported any issues with regard to taking food back from the buffet, even though NCL is saying only snacks can be taken back (at least this is one answer that has been given). Maybe this passenger will be the first of many reports of this. If you hear it again or could ask what the policy is, we will all be interested and appreciative.

[Pia1913]

I don't think you will find one person on this site that thinks NCL did a good job in announcing these changes. It was horrible and it made these changes look worse than they are, IMHO.

 

I don't think NCL is guilty of either bait and switch or breach of contract, since their contract with us is only for transportation on the ship we booked and for ordinary vessel food....everything else is just icing on the cake as far as the contract is concerned, in my opinion.

 

I don't know what they expect, but I'm guessing that they are fully within their rights (not saying it is right), to just post the changes on their website and expect their customers to keep updated, but who knows.

 

If the Getaway Illusionarium was the main reason that I booked the UDP, I would definitely call NCL up and cancel it.

.

We are booked on the UDP Plan for May 23rd, and TA assured me that Illiusionarium was included for the first night. We will see.

[Bars7816]

I just keep thinking, CEO's come and go.....

[crmc]

We emailed our concerns to corporate and received a phone call today. Contrary to what some have written NCL does follow what we are posting on Cruise Critic. We mentioned that that for every post there will be ten who just read and each of those ten will tell ten friends. Talk about the domino effect. We mentioned we don't want NCL to lose their loyal passengers. We felt there were too many changes and increases all at once. New information was not found on the NCL website but by reading posts here. That is so wrong. Many people have written and called and corporate is taking it all in. Hopefully in the long run things will be better. We don't cruise until January so we will wait and hope for the best. There are so many positives cruising Norwegian.

 

I'd like to email concerns as well. What address did you send your concerns to?

[motleyfan]

Will NCL then be roving all the outdoor dining tables outside of the buffet ?

Are the going to have food security guards? We enjoy a snack sitting outside - the logistics of enforcing this at the buffet se ridiculois

It says here you can still eat outside

[aquarianne11]

I am currently on the Pearl in Alaska. I have not personally had the experience, but overheard another passenger complaining that she wanted to take a plate of cookies from the buffet to her cabin and was stopped from doing so. I had not heard of that before, so I was surprised. Now I understand. :cool:

 

Thanks for that info.

 

I haven't heard of that before. I thought "snacks" can be taken out of the buffet area to the room. :confused:

 

Are we really going to need Ziploc bags for our cookies? :D

[motleyfan]

I absolutely agree with something someone said on another thread. When they banned smoking the "foodies" hip hip horrayed. I and other smokers pointed out that gamblers and smokers spent way more money on cruises then non-smokers. I was pooh poohed, and the no smokers said good riddance to the smokers. Well, fast forward 6 months and here the foodies are getting hit in the wallet to make up the loss of revenue from the loss of smokers and gamblers.

I truly hope they institute a $250.00 cleaning fee for dishes found in non suite rooms.

Classic case of be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.

 

That was me that made the comment about smoking, yeah I was upset and still AM about that. I can't lie I would smile at the $250 fee because that was never an issue for me I always eat my food in the designated restaurants. there was only one time I ordered room service on my last cruise and that was because I was hungover the night before from drinking lol.

[motleyfan]

Personally I cannot wait to see a no longer 1/2 price child have a meltdown in the specialty restaurants and have the parents NOT remove the child from the venue as they paid anywhere from $30-$80 for and watch all the other patrons demand refunds for their dinner being spoiled. It will be like dinner & a show.

Yeah, that makes a lot of dollars and sense.

 

I agree

[motleyfan]

On the flip side, you can walk yourself to the 24-hour place and eat there for 30 minutes - nothing stopping you from having that choice. Or do as some other people do on other cruise lines and bring your own food / ziplock bags on board for late munchies - the embark port is not going to stop you if it sealed in its the packaging nor bat an eye at the ziplock bags. (I actually had some with me for my toiletries for the morning of disembark, the shower cap / pouf is going to be wet among other things)

 

Thank you, I made a comment about people being too lazy to walk to the restaurant themself on the room service thread and people got so angry you would have thought I insulted their mother lol.

[motleyfan]

That's the irony I hate about the NCL forums - The couple times where there's actually been good news coming out of the bad, and no one seem interested in it and/or twisted it around to make it look like it was more of bad news. That and bad news get 50-something threads per day with alots of responses while good news gets like 5 of them for the whole month and maybe 30 comments in total...

