Charge for second entree?

[HBE4]

15 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

These all got pitched

 

 

Well, I was thinking drinks that people ordered and bought generally are not thrown away.

 

But your point is taken. That's a lot of wasted drinks there. Darn shame, as it was a nice looking table with an assorted array of colors.

 

What event was that? Hopefully not a meeting of the teetotaler's club.

Edited March 5, 2019 by HBE4

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Not really sure how this discussion got so skewed to the drink package, and drink cost.  There is very little correlation between the drink package and MDR entree cost IMO. 

 

• Beverage
• Food

Two different animals.

Dan

The same way the "tippers" tried to hijack the thread awhile back.

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

These all got pitched

 

 

Funny thing is, I probably would not have grabbed another one as I would have felt like I was taking advantage of something that RCI was offering as a no extra charge perk. So it goes down the drain instead.

[sparks1093]

20 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

These all got pitched

 

But those weren't made for a passenger who only took a sip and discarded it.

[HBE4]

14 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

You really think that adding this charge in the MDR is going to affect the cost of the drink package in any way? RCI will continue to charge as much on the drink packages as they can to meet their profit goals for that department. It is completely unrelated to any new charge that may be introduced somewhere else. 

 

Not directly.

 

But perhaps given the choice of raising the price of the drink package OR charging for a 2nd entree, by choosing the charge for a 2nd entree, the drink package is given a temporary reprieve from price increases. ...emphasis on temporary.

 

Charging for 2nd entree is certainly not going to lower the cost of anything.

[HBE4]

7 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The same way the "tippers" tried to hijack the thread awhile back.

 

It can be tough, if not impossible, to get a thread back on track.

 

Of course, I go with the flow so I'm certainly not helping matters.

[nelblu]

4 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Not directly.

 

But perhaps given the choice of raising the price of the drink package OR charging for a 2nd entree, by choosing the charge for a 2nd entree, the drink package is given a temporary reprieve from price increases. ...emphasis on temporary.

 

Charging for 2nd entree is certainly not going to lower the cost of anything.

 

They might as well start charging for a 2nd & 3rd appetizers as that is exactly what Pax will do.

[John&LaLa]

25 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Well, I was thinking drinks that people ordered and bought generally are not thrown away.

 

But your point is taken. That's a lot of wasted drinks there. Darn shame, as it was a nice looking table with an assorted array of colors.

 

What event was that? Hopefully not a meeting of the teetotaler's club.

 

An empty top tier party on Oasis

[John&LaLa]

21 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Funny thing is, I probably would not have grabbed another one as I would have felt like I was taking advantage of something that RCI was offering as a no extra charge perk. So it goes down the drain instead.

 

First one I had was taken from a tray, I went and got another, but no one else was coming by

[John&LaLa]

22 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

But those weren't made for a passenger who only took a sip and discarded it.

 

In a way they were. Plenty left laying all over Studio B

[Guest]

I like the sound of what Virgin Voyages are doing. No main dining room, but lots of different dining venues that are all included. Yes their fares may be slightly higher, but if you are one to purchase UDP it may appeal. I’m assuming they may follow a 1 app, 1 main, 1 dessert policy(with exceptions for poor quality etc). But no one knows for sure yet. If they did I wouldn’t be upset. It’s no different to going to a normal restaurant. And the fact they have multiple venues makes it exciting. 

 

In in regards to Royal, it wouldn’t bother me if they implemented it. I don’t know if it’s cultural, but we are used to small portions in all restaurants in the UK. Doggy Bags are not really a thing! On cruises, If I ever order more than one of something it’s either a soup and salad, or if the waiter has brought me something as he wanted us to try it. I never order 3 courses when I eat out on land unless it’s a special occasions! 

 

So, I imagine the British cruise lines may adopt this policy. P&O are under the carnival group so I could see that happening. They already limit cakes in the coffee shop to one per coffee ordered! 

