Neptune Suite - Hors D'oeuvres/Cocktails

[SabreSailor]

If we book a Neptune suite, one of the advertised benefits is "Cold hors d’oeuvres served before dinner each evening".

 

1) Does "served" mean delivered to your suite?

 

2) Can cocktails also be ordered and delivered?

 

3) Is a gratuity expected/appropriate?

 

Thanks!

[kelleherdl]

1 ) Yes

 

2 ) Not really. You do have the minibar in the suite that you can serve from, or you can have set-ups delivered to your suite. I think the bottle prices on HAL are quite reasonable. Extra glasses, ice can be delivered by the room steward, and even limes/lemons can be asked for from the Pinnacle Grill servers in the Neptune Lounge.

 

3 ) Yes normally. I must confess we are generally out of the room when they are delivered so no-one to tip. But if I do have any sort of room service and I am there I do tip a couple.

 

Dennis

[Ricktan]

Please note that it would only be sent to your room if you request and set that up. It's not done automatically. Also, there are always treats and "nibbles" in the Lounge that you can grab. You can eat it there or fix a plate and carry it back to your room with you.

[POA1]

I'd order the bottles and mixers you want. You'll come out ahead in most every case. Let your room steward know that you want afternoon ice, and request it in a wine bucket. It holds much more ice.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The cold appetizers are in the Neptune Lounge.

They are not automatically delivered to your cabin.

If you want them as well as hot appetizers delivered to your cabin, you need to make these arrangements before Noon with the concierges.

Also you can request afternoon tea be delivered to your cabin via the concierges.

If you order drinks to your cabin and you have either the Beverage Card or the Signature Beverage Cards, they can not be used to pay for the drinks as the person who makes the delivery has no way of scanning your cards.

We like to pre-order alcohol for the cabin so that we can make a drink and sit out on the verandah anytime we want to.

We always make certain that we are in the cabin when anything is delivered so that we can tip the delivery person.

[Vict0riann]

When we were on our own in the Neptune suite, we just went to the Neptune Lounge and picked up a plate of cold nibbles to have with a drink in the evening, but one day we invited 9 of our CC friends (making 12 with the 3 of us) to cocktails before dinner, and we asked the concierge for hot appetizers, plus extra beers, wines, mixers, etc., and everything was wonderful. Trays of food, extra ice, all organized impeccably! It was a great evening - no one wanted to go to dinner!

[WeLoveCruising]

As others have said, the Neptune Lounge has little snacks available throughout the day, similar to a concierge lounge in a hotel. There is enough there for a small continental type breakfast (although Neptune Suite guests can have breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill for no charge). During the day there are different offerings such as small finger sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and cookies.

 

These items won't come to stateroom, most people stop in the Neptune Lounge to nibble. However, as an extra service you can request them to be delivered and they will be. It would be appropriate to tip the delivery person at least a few dollars

 

As far as alcohol, no alcohol is served in the Neptune lounge, except for at the hosted parties like the Welcome Aboard cocktail party. This may have changed as it's been awhile since I've sailed and I heard there were some changes to the party. But in general terms, the beverages available in the Neptune Lounge are non-alcoholic like juice in the morning, and iced tea and coffee throughout the day.

 

You have a few choices if you prefer to have cocktails in your stateroom. There is a minibar with prices posted. The minibar will have a few of those little bottles of spirits you get on an airplane. You might have to track down your own mixers. There are also packages you can purchase, for example a Rum and Coke package where you can have a bottle of Bacardi and cans of Coke delivered together. That is one simple example, there are other packages and bottles available for delivery. Fresh ice is always replenished by your cabin steward, or you can call for it if for some reason you need more.

 

One of the things we really like about a cruise is finding a few bartenders we really click with, usually in the Ocean Bar, and making that our cocktail hangout. When we sailed with my college age son and his friend, they ordered a bottle of rum to their room because it was much more cost effective.

 

DH and I have also ordered a bottle of wine at dinner and requested it to be delivered to our stateroom after dinner, to enjoy on the balcony.

 

Also, since you asked about gratiuity, the staff in the Neptune Lounge is excellent, and can serve as your "concierge" during the cruise. They will do things like make reservations for you, print your onboard account, and help you with really whatever they can. I dont know how common it is for others to tip them. If it's a short cruise and we dont have much interaction there are times I haven't tipped. There are other times that we've requested special services, or just happened to become really fond of the staff that cruise, in which case we have tipped on the last evening of the cruise.

Edited October 12, 2015 by WeLoveCruising

[sail7seas]

Any time we have Room Service delivered for any reason be it hors d'ouerves or breakfast or an afternoon snack, we always tip the Room Service Steward. I bring an envelope with $1' and $5's for the purpose of using it throughout the cruise.

[Crew News]

We arrange with the Neptune Lounge to have chicken wings and skewered shrimp with Asian dipping sauce delivered each dat at 3:30 PM. A few chicken wings are saved in our minibar for late night snack.

[sail7seas]

Yes, things of that sort are available if one wants it.

[SabreSailor]

Thanks to all - great ideas!

[Harry1954]

... and ... if you want to host some friends, the concierge will have more food than you probably will need delivered. All is required is letting them know the number of folks, the time, and what types of appetizers you want.

 

harry

[sail7seas]

If you request hors d'ouerves for 4 people, the amount the deliver is usually enough for 6 or 8 people. :)

[Harry1954]

If you request hors d'ouerves for 4 people, the amount the deliver is usually enough for 6 or 8 people. :)

Yes, that is exactly what has happened to us several times. We are almost embarrassed about the amount of leftover food. However it is to HAL's desire to provide quality food/service that we must tip our hats.