I was just thinking something similar myself, when I find a new thread I usually start on page 1 and read up until the most recent post and on this thread I must admit there are a lot of smart people but at the same time as a lot of complaining, and I've noticed that on Ncl threads on cruise critic a lot of people seem to want to complain more than they want to be happy. we could all be living in a third world country to where we could not afford to cruise at all.

[swedish weave]

Thank you, I made a comment about people being too lazy to walk to the restaurant themself on the room service thread and people got so angry you would have thought I insulted their mother lol.

 

Yes, and I am one of them. My dw deals with mobility issues EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE, AND IT ISN'T AS EASY FOR HER AS IT MUST BE FOR YOU. The word you used LAZY is very offensive. She is far from lazy !!

 

Try breaking some bones sometime and you may find that it is a bit different than it is now.

Edited May 12, 2015 by swedish weave

[Dave85]

I am currently on the Pearl in Alaska. I have not personally had the experience, but overheard another passenger complaining that she wanted to take a plate of cookies from the buffet to her cabin and was stopped from doing so. I had not heard of that before, so I was surprised. Now I understand. :cool:

 

Thank you for your report. It's nice to hear information from someone on board.

 

Although I was very excited to book it after a great first NCL cruise, I am now taking a wait and see approach for my NCL cruise booked for next May. I will not hesitate to cancel and book something on RCI -- my current default cruise line -- if this NCL nonsense continues. I will not be stopped from bringing cookies from the buffet back to my cabin on vacation, and if that's an issue for NCL then I will take my business elsewhere.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Dave85

[motleyfan]

A very nice response a posted on facebook. I see nothing at all wrong with what was said; However, it should have been said from the beginning. NCL had no business letting their customers find out while on a ship, and then from subsequent postings all over the internet. That is NOT good business etiquette. It took far too long for a logical and well-thought out response from NCL.

 

Here is the post:

 

I wrote Andy Stuart (President of NCL) a note concerning the room service charges and the new food rule. Here is his response:

Hi, thanks for your note. We do not charge for coffee and continental breakfast to be delivered by room service. In addition I feel strongly that the change asking guests not to bring food back to their rooms from restaurants is a good one. As we walk around the ship and see spills from food that guests are carrying and multiple plates and food waste littering the corridors, it is not a clean and pristine environment. The difference with room service is that it is our team delivering it - if they spill something they clear it up immediately. They also know where food has been delivered and they go back to get empty trays as part of their routine. At the same time as we have made this change we have changed the Asian restaurant from having a cover charge to being included across the fleet. I understand not everyone is going to love every change, but our focus is on quality and raising the quality of the experience across our fleet. You will see a huge investment coming from us in both the hardware and the software. Please have faith that everything we are doing is to increase our guest satisfaction and repeat rate. Apologies for the long response - but I am very passionate about this. regards. Andy

 

Yeah I must admit when I was on the epic I saw that all over the hallways and I was a little unnerved by it as well. I think this change is a good one for the long run.

[sparks1093]

Yeah I must admit when I was on the epic I saw that all over the hallways and I was a little unnerved by it as well. I think this change is a good one for the long run.

 

Oh, there are going to be many more changes, Del Rio is just getting started. If anyone is really buying that NCL did this for health and safety reasons I have a bridge to sell them.

[Travelcat2]

Yes, and I am one of them. My dw deals with mobility issues EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE, AND IT ISN'T AS EASY FOR HER AS IT MUST BE FOR YOU. The word you used LAZY is very offensive. She is far from lazy !!

 

Try breaking some bones sometime and you may find that it is a bit different than it is now.

 

I don't think that the comment was made to offend people with mobility issues. Members of my family had mobility issues and I would never make light of it. As I mentioned in one of my posts regarding the new policies, I truly believe that there should be a special dispensation for passengers who have a need for food to be delivered to their cabin.

 

My posts (and I believe the posts of most others) have to do with the laziness of adults and children that cannot get off of their behinds to go to a restaurant and eat (or order room service). They are so fortunate to be able bodied and do not even think about it. I had a taste of being unable to do things that I normally can do when I had knee replacement surgery earlier this year. My first cruise was 3 months after the surgery and there were still several things that were very difficult for me. Still, when we went on a bus excursion, I refused to sit in a "handicapped" seat as there were people that were far more in need of it than I was (yet, I saw people sit in those seats and then get off the bus and walk much faster than I could). It made me look at life in a different way. Hopefully, the complainers on this thread will not have to go through a major life event in order to appreciate what they have.