 

I cant imagine it happening on royal/X due to the culture and target audience. We’ve all seen them throw lobster tails on plates like they’re going out of fashion! A waiter on an X cruise used to bring my Dad a curry each day, in addition to his ordered main. Just because he mentioned he likes them! My dad didn’t order them! 

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

In a way they were. Plenty left laying all over Studio B

I'll clarify- they weren't ordered by someone with a drink package who then took a sip and discarded it. That's the kind of waste that is similar to ordering a second main dish and not finishing it.

[StrikeEagle]

On 3/2/2019 at 9:38 PM, Mikew0805 said:

So looks like Holland America is trying it out. As the article states... where one line goes, others seems to follow. I personally am not one to order a second entree, although I am guilty of a salad and two appetizers. I wonder if it will be successful, and if it will come to RCI/CCL, as I have read many reviews on both where multiple entrees are ordered.

 

 

When I heard about this news about Holland America,  I cross it out on my list of cruise lines to try.

 

[Sitzmark]

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Not to belabor that off-topic point...but how much would the average passenger need to consume to "get their money's worth? 

 

 

I presume you refer to alcohol only.  If that is the case and we are on Royal with an unlimited package the answer is 3.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

7 minutes ago, Sitzmark said:

I presume you refer to alcohol only.  If that is the case and we are on Royal with an unlimited package the answer is 3.

Guess that depends what beverage specifically...but 3 or 4 every day of a cruise on even just a 4-day cruise is $208/person...or $416 per couple. No way will anyone get their "money's worth" at those prices. Heck - that's about half the cost of our Suite cabin.

Edited March 5, 2019 by CRUISEFAN0001

[Sitzmark]

1 minute ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Guess that depends what beverage specifically...but 3 or 4 every day of a cruise on even just a 4-day cruise is $208/person...or $416 per couple. No way will anyone get their "money's worth" at those prices. Heck - that's about half the cost of our Suite cabin.

difference between the refreshment package and the deluxe package for our cruise is 35 dollars.  if mixed drinks are around 12 dollars that is 3 drinks per day to "get your moneys worth" as you said.

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Guess that depends what beverage specifically...but 3 or 4 every day of a cruise on even just a 4-day cruise is $208/person...or $416 per couple. No way will anyone get their "money's worth" at those prices. Heck - that's about half the cost of our Suite cabin.

We're paying $46 pp/pd for our package. As I understand it specialty coffees are around $5 a pop, and I could easily do two a day so that's $10 right there. Frozen drinks (again as I understand it) are $12.95. So I would only need to have 3 of those a day and even though I don't drink as much as DW I can easily do that, even on a port day. If someone got the package for the same price as us in your example then they would pay $184 (plus gratuity, of course). 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

5 minutes ago, Sitzmark said:

difference between the refreshment package and the deluxe package for our cruise is 35 dollars.  if mixed drinks are around 12 dollars that is 3 drinks per day to "get your moneys worth" as you said.

Fuzzy math... drinks vary in price...and the main point is ANY package for $300-$400/couple is outrageous.

 

Better off buying 4 bottles of wine (2 per person) and bring them onboard at a cost of maybe $100...

Edited March 5, 2019 by CRUISEFAN0001

[dreadpirate3]

2 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

Although I don't cruise multiple times a year, I've seen little abuse in the main dining room.  I've had waiters bring me something extra they thought I may be interested in with my initial order.  The only real excessive ordering I've seen is on lobster night when for some men it becomes a challenge to see how many tails they can consume.   But it always seemed very entertaining to others at the table.

 

Someone on the HAL forum said something about pork belly being a strange entree.  It's not something I would serve at home even though I am from the Deep South (but I don't serve duck either).   But I'd have to agree on a cruise line it is a strange entree.  But they even had it in Wonderland.

 

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

 

I believe the pork belly or some sort of bacon is an appetizer in Chop's.

 

Pork belly is offered as an appetizer in both Chop's and Giovanni's.

 

The cut of pork belly is used to make streaky bacon. DH makes homemade bacon for us, and I like to roast a bit of it for a delicacy on occasion. It is rich, like duck, and we eat both sparingly.