 

harry

[sail7seas]

Yes, that is exactly what has happened to us several times. We are almost embarrassed about the amount of leftover food. However it is to HAL's desire to provide quality food/service that we must tip our hats.

 

harry

 

Hi, Harry.

Good to 'see' you. :)

 

You've been missed.

 

[Snowesha]

When we were on our own in the Neptune suite, we just went to the Neptune Lounge and picked up a plate of cold nibbles to have with a drink in the evening, but one day we invited 9 of our CC friends (making 12 with the 3 of us) to cocktails before dinner, and we asked the concierge for hot appetizers, plus extra beers, wines, mixers, etc., and everything was wonderful. Trays of food, extra ice, all organized impeccably! It was a great evening - no one wanted to go to dinner!

 

It's been awhile. Remind me of the hours of the Neptune Lounge?

Thanks!

[Lizzie68]

It's been awhile. Remind me of the hours of the Neptune Lounge?

Thanks!

 

They open at 7 am, except on early port days when they will open earlier. And I believe they close around 8, but not 100% certain of that.

[sail7seas]

Yes, those are the usual hours for Neptune Lounge.

[TheDaringLibrarian]

We arrange with the Neptune Lounge to have chicken wings and skewered shrimp with Asian dipping sauce delivered each dat at 3:30 PM. A few chicken wings are saved in our minibar for late night snack.

 

That's pretty cool - how much extra did that cost?

Or was it considered room service?

 

Also, can you ask that your mini bar be emptied out so you can put in your own bottles of water, wine, etc.?

 

Thanks everyone! Splurging on a Neptune Suite solo cruising to Alaska this summer on the Westerdam! W00t! :)

[erewhon]

That's pretty cool - how much extra did that cost?

Or was it considered room service?

 

Also, can you ask that your mini bar be emptied out so you can put in your own bottles of water, wine, etc.?

 

Thanks everyone! Splurging on a Neptune Suite solo cruising to Alaska this summer on the Westerdam! W00t! :)

 

You can ask your room steward to remove everything from the minibar.

[sail7seas]

That's pretty cool - how much extra did that cost?

Or was it considered room service?

 

Also, can you ask that your mini bar be emptied out so you can put in your own bottles of water, wine, etc.?

 

Thanks everyone! Splurging on a Neptune Suite solo cruising to Alaska this summer on the Westerdam! W00t! :)

 

There is no charge for hors d'ouerves delivered to your cabin. If you are running a party and request a large amount, there is a charge for that. Anytime we have food/drink delivered to our cabin, we always tip whomever brings it.

 

You can have your mini bar emptied put what you want in it. It is a cooler and doesn't get anything very cold so if you want ice cold water bottles, put them in an ice bucket.

 

[DaveOKC]

We had 25 people over to a sail-away party in our corner aft-wrap. We ordered apps for 8 and brought some cheese down from the Lido, which was enough for the group!

 

We asked our room steward to bring extra ice in a wine bucket - he brought 7 buckets! Needless to say, we did not need all of that.

 

Just check with the Neptune concierges, they will assist you.

[DeeniEncinitas]

As others have said, the Neptune Lounge has little snacks available throughout the day, similar to a concierge lounge in a hotel. There is enough there for a small continental type breakfast (although Neptune Suite guests can have breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill for no charge). During the day there are different offerings such as small finger sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and cookies.

 

These items won't come to stateroom, most people stop in the Neptune Lounge to nibble. However, as an extra service you can request them to be delivered and they will be. It would be appropriate to tip the delivery person at least a few dollars

 

As far as alcohol, no alcohol is served in the Neptune lounge, except for at the hosted parties like the Welcome Aboard cocktail party. This may have changed as it's been awhile since I've sailed and I heard there were some changes to the party. But in general terms, the beverages available in the Neptune Lounge are non-alcoholic like juice in the morning, and iced tea and coffee throughout the day.

 

You have a few choices if you prefer to have cocktails in your stateroom. There is a minibar with prices posted. The minibar will have a few of those little bottles of spirits you get on an airplane. You might have to track down your own mixers. There are also packages you can purchase, for example a Rum and Coke package where you can have a bottle of Bacardi and cans of Coke delivered together. That is one simple example, there are other packages and bottles available for delivery. Fresh ice is always replenished by your cabin steward, or you can call for it if for some reason you need more.

 

One of the things we really like about a cruise is finding a few bartenders we really click with, usually in the Ocean Bar, and making that our cocktail hangout. When we sailed with my college age son and his friend, they ordered a bottle of rum to their room because it was much more cost effective.

 

DH and I have also ordered a bottle of wine at dinner and requested it to be delivered to our stateroom after dinner, to enjoy on the balcony.

 

Also, since you asked about gratiuity, the staff in the Neptune Lounge is excellent, and can serve as your "concierge" during the cruise. They will do things like make reservations for you, print your onboard account, and help you with really whatever they can. I dont know how common it is for others to tip them. If it's a short cruise and we dont have much interaction there are times I haven't tipped. There are other times that we've requested special services, or just happened to become really fond of the staff that cruise, in which case we have tipped on the last evening of the cruise.

 

 

I could not of said it any better !!!!!!

We actually do the same. Thank you for such a great detailed report!

Denise:)