 

 

IMO, the threads that I have read on the NCL board sound like a bunch of whiners and complainers that I would not want to cruise with. The vision that management has for NCL is very positive. I know that I sound like a cheerleader for NCHL. If I am it is because we have been through what many NCL cruisers are going through and now see that our complaining was unwarranted. There are still some people on Regent that complain about certain policies. My advice to them is the same as to NCL passengers. If you are not happy with NCL, go to another cruise line instead of trying to encourage everyone to be as unhappy as they seem to be.

 

If NCL plans are achieved, we may give NCL a try (and won't complain if it isn't perfect).

[motleyfan]

We emailed our concerns to corporate and received a phone call today. Contrary to what some have written NCL does follow what we are posting on Cruise Critic. We mentioned that that for every post there will be ten who just read and each of those ten will tell ten friends. Talk about the domino effect. We mentioned we don't want NCL to lose their loyal passengers. We felt there were too many changes and increases all at once. New information was not found on the NCL website but by reading posts here. That is so wrong. Many people have written and called and corporate is taking it all in. Hopefully in the long run things will be better. We don't cruise until January so we will wait and hope for the best. There are so many positives cruising Norwegian.

 

Exactly, while I openly admit I have only ever Cruise to Norwegian, when I was on my last cruise on board the NCL epic I would sit and talk to some of the veteran cruisers after the shows. they would tell me horror stories on board other cruise lines about how bad the entertainment was. this one really sweet lady I was talking to said after cruisin Ncl and seeing their entertainment she could never go back to the other lines.

[motleyfan]

Yes, and I am one of them. My dw deals with mobility issues EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE, AND IT ISN'T AS EASY FOR HER AS IT MUST BE FOR YOU. The word you used LAZY is very offensive. She is far from lazy !!

 

Try breaking some bones sometime and you may find that it is a bit different than it is now.

 

Maybe the word lazy was a bit mean, but naturally I did not mean people with mobility issues or any sort of physical handicap. I meant the people that were perfectly capable of walking to the restaurant.

[knight2096]

Oh, there are going to be many more changes, Del Rio is just getting started. If anyone is really buying that NCL did this for health and safety reasons I have a bridge to sell them.

 

I agree 100 percent there is no way that this is about health and safety. This is all about $$$$$$ and forcing people into having to order their stupid 7.95 room service. I hate when companies try to sugarcoat their BS. Talk about adding insult to injury.

[motleyfan]

Oh, there are going to be many more changes, Del Rio is just getting started. If anyone is really buying that NCL did this for health and safety reasons I have a bridge to sell them.

 

One thing we can all agree on, is this is all very wait and see. Maybe there will be more changes but then again maybe there won't.

[Travelcat2]

There absolutely will be more changes. After all, NCL needs to be the best main stream cruise line -- not close to the bottom of the pack. Also want to mention that FDR is being blamed for everything. He may approve changes but Andy Stuart, respected long-time NCL veteran, is President of NCL and in charge of executing day-to-day changes. He knows what has needed to be done for a long time and is doing it.

[racingraysswimmom]

I'd like to email concerns as well. What address did you send your concerns to?

 

I received a phone call this morning from NCL after I sent an email to them (2 days ago) about my displeasure/concern with new food policy and how it will impact me and my family.

 

He said that they are taking everybody's concerns seriously......whether or not that is true.....is yet to be seen. Made me feel a litttle better that NCL responded and was interested in their passengers opinion. Where it goes from here is questionable.

 

First thing he said to me.....have you been reading Cruise Critic ?

 

Here is the email address again, and I encourage more of us that are unhappy to contact NCL at this address and voice your displeasure.

 

publicrelations@ncl.com

__________________

[Cancruizer]

Message to Norwegian management - Please do as Princess did last year. When customers were unhappy about the room service charges, they were rescinded. Princess also had "good reasons'', but passengers were not happy and the change in policy was quickly repealed. A main complaint from passengers was that there was a lack of notice and warning.

 

Norwegian Cruise Lines, whoever is listening, please revoke the Room Service fee and restrictive take away food policy! Show the same appreciation and respect that Princess has demonstrated. Please post if you agree!