 

Chop's pork belly was perfectly cooked and delicious. Giovanni's pork belly was undercooked, rubbery, and tough.

[sparks1093]

Just now, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Fuzzy math... drinks vary in price...and the main point is ANY package for $300-$400/couple is outrageous.

Depends on how much the couple drinks. On our last cruise when we wanted a drink we had one and our bar bill was $750 at the end of the cruise, which is what we're paying for the deluxe drink package.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 minute ago, sparks1093 said:

Depends on how much the couple drinks. On our last cruise when we wanted a drink we had one and our bar bill was $750 at the end of the cruise, which is what we're paying for the deluxe drink package.

WOW...that kind of consumption is not even a remote possibility for any of the couples we've ever cruise with nor us.  But as for the math...yeah...you "saved" some money.

 

We did a 10-day cruise out of Sydney...each couple brought their 4 allowed bottles of wine (12 in total)...mission accomplished for under $300 for 6 people.

[Sitzmark]

7 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Fuzzy math... drinks vary in price...and the main point is ANY package for $300-$400/couple is outrageous.

 

Better off buying 4 bottles of wine (2 per person) and bring them onboard at a cost of maybe $100...

If you want to bring 4 bottles of wine on board, you'll need 2 cabins, as the limit is 2 bottles per cabin, not per person.

 

As to the price of a drink, of course it varies, but you are the one that posed the question.  If the price of a package for a week is outrageous to you, then I honestly have no idea what you are arguing about, just skip it, why would you even stop to think about it?

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Just now, Sitzmark said:

As to the price of a drink, of course it varies, but you are the one that posed the question.  If the price of a package for a week is outrageous to you, then I honestly have no idea what you are arguing about, just skip it, why would you even stop to think about it?

I knew the prices...as we have consumed maybe 1-2 drinks on an average cruise. However making a non-deal ($416) cost sound like some kind a deal misleads other folks trying to get a legitimate answer. It's pretty common knowledge that the drink packages are the biggest profit center for cruise lines in general and certainly with RCI. While some folks might justify spending exorbitant amounts on booze on a cruise (it's their money so for them it's OK), making it sound like everyone should consider it does others a dis-service. 

[Sitzmark]

1 minute ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

I knew the prices...as we have consumed maybe 1-2 drinks on an average cruise. However making a non-deal ($416) cost sound like some kind a deal misleads other folks trying to get a legitimate answer. It's pretty common knowledge that the drink packages are the biggest profit center for cruise lines in general and certainly with RCI. While some folks might justify spending exorbitant amounts on booze on a cruise (it's their money so for them it's OK), making it sound like everyone should consider it does others a dis-service. 

 

You tried to make it sound as though Royal makes it more expensive, than a competitor when in fact they don't.  You then spun the conversation to the overall cost of drinking in general.  As if anyone who would have 1 or 2 drinks over the course of a cruise would ever even consider a drink package. 

If you want to pass moral judgement on someone else for purchasing one, I doubt very much if anyone purchasing one cares. 

 

You posed a few questions, I gave you what I believe are logical legitimate answers, if you don't like them, well I guess that's life.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Just now, Sitzmark said:

 

You tried to make it sound as though Royal makes it more expensive, than a competitor when in fact they don't. 

Not really. The point was repeated that it's expensive. Maybe I should have included crayons. My bad.

 

You then spun the conversation to the overall cost of drinking in general.  As if anyone who would have 1 or 2 drinks over the course of a cruise would ever even consider a drink package.

The only spin was your twisting of what I said. Obviously you are on a mission.

 

If you want to pass moral judgement on someone else for purchasing one, I doubt very much if anyone purchasing one cares. 

It's about spending that kind of money on booze. No moral judgement....it's fiscal judgement.

 

You posed a few questions, I gave you what I believe are logical legitimate answers, if you don't like them, well I guess that's life.

And life is too short for this kind of retort on your part.

Happy sailing.